Raikidan stared at me for a moment. “Get off me.” I grinned and grabbed onto his shirt. His brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”
“All you have to do is shift once. Else your clothes come off.”
“You really think that’s going to work?”
I yanked his shirt up. “Only one way to find out.”
He tried to fight me but I was too determined to fail. After a brief struggle, his shirt found the floor. Raikidan glared at me, but I wasn’t going to lose this time. I wasn’t some prude trying to bluff him. I’d strip him past his skivvies if I had to.
Just then, someone walked into the garage. I glanced over my shoulder and found Laz staring at us. I grinned. Perfect. This was going to be fun.
“What the hell is going on here?” she demanded.
Raikidan held up his hands. “It’s not what it looks like.”
It really wasn’t, but Laz didn’t know that, and I wasn’t going to let Raikidan spoil this. I giggled. “Got a problem with this?”
“No, of course not,” she responded, though her eyes said otherwise.
“Then why are you down here?” I asked.
“Why are you?” she said, clearly agitated.
Good. It’s working. “Just having a little fun is all. Wanna to join in?” I grinned. “Or would you rather climb up on him and take my place?”
Her face turned bright red. “Ryoko!”
I snickered. “Oh, so you do then.”
She snorted. “Hardly.”
“Hey, don’t I have a say in all this?” Raikidan asked.
“Stay out of this, Raikidan,” Laz and I said in unison.
He held up his hands and muttered, “That’s kind of hard with Ryoko on top of me.”
I half laughed, but he was silent after that. I focused back on Laz—her emotions were definitely getting the best of her. Jealous much, Laz? I continued to push. “Well if you’ve got a problem with what’s going on, just say so, Laz.”
She crossed her arms. “I don’t. I just think you should get off him. He clearly doesn’t want you there.”
I grinned. “He’s a big boy. If he’s unwilling, he could push me away. What’s it to you anyway?”
She ground her teeth and then spun on her heels. “Whatever, I’m out of here.”
I watched her storm off before climbing off Raikidan. That was fun. I grinned at Raikidan. “Told you she likes you.”
Raikidan didn’t respond. Instead, he stared after Laz.
I giggled. “You see it too. I can tell. You want her just as much as she wants you.”
He slipped off the hood of the car and put his shirt back on. “No, I don’t, now knock it off, Ryoko. And stop trying to force me to shift.”
He stormed off as well. I couldn’t stop grinning. They were both too stubborn for their own good, but they weren’t the only ones.
Chapter 10
(Eira)
My room was quiet. There was no loud beat of his heart—no soft growling snores from his throat—no warmth from his body—no annoying questions. It had been like this for days now. When I had told Raikidan to leave, he did. He hadn’t left the house, but he hadn’t tried to come back into my room. I had thought to talk to him yesterday, to attempt to clear things up, but it was made clear to me he didn’t want that.
My mood sucked. Everyone avoided me as much as possible, and I stayed in my room when I could. Loneliness encased my heart, but I didn’t care. I was used to it. It was my fault anyway. I pushed myself away—pushed them away. I pushed the most against the ones who tried the most. I pushed him away…
“You don’t need them.”
Pushing him away was for the best. I knew it was.
“You don’t need anyone.”
I huffed and slid off my bed. I couldn’t be in here anymore. I couldn’t get over the fight. I couldn’t get over the emotions that had raged through me when I found him and Ryoko doing the-gods-only-know-what in the garage yesterday.
I needed to force this pent up aggression out. I needed to feel better. Changing my clothes, I stormed downstairs and worked my body. I pushed it to its limit—pushed past its limit. The walls were scorched and my body ached, but I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t find the strength to stop. I was so angry.
Strong male hands grabbed my arms. “You need to stop.”
I sighed and tried to struggle away, but I was too tired to fight too much. “Rylan, let me go and leave me be.”
“I’ll let go when you agree to give it a rest,” he said.
“Yeah, seriously, Laz, you need to stop before you kill yourself.” I looked at Ryoko. She was leaning on the railing of the stairs—concern flashing through her eyes.
“Leave me alone, guys.”
“Tell us what’s bothering you,” Rylan begged.
“It’ll make you feel better,” Ryoko added.
“I don’t know…”
“You can tell us,” Rylan insisted.
“I don’t know!” I ripped my arms out of his grip and stormed over to the closest wall. I placed my hand on the wall and stared at it.
“Tell us.”
“Don’t hold it in.”
“You can trust us. You know that.”
“You don’t need to bottle it all up. We’re here for you.”
Turning around, I slid down to the ground and stared hopelessly at the floor. “I don’t know…”
“Are you sure?” Ryoko asked.
I nodded. “I thought I knew… but now I don’t…”
The room grew silent. I didn’t look up to see if they had left. I knew they were still here, though I didn’t know why. There was nothing they could do. I blinked in confusion as Rylan, in his wolf form, wriggled himself under my arms and laid half his body on my lap. It wasn’t long after that Ryoko curled up against me with my other arm around her shoulders. I didn’t understand. They had avoided helping me all this time, and only now they were choosing to comfort me in a way only they could.
