He hadn’t heard what she was really saying. Maybe she hadn’t even known it herself. She’d learned not to ask for what she wanted, after all. To deny she wanted anything at all, even to herself.
Yes,whispered that other part of himself; the part that he’d stopped listening to, out of fear and grief and pride.But we know, even when she does not. So what doesshewant?
He knew the answer.
And from there, everything else was easy.
“I,” Buck said to the world in general, “have been a motherloving idiot.”
“Yes,” Ragvald agreed placidly.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Buck paused, going back over the last few minutes. “Oh, for the love of little green apples. Please tell me I didn’t say all that out loud.”
Ragvald made a sound like an amused bear. “I will not, then.”
Buck rubbed a hand across his face, wiping away sweat. All his clothes were plastered to his body. He couldn’t have been wetter if he’d jumped into the lake. He was beginning to feel a deep and heartfelt longing to do exactly that.
“Are you going to let me out of here now?” he asked.
“If you insist.” As if the atmosphere wasn’t already thick enough to choke a goat, Ragvald poured yet another cup of water onto the hot rocks. “Thought it seems a shame to let the heat out so soon. I was just beginning to get comfortable.”
“Get out of the damn way, Ragvald.”
“Hmm.” Ragvald shifted a little, not yet moving aside from the door. “If I do, you give me your word of honor that you will not revert to foolishness the moment you step outside this place?”
Buck had to let out a snort at that. “No promises. I seem to be good at finding new and unexpected ways to fuck up. But I know what I have to do.”
And abruptly, he knew something else too.
“I have to go,” he said, instinct closing tight around his heart. “I have to go right now. Honey’s in danger.”
CHAPTER41
“Honey!” Leonie practically pounced on her, blocking the path to the central square. “You have to get out of here. Lord Golden—”
“I know,” Honey interrupted, panting for breath. “I saw the dragon. Is he at the office?”
“I assume so. I didn’t stick around to wait for him to land.” Leonie gestured at the gaggle of wide-eyed kids clustered behind her, whispering to each other. “As soon as he came into sight, I thought it best to clear the area.”
“Stay with Leonie,” Honey told her own pack. “I’ll take care of this. Leonie, have you seen Buck?”
“No, but Honey, you can’t let Golden see you!” Leonie grabbed her arm as she tried to push past. “We don’t know why he’s here. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”
“It’s not,” Honey said grimly. She shook Leonie off. “I have to go. Watch the kids for me. And if you see Buck, tell him what’s going on.”
Without waiting for a response, she broke back into a run, hurrying toward the heart of the camp. Even before she got within sight of the office building, she could hear a cutting, imperious voice, raised in anger.
“No, I will not step inside!”
She would have known him just from the voice, even if she hadn’t seen the dragon. Every word rang with arrogant command. Ignatius’s carefully practiced haughtiness was just a pale shadow in comparison.
Lord Golden stood in the center of the square, glaring at Zephyr as though the director was a parking valet who’d just dented his car. The dragon shifter had clearly been in a hurry to get here. His broad chest heaved underneath his undone suit jacket, and his bright blond hair was a windswept mess.
Zephyr, in comparison, was at his most calm. “Lord Golden, I really think this would be best discussed in private.”
“You are not required to think. You are merely required to obey.” Golden caught sight of Honey, and his ice-blue eyes narrowed. “You! Come here at once.”
Without conscious volition, Honey found herself walking forward. Golden studied her for a moment, his mouth tightening.
