by Jensine Odom
Caedryn follows me as I drowsily head for my room, and patiently waits while I find the light switch again. You’d think I’d remember where it is. Finally getting the light on, I grab two of the four pillows off my bed and turn to walk them to Caedryn.
“Here you go.” I hand the pillows over, suddenly sad Caedryn will be leaving me. “Do you need me to turn the light off out there?”
“No, thank you. I saw how it worked.”
“Oh, okay. Well, then, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Xerxia.” Caedryn bows slightly and leaves, his footsteps thudding the short distance to the living room.
I turn my light off, but stay in the doorway, listening for the tell-tale creak of the futon. When it comes, I sneak down the hall in the other direction, quietly slipping out into the enclosed patio on the opposite side of the apartments.
The full moon light pours through the solid glass structure, bathing the room in soft blue, and the smell of earth fills the air from the freshly turned soil in the planters. Todd probably planted sunflowers; they’re my favorite. It just makes me sad I won’t be here to see them bloom.
Collapsing into the somewhat giving material of the wicker patio chair, I gaze up into the sky, taking solace in the moon and stars. My body may be screaming for sleep, but my mind refuses to let it come, and after a pretty crazy day I can always depend on the night to bring me peace.
In the stillness, I can feel the strange new power within me, pulsing through my veins, making my blood run warmer and my heart beat stronger. The soulstone glows faintly just under my top, and I absently pick it up, rolling it between my fingertips.
“What happens now?” I quietly ask the night, not expecting a response.
“We wait for you to remember your true form,” Caedryn says, stepping from the shadows at the entryway, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth at the scream that escapes me as I nearly fall out of my chair. “I’m not sure as to how long that will take, but it must happen before you can challenge Drustana.”
“So, I’ll be able to shift forms like you?” I inquire, calming myself and getting my heart back to a normal rhythm, which is unlikely with Caedryn here.
“Yes,” Caedryn answers, settling into the chair beside me, the weathered wicker creaking under his weight.
“Good, because I was going to be pissed if I had to try and defeat a dragon as a human.” I give a short laugh, only half joking.
“You’ll have me,” Caedryn says, taking my hand in his as if out of habit, then letting it go immediately; it’s like his heart’s leading him towards me, but his mind is fighting against it. “As well as Turhion and Kerric,” he adds lamely, looking away.
“I know.” I lace my fingers with his, smiling when he looks more than a little surprised. “But it’s also handy to be an indestructible beast myself.”
Caedryn smiles at me, something besides humor in his eyes, then pulls away again. I sigh heavily, wishing he would just let go and listen to his heart, and scoot deeper into my chair, laying my head back to watch the stars.
“What’s your part in all this?” I ask suddenly, meeting his surprised silver gaze. “Why are you not corrupted like the rest of the Knights?”
“I was there the day Drustana had you killed, and fled with Alarr after retrieving the Royal soulstone,” he answers shortly.
“Alright, we’ll play twenty questions, then. Why were you there when we were killed, and why flee with just Alarr?”
“I’m more than just a Knight,” he confesses, a sadness racing across his eyes when he glances at me. “I’m a Royal Knight. My duty; to protect a certain Royal.”
“Me,” I almost whisper.
“You,” he agrees, looking like I was more than just a responsibility for a split second before being replaced by uncertainty. “Or, at least, your previous incarnation.”
“Yeah, the whole reincarnated soul thing’s still a little weird,” I comment off-hand, breaking some of the tension.
“Indeed,” Caedryn agrees. “I was checking on you one last time before finally going dormant with the other Knights and discovered Drustana’s treachery. Alarr was pulled out of hiding because of your death, as all the draquus were. We were the only witnesses to Drustana’s crime, so found it best to flee far from her reach.”
“What about Turhion and Kerric?”
“They’re from my clan, and are good friends of mine, which is why Drustana sent them after me. All Knights, Royal or otherwise, can sense each other; it’s called fatebound. The stronger the bond between Knights, the stronger the fatebinding.”
