Chapter 24: Bianca - Red - Change

Bianca
Red

The scene shattered—as did any resistance—and I fell back. There was a loud sound to my right—metal grinding against metal—and the wind was knocked out of me as my back hit the prison floor.

“Stop her!” someone shouted, echoing loudly in my ears. Then, “Forget it! Just close the gate!”

It was then my vision cleared, and Gloria’s stiff figure came into focus. She was still sitting on her knees, palms open over her thighs, and her eyes wide as she stared blankly in front of her.

My stomach sank in disappointment. Didn’t it work?

Then, as a screeching of closing gates rang through the room, and the moment I thought we’d failed, something changed in the older woman.

Gloria blinked, gasping just once, before she fell forward resting her head over her knees.

My heart sank.

Not only had I failed, but I’d also hurt her with my inexperience. She was clutching at her chest, gasping, as her fingers dug into her flowery blouse.

Dear God, I’d forgotten her age throughout all this. If she went into cardiac arrest because of me, Uncle Gregory would be extremely displeased.

But my panic was cut short as an explosion of orange-red rippled over her skin, and her features twisted, before, an instant later, a massive wolf stood in her place.

She had a flawless coat, a black nose, and piercing gold eyes. She looked directly at me, and a shiver shot up my spine at the familiarity of the canine form haunted my thoughts and, for an instant, caused my breath to seize in terror.

But then her focus lifted from me, causing the weight against my chest to lesson. She growled at something over my shoulder. I barely noticed her agile lunge before she was already leaping through the air.

She’d shifted.

Dizziness passed over me as the remnants of my panic faded, and the tension relaxed from my shoulders.

Now, everything would be okay.

Gloria crossed the cell within a breath, slamming into the bottom opening of the closing door and rushing out into freedom before our captors could sound the alarm. One man lingered at the bottom of the small stairwell, and she crossed the distance between them with three giant bounds and landed on his chest.

He crashed to the floor, his head banging off the top stair—and distantly, I could hear Ada and Maria whooping in excitement—before Gloria flashed her teeth and ripped out the man’s throat with one elegant movement.

Someone screamed, begging for mercy, but she jumped the rest of the way up the stairs, dragging another man through the open doorway by the ankle and tossing him onto the floor. She glanced at him only once, her tail twitching, before jumping to the wall and pressing her blood-soaked muzzle over the button that controlled the cells.

Blood and gore notwithstanding, I was glad my plan worked. Maria and I did make a good team after all.

With the doors released, Ada and Maria wasted no time in shifting themselves and joining Gloria as the three wreaked havoc. And, as my focus lingered on the two men I’d already killed, I couldn’t find it in my heart to feel bad for them.

That was even scarier than everything else that had happened, because, without a moral compass or regret for taking these lives, what did that make me?

“Bianca.” The world around me felt foreign and distant, and something slapped against my face, trying to gather my attention. “Come on, we have to go.”

I was still cold and uncomfortable, but as I blinked my eyes open, at least my pounding headache had begun to recede.

“Bianca.” Maria’s warm voice fell over me. “It’s okay now—they’re gone.”

Maria was bent next to me, face haloed by her loose blond hair, while Gloria—still a wolf—and Ada paced in the background. The lioness’s features were light and comforting, but even her upbeat expression couldn’t cover the tension from the other two women.

She was lying—it wasn’t okay at all. We still weren’t safe.

And here I was, holding everyone up.

I was so ashamed.

I braced myself as I rolled to my side, readying to push from the ground, but there was no pain. In fact, as I effortlessly moved to my feet, it felt as though I’d been recuperating for a week.

“How do you feel?” she asked, grabbing my chin the instant I’d regained balance. Her sharp eyes roamed my face, and her full lips turned down. “I don’t know what Gloria was going on about,” she muttered under her breath, wrapping her arm around my waist. She led me from the cell to the stairs, making no mention of the numerous bloody bodies in the room. “Your eyes are definitely more green than blue.”

Gloria glanced back at us but—being a wolf—she couldn’t respond. Nor did she try to. She and Ada slipped into the hallway.

“We’re going to get you out of here.” Maria was still talking softly into my ear. “Once you’re safe, we’re going to come back and get Titus—”

My scattered thoughts froze, as did my progress.

