Dragon's Revenge
12.

"What about Maria and the Queen?"

"Our first order of business is getting them out."

"Jonah, you're a good man. Not everyone would put their life at risk to save another person."

"Luckily for them, I'm not just everyone. And it's not just another person, it's my mother. Follow me. I know where they're being held. And luckily for us, they're together."

"I don't understand. Why was I being held in a different cell than Maria and Queen Desmonda?"

"Because Morgan believes you to be a bigger threat than them." He quickly leads her through the backwoods of the compound. They stay low, using the surrounding trees as cover. All of a sudden, he holds up his hand, stopping them. His ears perk up and then she hears what he's hearing. "Footsteps. Someone's coming. We need to hide." She quickly ducks, pulling Jonah down with her, behind a thick, green bush. He presses his body against hers and holds her tightly as two soldiers run past them. "I've never seen those guards before. Morgan must've brought in extra security. We need to hurry."

In minutes, they arrive at the tower where Maria and Queen Desmonda are being held. Outside, two soldiers guard the tower's entrance. The pair keep their distance, assessing the situation. "We need to get through those doors, but we're going to have to get past the guards first." Jonah thinks for a moment, before getting an idea. "I won't be able to get close enough. Not before they recognize me as the Jebel heir. But they don't know who you are. The only guards who'd recognize you would've been at the tribunal. These are Morgan's men, which means they've never seen you before."

"You want me to try to get past them?"

"Just act confident, like you belong. When they're distracted, I'll jump in and take care of the rest."

She sucks in a deep breath, readying herself and approaches the guards with purpose. They stop her at the door. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm a servant and I'm here to clean the cells."

The soldiers look her up and down with disdain. "After you clean the cells, you should consider a shower. Look at you, you're filthy." The soldiers step aside, allowing her to pass. The moment their backs are turned, Jonah springs into action. He punches the first one in the back of his head, eyes rolling back as he passes out. "What the hell?" The other guard reacts and lunges at Jonah, but he's too fast and grabs him by the throat. He squeezes tightly until the soldier loses consciousness and passes out.

"Hurry, Elodie." He takes her hand and leads her into the tower, where they race up the stairs together.

All of a sudden, they hear footsteps fast approaching from the opposite direction and stop. Jonah pulls her into a doorway, just as Nori and another solider walk past it.

"Find that traitor. Elodie escaped and couldn't have gone far."

Once they're gone, her and Jonah continue to climb the winding steps toward Maria and Desmonda's cell. "According to my intel, there'll be two guards watching Maria and my mother's cell. Which means I won't be able to break them out on my own, I'll need your help."

"Jonah, I have your back through thick and thin."

"That's why I know we're going to get through this... because we're together." As they approach the top of the stairwell, they slow down, taking every step as quietly as possible. Jonah keeps his voice low and even, his eyes sharp and alert. "The guards are posted at the very top of these steps. Once we get there, we'll have almost no time to think before we have to jump into action." As he ascends the few steps left, he looks back at her. He gives her a knowing nod and then leaps into action, racing toward the guard on the right. "Now, Elodie!" She shakes her head and starts hyperventilating. Jonah looks behind him, realizing she's not there. "Elodie, what are you doing? We don't have time to waste!" But she can't hold it together. She tries to retreat, but the guards have already noticed them. They race toward the duo, but Jonah steps in and knocks them out with ease. "Dammit, Elodie. Get it together."

She follows Jonah into the room where Queen Desmonda and Maria are being held and lock the door behind them.

"Jonah?"

"Elodie?" Jonah hugs his mother tightly while Elodie embraces Maria. She studies the room, which is eerily similar to her old prison. "Thank you for rescuing us." Maria smiles.

"I'm ready to go kick some Jebel ass."

"You'll get your chance soon enough. But first, we need to come up with a plan." Jonah huddles everyone together. "We have to get out of here. Morgan knows Elodie escaped and it won't be long before he realizes you did too."

"No, it won't. Which is why I think we need to escape by dragon. I can transform into my dragon and Maria can ride me. And Elodie, you can ride Jonah."

"Ma, that's brilliant! We're trapped in this tower, surrounded by guards. The woods will be guarded too. But if we burst through this tower, we'll be long gone before Morgan can transform and come after us." Jonah takes a moment to think over the plan. "And to be honest, I don't see another way out."

"I think it's a great idea too." Maria beams.

"What about you, Elodie? What do you think about the plan?"

"Before I decide, I need to know why you think they won't see us flying in the air."

"It's dark out. We can use the night sky as cover."

"All we need is a head start. We'll be too far for Morgan to follow by the time he figures it out."

All of a sudden, an axe pierces through the door. Nori's voice sounds from the other side. "There you you! I'm going to get you, Elodie." She swings the axe hard, again and again, smashing through the locked door.

"We have to go now! Before Nori breaks down that door. This plan can work, I know it. But the only we'll survive is if everyone is on board."

"I'm in." Maria nods.

"So am I."

They all turn to Elodie, anxious for her decision. In the background, Nori's almost broken down the door.

"What do you want to do, Elodie? You need to decide and you need to do it fast."

"I can't ride you, Jonah. I feel too weak from captivity to be able to transform right now. Go on and I'll meet you at our rendezvous point in the forest."

Jonah's face falls. He's disappointed and worried. "Are you sure?"

