For the Heart of Dragons (15 page)

“Thank you for your help,” Byrd chirped to the woman before laying his head down on Kara’s shoulder.

Kara relaxed under his comforting weight. With her eyes closed, she searched her memory, trying to figure out what had happened. True, the last few days had been taxing, with the move to her new home and Byrd’s situation, but it shouldn’t have been more than she could handle. She breathed in deep.
No signs of a cold
. The warm scent of dragon and earth filled her, easing some of her pain. She let out the air and pulled in another deep, calming breath. Emotions rolled through, and she suddenly knew what had happened.

How could I be so stupid!
she groused as her brain played back over their outing. Coming to the park had been a great idea, but she should never have joined Byrd in the sky. Or at least, she should have let him lead. Running from a male usually kicked up their instincts to chase. Running from one functioning solely on instincts was asking for trouble. And something she should have known not to do.

It wasn’t until her second pass through the hoops that she realized her folly. When she glanced back to see Byrd following her, her instincts kicked in. The look on his face ratcheted her hormone levels up, and the urge to run hit her so hard she couldn’t stop herself from trying to escape. From there, everything in her memory was a blur of wind, clouds, and sky. She had no recollection of how she’d managed to get down. A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that her safe return to the ground had everything to do with the dragon beside her.

Rolling her head from his side, she cracked an eye. The sheen of black scales blocked out the sky. Pleasure rolled through her as she recognized the structure of a dark wing protecting her.
He’s so sweet!
Realization hit her, and she stomped down on those feeling as hard as she could.
He’s my patient; I cannot fall for him!
The warmth in her chest subsided but refused to fully go away. She drew in a deep breath, knowing she was already in dangerous waters. And no matter how much her dragon was pushing her to claim him, Noah didn’t need a mate right now. He had enough issues to worry about. Letting her breath out, she pulled her head from under Byrd’s wing. The weight on her shoulder shifted as he moved his head to see her.

“Better?”

Kara closed her eyes and considered her condition. The concern in his voice made her heart swell, but she worked to push the emotion away. “A little,” she answered. She still felt like someone had beaten her with sticks, but that was starting to fade. She glanced back at Byrd. “How are you?” If her guess was correct, he had saved her from a very nasty fall. But at what expense?

“I’m good,” he assured her.

She considered him. He didn’t look hurt, but it was hard to tell from her perspective. Nodding her head, she accepted his word, knowing it was probably a lie. No dragon driven by instinct would admit to being hurt around a potential mate. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes. The sun was warm on her scales and did wonders to ease the ache in her body. Byrd’s head settled on her shoulder again, making her sigh in pleasure. She may want to deny her growing feelings, but she had to admit there was something comforting in his touch.

After a while, Byrd moved, drawing Kara out of her thoughts. She sighed deeply and lifted her head. “Thanks,” she said, not looking back at him. She felt his head lift up off her shoulder. “For saving me.” Standing up, she took a few steps forwards before ruffling her wings and tucking them into place along her back.

“You’re welcome.”

She turned to look at her savior, confused.
You’re welcome?
That wasn’t the response she’d expected. A brooding dragon would have been possessive, not polite. Could she have possibly read all the signs wrong? She studied him for a moment as he lay on the ground watching her. There was something different about him. She cocked her head, trying to find it. The look in his eyes showed his concern, but he sat there, patiently waiting.

His eyes.
Kara looked closer at them. They were lighter than they had been. Byrd’s eyes were dark—nearly black—but now they were a warm brown, like root beer in the sunlight. “Byrd?”

The dragon snickered. “He’s here somewhere.”

Kara’s heart skipped a beat in realization as she watched him get up from the ground. “Noah?”

He winced as he stood up. “For the moment.”

Shock froze Kara’s brain as Noah limped towards her. A million questions flashed through her head. How had this happened? Would it last? Should she call Daniel? Drawn by his limp, the thing most relevant slipped out of her mouth. “You’re hurt.”

