Dixon (Stratham Shifters Book 6)

by Sarah J. Stone

  She had a crown on her head, and she was dressed in full regalia. But underneath, Nathaniel could still see her sparkling eyes, her full lips–the beautiful girl he had fallen in love with during quiet moments. Eliza liked to put walls up, but he knew what was beneath them.

  He would miss her, but he had a life to complete first, and she understood that. As Eliza's loyalty was to her people and her country, his was to the witches and his Tiro. But one day, and one day soon, he would return.

  “It was an honor to be hosted by such a lovely queen,” he said. “And I am quite sure we will see each other very soon.”

  He bowed deeply to her, and she smiled, curtsying just a little.

  Desmond watched from across the hangar where he was standing with Mariah, wanting to be apart from the crowd.

  “Nathaniel acts as if everything hasn't changed,” Desmond said. “As if we are just going to go back to our old lives, and no one will notice.”

  “Maybe,” Mariah said. “But I think what you need to see, Desmond, is that he is happy. He's all right.”

  “Hmmm?” Desmond turned his head toward her, confused at her point.

  “You saw him at a tournament. You felt a bond. You trained him to adulthood. He has stayed loyal to the witches and complimented your magic every step of the way. I know that right now you feel as if your touch turns everything to stone, but it does not. He is truly happy in this moment. And we find our successes in that.”

  “But he could stay here,” Desmond said, “if he wasn't a witch.”

  “Pht,” Mariah smiled. “He doesn't want that, and neither does Eliza. They are both too wild for the domestic life you and I crave. What they have right now, just this way, is perfect. What you have given him is the perfect life – the perfect moment. You have succeeded.”

  “I suppose that you are right,” Desmond said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “In that, at least.”

  “And in a young woman pilot back home,” Mariah said, “who lost all hope one day after one quick moment in battle. Without you, Christa might never have realized her full potential.”

  “She gave me hope, after Reynolds,” Desmond said softly.

  “You did not fail with Reynolds,” Mariah said. “From the story you told me, he still spared you. So somewhere, he may have lost his way, but not his heart.”

  “Oh,” Desmond said, his voice cracking, “Mariah...”

  “And you have my heart,” she said, squeezing his hand. “As well as inspiring countless others along the way. So many look up to you, hear your stories, and listen to your lessons. Including a little girl in the ship right now who needs you. So, no, Desmond, do not think for one moment that you failed; that you couldn't do it, or anything that you've set your mind to.”

  He smiled at her, shifting to rub her back gently. “You're right,” he said. “But I couldn't have done it without you.”

  Mariah chuckled softly. “Well, that goes without saying,” she said. “Shall we board?”

  Devon and Laura were already on board, having agreed to pilot together one last time. Laura spun the pilot's chair from side to side, watching as Devon set the co-pilot controls.

  “You could be a pilot,” she said. “You're good at it. Commercial transport. Maybe medical transport in the war zones?”

  “There's an idea,” he grinned at her. “Flying with my own hospital set up everywhere? It's brilliant.”

  “I'm always brilliant,” she smiled as he flipped the last few switches. “And frankly, I think the Jurors are going to praise us for doing as well as we did, given the circumstances.”

  “When they are done yelling,” Devon replied with a smirk. “Think you can take it?”

  “I can manage,” she said. “Set your coordinates. You're still my Tiro for the time being.”

  He was tempted to put in the wrong coordinates just to tease her, but decided against it. “Are you going to go right to the tournaments?” he asked. “Pick up a new me?”

  “I don't know,” she answered. “I thought I might go off on my own for a while before I did that. You and I clicked so soon. I didn't get much of a chance to explore solo missions.”

  “You should, though,” he said. “I mean, please, explore solo missions. But you should get a new Tiro. You're a good Maestro, Laura.”

  “I….” She paused. “Devon, have you thought about just taking the tests?”

  His jaw dropped. “I'm sorry?”

