Page 17 of Dark Dragon’s Wolf

And then he was there.

The wind receded, and everything grew quiet. He felt stone under his feet, heard the far-off drip of water and the rustle of wings.

He looked around. A great dark bulk moved and stretched, and then twin green lanterns were looking down at him.

“Yup. It’s me. We didn’t get to finish our conversation.”

“Yeah. You keep saying that. Here’s the thing,” he said. He didn’t know how much time he’d have, so he decided to go straight to the point. “I love Mayah.”

There. He’d said it. Even if technically it was only in his mind. Although, the dragon didn’t seem impressed.

Fine. Whatever. It mattered to him, and he was glad he’d said it. “I love her. And she really misses you. She needs you. She’s hurting, and I can’t let that happen. So I came to ask you to come back, so you two can be one like you’re supposed to be.”

The dragon’s eyes blinked twice, slowly. Then they moved closer to him, as the dragon lowered her head.

Tristan didn’t move. Things that happened in the spirit world could be reflected in the real world. He didn’t want to get bitten in half and then find out it really wasn’t all a dream.

Mayah’s dragon sniffed at him. she said.

True love. “Like fated mates?” he asked. Of course it wasn’t that. It couldn’t be.

“I’m not capable of that,” he said. “I wish I were. I want that for her.” And he wanted it for himself. More than he would ever admit.

The dragon drew her head back.

Tristan was starting to get pissed off. “I get that, already. But I can’t make it true love just by wanting it.”

Now what the fuck was that supposed to mean?

The dragon answered as if he’d actually spoken. she said.

Tristan growled. He didn’t care if she was a fucking dragon. “You don’t know shit about me,” he said. “Trust me, nobody wants to see inside me. And it’s not safe for them to love me. At best, I let people down. At worst, I hurt them.”

He stepped in, looking up at the dark monster. “And who the hell are you to talk about holding back and staying safe? You’ve locked yourself in a fucking cave, all safe here in the spirit world, and left Mayah on her own. You’re no better than I am.”

“So am I!”

Her mental voice grew, filling his mind, filling the cavern.

“I don’t—” He started to say he didn’t want her hoard. Then he stopped, looking at the moving shadows.

“What is this? What is your hoard?”

the dragon said.

Holy hell. Mayah’s ghosts. Tristan backed away from the dragon, away from the shadowy forms, until he hit the bars that blocked the door.

The dragon advanced on him, eyes glowing.

Tristan pressed against the bars. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But he did. And he couldn’t get away from her.