by Khloe Wren
"You look really good in this dress. I love seeing you in our colors, beautiful."
She made a small noise but didn't say anything.
"I won't push you to talk, but know you can tell me anything. Whenever you're ready, I'll be here for you."
He felt her fingertip trace the dragon that adorned his chest, but she remained silent.
Zane, I need to go prepare the clinic. Skye's fallen down a ravine and is unconscious.
Will you need me to assist?
His brother glanced at Binda, who was now dozing against him, with a wince.
It will be much quicker if you could.
Zane nodded. They'd always worked as a team, especially on big cases involving complex injuries, which Skye would have after falling like that. Zane rose smoothly and gently settled Binda into the seat. She was so cute when she was all sleepy. He kissed her forehead whispering that Skye had been found and he'd be back soon. Forcing his feet to take him out of the room was one of the hardest things he'd ever done.
The entire time he worked with Baxter to help Skye, his chest ached. He felt terrible for promising to always be there for Binda, then not long after abandoning her. As soon as they had Skye’s injuries assessed and treated, he left Baxter to monitor her. With Skye having hit her head, she needed to be watched by a healer until she fully woke up. At that point they would see what the damage was and move on from there.
Baxter, I'm going back to Binda. I can't do any more here.
Okay. Good idea. I'll get away as soon as I can.
Zane slipped quietly back into the library, but the seat was empty. He did a quick search, but Binda wasn't here. He went back out into the hallway and headed for their chambers. Maybe she'd realized how tired she was and went for a nap. It didn't take him long to reach their rooms or to search each one. She wasn't here. With his instincts firing and panic beginning to set in, he racked his mind for where else she could have gone.
He sprinted to the Dining Hall hoping she was there. He arrived to find the room half filled with warriors but no females.
"You okay, Zane?"
"No, Diego. Have you seen Binda?"
"She came in a while ago, loaded up a plate and left. We assumed she was going to back to you and Baxter."
Zane began thinking aloud, hoping by voicing things he could work out where to look next. "She was in the library sleeping when Skye was brought in. Now, I can't find her. She wouldn't have left the castle. She doesn't know that the rogues are all dead."
Diego cleared his throat roughly. "I think she does, Zane. We were talking about it when she came in. Sorry."
Baxter! Binda is gone.
Zane gripped Diego's shoulder. "It's not your fault. We'll find her. She's touched both Baxter and me in dragon form, so it shouldn't take long."
He turned to go outside but stopped as Baxter came running down the hallway.
"What do you mean gone? I was just coming to have dinner with you both. It'll be dark soon."
"I'm going to shift and go get her. Shouldn't take long."
Baxter sighed. He knew as well as Zane that they couldn't both leave.
"I'm starting to think we need to tie up all five of these females. For their safety and our sanity."
Zane couldn't agree more but didn't waste time with more words. Even with all the rogue dragons taken care of, he didn't like her off on her own. He couldn't help the injuries that kept coming in, or the fact he and Baxter were obligated to attend to them.
Once outside he flashed to his dragon and instantly sensed her presence. Her emotions were conflicted, and frustration and worry came through strongly to him. He frowned. She'd shut all her emotions down earlier and was battling hard to keep them that way. What had triggered her? Had she started opening up to the idea of accepting them, then gotten angry when she woke alone?
Quickly he flew to where he sensed she was. He landed some distance from her, so he could flash to human form without alerting her to his presence. His nerves calmed as he walked toward the cliff top where he could make out her form sitting and looking out over the land. He sighed in relief. She was safe.
As he got closer, the scent of honey hit him on a strong breeze. Fear froze the blood in his veins. No. The Goddess wouldn't! He began to run and skidded to a halt as he saw Binda become surrounded by the Great Wind. She'd stood up, and he caught a glimpse of her panicked face as she saw him. As the wind picked up speed and collected more debris from the ground, he could no longer see her, but he saw when the lightning started sparking. He heard her scream as it must have struck her. His need to protect his Desired took over, and he threw himself forward to try to break through the wall of wind. She couldn't be gone. The Goddess wouldn't be so cruel as to give him and Baxter their Desired, just to rip her away from them.
