The Penthouse

Twenty minutes passed. Zayda, Thea, and I stood outside the theater staring at my phone, waiting for Darshan or Harry to respond. But nothing came. We didn’t even see dots.

“He said ‘mission accomplished,’” Thea pointed out, sensing my nervousness. “So, there’s that at least.”

“It’s not ‘mission accomplished’ if we lose Darshan and Harry,” I argued.

A black SUV swerved to a stop in front of us. Harry and Xythor got out, worried looks on their faces.

“What happened?” I asked, practically running at Harry and shaking his arms.

“He never showed. There was this roar… Maddie, it shook the entire campus. People were running everywhere. I waited as long as I could, but they were shutting the gates. If I didn’t go then, I’d be stuck in there.”

I was furious. “You left Darshan! How could you do that?”

He tried to grab my hands, but I pulled them from his grip.

“Darshan and I talked about this possibility, Maddie. We decided that if only one of us could get out, then we should leave the other behind. Having one of us on the outside would be better than neither of us.”

I shook my head, not believing what I was hearing.

“I’m calling Darshan.”

I hastily dialed his number. I could barely breathe as I listened. It rang once…twice…

~Damn it, Darshan! Pick up! I’m worried sick! If this is some sick prank, I’ll fucking murder you!~

It picked up halfway through the third ring. I released my breath. Thank god.

“Darshan, what the hell? I thought something terrible happened.”

“Madeline. Are you ready?”

I nearly wept in relief. It wasn’t Darshan’s voice on the other end. No, it was a voice that was all too familiar.

~Loch~.

“Ready…for what?” I whispered helplessly. I pressed my ear to the phone, listening to the mysterious silence. My friends watched me with concern.

“For the consequences, little mouse,” Loch said, chuckling with satisfaction before he abruptly hung up the phone.

“Loch? ~Loch~!”

No, no, no, no! I dialed Darshan again, but it went to voicemail. I was panicking.

I’d always known this was a risk, but I’d thought our potion would work. I’d thought Darshan would escape in time… I’d thought… I’d thought…

Shit. Fuck. Hell! I couldn’t believe my mates had gotten the upper hand again.

What would they do with him? What consequences was Loch talking about? I couldn’t live with myself if they did anything to hurt Darshan.

I opened the messaging app and started typing.

Maddie

If u want a trade u got one

Maddie

Darshan for me

Maddie

Loch

Maddie

Pls

There was nothing to do but wait.

Xythor ushered us all into the car and drove us to an ice cream shop a few streets over.

I kept calling Darshan’s phone, but it went to voicemail each time.

I’d never forgive myself if Loch and Hael hurt Darshan. He was the kindest, funniest best friend I had. I shouldn’t have asked him to help me. It had always been too dangerous.

I felt like shit. This mess was all my fault.

“Darshan’s too likable,” Thea said, trying to console me on the bench outside the ice cream shop. “Besides, Loch and Hael have to know that killing him would mean losing your trust forever. He’s not dead.”

She made a good point. But the Dobrzyckas were capable of much worse things than death. And I didn’t think they were particularly concerned about “losing my trust.” They’d barely had it to begin with.

“It’s been a half hour since you heard from Loch,” Thea said. “We need to do something. What’s your gut saying?”

I sighed. “My brand is starting to tingle, even with this stupid bracelet on. They’re getting stronger. If I take off the bracelet, I’ll be able to sense them and possibly get some idea of their plan. But they’d also be able to locate me.”

“Why haven’t you taken it off yet?” Zayda asked. “Why are you still hiding from them?”

“I don’t want them to die,” I whispered, “but I don’t know if I want to be with them. How much of my attraction to them is because I want them, and how much is because of the brand they put on me?”

“Oh, honey,” Thea said as she wrapped her arms around me. “I think you know the answer to that, but you’re too afraid to accept it.”

I shook my head. “I can’t love them, Thea. They’re too controlling. Too intense. It’s all too much.”

“No, it’s not too much. The gods wouldn’t have mated you to Loch and Hael if you couldn’t handle it.”

Zayda kicked her foot against mine, drawing my attention to her. “Close your eyes and picture your future. What do you see?”

I glared at her. This was not the time to be thinking about anything but saving Darshan.

“Just humor me.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”

“Let’s start with where you are. Are you still in the skeleton quarter, but maybe somewhere a bit nicer than the shithole we’re in now? Maybe you’re in a nice suburban neigh—”

“The mountains. Surrounded by a thick forest.”

“And are you alone?”

I shook my head. “No. There’s a man with me. And little ones running around… And, there’s a dragon flying above us with a hatchling. Their wings are beating, mimicking the sound of thunder.”

I opened my eyes as I realized what it all meant.

“Fuck. It’s not just the brand. I really want my mates.”

“Duh,” Thea said with a snort. “You’re horny for them. And they’re probably horny for you. Your Dragon Lords are probably just worked up because they’ve been imprisoned the last couple weeks with no release. I bet a little makeup sex is all they need to calm down.”

