For the Heart of Dragons (16 page)

“What spells did you use?”

Her words were calm and even, and that helped Noah to remain calm as he told them to her.

“There’s your problem.”

Noah’s eyes hadn’t been focusing on anything as he spoke, but this statement pulled his attention up to her face.

A soft smile graced her face. “Spoken spells don’t work in dragon form,” she explained. “You’re using the wrong language.”

The wrong language!
The truth hit Noah fast and hard. The power he had channeled hadn’t taken form because the words he’d used hadn’t been correct. Searching his mind, he pulled out a few spells he could do without words. Two were attack spells he had learned in case he was trapped and bound. His favorite was a fire spell that required written runes. But, since he didn’t want to hurt or burn anything, he pushed those away and turned to something flashy but significantly less dangerous.

Closing his eyes, he pulled the magic to him and gave it form. As he cast the spell, he listened for Kara’s reaction. Her gasp of surprise calmed the fear in his heart. Opening his eyes, he took in the delight on Kara’s face as she watched the twinkling fairy lights dance around them. This was the spell he used to wow his dates when they asked him to show them magic. As his own personal adaptation of his first spell, it was something he knew well. Simple, yet elegant.

“This is beautiful,” Kara said, releasing her hold on him and sitting back on the grass. She turned her smile from the lights dancing around them to Noah. “See? Your magic works just fine.”

Noah looked around at the lights. It wasn’t the best job he’d done with the spell, but at least it had worked. Letting out a relieved sigh, he released the spell. The lights twinkled for a moment longer before fading out. “Thank you,” he said. They were poor words for the depth of gratitude that he felt, but he lacked for better.

“Think nothing of it,” Kara said as she got up from the ground and brushed the dirt from her pants. “You’re new to all of this. I’m sure there’ll be lots of things you don’t know. I’ll help you get through it.” She smiled softly at him. “That is, after all, why I’m here.”

Noah’s heart sank at her words, but he nodded his head.
She’s my therapist,
he reminded himself.
She’s here to do a job and nothing more.
“Thank you anyway.” Standing up, he ruffled his wings and settled them to his back where they belonged. “Shall we then?” he asked.

“Of course,” Kara said and started towards the car.

Noah limped along behind her. When she opened the door, he climbed in, curled up on the seat, and closed his eyes to rest. He hadn’t felt too bad after the fall, but the whole panic attack had burned through what energy he’d had left. Hopefully, Kara wouldn’t mind if he took a nap because he wasn’t sure if he could keep his eyes open anymore.

8

What a day!
Kara pulled back the covers on her bed, more than ready to crawl in. And it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet. This morning when she’d rolled out, she hadn’t expected half of the excitement the day had brought. Some light work, a nice flight, maybe a little progress in Noah’s case, but nothing like what she’d gotten. Thankfully, the evening had been much quieter. It had given her a chance to decompress and ponder the events of the day.

Noah’s meltdown over his magic had given her more insight into the man she was helping, but not much. He did make his living as a top-level mage. The loss of his powers would cost him his job. But she hadn’t witnessed such a severe panic attack in a long time. She’d glanced over his records again but couldn’t find anything to suggest he was normally that high strung. Just the fact he ranked as an Elite suggested he wasn’t prone to cracking under pressure. And Daniel made sure his men were well tested before sending them into the field. None of his reports had shown any signs of stress after missions.

Since Byrd seemed to be missing, Kara had hoped to talk with Noah for a while, but the day had worn him out. By the time she’d loaded him in the car and gotten on the road, he was sound asleep. He didn’t even wake up when she stopped to get provisions for dinner. With as tired as the poor man was, she decided to save the steaks for tomorrow and opted for some chicken sandwiches instead. Noah barely raised his head when the smell of hot food hit him. It took coaxing to get him inside, fed, and tucked into bed. The fact that he was still favoring that front leg bothered her. He may have said it was fine, but if he wasn’t moving better in the morning, she was taking him over to see the medic.

