by Katie Cherry
"Yeah, a couple of them have found someone to date. ...Most of them, actually."
"And... what about you?" she dared to venture. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear if he had moved on and was happy or not. If he was taken, she wouldn't have to choose. If he was available... well, despite herself, she couldn't help but hope that he was waiting for her.
His immediate deflection of her question didn't help to answer the question. "I think that's everything but food. Come on, let's go see what will work." When he turned from her, she caught the pain and longing in his gaze, which told her everything she needed to know. He was waiting for her. He had been the whole time. He hadn't moved on.
A quiet smile tugged at her lips as she followed Rhys through the store. She couldn't believe it. Two years, and he still waited for her? Despite her year-long relationship with Adam? Her mind spent the rest of the shopping trip in a haze until she felt a buzz in her pocket as they finished going through the checkout. Adam. Glancing at Rhys, who was busy rearranging everything into the two packs, she opened up the text. 'Please remember that I love you. In case you need money, I moved more into your account. Let me know if I can do anything else for you. Be safe.'
Myra slowly slipped her phone back into her pocket after sending back a simple 'I will.' She returned Rhys's smile as he handed her a bag, but even she could tell her smile wasn't heartfelt. Clearing his throat, he pulled out the bottle of pills and dumped one out into his hand before giving it to her with an apologetic smile. "You ready?"
"I guess," she replied, her gut clenching in nervousness as she filled the newly-purchased water bottle from the fountain, clenching the red pill tightly in her hand. As the bottle slowly filled, she returned her attention to Rhys. "How long is one of these supposed to last?"
"Most of the day, I think," he replied, taking his turn to fill his water bottle. She swallowed, eyeing the pill, before quickly dumping it in her mouth and chugging some water before she could think about it any longer. Smacking her tongue against the roof of her mouth at the metallic after-taste, she grimaced at him. "Yum."
Laughing, he clipped the water bottle to his bag and she followed suit. "It'll probably be at least twenty minutes before it kicks in. But wherever we're going, we'll most likely need to fly, so let's get away from civilization."
"Makes sense," she replied, allowing him to lead the way. They ran across streets and over sidewalks, both of them finding it easy to race through the neighborhoods at a fast jog thanks to the added strength and endurance from their dragon sides. In about fifteen minutes, they left the city and ran a good ways into the woods before finally stopping, only a little winded from the exercise.
"Alright," Rhys began, leaning back against a tree and folding his arms over his chest. "Let's see what these pills can do. Let me know when it kicks in."
"Of course," she replied, standing still among the trees and turning her focus inward. She'd gotten better at getting in touch with her dragon magic since she'd first transitioned, and though she hadn't done so since meeting Adam, it still came easily to her now. Settling back against a tree herself, the backpack pressed awkwardly between her back and the tree bark, she kept her inner eye on her magic, waiting to see what would happen when the pill hit. For a few minutes, nothing happened. She was just getting bored of waiting when her golden magic, normally concentrated in her guts, suddenly seemed to explode, huge amounts of it spreading throughout her body like a bomb had gone off. Doubling over, she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, though that did nothing since she hadn't been looking at her magic with her physical eyes. After a moment, the intensity of the magic bomb settled. Opening her eyes, she just caught the golden haze around her as it faded away. Rhys was staring at her in amazement and concern. Giving him a tight smile, she straightened, blowing out a shaky breath. "It kicked in."
"I noticed," he whistled, coming up to her and looking her over as though checking for damage. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"
"I don't really know... stronger, I guess? My magic seems to have increased, like, tenfold. What do you think that means for me?"
"Besides being stronger and more dragon-like? Well, I'd imagine you can probably do more with your magic now."
"Like spells?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, something like that. Try tapping into that magic and using it for something."
