Unmade (Unborn #4) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,23

should.

“The Dragon hasss sssent me to keep watch over your home. He sssaid to offer refuge to any of you who ssshould return.”

I looked back at my brothers, who shifted their gazes from one to the other, doing all they could to silently weigh the gargoyle’s words. While they did, I crouched down next to the beast and leaned in close.

“Drawing us into a trap would be unwise,” I said, my tone calm but my stare menacing. “I have trusted you before, and it has not been misplaced. Do you trust the Dragon’s intentions? Shall I force the truth from your mind as my brother can?”

The beast recoiled in offense. “The Dragon and I only wisssh to help.”

“Then we accept,” I said, placing my hand under his jaw. “For the sake of you both, I hope we do not regret it.”

9

Had I known what I was agreeing to at the time, I might have exercised better judgment. But with few options and even fewer safe spaces for my brothers to reside, I had made a hasty decision that was leading us deep underground through the sewers of Detroit; a decision I was beginning to regret.

“Did you know what you were getting into when you said yes to this?” Oz asked, echoing my thoughts. “Because I’m starting to think your love of subterranean spaces is more like an obsession.”

“I did not know,” I replied with a sharp exhale.

“I did, but you didn’t let me get a word in first,” Casey said. I looked back to find a hint of sadness in his dark eyes—eyes that constantly surveyed our surroundings, as though he expected a swarm of gargoyles to descend upon us at any moment.

“The Dragon hasss prepared a ssspace for you—”

“Does it include shackles on the wall and a torture room?” Oz muttered under his breath. “I feel like Deimos would move in if it did…”

I cast a harsh glare his way, and he smiled.

“Not all isss asss it seemsss,” Azriel replied as he made a ninety-degree turn, then descended a metal ladder built into the wall.

We filed down behind him, working our way lower and lower into the bowels of Detroit. Just when I thought it impossible to go any further, Azriel turned to face what appeared to be a concrete wall. But when he placed his claws against it and uttered a foreign phrase, the concrete smoldered and disappeared, creating an entrance to the most unexpected sight.

Just beyond the threshold was a world of fire and light and beauty I could not comprehend. Though I loved the Underworld—my home—the majesty of the Dragon’s abode was undeniable. Gold lined the walls, and it glinted with every flicker of firelight, the reflections dancing infinitely off of every surface. The black, polished stone floor radiated warmth, and the ceiling vaulted so high that I wondered if it did not graze the surface above from below. As I stared up at the glowing dome, I realized why the height was imperative. The Dragon swirled and danced in the air above, his body slicing through it like a fish in water. His scales glistened in the light of the room, sparkling like a jewel too beautiful to name. In that moment, I understood why Casey could have loved such a creature.

I looked to my dark brother and saw the longing in his eyes.

The Dragon easily spotted us and flew down to land on the far side of the room. With a magic so seamless, he morphed into his human form as elegantly as he had flown. One second, he was beast. The next, man.

“I see you have accepted my invitation,” he said, heading toward where we stood shoulder to shoulder in a line, a united front against an uncertain ally. He stopped well short of us, his eyes narrowed with understanding. “Perhaps I should start from the beginning,” he said, unprompted. “Azriel saw Khara outside the Victorian, acting strangely. It did not take him long to realize who held her mind. When she took to the air, he returned to me and relayed this information. Up until then, all I’d known was that you had all traveled to the Underworld to face an unknown enemy—and none had returned.” The sadness in his eyes as they reflexively fell upon Casey was so plain that I felt a sharp tug in my chest. “I knew that Kaine and his Dark Ones had been watching the area—that you could not remain there, if you were ever to