A jaw-cracking yawn left Kara shaking her head and snuggling down under her comforter. She blinked her bleary eyes and studied the folds of material she’d hung over her window. They weren’t the lovely curtains she had planned, but she hadn’t had the chance to go and pick out something nice. And the two tablecloths weren’t up there for esthetics. The dark linens would block out some of the morning light. It wasn’t an ideal answer, but it beat glaring sun at six AM.

Kara closed her eyes and relaxed. The soft sounds of the night wrapped around her as she drifted on the edge of sleep. She had earned her rest, but her mind held on to the day, playing back choice bits. A soft creak pulled her back from the warm bliss of oblivion. Without moving, she focused on the noise of something moving across the carpet. A hint of fear raced through her as the sound got closer to her bed.
Did I forget to lock the doors?
Her mind raced, but she distinctly remembered locking both the front and back doors. She froze as something plopped onto the bed near her feet. Her heart was racing, yet a warm wave of calm coming from her instincts told her everything was fine. Lifting her head, she looked down at the heavy object on her bed.

A pool of darkness deeper than the surrounding night had gathered in the shape of a dragon on the foot of her bed. It sat there, staring at her with the most forlorn look in its eyes. It whined at her.

“Byrd?” Kara asked as she sat up. There was something about the way he moved that made her sure Noah was not in charge.

The dragon whined again.

Kara pushed her covers down. “What’s wrong?”

“Lonely,” he chirped.

The sad note in his voice made Kara’s heart clench.
How is it possible for him to be lonely?
“Where’s Noah?” She scooted down the bed towards him.

“Sleeping,” Byrd chirped. He slid his head towards her.

Kara reached out and rubbed her hand over the top of his head. “Why aren’t you sleeping? You’ve had a long day.”

Byrd whined and wiggled his way up the bed a little farther. “Scared.” A singled tear slipped out of the corner of his eye, breaking Kara’s heart.

“Oh, Byrd!” She moved to the foot of the bed and pulled his head up so she could hold him. “Did you have a bad dream?” The broken pieces of her heart were crushed by his next word.

“Raven,” he sobbed. His pain was heavy in his voice, and another tear hit her skin. The little diamond was warm as it slipped down inside her shirt.

Clenching her arms around Byrd’s head, she held him as tears welled in her eyes. She knew the pain of losing friends and family, but the thought of losing part of herself was unbearable. After a moment, she pushed the dragon back and reached for the end of her covers. A hard yank had them ripped loose from their nice, neat tuck. “Come up here.” She held the blankets back for the dragon.

Byrd crawled up the bed until his head rested on her spare pillow.

Kara threw the bedding over him and lay down against him. “Everything will be all right,” she said as she ran her fingers over his neck. “Noah will take care of you.”

Another whine slipped out of Byrd as he wiggled on the bed.

Kara chewed on her lip for a minute before adding her support. “I’m here for you, too.” She knew there would be consequences to committing herself to the distressed dragon, but her instincts told her it was the right thing to do. He needed her, and her dragon would not let it go.

He rumbled in pleasure as he rolled his head over against her.

She traced his scales as she spoke. “I know we’re probably poor substitutes for Raven, but you’re strong. You’ll get through this.”

Byrd drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “We liked Raven. She nice.”

“Noah’s nice, too,” Kara added. She worried her lip, not sure her words would be enough to lull the hurt from him.

Byrd tilted his head so he could look at her with one eye.

Kara could see the age in that sparkling eye. She took a deep breath, feeling a fool. Most of the time, it was easy to forget what she was dealing with. Byrd’s truncated speech patterns and carefree attitude led her to treat him as she would a child or pet, but he was anything but. Byrd was no hatchling to be scolded or coddled, he was ancient. That single eye staring at her from the darkness held things she couldn’t imagine. Pleasures and joys to match her best dreams. Horrors and pains with which her worst nightmares couldn’t compare. She felt it pull at her, stirring her wild side to answer the call. Her dragon pushed to the surface, and she drew in a gasp of air, trying to hold on to her human form.

Byrd held her gaze for a second longer before blinking and turning away. “Raven wasn’t the first. We survived then. We’ll survive now.”

