Soldier Dragon's Second Chance

by Brittany White

  “I'm so sorry,” she said in her lilting Irish accent. “But I have found no new information. I fear I have exhausted all avenues.”

  Of course, he didn’t blame her.

  Once they were close to land, the pilot let them know.

  “There’s the coast,” she said, pointing out the window. They flew into the Faro Airport, so they’d be renting a car to take to Lagos.

  She tried not to look at Davi with any expectations. She knew he wouldn’t want her to ask every five seconds if he recalled anything yet. He was quiet as he carried their bags off the plane, rented the car, and then drove them to Lagos.

  His jaw was set tight.

  She had an idea. She laid her hand on his neck. “Let’s treat this as a vacation, not a sojourn to our homeland. That way maybe it will be full of discovery and fun, and not pain and misery.”

  “That is an excellent idea,” he said as he drove them down then narrow streets. He rolled his shoulders, and she could see him attempt to rein in his melancholy. “Where would you like to live? Any thoughts yet? There are no limits. We can live in Vegas, Portugal, Niall and Nora have invited us to live near them, and the Texas dragons want us there too. Or we can start somewhere new.”

  “Let’s visit all of them, and then decide.” There was no reason to be hasty.

  He glanced over at her. “Visit?”

  “Yes. Let’s go to Cedar Lake, Texas, and then to Galway, Ireland. Then we’ll know if we want to relocate to one of those places, or start somewhere new.”

  He smiled. “Just don’t tell them you’re considering Texas. They’ll launch into a full-scale marketing campaign.”

  “Have they done that to you?”

  “A little. It was more intense for Nora and Niall.”

  She smiled. “I think after all this time alone, I won't mind being offered a new home.”

  “That is a great way to look at it.”

  After they checked into the house they’d rented, they walked the streets of Lagos, and then they returned to Ponta da Piedade.

  Davi held her hand tight. “It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen.”

  It stabbed her right through the heart to hear him speak of it as if it was a new experience. She swallowed against the burn in her throat. “Yes it is.”

  “How does it compare to the cliffs of Moher in Ireland? I’ve never been there.”

  “The Cliffs of Moher are beautiful. But the sky is always gray and it's a little bit cloudy all the time. Even the ocean is choppy. Although, it is very atmospheric, almost otherworldly. But this is perfection. The water is azure and it's so clear, and there are these little coves with beaches.” His eyes kept darting from one place to another. “And there are sculpted rocks with archways and it's bright, and the sun keeps everything warm.”

  “That was poetic.”

  He scoffed. “I’ll save the poetry for later. I’m ready to get out on the water. I rented kayaks for us when we were on the plane. I assumed we could do that till the sun goes down. Then we can really swim.”

  “Oh, I can't wait.” She hadn’t even thought of that, but it sounded fun.

  An hour later they were in the water. They paddled around, exploring the ocean. Once they were fairly far out, long past the suggested boundary, they tied the kayaks together. They dove from them and swam.

  As the sun began to set, they crawled back in their kayaks and looked back at the landscape.

  Carolina pointed at the rocks to her left. “See that place in the yellow rocks?”

  Davi nodded.

  “That’s the spot you remembered when we were in the bathtub. It happened right there.”

  “I need to see it,” he said.

  The cove was the perfect escape for teens trying to hide from their families. The rocks would conceal them from anyone else. There was a tiny beach where shallow waves lapped up. And there was a small, shaded cave.

  They pulled their kayaks on the sand and walked around. Carolina had to bite down on her lip to not ask if he could picture it. She knew the earlier memory had been such a breakthrough.

  “Show me?” he said.

  She held out her hand and led him to the exact spot where they’d sat, years before. But before she could say a word, he pulled away from her.

  “Oh god.” He fell to his knees. He screamed, a low, guttural sound. He grabbed his head, pressing the palms of his hands over his ears.

  “Davi!” She knelt in front of him. She tried to pull his hands away, but he was too strong. He had quit screaming, but his expression was one of agony and his mouth was twisted. His fists were clenched into fists.

  She couldn’t call a human for help. He couldn't go to a hospital. She grabbed her phone, praying she’d have reception. She dialed Nora’s number.

  As soon as Nora picked up, Carolina screamed into the phone, “Nora! Something’s wrong with him! Oh my God. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  Carolina described exactly what happened.

  “And what’s he doing now?”

  Her chest was heaving so hard she could barely catch her breath.“He’s rolling around on the sand, clutching his head. It’s like he’s feeling pain.”

  “Okay. There is one thing we can try.” Carolina heard some papers rustling. “I’m going to use a spell my mother knew. I have never wanted to touch her black magic, because she used it for sinister reasons, but this is the only one I can think of.”

  “What is it for?”

  There was a long pause. “Memory spells.”

  “To restore memory?”

  “No. To remove it.”

  “But you’re trying that now?”

  “I’m going to alter it.” She exhaled. “Henri-Augustin had philosophies similar to my mother’s. I’m wondering if her dark magic will work better.”

  “But you didn’t try it before?”

  “It seemed too risky. Davi agreed.”

