“So what’s next?” Sabrina asked quietly, watching the huge, unyielding man cradle Sarah’s bird-like body in his arms. Even the wind witch, with all of her anti-dragon sentiment, seemed moved by the spectacle and Amber had to admit another tear eased its way down her already damp cheek at the sight.
The earth witch’s voice was firm, though, when she replied. “Next, Thea and I go back down to the ground so you can take Sarah home. I’m sure Nicholas would rather his mother recuperate in her own bed.”
“And leave you here alone?” The captain raised one eyebrow in question. “You’re sure you don’t want to be ferried back to Greenwich instead? I’d even go dragon hunting with you if that’s what you prefer.”
For a moment, the idea of a quest in search of the golden beast sparked Amber’s imagination. She’d find him hidden on a high mountaintop where the Green couldn’t encroach. He’d enfold her in warm arms, would thank her when she offered the cure for his Fade. Together they’d fly off into the sunset and live happily ever after....
But Amber hadn’t yet found an antidote. Instead, she’d nearly gotten Zane’s brother and mother killed, had actually been instrumental in the death of his sibling. Why would her lover want to see such a bringer of trouble ever again?
So she shook her head even as she brushed the cobwebs of dreams out of her mind. “I appreciate the offer, but...no.” She hesitated, then added. “I could use some supplies, though. Maybe if you come back in a couple of months I’ll have gotten my dragon-zapping plant trained to the point where you could take cuttings and spread them around. Do you think any human villages need a buffer against both shifters and Green, enough to make it worth your while to add me to your route...?”
Amber forced herself to stop rambling and held her breath instead. Sabrina would surely decline. Would say that the former had pushed too far, had offered too little in return.
As if proving that exact point, a breeze blew in out of nowhere. The gust cast curls astray and signaled the wind witch’s agitation, prompting Amber to open her mouth in preparation for taking back her greedy request.
Sabrina beat her to the punch, though. After glancing in Nicholas’s direction, the captain leaned in closer so no pesky shifter could overhear. “That plant’s worth a fortune. Promise me cuttings and I’ll leave you with everything you need now and will still be eternally in your debt.”
Chapter 32
Amber’s descent back into the impatient grasp of Electra didn’t go nearly as smoothly as her departure. Part of the slowdown was due to the captain’s gift of a profusion of bins, barrels, and bags containing every possible supply required to turn an abandoned laboratory into a working research station and home. And part of the problem was Thea’s exuberant pleasure at being reunited with her mistress...and that same goat’s abject terror upon being suspended in midair with only a small wooden pallet beneath her feet.
But the biggest stumbling block was that Sabrina was forced to emulate a non-magical airship captain now that Nicholas was awake. So goat, passenger, and cargo were all lowered down from the dirigible’s deck an inch at a time using nothing but pulleys and ropes.
Electra, for her part, was remarkably well behaved. Sentient plant accepted the presence of captain and sailors alike after one questioning “Your people?” then ferried supplies to the laboratory door so quickly she spooked most of the humans involved. Meanwhile, the vegetative being sent a single questing tendril back up an anchoring cable toward the ship to poke at Nicholas’s abruptly cowering presence until Amber called her companion back to heel.
“He’s friendly, but I think you’ll kill him if you touch him,” she explained to the bower of greenery that dogged her every step.
Between Thea and Electra, Amber began to feel a bit like velcro—unnaturally attractive to both plant matter and beast. Luckily, her comrades turned out to be excellent foils for each other in the long run. Thea soon discovered that XM1007 tasted nearly as good as honeysuckle, while the plant stopped complaining about caprine nibblings after learning fertilizer came out the hind end. As a result, now Amber possessed two loyal companions rather than one.
Still, her stomach twinged as she said final farewells and waved Sabrina back aboard ship. In fact, Amber had to plant her feet with an effort to prevent herself from running to catch the ascending platform as the final round of sailors returned to the Intrepid’s gently bobbing deck. And when the airship rose at last to disappear amid puffy nimbus clouds, the earth witch turned away rather than watch each agonizing mile separate her further from the only people remaining in her life.
