She deflates a bit and gives me a sad look of understanding. “Oh.”
“We figured out the ritual because of the other flight.” Thumping the back of my head on the wall, I exhale a rush of breath that morphs into a chuckle. “Dragons love a good damsel in distress. Needing to push yourself to new heights, past all logical limits in a bid to save the one you love. You need that terrifying shock to your system, forcing you to becomemoreso you don’t lose everything. But they aren’t willing to put me at risk because what if it doesn’t work and I actually die? And any safeguards we put in place would just alleviate the fear so it wouldn’t work. We’ve been scrambling to find a different trigger, but so far no luck.”
Slowly, she finishes opening the door and I get a good look at her. The knees of her pants are scuffed, but that could be from falling and running through the woods as much as anything. All of her clothes appear to be in one piece, thank goodness, but that doesn’t really mean anything. At this point, I’m better off assuming the worst unless she tells me otherwise, just to be safe.
“You’re sure?” she asks timidly, still rooted to the spot. “That they wouldn’t? All anyone wants is to be able to finally shift.”
Resting my chin on my arms, I peer up at her, hoping she can see the truth in my eyes. “No. I made the same mistake, lumping everyone into one category. But when in history has the entire world been able to agree on something? Everyone has their own motivations and beliefs. Even if most of the men we’ve met have been like that, it doesn’t mean they all are. And I was lucky enough to find three that are content just keeping to themselves, even if I’m sure they’d be thrilled if it miraculously happened. But it isn’t the driving force of their lives.”
Hesitantly she steps into the hallway, glancing each way to ensure I’m not lying. She doesn’t sit beside me, instead leaning against the wall beside the open door frame with her arms wrapped around her stomach.
“I’m sorry,” she suddenly declares, glancing back towards the living room with a frown. “I didn’t mean to, I just-“
Waving off her apology, I interject, “Seriously, don’t worry about it. No one’s upset.”
Gradually, she sinks down the wall until she’s in a similar position as me, bright amber eyes wide with desperation. “They saved me, and I spit on their kindness by breaking things. Why would you help me now?” She buries her face as she tries to hide the tears racing down her face, though her rough voice gives her away. “I ruined everything when you were my last hope.”
I would have remembered if I met her in that place...wouldn’t I? Girls came and went, but usually in body bags. If she had recognized me, why wouldn’t she have said something? Unless, maybe she was embarrassed I didn’t remember her?
As much as I want to reach out and comfort her, I restrain the impulse, not sure exactly what’s going on. “Trust me, Ezra’s broken way more shit than that in just the last week. No one is going to throw you out.”
Her breathing starts to quicken and her words start pouring out faster. “Maybe not yet, but they’ll remember, be waiting for it to happen again. I already destroyed my chance. I just-“ Fisting her hair, she rests her forehead on her knees, hiding her face as her breath hitches. “She wasn’t you, and I panicked.”
Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she starts spiraling and it’s so damn hard to watch it from the outside looking in. Living it is one thing, but it gives me a real wake up call to the position the guys have been in, feeling so helpless to do anything. Still, her words put me on edge, blatantly admitting she was banking on finding me here.
“What kind of dragon are you?”
Jerking her head up, her next breath catches in her throat, thrown off kilter. “I’m human,” she objects, but I’m already shaking my head.
“No, you’re not. If you were, you never would have been running towards a city to save your soul, assuming they’d help you over the men chasing you. What I don’t understand is how you knew I was here, or even about me at all, let alone what you want.”
She swallows, weighing her options before looking contrite. “I’m Faye. Earth dragon.”
“Care to explain how you know my name, Faye? Why you’re pretending to be human? You have to know that puts you in even more danger than you’re already in.”
Wrapping her arms around her legs, she quietly admits, “I have mates.” I remain absolutely silent, ears straining to pick up on her hushed words. “Or, I did.” Her eyes turn wistful, focused on a spot on the wall in front of her.
“It feels like it’s only been a day, and yet, forever. It never seems long enough, though. You always just want a little longer, regret not appreciating the time you had before it was ripped away.” Her amber eyes blur with tears, her short bob falling in front of her face as turns to stare at her feet.
“They were killed?” I hazard on a guess.
She nods, tears streaming down her face. Choking on a sob, she forces her words out on a harsh croak. “They were always there, and then just suddenly...were gone. They all left me alone.” Her sobs shake her entire body, curling in on herself as she breaks down.
As much as everything about her story is suspect, I scoot to sit beside her. That look in her eyes, the grief and desperation, is genuine. Whether or not that caused her to do something risky and idiotic because she felt she had nothing left to lose and no other choice remains to be seen, but thus far in life I’ve always been able to trust my gut when meeting someone’s eye. And honestly? She just feels lost.
She leans into my side, desperate for some sort of comfort. After a few minutes, I hesitantly start probing for more, because there are just far too many unanswered questions I’m not willing to let go of simply because she’s upset.
“So if you can shift, why were you running into town instead of just killing those assholes or flying away?”
Her strangled, watery response comes out between heart-wrenching sobs. “She died the day they did. I haven’t been able to shift since and my abilities are so weak they’re practically useless. And once the other men back home found out I couldn’t shift anymore, and hadn’t had any children after nearly seven years of being mated, they had no use for me, tried to sell me off.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders as I wait for her to pull herself together enough to continue. Kaiden’s presence registers close enough I know he’s back in the house, but is trying to give us some privacy. And honestly, I can’t blame him for eavesdropping. Everything about this woman seems suspiciously timed, and simply the fact that she came here looking for me specifically is a giant fucking red flag. I’m sure Kaiden’s expecting her to shank me while their backs are turned.
“I’m so sorry,” I apologize honestly, gently stroking a hand over her hair in comfort.
She might be a stranger, but her grief is real enough, and I don’t need to know her to sympathize. Lord knows I didn’t know the names of half of the girls back at the lab, but our shared horrors connected us on a deeper level. It takes little effort to simply be there so someone doesn’t need to be completely alone as they fall apart, to just be a presence in the room.
“But because she died,” she continues, “I stopped registering as a threat. And when I crossed paths with a human by accident, she thought I was one of them and brought me back with her. I’ve stayed with them the last few years.”
