3. Riggs

3

Riggs

Cara led us to the gate.

I stood near Breana and watched as Tyrez and Ash prepared to go through first. They would wait for us at a secret destination of Cara's, a place where our targets could be hidden away.

They both stood with Dani for a moment, heads close together. Tyrez kissed her with so much passion I had to look away.

Then he turned to me. "Be careful, Michelangelo," he said.

I met his worry-filled gaze—it gave me another glimpse of who my brother was. He cared about his people, and deeply, too.

But he'd called me Michelangelo? The unfamiliar name resonated oddly within me. So much so that my voice shook when I answered. "I will."

Why couldn't I remember him? He was my brother . It was obvious we'd been close—his pain and frustration with my situation was written in his every glance and gesture.

He and Ash passed through the gate. Cara moved before it, raised her hands, and concentrated.

While we waited for her to redirect it, I examined our rescue squad. Besides me, Breana, and Dani, it included four members of Team Centaur—the Jumper, Riley, the ex-Centaur and now Storm Drake, Marcus, the big red Dragon shifter, Havoc, and the fourth member of their quartet, a lean young man named Rafael.

Even Nettie and Grunt had a part to play in this mission. They waited quietly with us. Grunt had a variety of well-stuffed bags attached to him, and he wore a harness. I thought I saw leaves poking out from the packages in several places.

Although it remained a foggy memory, I was pretty sure I had bad associations with herbs and carts…

Cara finally uttered a satisfied sigh and lowered her hands. "Okay, crew. Here we go." She glanced at me. "Put up your hood, Riggs. The one we are meeting knew Razir."

I did so, adjusting the cloak to fit over the sword's hilt. That it let me, and not Tyrez, draw it, had me more than a bit freaked out. How could it dictate who used it? Was the blade sentient?

Cara had the information I sought, but I had lacked the opportunity to ask her. And to be honest, I wasn't convinced she'd answer, anyway.

I pushed the thoughts from my head and reached for Breana's hand. I wasn't sure she'd take it, but she did. As her fingers interlaced with mine, a sense of rightness flooded me. I might not remember my own name, but I knew that wherever she went, I would follow.

The glance she shot me offered a quick flare of silvery blue against her usual brown. Like the ice creature inside her peeked through—and it riveted me.

When I ripped my gaze away, Marcus was staring at us, dark brows low. He stayed as far away as he could. Surely, after we'd worked together so well to save the eruption evacuees, he'd softened towards Bree?

You couldn't tell by his demeanor. He wore stubborn like a second suit.

We all grabbed hold of each other in a long chain and stepped through the gate.

A man awaited us. Not a man, exactly. He had bushy brown hair and horns on a slender body. My damaged brain coughed up Satyr .

His scent permeated the air. Whoa , that was strong stuff. When his gaze fastened on Breana, I moved between them. Not that she'd succumb to his pheromones, necessarily. But the move was as much instinctive as deliberate. I noticed Havoc and Marcus had put themselves between the Satyr and Riley, too.

Male Satyrs were just not trustworthy around beautiful females—or any females.

How did I remember that, but not my own brother?

The Satyr leaned against a mid-sized, covered wagon, upon which perched not one, but two Phoenixes.

Cara greeted him. "Hello, Jacques."

Jacques did not appear particularly happy. "So, mon amie , when do I get to know what this is all about?"

The Watcher regarded him solemnly. "It really is better that you don't know."

Jacques waved his hands in the air. "You want my help, but don't tell me what is going on. Ce n'est pas juste ."

"It is for your own safety, my friend," she said. "There are forces at play right now that are particularly deadly."

His eyes narrowed. "I don't know about mortifère . But inconvenient, definitely. I have been asked to move."

That surprised Cara. "By who?"

"Our prestigieuse new Emperor. He wants to relocate the entire Satyr colony to the forest on the other side of the mountains."

The constant fidgeting of his fingers revealed the request was upsetting to him. By the way Cara stiffened, she had a similar reaction. "Taran doesn't have jurisdiction over your colony."

Jacques shrugged. " C'est très vrai . But who wants a furieux Dragon breathing down your neck."

"I will speak with him," Cara said.

" Non !" the Satyr snapped. "It is bon . I have already picked out my new domicile . He has agreed to lend us Dragon charpentiers to help with the build. But he wishes to close down my gate access, and that is an issue."

Cara's mouth twisted. "He will have to apply to the Liberi Elders for that to be possible. I will see if I can get the gateway moved to your new location."

