Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3 by Jodie B. Cooper Page B

coming from the cabin grew
louder and more agitated by the moment. “I tell you that gray
dragon is setting us up,” Clarisse said, waving her hand around the
room. “Why else would she keep us here in the troll’s hunting
grounds? She had me change the warning signs, getting my scent all
over the place then had those hideous trolls bring me here! This
will be the first place the guardians search!”
    “My sister would never...”
    “Sister!” Clarisse shrieked. “That over-sized
lizard is your sister?”
    “Dragons are not lizards!” Harry bellowed,
stomping toward the girl he glared down at her. “We are the most
intelligent of all Sídhí races.”
    Clarisse snorted. “Right, that's why – when
you’re in dragon form – you can’t talk without setting something on
fire.”
    “I’m allergic to smoke,” Harry bellowed in
the girl’s face, baring his teeth at her. “It makes me cough.
That’s not my fault.”
    Clarabelle turned from the theatrics going on
in the cabin to greet the man who suddenly appeared at her
elbow.
    “Did either of them see you in human form?”
Clarabelle’s mate asked worriedly, concern lashed her brain before
she answered him with a small shake of her head.
    He pulled her tightly against him, smashing
his lips against hers. When he finally released her, his simmering
arrogance swarmed her. “Well then, things are coming along nicely.
Did Harry find the missing shifters?”
    Clarabelle snorted. “No, I'll look for them
myself this afternoon.”
    “No, you've taken enough risks for one day,”
he said quickly.
    Clarabelle bristled at the order, but
submissively nodded her head in acceptance. She hated orders. Even
an order from her mate stuck in her craw, but she'd found arguing
with him did no good. She took stock of the situation and changed
strategies. “What about the Clan brat?” she asked, nodding toward
the cabin.
    The girl’s shrill voice continued screaming
at Harry non-stop.
    “I’ve had the portal near the olitiau nest
recalibrated to exit into a rarely used portal within the Dhark
Empire. Tell Harry to take the red haired brat to the portal and
make sure she gets through safely.”
    “The Dhark Empire?” she asked, surprised he
was willing to give up a trump card that could be used against the
girl’s high council father. “I thought we wanted to keep Councilman
MuskLeke’s support.”
    “We do, but Councilman MuskLeke and Duke
PhñDick of the Dhark Empire have joined forces. It seems the duke
is thrilled with MuskLeke’s genetic research. They are hip-deep
creating a strategy to enslave the mundanes after releasing a
genetic attack that will bring the population down to a manageable
size. It will keep them busy for months. For my generosity in
freeing MuskLeke’s eldest daughter, the councilman has given up the
location of the Rshk’Garr ruins.”
    Clarabelle sucked in an excited gasp. Now she
understood why her mate was vibrating with excitement. Flooding the
Rshk’Garr ruins with liquid synth would take them one move closer
to returning to the home world. “That will make six Ancient ruins
we’ve flooded. According to my calculations, we need a minimum of
ten active ruins.”
    “With one minor detail,” he added somberly.
“I had one of my men do a quick survey of Clan Valley’s Rshk’Garr
ruins. Numerous tunnels end abruptly.”
    “End? What do you mean, they end?” she
demanded.
    He smirked at her rising panic. “One of the
tunnels has a hidden gateway emerging into another valley. The
ancient Rshk’Garr ruins continue, undamaged, in the next
valley.”
    They were getting two valleys for the price
of one. She smiled at their incredible luck. “Which valley?”
    “None other than Trellick Valley,” he
answered. His dark chuckle sent a thrill through her. “I already
gave the order to fill Rshk’Garr.”
    Irritation tightened her lips. It was her
plan. She was the one who figured out how to fill the ruins with
energy. He knew