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

“Stay back,” he yelled. Then it took him.

Pressing herself back against the cold stone wall, she was oblivious to the steep drop behind her. All her thoughts, all her senses, were trained on Zoah. Before her eyes, he was changing. Not in the controlled way she had seen Connor use before. When she climbed through the trap door, she had seen the terror on his face. He was fighting for control.

Then, before she was a safe distance away, he had disappeared from this world. A scream had escaped her: she was too close to him. When he became the dragon, he would squash her with his body. Yet Zoah had gained control once more. Reappearing before her, his face pale and contorted with concentration. His eyes had sought her, had seen she was safe before he finally let himself go.

The air filled with sparks of electricity, as though a thunderstorm raged in miniature around him. Bright shards of lightning flashing across the dark stone floor. She held her breath. He had gone. The wait was eternal. By now, the dragon should have entered the space where Zoah had been.

The lightning sparked, gaining energy from the charged atoms where Zoah had been. Was that the problem? Was the lightning robbing Zoah of the energy needed to bring him back? Taking a step forward, she was about to rush up to him when something in the air changed. Particles began to coalesce into a large mass. Stuck to the spot, she watched as the mass began to take shape, growing larger and larger. She sighed with relief; the dragon had taken control of Zoah. She could make out the head, then the massive bulk of his body. Lastly, his long spiny tail appeared, swishing like an angry cat.

Slowly the colour of his scales became distinguishable. Reflecting the static electricity, which still sparked around him. Blue, but so many shades and hues he shimmered like the sea on a sunny day. His body flowed as he moved forward towards her, like swells on the ocean. If she reached out and touched him her hand would disappear beneath his scaly waves. The temptation to do just that was immense. Yet she hung back, afraid.

If Zoah in human form was moody and arrogant, what was this Zoah like? With the added ferocity of his dragon blood running through his veins, was it safe? Would he know her? She knew Connor always held onto the part of him that was aware. That was his essence at all times. However, she had never seen Connor change like this. Zoah had lost control, if only for a split second. And that scared her.

"Zoah?"

He turned towards her, snaking his head in her direction. Then, one solid step at a time, he approached. She wanted to run, to dive back down the trap door and pull it shut. Yet she knew she had to stand her ground. There was no way she would cower before him. That might even have been his plan, to frighten her half to death. Well, he wasn't going to play her for a fool again.

Yet when his next step brought him so close to her, she could feel the heat emanating from his body. All she could do was close her eyes and await the end.

His hot breath blew on her hair. Opening her eyes, she yelled at him. "Very funny."

He was laughing at her.

Now she had a good mind to go back down into the house and prevent him from going on his precious flight. If she didn't go with him, he wouldn't go. She knew that. It would be payback for his teasing and making fun of her. But she would only be hurting herself. She wanted to climb on his back and fly through the night sky with him. More than anything she had ever wanted before.

He stepped back and bowed his head. Charlotte didn't move, expecting another one of his tricks. When he didn't move again, she reached out and touched him. Her hand trembled despite her best efforts to appear cool about the whole thing. With the softest of touches, she stroked his scales, feeling the texture of them. Smooth but rough around the edges, like the man hidden within. It was the heat that surprised her. He glowed. It was not a fierce heat, but similar to holding your hands out to the glowing embers of a fire on a winter’s day. Warming, but not so hot it would burn you even if you got real close.

Braver now, she placed both hands on him, palms touching his shimmering body. Inching her way around him, she explored him as though he was the rarest gem in the world. She wanted to learn the many facets that made up Zoah, the mighty dragon. Only in this form would he stay still long enough for her to study him.

After she had circled him twice, his patience grew thin. Bending his leg, he lowered his body down. Charlotte had seen Connor do this when Serena and Tara had set off for Spellholm. He was making it easy for her to get on his back. Tara had nearly gone straight over the other side of Connor when she had clambered on. Remembering this, Charlotte placed her foot on his leg carefully. Making sure she had her balance right, she hopped on the foot that was still on the ground. Like mounting a horse, she jumped on a count of three, pulling herself up onto his back. For a second she teetered precariously, before grasping his spine and correcting her balance.

With only some degree of dignity, she managed to get herself seated on him, her legs straddling his wide back. In her own way, she had accomplished what no one else had before: she was riding on Zoah's back.

Beneath her legs, she felt him brace himself, and then he pushed off. His wings swooped downward before rising in a steady beat that took him into the air. Once over the battlements, they plunged down towards the ground, before the next downward beat took them back up. Each strong beat of his wings gave them more height. By the time they had reached the outer wall of the grounds, they were too high to be seen from the streets below.

Tears pricked her eyes. Partly from the cold air hitting her face and partly because she had never felt so free. Up here, there was nothing but the stars and the moon high in the sky. This was where he headed, climbing up further and further. Soon she was glad she had worn so many layers. Her hands were so cold she had to pull her sleeves down over them while she tried to hold onto him. Typical, she had forgotten to bring gloves. Yet she wasn’t going to let something like that spoil the experience.

Looking down, she could make out the city below by its landmarks. The steeple of the cathedral rising highest of all, but still way below them. Street lights snaked their way into the distance. The dim lights from the cars that drove along them moving like fireflies. She didn’t envy them their earthbound lives. Today was for flying above them all and pitying those who would never know this sense of exhilaration. No aeroplane or helicopter flight could ever be compared to this. She wasn’t stuck inside a moving vehicle. She was out in the elements, whilst travelling way above traffic jams and inconsiderate drivers.

Looking up, the moon loomed large and bright. They were so high she could start to make out the shadows as craters. If she reached out, she might be able to hold it in her hand, but she dared not let go. If she fell, she would be splattered all over the ground so far below. In so many pieces, they would never be able to even tell who she was.

