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“Then they can damn well unblock them.” Gray cut me off again. Arms crossed, Gray kept a good six-plus feet between us as his foot mercilessly tapped the ground. Blue flames licked up his arms. I doubted he was even aware his wisp form was coming through.

Uncomfortable silence filled the space. I could just make out my bed out of the corner of my eye. Gray and I’d shared our bodies in that bed. I’d known the pleasure of being inside his body, of feeling Gray’s warmth gripping me tight, of our combined pleasure as we made love to each other. And it was love, at least on my end. I’d felt that love reciprocated in his magic I carried within me. Had I imagined that feeling? Even if I hadn’t, feelings changed. History was rife with individuals who fell in and out of love with each other. Dryads didn’t have mates or beloveds the way shifters and vampires did. Our love didn’t have to be forever.

“Stop overthinking.”

I jerked at the order, realizing I’d nearly forgotten that Gray was in the same room. I’d been so consumed by my spiraling thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” I managed, feeling completely dejected. By all rights, we should be celebrating. The wyvern threat was over. We’d survived, albeit not without paying a high cost, but Keir was right. The structure could be repaired. It would take time, but that was fixable. Losing another one of us was not.

Eyes slipping closed, Gray pinched the bridge of his nose before shaking his head. “I told you not to talk until I told you to.”

I opened my mouth, ready to apologize again, but the scathing glare Gray sent my way snapped my lips closed.

Gray stood there, staring at me for what felt like forever until he finally blew out a deep breath. Rolling his shoulders, Gray’s foot halted its rhythm. “Now. What the ever-loving fuck was that all about back there?” Gray pointed skyward. “Why wouldn’t I be here when the wyvern eggs hatch? Why do you suddenly think I’m going anywhere? Do you want me to leave?”

“No! Of course not.” Gaia, is that what Gray thought? That I wanted him gone?

“Okay.” Gray inhaled, blowing out that breath in one smooth exhale. “Okay,” he repeated, this time his voice was steadier. “That’s good. Because despite the shithole this place has turned into, I don’t want to leave either. Sounds like we’re both on the same page. The question is, why did you think otherwise?”

“I—” My words dried up. Head tilted to the ground, I found it increasingly difficult to maintain eye contact. Shame filled me. Centuries of not feeling like enough—that I was the weak link and of little practical use came roaring back, filling me with its toxicity. “I’m nothing special,” I finally managed. When Gray started to disagree, I held up a halting hand. “Please, just let me get this out.” Gray’s silent nod loosened my lips. “I’m a dryad, and yes, I know you know that. We’re not meant for adventure. I have to stay here, Gray. I’m bound by my birth soil. If I take some of it with me, I can leave for short amounts of time, but nothing permanent.”

“I know all of that,” Gray said, head cocked to the side and expression clearly indicating he had no idea where I was going with this.

“Yes, but do you truly realize what it means? For you. You’re a will-o’-the-wisp. You’re a wanderer by nature. I’m the exact opposite.” I flattened my hand on my chest for emphasis. “I always wondered why Tenzen Huxley planted my acorn here, in this compound. He even shaped part of the compound around me so that I’d have access to sunlight and rain. Compared to the others, I was nothing. No, not nothing,” I corrected when I saw Gray was ready to argue. “But I couldn’t go out on jobs like they could. I couldn’t be a field agent. And so, I did what I could. I did clerical work. I helped the others where I could. I organized operations and filed reports.”

“And those are all important things,” Gray said, eyes pleading as he stepped closer, still too far away to touch with my humanoid arms. “Every organization needs that kind of help. Otherwise it would fall into chaos. Don’t diminish your contributions simply because you weren’t out on the front lines.”

My smile felt weak. “I hear what you’re saying. Really, I do, but…” I shrugged. “I wanted to be out there. I wanted to do more.” Inhaling, I steeled myself for what I had to say next. “But it looks like Huxley did have another purpose for me.” My smile was brittle. “Those buzzweeds were meant for me.” Did we know that for an absolute fact? No. But I knew it deep within my soul. “Huxley placed the core buzzweed directly below my birth soil. That can’t be a coincidence. Huxley always had a purpose, a reason, for everything he did. It wasn’t an accident the core was below my taproot.”

