For the Love of Her Dragon (25 page)

“I
can! I can!” Sydney squealed. “I’m so glad you’re coming back and that Royce
isn’t
gonna
die.”

“Me
too, Baby Girl, me too.”

“I’m
gonna
take the phone back now. Love you, Kyra.”

“Love
you too,
Syd
.” Kyra heard the child running and then
she heard Royce’s low, smooth voice asking, “What was that all about?”

“Just
girl talk,” she answered, her heart pounding from what Sydney had just told her.

“Oh,
I see. Keeping secrets from me already, huh?” He chuckled, and for the first
time that day she truly believed everything was going to be alright. They
talked for about an hour and it took another ten minutes of goodbyes before
they hung up.

It
was those phone calls that kept her going and made her believe that when she
did get to leave the coven
he
would be waiting for her. Maybe Hope was
turning out to be Kyra’s friend after all.

~
~
~
~
~
~
~

“Tomorrow
will be three weeks and as of yesterday, Kyra still had no idea when the
Council would make their decision and let her come back here, or at the very
least, let me go to her. What the
fuck
am I supposed to do, Dev?”

“You’re
going to keep your head up, believe in the wisdom of the Universe, and keep the
faith. Kyra will be back here before you know it and then you can plan your
mating ceremony. Make things official. Live happily ever after.
Hell
,
have babies while you’re at it.” Devon laughed out loud and took a long draw
off the beer he had been nursing since they started their conversation.

“Yeah,
I know you’re right, but this is making me crazy. Did I tell you that I’m so
out of my mind I thought I saw Kyra in the Town Square yesterday and started
running after her until the girl turned and I realized it was Tanya, the
baker’s daughter?” Royce scrubbed his hands down his face as Devon chuckled and
headed into the kitchen for another beer.

“Well,
at least you stopped before you accosted her. She’s to be mated to Winston, one
of the younger Guardsmen, and I’m sure her father would’ve been less than
thrilled with you, mistake or not,” his friend said as he walked back into his
living room.

“Yeah,
real funny, asshole. But none of this solves my problem. I miss her, Dev. I
mean
really
miss her. I can’t eat. I can’t think. I don’t sleep. I just
walk around thinking of her. I spend part of every day at her house, touching
her things, inhaling her scent, just being where the memory of her is the
strongest. I’m acting like a lovesick teenager and at my age, that is
nuts
.
I literally count the minutes until I can call her, at least hearing her voice
makes me feel almost like myself again.”

“Well,
how long
til
you can call her today?” Devon asked.

Royce
looked at his watch and sighed. “About three hours.”

“Then
let’s get some of the guys over here, watch some football, eat junk food, and
forget about women for a while. You in?”

“Sure,
anything to get my mind off this mess.”

For
three whole hours, he and his brethren yelled at the TV, drank beer, and had a blast,
but the second the alarm sounded that is was time to call Kyra, Royce
disappeared out the back door and moved far enough away that he could talk to
his mate in private. He dialed her number and listened as the phone rang and
rang and then her voicemail picked up. It was the first time since they had
been apart that she hadn’t answered when he called. Worried something was
wrong, he dialed again and again, and every time only got her voicemail.
Walking back to the house like he had lost his last friend, he tried to get
ahold of her one more time, and when her voicemail picked up again, he said
what had been on his mind every second of every day for three weeks; he said
the only thing that mattered, “I love you, Kyra.”

When
he was sure he could face his brethren without acting like a love sick puppy,
he walked through the back door, grabbed a beer and sat down to finish watching
the game. Devon looked at him and all he could do was shrug, not ready to share
the news that for the first time since she’d left, he was
truly
worried
that she wasn’t coming back. The game ended with Kellan and Aaron trash talking
and Lennox and Lance getting everyone to agree to play poker.

When
the grandfather clock that had been his parents’ chimed that it was three am,
he used his brother’s favorite saying, “You don’t have to go home but you have
to get the hell out here,” to clear out the crowd.