Jacques shook his head. " J'ai des doutes . My gate access, and the fact I voyager so widely, is likely the problem. He does not trust me." His eyes rose to mine, and he frowned. Beneath the hood, my face was in shadow in the diminishing light. But his gaze suddenly grew more intense…

Cara moved between us. "It is not you he distrusts, as much as your connection to me, Tyrez, and ultimately, the council."

"What is he up to?" Jacques asked.

The Watcher laid a hand on his arm. "Let me worry about that. I see you found us a wagon."

It distracted him beautifully. He waved a hand at it. "Had to get my three cousins to help pull it here. My tatie was using it as a planter."

That certainly explained the bits of dirt lining the interior. And I think I spotted a few petals, too.

The Watcher clapped her hands together. "Thank you for your trouble, Jacques. Please don't say a word about this to anyone."

He clearly recognized it as a dismissal. He gestured, and both Phoenixes flew to land on him—one on each shoulder. "I will send Flash back to you after I have fed her. I recently acquired some kumquats." And with that, he wandered off down the forest path.

Cara turned to Havoc. "That's your cue, big guy. Fly, be free. Find yourself a lake resort."

The big red Dragon shifter glared at her. "What would you guys do without me?"

"We'd find another Dragon," Marcus groused. "Be sure to cover those scales as much as you can. Red isn't useful for sneaking up on anything.

Havoc didn't bother to reply, although the narrowed gaze he shot at Marcus, and the flash to his eyes, indicated the remainder of the conversation may have gone telepathic. He reached up to his neck, and something bounced out onto it.

I stared. Covered in pinkish fuzz, it seemed to have a lot of legs. I barely had time to peruse the creature before it leaped to Riley.

Or rather, toward her—it would have missed, except she reached out to catch it.

"Isn't that a Webspinner?" Breana asked.

"Yes," Riley said as the creature scuttled up beneath her hair. "Her name is Fang. She's a pet."

Breana leaned closer, rather than away. "Aren't they venomous?"

"Oh, yes," the Jumper replied. "But she only bites people she doesn't like." Her mouth twitched as she met Havoc's eyes. "Or if she's really pissed off."

The big Dragon shifter shot her a glare as his face lengthened and his muscles writhed around his bones. His Dragon was an impressive beast. But it became a little less impressive when he rolled in the dirt. He straightened with bits of shrubbery dangling off his spikes.

"Very nice." Marcus's lips quirked.

Havoc lifted his own, revealing all his teeth.

"Remember, you're sneaking up on the lake resort," Rafael said. "If they notice you, we're screwed."

"You think I can't fucking sneak?" Havoc snorted.

"Your usual style," Marcus laughed, "is more like a drunk Centaur in a ceramic shop."

This time, Havoc upped his game and snorted steam at him.

"Okay, off you go," Dani said.

Cara had declared Tyrez's mate the group leader, and now she waved her hands at him. "We need those location references."

Havoc shot her a look that wasn't entirely respectful, but he crouched, and launched himself into the sky. In moments, he was lost against the gathering night.

"How long will it take him to get there?" Nettie asked. She hadn't been in on that part of the planning.

"The lake resort isn't far from here as a Dragon flies. Half an hour, tops," Dani stated. Her eyes flashed constantly. Although Tyrez and Ash weren't physically with us, they seemed determined to participate.

Cara glanced at her. "Tell Tyrez to calm down. We've got this."

"He cares too much to stay uninvolved." Dani pushed a hand through her thick hair. The white streaks at her temples contrasted with her long, dark locks. "But it's not just him. Ash is busy trying to filter timelines, to find the Matriarch and her daughters." She grimaced. "He's pushing me to notice details, like who says what, when… not something I've ever been good at."

The Watcher's mouth straightened. "He might have to just give you his best guess."

Dani sighed. "I keep telling him that, but he hates guessing."

I understood the tension in her voice. The Matriarch could be anywhere in the building, and the timing was critical. If we went in too soon, whoever was planning this would be on to us. Too late?—

We couldn't be too late.

"I will leave you to it, then. Good luck." Cara turned back to the gate and raised her hands. She would be waiting for us at our final destination, but when she vanished, I experienced a stab of unease.

We were on our own.

"Okay, everyone. Load up," Dani said.

This was the part I'd been dreading, but being with Breana helped. Marcus and I followed her and Riley into the wagon. It already contained three large barrels. Nettie and Rafael unpacked the stuff from the bearing beast, and after we crawled beneath a canvas tarp, they buried us in—yes—more greenery.

I couldn't see Breana, but her warm body was pressed up against me, and I was engulfed in her scent. The quarters were tight, Riley was on my other side, and then Marcus. Dani and Rafael remained outside with Nettie.

I leaned closer to Breana, and whispered, "Is Grunt really going to be able to pull all of this?"

