by Julia Mills
“No,” Charlie answered.
“And did you know that dragons existed before a few weeks ago?”
“Well, no. But…”
Brynna held up her index finger and grinned. “One more question. Was anyone ever able to explain the markings on your back?”
No sooner had the words left her mother’s mouth than Charlie’s markings began to tingle. Shrugging her shoulders, she quickly answered, “No, but now that you mention it…”
“What did you call them when you were younger?”
“My wings.”
“Because that is what they are, sweetling. They are your wings.” Brynna nodded as she answered.
Charlie felt as if the world had somehow tilted on its axis. This woman had come to her in a dream, told her she was her birth mother, told her she’d been monitoring her, and to top it off, she was now telling her that she, Charlene Gallagher, was a fairy.
Brynna laid her hand on Charlie’s arm. An immediate sense of calm washed over the younger woman and the air around them was suddenly filled with the scent of heather. “Don’t worry, Charlie. I’m not just going to drop this on you and run away. Yes, my time is almost up for now, but I cannot leave you with so many doubts, and Princess Ailsa has said she will allow me to visit you whenever I can in your dreams. Therefore, I’ll tell you what you need to know right now. First, let me ask…what is your middle name?”
It was as if a light bulb went off in her head, and when she answered, Charlie couldn’t help but sound surprised. “Well, hell, it’s Ailsa, but I guess you knew that. Here you’ve been saying it over and over and I never put two and two together.” Shaking her head, she patted her mother’s hand where it still laid on her arm. “My dad used to say it was an old family name that no one had used for years, but when he saw me he thought of it and since it fit, they made it my middle name. I guess you had something to do with that?”
Winking, Brynna only nodded. “Secondly, the Dragon Healer and the little white witch will be of great help to you. Please thank the daughter of the Grand Priestess for using her powerful earthen magic to help me find you. Tell the Healer I am in her debt for using her great intellect and wisdom to aide you and that she will find the answers to her questions. She will understand.”
“Enjoy the love the Universe has given you, daughter mine. You and your dragon mate will live long, happy lives. Fate deemed it so from the moment of your conception. And lastly, please give my undying gratitude to the Gallaghers for being exactly what you needed, for loving you like their own, and for being wonderful parents to you when I couldn’t be there.”
“Now I must return to Fairy and you must wake up. It is time for you to share your heritage with your mate. Never fear, he loves you and will accept you for exactly who you are. You are the light of his soul. He is dragon. He is one of the Universe’s chosen. Together there is nothing you two cannot accomplish. Never forget who you are. Never forget that I love you. Wake, sweet Charlie, and wear your wings.”
Brynna began to fade from view but Charlie wasn’t sad, something in her heart told her she would see her birth mother again. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than a brilliant lavender light swept across the valley.
Turning, she walked back the way she’d come, crossed over the bridge and headed towards what she recognized to be Aaron’s house. Just before stepping onto the front porch, Charlie looked over her shoulder. Everywhere she looked the lavender light still glowed, except for the tree she’d stood under with her mother…..it stood tall and proud, like a beacon for her to remember.
Charlie opened her eyes, surprised that it was dark. Still draped over Aaron’s chest, she started to turn over, but was stopped when the blanket she was wrapped in pulled at the marking on her back. Trying to turn the other way and unravel from the mess they’d made out of their bedding, she once again was stopped.
Huffing her annoyance, she planted her hand on the bed at Aaron’s side and pushed up, maneuvering to her knees. Trying not to disturb the snoring man, she backward crawled off the bed until she could slide off the foot and onto the floor. Standing, she turned, took two steps and stopped, dead in her tracks.
I’m not gonna freak. I’m not gonna freak.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and counted to ten.
Spinning around, she looked at the bed then muttered, “Oh hell no…”
Whirling back the other way, she ran to the bathroom, flipped the light on, slammed the door shut, and stood in front of the full-length mirror. Her dream came back to her in vivid color at the same time that her vision cleared.