Titus.

I’d completely forgotten that he was here too! I was definitely the worst ever.

But now that I remembered, there was no way I’d be leaving without him.

Maria groaned and tried to pull me forward another step, but I remained stubbornly still. “You have to get out of here,” she argued, correctly interpreting my refusal to move. “Titus will lose his mind when he finds out you’re here too, but he’ll rage—to me in particular—if he knows you had the chance to get away but didn’t.”

Well, he’d have to get over it.

“No, Bianca.” She narrowed her eyes, the dim flickering of the fluorescent lights just enough to make out her displeasure. “You don’t understand. Titus is a dragon. He can hold a grudge for ages. As crazy as you fae are, you’ve got nothing on him. He won’t move on, even if he says he will. He’ll let this bother him until it eventually affects the two of you. If you don’t get away when you can, you’re risking your future relationship.”

My mouth went dry at the implications. For an instant, my resolve wavered.

People being displeased with me—not having acceptance… That was one of my biggest triggers for my anxiety.

Would this really make him mad at me… forever?

But that’d mean no dragon babies.

It was hard to breathe. I clutched at my chest, over the ruined remains of my clothing, trying to soothe the ache while Maria waited for my response.

No… dragon babies. Why should I care?

Did I really?

“No…” I shook my head. My voice was raspy and low, almost a whisper. In fact, it didn’t even feel like I’d spoken. But apparently, I had, because Maria dropped her arm from me, and her eyes widened.

But the rest of my words were locked away by the lump in my throat.

I wasn’t even sure how I felt about that, but I couldn’t bother to care right now either. Titus was most important. There’d be no dragon babies without him either.

I refused to leave him.

“So stubborn.” Maria’s words were harsh, but her mouth quirked. “You’re perfect for each other.”

I wasn’t stubborn at all, but even more importantly, I still didn’t understand how she’d gotten this impression of him. The Titus I knew was protective and fierce, not someone who’d hold a grudge over good intentions.

Ada ran back down the hallway, returning to her human form after she stopped at our feet.

“We need to find an exit,” she said, looking at Maria. “If you want, I can—”

I shook my head, stepping back from the two of them.

That got Ada’s attention. “She is leaving, right?”

Maria sighed, rubbing her fingers against her temples. “No.”

Ada’s stern mouth tightened further.

It would be easy, so easy, to let them lead me out of this maze, to go away from here. But I wouldn’t leave him alone.

“We can’t waste time,” Ada was hissing to Maria, moving her hands in a frantic gesture around the darkened hallways. “You don’t have time to babysit her, and even though Gloria is rounding up the rest of the wolves she can find, we can’t have any distractions. We need to locate Titus.”

The unspoken meaning behind her statement hung heavy in the air: I was a burden.

A wave of dizziness crashed into me, and I staggered sideways, leaning against the wall for support.

Maria and Ada continued speaking as I pressed my cheek against the stone. Why was I feeling sick now? I thought after my little nap, things would be better.

Get it together.

My thoughts didn’t even sound like my own, and a familiar lullaby began to hum in the back of my head. The song had been a constant any time I’d gotten too overwhelmed, and when I needed to focus.

Something tingled against my cheek, and I opened my eyes, pressing my face from the wall, focusing the feeling over my fingertips instead.

You’re almost there.

What was this feeling welling in my chest? Why did I feel so sure this was the right thing to do, and the right way? I’d never been to this place before.

“Bianca?” Maria touched my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

The sense of urgency exploded through me, spurring me from my stupor. And I ducked away from the group and raced down the path. I couldn’t hear anything, but the prickle at the back of my spine grew stronger as I weaved through the hallways with Ada and Maria—now shifted—hot on my heels.

Then, we stepped into the light.

Gloria was already growling pacing around the circular room with her nose to the floor as she tried to work out where to go next. She barely acknowledged my presence. I stepped around her, tracing my fingers along the wall.

There were five doorways, including the one we’d just walked through, and none gave any indication of direction. The shifters were gathering closer, moving in greater urgency, to a door on the left, most likely able to sense things that my human-self couldn’t, but, as I stepped closer, the short hair on my arms straightened.

That wasn’t the right way.

I paused, pressing my palm against the wall, as a warmth began to radiate from the stone, down my arm. A gentle breeze brushed past me, through the doorway I’d just passed.

