by A Lonergan
“Wouldn’t you want the dragon on your side?” Vailen arched one of my eyebrows, challenging the young witch.
“No.” The leader’s feet were planted firmly, and his fists were squeezed tight.
“How stupid you are. You have the chance to be allied with one of the most powerful dragons of all time, and yet, you deny it. What a pity.” Vailen held my hands out in front of me/him and lighting danced between them. It scared me and excited me that he knew this much about my power and my magi.
“That’s enough, Vailen.” Sterling took a step closer to us.
“Fine,” Vailen purred.
I was shocked into my body almost as quickly as I had been taken out of it. My knees wobbled and failed me. I watched as the ground rushed up to my face, but I never hit the unforgiving cobblestones. Vailen’s tale was wrapped around my waist, holding me steady. I touched his scales in reverence. They turned copper in the sunlight. He was truly magnificent.
“You are mine to protect, Shavile. I will never let harm befall you for as long as I shall live.” His words made me look him in his eyes. “I will not take your body again unless you give me permission. I forget my power sometimes, please forgive me.”
I nodded my head once, and he gently placed me back onto the ground. When I lifted my head and looked at Sterling, he gasped.
“What is it? What’s the matter?” I touched my face subconsciously, expecting the worse.
“Your eyes.” Oh, no, not again.
“ What happened to them?” I turned an accusing glare onto Vailen. He let out a puff of irritated smoke and looked away, but just as he did, I noticed that his eyes were no longer green. They were purple.
Sterling pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and turned the screen around so I could see myself in the selfie camera. I swallowed. It couldn’t be. My irises were slightly elongated to match Vailen’s. They looked exotic and scary. Vailen’s still looked the same, but the purple color made them look softer.
“We are officially bonded. No matter the distance, no matter circumstances, we are bound. I am yours to command.” Vailen lifted his wings and pumped the air underneath them, almost in hazah. The wind from them hit me hard, and I had to squint my eyes. Everyone in the compound ducked and looked frightened.
Jonathan parted the crowd and looked around at all the faces. His eyes stopped on the leader of the revolt. “You know better, Jacobs.” He glared at the growing crowd. “You are all dismissed. I had important council business to discuss. This better be important.” Ayre had now come down the stairs and walked up to her father. She touched his arm tenderly, and I watched as his shoulders relaxed.
“We were not prepared for this.” Jacobs sneered.
“Do you expect me to tell you everything that goes on around here? Are you a prince in line for the throne?” Jonathan sneered back. “No, I didn’t think so. You are training to be a professor, and I will not tolerate this kind of behavior.”
Professor? I wondered if he knew Liam.
“Yes, sir,” Jacobs said, lowering his eyes to the ground. “I want to be a voice for our people one day. I want to sit on the council with you someday.”
Jonathan’s expression matched Sterling’s. His lips were drawn tight. He looked up at my big dragon friend and his eyes narrowed. “So be it, but this is not the way to go about it. We are already having a civil war, we don’t need any more foolishness. Witches have been disappearing. I am not sure it is by their own will or if Sariah is behind it.” Jonathan pinched the bridge of his nose. “We must remain a united front.”
Jacobs nodded his head, but his eyes were no longer on Jonathan. They were on Ayre. Something changed within them, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Ayre’s eyes were on her brother. I imagined she was trying to soothe him in some type of way, but his body language was tense. Shay leaned against a pillar and watched Vailen with curious eyes.
I wanted to go over to her and see if she wanted to meet him, but I figured it was much too soon. I wasn’t that good at being a friend anyway. Especially when I was confused about how I felt about Sterling. I didn’t like how Shay was throwing herself at him, but it seemed like every woman did the same thing. Everyone except me and I wasn’t about to change that. I didn’t need anything complicated entering my life.
Ya know, it wasn’t as if my long lost mother was the High Priestess of a witch coven from New Orleans and I had recently bonded with the last dragon in existence. No big deal.
I let out a sigh and turned toward Shay. She was now looking at me with a newfound curiosity. “Shay meet Vailen.” I tried to keep my voice friendly, but I knew I was failing miserably at it.
“He’s a big boy, isn’t he?” What a dumb question.
I raised my eyebrows, trying not to say anything condescending. “Well, yes, he is a dragon.”
“So I see.” Her voice was clipped like she would rather be speaking to anyone but me, and I couldn’t have agreed more.
“He’s not that bad, I guess. I haven’t known him for long, but he seems sweet.”
She turned her nose up at me and marched away. Well, then.
“How are you feeling?” Sterling’s concern made me jump out of my skin. I turned around to face him and felt my face flush.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sterling
I didn’t know what I had said to make her blush as hard as she was, but it was cute. It matched her hair almost.
“I’m not really sure how I am supposed to be feeling after all of that, but I guess all right.” I tried to focus on Freya, but all I could hear was my father reprimanding Liam. I couldn’t stand the man, and I hated the fact that my sister was infatuated with him.