"Nettie said if it's only for a short distance, he will. He's a strong little fellow."

Marcus spoke from beyond Riley. "Havoc's sent us the visual. He's in the forest just above the lake resort."

"Hold onto each other and me, I'm going to Jump us," Riley said.

The wagon swayed as Dani, Nettie, and Rafael climbed on board. Riley was in the middle, and we pulled the tarp back so that we could all grab hold of her. When Rafael moved up beside Breana, she leaned away from him—as if she didn't want to be close to him? I wasn't sure. Just as I looked at her, Nettie leaned down to touch Grunt?—

A flare of golden light permeated everything.

Snap!

The golden light faded, and the wagon jolted as Grunt shifted in the traces and snorted.

"We're here," Rafael whispered. He was a silhouette against the darkness.

A tiny fuzzy lump jumped from Riley to Rafael. Again, Fang miscalculated the leap, and Rafael had to catch her.

"She can stay here with Havoc," Riley told him.

Rafael vanished from sight with his burden.

Dani pulled the tarp back over us. Foliage rustled as she replaced the herbs.

"You guys stay quiet," she added, her voice now muffled. The wagon swayed as she jumped off to join Nettie and Rafael on the ground.

"You're abouts twenty minutes froms the front gate at Grunt speed." The deep rumble from behind us could only come from Havoc's Dragon, and he sounded pissed off. But I'd noticed the red Dragon shifter always sounded pissed off.

He was remaining in the forest to give his mates eyes on what transpired from the outside. The wagon began to move, bumping and rocking until it hit the much smoother road. Even then, potholes continually jostled us into each other.

As it pushed Breana into me, I didn't mind one bit. My entire body zinged, every sense on full alert. We were heading into deadly danger, and yet—I was nervous about the upcoming mission, but also filled with a fierce kind of anticipation. Almost joy .

Maybe there were reasons other than just my size that I'd been a Legion Dragon.

We weren't an easy load to shift. When Grunt… well… grunted, I worried that we might be too much for the little critter. But then the wagon made strange little surges, as though we were being pushed.

Riley whispered, "Dani's helping."

I remembered, then, what Cara had told me—Dani was a Mover. She could push things around with her mind, and was now helping Grunt move us along the bumpy road.

For those of us crammed beneath the tarp, time seemed to stand still. Riley was tense as a board beside me, and she whispered, "Havoc says Dragons are in the sky, watching us."

Getting us into the lake resort without setting off alarms had required careful thought. It seemed we'd been right to be so cautious.

Tyrez had sketched us the layout of this place. Most Dragon residences were carved into the sides of mountains, but this one had been built in a valley between them. It was a three-story structure on a hill overlooking the forest and a pristine, glacial lake.

To take advantage of the spectacular landscape, there were many exterior windows, but all were heavily barred.

I went over Tyrez's drawings in my mind. The building formed a large square around a spacious open-air central courtyard. For security reasons, all the landing ledges and access halls opened into the courtyard rather than to the outside. And the top-level private quarters had no interior hallway links to the remainder of the building—you accessed them from stairs or elevators that opened into the courtyard itself.

For someone on foot, the resort only had one entrance and exit. It fed into a short promenade framed by the main entrance's grandiose arches.

A particularly large pothole shoved Breana almost into my lap and shattered my reverie. Whoa! Having Breana pressed against me played with my self-control. Her sweet scent swirled around me in the enclosed space and I fought my urge to put my arms around her and pull her close. To keep her safe, no matter what was to come.

My body's reaction was far less chivalrous and had little to do with mere cuddling. By the time the wagon jolted to a halt, I was in a bit of a state. Or rather, a lot of a state.

But we were here for a reason, and others counted on us to stay focused—my mother, my sisters, my nephew. And my son.

The urgency of their situation spoke to me, but their labels were just that. I had no memory of them. How could I not remember my own son? Did it truly speak to the damage done to my brain—or had there been no connection to begin with?

Had I been the type of person who didn't care about others?

I didn't know.

When we stopped, it was a relief to shut down my thoughts, close my eyes, and listen. We must have reached the resort gate…

A deep, young, and definitely unfriendly voice demanded, "Why are you here?"

"We're delivering some mead and herbs to the kitchen," Nettie answered.

"Didn't receive notice you were coming." Another voice, equally young. Were these really the guards defending the external gate?

"Not my fault someone screwed up," Nettie said. "We've been traveling for hours, so I'm not turning back now. They claimed they need these supplies, with the Matriarch here."

That was a gamble. Was the Matriarch really here, or had the visions been incorrect?