  Right. Davi was living his life. He had a big, gaping hole in his memory. But she wouldn’t have wanted him to risk any part of his mind just so she’d have someone in the world who could remember their clan.

  “But you are his mate. It is your choice,” Nora reminded her.

  She looked at Davi, who now was kneeling, with his head bowed.

  “Put the phone next to his ear. I’m hoping that he’ll recognize my familiar voice.”

  Then Carolina heard Nora chanting in what seemed like an ancient language. At first, her voice trembled, but then it grew stronger.

  For several minutes, nothing happened.

  Then slowly, Davi released his fists. He rolled over on his back and went limp. After a few more seconds, he began to blink his eyes. They were glassy, and unfocused, but he was relaxed.

  “Now what?” Carolina asked Nora. “He’s lying flat on the sand, staring straight ahead.”

  “Carolina?” His voice was hoarse. “What’s going on?” He rolled to his side, and pushed himself up. He brushed himself off. “Where are we?”

  Oh, God! What if he’d forgotten the last week? Or the last five years? Was that even possible?

  At least he recognized her. So if he lost his memories again, then they would be okay. They could survive anything else. They’d survived far worse than Davi losing a different part of his mind, although he might not feel quite so relaxed about it.

  “We’re in Ponta da Piedade.”

  He looked around. “Why are we at the beach?”

  “What are we supposed to be doing?” she asked, completely bewildered.

  He didn’t answer.

  She tried again. “Are you feeling okay? Do you remember what happened a minute ago?”

  “I feel great,” he said, smiling.

  He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. It was an absent-minded gesture, the kind he’d done before. The kind he’d done when they’d assumed they’d never be apart, that no one could hurt them.

  They’d both taken their life for granted. Just th
eir entire clan had.

  “You want to swim?” he asked.

  She just stared with her mouth open. Which version of her mate was this?

  In that second, he looked like the Davi she’d known before Henri-Augustine showed up. He looked carefree. He looked like the sweet, sensitive dragon shifter she’d known, not the fierce, jaded male she knew now. His eyes were lighter. His posture was freer. She pressed her hands to her mouth.

  Had she gotten her mate back? But at what cost? Had she lost the soldier she’d fallen in love with over the last few days?

  Would he not remember the attack on their clan? The pain of waking alone in Austria? The exhaustion of serving in a foreign military? And would he forget the bizarre feeling of chasing his mate through an American city?

  But he would remember his family. His mother and father. Their little village outside Lagos. The day he asked her to be his mate.

  He’d remember her. A young female who wore bright flowing dresses. He wouldn't know she’d ever worn a leather jacket, and driven a motorcycle.

  But he wouldn’t know Niall and Nora either, or the Texas shifters, or Garrett.

  Oh, dammit. Would she have to tell him about the attack? She looked down; at some point she’d dropped the phone. She wondered if Nora was still on the line.

  He stared at the sky for a long time. Then he started walking and walked directly into the sea. He crouched down and dipped his hand into the water, watching the waves wash over his skin.

  With her eyes glued to Davi, she ran to retrieve her phone. She’d left it lying on the sand near the cave.

  She dialed Nora’s number again. “Nora?”

  “What happened? Are you okay? Is he? Do we need to leave and come to you?”

  “I don’t know!”

  “Okay. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “After you spoke to him, he rolled over. He stopped grabbing his head. He was dazed, but overall okay. Then he got up, and asked me why we were at the beach.”

  “But he knew you?”

  “Yes.” She was trying to stay calm. “It was like.” She pressed her hands against her eyes. “It was like we were back in time. Five years ago.”

  “So he doesn’t remember losing the clan.”

  “I’m not sure. But I don’t think so.”

  He turned, suddenly. “Carolina? Are you coming?”

  “I have to go,” she told Nora. “He wants me to come swim.”

  “Call me back when you can. If you need us, we’ll be on the next flight out of Galway.”

  “Thank you, Nora.” She’d never even met this kind witch, but she was already family.

  She walked slowly, dreading having to tell him the truth. He studied her face. “Something is wrong, my love.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. “What is it?”

  My love.

  That was what he’d called her before. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about how she missed it. He’d done it once at the Grand Canyon, but he had not understood why it mattered.

  And she’d screamed at him to stop. Then she’d run away and left him there.

  And he’d chased her, and saved her once again.

  She dropped her head into her hands and sobbed.

  “Carolina. What is wrong? Please tell me. What can I do?” He wrapped his arms around her.

  “I don't know where to start.”

  He pulled back and stared into her eyes. “Why are we speaking English to each other? And why does your accent sound different?”

  “I think we need some back-up.”

  “Back-up? For what?”

  Her phone chimed. It was a text from Nora that read simply—we can leave now.”

  No. We’ll come to you, she replied. She did not want Nora to have to upend her life for them when they didn’t have any firm plans.

  And besides, Carolina could not let him see the space where their homes had been. It would crush him. No one should have to relive that horror twice.

  “Davi. Sweetheart. We’re going to Ireland.”

  He put his hands on her waist. “Ireland? Why?’