She wasn’t the only one that was for sure. Some of the students at the academy followed him around and always asked him questions. He was about the only competition I had when it came to the women in New Orleans. I could be honest with that. If they weren’t after me, they were pining for him, and if I turned them down, they would go running to him. I couldn’t imagine how it would go when he actually became a professor. My disdain for him grew by the minute and when he had tried to go after Freya and Vailen? I felt my power surge forward like it had never done before. I wasn’t exactly the protective sort, but something snapped.
“I’m sure it took a lot of your energy and magic,” I said, sympathetically. I couldn’t stop looking into her eyes. They were fascinating but frightening.
“I have no idea what happened.” Her face went grim. “I thought I was supposed to be the one in control. He is supposed to be my familiar. Ya know?”
“My father knows who he is. He is a powerful dragon. Queen Armia’s father killed him. He was the last of his kind and the strongest.” I shoved my hands into my pants pockets.
She nodded then wrinkled her eyebrows. “Who is this Shay character?”
“She said she is seeking refuge from something that happened in the Paris coven, though my father has yet to get any information on it from the council.” I pulled at the buttons on my stiff Oxford shirt and thanked the essence. Without my magic, I would have never been able to survive the humidity of New Orleans. I sometimes hated the style I had acquired.
Freya looked away from me to Vailen and gazed at him curiously. “That Jacobs dude is a bit much.”
I frowned, confused, wondering why she was calling Liam by his last name, but I went with it. “Yeah, he is passionate. I also think he’s an entitled piece.”
She turned back to me when she heard the animosity in my voice. “Do I sense jealousy?” She sounded amused. Her eyebrows were arched curiously as she licked her bottom lip.
She turned away from me, and I took the chance to admire her. She was wearing a big sweatshirt and cut off shorts. Her bare feet were a bright contrast against the cobblestones. Her back was ramrod straight, and her hair was tossed up carelessly in a bun.
Freya pulled a strand of hair away from her face and twisted it around her finger. I still couldn’t figure out my fixation with her. Her
petite body was cute, and the hourglass figure would give anyone with eyes fantasies, but it was her mind that had me. At least that was what I thought. It was the sassiness and the calculating look in her eye. It was like she had an old soul. Her eyes told me stories, stories that I yearned to hear, but I didn’t know if I was ready for that kind of commitment.
It was one thing to sleep with a girl, but it was another to listen to her innermost thoughts. That was a territory that I had never been in. Though I was eager to explore it, I was also afraid. That kind of attachment came with a price.
To the hell with it. “Tell me what it was like growing up.”
She whipped around, ready to defend her upbringing or prepared to defend herself. When she saw my curious expression, that I actually wanted to know her, she paused. I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. “It was tough.”
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. It was out of nowhere, and you don’t owe me a thing.” I pushed my hands deep within my pockets.
“No one has ever genuinely wanted to know about me.” She frowned.
“That’s absurd, I am sure there is much to learn behind those pretty eyes.” The compliment took me by surprise and by the look on her face, it did the same to her.
She opened her mouth to say something but was at a loss for words.
“I’m sorry, too soon.” I ducked my head. For the first time in my life, I felt uncertain and insecure.
“No, it’s just different. I’m not used to the good attention side of you.” She shook her head slowly. “I’ve been waiting for the mean side to come out.”
I pressed my lips together. I deserved that. I had been terrible. For whatever reason, I knew that this would happen. I knew that I would get stuck on her. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stop getting to know her once I started. I knew that once I had her, once I won her over, I would be the one that would be lost.
“And I’m going to make it up to you, every day for as long as I can until the memories of the past are made clean with good ones from the present.” A smile tugged at my lips.
She narrowed her eyes at me, but her voice sounded relaxed. “We had to fight for everything that we wanted. We had to claw, scrape and kill for anything. You won’t survive a day out there if you don’t. I learned quickly. I watched the other children and knew their strengths and their weaknesses. Every single one of them took me for granted because they thought I was too small to amount for anything.”
I didn’t know what to say. We didn’t watch the news. There was no need for us to dabble in human relations, that was what the council was for. We mainly just listened to a few things here or there to keep up appearances in the human world.
“If you were an older child, you didn’t get adopted. At least, it was very rare. I did what I did to survive. Every day was different. It kept me on my toes.” She shrugged and turned away from me again. She watched Vailen shrink to the size of a cat and lazily swat at a dragonfly. I chuckled at the site. Vailen must have known what I thought because he rolled his eyes and then rolled onto his back.
“I lived a very privileged life here. I know you probably don’t think very highly of me for it.” I gulped, now nervous.
“No,” She shook her head, a few red strands of hair fell out of her bun and rested against her pale neck. “It is what it is, and if I went my entire life comparing things like that, I would be miserable. I just live and take it day by day. Plus, I get to live in all of this now.” She spun around slowly. “I have more than what I deserve.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Freya
Sterling’s mouth dropped open. He was in shock. I knew he didn’t believe what he was hearing, but it was the truth. I was more than grateful to have come upon my magi and my familiar. I didn’t deserve any of it and yet, the universe or the essence, just kept giving me more.
He smiled and shook his head. I could just barely make out the words under his breath, “Perfect, just too perfect.”
