"Are you all right, dear?"
"Father!" I screamed. "It hurts."
"Niall!" I moaned. "Help us."
"What is it?" Jack asked and wheeled around for an enemy to fight.
The two Dragon Slayers closed in, but Reed glared them off. "No one will harm her while I breathe," he said. I thought that made up for him being a jerk earlier.
"Try and ride through it," Niall said.
"Will they eat me like they did Lerisse?"
"Child, they freed you. Maybe freed the others like you."
"Others like me?" Tears leaked out of my eyes. "It hurts so much," I said. "I think I’m dying."
"Not dying," Jack said. "You are being reborn."
"I want to be Carolyn. I didn’t kill anyone."
"I know," Jack said. "But sometimes, you change anyway."
"I want to be Arianna. I want to live."
"This is quite irregular," Niall said. "She is not only a dragon. She carries one inside her."
Jack stared down at me. "Are we sure?"
"I know my own daughter. What I don’t know is how much of Carolyn was really Arianna."
"This is too much. I want to go home." I tried to get up, but invisible bands held me in place. "I don’t want this. I change my mind. Joachim!" I shouted.
But it was too late. There was no turning back. Part of me was going to die like Jane did and part of me was going to live and explode out into the sky with large green wings. I was going to eat a cow. I was going to fly over my brother Evan’s house and poop on him. I laughed, cried, and screamed.
"Can’t you do something?" Reed ground out and shifted to his human form to hold me.
"Why can’t you be like this all the time?" I asked.
"Like what?" he said.
"Human," I said and then the pain shot through me again. Pressure was building up inside me, and I was going to explode and take everyone around me with it.
Reed flinched back at my words.
"Stand back," I said. "She’s going to blow."
"She’s hysterical," Jack said.
"Give her room to breathe," Reed ordered.
"That means you, too," I said and gave myself up to the light.
I never felt that blue, magical aura around me until it snapped off like a rubber band, stinging me deep into my soul. Jumping to my feet, I dimly heard Reed shout my name. The change was coming. It was agony, but I was grinning until my face hurt. My face was elongating. It was happening. I was finally happening. I would be able to fly and feel my wings glide against the air. I would be powerful and strong and my brother would have to eat crow for the rest of his life.
There was a tremendous pulling sensation and the pressure and tension heat up inside me. My skin was being unzipped like a coat and then I saw it. The emerald-green dragon inside of me stepped forth and my human body flopped uselessly to the ground. She was lovely and huge. Her tail flipped over my body, and it was as thick as my torso with barbed spikes on the end. The other dragons in the sky bugled out their welcome of a new sister. Thank you! I cried as the pain faded and I was staring out at the glorious dragon. Jack and Niall nudged her and coddled her close. But Reed stayed in human form. He was studying my body. His stare was analytical and cold.
"Arianna," I mewled.
The dragon glanced over her shoulder and gave me an apologetic shrug. Hot tears leaked out of my eyes. I was still human. I slapped the pavement and tried to get up. Reed rushed over to me, but I cringed back. I would not look at him, could not see the disgust or disdain, or worse, the indifference, in his eyes. My arms were weak, and I sank back down and laid my cheek on the asphalt. I watched her preening for her father and flirting with Jack.
"She stole my dragon," I whispered.
"That’s impossible," Reed said and I closed my eyes at the ache his words caused.
"What’s to happen to me?" I asked, crying without a sound. Watching as my dream literally prepared to fly away.
"Arianna will, of course, take Connecticut as her territory."
"Of course," I said in a small voice and tried again to get up. I managed to push myself to a sitting position with shaking arms. I scrubbed at my eyes with the back of my hands.
"You will come with me."
"Where? To Texas? Hoboken?"
"Where ever you want," he said.
Reed tried to help me up, but I shook him off. "I don’t need your charity," I said bitterly. Was it because I lost faith? Was it because in the last moment I wanted to be human? Did I blow my only chance at happiness?
"We are grateful for your assistance in bringing my sister back to us."