I pulled them closer and rested my chin on Ryoko’s head. It didn’t matter. I needed to feel better. I needed to feel better fast so I could do what I was supposed to do. Protect them. I was to be their armor and could only be that if I wasn’t damaged.
“Thanks, guys…” I murmured.
“Come back and keep us safe,” Ryoko murmured.
“We need you,” Rylan added.
I nodded but didn’t speak. I had too much on my mind.
I took each step quietly and carefully. I couldn’t find him in his room or anywhere else in the house, so the roof was the last place to check. I hoped I wasn’t too late and he hadn’t decided to leave for good.
Pushing the door open, I peered around it and looked for him. A small smile crept onto my face when I found Raikidan sitting on the ledge of the roof. I still have a chance.
I stopped walking when I was several feet away—doubt crawling inside me. I didn’t want him to brush off my words. I blinked. What was I going to say? I had known when I was walking up the stairs, but now I was drawing a blank.
Raikidan, noticing my presence, turned around. I swallowed and scratched my arm nervously. It was too late to leave now, and I still wasn’t sure how to place my words. “Um… hey.”
“Hey.”
An awkward silence enveloped us. This is pointless… It’s not going to happen. I can’t find the words…
I turned to leave. “I’ll leave you alone.”
“You wanted to say something.” I stopped dead. “What did you want to say?”
“I… I…” I sighed. “I was just going to apologize… for the way I acted.”
I stiffened when his arms wrapped around my waist and stifled the shiver his hot breath on my neck brought up. “A
pology accepted.”
“You accepted it so easily.”
“Because I should be the one apologizing. It was my fault you were upset. I shouldn’t have pushed you so far.”
“So we’re both sorry?”
He tightened his grip quickly and then loosened it. “Yes. So can I now come back to your room? I don’t like it in that other room. It’s quiet and I didn’t like not being able to hear you sleep to help me sleep.” I looked at him funny and he hesitated. “I, uh, I–I guess what I’m trying to say is… I missed being around you.”
I fought a small blush. He had disliked the situation as much as I had and for the same reason. I wasn’t sure if that was what embarrassed me so much, or if it was that fact that he was so okay with admitting it out loud. I managed to push it away when I realized how close I was starting to get to Raikidan. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wasn’t supposed to get irritated when Ryoko wanted to hang around him without anyone else around. I wasn’t supposed to desire him to be around all the time, or miss him when he was gone. He’s not supposed to miss me…
“No, I like having my room to myself,” I lied as I pushed him away.
“Oh, c’mon.” He grabbed my wrist gently and pulled me closer. “You can’t say you didn’t miss having me around.”
I drove away the wave of awkward embarrassment that threatened to surface and pushed him away again. “Not for a second.”
“Fine, be that way. But can I at least sleep in the same room as you again?”
“No.”
“All right, thanks!”
“Raikidan!”
He bolted past me and slammed the door behind him. Yanking it open, I chased after him. When I reached the living room, I attempted to turn toward my room, but I slipped on the wooden floor. Catching my balance, I ran to my bedroom, only for the door to slam in my face. I jiggled the handle and banged on the door, but it didn’t open.
“Raikidan, open this door.” I pounded on the door again, to no avail. Grumbling, I headed back up the stairs.
“Looks like they’re back to normal,” Zane commented.
“Good. I didn’t like angry Eira and mopey Raikidan,” Blaze said.
I chuckled. Reaching the ledge of the roof, I climbed down the fire escape as quietly as I could. Grinning, I swung through the window. Raikidan wasn’t looking in my direction. He was focused on holding the door.
“Can’t get rid of me that easily,” I said.
He spun around. “How—”
I pointed to the window and he grunted. Slowly he made his way toward me, and I met him halfway. He kept his gaze on me as I passed him and grabbed the doorknob. As I opened it, he lunged at me and I grinned. Swinging the door open and ducking under him, I pushed him out.
Raikidan caught himself and grabbed the doorframe as I threw the door closed. He groaned in pain when the door slammed into his hand, and I cringed and cursed quietly. I hadn’t meant to hurt him.
Raikidan twisted his hand around to grasp the door and forced his way back in. “You’re not kicking me out this time.”
“Like hell I’m not,” I grunted out as I tried to push the door closed. “I’m keeping my room to myself.”
“Don’t be selfish.” He pushed with effort and forced me back.
I stumbled and was unable to catch myself. I hit the ground hard and grunted. “Ow…”
My bedroom door slammed into the wall and then slammed shut from the force. I gasped when Raikidan fell. He landed on me but immediately propped himself up so he was hovering. My cheeks flushed several shade and my heart thundered in my ears as the two of us stared each other in the eye. Like all other times when I made eye contact with him, I was snared into those sapphire pools. But this time, the staring had an effect on my body. I held my hands close to my chest as a warm sensation flooded over me, making me feel awkward and self-conscious.
