Scorched

strongest, most powerful, fire-breathing beasts the world has ever seen.”

Emmy let out a horrified squawk, now thrashing wildly in her cage. Trin tried to send soothing thoughts to calm her down.

I won’t let them do that to you, she promised. No matter what. Though, she had to admit, that was easier said than done. She turned back to the Dracken and his customer.

“So do we have a deal?” Darius asked, clamping his hand on the man’s shoulder. “I must have your commitment now. We have many potential buyers waiting in the wings. It would be a shame to allow your enemy to buy your dragons and use them against you.”

Don’t let him! Emmy begged. Stop him now!

The man opened his mouth to speak. Trin gulped down her fear. In a moment, the deal would be done. It would be too late to do anything to stop it.

You don’t want any dragons, she pushed, on sudden impulse. She didn’t know if it would work, but it was worth a try—if only to calm Emmy down. You want to leave. Now.

She opened her eyes, focusing back on the man in question, whose face had clouded with sudden hesitation. Trinity grinned, realizing she’d managed to reach him in time. Totally worth the headache now stabbing at her skull.

Sorry, Darius. No sale.

“My apologies,” he said to the Dracken leader in a voice wrought with confusion. “I don’t think I want any dragons. In fact, I’d like to leave. Now.”

Trinity waited, breath firmly lodged in her throat, as a shadow crossed Darius’s smooth face. For a moment he did nothing, said nothing, only stared at the man with growing realization. Then, without warning, he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a gun, shooting the man square in the chest. The foreigner fell to the ground. Dead.

“You can come out now,” Darius announced, scanning the room. When Trin didn’t move, the Dracken leader sighed deeply, then marched over to her hiding spot, grabbing her by the neck and yanking her out into the open. She yelped as his jagged nails dug into her skin.

“Very clever,” he sneered. “Though very stupid. Had you kept quiet I might not have known you were here.” He tsked. “Very stupid indeed.”

“Why would you do this?” she demanded, fighting to free herself but to no avail. “Why would you try to sell dragons to that guy? You’re going to end up destroying the world all over again!”

“Actually,” he corrected, “we’re going to save it.”

“What?” She stopped fighting, staring at him, confusion mixing with fury. “What are you talking about? You put dragons in the hands of these people—who want to wipe each other out—what do you think is going to happen?”

“I think the fire will burn and the world will be purged,” he replied simply. When she gave him an uncomprehending look, he continued, “Don’t you see, Trinity? This is why we came back here in the first place— the Dracken have been chosen to do God’s work.”

“What are you talking about?” she stammered, not sure she really wanted to hear.

“It’s simple, really. Just as once upon a time the Almighty washed away the world’s evil by sending a mighty flood, so now we have a chance to cleanse it again—this time with flame.” He looked down at her, his eyes shining. “God’s word is clear. Only through destruction can we have any hope of salvation.”

Holy crap. She stared at him, heart beating wildly in her chest. He was totally looney tunes! Could this really be the true reason the Dracken had come back in time? On some kind of insane religious crusade?

“You can’t be serious!” she cried, though the look in his eyes told her otherwise. “You’d really burn down the world on purpose? Let millions of innocent people die?”

“Innocent?” Darius repeated incredulously, for the first time losing his cool. “Innocent? Please. Have you watched your local newscasts lately? Spent any time on your Internet?” He loomed over her, his eyes darkening to angry thunderclouds. “Not a day goes by when there isn’t a bombing or a shooting or a kidnapping. Rape, torture, or war. Child abuse, drug abuse, not to mention a complete disregard for the environment.” He shook his head. “Just like Sodom and Gomorrah, the world has become a filthy, corrupt place—far beyond the point of redemption. And it only gets worse in the future.” He drew in a breath, as if trying to regain control of his emotions. “We are left with no choice but to raze the whole thing to the ground and then rise again, like a phoenix from the ashes. Except this time,” he added with a triumphant smile, “it will be on the backs of dragons.”

Trinity shrank back, unable to speak as the enormity of what he was saying sunk in. Sure the world had its problems, she wanted to protest, but there were good people here too. People worth saving.

“We never lied to you, Trinity,” Darius continued. “We told you from the very start we planned to use dragons to save the world. And that’s what we’re doing: saving the world from itself.” His gaze bore down on her. “You should feel honored,” he added. “You have been chosen out of millions as a pure soul, worthy of becoming part of our brave new world. You and the other Potentials—our own little Noah’s Ark.”

Trin nodded grimly, everything sliding into a sick sort of place. That’s why they’d gathered representatives from every country. Just like Noah saved each species of animal. Her stomach churned and she suddenly knew what she had to do.

Sorry, Emmy. But we have no choice.

“You’re sick!” she declared, drawing up all the courage she had left inside of her. “Not to mention totally insane. And if you think for one second I’m going to play your little reindeer games, you’ve got another thing coming.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him with defiant eyes. “You might as well go ahead and do it. Kill me now and get it over with. Because I’ll never join you—no matter what you try to do.”

She held her breath, her heart pounding in her chest, praying the Dracken leader would take the bait.

Sacrifice one to save the world. Turned out it’d been her mission all along.

Darius looked at her for a moment, then he burst out laughing. “Do you think I’m stupid?” he demanded. “Do you think I don’t know that Emmy’s life force is entwined with your own? If I kill you, she dies. Unless…” His lips curled into a smirk. “I de-bond you and bring in the backup.” He nodded slowly, as if coming to some sort of conclusion. “Yes, I think that’s the only thing to do at this point, seeing as you’re so unwilling to see the light.”

Trinity froze. “Backup?” she repeated doubtfully.

“My dear girl, do you think we came all this way without a plan B?” Darius asked in an incredulous voice. “Of course we kept a spare around, in case this kind of thing was to happen.”

“You’re telling me you have a spare Fire Kissed just sitting on ice?” she shot back. The idea was ridiculous. But something in Darius’s eyes told her it was also somehow unfortunately true.

“But of course. There’s usually one in every generation. And it can often be hereditary.”

She gasped, what he was saying suddenly making perfect sense. “You mean my grandpa!” she breathed. Thank goodness Connor had him under his protection. She prayed he was far, far away and out of the Dracken’s reach.

Darius raised an eyebrow. “No, no,” he corrected, giving her a cold, hard look. “I mean your mother.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Trinity stared at him, her mind reeling at his pronouncement. “That’s impossible,” she protested. “My mother is dead.”

“On the contrary,” Darius replied smoothly, “she’s very much alive. Would you like to see for yourself?”

Trin nodded dumbly—what else could she do? She tried to tell herself it was some kind of sick joke, a trick Darius had concocted to screw with her head. Because her mother couldn’t be alive. Trinity had seen her body, her head blown to smithereens. Her beloved bunny slippers still on her feet. The emerald ring still on her finger.

She twisted the ring in question almost violently, her stomach flip-flopping madly, this close to throwing up. How could she be alive? There was no way. No way on Earth.