“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked as we pulled up to the area where we’d find Jasmine’s home, And her kind.

I couldn’t see a house anywhere nearby, but the trees were thick enough to hide just about anything.

“You’re the one who almost killed that girl, and she seems to matter a lot to you.” Smoke slammed the door once he stepped out of the Jeep.

It was the only vehicle we owned which would allow us to make it up and down the mountain without use of the main road.

“She does. I just wanted to be sure you were up for what we’re about to do.” I fell in step beside him as we left the winding road which cut through the middle of the woods and made our way through the even darker darkness under the crisscrossing branches above our heads. “You can wait in the car if it would make you feel better.”

“Since when have I ever stood down in the face of a fight?” he asked. “If anything, it’s been too long since the last one.”

“You’re right—though I doubt this will be a fight,” I added. “I mean, there’s nothing either of us can’t handle.”

“Even so, there’s no way of trusting the fae.” He eyed me up. “You’re sure you can trust her?”

“I’m sure.”

“How do you know?”

“How do I know Sunday follows Saturday?” I asked, exasperated. “You’re driving me crazy with all these questions, and I have enough on my mind.”

“How can you be so sure?” he asked anyway, like I hadn’t spoken at all.

“I can’t explain it. You know how strong our instincts are. It’s the same with this. My instincts tell me she’s the one I’ve been waiting for. She’s my mate.”

“I’m glad for you, if that’s the case. I just wish she were somebody a little less complicated.”

“You and me both.” And she was dying as we discussed the matter. “We need to hurry.”

“We’re already practically running.” He looked around, back and forth, scowling. “We’re supposed to have arrived. I mean, this is supposed to be it.”

We were standing on the edge of a clearing, trees towering above us, and all around the circle of empty land lit by the nearly full moon. “Well, somebody cleared this at some point,” I said, squinting hard. “I don’t understand. Shouldn’t we be able to see it?”

“You would think, right? I was sure we would be able to.”

Desperation left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Jasmine was dying. She needed us. Me.

“I have an idea,” I whispered when inspiration struck.

“Please. Feel free to share. I’m at a loss.”

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me. He was normally the one with all the answers.

“I’m about to feel like a real ass,” I muttered before walking straight forward.

I hoped the darkness was enough to conceal my movements as I crossed the clearing with my hands stretched out in front of me at waist level. I hoped they would catch the wall before my face did.

I hadn’t walked a hundred paces before something stopped me.

Something hard, unyielding, though there was nothing in front of my face but open space.

I blinked.

What had just been open space had become a wall. A stone wall. A tall, stone-and-mortar wall.

I shook my head to clear it a little, just in case I was imagining things.

I wasn’t.

I turned to find Smoke running up to me.

“Holy shit!” he breathed. “It appeared out of nowhere, as soon as I saw you hit it!”

“Glad I wasn’t walking any faster than I was.”

We crouched down and made our way to the back of the building to get a better idea of what we were dealing with.

The size of the place was staggering. It was easily the length of two football fields and six stories high. There was a tower at each of the four corners, just as Jasmine had said.

I wondered how old the place was—time had worn the stones smooth long before tonight.

Only a few of the windows were lit, and we crawled beneath them.

I didn’t hear any voices coming from in there and couldn’t help but imagine them lying in wait for us. Was that it? Were they waiting to attack? Like spiders in a web.

“Which tower was it supposed to be,” Smoke whispered.

“The west wing, facing the lake.” I looked to my right. “The lake’s that way, and west is…”

“This way.” Smoke led the way to the tower in question.

The roof was easily a hundred feet off the ground and maybe even two hundred.

My depth perception was all out of whack, and I would’ve bet it had something to do with the numerous charms cast on the mansion.

I touched one of the large, smooth stones to solidify it for myself.

A light glowed in the top of the tower.

“That must be her,” I whispered. “You ready?”

I looked over to find him already climbing, using the stones as handholds. I scrambled to catch up. Soon, we were each at a separate window without so much as breaking a sweat.

She was in there.

A beautiful girl who looked a lot like her sister, except for the hair. While Jasmine’s was a flaming red, hers was wheat-blonde. She tossed it over one shoulder before bending over a table, hands working at something I couldn’t make out. She was barefoot, wearing a simple, linen dress. A creature of nature, fae, as her title implied.

