Page 48 of Hunted (Love and Revenge #5)

Sadavir

B eing underground in the tunnels didn’t bother me the way it bothered the others.

My serpent side loved the dark, close confines.

I felt at home under the earth. I thought maybe the dragon understood—she seemed less bothered by the location than the others, though she was tense for other reasons.

Still, I was glad to be above ground once more.

The comfortable darkness of the deep places had nearly stolen Josh.

And the confines of crumbling tunnels weren’t exactly a good place for a fight, should the cult catch up to us.

I sat on a low outcropping near the crumbling brick foundation of what used to be a textile warehouse, watching the shadows of my companions flicker against the soot-dusted walls of the tunnel mouth.

Everyone was settling into exhaustion, not speaking unless they had to—not because of danger, but because of despair. We had nowhere to go.

Robin’s fists were clenched around the strap of a designer satchel she’d picked up somewhere in the mad scramble away from The Fox.

I had no idea what the woman had hidden away in there—a worthless sentimental knick-knack from her hoard, a priceless piece of artwork, her favorite dress, or some unique, dangerous weapon. .. knowing her it could be anything.

She stared straight ahead, eyes unfocused, jaw tight.

Her aura curled and snapped around her like a coiled dragon tail made of flames.

She had been attacked in her nest. Her escape route had been compromised.

And her safehouse was in shambles. And she hadn’t said it out loud yet, but if the cult knew about that safehouse, any other hiding spot she knew of might be compromised as well.

Like any alpha, Robin liked to be in control. But she was under more strain than most alphas faced in a lifetime, thanks to her missing magic and all the other complications swirling around us. With this latest blow, everything in her must be seething over her failure to protect what was hers.

I almost felt sorry for her.

Ruya stood a few feet away, one hand pressed to the tunnel exit’s curved wall, where the roots of a scraggly tree had broken through. Cicely wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in against his side, and a spark of magic flowed between them, barely perceptible.

I hoped he was fully recovered from his lastest injury.

My eyes narrowed as I studied the faun’s frame, looking for any indication of pain or infirmity.

But no, the pretty beta was fine. Ruya’s magic hadn’t been seeking to heal him.

It was just a simple casual exchange. Ruya whispered something to him, her touch amplifying his calming empathic energy, spreading out to comfort all of us, even in this moment.

Josh sat at my feet, his back against the rubble on which I sat, arms looped over his shoulders, head bowed.

I stroked my fingers through his messy light brown hair, watching the way the sun picked up the blond strands here and there.

I released a bit of my aura, letting it blanket him.

My poor love. He shuddered, but some of the tension flowed out of him, his beta nature responding automatically to my presence.

My sweet, strong, know-it-all beta. He’d been through so damned much over the last few weeks.

And his current silence had me worried. I knew he’d been injured.

Dusek implied he wouldn’t have survived much longer, even with his newly acquired paranorm hardiness.

What new scars had my oldest friend just gained?

I wanted to take him home and bury him in a nest of blankets and pillows, coil myself around him... ensure myself he was safe and comfortable. But there was no home to return to.

I looked around at our court. Dirty. Bloodied. Quiet.

If our enemies had found one of the dragon’s safehouses, it was a good bet they knew all of her other hiding spots. We needed somewhere safe—truly safe—not another place where we could be ambushed or burnt out, somewhere safe from the cult and the syndicate.

I took a breath, the air thick with the weight of what I was about to do, and stepped forward. “I know a place,” I said out loud, signing as well, to get my point across to everyone present.

They all looked at me, tired eyes blinking through the grime that covered their weary faces.

Robin raised an eyebrow, sharp and skeptical, as her fingers flew. “Now’s not the time to be vague, snake. Clearly, I’ve failed to keep my people safe. Do speak up and save the day, alpha.”

I did my best not to react to the angry energy buzzing around her, to the way her stare and the flare of her aura challenged me.

She was trying. But I knew every instinct inside her was screaming about how another strong alpha was threatening to take her place.

This was the best she could do. From any outsider perspective, I was a threat to her dominance and her place as leader of this group.

