by Vella Day
“Flap your wings,” came a voice from inside her head—Birk’s voice.
It took a moment to remember that he had told her they could now transmit their thoughts. How cool was that?
“Flapping,” she sent back, almost giggling at the power.
A second later, her feet, or rather her claws left the ground. It was time to look. Holy hell. She was at least ten feet above the ground. Looking right and then left, she was shocked to see she was about the same size as Birk.
“I did it!”
“You sure did. You are incredible looking, Lily. I am so proud of you.”
Had she been able to transform her mouth, she would have smiled. For a few seconds, she forgot she needed to continue flapping her wings or chance falling—at least until she learned how to glide on the currents.
Birk swooped in next to her and shot fire out of his mouth. Wanting to mimic his actions, she turned her head away from him and opened up, but nothing came out. “It didn’t work for me,” she grumbled.
“Concentrate. Picture fire. After you do it a few times, it will come easily to you.”
This dragon stuff took a lot of mental work. She imagined the heat, the intensity, and the different colors. Inhaling first, she then blew out a breath. Victory! A ten-foot long blast of fire shot out of her mouth. How cool was that? She was a real dragon.
“Oh, Lily, you are so powerful. We will definitely need to train you.”
“I don’t mind the training process, but I’m not really up for doing battle. I’ll stick to my day job.”
“That works.”
While Birk sounded nonchalant, she could tell he wanted her by his side in all aspects of their life, but that just wasn’t who she was—or was it?
“Follow me,” Birk telepathed. “I want to show you how to ride the currents.”
By the time Lily landed, her wings were weary. Flying took effort, more than she’d realized. Birk shifted back into his human form and for a moment, a streak of panic grabbed her. What if she couldn’t change back?
“Just relax, Lily. Picture what you looked like this morning.”
Birk’s calming words were just what she needed. One second she was a dragon and the next she was human again. She looked down at her arms to make sure she wasn’t covered in scales. Wait a minute—the bruises on her wrists were gone. She held up her arms. “How did I heal so fast?”
Birk smiled. “You’re a full blooded dragon now. I bet everything on your body has healed. After all, if you’re going to live for another five hundred or a thousand years, you need to be in tip top condition.”
She was aware that dragons aged slower than humans, and that while Birk was one hundred and nine years old yet only looked thirty, she never thought she’d live that long. “Really?”
“Yes, really. Though which part surprises you? Living longer or being healed?”
“Both, I guess.”
Birk moved close and slid a hand up her scarred back. “See? All gone.”
Her heart dropped to her stomach. “What are you talking about?”
“The scars are all gone.”
Her pulse raced so hard, she almost became dizzy. She reached behind her and touched her lower back. It was smooth. Elation weakened her legs. “How did that happen?”
“Your dragon is powerful, baby. She healed you.”
“Did you know this would happen?” Why hadn’t he told her?
He shrugged. “I couldn’t be sure, and I didn’t want to get your hopes up. Personally, I’m good either way. I love you for who you are, not for what you look like.”
Only Birk would say and mean that, and it made her love him all the more. Lily wanted to dance. Not only could she fly and shoot fire, she was whole once more. For a split second, she wanted to find that asshole Nelor Dobbins and show him that his handiwork was gone.
The next few days were totally hectic. First, they flew back to the eternal flame, found Fay, and returned the amulet. Their fairy friend was thrilled everything went well.
Back in Edendale, Lily did double duty. During the day, she went to work, but at night, she and Birk would take to the skies. Not having to worry about being attacked was glorious. Even Birk was more relaxed than she’d ever seen him.
While he didn’t bring up her fighting with the Guardians anymore, she sensed his small disappointment. As she gained more confidence in her abilities to fly, dive, and soar, a plan formed in her mind, but she wanted to learn as much as she could from Birk before she did anything about it.
“Show me how to dive to the ground and recover,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. One never knows if I’m out and about, some jerk might decide he wants to harm you by attacking me. I need to be able to defend myself.”
Birk stroked her face. “It could be dangerous.”
“You do it all the time,” she said.
“I’ve had a few years to practice.”
The man was infuriating but adorable. “Just show me, okay?”
“Fine. Watch while I do the maneuver. Take note of how fast I am moving, and then when at what point I pull up. You’ll see that I lift my head and swish my tail to slow my descent.”
She kissed his cheek and then stood back. “Good luck.”
He grinned. “Funny girl.”
Birk shifted and was in the air before she could blink. He rose higher and higher until he was a small speck in the sky. Turning, he came barreling toward her, and her pulse soared. She dragged her hands down her shirt, fearing he was just showing off and might crash. He came closer and closer to the ground.
“Pull up,” she telepathed, trying not to let him hear the fear in her voice.
“Not yet.” Birk’s words came out tight and full of tension.
