Page 55 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

The scene shattered. There was a loud sound—metal grinding against metal—and I fell back onto the floor.

“Stop her!” someone shouted. Then, just as quickly, “Forget it! Just close the gate!”

My vision cleared, and Gloria’s figure came into focus. She was still sitting on her knees, palms open over her thighs, and her eyes wide as she stared blankly in front of her.

My stomach sank. Hadn’t it worked?

As the screeching of the closing gates rang through the room, when I thought we’d failed, something changed in the older woman.

Gloria blinked, gasping, as she fell forward and rested her head over her knees.

Not only had I failed, but I’d also hurt her with my inexperience. She was clutching at her chest, grasping at her flowery blouse, in apparent distress.

Dear God, I’d forgotten that she was elderly. Uncle Gregory would be extremely displeased if I’d caused her to go into cardiac arrest.

But my panic was cut short as an explosion of orange-red broke out over her skin, and her features twisted, before, an instant later, a massive wolf stood in her place.

She had a flawless coat, a black nose, and piercing gold eyes. She looked directly at me, then growled at something over my shoulder. A breath later, she’d lunged past me.

She’d shifted.

I was suddenly dizzy again as the tension fell from my shoulders.

Now, everything would be okay.

Gloria slid under the closing door and was on them before they could react. Her teeth flashed as blood sprayed through the air. There was another scream, and a second body was thrown aside like nothing.

Gloria didn’t wait, she moved to the control panel and pushed her blood-covered muzzle to the buttons, releasing the other cell doors.

Well, being kidnapped notwithstanding, I was glad my plan worked. We made a good team after all.

Now that the doors were opened, Ada and Maria also shifted, and the three wreaked havoc on the room and down the hallway.

Meanwhile, I just… stayed.

I laid there amid the bodies, dimly watching the two men I’d already killed. I should feel bad, but I didn’t.

I didn’t feel anything at all.

And that was scarier than everything else.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Maria was back.

“Bianca,” she said, and honey spread through me. “It’s okay now—they’re gone.”

She looked at me, her face haloed by her loose blond hair, while Gloria and Ada—still shifted—paced in the background. The lioness’s features were light and comforting, but even her upbeat expression couldn’t cover the tension from the other two women.

She was lying—it wasn’t okay at all. We still weren’t safe.

And I was making everyone wait for me.

I was so ashamed.

I stood, swaying, as I tried to keep up with the others.

“How do you feel?” Maria asked. She touched my chin, making me look at her face. Her sharp eyes moved over me, and her full lips turned down before she wrapped her arm around my waist and led me to the stairs.

Gloria looked back at us before she and Ada slipped into the hallway.

“We’re getting you out first,” Maria said. “Then we’ll come back and get Titus—”

My scattered thoughts froze. I stopped walking.

Titus.

I’d forgotten that he was here too! I was definitely the worst.

I couldn’t leave without him.

Maria tried to pull me with her, but I locked my legs.

“You have to get out of here,” she argued, correctly interpreting my stillness. “Titus will lose his mind when he finds out you’re here, if he doesn’t know already. But he’ll rage—especially at me in particular—if I let you stay.”

I looked at her and narrowed my eyes.

“No, Bianca.” She shook her head. “You don’t get it. Titus is a dragon. He’ll hold a grudge for ages. He won’t move on. He’ll see this as a failure to keep you safe, and it could end up affecting your relationship.”

My mouth went dry and, for an instant, my resolve wavered.

I… I didn’t want to make him angry. I just wanted to help.

Would this really make him mad at me… forever?

But that’d mean no dragon babies.

It was hard to breathe. I clutched at my chest, over the ruined remains of my clothing, trying to soothe the ache while Maria waited for my response.

No… dragon babies. Why should I care?

Did I really?

“No…” I shook my head as my whisper broke. Maria dropped her arm, her eyes widening, but the rest of my words were locked away by the lump in my throat.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the possibility, but I didn’t have time to think about it. Titus was the most important. There could be no dragon babies without him either.

I refused to leave him.

“So stubborn.” Maria’s words were harsh, but her mouth quirked. “You’re perfect for each other.”

Ada returned and shifted back into a human.

“There are multiple tunnels,” she said, looking at Maria. “You’re better at tracking. I can take her—”

I stepped back and shook my head.

That got Ada’s attention, and she warily looked at me. “She is leaving, right?”

Maria rubbed her fingers against her temples. “No.”

