“Do you live here?” Autumn asked, smiling faintly at Ginny in an attempt to hide her fear.

Showing that she was afraid wouldn’t do anything to help right now—and even though Braeden seemed nice enough for a fire dragon, Autumn still didn’t want him to see how terrified she was.

Silently, Ginny shook her head.

Well, so much for conversation, Autumn thought with an internal sigh.

After a moment, Ginny spoke after all. “I suppose I do now—I’m helping out with the cooking and washing, now that there’s a prisoner living here. It’s just for a few weeks though. I’m from Mountain View. The storm dragon’s home,” she clarified when Autumn didn’t react.

“Oh,” Autumn said, her curiosity immediately piqued. “I’ve never met any of the other dragons—only the griffin shifter who came to summon us. What’s it like?”

“It’s a good town to live,” Ginny said softly. “You know about the dragon’s peace?”

Autumn nodded. “All sorts of different shifters living peacefully together. Because no one wants to annoy a dragon, I suppose?”

Ginny nodded. “Exactly.” A rare smile tugged on her lips. “Like wolves and dogs. Or cat and mouse.”

Her smile widened, and immediately Autumn felt more at ease in the company of the soft-spoken woman.

“I can see how that’s appealing. It must be difficult as a mouse shifter,” Autumn said, then flushed. “Sorry if that sounded insulting! I still don’t know much about shifters. I never even knew they existed until I met Damon.”

“It’s all right,” Ginny murmured after a moment, although there was a sudden sadness in her eyes. “It’s different in Mountain View. I’m happy there. I suppose I wouldn’t be as happy in other places...”

When she fell silent, Autumn saw that her lips were tightly pressed together, and that Ginny had shifted to look at the cave’s wall instead.

Well, I suppose that hit a nerve, she thought with another sigh. Well done, Autumn. If I get out of this alive, I need a remedial course in shifter small talk and politics.

From behind them, the fire dragon made a scoffing sound.

“She makes it sound like a paradise—but the truth is that the council of elements is simply too powerful to disagree with. The dragon’s peace—what a nice word for what’s really just the law of the strongest. That’s what it has always been. And now those same dragons that have no qualms at all about ruling the world based on their own power call us monsters and beasts, because we’re doing the exact same.”

“But you don’t want peace.” Autumn turned around to glare at Braeden. “You want war. If I were a mouse, or a lion, or even a, a... a marsupial, I wouldn’t want to live in any town of yours.”

Braeden stared at her in confusion once more. “What’s a marsupial?”

Autumn huffed and crossed her arms, giving the fire dragon the same, unimpressed stare her mother had given her when she’d refused to do her homework as a child. “Mammals who raise their young in a pouch.”

Finally vegging in front of animal documentaries after works pays out.

“You really don’t know anything about this world you’re trying to conquer, do you?” she then added in a pitying tone. “Have you tried, I don’t know... watching TV before deciding to wage war on all of humanity? Next you’ll tell me you’ve never heard about humans walking on the moon.”

Braeden crossed his own arms, glaring at her. “We’ve had to hide away from the outside world because of your kind. Mock me if you want, but you better remember that all of this is the fault of your ancestors. And I might know nothing about your teevee, but I’m no fool. Walking on the moon, ha! Even dragons can’t survive flying that high. Do you think I’m stupid?”

Autumn stared at Braeden with wide eyes. Then, suddenly and uncontrollably, she began to laugh. She couldn’t stop until there were tears in her eyes and she had to gasp for breath, while Braeden was staring at her with a deeply insulted expression.

“Oh no,” she panted, pausing to giggle again. “It’s true. You really don’t know about Lance Armstrong and the moon. NASA? Rockets? The space shuttle? Doesn’t ring a bell at all?”

Braeden glared at her in insulted silence.

Autumn wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry, I know this is rude—but you’ve really decided that humans aren’t worth anything without even looking at the things we’ve done? We’ve walked on the moon, Braeden. We have satellites flying around the earth in space. We’ve even sent a rover to Mars.”

All of a sudden Autumn was very glad that she’d spent way too many tired evenings in front of her TV, dozing off to her beloved documentaries. Maybe she knew nothing about the world. Maybe it had taken her until now to even leave her own country.

But at least she wasn’t completely blind to everything that had been going on in the world for the past few centuries.

“We should get you Netflix in here,” she said and gave Ginny a grin. “I bet that would help more than whatever it is they’re trying to do to reason with you.”

