by Meg Ripley
“You’re quite magnificent when you don’t think anyone’s watching.”
Kaylee couldn’t see the form in front of her as much as she could sense he was there, but she recognized Archard’s voice. She flew backwards a few feet, squinting her eyes in the dim light to find the details of his dark, charcoal-colored body. “What are you doing out here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” he challenged.
“Fair enough. I came out here to think.”
Archard flew in a slow and lazy circle around her, his dark body absorbing the starlight. He was barely more than a silhouette, with a few scales coming into relief every now and then. “I had similar reasons. What did you need to think about?”
Perhaps it was the kiss or the gentle way he spoke to her. Kaylee couldn’t explain it, but being near him made her a different person. She’d hidden secrets from numerous people all her life—even those she was close to—yet she couldn’t do the same around him. “I’m going to Charok.”
He paused, his wings moving just barely enough to keep him in the air. “What do you mean?” His voice had changed from curious to harsh.
“I heard your discussion in the library.”
“Kaylee…”
“Don’t talk to me like that! I’m not a child, and you have no right to scold me for eavesdropping. It was purely an accident, but I’m glad it happened.” She darted off into the night, further from her home.
Archard followed her, keeping up with her easily. “Is that your excuse for everything? That it’s an accident?”
She knew he was referring to the spell that’d brought him and his family there, and she felt a dagger of anger in her heart. “It was, whether you believe me or not. But if Varhan is going to help you get back to Charok, then I’m going, too.”
He dodged around her, his body gliding through the air until he stopped short directly in front of her. She tried to go to the left and then the right, but he blocked her any way she turned. “Kaylee, you can’t. It’s too dangerous.”
Kaylee bolted upwards, but she hadn’t spent enough time in her dragon form. Archard was right at her side. “I can if I want to,” she finally retorted when it was clear she wasn’t going to lose him anytime soon. Her wings were growing tired, and she glided down toward a clearing in the woods.
They touched down, Kaylee less gracefully than Archard. The ground was hard, but she refused to let out the grunt of pain that built in her lungs. For a moment, she considered shifting back to her human form, but she didn’t want him to have more of an advantage over her than he already did.
He advanced toward her, his eyes sparkling with anger. “You don’t understand. You could die.”
“I don’t care.” As she said the words, she realized how true they were. “This is something I have to do. I can’t explain it in any rational way, but I know I have to go to Charok. I’ve spent so much of my life searching for something, and it’s very hard to find when you don’t even know what it is. Varhan says it’s because I’m a star child, but I think there’s more to it than that. I’m supposed to go to Charok.”
Archard touched her shoulder with one clawed hand. “I can’t let you. Besides, you don’t even know where the spell is.”
She let out a puff of steam and backed away from him, turning her back. “You forget that I’ve spent my entire life here. I’ve explored every nook and cranny of that house, and I know all the secret hidey-holes. Trust me, I can find it.”
“There’s more. You don’t understand.”
Kaylee whirled back around to face him. “Then make me understand.”
He advanced slowly, his eyes locking with hers. Even in dragon form, she wasn’t immune to him. Kaylee’s heart thundered while her blood carried sparks of excitement through her body until she was painfully aware of every move he made.
“I don’t think I can make you understand,” he finally said, his voice a soft contrast to the sharpness of his white teeth, “but I’m asking you to trust me. You can’t go.”
She pulled away, fighting against this spell he’d cast on her. “I thought you would be on my side. You said you wanted to go, too.”
“I am on your side, but you simply can’t go! I won’t allow it.” Archard’s voice roared into the night, waking the daytime birds in the nearby trees and sending them fluttering off to a quieter place.
“What did you just say to me?” This unexpected, overprotective behavior was ridiculous. “Just because we had a little moment together doesn’t give you any right to boss me around, Archard.”
A dragon’s sigh sounds more like a hiss, and Archard’s held a hint of regret. “Yes. Fine. You’re right. Just please, please promise me you won’t do anything foolish.”
Kaylee shook her head, trying to understand how she’d ever thought there was something between the two of them. She could never have true feelings for someone so controlling. “I don’t have to promise you anything.” Kaylee shot up into the night sky and away from the clearing as fast as she could.
And Archard didn’t follow.
12
It’d been a few weeks since Kaylee had spoken so bitterly toward him in that clearing in the woods. She’d said nothing in the meantime about going back to Charok, and he was beginning to think she’d finally given up on the idea. He’d hated that he couldn’t tell her the truth about why she couldn’t go, but Julian and Varhan had been right in keeping the spell a secret from her.
Unfortunately, she had also given up on him. By the time Archard came down for breakfast, Kaylee had always come and gone before him. On the rare occasions when she hadn’t beat him to the kitchen, she kept her distance as she poured her coffee and grabbed a bagel. She refused to even look at him. Archard had tried to make casual conversation with her, knowing better than to bring up the subject of Charok, but even his subtle “Good morning” or “How’s the weather?” wasn’t good enough for her. This seemed to make Jake pretty happy, considering the smug look he always wore on his face. No doubt, he thought the distance between them was his own doing.
