I watched the door Ari was behind like a hawk. When the carers left me to tend to thier jobs, I sat outside it to make sure nothing else could hurt him like the other carers were rights now when they fought to save him.
I saw only glimpses of Ari on a bed whenever someone rushed out with bloodied gauze and tools or back in with fresh ones.
His eyes darted to me each time it did, and I could only watch him helplessly when he was blocked from sight again.
His screams and moans tore my heart apart. It made me cry for him and how badly I wanted to comfort him and take him from it all.
When the screaming subsided, Ari wailed and cried instead. He moaned for me and he sobbed when he was denied. He split between Draconic and English in his pain, calling out for me directly when the carers tried to calm him.
"I'm here!" I pressed my face to the door "I'm right here!"
"Scala" I heard him sigh in relief "it's hurts. I want you."
"You know they won't allow that" I grumbled against the wood "I think they might be afraid what we would do together."
I heard him chuckle then cough and groan from straining himself.
"You should see it" he spoke with amusement in his voice "it's terrible."
"I can imagine so" I replied with a smile on my tone he choked on again.
I laid my head on the door, waiting.
The peace was disturbed when thundering footsteps came charging towards me and I turned to see Clay and Russet panting there.
Clay didn't wait and barged through the door with his bag of items he clutched close.
Russet curled up in my lap, still in her werewolf form that seeked my warmth and reassurance.
"It'll be fine" I told her when she looked up at me with her concerned eyes. I held her close and she held onto my arms that wrapped around her, shaking.
The poor girl would have been traumatised from when she had woken too. And I had no clue if the male had resumed his persuit on them when I had taken off to save Ari.
To her, all she would have seen was me abandoning her from above.
She didn't move from me when Clay came bolting from the room to sprint down the hall. His bag swung from him when he disappeared.
"What's going on?" I called out.
"Whatever he's doing, it's helping" Ari said "it's like the pain is being sucked out of me. It's bearable."
I saw Clay skid into a wall and slip over when he came sprinting back. He barged straight past me and I peeked through the swinging door to see him block the crowded bedside Ari was nestled in.
It was only a few moments before carers started filing from the room. One by one, they glanced down at me with hopeful smiles that made me get to my feet.
Clay was the last to leave. He flashed me a smile as well and took Russet so I could finally enter.
Ari started crying again when I sprinted over to his bedside and threw myself onto the bed to frantically check him over while smothering his sweaty face with kisses.
He smothered me too, trying to cover as much of me as he could with his own weak pecks in return.
I saw the cluster of crystals planted on Ari's body and his bedside. He smiled weakly when I picked up the one on his chest to inspect it.
"Amazing what a little amethyst can do. I knew I liked purple for a reason."
"You had me worried sick!" I sobbed back and wrapped my arms around him to hold him tight "I'm so sorry for what I did!"
"Scala" he soothed and ran a hand over my heaving back "you saved me. You have nothing to be sorry for."
"Let me see it then" I lifted my head from his chest to try and glare at him.
He barely lifted his arm from the bed when I grabbed it to bare its weight so it didn't strain him.
The skin all along his arm had been pulled together and stabbed through with black wire that was tied in knots. The knots had pieces protruding from them that looked like spikes that I touched in curiosity.
Each gouge that I had raked through him was now pulled together by the odd wire. It was painful just seeing it stabbed through his skin over and over.
"I'm going to have some cool scars at least" he spoke up when I stared at them "the stitches will be in for a while. As for the burn..."
"The burn?"
I lowered his arm and searched for it.
He leant forward so I could see it for myself. The skin along his back was peppered bright red and stretched in the tiny parts the flames had hit to look like plastic covering him. He looked like he had caught a nasty disease rather than just almost been roasted by a dragon.
"It barely got me" he laid back down "it looks worse than it feels to be honest. I might have some small marks but nothing bad enough for a skin graft."
I smiled at the good news and rested my head back on his bare chest to feel his breaths move me.
"I wouldn't know what to do without you" he whispered and kissed my head, wrapping his good arm around me.
"You would be mated to a werewolf" I joked back to make him snicker.
"Could you imagine?" he ran his hand over my back then curled his fingers like claws and stuck out his bottom jaw, making his voice rough "Mate, mine."
We both giggled until Ari groaned in pain, fighting through it.
"I'm very lucky" he kissed my head again.
