I spun around in the black, “Amaya! Amaya!”
A mist filled the void, “Fox?” She looked around, “What are you doing here?”
“I don’t know. I just fell asleep and woke up here. Where are we?”
“I don’t know. How long have I been asleep?”
“About a month. Your mom came to me in a dream about a week ago and explained you were caught between worlds and that they were working on getting you free but it was taking longer than they thought it would.”
She wrapped her arms around me tightly, “A month?” She pulled back slightly, inspecting my face before kissing me hard on the lips, “You shifted.”
My brow furrowed, “How do you know that?”
She placed a hand on my chest, “I can feel him. He’s unsettled. When did you shift?”
My hand closed around hers, “The day you were taken by Joseph. It triggered Cian and the only reason I got control back was because of your mom.”
Tears formed in her eyes, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I wanted to be there when you had your first shift.”
“Hey. Hey,” I pulled her face up to look me in the eye, “I haven’t shifted since, and honestly don’t think I could if I tried. I’m not sure how, and I want to fly with you.” Her tears overflowed, so I wiped them away. “Why are you crying love? We have the rest of our lives to fly together.”
“I know, but I’m just thinking of how much Joseph has taken from us, from everyone. We should’ve shifted together and taken our first flight together.” We kept chatting as I caught her up on everything that had happened since the final battle, but we held each other tightly.
When I woke up, Amaya wasn’t ice cold in my arms for the first time in a month. I jumped up and placed a hand on her face, tracing her features, but her eyes didn’t open. I kissed her forehead before heading to the bathroom. The knock on the door told me it was sometime in the early morning. I opened the door to find breakfast, delivered by who I had learned was Rosalie based on the scent that lingered in the hallway.
I ate quickly and set the tray back in the hallway. Turning back to Amaya, I picked her hand back up, reveling in the slight warmth she had gained. “Come on love. It’s time to wake up.”
I stayed by her side most of the day with no change to her condition. Daniel came in at dinner to have dinner with me and Amaya, so I filled him in on the dream I had last night and her change today. “So you think she’s close to waking up?”
I nodded, “I do. The last and only dream I had with her in it, it wasn’t her, but this one felt real, like the one with the goddess.”
He hummed, “It’s likely. Anything goes in the supernatural world. Dreams are very often a way in which lost loved ones reconnect and offer advice, guidance, or just comfort for those they left behind.”
“Wait, are you saying Amaya could be dying?”
“No. Just mentioning the fact supernatural beings often have real and relevant dreams. Lavi comes from a line of high priestesses, so she can connect with the gods and goddesses, loved ones, or anyone of importance, and typically does it in her dreams.”
“Has she been able to speak with Amaya while she’s been in her coma?”
He shook his head, “She’s tried but hasn’t been able to, which is probably a good sign.” He appraised me for a moment, “You look much better since you’ve started eating again.”
“I still don’t feel like eating, but I’m glad I did start because Amaya won’t kick my ass nearly as hard since I stopped losing weight.”
He chuckled, “Whatever you need to tell yourself to eat. You certainly smell better too since you started showering regularly.”
I chuckled quietly, “Yeah yeah.” I quickly cleaned up our plates and cups before settling back beside Amaya. “Thanks for getting me time off with the SEALs.”
“You wouldn’t have been able to do your job effectively and probably would’ve gotten yourself seriously injured if you had been forced to go back.” He cleared his throat, “Not to mention if she woke up and you weren’t here, it probably would’ve broken her heart again, and I can’t have that.”
“I would’ve gone AWOL to avoid that happening again.”
“I know, which is why I asked Mark to pull a few strings. She wouldn’t have wanted you ruining your career because of her.” He kissed Amaya’s forehead and briefly touched his forehead to mine, “Let me know if anything changes.”
“I will. Thanks Daniel.”
Over the next few nights, I dreamt of Amaya. She and I spent all night catching up and just talking about everything, but she still hadn’t woken up from her coma. Until one night, I was looking in the black searching for her. “Amaya! Amaya!” I shouted for her until my throat was raw.
I startled awake, and checked Amaya. I let out a breath when I saw she was still breathing. “Amaya,” I ran my hand down her face, “Amaya. It’s time to wake up.” My breath hitched when her eyebrows twitched and her eyes moved under her eyelids. “Amaya, love, wake up. Come back to me.” She groaned quietly. “Please Amaya, come to my voice. It’s been long enough.”
Suddenly she sucked in a big breath and her body shot upward with her eyes darting around frantically. “Fox?” She said, her voice cracking as her eyes landed on me, “Is this real?”
I pulled her in for a tight embrace as tears flowed freely from my eyes, “It is, my love. Welcome back.”
She sobbed into my chest, overcome with emotion, as I cried into her hair. “I’m so sorry.”
I pulled back, gently lifting her face so that she was looking me in the eye, “Why are you sorry?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t wake up. That I’ve been asleep for so long.”
I shook my head, “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”
She wrapped herself back around my midsection, crying harder into my chest. “I love you so much,” she said in a muffled voice.
“I love you too; so much more than I thought possible.”
She pulled back slightly and ran her hand through my long beard before wrapping herself back around my midsection, “I like the beard. Although you look like you haven’t been eating enough.”
I chuckled, “Daniel said you would notice my weight loss. It’s the only way anyone convinced me to eat.”
We stayed like that, just holding one another, for what felt like hours; our dragons reaching out to one another, comforting each other. Until finally I pulled back, “We should let Daniel know you’re awake.”
“Right,” she said, wiping her eyes clear of the tears that were still flowing.
Author: Kailan Counahan 