So I force myself to stay, turning instead to the other man. The dragon shifter. Kacey’s bond.
And his amber eyes are locked, solely focused, on her.
Without thought, my darkness begins to unravel, tight vines of shadow slipping out from beneath my skin, curling around me like ink. I step closer to Kacey, as close as I can, just as he begins to walk towards us.
He’s a giant of a man. A wide, muscular chest, bulky arms, thick legs. Kacey may be taller than me, slightly curvier, but she’s small, tiny in comparison to this powerful being whose every step sparks embers on the ground.
How is this her bond? Herequal?
I glance sideways at Kacey, watching her eyes getting wider and wider with every step, like she’s trying to take all of him in at once.
“I’m here,” I murmur, watching the dragon stop about two feet away, giving her plenty of space. “What do you want to do?”
She doesn’t speak. None of us move. The temperature rises and… we’re at a standstill.
The dragon’s close enough now that rather than feel, I can see the nervous tension filling his huge body. He clasps his hands, eyes flickering over Kacey’s frame, unsure where to look.
But he’s not just nervous, no. He’s… terrified.
This mammoth man is afraid of… Kacey.
Any tension I had melts away, and when his fiery eyes flash to mine, there’s a plea there, a silent request. I don’t owe him anything, nothing, I don’t even know him.
But…
I look to Kacey.
“Come on,” I say gently, letting a single tendril nudge her shoulder, causing her eyes to snap to mine. I offer her a soft smile. “Be brave, K. Take a breath, let go, and be brave with me.”
I step forwards first, just a bit, then tilt my head encouragingly, asking her to trust me—come with me.
Surprisingly, it’s Mr Bear who moves first, filling the space between us. Kacey looks at him, at me, but says nothing.
Then she moves.
I’m hyper-aware, painfully alert, thatheisn’t here. In this realm. But I somehow know he’s watching from the dark instead.
Is he doing this for me? The hiding. Or for himself? Like a coward. So he doesn’t have to see me, doesn’t have to feel me.
But I don’t have time to dwell upon those thoughts, not when it only takes a few steps to meet the dragon.
We stop in front of him, and I try to give what I hope is a reassuring smile as I wait for them to say something.Dosomething. But they don’t.
I look between them, waiting and… waiting and…
Okay, this is awkward.
A long, awkward silence that I’m sure I’m making worse by just standing here with this stupid smile.
“Hi,” I say, and both their gazes dart to me. “Okay then… so, you know our names.” I point at the dragon’s chest. “Maybe we could start with yours?” I let the question linger, staring up at the dragon who opens his mouth—
“Amon.”
My head snaps to Kacey, hard, because that name leftherlips. She’s staring up at him, pale blue eyes wide and locked onAmon.
The temperature soars, there’s a soft crackling, something is… burning, and there’sflames…
“Shit,” I hiss, rushing to the sudden small fire that’s erupting on the planting table beside us.
