Destiny and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 5)

by Sloane Meyers

  “I see,” Peter finally said, nodding slowly. “It all makes sense now.”

  “For the record, I didn’t speak up for her because I wanted to mate with her,” Finn said. “I wasn’t planning on this at all. It just sort of happened.”

  This confession only caused Owen to howl with laughter even more, and even Raven cracked a smile. Anya’s cheeks were burning so hot now that they must have been bright red, and she was thankful for the darkness. She was sure Peter was about to give them some sort of lecture, or, worse, say that she would not be allowed to stay with the group if she was only here to bang Finn. But Peter said none of those things. Instead, he turned and started walking back through the forest.

  “Come on back to camp, Finn, and bring your girl with you. Oh, and put a shirt on. I don’t care if you’re a dragon, it’s still too damn cold at night for you to be prancing around half naked. The last thing I need is one of you guys getting pneumonia.”

  Finn groaned, but said nothing as he pulled his shirt on over his head. Owen continued to laugh, but Finn ignored him now. Anya felt Finn grabbing her hand and firmly pulling her toward the forest in the direction Peter had gone. He walked briskly, so that in a few moments they were several yards ahead of Owen and Raven. Ahead of them, Anya could see another light beam bouncing through the woods, and she assumed that Peter must have turned his ring into a flashlight now, too. Finn and Anya had no light, and no way of making one, but Finn did not have any trouble walking through the dark forest. He never stumbled, and held Anya’s arm firmly so that she did not fall, either.

  “You’re pretty good at walking in the dark,” she observed. She felt like she needed to say something to break the silence. This whole situation had turned out to be one of the most awkward moments of her life, and it unnerved her a bit that Finn wasn’t talking at all. After she spoke, though, he seemed to realize that he should say something.

  “Dragon eyes,” he said. “I have really good night vision, even when I don’t have a flashlight.”

  “Sounds useful,” Anya said lightly, then gripped his arm fiercely as she nearly tumbled face first over a tree root she hadn’t seen.

  “Yeah. Quite useful,” Finn said, then grunted. “Listen, Anya, I’m really sorry that they stumbled across us like that. I should have known better than to stay out there by ourselves, especially naked. It’s not a good idea to be away from camp for so long with Saul’s army on the move, and if I would have stopped to think for two seconds I would have realized that our crew would eventually come looking for us.”

  “Our crew,” Anya repeated in a low voice, liking the way the words sounded on her tongue.

  “Huh?” Finn asked, thinking she had been saying something to him.

  “Oh, nothing,” Anya said. “I just realized that you called everyone ‘our’ crew. Which made me realize that I’m included in that, too. I have a crew. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a crew. It feels good.”

  Even in the darkness of the night, Anya could see the smile that lit up Finn’s face.

  “Of course you have a crew now,” Finn said. “I’m glad that you’re focusing on that instead of being mad at me that we got caught naked in the woods.”

  “Well, technically we weren’t naked when they caught us. I was already dressed, and you had your pants on. But, yes, it was still obvious what we’d been doing. I don’t have any right to be mad, though. I knew as well as you did that our friends were nearby and might come looking for us. I was just too caught up in the thrill of the moment to care. I must say, though, that Owen’s laughter is getting obnoxious.”

  Finn snorted. “Don’t worry about him. I’ll make a nice comment or two about Raven and get him to shut up. He still won’t admit that he likes her.”

  “Really?” Anya said, surprised. “I didn’t realize he wasn’t admitting to it. It’s so obvious.”

  Finn shrugged. “He’s always been a player. I think he’s nervous about settling down. He wants to maintain his bad boy, ladies man reputation.”

  Anya laughed. “Well, if he wants to maintain a reputation as a player then he needs to do a better job of hiding his feelings for Raven.”

  “Agreed,” Finn said with a chuckle. They walked in silence for a few more moments, until Anya could see the soft glow of the campfire up ahead. She was about to comment on how they’d kept the fire going all night, when Finn spoke first and interrupted her thoughts.

