Chapter 19
VAELA
When I next woke, daylight filtered into the infirmary and Eden was gone.
I blinked for a few moments and took stock of the room, assuring myself that I wasn’t dreaming.
No, I’d kissed her here by my bedside.
I’d kissed her and everything had felt right with the world.
I turned to the window, studying the white light of pre-dawn. It was far too early to be awake, but I didn’t think I could sleep another moment. In fact, I didn’t think I’d sleep now for days.
Instead I stared at dust particles that floated above me while I took stock of my body. My side ached along my ribs, but thankfully the intense burn had faded, leaving behind a bruise-like pang. It felt as if I’d been knocked off my feet by the swipe of a dragon tail.
My shoulders were sore, as was my lower back, and I longed to stretch.
I raised my arms above my head, almost winding myself in the process.
A weakness clearly persisted in my muscles, which I assumed was the remains of the venom in my blood.
I had to get up and start moving to work the rest of it out of my system.
That was the only way to truly rid myself of it.
Fever dreams could only do so much.
With a great heave, I sat up on the edge of the bed. My vision swam momentarily, my thoughts drifting in a wave of unease.
My stomach was empty.
I needed food and water and—
I needed Eden.
Once the world stopped spinning, I went to push off the edge of the bed, and only then did I realize that my prosthesis was missing. Where had it gone? Had I lost it in the lake? Had it been damaged in the fall?
I couldn’t remember Eden mentioning anything. Then again, the only thing I could remember clearly was that kiss. There were other things to worry about at the moment, but I couldn’t help the silly smile that stretched across my face as I brushed my fingers over my lips.
I couldn’t help remembering the phantom touch.
I shook off the sensation, noting the pair of crutches that leaned against the wall.
Ah. I shifted to the very edge of the bed and reached over to take hold of the crutches. Using them as levers, I got myself up, making sure I was sturdy before moving across the room.
I made slow, deliberate movements as I navigated my way through the infirmary.
It was quiet, no one else around currently, and I told myself not to slip.
The last thing I needed was the rest of the staff arriving to find me sprawled out on the exam room floor.
They’d toss me right back in bed, and that’s not where I wanted to be.
I wanted to be outside, where I could taste fresh air. I wanted to lay eyes on Min and reassure myself that she was okay. Mostly, I wanted to be wherever Eden was.
My best guess was Bramble Cottage, so I exited the building, navigating my way onto the path behind it. There I found Min, curled in a tight ball. Her tail twitched as I approached, one eye snapping open. The moment she spotted me, she poked her head up, releasing a high-pitched sound.
It was joy and excitement all rolled into one.
“Hiya, girl,” I said, voice thick from disuse as she surged toward me. I scratched at her head, stumbling on one foot as she accidentally knocked me off balance. “Easy,” I said. “I’m all right.” I stared into those pearly black eyes. “More importantly, how are you?”
Min purred as I scratched at the tiny scales between her nostrils.
“You’re not hurt?” She nudged me for more scratches. “I heard Cyrus stopped by.”
She flashed her teeth to tell me exactly how she felt about that.
“He sounded irritated,” I murmured. “But Eden basically tossed him out on his rear. I don’t think we’ll be hearing from him for a few days at least.”
Min made a sound of displeasure.
“I know there was no other option,” I told her. “Thanks for dropping me in the lake and not through the roof of someone’s house.” That, as much as Eden’s attention, was the reason I was still alive.
Min sniffed at me, growling as she almost nudged me off the ground.
“It’s the Bane venom,” I said. “I expect I’ll reek for a few days.”
She huffed and pulled back to blink at me. Her forked tongue flicked out in the direction of my missing prosthesis.
“I know.” I gestured to Bramble Cottage with the end of my crutch. “I’m going to find it. Why don’t you go get yourself something to eat?”
She blinked at me, and I knew the feeling. She was loath to leave my side. But starving herself, especially after all the exertion the other night, wouldn’t do either of us any good.