"Like what?" When he simply shrugged in response to her question, she sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on her deepened magical reservoir. Tapping into it, she can't help but think of how different her life was now compared to before she'd transitioned. She had been not only constantly fatigued, but she'd also felt utterly invisible to the world. A sudden tingling ran across her skin, and she opened her eyes and looked down- but her gaze seemed to go right through her body. She was well and truly invisible.
"Holy cow, that's amazing!" Rhys cried out, reaching a hand out to her. As soon as he touched her skin, he disappeared as well, the backpack he was wearing vanishing with him.
"Eek, you're invisible!" Myra squealed in alarm and confusion. He lifted his hand from her arm and flashed back into view. "Holy crap. This is crazy. ...I should try and turn back too," she realized, tapping back into her magic and ending it.
"Wait... this is actually perfect. Travelling will be so much faster if we can fly invisibly over cities rather than having to go around or walk through them."
“I thought people saw us as birds?” Myra questioned.
“Most do, but some are able to see through that spell. At the very least, mutts, transitioned or not, can see us. Honestly, that’s how that clan found us in the first place. They saw us flying around,” he hesitantly added, clearly embarrassed. “Anyway, the Elders wouldn’t appreciate us leading a bunch of mutts to their doorstep, given their highly secretive life.”
"But you can't turn yourself invisible," she pointed out.
"Well... we'll just have to be in contact with each other whenever we get near a city," he reasoned with a light blush appearing on his cheeks.
Myra hesitated, but decided it really was the best idea. It would likely take a while to find the Elders and enlist their help, and the clock was ticking for their clan. "Well... alright, I guess."
"Great," he said with a relieved smile before returning her attention to the main problem at hand. "So... do you feel them? The Elder Dragons? Did it work- can you tell where we're supposed to go?"
"Oh, um..." Focusing, she did feel a slight... prompting of sorts to go East. "East, I think. It's really weak, though."
"That's okay, it'll likely get stronger as we go," Rhys smiled before letting his wings unfurl with a rustle, the brilliant, leathery sapphire wings catching the light and sparkling brilliantly and putting the blue sky above him to shame. At the sight of them, the longing and hunger to do the same that she had experienced when she'd first seen dragon wings sparked back inside her with an urgency that took her breath away. She barely had time to be grateful Rhys had brought her a selection of shirts modified for her wings and she had changed into one at the store before her own wings pushed their way free, snapping open and almost hitting Rhys's wings as they stretched, aching from their long captivity. It had, after all, been over a year since she'd last let them out.
Curving one around her body, she ran her hands over the firm crimson wings, admiring them as though for the first time, reminded of how beautiful and strong they were... and how much better she felt with them out. She hadn't noticed the ache before it eased with their release. Rhys had warned her that a dragon would have a hard time living as a human... it seemed he was right once again.
Giving him a smile that felt more genuine than she'd had in the past year or two, she nodded toward the sky. "Shall we?"
Chapter Three
Myra's mood soared higher than she and Rhys did as they began traveling. She'd pulled her hair back that morning, thankfully. It was too long now to leave it free to whip around in the air flying past. She realized now why she'd been drawn to addin
g a red streak in her hair once the purple had faded out and she'd dyed it back to its natural brown color... it reminded her of her wings. She'd originally had it added as a surprise for Harper at her wedding- which she'd been overjoyed to hear was a willing choice on Myra's part- but now she realized she may have had a hidden reason to do it, and to continue refreshing it as her hair continued to grow out in the following year.
However much she tried to convince herself otherwise... the longing to fully realize her dragon side had never faded. Not really. If anything, it had grown in the two years she'd tried to fight and bury it. It pained her to think about admitting to Rhys that he was right. She supposed she'd have to keep up the charade. At least until she was able to make a final decision about her future one way or the other. Dragon, or human... either way, she felt she turned her back on the other part of her.
