The Dragon's Gem (5 page)

“I’m heading home.
I’ll see you tomorrow when they discharge her.” He patted my shoulder and left the room.

I
pulled a chair up to the bed, took her hand in mine, and traced her fingers, mesmerized by the softness of her skin. “I promise from now on I will protect you with my last dying breath.” Her fingers curled around mine and a soft smile came to her lips, but still she slept. With a contentment I had never before felt I sat back, allowing our hands to stay entwined, and closed my eyes.

*****

I woke to the sound of the nurse coming in the room a few hours later to check on her patient. I pulled my hand away from where it had laid with Aurora’s, like a kid being caught with his hand in the cookie jar and she smiled knowingly.

“She’s lucky
to have a boyfriend like you,” she said as she set about checking all the machines, writing down her findings quickly and efficiently.

“Oh
, I’m not her boyfriend; we’re just…” I wasn’t sure what to say, “friends” would be a lie, and soul mates was a little too truthful.

“He goes to my school,” Aurora f
inished for me, looking hurt by my response.

“I see,” she said
, but clearly she didn’t. “Your father called. He will be here soon and the doctor will come check you out shortly to see if we can send you on home.” After a few more minutes of checking things out, the nurse handed Aurora a cup of pills and once she swallowed them, she left.

“Are you still here?” Aur
ora asked, now that we had the room to ourselves.

“I’ll wait until your dad shows up
, then I will leave you alone,” I answered.

“I don’t mind your being here
,” she said. “I just don’t understand it. I mean you don’t like me, you’ve made that abundantly clear, so why are you hovering over me like a worried hen?”

“I’m not hovering.” All right, I was, but she didn’t need to know that. “I told you last night that I stayed so your father could go home and get some sleep.”

She frowned and looked thoughtful. “Draco
, I’m in a hospital surrounded by people better qualified to help me than you, so your little story isn’t going to fly.” She sat up looking in my direction. It was eerie because I could swear her green eyes were fixed on my own. “Tell me what really happened yesterday because I know that we were not involved in a car accident. Whatever attacked us was not another car, it had a fierce roar and from the impact it made on the car, I would say the body of an elephant.”

Panic set in and my mind worked overtime to come up with excuses that might please her
, but I had the feeling she would not settle for any of them. “That bump on your head must have brought out your imagination because I can show you the police report and it states clearly that you were hit by another vehicle.” She looked doubtful. “What did you think? That a giant dragon came down from the sky and attacked you?” Her body stiffened and I knew I had hit the truth. “Please, this is 2012. We do not have dragons roaming the earth, just Honda Civics that were going too fast.” I chuckled to emphasize my point and saw her look of frustration.

“I could swear it was not another car,” she mumbled
, clearly doubting herself now that I had pushed the envelope.

“Be thankful you are
alive and that Ryan and Belynda got out unscathed. Everything else is unimportant,” I told her, thankful the door had just opened to admit her father.

“There’s my girl,” he said
, walking to her side and kissing her cheek. “I spoke to the doctor and he will be in shortly to release you.”

“Thanks D
ad, but shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Took the day off,
my daughter needs me and Mr. Pendragon insisted.” He turned to me shaking my hand. “Thank you for volunteering to stay last night. I slept better knowing someone else who cares for her was here.”

“Volunteer?” Aurora mouthed
, looking in my direction.

I felt my cheeks warm with embarrassment
despite the fact she could not see me. “No problem, sir. I knew you had been up early and since today is Saturday and I didn’t have school, it just made sense.” I fumbled nervously for my jacket and turned back to face them. “It seems you’re in good hands now, so I’ll just go.”

“Thanks again,” her
father said, turning back to his daughter as I walked out of the room leaving them alone.

I
did not intend to leave the hospital though; the risk to Aurora was too great and I would not feel better until she was home, planted firmly in the guesthouse where our own people were stationed to keep an eye on her.

“Man
, I just saw the hottest little candy striper,” Nate said joining me in the hall.

“You’re not here to find a date,” I growled.
It was unfair. Nate was a Copper dragon they were fun loving jokesters, but took their duties very seriously.

“
Dude, you’re losing it, calm down,” he said, looking worried. “Everything is clear, I checked it all out and the car is downstairs with Henry at the wheel.”

I took a deep breath
, thankful my father had sent Henry, not one of the younger guys, to drive Aurora home. Of course, it wasn’t surprise; ever since he had met her, he had been enchanted by her and was constantly singing her praises. “Did you place some of the others along the route home?”

“Is this my first rodeo?” he asked
with a grin. “She will be safe. I think you’re making too much of this. I mean, one random attack that wasn’t even that well orchestrated. It doesn’t seem like the work of Wyverns. They are usually more efficient and organized, this seemed very last-minute.”

