Page 48 of Ensnared (The Dragon Captured #1)

Before I can say a single word, the bright sunlight streaming through the window dims, like something has moved in front of the sun.

Then there’s a crack of something that sounds almost like lightning, if lightning struck a thousand times in the same place.

It feels like the entire world shrinks down, and then expands back out.

My brain feels battered, and I drop my face in my hands. “What was that?”

Axel’s already leapt from my bed and he’s running out the door.

“What’s wrong?” I shout.

Stay put, and keep the kids with you.

How can he still not know me at all? I spring from the bed, pointing inside my room as I race to follow Axel.

“I know,” Coral says. “Find Gideon and stay put.”

I’m sprinting faster than I ever have, and I’m still falling behind.

I’m not wearing my outfit, and I don’t have my blades, but I know Azar’s already shifting.

I can sense it. I sprint up the stairs, not even slowing down to breathe.

I’m just bursting through the doorway to Azar’s level when I see him, poised to launch.

“Wait,” I shout. “We can’t be apart, remember?”

Other than the day he introduced me to all the dragons, Azar has never cared a fig for what I’m wearing. He’s never even seemed to notice it. But in this moment, he scans me from head to toe, and he droops.

I’m wearing a pair of jeans and a Metallica shirt. Is that so embarrassing?

You should stay.

But I can sense that he’s unsure. He probably has some indication, however dim, of what’s happening, but I have no clue. I don’t want to hear a story, or worse, be stuck here while he’s in danger.

Get your swords.

In the weeks I’ve known him, one thing I’ve never felt from Azar is even a single iota of uncertainty. That command, terse though it was, terrifies me.

What exactly is going on?

I don’t argue. I turn and hit the elevator button, and when it opens and the doors part, Jade’s standing there, her enormous blue eyes wide. “You forgot these.” She lugged my swords, my daggers, and the holsters for each up here.

“Thank you.” And I really mean it. I was genuinely worried that Azar wouldn’t be here when I got back. Could he have told me to get them as an excuse, to get me away so he could leave?

I’m not sure.

“Head back down,” I say. “And?—”

“Stay put. I know. Gordon and Gideon and Rufus are all there, pacing and shouting.”

That’s not very promising, but I don’t have time to deal with it. At least I feel like Rufus and Gordon have some genuine affection for them. I know Gideon does.

None of them are power players, but if I’ve shown anything, it’s that sometimes weak people can do amazing things in the right circumstances and with enough bravery. And that’s what I’m going to try to channel today, too.

While Jade travels back down, I buckle my steel to my body. “I’m ready.”

Azar, miracle of miracles, hasn’t left yet.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

That crack, that inversion you felt, that means more blessed have come.

Wait. More blessed ? More dragons are here? From where? “More dragons are here. . .from your home?”

I’ve missed the last two scheduled meetings with my father, and it appears he’s become impatient . He grunts. And only the flame blessed can portal.

Oh, shoot.

The flame blessed.

Until now, Azar has been the only flame blessed. He’s been the uncontested superpower on earth. Nothing could touch him. Nothing could harm me. But if another flame blessed is here. . .

And if Azar’s nervous, what does that mean?

There’s only one way to find out who was sent.

I don’t allow myself to fret. I don’t allow myself to freak out, either. I may be weak, and I may be more of a liability than anything else, but one thing I don’t do is freeze during a fight. What skill I have, I won’t forget out of fear. “Let’s go see who showed up on our door.”

They wouldn’t have come through a door. Your doors are much too small.

If Azar can make a joke, things will be alright. Surely.

But when I climb onto his back, he’s stiffer than usual.

His movements are blocky, almost, and I realize that this is what Azar looks like when he’s nervous.

I mentally downshift into the place I go before a fight, the place I go when I need my mind to be clear, and then I push that serene sense of calm outward, trying to share the tiny thing I can do with him.

Thank you .

As we launch into the sky, I notice that blue and green and brown dragons are teeming on the ground below, and electro dragons are darting and spinning around in the air outside.

“Are these ours? Or are they from elsewhere?”

Ours.

That’s a relief, at least. “Where do we think the new arrivals are?”

Azar heads, unerringly, toward the George R. Brown Convention Center. They’ll be where they felt the most blessed.

“It seemed like a lot were near us,” I say.

They’re moving, he says. But I don’t want to bring them to me. I prefer to meet them.

Smart. Basic psychology with predators: don’t let them stalk you.

Exactly .

