❖
Wildflowers swayed in the warm, gentle wind as Alyssa glided through the forty-fourth movement of the long eighty-eight-movement form, seeking her center in the familiar patterns Han had taught her. It had saved her from near madness when she was an unshielded empath. She hoped it could help her survive the rest of this life with only half of her heart still beating. The movements now were a painful reminder of the many times she and Jael had practiced Tai Chi together. Still, it was a memory she didn’t want to forget. As she moved into the fifty-sixth pattern, she could almost feel Jael’s strong and steady presence behind her, matching her flow with unerring precision. It felt so real, her heart beat loud in her ears with the anticipation that Jael would actually be there as she rotated with the next—
Alyssa jerked up, torn from her dream by a terrible scream. Pain shot up her back and she thought it might be her own, until another rattled the windows of the hospital ward. She recognized it as dragon horse, rather than human. It must be night again. Second was still unconscious and unmoving on the bed. She groaned as she stood and stretched. Another agonized shriek sounded, more terrible and closer than the first two. Running footsteps pounded down the hallway outside the ward.
Will skidded through the doorway, breathless. “It’s Titan. I think he’s looking for the commander. Maybe she’s calling him. Is she waking up?”
Alyssa scanned the vitals monitors. No change. She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
The screams were growing more frequent, and other dragon horses joined in a tortured chorus. Alyssa put her hands over her ears.
“I’ll go see what’s going on,” Will said, shouting to be heard over the deafening noise.
Alyssa studied the monitors for any sign of a change. Instead of waking, they seemed to be slowing. That couldn’t be right. Will returned and hugged her to him. “Michael said for us to stay inside.”
“What? No. What’s going on, Will?” She pushed him away. She knew her lab chief was developing a relationship with Michael, but he obviously didn’t understand yet how arrogant warriors could be when it came to dealing with non-warriors.
“Alyssa. Don’t. He said you should stay with the Commander.”
This wasn’t right. Something wasn’t right. What didn’t they want her to know? To see? She charged through the door and outside.
Second’s buckskin dragon horse, Titan, nostrils flaring and spewing flame, paced in the wide lane outside the hospital, beating his wings against the ground without taking flight. People peeked out of windows and from between buildings. Only the remaining members of The Guard and Kyle stood in the lane, circling the distraught animal. The dragon horses of The Guard hovered along the rooftops of the camp, still adding their voices to Titan’s.
“What is it? Does he need to see Second?”
Titan breathed a long column of flame into the sky, then screeched out a wounded sound that slammed Alyssa so hard she nearly collapsed. She didn’t usually sense animals, but she felt his despair as real as her own.
Furcho bowed his head, unable to speak.
Kyle grabbed Alyssa’s arm to steady her but looked to Tan. “Tan, what’s happening?”
Tears trickled down Tan’s face, but her voice was steady. “If a warrior passes this life and the bond is broken, the dragon horse usually goes mad from the pain. A lone horse will fling himself against cliffs until he dies. The lucky ones have a herd that will gather and end his pain quickly. That’s why the others are here.”
Titan flung himself to the ground, got up, and charged the building to fling himself against it like a rabid animal.
“Stop him.” Alyssa grabbed Furcho’s arm. “Do something. He’s hurting himself.” Then Tan’s words sunk in. If a warrior passes this life…She ran into the hospital. The vitals monitors were silent and dark. “No, no. Not you, too. I can’t make it without you.” She hit the code button. Everybody was outside. She sprinted back outside.
“Tan, she’s coding.” She tried to drag Tan toward the door, but she wouldn’t move. “You’re a doctor. You have to come.”
Tan turned to her, her eyes pools of pain. “She’s gone, Alyssa. Their bond is broken. Second made me promise if this ever happened…her greatest wish has always been to be with Saran.”
“I don’t understand what they’re waiting for,” Furcho muttered. “Azar just keeps showing me the wild stallion. I don’t understand.”
“There’s your answer,” Kyle said.
Dark Star’s wings spanned the entire width of the lane as he coasted to a landing several meters from Titan. He breathed pure blue flame. Titan reared and cried out, a pitiful sound. As he launched into the air, Dark Star bellowed a huge column of flame, and Bero, Azar, Potawatomi, Apollo, and Phyrrhos joined their inferno to his. Within seconds, Titan was ash floating away on the wind.
