She let out a slow breath, thinking back to the cop she’d unknowingly pushed on Christmas morning. It had practically killed her. But what choice did she have? They had to get past the guards somehow.
Right. She nodded. That was one of the things they’d been working on during training—pooling their energies to become twice as strong. But still, practice was one thing. Two heavily armed real-life men was quite another. If she failed…
Connor reached out, squeezing her hand in his and giving her an encouraging look.
She rolled her eyes.
She reached out to her dragon, finding her with her mind. Emmy responded immediately, melding her spark with her mistress’s. Soon the whirling ball of their combined energy spun and sparkled at the front of them, seeming as big as a planet. Trin grinned at the dragon, her confidence rising.
Connor gave her a dry look.
She pushed.
The all-too-familiar nausea washed over her like a tidal wave. Trin winced, closing her eyes until the initial feeling passed. Forcing in a shaky breath, she looked up at Connor in question.
“Hey, guys!” he greeted the guards casually. “How’s it going? I’ve got some business behind these doors. Do you mind letting me in?”
The guards looked at him, then at each other. “Sorry,” the first one said. “Darius left specific instructions that no one is allowed to pass through these doors.”
Connor rolled his eyes in a perfect mimic of his brother. “Darius was the one who told me to come here in the first place. So how about it?
The effort almost knocked her off her feet. Yet the guards’ expressions didn’t change. They didn’t step aside. Trinity bit her lower lip, glancing up at Emmy nervously. Why wasn’t it working? The strength of their combined push should have had the guards falling over one another trying to be the first to let Connor through. Instead, they seemed completely unmoved.
“Maybe we should give Darius a call,” the second guard said, “just to make sure.”
Connor snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that,” he replied. “I mean, personally I’d rather wake a sleeping bear, but maybe that’s just me.” His tone was casual and confident, but Trin caught a thread of fear winding through his voice. He obviously knew something was wrong. But what was it?
She searched the guards’ faces, praying for even a hint of doubt somewhere in the depths of their eyes. It was then that she realized how young they were. Under their imposing uniforms, they were merely teenage boys, unlike the other guards she’d seen milling about the place. The mercenaries the Dracken had hired were all ex- military—burly and beefy and scarred. These boys were skinny and fresh-faced and…
…not guards at all.
The realization hit her with the force of a ten-ton truck. These weren’t guards. They were Potentials. Whatever was behind the door was evidently too secret for mere mercenaries to be entrusted with guarding. Instead, the Dracken had manned it with those who would be resistant to mind manipulation.
Those who could read minds on their own.
If the Potentials read Connor’s mind, they would realize everything. They’d sound the alarm. They’d stop their escape. She and Emmy would be captured. Connor would be killed.
She couldn’t let that happen.
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying one more time.
Icy pain stabbed at her like a thousand icicles boring into her brain. Her legs gave out from under her and she fell to the ground with a crash. But the Potentials remained unaffected, the first one making a move for his transcriber.
“You know what?” Connor broke in with a barking laugh. “Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I’m at the wrong door.” He hastily began to back away. But before he could break free, the second Potential grabbed him by his collar, yanking him toward him, then shoving him face-first into the cement wall. Trin let out a squeak of horror as she caught the blood trickling down Connor’s jaw as he staggered, dazed from the blow to his head.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” the Potential growled. “Not until we check your story out.” He pinned Connor to the wall by his neck, then turned to his friend. “Call Darius,” he commanded. “Inform him we’ve got a situation.”
The Potential palmed his transcriber, ready to make the call. Trinity’s fear threatened to throttle her and she grappled for a solution. In seconds it would all be over—any chance they had to escape gone for good. Desperate, she reached out to her dragon one final time.
She meant help with another push, but Emmy evidently had other ideas. The dragon took flight, diving into the room, facing down the Potentials with a fierce, furious expression on her reptilian face. The two men stared up at her, their faces draining of color.
“Oh hell,” one of them cried. “It’s the dragon.”
“Let’s get out of here!”
They turned to run, fighting one another to be first out of the room. In their haste, one of them bowled straight into Trinity, knocking her over. As she stumbled, her head slammed against the cement post and she cried out in pain.
Emmy reacted instantly, spinning around, diving after the boys, effectively blocking their paths. Black smoke billowed from her nostrils. Sparks danced on her tongue. The Potentials tried to scramble away but there was no place left to go.
“No, Emmy!” Trinity croaked.
But it was too late. The beast drew back her head, opened her mouth, and released her flames.
The fire hit them straight on, engulfing them completely before they even had a chance to scream. They fell to the ground, convulsing, writhing—their clothing consumed, their skin blackening to a charred crisp. Black smoke filled the room and the smell of burning flesh permeated the air.
“Oh God,” Trin whispered, horrified but unable to look away. “Oh God, no.”
But Emmy wasn’t done, swooping down on the boys again and again, clawing out their eyes, ripping away swaths of blackened flesh. Trin reached out with her mind, trying desperately to soothe her dragon’s frenzy. But Emmy’s consciousness was too hot to touch, the rage gripping the creature’s mind and refusing to let go.
“Please, Emmy…” she begged, staggering to her feet. “It’s okay. You can stop. Please stop.”
Vaguely, she realized Connor had ripped off his pack, yanking out his coat. He threw it over the burning