We don’t bolt over there, but we don’t take a circuitous route either, and within moments, we’re drawing near. Like the Chase Tower, dragons are winging through the air, gathering in the courtyard below, and bellowing to one another.

But unlike at the tower, there’s a bright red dragon down below. I didn’t think anyone could be more beautiful than Azar—maybe he’s not. But this new red dragon is substantially larger.

If Azar’s the size of a whale, this new dragon’s a battleship.

And he looks built for destruction.

He has twice as many horns, and when he opens his mouth to bellow at us, his teeth look bigger, sharper, and more plentiful.

We rarely kill with our teeth, Liz.

I know he’s right. “You’re stunning,” I say. “I didn’t mean anything.”

Hyperion’s my older brother.

Oh, geez. Family reunions are always pretty awful, but it could be worse, right?

Remember I told you that only one blessed knows my real identity?

“The female who raised you, right?” There’s a slender silver dragon right next to Hyperion, and she’s all graceful lines and moonlit scales. Compared to Ocharta, she looks like a graceful ballerina. That must be her, and I can’t wait to meet her.

Not only because of how Azar’s spoken about her, but also because she’s the only person from his past whom he doesn’t seem to hate or fear. If anyone else needed to come, I can’t imagine anyone better.

When we finally land, it’s not next to the silver dragon or his brother. It’s on the ground, near the tiny lake in front of the convention center. Kinder Lake, I think it’s called.

Euphrasia . Azar’s tone is so affectionate, there’s no doubt in my mind that the smallish blue dragon at the edge of the lake is the Blessed who raised him. I didn’t expect a water dragon, though I’m not sure why. Maybe because I’ve spent the least amount of time with them.

Azar. She smiles, and her already nicely shaped face lights up. I was so delighted when your dad asked me to come.

Earth is different than I expected , he says. But it has some beauty, too.

The massive red dragon hops down, hitting the ground with tremendous force and walking toward us with ponderous steps.

I see Hyperion also came. Azar sounds grim.

Your father was hoping to have heard from you by now.

I sent him two messages.

Euphrasia smirks. The first said you were safe, and the next said you hadn’t found it yet.

With absolutely no direction or explanation other than ‘retrieve the heart,’ is he really shocked it’s taking time?

He had high hopes , Euphrasia says. You know he’s always boasting about you.

Brother! Hyperion’s close enough to see clearly now, and his features are fine, just like Azar’s, but he’s not quite as sharp somehow, like his edges were buffed or smoothed. Father sends his regards.

Azar sighs. And what other orders does he send?

Who is this? Hyperion’s gaze shifts, focusing on me. You do not look like I expected. I was told humans were small, ugly, and easily breakable. He crouches, turning his head to the left, and then to the right, studying me from all angles. I actually think you’re kind of cute.

Mine . Azar blows flame at his brother, a long, steady stream of it.

I crouch down low against his neck, ready for the fight. Heat doesn’t bother me like it once did, but I’m not entirely immune to its effects, either.

Only, instead of rearing back or striking back, Hyperion laughs. You haven’t changed a bit.

Azar snorts. Neither have you. Coveting from the very second you arrive.

Now Hyperion’s really laughing, almost doubled over. I’ve never seen a dragon laugh quite so much. It makes me like him quite a bit more than I was prepared to, based on Azar’s initial trepidation.

“Looks like things are alright?” I whisper.

You asked about Father’s orders, Hyperion says. But don’t worry. It’s nothing major. Asteria came with me, and Father insists you marry her and mate within the next month. He wants to see whether proximity to the heart has fixed the problem.

Azar just nods.

Not that you need to hear this, but it’s the usual threat if you refuse. He’ll call you home, strip you, and name a new heir.

Asteria.

Mate.

Marry.

The words are coming so fast that I’m having trouble keeping up. “You have to—in a month. Mate?”

Your cute little human is having trouble, Hyperion says. Maybe they really are as delicate as they say.

The silver dragon practically floats down, landing next to Hyperion and tilting her exceptionally beautiful head. Where’s Ocharta? Mother wanted me to pass along a message.

Oh, no. “Who’s Ocharta to you?” I know I should keep my mouth shut, but I can’t help myself.

Asteria’s slender head shifts toward me. Without missing a beat, she answers. She’s my older sister, and she’s awful, isn’t she?

I want to hate her. I’m primed to hate her with every iota of my entire body, but how can I hate someone who’s so beautiful, and who’s so honest? “She really is,” I say. “She ensnared my mother, or I’d already have killed her.”