by Meg Ripley
"Dragons," she gasped.
Aurora rubbed her arms and offered a gentle smile.
"Let me introduce you to my clan."
******************************
Aurora pulled on her arm until Vivian started walking again, following her down the path. Her mind was reeling with everything she was trying to process. The memories of the wedding were bolder now, clearer than before as she came to terms with what she had actually seen. For the two days since the wedding she had believed, as the others had, that she had watched her best friend torn from her fiancé's arms by three men who crashed through her ceremony and carried her away.
Now she knew that that memory was a lie, fabricated by her mind to cover the horror that was the actual massive creatures that had descended on the wedding. She could see what actually happened now. Her mind saw Aurora running toward one of the dragons and tearing the gown away from her legs before she climbed onto his back and let him take her into the sky.
"Why am I here, Aurora?" she asked as they walked further and further from the place where Vivian had awoken.
"I knew you were probably worried about me and I wanted to let you know that I was alright. I want you to meet Arach and the rest of the clan."
"Arach is…"
She trailed off, unsure of how she was going to continue that sentence. None of this was making any sense to her. For all their lives, she and Aurora had confided completely in each other; now she felt like she was chasing after some flight of fancy that was unfolding with each step.
"He's my partner. I was made for him."
"I don't understand."
"Do you remember that I told you I started having strange dreams right before the wedding?"
"Yeah."
Vivian could see the end of the path now and a massive stone house a few yards across a large open area around it. She could smell fire and burned herbs making the air thicker.
"Those were Arach connecting with me. I fell in love with him through those dreams."
"He kidnapped you," Vivian said.
She was horrified with what she was hearing. Aurora had always been the most in control and level-headed person she had ever known, but now she sounded as though she was speaking in whimsical code.
"He didn't kidnap me. He rescued me."
They stepped out of the forest and an instant later Vivian heard the deep, rhythmic sound from the wedding. Aurora looked up and smiled seconds before a huge black dragon landed on the ground ahead of them. Vivian recognized it as the infuriated, fearsome creature that breathed fire and flew away with Aurora on its back.
Aurora released Vivian's hand and jogged toward the dragon, standing up on her toes to take its massive head in her arms and nuzzle her face against his. Before her eyes could register what happened, the dragon disappeared and in its place stood a man with glossy black hair and an intense, startling gaze. He wrapped his arms around Aurora's waist and caught her mouth in a kiss, drawing her against his body protectively.
Their kiss broke and Aurora gazed at him for a few seconds before turning back to Vivian.
"This is Arach," she said in a voice that sounded purely happy.
"Arach, this is Vivian, my best friend. I wanted her here for the wedding."
That brought Vivian out of her contemplation of the sudden change from the dragon to the man.
"Wedding?" she asked.
She watched as Arach and Aurora nuzzled each other's faces again, their smiles so contented it made her chest ache with the realization of just how miserable Aurora had been for so long.
"Speaking of the wedding," Arach said, stepping back slightly to hold both of Aurora's hands and look into her eyes, "There's still a lot that needs to be done and what I found out today might make that a little more difficult than we anticipated."
Vivian saw the happiness drain out of Aurora's face and her hands tighten on Arach's.
"What happened?" she asked.
Arach glanced over at Vivian and Vivian suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if she had intruded on a very still and private world that only existed for those who could see it in that moment. Part of her wanted to close her eyes so she couldn't see it any longer, so she could make it go away. Without that world, however, there would be no Aurora, and that was not something Vivian wanted to even consider.
"Does she know?" he asked, lowering his voice almost conspiratorially.
"I caught on to the fact that my best friend is apparently engaged to a dragon two days after scaring the living hell out of everyone she knows by leaving her perfectly good human wedding," Vivian snapped, the frustration and fear building in her as she felt more and more disconnected from what was happening around her.
Aurora's eyes widened and she took a step toward her as Arach's shoulders squared and his spine straightened in the same aggressive way he had straightened in his dragon form at the ceremony.
"Vivian, stop," Aurora said softly.
"No, Aurora. I don't understand what's going on. What the hell is this? He's gorgeous, I'll give you that, but you have known Greyson for –"
"I know how long I knew him," Aurora said, her voice dropping.
"Ok, so what? You start having weird fantasy dreams about a dragon who turns out to be a real boy and so you leave everything behind for him? Greyson could have given you the life you have always wanted."
Aurora stepped up within inches of her so fast Vivian caught her breath.
"Greyson killed my father," Aurora said harshly.
"What?" Vivian asked, barely able to force the word past the tightness in her throat.
"Greyson killed my father," Aurora repeated, slightly louder, "So I killed him."
******************************
The words hit Vivian hard enough that she felt like they took all the breath out of her. Aurora was standing so close that Vivian could smell the sweetness coming from her hair and a faint hint of smoke clinging to her skin that must have been from touching Arach.
"What?" Vivian repeated, not knowing what else to say.
Instead of answering her, Aurora shook her head and turned away from her. As she walked away Vivian looked up at Arach. Even in the moonlight she could see the anger flashing in his eyes. He extended his arms to Aurora and she curled into them, tucking herself against his chest like he was the only thing that made her feel safe and comfortable.