“What’s a net flicks?” Braeden asked suspiciously. “Some dark chimera magic?”

Autumn failed to hold back another giggle

She’d just turned back around to try and see how Braeden would react to an explanation of the internet when the ground began to shake beneath her.

The rock released a deep, agonized groan. From above, dust and small stones began to fall.

Terrified, Autumn grabbed Ginny’s arm.

“What’s going on—” she began but was interrupted by Braeden.

“Hush,” he said, pressing a finger to his lips. He stood perfectly quiet, listening to something.

Her heart pounding, she stared at the fire dragon, who in turn stared at the walls of the cave with a frown.

For a moment, everything was silent. Then there was another distant rumble, and Braeden straightened, his face grim.

“They’ve found us,” he said simply.

Autumn turned to stare at the wall.

Nothing had changed. There was only blank rock where the door had been. There was no way the fire dragons could know where they were—unless...

“You’ve drawn them here,” she accused, turning back to glare at Braeden.

Impatiently, Braeden shook his head. “There’s not much time left. Quiet now. They're very close. I can feel them working.”

“But they have no power over the stone,” Autumn began.

“Fire can melt stone,” Braeden said quietly. “They’re not strong enough to melt these walls, I don’t think—but there are faults in every rock. Apply some heat, and even the strongest stone will crack. All they need to do is find the fault lines in this wall...”

As if in answer to his words, there was another low rumble.

“What do we do?” Autumn asked, turning to stare at Ginny in fear. “Is there anything we can do?”

This might be the safest place in the mountain—but she still hated the thought of being trapped.

Ginny shook her head. “We wait. Once Damon has dealt with the attack on the chimera, he’ll immediately return to you.”

“I hate this,” Autumn muttered, watching the rock where the door had been.

Were the fire dragons standing outside the wall even now? Or perhaps they were just attacking the mountain in random places, trying to find out where the prisoner was hidden...

It felt like the air was getting warmer inside their cave. Autumn suddenly realized that there were no windows in here—which meant that air had to come from somewhere. Maybe there was a ventilation shaft large enough for a mouse...

The ground beneath her began shaking again, hard enough that Autumn stumbled and had to grab hold of the bars to steady herself. Terrified, her hands clenched around the stone. Suddenly, there was a loud boom echoing through the rock all around her.

Even without being able to see what was going on, it felt like some sort of explosion had taken place.

Dust was raining from the stone above her. For a moment, she couldn’t make out the wall where the entrance had been, lost in a cloud of dust.

Coughing, she closed her eyes, clutching her fingers so tightly around the bars that it hurt. In her mind’s eye, she could still see the golden shimmer of the strange connection between Damon and her. With all her strength, she focused on it.

A trap! It’s a trap! They’ve come for us—help! she shouted silently through the mate bond, praying that somehow, the message would get through to him.

The golden chain of light seemed to gleam more intensely for a moment. She kept reaching along it, searching, hoping—

And then Ginny gasped softly, breaking her focus.

When Autumn opened her eyes again, the dust had settled down around them. The wall was still standing, although she thought that she was now able to make out the outline of the door once more, which had been hidden before.

But that wasn’t what had made Ginny gasp. Wide-eyed, the mouse shifter was staring at a point somewhere behind Autumn.

And when Autumn turned, she saw just what had Ginny so terrified.

Shit!

The bar she had clutched was still standing. But to the right, three of the small columns of stone had collapsed—and Braeden had made its way through them.

The fire dragon was free. And even though Damon had assured her that he’d been dosed with enough dragonsbane to keep him from shifting or using his powers, she couldn’t help but stare at him in open dismay.

Braeden met her gaze for a moment. Then, to her great relief, he turned away from her. Slowly, he walked towards the wall and carefully touched his hand to the faint outline of the door. A heartbeat later, he flinched away.

“This is bad,” he murmured when he retreated to their side. “The wall is hot. They must’ve made the tunnel outside collapse. And now they’re searching the stone with their fire to find out where you’ve imprisoned me.”

“Bad for us, you mean,” Autumn said bitterly. “I’m sure you can’t wait to be reunited with your friends.”

It was probably wrong to antagonize him, even though he couldn’t breathe fire at her right now. But he was still dangerously strong, with the same broad shoulders and muscular build of an athlete—or an ancient warrior.

Because that was what he was. He was an ancient warrior who hated humanity and hadn’t even heard about the internet or the Mars rover. And she was trapped in a cave with him.