Alyssa sagged against the building. It was done.
She could hold back her sobs of grief no longer and ran inside, closing the door to the ward and locking it. She had no other patients and wasn’t ready to light another pyre. The hand she took in hers was still warm. She smoothed back the blond hair as she cried and stroked the cheek so like her lover’s. She wasn’t Jael, but with Second’s help, Alyssa was beginning to feel that she just might make it, find some purpose in this life until she could be with her love again. “I needed you, Danielle. I know you wanted to be with Saran, but without Jael, I needed you to stay with me.”
She wished that people were as merciful as dragon horses and would send grieving souls to follow the ones to whom they were bonded. When they lit the pyre for Second Warrior Danielle, Alyssa would lose the last tiny piece of Jael, the other half of her soul. She sobbed as she laid her head on the still chest. She cried for the days no longer filled with the expectation of her warrior surprising her at the hospital and the laughter they shared. She mourned the wondrous starry flights and possibility of children they’d talked about one night. She dreaded the lonely nights ahead without that strong, valiant heart beating under her cheek as she lay draped over Jael’s long body to absorb its warmth.
Her sobs quieted and her breath hitched as she rubbed her wet cheek against the solid chest. Maybe she was going mad like Titan. She could have sworn she heard the thu-thump of a heart. Madness might be better than waking each day with reality. Wait. She heard it again. A gasp sounded as the chest under her cheek rose and fell. She jerked up. Sun and stars. She was crazy. She blinked. The monitors over the bed lit up, and readings climbed into normal ranges. Color flooded into Danielle’s gray face. She ran to the door, unlocked and flung it open.
“Tan.” She ran outside. No one was there. She turned to go back and collided with Tan in the hallway.
“Alyssa.” Michael and Raven were right behind Tan. “I know you—”
“She’s alive. Come quick.” She ran back to the ward without waiting to see if they’d follow.
The monitors still showed normal readings. Thank the stars. She wasn’t hallucinating.
“This is impossible,” Tan said, feeling for a pulse in the wrist and neck.
Eyelids rippled with movement, and monitors measuring heart rate, body temperature, and brain activity began to elevate.
“She’s waking up,” Michael said.
Tan had flicked on a penlight and started to lift an eyelid when a clomping ruckus made them all turn toward the door.
“What the—get that animal out of here,” Tan said.
Dark Star wedged himself through the doorway and stood at the foot of the bed, rattling his wings in warning when Raven moved toward him. He extended his arched neck, and his red, elliptical pupils pulsed as he touched his nose to the figure in the bed.
Alyssa stood very still until a groan drew her gaze back to the bed, and she touched the warm cheek as the eyelids fluttered. “Come on. You can do it. Open your eyes and look at me.” The monitors quieted and the numbers dropped, and Alyssa held her breath. Her throat tightened with tears she didn’t think she had le
ft to cry. “Please don’t leave me again.”
“I’m here.” The voice was hoarse but the inflection familiar. The numbers rose and steadied again. “It just took me a while to get back.” The eyelids fluttered, and thick blond lashes lifted to reveal eyes as blue as the summer sky. Jael swallowed and licked her dry lips. “We’re growing old together. They promised.”
THE END
About the Author
D. Jackson Leigh grew up barefoot and happy, swimming in farm ponds and riding rude ponies in rural Georgia. Her passion for writing led her to a career in journalism and North Carolina where she edits breaking news at night and writes lesbian romance stories by day.
Her awards include a 2010 Alice B. Lavender Award for Noteworthy Accomplishment, a 2013 Golden Crown Literary Society Award for paranormal romance, and a 2014 Golden Crown Literary Society Award for traditional romance. She also was a finalist in LGBT erotic romance in the 2013 Rainbow Awards, and a 2014 Lambda Literary Awards finalist in traditional romance.
Write to her at [email protected] or follow her at facebook.com/d.jackson.leigh or www.djacksonleigh.com.