Noah chuckled and limped up next to her. “Just jarred,” he reassured her. “I’ll be fine in a bit.” He moved his shoulder around, stretching it out. A look of pain crossed his face, but he put his leg down, ignoring it. “If you’re feeling better, we might want to consider finding something to eat.” He started limping towards the parking lot. “It’s not uncommon for people to faint from low blood sugar.”

Kara stared at him with her mouth open. True, they had skipped out on lunch, but missing a meal had nothing to do with her fainting.

Stopping, he turned back to her. “Unless you need to rest some more?”

She shut her mouth and moved to join him. “No, I think food is a good idea.” The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. He knew exactly what had happened, but he was giving her an out. By blaming her blood sugar, neither of them would have to acknowledge what had happened. For that, she was grateful. Addressing the issue would bring to light things she really didn’t want to face at the moment. Her dragon rumbled at her, but she ignored it.

“So, what do you want for dinner?” she asked as Noah joined her for the walk back to the front of the park. Maybe if she eased into another conversation, she could learn something about him.

“Anything with meat in it,” he answered as he limped along. “I could really kill a steak about now.”

Kara tipped her head down to hide the amusement lighting her eyes. That was such a typically male statement. But of course, he was male… and a dragon to boot. “I take it you want me to cook?” she teased.

“No… I… um…” he stuttered his way through his answer.

She chuckled. “It’s all right.” She bumped into his side to show she was teasing him. “I don’t mind cooking. Besides, you did earn it.”

Noah stopped as they got near the little house that held changing rooms and lockers.

Kara paused and looked at him. He was clearly conflicted about something. She was sure he wanted to deny he had done anything, but he was unable to do it. They would both know it was a lie.

“That was Byrd,” he finally said.

Her eyelids drooped over her eyes, and she tipped her head down in amusement. “Then I’ll make dinner for Byrd, and you can clean up the mess you guys made in my living room.” She turned and left Noah standing there with his mouth hanging open, smiling to herself as she turned the corner into the ladies’ changing room.
Noah is fun to tease.

She shook her head, knowing she shouldn’t be teasing him. Now that Noah had resurfaced, she should be picking his brain. They needed to know what had happened to Raven, but right now wasn’t a good time to bring up the murder. This was definitely headway in his progress, but pushing him to remember the incident that caused his split could do more damage than good. Better to move slowly than to cause another break in his psyche. Daniel may not be happy about it, but he was just going to have to wait.

Shifting back into her human form, she went to get her things. Tonight, she would dig out her pots and pans and fix him a dinner fit for kings and heroes. And tomorrow, they would head to Noah’s house. Then, if he showed more signs of stabilization, she would ask him for the information Daniel needed.

***

Noah’s hindquarters plopped on the ground, and he stared at the doorway where Kara had disappeared.
That woman has sass!
He laughed to himself. He liked a sassy woman. Easing himself down, he relaxed the rest of the way to the ground. The grass was amazingly cool and felt wonderful on his aching body. Letting out a long breath, he closed his eyes and considered his dilemma.

He liked Kara. She was sweet, sassy, and knew how to take care of business. But he wasn’t ready to face the things jumbled inside of him. Thankfully, she had taken the out he’d offered. She was a strong woman, and it was clear that her episode had had nothing to do with a lack of food. Had she corrected him, they both would’ve had to acknowledge what had happened. That would have pulled Byrd back up. Then there would have been hormone-driven emotions involved, and things would have gotten out of hand. Noah didn’t know if he could handle that right now.

Worried by the silence of his dragon, Noah reached out, feeling for his other half. The energy of the dragon bubbled inside him, but it was deeper than Noah had ever felt. Obviously, Byrd was still recovering from their outing.

Noah let out a sigh and opened his eyes. He was going to have to figure out a way to deal with his feelings before Byrd came back up. The dragon ramped all of his emotions to a higher level than he was used to. There had been occasions when Noah had teased some of his dragon friends when they’d done something stupid and had blamed it on a hormonal reaction. He regretted it now. Instincts and hormones were nothing to be laughed at.