Slowly
but surely all Guardsmen left, and as he shut the door, the silence and
emptiness almost overwhelmed him. He paced from one end of his home to the
other while his dragon roared in his head. Both man and beast had reached the
end of their rope and there was only one thing that would make it better…they
had to go to Kyra.

Royce
raced to his room, threw some clothes in a bag, and grabbed the keys to his
Harley. He told himself to remember to call Devon in the morning and let him
know what he had done so they wouldn’t send every member of both Forces to look
for him. Looking around to make sure he had everything he needed, he shut off
the lights and walked out the door. Jumping off the porch and heading to the
side of the house where he parked his Harley, he stopped dead in his tracks as
the scent of patchouli and rose petals smacked him in the face. He spun so fast
the landscape around him was just a blur and there, standing at the end of his
walk, was Kyra. They looked at each other for three long heartbeats and then
she held up her phone and said, “I love you too.”

CHAPTER NINE

Royce ran to her and
all Kyra could do was stand and stare. It was the most surreal moment of her
life, one she had hoped would happen but had truly doubted she would ever
experience. After everything that had gone on between them, she’d had no clue
if they would ever truly find their way to one another. While she was at the
coven she had done a lot of thinking about the future. She had talked to her
Auntie Della as well the others, and they all said the same thing, “You have
the Goddess
and
the Universe on your side, you just have to be patient
and things will work out.” But patience had never been her thing, and the
longer they were apart, the more the gaping wound that had once been her heart
bled.

Early
that day, or maybe it was the day before, she had no idea what time it even
was, let alone what day it was, the Council had shown up unannounced and called
Kyra and all the Elders Witches into the library. With little pomp and no
introduction, they began speaking of the welfare of the coven, the immense responsibilities
of the interim Grand Priestess, and the lifelong commitment that position
required in case that
Calysta
was not found. They had
droned on and on until Kyra was sure her head might explode.

When
the ancient witch leading the proceedings finally took a breath, Kyra had
requested to speak. She had explained in the most eloquent and politically
correct way that she could muster that she was not the right person for the job
regardless, of her bloodline. Eyebrows had risen all around the table, but she
had pressed on, stating that she had been on Sabbatical (her Auntie’s words,
not hers) for more than twenty-five years and therefore not familiar with the
inner workings that such a prestigious position required. By the look of
disdain on the faces of the Council members, she was sure she was losing the
battle and then Priestess Agatha Montage had spoken and Kyra’s heart sank, “We
understand your hesitation at accepting such a time honored position, however,
you are a direct descendant of one of the most powerful bloodlines in our
history. From all reports you, Kyra St. Croix, are the most powerful witch of
your line and that is something we simply cannot overlook.”

The
silence was deafening. Only the sound of her heart breaking could be heard and
then she blurted out the thought that had been running through her mind since
the assembly had begun, “But I am mated to a dragon-shifter of royal birth. I
bear his mark on my right hip and he is my one true mate ordained by the
Goddess.” She spoke so fast that she wondered if anyone had understood what she
had said, but the stunned looks told her they had indeed heard and it meant
something way more important than even she knew.

Her
claim was verified by her aunts, along with a show and tell of the dragon tattoo
on her hip. The Council then looked to the Coven Elders who unanimously
nominated Della to be their Grand Priestess. A date for her induction had been
set and after more talks, the Council had finally adjourned their assembly.
When Kyra returned to her room, her cell phone was blinking that she had a
message. She pressed the button and as Royce’s voice filled the room, her heart
filled to almost bursting …He said he loved her!

It
seemed to take forever for her to get her bags packed, arrange for a ride, and
say her goodbyes. But when she had finally been in the car, headed back to the
man that held her heart, everything felt right for the first time she could
ever
remember. She had thought
that
was the best feeling in the world, but
she had been wrong. The best feeling in the world was the exact second Royce’s
arms closed around her. It was like coming in from the cold after a long hard
winter. He was all she would ever need.

