He looked skeptical, but turned his back to them and lifted his shirt. Logan felt nauseous. There, right dead center of Darien’s back was the strange spiral symbol Lucy had drawn on him. Like a spiral of barbed wire… Only it wasn’t in blue ink, or even black. Actually, it was glowing like a red, hot iron. There was no way that it could have been any kind of drawing or trick. Logan’s mind went back to the medieval combat lesson. Darien had hit the center of every target with every weapon he had tried… And he’d said he had no experience whatsoever… He swallowed. No way. There was no way any of this could really be feasible… But even as his mind thought it, his heart protested. His heart wanted to believe.
“Holy crap,” Darien whispered as he looked down at his back over his shoulder. “Are you friggin’ kidding me?” He turned to Willow, his face pallid. “Are you friggin’ kidding me?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not. Now, please, come with me. I promise everything will be explained to you, but we have to go. Follow me.”
Logan stopped protesting and followed after Willow and Darien, who was practically running. She led them to a tree that looked like every other tree in the area, except his nauseous feeling got a little worse and then, suddenly, one second he was staring at Oregon landscape with Oregon forest, and the next he was surrounded by huge, monolithic trees with thick, dense foliage that blocked out the sun except for in small patches. And the forest floor was covered in moss. He blinked rapidly and let out a surprised shout, stumbling backwards until his back was against one of the enormous tree trunks. He squeezed his eyes shut as his head spun and his heart raced. “This isn’t possible,” he muttered. “It isn’t logical. This is a trick. It has to be.”
“Logan—”
His eyes flew open and he held his hands out to Willow, who was approaching. “Get away from me!” he shouted. “I don’t know what you are, I don’t know what this is, but I want out of it right now!” His head spun like he was on a sickening carnival ride and he closed his eyes. His breath was coming in short, shallow gasps and he didn’t feel like he could get enough air even if someone hooked him up to an oxygen pump.
“I think he’s having a panic attack,” Darien commented.
He heard Willow sigh. “I’m not surprised. Logan!” Her footsteps came closer and he opened his eyes to fend her off, but she placed one hand square on his chest before he could do anything and looked him straight in the eye. “Dragon warrior, be still!” she commanded.
Air rushed into Logan’s lungs and the nauseating, head-spinning feeling dissipated almost as quickly as it had come. It was replaced by warm tranquility that flowed through him in comforting waves. He looked up at Willow in question, still mortified despite the otherwise calm feeling that invaded his body. “How did you do that?” he rasped. He shook his head. “I feel like I have two different things living inside my body.” He leaned his head back against the tree trunk.
“You do,” she said softly. “Logan, the Alveda d’Kai blood in you was dormant until Cyrcinus attacked you in that dream. Your instincts awakened to protect you. Now, your human mind is trying to put all of this into its logical place when there is no logical place. The human mind is limited, it’s factual. Your mind doesn’t want to accept this, but your heart,” she placed her hand gently over where his heart was pounding, “embraces it.”
Logan gave her a weary, pained expression before he turned his attention to Darien. “You just blindly accept all of this?”
He approached and put his hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Haven’t you always felt different than everyone else? Out of place? Even among my friends, who I adore, I feel different. I need to know why. I need to know what that means.”
Logan blinked. “But-But—” He huffed. “It doesn’t make sense! Fairies in the human world! Humans who are half dragon warrior whatever! A mythical world existing beyond the borders of a tourist attraction!” He flung his hands in the air. “Beautiful women who try to assassinate you with a kiss! What kind of jacked up nightmare is this?”
Darien gently nudged Willow out of the way and he took Logan by the shoulders. “There are things in this world we have no clue about, Logan,” he said seriously. “We think we’re the be all and the end all. We’re not. Is it scary to suddenly wander right through a portal and end up in a weird forest?” He snorted. “Yeah, it’s friggin’ freaky! But do you want to spend the rest of your life wondering why, no matter what you do or who you’re with, you never feel at ease?”
