For the Heart of Dragons

by Julie Wetzel

  At the last moment, Byrd stretched his wings out, catching the air and aiming for the first of the large shapes. He tucked in his wings and shot through the hoop. A quick flap had them turning for the next pole.

  Noah’s mind reeled as they zipped through the obstacle course. He had flown with dragons before, but it was nothing like the thrill of wind rushing over him now. Flying on his own was exhilarating!

  As Byrd finished his first run of the course, he soared up into the air. “You fly,” he insisted and released his hold.

  Noah freaked as he was thrust into control. It had been thrilling watching as they zoomed around the course, but now it was terrifying. “I don’t know how to fly!” he screamed as he clenched his eyes shut and spread his wings out, trying to stop them from plunging to earth. The thin membranes of his wings pulled taunt, catching the wind and leveling out their fall. Noah cracked his eyes open to find they were gliding along above the course.

  A flash of red shot up from the ground. It passed so close to him that he wobbled in its wake.

  “Kara!” Byrd cried out.

  Noah glanced up at a scarlet-red dragon turning loops in the sky. Carefully, he tilted his wings and banked around towards her. A few hard flaps raised him up to her level. Once he was stable again, he watched the red dragon play.

  “Pretty,” Byrd said as they watched her twist and twirl in the air.

  “She’s beautiful,” Noah chirped in agreement. He hadn’t seen any other dragons since his vision had changed, so he was unprepared for the way the light played off her scales. Their base color was a gorgeous red, but they shimmered and sparkled in the sun. Noah knew that dragon scales had a prismatic effect to them, but seeing it with his enhanced vision was breathtaking. As he cruised past her, he banked again and set himself into a lazy circle around the area where she flew.

  After a few more flips, she leveled out and joined Noah in his holding pattern.

  Noah couldn’t help but be awed by her. Kara wasn’t much bigger than he was, but she had an extra-long tail that ended in a fringy tuft.

  “Let’s race!” she chirped before flapping hard and speeding past him. She swished her tail and swatted him with the fringy end as she passed.

  Byrd growled with excitement and shot after her.

  Noah relaxed as Byrd chased her through the twists and turns of the obstacle course. With her larger wings, she didn’t have to work too hard to keep ahead of them, but Byrd chased after her with a tenacity that kept her from slowing down.

  As they came out of the course, she flipped a loop that brought her in line above them. “Again!” she cried and turned to head backwards through the course.

  Flipping in air, Byrd took the first loop upside down as he chased her through the shapes again.

  Noah’s head spun as they raced on. The physical activity had kicked up his heart rate, but the thrill of chasing Kara heated his blood beyond words. The feelings welling up in Byrd were beyond anything Noah knew. As she flew off, the desire to chase her overwhelmed him. He needed to chase her, to catch her, to claim her. And there was nothing Noah could do to keep Byrd from doing it.

  Kara must have sensed some change in Byrd. When she hit the end of the obstacle course, instead of turning around and running it again, she shot straight up in the air as fast as she could go.

  Byrd nailed the last hoop and smacked his wings down hard, rocketing up behind her.

  With her larger wingspan, Kara pulled away from him, gaining altitude at an incredible rate.

  As they rose, the air pressure made Noah’s ears pop. He shook off the rampant emotions as warning bells rang in his mind. Memories of some science channel program filtered through his head—something about fighter pilots and rapid changes in altitude. He couldn’t remember exactly what the show had said, but he knew it was bad. Noah watched as Kara tore through a thin cloud. They had covered quite a distance, climbing straight up. His breathing grew heavier as he tried to suck in the thinning atmosphere. “Byrd!” He tried to get the dragon’s attention, but Byrd was too fixated on Kara’s form. “Byrd, stop!”

  “Mine!” Byrd cried back, chasing Kara even higher.

  Noah tried to regain control to stop the chase, but Byrd wasn’t letting go.

  Byrd chirped in glee as Kara’s wings started to slow and he started to gain on his target.