With his instincts screaming at him to protect his Desired, he attempted to pass through the fast spinning wind. He didn't see the lightning strike, but he felt the force of it hit him. He tried to scream out to Baxter for help, but he slipped into darkness before he could.
****
Binda woke with a gasp and sat up from where she'd been lying. She frowned as she looked around. There was a sky-blue mist surrounding the space she was in. She couldn't tell where the walls ended and the ceiling started—or even if she where she was in fact a room. She glanced down at her hands to see them resting on smooth timber. Each piece of wood had been perfectly crafted into a hexagon shape, and they all rested together to make the mosaic flooring. The rich brown color had been buffed to a high gloss. It reminded her of dragon scales. Guilt swamped her as she thought of what Zane had looked like as the Great Wind took her.
She'd not been asleep as he'd thought when he and Baxter had left her yet again. They'd worn down her resistance to them with their promises and lovely words. Then left her alone. Again. Unable to deal with the emotions that were threatening to break free from her hold on them, she buried herself in the book. She'd not really paid attention until she got to the chapter on the Great Wind. Turned out, anyone could summon the Great Wind. Well, anyone that could handle the requirements. One must be pure of heart, as ill intent will cause the wind to flee. To seat thyself as close to the Goddess as thou can be, thou must empty thy mind and seek the Goddess's assistance.
It hadn't said how to control where it took you. Which she found interesting. Maybe it took you to the place you held in your mind as you called out. She also wondered how the liaths had managed to use the Great Wind as their intent had been pure evil. The text had gone on to say things like going barefoot while wearing her family's colors and bearing gifts would also help sway the Goddess to help.
At that point she’d started planning. Initially her homesickness had her wanting to return to Earth, but she couldn’t do that. Despite her efforts to remain unfeeling toward Baxter and Zane, she cared for them. There was also the fact that back on Earth she’d have to deal with Dean’s stalkerish ways once more while her closest friends were all here in Feury. No, she definitely wanted to stay here.
That got her thinking about how she could help make life better here. She wondered if she could call out to the Goddess herself, instead of a place. If she could get the Goddess to agree to use the Great Wind to bring some doctors from Earth, that would ease the load on her men a lot quicker than if they had to train up younger warriors from scratch, and that would help the entire clan, especially her friends, by having human medical experts close by.
Already barefoot and wearing a dress in the colors of the dragons who’d claimed her as theirs, she'd headed to the dining hall. She'd cornered one of the younger men and asked where things like honey were stored. The poor man hadn't known what to do with a female talking to him at first but soon opened up and told her. He'd also bragged to her that all the rogues were now dead. Feeling relieved she'd be safe on her little adventure, she'd prepared herself a plateful of food and had taken it with her when she left. She hadn't wanted to cause alarm by leaving without dinner. She did
n’t want to tell anyone about her plans yet, not until she knew if she could actually call the Great Wind to her or if the Goddess would be willing to help. She didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, or be barred from trying to help by these overprotective warriors.
It didn't take her long to gather apples and some honey before she'd snuck out of the castle. Finding the cliff had taken longer, but the walk had been refreshing. By the time she'd sat down, her mind was clear of all things but her need to help. She'd laid out her offerings, closed her eyes, and sent out her request.
By the time she caught a whiff of honey and felt the breeze pick up she sensed someone behind her. She stood as the wind began circling her and saw Zane running toward her. He'd come for her. Despite Skye being injured and needing him and Baxter, he'd left to look for her. They truly would put her first. She wished she’d thought to leave a note explaining what she was trying to do. If the Great Wind didn’t take her to the Goddess she’d have lost her men and best friends forever. The raw agony in his features was the last thing she'd seen before being struck by lightning.
