The Dragon Finds Forever (Nocturne Falls Book 7)

by Kristen Painter

  “Van…” She swallowed, and took a deep breath. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “I know. It won’t. I promise.” He looked up at Pandora. “I need a safe place to do this. The clearing behind Sebastian Ellingham’s. Do you think he would allow it?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll call him and set it up. It’s covered with snow, but that’s no big deal.”

  “The snow will be gone when I’m done.”

  She hopped off the counter to stand beside them. “When do you want to do it?”

  “As soon as possible. I have dealt with this pain long enough.”

  Monalisa’s grip on his hand tightened. “You don’t have to go through this.”

  “I do.” He smiled, although he didn’t really feel like it. “It will be good to be in my dragon form again.” That much was very true.

  Several hours later, they were trudging through the snow toward the clearing behind Sebastian Ellingham’s estate. Monalisa had driven Van’s Hummer quite skillfully, even if she hadn’t exactly gone the speed limit. But he’d rather her feel safe and them be a little late, than for her to get upset about driving an unfamiliar vehicle in the snow.

  They’d parked at the head of the trail and were now almost at the clearing. Van had been surprised to see so many other cars, but no doubt word had spread about what he was going to attempt.

  The open space had been used for many things over the years. The first transformation of a young shifter, the combat necessary to settle certain disagreements, bouts of good-natured wrestling among shifters in town.

  Today, Van hoped it would not become blackened by the combustion of a dragon.

  He’d known of one such tragedy in his lifetime—Yuri, a distant cousin, was hexed by one of the witches in his village. Yuri had defied the witch by dating her daughter. Fearing Yuri would take her daughter and fly away, the witch had cursed him to remain forever in his human form.

  Yuri had laughed at the witch and told her not to waste her breath, that her magic wouldn’t work. Then, to prove to her how foolish she was being, he’d stepped back, spread his arms wide, and shifted.

  Except, he hadn’t shifted. The witch’s magic had worked. The transformation had bottled up inside him, and with friends and family watching, he’d combusted into a ball of fire, turning to ash before their eyes.

  The tragic event had left a lasting impression on Van, giving him a healthy respect for the women of the craft and an even greater fear of upsetting one of them.

  But it had not been enough to keep him from working with Pandora, and his relationship with her was one of the best he had. She was an excellent friend, true and dear, and through knowing her, he’d come to understand that painting everyone with the same brush was a foolish way to judge people.

  With that in mind, he hoped that what he was about to attempt would not result in the same catastrophe Yuri had suffered. He took some comfort in the fact that Yuri had been cursed, but he was here with the blessing and good wishes of some very powerful witches. That had to count for something.

  As Van and Monalisa crested the small rise that led into the clearing, he stopped and tugged on her hand. “Look.”

  Standing at the tree line, surrounding the circle, were a host of friendly and familiar faces. Pandora and her sisters were close to the front. She gestured for them to join the group. “Come on.”

  Van and Monalisa started walking again. Seeing all those faces was a good surprise, but he worried that if things didn’t go well, his friends would bear an awful memory of this day for the rest of their lives, as he did with Yuri.

  Perhaps that showed on his face, because Pandora broke away to approach Van and Monalisa as they neared. “I hope you don’t mind that everyone showed up. It’s for support, I promise, not in hopes of some kind of spectacle.”

  Before Van could respond, Sheriff Hank Merrow stepped forward.

  He cleared his throat. “Son, you want us gone, we’re gone. But if you don’t want to go through this alone, we’re here. We even cleared the space for you. Anything we can do to help, we will.”

  Van looked past the sheriff. The snow was tamped down in a large area going all the way to the tree line. Van’s throat tightened at the show of support. He swallowed against it. These were good people. “Stay.”

  The sheriff nodded. “In that case…” He held out his hand toward the crowd.

  A pretty young woman separated herself from the group. She had blue hair and pointed ears. Elf, Van guessed.