Or would he catch her? In her heart, she knew the answer. He would never let anything hurt her. Something deep inside her spoke of that truth. There was more between them than she could fathom. A link between them. Perhaps the bond between Connor and Serena seeped into them, too. They weren’t exactly related. However, from the moment Serena walked into Connor’s life, they had become a family of sorts, bound by loyalty if not blood.

If he tried, he could reach the moon, he knew it. The closeness of her body made him feel invincible. In human form, he had constantly denied himself her touch. As a dragon, he gave himself this luxury. He wanted to absorb this sensation through his whole body. It was why he had asked her to accompany him.

He could have held it together for another night. However, after she had stormed off, he had been consumed by the fear that all she would remember of him was the way he tricked her. Why it mattered to him he was unsure; after all, he did not intend to come back to her. But it did matter. Deep down inside he wanted her love and affection, even though he would deny it with his last breath.

Soaring high above the clouds, he beat his wings effortlessly. The ground was disappearing below them. It was as though they were in a world apart from everything else. There was just the two of them. It didn’t matter who they were, only that they were together. Bonded by a magic deeper and older than time itself.

Before he had a chance to buy into that dream, he swooped down, hearing her screech in surprise. Not with fear, with exhilaration. The cold air whipped her hair back from her face making it stream behind her. Through her contact with his scales, he could sense her joy, and it infused his body. Not since he was a child beginning to fly had he felt like this. Flying had become so natural to him, it was like a man feeling excited just to be able to get up and walk.

There was so much he wanted to show her. Mountains covered in cloud, the sun rising over the ocean, so many things he had seen, so much he had experienced. To see it all fresh through her eyes would be amazing; it would tear the years away from him and make him young again.

At this moment, he realised how right they were for each other. That maybe the fates hadn’t made a mistake, she was here to make him reborn. To breathe life into his old, jaded soul.

Yet he wouldn’t change his mind. He had to leave. Only now, he wasn’t so happy about the idea. He would miss her growing and changing from a girl to a woman. Yet she could only do that if he gave her the space she needed to find out who she was. With him there watching her every move, she would wilt. He would be unable to stand back and not interfere in her life. Because the longer he spent in her company, the stronger the pull became.

Tonight was for them to share. Tomorrow they would part. Only she didn’t know it yet, couldn’t feel the poignancy of these last moments together.

Tears of joy streamed from her eyes, dropping onto his warm scales to evaporate almost instantly. She clung to him as they flew through the clouds, nothing else to see but grey, moist mist. With no landmarks to use as a reference, she could only tell which way they were heading by the stars and the moon.

Like an explorer of old, they needed no compass because Zoah seemed to have one built into him. When he turned and banked, dropping at last under the clouds, they were free of the land. Below them was the vast expanse of the ocean. Here he picked up speed, his wings beating faster, his muscles flexing under her. The power was extraordinary and she could appreciate how formidable he would be in battle.

Dipping lower, they skimmed the waves, spray soaking her as he flew on, faster and faster. Fear left her and she let go, raising her hand into the air and screaming for joy. Invincible in this moment with her dragon beneath her.

She clasped her hands back around his spine, as on he flew. Her thought returned to her. Was he her dragon? Was that the thing that he kept from her? If she asked him, would he admit it?

Ignoring the euphoria of the moment, she looked inside herself and realised she didn’t want to know. He had kept it from her for a reason. If anyone had asked her before, she would have thought it was because he was angry about her being thrust onto him.

Now she understood the distance he put between them, the way he pulled her close only to push her away. He couldn’t help it. Every moment he was near her, he had to fight his need to claim her. Something inside her flipped. They couldn’t go on like this. She knew now what would happen when Serena and Connor returned.

The tears hitting his scales now were tears of sadness, tears of regret. Through it all, though, they were tears of acceptance. Her only fear was that he would leave it too long before he came back. Because now her heart was beginning to wake to him. To feel him in the same way he must feel her presence every waking moment. And it hurt so much to know she was about to lose something so precious, when she had only just found it.

***

With her new knowledge, the thrill of the flight left her. Replaced by sorrow. She sat quietly while he raced across the ocean. When his burst of energy left him, he slowed and she felt him turn for home. All she could do was cling to him as tiredness overtook her. His flight became ever slower and steadier. She wondered if he could feel the fatigue overtaking her. It was late, way past the time she would usually be in bed. The emotion of the day, from their earlier fight and her new knowledge, caught up with her. She just needed to sleep.

When they descended from the clouds, she recognised the grounds of the house and the high tower that was their landing spot. He slowed until he was hovering above the stone tower. Landing so gently she only rocked forward as his feet touched down. Drowsy now, she sat with her hands frozen to his spine. Somewhere in her brain, the message surfaced that she had to get off. Zoah couldn’t change unless she got off his back.

With the last of her energy, she tipped forward, slipping her leg behind her and sliding to the floor. Her legs wouldn’t hold her weight and she crumpled into a heap. Crawling along the ground, she put some distance between them. Only the burst of energy behind her told her he was changing into a man. The fascination she should have experienced had gone.

Footsteps came towards her, and then strong arms picked her up and carried her inside. Her head lolled against his chest, the steady beat of his heart filling her ears. It lulled her to sleep, although she wanted to remember every part of this night. Exhaustion took her.

Only vaguely did she feel his fingers undoing her coat. His strong hands lifting her so he could remove it. One layer at a time he undressed her, but not far enough for her skin to be exposed. Then he put her under the covers and tucked them around her.

“Goodbye, Zoah,” she said. Her eyes opening to look into his, tears welling there in the dark pools. With the last of her strength, she lifted her hand and stroked his cheek. “Come back to me.”