Chapter Sawyer #2
“You’re gorgeous,” Sawyer whispered. He reached out to touch Draco’s side, slowly, in case he didn’t want to be touched. But no, this was his Draco, so he pushed up against Sawyer and huffed a burst of smoke through his nose. “Okay, okay. I’ll pet you.”
His skin was rough and felt like hardened armor.
He had just enough light to make out a jumble of colors and wondered if his skin would glow in the sun.
Sawyer ran his hand all the way down Draco’s side, then stepped over his big tail, only to continue his path back up to Draco’s long neck. “Stunning,” he whispered.
Draco lowered his neck and pushed his head against Sawyer’s chest.
“I need you to switch back for me, okay? Got something I need to tell everyone, and I want to tell you first.”
Draco leaned back and from one breath to the next he was human again. He pulled Sawyer into his arms and held him close. “What happened?”
Sawyer sighed. “I’ll tell everyone the whole story at once but… I have some good news?”
Draco frowned. “Why don’t you sound happy then?”
“Because I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
Sawyer tugged Draco closer and nuzzled his face into Draco’s neck. “Just am.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know you won’t. And now you have an even better reason.”
Draco scowled and pushed him away. “I need no reason to take care of you. I love you, Sawyer. That’s the only reason I’ll ever need.”
Sawyer would love to say that the first confession of love he received was met with joy and happiness. And it was, but he handled it by tearing up and throwing himself back into Draco’s arms. “I love you, too.”
“Well good. Now tell me what’s wrong. You’re making my dragon crazy.”
Sawyer sighed and leaned back once again. “I’m the Chosen One.”
Draco frowned and looked at him like he had spouted horns on top of his head. “What?”
“Chosen One comma the. That’d be me.”
He didn’t think Draco’s frown could get any deeper, but Draco had always had the ability to scowl like a champ. “Sawyer—”
“It’s me. I’m him. Destiny has spoken or whatever.”
Draco clearly thought he’d lost his mind. It was okay. Sawyer kind of wondered if he’d lost it, too.
“Come inside. I want to tell everyone else, but I wanted you to know first.”
Draco linked their fingers together and they walked down the flight of stairs and into the master bedroom. The rest of the guys were sitting on the bed, waiting for their return. Sawyer gave Draco a gentle push toward the bed. His dragon wasn’t impressed, but went and curled up around Henry.
“Sawyer?” Henry asked. He glanced down at Draco and then back. “What’s wrong?”
“Well… okay, where to start.”
“The beginning normally works,” Eduard said with a small smile. He looked worried, too.
Sawyer sighed. “So I guess that would be the other day when you read me the prophecy. By the way, it was really sexy when you read it in Greek, too. I don’t think I told you that.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Anyway, so Eduard’s sexy voice aside, I couldn’t stop running the words through my head and I started thinking…
maybe you guys had possibly missed something in translation.
Eduard reminded me of it, that we hear stuff now that was written a long time ago and we don’t understand it.
And then I remembered one of my English professors, he wrote this sentence on the board and it had a bunch of different meanings depending on which word you gave emphasis to.
It’s one reason English is such a difficult language. ”
“Get to the point,” Draco said.
“Oh, stop being such an ass. I want you to hear my train of thought so you can decide whether or not I’m crazy, except after tonight, I’m either actually really crazy or…”
“Sawyer. Enough.” Andvari stood and crossed the room to him. “Tell me.”
Sawyer stopped his worried pacing and met Andvari’s zen master gaze. “There was one part that really stood out to me. Nothing will stand in their way.”
“Okay. What jumped out at you?”
Andvari was so calm about everything. Sawyer reached out and touched him, just to ground himself in the moment.
“Nothing. I mean, the actual word. Nothing. It can mean multiple things, right? Nothing. Zero…” Sawyer paused and drew in a breath, but Andvari had followed his line of thought.
It showed in the way his eyes widened just a bit and he took another step toward Sawyer.
“Null.”
“Yeah.”
Andvari turned to Eduard. “Do you have the original translation?”
“Downstairs.”
“Go get it.”
Eduard rose from the bed and hurried downstairs.
He’d developed a puzzled frown as well. Henry was the only one who still looked completely confused.
Then again he also looked half-asleep so Sawyer couldn’t blame him.
He’d been thinking on this for a while and still thought it sounded crazy.
Draco was staring at Sawyer with a mix of hope and fear, like he couldn’t bear for Sawyer to be wrong.
