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I asked, I knew it was. I felt Amethyst accept it and saw the pride on Davis’s face.
    That claw was real, which meant there were more dragons out there, or at least there once had been.
    “Yes, I believe so. It was embedded in the stone as if it had been broken during the act of defacing the carving.
    The claw tip is fourteen inches long, and from all appearances was only the end of the beast’s claw.”
    “Why didn’t that make the news? I can’t imagine it wasn’t a huge story at the time.”
    “The Quetzalcoatl claw was determined to be a hoax.
    The claw was tested and exposed as a fake, carved from antelope horn.” His fingers caressed the page.
    “But you didn’t believe their explanation?” L. Shannon
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    “No. I was there. I was the one who found it and had to chip it from the stone it was embedded in. The claw was not a fake.” He sighed a resigned little sound. “But of course it was rather hard to be taken seriously once my findings were proven false.” He turned the page and pointed to pictures of other dig sites. The dragons were different at each, but as he flipped the pages, I found a certain similarity between the various styles of ancient art.
    “How could all these different cultures have a similar dragon story if there were no link to reality? I had to find out the truth. The search has been my private project and the reason I was at that specific temple.”
    “I don’t believe in coincidence.”
    “Neither do I. Years ago, I found that claw tip and was set on a path that I’m now certain was destined to lead to you and Amethyst.”
    “You think us meeting was destiny?” Maybe Amethyst had dropped him on his head when we landed.
    “You said you don’t believe in coincidence. Too many things had to happen to bring us together in the temple to be to the product of chance. So I figure that leaves two options. Either we are being manipulated by some powerful being, or we were simply meant to meet there. I prefer the destiny theory. It sounds better than being someone’s pawn in a game.”
    “But doesn’t that mean we have no say over what happens to us? I don’t think I can live with that.” I didn’t just have an issue with fearing the unknown. For me it was an absolute terror of losing control over my own life.
    My life had been complete shit before I’d gathered the reins in my teeth and run for the hills. I remembered not having control and simply wasn’t willing to go there again.

    40
    Amethyst Bound
    “I will not let another hurt you.” Amethyst’s voice flowed over me, wrapping me in the comfort of a protective hug.
    I’d never spoken of what my father had done to me, nor would I ever. Even dead, he shaped many of my choices. I still had nightmares about him and his drunken or drugged bouts of anger. Somehow Amethyst understood. I felt her caress in my mind, so I let down the shields I had been trying to hold against her.
    The flood of sensation that rushed over me was a mixture of soothing cool and burning fire—Amethyst tearing down my defenses and filling the voids in my mind and heart.
    I had no recollection of falling, but I hit the floor hard.
    Then Davis was there, pulling me into his arms, rocking me against his chest. He whispered into my hair and cradled me like a child. I was crushed between him and Amethyst. I couldn’t hide within, nor could I maintain my façade. All my repressed past and all the current crap—it all landed on me at once. I might pretend to hold the emotions in and be okay, but she’d torn away my control and once more left me raw and exposed.
    “You are strong and will heal from your past.”
    “I thought I had healed.” But it was a lie. When I’d finally escaped, I had sworn never to trust another soul. I would rely on myself for every need, both physical and emotional. I was alone and liked it that way. I couldn’t be hurt or betrayed if I never let another person get close enough to touch me. For fifteen years I had lived