"And so am I" I grinned up at him and found his lips before snuggling under the sheet to pull up over us.
It was comfortable and warm here. I clung to Ari when I snuggled into his side and closed my eyes.
"You'll still be here when I wake up?" I mumbled to him.
"Always" he pulled the sheet over my shoulders and moved down so his head could rest on top of mine.
It was nice to wake up beside Ari. He slept soundly, his mended arm hanging out of the sheets that caused him to frown and twitch in his dreams.
I planted a soft kiss on his forehead then eyed the doors to my left that had been pulled open to reveal the balcony there.
It was bigger than the bedroom ones, but not by much. Ari could sit there to enjoy the weather while he recovered.
I was sure he would be limited in movement for quite a while until the stitches came out.
For now, I would focus on bringing him something to take his mind off everything.
I sailed over the side of the balcony in the search for what I had in mind. Sure enough, the first patch was easy to find not far from home.
Since Ari had been momentarily stripped of enjoying the things he loved, I would bring them to him.
Flowers were his passion. I was going to make sure he could always see them when he looked outside.
Wildflowers tangled with those I tore up from blooming gardens. I even struck it lucky to find a whole field of swaying yellow flowers on tall, leafy stalks.
I couldn't remember what they were called. I knew it had something to do with the sky...
They would give Ari joy for sure. They made me happy just seeing so many clustered together.
The field seemed to stretch forever. I saw a blue house in the distance and decided to visit it first to initiate a trade before angering the owner.
The owner was a middle-aged woman with flowing brown hair. Her pale skin was burnt and peeling around her shoulders in the green singlet she wore and short denim pants. Her brown eyes peered up at me with confusion, even when I ripped out some scales from around the exposed skin and placed them before her.
I saw a little boy come rushing from inside before he spotted me and hid behind the woman. A little girl did the same, both of them clinging to the woman.
"I need some of those flowers" I bowed to the woman as a man emerged into view to hide both children behind him "it's for someone important."
They didn't understand me when they looked to each other. I went to the closest stalk to tear it up, hearing the man yell out when I stood there to wait for approval.
Accept the trade. Please.
I waited with the dirt from the roots falling to the ground. Both the man and woman remained in the doorway, unmoving, while the little boy ducked around them to pick up the scales.
It was accepted.
I happily ripped up more, hearing the man become more demanding when he realised what was happening. He took the scales from the boy to throw them back at me when I filled my mouth.
There was no take-backs on a trade. I would have to bring them something they actually liked next time.
I headed back to the mansion after several minutes of flower ripping and verbal abuse later. The pebbles were swamped with flowers that I arranged to cover as much ground as possible. The radiant yellows made the purples and blues of the wildflowers pop. Even the reds and pinks looked more vibrant around them.
It was beautiful. I could see this becoming a nice addition to my nest when Ari was better.
I saw some carers watching me move around the offering to make it just right. They smiled and commented to each other when I looked to the empty balcony eagerly.
"That's quite beautiful!" one called out to me with a warm smile.
"Much better than rocks!" another added encouragingly "he'll love it!"
"Such a good mate."
"What a great idea."
"Shows how much she loves him."
I glowed under the praise and beemed up to the people gathered on thier balconies in the rooms they were working.
They weren't here to hate or hurt me. They genuinely wanted to encourage me to do better now.
Was it because they saw how much Ari meant to me?
Had they realised that everything I had done and been punished for was only so I could have this moment?
He was everything to me. To them, he was a fresh face and welcome addition to the family.
In a way, Ari was the one who tied us all together.
I checked the balcony again but didn't see movement. Rather than wake him, I decided to leave the gift for Ari to find on his own terms.
I didn't leave for more flowers though. Instead, I headed back to my room with the intention of assembling together my horde that had been left dumped on the ground.
The air didn't scream when I landed on the ledge. I also saw that a door had been placed down, which had a surface sticking from it where a hatch and a plate of food sat. Beside it was a board with a paper pinned to it that had red crosses in the boxes. A marker hung beside it, dangling beside the marked faces of the photographs of past children that had been pinned up.
Ari's crossed photograph was here too, making me smile.
Any signs of the chains were gone. Even the anchors that had held them in place were no longer visible.
And, on each side of the ledge, were two more barn doors that would swing close to offer me protection from the elements.