Her focus returned to trying to work out where she was now. It certainly wasn't anywhere in Australia, or Earth for that matter.
"No, child. You are not on Earth. Or the Land of Feury."
The blood drained from Binda's face as she turned her face toward the strong feminine voice. Had it really worked?
"Oh wow. Um. Goddess?"
The woman before her was beyond stunning. Her golden skin seemed to glow. She wore a jeweled belt that had a length of sheer white material hanging down to the floor at the front and back, leaving the sides of her legs bare to her waist. A simple white halter top barely covered her breasts, and bolts of white material hung from bands around her upper arms to brush the floor. Looking into her black irises was strangely comforting. Binda moved to kneel, facing the woman who'd yet to answer her.
With a slight nod of her head and a small smile the Goddess spoke. "Yes, I am the one the Warriors call Goddess. Tell me why you called on me and my Great Wind. I've not had anyone call for such a long time."
Binda wanted to choose her words carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was offend the Goddess.
"The dragons fear your Great Wind, Goddess. After the liaths used it to come and kill all their females, none of them wanted to know anything about it."
The Goddess closed her eyes, and a single tear left her right eye. As it dripped from her chin it transformed into a bee that flew to rest on her shoulder.
"The liaths never could accept their place. They used trickery to gain the control of the wind. When I felt the call, I looked down and saw a young child, her mind pure and kind. She seemed to be lost from her parents and wanting the wind to take her to them. I sent the Great Wind to her. If only I'd delved deeper I would have seen that the child's parents had been taken by the evil ones who wanted to take over Feury. They took her place as the wind arrived. They were quick, and I couldn't stop them in time."
"They killed the child?"
Binda was shocked that anyone could do such a thing, although considering what they went on to do it shouldn't surprise her.
"Yes. She is here in Neamh now. So few liaths make it here, but she is happy now with her parents."
Oh hell, they killed her parents, too?
"I hope I never meet any of these liaths."
The Goddess smiled gently. "Fear not. There are none left now. Through their own selfishness and greed their species died out years ago."
"You didn't try to save them?"
A sad smile graced her lips. "Early on I tried, but it was clear they would never learn. It saddened me to see them perish, but they refused to listen so I could do nothing."
Binda frowned as she thought about the dragons. Not only did they need more medical aid, but they also needed more females.
"What about the dragons? They didn't do anything wrong and lost all their women. With only us five, they will still die out."
The Goddess moved to stand in front of her and stroked her hand down Binda's hair. With that one touch her mind was filled with visions of her time on Feury. She’d been so selfish and hurt everyone. Looking on from above she saw how hurt her friends were when she sat at the other end of the table for breakfast. Time and again she’d pushed her men away, hurting them each time.
“I didn’t mean to, Goddess. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, especially not those I care about.”
Binda looked up through her tears into the Goddess’s black gaze, and the shelf in her mind shattered, releasing all her emotions at once. With an agonized scream she fell to the floor.
****
Night fell, and still Baxter had no word from Zane. He was more than a little concerned, but Skye had woken and required his attention.
"So how bad am I?"
He moved to stand at the end of her bed.
"Let's start at the bottom and work our way up. You've badly twisted your left ankle, and your left knee cap has been knocked hard enough to make it loose. Both those injuries will need to remain strapped for some time. Your right leg escaped with only some bruises and scrapes. Your ribs are bruised, not broken, so it's going to hurt to breathe for a while but they'll heal up fine. Your right wrist is fractured. I've set it, and we'll have to keep an eye on it as it heals. Your left shoulder has a nasty cut, which required stitches. You'll need those out in another couple of days. Thankfully, your spine is fine. You've got a nasty bump on your forehead, which is the cause of your memory lapses. Due to your concussion you're going to have to be closely watched for the next day or so. You've been unconscious for just over a full day, and we need to be sure your condition doesn't worsen. The scans didn't show any internal bleeding or brain swelling, but we can't be too careful."
