by L J Andrews
“I just had the…thought, I guess…to use the stones. Then when they had me pinned, I don’t know, I just knew the power of the stones would be in the ground. I didn’t know all this was happening, I was so focused on tossing whatever I could back at Raffi and Dash. You shouldn’t have stopped me, I felt—I know this sounds crazy—but I felt like this place wanted me to keep going. It would help me, like there is something we don’t know about that can help us. I was nearly there—to find out what it was, I mean.”
Mini’s brow furrowed together as she glanced around the area. Teagan glanced at me, then slowly lowered to sit on a stone, rubbing the back of his neck. I gently brushed my hand across his shoulders and kneeled next to him.
“This is extraordinary,” Mini whispered. “Such raw power, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a thing. We need to harness this energy, Teagan. You could be unstoppable if you learn how to channel this power.”
“Do I have to do it again? I feel like I’m going to tip over and fall asleep right here.”
Mini chuckled. “You’re still getting used to it all. I expected you to feel tired if you used a little power, but what I saw was a hurricane. I’m surprised you didn’t pass out from the pressure.”
“Come with me, Teagan. We’ll get you back to the house,” Sapphire said.
“I’m coming with you,” I insisted.
“Jade,” Eisha warned. “Perhaps we should give him time to rest.”
“Do we power each other or not? Can my energy help him recover?” I asked toward Mini.
She seemed reluctant, but eventually agreed. “It’s true. Teagan’s wyvern has the ability to help him refuel, in a sense.”
Sapphire nodded, and before I could ask he melted beautifully into his regal wyvern form. Teagan sighed and found the strength to stand. Clasping his hand, I allowed him to take the front, since I was concerned he might fall off the back if I didn’t block him. Eisha gnawed on her bottom lip when Sapphire’s magnificent blue wings lifted us into the sky. Raffi and Dash were still stunned, their wide eyes watching us leave. Teagan slumped forward, his hand still clasped in mine, and rested against the base of Sapphire’s neck. I wasn’t positive what I’d seen in the mage sanctuary, but one thing was clearer than it had ever been: Teagan was not an ordinary mage that I’d read about in my fairy tales.
Chapter 20
Teagan was sleeping upstairs. He’d hardly flopped onto his bed before his body succumbed to the exhaustion from the training—though I wouldn’t necessarily call it that—at the sanctuary. The living room of the reform house was pleasant and comfortable. The students were all in their private rooms by this time of night and none the wiser that the head of the house was a dragon and their fellow student was a mysterious mage.
“You should go home and get some rest too,” Sapphire muttered. He was holding two mugs filled with an icy drink—mostly spices and frigid water—it was soothing against the boil of our blood. “I’ll keep my eye on him tonight.”
“I’m letting him rest for a time,” I said. “I’ll go home eventually, but I’d like to help him recover if I can.” I took the mug graciously and sipped Sapphire’s concoction until the burn in my throat eased. Sometimes, even when I was in human form, my wyvern body reacted. I could practically feel the fire breathing through my lungs after such a sight with Teagan. “What do you make of today, Konrad?”
Sapphire was glancing out the window, taking a sip every few breaths. “I’m concerned,” he said slowly.
“You still don’t trust him?” My voice was shrill, and I knew I sounded childish.
“That’s not what I said. I’m concerned because there is something more with Teagan Ward than we know. Even his name—Ward. Someone certainly wanted him tagged as a mage. Mini goes by Keeper, and I’ve heard of other mages using common names like Guard, or even Sentinel. His aunt’s last name is Jones. I just assumed she was his mother’s sister, or it was a married name.”
“What are you saying?” I asked.
Sapphire placed his mug down and stared at me with his coal-black eyes. “I’m not convinced Teagan is an orphan.”
My breath was frosty as I sucked in deeply at the same time I sipped my drink. “You think his parents are alive? You think they’re mages, don’t you?”