I pondered that very thought myself for most of the night and knew his words
had merit, but who besides Wyverns would want my soul mate dead? As far as I knew they were the only ones who could gain anything from her death. If my line died out it would be disastrous for my kind. Gold dragons were the leaders of dragon-kind. We were the most powerful of all dragons and had been entrusted since the beginning of time to keep the balance between the rest of our kind. I was the last Gold dragon in our line. If they killed Aurora, they would be ending any chance of the Gold Dragon’s ever procreating, which meant when I died our line died too. Without our strength and leadership, the rest of the dragons would squabble and disband making then easy prey for the Wyverns who wanted us all dead.

“We can worry about this later
, for now let’s just get her home safely,” I told him, striding down the hall leaving him to watch over Aurora’s room so I could get the rest of things in order.

*****

Much later that evening as I sat outside of the house where she slept, I thought about how close I had come to losing her. Images of her laying in that burnt-up car, covered in her own blood, haunted me. Moreover, it was my own stubbornness that was the very reason she had been injured, the reason she had almost been taken from me. The idea of losing her made me see things in a very different light.

“How much does she know?” Belynda asked
, walking out of the shadows, her face mottled in bruises, her arm in a sling. I hated to see her in such a state, but it could have been worse. If she had been human, she would have been dead. Once I had pulled Aurora from the car Ryan had discovered his sister had been run through the stomach by a rather large piece of glass. We were able to pull it free and the damage was mending, but she would be sensitive there for a long time and it would be a definite disadvantage in battle. For that reason, she had not been included in Aurora’s new protection plan.

“She know
s enough to suspect something is not right, but not enough to feel confident telling others about her assumptions,” I answered, waiting for her to come to the real reason for her little visit so late at night.

“I’m not walking away from her,” she said simply. “I really like her
, and I consider her my friend.”

“I know
, but you’re my friend and I won’t let you get hurt, or worse die to protect what is mine.” Her face fell and I knew she was hurt. “I get that you’re her friend, but being near her could get you killed.”

She lifted her shoulders and looked me in the eye. “You can order me out of her protection team, but you can’t order me not to be her friend.”

I sighed, knowing she was right, besides which Aurora would be hurt if Belynda turned her back on her. “Alright, but you’re there to be her friend, not her protector. Do not endanger yourself in any way.” She nodded and I hugged her close. “If I lost you, I don’t know what I would do.”

“Yeah, well
, I don’t plan on going anywhere, so stop worrying so much,” she said, looking uncomfortable. “So why are you out here and not in there apologizing and kissing up to her?”

“I will apologize.” S
he looked doubtful. “I will. I promise, as soon as she is better, now go home and rest.”

“Alright
, but you had better make it good. I mean it.” She wagged her finger at me like a mother to a naughty child and I couldn’t help but smile. As big a pain in the butt as she was, I knew I couldn’t get along without her.

***
Aurora
***

After a few days of being home recovering from the accident I managed to convince my father to let me go back to school. It wasn’t that I had been bored; many of the people I knew from school had come to visit and keep me company, except for Draco of course. I knew he checked in on me from time to time with my father and the housekeeper Mr. Pendragon had hired for us, but he never came to see me. Not once had he come to ask me himself if I was alright or if I needed anything, not that I did, but it might have been nice of him to ask. I mean, since he sat with me at the hospital all night I had thought maybe he did care for me, but it was clear now that was not the case.

“T
he car is out front,” my father said, breaking into my musings. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?”

I pushed my
breakfast plate away and stood, laying the linen napkin on the table, then turned in the direction of his voice. I hadn’t told him about my suspicions; I wasn’t sure he would believe my version of the “accident,” so I kept my mouth shut and let him believe the story everyone else had been told. I myself was having trouble sorting things out in my mind, so I wasn’t going to worry him with my problems. “Daddy, I will be fine, Mr. Pendragon’s driver is very nice and he will make sure I get into the school safely.” I grabbed hold of my walking stick and he hugged me tightly before escorting me outside where Henry waited.

“Daddy, this is Henry,” I said as the man took my bag and opened the door for me.

“Morning
, sir,” Henry said cheerfully.

“Good morning
, Henry. You will make sure she gets into the school, right?” I heard the worry in my father’s tone and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“I will protect her with my life sir on that you can be sure,” Henry replied
, taking my hand to help me into the car. “It’s a fine morning, miss, not a cloud in the sky.”

“Thank you
, Henry, I appreciate you describing it for me,” I said as I slid across the soft leather seat, laying my walking stick next to me.

“Yes
, miss,” he said, closing the door behind me.

The car was filled with a strong floral scent, which was odd. I caught another scent too, one of evergreen and outdoors and realized I was not alone.