He
pulled back and knelt in front of her, more love than she had ever fathomed existed
shining from his warm brown eyes. The words that followed she would carry in
her heart for all time. “Kyra,
mo
ghra
’
, every second that we were apart the hole in my
heart grew larger, until I was sure I would cease to exist without you. Having
you here,
really here
, is a blessing and one I will not squander. I know
our life together won’t be perfect, nothing worth having really is, but it will
be ours and anything we have together is better than the pain of being apart.
You are the best part of me, the light of my soul and the completion of all
that I am, man and dragon. I love you with every beat of my heart, every breath
that I take, and every thought that I have. All I want is to be by your side,
to be your mate, to love you every day that I draw breath and even the ones
that come after. So I ask you, Kyra St Croix, will you be my mate, now and
forever…
Always together
?”

Words
escaped her and all she could do was nod her head. Royce smiled a smile that
would forever be branded on her heart, an expression that personified all his
hopes and dreams for their future, right before lifting her high into the air
and swinging her around, shouting his joy for all to hear. Thankfully his
closest neighbor was far enough away that no one was awakened.

Their
first night back together and most of the next day was spent in bed. They made
love, talked about the future, and only after he plied her with coffee and her
favorite maple iced donuts did they begin talking about their mating ceremony.
The longer he explained all the dragon shifter customs, the more questions she
had, until he suggested that she speak with Siobhan, the Elder Healer and
Devon’s mother. Kyra had met her when they had worked together to save Lance’s
life and had spoken many times since, if only in passing, so she was more than
willing to speak with her. A phone call to see if the healer was available and
a long shower in which Royce gave new meaning to ‘washing her back’ and they
set off to Siobhan’s house.

His
brethren seemed to have been lying in wait, because at every turn, one of them
popped out to presumably say hello and welcome her back, but it was when they
ran into Lance, Sam, and Sydney that she knew her dragon man had been busy
telling their news to his family and friends through their mind speak. He had
kept her so preoccupied that she had missed the telltale signs of their special
communication,
something I never should have told him about
, she
chuckled to herself.

Sydney
had squealed from across the clearing and run towards she and Royce, “Kyra!
Kyra! You’re back!”

Royce
had grabbed the child mid-run and hoisted her to his hip. Sydney kissed his
cheek and hugged his neck, all the while telling Kyra how happy she was that
she was home. “And Royce is happy, too. See? See his happy eyes? And his heart
is singing, I can hear it.”

Her
parents had caught up by then and everyone laughed at the child’s sweet way of
describing his happiness, but Sydney was not to be deterred. She grabbed Kyra’s
hand and placed it over Royce’s heart with her smaller one on top. “See? You
can feel it,” the child almost demanded. Not wanting to hurt Sydney’s feelings,
Kyra concentrated on the spot where their joined hands touched her mate’s
chest, and she felt it. It was the feeling you get when you hear a song that makes
you want to sing along or a laugh that makes you want to laugh too. It was
happiness, there was no other way to describe it. Her eyes met Royce’s and she
could see that he had felt it too.

“You’re
right,
Syd
. I can feel it.”

Looking
vindicated as only an almost six-year old could, she remarked, “Told you so.”

The
entire group burst out laughing, and after congratulatory hugs and promises of
dinner together were exchanged, Kyra and Royce continued their walk to
Siobhan’s. They discussed Sydney’s developing abilities, coming to the same
conclusions they had already heard; she was special, but no one really knew how
or why.

Royce
had told Kyra that she would speak with the Elder Healer alone, but her nerves
still threatened to get the best of her as Siobhan led her into a beautifully
decorated sitting room adorned with hand crafted furniture from some of the
most elegant eras.
Calysta
had insisted that Kyra
learn about the finer things in life, something that had bored her to tears
when she was younger, but in this setting, she was glad she had some clue what
she was looking at. Not only was the furniture of museum quality, but every
available surface was adorned with figurines, sculptures, or crystal pieces
that would make any curator of any museum in the world jealous. The older woman
even served tea from an antique tea service decorated with small lavender
flowers that Kyra was sure dated back to the seventeenth century.

