Page 32 of Dark Dragon’s Wolf

Kira said, “Do you think they’re on Earth? Or in the Dragonlands?”

Mayah had been thinking about that. “I think they’re in different places? But the ones I see the most…” She closed her eyes, calling up the image of the white-tiled hallway. “It looks like an Earth building. Plain tiled walls and floor. Not like something Draken would build.”

Kira nodded. “Then we should do it here—it will be easier to hone in on the location if we’re in the same world. Bad Blood territory is warded, so it should probably be safe enough. I’ll run it by Flynn and get back to you.”

Flynn was the alpha of the crew, and the territory magic was keyed to him. He had the last word on what did and didn’t happen there.

But Kira seemed pretty sure he would say it was okay.

Relief started to seep through Mayah. Kira would help her. And maybe if she rescued some of her “ghosts,” they’d stop haunting her—and Tristan could stop hurting himself trying to fix her.

Flynn agreed to let Mayah and Tristan come and do their spirit traveling in his territory, although Mayah had the feeling he’d taken some convincing. He was famous for his paranoia, though, so that wasn’t really a surprise.

They fixed the date for the following Sunday, when the whole crew could be there. “They’re dying to see Tristan,” Kira told Mayah during her return call. “He hasn’t been back here since Tank’s daughter was born. Apparently, we’re throwing a barbecue.”

They made their plans and Mayah ended the call. It would be good for Tristan to hang out with the crew. He was still getting headaches, and he still had periods of deep moodiness. Seeing his friends would help. Even though they slept together every night, she still sensed he was holding back.

She needed to do something about that before they went on their mission. Because traveling through the spirit world would be taxing enough, without him battling his emotions and their growing bond the whole time.

She had to show him she was in this for the long haul.

Tristan was intrigued when Mayah told him she had a surprise for him. Especially since she’d seemed almost shy when she said it.

Mayah was many things, but ‘shy’ was not one of them.

She led him deep down into the depths of the castle, refusing to tell him where she was going. They went past the entrance to the dungeons and through a dusty storage area. Finally, at the back of the wine cellar, she stopped in front of what looked like a blank wall.

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Here it is.”

Tristan said, “You wanted to show me the wine cellar?”

“Don’t be a dick,” she said. “This is important to me. Only, I haven’t been here in a while. And I don’t know what state it’s in. And I did some of it when I was only little. So don’t judge.”

Tristan suddenly realized where they were.

And what it meant.

Mayah took another deep breath and pressed a stone in the wall, murmuring a few words in Draken. A magical symbol glowed, and then part of the wall slid open.

It was a secret room, and he knew what was in it.

Her hoard. She was showing him her hoard. One of the biggest acts of trust a dragon could bestow.

The room was dark, with a layer of dust on the floor. Tristan frowned. It looked empty. Maybe he’d been wrong about what this was.

Mayah whispered another spell, and the dust cleared. Light globes in the corners went on.

And Tristan saw. The room didn’t contain the hoard. The room was the hoard.

The whole room was inlaid in colored stone, glittering with jewel-like colors. Together it all made a picture, like an art mosaic, but so detailed it was had to be magical.

In the middle of the floor was an aerial view of a castle. Surrounding it were fields and woods, rivers and farms and villages, spreading to the walls. Around the perimeter of the room were mountains, green in the near view, and then blue and purple as they faded into the distance.

On one side of the room was a sunrise, the colors moving to blue and gold across the ceiling as they reached the middle of the room, then to sunset and finally to night on the far side, with stars and galaxies of tiny glittering gemstones.

Tristan was speechless. “Holy fuck,” he said, turning slowly to take it all in. “It’s the domain. Your home.”

She nodded. “I collected the stones myself,” she said. “And I’d come down here when Ragnor didn’t know, and sing them into the walls.” She bit her lip. “Do you like it?”