Page 96

I take a breath and try to calm my emotions as the baby in my arms fusses and begins to cry. I hold her closer and rock her, whispering soothing platitudes while I watch Liam.

"How bad is it?" I ask, still marveling that Liam is the healer of the four. I would have pegged the water Druid as a man of medicine, not the fiery hot-headed vampire before me.

He glances up, his expression grim "She needs balms to soothe the burns. Tinctures to facilitate recovery. Even those…may not be enough.”

I kiss Alina's head, fighting the tears as I watch one of my closest friends fight for her life.

Sebastian is pushing the horses as fast as he can, but we suddenly grind to a stop after some time of bumping along the dirt road, and Liam and Elijah frown.

"I'll check to see what's going on," I say, taking the baby with me while they stay with Lily.

Outside, other carriages and travelers have halted as well. It seems the bridge ahead is closed. Derek is still sitting up front, looking a little peaked from being buried under stones. Sebastian is standing in front of an Enforcer, arms crossed over his chest, looking pissed and impatient.

"What's going on?" I ask, walking up to them.

Sebastian gestures to the Enforcer, who's dressed all in black and has a sword hanging from his hip. "He says everyone leaving town has to be searched."

I look to the Enforcer. "Why? Is this because of the explosion?" I ask.

The Enforcer's brown eyes widen, and I wonder what his supernatural race is. He passes as pretty human. At least until I realize he has tiny horns on his forehead that were covered by the hood of his cloak. "I don't know anything about an explosion," he says. "A dragon egg—the dragon egg—has been stolen. By order of the Council of Dragons, no one may leave town without a thorough search.”

I place a hand on Sebastian's arm. "We need to allow it so we can get going. Lily's not doing well."

His frown deepens but he nods.

The Enforcer pats Sebastian down, who clenches his jaw and his fists to keep from lashing out at the man doing his job.

When the Enforcer turns to me, I sigh and pass the baby to Sebastian, who cradles her gently as the man pats me down. When he gets to the pockets in my cloak, he pulls out the Memory Catcher Adam left me and my breath hitches.

"What's this?" he asks.

I take it from his hand. "It's for work. We're lawyers," I say, though technically I'm not quite a lawyer in this world.

Sebastian raises an eyebrow at me, his gaze falling to the crystal in my hand. He'll know it's not one of theirs. He'll wonder why I have it. And I don't have a good answer.

The Enforcer nods. "Right. You defend all the criminals. Like Dracula."

I can tell by his voice that he doesn't approve, and Sebastian's spine stiffens even more. "Everyone deserves a fair trial," he says through his teeth.

The Enforcer doesn't respond. Instead he asks to see the baby.

"Seriously?" I say. "We have a friend in the carriage dying from burns. This baby has just been through hell. We need to get them home. Do you think we're smuggling a dragon egg in her diaper?" I'm about to lose my shit, and the anger triggers heat to grow in my hands. I look down at them and realizing they’re hissing in the rain, small tendrils of fire spitting from my fingers.

Sebastian notices and grabs one of them, pulling me closer to him as he holds the baby with the other hand. He leans into me to whisper in my ear, "Stay calm. Take a deep breath."

I do as he says, grateful the Enforcer didn't see me. He's instead peeking into the baby blanket to pat Alina down, who doesn't enjoy the disruption and begins to wail.

"What the hell are you doing to my daughter?" Liam yells, stepping out of the carriage, flames dancing around his hands.

Unlike me, he does nothing to hide his fire or stem his anger.

The Enforcer steps back, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Step back, vampire. Or you'll be arrested. I need to search your carriage."

I realize that this will escalate quickly if Liam doesn't chill. I leave Alina with Sebastian and slip my arm around Liam. "We need to let him, or he won't allow us to leave and Lily could die," I say softly as I try to cool his fire with my own powers.

It seems to work, and he simmers down as the Enforcer searches our carriage and pats down the rest of us. When he's done, he sighs, looking more tired than before. "You may go to your home, but just so you know…there will be no leaving the Otherworld for anyone until the egg is found, by order of the Council of Dragons." He pauses, looking at Lily through the carriage window. “I’ll provide an escort to help you move along quickly. I hope your friend recovers.”

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