It was just a wonder she hadn’t turned into a dragon and launched herself at me at this point, like any other alpha would in her situation. Showed how strong she really was, I supposed.

I took a deep breath and made myself look away from her, a quiet show of purposeful submission.

I didn’t want to steal her damned court.

I was pretty sure... well, never mind that now.

She and I would sort things out between us at some point.

But there were more important things to worry about at the moment.

I was born and raised to be a good leader.

And part of being a good leader included knowing how to pick your battles, when to speak up and when to hold your tongue and bide your time.

“The naga enclave,” I signed, nodding to Cicely as he made a little gesture near his temple that said he was translating for Ruya using his mind speak. “I think I can find them. The syndicate believes they are gone, dead or scattered. But my people are hidden. Protected.”

“It was part of the bargain with Acacia,” Josh added, his expression full of remembered hatred.

“Sadavir traded himself for the Naga clan’s safety during the height of the syndicate’s genocide, but only with the understanding that they’d disappear for good.

She made the emperor think she’d murdered the entire naga clan, so she could claim all the glory of the deed without having to do any of the work. ”

I nodded and signed, “They won't welcome just anyone, after all they’ve been through, but they might take us in if their ex-prince requests asylum.”

A beat passed. Then Robin nodded, slowly. “You trust them?”

“I do,” I said without hesitation. “They’re family. We honor our bonds.”

Yukio made a face, and I thought he had snorted at me, judging by the way he moved. “You mean literal family?” he signed. “As if that means anything.”

A part of me pitied him. He was so strong, an agile fighter with powerful mixed magic at his command.

Undeniably beautiful, he was surrounded by his lovers and court members.

And yet... this man’s blood had clearly betrayed him.

It hurt me to realize how alone a person could be, even surrounded by people.

“Mother. Brother. Mentor,” I signed slowly. “Not just family by blood, but people who loved me. Who taught me magic and survival.” I shifted my weight. “They are not perfect. But they are mine. I am theirs. It will be safe. And... it's time.”

I always knew I’d go back to them, one day. I just never thought it would be so soon. I was a changed man. While I was sure they would help us, I wasn’t so sure they’d like who I’d become in my time away from home.

Robin looked wary but cautiously interested. I’d never seen a dragon clan before, but it was my understanding their sense of family was strong, like the naga. “It’s a lot to ask,” she signed as she spoke. “You think they’ll house a fugitive court? Feed us? Let us dig in while we are being hunted?”

“They will if I ask it,” I said solemnly. “Especially if we explain the stakes. The naga avoid politics where they can, but... they have suffered as much as anyone under the syndicate’s rule.”

“They could simply turn us over to the emperor to gain his favor,” the dragon alpha said, not bothering to sign this time, one hip cocked and her arms crossed as if she was at ease, when in reality, I knew she was poised to pounce at a moment’s notice.

Meeting her gaze, I once again appreciated the strength in her.

Regal beauty and slyness hiding a sharp pragmatism and fierce sense of alpha pride.

And the fact that she was even entertaining this discussion.

.. the trust she was placing in me, her rival.

... I pushed away the unwelcome feelings that swirled through me.

Now was certainly not the time for such nonsense.

“They won’t betray us,” I said emphatically. “Our entire culture is one built on honor. And...” I arched a brow at her and spread my hands, voicing the last bit, “Where else will we go?”

Silence again. That golden gaze raked me from head to toe and back again, as if she was taking my measure, weighing every bit of who I was. She had already chosen to trust me with her omega mate. Now I was asking her to trust me with the safety of her entire court.

Then Dusek chimed in, his long fingers forming signs in a way that said he was impatient with the discussion. “We have no better option, Robin, and you know it. We can trust Sadavir—if he says his people will help us, then we have to try. Stop being so hardheaded.”

Robin’s aura flared—resistance and affront—but she finally let out a smoke-filled breath and nodded.

“Fine. I will trust you with this, snake.” She raised one perfectly-arched brow as she signed to make sure I got the full weight of her message.

“But if your people endanger mine, there will be swift, brutal consequences.”

I bowed my head. “Understood.”