Wait?!Two??
Looking to my left, I spotted a huge black dragon who was showing off too.It’d better not be for my mate!My gaze snapped to where I knew Harpy was sitting, and I relaxed when I found his eyes were on me and not on the show-off next to me, who sadly was bigger.Muchbigger.
“Let’s see who’s the most powerful dragon, shall we?” Willa’s tone was teasing and full of amusement. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d phrased her question like that on purpose, especially after clearly stating how we each had our strengths and weaknesses. She threw something shimmery up into the air. “First to catch it wins. Now go!”
There was zero hesitation on my side, I simply flew straight up and eyed my target, the shimmering ball flying every which way it wanted, clearly not going straight up like the red ball had done previously. The black dragon was close on my tail—literally— chasing me through the clouds as I swiftly moved in the direction the ball led me.
Harpy was watching. And that meant I had to win. Simple as that. It was almost like I’d gotten a second boost when I realized I was somehow doing this to show Harpy I was the perfect mate. The perfect dragon. It spurred me forward, eager to prove myself to the man I still didn’t know, but wanted to make mine more than anything.
Out of the blue, something black came from my left, hitting me straight in the face. I knew I was falling. The pain was excruciating, the wind around me, as I fell, hit me hard and piercingly. I heard screaming in the distance, but my head was throbbing too much to care. Somehow my eyes found themselves closed and then complete darkness took over.
Chapter Four
My head was throbbing, my neck aching, and I desperately needed some water. Those were my first thoughts before my eyes flew open, the unknown scents enough to make me uneasy.
“Finally!” Ryn exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief next to the bed I was currently sprawled on. “Took you hours, you know.”
“Wh—” I stopped talking, my throat protesting. Damn, I needed something to drink to ease the dryness away.
“Here,” a man said, appearing out of nowhere next to me. “It will help with the soreness.” I could tell from his appearance that he had to be a healer, so I accepted the vial of whatever concoction he’d deemed I needed, and gulped it down. “You had a nasty fall,”the doctor explained, helping me piece together what had happened to me. “Falling from such great heights is never without injury, but lucky for you, you were caught by your classmate before you hit the ground. I tended to your concussion with a potion, but sadly for you, it will leave your throat feeling sore for a few hours. Try not to speak unless you really need to. And your balance might be off for a day or two as well.”
“What?!” Jamie exclaimed, walking into the room at that exact moment. “That’s how bad it is?”
“No,” the doctor quickly assured us. “But he’ll heal quicker if he takes it slow.”
“Might be a good thing,” Ryn said, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “I much prefer Nym when he isn’t talking.” I wasn’t about to remind him that the doctor had said a few hours, Ryn often turned to humor when he felt scared, and me falling must’ve terrified my cousin.
The doctor simply rolled his eyes at Ryn. “You two can leave now. Nym needs to rest here for the rest of the night. If I deem him well enough in the morning, he’ll join you for breakfast.”
They grumbled and petted my shoulder before quietly walking out the room. The doctor smiled kindly at me, but his eyes held a tense look to them. I feared I wouldn’t like what was coming.
“You were attacked by your classmate in the air,” he said, his gaze intense on mine, like he expected the news would make me bolt and attack whomever had done this to me. When I just continued to lay there, he continued. “His fated was with you in class and his dragon took over, knowing you were winning. He’s sorry for his actions and wishes to apologize to you in person tomorrow. I thought I should warn you beforehand. All students here are good souls, but even good souls can make mistakes.”
I just nodded; all of this felt like a lot to take in with a throbbing headache.
“Think about it. I’ll leave you to rest,” he said. “My name is Terrace, by the way. I’m one of the school healers and I’m the best here when it comes to head injuries.”
I smiled, hoping it would be enough now that I shouldn’t speak.
“To your left is the bathroom,” he pointed in the direction. “I’ll be in my own room, but right there,” he pointed to my right. “Is abell you can jingle it if you need anything and then one of the healers here will come to your aid.”
I nodded again and he left with a polite wave.
Eyeing my surroundings, I felt more at ease. It was a spacious room I was in; six other beds and some cabinets filled the room; one door led to a hallway and the other to the bathroom. Two large windows stood behind my bed, giving me some comfort in knowing where I was in the castle.
Closing my eyes, I wondered if I was up for meeting this other dragon shifter or not. It could be a good thing, having another dragon to help me work out what to do about Harpy. And I strangely understood why he’d acted so foolishly. I’d been driven to show off, too.
With my head spinning, I drifted off, seeing Harpy’s cute cat form in my mind the last thing I remembered before sleep took fully over.
I knew I was having a nightmare. The accident was enough to rattle my senses and make me relive the fall over and over again, but as I fell through the sky, the wind hard on my scales, a calm came over me.Oranges. The scent that enveloped me was definitely oranges. It soothed me, making my nightmare change into a dream instead. I heard a faint whisper in the darkness, it was telling me it knew who I was, what I was to him, it told me to be patient.
“I’m not ready yet,” the voice said. I tried to reply, to somehow comfort this person, but I couldn’t, I just kept falling.
The wonderful scent of oranges became duller, and I swore I could feel a squeeze on my hand, but then the soothing scent was gone and I was left to fall all on my own.
My eyes had to look horrible for Myve to constantly look my way, but my nightmares had tormented me for most of the night. It was a normal reaction to head trauma—Terrance had informed me this morning.
Now I sat with my family in the dining hall, trying to soothe my stomach with some food, but it weirdly only craved oranges for some odd reason.
