Authors: Paulette Miller
Tianna remained silent throughout the evening. After their meal was over, Tianna rose to go to bed early. Marcus stopped her and asked her to remain by the fire, nodding for everyone else to join them. As they gathered together, Tianna’s stomach turned.
Marcus hated to confront Tianna after what she had been through, but he had no choice. They needed to work as one in order to reach Haven safely. He cleared his throat and said, “Tianna, I think it’s time to talk about what happened. I know that you don’t want to tell us, but we can’t keep secrets from each other. Evil is getting closer to you every day and we need to understand exactly what we’re up against. First, please tell me what happened outside of Coldrenn, when your powers spiked.”
She could hear the frustration in his voice. She replied, “I honestly don’t know. Since things changed with Nathaniel, I felt something was building up inside me. I should’ve told you about it. I honestly had no idea that I was capable of such power. I just opened my mind to my inner natures and it just burst out.”
Marcus sighed. “Your powers are dramatically increasing and this is a dangerous time for all of us. You need to let us help you, but to do that you have to be totally honest with us. From here on out, we must know the moment you feel any new powers begin to surface.” He glared deep into her eyes and commanded, “I don’t ever want to be surprised like that again.”
Tianna nodded in agreement.
Gabriel asked, “Will you tell us what happened in Coldrenn? How did you get Nathaniel out?”
Tianna knew there was no point to argue, so she took in a deep breath and retold the story. “Once they let me in, they took to me to a meeting room where they brought Nathaniel in and held a knife to his neck. I couldn’t fight them without risking him being killed. Their leader knew of the Faye so I tried to negotiate our release by offering my hair. He took it and was willing to let me go in exchange, but he refused to let Nathaniel go as well. He was his gift to Kai. He and his men insisted on additional payment for his release.” Seeing the looks on their faces, she added, “I would have killed everyone before I let them take me.”
Tianna shook her head. “It sounds silly now, but at the time I actually thought I had a chance to take them out if I could just get the guard away from Nathaniel. With the knife at his neck, I knew it would be tricky. While I kept the guards next to me distracted, I willed a large thorn to grow in the vine I had conjured earlier. I had the vine snap like a whip, shoving the thorn into the side of Nathaniel’s guards head. At the same time, I had another vine grab hold of Nathaniel and pull him in the other direction so the knife wouldn’t slit his throat. It worked. Nathaniel was pulled safely out of the way and wrapped up tight so no one could get to him. With him momentarily out of the way, I called on my burst of power. I planned to blast all of the Drenn in the room into the walls, but I couldn’t control the force of my magic. I did kill a couple of the guards but I also blew out the walls.”
Tianna looked directly at Gabriel. “I was such an idiot. I might have found a way to take out the remaining few in the room, but the explosion caused many Drenn to come running. I took a sword from one of the fallen and fought like you taught me. I was quickly outnumbered and too weak to do any magic. When they finally knocked the weapon from my hand, I was grabbed and thrown to the ground. In my struggles, one of them ripped my shirt and exposed my Black Dragon mark.”
She caressed the mark on her chest tenderly. “My mark saved me. They thought I was Kai’s and feared his wrath. They quickly let me and Nathaniel go, begging for my forgiveness and for my silence. Nathaniel was too heavy for me to carry, so I willed all the energy I could spare to give him enough strength to help walk out of the gate. That’s when you found me.”
Everyone had remained silent and motionless as she told her story, trying to hold back their anger at what happened to her and their inability to protect her. Although Nathaniel remained quiet, rage was building in his chest. The thought of what had happened to her because of him made his dragon roar in his mind and he was struggling to maintain control.
Gabriel broke the silence. “When I think about what could have happened…” He couldn’t finish the sentence so he switched his thought, “Your protection is top priority to us. You must learn to trust that we can help protect you, but we’re useless when you venture out on your own. You must promise that you’ll NEVER go off on your own again.”
Tianna could feel his hidden rage and was ashamed of herself. In a defeated voice she said, “I just wanted to prove that I was capable of fighting alongside all of you. I was so stupid! I know my actions put myself and Nathaniel in an even worse situation and could have gotten us both killed. Or, they could have delivered both of us to Kai’s waiting arms.” Given the results of her latest dream, she knew she could never be allowed anywhere near Kai or all would be lost. “I promise. It won’t happen again.”
Gabriel couldn’t help recalling what he was like as an arrogant youth. “Believe it or not, I do understand why you did it. You feared for Nathaniel’s life and just wanted to be part of the team to help save him. When I was a young warrior, I would have probably done something even worse if I thought I was being pushed to the side. I apologize for not trusting in your skills. I know you have the ability to fight but you’re just learning about your powers. You need more time to perfect and hone those skills.” He took Tianna’s hand in his and said, “In this short time, you’ve become very important to me. My whole life’s purpose has been to protect and shelter those I love, not let them walk blindly into a dangerous situation. It goes against the fundamental nature of who I am. Give me some more time to adjust to the idea that you’re a warrior and have the right to stand beside me in battle.”
Tianna was touched by his words, and she nodded silently.
To lighten the mood a little, Seth added, “You do have quite a temper.”
Tianna couldn’t help but smile at Seth. “I guess we’re all learning that the hard way. I’m sorry for losing control. If I think back to what happened in Coldrenn, if we had worked as a team, we might have been able to not just save Nathaniel but also save the lives of many innocent people. Kai killed them all, including the children, because of the situation I put myself in.” She had to stop and take a deep breath to stop tears from falling. With her voice breaking, she added, “I’ll have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life.”
When Tianna shifted her gaze down to her feet, everyone sat in silence for a moment to let her calm her emotions.
