by Carly Fall
“And we were … what? Bank robbers?”
She pursed her lips and met his gaze. The raw pain in her eyes made his chest ache.
“You and I were together … we were lovers.”
Even though he’d suspected it, her words still felt like a punch to the gut. His chest began to prickle again as his throat constricted and his breathing became labored.
If they’d been lovers and she’d had to kill his father because he’d discovered them … what had been so horrible about them being together?
“W-Why didn’t he want us together?” he asked.
She sighed and reached over, taking his hands in hers. He glanced down at the differences, his black skin beneath her snow-white fingers.
“Because even though we reside in the same land, even though we co-exist in peace, we are not allowed to mix. The Protectors of the Sky and the Protectors of the Forest cannot be together. We must stick with our own.”
He shook his head, still not understanding. “But why?”
“It’s the way it’s always been,” she said.
God, he hated to go there, but he had to know. “Is it … is it a black and white thing?”
She tilted her head and furrowed her brow. “I do not understand.”
He sighed, thankful that blatant racism didn’t play a part in her world, as well.
“There was a time in our history where black people weren’t allowed to associate with white people. We were slaves … it was a terrible time.”
Her mouth opened in a perfect O, her eyes wide. “How horrible. This still doesn’t go on, I hope.”
He shrugged. “There are some who believe it should still be that way, that black people are beneath them. People still hold others in slavery all over the world.”
“And what do you believe?” she asked.
“My mom was White, my dad was Black. I think that if two people want to be together, then they should. If someone makes me happy and treats me with respect, then I don’t really care what color they are.”
A slow grin turned her lips, and a little dagger dug into his heart. He was falling so hard and so fast for this woman, his head practically spun right off his neck.
“I’m so relieved to hear to you say that,” she whispered. “That is the way you and I felt so long ago. We didn’t care if we were breaking rules; we just wanted to be together.”
“So, what happened? Tell me the story of why you had to kill my father.”
She nodded. “I will, but first, I would like to go back to camp and eat. I saw you found blueberries.”
He let go of one of her hands, but kept the other firmly in his grasp. “There’s a bush just up here,” he said, pointing to where he’d found it before.
They waded out of the water, and he fought to get his jeans on over his wet skin, foregoing his soaked boxers. Finally, he had the pants buttoned, and he slipped on his socks and boots. He felt her gaze on him the whole time. On one hand, he liked that she stared at him, but on the other, it felt like a critical eye. If he’d truly been Eorricris, he wondered how much different he looked to her now. He’d once been a badass dragon shifter, and now, he sat behind a computer all day. If that didn’t stink of domestication, he didn’t know what did.
“Ready?” he asked, getting to his feet.
She nodded and took his hand in hers as they headed for the blueberry bush. When they reached it, she dropped to her knees in front of it and began pulling the small blue orbs and eating them.
As he watched her eat, shoving handfuls of berries into her mouth at a time, he couldn’t help but note how animalistic she looked. Naked with long, white hair down her back, kneeling on the forest floor … it was an almost primitive sight.
After she’d had her fill, she stood and then reached into the bush and broke off a large bushel. She turned to him and smiled.
“I’m now ready to return to camp and tell you my story.”
He took her free hand without giving it a second thought, as if it was the most natural thing he could do.
14
Tirvu sat on the log at camp and greedily drank the water Eric had provided for her. The cool liquid slid down her throat, and it was almost as if she could feel it reviving all her systems. Although nowhere near her full strength, she definitely was feeling much better now that she’d bathed, eaten, and rehydrated.
Eric waited calmly for her to tell her story. She appreciated his patience, and although he’d expressed his interest in it as well as his beliefs that beings with significant differences should be allowed to be together, nerves still tickled her belly. Her whole life, she’d been told her love for Eorricris had been wrong, so it still seemed taboo to even discuss it out loud.
While suffering through the vampire venom, she recalled the emergence of the overwhelming guilt she’d locked away for so long. She’d committed one of the greatest sins in her land—she’d killed not only one’s father, but the ruler of the Protectors of the Sky. No one but she knew of her sin. Well, no one but she, Eric, and the soul of the one she’d killed.
She looked over at him and smiled, then took a deep breath to begin her tale.
“You and I were very much in love,” she said as she dropped her gaze to the ground, unable to look at him as she spoke the words. “As I’ve stated before, the two factions of dragons, those of the sky and those of the forest, lived in the same realm. We had peace, but it was strictly forbidden for us to couple.”
“I still don’t understand why,” he said.
She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I honestly don’t know. It was the way of our people. It was … it was the rules. There were no reasons; it was just how it should be.”
He nodded, but said nothing.
“The last time the universal seals opened, it was discovered that the only place other entities could get through was in the Grand Dragon’s castle, a place the leaders of the sky and the forest shared. It had been divided right down the middle, one Grand Dragon living on the east side, the other on the west. The universal tear had taken place on the west side, in the quarters of the Grand Dragon who ruled the Protectors of the Sky.”
