Free Fire Dragon's Baby (Dragon Shifter Scifi Alien Romance) (Elemental Dragons Book 1) by Juno Wells, Scarlett Grove Page B

a gasp, she clasped her heart. It was racing. Her breath heaved and she felt flushed. What was going on? She felt as if she'd just received a terrible fright. Looking around she focused on Shiloh. Leaning over his hover cradle, she inspected him for signs of distress.
    “Is everything all right, ma'am?” the nanny asked.
    “I feel frightened, like something's wrong,” she said, digging into the giggling baby's blanket.
    She tried to smile at her baby's cherubic face, but she was too distressed to return his playfulness. Her heart sank like a cold stone as she stood.
    “Are you ill?” the nanny asked.
    “I don't know,” she started, putting her hand to her stomach. She did feel ill, but it was more than that. “I feel like something is terribly wrong. Where is Salvatt?”
    She ran her finger over her wrist, navigated her holocom to the voice call screen, and pressed Salvatt's icon. The holocom pinged as it contacted his holocom. She waited, watching the light blip on her screen.
    “He's not answering. Is he in a meeting?” she asked the nanny.
    “I wouldn't know, princess.”
    “Locate Prince Salvatt,” Celeste said to the holocom AI.
    “Prince Salvatt is not at the Obsidian Fortress,” the AI responded.
    “What is his last known location?” Celeste asked.
    There was a brief pause. “He left the fortress from his balcony.”
    “Something is very wrong. Can't you track him?”
    “The Prince's holocom is returning an error signal but no location co-ordinates.”
    “Damn it! We have to find him. How can I get my hands on a speeder?”
    “Shouldn't you consult his ministers?” the nanny asked.
    Shiloh shook his favorite rattle, and Celeste bit her lip. “Who should I ask?”
    “Admiral Ikoro is his closest advisor,” the nanny said.
    She flicked her holocom. “Where is Admiral Ikoro?” she asked the AI.
    “Admiral Ikoro is in the fighting rings.”
    She turned to the nanny who was still sitting loyally by her baby’s side.
    “I’ll get the admiral to help me find Salvatt. I have to go.”
    “The child is safe with me.”
    “Thank you.”
    She strode out the door and hurried to the elevator to take her to the fighting rings. She hurried through the tunnel, and saw the admiral she’d met on the first day. He was watching two other men fight with laser swords in a ring. She balked at the sight of the men fighting, and turned back up the tunnel. A dark figure caught up to her and spoke.
    “Lady, why are you in the fighting pit?” Admiral Ikoro asked.
    “I need help,” she said.
    “Come with me. We will talk in private.”
    He led her through the fighting rings into an inner courtyard near a fountain. He looked around and sniffed the air. Then he looked at her and nodded for her to continue.
    “What do you need?” he asked.
    “I felt worried and tried to contact Salvatt. The AI said he flew away and his holocom is broken. I have the most terrible feeling that there is something dreadfully wrong with him.”
    “How long have you felt this way?”
    “About fifteen minutes,” she said. “We have to find him. Take me to a speeder. Now.”
    “Yes, Princess,” he said, his eyes widening at her commanding words. He nodded and put his hand to his heart. “This way.”
    He led her through the fortress to the landing pad and slid his fingers over his wrist to bring down the exit ramp of a powerful looking hovercraft. Celeste hurried up the steps and took a seat at the front beside the pilot's chair. The admiral slid in beside her, and started to flick the hologram on the dashboard. The speeder lifted into the air, gaining altitude above the landing pad.
    It jetted over the forests below, headed toward the heart of the south lands. The massive volcano rose in the smoky distance and Celeste's heart raced at the sight of it. Such raw, molten power. So like Salvatt.
    “Did the AI say anything else about his flight trajectory?” the admiral asked.
    “Only that the prince headed south.”
    “The