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"Alcor ..." he slurred.
"Don't worry about them, titan,” the woman said. “We'll help our own. Go and rescue your soul pair and our agent.”
Zaide nodded slowly, and I heaved him up and through the grass before settling him into our rental car.
"What the fuck happened, Zaide?"
"Someone … ran us off the road," he slurred, holding his arm, which was bleeding all over the interior.
"Fuck me," I breathed. "Are you okay?"
"I'm … healing," he said with a clenched jaw and closed eyes. He looked like he'd gone ten rounds with Optimus Prime and found out that machines were mightier than mortals.
"Why are you not with Clawdia? Do you know what’s going on with her? What have I missed?" I asked as I started the car and carried on toward my familiar.
Zaide told me about Clawdia going to the dragon in a hoarse and pained croak. "There is another witch with Clawdia. The council's task team leaders were coming with us to rescue her and Clawdia when we started being followed."
“It’s Fafnir torturing her, then?” I asked, dread settling in the pit of my stomach.
Fuck.I wasn’t prepared for a battle against a dragon, especially not my evil great-great-grandaddy who apparently had the power to control his male descendants.
“Taking her magic,” Zaide hissed. “Our magic.”
"Rescue for two, coming right up," I replied tightly and checked my mirrors, paranoid there might be someone following us now. “Are you going to be okay in time for a showdown with a dragon?"
"I feel better already," he told me. “Don’t worry about me.”
“You’re my boyfriend-in-law in this strange harem we’ve got happening. I’m going to worry. You look like shit.”
“Charlie.” He gave a pained chuckle. “That might be the most adorable thing you’ve ever said to me.”
I pouted and muttered, “Don’t fucking repeat it.”
Then I hissed as another blast of pain rippled across my bond with Clawdia. My knuckles clenched around the wheel, and I took my foot off the pedal.
"Are you all right?" Zaide asked, appearing unaffected by Clawdia’s pain coming through their bond, which was good, because he definitely didn't need any more pain.
I let out a slow breath as the pain ebbed. "Other than feeling my familiar's pain and panic as though Fafnir was tea-bagging me himself? Fab."
"Cut her off. You need to keep yourself sane so we can face this dragon."
I shot him a frustrated glare. "If I knew how to do that, don't you think I would have already done it?"
He ignored my barb and, with his yogi voice, told me, "Form a shield around your mind. Picture it clearly and see that it allows your connection to continue through but muffles it."
I tried doing as he said but with my eyes open since I was driving and didn't think Zaide wanted to be in another crash. "This is hard to do while driving."
"So is feeling the torture of your familiar. Concentrate," he urged.
I barely stopped myself from snapping at him. With the stress and pain, my temper was hair-trigger. But doing as he asked, I stared into the empty road in front of us until I could see the bond I had with Clawdia in a white glowing line. I imagined that the car and my mind were surrounded by soundproof insulation, and suddenly, I stopped feeling so shitty.
"Thank fuck," I breathed. “It worked.”
After a few silent minutes that felt like an eternity, I pulled into the warehouse car park.
“She’s in here. I know it. I can feel her,” I said as I parked and looked over at Zaide. "You ready?"
His face was serious and unwavering. "Let's get our female back." He threw the car door open, leaving me to scramble after him like the dumb sidekick.