“Which wasn’t your side. You said you were with the forest faction, right?”
She nodded as a little thrill traveled through her. He’d been listening and retaining what she’d told him up to this point, and for some reason, that made her giddy.
“What about your father? What is he?”
She sighed and pursed her lips. “He’s dead now, but he never held a title. He was a simple commoner who enjoyed his life and those he loved.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Tirvu,” he said as he laid his hand over hers.
She didn’t like to focus on her father’s death. It made her chest ache and caused her eyes to well, the grief once again becoming fresh. If she gave it much thought, she’d end up in a teary mess and she’d stray away from her confession.
“You and I were in that castle when the portal opened, and we shouldn’t have been. We were in your father’s realm while he was meeting with the Grand Dragon of the Forest. What about, I don’t know. We weren’t privy to their conversations.”
“What were we doing?” he asked.
Heat singed her cheeks. “We … we were about to become intimate, but then the demons showed up.”
His eyes widened, and she wondered what images played through his mind. She recalled running her hands over his bare chest, felt the way his lips had softly kissed her neck as he’d lightly rolled her nipple between his thumb and fingertip, teasing it into an erect peak …
She cleared her throat and continued.
“We didn’t know what to do. They were foreign creatures to us. At that point, we didn’t even understand the evil they were capable of. We were young and not very bright.”
“What happened? How many of them were there?” he whispered, seemingly enthralled by her story.
“There were about ten of them, and their goal of destruction became very apparent
as they moved through the castle, breaking things. A few guards from both factions finally caught up to them, and there was a fight. It was then that we realized their strength, and we tried to help the guards who were being overpowered by the demons.
“It was chaos as some of us turned to our dragon form while others fought in human form. We were actually able to destroy most of them, except two. The Moonstone resided inside the Grand Dragon’s castle upon a pedestal on an outer deck where everyone in the land could see it, and we would all come together twice in a cycle to pray to it, to pray to the hearts of our creators.”
“What’s a cycle? How long is it?”
She sighed as she tried to think on how to explain it. “It is like one of your days here, but it is longer. One way you track your time is in minutes. We call them ‘beats.’ I suppose one full day in my realm would be equal to about thirty-six human hours.”
A low whistle emanated from him, and she met his gaze.
“That’s one long day,” he said. “I’d hate to be having a bad one and have it last that long.”
She’d never worked in the human capacity, which usually meant sitting behind a desk or something similar, so she didn’t answer, but kept on with her tale.
“By then, the fight had spilled out onto the outer balcony, where the Moonstone was kept. The demons grabbed it and made it back to the portal. You followed closely behind. Before I knew what happened, you jumped into the portal.
“When you left,” she continued, “I was terrified. I risked being found out just so I could check up on you. See, in our land, when two of our kind become lovers, we become connected not only in our bodies, but in our minds. I could hear you and speak to you as you hunted for the Moonstone, but only when I was next to the universal tear.”
“So, what happened?”
“I was successful in keeping in touch with you. I went to the tear during the time of prayer, breaking another one of our cardinal rules—we all go to prayer. During your travels, you found out the seams would shut, and I urged you to come back. You said you were so close to finding the Moonstone, but you would make it home.”
He took both her hands in his, and she stared down at the contrast in their skin color. The white-hot pain that railed through her body all those years ago cascaded down her limbs, making her bite her tongue to hold back the scream, just as she’d done back then.
“But you never came home,” she said, hearing the quiver in her own voice. “Then they closed, and I … I couldn’t believe that you were gone. I stood there staring at where the seams had been broken, where it had sealed itself. I tried to rip it apart, to destroy it, but no matter what I did, it didn’t budge. Finally, I just collapsed.”
“And my father found you.”
She nodded, the scene returning to her, playing before her eyes as if it had just happened yesterday and not centuries ago.
She lay on the floor belonging to the Grand Dragon of the Sky. The tears had stopped, her hope had diminished, and now, she couldn’t move, although she knew she should.
Instead, she wanted to curl up in a ball and close her eyes with the hope that sleep would come and she’d awaken from this horrible nightmare.
Her will to live had gone, and inside where she’d once felt love sat a deep pit of despair and loneliness, the depths of it so wide and dark, she swore it would consume her alive, dragging her down into its endless crater of hopelessness.
“What is a forest dragon doing in my realm?”
The deep voice boomed and echoed around the marble, and under normal circumstances, she would have been terrified. She’d disrespected so many rules by sneaking into his side of the castle during prayer, by loving the Grand Dragon’s son, but she couldn’t bring herself to even care.
She glanced up at him, then shut her eyes, hoping to stop the horrid tears that flowed. Dragon shifters didn’t weep.
“He’s gone,” she whispered. “He went to find the Moonstone, and he’s not coming back.”
The Grand Dragon nudged her with his foot, as if she were a bug on the ground he tested to see if it still lived.
She opened her eyes again to find his onyx stare on her, his black skin looking almost purple in the bright light. He frightened her, yet at the same time, she longed for him to comfort her. He was the closest thing to Eorricris that she had.