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Love on Tap by Karis Walsh. Beer and romance are brewing for Tace Lomond when archaeologist Berit Katsaros comes into her life. (987-1-162639-564-0)
Love on the Red Rocks by Lisa Moreau. An unexpected romance at a lesbian resort forces Malley to face her greatest fears where she must choose between playing it safe or taking a chance at true happiness. (987-1-162639-660-9)
Tracker and the Spy by D. Jackson Leigh. There are lessons for all when Captain Tanisha is assigned untried pyro Kyle and a lovesick dragon horse for a mission to track the leader of a dangerous cult. (987-1-162639-448-3)
Whirlwind Romance by Kris Bryant. Will chasing the girl break Tristan’s heart or give her something she’s never had before? (987-1-162639-581-7)
Whiskey Sunrise by Missouri Vaun. Culture and religion collide when Lovey Porter, daughter of a local Baptist minister, falls for the handsome thrill-seeking moonshine runner, Royal Duval. (987-1-162639-519-0)
Dyre: By Moon’s Light by Rachel E. Bailey. A young werewolf, Des, guards the aging leader of all the Packs: the Dyre. Stable employment—nice work, if you can get it…at least until silver bullets start to fly. (978-1-62639-6-623)
Fragile Wings by Rebecca S. Buck. In Roaring Twenties London, can Evelyn Hopkins find love with Jos Singleton or will the scars of the Great War crush her dreams? (978-1-62639-5-466)
Live and Love Again by Jan Gayle. Jessica Whitney could be Sarah Jarret’s second chance at love, but their differences and Sarah’s grief continue to come between their budding relationship. (978-1-62639-5-176)
Starstruck by Lesley Davis. Actress Cassidy Hayes and writer Aiden Darrow find out the hard way not all life-threatening drama is confined to the TV screen or the pages of a manuscript. (978-1-62639-5-237)
Stealing Sunshine by Tina Michele. Under the Central Florida sun, two women struggle between fear and love as a dangerous plot of deception and revenge threatens to steal priceless art and lives. (978-1-62639-4-452)
The Fifth Gospel by Michelle Grubb. Hiding a Vatican secret is dangerous—sharing the secret suicidal—can Felicity survive a perilous book tour, and will her PR specialist, Anna, be there when it’s all over? (978-1-62639-4-476)
Cold to the Touch by Cari Hunter. A drug addict’s murder is the start of a dangerous investigation for Detective Sanne Jensen and Dr. Meg Fielding, as they try to stop a killer with no conscience. (978-1-62639-526-8)
Forsaken by Laydin Michaels. The hunt for a killer teaches one woman that she must overcome her fear in order to love, and another that success is meaningless without happiness. (978-1-62639-481-0)
Infiltration by Jackie D. When a CIA breach is imminent, a Marine instructor must stop the attack while protecting her heart from being disarmed by a recruit. (978-1-62639-521-3)
Midnight at the Orpheus by Alyssa Linn Palmer. Two women desperate to make their way in the world, a man hell-bent on revenge, and a cop risking his career: all in a day’s work in Capone’s Chicago. (978-1-62639-607-4)
Spirit of the Dance by Mardi Alexander. Major Sorla Reardon’s return to her family farm to heal threatens Riley Johnson’s safe life when small-town secrets are revealed, and love may not conquer all. (978-1-62639-583-1)
Sweet Hearts by Melissa Brayden, Rachel Spangler, and Karis Walsh. Do you ever wonder Whatever happened to…? Find out when you reconnect with your favorite characters from Melissa Brayden’s Heart Block, Rachel Spangler’s LoveLife, and Karis Walsh’s Worth the Risk. (978-1-62639-475-9)
Totally Worth It by Maggie Cummings. Who knew there’s an all-lesbian condo community in the NYC suburbs? Join twentysomething BFFs Meg and Lexi at Bay West as they navigate friendships, love, and everything in between. (978-1-62639-512-1)
Illicit Artifacts by Stevie Mikayne. Her foster mother’s death cracked open a secret world Jil never wanted to see…and now she has to pick up the stolen pieces. (978-1-62639-472-8)
Pathfinder by Gun Brooke. Heading for their new homeworld, Exodus’s chief engineer Adina Vantressa and nurse Briar Lindemay carry game-changing secrets that may well cause them to lose everything when disaster strikes. (978-1-62639-444-5)
