Smoked - Mari Mancusi Page 0,9

hear her. “Emmy, it’s me! Trinity! We’re here to rescue you.”

Slowly, Emmy rolled over, a groan escaping her mouth, gagged by a metal binding, as if even this slight movement caused her pain. She stared at Trin dully, with absolutely no recognition in her eyes.

Oh God.

“Emmy, do you hear me? It’s Trinity.” She turned to Scarlet, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. “Tell her it’s me! Tell her we’re here to rescue her.”

“I can tell her,” Scarlet replied, her voice once again filled with her earlier reluctance. “But to be honest, I’m not sure she’ll care.”

Fury rose inside Trinity like lava from a volcano. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Scarlet looked away, her eyes filled with guilt. “I did try to warn you,” she said. “She’s…different now. She’s changed.” She looked back at Trinity. “I mean, don’t take it personally. She’s hasn’t spoken to me for months now.”

Trinity’s anger combusted into sheer horror. She looked from Scarlet to her dragon and then to Scarlet again. “You were supposed to protect her,” she whispered hoarsely, unable to stop the words spilling from her lips. Oh, Emmy. Poor, poor Emmy. “That was the whole reason I sent you here. To keep Emmy safe!”

But even as she spoke the words, she realized how useless they were. How could Scarlet have protected Emmy in this place? She’d been a prisoner too.

No. This was all Trin’s fault. She was the only one to blame.

I’m so sorry, Emmy. I should have gotten here sooner. Somehow. Someway.

Emmy had chosen her—not Scarlet, not anyone else in the world—to be her Fire Kissed. And long ago, they’d made a dragon/guardian pact to keep one another safe.

Trust me, little one, I’ll never let you fall.

Six months ago, Emmy had lived up to her end of the bargain, sacrificing her own happiness, her own safety, her own future, to save the boy Trinity loved—putting her life in jeopardy without a single pause for consideration.

And in return, Trinity had let her down. Allowed her to be captured and taken away. Now, here was her dragon—so filled with life and laughter once—just a shell of her former self. And it was all Trinity’s fault.

Her mind swarmed with horrifying visions—of Emmy arriving at the lab, shivering and afraid. Of Scarlet trying her best to comfort her, promising her that the Fire Kissed was certainly on her way. Of Emmy’s hopeful face fading to despair as the days passed slowly, with no sign of rescue. Until the dragon was curled up into a ball at the back of her cage, refusing to listen to any more of Scarlet’s rescue fairy tales.

“I’m sorry,” Trin whispered, her heart breaking into a thousand pieces. “I tried. I really did.”

But she hadn’t tried hard enough. Emmy had depended on her, and she’d let the dragon down. In some ways, Trin was more to blame for this whole mess than the scientists themselves. And now that she was finally here, was it simply too late?

“Look, there will be time for apologies later,” Connor broke in, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Right now, we need to figure out how to get her out of here.”

Trinity watched, scarcely able to move, as he ran to the control panel, using the bloody thumb to unlock the cage. When the lock clicked, she grabbed the cell door with both hands, trying with all her strength to pull it open. At first, it didn’t budge, and her heart flip-flopped with fear that they might have failed once again. But then Connor and Scarlet joined her efforts, and the three of them were able to widen it enough for Emmy to step through.

But Emmy didn’t step through. Not even a glance to the open door to acknowledge her freedom.

“Come on, Emmy!” Trinity begged, yanking off the dragon’s gag. “You’re free. We need to get you out of here.”

But the dragon only blinked dully at her before lowering her head to the ground. Then she closed her eyes. She was so still that only the small twines of smoke drifting from her nostrils gave any clue she was even alive.

This was not good. This was so not good.

“Come on!” Trinity tried again. Desperate. Frightened. Her gaze shot to the back door. Connor had jammed it with a few pieces of heavy equipment, but it wouldn’t take long for the guards to break it down if they tried. “They’re going to figure out we’re in here. We need to leave now. Before it’s