Gray’s already pale skin turned an unhealthy pasty color. “I hate to admit it, but that tracks with what I’ve learned.”

I was glad Gray wasn’t trying to argue. “I was another sacrifice, just like Hikaru, just like everyone else.” I still wasn’t certain how that made me feel. “And now, I’ve served that purpose. My body was the vessel needed to hold and manifest the pixie magic Huxley stole. I’m just a dryad again. A simple oak dryad. Still tied to my birth soil. Still stagnant and unable to do much more than offer support to those truly placing their lives on the line. I’m not even…I’m not even your anchor any longer.” Those final words hurt the most and felt like the greatest loss.

Silence met my confession. My feet shuffled, and I could feel my branches pushing at my fingertips. That silence stretched with intermittent interruptions of strange noises coming from Gray. But those strange sounds weren’t just coming from Gray. It almost sounded like the walls themselves were creaking or perhaps settling? My gaze wandered past Gray to a crack in the wall. Except, the crack was gone. I could have sworn there’d been a deep fissure running down the wall earlier. Just a small part of the trauma Verona’s misguided wrath caused.

I was just getting ready to say something, when Gray made an even louder “gah!” sound, pulling my gaze away from the previously cracked wall to see him flap his arms a couple of times before settling his fisted hands on his hips. “I don’t know whether to scream or hug you.” Stomping forward, Gray must have settled on hugging because he threw his arms around me and nuzzled into my neck. “You have no idea how marvelous you are. Absolutely none at all. How is that possible?”

My arms reciprocated, pulling Gray in tight. Gaia, I never wanted to let him go. That was an extremely selfish thought, and yet it was all my mind could conjure.

When Gray finally pulled away, he was the one with tears tracing rivulets down his cheeks. Before I could get to them, Gray viciously swiped at the tears. More followed and he just as mercilessly struck at those.

“Why are you crying?” I asked, feeling bereft. I hadn’t meant to make Gray cry. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

Gray scoffed and threw me a scathing gaze. “Abso-fucking-lutely clueless.” Pacing, Gray’s hands once more fisted on his hips. Head shaking back and forth, Gray appeared to be waging some type of internal battle.

“Gray, I⁠—”

“Nope.” Gray cut me off with a slice of his hand through the air. “That’s enough from you. I did what you asked and I listened. It hurt my fucking soul to listen, but I did. And I not only listened; I heard you. Now, you need to hear me. You are spectacular, Martin. In fact, you are the most spectacular individual I’ve ever met. Do you think just anyone can be a will-o’-the-wisp’s anchor?” Gray vehemently shook his head. “Not likely. It takes someone with a strong will to be a successful anchor, to keep a will-o’-the-wisp from coming apart at the seams, especially in this place.” Gray threw up his hands and spun, indicating the compound in general.

“You’re right. Will-o’-the-wisps are wanderers. I never knew how much I craved stability until I found you. Knowing that you’re here, that you aren’t going anywhere, that you are the one calling me home… There is no treasure on this planet or in any realm that can compare to that. Maybe I didn’t understand it before, but I do now. An anchor is treasure. They have to be to be an effective anchor. Your song has to outshine any and all others. And it does, Martin.” Gray closed the distance and cupped my cheeks in his palms. “Your song is the most beautiful of all.”

Leaning down, I pressed my lips against Gray’s. His mouth opened, allowing me to slip my tongue inside, relishing his intoxicating taste. I could get lost in Gray. I could lose hours simply touching, holding, and inhaling him.

Finally pulling away, Gray gasped for breath. Eyelids at half-mast, Gray’s fingers raked through my hair, ghosting across my skin. Voice wispy and out of breath, Gray said, “A will-o’-the-wisp never gives treasure up willingly, and if you think I’m giving up the greatest treasure of all, then you’ve lost your dryad mind.” His lips hinted at a smile, his pale blue eyes alight with nothing but affection.

Swallowing hard, I asked, “So, you’ll stay with me?”

Gray rolled his eyes. “You’d have to kick me out to get rid of me.”