  “You know, people are probably going to treat us like a thing now,” he said.

  Anya felt a strange, nervous emotion run through her. “And?” she said, trying to keep her voice even. “Does that bother you?”

  Finn looked over at her, his face barely visible in the darkness. He paused for a moment, considering. “No,” he finally said. “It definitely doesn’t bother me. Does it bother you?”

  Anya bit her lip to keep from smiling. “No,” she said. “No, it doesn’t bother me either.”

  “Good,” Finn said. Then he took her hand as they walked into the campsite together. Anya did smile then. She wasn’t sure exactly what all of this meant, but she was pretty sure she liked it.

  Her smile weakened a bit as they walked into the campsite. She’d heard the rushing sound that indicated they’d walked back through the protective shield, and she saw Knox and Izzy sitting around the fire, looking tired as they spoke with Peter. Anya felt a sudden rush of guilt. She’d been so caught up in the moment with Finn that it had never crossed her mind that people might worry about her. She wasn’t putting up a very good first impression of how well she was going to help this team, and she felt her stomach clenching up with worry again. Would Knox and Peter scold her? Would they go back on their decision to allow her on the team? Did Owen, Raven, and Harlow even still want her on the team? Anya walked toward the fire pit holding tightly to Finn’s hand, trying to find a measure of comfort and security in the warmth of his palm.

  “What the hell, Finn,” Knox said, looking up as they approached. Anya steeled herself for a long lecture, but then to her surprise, Knox burst out laughing.

  “If you were gonna go bang around in the woods, you could have at least warned us not to expect you back anytime soon. I’m glad you had fun, but we’ve been worried sick about you while you were off with your girl here.”

  “I’m not sure I’m his girl,” Anya started to say, not wanting Finn to think that she was making assumptions about them. But her voice was drowned out by the loud laughter of Owen, who had just come back into the campsite with Raven.

  “I thought you told me you’d never fall in love, Finn,” Owen said. “In fact, I remember you telling me once that you were definitely staying away from humans.”

  “Easy, guys,” Finn said. “I’m sorry I made you all worry but do you have to give me such a hard time at two in the morning?”

  “Three in the morning,” Knox corrected. “And yes, of course we have to give you a hard time. What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t?”

  Anya felt her cheeks turning bright red again. She felt like her whole life was on display right now, and she wanted to say something in her and Finn’s defense, but she wasn’t sure what.

  “No one said anything about falling in love,” she blurted out in protest, looking up at Finn in desperation. He raised an eyebrow, seeming somewhat surprised by this outburst. But Peter spoke up before Finn could reply.

  “No one had to say anything, Anya. It’s obvious from the way he looks at you. I’m just surprised I didn’t see it before. I should have known the moment he first spoke up for you.”

  Peter’s eyes danced merrily in the light of the fire, and the rest of the crew seemed to be just as amused, now that their worries about Finn and Anya being in trouble were gone. Anya opened her mouth to try to protest again, but Finn shook his head.

  “It’s no use,” Finn said. “Their favorite pastime is giving people a hard time over finding love. Even the slightest hint of romance, and they start in on nonsense like this. The best way to
get it to stop is to ignore it.”

  “Oh, you can ignore all you want,” Owen said. “I’m not stopping anytime soon.”

  Finn turned to Owen to say something to him, but Knox held up his hands for silence before any more words could be spoken.

  “I think that’s enough for tonight. It’s late, and we all need rest. Finn, I’m going to chew you out properly for this in the morning, but right now I’m too tired to yell. Let’s all hit the sack. The last thing we want is to be caught off guard by the enemy when we’re exhausted.”

  Finn didn’t wait to hear what anyone else would say to that. “Come on, Anya,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward his sleeping bag. “Knox is right. Let’s get some rest.”

  Anya went with him, feeling self conscious that everyone was going to see her sleeping right next to him, but also feeling glad that she would be next to him and be able to share his warmth.