Ada’s stern mouth tightened further.

It would be easy, so easy, to let them take me away from here. But I wouldn’t leave him.

“We can’t waste time,” Ada said. “We can’t babysit her and deal with Jameson. He can already kick our asses. Plus, she’s hurt, and we can’t risk losing them both to the Guild.”

She said that, but only one thing stood out.

Babysit.

I was a burden.

Dizzy, I staggered sideways and leaned against the wall.

Maria and Ada were still talking, but I couldn’t hear them. I pressed my cheek against the stone.

Why was I feeling sick now?

Get it together.

A familiar lullaby hummed in the back of my head. A song for whenever I felt overwhelmed or needed to focus.

Something moved against the hard surface, and I opened my eyes. But it was a perfectly normal, dreary underground dungeon wall—nothing special.

The thrumming pressed against my fingertips, a rhythm that wasn’t mine but still pulled me forward. I was moving before I could stop myself.

“Bianca?” Maria touched my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

I ducked around her and raced down the hallway. They shifted and followed, and I ignored them as we moved past Gloria.

The stone turned into concrete, and the smell changed into metal and fuel. My stomach churned as we stepped into the light.

We weren’t underground anymore.

The tunnel opened to a giant chamber. Three walls arched into a domed ceiling. At the other end, the ceiling and wall opened into the air.

The sky was beginning to lighten, but it was still too dark outside to tell where we were. Somewhere in the mountains, maybe?

There was a cargo plane on the unwalled side of the stadium-sized space, and neat rows of crates and bags—and people in uniforms and suits—were between us and the exit.

“Hey!” A brown-uniformed man pointed at us. “Who are you?”

The rest of the room froze and, suddenly, everyone knew we were there.

“Get them!” someone shouted, breaking the moment, and the wall five feet from my head exploded. I raised my arms to cover my face. Everything crashed inside me, and I couldn’t tell if the world was shaking or if I was.

The three shifters lunged past me and into the attacking crowd. A portion broke off after Gloria, while Ada and Maria confronted the rest.

Screaming and gore ripped through the air. I fell to my knees like the coward that I was. I could hardly see, couldn’t breathe, as the air vibrated with violence.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn’t pass out now. I had to move, but my body wouldn’t listen. Tiny stones dug into my shins, and the earth quaked under my legs.

The rhythm started again, a line, pulling at me from the center of my chest.

‘Go, move, get to him.’

The ground was blurring under my knees. I’d come here for Titus.

I couldn’t stop. He needed me.

I looked past the flung body parts and spraying blood, and the pieces of shifter and human already scattered across the room, to the plane.

They didn’t care about the fight. They didn’t wait. The ramp was already closing.

Titus was in there.

My head spun as I stood and stumbled. I had to go. It didn’t matter if I was afraid.

The wind rushed past me as I ran without thinking, but it was far away, and the doors were seconds from closing. There was no way I’d make it in time.

If they took him, we might not ever see him again.

My focus shifted to a point inside the doorway as I followed the plane as it began to roll forward. My hair pulled back, and pressure pushed against me. Even the air seemed to tense.

Then, suddenly, I was there.

The shaky, rolling floor was under my feet, and I was cast into darkness when the door slammed shut behind me.

I nearly fell as the plane moved faster and took off from the ground.

But it didn’t matter. I could feel it more than ever, although I couldn’t explain how.

Somewhere in here, Titus was in trouble.

My breath escaped in smoky bursts as I rushed toward the light. A dreamlike feeling washed over me. My legs felt sluggish and slow, and the distant doorway never seemed to grow any closer.

It was so far away, until it wasn’t anymore. My ears popped, and I was there, crossing into the bright room.

Julian POV

An unknown number came through the controls. Gregory picked it up on the first ring. The call connected to the speaker, and Maria started without greeting.

“They’ve been taken by the Guild,” she said. “For real this time.”

A ripple ran through the room while Gregory stood, unblinking. His features were carefully blank when he spoke. “Who?”

“Bianca and Titus,” Maria replied, sounding breathless. “We’re at a stronghold sixty miles west. I’ll send coordinates now, but it doesn’t matter—it’s too late. They abandoned the drop, and all the tech has been wiped. It must have been done remotely.”

“We have to track that plane,” Ada said sharply.

“Good luck with that,” Maria replied—it sounded like she was typing. “We don’t even know what direction it’s headed. They know who they have. They’re probably going right to headquarters.”