  More warnings rang in Noah’s head as they pulled closer to their goal. It wasn’t just Kara’s wings that were slowing; her head and neck were starting to droop back. Something was definitely not right.

  “Byrd! She’s hurt!”

  That got Byrd’s attention. The thrill of the chase ran cold as Kara’s body stopped going up and started to fall towards them. “Mine!” Byrd screeched as they collided. Wrapping his legs around her, they fell in a tangle of wings and tails back towards the park below. Working quickly, Byrd swaddled her in her own wings and clutched her. Wrapping his tail around her, he spread his wings, catching the air. It slowed their fall, but without his tail, he couldn’t control where they went.

  Tucking his wings, he attempted to aim them for the grassy area behind the obstacle course. Once he was sure of his direction, he spread his wings and flapped as hard as he could to slow their descent. The thought of Kara’s limp weight under him gave him the strength he needed to fight gravity’s pull. As the ground drew near, Byrd beat his wings until his muscles burned, trying to halt their speed. At the very last second, he tucked in his wings and flipped over, plowing into the ground.

  Stars burst behind Noah’s eyes as they slid to a stop. Darkness grabbed at him and threatened to pull him down, but he clutched onto Kara and forced himself to stay conscious. It hurt like hell, but he would be damned if he passed out and failed another woman in her time of need.

  As they came to rest on the ground, Noah took quick stock of his faculties. Byrd hadn’t gotten over onto his back fully, so his wings were bent at a funny angle, but they hadn’t been crushed under him. As it was, Noah had taken the brunt of the fall on his shoulder.

  Carefully, he unwound his tail from around Kara’s lower half and pushed her away from him. His shoulder screamed as he moved it, but it did move. Noah pulled his front leg back, exploring the pain and the range of motion he had in the injured joint. Probably not broken. He lay back down to give it a chance to recover from the shock. Most likely just jarred. Trying to convince himself he wasn’t more hurt, he rolled over to check on Kara. The fact that she hadn’t moved worried him more than his battered shoulder. The sound of running feet drew Noah’s attention from his fallen companion.

  A pair of joggers raced across the park towards him.

  Noah stared at them in confusion. He didn’t remember seeing anyone in the park when they had first arrived, but Byrd had been so intent on getting in the air, he really hadn’t had time to notice much.

  The man slowed a few steps back as the woman rushed right up next to Kara and dropped to her knees. “Are you okay?” she gasped.

  Noah shifted in pain before speaking. “Yeah,” he answered, praying he wasn’t lying through his gritted teeth. “I’m good. But Kara…” He looked down at the limp dragon next to him. Gathering up his will, he pushed up from the ground and rubbed his nose into the side of her head. Unable to stop himself, he drew in a deep breath filled with her scent.

  Other than the fact that she smelled nice, Noah hadn’t really considered Kara’s scent before now. Byrd, however, had. Memories of a scent wafted through his brain—woman and something soft and floral. It was nice. It was also very similar to what filled his nose now, but this was headier. Muskier. It pulled at his senses and made him want to draw more of the smell in.

  Mine!

  The declaration bubbled through him from somewhere deep inside. Noah shook his head to drive the thought back so he could check on Kara properly.

  “Can I touch your mate?”

  Confused, Noah looked up at the woman sitting on the other side of Kara. She held her hands out, waiting for his appro
val. She’s not my mate! The words were on the tip of his tongue when a wave of possessiveness hit him. He glanced up at the man standing behind the lady. The need to move over Kara and protect her ate at him, but he pushed it back. Right now, she needed help more than she needed protecting. He nodded his approval to the woman.

  Carefully, she reached out to touch Kara.

  Noah bit his tongue when a growl rumbled from his chest.

  The woman paused and looked up at him.

  “Sorry,” Noah said, trying to give her an apologetic smile. “It’s been a long day.”

  Nodding her understanding, the woman got back to work unwrapping Kara’s wings. She felt along each bone to make sure they weren’t broken before folding her wings neatly against her back.

  Noah watched her closely as she worked. Every now and then, his eyes would flip up to the man standing behind her. The fact that he hadn’t come over sat well with Byrd. The man just stood there with a phone in hand, waiting.