“Who is gone?”
Afraid of his reaction when she told him, she rolled over so that she was on all fours. With great effort, she pushed herself up to a standing position, her head dizzy, her stomach empty, but she forced herself not to bend over and vomit on his bare feet.
Lifting her head, she looked up at him. Even though she stood at almost six feet, he was a good foot taller, muscular and strong. Confidence exuded from his very soul, his eyes searching her face for answers. Deep within his gaze, she detected disgust.
Both the Protectors of the Sky and the Protectors of the Forest looked at each other the same way. Each side remained cordial, but neither could stand the other’s presence. If only they had known what she and Eorricris had shared, how perfect their love had been.
“Your son,” she said, her voice strong even though she fought back the wretched tears of grief. “He went to find the Moonstone, and now, he’s trapped. He’s trapped on a place called Earth. He’ll never be able to get back.”
The Grand Dragon’s brows knitted together as his nostrils flared, and she knew in that moment that he didn’t believe her.
His hands fisted at his sides. “What did you say?”
She rolled her shoulders back as something inside her died, and she no longer cared who knew about her and her lover, about what they’d done behind the backs of both of their people. She no longer gave any consideration to the laws that had been broken, or what her punishment may be. She was wrecked, as damaged as a vase thrown against the floor, the shattered pieces of her soul scattered all around her.
“You know exactly what I said,” she whispered as she tilted her chin up in defiance. “Your son, Eorricris, is gone, as is the Moonstone.”
He stood silently for a moment as he stared at her, then he lifted his face to the heavens, and a primal scream tore from his throat. She couldn’t help but notice his shout gave a voice to her own internal pain.
The sound seemed to go on forever as it reverberated around the room and caused her ears to ache. She closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears, praying for it to cease, but it kept on. Just as she was about to turn and flee from the castle, it stopped. In a second, he reached out and grabbed her shoulders, and she gasped when he lifted her from the ground so she stared at him eye-to-eye.
“What did you do to my son?” he growled as his eyes flashed.
He thought she had harmed Eorricris? What type of nonsense was this?
She had loved him, and she was just as broken as he. No one would ever tell her any different.
Yet, the Grand Dragon had her in his clutches, and sweat formed on her brow as his grip tightened. Would he kill her? If he found out they had been lovers, it would be possible. She and Eorricris had committed a grave insult against the laws of their land.
“I-I did nothing. The demons took the Moonstone, and he went after it.”
The Grand Dragon shook his head. “You lie, you little white dirt eater. You did something to him! Now tell me! Tell me what you did!”
He shook her so strongly, she flopped back and forth like a limp fish, and her fear quickly dissipated. The black pit of grief fueled her. The injustice that she couldn’t be with her lover while he was still breathing gave her the courage to stand up to the Grand Dragon.
“I did nothing,” she hissed, narrowing her gaze at him. “The only thing I ever did was love your son.”
His face fell as his eyes flashed again.
“Yes, I loved him,” she continued, liking that the words she spoke seemed to cut him. She wanted to deepen his pain, to make him collapse from it. Her grief seemed endless; she needed someone else to suffer more t
han her.
“I loved his smart mind, his funny soul, and his hands on my body as we coupled. Your son and I broke all the rules, all the laws, and I have no regrets.”
She shut her eyes as he began to shift into his dragon form. Her instinct was to do the same, to fight for her life, but she refrained. Instead, she took a deep breath and forced her body to go completely limp. She then laid her head back so her neck was exposed to him, to offer him a quick, efficient kill.
If she couldn’t be with Eorricris, she didn’t want to live.
For a few seconds, she felt as if she floated through time and space. Had he killed her? If so, it had been painless. Her soul must have been set free from her body! But then, her back slammed against something hard. She gasped as the pain radiated throughout her limbs, and she opened her eyes.
Before her stood an eight-foot black dragon, its fangs bared as it approached her. He hadn’t killed her. Clenching her hands into fists, she watched him draw closer. He loomed over her, the heat from his body and breath causing sweat to form on her brow. She didn’t break the eye contact, but simply waited for him to end her miserable existence. Certainly, that would be his next move.
He studied her as he breathed deeply. Would he torch her alive? Or rip her limb from limb? Either way, it would be painful, but nothing could compare to the horrible pit in her heart.
Slowly, he extended his claw to her. Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for the blow to come, her body shuddering. The tip of one claw touched her cheek and rested there for what seemed like eternity.
Their gazes locked as he narrowed his eyes, then the claw scraped down the side of her face.
She screamed and shut her eyes as the white-hot agony made its way down her neck. Blood quickly dripped from the gash, the red rivulets flowing down her chin and onto her chest and arms. Before, she couldn’t breathe, but now, she heaved as though there wasn’t enough air in the room. Bile curled her stomach from the excruciating pain, and she fell over to her side into a fetal position, folding her hands over her head as if to protect herself.