  She was hopelessly confused about his feelings for her at this point. He’d made it sound like their time together in the woods was purely a chance for some physical fun. But now, he was acting like it had meant something more to him. Truth be told, Anya hadn’t intended to do anything more than have a bit of fun, either. But after experiencing what it was like to be close to Finn, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be happy being away from him again.

  She lay down next to him, snuggling into his oversized sleeping bag and relishing the way the heat of his body washed over her. He wrapped his arms around her, and she felt her heart beating faster from the electricity of his touch. All around them, the rest of the group was settling down into their own sleeping bags as well. Anya had so many questions for Finn, but she was afraid to ask them. How could she talk to him without everyone else listening in?

  She tilted her face toward his, her eyes filled with questions. She opened her mouth to ask him why he wanted her next to him, but he put a finger to her lips.

  “Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “We’ll talk more tomorrow. For now, let’s just enjoy being together tonight.”

  Anya sighed. She wanted to enjoy the night, but how could she when she was feeling so strangely desperate for him, and so worried that tomorrow they would be back to acting like just friends. As if Finn sensed her worries, he looked down at her and smiled.

  “The first of many nights together, I hope,” he added.

  Anya bit her lip as a huge grin spread across her face. She wasn’t sure what adventures lay ahead of them, or where, exactly, Finn thought this was going. But knowing that he thought it was going somewhere was enough for the moment.

  Anya pressed her body closer against her dragon’s warm body and allowed sweet sleep to envelop her.

  Chapter Eleven

  When Anya woke up the next morning, she was surprised to find that Finn had already left the warmth of the sleeping bag. Feeling slightly disappointed, she sat up slowly and looked around the small campsite, but he was not there, either. In fact, the only other person she saw was Izzy, who was sitting close to the dwindling fire with her head bent over a stack of papers.

  Anya quietly lay back down for a moment, feeling nervous and not quite ready to face Izzy on her own. In the bright morning light, the events of last night seemed even more embarrassing. How had she ended up having wild sex with Finn, getting caught with him in the woods half naked, and then still joining him in his sleeping bag in front of everyone as if she didn’t care what anyone thought? Anya’s cheeks flushed bright red, and she was glad no one was watching her at the moment.

  Did she care what anyone thought? Did it matter to her if Izzy thought she’d been reckless last night? Anya wanted to make a good impression on her new friends, and she knew she and Finn shouldn’t have strayed so far from the campsite for so long. But surely, that was their only transgression. They were both adults, after all. What was to keep them from sleeping together if that’s what they both wanted to do?

  Anya frowned up at the treetops high above her, which were swaying gently in the breeze. From what she had seen of the group that was searching for the dragon amethyst, they were a tight knit crew. She worried that they would feel possessive of Finn, and annoyed that she had swept in and started taking up a special place in his heart.

  Anya wanted to believe that she was being ridiculous. After all, they were all adults here, right? And last night everyone had seemed to be in a relatively good mood once Finn and she were found safe. Owen had seemed especially happy for the chance to tease Finn. The group would have some fun with it and then move on, right?

  Anya hoped so, but she still felt nervous to go talk to Izzy and face the truth of the situation. Lying there in Finn’s sleeping bag, Anya had never felt so human and small. Until she met the dragons and wizards she was now sharing a campsite with, she’d never had a reason to feel ordinary. She was smart, after all, and had lived a fulfilling life as a botanist. But now she felt unremarkable, like being smart wasn’t enough. In fact, perhaps she was wasting time worrying about what the others would think of a relationship between Finn and her. Perhaps Finn had come to his own conclusions in the light of day, and had realized that he didn’t want to waste time on a mere human. Maybe that’s why he had gone off somewhere with the others. Maybe he didn’t want to be there when she woke up in his sleeping bag.

