Charred Hope (#3, Heart of Fire) Read online

  Anger flashed across her features. “Neither of those things will happen!” she snapped. “Neither you nor that girl are fit to lead the shifters. The dragons will fall in line behind me, and I will order them to destroy as many shifters and humans as it takes to force you to back off!”

  That’s the Freyja I know. The same dragon that was either lying about the figurine being Skylar’s mother or who would crush it while he was gone.

  “You know what? Do your own dirty work,” he said.

  “So you’ll just let Skylar die?”

  Even knowing she was messing with him, he couldn’t stop the flare of dragon fire that raced through him. “You underestimate her. She’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and she’s got a ton of shifters willing to ally with her.” I’ll be back with her in all of two seconds anyway. He turned his back before Freyja could see he really was worried. Chace strode to the pedestal and snatched the figurine. “I’ll be leaving with her mother – or whoever this is – as well.”

  Too late, his instincts warned him. He heard the heavy metal door behind him swing shut, trapping him in the vault.

  Chace spun and eyed the door. He crossed to it and planted his hands on the cool steel. The walls were stone and were a good two feet thick. He determined quickly that shifting without careful deliberation about his size might pose more of a danger than waiting. If he shifted too large, he’d either end up crushed by the tiny space or might get luck and knock the walls out.

  Furious at himself for not being more cautious, he dropped back next to the pedestal then opened his closed fist.

  “Who are you?” he whispered at the figurine. In theory, Skylar should be the one to awaken her mother.

  Unless it was a trick, in which case, it would get her hopes up for no reason.

  After a moment of thought, he clenched his hand around the figurine and counted to ten.

  The figure changed from stone black to flesh colored. He set it on the ground and moved away, excitement and dread darting through him. Chace watched carefully, unable to shake his growing hope that being trapped here was going to be worth it.

  The human grew quickly, and he was soon able to discern the shapely hips belonging to a woman.

  A naked woman.

  “Oh, shit.” Chace turned away awkwardly, uncertain how he was supposed to act around the mother of his love. Leering at her was out of the question, but he needed to make sure he had the right person, too. He waited, wary of any sort of attack, and listened to the sounds of her body changing shapes.

  She groaned in either pain or relief. He wasn’t certain. The sounds of her shifting stopped. On edge with an unknown person behind him, his dragon senses followed her movements. It didn’t take looking at her to determine she wasn’t a threat. He heard her sit and sigh and the chatter of her teeth. She was cold or maybe in shock. His senses were tingling, but he wasn’t yet certain what it meant.

  He cleared his throat. “Can I ask who you are?” he ventured.

  Her movement stilled and her breath caught, as if she didn’t realize someone else was present.

  “Dragon?” she whispered in a hoarse voice. “You’re a dragon.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “You?”

  “No. I mean …” She sounded confused. “My name is Ginger. Who are you?”

  “Chace.”

  “Where am I, dragon?”

  Ginger. The name of Skylar’s mother. Chace struggled to remain still, wanting more than anything to sweep up the scared woman into a hug then fly off and drop her in Skylar’s lap.

  “We’re somewhat trapped under a mountain,” he said with some amusement. “Can I give you my shirt?”

  She muttered a curse under her breath, as if she didn’t realize she was naked either.

  He smiled faintly and peeled off his sweatshirt, holding it out behind him.

  She snatched it. A few seconds later, she spoke. “Okay. I’m good enough.”

  Chace turned, not certain what to expect.

  Ginger was shaved bald and pale. She was about Skylar’s size with dazzling blue eyes and the same shape of face. She appeared to be exhausted and trembled on her feet, his sweatshirt falling to mid-thigh.

  For a moment, he wasn’t able to speak. Based on appearances alone, she was too similar not to be related to Skylar. His gaze went to her baldhead.

  She flushed, anger sparking in her eyes. She reached for her head. “They used it to make another lasso.”

  “Really?”

