Sadness pricked deep inside me as I watched Laz look out the window, completely unaffected by this information. Raikidan was a dragon through and through, and she knew this. She accepted this.
Raikidan was different from others. He understood her in ways others couldn’t, but even still, she pushed him away like others before him, and I was starting to see why. There would be no strong arms to hold her at night. There would be no warm body to wake up next to. Even if something was possible between them, she would feel lonely in certain ways, and it would far too difficult for them to be together.
Rylan wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I snuggled into him with a sigh. I looked up at him as he watched Laz. I knew that look. He was sensing out her feelings. He was thinking the same as me. I resisted the urge to sigh unhappily.
She was lucky. She was able to share a sensation with him that I wanted to share with him. She was handed something that she didn’t want and I did. That’s how it always was. She was given things she never wanted and I was right there wanting those things. Only when she rejected them did I get that opportunity. I was the second choice; second best. Rylan’s grip tightened and he rested his head on mine as if he knew I was being negative.
“Shit! What the hell?” Blaze shouted.
I sat up and my eyes widened. Raikidan had nodded off and his body was slowly shifting. I had only seen his true shape a few times, and I wasn’t keen on getting crushed to see it again. I looked at Laz but she, too, was out.
“Laz!” I shouted.
She wasn’t as asleep as I thought, because she jerked awake. “Shit, what?”
“Do something!” I shrieked.
She turned to look at me in question but once she saw Raikidan, her seat belt slammed against the side of the truck and she was reaching into the back. My eyes widened when she slapped him to wake him up, and was even more surprised when he didn’t react.
“Raikidan, wake up.” She smacked him again and then pushed him by the shoulder but he still didn’t wake up. He just continued shifting. “Raikidan, you stupid, overgrown lizard, wake the hell up!”
Her treatment of him astonished me. I didn’t realize she was so violent with Raikidan. She grabbed him by the shirt that was almost gone and slapped him, much harder than before, and he reacted this time. His body shifted back and his eyes snapped open.
His brow creased in anger at her. “What the hell, Eira?”
“You fell asleep, that’s what, you dick!”
He tilted his head a little. “What?”
She shoved him backward and climbed back into her seat without repeating herself.
Raikidan’s head bounced off the window and he rubbed it unhappily. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
“Yeah, well sorry doesn’t make up for you almost crushing us all,” Blaze muttered.
“Shut up, Blaze,” I snapped.
“Why don’t you? You weren’t nearly crushed by him,” he shouted back.
“It’s not like he meant it to happen. I don’t see you having to fight sleep after working all night. Not that you did as much work as him anyway, giving you any right to sleep.”
“Are you serious? I did just as—”
“That’s enough!” Zane barked. “Both of you shut up now, or I’ll throw you both out of this moving truck myself.”
Blaze crossed his arms and muttered to himself. I, on the other hand, didn’t sulk. I looked at Raikidan sympathetically instead, except he wouldn’t have known. Raikidan was more focused on staring at the back of Laz’s seat as if he were trying to figure out what she was doing.
He looked almost sad, as if he was regretting yelling at her, or was he thinking about something else? I couldn’t tell with him. He wasn’t easy to read, but he did act differently with her, like he was afraid to displease her in any way.
“Hey, Raikidan,” I said. He looked at me. “What if you shifted first and then slept? I know you can make it so you can fit into Laz’s room, so would you be able to make yourself small enough to fit in here?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’ve never tried to be that small.”
I picked my feet up off the floor and pulled them up onto the seat. “We’ll just give you the floor if you wanna try. I don’t see the truck having any issues holding the extra weight, do you Zane?”
“I think she’ll do just fine,” he replied.
“I love how the rest of us don’t have a say in this,” Blaze voiced.
Argus moved closer to the corner of the connecting seats near Raikidan and relaxed. “I’m okay with it. If Raikidan’s comfortable on the floor, that means more room on the seats for us, and I don’t have to worry about waking up with you in my face.”
Blaze grunted. “I don’t swing that way.”
“I don’t know. You were pretty comfortable cuddling up to him on our last trip,” Rylan teased.
I giggled at the memory. Argus, on the other hand, wasn’t too thrilled to think about it, and I couldn’t blame him. Blaze hadn’t been keen on letting go that time, no matter how much Argus tried to get away. He couldn’t even wake Blaze up.
“Go screw your girlfriend,” Blaze muttered.
“I’d like to not see that, thanks,” Argus said.
“I’d put you to shame anyway, Blaze,” Rylan taunted. “I don’t think you’d want to witness that.”
I giggled and cuddled up to him. I always found it funny when he said things like that. Rylan acted different around the guys now that we were together. He seemed… more confident. I was okay with that, though. It made me feel good about my choice. I hadn’t realized he had been as worried about what I’d say to him as I was about what he’d say to me if I told him how I felt. We were so stupid.
“Hey, Eira, since you’re the only smart one to have thought to bring a pillow, and since you are not using it at the moment, mind if I do?” Argus asked her. When he didn’t receive an answer, he became confused. “Eira?”
