Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa
Chapter One
Vander is alive. Vander is alive. Logan’s words ricocheted across my skull like a wayward ping pong ball. My heart smacked against my ribs, and the roar of my thundering pulse echoed through my eardrums. The Supernatural Intelligence Agency officer that had attempted to capture me on the night of my soul-sucking bender was alive—Talon’s best friend was alive.
“What?” Talon’s gruff shout jerked me from my wandering thoughts. He peeled himself off the obsidian walls of our cozy cell and met the warden as he trudged in.
Not a second ago, my dragon bodyguard’s fiery lips had been pressed to mine, but when the warden appeared, he’d flung himself to the opposite corner of our cage so fast my head spun.
I forced myself not to focus on the pang of hurt streaking through my insides and concentrated on the good news. One less person to add to the tally of my murderous spree.
Logan’s gaze shot to mine, his darting eyes running over my disheveled hair and skimpy tank top. Heat blossomed across my cheeks. It was almost worse than one of my dad’s stare downs. How much had he seen before Talon shot across the cell?
The warden cleared his throat and pivoted to the looming dragon a few inches from his face. “I just got word from one of my gargoyle teams. They overheard some chatter at a bar while they were trailing a group of Thax’s narkin demon guards. According to the warlord’s men, he’s being held somewhere inside the castle.”
“But we were just there,” Talon hissed and raked a hand through his hair, driving it up in messy spikes. “How did I miss him?”
“We both did, T. This isn’t only on you.” Hayden’s raspy voice caught me by surprise. Our angel roommate rolled out of bed, sweeping his blonde locks behind his ears.
“So we’ll go back and get him.” I had almost as much stake in this as Talon. One less innocent soul had to count for something, right?
Three pairs of blazing orbs shot to mine, their intensity forcing a shudder up my spine. “You’re not going anywhere near him,” Talon growled.
A punch in the gut would’ve hurt less. I wrapped my arms around my middle to keep myself together. Why would I be so stupid to believe he’d be nicer now that the truth was out, and I hadn’t killed his friend? No, Talon was his same dickish self. As his icy glare bored into me, the hurt morphed into anger. A second ago he couldn’t keep his dragon paws off me, but now I was a threat to his BFF?
I popped my hands on my hips as every ounce of guilt evaporated. “Eff off, Talon,” I snarled back. “I’m the only one in this room that can open a portal so the way I see it, you better beg me to take you.”
He stomped toward me, his eyes widening with each stride. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’d let you get anywhere near the Underworld. Especially now that we know this was some sort of set up. You think I’d go off half-cocked in the middle of the night into some suicide mission without any sort of plan? If so, you have no business even considering becoming a part of the SIA, and I rescind my invitation.”
Fury rolled off the self-righteous dragon in suffocating waves. It was so strong I was sure I’d feel it even without the stupid blood bond.
“Well, you’re out of your mind—"
Hayden jumped between us, placing a large palm on each of our chests. “Okay, you two, save it for the training room, huh?” Then he turned to his brother with a soft smile. “T, I know how much this means to you, but take it easy on the little pumpkin. She’s a newb, remember?”
Talon tossed his head from side to side before finally taking a step back. He huffed out a breath and pivoted to Logan. “Is there any way your guys can confirm Vander is alive besides hearsay?”
He nodded. “I just spoke to the team leader, and they’re working on it. As soon as we have positive confirmation, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that, Warden.”
Logan’s eyes darted from me to Talon and back. “Whatever is going on here must be resolved. Do you both understand me?”
“But—” I snapped my jaw shut, cutting myself off. With my lips pressed together, I slowly dipped my head.
My insufferable bunkie did the same.
“We will find Vander, and we will