They
chatted about a little of everything while they enjoyed their tea, and as soon
as they were finished, Siobhan began, “Let me formally congratulate you on your
mating. I knew our gentle giant would come around, and from the look of things,
all is going very well.” The Elder Healer smiled a knowing smile and Kyra was suddenly
uncomfortable. She had never been a prude, but her relationship with Royce was
new and discussing it with Siobhan felt like talking about sex with her
aunties…
awkward
.

“Yeah…well,
we had a rocky start that’s for sure. I think maybe I should pinch myself to
make sure I’m not dreaming, but then if this is all a dream, I’d rather not
wake up.” She chuckled to hide her nerves, but somehow knew the older woman was
wise to her ploy.

The
healer laughed out loud and all the tension Kyra had been feeling fled. Then
Siobhan said, “I never had a doubt you two would find your way. I have lived
many years with the belief that the Universe is all knowing and all powerful.
She knows what each dragon needs and She creates their perfect complement in
the form of their mate. She has no regard for species or location, only that
you carry the special traits of the human race and that every dragon shifter,
be they Guard or not, have that
one person
that truly completes them.
She makes no mistakes.”

Siobhan’s
voice had taken on an almost reverent tone. “Mating with a dragon shifter is
not only romantic, but also spiritual. Our holy book says,
‘when the two
halves of the same whole meet, there will be instant recognition. Their souls
will merge and only then will the dragon shifter know complete peace. They will
have found their true home. It will be as if the time before the two met does
not exist. All that matters is that they become one in body, mind, and soul.’

“I
know that Earth witches also have predestined mates chosen by the Goddess. What
a tremendous blessing that your world and Royce’s aligned. Dare I say the life
you two will share will indeed be epic?” Siobhan seemed to get a faraway look
in her eyes and when she next spoke, her word were filled with such love and
devotion, Kyra felt honored the healer chose to share them with her.

“The
bond of a dragon shifter and his mate is sacred and something that will exist
even when you have both gone to the Heavens. My Gareth, Devon’s father, was a
member of the Dragon Guard and also one of the rare white dragons. Our love was
and is timeless. Although he was killed in battle many years ago, I hold a
piece of his soul in me.” Siobhan laid her hand over her heart. “And I live
every day with the belief that we will be reunited in the Heavens again one
day.”

The
rest of their visit was spent with Kyra asking every question she could think
of and some that seemed to come out of nowhere. Siobhan answered everything the
best she could and together they lit candles and spoke the Mating Blessing,
“Mother of All, Universe we thank you for our very life, please be with these
two souls, Royce and Kyra, as they dedicate their love and devotion to not only
each other, but also to You. As you blessed our Elders with the wisdom to
further our race, also bless Royce and Kyra with long life, much love, and a
happiness that knows no bounds. May they have many children and when they
ascend to the Heavens, may
You
find favor with those
that have honored You with their lives and their love.”

Kyra
hugged Siobhan just before a heavy knock at the door let her know that Royce’s
patience had come to an end, and she had to admit to herself that she had
missed him even though they had only been apart a few hours. The older woman
called for him to come in, and without even a glance in any other direction, he
came straight to her, kissing her until she forgot her name, let alone where
she was. Only Siobhan’s chuckle brought her hurtling back to Earth and had her
burying her face in Royce’s chest to avoid eye contact.

His
laugh rumbled beneath her ear and soon they were all laughing together. Siobhan
assured Kyra that it was not the first, nor would their kiss be the last she
had witnessed. She further added that she was looking forward to the day it was
her own son and his mate kissing in her living room. Royce and Kyra thanked the
healer and promised to visit again soon.

Instead
of heading home, Royce steered her towards the Town Square. Although she had
been there at least a hundred times, this time was different, better somehow.
She and her mate were walking hand in hand, browsing from shop to shop, and
everyone they passed smiled and said hello, and some even offered their
congratulations. All she could figure was that being in love, truly in love
with your soul mate, really did make the world a better place.