“She’s asleep,” Zane said.
“Again?” Blaze shook his head. “What is with her?”
“Besides the fact that it’s only three in the morning?” I replied sarcastically.
“She doesn’t normally fall asleep this fast, or that many times,” he clarified. “That’s what I was getting at.”
“I think she’s just relaxed,” Zane said. “You know how tense she is in the city. Elarinya told me she’s much different outside the city.”
“You’d be right, Zane. She relaxes so much when she’s out here,” I said. “It’s like she feels she has nothing to worry about.”
Argus propped his feet up on the seat when Raikidan moved off of it. “Well, I’ll leave it there then if she wakes up and wants it.”
I barely heard him. I was more interested in what Raikidan was doing. His eyes were closed and he was taking slow, concentrated breaths. Then, he began to shift. Everyone kept their feet up as he took over the floor. When he was done, he was much bigger than I would have thought would be his attempted size, but I wasn’t going to complain. I was more interested in the fact that he was resting his large head over the console and facing in Laz’s direction.
My curiosity got the better of me as he lulled into a deep sleep quickly and I walked over the boys to get to the other side of the truck. I peered over Laz’s seat and smiled. She had rolled over onto his snout and curled up against him, sleeping more soundly than I’d seen from her in a long time. There was no twitching, no mumbles, no sign of nightmares at all. It was like they were being taken away.
My eyes widened when Raikidan began to shift, but he didn’t shift into a larger dragon shape like I would have expected. Instead, his formed shifted back into a nu-human, and that meant Laz had no support anymore. I grabbed onto her so she wouldn’t fall and wake up. I didn’t need that happening right now. Not u
ntil I figured out what was going on.
Argus came over to help me with Laz by placing her pillow under her so I could let her go. Once she was situated, we looked at Raikidan, who was leaning over the console. He had moved a bit when he was shifting, so now his arm was hanging over the console on Laz’s side of the cab. He didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable, although I was noticing small movements from him where he looked to be moving closer to her.
Taking a few subtle hints from Argus, we moved away and I took my place by Rylan’s side again. He sprawled out for me to use him as my pillow, but I only laid there. I wasn’t tired now, and I wanted to watch Raikidan to see what was going on.
Unfortunately, Rylan had other ideas, because he began rubbing my back and it was far too soothing for my liking. I fought the urge to sleep by pure willpower alone, and was successful for the next few hours that passed.
Raikidan didn’t do much more than sleep, but Laz had moved around enough so that the two were quite close. I resisted the urge to smile. My plans weren’t foiled yet, not after this recent event. Raikidan had no idea what he was capable of doing, and I was sure it had a lot to do with Laz.
I yawned as the sun began to rise, and as if the sun had been some sort of trigger or reminder of what he truly was, Raikidan began to shift back to his dragon shape and took up the floor once more. I yawned again and didn’t resist the urge to sleep anymore. I needed my sleep for what lie ahead, and since Raikidan was no longer shifted into his nu-human form, neither would know what happened. This would give me time to plan, and neither needed to know. Not yet, anyway.
Chapter 30
(Eira)
Ilooked around eagerly as we drove through the main gate of the Larkren. The entrance only had one gate, and wasn’t guarded by a multitude of soldiers—just a few, and they didn’t seem to care who came in or out, as if it were more for show than anything.
My excitement started to ebb when the old and sometimes run-down and abandoned building around us looked to be the only sight to see. But as we drove further, the buildings became better looking and well maintained. The people here looked happier than the ones in Dalatrend, and it didn’t look like any of them had been forced into staying here.
Zane pulled the truck up to a large car dealership, and I looked at the cars on the lot. They weren’t the standard cars you’d find at a dealership. No, they were all custom built and unique-looking, just like the cars we were transporting. Ryoko began squealing and we all laughed.
The first out of the truck, she ran off to look at the selection of cars. She was out of sight before the two owners of the business were even able to come out of the building to greet Zane. Unlike the others, I wasn’t interested in the custom vehicles. I wanted to explore this town and find the ocean. The salt in the air teased me, and the more the wind brought it in from the bay, the more I wanted to see it.
I waited by the front of the truck as Zane and the boys spoke with the owners. The owners appeared happy to see Zane, and eager to see what we’d brought them. Raikidan stood next to me. He appeared distracted, and I had a feeling it wasn’t the new surroundings. Something was up, but I wasn’t going to ask. If it was important he’d tell me.
Zane held up his hand to the two owners and looked over at me. “Eira, you can head out now. We’ll call you when we’re going to head back.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Zane.”
I slipped back into the truck and grabbed my side bag. Securing my communicator to my bag, I grabbed Raikidan by the hand and headed in a random direction. He didn’t protest, showing genuine interest in our excursion.
I finally let go of him when I figured I wouldn’t lose him. We walked around and socialized with some of the locals and entered a few shops and markets, having a bit more fun than I thought I would have had. I was interested in a few of the trinket shops and what they had to sell—they had large selections of shells I had never seen before, and I even bought a few out of pure temptation.
