Legend of the Touched (4 page)

Jason nodded as if he did. "True, we haven't had one
since we first got here and you dragged me out onto the beach."

"I didn't drag you."

"Yes you did, but I don't mind, because I never would
have gotten over my fear of the water otherwise." He gave her a
gentle smile, which she returned shyly. Her nerves were getting the
better of her, and hopefully he couldn't sense them. Things would
only get awkward if he could.

"Why are you so afraid of it anyway?"

"It's my weakness, magically speaking I mean. Some
things I can do and it's not a big deal. Showering, drinking water,
that sort of thing, but swimming can be painful. But every day I've
been stepping into the ocean and getting myself more acquainted
with the element. Dull the sting, so to speak."

"And all of the fire dragons are like you?"

"Yeah, and every dragon has a weakness. The earth are
weak against the wind, the wind against the fire, the fire against
the water, and the water against the earth. It's balance."

Gwen stopped eating so she could listen better. Her
stomach was starting to get queasier the closer they got to the end
of dinner anyway. "If you're weak against the water, why would you
start a war with them?"

"From what I understand, most of it is religious and
political reasons. Father seems to think they've unrightfully
claimed our land during creation, and that they were a mistake as a
whole. He's more or less gone off into the deep end. As for the
weakness thing, he's found a way around that too by making bargains
with the Terran."

Reaching her hand across the table, she took his in
her own. The conversation needed to stay pleasant. "Good thing
we're away from that then huh? It's just us. Our world."

"Our world." He kissed her hand.

This was a good time to make a move. She stood and
moved towards him, their hands not once parting. With her other,
she reached up to touch his cheek. Then cupping his chin, she urged
him to stand also. Once he did, her arms went around his neck and
she leaned in to kiss him, eyes closed. Hopefully everything she
felt would be communicated in that one, long kiss.

Soon his arms were around her waist and he was
pulling her towards the couch. He lay on top of her and their lips
only parted every so often so they could catch their breath. With a
shaking hand, she put her hands under his shirt. They'd gotten this
far before. Sometimes a little bit further, but never beyond the
stage of some heavy petting. The warmth of his skin and the feeling
of the muscles on his abdomen were enough to give her courage to
tug his shirt off. He wasn't asking her questions, or giving her
weird stares. If anything, he was getting more into the whole
thing, kissing her with a new kind of passion.

As suddenly as it all started, it stopped. Jason
pulled away, sitting up on his knees before getting off the couch
completely.

"Is something wrong?" She frowned.

He wouldn't look at her. All he did was stare down at
his hands. "Just know tonight isn't the night. I'm sorry." And then
he left the room.

Tears pricked her eyes.
What did I do?

Chapter Eight

The Oceina

With a stretch and a yawn, Darien settled down at the
kitchen table with a mug of tea. Peace and quiet at last. Exactly
what he needed after a long day at school. Tai was napping before
dinner, his older brother Lance was out with his family and his
brother. Tony's kids were with them. At home, there was always
something going on it seemed, but that's what happened when living
inside of the same house with his entire family.

Long before he'd been born, his father Orion had
built the condominium-like complex with the vision that he and his
sons could all live under the same roof while still maintaining
their separate lives. There had been seven sons in all. Two shared
a floor, except where Darien lived. Tony and Lance both still had
small families, so the three used to share with their father. Now
Orion was dead, and Darien was now branching off to live on his
own. Some day he would move down to his own space so he could be
out of his older brother's way.

"I didn't think anyone was home," Tony said quietly
from the doorway. His voice was weak and hoarse, so Darien almost
hadn't heard him.

He gave his brother a small smile. "It hasn't been
this quiet since Dad... It's been a while, I know, it's weird. I
thought for a while maybe it was just me and Tai, but I saw your
shoes by the door."

Tony sat down across from him. "It's a relief to have
some silence finally."

Darien didn't press, but he wondered if there was a
double meaning to the statement. His brother's wife had left him,
but the telepathic connection between Tony and his wife was still
present and always would be for as long as they both lived.
Briefly, Tai had left him and listening to her thoughts every day,
knowing she might not ever return, had been torture. Ashley would
not be coming back to Tony ever. She'd made that perfectly
clear.

"Do anything fun?" Darien asked in an attempt to keep
the conversation light.

"I took the kids to the park. They liked going out
for a change. Going out with me. I liked it too. The fresh air
helped getting back a lot of my strength. It's going to rain later
tonight, so all of the moisture was especially revitalizing."

"Good, I'm glad you're feeling better. I was worried
for a while. I know you've probably heard that already from
everyone, but I could tell it was a close call."

His brother nodded, running a hand over his face. "If
it weren't for Riley and Owen, things might be different. I
couldn't leave them too. Then I'd be no better than her."

"I'm glad you held on anyway, because I'd have missed
you a lot," Darien said softly.

Tony laughed, a good sound to hear from him. "Thanks,
I appreciate it. I didn't think it would have gotten so bad, but I
guess I did hold on to the idea of her coming back. We spent a lot
of time together. I never realized Ashley hated me so much, you
know? How long were we married? Eight human years, and two kids.
She never said anything about being unhappy. I could sense she
wasn't pleased with being taken away from home, but I never thought
it was so bad she'd leave. Let alone that she'd go and find another
lover."

Darien winced, but let his brother talk. If Tony
needed to get it off of his chest, he could. Darien didn't want to
let his discomfort get in the way of the healing process. "What
does it feel like?"

"Being cheated on? It made me wish I was human,
because then I wouldn't have known. Because our magic binds us to
our brides, the instant another man touched her I knew. And I don't
mean touch as in just passing by, but in the sense that he wanted
her and she wanted him too. It felt a lot like fire every time he'd
only lay a hand on hers. When they kissed for the first time that
was when the sickness started."