Aren’t I lucky.

“You’ve got nothing to fear from me,” Braeden said, then turned to look at Ginny. “Neither do you. I swear it on my honor—as little as that might mean to you.”

“Well, that is all very nice, but I’ve met your friends,” Autumn pointed out. “And they didn’t seem to care a lot about my life or their honor.”

“No,” Braeden said simply. “They don’t.”

“How reassuring,” Autumn muttered.

“Hush. We need to think.”

“About what? There’s no way out. And since when is it we?” Autumn demanded.

The fire dragon ignored her. Instead, he eyed Ginny thoughtfully.

“You know your way around these tunnels.”

Ginny stared at him for a long moment, then simply shrugged. “A little.”

“You’ve been bringing me my food pretty much since they imprisoned me in here,” Braeden said. “Did they fly you in, or is there a way in and out of these caves for shifters without wings?”

Again Ginny gave him a considering look.

“There is,” she murmured at last. “But it’s of no use to you. We’re trapped in here.”

“I can’t use my powers, no.” Braeden grimaced, shifting his shoulders instinctively, as if even the thought of his wings hurt him. “But you’re a shifter. Any special abilities that we don’t know?”

Ginny stared at him with a bitter look. “I’m a mouse shifter. So no.”

“Mouse,” he murmured, staring at her as if lost in thought. “If I could use fire to force the rock to split—but never mind. What about you?”

“Me?” Autumn asked in shock when she suddenly found herself the recipient of the fire dragon’s intense gaze.

Even with his powers safely locked away by the dragonsbane, she could see a distant hint of flames in his eyes.

“I’m not a shifter, you know that. I’m just human.”

“Still,” Braeden muttered, “you’re a dragon’s mate. The mate of the dragon of earth, to be precise. Mated, some of his power might be shared...”

“Oh, we haven’t... I mean, we aren’t yet, not really,” Autumn began, flushing as he kept staring at her.

If there was anything worse than being trapped with a fire dragon in a cave, then it was having to explain the details of her sex life to said fire dragon.

“Pity,” Braeden muttered, his eyes narrowing as he resolutely turned away and quickly strode back through the broken bars. He pressed his hands to the rock on the other side of the cell. For a long moment, he remained silent and motionless. Then, with a sound of frustration, he pulled back.

“No good. Maybe if I had my powers—but we can’t break through stone.”

“Like I said. We’ll have to wait. The dragon of earth will return and deal with them,” Ginny said quietly.

As if summoned by her words, another crack in the distance made the cave around them tremble.

Clenching her teeth to hold back the terrified sound that wanted to break free, Autumn took a step forward.

Was she just imagining it, or had the outline of the door become more visible?

It was definitely growing warmer. She’d dressed sensibly for the journey—but she wasn’t wearing her coat now, which Ginny was still carrying. Even so, she was so hot that she could feel her hair stick to her sweaty skin.

Autumn knelt and put her hand on the ground. The stone was warm.

Even if their enemy didn’t yet know where they were, they were definitely searching the right area.

And if they accidentally make this cave collapse on us, it won’t matter if they find us or not...

“This way,” Braeden hissed. “Hurry.”

He motioned for them to come past the broken bars, gesturing towards the smaller cave opening there.

With a suspicious look, Autumn followed.

It’s not like it can get much worse.

Ginny walked closely behind her. When they stepped into the smaller cave, they saw that it held a bed. Beyond it, another tiny cave opened up. It held a rudimentary bathroom—and there, in the corner opposite the small shower, was a ventilation shaft.

“Big enough for a mouse,” Autumn said quietly, her heart clenching in her chest as she looked at Ginny. “He’s right. Get out while you can.”

Ginny shook her head, glaring at the dragon shifter. “He’s wrong. There’s nothing I can do to help.”

“You don’t have to help. But you’ll be able to get away.” Autumn swallowing back her fear.

It was the right thing to do. Even if she couldn’t escape this trap, there was no need at all why Ginny should die here with them.

“I’m not going to abandon you when—” Ginny began.

“You’re not.” Braeden was pale, but his face was determined when he turned to Ginny. “You’re small. You know the tunnels here. You can escape them and go for help.”

Ginny silently shook her head again.

“Go,” Autumn said, then fell silent when from the larger cave beyond, an ominous crack echoed.

“They’ve found a fault in the stone they can use,” Braeden said. “Go!”

