known for a thousand years.
“I really screwed up, Gun,” he said.
“You’re alive to try it again, get things right this time.”
“You think it’s possible?”
“Depends on what you’re asking.” Gunner smiled. “The shifters are your family. They’ll forgive you. The girl …” He shrugged.
“That’s what I thought.” Chace rested his chin on his knee. He was weak and exhausted – but alive. Gunner was right; he had a second chance. How did he make things right with no magic?
How did he find Skylar, since her father had made it clear he was going to keep them a part? Even if he did find her, what chance was there that she’d forgive him, let alone want anything to do with him? How did he prove to her that he was capable of so much more than he’d showed her thus far?
You’re my dragon. Though uncertain who she was, she’d spoken the words with conviction. Was there more to their bond than the incredible sex? He loved her sense of humor and bright smile, her dedication and straightforward way of viewing the world. She calmed him physically and mentally, gave him a place of peace.
But he didn’t yet know her well enough to know if any of what he loved about her could be salvaged after what he’d done.
“I could try to be just friends,” he said with a grimace.
“I think being friends is a lot to ask of her right now.”
Chace’s heart felt like it was breaking anew. He didn’t let himself dwell on it. Gunner was probably right. The most he could hope for was that Sky didn’t hate him. Someday.
“Okay. I need to focus on the shifters,” he decided. “I need my magic back to help them, and we have to uncover what’s going on with the slayers.”
“Agreed. Let the universe work out the issue with your girl.”
I wish it was that easy. Chace kept this thought private. He ached for Skylar too much to hope things worked out. Then again, he was the one who ruined what chances they had, so maybe Gunner was right.
“What’re we doing up here?” he muttered and pushed his tired, sore body to stand. He paced a few feet from the fire, until the chilly night crept through the opening in his blanket. Returning, Chace stood and stared down into the flames.
Had he ever even noticed how beautiful fire was? It had been a part of him for so long, he never took the chance to marvel at the idea that as a dragon, he was able to create it, control it, walk into it without being consumed. It drew him now, its subtle magic a siren song that made him want to curl up in the middle of it and go to sleep.
Fire was like Sky: wild, beautiful, responsive to his touch.
I have to stop thinking about her!
“I need to find Dillon,” Chace said. “He’s behind all this. He wants her for some reason. I can’t help thinking there’s more to what he’s doing than what he said.”
“That he’s simply after Mr. Nothing?”
“Yeah. It’s gotta be more. He had Sky for years. Why not use her to get to Gavin before this?” He tossed his head back to see the bright, plentiful patch of stars directly overhead. The view here was as gorgeous as that from the mountains of Southern Arizona. There was no light pollution from nearby cities. From the peak, nothing came between him and the sky.
He had the sense of being close to the heavens, the way he was when he’d been able to fly.
A shape appeared overhead, circling the mountaintop from far, far above. Chace squinted to see it clearly.
“I really hope that’s not Gavin,” he said, mood turning even darker.
“I really hope it is. I want to be a panther again,” Gunner said. “And I want a ride off this mountain.”
“There’s more than one.” As Chace watched, another dragon joined the first, then a third, a fourth, a fifth. Fifteen minutes passed, and there were over a dozen of the large creatures soaring and circling above the peak.
“I thought you all were almost extinct,” Gunner said.
“So did I.”
More dragons came. They ranged in
“I really screwed up, Gun,” he said.
“You’re alive to try it again, get things right this time.”
“You think it’s possible?”
“Depends on what you’re asking.” Gunner smiled. “The shifters are your family. They’ll forgive you. The girl …” He shrugged.
“That’s what I thought.” Chace rested his chin on his knee. He was weak and exhausted – but alive. Gunner was right; he had a second chance. How did he make things right with no magic?
How did he find Skylar, since her father had made it clear he was going to keep them a part? Even if he did find her, what chance was there that she’d forgive him, let alone want anything to do with him? How did he prove to her that he was capable of so much more than he’d showed her thus far?
You’re my dragon. Though uncertain who she was, she’d spoken the words with conviction. Was there more to their bond than the incredible sex? He loved her sense of humor and bright smile, her dedication and straightforward way of viewing the world. She calmed him physically and mentally, gave him a place of peace.
But he didn’t yet know her well enough to know if any of what he loved about her could be salvaged after what he’d done.
“I could try to be just friends,” he said with a grimace.
“I think being friends is a lot to ask of her right now.”
Chace’s heart felt like it was breaking anew. He didn’t let himself dwell on it. Gunner was probably right. The most he could hope for was that Sky didn’t hate him. Someday.
“Okay. I need to focus on the shifters,” he decided. “I need my magic back to help them, and we have to uncover what’s going on with the slayers.”
“Agreed. Let the universe work out the issue with your girl.”
I wish it was that easy. Chace kept this thought private. He ached for Skylar too much to hope things worked out. Then again, he was the one who ruined what chances they had, so maybe Gunner was right.
“What’re we doing up here?” he muttered and pushed his tired, sore body to stand. He paced a few feet from the fire, until the chilly night crept through the opening in his blanket. Returning, Chace stood and stared down into the flames.
Had he ever even noticed how beautiful fire was? It had been a part of him for so long, he never took the chance to marvel at the idea that as a dragon, he was able to create it, control it, walk into it without being consumed. It drew him now, its subtle magic a siren song that made him want to curl up in the middle of it and go to sleep.
Fire was like Sky: wild, beautiful, responsive to his touch.
I have to stop thinking about her!
“I need to find Dillon,” Chace said. “He’s behind all this. He wants her for some reason. I can’t help thinking there’s more to what he’s doing than what he said.”
“That he’s simply after Mr. Nothing?”
“Yeah. It’s gotta be more. He had Sky for years. Why not use her to get to Gavin before this?” He tossed his head back to see the bright, plentiful patch of stars directly overhead. The view here was as gorgeous as that from the mountains of Southern Arizona. There was no light pollution from nearby cities. From the peak, nothing came between him and the sky.
He had the sense of being close to the heavens, the way he was when he’d been able to fly.
A shape appeared overhead, circling the mountaintop from far, far above. Chace squinted to see it clearly.
“I really hope that’s not Gavin,” he said, mood turning even darker.
“I really hope it is. I want to be a panther again,” Gunner said. “And I want a ride off this mountain.”
“There’s more than one.” As Chace watched, another dragon joined the first, then a third, a fourth, a fifth. Fifteen minutes passed, and there were over a dozen of the large creatures soaring and circling above the peak.
“I thought you all were almost extinct,” Gunner said.
“So did I.”
More dragons came. They ranged in
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