26. Chapter 26
Daxton turned from the waterfall to gaze at Izzy. Her smile brightened her eyes. As his heart pounded, he watched her trek over the rocks to the stream with cautious but nimble steps. He followed her, hands fisted at his sides to keep from reaching out and assisting her.
She was coming out of the shell she’d sealed herself inside after the accident with Simon. But he wanted to learn more.
It didn’t take her long to find their destination. The boulder large enough for three people lay under the shadow of a large aspen. Next to it, the pond shimmered in the sun.
“Natural causes didn’t weather this.” She rubbed her palm across the boulder’s nest-shaped surface. Her mind flexed along the link. When she glanced at him, he smiled in encouragement. She hopped backward onto it.
“This is a popular destination, isn’t it?” Her nose crinkled in that familiar, adorable way.
“You found me out.” He chuckled, going over to her. “Dragons come here to hang out.”
She fidgeted with her glasses and slid off the seat. “I can tell why. It’s beautiful.”
He laughed again as he took off the backpack. “I thought it would be the perfect place for lunch.”
“You packed us a picnic?”
“Prepare to be wooed.”
Her lips lifted at the sides. His chest swelled.
He hadn’t expected his surprise to go this well.
After rummaging through his backpack, he stretched out a soft plaid blanket on the boulder.
While he set up their picnic, Izzy walked to the edge of the stream.
He continued to lay out the two sealed meal containers.
When he found a bottle full of cherry-red alcohol among their water canteens, he chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” Izzy asked. The sun glistened off her blond hair as she drew it up into a tight ponytail.
“I asked the chef to pack for us, and she included a bottle of wine.” He held it out.
Izzy inspected the labeling with a thoughtful expression.
“Do you partake?” he asked.
“Not really. I don’t like the taste. I’ve only really had wine from this century, when Simon made me drink last New Year’s.”
He smiled, picturing Simon harassing her into trying it. “Dragons only drink at social events. Being under the influence makes it difficult to control our other side.”
“What is it like being in your dragon form?”
“Our dragons are our weapon, so when we shift, we give in to our instincts. Everything is muscle memory. When you’re facing an enemy, hesitation means death.”
He pulled out a towel-wrapped wineglass and raised it toward her. “Will you join me?” He swept his arm over the boulder.
She sat on the rock, and he joined her. He poured the liquor into two glasses and passed one to Izzy. She sniffed and sipped at the drink, face brightening.
“This is sweeter than I expected.” She took a longer drink. “The one Simon gave me was dry.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He took a sip. A mixture of cherries and spices burst over his taste buds and left a sweet aftertaste. He memorized the name for later.
“Is it safe for you to be drinking…if it makes your dragon hard to control?”
“A little indulgence won’t hurt.” He released a long breath. “Actually, I’ve never felt more in control than I do now. Being with you. The breathing exercises have been helping me when I’m not around you.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m sure it’ll get better with practice.” Izzy smiled briefly and fidgeted on the rock. “What did you bring for us to eat?”
He handed her a container. “I’m not sure. It’s all on the chef.”
With excitement gleaming in her gaze, she released the sealed lid.
She’s never been this interested in food. It seemed his surprise worked. Delicious aromas floated toward Daxton, making his stomach growl. A venison roast sat in the container, with steamed broccoli, parmesan-baked asparagus, and a baked potato.
They ate together in companionable silence. He took pleasure in watching her reactions. From the upward pitch of her mouth, she was enjoying every bite.
When his own stomach was satisfied, he leaned forward. “Thank you for coming out with me today. I love seeing you in your element, but you wear it like a protective shield. I want to be more open with each other.”
She put her fork down and grabbed her glass, her face as red as the liquid she swirled around. “You’re pushy, but I’ll do my best. What do you want to know?”
He cleared his throat. “Why do you call yourself Izzy?”
She chewed a bite of asparagus sluggishly as a shadow crossed her features. Her intense gaze lingered on her plate; she seemed lost.
His arm muscles tightened. He wanted to reach out and hold her.
After a few tense seconds, she swallowed. “It’s a nickname from my previous Coheart, Fotios.”
The darkness along the link spoke of the foggy episodes she had. “Is that whose voice you hear?”
She nodded.
“You don’t—”
She held up her hand. “It’s okay. I want to share him with you.
” She breathed in deeply. “Back in ancient Greek times, I used to go by Isidora. When I met my Coheart for the first time, he was a philosopher, and I became his pupil. He called me by the short form—Isi. I kept it, wanting to hold on to a part of him. Simon insisted on Izzy—with Z’s and a Y—to modernize me and…
I don’t know. I like it.” She gave Daxton a tight grin after her explanation.
A sheen glimmered in her eyes—emotion she quickly blinked away.
He placed his hand over hers. “What happened when Fotios learned you were a Fallen?”
A shy smile touched her lips. “Nothing. He didn’t look at me any differently. I was still a daughter to him. He just helped protect me from my demanding family, men who sought ownership over me, and the enemies who threatened to destroy our homes.”