Marcus decided that was enough talk for the night and started to rise, but Nathaniel motioned for them to remain saying, “There’s more you must hear.” When Tianna didn’t look up, Nathaniel said, “Tianna, look at me.”
Tianna reluctantly looked up into his eyes.
Now that he had her attention, he continued. “Please tell us what happened in your dream with Kai.”
She couldn’t hold back the emotions any longer and her eyes welled up as she gazed at her friends. Instead of saying a word, she undid the ties on her shirt and showed them her mark. The Draaks in front of her knew what the changed mark meant. She had bonded with Kai. The next step was the union to make the mating complete.
Tianna’s heart dropped and she stared off into the darkness. “I didn’t want to tell you. I was so weak from what happened in Coldrenn and spending the night healing Nathaniel, I couldn’t fight him and…” She stopped mid-sentence but knew that she had to be honest. Anger grew within her and she snapped her tears back. “To tell you the complete truth, I didn’t want to fight him. I lost all control and stopped fighting the desires of my inner dragon. After we bonded, I had every intention of mating with him.” Since she was telling them the truth, she decided to tell them everything. She added, “I was going to beg him to bed me like he predicted. I know that if he walked into our camp right now, I would leave with him.”
They all held back their shock. Nathaniel clenched his fists and had to look away. Although he already knew of her changed mark, hearing the pain in her voice caused his dragon to roar. He wanted to hunt Kai down and rip him into little pieces. Nathaniel was losing his battle for control.
Nathaniel was sitting between Marcus and Gabriel. They felt the tension building in his body and knew he was about to shift. They each grabbed one of his arms hard. Gabriel commanded, “Control yourself, brother dragon.” They growled low at Nathaniel’s dragon and willed their dragons’ energy to help him regain control.
Tianna had an idea of what was happening. Even after everything he put her through, she felt guilty for causing him pain. After a few moments of silence, the tension started to ease and Nathaniel thanked his brothers for their assistance. When they knew it was safe, they turned their attention back to Tianna.
Tianna stood and exclaimed, “I didn’t tell you right away because I didn’t want to see the look that I now see in your eyes. I know how disappointed you are in me, in my weakness. I know how hard you try to protect me and I’ve let you down.” Her voice broke again and she found that she was unable to continue speaking.
Marcus walked over and took her hands in his. “You’re so wrong. You’re one of the strongest people I know. Just months ago, you were living as a human and now you’re struggling to control multiple inner natures and fighting an evil that keeps trying to seduce you. Each time he has attacked you, it’s been after he caused something bad to happen to you. He’s manipulating your situation to make you weak. He can’t get to you when you’re strong.”
Seth nodded and sat forward. “Listen to Marcus. He’s correct. You lost control because your body was physically too weak. I know. After years of struggle, I’m still learning to control my inner dragon. You’ve only just begun that fight. When I first felt my dragon stir, I had to rely on others to help me and you need to do the same. Let us help you. Trust these Draaks around you. They know what needs to be done to get you through this.”
Nathaniel finally found the ability to speak and said, “I’m not young like Seth but just moments ago I almost lost control of my dragon. My brothers knew what to do and helped calm my inner nature. We’re all family and need to rely on each other when in need.”
Tianna scanned each of her companions. She had a lump in her throat so when she spoke it barely came out as a whisper. “I’ll try, but I’m not use to relying on anyone. I’ve had to learn to take care of myself.” After a brief pause, she sat down and added, “I’m sorry, for everything. You must really regret riding into the woods and finding me.”
Marcus shook his head. “We regret nothing. You’re the best thing to happen on this quest.”
Gabriel squared his shoulders and stared at Tianna sternly. “I know that you are strong but, to protect you, our rules must change yet again. Kai has only one more step before he can control your mind and body. Until we arrive within the safety of Haven, you’ll sleep between two Draaks. One of those Draaks will always be Nathaniel. Although I can protect your physical body, I’m useless as a mind warrior. Your healing connection to Nathaniel is the only weapon we have to stop Kai from attacking you in your dreams.”
She started to protest but he put his hand up to quiet her. “I’m not asking for your permission. I’m in charge of your safety and I’m not about to fail again. You’ll continue to sleep next to Nathaniel.” He stood and guided her toward the bedrolls and spoke with a commanding voice. “Get into bed.”
Tianna knew she couldn’t argue with him. She remained dressed this time and silently crawled into bed.
As Nathaniel started to crawl in behind her, Gabriel grabbed his arm. “We’re relying on you to keep her mentally safe through the night.”
Nathaniel nodded with a determined look. “I won’t fail. She’ll be safe in my arms.” Last night was wonderful and he didn’t realize just how much he missed her touch until she was once again in his arms. He just wished his touch didn’t cause so much pain in her heart. To try to make it easier on her and to increase the energy connection, Gabriel slept on her other side. She clung to his chest as Nathaniel snaked his hands around her waist and under her shirt, resting them on her stomach. They all settled in and Tianna had a dreamless night.
In the morning, Marcus rose at sunrise to start their last leg of the journey.
Tianna dressed and went to braid her hair, but her hands shook. The loss of her hair had more of an impact than she thought it would. She initially considered pulling it back into a short ponytail but decided to just let it hang lose and lifeless.
They rode at a fairly brisk pace, Tianna remaining quiet and distant. After half a day’s ride, they reached a small stream. Marcus stopped and announced, “We’re going to stop here to clean-up.”
They all dismounted, gathered bathing supplies, and headed to the edge of the stream. Tianna didn’t hesitate and got undressed, wading quickly into the stream with the others following her lead. She remained separated from her fellow travelers, washing her body in silence. She had to hold back her emotions when she washed what was left of her hair.