Chapter 2
Two
Zephyr
"That's enough."
"Excuse me?" I asked, stunned by the anger in Keoni's gaze.
He'd never looked at me like that. Ever.
His hands balled into fists as he glared at me, and I braced myself.
I had no idea what he wanted to say. But no, wait.
I did know what he was going to say, because this had already happened. This... this was a dream.
"For months. For months you've been dealing with this shit on your own, refusing help from anyone who offers.
You aren't sleeping, you aren't eating, and you haven't had a proper conversation with any of us in weeks.
You're killing yourself trying to carry all this weight when you don't have to!
" he shouted, his voice ringing in the hush that had fallen over the room.
My lips moved, but I had no idea what I could say, and Keoni didn't give me a chance to gather my thoughts as he kept talking.
"I don't know if it's fear or anger or plain old narcissism that's keeping you from accepting help, but I'm done.
I can't watch you do this to yourself anymore, and I can't let you do this to me," he said, slamming his fist into my chest. "Until you're ready to accept that you're not the only one with powers here, until you get it through your thick skull that we all want to help, I don't want to talk to you.
I don't want to see you. I don't want to hear from you," he declared, emphasizing each statement with a smack of his fist on my chest. "And I certainly don't want to be your mate. "
The words struck me just as hard as they had the first time, so much so that I realized what he'd said before that didn't match what I remembered. Something was different.
"I can't stay and watch you ruin everything you've built," Keoni said, and no, that wasn't right. He'd never said that. Right? "I'm leaving, Zephyr. You can't keep this place stable, and I won't let you kill me with your stubbornness."
I watched as Keoni stalked out of the room, wanting to follow after him. But before I could, someone else spoke.
"He's right. We shouldn't stay here. It's too dangerous."
I couldn't tell who'd spoken, but one by one, they all left, leaving me alone in the Dining Room.
Nolan was the last to go, and he patted my shoulder as he went, a soft smile on his face. "I'm sorry. I tried to help you."
Then he left as well, and I was alone, like I'd always known I would end up.
I opened my eyes in the dark room, and something trickled down the side of my face. I realized it was a solitary teardrop as I wiped it off, and exhaled loudly in the empty room.
I sat up in bed, knowing there was no way I would fall back asleep.
The dream was still clear in my mind, and while I knew it wasn't how things had happened, I also knew it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities.
If the Sanctuary didn't get back to proper working order soon, the residents would leave, and I wouldn't blame them.
I'd promised them a safe haven, and I was failing.
I knew what the problem was, and I knew the solution too.
It was selfish of me to not do whatever I could to resolve this problem.
All I needed to do was accept Nolan's help.
He was a dragon. He had more than enough power to lend me.
Hell, he could even keep the place going all on his own if he wanted to.
And yet the idea of asking Nolan's help again twisted my gut, making me want to stay in this room and never leave.
It wasn't just the fact that I couldn't trust him—even though I now knew what happened centuries ago hadn't been his fault, that he had shown up that day—but the fear that still lingered in my mind.
After the day I'd asked Nolan for help as a mere fifteen-year-old, my life had been destroyed.
I'd thought I knew pain then, but I hadn't.
Not until the man I'd wanted to escape had dragged me back to his place and punished me for trying to leave.
Back then, I hadn't realized he already knew what I'd been planning, that he'd used a spell to make sure Nolan and I wouldn't find each other.
I'd assumed Nolan broke his promise, that he never came for me, and I'd hated him for centuries.
I'd blamed him for my arm, for what happened to my familiar, and now that I knew the truth, that hatred couldn't just disappear.
Even if I accepted his help, I knew my magic wouldn't play nice with his because I knew I couldn't play nice with him. If our powers clashed, it would only cause more problems in the Sanctuary.
I knew his powers were the only way to save the Sanctuary, though, to return the balance that had been lost when humans started moving here.
The Sanctuary was powered by the magic of all its residents, and since humans had no magic to speak off, they could contribute nothing, which caused an imbalance that had thrown everything into disarray.
Nolan could easily make up the difference with his dragon magic, but only if I allowed him.
I wasn't ready for that, but maybe I could start small.
It would give my magic a chance to familiarize itself with his, and maybe I could slowly reach a point where we could cooperate, at the very least. I doubted I would ever be friends with Nolan, but we could reach a point where we could coexist peacefully and run this place together.
Right?
Keoni
Since sharing lunch with Zephyr yesterday, I'd realized he was in desperate need of a break. He needed to get out of the Sanctuary, to breathe in some polluted city air, to push through a crowd and get annoyed by them instead of staying cooped up in his office and being frustrated with himself.
But I knew he'd never leave the Sanctuary with the way things were, so I needed a solution. Could Nolan keep everyone safe without Zephyr around? He was powerful, maybe more powerful than even Zephyr. If he could take care of the place for a day...
Mind made up, I finished my chores—carrying the newly harvested vegetables to the kitchen in my cart—then went looking for the dragon.
Since he'd moved in with Zamir, he was usually somewhere in Forest during the day. He owned a bar named The Lair, so his work hours were in the evening on most days.
"Zamir, where's your mate?" I asked as I found him in his backyard following the sound of his voice.
He sat cross-legged on the grass, with a chicken in his lap, one on his head, and the third pecking at the ground in front of him.
Two bunnies had been snuffling against his leg, but they skittered off when I arrived. I grinned. "Hey, Snow White."
Zamir snorted as he glanced up at me, making the chicken on his head cluck in dismay.
