Dragon’s Secret: Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book Fourteen Read online

  So I offer her what comfort I can through my words.

  "Perhaps they will come to their senses with time," I murmur. "There are times when people must reach the correct conclusion themselves. Nobody can convince them."

  She nods, turning to look out the window again.

  "Maybe," she agrees in a low voice.

  We move on to lighter conversation topics after that. But rather than the tension dissipating, it only grows between us. An attraction, a knowing. Whatever it is, it grows stronger every time I see her.

  Upon reaching the Tribe, we are both polite with one another, but there is no denying the friction of awareness between us, the tension. When she steps out of the rover, she forgets her pack.

  "Oh, my pack," she mutters, turning back.

  I hold it out for her, stepping out as well.

  "Thank you," she murmurs, her hand grazing mine as she takes the pack.

  A fever of need flows through me even at that light touch. When her cheeks flush and she raises her eyes to meet my own, I am certain she is affected too. The knowledge only makes me burn hotter. Nora is a test that I do not know if I have the strength to pass. It is humbling indeed.

  We have time to clean up and rest from our journey before it is time for the communal dinner. The mood is light and happy, a drink that they call "wine" being passed around to keep up the communal spirits. I drink the beverage, speaking to the other Zmaj as my eye returns to Nora.

  "Where is Nora? I'm in the mood to hear her sing," Delilah asks in a slightly loud voice.

  My eye already on Nora, I watch as she attempts to slink away without notice. But Delilah sees the movement and finds her before she is out of sight.

  "Nora! Don't leave yet—you have to sing for everyone!"

  Nora turns back reluctantly, her cheeks flushed. It is clear she is embarrassed, her desire to stay in the background making itself known. She possesses a humility that she does not truly need. She is so much more than she realizes.

  I have ever been more enchanted with a woman. Perhaps too enchanted. I know I'm so completely enraptured with her that I would lose control of myself if another claimed her. My bijass would rise from within and overtake any discipline I have worked so hard to build.

  Caught, Nora does not attempt to run out again. Instead, her eyes drift over the assembled crowd.

  I watch.

  She is mine.

  When her eyes find my own, our gazes lock. I can hear her heart skip a beat, so I know she is aware of what she is to me as well. On some level of her human psyche, she knows that she is mine. Her cheeks darken more as she blushes a lovely deep pink, but she does not look away. Her eyes hold my own boldly for a moment, as if to draw strength.

  And then the she opens her mouth to sing. My own hearts skip a beat in response, the sound coming from her so beautiful it would make a grown dragon cry. Inside of course.

  My eyes remain trained on her as she continues, the dulcet tones winding around the crowd. Not looking away even for a moment. I am aware I could be giving away my intent to others, my feelings, but I could not tear away my own gaze if I tried.

  When she finishes the song, there is a moment of stunned silence. Followed by a roar of approval. A justified sound if I have ever heard one.

  Almost immediately, others pick up instruments and begin to play music, everyone coming together to dance. The wine is flowing freely, the mood joyous. I am tempted to ask Nora to dance with me as well, but when I turn back towards her, it is to see the small dragonlings holding her hands and pulling her away, giggling happily as they do.

  Ah. She is once again making a swift escape from the social pressures that plagues her so. My heart fills with a glowing warmth at the sight of her leading the young ones away. She would make an excellent mother. That much is abundantly clear.

  I do not stay much longer to enjoy the festivities. Without Nora there as well, they lose their appeal.

  But when I make my way back to my cave, it is to find a restless night waiting for me. My sleep is fitful at best, my thoughts lingering on her and only her.

  Nora.

  Even in my dreams, it is she who haunts me.

  9

  Nora

  "Nora! Nora—the guards are telling us to come outside!"

  I jerk out of a sound sleep at Delilah's urgent voice. Sitting up in bed, I look over at the mouth of my cave.

  "What?" I ask groggily.

  "The guards are saying there's something in the sky that we have to see," Delilah explains further, already backing out. "Come on!" she urges as she lets the curtain drop back into place.

  Something in the sky? I throw back the covers and slip my shoes onto my feet, hurrying outside too. Being on high alert all the time because of the invaders, my first thought is that we're under attack somehow.

  But if that was the case, why would the guards tell us all to come outside? To look up at the sky? Wouldn't they tell us to take cover instead of coming out into the open?

  Hurrying out with the rest of the Tribe, curiosity beats at me and everyone else. I hear the same questions voiced by the crowd moving with me.

  "What do they want us to see?"

  "Are we under attack?"

  "I don't think so. They didn't tell us to bring our shock sticks..."

  That's true. We burst out into the open, joining the others already gathered, their heads tilted back to look up at the sky. I look up too, slowing to a stop as I do.

  "Oh!" I exclaim softly. "Oh, wow."

  "You got that right," Fallon mutters from beside me, her eyes also glued to the sky above.

  I can see now why the guards wanted us all to come out to see what they were seeing. The night sky is lit up with streams of multicolored lights, a dream of hazy colors. Gentle greens, lavenders, oranges and reds. Like a fairy tale come to life. The ribbons of color aren't opaque, but somewhat transparent and blurred, starlight peeking through them. They move across the sky, ripples of gorgeous hues.

  Beautiful. There is no other way to describe the sight. Everyone is quiet as we take in nature's show. Even the children, awakened for the occasion. They watch with wide eyes. It must not be a common occurrence even for the Zmaj or they would not have had us come out to look. Sometimes I'm less in the know than the other humans, living underground as we did during the first leg of our time here on Tajss.

