Chapter 9
Diana blinked in the darkness.
Is this the afterlife? Or am I dying, or unconscious in a hospital somewhere?
At least there was no pain, she supposed. That was something. And the ground was soft beneath her.
Funny – it feels like the grass from earlier.
Maybe she was dying, right there in the clearing.
There were worse places to die, she supposed. And it was remarkably serene, apart from the way that her heart was currently pounding like crazy.
If only she could see the trees and the summer sky one more time, then she could go… well, not happily, but peacefully, at least. Regret still clawed at her about the idea of leaving Ash and Bella and Calvin, but if it was her time, then it was her time.
Just one last glimpse before I go. I hope Calvin isn’t too upset. He only met me yesterday – I hope he can move on at some point.
She opened her eyes – before remembering that they were already open.
It was dark.
Am I blind? Is my body shutting down?
She squinted, lowering her arms from where they were raised protectively above her head so that she could rub at her eyes.
Slowly they adjusted, and she was able to make out light coming in faintly from around her – almost as if it was coming through a curtain.
What is going on?!
A very un-serene irritation was starting to creep in at the corners of her mind. It grew in size as she realized that she was sitting, rather than being laid out flat by an enormous tree branch.
Why am I sitting if I’m dead??
She clambered to her hands and knees, marveling that her body still seemed to be fully functioning and obeying her commands.
Diana’s eyes had now fully adjusted, and she could see that she was enclosed in what was apparently an enormous green dome. An enormous green dome that appeared to be breathing.
Ridiculous, she huffed to herself. But it was certainly moving in and out very slightly in a way that resembled breathing. It was oddly calming, as far as being trapped in a seemingly-alive green dome went.
She cast her eyes upward, to see that directly above her was a sea of shiny emerald green…
well, scales, was the only word she could think of.
Like she was being carefully cuddled and protected by the world’s largest, friendliest, most beautiful reptile.
It wasn’t a thought she would normally be particularly thrilled about, but in this instance it seemed perfectly natural.
It was to her sides where the light was coming in.
The curtain-like material she’d noticed earlier had resolved into higher resolution now that her eyes had fully adjusted, and she could see that it was in fact incredibly beautiful, a diaphanous, delicate substance that cast everything around her into deep, verdant hues.
It reminded her of the wings of a butterfly, or a bat.
Entranced, she reached out to touch it – and jumped back as it twitched beneath her fingertips, before the whole structure seemed to shudder.
It was almost like…
Is it ticklish?!
Diana really wasn’t sure what was going on anymore, though she was becoming more and more certain that at least she wasn’t dead. She wasn’t quite prepared to rule out the idea of her being concussed, though. This whole situation was definitely weird.
She absently noticed the tingling sensation in her fingers where she’d touched the membrane-like structure. It was like… like…
Like when I was touching Calvin.
Things were starting to get a little too weird, and suddenly, with extreme clarity, Diana knew that she had to get out of here and work out what was going on.
The problem was, she didn’t know how. As bizarre as all of this was, the overwhelming feeling she was getting from – from whatever this was – was one of protection. She didn’t want to harm it.
Would it be weird if I knocked and asked to be let out?!
She raised her hand, unsure of what exactly she was going to do – and then the dome shuddered all of a sudden, before, inexplicably, it began to unfold and unfurl in the most beautiful way, like reverse origami.
Diana straightened slowly from her crouched position, her hands coming up to her eyes to protect them from the brilliant light that suddenly crashed in from all sides.
Slowly, she uncovered her eyes and opened them, letting them adjust, before taking in the world around her.
Blue summer sky.
Shady forest trees.
Enormous green dragon.
So that concussion is still on the cards, then, she thought vaguely.
She was pretty sure that she wasn’t concussed, though.
Her head didn’t hurt at all, and, now that she was taking in her surroundings, she could see that the enormous bough was lying on the ground several yards away, a number of other, smaller branches scattered about.
Clearly it had taken the other branches with it when it fell, and if any of them had hit her, she would definitely know about it.
And Calvin had already demonstrated some pretty freaky powers to her today. So really, was adding a dragon to the list of things she’d encountered such a big deal?