She—all three of his chickens were female—pecked at his forehead, and he quickly grabbed her and placed her on the ground.
He was a shtriga, and now that he was regularly feeding from his mate, he looked healthier than he ever had.
Thank fuck he and Nolan had found each other.
"Nolan's pretty popular today. Did you need something from him?"
"Is he busy?" I asked as I offered him a hand. He stood up, then dusted the grass off his jeans as he shrugged.
"Either that or he's fighting for his life," he said, though he didn't sound too concerned.
"Huh?'
He snickered, then gave me a meaningful look. "The headmaster took him away. Something about helping him with the anchors."
My eyes widened, and I glanced around, as if I'd spot them together somewhere. "Really? Zephyr asked for help?"
"That was exactly how I reacted," Zamir said with a laugh, his brown eyes bright. "In my mind, of course. Outside, I was a picture of calm."
"I'm sure you were."
"What did you need with Nolan?"
"It wasn't important. I'll talk to him when I see him later."
Zephyr had asked for Nolan's help. Was it because of our conversation yesterday? Or because of what I'd said to him a few days ago? Did it matter, as long as Zephyr got the help he needed?
A cluck made me glance back, and I found a chicken perched on my back—my horse-back. I chuckled, and though I wanted to pet her, I couldn't quite reach her.
"Nugget, get down from there," Zamir said, and Nugget clucked again as she fluttered her wings.
"I think that means no," I said with a snicker, and he rolled his eyes.
I stayed there for a while, playing with the chickens, chatting with Zamir, and occasionally sneaking glances at the two adorable bunnies who'd decided to hide in their hutch.
Afterward, I made my way back to my place as I pulled my phone out of my shirt pocket. Since I didn't wear pants, Ian—a sweet, shy man who lived in the Desert area—had added pockets to all my shirts. He did that for all of the only-upper-half-human crowd, and no one was better at sewing than him.
Scrolling through my contacts, I called one of my best friends, the only one who wasn't here.
"Hey, Keoni," Khush's warm voice greeted, and I grinned as I walked up the ramp and into my cabin. There was no door, because I'd never felt the need for one. I liked everyone to know they could always reach me, day or night.
"Hey, Khush. How's it going?"
Khush and his mate, Dustin, had temporarily moved out of the Sanctuary, and I couldn't blame them for it, even though I missed them.
Dustin was pregnant, and there was already enough risk involved—since Dustin was human and Khush was a naga—without them staying at the Sanctuary with its many issues.
"Everything's good. Dustin's eager to be home—we both are. Zamir told us what you said to the headmaster," he said, smoothly jumping into the topic with zero hesitation.
"Ah, yeah," I mumbled as I stopped in the middle of the room. It was technically the living room, but there wasn't much furniture here. Just a few cabinets set against the wall, and a couch that I couldn't use. I spent most of my time outside, so I rarely used this space.
"You were a little harsh, weren't you?" he asked in that big brother voice, and I sighed.
"I know. I apologized. I let my anger get the best of me."
Khush hummed. "Well, I'm glad you apologized. How's he doing now?"
"He asked Nolan for help!"
"Huh. So maybe chewing him out worked."
Yeah, maybe it did, but I wasn't sure. It felt more like our conversation yesterday had somehow been the push he needed, but I didn't know how.
"Maybe we can come home before the baby arrives," Khush mused, and I hummed.
"I hope so. Zephyr asked for help with the anchors, according to Zamir, so I don't know if that will fix the Sanctuary, but I'm sure it can't hurt."
"Yeah. Keep me posted, okay?"
"Of course," I said, then chewed my lip. I wanted to tell him about my age. He was the first friend I'd made when I came here, and he was truly like a brother to me. Would he be mad that I'd lied to him?
"What is it?" he asked, somehow sensing my struggle.
"There's something I wanted to tell you."
"I'm listening."
"I—uh, I'm not eighteen. I'm twenty-one," I mumbled, and Khush was silent for a long moment. "Khush?"
"Ah, so that's what you said. Damn, Keoni, you were brutal."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"If you're twenty-one, that means you're three years older than you said you were.
Something must've brought it up for you to tell me this now.
Your correct age means that you were seventeen when you came to the Sanctuary, and not fourteen.
An adult according to centaur standards.
Zamir told me you whispered something in the headmaster's ear that left him looking like he'd been struck by lightning.
Putting all that together, I think you told him you're mates. "
I stared at the wall, shocked. Holy fuck.
"Okay, Sherlock Holmes," I mumbled when I found my voice. "That was creepy."
"It's pretty boring here so I've been reading mystery novels on my phone. Guess some of it rubbed off on me," Khush said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Don't tell anyone yet, okay? I don't know how Zephyr feels."
"I'll only tell Dustin," he assured me, and I knew better than to ask him not to do that.
"How's he doing? Is he bored too?"
"You bet. His friend visited last week, so that cheered him up a little, but he's tired a lot these days so I'm just making sure he stays in bed."
"I'll try to come by to see you guys in a few days," I promised. Maybe I could get Zephyr to come with me. He might not want to leave the Sanctuary, but maybe he would if it was to see Dustin and Khush?
After the call ended, I walked to my bedroom, pressed the button on the side of the straps that kept my back half tied to the cart so I could walk, and fell into the bed.
My hind legs were still strapped to my back half because they would be all floppy and in the way otherwise, and I adjusted myself with my hands.
Strapping the cart in place again was always a headache, but it let me walk around, so I'd never complain.