For the Memory of Dragons

by Julie Wetzel

  “Terra?” Alex’s soft voice called to her.

  Turning her head, she looked at him. Her vision was still funky, but she could see the worry on his face. That thing inside her squirmed with the desire to comfort him. White-hot pain shot through her, making her scream again. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the pillow and gasped for air. A soft thump on her bed drew her attention, and she cracked an eye to see what was going on.

  A man with white hair stood next to Alex, waving his arms around as if he were talking, but no sound came out.

  “Of course,” Carissa answered the silent man.

  Terra turned her attention to the woman.

  “Michael is right,” Carissa said as she stood up, releasing her hold on Terra. “We’re going about this the wrong way.” She held her hand down for Terra to take. “By now, I should be used to dealing with a newly transformed dragon.” Carissa shot Michael a warm smile before turning back to Terra. “Shall we try this again?”

  Dragon? The thought bounced around Terra’s head as she looked at the woman. She wanted to ask what she meant, but words were eluding her. Something was wrong, but she just couldn’t understand it. Slowly, Terra placed her hand in Carissa’s.

  Carissa pulled her into a sitting position. She looked across the bed at Alex. “Hold her.”

  It took no time for Alex to find a seat on the bed behind Terra and pull her in against him. His arms wrapped protectively around her.

  Whatever was inside Terra relaxed into Alex’s warmth. She leaned back, savoring the feel of him against her skin. Skin to skin. Realization hit her, and she tensed in his arms. Her bare back was pressed into his bare front as the hospital gown she was wearing gaped open. It clung to one shoulder, but the snaps on the other side had been torn open in her struggles. She tried to shift away from him so she could fix her gown, but he wouldn’t let her go. Slowly, she relaxed back into his hold as he cooed reassuring noises at her. The thing inside her wanted to be as close to him as possible.

  A thing. That was the only way she could describe the ball of feelings bouncing around in her. It was need, desire, pain, and fear, all rolled into one terrifying package. And it was all separate from her own feelings, yet it controlled her body as much as she did.

  The thing chirped at her, and she had an uncontrollable desire to snuggle into Alex. She pressed back against him as his arms tightened around her. Apparently, the thing felt safe there. The fear and tension drained from Terra, leaving her limp in his arms. Unable to draw up the energy to be afraid, she turned languid eyes towards Carissa. Her vision was still off, and it made the already gorgeous woman even more beautiful. A primal note of jealousy hit Terra, and she clenched her fingers into Alex’s arms to keep him away from the other woman.

  Alex shushed her softly and stroked his fingers over her skin, calming her.

  Carissa studied the pair on the bed before sitting down on its edge. “Do you remember what happened?”

  Terra’s thoughts were slow in moving, but she could remember. “Two men came looking for Alex.” Her words came out slurred as she spoke. There was a slight hiss to them. Terra stretched her jaw, trying to pop it. It felt like it wasn’t in the right place.

  “Yes,” Carissa continued. “Do you remember them giving you an injection?”

  There was no way she could forget the sting of that needle or the way the serum burned along her veins. “Yessss.” There was that odd hiss again. Terra could feel Carissa’s eyes run over her. The thing inside of her stirred for a second before calming down again.

  “We think those men were trying to turn you into a dragon.”

  This time, when the thing brushed against her mind, it felt like the rough caress of scales under her skin. Terra swallowed hard. How could they turn her into a dragon?

  “How?”

  Carissa let out a long sigh. “We’re not sure, but you show all the classic signs of a dragon in distress.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “Normally, it’s a mental issue that can be addressed once we’ve forced the dragon into a single state, but that doesn’t look to be the case here.”

  Terra considered her words. “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” Carissa began, “your form wants to go to dragon, but it can’t get there.” She glanced up at her brother before looking back at Terra. “Not even with our help.”

  Terra looked at her, confused.

  “Somehow, your dragon is incomplete,” Kyle explained. “It gets most of the way there, and then stops.”