But then –
Calvin!!
How could she have forgotten? Was he okay?! She’d assumed that he was far enough from the branch to be able to escape, but that thing was massive.
She looked around wildly, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was just her and the dragon.
The dragon that was looking at her with deep golden eyes that looked so worried.
The dragon that had made her fingers tingle with electricity when she’d touched it.
No. It can’t be. That’s too ridiculous.
And yet, she found that her mouth was opening, the word coming out in a small, wonder-filled voice.
“Ca… Calvin?”
The dragon did a double take – okay, add that to the list of things I’ve seen for the first time today – and then, before she could react, it was changing, shrinking down, its glimmering green scales fading out of existence, its wings seeming to fold back into nothingness –
And then, suddenly, it was just Calvin standing there before her.
Diana stared.
Shifter, her brain supplied helpfully. He said he was a shifter.
Right now, she didn’t care what he was. All she needed to know was that she was running toward him and throwing herself into his arms.
He seemed a little taken aback for a moment, but then his arms tightened around her.
“You’re safe, Diana,” he murmured into her hair.
“Thank you,” she whispered back, simply enjoying the feeling of protection that she got from him, the warmth of his skin and the steady, reassuring beat of his heart beneath her ear. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
She held him for what felt like an eternity, taking in the feel of him, realizing what it was to be held by him. She could have stayed there forever, but eventually, reluctantly, she pulled back a little. Although, that did mean that she could see his beautiful, concerned face.
“Well. Uh. I have to say, of all the ways I could’ve foreseen that incident going, you turning into a giant dragon and shielding me with your body probably wasn’t at the top of the list.”
Calvin winced a little, looking like he was debating with himself as to whether to say something.
Clearly the urge won out, because he said, “Wyvern.”
Diana blinked. “Sorry, what was that?”
Calvin coughed. “Wyvern. Not dragon. Two legs, instead of four. I know it doesn’t seem like a big difference, but, well, the wyvern is a bit touchy about these things.”
“Wyvern…?” Diana hadn’t heard of them before – although, now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure that there was one in a fantasy book that she’d been reading with Ash when he was younger, but she’d been pronouncing it wye-vern instead of wivvern.
Whoops! I’d better let him know I got it wrong at some point.
“It’s like a dragon,” Calvin said kindly. “But better.”
“Did the wyvern make you say that?” Diana laughed.
Calvin grinned. “You catch on quick.”
“Don’t worry,” Diana said. “I think it’s safe to say that I like wyverns better than dragons now. Not that I know any dragons.”
“Probably not,” Calvin agreed, as if it was a completely normal topic of conversation. “There aren’t many dragon shifters in the world – it would be unusual if you’d met one.”
This was all a bit much! She knew that she would have a million questions and everything would take some time to sink in, but she just wanted to cover a few basics now.
“Are there people who shift into other things?” Diana asked. “Goblins? Bears? Pool cues?”
“Bears are the only ones from that list I can confirm,” Calvin said seriously. “But I wouldn’t rule anything out.”
“Bears,” muttered Diana. “Okay.” She thought for a moment. “And just to be clear: you turned into a – a wyvern, and protected me from the falling branch?”
Calvin nodded, looking pained. “It was an instinct – sorry, I really didn’t mean to startle you.
It was my intention to try to explain everything first, but when I heard that sound and saw the branch falling toward you, the wyvern just took over.
It knew that if I didn’t shift and protect you, then…
” He grimaced again. “I’d never felt anything like it – the pain of possibly losing you, when we’d only just met. ”
Diana’s heart fluttered. Not at the idea of Calvin feeling pain, of course, but at the idea that someone would put themselves on the line to protect her.
It was something she knew so few people in the world ever experienced, and to think that a man she’d just met by chance yesterday would feel like that about her…
well, it would take some getting used to.
Especially since the concept of dating had been fraught for her, ever since she’d split up with James.
She knew that her being a single mom was a dealbreaker for a lot of guys.
The fact that Calvin hadn’t even seemed to hesitate after he’d met Ash and knew that he and Diana were a package deal had already impressed Diana.