  She waved at him. “Hi. I’m Jayne Frost. I’m a winter elf, and my gifts tend to run toward the cold and icy.” She wiggled her fingers and fresh snowflakes fell out of thin air.

  “Impressive. And while it is nice to meet you…” He shrugged. “I think we are good on snow.”

  She laughed. “That we are, so I’m sure you’re wondering why my skills matter to you right now.”

  He couldn’t stop himself from nodding.

  Her smile didn’t diminish. “I can keep you from overheating, if it seems like that’s going to happen.”

  He snorted, then realized he must sound derisive. He hadn’t meant to. “That is very kind, but I don’t think anyone can control the inner furnace that burns inside a dragon.”

  She arched her brows, narrowed her gaze, and pointed at him.

  A wave of cold enveloped him with such force, he shivered. He held his hands up in surrender as he made a mental note that winter elves were not to be doubted. “I stand corrected. You are clearly more powerful than I imagined. Your help is most welcome, Miss Frost.”

  She blew on her fingers, then polished them on her coat as she grinned. “You got it.”

  “That’s Princess Frost,” Birdie Caruthers shouted out.

  Jayne rolled her eyes, then shook her head at Van and mouthed a silent, “No, it’s not.”

  Van glanced at everyone who’d shown up. The sheriff and his brother, the fire chief, and their sister, Bridget. Roxy, the writer he’d met at Howler’s, was in the crowd, standing with a man in a deputy’s uniform. Stanhill and Corette. Van was deeply touched by the gathering. “Thank you all for coming. I hope that I will not disappoint.”

  Nick and Willa were in the back. The gargoyle lifted his fist in the air. “You got this, man.”

  Van lifted a hand in acknowledgment, then he looked at Monalisa. He wanted to say something to reassure her, but the thought of what might happen had him tongue-tied.

  She smiled up at him. “You’re going to be just fine.”

  “I hope you are right.”

  “If you don’t want to do this—”

  “I do. I want to be myself again and to fight and for you to be free. None of that can happen without that first step.”

  She threw her arms around him. “Thank you.”

  He hugged her back. “You are welcome, zolotse.” He released her. “Now go, stand somewhere safe. With Pandora and her sisters.”

  She nodded and moved off to join the witches.

  He took a moment to clear his head, the same way he did before entering the ring. Then he went through the monologue he used to pump himself up.

  His purpose was conquest. He shook his hands and rolled his shoulders. His purpose was the defeat of his enemy. The outside world fell away. His purpose was the honor of his family. A calm overtook him. The feeling of victory.

  Nothing existed in him but purpose. It filled his lungs, pumped through his veins, and colored his vision. His inner beast came to life, and in his mind’s eye, he saw his dragon form, wings unfurled and flames billowing from his open jaws.

  He lowered his head, dropped his crutch, and limped into the center of the clearing.

  Monalisa almost couldn’t bear to watch, but she had to know what was happening. She wanted to see for herself that he was going to be okay. Not even dealing with her father made her feel this stressed out. She pressed her hands to her mouth. Her pulse beat in the tips of her fingers, making them tremble along with the
rest of her.

  She couldn’t remember a time she’d been so nervous. She took a few deep breaths, trying to find some kind of calm to get her through.

  “He’s going to be okay,” Pandora whispered.

  She nodded, unwilling to speak and break the dead calm that had fallen over those assembled. They all seemed to understand the brink upon which Van stood. Even the wind had died down.

  She took her eyes off of him for a moment to look at the faces around her. Most were lined with tension or taut with worry. She imagined that was what she looked like too, and something about all of them feeling the same way allowed her to relax a little. They were in this together. Her and Van and all of them.

  It was incredible that they’d all shown up. Really spoke to the strength of the supernatural community in Nocturne Falls. When people showed up to support her father, it was because they were afraid of him or wanted to curry favor. But these people had come because they genuinely cared. Amazing. But she understood. Van was a great guy.

  Her gaze returned to the man she was steadily falling for.

