Love of the Dragon (Her Dragon's Bane 4) (17 page)

“Why don’t you do it now?”

“Dòmhnall will kill me if he thinks I have this kind of power.” Genuine fear sounded in Tara's voice. “I swear I won’t use this again. Not unless our lives depend on it.”

“Tara, it’s not right. I worry you are too powerful and you make decisions that affect us all on a whim.”

“On a whim! Do you know how much I’ve hated having to lie these last few months? For me it’s only going to get worse. Dòmhnall has indicated he has accepted I’m his mate.”

“Indicated? What he told you?”

“He kissed me.” She actually blushed.

Charlotte’s body softened, realising how hard it was for Tara to keep everything to herself. “Tara. I swear I won’t tell anyone about this. In return, you have to promise me to let me help you. If there are any major problems, anyone jeopardising us, you have to talk to me. It will always be in confidence.”

Tara thought about it. “Would you do that? Do you understand how hard it is to knowingly put people in danger for their own good?”

“Well, when you put it like that.” She rubbed her temples; she was too tired to even think about this tonight. “Yes. I’ll try.”

“Tara!” Dòmhnall’s voice boomed down the hallway.

“I have to go.” She grasped hold of Charlotte’s hands. “Listen carefully. Here is where the pact begins. You have to persuade Zoah to move to Spellholm. Trouble is coming. Samuel has started something that is going to threaten us all.”

Charlotte lifted her head to meet Tara squarely in the eyes. “What trouble?”

“By going to Spellholm, Serena and Connor awoke the dragons. For your party they opened their doors to the forest for the first time in generations. Not everyone is happy about that.”

“I thought we would be free from danger.” Charlotte felt her hopes of a peaceful life ebbing away.

Tara touched her cheek, wiping away a stray tear as it slid down her face. “You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You and Zoah have a great future ahead of you.”

“Do I have to keep this from him?”

“Yes. But you must move to Spellholm. He has to swear his allegiance to Dòmhnall.”

“You are expecting a miracle.”

“It doesn’t have to be now. The enemy is regrouping. Take some time to enjoy Zoah. I’m sorry, Charlotte, but you can’t have it all ways. You either choose to be part of what I see, or you accept what I do without complaint.”

“I still don’t know why you don’t tell Dòmhnall.”

“Because once you tell people, it changes them. By telling you I have already set things in motion that wouldn't have come to pass if I had brushed you off.”

“Like what?”

Tara shook her head. “No, I won't say any more. Too much of this stuff in your head is a burden. I grow tired of the responsibility of it all. I will not put that on your young shoulders.”

“Tara! Now.” Dòmhnall banged on the door.

Tara brushed passed Charlotte, who still held the felt dragon in her hand. “By the way. I would suggest unbinding that once the Moon Rite is over.”

“Why? Why wait that long?”

Tara smiled. “It will make no difference to how he ... performs. Enjoy a more humble Zoah for a day. Get him to take you to dinner. It won’t hurt him to think that it’s the power of your love that gave him back his dragon.”

“That is manipulative.”

“Welcome to the world I walk in, Charlotte.”

At last, they were leaving. Although they had been in the house less than half an hour, it was still too long. This house had been the sole refuge of Zoah and Connor for so long, he didn't like strangers inside. It had been bad enough when Serena came to live with them, and then Charlotte. He had become used to them because they were meant to be there; they were family.

But two other dragons? It was an invasion of his territory. This might not have affected him so much if it wasn’t for the part of him that was missing.

Without his dragon, he felt small ... mundane. He was one of the people that he looked down on; there was nothing special about him. Nothing at all.

“Please tell Serena I’m sorry. And not to blame you. It’s all worked out.” Charlotte was embracing Connor. Dòmhnall and Marcas had already transformed and stood waiting impatiently for Connor. Tara was on Dòmhnall’s back, getting comfortable for the final part of their flight. They would have to go fast and true to reach the outer edges of Spellholm before dawn. If it had been later in the year then they would have been forced to stay here, but dawn should not be until six thirty; they had time.