Logan’s heart skipped a beat and he swallowed. Darien had hit the nail right on the head. That was how he’d felt every day of his life since he’d been a kid. He heaved a huge, defeated sigh.
Darien gave his shoulders a squeeze. “Come on, man. Apparently, whether we like it or not, there’s something strange going on with us. We managed to get lucky enough to be at the same place at the same time when it happened. That means we don’t have to go through it by ourselves. We’re in this together. So let’s go find out what it is we’re dealing with… Okay?”
Logan lifted his eyes to Darien’s and affection for the kid filled his heart. Darien had a father like he had. He’d had to endure the same cruel treatment… How had he come out so much better of a person? He sighed and gave a weary nod. “Okay… Fine.” He looked up at Willow. “Lead on.”
Chapter Fifteen
Maybe it was because he’d almost been poisoned and was still trying to recover. Maybe it was because he’d just suffered a shock unlike any other he’d experienced in his life. Or maybe it was just the simple fact that something inside of him felt more relaxed and at home in the strange forest where the Avari resided than ever before. Whatever the reason, he found the fireflies that twinkled in the forest clearing where he currently sat very peaceful and soothing.
Logan glanced over at Darien, who sat beside him and stared at the fireflies with the same rapt attention and whimsical expression. He sighed. Darien… Half-brother… He closed his eyes and tried to will some sort of tranquility to steal into his turbulent soul. His body may have felt relaxed and at home, but his mind was chaos.
Willow had led them into her village, a tribal-like setting nestled amongst the trees. Most everything was made of tents and ropes save the Royal House, where Willow and her brother lived. That looked more like a 1700’s style fort not unlike the ones assembled in the days of America’s early history. It was there that Logan and Darien had been introduced to Tiyenen, Willow’s younger brother, who Logan, despite the circumstances, had actually really liked. Tall, sandy-haired and lighthearted, the man had been easy to smile and quick with his wit.
He’d also dropped the greatest bomb that Logan had ever received. His father and Darien’s father were one in the same. He and his sister were half dragon warrior. Darien was the much coveted mixed blood that Lucy had spoken of. The best of both. Strong, determined, dominant, but caring and kind.
Logan didn’t even know how to process the information he had been given. He was half of a race that was called dragon warriors because of the close tie they’d once had with the mythical beasts. In the days of old, they’d apparently lived with the dragons as one people. They’d protected one another and fought alongside one another, man and dragon working as one unbeatable force. And then, over time, the dragons died off, leaving the Alveda d’Kai on their own… Until Cyrcinus had killed them too. Now, Logan and Darien were all that was left, aside from their terrible father, and that, of course, put them in great danger.
Logan was irritated that he’d apparently gotten no special abilities aside from way too much testosterone and psychotic instincts that made him sleepwalk, growl and feel like he was losing his mind. If he had to be some sort of mythical creature, he should at least be able to do something cool.
“So…” Darien said suddenly. “I guess you’re my brother, huh?”
Logan looked over at him. He was still gazing at the fireflies. “Yeah…” He made a face. “Sorry about that. Wish you could have gotten stuck with a better rel
ation.”
To his surprise, Darien looked over at him and grinned. “Gimme a break, Logan.”
Logan raised an eyebrow.
Darien chuckled. “Disturbing as it is, it’s not really that weird when you think about it.”
He blinked. No, no, it was pretty weird when he thought about it. Actually, weird was an enormous understatement. “I think I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one,” he muttered.
Darien smiled. “All I mean is that, as much as I would have hated to admit this last week, we do have some similarities.” He shrugged. “Hey, at least we know that there aren’t two people like our dad in the world. That’s a consolation.”