  “The blood and hair of a Protector. It’s all that will work on shifters. But it means they hunt you down and try to kill you.” She hugged herself and leaned against the wall. “They drained me near death before putting me into hibernation.”

  “They kept you alive,” he voiced softly, head cocked to the side.

  “To bring me back and do it again. It takes a lot of blood to do what they were planning. They woke me up a few times during my hibernation.” Her gaze grew distant. She appeared to be thinking. Her shoulders sagged. “I can’t feel him. He’s gone, isn’t he?”

  “Gavin?”

  She nodded.

  “Yes.” Chace cleared his throat, not certain how to deal with a woman who was realizing she had lost the other half of her heart. It would crush him. It did crush me! He sought out something to ease her pain. “Skylar is alive.”

  Ginger appeared shocked. Her mouth dropped open, and for a moment, she wasn’t able to speak.

  “If I can get us out of here, I’ll take you to her,” he offered. He went to the door again, assessing the frame.

  “My Sky is alive?” Ginger managed at last. “You’re sure? You’ve seen her?”

  “Yeah. She’s fine. All fire and no sense.”

  Ginger gave a gleeful laugh. “Gavin used to say the same about me! Are you her dragon?”

  “I am,” he said more quietly. “Right now, we need to get out of here before Freyja comes back.”

  “Sky’s alive.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at the tender note in Ginger’s voice. Her eyes sparkled with tears, her smile large. He understood that feeling, the swelling of one’s heart and the sensation of being close to exploding with emotion for someone else. His own throat tightened as he thought of how recently he’d felt such an overwhelming emotion.

  He faced the door again. “Just … don’t cry. I’m not really good at handling that,” he said uncomfortably.

  “Okay.” Her whisper was so much like Sky’s, when she was trying to be brave. It made a part of him melt.

  “Trust me. We’ll get out of here.” Chace stood back for a moment, pensive. I’m not about to fail Skylar now after all we’ve been through.

  Ginger sat down and was still.

  Chace paced in the small space of the tiny room, already knowing what he’d have to do to get out. He wished he’d considered that before waking up Ginger, in case he wasn’t able to control his magic, and ended up crushing both of them. If Skylar was there, she might be able to pick up the magic of other nearby shifters, beasts that might be better prepared to smashing through a metal door.

  Skylar.

  “Can I ask you something?” He spun, regarding Ginger closely. “Can you shift?”

  She shook her head. “From what I was able to learn about Protectors in the short time I was one, each one has a different gift meant to help the community.”

  “What’s yours?”

  “Nothing useful.” She sighed. “I can cloak shifters. Except it didn’t work on Gavin all the time. We think he was too strong or too old. Every once in a while, someone was able to pick him up, and they were aggressive. I hid Sky and me for thirteen years with varying success.”

  “That’s an amazing ability,” Chace said, thoughts going to how easy it was for their enemies to track them, now that Sky’s Protector magic was working. She was like a brilliant, glowing beacon to every shifter on the planet, and so was he. “How does it work?”

  She lifted her head from her arms. He pitied
her for a moment. She was weak to the point of frail, and he suspected she’d need to be taken somewhere safe the moment he escaped rather than into the middle of a battle with griffins.

  Cabin can take care of her. I just have to get us out.

  “Easy.” She showed him her palm. “I touch you and will your magic to be quiet. It shields you, and no one can find you.”

  “You’ve given me a crazy idea,” he said with a rueful smile. “Sky can shift into any creature that’s near her and ends up big enough to kick their ass.”

  “That’s so wonderful.” Ginger smiled. “She was a spirited, determined little girl. She wanted her own dragon so she could fly.” Her gaze lingered on her. “You seem like a good man, Chace.”

  He said nothing, aware the opposite was true. Not wanting to dwell on his past failings, he looked away and studied the door.

  “Can you quiet the magic in other ways?” he asked. “Like, if I shift into a dragon to take out this door, can you keep me from crushing us both?”

  “It worked with Gavin.” Her smile grew sad.

