Page 111 of Hoarded By the Dragon

The movement is instinctual, and I’ll regret it for as long as I live. My hand comes to my stomach for a split moment—only a moment—before I jerk it away. But it’s too late.

Nemo’s eyes drop and widen. “Oh fuck.”

He slides his hand out of his pocket, and panic is an ugly song in my mind at the sight of his phone already lit up with either a call or text message.

“Please don’t do it,” I say. “If you ever cared for me even for a second. Please don’t do this.” I never thought I was one for begging, but this livewire of terror zinging through my chest gives me no choice.

Nemo’s face softens. “I did care about you, kid.”

Hope is a dangerous thing. It starts my heart pumping again. Maybe this will be okay.

“But I care about me more,” he continues, and the breath leaves my lungs. “I’m sorry. This information is too valuable.” There’s a tinge of guilt squishing his brows together. “I’ll give you a five-minute head start.”

I don’t waste that time trying to convince him to do anything otherwise. Even if there’s a sliver of guilt in him, the gleam of greed in his gaze is too much to combat that.

Nemo walks out of my apartment, and instinctively I know it’s so I don’t hear the conversation he’s about to have.

“Head start my ass,” I mutter.

I run to the bedroom and unearth my bag, digging out my last portal charm. Luckily, I don’t need that five minutes.

Phone tampered with. I’ll come back when it’s safe.I text to Ben before pausing to add:I hope everyone is alright. Please take care of Griffin.Itoss the device on my bed.

There’s a shriek of tires outside. I’ve run out of time. I break my second portal charm of the day with a destination in mind.

Anywhere is better than here.

38

KALOS

Being lost is a disquieting sensation.It’s not comfortable, but there’s no pain, no worry. There are only the primal urges. The joy of flight, of hunting prey, and of basking in the sun.

But even my dragon knows we’re missing something. Or rather, especially my dragon knows. He’s the one who mated our queen after all. We bred her while I was full of need, but he feels all the demands that I push down constantly.

The need forothers. Family, community, a mate.

He feels the things I don’t want to. My worry for Katarina pales in comparison to his. My fear of loss is the same.

My dragon experiences the world in black and white. Joy and pain. And letting myself dwell in all the terrible possibilities that could happen to Katarina, my fears about the dragon fire prophecy and losing control, has caused so much confusion in our very being.

Our… Even in the state I’m in, I can’t bring myself to pull the pieces of myself back together again. The emotions of my dragon and my logical mind echo through each other.

But the soul witch is right.

We are not separate.

And I must go back. The throb of pain in my chest is hard to identify. I don’t want to identify it. I’ve spent years ignoring the sensations of my own emotions until they grew smaller and more distant. Until I could lock them away under the appearance of adapting to the modern world around me.

But I am not a modern creature, and the more determined I am to schism myself, the less I’m capable of giving my mate what she deserves.

Reconnection comes slowly and is searing in its pain. Stitch by stitch, I pull myself together. The wind against my wings, the fire brimming in my emotions. The job is patchwork without the soul witch to guide me, but it’s necessary. I focus on the yearning of my heart.

The pain I fight is the fear of losing Katarina, and it will be there no matter if I ignore my feelings for her or am successfully able to complete our mating bond.

I’d rather suffer every waking minute to hold her.

She is brightness, the prized jewel in my collection.

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