The (Not) Satisfied Dragon - Colette Rhodes Page 0,1

he made that so difficult for her,” Oren said flatly. I suppressed a snort, I forgot how sarcastic Oren could be since he spoke so little these days.

The Alchemist ushered us into a small apartment that we had to stoop to get into, lit only by one lantern hanging in the middle of the room. Oren took the rear guard, blocking the only entrance. Hiram was folded awkwardly into a tiny bed in the corner of the room, wrists and ankles manacled, looking deeply ashamed.

The Alchemist bustled over to him, humming out of tune, and procured a key from her pocket, releasing him like she’d just been waiting for us to get here to do it.

“Couldn't you have done that earlier?” Hiram whined, rubbing at his wrists. I gave him a look that I hoped conveyed our mate was shackled to a wall for four years and handled it better than you. He seemed to have got the message, releasing his wrists and moving to stand next to a disapproving Levi.

“Absolutely not, I needed you all here.” The Alchemist wasn't looking at us as she spoke, busy fussing with something on the small table in the center of the room. “Come," she demanded, moving back and pointing at a small mirror on the table.

The Alchemist was fiddling with something, but I barely noticed her. The image in the silver hand mirror had captured all of our attention.

Shira.

Her eyes were closed, but I could just make out the rise and fall of her chest. Not dead.

Not dead, but alarmingly bloody.

“She’s at the Flight Milain den,” I stated in a hoarse voice, not needing to ask the question. Where else would my foolhardy little mate be? The five of us turned to leave, having seen all we needed to see, but a thin sheen of magic surrounded us like a bubble, holding us in place. The Alchemist stood on the other side, looking at us like we were errant children.

“You will not fly in there, tails blazing, and incriminate her. Stop and think.”

Oren shoulder barged the bubble of magic anyway, and I could practically see him telling himself off for leaving his position by the door. The sight of Shira in the mirror had distracted all of us.

“Think,” The Alchemist insisted. “When I am confident you will not make matters worse, I’ll let you out.”

Why had Shira been staying with this smug, infuriating goblin? Were we really worse than her?

“How can you expect us to think when our mate is all bloody and unconscious?” Hiram asked, throwing his hands up in frustration. Scales were flashing in every direction, and we wouldn’t be able to see soon if Seff kept letting off smoke. It was filling the entire bubble. I elbowed him hard in the ribs to draw his attention to it.

“It’s not her blood,” the old goblin said, shrugging nonchalantly.

“It’s not?” Seff asked, stilling.

“Of course not. You really should have a little more faith in your mate’s abilities,” she sniffed.

“I guess she figured out how to access her talons. That’s a little terrifying,” Hiram muttered. My chest swelled with pride? That couldn’t be right, could it? Golds weren’t supposed to be violent.

“If Shira has killed all of them,” I began, choking slightly on the word, my little assassin. “Then The Alchemist is right, we need to be smart. Flight Milain aren’t well-loved, but they are well known.”

“As far as the dragon community knows, our mate is safely ensconced in our den, and on paper Shira doesn’t exist,” Seff reminded me between the deep, calming breaths he was taking. “We just need to keep her hidden until any traces of her magic fade and the investigation is focused elsewhere.”

The Alchemist muttered something that sounded a lot like “stupid males.”

“So we bring her back to the den,” Hiram said decisively, looking between us with a challenge in his eye.

I swallowed the lump that rose in my throat. Fuck. This was the moment I had dreaded since I began to suspect what Shira’s plans were — when I had to decide between keeping Shira safe and making her happy.

Prioritizing her safety over her happiness hadn’t worked out particularly well for me in the past.

All four of my flight brothers and The Alchemist were looking intently at me for an answer. I was the Alpha, this was my decision to make.

“We’ll approach by ground — do not shift, not even partially — we can’t leave any traces of magic behind. Get Shira out of there. Once