Prescription for Love by Radclyffe. Dr. Flannery Rivers finds herself attracted to the new ER chief, city girl Abigail Remy, and the incendiary mix of city and country, fire and ice, tradition and change is combustible. (978-1-62639-570-1)
Ready or Not by Melissa Brayden. Uptight Mallory Spencer finds relinquishing control to bartender Hope Sanders too tall an order in fast-paced New York City. (978-1-62639-443-8)
Summer Passion by MJ Williamz. Women loving women is forbidden in 1946 Hollywood, yet Jean and Maggie strive to keep their love alive and away from prying eyes. (978-1-62639-540-4)
The Princess and the Prix by Nell Stark. “Ugly duckling” Princess Alix of Monaco was resigned to loneliness until she met racecar driver Thalia d’Angelis. (978-1-62639-474-2)
Winter’s Harbor by Aurora Rey. Lia Brooks isn’t looking for love in Provincetown, but when she discovers chocolate croissants and pastry chef Alex McKinnon, her winter retreat quickly starts heating up. (978-1-62639-498-8)
The Time Before Now by Missouri Vaun. Vivian flees a disastrous affair, embarking on an epic, transformative journey to escape her past, until destiny introduces her to Ida, who helps her rediscover trust, love, and hope. (978-1-62639-446-9)
Twisted Whispers by Sheri Lewis Wohl. Betrayal, lies, and secrets—whispers of a friend lost to darkness. Can a reluctant psychic set things right or will an evil soul destroy those she loves? (978-1-62639-439-1)
The Courage to Try by C.A. Popovich. Finding love is worth getting past the fear of trying. (978-1-62639-528-2)
Break Point by Yolanda Wallace. In a world readying for war, can love find a way? (978-1-62639-568-8)
Countdown by Julie Cannon. Can two strong-willed, powerful women overcome their differences to save the lives of seven others and begin a life they never imagined together? (978-1-62639-471-1)
Keep Hold by Michelle Grubb. Claire knew some things should be left alone and some rules should never be broken, but the most forbidden, well, they are the most tempting. (978-1-62639-502-2)
Deadly Medicine by Jaime Maddox. Dr. Ward Thrasher’s life is in turmoil. Her partner Jess left her, and her job puts her in the path of a murderous physician who has Jess in his sights. (978-1-62639-424-7)
New Beginnings by KC Richardson. Can the connection and attraction between Jordan Roberts and Kirsten Murphy be enough for Jordan to trust Kirsten with her heart? (978-1-62639-450-6)
Officer Down by Erin Dutton. Can two women who’ve made careers out of being there for others in crisis find the strength to need each other? (978-1-62639-423-0)
Reasonable Doubt by Carsen Taite. Just when Sarah and Ellery think they’ve left dangerous careers behind, a new case sets them—and their hearts—on
a collision course. (978-1-62639-442-1)
Tarnished Gold by Ann Aptaker. Cantor Gold must outsmart the Law, outrun New York’s dockside gangsters, outplay a shady art dealer, his lover, and a beautiful curator, and stay out of a killer’s gun sights. (978-1-62639-426-1)
White Horse in Winter by Franci McMahon. Love between two women collides with the inner poison of a closeted horse trainer in the green hills of Vermont. (978-1-62639-429-2)
Autumn Spring by Shelley Thrasher. Can Bree and Linda, two women in the autumn of their lives, put their hearts first and find the love they’ve never dared seize? (978-1-62639-365-3)
The Renegade by Amy Dunne. Post-apocalyptic survivors Alex and Evelyn secretly find love while held captive by a deranged cult, but when their relationship is discovered, they must fight for their freedom—or die trying. (978-1-62639-427-8)
Thrall by Barbara Ann Wright. Four women in a warrior society must work together to lift an insidious curse while caught between their own desires, the will of their peoples, and an ancient evil. (978-1-62639-437-7)
The Chameleon’s Tale by Andrea Bramhall. Two old friends must work through a web of lies and deceit to find themselves again, but in the search they discover far more than they ever went looking for. (978-1-62639-363-9)
Tracker and the Spy Page 29