She swore he would crash, but twenty feet from the ground, he swung his tail back and forth, lifted his head, and stretched his wings wide. The wind from his maneuver nearly knocked her over as he leveled out and swooped upward again. Probably just to show her he had everything under control, he faced his snout to the sky, and when he came to a full stop, he let gravity take him down again. He must have built-in radar regarding his location, because two quick wing flaps later, he was hovering just above the ground. Birk then landed and shifted.
Lily ran into his arms. “Don’t do that again to me.”
He hugged her tight. “I was good. Remember, I’ve been practicing for a long time. One can improve a lot in a hundred years. Besides, Thane trained me and keeps us doing drills—like the one I just did.”
She snuggled against his chest. “I think I need to take my time and not rush into anything.”
He kissed her forehead. “I couldn’t agree more. Say, I’ve worked up an appetite. How about we head back to the condo and see if we can scrounge up something to eat?”
“Just as long as I can be dessert.”
Birk picked her up and spun her around. “No meal would be complete without you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thane grabbed Lily from behind and tossed her on the padded mat. “Ouch,” she called out.
“Come on, Lily. You’re tougher than that.”
She rubbed her butt. “I am, but it still stings.” After a week of taking self-defense classes from Thane, she wondered if this had been a good idea. “Are you sure Birk has no idea we’re doing this?”
His eyes widened. “I didn’t tell him. I thought you wanted to surprise him for his birthday next week.”
“I do. I don’t want Birk to worry about me all the time. I want to show him I can handle myself.”
Thane smiled then placed a hand on her shoulder. “It will be the best birthday present he’ll get, but your claim has to be true. It’s why I ride you so hard.”
“I know, and I appreciate that you’re treating me like everyone else.” She’d spoken to Nessa and Greer about their training, and they both said Thane was the best.
“I normally don’t like to give any of my tr
ainees a big head, but you are doing a great job. Really. Newly formed dragons are stronger and often more agile than us old farts.”
She laughed. “You are an amazing teacher and very strong for, as you say, an old fart.”
He rubbed his chest with his knuckles. “Aw, shucks.”
She punched him. “Okay, let’s try that attack again. This time, I’m not going to let you take me down.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Thane approached her with both arms extended. With great concentration, she ducked below them, stepped on his foot, and then wiggled and twisted so much he couldn’t grab a hold of her. She had yet to learn how to toss him to the ground but first things first. Turning to face him, she jabbed a palm into his chin while she pretended to gouge out his eyes.
Thane grabbed her wrists for real. “Excellent job. I think that’s enough for today.”
“No. I want to be able to throw you to the ground. You said you’d show me.”
He studied her for a moment. “Okay. But then we call it quits.”
She giggled. “Promise.”
“Let’s move over to the mat. If some guy comes at you, I want you to grab his right forearm with your left hand, like this.” He took hold of her arm. “Then with your right hand, grab the back of his head.” He demonstrated.
“That seems easy enough, but what’s to prevent him from pushing me away? Both my hands are occupied. He could knee me or swing his hands upward to dislodge my arms.”
He smiled. “Good question. It’s why you need to move fast.” One second, she was standing, and the next she was on the ground. Thane then helped her up.
Wow. That was faster than she could react. “I see. Can you break that down for me?”
“Sure. With your grip solidly on his arm and neck, wrap your right leg around the right side of his body, placing your calf where his knee is. As fast as you can, push him away, and he’ll trip over your leg, just like I did to you. That’s it.” Thane showed her again in slow motion. It seemed simple enough. “Now you try it.”
Thane could stop her from succeeding, but she suspected he would let her toss him to the mat. As quickly as she could, she executed the four moves in rapid succession. While she succeeded in tossing him to the ground, her leg became pinned underneath him. All she could do was laugh.
Thane chuckled. “I might have forgotten to mention that pushing the person’s body where you want him to fall and then getting the hell out of the way is the key.”
“Ah. The missing piece. Got it.”
She tried several more times until she could execute the move quite well. On the last try, Lily truly believed she’d caught him off guard. She clapped and grinned.
“Excellent job. I think that does it for tonight,” Thane said.
Seriously? “What about our flying lesson?”
He laughed. “You promised this was the last thing.”
“For indoor training.”
“You are a glutton for punishment.”
“Birk’s birthday is getting close. I really want to surprise him and show him what I have learned.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Okay. What do you want to learn first?”
“How to use my tail better to tie up my attacker.”
He raised a brow. “I thought you said you didn’t want to fight?”
“I don’t, but there might come a time when I don’t have a choice.”
Thane smiled. “I can see why Birk is so enthralled with you. Your can-do attitude is refreshing. Come on.”
Birk didn’t like that Lily was working so many extra hours, but he wouldn’t complain. She’d accused him of being too concerned about her already. When he asked about her work, she’d said she had a lot of claims to process, since she had taken off so many days during all that stuff with Toma. He’d thought about telling her that she didn’t need to work at all if she didn’t want to. He could easily support her, but he sensed that her working was important to her.
“You almost ready?” he telepathed.
Lily had been in the bedroom changing for over a half an hour. Sure, it was his birthday celebration, but they were only going to The Wing’s Bar.