Once again, Charlie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but this time she counted to twenty. When she opened her eyes, the image hadn’t changed.
Doing the only thing she could think of, Charlie screamed as loud as she could, “Aaron, get your dragon ass in here! I’m a freakin’ fairy!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
One minute he was blissfully sleeping with his mate in his arms and the next he was wide-awake, running for the bathroom like a man on fire. He tracked her to the bathroom, moving with blind determination. Throwing open the door, he was bathed in a soft lavender light before catching sight of Charlie standing like a raging Amazonian warrior. There was, however, one HUGE difference…she had wings… beautiful, shimmering, awe-inspiring wings. From what he could see, they were every imaginable shade of purple and lavender with silver throughout and had the same intricate detail as the markings on her back.
One question answered.
She had her hands on her hips and a less than pleased look on her face, and she had obviously forgotten she was very naked. He was still trying to process what was happening when she scoffed and said, “Can you believe this crap? My magic is fairy magic. I’m the descendant of a fairy princess and my birth mom came to me in a dream.”
Shaking his head and trying to catch up, Aaron asked, “What did you just say?”
“I said, I had a dream and my mom was in it,” she repeated as if he was two years old or hard of hearing, or both.
He could tell he was adding to her frustration but had to make sure he was hearing her correctly, so he motioned for her to go on.
Without as much as a breath, his mate railed, “Not my mom, Marian… my mom, Brynna. The one that gave birth to me. She said I’m a fairy, which must be true.” She stopped and threw her arms open wide. He knew she was talking about her new appendages, but he couldn’t focus while looking at the naked perfection that was his mate.
“And my mom, Brynna, she’s a fairy too, but that’s not important. Anyway, she told me that I’m related to the Fairy Princess. There was a whole lot of other stuff too, but the moral of the story is I woke up and I have wings….fairy wings! Like Tinkerbell! Did you have any idea this would happen?”
“No way! Not even a chance!” He put his hands up in the universal sign of surrender. “If I’d even had an inkling, you would’ve been the first person I told, and I know Siobhan and Kyra had no idea either. They were stumped, and that’s just not something that happens around here.”
Needing to know she wasn’t in any pain and also get her covered up so he could concentrate, Aaron grabbed a towel. As carefully as he could, he wrapped the cloth around her, securing it in the front and avoiding her wings until he knew she was all right.
Keeping his hands on her shoulders, he leaned back and answered the question he could see in her eyes. “Sue me. You’re gorgeous…and standing here naked. The wings only make you more beautiful, if that’s even possible. I needed you covered up so I could think.” He winked in the hopes of easing some of her tension. Her little snort said it was working, if only a tad.
“I also needed to touch you, to make sure you were okay. My dragon is tearing at my brain. He does not do well with you in danger. Well, neither of us does. It’s just a fact of who we are. Not to mention, I know how tough you are and I wasn’t sure if you’d tell me if you were in pain.”
“I would’ve told yo
u, but thanks for checking. I’m not in any pain…at all. Hell, I didn’t even know it happened. I thought we were all wrapped up in the sheet when I couldn’t roll over. Then I stood and realized there was no sheet. It was these!” She moved just enough that her wings passed over his fingers. They were softer than feathers and lighter than air. His skin tingled with magic everywhere they touched. It reminded him of something…. Something he’d have to think about later.
Charlie shifted from one foot to the other, drawing his attention. He looked down just in time to see her roll her eyes, which caused him to chuckle. She shook her head and huffed out a groan of frustration, which for Aaron was a relief. If she were well enough to be irritated, then she was better than most would be. He could only imagine how confusing yet another revelation had to be, but damn if she wasn’t handling it like a pro.
Aaron needed to know exactly what had happened in her dream. It was the only clue he had to what had caused her magic to manifest. There were hundreds of cases where people were given valuable information in dreams and this had most definitely been one of those times. As he pieced together the little bit of what Charlie had blurted out, he figured her mom might be on another plane, which definitely explained the extraordinary form of communication.