“I’m in safe hands,” I promised. “Eden can look after me.”
Min cocked her head in a strange way, making a sound I’d never heard before. It was a rumbling way at the back of her throat, but it wasn’t a threat. She lowered her head, then took a step back before launching into the sky.
I poked my crutches into the grass to avoid being blown over, watching Min disappear on the horizon before continuing down the trail. When I reached Bramble Cottage, I used the end of my crutch to rap on the door.
It swung open a second later like Eden had been expecting me. Perhaps she had. Or maybe she’d just spotted me coming down the trail through the window.
“Morning.” My breath hitched as I took her in. Her hair was loose today, falling in waves over her shoulders. Her brown eyes caught the sunrise, glassy and gold. She was beautiful.
“Sorry, I meant to be back before you woke,” she said. “You didn’t have to struggle all the way out here.”
“And yet you left me crutches,” I teased.
She gave me a look. “For you to get around the infirmary. Not for you to go traipsing down a slippery path. You’re lucky you didn’t fall.”
“I’ve traversed worse,” I promised her. “Anyway, I wanted to see you as soon as possible.” I watched her closely, liking the way her cheeks flushed.
The color spread down her neck, and I itched to catch it between my fingers.
To feel the heat move. To trace the freckles in that sunset pink with my lips.
I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her again.
She cleared her throat. “How, uh… How are you feeling?”
“Achy. Sore. All expected outcomes, I presume. Getting out and stretching is helping.” I straightened up, using the doorframe for support. “I figure I’m working the last of the venom from my blood.”
She nodded. “Any kind of light exercise will be good for you right now. But maybe limit flying any long distances for a day or two.”
“What’s considered a long distance?” I asked.
“You can go as far as the nesting shed,” she said after a beat, sounding very nurse-like.
I smirked. “No further?”
She shook her head. “And no dragon battles.”
“I can’t exactly control that.”
“The kingsguard are gone in pursuit of the Wretch,” she said, huffing. “Hopefully it’ll be quiet around here for a day or two.”
“Well, now you’ve jinxed it,” I teased. Eden rolled her eyes, and all I could do was stare at her. I couldn’t help it as fondness beat behind my breastbone. She broke eye contact first, that flush in her cheeks darkening.
“I, uh, presume you have my prosthesis,” I said, chuckling under my breath.
Eden blinked at me in surprise, then smiled a bit. She stepped back so I could join her inside. “Careful of the lip there.”
“I see it.” I crossed the threshold in one easy step, spotting my prosthesis on her desk. “Never a dull day around Ember Ridge, huh?”
“You know, that’s the exact opposite of what Gunther promised me,” she said, clicking her tongue. “Frankly, it’s why I came here. For boring, dull, mundane work. The kind that wouldn’t make me go gray before my thirties.”
“It’s not always like this,” I promised.
“You mean the kingsguard don’t always invade towns to hunt down a dragon they have no business trying to catch?”
“Exactly that,” I agreed.
A thump shook the floorboards suddenly, and a massive shadow passed the window. Eden startled, her head snapping around. The moment she spotted Min, her shoulders relaxed.
“She was out getting breakfast,” I said.
Eden waved as Min looked in through the window, her breath fogging the glass. “Anyway,” she said. “This is what you’re here for.” She plucked my prosthesis from the desk.
I plopped down in the rocking chair. “Excellent,” I said as she handed it to me. “Not that I don’t love these very wonderful crutches, of course.”
“They’re too short for you,” Eden admitted, wringing her hands together as she watched me examine the prosthetic limb. “But it’s the best the infirmary had.”
I rolled my trouser leg and bent over to fasten the prosthesis in place like I had a thousand times before.
I didn’t know if Eden had polished it up, but the metal bits certainly looked shinier than usual.
