Page 16 of Waking Her Dragon

But he knew that a power strong enough to pierce the Abyss had just knocked on his front door.

Garrett hadn't been screaming a frantic warning from a place of blind panic. He had felt the Demon Lord’s attention pivot toward his Mate. He had seen the trap snapping shut, and with his final breath, he had tried to throw her out of Leviathan’s blast radius.

Sydney looked up at Carrick, the fierce, golden Dragonfire flickering unpredictably in her eyes.

“He told me to run,” Sydney whispered, a terrifyingly sharp smile slowly returning to her lips, though her hands were shaking. “Because he knew that the second I found him... The monster in the dark found me, too.”

The realization that Leviathan had felt her Light sent an electric shock through the room. Carrick didn't hesitate. “The time for analyzing is over,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Sydney recognized that he was in Warrior mode and fully in command.

He whipped out his phone, his thumb already flying across the screen. “We’re burning our location,” he barked, his voice vibrating with immediate, tactical authority. “Ginnie, pack the essentials. We move in five. I’m calling Gunnar back to get the exact coordinates of that ley line tear. Then I’m looping in Rayne and Royce. We need the royal lineage involved if we’re dealing with an ancient prophecy, and we need the full weight of the Dragon Guard mobilized by midnight.”

“Carrick, stop,” Sydney said.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it possessed a cold, sudden weight that made him freeze. His thumb hovered over the call button. He looked up, his jaw tight. She saw in his eyes that his Warrior instincts were screaming at him to move, to recruit, to build an army.

“We are not calling anyone,” Sydney said, stepping directly into his line of sight.

Carrick’s brow furrowed, a dangerous flash of irritation crossing his features. “Sydney, this is a Demon Lord. You just admitted he tasted your Power. We aren't playing games here. You cannot go into The Abyss alone.”

“I’m not stupid, Carrick.” Syd huffed with frustration. “I have no intention of going alone.” Her voice was steady and unyielding as she countered, “But we cannot broadcast this. Think about what Garrett has been doing out there in the dark. Whatever is blocking Leviathan, whatever Garrett and Aodhan have done to keep the Clan hidden, it has cost them everything. He can barely reach me. His own soul has been buried so deeply I couldn't find him.”

She stepped closer, her gaze locking onto Carrick’s with out-and-out intensity.

“If we pull the alarm and mobilize the entire Dragon Guard, we could undo whatever they’ve sacrificed to keep us hidden. We don’t know how Leviathan intercepts information. We don’t know who is watching or listening from the shadows. If we scream to the Heavens that Garrett is alive and we’re marching on The Abyss, we hand the enemy exactly what he wants on a silver platter.”

Carrick stared at her. His chest rose and fell in heavy, calculated breaths.

“This has to be a need-to-know operation,” Sydney pressed on, the authority of the Special One ringing clear in her tone. “A ghost unit. You, me, Ginnie, and Gunnar for the coordinates. That’s it. We don't even tell his brother, Grey. Not yet. We keep the circle small, tight, and completely dark.”

Silence descended on the room, thick and heavy.

Sydney braced herself for the pushback. She expected the stubborn, protective Dragon Elder to roar, to tell her she was being reckless, to command her to stand down.

Instead, Carrick slowly lowered his phone.

He stared at her, really looked at her, as if seeing her clearly for the first time in years. The frantic, defensive energy he had been radiating suddenly dissolved, replaced by a profound, quiet awe. He had finally realized that she wasn't the vulnerable child he had helped raise and protect anymore. She wasn't just a girl hiding behind a prophecy.

She was talking like a commander. She was thinking like a seasoned Dragon Guardsman– like the Special One she was born to be.

A slow, grim nod pulled at Carrick’s jaw. The pride in his eyes was lethal. “Need-to-know,” he repeated, his voice dropping into a low, respectful register. “Ghost unit. No coincidences, no paper trails.”

He locked his phone and slid it into his pocket, the subtle nod of one commander acknowledging another. “Let’s go get our boy.”

“Pack the gear,” Carrick instructed Ginnie, his voice clipping with a newfound urgency. “I’ll get Gunnar back on the line and see if he can give us a baseline vector for that distortion. Once we have the coordinates, we move.”

Sydney grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair, her fingers trembling against the leather. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Carrick stepped directly into her path, his massive form completely blocking the doorway. “You’re not going anywhere yet, Syd.”

“Carrick, we just agreed we don't have time to waste…”

“We don't,” Ginnie interrupted, stepping up beside her Mate and gently but firmly taking the jacket out of Sydney’s hands. “But you’re soul-deep exhausted, Sydney. You just got blasted twice through the Mating Bond and then deliberately shoved your entire consciousness back through a metaphysical meat grinder. Look at your hands. You’re vibrating.”

“I’m fine,” Sydney lied, her voice cracking as a wave of sudden, dizzying fatigue washed over her brain.

“You’re no good to Garrett unconscious,” Ginnie said softly, her eyes full of an unyielding, maternal truth. “Carrick needs time to untangle Gunnar’s lead anyway. Take thirty minutes. Eat. Shower. Close your eyes. If you collapse out in the field somewhere, we all fail.”