“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.