"Did you know this would happen?" I asked, staring at my palms that still had bits of pavement stuck in them from the force of the shifting, although it wasn’t as much of a transformation, as I exploded a dragon out of my chest. I rubbed my chest. It was sore, but a broken heart will do that for you.
"No, of course not. No one knew what Lerisse’s spell would do."
"At least that bitch died with it."
Reed closed his eyes. "Yes."
Why didn’t he take me in his arms?
Clearing his throat, he said, "We are very grateful to you."
"We, who?"
"All of us, the North American dragons."
"Which means what?" I snapped out at him.
"You can ask us a boon, and we will grant it."
"Can I ask for you?"
Reed frowned and glanced away. "I will stay with you. I already said I’m prepared to keep you with me. I may not be your consort, but I will stay with you."
"Will you be faithful?" My lips trembled. Maybe all wasn’t lost, after all.
"There will be no other human for me." He leaned in for a kiss, but I turned away.
"What if a Queen wants you?"
"I can’t say no." He reached out to hold me, but I scooted away from him.
"So, you will want to impregnate a Queen with your eggs?"
"If I am chosen," he said. "But it’s unlikely." He took a step forward. I crawled backward.
"Tell that to Mei Hua."
"Mei Hua has gone through a trauma. The last thing she’s looking for is a mate."
"But if she is. If she asks for you, you’ll go?"
"I won’t want to," he said.
"But you’ll go."
He gave me a tight-lipped nod.
"Right," I said, forcing myself to my feet, using my rage as energy. I batted his hand away when he went to touch me.
"Listen to me," he said. "Listen to what I’m saying. I want to be with you."
"For how long?" I sniffed.
"For as long as you want."
"I want forever, but only if it’s just you and me. Not you, me, and Mei Hua."
"What do you want from me?" he said.
"I want you to say, it doesn’t matter you’re not a dragon, Carolyn. I love you no matter what. I want you to say, I will be faithful to you. I want you to ask me to marry you. But I wanted you to say all that without me prompting you." I rubbed my hand through my hair and stared at Arianna. She was watching me with sympathy. I was trying not to hate her. She would have Jack and her father and her brother. I didn’t even have a home. Wait a minute. Yes, I did. "You owe me a house."
Reed was still confused. "Yes, any one you wish."
"Do you have one in Minnesota?"
"Why Minnesota?" he asked. "And no, I don’t believe so."
"Because it’s far away from Mexico and here."
"I’m sure I can purchase one for you." He frowned at me.
"No, I don’t want you to know where I live. Just deposit the amount you would have spent into my bank account. Niall can tell you the information. He direct deposits my paycheck."
"Carolyn, this is insane. You can’t leave your family and friends behind. You have a job here with Niall. He thinks of you like his daughter."
"Except I’m not his daughter." I pointed. "She is. I have no friends. Jane is dead. Joachim is a Dragon S
layer. My family thinks I’m a nutcase. Don’t you see, I have nothing?"
"I thought you wanted me."
That shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did. "What are you saying, let’s continue on like we have been?"
"Why not? It’s worked so far."
"I love you, you jerk," I said.
"Strangely, my heart isn’t warmed by that statement."
"You, on the other hand, have made it clear from the moment I saw you that my worth to you is contingent upon me making dragon babies."
"You have to admit there have been changes to our relationship since our first meeting."
"Yet, I’m getting the sense it’s still an issue." I rested my fists on my hips.
Reed blew out a breath. "Dragons aren’t faithful. There are too few females around. Even with these reincarnated ones." He gestured to the sky. "Perhaps even if there were fifty more just like you. If you were a Queen, I would have to share you with at least hundred others."
"If I was a Queen, I wouldn’t allow anyone but you to touch me."
"That’s irresponsible, and it shows your humanity."
"Exactly. And the fact you meant that as an insult shows me we have no future together."
"What about the present?" He tried to hug me, but I moved away.
"You don’t deserve me," I said with a confidence I didn’t feel.