After a dinner that wasn’t any different from the rest, with Kaylee sitting as far away from him as possible and making excuses to leave the table after only a few minutes, Archard paced irritably in his room. The soft knock at the door made him hopeful, but it was only Kieran.
He strode in, looking concerned. “Are you all right?”
“No better or worse than I’ve ever been since we got here,” Archard grumbled. He gestured toward the desk chair.
Kieran sat, his gaze still focused on Archard. “I’m not sure that’s true. You seemed to be doing quite well for a couple of days shortly after we got here, and then your attitude went downhill again.”
Archard glared at him, but he knew he was right. “There’s been a lot on my mind.”
“Still wanting to go back to Charok?”
He couldn’t reveal the truth about the spell, not if he was going to keep his promise to Varhan, but it was no secret that he wanted to leave. “I don’t belong here.”
“I think you could if you wanted to. Just listen.” Kieran put up a hand to stop Archard from arguing with him. “I know you feel obligated to your family’s legacy, but there’s nothing left to guard.”
“If that’s true, then why do I feel such a need to go back there? Why do I feel like I’ve left my post and something bad is going to happen if I don’t take it up again?” Archard brought his hands together, weaving his fingers and squeezing until his knuckles whitened. “I’m so torn. I know I have to go back, but…”
“But?” Kieran pressed.
Archard groaned. “You can’t tell Callan what I’m about to tell you.”
“All right.”
“You know how Lucia told us about what it was like for a dragon to find his mate? That there would be this indescribable feeling that comes over us; something we can’t resist or deny? Something that pushes us even harder than the occupations handed down to us have?”
He bobbed
his head. “Of course.”
“I think I felt that with Kaylee. At first, it was kind of an anger, but then it turned into something else. I’m not the same person when I’m with her, but then again, maybe I’m the person I’ve always been meant to be. I want to shift, and I want to protect her from any dangers that might befall her. Hell, I even want to protect her from herself. I can feel the pull of my duties on Charok, but I feel the pull that Kaylee has on me as well.”
Kieran laughed softly. “I haven’t felt it myself, so I don’t suppose I can say, but it certainly sounds like you’ve found the one you’re destined to be with.”
Archard pounded his fist into his thigh. “Then why does she hate me so much?”
“I don’t think she hates you at all. I’ve seen the way she looks at you when you’re not watching. She’s probably going through the same thing you are, and the two of you need to just sit down and talk about it. Or, you know, find some other way to show how you feel about each other.” His grin lifted his beard.
Archard gave him a playful punch on the arm, but he knew his cousin was probably right. “Fine, then. But if she tears me into pieces and leaves my charred remains on the lawn, then it’s your fault,” he laughed.
Leaving his room, Archard went to find Kaylee. The library was empty, and her car was still in the garage. He headed back upstairs and down to the end of the hall, but just as he raised his fist to knock on her bedroom door, it swung open.
She stared at him, surprised, and then tried to shut the door again.
Archard easily stopped her with a booted foot on the threshold. “I know you’ve been shutting me out, Kaylee, and now you’re doing it literally. I just want to talk.”
“I can’t talk right now.” She stared down at his foot, her mouth pursed.
It was then that Archard noticed she was hiding something behind her back. “What do you have?”
Her eyes widened, and she scooted a little further behind the door. “Nothing.”
Archard knew better. Kaylee couldn’t hold the door for long, and he pushed his way inside. She backed away from him, still holding her hand behind her back. He advanced across the room, hoping he was wrong, but there was only one way to find out. Archard grabbed her in both arms.
Kaylee pushed at his chest with her free hand, but it was no use. His hand closed on the book behind her back. He kept his left arm around her while he looked at it, his breath stopping in his lungs. It was Varhan’s spell book.
“I’m putting this back where it belongs. You shouldn’t have it.” With a little regret, he let go of her. He was angry, but he still liked the way she felt in his arms.
She glared at him. “Fine, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve taken it quite a few times already. I just put it back when I’m done with it and Varhan never knows the difference.”
“He’s going to now,” Archard promised. “I should’ve told him right away about your plan, but I hoped you’d let it go.”
“Tell him all you want, because I already know everything I need to know. I’ve got all the ingredients and I have the spell memorized. I’m going to Charok, Archard.”
“No, you’re not,” he insisted. “This spell could kill you.”
“Then it’s worth the risk. Stop trying to get in my way; you’re no different than anyone else here. You think you know what’s best, but you have no idea what’s going on inside me. It’s like there’s a string on my heart, and it’s yanking on me constantly.”
Archard took a deep breath and set the spell book down on her dresser. She couldn’t take it again without him seeing it. He walked slowly toward her, knowing she was likely to dodge around him and try to run away again, and he stopped when they were face to face. Archard desperately wanted to reach out and touch her face, to brush back her hair with his fingers, to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her tightly against him once again. But he kept his arms firmly at his side. “I do understand that. I know that feeling more than you could ever imagine. That same sort of string is pulling me in two different directions, and I don’t know which one to follow.”
She tipped her chin up at him, and he swore he could see hope in her eyes. Did she know she was one of the forces that pulled at him so hard?