“Well, they’d have to be,” Sapphire said simply. “It’s almost as if he were tagged though, as I said. Like they wanted him to be known as a protector of the bloodline. If we find out who his parents are—”
“It would answer some questions,” I interrupted. Sapphire nodded. “I felt his power—it was reaching me today; did you feel it?” I asked after a long pause.
Sapphire shook his head. “Only after he was crushing the forest.” He smirked. “Jade, promise me you’ll be careful about the connection. Though I’m not as outspoken as Mini, there is no record of mage and wyvern joining in anything other than power partnerships.”
“I’m cautious, Konrad. I’m not the foolish child many believe me to be,” I insisted. “But I feel something so deeply for Teagan. It surpasses the realm of partnership—I can’t explain it.”
Sapphire sighed, but his eyes were softer. “I will admit there is a unique connection with you and Teagan, one I’ve never experienced with Mini. She’s more like a loyal friend to me. I would protect her, and she would protect me, though we drive each other crazy sometimes. Just be wise. The elders may not like their queen feeling romantically toward a mage—a mage we know nothing about.”
I smiled, feeling as though someone was finally listening to me. “I will be careful. I know my priorities as the next queen, Konrad.”
He nodded, but stiffened after a moment. I held my breath, cursing my forgetfulness regarding my warding energies when Mitch walked into the room, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw me sitting casually on the sofa.
“Uh, Mr. Sapphire,” he said, though his eyes were drifting toward me.
“Mitch,” Sapphire snapped, standing and falling into place as the leader of the house. “It’s after curfew.”
“Yeah, I know.” Again, a quick glance in my direction. “I just thought I’d let you know, I think Teagan is sick—or something’s going on in his room.”
My blood froze, and I desperately tried to keep my face neutral, but it was almost impossible to fight the urge to rush up the stairs to Teagan’s room.
“Thanks, Mitch,” Sapphire said. “I’ll check on him.”
“I better get going,” I stammered, gathering the sweater I’d brought, though I felt no chill.
“Jade, wait,” Sapphire said, all while Mitch’s brow rose curiously. I would deal with Mitch later. He was human—I was certain of it—he wouldn’t be hard to convince this conversation had never happened.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll let you know if he needs anything,” I said softly.
Mitch’s nose crinkled, and his brown eyes shifted to suspicion, but Sapphire would simply have to handle him on his own because I was already out the door and rushing around the house to the gabled window.
I climbed the trellis in no time at all and slid open the window. Teagan was sitting on the edge of his bed, his breathing was haggard, but he didn’t seem as pale.
“Teagan,” I breathed as I slipped through his window. “Are you alright? Mitch said something was wrong.”
He glanced over his shoulder, his brow was sprinkled in sweat, but he smiled at me. “I can move things,” he said softly.
“What?” I took a seat next to him. Teagan was holding the mage book I’d left with him. It was opened to a page about harnessing energy in objects.
“Watch this,” he said. Teagan muttered something so softly I couldn’t make out what he said—it was some sort of language I didn’t recognize. His palm was out and he was looking at the desk tucked in the corner.
The chair placed beneath the desk rocked back and tumbled to the ground in a crash. Next, the jar holding the pen and pencil wobbled, then it trembled. Teagan’s jaw pulsed, the jar rocked. In
a matter of moments the jar tipped, spilling the pen and pencil along the desk. Teagan smiled, but was breathing hard again.
“This book says with more power, you can ask energy to help you—sort of like what you did with the glass against Graham, or making the branch into the dagger,” he said in a husky whisper. His face was alive with energy and excitement. I couldn’t help but smile.
“How do you feel?” I asked. “I think you should be resting.”
“I will, but I need you to help me with something first,” he said, the enthusiasm bright in his eyes.