I leaned back to look at my brother, who stared in the window like a Peeping Tom. He practically drooled.

I blew a short, sharp whistle through my teeth to get his attention, and he nearly fell from the wall, but it got him looking at me.

I jerked my head in her direction, eyebrows raised, and he nodded.

The windows were both hinged on either side, two panes meeting in the middle.

I swung the glass open and hauled myself inside the round, stone-floored room.

She whirled around with a gasp, eyes round with terror.

The girl must have been deeply involved in her work to escape noticing two grown men hanging outside her window.

“Who are you?” she breathed, looking back and forth, back and forth. Every inch of her body was coiled like a spring, tense with fear.

I held my hands up. “We’re not here to hurt you, Alina.”

“How do you know my name?” Her voice was deep, warm, but breathy. Musical.

“Your sister sent us. She’s very sick and needs your help.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really? What’s her name, then?”

“Jasmine. She looks just like you, but she has red hair. And until this morning, she drove a rusty, two-door car which was swept off the side of a mountain by a mudslide.”

Her already pale skin went white as a sheet of paper. “Is she…?”

“Alive. I got her out of the car before she went over, but she’s badly injured. Very sick. There’s poison in her blood.”

“Poison?” She looked at Smoke, needing clarification.

“It’s a long story, Alina. We need you to come with us as fast as possible. She’s rotting inside—her words, not mine. She said you would know what to use in a case like this.”

“Where is she?”

“Our home,” I explained. “Not terribly far from here, but far enough. We couldn’t risk bringing her because the drive is too rough, with the main road washed out as it is. You’ll have to get everything together and come with us. Now.”

It was mostly a lie, but I had to give her something she would believe long enough to come with us.

She didn’t hesitate. I had to give her credit for that—I liked a person who could act decisively, and there was never a better time for it than now.

Glass-doored cabinets stood against the walls, holding a number of vials and jars and tubes. Some of them even glowed in deep, jewel tones. I couldn’t imagine what use she would have for so many potions and elixirs. The scent of herbs hung heavy in the room, ready to be used for filling even more jars.

She pulled out a canvas apron and unrolled it until it was flat on an unused table. There were pockets sewn in which she filled with bottle after bottle, jar after jar. Along with them, she packed clean cloths and bandages.

All the while, she muttered under her breath.

“Told her and told her about going off on her own, but would she listen? No. And what happened? She got herself into exactly the sort of situation I’ve been warning her about for years. Driving that piece of shit car around on a mountain.”

Smoke snorted at that, then coughed as if he was trying to cover it up.

“Hurry, please. She was already close to…”

“Death?” Alina whirled around like she did when we first entered the room, a jar of what looked like mud in one hand.

“I didn’t want to use that word, but yes.”

“My stars.” She swallowed hard, but kept moving. “Why did you have to break in like this? Why couldn’t you ring the doorbell?”

“That’s a long story, too, and I’ll be happy to tell you anything you want to know when we’re on our way.”

Yes, I was sure Smoke would be happy as hell to talk to her for hours.

I couldn’t ignore the way his eyes followed her every movement.

“Who are you?” She wrapped up the apron and slid it into a bag which she slung across her back.

“It’s a—”

“Long story. Yes. I know. But I think you should clue me in before I leave my home with you.”

“And we can’t tell you until we leave.” I untied the bandana from around my wrist. “Also, you have to wear this.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.”

“Alina. Please. Your sister is dying, and she needs your help.” Smoke took the bandana from me—wrenched it away, more like—and held it out to her. “She told us where to find you. She told us you’re a healer. And yes, we know you’re a member of the fae. We mean you no harm, but there are those in your world who would wish us harm. And we can work this all out later, but for now, you need to put on the damn blindfold and come with us. Quickly.”

She blinked.

They held each other’s gaze for an endless moment.

“Fine.” She pulled it from his hand and tied it over her eyes and around her head.

Smoke examined her closely, probably more closely than he needed to, to be sure she couldn’t see. Finally, he shrugged.

“All right. Come on. You’ll have to go down the wall on one of our backs.”