Eduard ran back in with the leather book in his hand.
He opened it to the pages with the prophecy and held it out to Andvari.
Andvari read it, then scowled. “Henry, where is your laptop?”
“Downstairs, but I have the new tablet Draco gave me in the drawer.”
“Grab it for me, would you? I need to look something up.”
“Sure.” Henry rolled to the side and took the tablet out of the bedside table. He got it opened up, then held it out. Sawyer went and got it for him, ready to use the keypad as Andvari pointed to a specific word in the translation.
“Look this up.” Andvari traced his finger over the world τ?ποτα.
“I have no idea how to do Greek letters.”
Andvari took the tablet and typed while Sawyer looked on. Define Greek tipota.
The results took less than a second to load. Andvari checked a couple links, his scowl deepening by the second until he finally found a Greek dictionary. It listed tipota as nothing. And also nil, naught, and zero.
Sawyer caught the tablet when it slipped from Andvari’s fingers.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. But then I thought it was just wishful thinking on my part because really.”
“But it’s not, is it?” Andvari asked.
“Nope.”
Eduard took the tablet and read the page as well. He gave a startled gasp and turned wide-eyed to Sawyer.
“Surprise!”
“What’s going on?” Henry asked.
Sawyer turned to him and sighed. “I’m the Chosen One,” he explained.
“You are not!”
“Am, too.”
Henry was the only one who seemed excited. He shoved Draco’s head out of his lap and leapt off the end of the bed. He plastered himself to Sawyer’s front and let out a whoop of laughter. “That is so cool!”
“Yeah.” He couldn’t help but smile at Henry’s excitement. He pulled him in for another hug, then decided he’d better share the rest of the story. The guys looked like they wanted to believe him, but were still not entirely convinced. “There’s more, if you want to hear it.”
“Please,” Eduard said. He looked like he was about to fall over.
“So, um, I woke up earlier and I was outside in the front yard. Pearl was with me, and there was an old woman walking up the hill.”
Draco sat up, his attention fully caught.
“She confirmed for me that I’m the Chosen One.”
Eduard looked skeptical, especially considering that Sawyer had come inside and sent the others out due to danger.
“It was the Goddess. She told me to call her Mother. Isn’t that weird? But… it was her. And I’m him.”
“Holy shit,” Andvari said.
“I need a drink,” Eduard added.
“The Mother visited you?” Draco asked.
“Yep. Said it hadn’t taken me very long to figure it out and she was impressed. She told me some other stuff, too, but that’s… I don’t know. It’s for me, you know?”
“You actually met the Goddess,” Henry said with his voice full of awe. “Cool.”
“At least one of you thinks so,” Sawyer said.
He’d hoped for a better reaction, maybe even a touch of excitement.
He’d wanted them to be happy he wouldn’t be forced to leave after the Chosen One arrived and that what they’d been building wouldn’t be torn apart.
He wasn’t expecting Draco to turn pale, for Eduard to pour himself a glass of scotch, or for Andvari to slow his breathing so completely he might as well not be moving.
Not surprisingly, it was Draco who recovered first. He climbed off the bed and came to stand in front of Sawyer. “This doesn’t change the way I feel about you,” Draco said.
“I’m glad,” Sawyer replied.
Draco knelt and placed his fist over his heart. “I am Draco of the Volsunga clan, proud guardian to you, the Chosen One. I pledge my life to keep you safe.”
Sawyer ran his hand over Draco’s hair, his breath hitching in his chest. Henry knelt next, meeting Sawyer’s eyes with a bright smile before he lowered his head as well. “I am Henry of the Jerrick pack. I am guardian to you, Sawyer, the Chosen One. I pledge my life and my magic to keep you safe.”
He touched Henry’s head, giving it a gentle caress even as Andvari knelt beside Henry. “I am Andvari, vampire of the Passarowitz clan. I am guardian to Sawyer, the Chosen One. I pledge my life and my blood to keep you safe.”
Besides Sawyer, only one man remained standing in the room.
Eduard had his head lowered, staring into the swirling amber liquid in his glass.
He tossed it back, swallowing the drink in one go, then turned to face Sawyer.
“This isn’t what I wanted for you. This life, the danger.
But as scared as I am for you, I am more scared to do this without you.
” He moved to Draco’s side and knelt. “I am Eduard of Arimaspia clan, guardian to the Chosen One. I swear I will give my life to keep you safe, Sawyer.”