I flew in the direction Leandra’s spell said her sister was in, and soon I spotted the camp below in the forest. I did the same move I did in the hunters’ camp yesterday, dive bombing the camp and shifting close to the ground. The wyverns barely had a chance to react as I shoulder rolled on the ground and bent the ground up to trap them where they stood, “Hello boys and girls.”
“Why are you here, earth dragon?” One of the captured wyverns growled.
I took in a deep breath and didn’t smell Joseph’s distinctive death smell, “I’m looking for a sorceress. Tell me where she is, and I’ll leave in peace.”
“Dragon’s don’t know how to be peaceful,” another of the captured wyverns said.
“I know who you work for, and I will do worse to you than he could ever even imagine. Now tell me where the girl is,” I said with dominance in my voice.
“She’s in that hut,” one of them answered, pointing to one of the huts closer to us.
I inclined my head as a silent thank you, and headed to the hut. I walked in, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Where is my si-” a thin young woman, maybe about eighteen or nineteen years old, started before taking in who actually walked in, “Who are you? And can I please get to know you?”
I smiled at her, “I have a mate, but thanks. I’m here to take you to your sister.”
“Your mate doesn’t have to know,” she said, giving me a suggestive look which causes me to laugh. “You didn’t answer my first question.”
“Amaya Wardwell.”
At the mention of my last name, her heartbeat quickened and she backed up until she reached the end of her tether. “Where is my sister?” She demanded despite her fear.
“She’s safe. She met her mate today while she was helping the wyverns steal my uncle. If you would like, you can come with me and you both can come back to Virginia with us.”
“We don’t have mates. You’re just trying to trick me, us, so we’ll do whatever you want.”
“Humans don’t have mates either, but my mate is human. This isn’t a trick. We need to get going before more wyverns show up, or worse Joseph.”
“Wait, you’re not with Joseph?” She looked at me skeptically.
“No. He may be my uncle, but he is far from actually being my family.” I answered, “Now if you’re not going to attack me, can I remove the shackles and reunite you with your sister?” She nodded, “what’s your name?”
“Aurelia,” she said, rubbing her wrists as I bent the shackles off of them. “That feels so much better. So what happened to you? I’ve never seen so many scars on such a beautiful body.”
I smiled just slightly despite the bad memories, “Hunters. Are you ready to go?”
She nodded and we walked outside where the wyverns were still being held by the ground. “You did that?” I just shrugged, “Impressive. Please lead the way.”
“You won’t get far, you dragon bitch,” one of the wyverns said when he spotted us.
I smirked, “That’s what you think,” is all I said before I bent lightning down, taking them out of play. Once they were out I released their various limbs from their restraints.
“Did you kill them?” Aurelia asked.
“No. Just stunned them. Ready?” She gave me a nod, “Stand back so I don’t hurt you when I shift.”
She did as she was told, and I shifted quickly before lowering myself to the ground so she could get on my back. “I guess now’s a bad time to tell you I’m afraid of heights.”
I chuffed at her humor before spreading my wings and taking to the sky. She screamed all the way back to Alanza’s clan, causing Niamh to roll her eyes, “I had hoped she was kidding about that,” she said, making me chuckle.
I landed on the dirt airstrip and lowered myself so Aurelia could climb off, “Ian bring your mate out to the airstrip.”
“Coming,” Ian linked back quickly.
With Aurelia back on solid ground, I shifted back just as Ian, Leandra, and Fox stepped out of the jungle. When the sisters saw one another, they ran at each other, embracing each other. I grabbed the clothes Fox held out for me with a small smile on my face, “Thanks.”
“No problem,” he said with a smile, “It didn’t take you very long.”
I just shrugged, “When wyverns are unprotected, they’re just as easy as anyone else to beat.”
Leandra secured herself around my torso, “Thank you for saving my sister.”
I returned her hug before pulling her back, “Of course. You’re part of my clan now, if you choose to be, that is.”
She nodded her head, “Are you going to put irons back on us?”
“No, but keep in mind, if either of you hurts anyone in my clan or this clan, I will not hesitate to kill you.”
My warning caused Ian to growl, but Leandra touched his arm to quiet him, “I understand. We don’t want to hurt any of you.”
I nodded, “So this is your mate, big sister?” Aurelia asked, shifting the conversation away from my threat.
I barely listened to their conversation before grabbing Fox’s hand and pulling him along with me, back into the jungle. “Was it really necessary to threaten them?” Fox asked.
I stopped and looked at him, “Yes, it was. They have to know what to expect if they act against anyone here. Sorcerers can be very dangerous, especially powerful ones. I can feel the power coming off both of them.” I started walking again, “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
Fox sighed but nodded his head, “Okay,” I stopped again and looked at him with shock evident on my face, “What? If you say it’s necessary, I trust you.”
“Thank you,” I said with a kiss to his cheek. “About last night,” I started.
Fox held up his hand, “I understand, and I’ve thought a lot about our conversation yesterday too.” He cleared his throat, “I’m willing to try if you still are.”
“All in, no backing out?” I asked.
