Mated to the Griffin (Elemental Mates 5)

He held out his hand, and Chiara handed over the disk, a questioning look on her face.

Jared couldn’t even say where the idea had come from. But he knew dragons well—he’d grown up with one, after all. And if there was one thing dragons were good at, it was binding their treasure to themselves.

Which meant that if this golden disk originally came from a dragon’s hoard, it would try to make its way back to its owner. As much as a simple disk was able to, of course.

Jared hesitated for a moment.

Then he threw the coin—not towards the three different entrances, but away from them.

“What—” Chiara began in confusion, then suddenly fell silent.

When the disk hit the ground, it bounced off a small rock and changed direction. It rolled forward, right in between Jared’s feet—straight towards the shadowed openings.

Then it began to wobble. For a moment, it looked like it would fall over.

Instead, it suddenly changed direction again. As if drawn by a magnet, it rolled straight towards the opening to their left.

Then it wobbled again and finally fell over, resting right in front of the dark arch of stone.

Chiara gave him an impressed look. “Smart. How did you know it could do that?”

“If we’re looking for a dragon, the coin must once have been part of his hoard. And a dragon’s gold always wants to return to its owner.” Jared took a step forward and picked up the coin.

He couldn’t see through the opening. There was nothing but further darkness awaiting.

But at least now they knew they were on the right path. Somewhere inside this mountain, a dragon was calling out to its treasure.

Of course, maybe the coin was part of the defense mechanism and was meant to trick any intruders. That was also possible.

But right now, this was the best option they had.

“Wish I could do that to my keys,” Chiara muttered as she followed him. “Do you think your dragon can teach me how to do that?”

Jared laughed in response, then fell silent when the sound echoed eerily. “Let’s ask him when we get there.”

Together, they stepped through the opening.

In the dim illumination of their flashlights, they found themselves in yet another tunnel. This one was a bit narrower, but the following minutes went much the same. They followed the tunnel that sloped downward, every now and then turning a corner, making their way deeper and deeper.

Until all of a sudden, the tunnel ended without warning, and they found themselves facing a deep abyss.

“Shit.” Chiara grabbed hold of Jared’s arm, her fingers clenching around him as she held on tightly.

Another step forward, and they’d both have fallen.

“It’s okay,” Jared said, although his own heart was racing as well.

He could have shifted in a heartbeat and saved them both, but it was still unsettling to have the ground vanish beneath his feet all of a sudden. “I’d never let you fall.”

“I’m glad you’re not a werewolf.” Chiara’s fingers were still digging into his skin as she stared at the rock that dropped away right before them. “I really am.”

Despite the shock of almost having fallen, Jared found that he was laughing softly.

“I’m glad, too,” he said. “Wings can be pretty useful. Shall we explore?”

Chiara swallowed before she nodded decisively.

A moment later, Jared shifted, waiting for her to climb onto his back before he took off.