Diamond Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 4) Read Free Page B

the man later, when he got his powers back and could burn down the entire castle.
    He stroked the nail across the man’s neck, drawing blood as he let out another squeak.
    “Stop! What do you want?” he gasped out.
    “Tell me about the collar,” Alistair ordered. “I want it off.”
    The scientist let out a strangled, hysterical laugh. “I don’t even know how it works. We got it when we found you. Stole it from the people holding you before.” He flinched as Alistair drew his claw lightly over the scratch, deepening it. Alistair watched, fascinated, as the man’s blood trickled down over his collar.
    After all the blood he’d taken from Alistair, it was only fitting he gave up a little of his own.
    Alistair heard movement downstairs, and as much as he wanted to play with the man in front of him, he could read his thoughts and see he was telling the truth.
    They’d only known the collar was the same one used on other dragons by the people who’d been holding him.
    So if he found the other dragons that had presumably been awakened, they would be able to tell him how to get free.
    He released the scientist, let him be relieved for a second, and then bashed his head into the wall, knocking him out so he couldn’t yell and wake anyone else.
    Then he crept down the stairs, hating the worry building in him the longer he was away from Bridget and the cat.
    It was probably just that he was used to them. He’d been in the basement too long and bonded when he shouldn’t have. As soon as he recovered from this, he’d probably go back to being his usual, selfish self. Admired. Rich. Beautiful. Powerful.
    Alone.
    Which suited him fine.
    He sought out Bridget’s thoughts until he found her hiding in a closet in a darkened hallway.
    The castle creaked—more footsteps, somewhere not too far away. He opened the door, heard her gasp, and covered her mouth as he pulled her out of the closet.
    Scrangey at least seemed to know to stay quiet, and as the three of them ran to the front door and then outside, they managed to not attract any more attention than they already had.
    But who knew how long it would take for someone to find Galen or the scientist he’d knocked out?
    “Your car,” he said, “I think that’s what people call them. You must have one. Where is it?”
    She nodded. “It’s over there.” She ran toward a large lot filled with shiny vehicles and then stopped. She stared at the castle, wide-eyed, seeming frozen in time.
    Scrangey tightened against Alistair with a little mew.
    “We don’t have time for this,” he said. “Let’s go.”
    She frowned. “I could still go back in there, couldn’t I? I could blame you. Say you attacked him.” She bit her lip. “Maybe they would take me back.”
    His jaw dropped. “Trust me. You don’t want to be back there.”
    She took a step toward the castle, and he grabbed her with his free arm around her waist. She was soft, giving, but firm in her resolve as she fought him.
    There was something in the way she struggled, a near-hysteric desperation that made him pause and look down at her. “What is it that means so much to you?”
    “They took my friend,” she said. “I don’t know where they sent her. I have to find her.”
    “This friend, are you sure she’s even alive?”
    Tears bit Bridget’s eyes, but she gave him a stubborn glare. “I know she is. Look, I’ve put up with these assholes for months, and if I walk away now, it’s all for nothing.”
    “I can’t get out of here without you,” he said, looking out at the unfamiliar landscape. “I don’t know anything about this world.” He glanced back at the castle, where more lights were turning on.
    “What does that have to do with me?” She huffed. “I didn’t kidnap you.” Her face fell. “And yeah, I feel for you. I do. But this person I’m here for, she’s important to me. Could be in danger. Probably is. If I run now, it was all for nothing.”
    “You want info from them?” he