A harsh roar echoed out into the woods around us.
Followed quickly by a second.
“Oh,” Ryan said weakly. “That’s a good reason.”
We ran. Hand in hand, we ran. The wind whipped around us, the snow falling now a full-fledged storm. There was the crash of trees coming from behind us as if something large was barreling through the forest, uprooting them and knocking them aside. The ground shook beneath our feet, and for a moment, I thought it would split in half. Even though I knew we were dreaming, it still felt real. Like we could die just as easily here as we could in the real world.
I wondered if this had to do with the mountain dragons. If this was their doing.
Wizard, they sang out behind me. We see you We’re coming for you And we see him too “That doesn’t sound good!” Ryan shouted at me over the storm.
“No fucking shit it doesn’t sound good!”
“What are we going to do?”
“Not die!”
“Gods, I hate it when that’s your plan.”
I grinned rakishly at him. “I’m Sam of Wilds. That’s always my plan.”
Our luck, though, was bound to run out sometime.
And it did, when the trees began to thin out around us. We should have paid more attention to where we were headed, but we were too concerned with outrunning whatever was coming after us.
Which explained why we didn’t see the edge of the cliff until we almost went over it. We skidded through the snow toward the cliff, screaming louder than either of us probably cared to admit.
And came to a stop right at the edge.
“That… was close,” Ryan breathed.
We couldn’t see how far down the drop was. It was lost in the storm, the blizzard swirling around us.
Twin roars came from the forest.
We whirled around.
Ryan, ever dashing and immaculate, stepped out in front of me and reached for his sword, only to come up empty. “Oh,” he said. “Right. Dream. I don’t actually have my sword.”
Trees broke apart in the woods.
I leaned forward, putting my forehead on the back of his neck. “Hey,” I said, kissing the base of his spine just once. “You know how when you’re falling in a dream and you gasp right before you wake up?”
“Yeah,” he said, digging in, preparing himself for whatever was coming for us.
“I love you. Please don’t hate me. But I really need you to remember to gasp.”
He turned to look back at me, eyes wide. “Sam, what are you—”
I circled my arms around his waist and pivoted on my heel, spinning us around. I let go the moment our positions were reversed, and the momentum carried him over the edge of the cliff. He fell without a sound, disappearing into the swirling snow.
“He’s going to be so mad at me for that,” I said with a sigh.
I turned back around.
The crashing came to a stop along the edge of the tree line.
At first nothing happened.
Then four bright blue lights began to glow.
Eyes.
Two sets.
Something surged within me and I felt blue and it—
“I THREW my boyfriend off the edge of a cliff last night,” I told Randall. “After we talked about having babies and getting married. We got chased by bright blue eyes in the snow, and then I threw him off a cliff after telling him not to hate me.”
Randall stared at me for a moment.
Then he got up.
And walked away.
Again.
I was going to start being offended if that kept happening.
“What do you think it means!” I yelled after him.
MIDWAY THROUGH the fourth week, the calling became too loud.
I knew what they were. What they wanted.
And I had no choice but to give it to them.
Chapter 12: The Mated Northern Dragons
“AND JUST where do you think you’re going?”
I froze at the main entrance to the castle, my pack hoisted on my shoulder. It was the middle of the night, and I thought I’d been so sneaky. I should have realized that Randall was a creepy-ass stalker.
I turned slowly to look at him. He stood near the staircase, arms crossed over his chest, robes flowing gracefully. “Heeyyy, dude. What is up?”
He arched an eyebrow at me.
“You got insomnia?” I asked. “That’s an old-person thing, right? Insomnia.” I frowned. “Maybe I mean incontinence.”
“Do you ever tire of hearing your own voice?”
I shrugged. “It’s pretty much the only one I’ve got, so.”
“What are you doing?”
“Going for a walk?”
“Try again.”
“Going for a long walk?”
“Last chance.”
I sighed. “Fine. I’m going to the dragons because their voices are getting really loud in my head, and if I don’t go to them, they’ll come to me, and I really don’t want them to be super pissed off at me more than they already are.”
“Is anything ever easy with you?”
“My hair,” I said promptly. “I just rolled out of bed and it looks like this. Great, right?”
He uncrossed his arms and took a step toward me. “Sam, what could have possibly possessed you to think this was a good idea?”
“Hey! I have good ideas.”
He waited.
“Sometimes,” I amended. “But. This is…. I can’t wait for the others to get here. I don’t want to wait for them.”
“Why?”
I shook my head. “You didn’t… you didn’t see the dream. Ryan was scared. They scared him. And I don’t want to run the risk of anything happening to him. Or Gary and Tiggy and Justin. Kevin is injured and can’t even fly. I just—I need to do this. Now. I need to get this done and over with. Now.”
“You promised him. Kevin told you to wait, and you promised him.”
I winced as I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah. He’s not going to be real happy with me. Probably.”
“You are an idiot.”
“So you’ve said. Thanks for that. Really keeps the ol’ self-esteem in check. Overblown ego? Not when Randall’s around—”
“I’m coming with you.”
I blinked. “What?”
“If you’re going now, I am coming with you.”
“Uh, no offense—”
“Really, have you ever meant that in your life?”
“—but can you even make it in the snow for very long? I mean, you’re super old, dude. I don’t want you to accidentally keel over and die. I would have to leave your body wherever it fell, and then, hundreds of years from now, mountain climbers would find you perfectly preserved and would wonder what religious purposes your eyebrows served.”
“Your concern is touching. But I think I’ll be able to handle myself just fine. Besides, how were you planning on locating the creatures?”
“Hey! I have a plan. It’s a good plan too.”
He scoffed. “Were you just going to go outside and start yelling HEY DRAGON to see where it led?”
“Exactly. Wait. I mean no, of course not. Why, that would just be ridiculous.”
He rolled his eyes. “I weep for all our futures.”
“It’ll be okay,” I said. “Probably.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I know where they are?”
“Um. Yes?”
“Gods.”
“You don’t have to sound so exasperated. Geez.”
“Wait here,” he ordered. “There’s a few things I need to gather before we leave. It won’t be but a moment.”
I sighed. “If you slow me down, I will leave you behind.”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”
“Bullshit,” I muttered.