Heart of the Dragon

Jenna gently pulled the woollen blanket up over the sleeping child, careful to avoid touching the bandage that covered his slender chest. As she straightened her troubled green eyes swept over the various figures lying in the rapidly constructed beds and cots that filled the Great Hall. So many wounded, so many dead. She wondered whether tonight would end it all or if the troubles would continue with no end in sight.

“Jenna?”

“Krysta, what are you doing here? I thought Father told you to stay in your room.” She watched as her sister slowly made her way towards her, her heavily pregnant body making her progress slow.

“I couldn’t stay there. So many thoughts were going round and around in my mind that I thought I would go insane with it. Once I heard the fighting cease I decided to come and see if you’d heard anything.” A pale, white hand reached out to rest on Jenna’s blood-stained hand. “I need to know, Jenna.”

Jenna looked down at their joined hands. Krysta’s so pale, her slender fingers with their neat, clean nails resting against her darker hand with the smears of blood and grime seemingly ground into the soft skin. Such a simple act of unity that seemed able to break through the defences that she had erected that day.

“I’ve not heard anything.” Her heart wrenched as Krysta lowered her head, tears welling in her blue eyes as she bit her lip to prevent the sobs from escaping. “Look, I’ve finished here for the moment. Why don’t we go outside and see what’s happening?” At Krysta’s faint nod, Jenna linked her arm with her sister and gently lead her towards the tall, oak doors that opened out onto the balcony.

Clouds of thick, black smoke rose above the charred remains of the village buildings before them. The acrid stench of burnt flesh and wood hung over them like a heavy blanket, preventing fresher, clean air from reaching the figures that wandered through the wreckage.

Jenna gritted her teeth as she watched villagers slowly searching the smouldering ruins, searching out any bodies hidden in the rubble. Bodies of fallen men and women were carefully lifted up and placed on wagon beds to be taken to the church where they would lay with other victims until they could be committed to the earth. Agony rippled through her body as she watched a child be lifted onto the wagon, making her want to cry out to the heavens over the injustice of what had happened there that day. But her lips remained tightly closed, the cries emitted silently in her mind as she stood on the balcony, an image of strength for the villagers to draw upon in this hour of need.

“I see no sign of them. Surely they must be back by now. The raiders were chased off ages ago.” Krysta’s desperate words grated upon Jenna’s already stretched nerves. She knew that her sister was worried about her mate and the prospect that she would have to raise their child alone. She knew and sympathised with her for she was facing the same worries although she had told no one of the life that grew inside her, not even the father.

“They will return, Krysta. There were quite a few raiders, this time. It may be taking them longer to track them down.” She gave her sister a reassuring squeeze whilst her eyes anxiously scanned the horizon. Why hadn’t she told him that morning? She had been going to but her stomach had started its morning roll, Callum had knocked on the door for Jaden and the moment had gone. Her eyes closed against the pain gripping her heart as she remembered that she hadn’t told Jaden how she felt before he left to go after the raiders.

“Jenna! Look, over there!”

Krysta’s excited voice cut through her misery, forcing her eyes to open and seek out what had caught her sister’s attention. As her eyes focused on the distant horizon, her heart leapt as she saw the figures approaching. They were returning, safe and sound. She vowed that as soon as she saw Jaden she would tell him how she felt and of the child they had created between them. The pain around her heart started to fade away as she thought about Jaden and their future.

“Where’s … where’s Callum? He’s not with them, Jenna. He’s not there.” Fingers gripped tightly at her hand as Krysta’s worried tones broke through the cloud of relief that encased her.

Praying that her sister was wrong Jenna squinted against the bright sunlight as she struggled to make out the figures returning. Alex, Nicholas, Matt, Sandor but no Callum or Lucien or … Jaden. The relief that had lifted her spirits dissipated like the clouds of smoke above the village. Oh, God, he hadn’t returned and he didn’t know she loved him. The pain returned with a vengeance and she felt lightheaded for a second.

“Oh, God, Callum! Not Callum. He can’t be dead! I’m having his child! No, no, no!” Her sister’s words cut through the pain filled haze, unknowingly voicing the cries echoing in Jenna’s mind. She felt her sister slump alarmingly against her as her hands frantically gripped at her swollen belly.

