The BOLO had been shared with all the police in the surrounding areas and the state troopers. “We’ll hear something in no time,” Detective Jeffries reassured me.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My gut burned, my heart ached, and my head hurt from worrying over Peri. I replayed every moment in my head. I never should’ve taken that shower. I never should’ve left her unattended. And I definitely should’ve come to the police station earlier. Why didn’t we drive while we talked? Why did I wait until I’d spoken to Adam and heard Stephen out? I agonized over everything until I’d about made myself crazy.

The door to the station opened and I looked up. Stephen tentatively walked over to me. “I know you told me to wait in the car and keep it running, but it has already been an hour. I thought something went wrong and I should check with you.” He glanced back and forth between me and the detective.

“Peri’s gone. Spencer has her. And I have no idea where they are,” I muttered while I leaned my back against the wall.

“We’ll find her, sir.” He frowned and I could see how much this situation pained him.

I nodded. “We will. And God have mercy on him if he hurts her because I sure as hell won’t,” I growled in a low menacing voice.

Stephen opened his mouth, probably to try and comfort me, but my attention was drawn to the desk. The phone had rung and soon after the officer answered, he motioned for the detective to come over. Even without the invitation, I joined in on the conversation.

“Where was the car seen?” the officer asked, his pen poised over a pad of paper. He gave us a thumbs up. “Thank you, Trooper Martin.” He hung up the phone and stared over the counter at us. “So, it looks like the car was spotted on I-40 heading west about a mile before exit 27.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Although I wonder how reliable the trooper is. He sounded shaken up.”

“Why’s that?” Jeffries frowned.

I perked up. Already I had my suspicions. “Tell me.”

“Well, he said he was handing out a speeding ticket when he heard this voice screaming for help.” He smirked. “Then when he turned around, the windows were closed, but he could see a woman with her hand pressed to the glass. He saw the BOLO and decided to call it in.”

I grinned. “That’s her. Thank you.” I tugged on Stephen’s sleeve and jerked my head toward the door.

“Mr. Draco, we should be handling this. You can just wait and we’ll bring her in soon.” The detective crossed his arms over his chest.

Stopping near the door, I turned and faced him. “First, I’m not a sidelines guy. Second, I’m in security so this isn’t a stretch for me. Third, the guy is an employee and Peri is my…” I blew out a breath. “I plan to marry her.” I rubbed my chest over my heart.

Jeffries rocked on his heels. “I can see you feel very strongly about this, but it’s a police matter.”

“I know. And I promise I won’t be in the way.” I smirked. “Mostly because I plan to be ahead of you.” Then I pushed the door open and rushed out into the crisp autumn air. The scent of decaying leaves wafted by and I knew soon we’d be in the dark. While that might slow the police, it meant my dragon could finally come out to play.

By the time I reached the car, Stephen already had it running. “So, we’re hopping on I-40, but we don’t know where they went. They could be anywhere. I’ve driven that road and right where they were, they could’ve gotten off, continued, or merged onto 74.”

“Drive. I’m going to make some phone calls.” I opened up my map app and found the area the officer had mentioned. “Looks like that’s a good half hour from here. I’ll have more answers by then.” Then I stared at the map like the answer would pop out at me if I looked hard enough.

Stephen frowned. “Do you think he has a plan? Do you think he knows where he’s going or flying by the seat of his pants?”

I considered Stephen’s words. “He’ll have a plan. The man’s a lawyer. You saw at the airport how easily he frustrates when his plan hits a snag.” An idea occurred to me and I called Adam. “I need you to check and see if Spencer Morse or the Reclaim the Kingdom Project have any holdings near Asheville, North Carolina. I’ll wait.” Then I opened up the map app again and studied the area. “He’s going to want some place secluded. If it’s a seasonal camp, there’s probably no electric on, which could make this even more challenging.” I rubbed my eyes.

“Well, it looks like there’s a plot of land in Cherokee. It’s a couple hundred acres. And there’s no address for a cabin, but I’ll send you what I’ve got,” Adam announced.

“Thank you.” I ended the call and sighed. “Next stop food. I need to fuel up. This could be a long night.”

“What are you planning to do?” Stephen asked quietly. “Two hundred acres is a lot of area to cover.”

I chuckled. “We’ll split up. You’ll go one way by road. I’ll go another.”

He shook his head like I was crazy. “You think you’re going to walk two hundred rugged acres?”

“Something like that.” My heart began to race. All I needed was a little light, maybe some smoke, any hint of life from the air and I’d be able to find her. As cold as it was, this shouldn’t be a problem.

“The higher the elevation, the more fog,” he noted.

I frowned. “Why would this be simple? Nothing else has been.”

“You want to give up? Wait on the police?” He slowed down and pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot.

“There’s no giving up on destiny. I’ll find Peri,” I vowed even as I began to have my own doubts.

