She imagined a dragon poking its snout through the bedroom door, checking why their mate was taking so long in that luxurious bath, or sorting through the treasure trove in the wardrobe.
It brought a smile to her lips. She opened her mouth to tell Julian—and stopped herself. What was she thinking? Her daydream would remind him of everything he’d lost.
She gritted her teeth and followed him down the cavernous hallway.
The fortress appeared to be carved from dark stone, lit by glowing gems in sconces at regular intervals along the walls. But it couldn’t have been carved. It was all made by magic.
And maintained by magic. Julian had said he suspected the shadow dragon numbers had dropped because so much of their magic went into maintaining whatever spell held this place together.
What would happen if that magic faltered? She touched the scale hanging feather-light at her neck.
Julian made a surprised noise.
“Could you feel me do that?” she asked.
His eyebrows drew together. “I—yes.”
“Can you feel it whenanyonetouches them?” Her voice was heated.
“No.” His eyes stayed on the scale at her neck for a long moment, and then he raised them and smiled. “But your concern is noted.”
“I’m notconcerned,” she snarled. “If you could feel any time someone touched one of these—”
“I would have gone mad long ago.” He stepped closer, so she had to tip her head to keep eye contact. “It’s only you.”
A helpless thrill went through her. He held himself so carefully, it was easy to forget how tall he was. Taller than her.
“Be careful with it,” he reminded her in an undertone.
“Don’t worry. I will.” She grimaced. He’d told her that the bonded mates of shadow dragons shared in the shadow dragons’ magic, but their bond was so thread-like and weak. She couldn’t trust it.
Maybe that was why itwasso weak, she thought, her jaw tightening.
He took her hand and kept walking. She measured her stride to keep up with him. “Your scale keeps me within the shadows from which this fortress was built. That’s why I have to keep it with me.”
“Yes.”
“And keep you alive.”
“Yes.” He sounded almost amused.
“What if the magic sustaining the fortress fails, instead?”
He stopped mid-stride. “That won’t happen. So long as the shadow dragons exist, so will the fortress.”
The bruise-like shadows under his eyes seemed deeper than they had been a few minutes before. She bit her tongue on what she wanted to say next—Are you sure? How can you be sure?—and followed him in silence.
It wasn’t as though they didn’t have enough to worry about already.
The corridor led to a huge central stairwell. At least, the outer wall had stairs—the rest of the space spiraled down a wide, high-ceilinged ramp that disappeared into the darkness below.
As they walked, lights twinkled to life ahead of them, and around more archways leading to other levels of the massive underground structure.
“How big is this place?” she breathed.
“There was always somewhere new to discover,” Julian said absently. His eyes were on the darkness below.
At last the floor evened out. They stepped onto a landing lit like the stars had fallen from the sky and stuck in the walls all around.