Even Raikidan was having fun. He pulled small pranks on me every now and then, and when a shop had clothing, he had me trying on the most ridiculous ones, and of course I made him do the same. He had me laughing so much, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had this much fun.
The markets were nice, each one more interesting than the last. There were so many different types of fish for sale; I half expected to see a whale or shark at some point.
The locals we came in contact with were friendly and helpful, and none of the shop owners were overbearing or pushy like I was accustomed to. The people of this city were laid back, and enjoyed the free lives their ruler gave them. But if Zarda had his way, this city would see be under his control, and the people would be subjected to massive amounts of change.
Once I grew bored of what the city had to offer, I was determined to find the ocean. I was surprised I hadn’t seen even a glimpse of it. This city was bigger than I thought.
As we walked, a soldier approached us. “You two look lost. Can I help you?”
I was reluctant to speak with him. I wasn’t sure if the soldiers here would be like the ones back home. But Raikidan wasn’t so apprehensive. “We’re looking for the ocean. My friend hasn’t seen it before.”
The soldier smiled. “I had a feeling, from the tracking device, that you weren’t from here.”
I hid my bracelet and glared at him. “You have a problem with that?”
The soldier held up his hands. “Easy, I didn’t mean to offend you. Dalatrend is the only city I know that makes it hard for its citizens to leave, so I’m not surprised you haven’t had the chance to come here. But if the ocean is what you’re looking for”—he pulled out a hologram map—”then you’ll want to follow this route.”
I pulled out my map and copied the route. “Is it worth it?”
The soldier smiled. “You’ll have to see for yourself.”
I eyed him, but decided it was the only option I really had. I thanked him, and we followed the course he set us on. The route led us down small streets lined with homes and stores, and it was easy going. I was still skeptical about this route until we rounded a corner and caught a glimpse of the harbor. Excitement bubbled in my stomach, and my feet picked up the pace in response.
Raikidan followed close behind, and soon the path we traveled on veered off the main road and onto a dirt one. My excitement rose as the buildings disappeared, and all was left was grassy land that dropped off. I knew that on the other side of the drop off was the ocean—I could smell it. I could hear it.
The land curved up to a cliff where a large lighthouse stood, overlooking the ocean, watching out for boats. That’s where I’d go. I wanted the best view. I continued on, but stopped when Raikidan stopped following. I turned and watched as two men approached us. They were tan, muscular, well-groomed men with red hair and green eyes. Something didn’t feel human about these two men, and with the way Raikidan was now positioning himself in front of me, I knew something wasn’t quite right about them.
Raikidan began growling at them, but the other two didn’t react in the same fashion. They looked at each other and then Raikidan as if they were confused by his aggressive reaction to them. Then the talking began. It wasn’t my tongue, that was for sure, but it didn’t take much more than knowing a dragon to realize what tongue they were speaking.
I became uncomfortable when they began glancing at me more often. Even Raikidan was looking back at me. I didn’t like the fact that they were talking about me, especially since I couldn’t understand them. It annoyed me enough that I wasn’t going to continue to stand there any longer, so I walked away.
“Eira?” Raikidan questioned.
I continued on without acknowledging him. The breeze was light, and small birds hovered above in search of their next meal in the tall grass.
“Call to them,” a kind but unfamiliar voice whispe
red. Normally I’d be concerned by this, since everything was different from the voice I normally heard, but my relatively good mood kept me in an uncaring state.
Smiling, I pulled out a small loaf of bread from my side bag and broke off a small piece. Once the large piece was back inside my bag, I cradled the piece of bread I had left and whistled to the birds above.
They weren’t wary like I had thought they would be. Instead, a few of them flew down and eagerly pecked at the treat. I could only assume the locals and tourists fed the birds regularly, for them to show no fear of a human. Once they had devoured all the bread, they looked at me for more, but when I didn’t give them any more, after a few minutes they flew off in search of more food. I continued on my way as well. I only had a few more yards to go.
A smile spread across my face when I reached the top of the cliff and could finally see the ocean. It was so big and uncontained. I listened as the waves crashed against the rocks, and felt the salt air sticking to my skin. Sitting down, I took it all in. It was nothing like I had ever imagined, and I had the best view. The soldier had sent us to the highest point of the harbor. I could see for miles.
Raikidan sat down next to me and looked out at what lay before us. “Is it what you thought it would be?”
“It’s so much better,” I admitted.
“Then you’d love the shores in the south. It’s just crystal blue water for miles.”
“That does sound nice.”
He looked down at my side bag. “Can I have some of that bread?”
I smiled and brought it out for me to cut in half. I gave him his half and kept the other half for myself. “You want some cheese with that?”
He nodded. “Sure. It was a good idea to buy these.”
“I figured we’d get hungry. I’ll buy some more when we head back into town so we have something to snack on later on our way back to Dalatrend.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
“Sharing this food isn’t going to confuse your instincts again, right?” I was hoping the answer was a safe one.
Secrets Page 35