Page 36 of Waking Her Dragon

Sydney pulled Garrett right up to the threshold, but the moment his boots neared the edge, Aodhan hesitated.

Garrett’s entire body went rigid. Deep within his chest, Han didn't look back at the cave but shifted his gaze toward something far beyond the collapsing walls of the prison. A strange, primeval pulse rippled through the fabric of the Darkness. It wasn’t a voice, but a profound, chilling echo. It was a promise that the cosmic consequences of what they had just done were far larger than either of them realized.

Refusing to be baited into another trap, Garrett slid his left foot forward. In a split second, Sydney pulled him forward, and they tumbled out into the blinding Texas sun.

The second Garrett crossed the threshold. The nightmare of The Abyss vanished. Shocked when the warm, brilliant Texas sunlight hit his face, the breath hiccupped in his throat. He had forgotten the sun had warmth.

The high-pitched, whistling squeaks of a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck filled the air. He hadn't realized how silent The Abyss truly was until he heard those birds yelling at one another.

The soft Bermuda grass felt like heaven against the soles of his battered feet. The heavy, stagnant filth of the Underworld was gone, replaced by the pure, unpolluted air of Earth.

The scent of flowers in bloom tickled his nose as the breeze touched his skin with impossible gentleness. Oh, how he’d missed everything.

His legs completely gave out, and he collapsed heavily onto the grass.

Sydney dropped straight down beside him, her knees sinking into the meadow. Instantly, the peaceful clearing erupted into frantic motion. Ginnie scrambled over, her hands already glowing with a soft, iridescent light as she pressed them to his shattered chest to start the grueling healing work. Just feet away, Carrick was pacing, his booming voice barking orders for medical supplies, his Dragon Magic humming as he secured the perimeter.

Everything around them was pure chaos, but Garrett saw only Sydney.

His vision was darkening. The world was fraying at the edges. His body was finally surrendering to the exhaustion. With a trembling, agonizing effort, he lifted his right hand toward Sydney’s tear-streaked face. His fingers hovered just inches from her cheek. He stopped completely.

Remembering the lesson she had taught him in the cavern, he stared into her blue eyes and rasp-whispered, “May I?”

Sydney broke completely, a sob escaping her lips. She reached out, caught his heavy, calloused hand in both of hers, and pressed his palm firmly against her cheek.

“Yes.”

Garrett’s fingers barely brushed the soft skin of her face before his eyes slipped closed, and he completely lost consciousness.

9

The moment Garrett’s eyes rolled back, and his hand slipped from Sydney’s cheek, the peaceful Texas meadow transformed into a battlefield. There was no screaming. There was no frantic, hysterical scrambling. This was the Dragon Guard. They survived impossible odds because when the world devolved into utter chaos, they stopped feeling and started executing. Everyone had a job, and they moved with the seamless, terrifying precision of a well-oiled machine.

Carrick instantly took command, his booming voice cutting through the heavy scent of star jasmine like a lightning strike.

"Medical! Now!" he roared, his eyes tracking the perimeter as his ancient crimson and golden aura flared to secure the lawn. "Ginnie, establish a localized stabilizing field. Sydney, stay on his left flank and maintain the soul tether. Do not let him drift.”

Turning to the side, the air filled with Dragon Magic as he shouted, “Shavon! I need you or another Healer on site in three minutes! No excuses!”

Then to his brother, Gunnar, who had appeared on the front porch, the Dragon Leader ordered, “Clear the eastern veranda for a secure transport area, and have Tamsyn get a hard Magic dampener on that threshold! No one touches the portal coordinates until we verify the seal’s feedback!"

Orders hit the air like physical blows, as other Guardsmen instantly materialized from the line of magnolia trees. Sprinting across the lawn, they went where Carrick had commanded without a single wasted movement.

On the grass, Ginnie was already deep in the zone. Her glasses had slid halfway down her nose, the tip of her tongue was securely placed between her teeth and lips as she shoved her sleeves past her elbows. Her hands hovered an inch above Garrett’s shredded chest, glowing with an intense, iridescent lavender light that vibrated with a low, melodic hum. It was a breathtaking display of Necromantic and cellular Healing Magic. An incredible, raw manipulation of Life Force that should have immediately knit the edges of his shallowest wounds instantly.

But nothing happened.

The torn flesh over his ribs didn't close. The dark, necrotic bruising around his shattered wrists remained black and stagnant. The heavy, metallic stench of acrid, burning blood and silver residue didn't dissipate. The shit actively fought against Ginnie's Light, hissing softly whenever the lavender Magic brushed against Garrett’s skin.

Sydney felt the shift through the Mating Bond. It wasn't a sudden spike of panic, but a sudden, hollow absence where a heartbeat should have strengthened.

"Ginnie?" she whispered, her hands trembling as she held Garrett’s icy left hand.

The Necromancer’s jaw tightened, beads of sweat breaking out along her hairline as she pushed more Power into his core. The iridescent light flared, blindingly bright, but the energy just washed over his body like water over dead stone.

"He’s not resisting me," Ginnie said, her voice dropping into a tight, flat register that sent a chill straight down Sydney's spine.

It wasn't hysterical. It was a cold, professional assessment, and that made it infinitely more terrifying. "His baseline is entirely open. But the silver poisoning from the Chimera ash... the ambient decay of The Abyss... whatever Leviathan injected into his spiritual currents has overwritten his cellular memory."