Page 34 of Saving Her Dragon

"Then another one of us takes over," Sydney answered instantly.

Garrett shook his head, a microscopic, desperate movement against the pillow. "That's not what I meant, Sydney."

He didn't have to explain it. Through their Bond, the true shape of his terror hit her like a physical blow. He wasn't afraid of them getting tired. He was terrified of what he would do to her, or to Grey, if he awakened and went walking.

"Then we'll deal with whatever happens," Sydney said, matching his intensity, her eyes unblinking.

"You say that like it's easy," Garrett murmured.

"No," she whispered, leaning down until her forehead pressed gently against his. "I say it like you're worth it."

Deep inside Garrett's heart and soul, Han made his fiery presence known. Even through the Mating Bond, Sydney could feel the Dragon King's exhaustion. After spending so many years inert, Han needed deep, restorative sleep as badly as Garrett did—and neither of them was getting it.

“This foolishness ends now, Lad,” Han rumbled, the Draconic tone vibrating through Garrett’s bones and through the Mating Bond to Sydney with a heavy, irritated weight.

“You know what happens when I sleep, Han,” Garrett argued back mentally, his defenses flaring.

“No,” Han corrected sharply, his golden eyes flashing in the Guardsman’s Mind’s Eye. “We know what might happen. There is a distinct difference.” The Winged Warrior paused, letting the strategic weight of his next words settle into the space. “And we cannot defeat an enemy we refuse to observe.”

Garrett bristled slightly at the word enemy, but he understood the tactical logic immediately. Han didn't mean an outside threat. He meant the phenomenon itself. The problem. A Scout didn't run from a blind spot. He lit it up. By refusing to sleep, Garrett was actively denying them the data they needed to solve the equation.

The soldier in him finally surrendered to the strategy.

Garrett let out a long, slow breath, his rigid shoulders finally sinking an inch into the mattress. "Fine," he whispered aloud to Sydney. "But you change the guard. Now."

Sydney didn't argue. She slipped out from under the heavy blankets, her bare feet silent against the hardwood as she pulled a thick knit sweater over her shoulders. Stepping through the bedroom doorway, she navigated the short hallway until she came upon the heavy wooden chair.

Grey was sitting perfectly straight, a tablet resting against his thigh, his sharp Dragon Shifter eyes instantly locking onto her the second her shadow crossed the threshold.

"He's not sleeping," Grey noted quietly, his voice a low rumble.

"He will now," Sydney replied, stepping into his space. "Go downstairs and get some real rest, Grey. I'm taking over the watch."

Grey frowned, his thick eyebrows knitting together as he looked up at her five-foot-nothing frame. "Syd, Carrick said⁠—"

"I don't care what Carrick said," Sydney interrupted, her White Dragon Magic thrumming with a quiet, dangerous intensity beneath her skin. She leveled a look that left absolutely no room for debate at her soon-to-be brother-in-law. "You're exhausted. He's humiliated because you're sitting out here. And if he tries to leave the room, I can literally throw him through the wall to wake everyone up. Go to bed."

“Okay, so now, you’re gonna play the “Special One’ card?”

“Yes, right now, I am most definitely playing the ‘Special One’ card. Go. to. bed.”

Grey stared at her for two long seconds, evaluating the sheer, unyielding iron in her eyes. A faint, tired smirk touched his lips as he stood up, stretching his massive shoulders. "Fair point. Don't break the furniture."

He padded silently down the stairs, leaving the hallway entirely to her.

Sydney dragged the heavy chair a few inches closer, positioning it right in the doorway. She sat down, her eyes tracking into the bedroom. In the far corner of the ceiling, the tiny black lens of the security camera glowed a steady, silent red. Garrett lay in the center of the bed, his eyes closed, his breathing deliberately slow as he tried to surrender to sleep. Han was present, tucked deep inside his mind, and every single variable was completely controlled.

The perimeter was secure. All that was left was for her to wait for the dark to move.

It took a long time for the silence to win.

Sydney sat perfectly still in the heavy chair, her eyes never leaving the bed. She watched Garrett fight his own body with a stubbornness that was agonizing to witness. Twice, his dark eyelashes fluttered closed, only for his entire frame to go rigid a second later as his military discipline yanked him back to alertness.

She watched the slow, exhausting process of his surrender. Gradually, the sharp, frantic hammer of his heart slowed down. His large hand, which had been gripping the edge of the cotton sheet so tightly his knuckles were white, slowly loosened, his fingers unfurling against the mattress. The hard, defensive line of his jaw finally softened.

And finally, he slept.

Sydney let out a long, shaky breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The bedroom returned to absolute normalcy. The curtains shifted lazily in the soft breeze from the ceiling fan, and the house fell into a deep, comforting quiet. For a long while, absolutely nothing happened.