“I’ll be right there.”
Now that they could mentally connect, it helped calm his nerves. At least he would know—if he asked—where she was at all times, and he could sense if she were ever in trouble.
The door opened, and as soon as Lily stepped into the living room, his cock took on a life of its own. He could only hope his zipper didn’t leave a permanent mark on his dick. “Wow. You look stunning.”
Lily was wearing a tight pair of black, shiny pants, and a bright pink top that clung to her perfect body. She turned around, and he admired the low-cut back. Ever since her dragon had healed her old scars, she’d been showing off her body more and more, and he couldn’t be more pleased.
“You like?” she asked, spinning back around.
He laughed. “I more than like. If we don’t leave right now, I’m going to tear off your clothes and make love to you once more.”
She stepped toward him, swinging her hips back and forth. “Well, it is your birthday. You can have anything you want.”
“With you occupying my mind, it’s a good thing the Guardians aren’t needed tonight to take down any evil beings, or I’d be killed for sure.”
She dragged a finger down his chest. “I distract you that much?”
“You know you do.” He lifted that finger and drew it deep into his mouth. Her blue eyes turned purple, and her scales shimmered on her chest. “Yum.”
Lily withdrew her hand. “I would say we should skip going out, but your whole family is going to be at the bar.”
“They are. Nessa told me that Mom even baked a cake.”
“Is this birthday more special than others?”
He smiled. “We go big every ten years once when we turn 110, and then 120, 130 and so forth. Come on, we need to go.”
“And this is one hundred and ten, right?”
He tapped her nose. “Yes, but don’t rub it in. You’ll be there someday.”
Birk still couldn’t believe how happy Lily made him. She slipped her arm in his and looked at him with what he called her adoring eyes. That made his body surge with endorphins and happiness.
Once they arrived at the bar and stepped inside, one of the cocktail waitresses motioned them to the back room where special events were often held.
“Are you excited?” Lily asked.
“I am. Even though I’ve had more birthday celebrations than I can remember, I have you with me this time, and that makes it more special.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You always say the best things.”
He planned on doing that for the rest of their lives. As soon as they entered the room, he stopped in his tracks. In the past, his parents and maybe a few of his siblings showed up. Today, all his cousins were in attendance. Helium balloons covered the ceiling and streamers were taped to the wall. In the center was a huge cake with two plastic dragons on top. Someone had gone to the trouble of painting his ruby scales on one, and Lily’s seafoam green ones on the other.
“This is incredible,” he said.
His mom beamed. “Everyone helped. Now sit down so we can get this party started.”
They all laughed. For the next fifteen minutes, he opened presents. His parents gave him a beautiful watch. From a few of his cousins, he received a gift certificate for his favorite gym, where he’d been taking classes for a while. The whole gift card thing was a concept the dragons brought back from Earth, and it was catching on fast in Tarradon.
After all the presents were doled out, Lily handed him a card. This would be the most special gift of all. He opened it and read the message. Twice. He glanced up at her and then over to Thane who was beaming.
“What does it say? Unless I don’t want to know,” his mom asked and then chuckled.
“No, it’s fine. I’m just stunned.
For the last two weeks, Lily has been coming home quite late. She said it was because she had to make up her case work, but it seems she has been deceiving me.” He tossed her his best fake evil eye.
“I didn’t want to ruin my surprise.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
“I’m glad you didn’t. I’ll read what she wrote: To the most wonderful man I know. Ah…blah, blah, blah. Can’t read that in public.” His face heated for a second. “Birk, because you’ve spent so much time worrying about me and my safety, I asked Thane to teach me self-defense, both in my human and my dragon form. I can’t wait to show you my new moves.”
His heart hammered. Thane was grinning ear to ear. “Birk, she is amazing. Not only is she a fast learner, the girl can kick some major ass.”
“I don’t know what to say. That is the best present anyone could give me.” He cupped the back of her head and kissed her. He didn’t care that everyone was looking. Okay, he cared a little, especially when everyone started clapping in unison.
He broke the kiss. “Maybe later, you can show me some of your skills.” Of course, he meant when both of them were naked.
She laughed. “Oh, I plan to.”
The group returned to chatting amongst themselves a bit more, and then Lily pushed back her chair. “I need to use the restroom. Be right back.” Birk stood to go with her, when she stopped him. “I’m good.”
He had to trust her. “Ok, baby. Hurry back.”
Lily was thrilled that Birk was so happy with her present. He really seemed to understand what it had taken for her to step out of her shell and not only ask for help—but to ask for help in learning how to fight. When all was said and done, she had so much more confidence because of gaining those new skills. Hell, she should have taken some classes years ago.
To think she’d been so dead set against dragons at one time. Of course, she had Nelor to blame for that.
Take some responsibility, her dragon grunted.
Fine. I should have seen what a jerk the man was, but back then I was thrilled that someone seemed to care for me. Yes, I now know that I was a fool.