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emotions. You can do so as well if you focus on the task.”
    I’d never been able to read minds before, but I’d never flown either, so…I stared at Davis, focusing on him and what he’d be thinking. He didn’t look up or seem to notice my attention. But I wasn’t getting anything from him that wasn’t obvious in his body language, which did agree with Amethyst’s assessment. Maybe she was yanking my chain and not able to read him either.
    “You must open yourself to the other being’s emotions.
    Your shields shut out any chance to use this sense to its advantage.” A couple seconds ticked by before she asked,
    “Why do you lock out the world?” This from a dragon locked inside a chunk of jewelry for who knew how long… Yeah, I wasn’t answering her.
    “How long were you in the pendant before I found you?”
    “The passage of time is not easily determined when you are without form.”
    Right. Of course it would be different. What was I thinking? “What was it like? Was it like you were sleeping?”
    “No.” The finality of that one word left me wondering if it had been hard on Amethyst to be without a body. Had it been painful? Or lonely? Maybe I wasn’t the only one who kept a painful past private.

    L. Shannon
    37
    She had asked why I shut out the world and kept to myself when the truth was that I wanted to feel close to another being. I’d never considered being glued to a dragon, but the feeling of connection still warmed me deep inside. It was almost the feel of a lover. I’d never been in love, but I had shared that illusion of love that lust offered. Amethyst soothed me instead of setting fire to my body, but the sense of connection was still there.
    Not that I wasn’t afraid of the sudden invasion.
    Keeping others out was what I did best. It was how I’d stayed safe and sane all these years.
    “You are not alone. We are together and have Davis.”
    “We have Davis? I didn’t realize you had a fondness for the doctor.” But of course I did know, and for the record, I thought Amethyst had good taste.
    With that in mind, I needed to find out if Davis was making headway sorting out our dragon mystery. I moved close enough to see what he was studying. If I wasn’t ready to jump into his mind, then at least I could snoop over his shoulder.
    What I had mistaken for a textbook was actually a hardbound journal. I was guessing it was his personal notes. Of the two visible pages, one was neatly typed and the other handwritten. The margins of both were filled with notations and sketches.
    “Have you always focused your study on dragon mythology?” I leaned over so I could get a better look at the intricate drawing that covered a quarter of the page.
    As I did, my body brushed in close to his and heat jumped between us. I couldn’t help but jerk at the jolt, and when I did, I ended up resting my arm on his shoulder in an attempt to look casual.
    His gray eyes left the page and drilled me with 38
    Amethyst Bound
    speculation. What was he thinking? I considered trying my telepathy on him but figured that if I couldn’t read his emotions, I probably wouldn’t get his thoughts either. His steady gaze left me twitching like a bug under a glass. I drew back a little to get a grip. Davis couldn’t help looking at me that way. He’d almost been crushed when I’d turned into a dragon. That was enough to leave anyone with serious depths of contemplation.
    “I have been focused on, most would claim obsessed with, dragons for the past eight years.” He looked so serious. I reached out and ran a finger along his jaw. “What happened eight years ago?” He flipped the pages of the book back to the beginning and revealed a picture of a dragon carved into a stone wall. Only this one had deep claw marks marring the face of the rock. And below that was another photo. This one of a younger Davis holding an enormous claw.
    Amethyst whispered, “Daegyn-rok,” her tone full of awe.
    “Is that real?” Even as