“Wake up, dragon shifter, before they come for you.”

The voice was vaguely familiar. The urgency in the tone pulled at her senses, intruding into the soft darkness she’d been floating in.

She didn’t want to wake up. If she did, she’d have to face the fact that the lion was her mate. The fire that had bled out of her had enveloped him and not hurt him. It meant her dragon accepted him.

If she stayed, it was only a matter of time before her dragon broke through the psychic barrier and bonded with his lion. It would kill him.

She had to leave.

Her eyes flew open.

She stared into the face of a woman whose features were familiar. But she’d never seen her before, she was sure of that.

Her large golden-brown eyes watched her unblinking through the bars that separated them. She sat on the floor cross-legged and as close to the bars as she could get.

A large red scarf was wrapped around her head like a turban. Her stance indicated she’d been there for some time.

“How long have I been out?” Eve’s voice came out groggy. She shook her head to clear it.

“For most of the night.” The woman gestured to the window through which the pale light of dawn crept in.

Eve had been out for at least twelve hours. Another portion of her life that she’d lost while being unconscious. Anger licked her nerves.

She was getting tired of losing parts of her life like that. Once more it was the Elysians who were to blame.

Eve flicked her gaze around the space to find she was in a large cell split into two. Bars surrounded her on two sides. Behind her was a wall with a small window near the ceiling. A single lightbulb was strung up overhead. The light flickered, went out for a second, then came back on again.

She tried to move and found to her relief her body obeyed her. The muscles of her back protested, reminding her she’d been hit from behind. But there was no other pain, so the wound must have healed.

The scent of the sea was strong. She closed her eyes, let her hearing pick up the sounds that filtered through the wall.

The rustle of the sand, the hush of the waves, two people who marched in tandem as they passed by, turning around the building.

By the way they strode, they must be guards.

They left behind a faint metallic scent, the kind she’d sensed seconds before she’d been hit by the telekinetic blast.

She turned on her heel and stalked up to the bars. “Where are the Elysians? Do you know where to find them?”

The other woman peered up from her position on the floor. Her tawny eyes widened. “Don’t waste time, do you?”

“How long have you been in this cell?” Eve scraped her hair back from her face, trying to smooth the strands into some semblance of order.

“A question with a question, you must be an alpha.” The woman’s forehead furrowed. She got to her feet. “You the leader of the dragons?”

She was tiny, five-feet-two-inches at the most, and had to tilt her head back to meet Eve’s stare.

The aroma of sage on a cool desert night teased Eve’s nostrils. “You are Cain’s sister?”

The woman paused, sparks of gold flaring in her amber eyes. Her nostrils flared. “You are his girlfriend.”

Eve opened her mouth, but the woman was speaking again.

“His scent is all over you, so don’t bother denying it.” The curvy woman grabbed the bars. “They caught him, too, didn’t they?” She punched the bar with her tiny fist. She was a shifter and would heal fast, yet it had to have hurt, ramming the bar that way.

Eve surveyed the woman’s face and found there was no acknowledgement of the pain. It impressed her, made her realize the shifter was stronger than she looked.

The woman made a growling noise at the back of her throat. “He’s too hot-headed to give in to anything they ask…”

“Too dominant and strong-willed.” Eve bit her lips. “He’s going to fight them and get hurt.” She’d hoped to focus on rescuing Cain, rather than thinking of ‘him’ as a man, as someone whose mere thoughts turned her on.

It would have been the only way to get through this without her dragon being drawn to him.

She let the fear for him show in her eyes.

The female lion shifter canted her head. Her gaze unnerved Eve. It reminded her too much of Cain. Images of how they’d been kissing before they’d been taken tumbled through her head.

Heat flushed her face.

Eve slid her gaze away. She was surprised to find tears pricking the backs of her eyes.

Why was it that thinking of this lion shifter made her guts churn with fear for his safety? She longed to be near him, hear his voice, smell that comforting essence of him again.

“You in love with him?” The woman’s voice pushed away all other thoughts.

Eve stiffened. She wanted to protest at Serena’s conclusion, then realized her emotions were all over her face. Anyone could take one look at her and realize that she was a goner for the lion shifter. “It’s not that simple.” She glanced at her clothes and adjusted the hem of her shirt.

“Mmm-hmm.” Serena made a noise that sounded like a mix between a chuckle and a growl. “Bet he feels the same.”

Eve leaned back and raked her fingers over her hair. “What makes you say that?” Her nails snagged on a knot, and she pretended to busy herself unraveling it.

“Feisty, territorial, and alpha.” Serena clapped. Her face flushed. “You’re just like him. My, but this is going to be interesting.” She grinned, showing tiny, sharp canines.

She’d just met her, yet this lioness was already acting so familiar with her.

Eve wanted to be annoyed but found she couldn’t.

The giddy delight on the shifter’s face had Eve drawing her lips apart in a smile. “This is a weird conversation to be having with a stranger wearing a turban, while locked up in a cell.”

“I fought the bastards until they let me keep my scarf.” She touched the cloth around her head. “I got my way.”

“Of course you did.” Eve already loved this woman. Her spirit was exactly what she needed right then, and to find a way to get out of here and to Cain.

“It’s called a head wrap, by the way.” The woman smirked and held up her hand through the bars. “I’m Serena.”

“Eve.” She grasped the other woman’s hand.

“See, now we are not strangers.” Serena’s eyes gleamed. “So tell me, Alpha. What’s your plan to get out of here?”