CHAPTER 37 CORY
W e’re halfway to the sugar maple where Port and Max first met Milica when it starts raining again. Mili’s bag is made of some sort of waxy, leafy material, so it’s waterproof. We’ve put all our valuables in it for safekeeping –but Max, Port, and me still aren’t delighted that we’re getting soaked.
“Realm’s Mother, it’s lovely to feel the rain on my skin again,” Mili sighs. Port nods along, a fake smile on his face, but Max grumbles in disagreement. Mili scoffs at him and says, “What, big tough dragon like you can’t handle a little summer rain?”
“If we’d just flown, we could have been to town by now,” Max snaps back.
Mili isn’t bothered by his snark, though, which surprises me; she rolls her eyes with a smile and replies sweetly, “Then we wouldn’t get to have such a lovely conversation, would we?”
Port chuckles quietly at her comment, and Mili grins at him. I find myself swelling with a strange sort of pride at their growing closeness; of the three of us, Mili is probably most similar to Port. He has a certain gentleness about him that she seems to relate to; if we weren’t a pack, I’d almost certainly be intimidated by that similarity.
Since we are a pack, though, the only thing that comes from seeing Milica grow closer to the other shifters is a quiet sort of comfort. Part of me does relish the time we spend alone together, but it’s relieving to know that when I’m not around, she has Max and Port to look after her.
Not that she needs it; the faery is a lot more powerful than I’d initially thought. Her one weakness is physical combat, but she’s a frighteningly fast learner.
Even after only a few sessions with Port, Max, and me, she’s become somewhat proficient with throwing daggers, which Max taught her. She’s also grown in her self-defense abilities in the realm of hand-to-hand combat, which Port helped with, and I’ve even helped her improve a few spells of hers.
Anyway, the more I get to know Mili and all her talents, the more questions I have. For one, how is a healer faery so skilled at learning combat? She obviously has a knack for it, so why didn’t she let herself study offensive strategy before? Most of all, does she realize just how brilliant she is? Questions upon questions.
“I have a question,” Port says suddenly.
Mili turns to me, and I shrug before facing Port. “What is it?” I ask.
Port shakes his head. “I actually wanted to ask you, Mili. What – well, what happens when we arrive in town? I take it the townspeople haven’t met real dragon shifters before. How can you be sure they won’t feel ... threatened? Or angry?”
I wince at his words, and Max purses his lips as he glances between Mili and me, awaiting her response. Port gazes earnestly at her, and Mili’s brows knit together as she considers his words.
“Before I introduce the three of you as shifters,” she says slowly, “I want to check on my friend Chrysthinia. Announcing so soon that three dragons have entered the valley could cause panic, but I think if I tell the townspeople that I need to see Chrysthinia, they’ll allow us to pass without questioning us too much.”
“Uh, sure,” Max starts, “but what about after all that?”
Something in Mili’s expression seems strangely guarded, though. I quickly glance at Port and Max, a silent question in the air: what is she hiding?
“You don’t have a secret lover you’re hiding us from, do you?” Max smirks.
“No!” Mili blurts out way too fast. “Um, no, I don’t. I mean, in the past ... there was a girl. She was who I used to live with, but it’s not –it’s not the same as with the four of us.”
Max’s eyes go wide in the corner of my vision, but I’m starstruck staring at Mili. Gods, she’s adorable when she’s nervous. As much as I hate to hear that there was someone in the past, I can’t deny that I’ve enjoyed my fair share of women, too. No need to hold it against her. When Mili bites her lip nervously and looks at me for help, I stand as tall as I can, trying to project confidence.
“The whole town will accept us,” I nod. “The girl, too. It’s unprecedented for the volcano’s guardian to interact with the faery healer, not to mention actually traveling to town. I think when they see us as the harmless (cough) protectors we are, they’ll all welcome us with open arms.”
I look to Mili and she sighs with relief, nodding emphatically. “I completely agree. I know my people –they are incredibly kind. They’ll trust the three of you.”
If only I actually believed a word I’d said , I think to myself with a quiet frown. I forget, unfortunately, that my bond with Max and Port is growing, and both of them shoot back concern into my veins. I shake them off, and watch as the two of them glance knowingly at each other.
“Come on, you two,” I say with a forced smile. “No more worrying. We’ll just have to charm them all with our wonderful personalities and, well–”
“And our dashing good looks?” Max smirks.
I scowl loudly at him, but Mili laughs, which is enough to get Port laughing, too. Soon after, the whole lot of us are chuckling as we walk, feeling much lighter than we did a few moments before.
–––
I thought the Ethelindans would be glad to see Milica, but nothing could have prepared me for the love they expressed for her upon her return. Whatever Mili has done for the town, they received her with utterly devoted adoration; one particular young boy was so excited to see her that he burst into tears and clutched her legs upon seeing her.
“Mili, do you remember me?” he’d said through his squeaky sobs.
She’d smiled and knelt before him, “Of course I do! You told me to go see my friend. I am very grateful to you for that. What is your name? You never told me.”
The boy sniffled and replied, “Halenius. My friends call me Leni – you can call me that, too.”
They spoke a little longer, Mili holding him gently by the arms as he slowly stopped crying. She smiled softly at him for their entire conversation. Leni gazed at her with such appreciation, such total trust in her; I thought, briefly, this faery deserves to be loved, really loved.
“Oh, there’s your mother!” Mili said with a smile.
