When they emerged onto the deck, Conner placed his charge on an oak bench before a matching table. The deck was vast, a high wooden rail lining the edge. Surrounded by lush forest on all sides, the cabin centered the tranquil setting, further lowering Amelia’s defenses as she enjoyed the spring sun’s warmth.
“A lovely view.”
“It is. I don’t make it here very often, but enjoy spending time when I can.”
“Where do you usually live?”
“The opposite side of the mountains. Farther north.”
“Is it cold there?”
“Freezing, most of the time. Probably wouldn’t survive for long, if we were mortal.”
“Hmm…guess it’s a good thing we’re not.” She smiled, but his expression did not soften to match hers.
“Let me fetch the food.”
“Sure. I’m starving.”
He left Amelia to enjoy the peaceful backdrop. She struggled to her feet, careful to keep as much weight on her good leg as she could, and hobbled over to the deck’s rail.
The tall trees sported fresh leaves, and a gushing stream babbled in the distance. Birds busily flitted from the bank into the trees, twittering in their playful courting. The sun rode high in an azure sky, only a few sparse clouds disrupting its brilliance. Turning her body slightly, she welcomed a cool breeze to tug at the tresses of her blonde hair.
One of the birds flew near, coming to rest on the rail with a curiously cocked head.
“Hello there,” she greeted the inquisitive creature.
The bird chirped, hopping closer at the sound of her voice.
“I’m sorry, little one. I don’t have any food.”
The bird chipped again, insistent.
Enamored, Amelia held out her hand, slowly extending a finger in the bird’s direction.
In response, her new friend opened its wings, hopping from the wood to land on her hand.
Amelia remained as still as possible, so as not to spook the tiny creature.
Ruffling bright blue feathers, its tiny feet bit lightly into Amelia’s flesh.
“Aren’t you pretty?”
The bird considered her again, tilting its head as gold flames erupted, incinerating the small creature with a single blaze from above.
Chapter 34
Her body collided with the deck as she fell back from the menacing figure of the Amethystine Dragon hovering above. She screamed, ignoring the sting of the hard wood against her hands and the renewed pain in her leg as she struggled to evade the inevitable attack. Issuing a second shriek, she scrambled farther away, struggling to maintain control as the flames within burst forth, her dragon reacting protectively to her overwhelming fear.
“Elizabeth!” Conner appeared beside her, moving to his knees to grab her in hopes of preventing her from causing further damage to her wounds. “Elizabeth, what is it?”
Her gaze moved past his worried expression, to the horizon. Where there had been an inferno, the sky was now clear. The bird she had been holding peered at her from the rail in concern.
“What happened?”
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I don’t…”
“It’s all right. There’s nothing there.”
He stood and carefully scanned the area to confirm his words, seeing nothing but tranquil land, amorous birds, and a few skittering squirrels. “There’s nothing out there, my lady.”
Heart rate slowing, Amelia attempted to raise herself from the ground.
Conner came closer and assisted her to the bench before taking a knee, so as to not tower over her. “Are you all right?”
Drawing a shaky breath, she nodded. “I’m really sorry. I don’t know what happened. I…got spooked.”
“As long as you’re okay.”
“I am,” she assured. Turning back toward the rail, she smiled. “Sorry, little one,” she apologized to the bird. “Didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Chirping in acknowledgment, the bird flew toward her, landing on the table to peep softly. “Really.” Amelia smiled. “Everything is all right.”
With a brief happy dance, the bird flapped its blue wings and flittered away, returning to the trees.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Conner remarked, drawing her attention back to his kneeling form.
Amelia shrugged. “They like me,” she spoke softly. “Birds, bunnies, squirrels. Always have.”
“Normally they run the other way from me.”
“I have dreams sometimes, where I can help the injured ones. But…” She shook her head. “Never actually happens.”
“Help them how?”
“With my touch. I take them in my hand, there’s a glow, and they get better. I don’t know why, but I’ve dreamed of being able to do so all my life.”
“It’s good the animals like you. Shows you have a kind heart.”
“I didn’t have a great number of friends growing up. Birds, and other small creatures, kept me company.”
Conner smiled before standing and moving a platter of cheese and cooked fish in front of her. “I went to the spring this morning and got lucky. Thought fish would be a nice change from the steak.”
“It looks wonderful.”
Smiling, Conner served her a generous fillet, block of cheese, and a goblet of wine.
Grasping the glass stem, she put the ruby liquid to her lips, savoring the rich taste of cherries and blackberries in the full-bodied blend. “This is wonderful.”
“Thank you. I make the wine myself.”
“You make this?”
“I spent a few months learning from a local vintner, though it’s taken years to create a palatable blend.”
“It’s really good.”
“Glad you like it.”
The two sat comfortably speaking of the mundane and enjoying their dinner, after which, Conner cleared the table. Amelia moved from the bench to one of the comfortable, reclined chairs, while Conner retrieved another pitcher to refill their goblets.
