Taken by the Dragon King Read Free Page A

there. So were my parents and my…” Inhaling sharply, Asher’s eyes start to water for a moment before his jaw clenches.
    “Who?” I ask, unsure if I want to know the answer. What if it was another girl, someone he was betrothed to. Princes get betrothed a lot, right?
    “My little sister,” he whispers. “She was alive when I was imprisoned. I wonder what became of her.”
    “Oh.” I don’t think I’ve ever felt this incredibly guilty before. Is this going to be my automatic reaction to every question I have now? That he’s hung up on some other chick that doesn’t even exist instead of recognizing his grief for a life that was stolen from him and the family that went with it? “Ash,” I say, leaning my head on his arm as we walk down the hallway. “Maybe we’ll find her one day.”
    “Maybe,” he replies sadly, shaking his head back and forth like he’s trying to rid himself of his thoughts. “Though it would certainly complicate things if we did.”
    “Why is that?”
    “She’d probably never stop trying to assassinate me to claim to the throne,” he says casually.
    “What?”
    “I’d do the same to her if she were the eldest.”
    “Well… shit. I don’t get along with my family either, but-”
    “I never said we didn’t get along. Quite the opposite. That’s just how it is.”
    “Well, it’s not like that anymore.”
    “Some things never change.”
    I’m so flabbergasted that I failed to notice that we started walking up the stairs instead of down them and now we’re standing on the roof in gloomy darkness. “Ash, we have to go back.”
    “Why? Did you forget something?”
    “No. I’m not sure how far we’re going, but we’ll probably need to call a cab.”
    “A cab?”
    “One of those,” I explain, pointing down to the well-lit street below. “It’s kind of like a chariot.”
    “I will never get inside anything that small,” he laughs, dropping his pants to his ankles and pulling off his shirt. “Especially if I need to travel.”
    “But-” Oh. I get it. He tosses me his clothes and I take a step back.
    “Why would we bother with one of those yellow death traps when we can fly instead?”
    I’m standing so close to him when he shifts that the flames should consume me, but instead I’m enveloped in a comforting warmth. For a moment, I wonder if it’s a true fire that surrounds him, but I quickly find scorch marks and melted tar when I look for evidence. I wonder how long the roof can support this much weight.

Chapter Three
     
     
    Flying over the city again is just terrifying as it was the first time but watching the sunrise from Ash’s grip provides a welcome distraction. I suspect that Ash is purposefully circling over our destination to prolong our spectacular view, but I definitely don’t feel nearly as dizzy when we land this time.
    The early morning Arizona sun beats down on the dark pavement. It’s amazing how fast this city heats up. Sweat from my lower back drips down into the waist of my pants. Thank God I didn’t wear a dress, I would leaving a trail of perspiration on the sidewalk.
    I grab Asher’s hand and give it a quick squeeze, walking up to the entrance of the shelter and pulling at the glass door. The wave of cool air feels amazing and I take a deep breath before stepping inside.
    Thoughts race through my mind and I’m not sure what to expect. As far as secret headquarters go, this is pretty perfect. An animal shelter is a great disguise for all of the strangeness that happens around Magicfolk, especially if the Cats are as involved in this whole Guardian thing as Edgar mentioned.
    Ringing the bell to call the desk attendant, I try to formulate what I’m going to say. Um, Hi. I’m the witch you guys were all looking for and Hey! I brought the Dragon King with me too! I give Ash a sideways glance making sure he’s doing okay with all the modernity. The shelter is pretty simple but the place actually looks fairly decent. A computer sits