He jumped up and grabbed hold of the grating that was bolted to the ventilation shaft. He dangled from it for a heartbeat.

Autumn watched as his body tensed, his muscles straining against his shirt.

Then, with the screeching sound of metal tearing, the grating gave, and Braeden dropped back to the ground with it in his hand.

Ginny grabbed hold of Autumn’s arm. “I’ll go. But only to find Damon. I’ll send him back to you, as fast as I can.”

Autumn nodded, her heart pounding in her chest. “Good luck.”

A heartbeat later, Ginny’s body shimmered—and then vanished, just like that. The clothes she’d borrowed from Braeden dropped to the floor.

Then a tiny mouse peeked out of the sweater, and Braeden knelt down, offering his hand.

Ginny crawled onto his palm. Carefully, Braeden lifted her to the small opening of the ventilation shaft.

The mouse made a final chirp that could have meant Good luck, or I’ll hurry—and then she vanished into the darkness, leaving Autumn behind with Braeden.

“Now what?” Autumn asked after a moment, her throat dry.

It wasn’t just her fear, she realized—the air was getting so warm that soon, it would become difficult to breathe.

“Now we play for time,” Braeden said. The look he gave her was very serious. “I know that you have no reason to trust me, but I swear on my life that I will not harm an innocent. I know nothing about your human net flicks magic, or your human wings that carry you to the moon—but I’ve learned enough to know that you aren’t what I thought you were. I’ll try to protect you, as much as I can.”

“If we get out of this, I’m definitely getting you Netflix, chimera or no,” Autumn muttered with a faint smile.

“I’d like that. I think.” He gave her a brief smile, but then immediately turned serious again.

Together, they peered back into the larger cave. There, past the broken bars, the wall had begun to crack. And the outline of the door was glowing now—an eerie, red glow, as if something behind it had heated the stone almost beyond what it could bear.

“We’ve only got minutes,” Braeden whispered. “There’s one last thing we can try. They don’t know you’re in here with me. Go back into the bedroom. Hide beneath my bed. I’ll wait out there by the bars. They’re looking for me—if they break down the wall and find me, they’ve got what they came for. Wait until they are gone. Then try to run as fast as you can.”

Autumn swallowed. It was so hot now that she was desperately craving some water, but instead, she reached out her hand.

Braeden looked at her in confusion, then smiled with sudden understanding when she grabbed hold of his hand.

He shook her hand, his fingers firm.

“As fire dragons go, you’re pretty okay, you know,” she said.

“It was an honor to meet you as well, my lady of the earth,” he said and bowed formally. “My congratulations to your mate.”

Then he turned and walked back into the larger cave, facing the wall where the door’s outline was now glowing a terrifying red-orange.

Autumn swallowed, her tongue heavy and dry in her mouth. She returned to Braeden’s bed, kneeling down on the warm stone floor, then squeezing beneath the bed.

For all that he was a prisoner, the bed was made of a sturdy frame of heavy wood, and covered with large, warm blankets. Crawling all the way to the back, resting against the wall of the cave with the blankets hanging down, she would be completely invisible to anyone who looked into Braeden’s bedroom.

Maybe he’s right. They don’t care about me. They don’t even know I’m here. They’re here to free their friend. As soon as they’ve broken him out, they’ll all run. And then Damon will come for me.

Thinking about Damon’s majestic wings shielding her from the dragons’ fire helped a little.

Every now and then, she heard strange cracks echoing through the cave. Those had to be the fault lines in the stone Braeden had mentioned. The fire dragons had heated the stone so much with their fire that any weak spots in the rock would crack and open—like the time her favorite mug had finally cracked when she’d filled it with boiling water.

No. Think about Damon instead, she told herself firmly.

Swallowing down her fear, she closed her eyes. Little by little, she could make out the golden glow of the fragile bond between them in the darkness.

They’re here, she thought, imagining that the words were beams of light that would pulse with the bond right through the stone until they’d reach Damon.

And then the distant crackling and popping in the stone around her turned into a strange, inhuman sound, like something terrible grinding together and tearing.

A heartbeat later, the rocks around her groaned, and another cloud of dust and tiny rocks exploded even into her tiny space beneath the bed.

They’ve broken through, she thought, her heart pounding so loudly in her chest that it took a moment until she realized that everything had become strangely silent.

Then she heard Braeden speak from the other room.

“You’ve found me,” he said calmly. “Now finish it.”