Page 33 of Dark Dragon’s Wolf

“Are you kidding?” he asked. “I’m stunned. It’s amazing. You took a piece of your prison, and you made it into something incredibly beautiful.”

He turned to face her. “And you showed it to me.” He cupped her face, his chest tight with emotion. “I can’t even—” He had to clear his throat. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

He would treasure this moment forever, keep it in his heart with his other memories of her. Making love. Laughing together. Flying.

He kissed her gently, tenderly.

Then, remembering what she’d said on the roof, he added, “And I don’t believe for a second your dragon didn’t want this. Any dragon would be honored to have this hoard.”

he heard her dragon say.

And then she started to sing.

The sound came out of Mayah’s mouth, but it was definitely her dragon’s voice. She sang to the stones, and they sang back in a song so beautiful it brought tears to Tristan’s eyes.

Gradually, a holographic image rose from the stones, filling the room. The castle grew and turned three-dimensional, and so did the forests. The rivers flowed, and tiny sheep moved in the pastures.

A white wolf ran across the fields towards the castle, and a black dragon flew above him.

And then the song ended and the image receded, the stones shining in their places.

For a moment they were both silent, the song still vibrating between them.

Then Mayah let out a deep sigh, her face lit with pride and pleasure. “She does like it,” she whispered.

Tristan put his arms around her, holding her close. “So now you have two hoards,” he said. “Hers and yours. And once we rescue the ghosts, maybe she won’t need hers anymore.”

the dragon said.

“And we will,” Tristan promised her. “We’ll all do it together.”

Chapter 15

On Sunday afternoon Kira met them at the Earth end of the portal—a secluded shack at the edge of Bad Blood territory—and drove them back to the main compound in a battered pickup truck.

The ride was mostly silent. Tristan was in one of his brooding moods, and Mayah was once more having Kira-induced awkwardness.

Her older sister was just so… everything. Tall. Beautiful. Confident. Deadly. She’d done all kinds of badass things that she didn’t really talk about—mercenary jobs, hostage rescue. Possibly even assassinations.

While Mayah sat in her castle, haunted by ghosts, eating Silverlake Bakery cupcakes and getting fat.

Finally she said, “Thanks for helping us with this. I—we—really appreciate it.”

Kira gave a one-shouldered shrug. “To be honest, Flynn’s not totally in favor of it. He doesn’t like messing around with the spirit world. But he’s willing to give it a shot.”

She gave Tristan a sidelong look. “After the long-lost brother barbecue.”

“Excuse me?” Tristan said. “The what?”

Kira gave a snort of laughter. “You know how they get when you show up. To them, you’re a Bad Blood, even if you left before they pledged as a crew. They’ve got the beer on ice and the grill fired up. Jaz and Brody even took off from the restaurant tonight to see you.”

“They did?” Tristan sounded surprised. Doofus. His old crew adored him.

He also still looked broody, and a little worried. Mayah squeezed his thigh. It was good for him to be around people who loved him. Other than her.

Kira caught the look on Tristan’s face, and added, “Besides, if we’re going to go mind-traveling, better to do it later tonight when it’s quiet.”

Tristan nodded.