Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)(99)

A lantern flared to life, blinding her. Spots danced in front of her eyes. She blinked to clear her vision. Underneath the chandelier stood Alec, the Black dragon with the tattooed chest. His hair was wild and tangled. He wore the same ragged jeans she’d seen before.

This could be bad. Very bad.

“Hello, Bryn. The last few times we met, you flew off before we had a chance to talk.”

“Hello, Alec.” She needed a way out of this room, fast. There had to be a door that led to a stairway. Wait, was that flash of light a blond head? “What do you want?”

“I want you to step off the elevator. There are no buttons inside. What good does it do to stay there?”

Stay calm. Play along. “It stinks here. Why don’t we talk someplace else?”

He laughed and shook his head. “You think to trick me so easily?”

She shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”

“Come out, Bryn. I’d hate to hurt your friends.” The lantern light shifted to reveal Jaxon and his mother, bound and gagged on the couch. They resembled discarded, life-sized rag dolls. Neither one moved. Their eyes were closed.

“Can you smell the gasoline I poured on the carpet and the couch? It would be a bad idea to use your fire. Your friends would die a horrible death.”

They weren’t dead yet. Needing to buy them some time, she stepped out of the elevator and positioned herself between Alec and the unconscious dragons. She backed away from him and continued talking. “All right, Alec. What do you want?”

“I want revenge on the Directorate. They stole my life. Now Ferrin will know what it’s like to lose what he loves.”

“It’s not Jaxon’s fault his father is a jerk who plays God.”

He chuckled. It wasn’t a warm, happy sound. “Don’t you see? It’s divine justice for both of us. Ferrin is making you pay for the sins of your mother. Now his son and wife will pay for his transgressions.”

She had to distract Alec and get Jaxon and his mother out of there. “What role do I play in this twisted scenario? What do you want from me?”

“If you’d died from the dragonbane like you were supposed to, we would’ve blamed your death on the Blues. You would’ve been the martyr for our cause.”

Wait a minute. “You poisoned me?”

“Not me, personally. One of our co-conspirators inside the Institute.”

“Did your co-conspirator steal my bracelet?”

“Yes. Your diamonds have opened several doors for us.”

Great. She’d funded her own attempted murder. “Killing me now serves no purpose.” She backed toward the couch, scanning the room for something to use as a weapon.

“You are the last of the Sinclair line, so your death will serve to punish your grandfather.”

She was running out of time. And then she saw her chance. “He doesn’t care about me, so killing me accomplishes nothing.”

“You represent the continuation of his line. He—”

While he was talking, Bryn sucked in a breath and blasted frozen flames at the giant chandelier hanging above Alec.

His head jerked up.

Crack. The added weight from the ice was too much for the fixture. It broke free and crashed down on Alec.

Yes. No time to celebrate. Heart hammering in her chest, she shifted, flew to the couch, grabbed the two lifeless bodies with her hind talons, and aimed for a window. Why did Jaxon and his mother seem so heavy? Her body had been healed by Quintessence, but she was fatigued. Now was not the time to move slowly.

A white hot bolt of lightning seared her shoulder and sent her tumbling end over end. Son of a bitch. That hurt. Roaring in pain, she tucked Jaxon and Lillith closer to her body, turned, and shot a fireball at the gasoline soaked couch.

Flames exploded as the couch and carpet caught fire. Bryn pumped her wings like crazy. Each down-stroke took effort. She’d bought herself a few seconds, but she needed to get out of there before—

Bam. A second bolt of lightning punched into her flank, stealing her breath and slamming her through the windows, taking glass and stone with her as she catapulted into the night sky.

Dazed, she struggled to breathe. Everything was so dark. Where was the damn ground? If she could get rid of her passengers, she could turn and fight.

There, the trees gave her a marker to aim for. Tendons in her wing muscles strained as she leveled out and held steady. A third bolt of lightning singed her tail. That was enough of that shit. Growling, she dived low to the ground, dropped the lifeless bundles on the grass, and turned to do battle.

Alec was coming in fast, talons first. She blasted him with fire. He altered his course and came at her from behind. She was on the defensive now, shooting fireballs to keep him at bay. In the air, she’d had a better chance of avoiding his attack. Now that Jaxon and Lillith were on the ground, she was stuck guarding them like a sitting duck. It’s not like she could leave them. Okay, she might leave Jaxon, but his mother was nice. Where the hell was Merrick?

Lightning flew over her head and hit Alec in the chest, knocking him backward. Bryn whipped around. Had that been meant for her? Did Alec have reinforcements with bad aim? Or was someone helping her?

“This stops now.” Zavien flew between Bryn and Alec, using his body as a shield.

It was the cavalry. Thank goodness. She collapsed in relief on the grass. Two Blue dragons converged from different points in the sky and flew to join the battle.