I didn’t understand what he meant by that, and I wasn’t about to ask. It already didn’t make sense that he wanted to know more about me.
“Would you like to go to dinner or something?” His voice cracked on the last word, and he looked at me horrified.
I smiled. I had never seen him so flabbergasted, it was adorable. He didn’t seem to fall all over himself like this with other girls. I didn’t mind it, it was a nice change. “Yes, I would like that.”
Shay took that moment to appear in the courtyard and approach us. Well, Sterling.
I watched as Sterling's face changed and he put on a charming smile. I could feel my eyebrows furrowing. It was one thing to watch him be one way with other women, but it was another thing entirely to watch him transition to that person. Shay beamed as she got closer, too happy with the charm Sterling was throwing at her.
I rolled my eyes, and Vailen spoke in my mind."Your magic is winding up."
"What do you know about my magic?" I thought back.
"Much more than you do." He didn't sound egotistical in his response, but there was a hint of pride in his words.
"I can't even tell," I shook my head in frustration.
"Close your eyes," Vailen said, softly. "Take a deep breath. Focus on your energy."
I did as he instructed, but I couldn't feel any energy. I shook my head again. Growing more frustrated.
"Focus on your anger. Make it real." when I didn't understand what he was talking about, he sent an image in my mind. It was a beautiful petite girl with red hot waves coming off of her. It took me a minute to realize that he had sent me an image of myself. I looked at him with surprise. He closed his eyes and spoke with in my mind again. "Imagine pulling that red back inside of yourself."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I imagined the red energy floating into the sky, then I inhaled and imagined all the red going into my nose and mouth.
"That's it," Vailen whispered in my mind. I closed him off as I felt the whispers of magic tickling my face. "Simply incredible. Your magic works a little different than the other witches."
I opened my eyes and felt better than I had before. "What do you mean?"
"Every witch is different. They feel the essence and energy a little differently. Your mind is what's keeping your Magi from working with you." he said while he sat up and stretched.
I made my way to him and ran my fingers down the scales on his head. I sunk down to the hard ground and leaned against him. Sterling and Shay were leaning together, talking animatedly.
"What do you think about him?" I sent my thought to Vailen and looked around the courtyard. A few witches stood around, glaring at me. Ayre had disappeared and so had Jacobs, good riddance to him.
"He is confused about his feelings for you." Vailen's silky smooth voice coated my mind.
"That's not what I asked," I said, dejected.
"Then what are you worried with?" he replied. Anyone could see that he wasn't comfortable around me.
"I don't know, when we first met, he was so nasty to me," I said, trying my hardest to forget.
"I have to warn you," he said.
"About?" I watched Shay touch Sterling's arm affectionately. She leaned toward him and flipped her hair. I wondered if she practiced that.
"Through our bond, eventually, you'll get snippets of my memories, and I will get yours," he said, solemnly. "You won't get a warning either."
"What made you want to divulge that information now?" I asked, still focused on Shay and Sterling.
"I get little bits and pieces of your pain through our connection." Vailen's tail thumped lazily behind us. "When my pain comes forward, it will, hopefully, be like nothing you have ever experienced."
His statement made me look down at my lap. I wondered what his pain was caused by and when and if I would actually feel it. I didn't get much from Vailen's side of the bond. I imagined it had a lot to do with how powerful he was. He didn't seem to need much practice.
"That's not true. Th
is is very new to me. The last time I experienced a similar bond... it was with my mate." He closed his eyes, and I watched as smoke lifted from his nostrils. I laid my head on his broad back and didn't pry. I didn't know enough about dragons, and I didn't want to cause him unnecessary pain.
I checked my hair for the fifth time. It looked the same, but I was beyond nervous. Sterling would be here any moment, and though I was physically ready, I definitely wasn't emotionally prepared. A knock on my bedroom door had me jumping through my skin. I smoothed down the invisible wrinkles on my dress and pulled the double doors open. My smile fell.
"Don't look so disappointed." Ayre pushed past one and threw herself on to my bed next to Vailen. "What are you up to anyway?" She paused and frowned. "You're wearing makeup."
"Yes," I didn't know if she would be happy or upset about the news I was going to drop on her. "Um, Sterling will be here any moment."
She rolled over and frowned at me. "What do you want from him? Is he going to take you on a double date with him and Shay?" She chuckled at herself. Vailen rolled his eyes.
"We actually have a date," I whispered, unsure of myself.
She made a face and sat up. "But he's been obsessed with Shay lately..." she trailed off.
I shrugged my shoulders. I tried not to look into it too much. He had followed through with his request and had approached me a few days after everything had gone down with Jacobs and the rest of the witches.
Other than that day, everything had been quiet. Vailen continued to teach me and coach me with my powers. My magi was more than willing to do the work, as long as my brain stopped getting in the way.
I had been in the courtyard, trying my hardest to get into meditation, when Sterling startled the hell out of me. He just quietly sat down in front of me, and when I opened my eyes, I had let out a shriek of terror.
Other witches had whipped around in surprise, and Vailen retreated back to my quarters. Lately, he had been fed up with the extra attention and fled if too many people came around him at once.