Teagan held out his hand, beckoning me to come closer. He waited quietly until I locked my fingers with his. Once again he turned his gaze back to the desk where the pen and pencil were at rest. He squeezed my hand tight, and the warmth encompassed me. I thought I could stay in the moment for eternity by the way it caused my heart to soar. Without effort, Teagan lifted his hand and the pen and pencil shot wildly across the room; they had enough speed Teagan and I had to duck to avoid being impaled by the lead. The points stuck deep into the wall behind us. He glanced at me, then our hands, then back to my eyes. I beamed in the dark of his room.
“It’s like you make it so much simpler—just easier to do anything. When you touch me and I try and harness whatever this power is, it just comes so naturally. You fill a missing piece,” he said softly.
“That’s incredible,” I whispered, glancing at the pen and the pencil. “Does touching me help you feel more rested after fighting Raffi and Dash?”
Teagan nodded, squaring his shoulders toward me, his free hand running along my arm until chills raced along my skin. “I always feel stronger when you’re nearby,” he said. “Just having you step next to me, all the exhaustion of earlier was gone. It’s what I thought of when we were in the sanctuary. I thought of you, what if you were being attacked. Something broke inside me, like a wall I had built against the energy of that place. As soon as it was gone, I just knew what to do. I wasn’t lying when I told Mini, there was something more there—like I needed to find something with those stones. It was because of you I was able to fight back against two dragons.”
“It must be our bond.” I met his eye and felt the shudder in my heart that I was falling in love with. I believed it was more than the bond, something much deeper. But I remembered my promise to Sapphire—I was the future queen of elemental wyverns. I needed to be cautious with this feeling. I had to at least entertain the notion that Teagan and I were confusing the attraction, the pull toward each other, for something else.
Then his fingers traced my jaw, and I suddenly didn’t care as much. Teagan’s eyes were bright in the moonlight, and I found it harder to breathe when he scooted closer to me on his bed.
“It isn’t just our bond,” he whispered. His hand cupped the side of my face. My own hands were slowly inching around his neck. I wanted to be close with him—yes, there was the connection between us, but I couldn’t deny I agreed there was more. I admired Teagan. He was stronger than he let on. He’d lived with feeling wildly different from others his entire life, and yet he still had a good heart. I sensed his hurt from what life had dealt. Years of feeling alone, misunderstood, and angry rampaged inside his heart. I felt it all, and I hurt for him. Yet, he made me laugh, he was thoughtful, and tried to be better, although he didn’t want others to see his efforts at times. I felt safe with Teagan Ward. All those emotions rolled into one destined bond had to mean more than protection.
Teagan’s eyes locked with mine, and I knew by the way my face inched closer to him that this was the moment I’d been waiting for. The brush of his lips across my forehead caused me to crumble closer against his chest. My fingers threaded through his hair as I closed my eyes—just breathing in his intoxicating scent. With a soft tilt to my chin, Teagan smiled at me and in one more breath, pressed his lips against mine.
As I mentioned, most of my existence shunned the idea of romance. I figured someday I would form a match with a noble wyvern—in this moment, as Teagan’s chest crushed against my body, and his hands gripped the sides of my face, I couldn’t imagine living another day without such a feeling. My lips burned—in such a pleasant burn I forced them harder against his mouth. Teagan’s strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me as close as possible against his body. There was an electric current in the room, as though lightning struck through the crown of my head, only to exit through Teagan’s toes. I never wanted the moment to end.
Teagan kissed me with passion, and I kissed him right back. He stopped once, both of us catching our breaths, and I thought I saw him wince. Before I could ask him, he was kissing me again. My head was swirling as his fingers clutched my waist, accidently brushing over my skin just beneath the hem of my shirt. It was a shock I’d never experienced before.
I wasn’t positive how long I’d been lost in the sweet, powerful passion that was unique to Teagan Ward, but when he pulled away, my hair was wild around my face and my body was bursting in heat as though my heart had turned to molten rock in the center of my chest. Teagan buried his head against my neck, and I heard his breathing tick to rapid puffs.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered.