  Noah paused and thought about that for a second. It was disconcerting that Byrd wasn’t bouncing around trying to take over. “Byrd? Are you okay?” he called to the dragon. The answer he got wasn’t in words, but Noah understood it perfectly. The high emotions involved in the flight and fall had burned through Byrd’s energy. He needed a moment to recover.

  An amused snicker rolled out of Noah. The woman looked up at the sound, and Noah buried his nose into Kara’s shoulder to hide his mirth. He hadn’t meant to laugh. Byrd burning himself out wasn’t funny, but it was the feeling of trust that went along with the answer that made him giddy. Byrd trusted him to take care of Kara while he was down. “I will,” he promised the dragon. A feeling of contentment filled him before Byrd dropped away from his perception.

  “I don’t think she’s hurt,” the woman finally said. “What happened?”

  “I’m not sure. She passed out while we were flying,” Noah answered.

  The woman stared at him for a moment while her hand gently slid back and forth over Kara’s neck. “Are you newly bound?”

  A negative was poised on Noah’s lips, but that feeling of possessiveness filled him again. “Something like that,” he answered instead.

  A smile curled the woman’s lips. “She should be okay,” she said, continuing to stroke Kara’s scales. “Sometimes that can happen on mating flights.”

  What the hell did that mean? We’re not mating! Noah opened his mouth to voice his thought, but a moan from Kara stopped him. He inched closer to her. “Kara?”

  She moaned again and rolled her head over towards him.

  “Kara?” he called again. “Are you okay?”

  She opened her mouth and took a deep breath as if she were in pain.

  The possessive side of Noah perked up, ready to do whatever he could to help.

  “Yeah,” she answered, bending her neck around and bumping into his side.

  His ribs protested the pressure, but he refused to move.

  She pressed her head into Noah’s side. “What happened?” she mumbled against his hide.

  The fact that she had buried her head into his side made Noah worry. He shifted his wing over to shade her head. Bending his neck around, he spoke softly to her. “You passed out.”

  Kara moaned again as she rolled her head into him harder.

  Noah drew in an unsteady breath as he winced in pain. His ribs hurt, but they did not move when she leaned on them. So, probably not broken—just bruised.

  “We’ll leave you two be.”

  Noah looked up to find the woman standing up and backing away from Kara.

  She dusted the grass off her knees and went to join the man waiting for her. “We’ll be around if you need us. Just let her rest for a while. She should be just fine.”

  “Thank you for your help,” Noah said as he laid his head back down on Kara’s shoulder. The woman said something else, but Noah didn’t hear it. His mind was focused on the woman convalescing next to him.

  ***

  The gentle caress of fingers on scales ushered Kara back into consciousness. A groan of pain slipped out as she resurfaced from the darkness. She ached everywhere. What the hell happened?

  Movement from her side and the soft call of her name drew her attention. Byrd? She cracked the eye on that side to see him, but the light stabbed splinters of agony into her skull and drove another pained sound out. She slammed her eye shut and rolled her head, trying to ease the ache.

  “Kara?” he called again. “Are you okay?”

  Opening her mouth, she drew in a deep breath, trying to gather the determination to speak. Everything hurt. Knowing that talking would make it worse, she gathered the will to answer. She couldn’t leave Byrd to worry about her. “Yeah,” she lied. The sound echoed through her skull, making it pound.

  She bent her head around to tuck it under her wing but ran into a warm body instead. A familiar scent of musk and male filled her nose, soothing her. She pressed her head into the comforting bulk. Her brain churned on her predicament, but there was too much fog to get it to work right. “What happened?” she asked instead. The heat of the sun cooled as a shadow spread over her head.

  “You passed out.”

  Byrd’s voice was soft, but it came from very close to her. She moaned in embarrassment and buried her face deeper in his side. She had passed out. When was the last time I passed out? She racked her brain but couldn’t come up with an answer. Her constitution had always been very good. The soft voice of a woman made Kara cringe. Not only had she passed out, but she had done it in front of others. Had she been human, she would have been as red as her dragon’s scales.

