The dragon blinked but didn’t answer.
A note of dread crept into Kara’s heart. She didn’t like the fact that the dragon couldn’t tell her if Noah was okay. “Can I speak with him?”
Pain colored the dragon’s dark eyes. “Lost!” it moaned and rolled its head away from Kara.
The note of despair in the creature’s voice broke Kara’s heart. She shifted over so she was right next to his head. “Come here.” She pulled his head into her lap. “If Noah were truly lost, you wouldn’t be here.” She ran her fingers over his warm scales, comforting him. “It’s a proven fact that it takes two parts for a dragon to survive. He’s in there—we just have to find him.”
The dragon blinked, considering her words. “Truly?”
“Truly,” Kara answered back. “And we will find him. Together.”
The dragon rolled his head over and pressed it into her middle.
Letting out a sigh, Kara held his head. Usually, she didn’t let her patients get this physical, but this was by far the worst case of separation she had ever seen. Normally, it only took a little convincing to get the dragon to back down and let the human half out. She had never seen a case where the dragon couldn’t reach their other side at all.
“Scared,” he rumbled.
Kara squeezed him tighter. “It will be all right,” she soothed him. After a moment, she released him and pushed him back so she could look in his face. “But first we have to figure out what to call you. You aren’t Raven anymore, and you aren’t Noah.” She paused as she thought about it. “What would you like to be called?”
The dragon blinked at her, unsure.
After a moment of indecision, Kara smiled at him. “Why don’t we call you Byrd, since Raven’s last name was Nightingale and Noah’s last name is Dove? Sound good?”
The dragon snickered and nodded its head. “Byrd,” he chirped.
“All right, Byrd. What say you and I blow this popsicle stand and go find something to eat?” Kara suggested. “I don’t know about you, but I could really use a good steak about now.”
Byrd nodded again and moved back so Kara could get up.
Pushing up from the floor, Kara straightened out her suit and looked down at her new patient. His wings hung low under the weight of his situation. Letting out a deep sigh, Kara shifted over and rubbed her fingers over Byrd’s shoulders.
The little dragon leaned into her side, accepting her touch.
She scratched a little harder as they turned towards the door.
Laurence eyed the quiet dragon but opened the door leading to the hall where the rest of the men were waiting.
Byrd growled softly until Kara patted him on the back.
“These men are your friends,” she reminded him.
He quieted down but watched the men warily as she guided him out of the room.
Daniel stood against the far wall with a smile on his face. “That was surprisingly easy. So when can I have my man back?”
Kara laughed. He had no idea the scale of the task they had in front of them. And it was going to be hell if facing down a feral dragon with a broken shoe was the easy part.
The ebb and flow of a heated conversation was the first thing Noah recognized as he floated on the edge of awareness. Memories toyed with his brain, but he couldn’t quite grasp them. Something significant had happened, but he couldn’t recall what it had been. He didn’t really hurt, just felt a little disconnected from his body. Like that time when he’d been playing with a volatile spell and had ended up in the hospital for a week. The out-of-body experience that had caused was very similar to how he felt now, but this was the other way around. Instead of being trapped outside his body looking down, he was stuck inside looking out with someone else in control.
He listened to the conversation, not really understanding what the voices were saying. From the timber, he could tell it was a male and a female talking passionately about something. But what eluded him.
As they went on, Noah slowly caught the gist of their argument. The girl wanted to do something, and the guy was refusing. The male’s voice was familiar, and Noah raised his head to look at the man. The world looked weird. Colors were overly bright, and the edges of everything were too sharp. He blinked a few times, trying to focus on the man. It took Noah a moment to identify him. Daniel. Noah looked over at the animated woman arguing with him. She was a mess. Her long hair hung loose around her shoulders in damp tendrils, and her well-cut suit was smudged with dirt and soaked beyond repair. Noah stared at the pair, wondering why they were arguing.
“She wants us to go with her.”
Noah looked around for the source of the new voice but couldn’t find anyone else. He tried to call out to ask, but nothing came out. “Who?” he asked in his head.
A soft snicker washed over him. “We are one.”
Noah paused as he recognized the voice. “Dragon?”
The dragon rumbled in response.
Noah felt the unusual sensation vibrate up from his own chest. The argument between Daniel and the woman paused in response to the sound.
“How about we ask him?” she snapped at Daniel.
Daniel looked at the woman, considering her request. “Sure.” He turned his attention to Noah. “Byrd, if I let you go with Miss Rose, will you behave and work to get my man back to me?”
Noah wanted to answer him, to tell Daniel he was there, but the dragon took control.
“Yes, we be good,” it chirped.
Daniel considered him. “And Noah?”
“We find him,” Byrd answered.
Noah wanted to scream. He pushed and pulled with all his might, but nothing he did made a difference. He was stuck at the mercy of the dragon, forced to watch as the woman turned back to Daniel.
“See, he’ll behave,” she argued. “I’ll make sure he’s all right.” She paused as Daniel mulled over the decision. “He isn’t doing you any good as he is, and I can’t help him here. He needs a quiet place to recover, not a cell.”
Daniel let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. Take him. Keep him with you at all times. He’s your responsibility and top priority. I want him back safe and whole as soon as possible. Do I make myself clear?”
The woman looked ready to snap at Daniel, but she clenched her teeth and nodded. “Crystal.” Without another word, she turned from Daniel to face Noah. There was a hint of irritation in her eyes, but she smiled warmly at him. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get out of here.”
Noah felt his head nod as the dragon agreed. “We’re going to go with her?” he questioned. A hint of fear echoed through him. The last time he had gone with a woman he didn’t know, it hadn’t ended well.
“She’s nice,” the dragon answered as he turned and followed the woman out.
If it had been possible, Noah would have let out a deep sigh of frustration as he sat back and hung on for the ride. It was weird not being in control of his body.
4
Sitting in her driveway, Kara stared out the front window of her car at her house. I can’t believe I’m doing this! As a therapist, she lived by two rules: never get physical with your patients, and never bring them into your personal life. Two very important boundaries when dealing with creatures that put a lot more emphasis on physical touch and personal space than humans did.