“I don’t know.” Honesty. All I have left. “I don’t know how to make it quieter. I don’t know how to not feel all of you all the time.”
The cave goes silent.
Then Finn laughs. Broken. Wet.
“Well,” he says, “guess we all need to work on our emotional hygiene.”
“Shut up, Finn,” I whisper. But I’m almost smiling.
Mouse purrs louder against my chest. Linda drifts close, her presence soft and worried, hovering near my shoulder. Carl drops from somewhere near the ceiling to patrol the perimeter, giving Bob permission to finally ease his rigid stance.
“Sleep,” Malrik says. It’s not a suggestion. “We’ll figure the rest out in the morning.”
But I can’t.
Every time I close my eyes, the bonds press harder. Six heartbeats that aren’t mine. Six sets of emotions bleeding into my skull. Darian’s guilt. Finn’s chaos. Malrik’s steady thrum. Torric’s heat. Aspen’s overwhelming empathy.
And Kieran.
Always Kieran.
That ancient hunger, coiled tight beneath centuries of restraint.
“It’s not working.” My voice comes out thin. Desperate. “I can’t— they won’t quiet down. I can’t make them—”
“I can.”
Kieran’s voice cuts through the noise.
Everyone goes still.
He’s standing now, though I didn’t see him move. Gold eyes fixed on me with an intensity that makes my breath catch.
“I can quiet them,” he says. “If you let me.”
Malrik glances at me. Not suspicious — just checking.Your call.
“How?” I manage.
“Dragons are cold-blooded.” Kieran doesn’t look away from me. “Our internal rhythms are slower. Steadier. I’ve had centuries to learn how to still my mind. How to create silence inside myself.” He pauses. Swallows. “I can share that with you. Through the bond. But I have to be close. I have to—”
He stops.
The unspoken words hang in the air.
I have to hold you.
Nobody objects.
That’s what gets me. A month ago, Torric would’ve burst into flames. Finn would’ve made a sharp joke to deflect. Malrik’s shadows would’ve shifted protectively.
Now they just… wait. Watch me. Let me decide.
Because somewhere between Japti and the hot springs and four days of climbing this frozen hellscape together, Kieran stopped being the enemy.
He’s just the one I haven’t forgiven yet.
“Can you really make it stop?” I ask. “The noise?”