Vivian walked toward them and Arach turned subtly, pulling Aurora further from her.
"I'm sorry," Vivian said. She placed a hand on Aurora's back, "I'm sorry."
Arach kissed Aurora on the forehead.
"I need to get inside and meet with the council. Are you coming?"
Aurora glanced up at Vivian and she reached out her hand, feeling a wave of relief as Aurora took it and stood so that she was no longer cradled against Arach's chest.
"Vivian, you need to decide now," she said, "You can come with us and we will tell you everything, or you can leave now. Know, though, that I am staying here. This is my home, my clan. Where Arach is, I am going to be. Always."
Vivian took a breath and nodded. They started toward the massive stone house and Vivian felt like she had walked through a pane of thin, fragile glass, shattering her concept of life in a way she could never put back together.
Several minutes later she sat beside Aurora, her mind still spinning from the twisted path they took along narrow stone passages through the house. The room where they sat danced with the glow of torches along the walls and the scent of burned herbs had gotten so strong it was nearly dizzying.
Arach sat at the head of the table, papers spread across the table in front of him as several other men gathered around him.
"Who is he?" Vivian whispered, leaning close to Aurora.
"His father is the patriarch of the clan. Arach will take his place and lead when his father either dies or gets too old."
"And you love him?"
"More than I ever believed I had the capacity to love anyone."
"S
o, you're telling me that you are going to be…what, a dragon princess?"
Aurora muffled a laugh against her hand and Vivian jumped as one of the men at the end of the table cleared his throat to quiet them.
"The operative has already started covering its tracks, Aurora," Arach said from his position.
"What operative?" Vivian asked.
Aurora glanced between her and Arach.
"My father was the head of a secret operative with the government designed to seek good relations with the Killington clan. Part of the operative, however, went rogue and decided that they would rather capture, enslave, and weaponize the dragons."
"Oh, god."
Aurora nodded.
"My engagement to Greyson was supposed to be a bargaining chip to keep them from waging war against the dragons. When my father changed his mind and planned to end the engagement so that I could be with Arach as it was always supposed to be, Greyson killed him."
"The operative has made it very clear that they see you not going through with the wedding as a sign of aggression, and Greyson's death as an act of war."
"What did they tell you about that?" Arach asked, looking directly at Vivian.
Vivian felt the eyes of all of the men fall on her and a touch of panic fluttered through her.
"The official report is that it was a terrorist attack and that both Greyson and Aurora were murdered."
"I met with a representative of the operative today. They have agreed to maintain peace between the humans and the dragons as long as we promise to stay here, and that no one will see Aurora again."
Vivian felt her heart sink.
"What does that mean?"
"Like you said, the official word is that she is dead. Her showing back up would not just cause confusion. It could breach the security of the entire operative and all of the information that Aurora's father gave his life to protect will be released to the public."
"Holy shit," Vivian said, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
"No, I think that was a fairly appropriate summation. The rogue operative say that they will end the war now as long as we promise to maintain absolute separation from the humans and that Aurora will never return."
"They're lying," Aurora said.
"Why do you say that?" Arach asked.
"Come on, Babe, be serious. They killed my father for deciding not to force me to marry Greyson. Now not only did I not marry Greyson, but I shot a crossbow through his throat. They aren't going to just call things even just because I promise to be a good girl and stay hidden away here with you."
Vivian gasped beside Aurora and Aurora reached to squeeze her hand. She couldn't fathom her best friend murdering anyone, much less the man she had once planned to marry, but Aurora talked about it calmly and casually as if it had no impact.
"They are going to wage war just like they said they would, and I guarantee you I'll be the first one they go after."
Arach looked at her with such intensity Vivian felt like she could have reached out and touched the gaze between them.
"And if they do, they will have the wrath of the entire clan on them. They only encountered two of us when Greyson came. As my wife, though, you will have the sworn loyalty of every Killington warrior. It is will be their duty and their honor to lay down their lives to protect you."
Vivian felt a shiver of excitement roll through her at Arach's words.
"How am I supposed to get ready for the wedding if I have to stay here at least until after we're married?"
There was a pause and then Vivian tugged Aurora's hand to get her attention.
"I'll do whatever you need. I don't know how I got here or how I would get back there, but if I can figure that out, I'll do anything you need me to. I already did the Maid of Honor thing once, I can do it again."
Aurora smiled at her through the tears sparkling in her deep blue eyes and pulled Vivian to her in a tight hug.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"She'll need protection," Arach said from the head of the table and Vivian pulled out of the hug to look at him.
"I'm picking up a wedding dress and getting flowers. I don't find anything particularly dangerous about that." she said.
"No one knows that she knows what's going on," Aurora added, "She won't be in any danger, will she?"
"We have no way of knowing what these people know or how they find out. If she is doing anything that involves us, there is the potential for danger. Besides, you heard her. She doesn't know how to get here or how to get back home. She needs someone with her who can keep her safe and bring her back and forth. It's just a precaution."
