Jack Jr.’s brows snapped down in a look of pure, stubborn confusion. “Flying? What is he? A bird shifter? A—”
Sucking in a sharp breath, she told him, “He’s the dragon, okay? And he’s going to be the one to save our lives, so if you’d quit interrogating me, we should get into the shelter before the storm gets any worse.” It might not save them if the cluster touched down too close, but she would stay with them regardless.
“The dragon?” Jack Jr. reeled backward, his expression a mask of incredulity. “The rogue?”
She dug her elbow into his ribs to get some space to pass him. Heading for the open shelter door across the slushy parking lot, she bit out, “Yes, but he’s not a rogue anymore, he’s—”
He grabbed her elbow. Swinging her around to face him, he demanded, “Did you send a dragon to get help?”
“Yes,” she answered, seething. If he said one word against her dragon, the man actively trying to save their lives, she didn’t care if he had hard, shifter bones. She would haul off and hit him. “Have you got a problem with that?”
“Polly, listen to me.” Jack Jr. drew her in close. His expression was stark. There was no jealousy there, no anger. He was just pale, his lips set in a grim line. A stone of dread dropped in her stomach.
“Listen,” he continued, speaking fast, “I called Patrol after the dragon landed in town. They couldn’t find him because of the blizzard, but they set up perimeter sensors around the mountain.”
Paloma’s mouth went dry. “What… what are you saying?”
She felt his fingers tighten on her arm before he answered, “I’m saying that if your dragon flew anywhere over the mountain, they probably already shot him down.”
* * *
Paloma didn’t think. She didn’t panic. She acted.
When Jack Jr. tried to wrestle her into the shelter, she bit and clawed and fought him until he had to choose to either let her go or find some rope. When he stood in front of her truck, trying to reason with her, she put it in drive and nearly ran him over, forcing him to dive out of the way. He bellowed at her as she drove off, but Paloma didn’t hear him.
She didn’t care what he thought. She didn’t care about anything other than finding her dragon.
Her mind raced as she took the slushy, icy roads, her eyes wide and her knuckles white from her death grip on the wheel. Every few seconds, she used voice commands to check for signal, hoping that the farther she went down the mountain, the higher the chance that she could contact anyone, anyone for help.
Lightning flashed outside her windshield as the sky darkened. A strange sound followed — distant, like tiny fireworks popping at the same time — and made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
That had to be Artem, didn’t it? Or was it her imagination, conjuring images of him being shot down from the sky to land in a broken pile by the river?
Bile crept up the back of her throat. Tears threatened, but she blinked them away. There could be no tears when she needed to focus.
“Check signal,” she commanded, voice breaking. “Check—”
“Weak signal uplink acquired. Would you like to make a call, Dr. Contreras?”
Relief nearly made her swerve over the line. Sucking in a ragged breath, she rasped, “Yes! Call…” Who? Who could possibly help in this situation? No one she knew personally, and a Spot Unit wouldn’t save Artem.
Except…
“Oh boy,” she muttered. “Am I really doing this?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Can you repeat that?”
Clearing her throat, she tried again. Her voice cracked with nerves when she said, “Call the last outgoing number, please.”
“Of course, Dr. Contreras. Calling Taevas Aždaja.”
She held her breath as the dial tone rang through her truck’s speakers. Once, twice, and a third time. Just when she was about to scream with frustration, her hopes shattered, a click came through the speakers.
“Is this my cousin, or his lovely new mate?”
Taevas’s voice was impossibly deep and smooth, like something deliciously indulgent. It had a cultured edge to it, but the same strange cadence she recognized in Artem’s voice. At any other time, she might have been intimidated by a voice like that, by the fact that she was speaking to one of the most powerful people in the UTA without invitation.
But her mate’s life hung in the balance. Her people’s lives, too. She didn’t have time to think about the fact that she was just a lowly arrant, cold calling one of the most terrifying beings in the world.