Leni jumped up and ran to his mother, who gasped when she saw Mili. Mili walked over to her, hands outstretched, and the woman embraced her warmly –it looked like they’d been friends for years.
Our faery and the townsperson spoke quietly for a moment, then Mili turned and beckoned us over to her with a smile. Max and Port exchanged a nervous look, but I patted them both on the back and walked over confidently. The two followed shortly after.
“Helennia,” Mili said, “this is Cory,” I nodded, “Port,” he smiled and waved, “and Max.”
“I may be last, but certainly not least,” Max announced with a wink in Helennia’s direction. The woman laughed kindly at his little flirtation, and although Mili rolled her eyes, a smile danced on her lips.
“We can’t thank you enough for welcoming us so kindly,” Port said softly. The woman’s eyes softened as he spoke, and he bowed his head respectfully as he finished his sentence.
Helennia sighed and held Leni tighter as she replied, “It is you we cannot thank enough. Our entire town thanks you, from the bottom of our hearts, for helping bring Milica home. We wouldn’t have lasted much longer without her magick.”
Mili’s eyes started to water as Helennia spoke, and I took her hand in mine with a gentle squeeze. She sighed shakily and smiled gratefully up at me.
As I gazed down at Mili, a shadow moving across the courtyard caught my eye. It was a woman, another faery; she had long blonde hair that shined almost silver—almost Moonlike. I expected her to come to Mili as the other Ethelindans had, but she ran away as soon as I spotted her.
“Cory, are you okay?” Mili whispered to me.
I straightened my shoulders and nodded, brushing off my concern. If someone had a problem with Mili, our faery certainly would have mentioned it to us. Besides, between Port, Max, and myself, any antagonist would have a mess of a time trying to harm her.
“How did you all meet Mili?” Helennia had asked, eyes suddenly skeptical.
Mili’s eyes had shot wide open, and she appeared at a total loss. Luckily, at that same moment a large group of townspeople entered the courtyard and ran to Milica in a chorus of gasps and gleeful shrieks. As the group made their way over to us, Helennia had politely excused herself and Leni, allowing Mili to be greeted by the other townspeople.
Now, hours later, I can’t shake the feeling that the Ethelindans won’t be as welcoming to us once they realize who we really are. The worry plagues me as Mili leads the three of us to her friend’s house. She shoos away Port and Max’s insisting that she go home and rest for a moment, walking determinedly through the wild front yard to the cottage door.
Mili glances about the overgrown yard with a weary smile on her face, smiling here and there at small spots in the brush. Max and I look at each other, confused; she seems to be looking at specific places, but there’s nothing there.
“Um, what are you looking at?” Max asks, bewildered.
Milica turns around and grins mischievously. “You won’t be able to see them.”
“See what?” Port asks, suddenly curious, too.
“The pixies,” she replies, matter-of-fact.
I have half a mind to accuse her of blatantly lying, but it is possible that as the faery healer of the realm, she can see creatures that us dragons can’t. The thought fills me with both annoyance and pride; I don’t like people to have one over me, but if it’s Mili, I suppose I’ll survive.
Once Mili arrives at the front door, a sudden shift in her mood hits the three of us shifters square in the chest. She seems completely terrified, almost ... heartbroken? I frown quietly, feeling my brows pull together in concern, but Mili doesn’t turn to face us. She knocks loudly on the door, four quick raps, and exhales a shaky breath.
We wait there a moment, and I can feel Mili’s anxiety starting to grow. Port looks at me, concern covering his face, and I tilt my head towards the faery. Go to her , I send across the bond to him. He nods and moves towards her softly.
“Hey,” he whispers, so low I almost can’t hear him, “it’s going to be alright.”
He rests a gentle hand on her shoulder and I feel her worries start to melt. They’re still there, of course, but they’re softened by his comforting touch. She turns to him and embraces him warmly, pulling back with a sigh and a faux-confident nod just as the door swings open.
“Oh, my gods!” Mili cries out.
The person inside the doorway is a short and stout figure, with nearly-onyx skin and even darker eyes. They’re walking with a cane, but their eyes are sharp and seem to cut through us as they dart from me, to Port, to Max, and finally land on the faery.
They smile crookedly, then, and hold out a hand to touch Mili’s face. Mili chokes back a sob and throws her arms around her friend, who stumbles slightly backwards from the sudden impact.
“Oh, Realm’s Mother, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to overwhelm you,” Mili blurts out.
“Milica,” the person replies, “I have missed you.”
Mili whirls around to us with teary eyes and a wide grin, and says, “This is Chrysthinia. They’re my best friend.” She whirls back around to face Chrysthinia and asks shyly, “Can we come inside? I don’t mean to intrude.”
“Nonsense, nonsense,” Chrysthinia tuts, walking inside without a look back. Mili and the three of us walk in as they continue, “You are always welcome. Your lovely friends, too. Interesting energy, they have.”
Max glances at me with a raised eyebrow, and I shrug back, smiling widely at Mili’s relief and happiness. I whisper to him, “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting the townsfolk.”
He nudges my shoulder with a grin. “I’m happy for you, my friend. It’s good for you to finally meet your people.”
My people . I suppose they are, aren’t they? I am the dragon guardian of Ethelinda, after all –my parents always taught me that although I am their guardian, I will never be one of them. Perhaps it doesn’t have to be that way. This isn’t the time for those thoughts, though; I shake my head to clear my mind and make my way further into the bungalow.