Shadowborn Queen - G. Bailey Page 0,2

away from their dead, mangled bodies. He then leads me through a glass door at the end of the hallway where a dark fae guard, clad in black armor, flanks another entrance.

"No entry beyond this point."

Gold ignores the guard and pulls me forward. "I need to interrogate this one privately. Eva's orders."

The guard doesn't budge. "Well, I've been ordered not to let anyone past this point."

"Uh-huh." Gold steps forward, bringing his face so close to the guard that their noses nearly touch. "And I've been ordered to find information about Corvina Charles. I suggest you stand the fuck down, soldier, and let me do my job."

Now the guard looks at me, sliding his narrowed eyes over the length of my body. "Privately, you say?" A leering smile upturns the edges of his lips. "I hope you let me continue the interrogation after you."

My stomach churns as a tendril of fear snakes through my body at the same time a part of me memorises his face so I can kill him later. Thank the gods Gold is here with me, otherwise who knows what Narah's minions would do.

Gold tightens his grip on my arm protectively. He says nothing and waits until the guard opens the door. Once we're over the threshold and enter the guest quarters, Gold steers me to the door at the end and then relaxes his hold on me.

"We're safe," he says, once we're locked in his private room. "Are you okay?"

I shake my head, trying to find the right words. "I'm scared, Gold. I'm scared about what's to come. I'm scared about what's happening to the forest and my guys. We have to save them both."

He steps forward and runs his knuckles comfortingly down my cheek. "I'm here. You're not alone anymore. We just need to think of an escape before Eva realises I have gone."

"Is she keeping you prisoner here, too?"

His gaze hardens in the candlelight. "Since day one. The only reason she kept me alive is to exploit my ties to the dragon royals. If not for that, I would've been killed a long time ago."

I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and nod. "Then we need to hurry and get out of here. Do you know where my guys are? I can't leave without them."

Gold paces beside the four-poster bed, his eyebrows pulling together. "They are being held in the cells where Narah’s guards are interrogating them for information."

My heart sinks at the thought of the guards hurting my guys. How in the name of Selena do I help them get out?

"Getting in won't be an issue," Gold says, stopping to look at me as if he heard my thoughts. "It's getting out that will be. We need a distraction. A big one."

I tap my lip in thought, wondering what we could possibly use. And then it hits me."How do you feel about shifting into your dragon?" I ask, grinning up at him. "That's a pretty damn big distraction if you ask me."

He smirks and leans forward, pressing a kiss to my temple. "Fuck, I love your mind, Izora."

Chapter 2

Izora

I stand still as Gold walks to the edge of the empty balcony that overlooks the Light Fae Kingdom, pulling his shirt off. The view of the kingdom from up here is stunning, even as houses burn and screams fill the night. The sweet air tastes like blood now, thick with suffering, but at this moment, the world seems to pause for Gold.

He climbs onto the bannister and stands up tall. Stretching his arms out, the magic almost becomes something I can taste as gold smoke smothers him and he jumps. The smoke holds in the middle of the air, shimmering into something that almost looks like glitter before it takes shape. A tremendous dragon bursts out of the smoke, covered in gold scales with giant wings that push the air around him.

I nearly stumble back in fear. I've never seen a dragon this big before.Thank Selena, this is my Gold.

Gold's dragon lands on the balcony, crushing the banister into rubble under his enormous claws and staring right down at me. I take a deep breath for courage and meet his eyes, and nothing but love fills my chest. This is my Gold. He would never hurt me.

"I know Gold has missed his dragon. Do you want to cause a little chaos?" I say, lifting my hand and stroking the scales on his neck as I walk around him. "I think the