And I walked away. Arianna called out to me, but this time I could ignore her. She wasn’t inside of me anymore. She wasn’t controlling me. She wasn’t making me spew acid or have glowing green eyes. Maybe she didn’t steal my dragon, but she used me and I couldn’t forgive her. My guts felt like spilling, but it wasn’t the hot acid breath I had grown accustomed to. This was human agony.
Reed didn’t follow me. I didn’t expect him to, but the rush of wings as all three dragons took flight had me bawling my eyes out again. I made it back to the car before the sobs exploded over my entire body and I used up an entire box of Kleenex before I felt safe enough to drive Niall’s Mercedes.
"Do you want us to drive you?" Joachim’s guards asked.
"No, thank you. I’ll be fine."
"We’ll follow you."
"I don’t think that’s going to be an issue anymore." And I tilted the rearview mirror to glare at my reflection. As I expected, my eyes were their plain old shade of brown. There wasn’t a hint of glowing green anywhere.
I went to Jane’s house. I wanted to see my friend, but of course, she was dead. At the moment, Joachim and Mei Hua were there because Niall didn’t want Mei Hua near the ritual. As I drove by, Joachim was sitting on the porch, drinking lemonade and Mei Hua was sitting next to him, knitting. It was domestic bliss, well as far as a dragon hunter and a woman who was a dragon could get. I almost drove past, but Joachim saw me and stood up. I pulled into the driveway.
"Find any bad dragons lately?" I asked.
"Isn’t that an oxymoron?" he answered, and the way I was feeling, I had to agree with him.
Mei Hua took a look at my face and opened up her arms. I ran into them and told her everything.
By the time we were done, my eyes were nearly swollen shut and she made me put cucumber slices on my eyelids.
"I smell like a salad." I hiccupped.
"I’m sorry for your loss," Joachim said. And judging how he felt about dragons, that meant a lot.
Mei Hua came back with a tray she laid on the table. I assumed it was her tea and some kind of cake.
I asked, "Joachim, what do I do?"
"Well, you’re welcome to stay here."
"That’s kind, but I don’t want to be anywhere in Connecticut. I don’t want to run into Arianna or her stupid brother. Do you have an aspirin?" I asked. "My head is splitting open."
"Carolyn," Joachim said. "You’re shaking." He touched my arm. "Yet, you are burning up. Come inside. I think you should lie down."
"No," I said. "I need to leave."
"Where?" he asked.
"I think I’m sticking to my Minnesota plan."
"I think it’s snowing there this time a year. Why don’t you go on a vacation instead? Some place to help you sort out things."
"My books!" I sat up quickly. The cucumbers went flying in opposite directions. "I need my books."
"Wait, take the aspirin."
I took them from Mei Hua and gulped them down with some hot, delicious tea.
"You’ll burn your throat," Mei Hua said and then blinked at the empty cup I gave back to her.
"I can’t go anywhere without my things," I said. "They’re in the office. I’m sure Niall is busy with his children, so now is the perfect time to get them." I ran back to my car and waved out the window. "Thank you!"
How could I have forgotten my books? They never let me down. They always knew what to say. My hands physically itched to get there and touch them. I pushed my foot down harder on the accelerator and whipped in and out of traffic. It was such a crazy thing to do, so unlike me I laughed, and the sound that came out of my mouth was unfamiliar.
"I’m cracking up," I thought to myself, increasingly anxious and sick to my stomach again. Only this time butterflies were dancing hip-hop in there. Cold and then hot, by the time I reached the hangar I was drenched and shivering. Barely remembering to turn off the engine, I bolted from the car and the first contraction brought me to my knees. I had to get to my books. I pushed myself to my feet and staggered.
Lightning struck the back of my neck, and I pitched forward. I slithered along the ground until I got to the hangar, then pulled myself up and swiveled inside. Glancing behind me, I realized I had a tail. I closed the door and locked it before my clothes shredded off me. My back legs were weak and couldn’t hold me, but I saw my books, my hoard, piled in the corner of my office where I had left them. My front legs pulled me up on my desk and I rested my face on The Last of the Mohicans and fell asleep.
