30
Brady
Brady watched Casey crumple, blood steadily pumping out of a wound on the side of her head. She’d hit a rock jutting out of the water dead on. Time slowed. Stopped. He couldn’t tell if she was still breathing.
Wallace’s mocking laughter echoed through his mind. Oops! Guess we both lose!
Brady turned his attention back to Wallace. Any bit of mercy he might have shown before was lost now, replaced by a cold, gnawing heat deep in his chest. He slowly rose to his full height, extended his massive wings, and flapped once, twice, rising higher into the air until he was twenty feet off the ground. Wallace stared up at him with his blank, black eyes.
Brady dove.
He propelled himself at Wallace with another powerful flap of his wings. He hit Wallace with his rear legs first, knocking him off balance and onto his back. Brady settled his entire weight atop him, pinning him down with his talons, and roared white hot flame directly into the bear’s face. Wallace screamed, flesh and fur burning away under the onslaught, and swung wildly at Brady, knocking him away with a lucky shot.
Free of Brady’s weight, Wallace rolled into the water, soaking his patches of still-flaming fur. Brady drew his wings in close to his body and crouched low, baring his teeth in a snarl. Wallace threw his head back and roared, bellowing rage into the night. The two faced each other, waiting for a reason, circling slowly.
Too late, Brady realized that Wallace was luring him away from his position in front of Casey. Wallace was too close to her now. Before he could react, Wallace lunged for Casey, drawing back one paw for a final slash.
He moved by instinct. Brady leapt forward with an immense thrashing of his wings and hooked his rear talons beneath the bear’s arms. He dug in as Wallace struggled to free himself, taking them both higher and higher with every flap of his wings. Brady knew what he might do, and he knew that he could not stop himself. His mind was clouded with thoughts of Casey lying dead in the water. And their child, gone before it could even live.
Brady flung his head back and roared, casting a spray of fire across the sky.
He wasn’t a murderer. He couldn’t do this. Killing Wallace wouldn’t bring Casey back. He couldn’t lose himself just for a moment’s revenge that would ultimately mean nothing.
Brady held himself aloft for a moment, then maneuvered into a dive. He’d get Wallace onto the ground. See him arrested and sent to jail for the rest of his life. He’d never be able to shift again. For some, death was preferable to that.
Suddenly, the weight in his talons became unbalanced. Brady glanced down and saw that Wallace had shifted back into human form. Brady’s grip on him was loosened. He began to slip out of Brady’s grasp one talon at a time. Brady could see his eyes widen as he realized that only one claw stood between him and a thirty-foot fall.
He slipped loose from the talon, screaming all the way as he plummeted to the ground. Brady heard him hit with a wet crunch. He’d landed on the trail leading to the cave.
That didn’t matter. Brady slowed his descent as he neared Casey and transformed back to human form as soon as his feet hit the water.
“No…” he whispered, his heart pounding almost painfully. He slipped his arms around her, cradling her close, bowing his head over hers as bitter tears filled his eyes. He spread his hand over her stomach, mourning that life, too. Once again, he had failed the woman he loved.
“I’m so sorry…” he breathed, rocking her gently, kissing her forehead and holding his lips against her skin for an extra moment. “I love you...I love you…” he whispered into her hair.
Casey coughed and shivered as she opened her eyes. “Brady…?”
Brady pulled away slightly, bewildered, not sure if he was hearing what he wanted to hear or…
Casey looked up at him, a faint smile on her lips and her eyes open wide.
Without a word, he pulled her up against him and held her as tightly as he could, choking back tears of relief as he buried his face in the hollow of her shoulder. He abruptly pulled away, suddenly serious again, and pressed the palm of his hand against her belly.
Casey covered his hand with hers, gazing into his eyes with a smile.
“He’s still here,” Brady whispered, his smile widening. “He’s still here!”
Now it was Casey’s turn to sob with relief. She melted against him as if she had suddenly lost her last bit of energy.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I should have said it sooner.”
“You’ve said it now. That’s enough.” Casey touched his cheek and gently guided him close for a quick, sweet kiss. “I love you, too.”
Brady’s smile slanted slightly. “Wild horses.”