  “Because it’s really important.” Dammit. She wished Ireland wasn’t hours away by plane. And by car, it would take days.

  “Is something wrong with you? You look ill. But that’s not possible. Unless… Are you…” His face lit up. “Are you going to have a baby?”

  “What?” She could not have been more stunned. “No. No, I don’t think so. I feel fine.”

  “Oh.” His face fell, then reshaped into a smile. “I am worried about you, my love. Please let me help.”

  The Davi she knew now kept his features blank much of the time. The one from five years ago, was far more expressive. She had forgotten that. But he was still the same, wanting to protect her and look out for her.

  “I can’t tell you until we get to Ireland.”

  “I will need to pack.”

  “No. We’re going straight there.”

  God. He’d have to look at his passport. There was no easy way around this. She couldn’t just shuttle him off to Nora and make her fix Davi. He wasn’t broken. He was just… not himself. But Carolina didn’t know who he was supposed to be.

  “There are a lot of odd things happening,” she said. “I don’t know how to tell you about any of them.”

  He raked his hands through her hair. “I am sure it will work out.”

  This was so Davi from before. He lived a blessed life, just as they all did. He worked hard, and he played hard, and he loved his family and his mate. That was why she was so stunned when he had been the one to end Henri-Augustin’s life.

  “Let’s go get in the car,” she said.

  She started the hike up the wooden staircase, but he did not follow.

  He very slowly walked back to the spot where they’d been before. He pressed both hands to the stone of the cliffs. “Carolina.”

  She jumped off the steps and ran toward him. “Yes?”

  “It’s coming back.”

  Every bone in her body felt like it had turned to mush. Her skin felt too tight. And her face flushed hot. “What's coming back,” she whispered.

  “Everything.” He turned to look at her with a stricken expression. Understand dawned on his face. “I remember.”

  She was afraid to ask. “What parts?”

  “All of it.”

  He scooped her up into his arms, and twirled her around. Far from being devastated, he seemed elated.

  Still in his arms, laid her head against his shoulder. “Are you… happy?”

  “Yes. I am not sure I have ever been happier.”

  “But what about our clan? And our home?”

  “I have spent the last five years mourning something I could not picture. I knew I was missing the bulk of my life. But nothing I did could bring it back.” He sank down to the sand and sat, still holding her close. “After working with Nora for weeks on end, I just assumed that I would never have the first twenty years of my life.”

  “I didn’t know you had given up.”

  “It wasn’t something I would have admitted out loud.”

  He pulled her into his lap so that she was straddling him. “So for me to be able to remember you, and your yellow dress, and the moment when you first agreed to be my mate...” He shook his head. “It is a gift beyond what I thought I would ever have.”

  “Oh, Davi.”

  “My love.”

  She did not sob again. But a few tears slipped from her eyes. “How I longed for you to call me that again.”

  He put his hand on the back of her head and pressed her as close to him as she could be.

  She sniffled. “And then it came out of your mouth that day on the rim of the canyon. It was what I had wanted so much and I squandered it.”

  “Do not feel guilty for that. All of that was my fault.”

  She pushed herself back so that she could see his face, and sat on her heels. “I am done wallowing. It's time for us to move forward.”

  “Oh n
o. I need to call Nora.”

  “Maybe I should call her. I want to thank her. What she did worked. And maybe we should go ahead with the visit. Not today though. The day after tomorrow.”

  “You're right. I think we both need a day to recover. Do you remember what happened?”

  “Most of it. There were a few minutes where I truly was twenty years old again in my mind.”

  “That's what I was afraid of. And then I felt guilty.” She kissed him firmly. “I've come to adore this soldier that I know now. He's the man that I want.”

  “I would not be the same person without the last five years. They were difficult years but I value the experiences.”

  “That is exactly how I feel.” She sighed. “If you're going to call Nora, you better do it now and let her know we won't be there just yet. She's probably worried out of her mind.”

  She threw her arms around his neck and held on tight while he called his friend.

  18

  Davi

  That was not how he had expected this trip to go.

  He had been cautiously hopeful that a few more memories might turn up. Like what happened in the bathtub in Vegas. He had not ever considered that he might get them all back especially all at once.

  And especially not in such a dramatic fashion.

  Now he remembered falling to the sand, clutching his head and screaming.

  Of course, Carolina had handled it exactly right. She had called Nora, which was the only person they knew who might have any insight.

  Well, besides Lioslaith. She might be reformed, but he didn’t trust her with his mind, not at all.

  He imagined his mate did not trust her either.

  He knew he had put Carolina through hell on that beach. He understood exactly what she meant about loving the person he was now. If she returned to the person she was five years ago, he would still love her for the rest of his life. But he would also miss this new Carolina who had an edge to her.

  He was determined for Portugal not to be a sad place for either of them. He could see Carolina open her mouth, about to say something, and then she’d stop.

  He’d considered buying her ring in Vegas, but then he’d thought better of it. They came from Portugal, he was going to propose there, so there was no reason her ring couldn’t be from there too. It would be meaningful if he bought it in Lagos.