“Good morning,” Draco said
, moving close enough to me that I felt the heat of his body against my own.

“Draco
, I …” I began, but he cut me off.

“Say nothing
. I wanted to apologize for my horrid behavior since you moved here and I thought maybe these might help.” He pressed something into my hands that I realized quickly were flowers by moving my fingers over them. I cried out when a thorn pierced my finger and he swiftly grabbed them from my hands with a muttered curse.

“I’m sorry
, I didn’t think,” he murmured angrily.

“It’s alright
, you couldn’t have known,” I said reaching into my bag and grabbing a small pack of tissues, getting one out, and pressing it to where I had been pricked. People often forgot that with my blindness little things like thorns on roses could cause injury. I didn’t find it offensive, but he was taking it pretty badly by the sound of his soft curses next to me.

“I should have kno
wn, if I was any kind of a …” He stopped mid-sentence and said nothing more.

“Can you describe them for me,” I asked, trying to make things better.

“What?” he asked, sounding shocked by my request.

“The flowers,
” I prompted. “Could you tell me what they look like?”

“You don’t have to placate me
. I know I made a mistake and that you’re just being nice,” he said gruffly.

“Not really
, I cannot see the flowers like you can, but I can imagine them and if you help me avoid the thorns, I can hold them and smell their sweet fragrance.”

I felt the seat move and knew he was reaching for the bouquet. His hand
s found mine and he pressed the flowers into them making sure the paper was between my hands and the thorny stems. I closed my eyes and took a deep whiff of their fragranced petals, sighing. “I can tell they are roses, but what color?” I inquired with a smile. Roses were my favorite. I often spent time in the gardens back home seated among them just so I could breathe their sweet fragrance.

“Pink,” he said, placing my fingers on the tip of one flower, guiding it over the soft surface of the petals. “I saw them and thought of you.” My finger froze mid-stroke and I opened my eyes, surprised to find that once again I could see blurry images. Everything was distorted and it was hard to clearly see his features, but at least I could tell generally where he was and get kind of an idea what he looked like. “Are you alright?” he asked huskily.

“Yes
, I was just imaging how beautiful they must be,” I answered, shaken by the experience. For me, even a blurry vision was better than the darkness I had lived with my entire life, but it was odd that his touch was what brought me such a miracle.

“I should have gotten something
better, like lilies,” he muttered.

“No
, roses are my favorite,” I assured him.

“
I just wanted to let you know I was sorry for being such an ass,” he muttered, releasing my hand and taking the flowers away.

“They are pe
rfect and I accept your apology.” I mourned the loss of sight he had temporarily given me, but tried not to let it show. “Maybe we can start again. Obviously we both have been in bad form and I for one would like to forget the horrible things I said to you.”

“You did nothing wrong
. It was I who had a chip on my shoulder and you called me on it.”

I so badly wanted to ask him why he was angry that I came to live there, but I kept my mouth shut, hoping it would be the start of a truce between us. The rest of the ride was done in awkward silence. I breathed a sigh of relief when the car stopped and Henry came to open the door. I reached for his hand, but instead of Henry helping me it was Draco. I knew this because I could see vague blurry images of the old stone building my father had described to me the first day of school and that only happened when he touched me.

“Good day
, miss,” Henry called out behind us, in a jovial tone.

“Good day to you
, Henry. I will see you this afternoon,” I called back.

“That you will,” he assured me.

“He hovers over you like a worried hen,” Draco muttered.

“He is sweet,” I told him as the door squeaked
, alerting me we were entering the building.

“Is there anyone in this area you haven’t bewitched?” he muttered.

I stopped just inside the door and opened my walking stick, ready to recount the steps of the previous day. Even though he was still holding my hand and I could see blurry shapes all around me, I wasn’t fooled into thinking it would be a permanent situation. Given his mixed feelings about me, I didn’t know when he was going to turn into Mr. Jekyll again, so I didn’t want to become dependent on him for anything.

I had just begun to count steps, when I felt him stiffen next to me and the overwhelming smell of jasmine mixed with sulfur filled my nose. It was cloying, and made me feel slightly nauseous as it began to overtake the area around me. Draco tightened his grip on my hand and I looked up to see the fuzzy image of a female stopping before us.

“Well, well, well. T
his must be Aurora.” The voice was low, feminine, and very seductive, but there was an underlying sense of malevolence that poured off her in waves and made me wary of her instantly.

“Go away
, Melinda,” Draco growled, his hand growing extremely warm against my own.

“
I only wanted to say hello to dear, sweet Aurora, don’t be so rude,” she chastised.

The way she hung on to my name and the sickening
ly sweet tone of her voice made me aware she was being facetious.

