“I told you to lie low until the king’s war blew over.”
Any trace of humor disappeared. For a creature of fire, Jiǎ could turn to ice in a heartbeat. “We joined you for a reason, Abaddon. If you think we’re taking a back seat while you and your…” He cast an unimpressed gaze over the others gathered “…old team get to have all the fun, then fuck you.”
The men behind him bristled, but Rune ignored them.
Because Jiǎ was right. The men standing in front of him, despite being rogues for a hundred different reasons, had been loyal fighters at his side this last decade. Had put their faith in him.
When he’d left the Huracáns, he’d deliberately sought out Huojin, Dol, and Chay, the three brothers from the Red Clan who’d been recently banished by their king. They’d tried to stand up to Pytheios’s rule and ended up, instead, exiled with targets on their backs. Men he’d hoped might be sympathetic to his cause.
An older man, a white dragon named Tyrek, had found Rune on his own, tracked him down more like. Tyrek had pointed Rune in the direction of most of the others—a green dragon named Jiǎ, another red dragon named Hakan, Egan from the Blue Clan, Lohikäärme of the Gold, and two white dragons, Goret and Yelena. Each had brought their unique reason for why they’d gone rogue, their unique skills, and unique challenges. Other than Tyrek, who’d ended up being the brother of Zilant Amon, the previous and now long deceased King of the White Clan—and an even bigger shock, the uncle of the phoenixes wreaking such havoc with the kings and clans—none had been a surprise.
Tyrek was gone, killed in the same attack that had lost Rune his mountain. Goret and Yelena, who’d been a mated pair, they’d lost before that, even.
But the others…
Fuck. He held out a hand to Jiǎ who clasped it. “Welcome, brother.”
He nodded over his lieutenant’s shoulder at the other men, who each nodded back, solemn faced.
Jiǎ lowered his voice. “I was assured we wouldn’t be harmed if we showed our faces here.” He glanced pointedly at Deep who waved them to come farther inside.
“You won’t be touched,” Rune assured the man.
Then turned and walked beside his men into the room.
“No one said anything about rogue dragons,” one of the newcomers called out. A rumble rose around them, filling the chamber with sound.
In the back corner, Vilsinn rumbled his own growl, louder somehow than all the rest, and the dragons quieted, shooting the cave troll wary glances.
“So much for personal safety,” Jiǎ muttered.
Behind him, Huojin, Dol, and Chay snorted in unison. They did that a lot.
Rune opened his mouth to put a stop to the grumblings, but Deep stepped in front of him, a hand raised. Quiet descended with all the subtlety of a wet blanket.
“We thank you for the faith it took to bring you here,” Deep said in the slow, deliberate cadence he used when he wanted every word understood. “We are asking that you hold on to that a while longer. After you’ve heard us out, you have a choice. Stay…or leave.”
Rune crossed his arms.
Like hell they’d leave. They could go straight to the Alliance with all they were about to learn. He wasn’t letting them go anywhere until after this mission was over. Luckily, the Huracán’s dungeons were on this level and not far from here.
…
Hadyn felt a little bit like the big reveal in a magic trick. She’d been shoved into the dungeon room and told to stay there until fetched.
They’d even shut the door—a slab of dragonsteel that appeared more like the door to a bank vault than a room. Her lungs had started to tighten up at the sensation of hiding again until she’d tested the handle to make sure she could still get out, and she could. They hadn’t locked her in. No one was coming for her. That tightness eased, and no images of boots under her bed struck. Thank the gods.
So she’d waited.
The why was easy to figure out. Calla had explained that more dragons were coming today. That what they had planned needed numbers.
Not that Hadyn had been privy to the plans, yet. When she’d asked Rune, all he’d said was, “Let’s see if they agree first.”
“You seriously need to work on your faith in people,” she’d pointed out.
Only to be countered with, “You have more than enough for both of us.”
She’d wanted to press harder but could see he wasn’t going to give. This was in aid of her dragon parents, so she’d opted for patience instead. Anything to free Chaghan and Qara was help she’d take, no matter who from.
The door swung open, Calla on the other side, her smile kind. “We’re ready for you.”
“Who are we?”
“Help,” Calla said. Which wasn’t helpful at all. “We’ve got everyone up to speed on what Rune was doing and our run-ins with the Alliance and the Alaz team.”
Not that the Alaz team were all dead, though, she’d bet. Some secrets needed to stay secret.
“We’ve also told them your story.”
Oh. Made sense. Whoever was helping would need to know who they were stepping up for, and why.
“They want to meet you,” Calla said. “See for themselves.”
That last bit was a warning. Where was Rune? He should be with her.
“Right. Let’s go, then.”
Hadyn stepped into the hallway and followed Calla as they passed several doors, including the war room with all its monitors. The passageway widened more until suddenly they rounded the corner into the full-fledged cavern, massive with stalactites and stalagmites reaching for each other in the dim light. At the opposite end, a dragon-sized tunnel that reminded her of the one in Rune’s mountain led away, turning pitch black not too far down.
But what had her steps slowing were the number of people crowded into the space.
All in human form except Vilsinn, who wasn’t a shifter, she found herself standing before most of the Huracán team along with another twenty-five or thirty other shifters. Dragon eyes gleamed at her in a rainbow array of colors as they stared. She stared right back.
This was the most dragons she’d ever been around in her entire life.
The Huracán team numbers had already been on the overwhelming side. She almost expected her dragon sign to trigger. Or another panic attack. Chaghan and Qara would be beside themselves if they knew. Her dragon father’s words repeated loudly in her head.
“Dragons are selfish bastards, Hadyn. Stay away from them.”
Sorry, Dad. I had no choice. She sent the mental thought winging its way to where Chaghan was being held a thousand miles from here.