Page 48 of Saving Her Dragon

"Of course I do," Grey said softly, looking up at his brother.

“We were kids. It was your…”

“My tenth birthday.”

“I can’t believe…”

“I have carried it every day since.”

“So it’s gonna be caked with your resonance,” Ginnie explained. “It’s deep in the metal and brass. It’s why it radiates warmth. It’s the perfect anchor.”

"No," Garrett said, backing away from the counter. "Absolutely not. I am not letting this thing take anything from you, Grey."

Stepping closer, his massive frame blocking the exit, Grey’s sharp eyes locked onto his little brother with absolute, unbreakable certainty. "You're not taking anything from me, little brother," he countered, his voice dropping into a low, steady rumble.

“You don't know that," Garrett whispered, the fear heavy in his tone.

"I know you," Grey replied.

Carrick stepped up beside them, his heavy hand settling onto Garrett’s shoulder, sealing the perimeter. "We use the knife. Prepare the watch."

The sting operation was armed, and the house fell into a vibrating, high-stakes silence.

Every single security measure the Dragon Guard possessed was focused on a single bedroom. Dr. Darcy Thorntree had upgraded her neurological monitors. The electrodes attached to Garrett’s temples pulsed with a faint blue light. Ginnie sat at the small vanity, her fingers lightly touching a glowing silk thread that she had meticulously anchored to the Magical resonance of Grey’s pocketknife. The brass casing sat bathed in moonlight in the exact center of the dresser across the room.

Grey stood motionless in the doorway, his eyes locked on the target. Sydney sat cross-legged on the mattress right beside Garrett, her hand hovering just an inch above his skin, her entire consciousness focused on the Mating Bond. Downstairs, Carrick maintained perimeter control, while Star kept vigil in the kitchen. Every variable was monitored.

Garrett closed his eyes, surrendering to the dark, and let his mind go offline.

The digital clock on the nightstand ran through the minutes…

3:40 AM: Nothing. Garrett’s breathing was slow and uniform. The pocketknife remained silent on the dresser.

3:41 AM: Nothing. The red light of the security camera shone brightly as it hummed in the corner.

3:42 AM: The clock shifted. The universe instantly fractured.

Sydney jerked as if she'd been struck. “He's gone!” Her hand slammed against Garrett's chest.

Ginnie shot to her feet. “What?”

“The Bond. Garrett's gone.”

At the exact same instant, Darcy's monitoring equipment spiked, the digital graphs on her tablet erupting into a jagged mountain of electrical anomalies.

And Garrett's body did not move. He remained flat on his back, his jaw slack, his chest rising and falling in perfect, uninterrupted sleep.

Across the room, on top of the cedar dresser, Grey's token vanished.

There was no dramatic levitation. No glowing purple portal tore open the drywall, and no foul-smelling smoke filled the air. One second, the heavy brass pocketknife was sitting plainly under the silver moonlight. Then Ginnie’s tracing spell flared a brilliant, blinding white.

The next second, the token was simply gone. The surface of the dresser was entirely empty.

Garrett had never left the bed. He had never even twitched a finger.

"I have it!" Ginnie cried out in the dark, her voice sharp with sudden, intense focus.

The exact millisecond the pocketknife vanished, she had latched onto the retreating Magical thread of her Tracing Spell. She didn't track it geographically across the Homestead. She followed the retreating frequency inward, letting the Tracking Spell carry her along the strange Magical route that intersected Garrett's signature.