  “You've already made up your mind that you aren't going to burden me any longer, not that I think you're a burden, of course,” she said. “But you've had all this training. You could at least try, and then you'd be in charge of your own fate. Take the quests you want, go solo, don't take a Tiro. And if it doesn't work, you have a back-up plan. I've accepted that.”

  “I'm not ready,” he said, and she shrugged.

  “You'll be sixteen in a few months. You could be.”

  “I….” That was young, even for the most competent. But Laura's eyes were sparkling, and he realized she was serious. “Maybe. You really think that I could pass?”

  “I actually do,” she said. “I didn't suggest it because you are young, and it would be unheard of. But I know you don't hate magic, Devon. You just don't want to drag someone along because you are strong and fiercely independent, as you have always been. But it doesn't mean you have to run if you don't want to.”

  He really hadn't considered this option. He didn't know if he could give her an answer right away, so he just shrugged.

  “It means you could stay with Sienna longer,” Laura pointed out, and he laughed.

  “Fine, yes, I'll consider it. Damn you.”

  “Like I don't know you,” she teased him as they heard the others coming on board.

  “This is going to be refreshing,” Nathaniel said as he took in the sight of the two of them. “I'll just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.”

  “We like to fly upside down,” Laura said, with a grin, as they all took their seats on the bridge. Takeoff was always a beautiful sight, and everyone wanted to witness it.

  Laura activated the takeoff sequence, and soon, Jeffro was below them.

  Each of them were returning to a different fate than they left, along with an uncertain future. But surrounded by those that they loved, it didn't seem frightening at all.

  Sienna smiled at Devon as he let Laura steer, watching the trees turn to small sticks as they gained height.

  He squeezed her hand discreetly, whispering to her words that she would never forget.

  “You will always have magic,” he assured her, “for my heart is with you.”

  “Yes,” she said with a smile.

  Years ago, even a month ago, she might have been terrified in this situation. But now, she was excited to see what the future held for her. Magic or not, she had only hope and adventure in front of her. And she couldn't wait for that journey to begin, surrounded by those who gave her that strength and that magic.

  ***THE END***

  Book 4: The Long Journey

  Chapter 1

  “Maestro?”

  “Uh,” was all Nathaniel could manage, rolling over and briefly wondering why the universe hated him. He would never shake the feeling of wanting to sleep until noon, and his student, it seemed, would never shake the feeling of needing to ask him a question at dawn.

  “Maestro.”

  “Sienna.” He pushed himself up onto his elbows, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “What can I do for you at crack of dawn, yet again?”

  She smiled, because she knew that he wasn't really mad. Nathaniel was never mad at her, not since she became his student in magic.

  Most elders, or Maestros as they were called, followed a formula They trained as a Tiro student until they came of age to the take the tests set out by the Jurors, and then they usually spent a few years on their own before they took their own Tiro, and the cycle repeated. The witches were guardians of the galaxy, keeping peace any way they could. Of course, sometimes k
eeping the peace meant fighting in wars, which had been Nathaniel's specialty He had been a warrior, and only recently through the tests when his former Maestro had suggested what had previously been impossible. Desmond had suggested they both train Sienna, a witch of unparalleled power. The irony was, due a defective gene, she was incompatible with any magic at all.

  It took years to figure it out, years of carefully training her fragile body before they realized what the obvious solution was. In a controversial choice, they blocked her magic chemically with daily IVs.

  With these infusions, which they told no one about, Sienna thrived. She was still quiet, still thin, but she wasn't fainting at every turn, nor was she seizing at a twist of the head. She just couldn't do magic, and both her Maestros focused on the other aspects of the upcoming tests, such as negotiation and translation.

  Neither of them talked about the fact that the ability to pass the tests without magic was impossible. Nathaniel was determined to never leave her, especially when they had been through so much. Two years ago, Sienna had lost her way, following a wayward witch she loved off the beaten path and nearly leaving them. Things had never been the same since, Nathaniel realized, but it didn't change his devotion

  Except, at six a.m., then he questioned it. When they had originally started training Sienna, they had agreed on twelve hour shifts in which they would be on call, should an emergency arise. Desmond often took his quite literally, and Nathaniel found that as soon as his elder was not on call, he found a way to send the early rising Sienna elsewhere. Desmond was technically on call from six a.m.- six p.m., which made Nathaniel fear what time it actually was.

