Read Online Smoked by Mari Mancusi - Free Book Online

fast.
    â€œEmmy?” she called in scarcely more than a whisper. “It’s me. Trin.”
    She peered inside. Emmy was hunched in the very back of the truck, curled up around herself, her massive tail wrapped protectively around her body, her neck arched and posture rigid. Trinity frowned as she realized the dragon was shivering, her eyes white and wild. Drool dripped from the corner of her mouth, and her sides heaved heavily up and down.
    â€œEmmy?” she repeated. “Are you okay? It’s just me. Trin. Your Fire Kissed.”
    Okay, so she wasn’t exactly Emmy’s Fire Kissed anymore. But she wasn’t about to let that little technicality stop her from making a move to enter the van, putting one leg up on the truck bed and—
    Emmy let out a loud cry, shrinking back, pressing her body against the rear of the truck so hard the metal groaned in protest. Trin frowned, stopping in her tracks and retreating, her hands up in the air to show Emmy she meant her no harm. When she tried to meet the dragon’s eyes with her own, Emmy seemed to deliberately twist her neck to face the wall instead.
    Trin let out a small moan of dismay, turning back to Connor.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with her?”
    â€œShe’s terrified.”
    Trinity whirled around to see Scarlet come up behind her. With slow, careful movements, Scarlet climbed up into the truck bed, putting out an open hand. “It’s okay, Emmy,” she whispered. “It’s me, Scarlet. No one’s going to hurt you, okay?”
    Emmy seemed to relax—just a little bit—allowing Scarlet to approach. When Scarlet reached the dragon, she put out her hand again, stroking her nose and cooing at her with a soft voice. Trinity watched, feeling helpless and horrified. When she tried to make a move of her own, Emmy startled again. Scarlet glanced back at Trin, a warning look in her eyes.
    â€œI think she needs some time,” she said apologetically. “She’s obviously been through a lot.”
    â€œTime. Right.” Trinity somehow managed a nod, the tears springing to the corners of her eyes again. She forced herself to step back, giving her dragon space.
    No, not my dragon , she reminded herself, Scarlet’s dragon .
    And then it hit her with all the force of a ten-ton truck. Everything she’d known to be true from the very start but hadn’t really comprehended up until now. After all, it was one thing to know something in theory. Quite another to see it play out before your eyes. And as Trin watched Emmy nudge Scarlet’s arm with her snout—a gesture the dragon had done to Trin a thousand times before—something broke inside her, allowing the cold, hard truth to rush in.
    Emmy was no longer hers. Emmy would never be hers again.
    But she’s safe , she reminded herself angrily, swiping at the tears with her sleeve. She’s alive. She’s here. She’s safe. That’s all that matters in the end.
    Now, if only she could convince her heart that this was true.

Chapter Six
    â€œHow does that feel, Emmy? Does that feel any better?”
    Scarlet paused from rubbing oil into the creases between Emmy’s neck scales, her eyes roving over the dragon, assessing her handiwork. Emmy was still pale and painfully thin compared to her former self, but Scarlet thought she could see a slight blush of color coming back to her scales, and it gave her a small bit of hope.
    It had been three days since Emmy had been brought back to Team Dragon, and Scarlet and the others had worked around the clock to make sure the dragon felt safe—if not happy—in her new home. The former airline hangar had indeed turned out to be the perfect dragon cave—large enough for Emmy to stretch her wings and fly if she felt the urge, without the risk of being spotted by anyone from the outside world. Sure, it wouldn’t be the best flying ever—more like swimming laps in a pool, back and