“You’ve said it
, now go,” Draco hissed, his body next to me radiating heat like an oven.

The air filled with a smoky essence almost like a forest fire and his hand tightened over mine so strongly I thought he might break it. I knew I had to do something to calm the situation before he lost it. “It’s nice to meet you, Melinda,” I said, taking a step forward, placing my free hand out for her to shake.

“Don’t,” Draco warned
, pulling me back towards him, but even as he said it, her hand met mine and I couldn’t help but shiver at the coolness of her skin.

“Her skin is
very warm, Draco, just like yours,” Melinda purred, making it clear to me that they had been more than friends sometime recently. Recent, I knew, because there was such a raw underlying tension between them that I knew wouldn’t exist if it had been an old romance.

Draco’s hand left mine for a brief
moment, plunging me back into darkness before I felt it again separating her hand from mine. “Leave,” he commanded.

“I’d say it’
s been a pleasure, but really it hasn’t,” she said with a chuckle.

If she wanted to do bitch
, I would show her that I could, too. “Same here,” I answered evenly.

“Watch yourself, little girl, this is a dangerous land. If you’re not careful you just might find yourself up against things you couldn’t imagine in your worst nightmares,” she snarled.

“Is t
hat a threat?” Draco asked, his hand tightening around mine as he pulled me back against him. I felt his body tense as if ready to spring and I felt panic set in.

“I don’t make threats
, only cowards do that. I make promises, Draco, ones I fully intend to keep,” she told him her voice dripping with venom.

I wasn’t sure why I was on the receiving end of her anger, but I knew
a warning when I heard one.

“She’s blin
d, Melinda. Leave her alone, she can’t fight they way you do,” Draco ordered.

I felt myself cringe at his words. While
it was true that I couldn’t see her. I had enough other senses that if she came at me I would know it. I wasn’t completely defenseless. In fact, I had taken martial arts courses since I was a child so I could defend myself and I was good enough that I had won many trophies and belts in tournaments back home.

“Whatever,” she said before walking away
, the clip-clop of her heels echoing loudly around the hall.

“I’m sorry,” Draco said softly next to me.

“Why? Because your ex-girlfriend has it in for me, or because you think I am helpless?” I asked, pulling my hand from his. He didn’t answer immediately, which was in itself an answer. I hated anyone to feel sorry for me, but for some ungodly reason knowing
he
felt that way hurt more than my ego. “You know what, I may be blind, but I don’t ask anyone to make excuses for me,” I spat out before walking off, picking up the count I had been in the middle of when Melinda had interrupted us. Thankfully, I had a good memory and I was able to make it to my locker and retrieve my books without help. I felt him hovering behind me, smelled his fragrance nearby, but he said nothing. I suppose another time it might have been sweet that he cared enough to watch out for me, but at that moment, it just didn’t matter. The hurt I felt that he thought I couldn’t defend myself was overwhelming.

A familiar scent filled my nose and I turned in its direction with a smile
, trying to move past my injured ego. “Good morning, Ryan.”

“How did you kn
ow?” he asked in surprise.

I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s
a gift.”

“You are real
ly amazing, you know that,” he said taking my hand in his to help me to class.

“I will feel m
ore amazing once I can get to class by myself,” I told him, mentally counting the steps to my first class as we walked.

“I have the f
eeling it won’t be much longer.”

“I have
a good idea already, but I need to be sure.” I reached my hand out, feeling the doorframe of the room and smiled. “One hundred and sixty steps to English.”

“Again, amazing. I bet there isn’t much you can’t do.”

“There are some things, but I focus on the thi
ngs I can and forget about the others,” I told him as we took our seats. Draco’s scent overtook me and I knew he had taken a seat close to mine, which soured my playfulness instantly.

“Hey
man, you’re early again. The teacher might think you actually care about this class,” Ryan said to Draco.

“
I’m an “A” student. I only come late because I don’t need as much instruction time as the rest of you,” he answered. His tone was playful, but I could feel the tension coming from him and knew that he was still angry and confused about my reaction earlier.

I chose to remain silent, letting them talk as I gathered everything I would need for the day’s lesson, listening to their easy banter with half an ear while I tried to sort out my own feelings. I wasn’t sure why I got so angry with Draco. I mean, really he had just stated the obvious. A blind girl could not fight the same way others could. Moreover, he didn’t know I had extensive training in martial arts, but I just couldn’t stand the idea if him feeling sorry for me. It made me feel unworthy, like I disappointed him. Although why I would care what he thought was beyond me. We were basically strangers. It wasn’t as if we were even really friends. Still, there was something between us, something that I had never felt with anyone else before and that scared me more than I cared to admit, because it was clear he didn’t feel the same thing for me.