Drawing in another deep breath, Noah did what he always did when faced with a problem he couldn’t think through. Closing his eyes, he emptied his mind and reveled in the world around him. The whisper of the wind through the trees and the warmth of the sun on his scales relaxed him. He breathed deeply, pulling in the scent of grass and dirt. His newly enhanced senses filled him with stimulation like he’d never known. It was overwhelming, but exactly what he needed to settle his emotions.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. His mind was clear. His emotions were calm. And for the first time in a while, he felt centered and ready to do magic.
If only a spell could help.
Thinking of something, he whispered the one healing spell he was good at and aimed it at his aching shoulder. The tingle of magic touched him, but nothing happened. Confused, he said it again, but it still didn’t work. Panic hit him as he tried it again to no avail.
My magic!

He breathed through the panic and tried to regain that calm he’d had a moment before. There had to be a logical explanation for his failure. Many of the mages he knew were dragons, and none of them had ever shown the slightest problem working spells. He huffed in deep gulps of air, but nothing was slowing the terror filling him. His magic couldn’t be failing him.

Magic wasn’t just Noah’s job; it was all he had in life. He’d discovered he was good with it at a very young age, much to his parent’s chagrin. They had tried to curb his practice, but it had been a natural thing for Noah. Even through the punishments, he studied all he could. He had stuck with it even through the embarrassment of his father forcing him to shave his head to hide the white in his hair. And Noah’s decision to become a mage had caused a rift in his family that nothing could bridge. At eighteen, he had left to face his future alone—a disgrace in his family’s eyes. The loss of his magic would be the end of his world.

Lifting his head, he swallowed hard and forced his mind to focus. The healing spell had been an intricate piece of magic. It had taken him a long time to be able to use it on more than just minor scrapes.
Maybe something simple.
Bending his will towards something he knew, Noah picked a simple light spell. As he said the spell out loud, he felt the sizzle of energy, but the ball of fairy light didn’t appear before him.

Noah’s front feet clenched in distress, driving his claws deep into the dirt. That had been the first spell he’d ever mastered. He’d been using it since the age of six! “Byrd!” he cried out, trying to draw the dragon from where it rested.

Byrd stirred but didn’t answer his call.

“Byrd,” Noah tried again, shaking his head. He stretched and folded his wings, but his other half did not respond.

“Noah?”

Noah looked up to find Kara coming out of the building towards him. He stood up, then dropped back to the ground. Fear and anxiety paralyzed him in a way he’d never felt before. “My magic,” he chirped, shaking his head. His claws kneaded the ground. “I can’t.”

Kara dropped to the ground in front of him and took hold of his head. She held it so he would look at her. “Noah, what’s wrong?”

He swallowed, stretched his wings, and dropped them loose along his sides before he could string the words he was dreading together. “My magic is gone!” He huffed air as the panic attack rolled through him.

“Oh, sweetheart!” Kara said as she rested her cheek on the top of his head and held him. “Just breathe. Everything will be fine.”

Indignation burned through the fear.
Fine? How dare she!
He shook her off his head and backed up so he could glare at her. “Fine?” More harsh words bubbled up out of him, but he couldn’t make them form right. They came out as chirps and squeaks that only made him madder.

“Noah!” Kara grabbed the crest on either side of his head and forced him to be still. “You’re fine,” she snapped. “Your magic is fine.”

Her words froze him.

“Tell me what happened.”

He swallowed twice before he started. “I tried a healing spell.” He panted, trying to get the sound coming out of him to be words. “It didn’t work.” His heart raced with fear.

Kara worked the tips of her fingers into the softer scales on the backside if his boney frill. “Relax,” she said, soothing him with both words and touch. “Just calm down, and we will figure this out.”

Noah twitched his head in a nod and tried to breathe. He concentrated on the feel of Kara’s fingers as they worked the tension from the back of his head. As his heart rate slowed, his breathing evened out and some measure of control returned to him.

“Now, tell me exactly what happened.”

Fear crawled back up his spine, but Noah concentrated on Kara’s touch and told her what had happened.