“All Beauties are just corrupted Knights, aren’t they?” I ask, but it’s less of a question and more like a realization.
“What?” Caedryn looks confused, not able to follow my thoughts.
“It’s what we call the dragons that look like you, and Turhion and Kerric. We call the others, like the one that tried to kill me today, Beasts,” I explain. “The Beauties always seem like they’re looking for something, but now I know it’s someone— me— and now I know they’re actually corrupted Knights, and I can release them when we encounter them.”
“Why Beauties and Beasts?” Caedryn asks.
“Because you’re beautiful.” I blush involuntarily at the spark that ignites in Caedryn’s eyes. “And the others are just Beasts,” I end quickly with a shrug.
“I find it amusing that you call them Beasts,” Caedryn comments. “They’re called beastlocked; the dragons who forgot their humanity and can no longer change form.”
“No shit.” I nod and look up at the sky. “At least we got one thing right. Actually, I got a lot right; it’s the rest of the world that got most of it wrong.”
“How so?”
“We were always told dragons aren’t real; they’re just made up legends to scare children and adults alike. When dragons appeared shortly after the worldwide cataclysm, we only had those legends to rely on for information, and those legends were sorely lacking, so we made shit up as we went.
“I knew dragons were real my whole life, and I knew what people spread as information when you were proven real wasn’t true. I knew the Beauties were looking for something, and I knew that if I found it, I could just maybe save the world.” I sit up now, looking right at Caedryn, finding admiration in his gaze.
“You were planning on taking on the dragons even before you knew who you were?” he asks, intrigued.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “I couldn’t convince anyone else to help, though. Then you showed up, saving me for the second time, and giving me the help I needed.” I tentatively get up, finally feeling tired, and stretch carefully.
“Second time?” Caedryn stands now, looking confused.
“Yeah. A few months ago, my family and I were making our way to a small ranch house for the night when a Beast found us. It killed my mom and sister, and would have killed all of us had you not shown up.” I smile up at Caedryn, feeling kind of drunk with the exhaustion quickly taking over my mind, and lay a hand on his chest. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Caedryn softly smiles, his silver eyes glowing in the moonlight, and takes my hand, kissing my palm.
“Who am I to you?” I ask boldly, spurred by the massive wave of emotions washing over me and the pull in my heart leading to Caedryn.
“Everything,” Caedryn whispers, holding my hand to his chest and stepping closer, brushing his knuckles across my uninjured cheek. His eyes hold mine, and my breath catches in my throat.
“I thought we had to all go to bed,” Zebulon mocks suddenly from the hallway, and the moment’s over.
Caedryn releases me and steps back, letting me go, a bittersweet smile on his lips.
“You try to shut your brain up after having the day I just had,” I sneer at Zebulon from around Caedryn’s shoulder.
Zebulon just screws his face at me and disappears back into the apartment, the door to his room clicking a moment later. I chuff, rolling my eyes, and with a glance at Caedryn, walk back t
o my room.
“Goodnight, Caedryn,” I say, pausing at my doorway, giving him a small smile.
“Goodnight, Xerxia,” he replies, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead before continuing back to his foldout bed.
I stand there, stunned for a moment, his kiss still tingling on my brow, then haul myself to my own bed, not caring about the slight pain as I plop backwards onto the soft mattress with a sigh. Pulling the plush quilt up over my body, I fall asleep within moments.
✽✽✽
I glance frantically over my shoulder, nearly white hair flashing bright in the sunlight streaming through the thick canopy. My breath comes fast and hard as my legs pump, carrying me away from Caedryn. I can’t sense him yet, but I know he’s coming. I must hide!
There! A large bush with broad leaves. Stifling a giggle, I dive in, huddling small, dirty knees to my chest. Sylaena will be mad again. She says Royals shouldn’t play as I do, or get dirty. That’s no fun!
Footsteps approach, crunching in the dry leaves around me. Caedryn. I can feel him. Anticipation rushes through my veins, pounding in my ears. I curl tighter into myself.