Along the link, impressions of deep sadness and stinging pain filtered in. Memories of swords and fire, but a steady form acting as a shield against it all. He felt a kinship with the man—appreciative of his sacrifice in helping Izzy.
She shifted. “He was my best friend, who I’d want to contact in the middle of the night to share in my day or talk about the latest philosophical discovery.
He was the man who helped shape me—raised me.
My everything. We could have conversations with just our eyes, as if we had spent millennia together. ”
Something tugged at his mind. The chasm in her speaking to him. He had the feeling she meant they had spent that much time together. Was that possible?
“At least we understood each other so well until closer to the end.” She stared past him.
“What do you mean?”
“Our relationship probably wasn’t healthy.
I’d placed him on a pedestal, but that’s what love does.
It blinds. Along with hearing his voice, sometimes I have snippets of memories.
Some of them I don’t want to believe are real, but in the back of my head, I think he was hiding something from me. And when he was gone—” Her voice broke.
Daxton’s heart crumbled. He squeezed her fingers.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “When he was gone, I hallucinated to get by. And not long after, the first Archfiend presented itself. Fotios told me to go Dormant—a condition where we force ourselves not to reincarnate. It’s unpleasant to stay conscious enough to secure yourself to a dead corpse.
It’s like a never-ending nightmare, really.
After I woke centuries later, I distanced myself from others.
It was the only way to survive this long existence without losing my mind. ”
“I can’t imagine forcing myself to stay anywhere for that long, especially a corpse.” He shook his head. “Do you still feel that distance is the only way to survive?”
She slid her hand from his and grasped her wineglass, bringing it to her mouth. “To survive, yes.” She winced. “But not to live. This moment, spending time with you—I’m reminded of what it means to be alive.”
Her words twisted him open. He smiled. “You’re falling for my charm?”
She giggled. “I didn’t say that.”
He chuckled. Gazing upon her as she continued to eat, he recalled the article he’d read on the web, Missing Girl, Camilla Andrews, Dies Tragically in a House Fire. “Changing the subject…do you want to explain how your current Coheart successfully pulled off your death as an accident?”
She shrugged. “It’s simple enough to put money in the right pockets to burn a place down and include bone evidence. We have contacts set up for that line of work.”
“Do you do it often?”
“Yes. My family believes they carry a curse. Terrible tragedies tend to happen to Andrew’s women. Sometimes posing a death is the easiest way to break free from them after I regain my memories at puberty. It also helps to get certain interested parties off my tail.”
Their link simmered with amusement as she reminisced in a memory.
“Let me guess,” he said. “You’ve faked death to escape arranged marriages?”
“Don’t be so ghastly…” She grinned. “Running away usually sufficed. Though there were some troublesome suitors who required more drastic measures. One in particular was a prince. A Coheart is a must for such intricacies.”
He snickered. “I bet you have some stories.”
She forked another piece of asparagus and took a bite. “So, why did you go into the real estate business?”
“I loved working with my hands, so I ventured around doing odd jobs in construction. But property started to have a price, so I had no choice but to become an official landowner. I dealt with territorial disputes between chiefs and humans, selling what we could. Soon it became an empire. I had to learn the business trade, and I’m damn good at it.
But I’d still rather be building something from scratch. ”
“Why don’t you sell your shares?”
He grimaced. The last time he had asked that exact question was when she had watched him walk away from her to answer his phone.
“It’s one of the main forms of revenue for the dragons.
Land is also a nonrenewable resource, and dragons value green space.
I direct when needed, but the Prater family has been watching over the company for generations. ”
“You really are an integral part of the dragon community,” she murmured as if she referred to an earlier conversation, one that hadn’t included him. Her neck and cheeks were flushed. Through the connection, he received impressions of her world moving, thought processes languid.
“And what about you? Why knowledge?” He took another sip.
Her lips tilted up in a haphazard smile, and she swayed slightly. “Among the Fallen, I’m not strong. I can’t create a solid enough light to fly outdoors, and I have a minimal talent with weapons. I use information as my weapon. It’s always made me feel powerful, I guess.”
His heart ached. This magnificent creature before him could have killed her own kind to increase her power, and instead, searched the world’s knowledge to gain strength—a warrior in her own right. He resisted the urge to touch her skin glowing brightly under the sunlight.
“You were in an army, though, right?” he asked.
“I didn’t fight. Each of us had a role, and each color has its strengths and weaknesses. Yellow, though weak, can be limitless. It’s the difference between a sprinter and a long-distance runner. I was responsible for…” She paused a moment before her finger shot into the air. “I have an idea.”
Along the link, he perceived a splitting of her mind, as if she yanked away from humanity.
She streamed into her spirit, giving him mere seconds to catch her corporeal form before it fell off the boulder.
He growled and set her body down softly.
He would have reprimanded her, but a tremor of excitement ran through their link.
“What are you doing, Izzy?”
“I’ll demonstrate what I did in the angel military unit.”