Logan forced a smile, but he didn’t really feel that much better. Sure, they knew now that their terrible fathers actually happened to be the same terrible father, but all that did was reassure Logan that he really was an awful excuse for a human being. Darien had been raised under the same abusive circumstances and he’d turned out so much better than Logan could have even hoped to be at his age. At eighteen, he’d already been in more fights than he could count and had mastered the skill of feeling nothing real. Darien was who he was and he stood up for his right to be that person. Logan had never had that kind of courage.
It made him feel even worse to know that, now that he was experiencing the entire spectrum of emotions without a choice, he had no idea how to handle any of them. He felt like his mind was spinning at high velocity and at least seventy-five percent of him still believed this was all some sort of delusional nightmare.
“Darien,” he said quietly, “how can you just accept all of this? Doesn’t it seem outrageous to you?”
Darien slid him a mischievous half-smile. “Are you kidding me? This is awesome. It’s like I fell into a live action RPG, but it’s not a game. It’s real…” He shook his head. “It’s hard for me to explain, but I always felt so out of place in everything. Here, I feel like I fit. Even though it’s crazy. Even though it seems like it should be impossible. Right now I’m sitting here and I feel like this is where I’m meant to be. It’s like my heart recognizes this place.”
Logan snorted. He completely understood what Darien said and it freaked him out on the highest level. His heart felt at peace too, even though his mind was in the worst kind of tumult. He shook his head. “Maybe you’re more accepting because you’re actually part fairy.” He shot him a glance. “I’m fifty percent skeptical human.”
Darien smiled. “That probably has something to do with it.”
Logan watched the fireflies sparkle like glitter in the twilight for a moment longer before he lowered his gaze to the moss-covered forest floor. “What are we supposed to do now?” he murmured.
Darien frowned. “What do you mean?”
Logan threw his hands up in the air. “Like we have a crazy fairy queen hell bent on revenge coming after us! Like we’re never going to be able to go back to living normal lives after this!” That thought scared him to death. So much so that his chest started to feel tight again like it had when he’d first gone through the portal. He liked his predictable life. He’d been happy being ignorant. All of this was so far out of his thought process. He tangled his fingers in his hair and braced his elbows on his knees. “Holy crap, I think I’m losing my mind,” he grumbled.
Soft footfalls came towards them through the trees and Willow suddenly appeared in the clearing. She stopped in front of them, but Logan didn’t look up. He only knew it was her because he recognized her shoes.
“How are you two doing?” she asked, her voice full of so much concern that it made Logan want to run away and surround himself with something entirely male. Shooting. Hunting. Fishing. Extreme sports. Anything normal. Anything from his world. Anything that wasn’t an Avari fairy.
“I’m okay,” Darien replied, “but I…” He cleared his throat. “Logan’s having a rough time, I think.”
Willow sighed. “I’m not surprised… The people are having a feast tonight. Tiyenen, being that he can never keep his mouth shut, told everyone in the village that the last two Alveda d’Kai warriors had returned to us. So…the people are basically having a huge party. You’re both the guests of honor.”
Logan squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that if he closed them hard enough, he could will everything to disappear altogether.
He heard Darien stand. “All right, I guess that means I should make an appearance?”
“If you feel comfortable.”
Darien chuckled. “Yeah, Miss Willow, I feel more than comfortable… I feel like I’m home.” His footsteps started to head back towards the village. “Oh, Miss Willow. What about the others back at camp?”
“I sent a message to Counselor John that we would be gone for the night and back in the morning. I told him to tell your friends.”
“But what did you tell them we were doing?”
Willow sighed. “I didn’t say. I didn’t know what to say. I just wanted them to know we were safe.”
“Oh… All right. I wish they could be here right now. They’d all be getting a huge kick out of this… Especially Lucy.” He didn’t say anymore and continued back towards the village.
Logan became aware of Willow’s presence beside him. “Logan,” she said softly. “Are you all right?” Her arm came around his shoulders.