The consistent pounding of my head woke me up.
"Carolyn, you have ten seconds to open this door before I break it down." Or maybe that was Reed’s fist hitting the steel door? Heh, try picking that lock. After my kidnapping, Niall had reinforced it.
Reed. I blinked and nearly banged my head on the lamp. I was huge. I looked down. I was a brownish-green dragon. I hopped off the desk and stared at my long tail. I wasn’t a Western dragon. I wasn’t any dragon I could think of. I wish I had a mirror. I flapped the wings on my back and knocked over a shelf.
"That’s it. I’m coming in." The door to the hangar exploded off its hinges.
I scrabbled over to Niall’s section and pulled the partition closed with my teeth—my big teeth—just before Reed stormed in.
I shifted! I shifted into a dragon! Why didn’t we have mirrors in the office?
"I know you’re back there. I saw your car."
"Stay where you are," I ordered. Did my voice sound different?
"We have unfinished business."
"Put the check in my account."
"Dragons don’t say I love you."
"That’s good to know. I’ll include that in my thesis."
"I love you," he said.
I sat down on my haunches. "What?"
"Jack and Arianna will repopulate the species on their own. She won’t let him out of her clutches. And now the cult’s magic has been interrupted, there will be more Queens born and other studs will line up for them."
"Reed," I said.
"No, you had your little speech. You are damn well going to hear mine."
"Okay." I glanced at my front legs; they were strong and muscled. I didn’t have sharp talons though. I wouldn’t be good in a fight.
"Chances are no Queen would pick me anyway. I’m not very romantic."
"That’s not true," I said, remembering Paris. The good part—not the Marie Antoinette and blinding me with poison part.
"I don’t have a way with words."
"That is true. So, what are you saying? No dragon wants you, but you will settle for the human?" I was beginning to get riled again.
He sighed. "What I’m saying is I’m yours utterly and truly. There will be times when my job has me traveling. We can live wherever you want, if being close to Arianna bothers you."
I realized instead of claws I had long fingers and thumbs. I clenched my fist.
That would hurt, I thought, taking a test swing in the air.
"Carolyn?" Reed asked, and I thought he sounded a bit annoyed.
"Oh, are you done with your speech?"
"Yes." He gritted it out.
"Then maybe you could answer one final question."
"Sure."
I ripped back the curtain. "What the hell kind of dragon am I?"
Epilogue
"I’m a Book Wyrm," I told my brother Evan.
"You’re a loony," he told me and hung up.
"Perhaps you should have told him you were a dragonling, which is the correct terminology," Reed said, closing his cell phone.
"Like he would know what that is," I scoffed and lumbered over to his front door. I was not as big as Reed, but neither were most buildings. I was about the size of a minivan to Reed’s eighteen-wheeler. But what I lacked in size, I made up for in dexterity. The lack of claws allowed me to do lots more things with my front and back legs. Like holding books, reading them, surfing the Internet with a specially made keypad, and knocking on doors.
I admired the large gold ring Reed had given me. In dragon form I wore it on my finger. In human form, it was a belt. He loved me enough to share his hoard with me. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but gold was there on the e-reader he gave me and again on the mutilated book that held the cell phone that tracked me when I had been in Esmeralda’s clutches. I kissed him before banging on my brother’s front door.
"Evan, open up. It’s me."
I did my I’m a dragon dance on his front lawn while I waited for him to show up. The neighbors were wearing out their batteries taking picture of me.
"Make sure you get my good side," I called and wiggled my butt at them.
My brother opened the door with a bored expression that quickly turned to shock. I grabbed his arms in my front legs and pushed off backward into the air with my back legs. My wings unfurled with a crack, and I might have boxed his ears a few times as I gained altitude.
The Queen's Wings: Book 1 of The Emerging Queens Series Page 21
