Page 85 of Red Dragon’s Heart

“But surely there’s something you can do!” She turned to Mayah. “Your dragon has healing powers, right? Can’t you help him?”

Her regret showed on her face. “Normally, I can repair the damage from an injury, but only when the tissue is healthy to begin with. His kidney was already diseased, and he’s not a shifter. I can stabilize him for a bit, but…”

She spread her hands helplessly. “I’m so sorry. I would if I could.”

Maddie just couldn’t take it in. It couldn’t end like this. They’d been through so much. She would have died to keep Troy alive. She had nearly died today. She—

Wait. Maddie said, “Hold up.” She twisted to look at Zak. “When you put the monster in me, in the cell, it healed my bullet wounds.”

Trish and Mayah both spoke at once. “Bullet wounds?”

“He Turned you into a monster?”

“What the fuck happened out there?”

The others, hearing the exclamations, started to gather around them.

Maddie waved her hands to quiet them. All that was irrelevant right now. “It’s a long story. The monsters are gone. My point is, would that work on Troy? If he was Turned into a shifter, would that heal him?”

The shifters all looked at each other dubiously, but it was Tristan, Mayah’s mate, who spoke.

“There are a lot of problems with that,” he said. “Turning someone is pretty dangerous. Usually it’s only done within a mating bond—which I’m assuming you and Zak have. The healing properties of the mating bond offset the shock to your human system. Without that, and with someone in Troy’s condition—” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. It would probably kill him.”

Maddie said stubbornly, “It would at least be a chance, however slim. Couldn’t we ask him?”

Tristan ran his hand through his silvery hair. “It’s not that simple,” he said. “We can’t just go around Turning people—it’s against shifter law. Even if it works, whoever Turns him—and that person’s alpha—are responsible for him until he gets control of his animal, which could take years. We’d have to get permissions, and if Troy survived, he would have to go live with that person’s crew or pack until the alpha cleared him to come back to earth.”

Maddie compressed her lips. “So none of you are willing to do it?”

There was a silence as they all exchanged more enigmatic looks, until Maddie wanted to scream or slap someone.

Sean finally said to Tristan, “Well, the dragons can’t do it, and you and Trish can’t either. No offense, but your wolves are a mess. He’d never get control of either of their progeny.”

He turned to Maddie. “I’m willing to try, though, if Troy wants me to. And if my alpha agrees. He’s the one who’d have to take charge of Troy afterwards—I’m needed here on earth.”

Maddie took a deep, shuddering breath. “Who’s your alpha?”

Tristan gave a rueful half-grin. “My dad. He’s the head of the white wolf village back at Emon’s territory.”

“Do you think he’d be willing to take Troy in?”

Tristan sighed. “We can ask.” He added, “We’d better do that before we get anyone’s hopes up.”

Tristan went off to Cazbek’s office to have a private talk with his father via communication ball. The rest of them stayed in the living room, the shifters milling around and talking in soft murmurs, and Maddie sitting by the couch holding Troy’s hand, with Zak holding her hand.

After a while Tristan came back out, his face looking like he didn’t know whether to be glad or sorry.

“Dad says okay,” he told Maddie.

She closed her eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. “I don’t know how to thank either one of you.”

“Don’t thank us yet,” Tristan said grimly. “This is going to be hard on everyone, even if it works.” He said to Mayah, “Can you give Troy some extra strength? I need him conscious and clear-headed.” He gazed sternly at Maddie. “And I need to talk to him alone.”

Maddie paced back and forth on the terrace while Zak leaned against the railing, both of them watching Tristan talking to Troy. Maddie was dying to know what they were saying, but she couldn’t hear. “Can you hear them?” she asked Zak.

Zak gave her a half-smile. “You can’t older-sister this, Maddie. He has to make up his own mind.”

“But what if Tristan tries to talk him out of it?”