The Scars of Her Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 14) by Julia Mills Page B

telling for both dove and dragon was the absence of any and all wildlife. No birds in the trees, no lizards or snakes in the grass, not even a cricket, grasshopper, or ant...it was absolutely deserted. That fact confirmed what they already knew—terrible things were taking place just under the picturesque surface.
    “Can you feel that?” Kellan asked, making Olive pay less attention to her mate and more to what he was sensing.
    It took a few precious seconds and she had no clue what it was she felt, but her dragon was right. There was something different, out of place but familiar, mixed among all the pain and suffering wafting from the torture chamber below. Nodding, then remembering he couldn’t see her, Olive answered, “Yeah, I do. What is it?”
    “I’m not sure. It feels familiar in some ways but very wrong in others. I just can’t make it out.” He hesitated. Olive could feel Kellan pushing his senses farther into the underground prison, searching for the odd presence but still falling short of his objective.
    What he did find and she felt right along with him was overwhelming pain and despair. Every soul he touched had given up hope. They were injured and tired and had been pushed farther both mentally and physically than their enhanced bodies could take. Time was running out. Olive felt the panic rise within her. They needed to get down there and save those shifters before it was too late.
    Calling to Ettie, she asked, “How long till you get here?”
    “No more than five minutes. Why? What’s wrong? You sound upset?” The eagle’s response was short and clipped. She was ready for battle.
    “Oh, Ettie, it’s terrible. Kellan is out near the entrance and we can feel their agony. Y’all need to hurry. Some of them are very near the end. I don’t want them to die down there.”
    Olive could hear Ettie talking to the other feathered shifters and then Claire relaying the information through Rory to the rest of the dragons. Maddox privately called to her and Kellan, who’d come up behind Olive and was now holding her in his arms.
    “ How you doing, boy?”
    “I’m fine, old man. Just get your ass here. We need to get this done.”
    “Two shakes, young’un, give me two shakes.”
    Apparently, two shakes meant two minutes, because that was exactly how long it took to hear the roar of Maddox’s Harley right before he was parked beside the couple and was kicking the dust off his boots. The caravan of SUVs and vans followed not far behind, parking on both sides of the heavily wooden dirt lane Brannoc had found on one of his many maps of the area.
    Declan, Rian, and Royce wore camo fatigues, had their faces painted with dark green and black face paint, and carried long soft cases strapped across their backs containing sniper rifles. The other Guardsmen were armed to the teeth with blades of every length and width and .9mm glocks. Kellan explained they had to be ready for any and all situations. Tariq’s men were ex-military, highly trained and ordered to kill intruders on sight.
    Then there were the werepanthers; they were the only ones without conventional weapons. It had been decided that they would be in panther form guarding the perimeter and catching any zealots that escaped all the other precautions that had been set. Having some of their group in animal form would also be helpful for the shifters who were disoriented or without their usual enhanced senses. Kellan had done an excellent job of thinking of every contingency. Olive was proud and could see his brethren were just as happy to have the scarred dragon back in command as he was to be there.
    Maddox stood beside Kellan as the Commander addressed the group one last time. The little dove had to smile at the proud papa look on the mad dragon’s face as her mate said, “We all know what to do. Watch your backs. Stay alert and let’s bring our people home.”
    “And kick ass,” Rory yelled.
    “And kick ass,” Kellan repeated, smiling at