Back in her cage.
Iz could barely suppress her shudder at the thought.
But better me than Logan.
Logan disagreed. “We go in together.”
Iz shook her head. “You’ve already been through so much.”
“And I’d go through it all again if it meant helping you.” He kissed her forehead. “I love you so much more than I hate Sebastian. I’m not leaving you alone.”
“But—”
He thumbed away a tear that had slipped down her cheek.
“You would do the same for me,” he said, quietly and with total certainty.
She tucked her face against his chest again. She felt like there was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts and feelings whisking around inside her head.
Ever since Sebastian had first shut her in that cell, Iz had been worrying about being a screw up, someone whose fatal overconfidence had led her right into danger. Logan had told her it was a mistake anyone could have made.
Iz still didn’t know if she believed that. But right now, listening to him vow to walk right back into his own personal hell rather than let her go in alone, she could buy that it was a mistakehewould have made, and somehow ... that made it so much better. Maybe they were both bold to the point of recklessness, but if she loved it in him, she could learn to love it in herself.
Besides, if shehadn’tbeen reckless that night, what would have happened? If she had searched the woods alone but in daylight, with Vin and Evie alert for any sign she’d dropped off the grid, that still wouldn’t have stopped Sebastian from grabbing her. It was hard to guard against being surprised by a megalomaniac armed with the fang of a creature you hadn’t even known existed. Her team would have searched the woods sooner, in this scenario, but they still wouldn’t have known how to expose Sebastian’s magically concealed hiding place.
Of course, he might not have gotten the drop on her if she’d gone inwithbackup, but in the case—
In that case, she wouldn’t have found him at all. She would have just seen one more dense, unremarkable forest, and after she’d combed through it all, she would have just left.
She would have left Logan down in the dark, alone.
That’s why we had to go find him,her dragon rumbled.
Iz started.What?
I didn’t realize it before, because we hadn’t met him. But our mate was suffering and lonely, and he needed us. His pain was like a beacon. No wonder we couldn’t ignore it, even if we couldn’t understand it.
She remembered how restless she had felt that night. She hadn’t even been able to settle down, let alone go to sleep. The idea of the forest had nagged and nagged at her like none of the other search locations had.
She had sensed that Logan was nearby. Her fledgling professional instincts hadn’t failed her; she’d just been following instincts that were deeper and truer.
Maybe what she’d done hadn’t been flawless or by-the-book, but it had been necessary, and she couldn’t regret it. And she was done tearing herself apart for it.
She remembered what she’d told herself back in Sebastian’s cave, and she told herself the same thing again—only now, she stripped it of all the worrying and self-deprecation. She foundprideinstead. She was a dragon, a U.S. Marshal, her mother’s daughter, and Logan’s mate. The only person who’d ever told her she was silly and weak and worthless was someone whose opinion she didn’t give a damn about. She was capable, and she trusted herself.
And since she clearly wasn’t going to be able to keep Logan from walking into danger right alongside her, she would just have to trust herself enough to watch his back like she knew he would watch hers.
“Okay.” She peeled herself away from him—very reluctantly—and, to her surprise, found that she was smiling. “We go in together.”
That sense of clearheaded resolution carried her forward all the way to the edge of the parking lot. Then stepping off the smooth asphalt and onto the thick grass instantly reminded her that she was in heels. The soil here was still damp and clinging from the last rain, and the mud sucked at her spike heels, trying to hold her in place. Iz swore under her breath, and, with a pang of regret, went ahead and slipped out of her shoes then and there. She couldn’t fight if she was constantly getting stuck.
“Be careful,” Logan said, his brow furrowing a little with worry. “Once we get into the woods, it could be easy to poke yourself on something.”
“I’m not worried aboutthat, thankfully.”
She concentrated for a moment, and dragon scales blossomed across the soles of her feet, hardening them until they were like a cross between leather and iron. She wriggled her toes when she was done, testing them out, and then continued making a beeline for the woods.
“I didn’t know anyone could do that,” Logan said. He sounded endearingly impressed. “Is it a dragon thing?”