* * *

“Ah, you’re awake,” Spencer noted as he sat in a wooden chair a few feet in front of me.

When my eyelids fluttered open, I had trouble making out the features on his shadowy face. The room was dark, the only light coming from the small fire he’d built in the stone fireplace across from me. My vision was obscured and I quickly realized that one eye was definitely swollen from his fist and my cheekbone stung when I moved my aching jaw. I swallowed and realized there was blood in my mouth. “Nice work,” I commented, but when I tried to gesture to my cheek, I realized my hands were secured to the arms of the chair with zip ties.

“I couldn’t very well have you running away,” he commented with a smirk. He cracked his knuckles and flexed his arms. “And now that I have a captive audience, we’re going to chat.” Spencer stood and walked around.

“Hey, why don’t we talk about why you’re targeting the dragons for starters?” I tried to glare at him, but the act merely made my eye hurt more.

He chuckled. “You think you’re so smart, but you couldn’t figure that out, could you?”

“No, clearly you are much cleverer than me.” I huffed. Normally, this would be where I rolled my eyes, but I was slowly accepting they were currently out of commission.

Spencer leaned near. “Well, I figured out you’re some kind of witch so I’ve got that going for me.” He gestured to my hands. “Guess you won’t be touching me this time.” He waited for me to give something away, but I remained devoid of emotion. With a shrug, he stood and moved closer to the fireplace. “Let me tell you a story and then you’ll understand why I believe in magic when so many others in my profession completely doubt its existence.”

“Can’t wait,” I chirped.

He whipped around and glared at me. “Nearly a thousand years ago, my family ruled a kingdom in Europe.”

“Is this going to be a long story?” I sighed in an effort to hide my emotions. Already, I could see where this was going. After a thousand years, our lines had converged once more. This had to mean something.

“The kingdom was at war with the Turks, who were particularly vicious in that time period. To broker a peace and save his kingdom from financial ruin, the king offered his daughter for marriage. The war would end. The dowry would fill the empty coffers. His influence would grow with the Turks on his side.”

“And they all lived happily ever after,” I grumbled.

“Ha! Not even close.” Spencer sneered. “Dragons set upon the princess and her entourage while they were en route to the wedding. And to make a long story short, since you seem to have the attention span of a gnat, the king sent his sorceress to retrieve the princess when the knights failed. Instead, she turned the dragon into a man, starting the line of dragon shifters we both work for.”

“Funny how that happened,” I commented absently. “What are the chances you’d go to work for these dragons?”

“Pretty good, since it was by design.” He chuckled at his own cleverness. “See, here’s what I didn’t get to explain before you so rudely interrupted…repeatedly.” He huffed. “Because of the sorceress, the kingdom fell into ruin. The people revolted and the royal family was overthrown. The sorceress was thrown in the dungeon for her treachery and we’ve pretty much hated dragons ever since.”

My brow furrowed as I tried process his first comment. “By design. What does that mean?”

“Well, I knew the dragon family name was Draco. We were ridiculously poor, but there was always beer money, apparently. Practically every night, my father would get drunk and bitch about the Dracos who wrecked our life,” Spencer grumbled.

“You’d think he’d hate the sorceress too,” I murmured.

“Oh, he did, but he told me her line died with her. She lost her magic and never knew love. That was the story passed down to each generation.” He grinned. “So, I only had to punish the dragons. I’ve actually been plotting this since I was a teenager.”

I frowned. “We’re talking twenty years of plotting, right? That’s a lot of hatred, even for you, Spencer.”

“Well, I don’t see it that way. I researched trying to figure out the best way to stick it to them. The money. It always comes down to the money.” He chuckled.

“So, why kill the dragons?” I tilted my head as if I was really interested and considering his response. In truth, I was testing the strength of these zip ties. Sadly, they seemed solid.

“I’m not. I’m killing the men to end the dragons.” His shoulders heaved and I could feel his relief as he shared. “See, defeating the dragons is impossible, but these men? They’re no match for me.”

I scowled. “I can’t believe how you’re justifying all this.”

“Their lines had to end, just like the sorceress’. I get the money. They die out. Justice is served.” He grinned, but his smile quickly faded. “That brings me to our dealings.” Spencer picked up his chair and dropped it closer to me. Then he sat, leaned over and stared into my eyes. “You have an important decision to make, Peri.”

I yawned. “I’m really sleepy. Today has been especially trying. I don’t suppose you’d consider letting me have tonight to sleep on it.” I stared at him innocently. Batting my eyelashes was out of the question for the time being. Since I probably looked like Quasimodo, it wouldn’t have the same effect anyway.

“No.” He spoke crisply. “I gotta tell you, I’m torn. You’re really beautiful.”