  Chace wasn’t certain what to say in the heavy silence that followed. Was it his place to tell her what happened? Or should he leave it to Sky?

  This whole sensitivity to others thing is way too complicated. He almost knew Skylar and Gunner well enough to know when he should say something. But strangers? Especially this stranger? Trying to figure it out made him want to fly as fast and far as he could to escape the pressure of someone else’s expectations.

  Instead of addressing what happened, he decided to get them the hell away from Freyja before she came back with Dillon to eliminate him.

  “Alrighty. I’m gonna shift. This is awkward, but I’m not sure what to think of being naked in front of my mate’s mother,” he said. It was the first time in his life he’d ever thought to be self-conscious.

  She laughed, gaze sparkling. “You’re my Sky’s dragon, which makes you a son to me. I don’t care, Chace. I’ve seen my fair share of naked shifters.”

  He nodded curtly and pulled off his t-shirt, ordering his body to begin shifting before he stripped out of his pants. A glance at Ginger revealed she was looking away politely – but with amusement. He saw the same spirit that Skylar had in the half-smile and couldn’t help marveling at what he’d done.

  He’d found the answer Skylar risked her life more than once to discover. He’d never been as humbled or proud as he was in that moment.

  Or scared that Ginger might not make it out of there alive.

  His body began to grow out of control almost at once, too large and fast for the size of the room. Just as quickly, Ginger placed a hand on his shoulder, and his magic did as she said it would: calmed to a point where he was able to dictate his size. Despite her help, he smashed the pedestal in the center with his body.

  When he was transformed, there was barely space for Ginger in the room. His head and shoulders were hunched down near the ground and his tail tucked between his legs, its tip flicking back and forth beneath his nose.

  Maybe a little too big, he judged. With a nudge at Ginger, he waited for her to move to a corner before turning to face the door.

  Chace slammed his shoulder into the metal door. It shuddered in the doorframe but held. He did it again and pushed with all his might. Dust puffed out from the edges as he managed to shove the door two inches.

  But it didn’t give the way he expected it to.

  He moved back until his rump hit the back wall. Motioning for Ginger to get behind him, he lifted his head and summoned his fire. It bloomed in his chest and traveled up his throat, filling his nostrils with the familiar scent of a bonfire.

  Unleashing it at the door, he blew until he was breathless and the door glowed red. The room had grown hot quickly.

  “You better … hurry,” Ginger said. She coughed in the thick smoke, and he sensed she wasn’t going to last long in the furnace-like conditions of the vault.

  Chace smashed his shoulder into the door once more, grimacing at the pain. The outer layer of metal was soft and gave easily, but the core of the steel door was still solid. He braced his back legs against the rear wall and shoved through the molten metal. The door began to give, inch by inch. With another deep breath, he shoved harder.

  The door snapped out of its place and sailed across the hallway. Smoke poured out into the dark hall, and Chace sat back, panting with effort. His shoulders were too wide for him to leave the vault. Ginger was coughing and started past him into the hallway, but he blocked her path with a leg.

  There was no way to know who or what was waiting for them in the hallway. Ordering himself to shift, he took her arm and pulled her down to the floor, where a thin layer of air existed beneath the smoke.

  “It’ll clear out soon,” he whispered. “Stay here until I clear a path. Okay?”

  Coughing, she nodded.

  Chace snagged his t-shirt then hauled on his jeans before darting into the smoke-filled hallway. He heard movements, and somewhere, an alarm sounded. It was followed by the distant sound of what sounded like muffled explosions.

  Explosions under a mountain … Chace’s stomach filled with dread. Freyja was taking no chances that he escaped.

  The door across from the vault was open, rendering the smoke yellow in the warm light. He sensed only one person in the room – a human by the scent.

  He stretched his dragon senses and ducked a split second before someone’s foot arced through the air where his head had been. Chace grabbed the man around the waist and shoved him into the stone wall, punching him twice. His attacker dropped silently.