  “Quest bids are up. Please, let me bid.”

  “Okay?” He was confused why she was asking permission for this. At sixteen, she was far more independent in most aspects. “Wait, bid for what?”

  “Eliza's escort mission. Please, please, you haven't seen her in forever.”

  “Ay-yi-yi, don't do that,” he said, sitting up in a panic

  Eliza was the Queen of Jeffro, Sienna's former planet, and Nathaniel’s lady love since he was her age. Witches weren't supposed to have romantic love, thinking that it distracted from the magic. Everything, in the opinion of the Jurors, distracted from the magic. Three years ago, Desmond had gotten them all exiled for his lifelong love to another Maestro, Mariah. Since their return, they had all tried to be more cautious. Nathaniel used to take quests all the time to see Eliza, but now, he only saw her on stopovers, or her own diplomatic visits.

  “Why not?” she asked. “If Devon was still here, I would want to see him everyday.”

  He raised an eyebrow at that comment. Devon was the witch she had run off with once, claiming to be in love with him. Devon was chronically ill, as well, and they had bonded over their medical drama. But Devon had not chosen to return to the Order since, forcing his Maestro to take a healthy, strong Tiro and forging his own path, beyond the magic. It was rapidly clear with each day that Sienna did not want that. She wanted to be a witch, even if there was no magic involved. Witches stood for so much more than that, her Maestros had taught her.

  She hadn't mentioned Devon much since he left, and not at all in the past year and a half. In one half moment, Nathaniel realized that this had been more than a passing fling. Had their bond still been intact, Nathaniel wondered if he would have heard his name in her thoughts daily.

  Oops, thought his brain as he tried to think of something to say.

  “Really?” was all he managed, and he wanted to smash his head against the pillow. Luckily, Sienna didn't seem too bothered by it.

  “Let me bid for it. We are just to escort her to Natrine, nothing complicated.”

  He sighed.

  “Fine,” he said. “Only if you bid for it, don't use my credits or my name. It might not flag the Jurors then. But don't put too much into it. It's an escort quest, no one is going to be head over heels for it.”

  “Oh,” she said and his face fell.

  “You already bid, didn't you?”

  “I'm hungry?” She tried to distract him, and he rolled his eyes.

  “Okay, okay, I'm getting up. I'll meet you in the cafeteria, all right?”

  “Mm,” she said, looking down at her tablet. She swiped a few things. “Oh, they accepted it.”

  “Awesome,” he groaned. “Please go to the cafeteria.”

  “Yes, Maestro,” she said. He glanced at her in the semi-darkness.

  “Sienna, your port.”

  “Oops.” She pulled down her sleeve, where she had a permanent IV port. It was likely no one would question her if they saw it. since she had been sick enough to need it. But to be thriving now and still have it was questionable at best, and Nathaniel didn't want any suspicions that she had lost her magic.

  Once she was gone, he sank back into the pillows, closing his eyes for a moment.

  Despite the chaos, he was happy in life right now. And the idea of spending an extended period of time with Eliza tickled his heart in a way he had almost forgotten.

  He rolled over, glancing at the clock, and groaned. It wasn't even six a.m. yet.

  It's 5:58, Maestro, he reached out through the telepathic bond for Desmond. Really?

  You know, Nathaniel, all the other Maestros are on their own with their Tiros. Five a.m. or five p.m. doesn't matter if the Tiros need them. You should practice that.

  I don't know, I really like this system. Nathaniel heaved himself up at last. Breakfast?

  Not now, Desmond said, dismissive, and Nathaniel was left puzzled as he headed to the shower. Desmond had been off lately, spending more and more time by himself. He hadn't been skimping on his duties, but he certainly hadn't been going the extra mile. He had been spending much time in mediation, which made Nathaniel worry.

