The large animal jerked almost knocking Lian over. Catching himself, Lian placed a hand on the dragon's hide and focused, pushing healing power into the enormous creature. Small white flames flickered beneath Lian's palms as the gash sealed flawlessly in seconds. The dragon hissed for a moment before filling the air with a rich, rumbling purr. With a deep breath, Lian pulled back his powers and sighed as the energy sank into his body.
Friend.
A forked tongue slid across Lian's cheek in a sandpapery kiss. Lian laughed, more than a little relieved his magic hadn't harmed the creature. He'd never healed a dragon before.
The dragon slid away before taking flight. No one moved to intercept the beast and Lian hoped it wouldn't cause any more havoc.
Lian walked to the man on the ground. Sweat plastered the man's red hair to his face and his labored breathing didn't reassure Lian. Crouching down, Lian pulled away his patient's shirt to check out the injury.
"I've never seen anyone heal like that before," the injured man said, gasping between words.
Lian shrugged, not bothering to look up from his examination. "I'm a touch healer. Would you like for me to heal you?" The wound, wide and bloody, should be sealed immediately before the man lost too much blood.
"Yes please. He took a good chunk out of me," the soldier replied.
"Yep, he definitely didn't like being stabbed." Lian didn't know why they were poking at the dragon with swords and at that moment he didn't particularly care either. "Stay still," he ordered.
The soldier froze, instinctively obeying the tone of command.
Lian placed his hands on the wounds. "Take a long, slow breath."
The soldier breathed in. Sparks flew from Lian's hands. The flames grew white, then red, than green. Even with extensive testing Lian had never figured out why his healing fires sometimes changed colors and other times stayed the same.
Closing his eyes, Lian mentally knitted the man's skin together and sealed his wounds. Once he knew all the gaps were gone he began the process of returning his magic back under his skin. Lian always thought of his ability like a beast he loosed and had to slowly pull back into his control.
When he'd removed all the excess energy from the soldier, Lian lifted his hands. Gasps sounded around him. Lian opened his eyes to find he'd collected an audience.
"You should be fine now." Lian looked up from his work to see his patient watching him with wide eyes.
A slow smile spread across the man's face. "I don't think I have ever felt this well in my entire life. I'm Jevies." The soldier stood up and shook Lian's hand. "Thank you."
"I've never seen the likes of you, healer." A deep voice spoke over his shoulder.
Lian turned to face a dark-haired man who, though shorter than the redhead, was much larger than Lian.
"I'm Maurek, the dragon master. This was Jevies first training and things got a little out of control."
Manners instilled in him since birth, had him offering his hand. "Dr Lian Blythorpe, at your service. What exactly were you training him to do?"
"To tame and eventually ride a dragon," Maurek said.
Lian laughed. "That dragon doesn't want to be ridden. I barely could get him to resist the urge to attack."
Maurek tilted his head. "I heard you talking to him. Did he talk back?"
"Mentally. I'm sure as the trainer you're used to that."
Maurek patted his shoulder with one meaty hand. "I hate to tell you this, Doc, but most people can't understand dragons. You've got to have some dragon shifter blood in you."
Lian laughed. "No. I've studied them a lot, but I don't have any dragon blood in me."
Maurek's look turned speculative as he examined Lian. "It's said among dragonkin that those who can talk to dragons are doubly blessed by the goddess. Are you here for the mate hunt? I'd be happy to put in a good word for your application."
Lian shook his head. "No. I've come to help do some research on the dragonkin, with a particular focus on the fertility issues." He didn't mention he wasn't exactly welcome. The memo he'd received from the medic center sounded as if they would barely tolerate him for the sake of the requesting royalty. Bourne sounded, from all accounts, like an insufferable ass.
"What do I owe you for the healing?" Jevies asked, pulling Lian's attention back to him.
"Whatever it is I will pay," Maurek announced. "My man, my responsibility."