Archard hated himself for what he was about to say. He was about to go against everything Julian and Varhan asked of him. He was about to let Kaylee put herself in danger. But if she insisted on going, then at least he knew he could make sure that both the strings tugging on him were finally pulling in the same direction. He had to go home, but he had to protect Kaylee. “I’m going with you.”
She blinked. “What?”
“If you insist on going, then I’m going with you,” he replied. “And before you argue with me, just remember that you’ve never been to Charok before. You’ll need someone there to keep you out of trouble.”
Those were the wrong words, and he knew it as soon as he saw her eyebrows draw down. “I don’t need you,” she said bitterly.
“You do.” He felt like such a jackass, but there was a truth inside him that refused to be ignored any longer. “If you want to do this, then you very much need me. You need me to keep you safe on Charok, and you also need me to keep this a secret from your father.”
Her countenance turned to a scowl, but she nodded. “Fine. We’re leaving tonight.”
13
Kaylee fell, and the worst thing about it was that she couldn’t see how far she had yet to go. Cold wind rushed past her ears, and her body tumbled in the wormhole she’d created with that spell. Her stomach had revolted as soon as the portal opened, and she’d been almost surprised to see that she’d pulled it off so easily. But it wasn’t over until they were standing on Charok, and there was no choice but to jump in.
Archard was falling somewhere near her, but she couldn’t open her eyes to find him. The wind and the light were too much, and they made her eyes water so badly, she couldn’t see. It was easier to keep them shut.
The ground came out of nowhere, and she slammed into it before she saw it. Every molecule of oxygen left her lungs, and she lay gasping on the hard surface for a long minute.
“Kaylee? Are you okay?” Archard’s chiseled face loomed over her, and her body began working again.
She nodded instead of answering aloud, and she let him help her up. “Did we make it?” she finally gasped. Kaylee didn’t recognize the forest they stood in, but it could have been a grove of trees anywhere on Earth. She slowly picked up the backpack she’d brought along, grateful it’d made it through the trip.
Archard nodded. “I believe so. Either that, or it’s someplace that looks a lot like Charok.” He smiled at her, a look that transformed his face from its usual solemnity. “We did it!”
Kaylee sagged against a nearby tree. “I’m not feeling so great after that...” She slid to the leafy ground.
“That’s understandable. I haven’t studied any of these spells as much as you have, but Varhan told me the transition could make me sick—if it didn’t kill me, that is.”
“I think I just need some water and I’ll be fine.”
Archard glanced around uncertainly before nodding. “I think I know where we are, and there should be a stream not too far from here. You think you can walk?”
“Not right now. Why don’t you go see if it’s there, just to be sure, and then I’ll get up.”
He held out his arms. “I can carry you.”
“No!” She cleared her throat. “No, thank you. I’m sure the spell wasn’t easy on you, either. Just see if you can find it and we’ll go from there.” Kaylee waited until he’d disappeared over a small ridge before jumping to her feet. She didn’t know what direction she was headed in or exactly what she was headed for, she only knew she had to get away from him. Archard would be pissed when he came back and found her gone, but he’d get over it.
Her stomach lurched once again, still upset about the long journey to Charok, but she could deal with that. She barreled through the woods
, surprised at how little undergrowth she encountered. She considered shifting, but the tight trees would restrict her. It was best to stay human for now.
Heavy footsteps crashed in the leaves behind her, sending a shiver of fear up Kaylee’s spine. Archard must’ve realized what she’d done, and he was after her. She pushed her legs harder, wishing she’d being doing more jogging, but it wasn’t enough. The steps were drawing closer. She could see the edge of the woods up ahead, where the sunlight shone in a brilliant sheet, but she was too late. A hand wrapped firmly around her middle and yanked her off her feet.
But it wasn’t Archard’s. The thick limb was covered in lumpy green skin, and it pulled her back with a reckless force that her fellow dragon never would’ve used on her. It flung her through the air and pinned her to a tree, her feet suspended above the ground. The repulsive green face that pressed itself near hers matched the arm. The beast stared at her with dark beady eyes, sniffed her with its crooked nose, and snarled with a mouth full of sharp teeth. “What are you?” it demanded in a deep, rolling voice.
Kaylee couldn’t answer if she wanted to, considering the thing was holding her by the neck. She scraped at his wrist and tried to pry his fingers back, but her efforts were futile. The world was beginning to darken around her, and once she passed out, she’d have no defenses left at all.
But a black form barreled into the side of the green beast, knocking it away and leaving Kaylee to fall to the ground. Her instincts told her to run while she could, but her body had been tapped. Between the spell, the run, and the encounter with that horrific green beast, she was barely conscious.
She watched through half-lidded eyes as the two creatures battled each other. Her captor went down with a few blows from the newcomer, slinking off into the woods and yelling over its shoulder. It was only as the victor approached her that she realized it was Archard.
Without a word, he scooped her into his strong arms and stalked off through the woods. She didn’t fight him at first, knowing she didn’t have the strength. After a few minutes, she coughed and told him to put her down, but he only held her tighter.