Kiss the Sky

21

Besides, I was still mad at him. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to trust him again after he’d kept so many things from me. Maybe it would be best for all of us if we parted ways now and he went back to his old life. But then who would be my Golden Dragon?

The Golden Dragon… I’d seen the current one tonight for the first time and he’d instantly set me on edge. He’d been right there—if he had turned around, would he have realized who we were? And what did he want from Auric’s parents?

As my thoughts churned, I allowed myself to sink onto the edge of the bed and drop my head in my hands. We’d come so close to ruin today in so many ways, it was no wonder I was exhausted. Maybe I'd be able to sort through all my tangled thoughts after I'd had a bit of sleep.

Someone knocked on my door. I slowly moved to open it and was surprised to find Slade standing on the other side. "My room is right next to yours in case you need anything,” he said. "Are you all right?"

"Not really. I'm tired, overwhelmed, upset..." I shrugged helplessly. "But I'll be fine in the morning."

He rested his hands on my upper arms. "You don't have to be strong all the time, Kira. It's okay to cry or yell or break down. That's why you have us. We're here for you to lean on."

Tears filled my eyes at his words, which touched me deep to my core. "Thank you. For so many years I relied on no one but myself. I'm not used to having other people I can turn to for help or support. Except Tash, I suppose."

His thumbs slowly rubbed my arms. "You miss her?"

"Very much. I wish she were here. I'd love to have another girl to talk to about all this."

"Brin seemed nice enough."

My nose scrunched up. "Yes, but that only makes it harder. It would be so much easier if I could hate her. Besides, she’s the one I want to talk about!"

He let out a low chuckle. "Maybe you can send a letter to Tash to let her know you're safe. It might make you feel better."

A smile touched my lips for the first time in hours. "That's a great idea. I’ll write it in the morning and tell Auric to make sure it gets delivered to her. He owes me that, at least.”

He nodded. "I know we're your mates and that makes things complicated. But don’t forget, we're your friends too."

"And I'm lucky to have you.” I sighed and leaned against the doorway. “Well, some of you. I'm not feeling very lucky to have Auric right now."

Slade ran a hand over his dark beard as he chose his next words. "Auric made a mistake, it's true. But we're all doing the best we can with this situation we've been put in. We each have pasts we'd like to forget, or things we're trying to run from. At least he is facing it now."

"That doesn't excuse him keeping this from me."

"No, it doesn't.” His large, dark hand cupped my cheek and I thought he might kiss me for the first time, but then he turned away. “Get some rest, Kira."

I stared after Slade as he slipped into his room, then closed my own door. Would he ever see me as more than a friend? I was grateful for his friendship, I truly was, but I wanted more too. Someday. I wouldn't rush him, even if I couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted him to kiss me. Did he feel that invisible tug between us too, trying to bring our bodies together? Or was I the only one?

16

Kira

I

n the morning I found myself restless and unsure of what to do or where to go in the palace. What was my role here? And how long would we stay before continuing on to the Air Temple? While it was nice to have some time to rest and recover from our travels, every second we delayed increased the likelihood of the Dragons uncovering who we were or reaching the temple before us.

Jasin suggested we take this time to train, and while the idea of using fire would have previously terrified me, today I really needed to burn some of my anxious energy off.

The palace was nestled on a tall hill overlooking the city on one side and the ocean on the other, and Jasin and I trekked out to the end of the bluff overlooking the water, where the blue sky seemed endless. The bright sun warmed us as we stared down the edge of the steep, rocky cliff that disappeared into the ocean below us.

“This will do,” Jasin said, glancing around at the sparse trees and rocks.

I inched away from the drop. “Isn’t it a bit close to the edge?”

Jasin shrugged. “If you fall, I’ll catch you. Don’t forget I can turn into a dragon now.”

“Sorry, but I’m not that confident in your flying skills yet.”

“All right, we can move back a bit. I suppose it would be hard to explain why an unknown Dragon was flying near the palace.” He moved to a safer location and spread his arms. “Let’s see what you can do.”

I summoned a small ball of fire and threw it at Jasin, who swept it away with an easy gesture. “How is that?”

“Not bad at all. You’re a natural. Which is surprising since you were scared of fire only days ago.”

“I leaned by watching you, I suppose.” Truth be told, I was still scared of fire and what it could do, but I had to get over it. And I could only do that with practice and training.