  “But I’m not a dragon,” Terra protested. She didn’t know much about dragons, but she did know you had to be born a dragon. You couldn’t make someone into a dragon. Could you?

  Terra shivered as the thing inside of her moved. Could that be a dragon? It purred a positive note. Yes, whatever was inside of her was a dragon. But it’s not whole. She didn’t understand how she knew this, but she did. She looked up at Carissa. “Can you get it out?” The dragon in her roared in protest. The sound came out as a soft growl.

  Carissa gave her an apologetic smile. “We aren’t sure how they turned you into a dragon, so reversing the process is impossible.” She took a long breath before continuing. “Other than the original myths, there’s only been one case where a human has been turned into a dragon—” Carissa’s eyes flipped up to the white-haired man for a moment. “—and that’s Michael.”

  He smiled at her and mouthed something that made her smile in return.

  Terra glanced between the two. They’re mates. She paused as she tried to figure out how she knew that. The bit of dragon inside of her stretched itself. It knew. The fact that it had supplied her with the information surprised her.

  “How?” she asked.

  A wry smile crept across Carissa’s face as she looked back down at Terra. “That’s a long story. But that’s not important right now. What does matter are you and your dragon.”

  Terra waited as Carissa paused, trying to gather her thoughts.

  “I’ve been reading through the old texts, and I think there might be a way to fix what’s wrong.”

  Hope radiated through Terra. Now that she knew what was curled up inside of her, she could separate it from her own feelings. The poor thing was confused and scared. That made Terra’s heart ache. “How?”

  “Someone will have to share a part of their dragon with you,” Carissa said very carefully.

  Alex’s arms tightened around Terra, squishing her against her chest. “How?” he asked.

  Carissa looked up at him. “She already has part of a dragon’s essence in her. It shouldn’t take much to complete what’s already there. A scale from a bonded mate should do the trick.”

  Terra felt Alex draw in a deep breath as he considered Carissa’s words.

  “Use mine.” The answer rumbled out of him.

  A strange sense of contentment rolled through Terra at his words. Even as messed up as she was, he wanted her.

  He’s only doing it because he got you into this mess. The nagging thought popped into her brain. Terra wasn’t sure if it came from her psyche or the damaged dragon, but it did have a point. Was he doing this out of duty? Or was there more there?

  “I think we should leave that choice up to her.” Carissa turned her attention back to Terra. “Do you understand what it means to be a bonded mate?”

  A bonded mate? Terra thought about that for a moment. Alex had explained that dragons mated for life, but they hadn’t had much time to talk about what it really meant.

  “No,” she answered. She needed to know what was asked of her before agreeing to something that was permanent.

  Carissa gave Alex a surprised look.

  He gave her back a shrug. “We haven’t had much time to talk about it.”

  A wry smile slipped across Carissa’s face. “I suspect you haven’t.” Drawing in another long breath, Carissa let it out slowly and focused on Terra.

  Terra held her breath as she waited for the woman to go on.


  “Well, to start, male dragons mate for life.”

  This Terra remembered from her talk with Alex, but something caught her attention. “Male dragons?”

  Carissa nodded. “Only male dragons are driven to mate for life. Once they find a mate, they will devote the rest of their life to making her happy. On the other hand, female dragons are not driven to take a permanent mate. Females are driven to take the best male for their future brood.” A smile spread across her face. “Knowing that their female may find a better mate makes most male dragons very fussy over their chosen mates.”

  Terra thought about that for a second. “But wouldn’t that cause problems?”

  Kyle let out a bark of laughter, but it didn’t hold any joy in it.

  “Yes,” Carissa nodded her head. “It’s been known to cause a few issues.”

  “Bloody wars,” Kyle muttered angrily.

  Carissa shot her brother a piercing glance. “But that was a long time ago.” She turned her attention back to Terra. “Back when the survival of the species depended on who had the strongest blood. Nowadays, dragons tend to stick with their chosen mates by bonding.”

  “Bonding?” Terra asked.