  Their fateful quest years ago had brought Desmond face to face with his former Tiro, Reynolds, who had chosen to leave the Order and work for the Acheronian side of magic, a shunned, dark form that lea only to evil. Reynolds currently under arrest in the dungeons below them, but Nathaniel knew that would end very soon. The Jurors had spent the past two years questioning him, learning about his magic, and holding him accountable for the crimes he had committed one way or another, it would soon be over.

  Joining Sienna in the cafeteria, the hustle and bustle of the morning crowd woke him more than the shower. Technically, Desmond was on shift right now, but Nathaniel didn't mind so much, when food was involved.

  “You are teaching today?” Sienna asked, picking at her plate. She couldn't ingest anything that wasn't packed full of chemicals, and so food was often an issue for her. The cafeteria was reasonably well stocked, thought, so Nathaniel wasn't too concerned when they were here.

  “I am,” he said, as they dug in. “Combat in flight.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes lit up. “I could take that next year.”

  “You could,” he said. “But I thought you had decided to focus more on language and translation.”

  She shrugged. “Doesn't mean I can't learn,” she said, and then paused “Wait, can I still take your courses if you are my Maestro?”

  “Yes, you can take mine,” he said. “There's no hard and fast rule against it. If I'm allowed to train you, I'm allowed to mark your papers.”

  “I could tell everyone your trade secrets,” she teased him. “Everyone would pass the course.”

  “You think that, do you?” he teased her right back. “Or everyone would fail. I've thought about teaching a joint course with Christa, for an advanced option.”

  Sienna's eyes lit up. Christa was Desmond's Tiro before Nathaniel. They had only been together a year and a bit. Christa's Maestro had died and Desmond was reeling from the loss of Reynolds They had brought hope to each other. Christa was one of the greatest pilots in the Order right now, finding a life after the death of her former Maestro. She was famous with witches, and there was no one who could rival her, although Nathaniel often tried. Sienna admired her, and went starry eyed every time s
he saw her.

  “That would be wonderful,” Sienna replied. “But only a few would be good enough to take it. Devon could have.”

  “Sienna…” Nathaniel probed. “Do you still think of him often?” Since they had denied her magic, they had not been able to share a bond, which meant Nathaniel was out of the loop with her thoughts.

  Sienna shrugged one bony shoulder. “Sometimes,” she said. “We talk.”

  “You talk to him?” Nathaniel said in shock. “How often?”

  She blushed. “It doesn't matter, does it? He's off having an adventure.”

  “How is he doing?” Nathaniel did not want her to think that he was scolding her. After all, he and Desmond both had romantic interests. It was a grey area for all of them.

  “His health is… better…” Sienna said, puzzled. “We were wondering if when I resurrected him… I cured him. It's a slow cure, but he's noticing a difference.”

  “That is interesting,” Nathaniel said, drumming his fingers on the table. “I wish we could look into that further.”

  “We could,” she suggested but he shook his head.

  “No. Not at the risk of your own health. We are just lucky that nothing has come through the portal you opened with Devon. For now, don't worry about it. Finish eating, and then we should both get to class.”

  “Mm,” she said, pushing her plate away. “I'm done.”

  “Sometimes,” he said, taking her plate with half-annoyance and half-fondness. “I look at you and think you've changed so much. And then you do something like this, and I realize nothing has changed. Go ahead, but make sure you eat lunch with Desmond.”

  “Bah,” she said, but picked up her rut sack all the same. Nathaniel shook his head as he watched her go, and then turned on his tablet. He had been waiting for the opportunity since she had woken him up.

  Eliza, he typed into the message app, seeing that she was online. I'm your escort

  I know, came the quick reply. I asked Sienna to arrange it.

  You sneaky devil. He grinned as he typed back. Pick up here?

  No, come to Jeffro, she typed back. I've gained control of three outer rim planets, so I need to have it negotiated properly. And as you can assume, there are some people who are angry about it.