Free Dragon Fate by Elsa Jade Page A

nothing to do, no one to answer to. They could spend the day in bed… Wait, she’d already decided that was a one-night stand, a fly-by connection.
    Torch was a dark silhouette against the triangle panes, hands on his hips as he stared out. Even when her eyes adjusted, he was still all in black. The black jeans clung to the ass she hadn’t slapped, and the black t-shirt hugged his broad shoulders and thick biceps.
    He’d held her so easily…
    Her bare feet didn’t make a sound, but he turned to face her.
    Though the light was behind him, his eyes glinted. For a heart-fluttering moment, she thought he was going to say something about their night together…
    “Do you know a place called Mercurius?”
    She halted. He’d folded the bed back into the wall, and the aerie looked as echoingly empty as it had been when she first saw it.
    As if last night never happened.
    She straightened. “I don’t think so. What is it?”
    “My contact says it’s Ashcraft’s stronghold.”
    “He lives in a condo in Salt Lake City. It’s a nice condo, but not what I’d call I stronghold.” She frowned. “Wait. I have heard of Mercurius. But it’s not a place. It’s his foundation.”
    Torch’s brow furrowed. “For what?”
    “Through Ashcraft Antiquities, he supports a lot of endeavors in the arts.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “One of the reasons I believed him when he said he could get me into galleries. But he also funds math and science works, engineering, even an after-school program for disadvantaged kids and an animal shelter.”
    The line between Torch’s eye spread into a full scowl. “Isn’t he just the fine upstanding citizen. Practically a Renaissance man.”
    “What better disguise?” She’d believed in what she saw, which was a testament to how good the disguise was since she wasn’t inclined to trust anyone at face value.
    Maybe that was why she was drawn to Torch. He had two faces—man and dragon—but he displayed them both with zero qualms.
    Not that she was drawn to him in any actual sense, just…
    She gave herself a shake. “His foundation must be headquartered somewhere, but I don’t know where. He travels all around the world.” She joined Torch at the window to look out at the stark but serene landscape. “If—when—you find him, what are you going to do to him?”
    “What we’ve always done to would-be dragonslayers.”
    She glanced up at Torch, and while his expression was every bit as austere as the desert, it was nowhere near serene.
    When she shivered, he looked down at her. His silver-shot eyes were almost as cold as the ice in her nightmare. “Does that bother you?”
    She considered, then shook her head. “It should, but I know what he’s willing to do. I’ve seen what he’s doing to Esme.” She took a breath. “Can you take me back to see them, Esme and Piper? I…I feel like I need to explain.”
    After a moment, he nodded. “I’ll take you, then I need to meet with my team about how you disabled the security cameras when you spirited Esme out of the Keep.”
    She put on her pink ribboned heels and followed him out of the aerie. “It was something Ashcraft gave me. Like a candle. Except when I lit it, it didn’t burn; it gave off a fog to confuse the light so the cameras couldn’t follow us.”
    Torch snorted. “Putting those chemistry scholarships to good use.”
    “Ashcraft didn’t tell me what it was, just said that I’d have fifteen minutes once it started burning and I should keep it on me the whole time. I was supposed to use it to get out of the Keep after…” She swallowed.
    “After you killed me,” he finished.
    “Not necessarily you.” She knew that was a weak-ass response but she owed him what answers she had. “Any dragon that was drawn to Esme would have been the sacrifice. I was supposed to call Ashcraft’s men once the victim was down. They’d do the dirty work, and I’d take the ichor to Ashcraft.” She grimaced. “I don’t