Then suddenly, he jumped to his feet. Not taking my freedom for granted, I stood up as well and put some distance between us. The distance gave me the time to get myself back to its normal, comfortable state.
Raikidan scratched the back of his head. “So, are you really eighty-four years old?”
Thankful he was trying to diffuse the tension with an unrelated topic, I sat down on my bed and nodded. “Yep.”
He sat down next to me. “You don’t look it.”
“You don’t look two centuries old either.”
“Yeah, but I’m a dragon.”
“And I’m a war experiment and nu-human.”
He chuckled. “Fine, you win. But is it common for you guys to live this long?”
I nodded. “The average nu-human can manage four centuries. As for experiments, we’re not completely sure, although some of the Council members are running up in the three-century range, and as you know, Genesis is well beyond those numbers. It’s believed though, that our enhancements extend our lives.”
“Why don’t you know?”
“Well, not enough of us have died off from natural causes to get a concrete average.”
Raikidan nodded. “All right, I think I get it. But why didn’t you tell me your real age in the first place?”
“I already told you, you wouldn’t have believed me, so I made up the lie and eventually it became far too late to fix it.”
He nudged me. “You should have told me. I would have believed you if you had explained it.”
“I don’t like talking, and let’s be honest. Our communication skills with each other could use some work.”
He chuckled. “Good point. So how does the aging process work for you nu-humans?”
“Well, it’s a lot like elves, except the first part of our lives. We age at a standard human pace until we hit adulthood, which would be around twenty, give or take a few years depending on the individual. Once we hit adulthood, the aging process in our bodies slows significantly, only ever showing signs every ten or so years. Sometimes it even takes longer for signs of aging to show. There are, of course, some who don’t age as gracefully and look older than they are.”
“Interesting,” he mused. “It’s similar to dragons, except our aging process slows a bit earlier. Could you give me a breakdown on how you lived your life?”
“Sure. As you know, I spent seventeen years in a tank growing. I spent forty more years serving under Zarda. For five years we spent our time fighting back. At the end of those five years, I left and ran for another five years. This is when I met the shamans. I spent twelve years with them and then had to leave. I spent five more years running, and that’s when you found me.”
“You didn’t find me?”
I snorted. “I was too busy dying to find you.”
Raikidan chuckled. “True. So give me a breakdown of everyone else’s ages.”
“Well, it’s a given that Genesis is the oldest. She’s older than any known nu-human living today. Zane is the second oldest here. He’s getting to be around two and a half centuries now, maybe a little older. Argus and Seda are next with being around two hundred and forty, give or take a year or so. They were designed, created, and released from their tanks in the same years.”
Raikidan held up a hand. “Wait, I thought you said war experiments like you didn’t happen until after Blaze was designed. How could Seda have been created so much sooner than you?”
I rubbed the back of my head. “About that… I lied, but not because I wanted to fool you. The truth is a touchy subject for most, and the average civilian doesn’t even know. The reason being, Zarda did experimentation in secret before he was our leader. It’s why the council members are so old, and how Rylan’s design is so much more perfect than previous experiments. It took over two hundred years for him to get to Rylan’s design.”
“Do I want to know why he did it in secret?” Raikidan asked. I shook
my head. “All right, so Seda was a secret experiment then?”
“Well, no. The thing about psychics… they’re always an accident. No one knows how to unlock the secret of making their power. It just happens. It’s always been that way since humans have existed.”
“So it doesn’t matter if they’re tank-born or not?”
I shook my head. “Only half of the psychics in the military are tank-born. When a psychic is born outside the tank, they are found by other psychics and taken away to be trained.”
“So they have no hope of living a life like everyone else born outside tank creation?”
I nodded. “They’re cursed, just as we are.”
“Keep telling me about everyone’s ages.”
“Blaze is next, being only a year or two younger than Argus and Seda. I met Argus, Blaze, and my uncle around the same time after my release. They had already been out of the military by that point and working at the shop.”
“How long had they been out?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. My mother never told me since she was so bitter about it and I never thought to ask the guys.”
“She wasn’t able to leave?”
I shook my head slowly. “Zane was released early from duty due to a serious injury. It’s why he doesn’t help us with the fighting.”
“He has that limp.”
I nodded. “He was released when we had our previous leader. He was much kinder than Zarda, much, much kinder. Argus and Blaze requested a release to give Zane a hand since they had known each other all their lives. Unfortunately, by the time my mother and aunt would have been allowed to leave, Zarda was in control and he wouldn’t allow it. My mother always resented Zane’s luck.”
Raikidan titled his head. “Why didn’t she leave like you had?”
My expression saddened. “Because she didn’t want to leave me behind.”
Raikidan lowered his gaze. “I see.”
“Rylan is the same age as me but was released a half year before me.” I needed to change the subject before he started asking too many questions. “Then Ryoko ties everything up by being the youngest. She’s a year younger than me.”
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