“Let’s go sit down and you can tell me about your dream. I’m sure we’ll need Kyra and Siobhan’s help, but since it’s the middle of the night, let’s figure out as much as we can until a decent hour. Cool?”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” she sighed.
They’d almost made it to the bed when she stopped and blurted out, “How on God’s green earth do I get these back where they came from?” She flicked both her thumbs back towards her wings like a hitchhiker. “They are driving me crazy. Can you hear that humming sound? It’s coming from them. It’s really pretty and all, but enough is enough. Oh and they vibrate. Not like a lawn mower or anything like that, just tiny vibrations, but I need a break.”
Her pleading look told him he had to do something. He’d known a few fairies in his hundred years but never well enough to ask… “Hey! How do you collapse your wings?” Using his enhanced abilities, he heard the hum and saw the vibrations. He could also see the magic surrounding her. Charlie was bathed in the same iridescent purple light that had flashed at him in the bathroom, but now it had what he could only describe as tiny silver stars twinkling about.
“I’m gonna guess that it works the same as our transformation. I mean magic is magic, right?” She looked less than confident, but thankfully was still listening.
“Here’s what I do… imagine what you look like without wings. Make that the only imagine in your mind. Focus on your magic, and then combine the two. Concentrate on collapsing your wings. When you feel the change begin, follow through and your wings should be back where they started.”
“Can I leave our link thing open so you can make sure I’m doing it right?”
He was once again overwhelmed by her complete faith in him. “Absolutely! I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Nodding, she closed her eyes. He let their minds connect through their mating bond and watched as she imagined herself without wings, found her magic, and combined the two. She was a natural. Aaron felt magic fill the room as they became bathed in that same warm, lavender light he already associated with Charlie.
He watched as the wings, which started just even with the top of her head and ran the length of her body, stopping behind the back of her knees, got smaller and smaller. They folded in on themselves until they were once again the glyphs on her back. Grinning from ear to ear, he pulled her to him before her eyes were even open all the way and hugged her tight.
“You did it, mo ghra’. You did it!” He cheered.
Looking up, she smiled. “Thank the Lord! I mean they’re pretty and all but…whew! ...I needed a break.”
Snickering at her candor, he steered her to the bed, making sure she was comfortable before dashing to the closet to grab shorts for himself and a T-shirt for her. When he got back, he watched as she pulled the shirt over her head and let the towel fall to the ground. He and his dragon both highly approved of having her in his clothes. It was an overly possessive move and he knew it, but was happier than he could express that she was letting him care for her.
“How about we go down and make some coffee and you can tell me all about your dream. I’m somehow sure we’re up for the day,” he suggested, holding out his hand to her.
“Sounds good. There’s no way I’m going back to sleep until I at least halfway understand what happened here.” Charlie threaded her fingers through his and followed as he led them down the stairs, straight to the kitchen.
He was pleasantly surprised when she went to the counter, grabbed the correct canister on the first try, found the filters in the cabinet, and began making coffee. Turning, she leaned against the counter and stared straight ahead. He could feel her thinking so he simply sat down, giving her whatever time she needed to collect her thoughts.
It didn’t take long before she spoke, “Can you just do that mind linky thing, again? I know it seems like we’ve been doing it a lot lately, but honestly, I’m not sure I can even remember everything Brynna said. Every time I think about it something new pops up.”
He started to respond just as she speared him with a determined look and asked, “It’s okay to keep ‘dragon mind melding’ right? It doesn’t hurt you or me or anything like that, right?”
Aaron wanted to laugh out loud at her Star Trek reference, but thought better of it and instead, answered her questions. “Nope. Not at all. It’s perfectly natural. We’re mates. Looking into each other’s minds is something we’re supposed to do. I’m sure my mom and dad never left one another. I know Aidan and Grace do it more and more. It took them a bit to get the hang of it, but you have serious mojo and I’ve always been above average…” He winked and she snorted.