“I will tell her, Charlotte. Perhaps in a few days you will come and see us.”

“I hope so.”

Zoah felt a rush of apprehension. If he had lost his dragon completely, he would have to ask his brother to come and fetch them. Connor would end up being his own personal dragon taxi unless he conquered his loss. Either that or he would have to do what the mundanes do. He would have to learn to drive a metal motor monster. One of those smoke-spewing cars that they drove around in. He shuddered at the idea having to actually mix with mundanes.

Except for Charlotte. But then there was nothing mundane about her.

The dragons took off and headed into the dark sky. Zoah and Charlotte watched until they had gone from sight, even then neither of them moved. After two years apart, there was so much to say. So much to explain. It was knowing where to start that bothered him.

Eventually she said, “I’m going to bed. I don’t think I can stay awake any longer.” She turned and went into the house. He followed, shutting the door behind them and making sure it was securely locked.

He walked by the side of her, looking sidelong at her face, noting the tiredness and worry there. She looked older than her years. To have gone through so much at her age was unfair. Then a strange thought struck him. He might have given her exactly what he had wished for her. A normal life. If he never regained his power, she could live normally. He could learn to be whatever she wanted. As long as she still wanted him.

Reaching her room, she went inside and nearly just flopped down on the bed. However, she wanted to take off this ridiculous dress. She took her a clean shirt and went to the en suite bathroom to change.

She was too tired to think about what Tara had said. Instead, she left the felt dragon tucked inside the fabric of her dress. It wouldn’t hurt for one night; she guessed Zoah would just want to sleep too. As she struggled to undo the dress, the little dragon flew out. Azure had been curled up against her skin through the whole journey. It seemed his time away from her had left him so desperate; he couldn’t tear himself away.

“I’ll find somewhere for you to sleep,” she said. Searching around, she found a tissue box, which she emptied out. Next, she lined it with some cotton wool to make him a soft bed.

“There, you need to sleep in here or I’ll squash you in my sleep.” Somewhat reluctantly, he settled himself down. Although twice she had to firmly put him back inside, when he crept out and tried to settle next to her skin.

“I’m not going anywhere. It’s safer if you stay there.”

Holding the box in one hand and her dirty clothes in the other, she went back out to her bedroom. The door was shut and there was no sign of Zoah. He must have left her to go to his own room to sleep. She hated that they hadn’t spoken, hadn’t said goodnight.

Putting Azure down next to the bed, she folded her clothes and put them safely out of the way. Then she changed her mind. Instead, she took the felt dragon out and opened up a drawer to place it in. She hesitated. Maybe it was better to undo it and release Zoah from the binding.

Her hand shook, was she making a mistake? What if he blamed Tara? But Tara was flying with Dòmhnall; it would make it seem less likely to be her if she did it now. Carefully, she pulled the twine and undid the knot securing it. The dragon’s soft wings opened up.

She waited for a cry of delight from Zoah. It didn’t happen. Bemused, she decided to go and find him to see if there was any difference in him. Placing the dragon safely inside the drawer, she went to her door.

Before she opened it, she knew he was there. The familiar prickle on the back of her neck made her shiver with anticipation. He must be feeling better and returned to her room. Pulling the door open, she was surprised to find him slumped down against the wall. A moment of panic hit her, he looked ill. His eyes looked bloodshot against his skin, which had lost its healthy tan, leaving him pale and washed out.

She approached him tentatively. “Zoah, when my door was shut I thought you’d gone to bed.”

“I couldn’t leave you unguarded.”

“Then why are you out here?”

He looked up, searching her face for answers. “I wanted you to sleep.”

She turned around and slid her back down the wall until she was sat next to him, her feet tucked under of her, knees drawn up to her chin. Slowly she placed her hand over his, feeling his warmth. Slipping her fingers into his, she held his hand; she then rested her head on his shoulder, needing to feel him close.

“Why don’t you come to bed?” She didn’t look at him as she spoke. In her chest, her heart beat rapidly, while she waited for his answer.

“I ... are you sure?”