“So,” Conner prompted gently, “are you ready to tell me how a young woman, blessed by Kamar, ends up spending years alone in the Kalleen Mountains?”
Amelia cast her gaze to the horizon, focusing on the sky as the clear cerulean canvas was splashed with rays of orange and pinks, the sun itself becoming more orange than yellow as it surrendered to the night’s sweet embrace. “Does it matter?”
“To me.”
“Why?”
“You’ve been out here for what, almost seven years? Alone in the woods.” Conner turned in his chair to better face her, though Amelia kept her gazed fixed on the horizon. “What happened, my lady? If this is about what occurred in the village, I can assure, you’ve punished yourself enough.”
“I hurt someone, because I couldn’t control what I am. I killed those men.”
“They were thugs, attempting to rob families and rape women.”
“They were living beings. I didn’t simply punish them—I killed them. Burned them alive like they were nothing. I can still see their bodies flailing in the flames.” She shook her head. “What I did was awful, and not only that, but I harmed an innocent—”
“A flesh wound only. The farmer barely had a scar once the burn healed.”
“What I did was reckless. It’s a miracle more were not injured.”
“I understand how you might feel this way, my lady, but you must know what happened was an accident. You shouldn’t punish yourself for it.”
“What do you know?” Her words should have held anger; instead they were spoken with a soft resignation. “You know nothing about me.”
“I would like to.”
She finally turned toward him. “Why?”
“Because I’d like to help you find balance. To show you how your dragon and human halves can work in harmony.”
She turned back to the sunset. “I’m fine with my dragon. She keeps me safe. What happened in the forest would never have taken place, if I had allowed her control instead of mys
elf.”
Prolonged silence followed as Conner considered her words, eyes sliding to the side of her neck, where the distinct shadow, and texture, of scales lined her skin. He knew from dressing her injuries, the mar had not spread beyond this particular patch of flesh, but it would, should she continue to allow the dragon free rein.
“May I show you something, my lady?”
She looked hesitant.
“Please.”
Amelia nodded, allowing him to escort her back into the cabin.
“Nothing untoward,” he promised, leading her back to the bedroom.
He pulled a circular, hand-held looking glass from a dresser drawer. Wrapped in a soft cloth, his grandmother had treasured the silver piece, which he now gingerly handed to the girl beside him.
“What is this?”
“Look.”
Confused, Amelia raised the looking glass. Glowing green eyes gazed back from the reflective surface, elongated pupils in sharp contrast to her otherwise human face.
Her lips parted, shock emanating through her. Mirrors were a rare commodity, outside of wealthy lands, and the streams where she’d bathed were not calm enough to offer a solid reflection. In fact, it had never occurred to her to attempt to see herself. What’s to appreciate in wind-blown hair, and a layer of grime, her constant companions since she had taken refuge in the Kalleen Mountains.
Now she stared in a mixture of awe and horror, her dragon’s green eyes glowing like colored embers, no trace of her sapphire irises found within them. The marks on her shoulder, which she had blamed on an illness, under closer examination proved to be neither scarring nor disease, but instead the unmistakable pattern of dragon scales, which had left a permanent imprint on her skin.
“What is this?” she demanded. “What is happening to me?”
“This is what occurs, my lady, when a shifter spends too much time in dragon form. The imprint of scales, and persistent dragon eyes, are the first signs.”
“Of what?”
“Spending excessive time in your other form. More than you should.”
“I don’t understand. My eyes…they’re supposed to be blue.”
“Not anymore,” he answered, gently prying the mirror from Amelia’s fingers.
“Will they change back?”
“I don’t know for certain…” He re-wrapped the soft cloth around the family treasure before placing it back in the drawer.
“But?”
Conner turned to her, keeping his face as neutral as possible. “It’s unlikely.”
Amelia’s hand moved to press against her lips, her voice dimming as she asked, “What is happening to me?”
Moved by her fear, Conner guided her to a chair in the corner of the room before taking a knee. “With your permission, my lady, I have a story I would like to tell you.”
Amelia nodded.
“I had a friend once, a long time ago. He had a difficult childhood, leading to an even harder life. He had a group of friends, you see, and one day those friends betrayed him in a way so fundamental he could not move past the hurt.” Conner drew a deep breath. “My friend, he, well…he wanted to—”
“Escape the pain,” Amelia offered.
“Yes.”
“My dragon doesn’t comprehend betrayal. The threat of physical harm, yes. But not the emotional anguish of a bitter word.”
Lies cannot harm a dragon. The memory caught Conner by surprise; the similarity of the young woman’s words to the sentiments expressed by his friend long ago.
“My friend, like you, hid in these mountains. Many times I attempted to coax him back to his humanity. To remind him of a better world, beyond his anger. But he would not hear my pleas.”
“What happened?”
Conner’s lips formed a thin line, his eyes closing in an expression of deep regret. “In the beginning, he refused to hear my words. As time passed though, what was once a conscious refusal, became an inability to do so, until finally, he could no longer understand my words even if he wished to.”