The footsteps stop. My breath catches. I hope he didn’t hear that! The leaves directly in front of me move, and I squeal as they part with a blinding flash.
✽✽✽
“It will be all right, Allowyn,” Caedryn’s voice soothes, slightly higher pitched with youth. “We will find each other.” He sounds confident, but his uncertainty infects me.
I look up at him, blinking away the tears that blur my vision. Caedryn’s raven hair is much shorter, his face lacking a beard. He takes my incredibly small hand with his, lips brushing my palm. With a sob, I nod in agreement.
Caedryn leads me to a large clearing in the forest somewhere. People I don’t recognize separate us, their unguarded thoughts pressing in on me as my own mind slips. They don’t think I’ll return.
My vision goes dark as something covers my face and panic grips my heart. Caedryn’s energy grows weaker as I’m led away, the fear in my chest drowning out my tether to him.
When I can see again, I’m in an old ruin. I don’t know this place! Why didn’t I think to watch the mind of one of my escorts?! All I know now is I must find Caedryn, but first there’s fire. It consumes me as surely as the dread in my heart, and the cry of terror that rips from my throat wakes me from the dream-memories.
Sitting bolt upright in bed, my heart pounds in my chest as if it might leap out with the next beat. I’m drenched in sweat like I just ran a marathon in the heat of a New Mexico July.
My skin’s burning up, but I’m not under any covers. I thankfully threw the quilt off sometime in the night, saving it from the same fate as the sheets beneath me; they’re charred, still warm to the touch, steam rising in the cold air.
Panic clutches my heart and irrational thought takes my mind. I jump out of bed and throw on nothing more than my boots and the soft cardigan hanging at my door.
My heart pounds in my ears as I walk quickly down the hall, sneaking past Caedryn. He’s out cold on the futon, an arm draped across his face. The scraping of the sliding glass door is too loud in the dark of the night, and I dart quickly outside, hoping no one heard my hasty exit.
Crisp snow crunches beneath my feet as I quickly make my way out into the open field, resisting the urge to run as far and as fast as I can; only stopping when I feel I won’t be a threat if I spontaneously combust again.
I let the night embrace me, my breath vaporizing in the cool breeze that whips through the curls that have escaped their bondage and chills the sweat on my skin.
The full moon hangs in the west, bathing the crystalline world in peach, and the brightest stars twinkle in the sky above like glitter thrown in the air; the milky way arcing through it all. I close my eyes, letting the sound of silence encompass me, calming my racing pulse.
Thunder Volcano grumbles, and I crack my eyes in time to see a jet of magma spew into the air and tumble down the mountainside, cooling rapidly on its way down.
“Can’t sleep, either, huh?” I smile at the volcano, and a shooting star blazes through Draco.
The volcano grumbles a few more times before finally quieting down, leaving me with the silence of the night again.
Snow crunches behind me, an explosion in the calm serenity, and I jump like a cat, a small scream escaping as I turn on what, or who, disturbs my peace. Caedryn stands there in his long cloak, a smirk on his lips, but concern in his eyes.
“Why are you out here alone?” he asks, taking a tentative step closer as if approaching a wild creature that might flee.
“I dreamt of my life before. There was you and me, then there was fire. I kind of burned my sheets.” Anxiety tugs at my heart, pulling the air out of my lungs, and I turn back to the moon, listening as Caedryn’s footsteps get closer.
He rests a hand gingerly on my arm, sending a ripple of comfort through me. I pull him closer, wrapping myself in his warmth, feeling like I belong here. Surprisingly, he doesn’t resist or move away.
“How did you know I was out here?” I ask. “I was pretty careful not to wake you.”
“I felt your anxiety,” Caedryn answers, his breath warm against my ear.
I turn in his arms, looking up into his eyes, finding longing and hope in their silver depths. “Who am I to you?” I ask again.
“Everything,” he answers again, absently brushing a stray curl away from my face. “You’re my heart; my soulbound.” He grazes my lips with a thumb and traces the line of my cheek as if I’m both familiar and completely new to him.
