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I entered my grandmother’s house cautiously, my eyes first scanning the living room where there was a fireplace full of dull ash, blankets tossed about, and books left on the coffee table. I then looked to the kitchen where a plate with food on it still sat on the table and pots and pans were left on the stove.
“Fuck.” She’d never purposely leave her home in this state.
Unlocked and a mess.
I continued, stopping at my old room and peeking in. From what I could quickly tell, everything there was in its place. Then I moved on to her room.
Drawers were left open, hangers on the ground, the bed unmade. At least it seemed as if she’d packed for wherever she’d gone and hadn’t been taken. Though, she’d still clearly left in a hurry and likely a panic.
Nannio?I tried the mind link for the hundredth time.
Silence was my only response, just as it had been the last week.
I exited her house, not expecting her to have left me a note, and decided it was time to check on my uncles.
As soon as my feet touched the earth outside, I sensed my dragon pushing forward.
Easy this time, I warned, stepping further away from the house. I didn’t want to be completely useless when we found Dawsyn.
This shift, while still swift, wasn’t as forced, and my body didn’t ache as much as before. Our wings extended once again and we were back in the air within seconds.
Uncle Jerome and his mate Fennec were my only other family. I hadn’t spoken to either of them since I’d left Drago. That thought wasn’t sitting well with me.
Their house was a five-minute flight from Nannio’s, giving us just enough time to stretch our wings and get a better look over the town.
Fires still smoldered inside the crumbling buildings. Bodies lay in the street, some alone, some clinging to their loved ones.
My chest filled with ire, not only because of the lost lives, but because I hadn’t been here to help protect them. I wasn’t in charge by any means, but the people in this town… I considered them all family in some way.
Our realm wasn’t huge. Our clans were close. And none of this was fucking okay.
My dragon settled down in front of my uncle’s house in the city neighborhood. At first glance, nothing seemed off. The house hadn’t been struck with lightning like some of the surrounding ones had, and there were no signs of a fight in the yard.
Before shifting back to my human form, my stomach began to churn with ferocity.
Everything may have looked normal, but the scent of death weighed heavily in the air.
I almost didn’t ask my dragon to change back. I didn’t want to see what I was already imagining, but I knew I had to. For Uncle Jerome. He was my mother’s brother and deserved better than me walking away.
With tenuous steps, I approached their front door and had to hold my breath. The stench was so much worse there.
I closed my eyes briefly, grabbing on to the strength my uncles had taught me to have all these years. They were the reason I knew how to fight, why I cared so passionately for our realm. I could do this for them.
Without allowing myself to think too hard, I twisted the handle and shoved the door open. Inside was a bloodbath, and I nearly vomited on my own feet.
Scorch marks filled the white walls and marred the furniture. Blood splatter colored everywhere else, and in the middle of all the mayhem…my two uncles. They were several feet apart, both of their throats and stomachs ripped open, but their hands…
Fuck.
They were reaching for each other and were just inches apart from being able to have that final moment of peace.
“Damn you, Nannio,” I hissed.
She shouldn’t have insisted I didn’t return when I’d wanted to come back. All of this—including Dawsyn being taken—might have been avoided if so.
Whatever was going on, she knew and she’d kept it from me. I didn’t know why, but I sure as fuck was going to find out.
Right after I buried my uncles. It wouldn’t be the sendoff they deserved, but I wouldn’t leave them this way.