He swallowed, still keeping his eyes downcast. “I am about as far from all right as you can imagine,” he rasped. “I just found out I have a brother, that I’m only half human, that my brother isn’t human at all… Oh, not to mention I was the target of an assassination attempt. I still can’t quite get over that one.” He raised his head and stared into the forest. “I honestly believe that you might have even had better results if you’d told me I was an alien.”
Her smile was sympathetic and she reached up to brush back a strand of his hair. “I understand that this must be so overwhelming for you.”
He shook his head. “Willow, I have absolutely no idea who I am.” He met her eyes. “What am I supposed to do with that? I’ve been me for twenty-nine years. Now, I’m…” He held his hands out helplessly. “I don’t even know.”
“You’re still you, Logan,” she said.
He let out a frustrated snarl. “No, I’m not. I haven’t been me since that day Lucy talked to me. It all started then, this dissemblance of my character. It’s not just finding out that fairies really do exist. It’s not just finding out that there is more to the world that I originally thought. Okay, yeah, that’s hard enough to wrap my mind around, but Willow,” he looked her straight in the eye, “that is nothing compared to having everything you’ve ever been, every wall of protection you’ve ever put around yourself, get completely obliterated before you can even comprehend what’s happening. I’ve had no time to prepare. I’ve had no time to adjust. Everything I thought I knew about myself and my life was blown up and now I’m standing naked in the midst of the devastation, being forced to build a whole new person from nothing.” He shook his head. “I’m so lost and, yet…” He snorted because none of it made any sense. “Yet, some part of me, deep inside, feels like Darien. Like I’m supposed to be here.” He hung his head again, feeling lost and sick and really alone.
He closed his eyes when he felt Willow’s fingers trails through his hair. Something about that was so soothing. He expected her to give him a huge lecture telling him why he shouldn’t feel the way he was feeling, but she didn’t. She just moved closer, stroked his hair with one hand and reached down to take his hand in the other.
“Be still,” she whispered against his ear. “Be still, dragon warrior.”
That calming sensation filled him again, the waves of warm contentment. He had no idea how she did that, but it was the final straw. Her care did him in. His fingers tightened over hers and he pulled his knees up, resting his forehead against them. It wasn’t dramatic in any sense, but silent, somber tears escaped his eyes. It should have been humiliating to cry. He hadn’t cried since he was five. It should have made him
feel weak, but it didn’t. It actually felt very therapeutic, like a long overdue release.
He was grateful that Willow didn’t make a big deal out of it. She just continued to caress his hair and she rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know you that well, Logan,” she whispered, “and when I met you I couldn’t stand you, but I’ll tell you what I know. I know that the man I met was not the real you, even if he was the you you’ve been for the last twenty-nine years. I know that the man deep inside you is strong, very strong, and that once the shock from this wears off, you will be spectacular.”
He gave a soft chuckle and reached up to wipe at his eyes. “Yeah? How do you know that?”
“I just feel it. You may have spent your life acting like a tough guy to prove that you’re strong, but I sense a different and much more powerful kind of strength in you. It’s in here.” She touched his chest where his heart was. “Embrace that and you’ll be unstoppable.”
He slid his gaze to meet hers. “Embrace my inner dragon warrior?” His voice was dry and mocking. He didn’t know how else to be.
She smirked and took his face in both of her hands. “No, Logan. Embrace the man you’ve always wanted to be, but stifled. Embrace you.”
Her words shot straight to the core of him and he reached out to pull her to him, burying his nose in her fiery hair. She smelled like wildflowers, so free, so untamed. It made him burn. “Thank you,” he whispered. He pulled back and stared down at her, letting his fingers trail along her jaw. “I was wrong about you too, Willow. First impressions are not always correct.”
She laughed a little. “I believe I can agree with that.”
He arched an eyebrow and stood, offering her his hand. When she took it he pulled her up and against him, drawling a startled gasp from her that made him grin. “Does that mean you can get rid of the buzzards in that fantasy of yours then?”
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