Teagan clenched his fists and stood quickly, his hand slapping the back of his neck. “Something’s burning—like really burning.”
Without warning, I lost the ability to breathe when he tore his shirt from his muscular shoulders. I covered my mouth, watching in real time the jade armor markings spread along his spine and back.
“It’s growing,” I whispered, gently tracing my fingers over his bare skin. Teagan looked over his shoulder trying to see. “It’s different though—than the others on your arms.”
“What is it? What’s it saying?”
“Teagan, it’s—my seal.”
“The jade bloodline?”
I shook my head. “No, each royal individual has a personal seal. This is…mine.”
Teagan turned away as I watched the beautiful markings swirl into a sphere on his entire back, the abstract images and markings that I knew spoke of nature, water, and the bliss of the air, everything I loved, carving into his skin. After a few moments, Teagan turned around, his arms wrapping around me again. “Then I suppose I’m yours completely,” he said with a tremble in the back of his voice.
I wanted to scream every feeling rushing through my thoughts in that moment. We stared at one another with a shocking intensity, and I was mute. Wrapping my arms around his waist, my fingers outlined the raised marks that had erupted—my sign, my seal. Teagan was mine, and I would be his. Without a care I pulled his lips against mine, and I gave into the euphoric mystery that was Teagan’s hold on my heart.
Chapter 21
Teagan’s arms were warm around my waist when the sun kissed my cheeks. My eyes shot open, and I leapt out of the safety of his hold. Teagan groaned slightly, running a hand through his hair and fluttering his eyes open.
“Eisha will be worried about me,” I muttered, moving quickly toward the window. My throat was dry from the sweet burn as Teagan had kissed me—and as I’d kissed him. I almost felt weak as I tromped toward the window, my stomach gripping around itself at the idea of seeing Sapphire. I’d promised to go home, I’d assured my fellow royal I would be cautious. But the way Teagan was watching me now, I was perfectly fine throwing caution to the wind and letting him hold me close to his chest a little longer. “May I see?” I pointed toward his back.
Teagan sat up and pulled his shirt around his shoulders, revealing his back. The seal was enormous. The bottom part of the sphere just above his waistline, the top curve striking between his shoulder blades. The seal was filled with symbols and words and often reminded me of ancient hieroglyphics I’d seen countless times in my history books. I had a theory ancient Egypt had been littered with desert wyvern. The seal practically forced my hand to brush over the surface. Teagan shuddered when my hand touched him, but soon relaxed and leaned into the feel of my fingers tracing his back, as though my fingertips soo
thed the burn in his skin.
“What does it look like?” he asked.
“It’s everything I love, it’s my history. There are even spaces for what is to come. The seal ceremony happens in the first year of life. I love my seal,” I said, my voice cracking and an unfamiliar sting billowing behind my eyes. It was the human body—wyvern didn’t shed tears. “It’s one of the few things I have left of my parents. They begin the design and then the royal wyvern finishes the design by their hundredth year.”
Teagan faced me as he pulled his shirt down and took my hand tightly in his own. “I’ve never…felt these things before,” he said slowly.
The smile tugged at the corner of my lips when I held the side of his face gently. “Nor have I, and I certainly don’t want it to stop.”
I was positive I’d never seen a more breathtaking smile than Teagan’s, especially when he kissed me, though faster than before. I still had the inward battle on whether to stay or leave. The idea of stepping away from him brought an ache I didn’t enjoy. Queen. I was the queen of elemental wyvern. I was the one to lead the people in all our traditions and to be a force of safety and confidence, and the idea brought a new weight on my shoulders as I pulled away. I couldn’t even resist the thumping of my heart. How would I lead?
“I must go,” I said, easing my hand out of his grasp.
A knock at the door sent my heart to my throat.
“Teagan,” it was Mitch. “Come on, man the bus is almost here.”
Teagan glanced at me. “I’m just supposed to go to school?”