“Krysta?” Jenna, fearful that the stress may be triggering the arrival of the babe, looked around her for help as she struggled to hold her sister’s heavy form upright.

A shudder rippled through Krysta as she sought to regain control. Taking a deep breath she stood upright and gripped the roughened stone parapet, her fingers white with the strain of staying in control. “I’m alright. We must ask Alex what has happened to Callum and the others and organise a rescue party or something.” Strangely, it was Krysta who now appeared to be the older of the two women, seeking to take control of the traumatic situation.

Numb, Jenna nodded and assisted her sister along the parapet and down the roughened stone steps to the courtyard below. As they reached the bottom, Alex and the others stepped forward to meet them, their faces covered with dirt and blood. All four men were wounded but not serious enough to put their lives at risk. Jenna stood at the side of her sister, supporting her, whilst her face revealed none of the torment she was feeling over her own loss.

“They’re coming. Lucien sent us on ahead to ensure that the village was safe before they arrived. Their injuries are more severe.” Alex paused and shuffled uncomfortably before continuing. “We killed the raiders but they did manage to inflict some serious injuries. I don’t know…” A cry from a watchman interrupted him and they all turned to see what the watchman had observed. Three dragons flew low over the ground, their progress slow as the two outer dragons constantly checked and urged the third dragon onwards.

“It’s Callum and Lucien,” Krysta cried, relief flowing from her. “Oh, Jenna, it’s Jaden who’s the injured one. It looks bad.”

Jenna bit her lip as the two outer dragons raised their wings as they came into land. The third dragon tried to slow down for the landing but appeared to be unable to do so and collapsed heavily onto the hard packed earth. Shrugging off Krysta’s comforting hand, Jenna raced towards the downed black dragon, oblivious to the flash of light as she approached.

“Jenna,” Callum reached for her before she could get to the dragon. A large, bloody stain covered his shoulder and Jenna could see the pain bracketing his lips as his arm hung limply at his side. Lucien was already attending to the black dragon, trying to urge him to stay with them. “He’s injured too badly. Radli and two of his goons jumped him whilst we were fighting the raiders. He managed to kill them but not before …” His voice broke as he looked at his friend barely moving upon the ground. “He hasn’t the strength to change and if he doesn’t change ...”

A sob broke from her lips at the impact of Callum’s words and she broke free from his hold to race over to the fallen dragon. “Jaden. Jaden, you must change. You cannot leave me. I love you, Jaden. I love you and I claim you as my mate.” Her voice broke as she uttered the words that would normally have been said by Jaden at the claiming ceremony. “You are my mate as I am yours. I will not let you leave me to raise our child alone.”

A small ripple of movement flowed down the dragon’s injured frame as her words sunk in. Feeling heartened by his response, Jenna placed her hand gently on the large, scaly head. “Our child, Jaden. Your babe grows within me and I want his father to be there for him as he grows up. To help him be the great dragon that his father is.”

The dragon shimmered before her, briefly revealing the man before the black dragon reappeared. The deep wounds in his side and on his chest had weakened him too much to transform back into a man. Jenna knew that if he was to have any chance of recovering from his injuries he needed to transform or else he would die.

“Help him, please,” she whispered to Callum, tears streaming down her face.

Callum looked at the others and together they placed their hands upon the dragon’s body. Light glowed from their hands and flooded into the huge frame, glowing brighter and brighter until it was almost impossible to see the dragon in the glare. After a few moments the light began to fade and Jenna’s heart leapt as the blood-stained figure of a man was slowly revealed. With a heartfelt sob of gratitude she sank beside Jaden, stroking his face with trembling hands, willing him to awake.

Eyes the colour of pure sapphires met her green ones as hands covered hers. “A child?” he whispered weakly, his eyes glowing at her nod. “A child. I love you, Jenna. I claim you as my mate for now and eternity.”

Jenna felt something shift inside her as he whispered the binding words that would tie her to him. As she searched deeply into his eyes, she saw the love that he had hidden from her and felt her own well up inside her. Alex and Lucien gently lifted him onto the stretcher whilst her hand gripped his. With the binding words spoken between them she knew that he would recover from the injuries that he had sustained. Once he was recovered they would complete their union and soon she would be able to soar through the skies with him and their babe.