Panting, Kara held on to herself as her mind reeled. Those words had come from Byrd, but not the Byrd she knew. This was something older, something deeper. She could feel power tingle across her skin where it touched his side. His words echoed in her brain over and over. What did it mean? She lay there, watching Byrd as his breathing evened out.
Who was he?
The only thing Kara really knew about him was that he had been part of Raven Nightingale before her death. Noah had saved him by forming a dragon-heart stone and claiming him. Other than that, Byrd was a mystery.

Raven Nightingale was even more of an enigma. Kara knew she had been an ancient dragon, well respected and influential in the dragon world, but that was it.
How old was she? Where did she come from?
Kara pondered these questions as she relaxed next to Byrd. Ideas played with her mind, driven by Byrd’s words.
If
Raven wasn’t the first, could someone have given Raven her dragon?
Kara made a mental note to look up everything she could find on Raven before going back to her train of thought.
That would explain how Byrd had known how to make a heart stone, but how did he tell Noah? Or did Noah already know?
She pondered that one for a while.

Rolling over, she pressed her back into Byrd’s warm side and let the subject go. No matter how hard she forced the questions through her brain, she wasn’t going to get an answer without either Byrd or Noah telling her. And then there was the matter of broaching the subject. Asking about the dragon heart meant talking about Raven’s death, and she didn’t know if Byrd was ready for that yet.

As Kara shifted to get more comfortable, something hard dug into her ribs. She wiggled around until she was able to pull it out. She didn’t need light to identify the soft glitter of the diamond tear. Wrapping it in her fist, she tucked her hands up in the hollow of her neck and leaned back against the dragon again. Somewhere in her sheets was another tear.

Kara had never cried diamond tears, but she knew they hurt to shed. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to get to sleep. She would not bring the subject up while Byrd was still grieving for his loss. She would still work to get them into a condition to answer Daniel’s questions, but she would not be the one to cause them any more pain.

***

A thin beam of sun lanced across the room and fell across the head of Kara’s bed. She moaned as the light broke into her dreams. Rolling over, she snuggled into the warmth behind her. A soft sigh of pleasure left her as she wiggled closer to the heat source. Her mind recalled her late-night visitor and the reason she had a warm bed this morning. A smile graced her lips as she relaxed. It was nice waking up with a dragon in her bed. They were warm and cozy.

“Morning,” she mumbled as she raised her hand to caress Byrd’s hide. Her fingers fell on something firm, but it wasn’t the hard touch of scales she’d expected. Kara froze as something draped across her, pulling her closer to the solid mass in front of her.

“Good morning.”

Kara’s eyes popped open in surprise at hearing a human voice. A wide expanse of creamy flesh filled her vision.
Human flesh!
She swallowed hard as she took in the male chest her hand rested on. The pec muscles were well toned, even if the skin was a bit pale. A smattering of red curls dusted across what skin she could see. Carefully, Kara tipped her head back and looked into the face of the man holding her. Her heart skipped as she recognized him from the pictures she had seen yesterday. His root-beer eyes held amusement in them. “Noah?”

He smiled. “For the moment.” The tips of his fingers rubbed down her back, easing her tension. His brow furrowed in thought. “I do have a question, though.”

Kara looked at him, waiting.

“What happened?”

She cocked her head, not understanding his question.

“I don’t remember how I got here.”

Kara laughed lightly to herself. “That would be Byrd.” This was probably a conversation best had out of bed. She tried to move out of his arms before answering.

Noah’s grip on her tightened, pulling her back in against him. “Shhh,” he hushed her, holding her in place.

Unsure of what was going on, Kara froze in his arms. Her heart thumped as he curled forwards so his mouth rested against her hair. She drew in a deep breath, trying to calm her heart, but the smell of dragon musk sent trills of excitement down her spine. It had been a long time since someone had held her this close. Her dragon flashed with desire. It liked that Noah held her so tightly.

“Sorry,” Noah apologized as his grip on her eased. “Byrd’s focused on you.” He closed his eyes as if he were concentrating deep inside. “I can feel him back there, just waiting. You stirred him when you moved.” He opened his eyes and stared at her. “He likes you.”

A light blush colored Kara’s cheeks, and she looked down at Noah’s chest. “It’s instinct,” she explained. Her fingers rubbed over his skin as she spoke. “Where is he this morning?”