Dragon Blood

Nineteen: They Are Kings

"Uh, no. I don't remember anything after you pressed the first pressure point."

She reached up to touch her neck where it met her shoulders, remembering the feel of his calloused hand on her skin. Her heartbeat picked up slightly, and she had no idea what her problem with him was. Why was she suddenly so aware of him? She swallowed heavily and slowly rose to her feet, slightly lightheaded but otherwise fine.

Orion stepped to her again and placed a steadying hand on her elbow. "Do you think you'll be able to shift again? I'd like for you to practice being a dragon more, so you can participate in the full moon ceremony tomorrow night."

Her dragon, which had been incredibly subdued from the exhaustion of their shift, was alert once again. She lunged forward, ready to take over again, but Skylar was quick enough to throw up a wall to stop her. She nearly got through, and Skylar felt her eyes flash and her claws grow. She hissed in a breath at the impact in her head. That was too close; they'd need to come to an understanding about when her dragon could take over, and it wasn't at her leisure.

"She could shift again. She's ready," Skylar rubbed her temple and lowered the wall slowly, confident her dragon got he message. Orion's eyes studied her reaction, her almost-shift, and he obviously knew what was going on in her head.

"I didn't ask if she was ready, I asked if you were," he said gently. "We can take a break, if you want to."

Skylar shook her head. "I want to be ready for tomorrow. I don't want to be afraid of the full moon anymore."

He smirked proudly at her. "That's very good to hear, Skylar. You've had a change of heart, very quickly I might add."

She shrugged and twisted her fingers together in her annoying nervous habit. "I suppose being around dragons has had something to do with that, rather than humans."

"It most likely has," he agreed with a nod of his head. Strands of his dark hair had escaped the tie at the base of his neck and floated around his face in gentle ways, softening his chiseled features. Her stomach did a single flip at the sight of him, with the sun at his back, the wind ruffling his thick hair. He was a very good-looking man, and she found herself unable to look at him because of it. The way he made her insides twist was something new to her, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. So she looked out over the cliff, out to the ocean which stretched as far as she could see with blue waves disrupting the surface.

"What was my dragon like? She wasn't angry, was she?" Skylar asked, not looking at him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shake his head. "No, not at all. She was upset that my dragon wasn't playing with her, but she somehow got him to engage."

"She was playing?"

"Quite insistent," he chuckled. "I liked her."

Skylar smiled.

"But I like you, so it makes sense that I liked your dragon as well," he said softly, not turning to look at her. Neither of them moved, they just looked out over the western barrier of the clan territory, but they were both acutely aware of one another.

"I like you, too," she finally answered. "I didn't like you at first, though."

He laughed. "That's alright, I didn't like you at first either."

"I'm glad we understand one another."

"Indeed." He finally turned to look at her. "So are you ready to shift again? I'll shift as well, since your dragon likes mine better than she likes me."

At the thought of the golden dragon, Skylar's beast was at full attention, and very enthusiastic about the prospect of seeing him again. In Skylar's opinion, she was a little too excited.