“I wills drops yous ats the cave,” Ash said. “I’ve beens sstaying with Aphostra, buts I wills be nearby.”
Dani took a deep breath. This was bad. Ash was obviously hinging a lot on her visit, but it sounded to her like Tyrez had already made his decision. And it wasn’t good.
She laid a hand on his forearm. “I might not be able to help, Ash. He might be beyond anything I can do for him.”
Do for him? Just what did she think she could do? Her heart hurt; it ached like someone had stuck a blade in it. She’d envisioned Tyrez and Ash living a happily ever after. Instead, they were as broken as she was. Was there something to be read in that?
Ash turned his head, bringing it close to her. “It’ss okays, Dani. I hads tos try.”
She swallowed the huge lump in her throat and climbed back up on him. Moments later, they were soaring over the lush jungle.
Her human eyes couldn’t make out details, but Ash must be able to see just fine. As he climbed, she heard the rush of water and saw the gleam as it cascaded down the cliff face. Then he backwinged to a landing on a ledge.
Dani slid off.
“I won’ts be fars,” Ash said. He dropped his head close to hers. “He’s changed a lots. Buts he’s sstill Tyrez, downs deep.”
It was a warning, and she took it as such. The air displaced by his takeoff buffeted her.
Dani stood alone on the ledge. The cave mouth beckoned to her, and she saw a circle of light deep inside.
She raised a hand to push her hair off her face and noticed her fingers trembled. Why did she feel like a princess being sacrificed to a Dragon? This was Tyrez. He wasn’t in the habit of eating nubile young women.
And she sure as hell wasn’t any princess.
* * *
The entrance was much smaller than the cave itself.
About thirty feet in, the ledge narrowed to an arched doorway lit by a single lantern. The wooden door was intricately carved with Dragons.
It wasn’t locked, so Dani pushed it open.
The cave beyond was dimly lit with sconces mounted to the stone. She didn’t know if the power was turned down or if that was as bright as the fixtures could handle. Out in the middle of the jungle, he was likely using solar power, so it could be either or both.
The large central space was furnished with a mixture of Dragon furniture and Tyrez’s preference for squishy human couches. A huge stone fireplace had been built in the center, with a chimney rising through a fissure in the ceiling, and an island separated the kitchen from the living area.
The layout reminded Dani of Tyrez’s apartment in the palace. Very open and airy, well suited to a Dragon. Except his apartment had been very tidy, and this place was not. Books and magazines were strewn over the surfaces, most from the human realm. A few files lay open, paper spread out over the large coffee table. Clothing lay scattered about, but the main things were fast food containers, piled everywhere she looked.
But other than the mess, it was empty. No sign of Tyrez.
How long had it been since Ash lived here? This mess didn’t seem to be the golden Dragon shifter’s style.
It was warm in the cave. Dani removed the trench coat and laid it over the back of the large couch. More Dragon sized than the one in his apartment, she noted.
Her eyes dropped to the floor, and she saw the scales. Very distinctive, blue and green, and sized for a Dragon’s human form. They were piled in one spot near the couch and then trailed off down a side tunnel.
Better than breadcrumbs. Dani followed them.
The lighting only grew dimmer, until she was getting as much illumination from the moonlight filtering through the crevices overhead as from the sconces lining the walls. It got very dark along the end section, and then she turned the corner and froze.
The moon beamed down from the open ceiling, highlighting the leaves and fronds of plants that grew on every available surface. The near-perfect sphere of it glittered and reflected in the pond at the lowest level of the open space.
The place was so still it could have been a painting. Right down to the figure seated cross-legged on a stone rising from the middle of the water.
Tyrez’s naked human skin gleamed in the moonlight, the tattoos running down his arms adding to the still-life effect.
He looked more like a sculpture, to be honest. Only Dani barely recognized him. The big Dragon had always been cut with near zero body fat, but now it was as though he was honed to razor sharpness, his muscles hugging closer to his frame. It was even reflected in his face—there were hollows beneath the high cheekbones and his eyes were almost invisible beneath arched brows.