“Yeah,” Casey said, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “Wild horses.”
Epilogue
One year later...
“Are you ready for this?” Jasmine applied the last bit of blush to Casey’s already flushed cheeks and lowered her veil. “You look beautiful.”
Casey turned to look at her reflection. The wedding dress she wore had been Elana’s, a simple, soft floor-length tunic with a boatneck collar and a thin braided belt. She had brought the veil from the other side of the Arch, somehow managing to match the same shade of cream as the dress. She still carried a bit of belly weight from the baby, but the dress was forgiving.
“Where’s Alex?” she asked, turning away from the mirror. A flash of panic shot through her.
“Alex is with his grandmother,” Jasmine said soothingly. “She’s showing him off to all her friends.”
Casey peeked out of the window at the decorations below. Brady’s family didn’t halfway throw a party, that was for sure. The Arch in the garden had been strewn with garlands of white flowers. Near the castle, tables groaned with dozens of dishes; some were from Brady’s world, some from her own. Shifters moved about in their human forms, occasionally shifting when the mood struck them.
“I can’t believe this,” Casey said quietly. “This is actually happening.”
“It really is,” Jasmine said. “Finally.”
“Yeah,” Casey said with a laugh. “Finally.”
“Are you ready for this?” Zack re-buttoned Brady’s black tunic. “Judging from the way you buttoned this, you don’t seem ready.”
“I’m good.” Brady took a deep breath. “Are you okay? How’s your leg?”
Zack shrugged. “It’s okay. I limp around when I’m in this form, but when I shift, there’s no problem.”
“I still say Wallace almost killed you,” Brady said with a half-smile.
“And I say you’re full of shit because I kicked his ass. You just weren’t there to see it.” Zack’s attention was drawn from Brady to the seating area. Brady turned to see his distraction and grimaced.
“Stay away from Alix, man.”
“What?” Zack looked at him with wide, innocent eyes. “I can’t believe you’re telling me, the man who risked his life to save yours, to stay away from your sister.”
“Believe me, it’s for your own good.” Brady glanced back at Alix again. She had done some alterations to her formal tunic, lowering the neckline and cutting a high slit along the side. She knew every male eye was fixed on her, but pretended she was blissfully unaware of the stares. Alix threw her head back for a loud, tinkling laugh and baited the hook.
From the looks of it, Zack had been caught.
“Where’s my Alex?” Brady asked.
“He’s cool,” Zack said, not looking away from Alix. “He’s with your mom. Don’t worry about it.”
“Spoken like a man with no kids,” Brady muttered.
“That I know of,” Zack said with a cocky grin.
“Yeah,” Brady sighed. “You’re just the guy I want for my sister.”
Brady stood at the Arch, waiting with a pounding heart. The officiant, a short man who usually shifted into a great owl, sighed with boredom and looked half-asleep.
A flute began to sing, joined by the sounds of a
lute and a drum. It was a sweet song, bright and hopeful, the song traditionally used in joining ceremonies such as theirs.
They weren’t yet technically “married.” In his world, they called permanent matings simply “joinings.” They would have another ceremony in Casey’s world for her non-shifter friends and family, but Casey insisted on honoring his family’s traditions first.
Casey stepped out of the castle and Brady caught his breath. She walked along the path covered with flowers, her gaze locked on Brady’s. Her smile looked as wondrous as his own. They were here. This was happening.
“My liege,” she said softly, with a mocking bow. Brady laughed.
“Cut it out, peasant.”
The officiant cleared his throat loudly. He knew that his presence there was mostly for traditional reasons. The couple joined themselves through their words and their kiss. All he needed to do was introduce them and prompt them at the right times.
“We come together today to celebrate the love of Casey Donahue and Prince Braydon Markonian,” he said, his voice booming. “May we all remember the love shared by every living thing.”
As the audience murmured their approval, Casey crossed her eyes slightly, making Brady laugh. She couldn’t help it. The whole ceremony seemed so serious and fancy that she couldn’t keep a straight face.
“Your vows, my Prince?” the officiant asked.
“Ooh...my Prince,” Casey whispered with a smile.
