Page 105 of Bound By Roses

“Is it the dragon thing, or…?”

He shakes his head. “It’s a me thing. Can you keep this between us?”

“Of course.” The last thing I was expecting was a heart to heart, but I guess we’re close enough for that now. If he feels like he can’t talk to his own people, maybe I’m the next best thing.

“I’ve hardly slept since I felt the spark of another dragon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that I’m going to be a father, but I’m also scared shitless. I’m terrified that something is going to happen while I’m asleep. Fuck, even while I’m awake. I had a dream that she lost the baby and ever since, I’ve just been…” He pauses, deciding on the best choice of words. “An absolute fucking mess.”

“If it makes you feel better, I had no idea. You look like you’ve been keeping it together better than the rest of us.”

“Thanks.” His voice is gruff, but I know he means it.

“You should have Tess check in on her.”

“Tess?”

“I know Marein has healers, but she has experience and there’s no one I’d trust more. Even if it’s just for your peace of mind.”

He looks as if he’s thinking it over. “Do you think she would? I thought she hated us.”

“She hates Jade, not you. And certainly not your unborn child. Besides, with Kaylee and Rhett bonded, in a weird way, you’re practically family.”

“Family.” He says the word like he’s tasting it. He looks back out over Jade and watches him work with the wolves. His methods may be unusual, but Ty is certainly better on his feet. He doesn’t have to say it for me to know what he’s thinking. Jade is his family in every sense of the word, and yet this Jade is still a stranger. He may never get his memories back, but we can see that he’s trying. He saved a stranger today, as well as an overly-rambunctious wolf pup. He brought us the Guardian that will hopefully be the key to saving thousands more. And now he’s helping to train him to make sure we don’t fail.

“We’ll survive this,” I say, because I know Merrick needs to hear it as much as I do. “Whatever’s waiting for us in Lunae. We’ll get through it together.”

CHAPTER FORTY

QUINN

Three days seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and now our time is up. I didn’t bother with heartfelt goodbyes because I’m not the one running into enemy territory. I’m simply making sure Ty gets where he needs to be. From there, it’s all up to him.

Abby is still prominent in my mind despite her silence. I know she’s worried, even if she’s doing well to hide the emotion from me. The day of rest was enough, and the place where Ty’s claws sliced into my flesh has closed entirely. The space is tender, but there’s no risk of it reopening with a shift, which is the best I could ask for given our timeline. Bleeding would be inconvenient, but it’s easy enough to ignore the soreness when you have something more important to focus on.

After a three-hour run, I come to a stop a short distance from the border of Lunae. I’m already closer than I should be, but I wanted to stay with Ty for as long as possible. I can smell the fear on him, mingling with the scent of the decaying corpses of his friends. This is the place where Jade found them. Murdered them and dragged Ty back with him. We wouldn’t have comehere if it could be avoided, but this is the only way to make it look real.

Ty stops and makes great effort not to look at the bodies, his chest rising and falling rapidly with the exertion of our run. All things considered, he did well to keep up. With enough training, he might one day out pace me.

‘You’re on your own from here,’I tell him, not dragging this out any longer than necessary.‘Let’s go over it one more time.’

He chuffs in feigned annoyance, but I know he’s just trying to hide his nerves. He sits on a grassy patch of forest floor and stretches his tired muscles while I keep one eye on him and the other on the surrounding trees. I watch for any sign of change. The quieting of bids, the snapping of a branch, the shrieking of a wraith. If we’re not alone out here, I’ll know it.

‘I make myself human and run the rest of the way to Lunae.’

He’s skipping an important part, but I can’t blame him for that.‘Then what?’

‘They’ll question me about my missing companions. I’ll tell them we were attacked and I fled.’

I don’t know how many times I’ve gone over this with him. Probably as often as Abby made him shift that first day. I’d taken over part of his training yesterday, but most of the work was still thanks to Abby. She’d focused mainly on her connection with him and sharing his sight. I would rather have another week to work with him, but we made good use of the time we had.‘And what won’t you do?’

‘Tell them about Marein. About any of this.’Something flickers in his eyes and he averts his gaze. The air between us changes and I brace myself for what I already sensed was coming.‘What if they kill me?’

I feel for him. I really do, but he can’t have those thoughts getting in the way of what needs to be done. ‘You may be punished, but you have enough injuries to corroborate yourstory as long as you’re convincing and no one looks too closely. Be convincing.’I emphasize that last statement.

‘But what if they kill me?’

Fuck, I really didn’t want it to come to this, but there’s only one thing for it.

‘Then they kill you.’It’s harsh, but I can’t have him panicking in there. He can be fearful, but not of them. He’s supposed to fear the creature that attacked him in the forest.

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