  “Thank you for your help,” Byrd chirped to the woman before laying his head down on Kara’s shoulder.

  Kara relaxed under his comforting weight. With her eyes closed, she searched her memory, trying to figure out what had happened. True, the last few days had been taxing, with the move to her new home and Byrd’s situation, but it shouldn’t have been more than she could handle. She breathed in deep. No signs of a cold. The warm scent of dragon and earth filled her, easing some of her pain. She let out the air and pulled in another deep, calming breath. Emotions rolled through, and she suddenly knew what had happened.

  How could I be so stupid! she groused as her brain played back over their outing. Coming to the park had been a great idea, but she should never have joined Byrd in the sky. Or at least, she should have let him lead. Running from a male usually kicked up their instincts to chase. Running from one functioning solely on instincts was asking for trouble. And something she should have known not to do.

  It wasn’t until her second pass through the hoops that she realized her folly. When she glanced back to see Byrd following her, her instincts kicked in. The look on his face ratcheted her hormone levels up, and the urge to run hit her so hard she couldn’t stop herself from trying to escape. From there, everything in her memory was a blur of wind, clouds, and sky. She had no recollection of how she’d managed to get down. A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that her safe return to the ground had everything to do with the dragon beside her.

  Rolling her head from his side, she cracked an eye. The sheen of black scales blocked out the sky. Pleasure rolled through her as she recognized the structure of a dark wing protecting her. He’s so sweet! Realization hit her, and she stomped down on those feeling as hard as she could. He’s my patient; I cannot fall for him! The warmth in her chest subsided but refused to fully go away. She drew in a deep breath, knowing she was already in dangerous waters. And no matter how much her dragon was pushing her to claim him, Noah didn’t need a mate right now. He had enough issues to worry about. Letting her breath out, she pulled her head from under Byrd’s wing. The weight on her shoulder shifted as he moved his head to see her.

  “Better?”

  Kara closed her eyes and considered her condition. The concern in his voice made her heart swell, but she worked to push the emotion away. “A little,” she answered. She still felt l
ike someone had beaten her with sticks, but that was starting to fade. She glanced back at Byrd. “How are you?” If her guess was correct, he had saved her from a very nasty fall. But at what expense?

  “I’m good,” he assured her.

  She considered him. He didn’t look hurt, but it was hard to tell from her perspective. Nodding her head, she accepted his word, knowing it was probably a lie. No dragon driven by instinct would admit to being hurt around a potential mate. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes. The sun was warm on her scales and did wonders to ease the ache in her body. Byrd’s head settled on her shoulder again, making her sigh in pleasure. She may want to deny her growing feelings, but she had to admit there was something comforting in his touch.

  After a while, Byrd moved, drawing Kara out of her thoughts. She sighed deeply and lifted her head. “Thanks,” she said, not looking back at him. She felt his head lift up off her shoulder. “For saving me.” Standing up, she took a few steps forwards before ruffling her wings and tucking them into place along her back.

  “You’re welcome.”

  She turned to look at her savior, confused. You’re welcome? That wasn’t the response she’d expected. A brooding dragon would have been possessive, not polite. Could she have possibly read all the signs wrong? She studied him for a moment as he lay on the ground watching her. There was something different about him. She cocked her head, trying to find it. The look in his eyes showed his concern, but he sat there, patiently waiting.

  His eyes. Kara looked closer at them. They were lighter than they had been. Byrd’s eyes were dark—nearly black—but now they were a warm brown, like root beer in the sunlight. “Byrd?”

  The dragon snickered. “He’s here somewhere.”

  Kara’s heart skipped a beat in realization as she watched him get up from the ground. “Noah?”

  He winced as he stood up. “For the moment.”

  Shock froze Kara’s brain as Noah limped towards her. A million questions flashed through her head. How had this happened? Would it last? Should she call Daniel? Drawn by his limp, the thing most relevant slipped out of her mouth. “You’re hurt.”