It reminded me of being in my mother's nest again and seeing the barn doors she had kept us protected behind. These ones already made me feel safe and secure.
I peered around at the generosity and felt happiness swell to tears. Despite the ward on the doorway being broken and people obviously having access to my room, nothing had been removed. If anything, it looked like more crystals had been added to the dumped pile I started to space out.
The new additions made me realise how permenant the change of heart had been within these walls. They wanted me to stay and co-exist with them. They wanted to start on a new leaf by making sure I was as comfortable as possible.
The hunt for a new nest location was not going to be something they were going to allow. Not after seeing how close they had been to losing it all.
I was glad for thier determination. It made the future look brighter for the first time in a while.
Everything was shining when I placed the last crystal down and marveled my work. The floor was dazzling with crystals of all colors. The white white quartz rivers running with them gave it depth I didn't know it had been lacking.
I had nothing to worry about now.
Except for the fate of my children.
The carers were no longer the threat. It was these two new dragons with the lillypad nest. And Bee was thier direct supplier; he would have to fall in the same catagory until I learnt more about the situation.
Three eggs had quickly turned to two. I could see why Bee was so desperate to collect as many as he could.
All the others I had given him were blanks. Had he been handing them to the couple as well despite that?
Maybe they ate them like they had eaten my baby?
No.
I shook my head to get rid of the intruding image and grief that came with it.
I had to focus seriously on this. Interupting feelings would only slow me down. And with Ari needing to rest and recover, it gave me time to piece it together.
We knew where the eggs were going now; the viable ones at least. The dragon couple being offered them called the shots on which ones lived and which ones didn't.
Despite being complete opposites, they made it work. They raised an entire brood with more on the way.
None of them could actually be thiers. That would explain the nest being put the back of the old man's home where they had access to Bee delivering them eggs. The old man could be doing the same thing.
So how were they not killing them with the fire and water? Did it really come down to a precise balance of the both constantly being spilled on them?
Barebone had said we were not compatible, which was true. But we were also not fated to be together. Ari was my mate, not him. Barebone was not going to bring the balance the other couple had because he was not interested in raising anything with me.
That would be why Bee needed to take them away to give them a chance.
The female was a brood mother. And the male; a brood father.
But why so many? Dragons were not endangered or facing extinction anytime soon. There was no need to be keeping such a large brood in one area where they could be targeted.
I would have to find that out on my next visit to the little log house. Ari and the children didn't need to be put in that sort of danger now that I knew what I was facing.
Leaving at night would give me the coverage to slip away undetected. I would be there and back before the children or Ari himself even knew I was gone.
I couldn't just sit here and wait. I knew that Bee had lost one egg already out of the ones I had provided; what would stop him from wanting more before the season was up?
We both had eight days. For me to figure it all out, and for Bee to present the old man with something worth raising.
I was going to get to the bottom of all this, no matter what.
I waited until night to act, using the time to recover.
I ate beside Ari and the children and enjoyed the hot food provided to us. Some of the carers even broke from the wall to chance fate and sit with us tonight.
And when formalities were over, I joined Ari in his bedroom he hadn't ventured into yet.
The place was georgous. A huge wooden king bed sat against the wall, with silken netting draped around the supports towering over it.
Opposite it was a walk-in wardrobe that was so large it could have been its own separate room. It was already stocked with clothes for Ari who flipped through them in curiosity.
Even the bathroom branching from it was overwhelmingly lavish.
It had a bathtub that was built into the floor and big enough to swim in. There was a hot seat next to it that I laid over in pure bliss to enjoy the searing heat burning through my back.
It was hotter than any rock I had ever basked on. Nothing could match to how amazing this thing was.
It made me want to abandon my task tonight just so I could enjoy it more with Ari.
I couldn't let silly things tempt me though.
But it was so good.
"I think you are going to live here rather than me" Ari joked when he leant against the doorframe to marvel at me "I don't mind the view."
"Of course you don't" I smirked back from my position arched backwards over the seat.
"Take a soak in the bath" he offered "relax. You don't have to worry about anything at the moment."
I looked over to yet another temptation and back to Ari.
"As long as you join me."
He held up his stitched arm so he could point to it with a chuckle.
"I'd have to wrap this up and everything. Enjoy it. All you have to do is jump in."
Jump... in?