“Well, I guess it’s time to see if busy hands will fill my mind.” There definitely was plenty of work to be done. So Amber spent all morning sorting supplies then setting up a solar panel on the roof to charge the tablet Nicholas hadn’t requested be returned. After that, there were seeds to be started and data to be entered, a goat head to scratch and plants to tend. It would be enough.
It had to be enough.
By the time afternoon heat descended into evening chill, Amber was still stringing pipework from artesian well to laboratory door. She was so engrossed in the task, in fact, that she initially shook off Electra’s attention-getting grip. “Let me finish this up, then I’ll do whatever you need,” the earth witch murmured absently.
“Your dragon,” the plant rebutted.
Amber sighed. She’d been trying to explain to Electra why Zane’s image kept popping into her mind at random intervals, why a golden dragon and a golden man merged into a memory of heat and passion that brought tears to her eyes. But the plant had trouble understanding the concept of past and future, so that clarification hadn’t been as edifying as it should have been.
“I know it’s confusing. I’ll tell you more about my dragon later.” She gritted her teeth and forced rough plastic pipe over smooth plastic fitting. At least Electra didn’t possess the same deep-seated aversion to man-made materials as the Green did. Back home—back in Greenwich—the task would have been doubly as hard. Amber figured she should definitely be counting her blessings.
But her current floral companion wouldn’t let the issue go. “Your dragon,” Electra broadcast again, this time at twice the internal volume.
Almost there.... Then the pipe popped back off its connector, scratching Amber’s face as the sawed end whipped out of her hand and thunked back down to land atop recently dug soil. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t quite there yet after all.
Only when Thea began to scream her Nubian howl of joy or terror or random mixed-up emotion did Amber glance away from her work at long last. Sabrina had left behind a couple of plastic buckets, so maybe the best solution was just to ferry water by hand for the next little while rather than trying to pipe liquid into the lab itself....
All thoughts of plumbing fled from her mind, though, as yet another flier filled the sky. This one was so close, Amber could discern individual belly scales as he labored toward her. The golden platelets were dimmed by exhaustion, or evening...or perhaps by incipient Fade.
“Zane!”
Amber stumbled over her own feet as she ran across uneven ground. Then she forced herself to halt and tap into the surrounding greenery instead. “Electra, don’t touch him. This is my dragon. My dragon. Please...!”
But the force of floral nature was already reaching skyward. Curious but also protective, the plant formerly known as XM1007 lashed out, seeking what must have appeared to be a new and dangerous invader.
And rather than pushing higher to escape the sharp branch’s approach, Zane mantled his wings, banked his fire, and plummeted directly into Electra’s waiting twigs.
***
Zane’s world had turned dark and empty so long ago he couldn’t now remember the light. First came that sensation of something winking out within his chest. Next came cold. Deep, teeth-chattering chill that wracked his body so extremely that he could barely stay aloft.
Only the memory of Amber’s sweetly smiling face had given him the
strength to push himself higher. There, he rode thermals, circling endlessly until yet another impulse sent him once again into linear flight.
By that point, Zane could barely feel the sun on his skin. Knew his fire was oozing away with every wing stroke even as ash and scales flaked from his hide. It won’t be long now, he thought.
But he wasn’t willing to accept defeat. The dragon might not have actually spoken his vow aloud, but he’d promised Amber that she’d see him again. He wouldn’t leave his delectable mate dangling, wondering whether his feet had grown cold feet and he’d willingly left her to finish this journey alone.
No, Zane couldn’t see...but he could feel. The barely tangible source of warmth along his flank had to be morning sun. So if he kept that heat to his right, he’d fly north, back in the direction from which he’d come.
Eventually, the sun moved to lie directly overhead. But by that point, a spark within Zane’s own belly had picked up the trail. He could feel his lover just the way he’d once known his twin was near. Could sense Amber’s presence not so very far away.