Skye really was lucky to not have done more permanent damage—like break her neck—with the fall she'd had.
"Can she leave the clinic yet?"
He turned to respond to Calix. "Skye needs to be on bed rest for the next day, but she can do that in your chambers just fine. I'll come and check on her in the morning to make sure she's progressing as expected."
"Excellent. Let's go."
Baxter stood back as the clinic emptied. He called out to his brother again telepathically and received no response. Something was very wrong.
Dimitri, Binda went missing earlier this afternoon, and Zane went after her. I've not heard from him, and I can't get a telepathic response.
Meet me in the foyer, Baxter. I'm on my way.
Baxter rushed out of the clinic to meet with his clan leader. When he reached the foyer, Dimitri stood with not only Max and Eilagh but with a dozen other warriors.
"With it being dark we need to be quick about locating both of them. Baxter, the other warriors will follow your lead. Please keep me informed of your progress, and we will wait here for your return. I understand Skye is awake and with her males, so you can focus completely on your family."
With a nod Baxter raced from the castle, his throat too dry to speak. The sour feeling in his stomach was worsening with every breath he took. With a flash he was in dragon form and tried to find either his brother or his Desired. He couldn't feel Binda at all, and that had him feeling woozy from fear and dread. Zane's presence was weak, but he could feel him well enough to locate him.
I can't sense Binda, but Zane is weak and on the cliffs to the west.
He'd sent the message to everyone near him and didn't wait for a response before he took flight. Please Goddess, let Zane and Binda be alive. Anything else I can fix. Just let them both be breathing.
Fortunately, it didn't take Baxter long to find his brother’s unconscious form lying atop the cliff. He landed and flashed to human as he ran to him. Fear had numbed his body by the time he dropped to Zane’s side.
"Zane? Can you hear me?"
Zane looked as if he slept. No obvious physical wounds were anywhere on his body, and his pants were completely intact. With no signs of having been in any ki
nd of struggle Baxter looked around the area. One of the other dragons lit up a tree which was standing away from the forest. It offered light, without risk of causing a wildfire. Baxter stood and walked around the cliff top. He stopped dead when he saw the perfect circle carved into the dirt near Zane's body.
He shook his head. "No. No, this can't be right."
But it had to be. There was really only one explanation. The Great Wind had taken Binda, and Zane had been struck by its lightning while trying to prevent her leaving. Baxter’s chest ached, and his soul felt like it was bleeding out. Numbly he flashed to dragon and carefully picked up his brother. The flight to the castle was silent, and no one disturbed him as he landed in the courtyard. Dimitri approached him and took Zane from his arms to allow him to flash to human.
"It can't be without reason, Baxter."
He knew Dimitri had been told by the others what they'd found, but he couldn't muster the energy to acknowledge Dimitri’s sympathy. He took the heavy weight of his brother back in his arms and entered the castle heading to their chambers.
He chose to lay his brother on the bed in the master bedroom. The sheets still held Binda's dewberry scent. Baxter lay beside him and let go of his control. Tears rolled down his face as his heart broke. They’d tried to make her a priority, but maybe they hadn’t done enough. Had she felt so neglected she called on the Goddess to take her away from them?
Baxter didn't know how either he or Zane were going to survive the loss.
****
Binda had lain curled up on the floor sobbing for what felt like hours. Each emotion she'd bottled up had demanded she deal with it. Now she was exhausted. She pushed herself to her hands and knees before she opened her eyes. The room began buzzing as she'd moved, and now she saw why. There were probably thousands of bees in the room with her and the Goddess. She gazed up at the Goddess in confusion.
"Why?"
Her voice was hoarse from crying so much.
"The bees are here to protect us both. They easily sense emotional turmoil. And fear not, they will not ever sting you. As to why I freed your mind, you needed to let it all go to move forward."