Darien's blue eyes went to the tabletop. He couldn't
look at his brother anymore. Guilt filled him even if it shouldn't
have. He hadn't done anything to make her stray, but he still felt
awful all the same. "And then when she...with someone else..."

"It nearly killed me, yeah. Like my soul was ripped
from my body completely and left to die. It's like being separated
from all good things in this world and being stranded in a desert
at the same time. Dying of thirst, hunger, and loneliness. I doubt
it hurt her like it did me. If so, probably not as bad since she
never meant it when she said 'I love you'."

"I don't understand how people can do that, walk away
and cheat. Does marriage mean so little to humans?" Darien
asked.

"I don't know, but I am surprised. If ever there was
someone who would understand, I would think it'd be you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why? You know I barely
understand the human culture. Lance is the guru in that
department."

"He knows how to fit in. What I meant is you let Tai
walk away, like I did Ashley, knowing she might not come back. Why
did you do that?"

"Because I knew it would make her happy and she had
to figure out how she felt on her own."

"Exactly, and the fact she loves you makes you lucky.
The further humanity evolves, the harder this is going to be for
us. Yeah, they believe in love, but choosing it is a more uncommon
practice. I'm worried we're going to become more like the Inero if
we keep practicing the ritual of the sacrifice." Tony shook his
head.

Darien leaned forward and his eyes narrowed. "We will
never be like them. Women aren't simply possessions to us. We love
them."

"And take them from home, lying to them in order to
do so, and uprooting everything they've ever known. Just think
about it. That's all I'm saying. Maybe I'm jaded or something, but
if anyone can make a change in our ways it's you. Mister Great
Dragon Lord."

Eyes rolling, he slouched in his seat. Darien took
the time to stir his tea while he collected his thoughts. "I still
think Dad made a mistake picking me as his successor. Ruling a
nation is hard."

"And someone told you it'd be easy?" Tony
laughed.

"No, but it might be for someone who's better
equipped for this sort of thing."

"You're funny, kid. Remember he had his reasons, and
you're not alone. I think you're doing a great job so far."

"Yeah, that's because the war hasn't hit the fan yet.
I still can't get anyone to back me up beyond Uncle Arthur, Lance,
and
maybe
two other cousins. All of our uncles are in denial
and asking for physical proof." Darien sighed. Orion could have
chosen any of his seven sons to take over as the Great Dragon Lord
of the water, and he chose the youngest. Most were convinced it was
simply because Darien was Touched, and he was inclined to
agree.

"I was told my seventh son would be my heir, and
his first son would be the answer."
His father told him that
once. The man put a lot of faith in hearsay. Orion had a lot of
faith in general, something Darien didn't inherit but wished he
had.

"You said Dad sent out spies right? Any word from
them?" Tony asked.

Darien shook his head. "No and of course that makes
me more worried. Do you think they were captured?"

"Your inside source at Inero didn't mention anything
about it, did they?"

"No, but that was a month ago. A lot can change in
that period of time, and I still don't know how much I trust him. I
mean, he's one of the Inero Lord's sons. What if he was sent to
purposefully mess with my head?"

"Lance seemed convinced the guy meant well. He
doesn't trust easily."

"True." Too many factors to weigh. Darien wanted to
believe so badly, but didn't know if he could.

"I'm sure you will hear from the spies soon, and when
they get here the others will start backing you up."

"You're always great for when I need a cheerleader,"
Darien teased. Tony's smile widened, and for the first time in a
while Darien felt like he was doing something to help his brother.
There was too much hurt in the house. The Oceina family needed to
heal from a lot of pain. This was Darien's duty.

Chapter Nine

The Inero

Most of Matthias's time was spent outside of the
house. While he knew it upset his wife, it helped him cope with a
lot of things. One being her pregnancy and how he didn't know what
to do to help her. Her increasing moodiness shied him away from
her. He'd much rather not see her than potentially do something to
upset her further. Unfortunately, him not being close was just as
upsetting as anything else he did. There was no way for him to
win.

Today, he was going to try a new approach and
attempted to spend some time with her instead of going in and
working. He had a bouquet of roses, cut fresh from the garden by
his own two hands, and a piece of chocolate cake, her favorite
dessert. Slowly he slipped into the bedroom, trying to be as quiet
as possible in case she was asleep. That seemed to be all she
wanted to do lately. He tried to not worry too much about it, but
he selfishly missed her old, non-pregnant self.

Sure enough, she was asleep on the bed, rolled onto
her side and facing away from him.
Perfect.
Placing the
flowers and the cake on a nearby table, he then gently rubbed her
sides moving up and down her frame until she stirred.

"You're home early," Kat murmured. Her face slowly
rolled so she could see him, and then the rest of her body
followed. She was still beautiful even with the slight weight gain
from being four-and-a-half months along. Another thing he'd been
selfish about, but he'd worried about how he'd view her during the
whole thing. Over his seventeen dragon years of life, he'd seen a
number of pregnant women, and more often than not the whole thing
scared him. This was scary too, but in a different way.

He kissed her cheek and laid his head next to hers.
"I decided to finally listen to your advice and take a break. There
isn't a whole lot of planning left to do. Now we just train and
wait."

"And you're confident in your abilities, I'm
sure."

"Oh yes." He gave her another kiss. This one was on
her lips.

"We have almost two months." He didn't want to tell
her they were waiting for her to deliver before making their strike
against the Oceina. That was unfair pressure. The Terran however
wanted confirmation that his child would be safe. After all, "she"
was the bargaining chip for the whole operation.

"Good, because I wouldn't want you to be gone when
she gets here. I'm already worried something is going to happen
before she's completely hatched. If I think about it enough, I can
always come up with an excuse for why you need to be by me." She
rubbed at her eyes to wipe away the sleep from them.