And what he could sense, he could find.
So when plants ripped Zane out of the air, he relaxed into defeat. This was his earth witch. She wouldn’t let him come to harm. She commanded the Green, and for once the Green would save his life.
Only she sounded so very frantic as his belly scraped against the ground. “No, please, Electra, don’t!” And the jolt of pain passing through his skin and down his spine didn’t feel anything like Amber’s previous gentle healing courtesy of the Green.
Still, when he opened one tremendous draconic eye and found vision spottily returning, it was his own apple-scented earth witch hovering over his scaly snout. She didn’t appear daunted by his monstrous form, but her face was tight with worry. “Well, actually, Electra, I think that did help,” she said, her words seeming to rise up from the bottom of a very deep well. “His color’s getting a little better. Do you think you could do it again?”
Another shock of agony pulsed through his hide, but this time Zane was ready for the impact. He pulled energy inside himself rather than letting it flow around, used shock waves to kindle coals that had nearly winked out within his belly. “Again,” he said.
Or tried to say. Instead, Zane was pretty sure he merely opened his mouth and croaked like a frog. Right, dragon vocal cords. Not so good for human words.
But Amber understood. She dropped a soothing hand atop his nose for the tiniest second then turned away to guide the plant closer to the heart of his fire. “I think if you shock him down here, it’ll be more effective.”
His apple-scented mate was walking away from his ear holes. But the sounds were growing clearer now, no longer muffled by what had felt like a vast expanse of stifling water. Similarly, the day appeared to brighten even though the angle of the sun suggested the hour was growing late.
Zane had been so sure that the setting sun would mark his final hour of life. But now the Fade seemed to be fading itself, disappearing into the distance with each plant-fueled boost.
After the sixth or seventh shock, Zane shifted. He could have turned human earlier, but there were appearances to keep up, after all. No need to terrify his woman by losing wings and dropping like a stone all in the same breath. Instead, he stored up sufficient energy to make the transition properly, then man emerged from flames and pulled mate into arms all in one smooth, dance-like step.
“You came home,” Amber sniffed. Zane hadn’t realized she was crying. Hadn’t realized she knew how closely he’d danced with the Fade until he took in his lover’s red nose and jagged breathing with acute human senses. Now he regretted having made her wait for the sake of masculine pride.
“Not that this is your home.” She gulped down a sob, oozed a little mucous onto his shoulder. “But I mean...you came back to me.”
Snot and tears and other gunk rained down upon his skin. Meanwhile, Amber quivered in his arms, small and broken by the thought of losing him even though she’d apparently vanquished yet another type of plant in his absence. How could she be so beautiful while covered in slime?
“You’re wrong,” Zane said, his voice scratchy from disuse. He gently disentangled precious female form from manly embrace and held her at arm’s length so he could stare directly into anxious brown eyes. This was something Amber needed to hear with her mind as well as her heart.
“You’re wrong,” he repeated. “You’re here. You missed me. That makes this my home.”
Then he kissed a smile back onto his apple-scented earth witch’s face. He’d found her. And he planned to never let her go again.
Epilogue
Amber allowed Zane to woo her for four long months. During the day, she puttered in her spacious greenhouse—assembled by a very handy shifter—while her partner buried water lines, cooked them both dinner, and did anything else that might make their new life together both easier and more fun.
Then, as the sun dropped toward the western horizon, Electra took over goat duty while Zane shifted into draconic form and ferried Amber aloft. How had she spent so many years with feet firmly planted on the earth, never realizing the joy of swooping and soaring through the cooler air currents high above the ground? How had she spent so many frigid evenings snuggled into a solitary blanket when she could have been wreathed in borrowed fire while her shifter curled one muscular arm around her slender shoulder and shared far more than simple body heat?
