Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
“How?”
“The day we arrived in this district, I spread through the homeless camps that I was searching for someone with a distinct scar on his cheek. I also passed around some money to get the wheels moving. Looks like someone saw him.”
As Adrian passed under a working streetlamp, he unfolded the paper with his thumb and glanced at it. An address.
“Should we go tonight?” Haru inquired.
Adrian stuffed his hand into his pocket and shook his head. “Tomorrow. I want to check it out in the light of day, make sure it’s not a trap.”
And it was likely a trap. Just because he’d bought the goodwill of a few people didn’t mean those same people hadn’t sold him out to whoever was after Shey. They had to move slowly and pray that the prince of Caspagir was still alive.
CHAPTER 2
Omari Haru
Haru hated Bellcairn.
Everything about the place made his skin crawl and itch. Of course, being stuck as a human left him feeling vulnerable and antsy. How in the world had Drayce lived for decades in his human form, forsaking his dragon side so completely? Haru should have spent more time prior to their departure from Stormbreak talking to Drayce and finding out how he handled suppressing all his dragon powers because Haru was sure he was going to go insane well before they returned to Erya.
But it wasn’t just not being able to shift and feeling vulnerable. He also felt as if, trapped as a human, he couldn’t adequately protect Adrian. Being in his human form meant being stuck with so many limitations. He wasn’t strong enough or fast enough to keep Adrian as safe as he needed to be.
Adrian was his mate. He’d felt it deep in his bones that very first time their eyes had met in the woods outside the Takahashi prison. The feeling had grown stronger over the following months until it now pulsed within him as if it were a living, breathing entity, driving him toward Adrian.
Most dragons never met their mate in their lifetime. Some even scorned the idea as a myth, but Haru had experienced it. The pull was inescapable. He might have been angry to discover his mate was human if not for the fact that Adrian was so amazing. The little human was funny, snarky, sassy, stubborn, and so damn resourceful. No matter how the odds were stacked against him, he always dove in with his whole heart to tackle a job. And he was just as protective of those he cared about as a dragon would be. Yes, he was the perfect dragon mate.
The human still required a lot of coaxing and convincing, but Haru wasn’t worried about that. If he couldn’t keep Adrian safe, though, he wouldn’t have the chance to do the convincing.
Everything about Bellcairn screamed danger, and yet he couldn’t quite put a claw on the reason. The citizens were grumpy and suspicious, not to mention poor and ill-treated. This was nothing like Stormbreak, which had nearly recovered from its brief occupation by New Rosanthe. Even Sirelis appeared to be inviting and interesting. During their brief stop in the city prior to starting their trek to Damardor, he’d caught glimpses of the Caspagir mountains, and he ached to soar through them, exploring their snowy peaks.
But so far, there had been nothing to recommend about Bellcairn. The sooner they could locate Prince Shey and drag him home, the better it would be for all of them. Plus, he could return his attention to wooing Adrian full-time and not have to worry about eating threatening humans.
The address Adrian had gotten from the dirty child turned out to be for a five-story apartment building in a very poor part of town called Black Water Gate, most likely named for the docks and canal system with water gates to move the various ships without lots of congestion.
As the sun was peeking above the distant horizon at the beginning of the day, they headed out to the address and sneaked into a hidden spot where they could monitor the comings and goings of the building’s occupants. They’d lucked into finding an empty apartment in the building across the street from their target. The single large room was dirty and smelly, with some forgotten and broken furniture, piles of garbage, and a couple of dead rats. Not the most desirable location to spend a day, but it allowed him to be with Adrian, so the rest did not matter.
The building across the street, which supposedly held Shey, was silent. Dim lights leaked out from behind blinds and window shades on only two of the floors. Darkness dominated all the other homes. Considering the number of people they watched leaving to go to jobs throughout the city, it was clear the building was almost completely abandoned.