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watched Trinity step toward Connor, her expression grim, her eyes drowning in sorrow. Caleb frowned, feeling sick to his stomach at the naked pain he saw radiating from her pale face. He’d meant to lash out at his brother, but she had been the one hit by his shrapnel.
    Which wasn’t fair. Despite Connor’s dubious intentions when it came to dragon saving, Caleb had never doubted for a moment Trinity’s love and dedication to little Emmy. After all, she’d sacrificed her entire life to keep the dragon safe. And for him to imply that she was worse than the Dracken was nothing more than cruel.
    Regret threatened to smother him. It was all he could do not to race down the stairs and out the door, grab her and pull her into his arms—apologize for hurting her, for putting her dragon in danger. Promise to never worry her again.
    Instead, he stood by the window, frozen in place. Instead, it was his brother who opened his arms, inviting Trinity into an embrace, giving her all the comfort she needed and then some. As he was always more than willing to do.
    Caleb squeezed his hands into fists, the anger inside threatening to boil over. If only Trinity knew how close Connor had come to killing her in his misguided attempt to save the human race from dragons. Would she still so willingly fall into his arms? Sometimes it was all Caleb could do to hold back the words—the story of how he’d saved her life from his brother’s bloody crusade.
    But that would only complicate things further and hurt Trinity more than he could bear. Besides, Connor was strong. Smart. A soldier. They needed him if they had any hope of making this all turn out okay. So Caleb forced himself to keep his brother’s secret, day after painful day—knowing Trinity would never feel for him what he felt for her.
    His fingers reached involuntarily to his mouth. It had been months since they’d shared a kiss, deep in the otherworld known as the Nether, and yet at times, he could still feel the ghost of her lips against his own. A feeling he both wanted to exorcise and keep forever.
    He forced himself away from the window, too sickened to watch his brother comfort her now. Glancing at his unmade bed, he wondered if he should just crawl under the covers and try to sleep. But he knew he would only toss and turn. And any sleep would include restless, unhappy dreams about her.
    There was only one thing to get him through the night. Reaching into his nightstand, he pulled a small sapphire from his dwindling stash, palming it into his trembling hands. For a moment, he stared down at it, considering the idea that he could put it away, resist the pull of the Nether, and try to get a normal night’s sleep. Wake in the morning like a normal person, rested and refreshed.
    He laughed bitterly, giving up on the pretense. Closing his fingers around the gem, he shut his eyes. “Hang on, Fred,” he whispered to his dragon. “I’m on my way.”

Chapter Four
    “Come on, Trin. Don’t let him get to you.”
    Trinity looked up at Connor. His eyes were stern but sympathetic. She gave him a weak smile.
    “I know,” she said. “But I can’t help it. I mean he has a point, right? All I want to do is what’s best for her.”
    “Which is exactly what you’re doing,” he reminded her firmly. “Look, my brother may have a kind heart and good intentions, but he’s always been reckless. He doesn’t think things through. Taking her out is dangerous. What if she’d been seen? And we still don’t know what really happened with that broken scale.”
    Trinity thought back to the scale, her brow furrowing. “Do you think she’s telling the truth when she says she doesn’t remember? I mean, I felt it myself when it happened—on my own arm, thanks to our little bond. If the pain felt anything like that for her, there’s no way she wouldn’t notice.”
    “I don’t know,” Connor replied doubtfully. “I’m just glad it wasn’t serious. It’s not like we can just take