Page 52 of Dark Dragon’s Wolf

“Nope. Now you climb on my back.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Do you want me to uncloak you, and fly off and leave you up here to explain to Security all alone?”

“You are a troublemaker.”

“Yes.”

Tristan started laughing again, which, along with his long legs, made it hard for him to climb on Mayah’s back.

“Good thing I have dragon strength,” she said. “You weigh a ton.”

And then she ran down the slanted pyramid at the back of the building, and jumped out into the air.

For a second Tristan’s heart got stuck in his throat, as the ground rushed up toward them. And then Mayah Changed right underneath him, and they were flying, him straddling her back between two of her neck spines.

It was amazing. They cruised over the city, taking it all in. Due to his purple drink alcoholic haze, Tristan convinced her to dive-bomb the river, and she hurtled down and then snapped her wings open at the last minute, so close that one wingtip sliced the water, sending up a shining plume.

Then they flew high, high up, the city spread out beneath them—and higher still until they could see the valley on the far side of the ridge, and higher still.

Until the lights in the distance followed the curve of the earth, and they could see forever.

Chapter 24

The next night, Tyr Greystone set Mayah and Tristan up for their trip through the spirit world. They’d decided it would be better to go at night, while the wolves were asleep, considering that two of them had seen and recognized Tristan last time.

They didn’t want the reaction of the wolves to alert any watching guards that someone was there, spying on them from the spirit world.

Tyr and his brothers had a huge collection of Draken artifacts—some that had been left behind by the Draken Guardians who’d once live in the caves under the mansion, and some collected by Tyr in his travels. He was providing Mayah with an artifact that would make the magical wards in the complex visible to them, the way Kira had.

And two more that should allow their spirits to pass through the wards undetected and explore the whole complex, rather than only having access to the hallway where the wolves were. Tyr believed that, since the wolves’ cries for help had called them there, they’d previously been limited to that particular area.

Tyr also stood ready to bring them back to their bodies if anything went wrong.

Thorne Greystone was sitting in, and Emon and Flynn had both decided to show up too, arriving separately at the last minute. To get the intel first-hand, they both claimed.

Mayah didn’t know whether to be touched or annoyed, because she didn’t know whether they’d showed up because they were looking out for her and Tristan, or because they were just paranoid control freaks who didn’t trust anyone else to do a job right.

Since Thorne was also a paranoid control freak, there was some alpha tension going on. As if she and Tristan needed that on top of everything else.

She was glad they’d had their night out on the town, but Tristan wasn’t looking so good. Pale, and like his head hurt, though of course he denied it.

Because wolves. And testosterone.

Flynn was saying, “Are you sure you can find this place without Kira?”

Mayah resisted the urge to smack him. “It’s me they’re calling,” she said. “I can find them.”

She and Tristan lay down on the large exam table in Tyr’s healing room. Apparently, Tyr’s artifacts would allow them to completely leave their bodies, and they needed to be lying down so they wouldn’t collapse.

Tristan closed his hand around hers, warm and safe. You good? he asked in her mind.

When you’re with me, always. She felt his smile.

She closed her eyes, and listened for the wolves.

At first she didn’t hear anything. She breathed deeply, and felt Tristan matching his breaths to hers.