Smoke and Fire: Part 4 by Donna Grant Read Free Book Online

Tristan said, “I can no’ help you because someone has trapped you within your own mind. You’re the only one who can get yourself out.”
    “I want to talk to Ryder.”
    “It’s because of my power of being able to see your thoughts that I’m here.”
    Now she was really confused. “So you’ve done this before?”
    “Nay.”
    Well that was reassuring. Kinsey got to her feet. “If you are only supposed to see my thoughts, how are you talking to me?”
    “Dragon magic.”
    As if that explained it all, and she supposed it did. “Is Ryder all right?”
    “He’s fine. We just need to get you sorted out.”
    That’s when it hit her. “What did I do, Tristan?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Stop it,” she said and dropped her chin to her chest. “Stop trying to not answer me or stall. Just tell me the truth. What did I do?”
    He sighed loudly. “You know what you did.”
    “Remind me,” she demanded. The nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach multiplied by a hundred. It had to be something very bad for Tristan to not want to talk about it.
    “You came here to spy on Dreagan and Ryder. We all know how you’ve betrayed him.”
    Kinsey’s knees threatened to buckle. Betray? She’d never do that to Ryder or anyone.
    It took her a full minute to pull herself together. There was only one way she was going to get out of this. She had to put all the emotions aside and tackle this like she would any work project.
    After she found her way back to wherever she was supposed to go and faced Ryder and the rest, then she could allow the emotions to come through.
    Because if Tristan helped her, it was for one reason only—to get information.

Chapter Forty-one
    Ryder hated not knowing what was going on. He trusted Tristan, but it was his mistake about Kinsey, so he should be the one helping her.
    But his power would only hurt her, not help. His ability to build anything electronic did nothing either. So he stood, helplessly, watching as Tristan tried to reach Kinsey.
    “I found her,” Tristan said. “She’s asking about Ryder.”
    Ryder was at one moment relieved that Kinsey’s mind might come out of this intact, and another furious that they were in this position.
    After a moment, Tristan dropped his hands and stepped back. “I’ve never communicated that way before.”
    “You spoke with her?” Con asked.
    Tristan nodded. “The magic was hard to pierce on my end and hers, but Kinsey managed it. She kept asking what was going on. I told her she was trapped in her mind and must find her way back.”
    “You couldna lead her out?” Dmitri asked.
    Tristan ran a hand through his light brown hair streaked with gold. “I wish it were that easy. Only Kinsey knows the way around her mind. If I attempted to help her, I might get her trapped somewhere.”
    “How long is it going to take to find her way?” Ryder asked.
    “I’ve no idea.”
    Roman stepped forward then. “I suppose it’s my turn now.”
    “It is,” Con said and motioned him to come closer to Kinsey.
    Ryder stepped between Roman and Kinsey. Then he looked at Con. “Why is Roman here?”
    “I want to see if there’s anything implanted in Kinsey,” Con said in an even tone.
    Ryder turned and looked at her. Implanted. He hadn’t thought about that, but there was a possibility there could be. “Why use magic only then to use technology?”
    “To cover both bases,” Con said.
    Ryder moved back, giving Roman the space he needed. His instincts kept telling him to protect Kinsey, but the proof upstairs warned him to do nothing. He’d never been more confused in his life.
    “Kinsey asked for you,” Tristan said as he came to stand beside Ryder.
    He hated how his heart leapt at the thought. “She’s probably worried about how much I knew.”
    “She sounded genuinely confused about all of it.”
    “As we’ve learned, she’s a verra good actress.”
    Tristan crossed his arms over his chest. “Is she? I’m beginning to wonder.”
    That got