"The family returned from the ceremony over an hour ago," the first voice said. "So your contact was certainly on the ball."

Clever Nettie. Now we had confirmation the Matriarch was here. The diminutive gardener had a future as a spy.

"You won't have any help to unload, though," the guard continued. "We're short staffed. The coronation party has pulled most of our people from here."

"Well, this stuff is for her," Nettie said. "And I've got a pile to unload, on top of a long trip home, so let me pass."

"The captain was pretty clear no one was to enter," the second voice sounded not only young, but unsure.

"Maybe we should inspect the wagon," the first one suggested.

These guys seemed inexperienced and not too sure of themselves. It surprised me that they were the resort's first line of defense. Something wasn't right, and the last thing we needed was a wagon inspection.

They were bound to notice we weren't all shrubbery.

A smooth voice interjected. "You don't need to do that. The wagon is just full of herbs and mead."

Rafael's voice reverberated clear through me, and Breana went rigid. There was a pause before the guard said, "We don't need to do that. The wagon is just full of herbs and mead."

"Has there been anyone else through tonight?" asked Dani, sounding tense.

"Answer her," Rafael insisted.

"A special security team for the Matriarch came through about half an hour ago," the second said in a bored tone.

My skin prickled. Rafael's ability was scary. Having a special team for someone like the Matriarch might make sense—but I would have thought any extra security would have started at the front entrance. Two young, insecure guards weren't much of a deterrent.

Rafael wasn't done with them. "We can pass," he stated.

The second one said, "You can pass."

A shudder ran through Breana, and I peered down at her in the darkness. What I could make out of her features were tense. Was it just the mission that had her unsettled? Or was it Rafael's ability to override their suspicions? My own heart, already unsteady due to Bree pressing against me, accelerated.

The wagon rattled on, and the sound echoed as we entered an enclosed area. Then it stopped.

The tarp pulled back with a shower of leafy things.

"We're here," Dani said, "and we've got trouble."

We climbed down out of the wagon, spilling the not-so-innocent shrubbery onto the cobblestones.

"Those guards"—Dani's eyes flashed like crazy as she surveyed the alley—"had no idea what they were doing."

"They said most staff members have been pulled." Marcus was easily as tense as me.

With my senses on high alert, I perused our surroundings. The resort had only the one entrance, but two narrow alleyways extended from just inside. One functioned as the kitchen's delivery access. A single, dim lantern hung above the door. The other led to a general receiving area. Both had their own halls to the central courtyard, but the average visitor arrived there through an elaborate promenade.

Dani's eyes flashed as she consulted her Oracle mate. "Ash says the special security team isn't here to protect the Matriarch."

Marcus and I traded a look. He reached to heave the barrels out of the wagon, and I gave him a hand. We left them sitting on the alley floor as Marcus turned to Nettie. "You and Grunt get out of here. Don't stop until you reach Havoc—if Riley can't meet you there to Jump you out again, Havoc will get you to the Satyr's gate."

Nettie's mouth opened as if to protest, but it closed again, and she turned Grunt around.

As they trundled away, Dani moved to the door. "Ash says we have to hurry."

The kitchen entrance was unlocked, so Marcus swung it open. The interior was barely lit.

My gut twisted. There should have been another guard at this door, but there wasn't. Or rather, there wasn't any longer. His body lay in a pool of blood.

I drew the sword. Its light cast shadows throughout the room.

Breana's gaze fastened on the dead guard. "Why kill him, but leave the gate guards alive?"

My pulse pounded, and I exchanged a glance with Marcus. "It has to look like they died in the fire."

He nodded, his eyes on my sword as he drew his own weapon. Then his eyes flashed. "Havoc says it's all quiet out there."

Did that mean—I shot Dani a look as she pushed past us.

"He's already here," she stated. "The Fire Drake is with the so-called security team." She led us away. "Ash knows where the Matriarch is. Follow me."

My mind raced as we followed her through the kitchen and out into the hall.

"Has Ash seen the boys?" Breana asked.

Dani shook her head. "Nothing clear. There are too many possibilities, rather than not seeing them at all."

That wasn't good. We were basing a lot on the Oracle's and Breana's visions. If the Fire Drake was here, it confirmed all the suspicions about the Emperor colluding with the underworld.

But the success of this entire venture rested on us getting the rest of my family out alive, without anyone knowing . Much more difficult, if the enemy was already inside the building. Because we couldn't engage them directly, without giving everything away.

We moved out into a hall lined with graceful, arched columns that framed interior halls suitable for full-sized Dragons. As we raced toward the courtyard, I appreciated that in the interests of security, the architects had inadvertently created something much more sinister.

The perfect trap.