“Shh…” Brady attempted to look stern but couldn’t fight his own smile. He took a deep breath and sighed, taking her hands in his. “I never thought I would ever live to see this day. It seems like a miracle to have you here with me now.”
He lifted Casey’s hands and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. Casey blinked away unexpected tears, a tremulous smile still on her lips.
“You are my family,” he continued, his voice growing soft. “You have given me a life I had only hoped to have. I promise I will love you with every breath I take in this world and after. I will cherish you and trust you and do everything I can to see you smile every day for the rest of our lives.”
Tears trickled over Casey’s cheeks, but she managed to maintain her composure.
“Casey?” the officiant said. “Your vows?”
Casey took a deep breath and slowly released it.
“I feel as if I have known you forever,” she said softly, gazing into Brady’s eyes. “I’m not sure how I managed to be so lucky as to have found you, but I’m grateful. I am so grateful.” She sniffed and wiped a tear away with their joined hands. Brady chuckled and she smiled again.
“You said I gave you a life you never expected, but really...you saved me from a life I never wanted. Until I found you, I lived in a black-and-white world with no love, no laughter, no hope of happiness. Now, you have given me all that and more. I will love you for the rest of my life and beyond. You are my family, and I promise to cherish you and trust you and do everything I can to see you smile every day of our lives.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke. No one in the audience made a sound.
Until baby Alex began to squall.
Brady and Casey laughed and turned towards Elana, who was frantically trying to quiet the baby.
“It’s okay,” Brady said to the officiant, his voice almost lost beneath Alex’s screams. “Let’s wrap this up. Our kid is hungry.”
“In the eyes of family and friends and community, you are now joined to each other for the rest of your lives. Kiss her if you want.” The officiant hurried away, hands over his ears.
Brady and Casey laughed as they leaned into each other, still smiling slightly as their lips gently brushed. An eruption of shouts and yells filled the air as they parted and made their way to Elana. Casey took the baby and cuddled him close, looking up at Brady as he slipped his arm around her.
Nothing more needed to be said.
The celebration continued well into the night.
Elana and Gareth volunteered to babysit Alex to allow a proper honeymoon. Brady and Casey danced together most of the night, doing the junior high step-and-sway to every song, including the fast ones. For a while, there was no one else in the world.
“Yo, Brady!”
Brady winced and touched his forehead to Casey’s, then smiled and turned to Zack as he approached. “Hey,” Brady said.
“Just wanted to let you know I’m hopping out of here. I gotta look like a tweaker in about five hours.”
Brady laughed. “I think you’re almost there.”
“Ha-fuckin’-ha, big man.” Zack laughed. “Say...were you serious about your sister?”
Brady nodded. “She will chew you up and spit out the bones.”
Zack’s smile slanted. “Really?”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I’m warned, I’m warned.” Zack gave Brady a quick hug, then embraced Casey. “I’m happy for you,” he said quietly. “Both of you.”
Brady nodded. “Your time’s coming soon, pal.”
Zack walked towards the Arch. “Not likely!” he shouted as he walked through.
Brady and Casey found themselves alone again. Around them, the partygoers were finally starting to find their ways home. The torches were being snuffed out, one by one.
“Can you guess where I want to go?” Casey said softly.
“I might be able to try…”
They walked hand in hand through the castle and around the lake. Brady easily found their way through the woods, and they ducked through the narrow cave into the grotto. Patches of moonlight sparkled on the water; the sound of the falls was hushed.
Brady pulled Casey close and gazed into her eyes for a moment before lowering his lips to hers. He felt her melt against him, felt his own body go weak. He had never in his life known he could be this happy. He had been afraid to even want it.
But here it was: happiness, warm in his arms.
Casey eased away from their kiss, pulling back to look him in the eyes. “My liege,” she said teasingly. “Feel like taking a peasant for a ride?”
Brady laughed, slipping one arm around her waist and the other beneath her knees. He grinned as he tightened his embrace and kissed her again.
In an instant, he unfurled his wings and they were lost in the clouds.
Thank you for reading INTO THE DRAGON’S WORLD I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, may I ask you to please write a review HERE!
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