"I didn't mean literally!" Ari cried out when I stripped and sprinted for the bath to send water flying everywhere "are you OK?"
Ari leant over the bath in panic when I peered up at him from beneath the surface.
"I'm fine!" I chuckled back when I stood up, squirting water from my mouth at his face "I can stand up in this thing!"
He swiped the water off so he could rub it back on me roughly.
"I'll be out where it is safer" he commented, retreating quickly.
I watched him leave and sank back into the cupped ledge of the bath to instantly feel the tightness in my back starting to unknot.
Pure. Bliss.
When I finally decided that I couldn't live out my days in the warmth of the water, I rejoined Ari on his bed that he had set up a spread of food on.
I had a soft piece of fabric thrown at me before I used it to sit on opposite him.
"You are meant to towel yourself off with that" he shook his head at my nakedness "you'll catch a cold."
"I'm never cold though" I replied and poked at the squares Ari was smushing together.
"This is the best thing you'll ever try" he breathed with excitement when he held it up between his fingers "I've only had them once before, but these are just amazing."
"Your new favourite food?"
"Favourite junk food" he smiled.
Junk food? How could he love to eat trash?
"You confuse me" I frowned at the lump.
"And you amuse me" he smiled back as he placed it into my hands he forced outwards "it's biscuits, marshmellow, and chocolate. You burn it to make it melt together."
I scorched the lump then held out it's dripping mess to Ari who burst out laughing at the blackened slop.
"A little less next time" he giggled "like this."
He picked up a black box that produced a tiny flame from it. I stared at the miniscule thing that perfectly toasted and melted the junk together.
I was being overthrown by a damn box.
Ari giggled at my glare and happily munched on his sticky mess to rub it in.
"A little less" he repeated and squeezed together his messy fingers with a laugh.
"I'll give you less" I huffed back and copied him making another junk pile.
When we held them, I shot out a tiny flame from my pursed lips to melt mine and swap it out for his.
He clicked the mess to mine before biting into it.
I was hesitant but did the same, feeling the burn hit me immediently.
"It's sweet" I puckered when my teeth glued together "and oozy."
It felt like my mouth was dancing from all the different textures. The snapping of the biscuit and the soft, almost rubbery marshmellow reminded me of something I knew too well.
"It's like a body!" I exclaimed excitedly when the burning chocolate ran down my throat "bones, organs, and blood."
"Well..." Ari blew out a surprised breath "...I'm glad it reminds you of something you like."
"I like this" I decided with a nod and shoved the rest into my mouth "this is not junk!"
He shook his head at me with a smile then leant over to wipe some of it from my mouth.
"I love you."
"And I love you" I muffled back to his giggles.
I felt my heart swell when I watched how happy Ari was. It made me proud too and unusually giggly, like I was falling for Ari and his antics all over again.
He sure had a way with keeping me hooked. Ari was always surprising me with more than I ever expected.
And now I had to surprise him.
"I'm leaving again tonight."
Ari looked up from his next smore and his face fell.
"Back there?"
I nodded.
He sighed and abandoned the food to grab my hand in his.
"I figured there was a reason why you hadn't got changed yet."
I averted my gaze from him in shame. I had wanted a quick getaway while he was asleep, but while he was determined on spending every moment with me, that was not going to be possible.
"I can't change your mind on it?" he asked, rubbing his thumb over my hand.
I shook my head, finding the courage to look into his eyes again.
"Just, please stay safe" he whispered "I don't want you to end up like me."
My eyes landed on his stitched arm to run along the wounds I had made myself.
"I won't."
"One last smore before you leave?" he begged.
I held up mine and roasted it so we could exchange. Our hands twined around each other's so I could find his mouth and he could find mine.
We both giggled when the biscuits snapped in our mouths and the contents melted over them.
"I guess we can't put it off any longer" Ari sighed when his hand withdrew.
"I guess not" I sighed back, trying to savour the moment a little longer.
Eventually, I found my feet again and walked over to the balcony to our left.
I was grateful for the warm afternoon sun and it's light that warmed my body immediently.
Ari followed, standing behind me when I gripped the edge.
"I'll be waiting for more of those sunflowers when you come back."
His lips found my neck and I leant into it with a sigh.
"I'll make sure your room is covered" I promised then pressed my lips to his before leaving him behind on the balcony watched from as I drifted further away.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