“I’ll what?”

It didn’t matter if she was skeptical. I took her by the hand and led her to the window.

“We need to leave.” I did the deciding for her, turning my back and wrapping her arms around my neck before doing the same with her legs around my waist. “There’s no doubt the two of you are related,” I grumbled as I climbed out the window.

“What’s… that… mean?” she asked through gasps for air. Her heart beat wildly against my back as I climbed down the tower wall.

“She never stops asking questions and stalling, either.”

We were on the ground in no time at all, but I couldn’t let her go with the blindfold still on.

“Hold on tight, now.”

She did as I asked, to the point where I wondered if she was trying to strangle me. She would once she knew what I had done to Jasmine.

“How did you do that?” she asked as Smoke and I ran through the woods.

“Do what?”

“Climb up and down like it was nothing? And with me on your back?”

“You don’t weigh very much,” I pointed out.

“I don’t respond to flattery, so don’t waste your time.”

Smoke snorted again. “I’ll tell you about it in the car. I promise. So long as you don’t touch that blindfold.”

“I won’t.”

“Your sister’s life depends on it.”

“I said, I won’t.”

And she wouldn’t. Her heart beat faster than ever at the mention of Jasmine. She loved her sister, was devoted to her.

Good thing. We would need that.

I helped her into the back seat and rolled my eyes when Smoke climbed in beside her instead of driving, as he had to get us there.

“I guess I’ll drive,” I muttered, getting behind the wheel and hitting the gas the moment the engine turned over. It was better that way—my brother drove like an old woman most of the time. He’d never go fast enough for me.

“All right. I’m in the car. Can you tell me now who you are and why I’m wearing this damn thing?”

“Promise you won’t flip out,” Smoke implored.

“You’re asking for a lot of promises.”

“We’re dragons,” I announced, cutting the wheel hard to the left as I turned onto the road leading to the mountains.

A dark road, little traveled, perfect for me to tear down at breakneck speed. I heard Alina and Smoke grunt as they crashed together behind me.

“You’re what?” she shrieked. “And slow down a little! You’ll kill us before we get there!”

“Dragon shifters,” I clarified. “And I didn’t know your sister was fae before I tried to heal her with my blood.”

“You what?” Her voice pierced my ears, just like the accusation in it pierced my soul. “I thought you said you saved her!”

“I did, but she had a gaping shoulder wound. You’ll see what I mean when you get there. I was afraid of infection. I didn’t know she wasn’t human—you didn’t know what we were when you first saw us, did you?”

“Dragon blood. No wonder she’s dying. Go faster!”

“I thought you wanted him to slow down!” Smoke shouted over the roar of the engine.

“That was before I knew what you did to her! Go! Go!”

I went.

It took the better part of two hours for Smoke and I to get to the mansion. It only took me forty-five minutes to get back up the mountain and into the cave.

Smoke led a still-blindfolded Alina while I ran ahead.

Please be alive please be alive please be alive.

The dragon in me was silent for the first time in forever while my own silent prayer ran on repeat.

Miles was in there, and he didn’t look hopeful. But he didn’t try to stop me from rushing in, either, which told me she was still alive.

And she was. Barely, but she was. Her chest rose up and down slowly, so slowly. But she was breathing.

“We’re back,” I whispered, stroking the side of her face before I could stop myself. “Jasmine, I brought Alina to you. She’ll help you.”

“She’s been muttering to herself for hours,” Miles murmured from the doorway. “Dripping sweat, too. But I don’t think she was ever conscious.”

“Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” I whispered, still touching her face.

She was hot as the hood of my truck on an August afternoon. I could only hope she wasn’t already too far gone.

“Here she is.” Smoke guided Alina into the cell before removing her blindfold.

She blinked hard as her eyes adjusted, then looked around. When she saw Jasmine, she let out a cry of dismay and fell to her knees, going through her bag to pull out the potions.

“I can’t believe you did this to her,” she spat, glancing at me with hate in her eyes.

“Do you think you can heal her?”

“I’ll do my very best. But I’ll need you to help me.”

“I’ll do anything.”

She nodded. “You’re damn right, you’ll do anything. You nearly killed my sister—and you still might have, at that.”