  Anya sighed and sat up again. The longer she lay here brooding, the more her mood was going to worsen. She might as well get up and go talk to Izzy instead of imagining a bunch of reasons why Finn wasn’t going to want to be with her anymore. Anya had never been an insecure person when it came to men, so this rush of emotions was new to her. But it was hard not to feel a little bit unsure of yourself when you were imagining how you measured up in a dragon’s eyes.

  Izzy raised her head from the papers she was looking at when she heard Anya stirring.

  “Hey,” Izzy said kindly, smiling at Anya. “Sleep okay?”

  There was no hint of animosity or derision in Izzy’s voice, and Anya relaxed a bit as she slid out of the sleeping bag and stood to make her way over to Izzy.

  “I slept alright,” Anya said. Every muscle in her body seemed to protest, but she forced herself to walk without wincing. Much of the soreness was from her energetic romp in the woods with Finn, or their subsequent nap on the cold, hard forest floor, and Anya didn’t want to give Izzy any reason to tease her.

  But Izzy did not seem interested in teasing at all. After Anya sat next to her on the log that was serving as a makeshift bench, Izzy flashed her the warmest smile Anya had ever seen on the wizard’s face.

  “You’re probably wondering where everyone went,” Izzy said. “Peter and Knox took them on a scouting mission to see if there are any good places for some sort of semi-permanent headquarters out here. The plan is for us to hunker down and stay put until some sort of plan can be worked out for getting safely into Devil’s Melt. They would have taken you along but Finn insisted that you needed rest. You’ve had quite a time of it the last couple of days, after getting caught up in our battle and discovering the existence of wizards and shifters.”

  Anya nodded, trying to look nonchalant but feeling an immense sense of relief that Finn seemed to have had a legitimate reason for leaving her behind. Anya’s stomach felt like it was churning right now from the strange mixture of emotions that filled her. She knew she needed to calm down, but it was hard to do. She hadn’t expected to feel so strongly for Finn after sleeping with him. She’d thought she would have a bit of fun, and that if they liked each other’s company they might continue to develop a bit more of a relationship. But she’d truly had no expectations other than a night of fun. Finn had made it clear that he didn’t want to fall in love, so Anya had put up a wall around her heart to prevent herself from falling in love, too. At least she’d attempted to put up a wall. She’d apparently failed miserably, because Finn was all she could think about now. She wanted to hold him in her arms right now, and she wanted him to love her back. And she wanted the rest of the group to be okay with her and Fin
n being together.

  Izzy seemed oblivious to the mess of thoughts running through Anya’s head, although Anya had a feeling that this had more to do with Izzy’s being polite than with Izzy’s actually not realizing how turmoiled Anya felt at the moment.

  “I was left behind to guard the campsite,” Izzy said, continuing on with her explanation. “Saul’s army isn’t anywhere near here, as far as we can tell. But still, we have to be careful. Especially since we have the amethyst records here. We have copies of them back home, of course, but we still don’t want Saul’s men to steal back this information. It’s the key to finding the dragon amethyst, although it’s not a very easy key to use. It contains a lot of riddles and information about the dragon amethyst being formed and then stored in Devil’s Melt, but there aren’t a lot of specific details about where, exactly in Devil’s Melt.”

  Anya peered over at the papers in interest. “That looks like quite a messy assortment of information.”

  Izzy sighed. “It is. It makes sense that it would be a mess, though. Whoever compiled this information would have wanted to keep the dragon amethyst safe, and so they tried to keep things as vague and convoluted as possible. Maybe a little too vague and convoluted. We can’t seem to make any progress on figuring out where in Devil’s Melt the stone is. The riddles are all too confusing. And we can’t go to Devil’s Melt without some sort of concrete search plan in place. It’s too risky. Every moment that we spend anywhere close to the area is a moment of mortal danger. The enemy’s dark magic is growing too strong. Our shields are less of a protection against them with every passing day.”

  “But with every passing day you’re risking them finding the dragon amethyst instead of you,” Anya observed. “And if their dark magic is growing stronger every day, then the longer we delay in going to Devil’s Melt, the harder it’s going to be.”