  He stared down at the ground, hands loose at his sides. Then his eyes closed, and his fingers tightened into fists. His knuckles whitened. The muscles in his jaw twitched. His injured knee bent slightly, and he grimaced. She knew he must be willing the change to happen and was experiencing the first onslaught of pain because of it.

  Shimmers of heat rose off him in thin, wobbly lines that rippled the air like a distant heat mirage in the middle of summer, but this was February, and summer was a long way off. Then the snow under his feet melted.

  He was clearly struggling against the toil of the effort, but there was no sign of any change. Not yet. She wished there was something she could do. Anything besides stand idly by while the seconds ticked away and the circle of bare earth under his feet expanded.

  The cold around her seemed to be lessening.

  She took her hands from her face and reached out like she would toward a roaring fire. Van was the reason the temperature had changed. The heat rolling off him wasn’t overwhelming, but it was enough to gently warm her bare skin.

  She looked toward Jayne, the winter elf who’d offered to help. The woman caught her gaze. She nodded as if sensing Monalisa’s request that she do something, but then raised her brows in question.

  Monalisa glanced at Pandora for reassurance.

  Pandora put her hand on Monalisa’s arm and whispered, “No. He needs the heat right now to burn that venom out.”

  “But…” Monalisa whispered back. Her heart ached. She wanted to help. Wanted someone to help. She hated that he was going through this alone. Because, despite the gathered crowd, he was the only one physically dealing with this. And it was all because of her.

  Pandora leaned in. “I know it’s hard, but trust me, he’s going to be fine.”

  “I hope you’re—”

  A loud, guttural bellow rang out across the open space, and Van fell to the ground on all fours. Tiny wisps of smoke rose off his back as his body was racked by a shudder that Monalisa swore she could feel.

  A few people gasped. Monalisa grabbed Pandora’s hand and squeezed.

  Van’s whole body tensed. His back arched, and his muscles contracted so sharply that they were visible beneath his coat. More curls of smoke spiraled off him as his next roar of pain ripped across the clearing, shaking the trees. The heat emanating from him caused several people to back up.

  Monalisa stepped forward. She glanced at Pandora and Jayne. “Help him, please.”

  Pandora gave a nod, so Jayne moved toward him, hands raised.

  Van’s head came back. His eyes gleamed red, and a pattern of scales appeared on his skin. His dragon was struggling to get out. Cords of muscle in his neck tensed. The grass around him, dried out by the intense heat, burst into flames.

  He opened his mouth and let out one more deafening roar as a brilliant shower of sparks and smoke erupted off him.

  Monalisa threw her hands up against the explosion. Billows of smoke filled the small arena. She coughed and waved it away to no avail. “Van!”

  No answer. At first. Then a low rumble greeted her. It came from above. Odd.

  As the smoke cleared, she understood why.

  “Van,” she whispered as she craned her head back. He was still at the center of the clearing. But now, he was a dragon. A rather large one. “You did it.”

  Several in the crowd retreated a little as a nervous but happy buzz wafted through the space. Monalisa took another step forward, careful to mind the small fires still burning while staring up at the enormous creature before her.

  He was breathtakingly beautiful. His coloring ranged from midnight blue through deep teal to emerald green, all with an iridescent purple sheen. Then the sun broke through the clouds, and his scales glittered like jewels.

  He arched and unfurled his wings in what looked like a well-enjoyed stretch. His wing tips almost touched the trees on either side. Then he shook his head and snorted, sending two hot blasts of steam into the air.

  “Van?” She wasn’t sure how much understanding he had in this form. Most shifters were just as capable, if not more so, in their second forms, but the legendary types might be different.

  He tucked his broad, leathery wings down along his spine, then bent his head to look at her, dipping low to meet her eyes. She saw recognition in his gaze. He definitely knew who she was.

  “Van, you’re so beautiful. And huge.” She wanted to touch him, but he was a dragon. Maybe touching him wasn’t a good idea. She kept her hands to her sides. “Can you understand me?”