  “It’s when a dragon gives a piece of themselves to their mate,” Carissa explained. “It’s a complicated process, but it’s usually done by sharing a scale. I can tell you, it’s not a very pleasant experience, but it joins the two mates together for life. It also allows a human mate to share some of the powers of their dragon mate. Like their longevity.”

  That made sense! That’s why Alex’s dragon had seen her as a potential mate despite her being human. Terra glanced over her shoulder to the man holding her. He had offered up his scale to help fix her condition, but that would leave them as a bonded pair, together until death. Was he doing it because that was what he wanted? Or was he offering himself as penance for leaving her unprotected? Terra focused back on Carissa. “And what if I refuse?”

  Alex drew in a sharp breath and squeezed her tighter.

  Carissa raised an eyebrow at Terra. “Besides shattering the heart of the man who’s spent the last three days by your side?” She shrugged. “You would remain as you are—broken until we could find a way to either remove the dragon or heal it.” An amused grin crept across her face. “At least you would have company in your stay.”

  Terra peeked over her shoulder at Alex. He had a grim-but-determined expression on his face. Yes, no matter what her answer was, he would stay with her. Warmth washed through her. The dragon inside of her liked the idea of being bonded with Alex. She closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms to think. Before everything had gone to pot, he had been interested in her as a mate. So much so that he’d been fighting with his dragon. She drew in a deep breath as she made her decision. It didn’t matter what reason he had for offering himself up, his dragon had chosen her well before things had gone bad. She opened her eyes and grinned at Carissa.

  “I’m already scared; I might as well be Terra Fied.”

  “Terrified?” Carissa asked, alarmed.

  Terra laughed softly. “I’ll take the scale.” She paused and looked back at Alex. “That is, if you’ll have me.”

  “Yes,” Alex answered without pause of thought. He dropped his face to her shoulder and purred out a word. “Mine!”

  Carissa laughed. “Then let me find a knife.”

  Michael pulled a pearl handled switchblade from his pocket and held it out.

  “Always the Boy Scout,” Carissa teased as she took the knife.

  Michael shrugged and stepped back away from the bed.

  “Now,” Carissa turned her attention back to the bed, “we need a scale.”

  Alex nodded. “Right.”

  Terra turned just in time to watch scales shimmer over him as he shifted to his lesser form. He had been amazing before, but now, with her vision still messed up, he was dazzling. His scales caught the light and threw it out in rainbow hues. Her breath caught as he circled around her to lie in her lap. His tail wrapped up around her other side and draped across her legs.

  Carissa laughed at him. “You couldn’t get rid of him if you wanted.”

  Alex rumbled his annoyance with the woman, but he turned a sparkling eye to Terra. “Pick whichever one you like.”

  Terra stared at him, awed. He had chirped and squeaked at her, but she’d understood what he’d said. How? The dragon curled inside of her answered with a soft purr. Terra looked up at Carissa but couldn’t find the words to express what she was feeling.

  “Pick a scale,” Carissa prompted her.

  Nodding, Terra turned her attention to the dragon in her lap. Running her fingers over his glittering hide, she looked for just the right one. She petted him, feeling the ridges in his scales. When her fingers ran over a larger scale on his shoulder, the dragon inside of her gurgled.

  “This one.” She touched the scale again.

  Carissa looked at the scale. “Good choice.”

  Kyle made an agreeing noise and stepped back out of Carissa’s way.

  Walking around the end of the bed, Carissa came up to stand next to Terra. Her hand came down to rest on Alex’s shoulder just above the scale Terra had chosen. “Now comes the hard part.”

  Using the tip of the knife, Carissa wiggled the blade under the edge of the scale. She chanted softly as she worked.

  Alex hissed and kneaded the bed with his claws as Carissa cut the scale from his shoulder.

  Carissa grimaced as she pulled the scale free, and blood gushed from the wound. “Sorry,” she said as she tried to press on the wound. “I had to take more than normal.”