I wanted to scream at Thea for saying something so stupid. We were dealing with Dragon Lords, not college jocks or party boys. Curing their blue balls was not going to get Darshan back.

Then I thought about Adara’s comment to me back at the mansion: “They’re two wound-up, sexless lumps of power, unreleased and wanting ~you~.”

Maybe Loch and Hael weren’t so different from the average guy after all. They were completely motivated by sex, and our wild night together probably hadn’t come anywhere near to satisfying them. I’d bet they’d do anything for more.

“Thea, you’re a genius,” I whispered as I typed the Dobrzyckas another text.

Maddie

We could talk about this over dinner

Maddie

And maybe something more

Maddie

We have a lot of catching up to do

Maddie

😉

Xythor cleared his throat, drawing our attention to him. He’d been quiet up to this point, and I didn’t know him well enough to know if his silence was his general MO or if it was something more.

“Would now be a good time to tell you I work for Req Enterprise and can get us in the backdoor of the building with my employee badge?”

“What. The. Shit?” Thea said.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Twin Leading Breeds can be very unpleasant to deal with… I needed to know your plan before I decided if I would help you or not.”

“How did you know that they’re… Uh…” I looked at Zayda, wondering how much she’d told him, but surprisingly, she looked as stunned as I was.

“There’s no time to explain,” Xythor said. “Maddie, you and I need to get to their lair. That’s where they’ll go to regain their strength.”

“The penthouse or the mansion?” I’d been at both locations, and I didn’t know which Loch and Hael considered their lair.

“The penthouse is closer. And I can get us in, so let’s try there first. We can always regroup if things go sideways.”

I cocked my head, confused that he knew as much as he did. “Did you go to Xander University too?”

“I don’t think I’m the kind of student they’re looking for,” Xythor said, chuckling. “I told you there’s no time to explain right now. We’ve got to go, Maddie.”

I said a hasty goodbye to our friends and slid into the passenger seat of Xythor’s SUV. Req Enterprise loomed in front of us, high above the Requiem City skyline. I had no idea what was going on right now, but I had a feeling I could trust Xythor—even if he was almost definitely another dragon.

~Darshan, we’re coming!~

***

Xythor used his employee badge to get us in the back door of the Req Enterprise building. We walked down hallways usually reserved for cleaning crews and maintenance men. “Less security cameras,” Xythor had said.

In what felt like no time at all, we were riding the elevator up to the one hundredth floor.

The penthouse door was unlocked, and we entered cautiously. The place was so quiet. It was eerie.

My brand was burning brighter now, and I was sure Loch and Hael were here and not at the mansion. But where?

I fiddled with the bracelet, tempted to take it off, to connect with my mates again.

“Don’t,” Xythor whispered. “They’re here. Trust me.”

We passed the entrance to the balcony. The lights of Requiem City glittered far below. Through the glass, I saw a figure slumped at the patio table, a piece of duct tape covering his lips and ropes tying him to a chair.

~Darshan!~

I slid open the glass door. Darshan immediately became animated, struggling against his bonds. His muffled mouth worked overtime, shouting what I imagined were horrific cusses and insults.

I ripped the duct tape off his mouth with a sharp tug.

“Owww! Fuck you, you scaly shitbags!” He rocked the chair back and forth wildly, nearly tumbling to the ground.

I placed my hands gently on his shoulders to settle him down. “Darshan, stop! It’s me. Maddie.”

Darshan stopped.

“Maddie?” His voice cracked with emotion. I pecked his cheek, wrapping him in a tearful hug. I couldn’t believe I’d been so close to losing him.

“Did they hurt you?” I asked nervously. He looked unharmed, but I wanted to be sure.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Darshan said, puffing out his chest as I untied him. “Actually, for kidnappers, they weren’t so bad. They didn’t rough me up, and they tied me up someplace with a view. Not that I can enjoy it, of course,” he added with a snicker.

At least his sense of humor was intact. I helped him up out of the chair.

“Where did they go?” I asked.

“No idea,” Darshan said.

“Weird. Xythor and I didn’t see them in the apartment.”

And that worried me. This had all the makings of a trap. Darshan was perfect bait. I was expecting the Dobrzyckas to swoop out of the skies and grab us any second.

“Xythor helped you rescue me? Why am I not surprised?” Darshan chuckled. “I owe you big time, homie!”

But Xythor didn’t answer. I turned around. Huh. I didn’t see him anywhere.

“Xythor?” I called. More silence.

We went back inside to look for him. Now that we had Darshan safe and sound, I wanted to get the hell out of here. ~Xythor, where are you?~ My heart beat like a rabbit’s. As seconds turned into minutes, I worried Loch and Hael had gotten him. And if that was the case, we were next…

Then I felt it, the white-hot flame of my brand that could only mean one thing.

“Maddie!”

Hearing my name made me jump. Then I saw Xythor at the top of the stairs. The same stairs I’d crawled up to get to the treasure room. He waved me toward him.

“Come up here. You need to see this.”