  He nodded. His head was the size of a Christmas turkey. Bigger, maybe.

  “Good, a yes. Are you still in pain?”

  This time, he shook his big head.

  “Oh, that’s excellent news. So the shift did it. The venom is gone.”

  His mouth curled back, exposing teeth that looked positively Jurassic. She almost sucked in an alarmed breath, but then she realized he was smiling.

  She grinned back. “Your smile is a little scary, just so you know.”

  He snorted, causing her to jump back to avoid the steamy blasts.

  “Hey!”

  He jerked his head up, then brought it right back down and laid it at her feet in what seemed to be a plea for forgiveness. He looked up at her with wide, sad eyes.

  In that moment, he reminded her very much of Grom. She kept that to herself. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it. At least you put out the last of the fires.”

  He wiggled his head back and forth, agreeing with her.

  His easy manner in this form gave her some confidence. “Can I touch you?”

  Another nod.

  She stretched out her hand and stroked the scales between his eyes. They were the color of the ocean at the horizon, a deep, unfathomable green, and they had the warm, smooth feel of polished leather. “Wow.”

  Pandora walked up to them. “I hate to interrupt, but is everything okay, Van? I’m assuming so since you shifted, but figured I should check. Everyone wants to know. And I promised to call Cole and Kaley at home and let them know as soon as you were all right.”

  Monalisa clenched her hand, still relishing the feel of his scales under her fingertips, and faced Pandora. “He said the pain is gone.”

  Her eyes widened. “You can hear him? Like in your head, or what?”

  “No, he didn’t talk like that. I just asked him some yes-or-no questions.”

  “Oh, right. Cool.” She smiled. “Excellent news.” Then she twisted to face the crowd and gave a thumbs-up. “Van confirmed it! The shift worked!”

  Everyone cheered and clapped. Monalisa joined them, ecstatic for a moment, until she realized what this meant. Van was actually going back into the ring, this time on her behalf. That ramped her nerves back up. Once again, he was going to face a risk because of her. The burden of that weighed on her tremendously.

  Something disturbed the air behind her.

 
; She turned. Van (human Van) was standing a few feet away, looking just as he had been before he’d shifted, clothes and all. “You’re back.”

  “I am.”

  Happy to see his smiling face again, she ran toward him. “Not that you left exactly, but you know what I mean.”

  “I do.” He moved toward her, no limp in sight, and caught her in his arms. “It is so good to be whole again. And free from that poison. Thank you.”

  She frowned. “Why are you thanking me? You did the hard stuff. And it was Pandora’s idea for you to try shifting again.”

  “Because I would still be sulking and in pain, thinking my life was over, if not for you.”

  “Glad to hear you enjoyed my interference so much.”

  He laughed and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “I did. Now, let’s thank everyone and go home. We have a trip to prepare for.”

  “And a fight,” she reminded him. “You need to be as ready for that fight as you can be. If anything happens to you, I won’t ever forgive myself.”

  “Nothing will happen. I am healed. And I will be ready.” He released her and took her hand, then he faced Pandora and her sisters. “Thank you so much for urging me to do this.” He looked at some of the others. “Thank you all for your support.”

  The sheriff and a few others nodded.

  Van put his free hand over his heart as he spoke to them all. “I am very glad to call this place my home.”

  “Good to have you back,” Nick Hardwin called out.

  Van pointed at him as the rest of the crowd began to disperse. “Soon, we will go flying.”

  “Sounds good,” Nick said, grinning. “But don’t forget, you owe me tickets to a fight.”

  Van nodded. “Then get ready to travel, because it’s happening in four days.”

  Monalisa shivered.

  Van looked at her. “You all right?”

  “I’m fine. It’s just the realization that, besides you having to get into the ring again, I’m going to have to face my father.”

  “Remember, we are a team now. You don’t have to do anything alone anymore.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Thank you. Come on, Grom is probably dancing at the door waiting to go out.”