  “I got it,” Terra said as she covered the hole in Alex’s shoulder and applied pressure. Magic tingled across her skin as she brushed against Carissa and the loosened scale.

  “Thanks,” Carissa said as she pulled back, leaving Terra holding the wound. “Um, I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”

  Terra nodded and bit down, waiting for the bite of the knife. It hurt as it went in, but the sharp edge slipped through the skin over her shoulder blade with ease. A tingle of magic washed over her as Carissa slipped the scale into the open cut. It hurt a little bit, but that was nothing compared to the burn that raced through her system as the scale settled into place. Terra screamed and collapsed forwards onto Alex as her world shattered apart.

  ***

  Alex kneaded the bed as the point of the knife slipped under his scale. God, that hurt! He had heard that the sharing of scales was a painful experience, but he never expected to feel it clear to his soul. But then again, he would give up a thousand scales for Terra. The fact that she nearly refused him tore at his heart. Alex breathed through the pain and thought about her reaction. She had asked the same question when he had told her to refuse him at the hotel. The ache in his heart eased. She wasn’t refusing him; she was checking all of her options and their consequences before making an informed decision. A wise choice. That, Alex could respect. One needed to know all the options when making a choice that would change one’s life forever.

  Her play on words floated back to him, and he smiled inwardly. Carissa had totally missed the reference. Terrified. Terra Fied. Even faced with an unknown future, she took the time to stop and crack a joke. It showed she had an indomitable spirit—something she was going to need in the coming months as she learned a new way of life.

  Blood gushed down his side as Carissa cut the scale free, but he didn’t hear what she said. More had been pulled away from him than just flesh. He sat there, stunned by the loss, as Terra pressed her hand over his wound. Her firm touch pulled him away from the shock.

  It’s for her, his dragon rumbled with contentment.

  The loss was nothing compared to what he was gaining in trade. He shifted his head so he could watch as Carissa attached his scale.

  Pain raced across Terra’s face. She let out an ear-shattering scream and collapsed against him.

  “Terra!” he roared and tensed up, but he dared not move und
erneath her.

  Carissa reached for her, but Michael was at her side, holding her back. He shook his head and pointed at Terra. Kyle froze on the other side of the bed, watching.

  Alex focused his eye on Terra and watched as patches of multicolored scales raced across her skin, and her form twisted. He could actually hear her bones creak as she shifted. It was the slowest and most agonizing shift he had ever witnessed. When she was done, she leaned against him, unconscious, in the perfect form of a lesser dragon. And blue as a star sapphire.

  Shifting under her, Alex reached around and nuzzled her side, but she didn’t respond to him.

  “She’ll be all right.”

  Alex looked up at Michael. Apparently, the man had reclaimed his voice from Carissa.

  Michael leaned over and carefully pulled the IV away from Terra’s foreleg. Her body had pushed the plastic tube out as it had shifted, and the liquid was leaking all over the bed. “My first shift was just as bad,” he admitted, “only I didn’t have the good fortune of passing out halfway through it.” Gently, he lifted her off Alex and laid her back on the bed.

  Free from her weight, Alex moved around so he could see her. She was beautiful. Her scales glittered softly in the light, almost the exact same shade as his. Two small horns curved back from her head. She was nearly a perfect copy of him, only smaller. He nosed her softly, trying to get her to wake up.

  Kyle ran his hand down Alex’s back, drawing his attention away from her. “Just let her rest.”

  Michael chuckled softly as he pulled the blanket up over her. “She’s going to need it,” he said wryly. “That first shift is exhausting. But stay with her. If she’s anything like me, she’s going to need you when she wakes up.”

  “Thank you,” Alex chirped. Even if Michael hadn’t suggested he stay, he was not going to leave her side until he knew she was okay. Carefully, he found a spot right up against her side and lifted his wing over her. Drawing in a deep breath, he relaxed next to her. Waiting for some change in her condition had been tiring, but the last few hours had completely exhausted him. With Terra’s form stable and tucked safely under his wing, he could finally catch that nap he so desperately needed.