CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Meeting Dylan again under circumstances like this was the last thing she expected, but Isabella forced herself not to dwell on it and tried to act as professional as possible. She should have known he wouldn’t make just a visit and would have a purpose.
Unfortunately, nothing prepared her for the grave news he announced, right before asking Isaac for assistance.
To her brother’s credit, he gave it right away. They set sail immediately after Dylan gave out the coordinates—two ships with Dylan and a high-ranking panther shifter in the first and Isabella and the teenagers in the second, going in the direction of the nearest known location. Three more ships followed. She could tell Simon and Robin were preoccupied and worried, but they didn’t discuss it with her, nor did she pry. She simply asked them how they were and what they were up to lately that didn’t involve mission secrets to ease them up, and soon the two responded and their conversation flowed as easily as water.
At one point, Simon shifted to his wolf form, showing off glorious brown fur and a strong physique. The difference of the wolves from the panthers fascinated her since she saw Dylan in his wolf form, and she watched Simon’s every move now as he surveyed the perimeter and seemed to pause every once in a while, as if listening to someone. Probably Dylan. She’d heard of rumors of their mind reading, something the panther clan never really practiced. Isabella turned to ask Robin about it, but the witch could only shrug, admitting she did not know much about the shifter community beyond the basics.
“I’m mostly on this mission as a test. I’m being lent to the shifters for a year or two. I’m Red Denver’s apprentice.”
Isabella perked up at the name. “The Red Denver?”
She knew of the witch, of course—at least, she knew of stories. Red Denver had been one of the most wanted witches in the world for killing a shifter clan leader, and had been on the run for years. But it turned out she was innocent and the real culprit was her mother, and there was some battle involving Dylan’s community and the witches the mother led to fight them. The shifters, with the help of some good witches and vampires, won in the end. After that, Red had been pardoned, and had even mated with a dragon clan leader in the process.
“Yes, the one and only,” Robin replied with a hint of pride in her voice. “This is my fifth official mission and my first with the shifters.”
That was another different thing between the shifter community in New York and the panther clan. Isabella could never figure out how Dylan managed to trust the vampires and the witches enough to form an actual alliance with them. She doubted Isaac would even consider it. But then again, her brother’s policies made sense, because it kept their little world here in Brazil safe from outsiders and possible betrayers.
Except Jason’s shocking betrayal. But that was another thing altogether.
A twinge entered her heart at the thought, and she shook it off. “How’s your first mission with the shifters so far?”
“I’ll probably see worse,” Robin stated with the wisdom of someone who hadn’t seen worse yet. “I’m positive I can handle it.”
Isabella hoped she would, because there were things far worse when one delved deeper in the supernatural world.
Speaking of dragons…Isabella looked up and watched the shadow fly overhead. Their additional member, Charlie, was half Japanese and had the most beautiful smoke-colored dragon form she’d ever seen. But then again, he was the first dragon she’d seen, and she supposed the others were just as beautiful as him.
Simon came back to stand in human form beside them, clothed now with his hair sticking out in all directions.
“Did you know wolves can beat dragons with a hit in the proper pressure points?” he asked. Isabella smiled, amused. Simon had a habit of spouting off random information from time to time, giving them a glimpse of the geek underneath the warrior.
“Well, don’t let him hear you,” Robin muttered. “Or he’ll pummel you to the ground.”
Isabella laughed.
It was the last laugh she was going to have in the next few days.
*****
They docked on the first uncharted island armed to the core, since they predicted they wouldn’t be able to shift or use magic here, too. That prediction was right. But contrary to their belief that they would be met with hundreds of enemies, only a few guards and pirates were actually left on the island, and were easily subdued. Apparently, Henley’s death and the destruction of the first island led everyone to flee and never come back.
But the prisoners were still there.
Dylan ordered some of Isaac’s men to search the premises for more enemies, while he led the way towards the main buildings in search of the prisons. Isabella followed suit, and they entered the first building, breaking the lock and adjusting their eyes to the darkness within.
The sight that greeted Isabella had her stomach dropping.
There were children inside—very young ones, all in cages and not beyond the age of possibly ten. Most of them were healthy, but there were a few that were already lying unconscious on the ground.
She went ahead and opened the first cage, putting her fingers on the wrist of the first unconscious figure.
Dead.
And the next, and the next. All dead.
Grief settled in her heart, dark and deep. She watched Dylan enter another cage, one filled with moving children, and he knelt in front of the first one. His fingers gently touched the little girl’s forehead, brushing her dirty bangs away.
“How long have you been here?” he asked.
The child hesitated before responding. “I want my mommy.”
Dylan’s brown eyes softened. “We’ll find your mother. And if we can’t, we’ll find you a home. That’s a promise.”
The child nodded solemnly.
Isabella realized there were already tears in her eyes. She wiped them away before anyone could see.
They still had more children to find.
*****
There were more slaves dead on the third island, and more alive on the fourth. By the time they were done with the fifth island, they had filled up all five ships with all the children they could find, most of who were sick and needed attention right away. Robin worked on overtime with the healers they brought with them, and Isabella helped out with the few basics she knew.
Dylan stayed on their ship, which held all the injured ones to keep them isolated. He worked with the healers, surprising Isabella with his knowledge in more than the basics as he asked about the children’s individual conditions and talked to those in pain to distract them while Robin numbed them out. Ten hours of non-stop healing later, the teenage witch was finally no longer able to heal any more as she swayed on her feet.
Simon was there, catching her just as she stumbled back and her eyes closed. He lifted her easily and murmured soothing words in her ear, catching Dylan’s eye and requesting to bring Robin to her designated room.
“Of course,” Dylan said. “Stay with her. Report to me if her body acts up or she gets convulsions.”
When they were gone, Isabella threw Dylan a puzzled glance. “Convulsions?”
“Young witches who overuse their magic often get them. Some die from it.”
Anger flared inside her. “You didn’t stop her from using too much, then?”
The look Dylan sent her had her anger dying. “I don’t control what they do or how much they’d like to help. Robin’s stubborn—she’d have snuck in to heal them, anyway, even if I told her not to.”
He was right. Isabella glanced down and frowned. She felt fingers on her chin lifting her face up. Reluctantly, she let those fingers guide her until her gaze met his.
“I know why you’re irrationally angry at me.”
“Why?” she asked testily.
Brown eyes gleamed. “Because you feel this attraction between us as much as I do, and you’re having a hard time fighting it. You’re taking the tension out and turning it into anger, and trust me—it’s not going to do you any good in the end.”
Of all the arrogant, overconfident things to say—
“Why not?” she blurted out before she could stop herself.
His thumb rubbed her cheek once, a singular movement that had fire bursting in her skin.
“Because I’m going to court you—for real this time. And I’m going to seduce you until you can no longer take it…and you will come to me. It’s inevitable, Isabella. What’s between us is too powerful to ignore.”
Then the thumb was gone, and so were his fingers. Dylan stepped back, nodded almost politely but for the heat that flashed in his eyes that sparked an answering heat in her.
Then he turned around, and he was walking away.
Isabella touched her warm cheek and tried to still her too-fast beating heart.
He was right.
He was right, and she didn’t know what to do about it.