He gave me a nod. “No problem. I needed to get them away, the Four are not above using leverage.”

I sucked in deeply. “What about Jo and Jack … and Nash?” I didn’t want the Compasses to suffer either, or their new little dragon marked charge.

The wizard’s violet eyes darkened. “I tried to bring them also, but they refused. They should be okay, I have a few friends keeping an eye on them.”

I struggled in Jacob’s embrace, my feet were still off the ground. “Put me down,” I ordered, and he actually complied. My bare feet hit the warm sand. Braxton’s dragon crowded in a little closer to me. Warmth washed over my neck, shifting strands of black hair.

I crossed my arms over my chest, my gaze drawn to the sheer number of creatures that surrounded us, seemingly unable to penetrate the bubble of magic Louis had erected.

“Can you take us home?” I asked the sorcerer, who was clearly the reason we’d been found.

He nodded. “Yes, though getting into Faerie is easy. Coming home … not quite as simple. But I’ll manage.”

I’m sure he would. No doubt the wine he’d given me long ago at dinner had been procured directly by the sorcerer himself. He seemed to know how to wander in and out of this land.

“You don’t seem surprised that I’m a dual shifter?” I had concealed this from the sorcerer last time we spoke of my marked abilities. Thankfully he didn’t seem that upset by my previous evasiveness.

He smiled in his enigmatic manner. “Let’s just say this does not come as a huge surprise to me, I sensed more from your energy. You are called for something higher.”

Great. I loved being called for something.

Louis turned to Braxton then: “You can shift back now, I will keep us safe,” he said. The dragon snorted again, growls ripping from his open jaws. “I know it chafes at your instincts to let others do the protecting, but for once you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

Braxton threw back his massive head, jaws wide as he roared to the sky. As his snout lowered, I narrowed my eyes, before reaching up and tapping him once on the nose.

“Bad dragon,” I said, striving for some humor. Hopefully the lighter tone would help him regain some control.

He snarled at me, and I sighed before waving his anger aside with a swish of my hand. I wasn’t afraid of Braxton. And clearly neither was the sorcerer. Louis turned his back on us and started a complicated set of movements, opening a doorway home.

I felt a surge of energy, and in a rapid change Braxton was back on two legs. Louis did not stop his hands moving, although he dropped one finger onto the dragon shifter’s shoulder, clothing him.