There.

Maria jumped in front of me, nudging me with her head, as I moved to leave the room. She was followed shortly by Gloria and Ada, both of whom moved between me and the exit.

And, even though I knew they were trying to help—obviously they didn’t believe I was right—my frustration began to thicken as a sense of urgency spurred me forward.

I opened my mouth to speak—to ask them to trust me—but, still, I had no words.

My irritation choked at me as my breathing began to grow deep, and I tried to push past the meddling shifters.

There was no time for us to waste with this.

But Maria barely let me pass her before she was in front of me again, ears back as her head lowered cautiously. Her unblinking golden eyes seemed to say, ‘What are you doing? This isn’t the way.’

“M-m-m-move,” I stammered, pushing at her nose. My voice was barely there, but audible enough.

All three shifters froze at my statement, and the dank space grew mustier. The three glanced at each other, sharing a secret message between them, before Maria stepped back, allowing me the room to pass.

I didn’t think about it anymore. Without their resistance, I was already moving forward. The taste of the air grew bitter, and it became harder to breathe as I led the way down the passageway. The walls grew slick and slimy, but I didn’t move away—there was a sense of comfort keeping me tethered to the earth, keeping my rising panic at bay.

One of the shifters made a whining sound behind me—not really a comforting thing, considering that I couldn’t see in the dark anymore, and they could. Knowing my luck, I was surrounded by skeletons, or bloodsucking leeches.

Dark, creepy tunnels were the worst, and if it was for any other reason other than the well-being of someone close to me, I wouldn’t be down here at all.

The walls were closing in on us—the wetness was pressing in against my other hand now—and I was suffocating, but not once did any shifter try to hold me back anymore.

Then, we were free.

The tunnel gave way to bright lights, and I stumbled forward into what looked to be a storage facility. Gloria, Maria, and Ada padded out of the tunnel, stretching as they took in our new location.

Rows of shipping containers lay in neat lines around us, and bright white lighting glared through the space. Outside of the containers were stacks of burlap bags organized on wooden pallets.

What was this? I moved between the rows. I was tempted to reach out and touch one of the bags, but the shifters were already growling at them, so that probably wasn’t the best idea.

Then, my spine tingled, and whatever that was in the bag was the least of my concerns. A deafening roar filled the area. Ada, Gloria, and Maria surrounded me protectively as the noise echoed through the space, and I moved to the origin of the noise.

At first, I worried it was another shifter—or perhaps another dragon—but as the surprise wore off, I realized what it was: a plane.

My heart thundered, almost overshadowing all else, as I rushed to the noise.

I couldn’t get past this terrible feeling—was I too late?

So, obviously, I wasn’t thinking as I jumped out from behind the shipping containers. Of course, I should have expected that there’d be other people here.

But I didn’t.

We’d only a brief moment of surprise before my shifters rushed past me, engaging in battle with the men—in both business suits and working-gear—as they moved past their shock at our appearance and began to fight back. And, as urgent as this was, even now I couldn’t focus on it.

To the left of the scene was a slowly closing ramp that led into a cargo aircraft.

There.

I was lightheaded but the sense of urgency spurred me forward. Normally, I’d probably never attempt such a stunt. But I ignored the fighting shifters, dodging in and around their battle, as I ran to reach the door before it closed.

The plane was already beginning to move, and my stomach sank as I realized I’d never make it.

I reached for the plane, running as fast as my legs could carry me, all thoughts of previous exhaustion gone. Failing wasn’t even an option—I had to get there now.

The world moved under my feet, the wind rushed past me, and suddenly, I was on the plane just as the door slammed shut behind me, leaving me, once more, in the semi-darkness. The only light was a faint, dim orange in the distance.

But none of that mattered. I could feel it more than ever, although, how, I couldn’t explain.

Somewhere in here, Titus was alone and in trouble.

My footsteps echoed and my breath escaped in smoky bursts as I rushed toward the light. A dreamlike feeling washed over me as my anxiety rose. My legs felt sluggish and slow, and as the moments passed, the distant doorway never seemed to grow any closer.

It was so far away, until it wasn’t anymore, and my ears popped, and I was there, crossing into the warmly lit room.

Titus.