Sighing, she realized another city was coming up. Pulling up beside Rhys, she took his hand without comment and turned them both invisible. They could technically just fly above the clouds, though they'd still risk being seen by pilots. Her newfound ability was the safest route. Rhys looked back at her and flashed her a smile, giving her hand a light squeeze. She smiled in return and stayed just far enough behind him to keep their wings from clashing as they pumped beside each other. As they flew over the city, she noticed she could feel the steady hum of Rhys's emotions from their clasped hands. This must be another power I have access to, she realized, intrigued. It wasn't too powerful, so she could only feel the briefest touches. Contentment, happiness... and longing. His longing for her was similar to her own longing to reclaim her dragon side... and maybe her own longing for Rhys as well, if she was being honest with herself.
Myra dropped his hand the instant they were far enough away from the city, allowing them both to flash back into view. Rhys didn't comment, but she could tell he was mildly upset that she had let him go. It seemed she was more perceptive to emotions in general now. Pulling away from him a little once more, she breathed a sigh of relief when the distance quieted her perception of his emotions.
They flew through the day, Myra leading the way, and finally stopped just before the sun set when Myra felt the connection to the Elders vanish, as though someone had flipped a switch in her head. "The pill wore off," she explained to Rhys, hovering in the air.
"That lasted a good amount of time!" he commented. "And we made good progress. Where are we now? Missouri?"
"Yep. We crossed the border an hour or two ago." she replied, subconsciously watching as his hair danced in the wind that swirled around him from the movement of his wings. Those gorgeous wings... "Anyway, we still need to find a place to stay the night. And I need to eat- I'm starving."
"Same here," he chuckled before angling into a dive, plunging through the treeline below. She followed closely behind, and they landed softly. Rhys retracted his wings, and Myra hesitated a moment before doing the same. She'd missed her wings and felt loathe to part with them now, though she reminded herself that was silly- she'd likely have at least one more day of flying ahead of her- if not more. The connection had deepened as they flew, but not by much. At best, they were on the East Coast. More likely, though, they were in another country altogether.
Besides, she was sore from all the flying after two years of neglecting her wings. They definitely needed and deserved a break. An audible moan escaped her lips as she retracted her wings, causing her to instantly blush. Rhys laughed. "Out of practice, eh? No need to be embarrassed about it," he continued, still chuckling, "I'm sore too, and I definitely fly more often than you do. My flights are just never so long or so... intense."
"Understandable," Myra smiled in reply.
After a moment, Rhys spoke up once more. "Well, I'm going to start setting up camp. Could you find some good firewood?"
"Of course," she replied, happy to move her stiff muscles. Flying was a serious workout for her wings and her core, but the rest of her hadn't really moved much all day. She was also glad to have a moment to herself. Spending the whole day as a dragon with Rhys had been draining not only physically but also emotionally. The life she'd left behind two years ago had returned with a vengeance. Even if she wasn't still torn between her dragon life and her human one, the day would have still been utterly exhausting.
She felt a little better by the time she returned, her arms loaded with wood, though admittedly some of it was still pretty green and would produce a lot of smoke. Rhys had set up the tent and loaded all their stuff inside and was ready to help her make the fire by the time she got back. They started the fire and cooked their dinner without saying much, but once they were both full once more, Myra finally spoke up, breaking the silence. "So what happens if the Elders don't want to see us?"
"I hadn't even thought of that," he slowly admitted, staring into the low flames as they danced, their light reflected in his eyes. "I think they'll talk to us, at least. ...They have to, right? After all it took to find them? Plus, I mean, you are family to them. I think that will help our cause a lot."
"Okay, say they do talk to us. What if they refuse to meet the kidnappers' demands? What then?"
"Well... honestly, they're highly unlikely to grant Dragonkinship to them anyway. So I've been thinking about it as we flew today, and... We may have to ask them to help us themselves. They're more likely to help us rescue our clan than grant Dragonkinship."
"But it's still pretty unlikely?" Myra probed.
Rhys sighed and finally met her gaze. "They haven't shown their faces in ages. Even with one of their decedents asking, they still may decline to act. ...But we still have to try."