He nodded, “All in, no backing out.” I launched myself at him as Niamh cooed in my head. He caught me easily as I wrapped my arms around his midsection. He enveloped me in his arms, causing Niamh to purr loudly. We stayed like that for a long time, until finally we pulled apart. “So what now?”
I shrugged, “Take it day by day, until you’re ready to be marked.”
“And marking is absolutely necessary?” I nodded, causing him to blow out a breath, “Okay. I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”
I gave him a smile, “That’s all I ask.”
Fox had his arm draped over my shoulder as we walked back into the village. Georgie ran up to us as we came into the village center, “This place is so cool. Did you know they have a,” he paused with a thoughtful look on his face, “I don’t remember what it’s called, but it’s where water goes over a thing. Berto took me. It’s so pretty.”
“A waterfall?” I asked, making him nod his head enthusiastically. Fox chuckled, “Yeah! I think I’ve seen it before. Maybe the first time I came here?”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing this waterfall,” Fox said.
I smiled, “I don’t think I remember the way-”
“I do! I can take you!” Georgie all but shouted, jumping up and down excitedly.
Fox and I laughed, “Lead the way Little Dragon.”
He skipped ahead, not waiting on us to make sure we were following. As we walked to the waterfall, Georgie talked the entire way, only stopping a few times to look around and make sure he’s going the right way. Soon I heard the waterfall, “Do you guys hear it?” Georgie asked excitedly.
“We hear it, Little Dragon,” I said with a chuckle.
Finally the jungle let out to a beautiful waterfall. “Wow,” Fox said quietly.
“Have you used your abilities before, Georgie?” I asked him, looking down at him.
He shook his head, “Joseph didn’t let us.””
Fox and I shared a look, “Do you know what your dragon allows you to do?” He shook his head again, “Do you talk to your dragon?” He nodded his head enthusiastically, “ask him what you can do. He should know.”
Georgie closed his eyes tight, trying to concentrate. After about a minute he opened his eyes, but instead of his hazel eyes, he looked at me with bright cat eyes, “My queen,” his dragon said, with a slight bow of his head, “I’m Halwell. We have all the abilities that a storm dragon is gifted with by the goddess.”
I squatted down and brought our foreheads together, allowing our dragons to meet, “It’s so nice to meet you Halwell. Would you like to try out your abilities?” I pulled back and Niamh grumbled over the loss. Halwell nodded, “Okay, give Georgie control back and we’ll work on it.”
“Yes my Queen,” he responded before giving Georgie control back. I watched as his eyes returned to normal as Halwell fell back and allowed Georgie to take back control.
He swayed slightly as he did, “Georgie are you okay?”
He looked up at me, “Yeah. Halwell doesn’t usually take over like that.”
“Are you still up for a little bit of practice?” He nodded quickly, causing Fox and I to chuckle, “Okay Little Dragon, but if it becomes too much for you tell me. It takes a while to build up the strength it takes to use your abilities for a long time. Promise me you’ll tell me if you start to feel tired.”
“I will. I promise,” he said with a serious look on his face.
I sat down with my legs crossed in front of me, “We’re just going to work on water today. Sit down here and close your eyes,” I said, patting the spot next to me, and he quickly did as instructed. “Feel the water that’s in front of you,” he started to lean forward to stick his hand in the water, causing me to chuckle. “No Little Dragon,” I gently poked him in the chest. “Feel it right here. Sense the water around you, then allow your magic to flow out of you freely.” I watched as his forehead crinkled, trying to do as I had instructed. Finally I saw the water start to move a little, “good. Now visualize in your head what you want the water to do. Try to make a small ball with it.”
I watched as a small ball of water separated from the pool of water. He opened his eyes, “I’m doing it!” As soon as he exclaimed, the small ball of water dropped back into the pool, causing his face to fall.
I rubbed his back, “It’s okay Georgie. It took me a long time to learn how to use my abilities, and I’m still training with my new abilities.”
Fox’s POV
I watched Amaya training Georgie and was so impressed. She was a deadly assassin, yet she had so much patience with him. I sat down next to her and grabbed her other hand, giving it a squeeze. She looked over at me when I did, and I gave her a smile and kiss on her forehead. She gave me a smile, before turning back to Georgie, “Close your eyes again,” he did as he was told, “Okay now do the same thing. Visualize what you want the water to do.” Again a small ball of water was pulled out of the pool. “Good, now before you open your eyes, keep the visual of what you want to happen in your head. Don’t lose that visual as you open your eyes.”
Slowly Georgie opened his eyes, “I’m doing it and it’s actually staying!” He said gleefully.
“Great job. Now visualize it moving,” she said, and his brow furrowed a little under the strain. It took a few seconds before the small ball started moving, and his face lit up with happiness when it did.
It was moving for just a few seconds before it fell back into the pool. “Why does that keep happening?” He asked in a frustrated voice.
“Your abilities aren’t fully developed and it takes a lot of training before you will be able to fully control your abilities. It’s just going to take patience.” She said, rubbing his back gently, “How do you feel?”
“I feel okay. Just a little tired,” he said.
“You’re doing great Georgie,” I said to him, causing him to look at me with a smile.
“Thanks Fox,” he said with a small smile on his face.
Author: Kailan Counahan 