“You mean…”
“The man he was has vanished. The dragon is all that remains. He’s naught but a beast now, a creature roaming the eastern skies, forever doomed to his chosen solitude.”
“He refused to change back?”
“He can’t change. Even if he wished it.”
Silence fell for a time, the consequences rolling through Amelia’s mind as she considered his story in the context of her transformed eyes and skin.
“Your friend, I’m sorry.”
“So was I.”
“May I ask…”
“Go ahead.”
“Is he free, as a dragon? Free from the hurt of betrayal? From the heartache of knowing those who supposedly loved him most were also the ones to cause him pain?”
“Free?” Conner drew a deep breath, not wanting to give anything less than an honest answer to her heartfelt question. “I would like to think, my lady, a part of him is happy with the choice. Yet, sometimes, from afar, I see him, flying through the clouds. Smoke rises from his lips, fire painting the air as he breathes. Some part of him, buried deep, rages still. I don’t think it’s possible to be happy—to be free—filled with such rage.”
Amelia reached out, tentatively placing her hand on Conner’s. “I’m sorry about your friend. Truly.”
Conner nodded, a gesture of thanks for her gentle understanding. “No question, the dragon is a magnificent creature. The power it grants our kind is to be both protected and feared.
“But spending too much time in dragon form is dangerous. I’ve seen the dragon’s nature take too many of those I care for, reducing them to a base, animalistic nature.
“And this is why I beg you to consider this warning, my lady. Your eyes, the imprint of scales, these are the first signs of losing oneself to the creature within.”
“I didn’t know,” she admitted fearfully. “I didn’t…”
“It’s all right. The dragon is a powerful force, and while it works cooperatively with us in many ways, it remains a creature of dominance. The dragon wants to live, to thrive, to be in control. You must learn to be stronger, or the creature will consume you.”
Struggling to maintain her composure, Amelia nodded. “Thank you for the warning, and for letting me see. I didn’t…”
“Quite all right, my lady.” He squeezed the hand she had placed upon his, offering gentle reassurance as they sat together in silence, until she eventually pulled her hand away.
“After a lovely dinner outside, and these revelations, I’m tired,” she explained. “Would you mind excusing me?”
“Of course not,” he answered, standing to assist her from the chair.
“I’ll manage.” She motioned for him to step back as she limped to the bed.
When she had settled, he left the room, softly closing her door.
In contrast with her posture, her heart raced as she sat, body trembling from the realization her sanctuary could easily become her prison. Her dragon had protected her, washing away the loneliness that only her human half suffered from. But it had also betrayed her, diminishing what made her human through seductive promises of freedom and power.
Alone, her tremors transformed to sobs, tears slipping from unnatural reptilian eyes to splash onto her lap.
A knock at the door alerted her that her sobs had carried beyond the room. “Elizabeth?”
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, attempting to stifle her tears.
Conner opened the door and moved to sit beside her on the bed. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I only wished for you to understand the risks.”
“I’ve lost everything I held dear. The dragon’s all I have left.”
“And you will never lose her, my lady.”
“I don’t understand. I had transformed most nights before I came here. Nothing like this ever happened.”
“It’s not a matter as simple as how long you’ve transform for,” he explained. “It’s about being in control wh
ile you do so. You’ve allowed the dragon to utterly control your mind. It’s the control, my lady, for which there must exist a balance.”
“I was balanced before. I don’t—”
“And I do not know what evils befell to bring you into this isolation, but I can see its toll.”
Amelia shook her head. “Why do you care?”
Conner met her glowing eyes, his dragon stirring to pace the narrow confines of Conner’s smaller form. A low grumble echoed, though only Conner could hear the protest.
Protect, the voice he rarely heard rose from his confined beast. Protect the girl.
“I wish to help you.”
“But why?”
His dragon roared at the question, forcing Conner to close his eyes, draw a breath, and calm the frustrated creature.
“Christina is my mother,” he offered, a more platonic explanation than the one the dragon would have preferred.
Amelia blinked. “Your…mother?”
“You saved her from rape, for which I am grateful.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Not something we advertise. You saw the village where she lives. If they knew her son to be a shifter, they would be less likely to treat her as she deserves. She has many friends in the village; not a life I wish to disrupt.”
“I don’t understand why you’re out here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Those blessed by Kamar, even if their parents were not, are welcome in Kalleen lands. Why did you not return to court, and to your mother’s family?”
Conner gave a hard chuckle. “Go back to the people who treated my mother with such disdain? To the family who disowned her for being born without the ability to shift? Why would I want to go to them?”
“Because they’re your family?”
“Only by blood. My mother is family by choice, and love. I would never go back to the people who treated her so poorly.”
“I’m sorry they did that to her. Your mother was kind to me.” Amelia lowered her gaze to the floor. “I had a friend, Kelsie. They sent her to the village as well, for the same reason.”
20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection Page 235