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Tenzin roared again, and with his mate free, Tyson let him go. Tenzin rushed to Caoimhe’s side. His dragon scales melted into human flesh. He ran his fingers over every part of her, picking her up out of the cocoon and cradling her to his chest.
Jay tapped on my shoulder and jerked her head, pulling the three of us away to give the lovers a minute. But not us. We hadn’t embraced like that. My mate didn’t give our emotions a single thought. We were in a new situation now. Jay ignored everything that had just happened and dove into it. I was equally impressed and upset.
“I thought dragons couldn’t leave the island,” Jay pointed out.
“That’s it, Jay?” Og crossed his arms. “We were forcibly separated and are now trapped in a new world, and those are your first words to us.”
Jay flushed and pursed her lips. She glanced at Tyson and Rehan before realizing whatever she’d said to them probably wasn’t much better.
“Look, we were separated for like half an hour,” Jay said. “And now we're not, and somehow, two people I didn’t even know could leave your island are here. This is what we need to deal with.”
Og opened his mouth, but before he could argue with her, I stepped to my mate and pulled her into my arms. “I thought you would use this as an excuse to cut us loose.”
Jay stiffened before wrapping her arms around my middle and pulling me close. “It never occurred to me not to come after you. Under London is a hell hole with no sun for lizards to warm themselves in. I have to rescue my dragons.” She peeked up at me through her lashes. “You’re an endangered species.”
I cupped the back of her neck. “Is that the only reason?”
Her flirty smile fell. I pulled her back into my chest and moved the conversation on before she felt pressured to answer my question. “We promised not to leave you alone again, and we did. It doesn’t matter if it was thirty minutes or thirty days. Take a minute and process.” Jay melted into me as if hearing my words validated whatever she wasn’t letting herself feel.
It was little, but it was a start.
“I was worried,” I continued. “I don’t care if you’re the most powerful bitch this world has ever seen. We didn’t have control, and it scared the piss out of me.”
Jay took a slow breath against my chest. “It scared me too. But I had to keep going, keep thinking. That’s who I am.”
I slid my hands down her back and cupped her ass, pulling her hips toward me while she leaned back with one eyebrow raised. “I get that. We’re not asking you to change. But I needed a hug, and so does Og, even if he’s better at starting arguments.” I gave Og the same disappointed look I gave my students before returning all my attention to my mate. “I need to process, and I want you to help me.”
Jay let out a breath, and the tension dancing at the top of her shoulders eased. I wasn’t lying; I needed this moment. But so did Jay. Some people were better at helping others than themselves.
I lifted her by her hips and physically deposited her in Og’s arms, giving the genius warlock a warning glace before glaringat Rehan and Tyson, daring them to challenge my actions. A soft smile lit Rehan’s face while Tyson kept looking at the space around me. He reached forward and poked the air above my head before muttering to himself.
Og said something to Jay, which I purposefully didn’t listen to. The sound of Tenzin and Caoimhe’s sweet nothings filled the cave. I kept my gaze off Jay and Og, letting them have the privacy I wanted.
Og cleared his throat and returned us to the problem at hand. “Maybe Caoimhe made a portal?”
Jay raised an eyebrow. “I guess nothing’s impossible. But my ex had to tie the magic of your shield to his portal. His design used runes that took me centuries to master and relied on manipulating raw Ley Line magic and all four elemental powers at once. Something I doubt Caoimhe or any one single dragon is capable of.” Jay poked Tyson in the chest. “Fire rules the island, right? What do you know?”
Tyson threw his hands up. “I mean, exceptions are made to the rules. We have contracts and shifters in key places to keep our island hidden but still get supplies. All of that’s done by boat. Portals shouldn’t be able to get through our shield.”
Og leaned forward.
“With one obvious exception.” Tyson wrinkled his nose. “Most of our people are in Spain or Africa…not wherever this is.”
“Under London,” Jay offered. “Long and short of it. London used to be very dangerous for humans and shifters. The community came together to boot the worst of them—only England’s an Island. They’d already shipped their human convicts to Australia. So, much like the shield around your island, they cut off this piece of the supernatural. It’s a prison for people too dangerous to live in the world but not powerful enough to bust themselves out.”
“It’s as effective as our shield?” Og asked.
Jay shook her head. “The two have different purposes, where only dragon shifters made your shield to save themselves. A diverse group of supernaturals created this place with one common goal, but each knew if they did something wrong, Under London could become their new home.”
“Hence the ‘not powerful enough to bust themselves out’ comment,” Og pointed out.
Jay shot him with her finger guns.
“How do you know those two?” I asked, gesturing to the de-spider-podded pair.
“Tenzin’s in our guard training program,” Tyson answered at the same time as Jay said. “The Social.”
“From the island, just over a month ago,” I translated their answers into tangible information.
