“So they talk through their minds with one another?” I ask, intrigued despite everything we’ve been through.
Then I think of that one word whispered in my mind earlier.Human.
No! No way!
“I’d love to know more,” I add when Grim doesn’t say anything.
“It’s complicated,” Grim says, his tone suggesting he doesn’t want to elaborate.
The question pops out before I can stop it. “Have you ever had a mind-bond? Was Jordyn your mind-bond or your girlfriend?” I wince. “Sorry. I’m prying. You don’t have to answer. It’s just that I overheard you talking about her, and I wondered.”
His jaw tightens. “She was mind-bonded to my beast. It was for such a short time.” The words come out clipped. His whole body instantly becomes rigid.
“What happened? Did she die? Did—?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Nothing like that. She went back to the Mainland. It isn’t a big deal, and it’s not something I want to talk about. It happened. It’s over, and that’s it.” He gives a casual shrug that is anything but casual.
I get the feeling that it was a big deal, and that’s exactly why he doesn’t like to talk about it. I remember that day when he walked me back from the park, when he mentioned something about feeling lost. That his life had changed suddenly. That his dreams had changed, and he needed to try to find himself again.
I’m sure it had to do with Jordyn and this mind-bond thing. There has to be a correlation.
Speaking of correlations…
“Um…is there a reason why my head hurts whenever I’m around your dragon?” I ask him carefully.
“It’s only been twice,” he points out.
“Yeah, but both times my head hurt like someone was drilling into my skull.” I shudder at the memory. “I’ve never felt pain like that in all my life. Extreme pain and then nothing. I felt perfectly fine afterward. It was…weird. Do you have any idea what it could be?”
“No.” He shakes his head, but I see something shift. It’s gone before I can identify it. “Maybe you’re allergic to dragons,” he tells me.
I laugh. “I’ve never heard of that.”
“Well, humans don’t generally get close to dragons and live to talk about it. Not very often, at any rate. Humans are allergic to a whole array of things. You could be allergic to dragons.”
I’m not buying it. Maybe if I got a rash or an itchy nose. Maybe if I had an anaphylactic reaction. Also, the pain stopped before his dragon was gone.
“I suppose,” I finally say.
He grunts.
We walk through more dense jungle, pushing aside hanging vines and ducking under low branches. My legs are starting to ache, and my stomach is growling loud enough that I’m sure Grim could hear it without advanced senses.
A large modern building comes into view through the trees.
“So that’s the Tribute Training Academy?” I breathe. “Wow! It’s big.”
“Yep. It will have everything we need. Shelter, clothes.” He glances at me. “I’m sure there will be clothes. Probably uniforms, but clothes are clothes. There should be food in the dry stores. Mostly canned goods, so it won’t be gourmet.”
“Hey,” I rub my stomach, which chooses that moment to growl again, “I’ll take anything at this rate. I’m starving.”
“Let’s see if I can break us in,” he says, walking ahead of me toward the main entrance.
My eyes immediately drop to his ass. I can’t help it. The man is walking around completely naked, all those muscles flexing with each step, and I’m only human.
I stop in my tracks. Looking at Grim’s ass makes me feel sad. It’s so stupid. My first thought is that I have no right. No right to look at his ass. No right to even be alive when poor Sally is dead.
A sob catches in my throat.