“I can see there’s this extra bit here,” I said, pointing out an unfamiliar latch that had been fastened to the wooden bit. “But how does it—”
“Here, let me show you.” She knelt down in front of me, and I was overwhelmed by lavender and honey.
“I’ve added a metal catch here. It flips down when you’re ready to fly.
The idea is that you can hook your prosthesis around a dragon scale.
There’s a spring here that allows the catch to be adjustable depending on the kind of dragon you’re on and the size of the scale. ”
It seemed easy enough to maneuver. In theory.
“It’s not going to do you any good should Min decide to flip over or something,” she admitted, “but for keeping you in place during a straightforward flight… Well, hopefully it gives you a bit more stability.”
“It’s perfect,” I said.
She looked up at me, eyes wide, bright. She was perfect, and it took everything inside me not to scoop her into my lap. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she said, the corner of her lip turning up. “It all works perfectly in my head. But what we really need to do is test it out.”
I got to my feet. “Let’s do that then.”
“Now?” she said, jumping up. “Did I not just say you have to take it easy?”
“One loop around the meadow isn’t going to hurt anyone.”
She grumbled, but I was already out the door, strolling over to Min.
“Vaela,” she called after me.
“Yes, Eden?”
“One loop.” She held up her finger. “Promise me.”
I crossed my finger over my heart.
She looked unconvinced and stared past me at Min. “One,” she said again. Min made some vague noise in response.
I scaled Min’s back and settled myself at the base of her neck between her shoulder blades. Then I reached over to flip the hook down. I caught it on a sturdy dragon scale, using the spring to lock it snugly in place.
Min hesitated, looking back at me.
I nodded. “Ready.”
A moment later, she shot into the sky, zipping around the meadow, making one loop and then another. The wind whipped by me, tugging at my hair. It felt good.
It felt like freedom.
I’d missed this for the time I was laid up in bed, and I couldn’t blame Min for never wanting to give it up.
I glanced down at the cottage.
Eden stood there, hands on her hips, mouth moving.
I knew she was yelling at me about breaking my one-loop promise.
But it felt too wonderful for just a moment of flight.
I pressed up slightly and threw my arms out, howling into the wind.
I wasn’t completely standing, but I felt steady with the latch.
Safe and secure, like it would take quite a battering to knock me from my place.
And for a wrangler, there was no better feeling.
We made another loop before Min finally touched down again.
Eden was a little red in the face as she marched over. “What did I just say?”
“It deserved a thorough test,” I argued, sliding down Min’s side. I surged toward her and caught her cheeks in my hands. “I think, as you can see, it works pretty damn great.”
She grumbled at me. “I can continue making tweaks to it.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s excellent. I mean that. Thank you.”
“It’s the least I could do,” she said. “For all the help you’ve given me.”
I smiled at her, tipping forward, lifting her face to mine. But before my lips could reach hers, she ducked out of the way.
I frowned, staring after her as she caught her lip between her teeth, a pained expression crossing her face. “Sorry,” she murmured, pressing her fingers to her temples. “It’s not you, it’s just… You’re still healing, and there are some things I have to finish up at the infirmary.”
The sound of her discomfort made me uneasy. “Of course. I didn’t mean to—”
“I’ve neglected my duties these past couple of days,” she said. “Because of—”
“Me,” I said, nodding. I offered a soft smile. “I understand. I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know,” I said. And I did. I hadn’t forgotten her asleep on the chair next to me, hunched at odd angles as she kept her bedside vigil. Her concern for me had pulled her away from other work. “Go on. Don’t let me keep you from your responsibilities.”
She tucked her arms against her chest and shifted by me, careful not to let our skin brush, and I itched to reach for her. Itched to tell her how much I meant what I’d said before. I wanted her, and I didn’t want to let her go.
But I, more than anyone, understood the weight of responsibility and what it meant to drop everything to do something that might save a life.
Eden had definitely saved mine the other night. I could wait a little longer for her.