Seventeen glorious weeks were a honeymoon, a season out of time. Full of sweet embraces and playful words...and even dear friends when Zane’s brothers dropped by or Electra patched through a signal from Amber’s apprentice by way of the Green.
And yet...there was still one hurdle the ex-Watcher wasn’t quite prepared to face.
She put off visiting the Aerie as long as possible. In fact, she was still puttering at tasks that didn’t need her attention long after autumn chill slowed the growth of all plantings to the point where Amber’s previously hectic schedule more closely resembled the foot-dragging of a barely ambulatory snail. When she found herself solving crossword puzzles on her tablet, though, the scientist had been forced to admit that she wasn’t really needed at the laboratory again until spring. So she’d gritted her teeth and complied with Zane’s single unfulfilled wish—to ferry her to his as-yet-unvisited home town.
“You don’t have to look so grim,” Zane purred into her ear now as he shifted from dragon to winged man midair. “They’re going to like you.”
Her dragon wouldn’t purposefully lie. And yet, Amber still cradled a potted Electra cutting against her chest for comfort and, when that didn’t prove sufficient, shrank back yet further into her shifter’s embrace. Zane might honestly think the Aerie’s inhabitants would welcome an earth witch with open arms, but Amber wasn’t so sure.
For a long moment, they hovered above Zane’s Green-strewn city while Amber hunted for an honest yet optimistic reply. She could barely make out the tips of skyscrapers in the distance, the tall buildings housing refugees from the sentient forest that continued to seek both humans and dragons with malicious intent. And while living amid people during the upcoming long, cold winter had seemed like a smart idea that morning, the sheer scale of the Aerie had her second-guessing her motives now. Perhaps Amber might better pass the time running statistical analyses or plotting out genetic selections for next year’s sprouts?
Zane chuckled against her back, then freed one hand to stroke up her neck and across her jaw. “Say the word,” he murmured, “and we’ll go back home.”
He wouldn’t even complain if she chickened out. Amber knew that already, knew that Zane would merely shrug and say, “I guess the timing wasn’t quite right.”
But they’d already been sighted. And it would be ten times worse to make this descent a second time after she’d turned tail and run.
Red dragons frolicked in the distance...red dragons and a blue beast she’d not yet met. “That’s Mason,” Zane reminded her. “He likes you a
lready from the stories he’s heard.”
Amber raised her eyebrows. “Stories he’s heard from whom? From Nicholas?”
“Among others,” her lover replied. “My brothers all think you’re the cat’s meow ever since you saved our mother’s life.”
“Hmm.” Amber was dubious that the sullen shifter had made such an abrupt about-face over the last few months. Nicholas had still seemed plenty surly on the few occasions he’d dropped by their new home. Had rolled his eyes and let his twin do most of the talking until Amber headed to the lab to give reunited brothers a little space...then heard three sets of rolling laughter drifting down the hallway in her wake.
No, Nicholas wouldn’t be thrilled that an earth witch was coming to spend the winter at his home base. But Zane wanted her there and Amber had no doubts about her own dragon’s admiration. Plus, they’d written ahead and committed, so she figured they might as well get the initial introductions over with.
And yet, the words that came out of her mouth were entirely different. “Do you think we could land on the earth first?” Amber heard her lips asking. Well, darn it. So she was a coward after all.
Still, when her dragon obeyed and set her down on leaf-strewn humus, Amber breathed a little deeper and knew she’d made the right decision. She needed this time to refill and refresh after the long hours spent in the air.
Three months earlier, the Green would have ripped at Zane’s fiery wings and ejected Amber unceremoniously from its turf. Time had healed a few wounds, though. Now, the Green pressed in around them both, trickling a stream of magic into Amber’s waiting skin. It wasn’t the same torrent she had previously been granted as the Watcher, but even this small offering was much appreciated. And every day the truce brokered between herself, Electra, and the Green became deeper and more profound.
Verdant Magic: A Standalone Dragon Shifter Adventure (Dragon Mage Chronicles Book 1) Page 21