Definite progress.
“Together we are overachievers, my love.”
Not waiting for her reply, he followed their mating bond and found the memory of her dream right in front. Aaron was shocked at how much the two woman looked alike. The only real difference was that Brynna’s hair was long and curly.
Seeing Charlie as a child, even though it was from her mom’s memory was a gift he’d never expected to receive. He let the memory play out, enjoying every second. It was amazing to him that Brynna’s story was almost verbatim what he’d been told as a child. His mate was already royalty in his eyes so that was no surprise, and completely explained how the one little spark of magic he’d found had grown so quickly and completely.
Aaron could feel Charlie’s relief that her mother was still alive and that she’d not abandoned her, but instead had made special efforts to ensure her child was cared for. He knew that Zachary, their clan’s oldest Elder, had intimate knowledge of the fairies. As the story went, when Zachary was a young man he was injured in battle. Alone and unable to do more than crawl to a cave to recover, he was found by a warrior fairy and his mate. They nursed the injured Dragon Guardsman back to health and made sure he found his Force. His tale was told along with the legend of how the fairies helped the first Guardsmen to show the longstanding friendship between dragons and fairies.
When Brynna disappeared, Aaron stayed in Charlie’s mind to watch the actual transformation. It was just as she’d described…no pain, nothing traumatic, just one minute no wings, next minute wings. For that, he would be eternally grateful.
He’d been watching Charlie’s expressions while her dream replayed, and marveled at her inner strength and complete belief that he would help her get the answers she needed. He and his dragon both puffed up with pride.
Not sure where to begin, Aaron just started rambling as he got up to get their coffee. “It’s uncanny how much you look like your mom. And she is the Keeper of the Hill, which is a very important position. It’s like being one of our Elders. She’s a leader of her clan…your clan.”
He handed
her a mug of coffee and set his on the table before getting the cream from the refrigerator. Charlie hadn’t responded but was sitting still, once again deep in thought. Sitting next to her, he waited as long as he could before speaking again.
“And your dad was human, but a hero.” When she still didn’t respond, he asked the question he needed to know the answer to more than any other, but had held off asking.
“How are you? I mean really. All of this has to be overwhelming, to say the least. You seem to be handling it really well…like perfectly. I don’t want to eavesdrop in your brain, but I’m kinda dying over here.”
She laughed aloud. “Eavesdrop away. I’m somehow sure we’ll never have secrets from one another, no matter what we do. We both speak our minds and are nosy to a fault.” Charlie stopped and looked at him. He was relieved to see most of the worry and frustration gone.
Chuckling, she went on, “I’m just thinking about how strange life really is. I thought I knew all there was to know, at least about myself. I mean I’d made peace with the fact that there was no record of my birth so I would never know who gave me life. I accepted that mom and dad were my parents. That the marks on my back were just that…marks. I’ve always known I was supposed to help people, so being a doctor was a logical choice. Hell, I even accepted dragons and witches and was prepared for almost anything. But I will tell you that I never thought about fairies and damn sure never in my wildest dreams imagined I could be one of them.”
“When you said you found magic and Kyra and Siobhan confirmed it, I figured my birth mother was a witch or something like that… but a fairy. I mean that’s crazy even for you, right?”
“Well, no. It’s not really crazy for me. I mean, you heard the story you’re mom told the little version of you. Dragon shifters and fairies have been intertwined since we came to be. But did I think my mate would be one? Not even in my wildest dreams.”
He stood up from his chair, turned hers to the side and knelt, taking her hands in his. “I will tell you one thing that you never, ever have to doubt, something that I will spend every minute of every day of our very long lives together showing you. You, Dr. Charlene Ailsa Gallagher, are absolutely perfect to me in every way.”