"Yeah... we do," Myra murmured, thinking of Bonnie's peppy disposition, Cynthia's welcoming smile, Jasper's fun-loving attitude, and Tavin's shy, reserved strength.
Rhys cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. He looked a little uncomfortable, but he spoke anyway. "So... Adam. Obviously you moved in with him, but I guess my question is more... why you sleep in two different rooms? Even after a year of dating?"
"Oh... well... I moved in with him because staying with Harper got weird after Daniel moved in and I was even more of a third wheel."
"Okay. And...?"
Embarrassment now colored her cheeks, but she answered his question anyway. "It just... never felt right," she whispered. "I wanted to take things slow."
He chuckled. "See, that's just odd given... well, you're a red dragon. They were the most passionate. You keep your passionate side buried better than most... though I'm not even sure why you do in the first place. I saw your passion before you did. That's how I knew your wings were going to be red. ...Why are you hiding from your passionate side?"
"I'm not," she immediately shot back, feeling her face burn under his scrutiny. The truth was... she had been 'passionate' before... with Rhys. But with Adam, whenever she tried, it felt forced. Not that she didn't love him, it just wasn't as intense as her love had been for Rhys.
Rhys noticed her discomfort and, thankfully, changed topics again. "Speaking of Harper. How's she been doing?"
"Fine," Myra replied, relaxing. "She's very happy. The wedding went without a hitch, and it was seriously gorgeous."
"Good. And... how were you faring? Pretending to be a human, even though you transitioned? I'm sure it was hard... honestly, I've only heard of a couple of cases of it happening in the past few centuries."
"Oh... I was fine," Myra assured him awkwardly.
"You didn't miss it?" he pressed.
"...No," she said, though it was clear she hadn't convinced him. She wasn't surprised- she didn't even believe herself. "I'm tired," she abruptly announced, standing and turning from the fire, which had burned down nearly to just embers, the tiniest of flames licking what little blackened wood remained.
"Alright," he murmured in response, watching the fire as she walked to the tent he'd set up. "I'll be there in a bit." Myra didn't reply, but quickly changed into pajamas and slipped into her sleeping bag, making sure to set it u
p at the other end of the tiny tent. She fell asleep within minutes and didn't notice when Rhys joined her in the tent.
The next day was much the same as the first, and again, they didn't talk much until after they'd eaten dinner after setting up camp in West Virginia. This time, she couldn't help but fess up. "Yes, okay, I'll admit it," she'd groaned, though he hadn't said anything to her yet.
He looked at her, mirth dancing in his eyes. "Admit what?"
"I missed it. I missed my wings, I missed the clan, I missed flying, I missed my magic... I missed life as a dragon in general. I thought I wanted boring, normal, mundane... and that's what I got. But honestly, lately it's been driving me a little crazy. ...I'd even daydream about our adventures together when life got too boring."
His eyes burned as he looked at her, and he scooted closer to her, an intensity sparking between them at his nearness. "...Is there anything else you missed?"
"N-no. That's it, that's my confession," she gulped before scrambling back to the tent, barely registering Rhys's light chuckling behind her.
After the third day, though, she couldn't deny the burning in her heart anymore. "R-Rhys," she gulped, setting aside the remains of her dinner.
He turned to her curiously, taking in the abandoned food. "Yeah?"
"Uh... I... n-never mind," she gulped, lowering her gaze to the dirt between them, her face burning. What was she thinking? She was still with Adam. The next few weeks with Rhys would be a nice step away from her newly mundane life, but that was all it could be.
Still, Rhys slid over to sit beside her on the fallen log. One hand rested on her knee, and the other gently turned her head to look at him. She let him do so, her gut clenching and her breath coming fast as his face drew gradually closer to hers. He stopped a breath away from her lips and she ached to close the gap between them and forget about the past two years entirely. She'd loved him the whole time, he'd always been on her mind, but now... about to kiss him... all she could think about was Adam and how crushed he would be. He trusted her.