She had never known Zoah sound so unsure. He might have irritated the hell out of her with his ego, but that was so much preferable to this. If ever a man could be broken, then Zoah was.

“Yes, Zoah. Come with me.” She stood up, her hand still in his. Heaving as hard as she could, she made him stand and then took him by the hand into her bedroom. The little dragon flew into the air and around their heads.

Zoah looked at him miserably. “At least this reminds me that it was real, that I was once a dragon.”

“You are still a dragon, Zoah. It’s there inside of you. Can’t you feel him?”

“I’ve stopped trying to.”

“Zoah...”

He held his hand up to stop her words. “I know what you’re trying to do, but I can’t look any more. It’s gone.”

She desperately wanted to tell him what Tara had done. But she had given her word and now she began to see what it was like for Tara. To watch someone suffer, because to share knowledge might be too dangerous. It might change the future for the worse. After what Tara had said, she couldn’t risk it. She would have to help him find what was deep inside him. His dragon.

For now, she lifted the covers of her bed and slipped under, sidling over to the far side and holding them up for him. He hesitated.

“I don’t think I can sleep unless you're here beside me,” she said. It was true, but perhaps for opposing reasons. Being with him made her feel safe. While the thought of him alone made her feel sad. He was vulnerable. His compass adrift in the vastness of sorrow. The thing that had kept him straight, kept him true, was missing. If only to his troubled mind.

He sat on the edge of the bed, contemplating her words. When he moved again, it was to slip his shoes off, and then his shirt. He lifted his legs and slipped them under the covers, with his pants still on. She wrapped her arm around his chest, her palm on his beating heart. It still felt the same. The rhythm unchanged from the night she had rested her head against it. That moment when she realised who he really was.

If only she could find a way of letting him know he hadn’t changed. But she couldn’t think straight any more. She fell asleep, his warmth her constant companion through the night. The sound of his heart, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in and out. In her dreams he was a dragon, big, brave and fierce. She asked the dragon how she could help Zoah unlock him from his chains. When the answer came, it was obvious.

***

Charlotte opened her eyes. Immediately they fought to close and drift back into sleep. But she needed to pee and she needed to eat. In that order. Next to her Zoah breathed quietly. She was glad he was asleep; he had been restless all night, now he was calm and peaceful.

Not wanting to wake him, she slipped out of bed and pulled on a sweater. Immediately Azure was circling her head. Charlotte looked at the blue dragon; a mixture of sadness and hope filled her. He was so like Zoah, as if the dragon side of Zoah had been shrunk down. Determined to see if her plan was possible she left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen. First, she filled the kettle and then went to the bathroom while it boiled.

All the while, she was trying to work out how she could get hold of Tara. One thing they had forgotten, when the dragons left yesterday, was that her phone had been smashed. It made contact with the outside world, particularly Spellholm, impossible. The only thing she could think of was asking Zoah for some money and going into the city to buy one. It shouldn’t take her more than an hour, plenty of time to get there and back before tonight.

Her stomach flipped. In amongst worrying for Zoah, she had completely forgotten that tonight was the full moon. Should they go ahead with the Moon Rite or wait a month for Zoah to recover? The waiting, the uncertainty of the last two years, crept back up on her. She wanted this, although she was terrified of the ritual itself. But they had wasted so much time. And came so close to losing what they had. It must be tonight.

Breakfast first and then she would dress, then go and buy a phone. She would have to ring Serena and then ask her to fetch Tara. Then ring back. What if Tara instructed her to find some herbs or something for the potion? Would she be successful in making a potion when she had no magic?

“Where is that witch when you need her?” Charlotte mumbled.

Pulling open the bathroom door, she stopped in her tracks. Then she laughed, so hard she nearly peed herself. If she ever had any doubts about Tara and her abilities, they were now gone. There on the sink was a small vial. A note was attached.

‘My way would have been so much better!”

“I know, Tara. I know.” However, Charlotte was not the same as Tara. She wouldn’t manipulate Zoah for her own ends. Although she might have to tell him a little white lie.