Jared looked up, scanning the sky. But there was nothing to see above him. There wasn’t even a single bird in the sky. How would he find them if they’d found what they wanted and left?
His heart ached, the way it had done since he’d first seen the shadow surround Chiara’s hotel. The ache hadn’t changed—it was still a pull, something inside him pushing him forward. He needed to get to her before it was too late.
There was nothing in the small valley where a group of men could be hiding, no path leading onward that he could see.
Still, he followed his heart, carefully making his way down the gorge until he’d almost reached the end.
And there, almost hidden by the play of shadow and light on the rocks, he finally saw where they’d gone.
There was an opening in the rock. It was large enough for a man to crawl through, a tunnel leading straight into the mountain. And there were fresh marks, moss hastily shoved aside.
Jared went down onto his knees and began to explore.
Inside, everything was dark. He couldn’t hear any sounds. For all he knew, this was the retreat of a wild animal.
But his heart still urged him forward. The pull was stronger now, and so he followed.
The tunnel wasn’t as long as he’d feared. After a minute had passed, the gloom began to lift, and there was light in the distance. When he made his way out at the other end, he found himself in another mountain valley—and once more, the valley was empty.
Still, this valley was green with grass, and he could see footprints once more. Someone had come through not l
ong ago.
He was still on the right path.
Hurriedly, he followed their trail. Every now and then, he could hear birdsong now. The valley was shaded by the mountains towering all around them, but enough sunlight fell in that here and there, flowers bloomed.
There was a strange calm surrounding him. It felt as if he’d entered a sanctuary, a place where humans didn’t belong. He couldn’t say how he knew, but he didn’t think that anyone had set foot in this place for a long, long time.
That was, until the shadow dragon and his lackeys had decided to disturb the peace of this place...
After he’d walked for twenty minutes, he reached a small brook. The water was clear and ice cold, but he stopped for a moment to drink.
Then something on the other side of the brook caught his attention.
He jumped across it easily, then knelt down.
There.
In a tangle of thistles, a flash of color had gleamed that didn’t belong. It was a thread, he now saw. Carefully, he pulled it free.
The thread was purple. Purple like the shirt Chiara’d worn...
I’m still on the right path.
He clenched his fingers around the thread, taking a deep breath as relief and a new worry rose up inside him.
But what do they want from her? Why not just steal her map?
They probably had no idea what to do with it. It was Chiara who’d figured out where to go.
Which meant that she was useful to them—as long as they hadn’t yet reached the mysterious symbol and what was hidden there.
It has to be another elemental dragon. Someone who probably has no idea what’s going on. Someone who isn’t used to his power yet, and who doesn’t have a mate.
That had to be the shadow dragon’s plan. Find and kill the fifth elemental dragon before anyone else could find him.
But Jared wasn’t going to let that happen. He’d find Chiara. And together, they could warn whatever dragon lived hidden in these mountains.