"He'll be human, yes?" Vivian asked.
Arach slid a look at her that said he was still not convinced about having her around.
"I will ask him to stay in human form except if absolutely necessary." With that, he turned to one of the men beside him, "Could you get Cade for me? He's on guard at the far tower tonight."
Aurora offered her a smile.
"Look at you. Here for less than an hour and you are already getting your very own dragon."
******************************
"I think that the brooch you gave me last week was a better Maid of Honor gift," Vivian said, bracing herself for having to deal with another of the gruff creatures.
She watched Aurora give Arach a knowing glance.
"I don't know," she said softly so that only Vivian could hear, "He's definitely the best wedding gift that I got."
Vivian let out a laugh, but the sound cut short in her throat as the doorway darkened and a large dark green dragon stepped into the room. The smell of sage was nearly overpowering as he stepped up closer to Arach and made a slow, scrutinizing evaluation of everyone at the table.
"They smell like herbs," Vivian muttered.
Aurora gave her a strange look out of the corner of her eye.
"What?"
"The dragons," Vivian whispered, unable to take her eyes off the reflection of the torch flames glistening on the dragon's back, "They smell like burned herbs."
"I haven't noticed."
Before she could say anything else, she heard Arach talking to the dragon.
"Cade, please," he said in an authoritative but familiar tone.
The dragon made a snorting sound in his snout, but a second later a man stood where the dragon had been. Vivian was stunned at how quickly the shift happened. She would have expected something brutal and drawn out like the excruciating shifts in werewolf movies, but the dragons seemed to change form in less than the span of a breath, changing forms so seamlessly it was as if they were only reflections that changed depending on the angle.
"Vivian, this is Cadman. We call him Cade. He'll take care of you until the wedding."
Cade seemed less than thrilled with the arrangement as he visibly bristled and shot an angry glare at Arach.
"Arach, I'm a soldier, not a babysitter."
"You're a soldier when there's a war to fight. Right now, you're a guard, and so you're going to guard Vivian."
"I really don't think it's necessary," Vivian started, but the cold look in Arach's eyes when he turned to her stopped her.
"Marrying me is the first step in keeping Aurora safe, and if that means that she needs you to take care of some details for her, you best believe I'm going to make sure that you stay safe at least until that's done. Cade is going to watch out for you until the wedding. Aurora is my life and I will do anything to protect her. Even if that means dealing with a guard who thinks extremely highly of himself."
Arach looked at Cade, who shifted slightly as if the admonishment of the next leader of the clan was finally making him uncomfortable. Aurora stood and walked over to Arach, dipping her head to kiss him as she took his hands in hers and led him to his feet.
"I love you," Vivian heard her whisper against his lips as she lifted slightly away from the kiss.
"I love you," Arach whispered back, then looked up at the men still at the table,
"We're done for now. I've already sent word to my father and he should be back tonight. Until then, return to your posts."
Aurora started walking backwards toward a small doorway that led off the room opposite the door where Cade had entered, guiding Arach along with her with a mischievous look in her eyes that reminded Vivian of when they were children and Aurora snuck into the kitchen to grab one of the warm brownies the housekeeper had just pulled out of the oven.
"Bye, Aurora," Vivian said sarcastically as they disappeared through the doorway.
As soon as Arach and Aurora were gone, the rest of the men dissipated until only Vivian and Cade were left in the room. They stood staring at each other from opposite sides of the table, the quiet building awkwardly between them. Despite his unpleasantness and the obvious disdain he felt for his new role as her protector, there was something about Cade that made Vivian's heart beat a little faster when his eyes met hers.
"I'll go pack. Meet me here in twenty minutes," Cade said, turning to the door to leave before she could even respond.
"Pack?" Vivian asked, running around the corner of the table in an attempt to stop him.
"Do you know of any all-night bridal shops that you can visit to cross all the items off your wedding responsibility list?" he asked.
"No."
"Then I'm assuming you will want to get some sleep before taking care of everything tomorrow. If Arach wants me to stay with you, that means that whole time, so I'm going to go pack while you sit here and figure out the sleeping arrangements.
Vivian sat down hard in the chair beside her as Cade stepped out of the room, shifting instantly back into the dark green dragon as he made his way down the corridor. She stayed in the same position until Cade came back in the room. He had a leather satchel around his neck and he stared at Vivian expectantly from the doorway. When she didn't move, he made a sharp gesture with his head and stepped backwards out of the room, the massive size of his shoulders and folded wings making it impossible for him to turn around to leave.
Vivian stood and followed him, feeling more of a pull toward him the longer they were near each other. When they made it outside, Cade led her to a large open area to the back of the house and lowered his neck to the ground. Vivian tilted her head questioningly at him, unsure of the meaning behind the gesture. He waited for a few seconds, and then lifted his head to approach her. She shivered slightly as he came up beside her, close enough that his smooth, warm skin brushed against her leg, and then she felt him tuck his head behind the backs of her thighs. In one swift motion, he flung her into the air and onto his back.