  The roaring squawk of a griffin filled the hallway, and he froze for a split second. He was able to reach both sides of the hallway by stretching out his arms, and it was too low for him to stand up straight without the ceiling tickling his hair.

  No room to shift.

  The ground rumbled beneath him, confirming his suspicion that Freyja had built in a secondary means of ensuring he didn’t leave if the vault failed.

  “Shit!” He paused in front of the doorway, unfazed by the smoke. “Ginger, come on!”

  She scrambled after him, choking on the smoke and waving it away. He took her arm and placed her solidly behind him.

  “I can’t shift in here, and there’s something pretty big between us and the exit, not to mention I’m pretty sure the mountain is about to come down on top of us.”

  Her breathing was erratic, the hands touching his back shaking. She steadied her body against him. The ground was shaking, and dust added to the smoke in the air.

  Was she strong enough to make it out of there before the whole mountain collapsed on top of them?

  “Stay with me, okay?” he said. “If anything happens, run and use your magic power to hide yourself.”

  “I won’t leave you,” she replied firmly.

  “Like hell you won’t. If I say run, you run.”

  She said nothing, and he sensed she’d already made up her mind, as stubborn as her daughter. Chace gritted his teeth. A small griffin was able to fit in the hallway ahead of them, but a dragon was going to get stuck if he tried.

  Which meant he’d have to be smart or risk being shredded. Skylar had lost one parent; he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her mother.

  “Let’s do this,” he whispered. “As quietly as possible.”

  He started forward, keeping to one side of the shallow hallway and using his dragon senses to guide them. The griffin squawked again, this time closer, at the mouth of the hallway. Though dark, the form of the beast in the white-grey smoke was like a dark blob. Chace eased towards the intersection, not about to spend more time than necessary trapped in the hallway and risk running into a few more griffins before he was able to escape.

  Ginger clung to his t-shirt from behind, her bare feet making no noise whatsoever on the stone floor.

  Chunks of rock began falling from the ceiling and smashing into the floor. Chace stifled a sneeze as dust tickled his nostri
ls. The wall beneath his palm was shaking harder, a sign they didn’t have much time to escape.

  Unable to see in the smoke, the griffin was able to smell them and was moving up and down the hallway, swinging its head left and right in an attempt to locate the two of them.

  Chace breathed out as he made it around the corner at the intersection.

  The griffin’s head swung towards Chace, and he froze, reaching back to still Ginger’s movements.

  It lingered then swung away again.

  Chace tugged her around the corner into the darker hallway, and they paused. The beast was between them and the entrance, a door he recalled being about ten meters away. The moment it opened, they’d be fair game for the griffin, which would have a chance to strike down Ginger before Chace was able to shift.

  He leaned close to her to whisper against her ear, “Stay here. When I say, run. The door is straight this way.”

  “Chace, I –”

  “Don’t start with me, woman. I’m used to dealing with your stubborn daughter and will sling you over my shoulder.”

  She gave a sigh he took as acquiescence.

  Chace moved away from her, towards the griffin. He crossed to the opposite side of the hallway then took a few steps towards the griffin. His dragon instincts picked up what his human senses weren’t able to: the distance to the beast and what direction it was stealthily moving in. It had paced to the end of the hallway and was headed back towards Chace.

  Chace whistled softly.

  The creature froze a few feet away.

  He whistled again.

  The griffin bellowed a challenge and charged down the hallway.

  Chace pressed his back to the stone wall and held out his foot. It smacked one of the griffin’s forelegs, and the creature lurched forward. Before it caught its balance, Chace launched on top of its back.

  The griffin went down with a squawk of fury.

  Pebbles and dust rained down from the ceiling, and the sound of the hallway starting to collapse filled him with panic.

  “Now!” Chace shouted. He wrapped his arms around the creature’s neck and did his best to straddle the squirming body with his legs.

  Ginger hurried by, her silent step undetectable but her movement on his dragon radar.