“Thank you?” I closed my eyes. The sociopath had a crush on me. Just what I needed.

“I think we should get married.” Spencer studied me for a reaction.

My eyes popped open. “Why would I marry you?”

“To live,” he explained.

“I don’t know, Spencer. I feel pretty good about my chances of survival because you want to live. If I die, you’ll be dealing with one pissed off dragon,” I reminded him.

“To not go to prison then.” He shrugged.

“Sorry. We already covered this at the station. They have no evidence tying me to the crimes.” I shook my head. “Not buying it.”

“Well, they could.” Spencer chuckled as he stood and wandered over to the mantle. Then, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully turned a bottle around to show me. “This is the cyanide used to kill Devon. While you were passed out, I had your hands all over it.” He set it back on the mantle and used the handkerchief as he lifted a fancy goblet that seemed to resemble the ones from the dinner. “And they never found this, but I could make sure they get it. Devon’s lip marks and your fingerprints: pretty damning evidence.” He gloated.

“Yeah, I don’t think so. The police saw me leave with you. I still think they’ll guess it has been fabricated. There’s no prison in my future.” My good brow shot up in challenge.

When he saw my reaction, he pulled out the one reason I would actually give in and marry him. “Ah, but what wouldn’t you do to save Mishal?”

My head hung. There would always be that. I cared little about my fate, but if anything happened to Mishal, already I knew I’d be destroyed. The burning pain in my gut responded to thoughts of him, and simply hearing his name. I’d probably spontaneously combust if anything happened to him. “Why would you want to marry me? Don’t you want a wife who’ll love you?”

“In a perfect world, of course.” He grinned. “I believe we’ve already established this world is far from perfect. And if I can’t have love, at least I can have an heiress. Controlling that much money is almost as good.”

“I’d make you miserable,” I warned. “I’ve proven I’m incredibly skilled at that already.”

“Yes, but I’m thinking you’d behave if it ensured I’d never go after Mishal. You’d become the model wife.” He reached out and touched my cheek. “And I’d get to watch Mishal suffer, which is almost as satisfying as seeing him dead.”

A blinding hatred seeped out of me. The audacity of this man, his smug demeanor, and the joy he took in hurting others made me want to lash out. “You’ll burn for this.” I stared into his eyes while rage took hold. Suddenly, I felt ridiculously hot. Steam was practically pouring off me. I pushed my ankles and wrists against the plastic holding me to the chair. The ties melted away about the same time Spencer jumped back and cradled his hand.

“How did you do that?” His eyes widened. “You are a witch,” he accused while carefully planting himself between me and the door.

Standing, I scowled. “No, I’m far worse than that.” I inhaled deeply for dramatic effect. “I’m a descendant of Sabine. Her blood still runs through me.”

He gasped. “Stay away from me.” Spencer reached in his pocket and pulled out his pistol.

“Get out of my way!” I yelled while my eyes locked in on the gun.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere. You have no idea because you were unconscious…”

“After you punched me,” I reminded him as I hesitantly examined my cheek.

His hand shook slightly, which made me even more uneasy. “You can’t leave. You’ll get lost. You’ll be alone.”

“I’d rather be lost and alone than here with you.” My eyes narrowed as I studied him. “Put the gun down and get out of my way,” I urged.

Spencer shook his head, his grip on the gun becoming even more unstable. I could picture him shooting me accidentally, forget about intentionally. Desperate to stop him, I muttered, “Last chance. Move or I’ll move you.” When I saw he planned to defy me, I lifted my hands and pushed the air as if I really was about to connect with his body. I’d never done this before. I had no idea what to expect, or if anything would happen, or if I was even doing it right. There was a blue flash from my palms that shot toward him and knocked him on his ass. The gun flew from his hand and slid across the plywood floor a good six feet from him.

With my path now clear, I rushed from the cabin out into the woods. I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was I couldn’t stay there. My chances were better in the wilderness than anywhere near him. As I ran, I foolishly hoped he’d let me go. I forgot how much he had to lose if I were free and alive.

I heard the shot and zig-zagged in an effort to avoid him. Already, using so much power was wearing me out. I didn’t have the energy fleeing for my life required. And I couldn’t be sure I had anything left for my defense. A second shot rang out. This time, I zigged when I should’ve zagged. The bullet grazed my bicep, burning my skin and causing some bleeding. I sucked frosty air through my teeth as I tried to ignore the pain. Then I ran and kept running until I literally ran out of ground to run on. Skidding to a stop, I grabbed branches from a nearby tree to keep me from falling into the gorge. I was officially out of options. A third bullet whizzed past my head. I swallowed hard. I’d have to give the magic one more try. Spencer was closing in. Inhaling deeply, I tried channeling all my emotions as I raised my hands again.

“Not today, Satan!” I shouted as I pushed the air with my outstretched palms once more.