His ears flicked forward inquisitively. “Who?” he asked, voice hoarse.
I grinned. “Told you, it’s a surprise.”
Poppy went still, weighing his options. With every passing second, anticipation squeezed my heart. I wanted Poppy to exit this hellhole more than anything. If he gave up now...
No, I didn’t even want to think about it. Iwouldget him out.
“Do you trust me, Poppy?” I asked.
Poppy stilled. His unkempt fur lay flat as he stared directly back at me. When he spoke, his words were barely above a whisper. “I... I think—no, I... I do.”
My chest tingled.
“I trust you, too,” I said. “The surprise I want to show you is really special to me. We dragons have something called ‘hoards’. It’s anything we feel intensely passionate about, and possessiveover.” Pulling my satchel forward, I patted the leather siding. “A piece of my hoard is inside this bag. The oneyoufound when I lost it. I don’t know what I would’ve done without it. So, I owe you, Poppy. Big time.”
The tip of Poppy’s tail wagged. Seeing that lifted my heart and wrapped it with a fuzzy blanket. I didn’t know why I found that so adorable. Maybe it was his uninhibited animal honesty, unable to be stopped.
He dropped his gaze to the dirt, but said, “I’ll... I’ll come out.”
Excitement coursed through me. I nodded quickly, then backed out to give him space. A wave of relief crashed into me as Poppy emerged from beneath the overhang. In the sunlight, his fur was even dirtier, his sides scrawnier, and he reeked of unwashed dog and stale earth—but I didn’t care about any of that. I was elated beyond measure.
Without thinking, I rushed forward to embrace him. He felt small and fragile against my chest. Breakable as a valuable porcelain doll walled up behind locked glass.
An intense wave flowed in my veins, beating like the rhythm of my pulse. Suddenly, I didn’t want to release him. The feeling was childish, and selfish. If I let Poppy go, I wouldn’t be holding him anymore. He’d be out of my reach, like a doll inside a locked cabinet. I wouldn’t be able to protect him with my own claws.
Poppy’s warm breath ghosted across my scaly chest. The core of his body was warm, too, despite the crag’s cool depths.
The moment lingered. I didn’t want to stop, and he made no attempt to move. Then he coughed. I jumped to release him, hoping I hadn’t squeezed his frail chest by accident.
“Sorry. I think I swallowed some dirt,” he croaked.
A relieved chuckle escaped me. “I’ll say. Your fur’s practically brown,” I added, reaching over to pat his furry flank.
He ducked his head shyly, then pulled away. “I’m sorry. I know I look and smell awful...”
“I don’t care about that,” I said honestly.
Poppy had already craned his neck over his back and frantically licked his flank. But a few mouthfuls later, he coughed again.
“You need a real bath,” I said. “Where’s your—”
I stopped myself. I’d nearly asked where his room was, but instinct told me that wasn’t the right way to handle it. For whatever reason, Poppy didn’t want to return home, so his room was out of the question.
“Where’s the closest place you can wash?” I asked instead.
Poppy glanced into the distance. “Um, there’s a river down there.”
“Cool. Let’s go.”
He seemed surprised, but reassured. “You’re coming with me? I was just going to wash and come back...”
If I was honest, I’d admit I didn’t want him to leave my sight, but that sounded creepy. I tried to play it casual.
“Four paws are better than two,” I said, waving my front claws. “Besides, I can warm up the water with my fire so you won’t freeze your balls off.”
Poppy managed to smile at my joke. Then he led me to the river. Except he didn’t reallylead. Every time we walked parallel to each other, he slowed to walk a step or two behind me. I didn’t notice it at first, but I caught on when he glimpsed at me from the corner of his eye, then suddenly halted to awkwardly lick his paw until I passed him.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
