18. Tarek

"What is the issue?" I asked our fathers. It wasn't like them to pull away the heirs of the Emberhaven Colony. They had stepped away from the affairs the moment Ciro had found his mate.

"Many, many issues, as always. There has been word from our human contacts that the refugee Emberfield has been spotted throughout the colony. However, the issue remains that none of our contacts have been able to connect him to any specific location."

Ciro was the first to rush off toward where we had last left our mothers and his Aurora. I looked toward the table where my Zara should have been. Perhaps they had already made their way outside.

"You'll excuse me?"

I don't wait for an answer. The others would do as much as they could. Protect their own futures or talk with the elders to understand any more threats to them.

I allowed my dragon to take more control of the human side of us. Allowed him to sniff the air and use his keen eyesight to find her.

I pushed through the crowd without thought the closer I came to where she should have gone.

My mother was running toward me.

"She's gone. I came straight here, and she wasn't by the table as you had said. I have searched everywhere that she might have gone. It's only been a moment. Where could she have gotten lost?"

I sniffed at the air again and again. The scent of her was strong, but it changed as I continued to follow it out. It was her, but the sweetness of it had turned to a tainted sour.

"Go back inside, Mother. Alert the others that my mate is missing."

My heart, always the rational organ in me, seemed to have lost its way as it hammered away in my chest.

I stalked out into the garden. With every step, I let my dragon loose. First, my skin turned to scales and my eyesight grew more sharpened, more attuned to the heat signatures of living beings. To humans. I caught her scent getting stronger as I dropped to all fours mid stride. I could move much faster this way, even in a city confined to the dome.

My claws dug into the soil as I rounded the corner and stopped and sniffed the air. There were many hidden pathways in this fortress, but the images that Ciro flashed to me through our link told me that he wasn't aware of any on this side of the building. So where was she?

Her scent was close and was suddenly less powerful than a moment ago. It seemed like she was everywhere, yet nowhere.

Relying on my hearing, my dragon drowned out the sounds of celebration. The clink of glasses faded away. We listened beyond laughter and searched for a heartbeat that didn't fit those of the guests.

It took all of two seconds to realize that she had been dragged outside the wall. It took seconds for me to leap over the remainder of the yard and the high wall that gave an impression of safety.

My dragon took up nearly the entire street, my tail undoubtedly breaking whatever I'd hit as I landed, and it didn't matter, because there she was.

It was evident it wasn't her that I had heard. It had been her captors. I didn't recognize the scent of the male.

"Fuck," he said. He was still several dragon lengths away, but it wouldn't stop me nor slow me down.

As quickly as I shifted into my best, I moved from dragon to male as I closed in on the man.

"Did you have a wish for death today?"

The male had my mate flung over his shoulder. He backed away slowly. The flash of fear and the scent of the ruin running down his leg brought me joy.

"Return my mate to me. Now."

The man lowered Zara, but she was doing nothing. Her arms flung about like a doll.

"What have you done to her?"

I moved swiftly, ensuring her body never touched the ground as I reached for him in one fluid motion.

Zara safely in one arm, I turned my anger to the male, squeezing his neck between my claws.

"Who are you?" I asked.

His fingers clawed at my hand that remained somewhere between human and dragon.

"I-"

I smirked at the man, and perhaps that is what caused him to start to cry. It didn't matter, but I loosened my grip enough he would be able to respond.

"Let us try that again. Who are you?"

I dug in a claw for good measure. He would survive if I chose, and the sound of his pain brought my dragon comfort for the moment.

"I- no one. I just. Fuck. You're a dragon."

My smile widened.

"Did you not know that before you stole my mate? Know that there will be no good ending for you. However, perhaps you die quickly if you tell me why you grabbed her."

The feel of his Adam's apple against my hand told me he swallowed, but the man didn't speak.

"You may choose not to speak. However, I lack the empathy you humans have. I am a hunter and you are my prey. My dragon would like nothing more than to play. Would you like to play with him?"

The male trembled in my grip.

"I don't know. I was told to grab a female from the dragon clan of lords. Any would do. She was just one."

Just one?

"Just one? She was not just anything. Where were you bringing her?"

His eyes flicked down an alley, but I saw nothing of importance.

"Was there a carriage waiting for you here? And has it since abandoned you? Tough lessons to learn who can and cannot be trusted."

He whimpered. I looked down at my Zara cradled the best I could in this position. Her heart beat and her chest still moved with each breath.

"What have you given her?"

His face resembled more of the white stone than was natural.

"Just some sedative. She… she was supposed to wake up later. They needed a dragon mate."

I loosened my grip a bit more, allowing the blood from the puncture to flow.

"They? Who are they?"

He coughed at the release of my hand.

"The resistance. Just kill me. They won't let me live. Please, just kill me."

I sighed.

"I hate when the prey beg. I would much rather know who this resistance is."

I turned at the motion to my right and held Zara tightly. The movement forced me to release the male, but it only took a second for him to place something in his mouth and his heart to stutter. The purple lines quickly streaking over his face told me it had been a leaf of one of the planet's deadliest plants. None were allowed within the colonies, but no dragon would gather this plant. Curious.

Two large bodies flanked me.

"This the male that stole her?" asked Elio.

I simply nodded as he grabbed the body.

"He is already dead. I will take him back to our home. Pyroth will no longer harbor this unworthy creature."

Ciro followed him.

They would take care of one of the clues we had to the strange problems we seemed to be having in Emberhaven. However, I cared for none of the issues. I cared not for the Federation. I only cared for my mate and what to do to ensure her safety.