"I don't want to slow you down." Jonah and Desmonda transform. Maria hops onto the Queen's back and Elodie watches their dragons burst through the roof. Nori swears loudly through the door and races away, likely to inform Morgan. Thinking the coast is clear, Elodie escapes through the stairwell, but there are several guards at the bottom who spot her. "Fuck!" She runs past them and they chase her throughout the estate. She manages to escape into the woods, but not before getting scraped, bruised and having a few close calls.

~W~

After an hour of running, huffing and puffing through the woods, she eventually arrives at the rendezvous point. Jonah and Desmonda, back in their human forms, are waiting anxiously with Maria.

"We've been for awhile. Let's take a rest."

"But what about Morgan, won't he be after us?" Maria worries.

"He will be, but we've put enough distance between us that we can take some time." Jonah notices that Maria is bleeding from a scrape on her arm. "You're injured. Let me help you." He sits by Maria and tends to her wound.

Queen Desmonda moves to sit beside Elodie. "So, an Aelon with my son..... a Jebel. You two have created quite the situation for yourself."

"Yes, well, I never expected to fall for Jonah. When I infiltrated the Jebel compound, the only thing I had on my mind was revenge."

"The universe has a way of giving us what we need when we least expect it. Clearly, you were meant to meet Jonah." Elodie's eyes flutter over to Jonah, who is still tending to Maria's wounds. She can't hear what they're saying, but Maria smiles at Jonah and they laugh together. She places a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, Elodie's chest gets tight with jealousy. "Are you okay?"

Jonah hears the worry in his mother's voice and immediately turs to look. His eyes travel and meets hers, clocking that there's something a little off about her posture. "Excuse me." Jonah approaches her, takes her hand and guides her further into the forest until they're alone. "Today was a close call. Too close of a call. How are you feeling now that you're free?"

"Honestly, Jonah, I'm mad as hell. Morgan killed my parents and I still want revenge. But now there are miles between us."

"At least you're safe. You can't avenge your parents if you're dead." He steps closer. The air around them grows warm and he wraps his arms around her. "I'm glad you're safe. I don't know what I would've done if..... if anything had happened to you." She rests her head on his chest, relaxing into his embrace. "I have to tell you something, Elodie. And after today, I don't want to wait." He lifts her chin up to meet his gaze, his eyes soft, brimming with emotion. "Elodie, I love you. More than anything, anyone, I've ever loved." His voice aches with feeling. His gaze is locked on hers, expectant, waiting for her response.

"Jonah, I'm not sure yet. Don't get me wrong, I have feelings for you too. I'm just not sure if this is the right time to be declaring them. I just escaped from Morgan's capture and haven't had time to process that yet. A rush of adrenaline can feel a lot like love. And when I say those words to you, I want to know I mean them."

Jonah kisses her cheek and a rush of warmth floods her body. "I can wait for you, Elodie. But until then, know that I do love you."

They return to Maria and Queen Desmonda, who are both waiting for her. "So, what now?"

"We should come up with a plan to attack Morgan. We know he's already looking for us. We should be prepared in case he replaces us."

"That's smart, but we'll still need a safe place where we can recover from our injuries."

"A place where Morgan will never be able to replace us."

"We should replace my uncle and the Aelons. We can hide in their sanctuary. The only problem is that I have no idea where he is now."

"Can you text him?"

"I tried that, but he never responded. And that was hours ago."

Desmonda tilts her head, as though she's thinking of something. Jonah clocks the look on her face. "Mother...."

She ignores the warning in Jonah's voice and turns to Elodie. "Did you know there's a way for shifters to connect with their clan members?"

"Mother, remote mindlinking is too difficult for a new shifter to attempt! And Elodie is already weak from today."

"And even when she's weak, she's still far stronger than you realize, son." Desmonda turns to her, question in her eyes. "If you can remote mindlink with her uncle, then you'll be able to replace where he is."

"But.... Jonah said I can't-"

"No, Elodie, it's just.... remote mindlinking is very difficult, even for experienced shifters. And most shifters are not strong enough on their own."

"I have to at least try, right?" She closes her eyes and allows her body to shift. She uses her thoughts, memories and emotions to search for Jebeem. She keeps running into blank spaces where he should be. Eventually, she gives up. "I wasn't able to do it. It's like you said, the magic was too difficult."

"It it, but maybe I have an idea. What if I mindlink with you? If we do it together, we could be strong enough to replace your uncle." Jonah steps closer to her. Desmonda and Maria watch with anticipation. "What do you say, Elodie? Should we replace your uncle?"

"Let me try again. I really do think I can do it." She closes her eyes and shifts once again. She searches every corner of her mind, but comes up empty. "Damn it. I still can't replace him." Everyone looks at her, disappointed, especially Jonah. "I'll text him again." She pulls out her cell phone, still hidden in her shoe and texts him. Almost immediately, she gets a response. Her heart drops when she reads it. "It's an SOS. He says he's where the golden flowers are."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It's a code. He's telling me he's in the quarry. I know where that is." An hour later, they arrive to the quarry. As they climb through the slopes, she notices a trail of blood in the distance. She rushes to get a better look and sees scattered corpses everywhere. "Uncle!" She spots Jebeem among them and rushes to his side.

He's bleeding out, on the verge of death. "Help...."