Crystal dust. Cara even had a stash of it in the cupboard.
Sadie’s sallow face flashed through his mind. How much of it had she consumed before she became addicted? Would him taking it even help?
A little voice inside him niggled—it would enable him to become a life-sized Dragon, too. Not as big as Tyrez or Razir, but maybe large enough to take Aria where she needed to go...
As they entered the main bedroom, his gut twisted into a tighter knot. At what cost? For Morphs, crystal addiction was serious stuff. He’d never heard of an addict being able to break free of it. But as for how much and how often it took to become one, he had no idea.
Cara arranged herself and Aria as before on the bed, and both of them looked expectantly at Lucas. Aria held out her hand.
He swallowed. Why hadn’t he abandoned her that night in Udo’s display room? He looked into her amber eyes. And heaved an internal sigh.
This was what he got for letting his heart rule.
Lucas climbed onto the bed before folding his fingers around Aria’s. As before, the instant their skin touched, his entire world came alive; every sense amplified and all of them screaming at him that holding hands wasn’t enough.
He should run away. As far, and as fast, as he could.
Instead, he took a deep breath and accepted Cara’s hand when she offered it, closing his eyes.
“We need to be careful,” she said. “If Galeran is too close when we work with Nikolai, he may figure out something is going on.”
Lucas swallowed, remembering the way Galeran spun to stare at Nikolai just before the contact broke off. His eyes popped open. “Can he tell when we are with Nikolai?”
Cara regarded him closely. “It is possible, because I am using so much energy to hold us together. Galeran managed to track Nikolai even when he was in the human realm, and I’m not sure how he did it.”
Lucas swallowed. Everything hinged on this, he didn’t have the right to hold back. “I know how he did it. Galeran speaks to Nikolai in his mind.”
Aria stared at him. “Lucas—”
Cara’s intense blue gaze sharpened. “How do you know that?”
Lucas took a deep breath and didn’t look at Aria. “Because Nikolai told me. I had another dream before the others came to the cave. I saw a port destroyed through Nikolai’s eyes. And then, after I woke up, he spoke to me.”
Aria’s mouth had dropped open in shock. “What did he say?”
“He told me that Galeran was in his head.”
Cara’s eyes narrowed. “Did he say anything else?”
Lucas nodded as his heart thundered. “He said that if he couldn’t be freed, that we needed to kill him.”
“No,” breathed Aria. “It must have been a dream. You didn’t really speak with him.”
It hurt that she didn’t believe him, even if he desperately wished it were true.
Cara, however, had a different opinion. “No. It makes sense that Nikolai could speak to Lucas. Telepathy is part of the bonding process, and your bond is evolving. You have been linking with him before this, haven’t you?”
Lucas kept his gaze focused on Cara. “I wasn’t sure it was real. I only got glimpses until recently.”
Cara nodded. “So it has evolved over time.”
Lucas’s denial was automatic. “Why me? We aren’t particularly close. I didn’t even think we liked each other all that much.” It had been true at one time. Now, Lucas wasn’t so sure.
The Watcher’s eyes narrowed. “Usually the telepathy kicks in when you share a stressful experience. I think Nikolai saving your life counts.”
Lucas’s mind flashed back not to that, but to the collar removal, and Nikolai seeing straight into his troubled memories. It had started something between them. But why only him? “But he saved Aria, too. Why isn’t he talking to her?”
Cara eyed Aria. “Dragons are naturally more resistant to outside influences. It might be interfering with the establishment of a link between them.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Your bond is very useful, it can give us a glimpse as to when Nikolai is available for our sessions.”
