Chapter 1
1393 Words
1
Lilianya leaned back in the rocking chair, gently moving back and forth. Red from hours of crying, her eyes ached, and chill bumps covered her arms. She was worried. And she shouldn’t be. She cared nothing for Paedyn, didn’t she? Yet, here she was, sitting by his bedside for the last few weeks while he lay in a coma.
She wasn’t the only one who had been there, of course. Devarius, Aquila, Zaviana, and several others had all come to see Paedyn, but Lilianya had never left. She wasn’t even interested in this arrogant, annoying man. She’d rejected all of his advances. Yet she couldn’t get him out of her head.
There was something about him she couldn’t shake. Sure, others had pursued her in the past, and she hadn’t given them the time of day either. Something about her bright red hair lured men with twisted fantasies toward her. She despised her hair. But Paedyn looked at her differently… somehow. His eyes weren’t hungry when he glanced at her. Though his personality almost contradicted the looks he gave her. He talked tough, like the others. But his eyes. She tried her best not to get lost in them.
No one knew if Paedyn would ever wake up. He’d been frozen with an entire vial of blue wyvern oil. The only chance they had to save him was pouring red wyvern oil down his throat, like the dragomen. The fear with wyvern oil being ingested was how addictive it was for the dragomen, but there was little choice for Paedyn.
His body was nearly frozen solid. The fire oil had worked, and his body’s temperature increased, but it went to an almost dangerous level. Now, he breathed just fine. His temperature was back to normal. His breathing was fine. But he hadn’t opened his eyes. Instead, he slept.
White blankets and sheets covered him. Lilianya realized she’d taken a little nap. Getting to her feet, she yawned, then sat on the chair next to his bed. She reached her hand out, touching his. A gentle electric shock transferred from his skin to hers. Warmth filled her as it passed from him to her. His breaths came at consistent intervals. His chest moved up and down. He wore nothing, and Lilianya admired his muscular upper chest and shoulders. Blankets covered the rest of him. He was way more muscular than she’d imagined before she saw him lying in the hospital. His outward appearance was scrawny. But he wasn’t. He hid his strength. Either that, or muscles had formed on him after his accident, but that couldn’t be right.
Lilianya wondered what it was about Paedyn that intrigued her. Besides his eyes, of course. Perhaps he was better to look at when his mouth wasn’t moving. He aggravated her whenever he spoke. He didn’t seem to know how to talk to women. His confidence bordered on conceitedness, and his jokes were less than poor. However, now that he was hurting, and hadn’t been around to torment her—she missed him.
The door creaked open. Naveen stepped inside. Lilianya twitched. Another woman. Devarius visited a few times, but that was to be expected, since they were best friends. However, besides Devarius, Lilianya had witnessed three different women coming to visit him. And now with Naveen, a fourth. Did he come on to them the same way he came on to her? Or had he been involved with them? Had Lilianya been fooling herself? Was she special to him at all? Or was she just another pretty face for him to flirt with?
“How is he?” Naveen asked.
“His toes wiggled yesterday.”
“His toes?” Naveen asked.
Lilianya nodded. “Yeah, which is a significant improvement since the only thing that has moved in weeks is his lungs.”
“Well, thank the Creator those are still working. I don’t know what Paedyn would do if he couldn’t talk.”
Lilianya laughed. Naveen wasn’t wrong. Paedyn would have a hard time if he couldn’t speak. That was about all he did... talk. His mouth moved from the moment he awoke until the moment he fell asleep at night.
“Have you been here the whole time?” Naveen asked.
Lilianya shivered. She dared not confess the truth. “No, I—”
“You care for him, don’t you?” Naveen set a small bag of jerky on the table next to Lilianya.
“I just don’t want him to wake up alone. To think nobody cares.” Lilianya faced away from Naveen and to Paedyn lying still on the bed.
“We all care. But we all have things to do. Paedyn would understand that.”
“What is there to do?” Lilianya asked. “I brought back bags of wyvern scales from the caverns in the northern mountains, and for what?” Her jaw tightened and her lips pursed as she remembered returning to find her exploration had been useless. Her lip twitched. “Devarius brought back the dragon stone. What good are my wyvern scales?”
“Plenty good,” Naveen said. “And you found the drakes. You helped tame them. You understood how beneficial they would be.”
“I...” Lilianya wiped the tears from her eyes.
“What is it? You can talk to me. I understand. Really, I do. I, too, have fallen in a shadow. I thought I knew magic until I met Zaviana. Now, barely anyone comes to me.”
“Still, you help. You train people to use magic. I don’t even have magic.” Lilianya sighed. “I don’t have a wyvern either. None would hatch for me. None would choose me.”
“You’ve still been instrumental to the resistance.”
“I was the one who sent Devarius and Paedyn to Saefron. I found them. I found the drakes. I found the wyvern scales. Yet, every time I think I’ve done something great for the resistance, someone else steps up in front of me, outshining me.”
“That already has been so much help to the resistance. You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
“And what am I to accomplish now? I am no warrior, nor can I use magic. I have no wyvern. What am I supposed to do? Sit and watch as everyone else contributes?”
“Are you sure you can’t use magic?” Naveen asked.
Lilianya tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“Zaviana is starting a school. Anyone wanting to learn magic can join. She believes anyone can learn it if they give it an honest effort.”
“Because of the dragon stone?”
Naveen wrinkled her nose. “Zaviana doesn’t want to use the dragon stone on anyone. She doesn’t even want the power it gives her, but it won’t let her give it back. At least, not yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“The souls of dragons are trapped in the dragon stone. That’s why whoever touches it can use magic. The souls go into the person, allowing them to use magic. At least that’s what Zaviana believes. No, Zaviana doesn’t want people to touch it. She has hidden it. I imagine we will use it if we have no other choice.”
“How is she teaching magic, then?”
“The wyvern scales. She’s teaching one element at a time, using the wyvern scales you brought us.”
“My wyvern scales?” Lilianya smiled.
Naveen touched Lilianya’s hand. “You just have to believe in yourself.”
Naveen stood, took one last glance at Paedyn in the bed, then walked out of the room.
Magic.
Could Lilianya really learn magic?
Lilianya glanced at the jerky Naveen had left her. She grabbed a small piece and dropped it into her mouth.
She’d been infatuated with Zaviana after seeing her use magic. There was little chance she could be as powerful as Zaviana, but if she could learn a little, if she could help fight the Dragonia Empire in her own way, she had to try. Lilianya owed it to herself. And she owed it to everyone else. She would prove to the resistance—and to her family—that she could accomplish something in life.
Lilianya dropped her head into her elbow. Another long day. She was exhausted. She knew she couldn’t stay there forever. Tomorrow would be a new day. She would leave. Paedyn could be unconscious for a long time. She needed to go on about her life. She needed to find new ways to help the resistance. They had to defeat the empire to save everyone in Kaeldroga. For Paedyn.
She attempted to pull her hand away, but she couldn’t. The grip on her hand tightened. Lilianya jerked her head out of her elbow to look at Paedyn. His hand squeezed hers.
“Paedyn?” she whispered.
His eyes opened. Beautiful hazel eyes sparkled at her. A smile spread across his lips.
“Lilianya?”
- Writer
