Page 60 of Surge of Ice

Laughing, I pull away from him. “Obsessive?”

He nods, grinning. “You know, waking up at night just to get a little bit of this scent.”

I’m about to tear him a new one when the badges around my and Granger’s necks buzz. Dr. Duncan’s voice comes out fromthe little button above the badge they’d added to communicate with us. “Dragon Pack, please report to the labs in exactly zero-thirty. Dragon Pack, please report to the labs.”

I glance up at Granger. “This isn’t over, but I need to see Dahlia before we meet up.”

He starts running then calls over his shoulder. “Race you to the elevator.”

“Cheater!” I scream and run behind him.

As a dragon, I can out run him, but decide to let him have this one. He deserves a win.

TWENTY-TWO

Samantha

I getout on the medical floor, and to my surprise, Granger comes with me. When I give him a look, he just shrugs. I’m guessing he figured I could use some support. Maybe I can.

Without thinking, I take his hand.

I’m already stressed about Dahlia, the enemy dragons, and, well, everything that happened this morning. It’s good to not feel alone. I just need to figure out how to fix things.

Don’t think about that right now.

One of the doctors comes out to greet us.

“I just wanted to see Dahlia, if she’s up for it,” I say, biting my lip.

He smiles. “She’s actually awake and doing quite well. You’re welcome to see her.”

The doctor leads us out of the main area of the medical floor, down a short hall, and to a door. He knocks softly, then opens it up. The door cracks open to reveal Dahlia, sitting in bed eating pudding, a big bandage on her head.

When her gaze meets mine, she grins. “Hey, Xena Warrior Princess, how you doing?”

I release Granger’s hand and hurry into the room, giving her a gentle hug, even though I want to squeeze her tightly.She’s alright. I’m so glad. I was so worried.

“Since you’re some badass fighter now, does that make me Gabrielle?” she asks, followed by laughter.

Without letting her go, I say, “You’re no one’s sidekick.”

Finally, I pull back from her and let my gaze move over her. There are small bags under her eyes, and her skin looks a little paler, but overall, she looks fine.

“Stop it,” Dahlia says, giving me a look.

“Stop what?”

“Analyzing me. I’m fine.”

“Are you?” I ask gently.

She smiles. “Perfectly. I’m being treated like a queen here, which is a hell of a lot better than I’ve been treated since all this dragon nonsense took place.”

“You want to tell me about it?” I ask.

Her gaze moves to Granger, and I see her eyes light up a little. For some reason, I want to step between them, but I know I need to ignore the instinct. Granger is my best friend, that’s all, and he could do a hell of a lot worse than Dahlia for a girlfriend, even if the idea makes me a little sick to my stomach.

“So, you’re here?” she asks.

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