I kiss his palm and he holds my gaze for a brief moment, uncertainty flashing in his eyes. In one swift motion he bends down, pressing his lips to mine, his short beard surprisingly soft against my face. I respond in kind, returning his kiss, and he holds me tight against his body, heat surrounding me like a sauna.
Relief and need flood my being, not all of it mine. Joy fills my heart to the brim, and just when I think I can’t take anymore, Caedryn releases his grip some.
“Took you long enough,” I tease, a little breathlessly, and a small giggle escapes me as I look into Caedryn’s loving gaze.
With a warm smile, he kisses my forehead, drawing me into his strong arms, and I lay my head on his broad chest, breathing deep the scent of him; like the desert in the middle of a summer day.
With my adrenaline wearing off, fatigue slowly makes its way into my body and mind again. I know I should get back to bed, but I’m reluctant to end this moment. I just got Caedryn to let go and trust his heart. I don’t want to ruin that.
“What is it?” Caedryn asks, sensing a disturbance in the force.
“I don’t want this moment to end,” I admit, meeting his eyes and kissing him, testing out this new connection.
“It must.” He smiles, letting me go and taking my hand in his. “You’re exhausted and need to rest.”
“You can feel that, too?” I ask, turning to lead the way back inside.
“Yes. Through our bond, we can know each other’s needs and emotions.”
“What about each other’s thoughts?” I have to let go of Caedryn’s hand to fight with the sliding glass door.
“In a way, yes; in very rare circumstances.” Sorrow flashes in Caedryn’s eyes, echoing in my heart.
Without him telling me, I know this is something he hadn’t shared with Allowyn, but wishes he had, and hopes to share with me. The thought of it excites and scares him. The fact that I could read that much from him this early in our relationship gives me hope we’ll eventually share that kind of a bond.
Caedryn follows me all the way to my room, but instead of staying at the door he comes in, taking my cardigan from me as I kick my boots off in odd directions. The quilt’s still on the floor where I left it, and I step cautiously to the bed.
The center of the of the sheet is burnt. It’s not as bad as I originally thought, but it definitely wasn’t part of the dream, like I had hoped. I grab one of th
e folded blankets from the nightstand and toss it over the bed, then turn to see if Caedryn’s still here, and my breath catches.
He has taken off his cloak and unlaced his tunic shirt, the deep V exposing a broad expanse of silvery skin that gleams as if the moonlight itself was captured there. Covering a good portion of the left side of his chest is a black tribal tattoo, looking like dragon scales and shimmering silver in the light as he breathes.
“You’ll get a mark as well, with your first transformation,” he assures me, and pulls his shirt off, letting me see the extent of his mark.
It spans the entire left side of his chest, as well as his shoulder and arm, fading off at his wrist. I step closer and thoughtlessly touch him, tracing the swirling pattern across his left pectoral with a finger, a faint silver light glowing in the wake of my caress.
“Xerxia,” my name falls from his lips like a breathless plea, and I look up into silver eyes, glowing like his mark.
“Sorry.” I yank my hand back with a sheepish smile and look at the floor, just realizing what I did.
“Don’t be,” he says softly, cupping my chin and lifting my face up to gently kiss me, brushing a thumb across my cheek. “Did you notice you’re healed?”
“What?!” I touch my cheek; the one he just touched. The one that should have a cut on it. Only there’s no cut, and my lip isn’t split, nor swollen. Moving to my ribs and belly, I press as hard as I can. There’s no pain at all, and when I lift my top, no bruises are there when I should be an impressive array of blue, black, purple, and yellow.
“You’re awakening faster than I anticipated,” Caedryn comments, looking perplexed, and unfounded anxiety fills my heart. “It will be all right, Xerxia; I’ll be with you,” he pledges, soothing me, and caresses my arm, taking my not-so-small hand in his, brushing his lips across my palm.
I give a giddy smile that turns into a yawn.
“Let’s sleep while we can,” Caedryn says, releasing my hand and pushing me towards the bed.