  I would never have guessed in those tunnels, under Annabel's hard leadership, that there would be something this beautiful to look forward to on Tajss. That I would find some meaning in my life here rather than just struggling to survive.

  I could stand there and stare up at that pretty sky all night. Unfortunately, even as I think that, it's like I've jinxed the show.

  More-familiar glowing, fiery streaks appear in the sky. At this point, we all know exactly what they are, but one of the guards yells it out anyway.

  "Meteorite shower! Everyone back inside!"

  We start hustling back in, the conversation starting up once more as we do.

  "Do you think the glass might be different in the morning?"

  "Maybe. What if it's colorful?"

  "What if it doesn't make glass? What if the meteors are different?"

  I can hear the excitement in the voices at the prospect of the meteorite shower producing something new this time.

  But I just can't get excited. I feel shaken now that the pretty picture is out of sight. Maybe because there's just been so much change. I'm a little tired of always feeling on edge, wondering what's going to come. How we're going to deal with it.

  What's wrong with routine? At this point that's what I really want.

  I could appreciate the beauty of the lights, but I sure could do without the uncertainty around what they mean. If anything.

  Once back under the shelter of the cave system, some people mill about wanting to discuss things, but I return to my little cave and my messy pallet. I'd rather not rehash things I always worry about anyway.

  Sleep is a littl
e more difficult to find this time, but eventually I calm back down enough to drift off. When I wake up the next morning, I wonder what the day will bring. But everything seems normal enough as I have breakfast and ready myself for the day.

  The first thing I do is check in on the dragonlings. The bags under Mei's eyes and her generally unkempt appearance tell me something is wrong before she says a word.

  "What is it?" I ask right away.

  "It's Ganeese. He's been running a fever all night," she explains.

  "Oh no!" I exclaim softly, looking over her shoulder to see him curled up in bed still.

  He's usually up earlier than everyone. I go over to him, touching the back of my hand to his forehead and finding it feverish. His eyes open at the touch. He looks up at me, blinking. His gaze is little dull, his normal energy definitely lower than usual.

  "Nora," he says in a husky voice, brightening slightly. "Are you staying?"

  "Sure, baby," I murmur, taking his soft little hand in my own. I turn to Mei. "Why don't you catch a nap, maybe grab some food. I can watch over him for a bit."

  "Are you sure?" she asks.

  "Of course. Now go—if I were you I would take the opportunity to close my eyes."

  She smiles a little, nodding her head.

  "I'm not going to refuse," she agrees. "Okay, I'm going to take a quick nap, have some breakfast. I'll be back soon though, okay?"

  "Take your time," I urge.

  She comes over and kisses her son on the forehead.

  "Is it okay if Nora watches you for a little while?" she asks.

  "Okay," Ganeese agrees easily. "But you'll be back soon?"

  I know he's sick for sure then. He usually doesn't have a whole lot of separation anxiety, not when he knows I'm going to be the one watching him.

  "Yes. In just a little while," she reassures him.

  With one last thank you thrown at me, Mei leaves to try to get some shut-eye.

  "Can you tell me a story?" Ganeese asks groggily.

  "Of course," I murmur, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. "There once was an ogre in a faraway land—"

  "What color was the ogre?"

  "Green."

  "Was he big or small?"

  I chuckle a little.

  "He was big. Maybe not really tall, but at least sufficiently wide."

  I hold my arms out to demonstrate. He nods, his eyes half closing again now that he has a firm picture in his mind.

  "Okay. You can keep going now."

  "Why, thank you," I say wryly, laughing. "Anyway, this ogre lived far away from everybody else..."

  I expect him to fall asleep quickly, but his eyes stay open, focused on my face as I speak. I stretch the story out to make it last, embellishing parts, making sounds that I know will make him laugh.

  It's most likely been about an hour when I notice a shadow at the door. When I look over, my eyes meet Archion's. He nods at me, but stays just outside the cave opening, politely listening and waiting for me to finish. Slightly more self-conscious now that I know he's listening, I try to refocus on the story.

  Why is he here? What does he want to talk to me about? I try to keep going, but I keep losing my train of thought, my eye going back to Archion.

  I finally give up and start wrapping up the story when Mei comes back in, looking a little more rested, her hair combed back and a new set of clothes on her body.

  "Thank you so much, Nora," she says, hugging me tight. "You can head out now though—it looks like Archion wants to speak with you."

  I nod, standing.

  "Get better soon, munchkin," I murmur, leaning down to kiss Ganeese's forehead.

  "Bye, Nora!" he murmurs, his eyes opening slightly before closing once more. Fighting off sleep like always.

  Taking a deep breath, I rub my palms on my pants, trying to calm my nerves. Archion watches me approach, straightening from where he's been leaning against the wall. I walk all the way out before I turn towards him, making sure I'm at least out of line of sight.

  "Sorry to keep you waiting."

  He shakes his head.

  "No apology necessary. Is the child feeling better?"

  I shrug.

  "He's sick, but it doesn't seem too bad. Hopefully a day or two of rest will fix him right up."

  He nods.

  "You are very good with children," he observes, his eyes softening.

  I shrug again, not knowing what to say to that as I shove my hands into my pockets. Like a child myself. But compliments are kind of hard for me to take usually. Barring my cooking.

  Trying to forge past the awkwardness, I asked him why he sought me out.

  "We have been asked to join the collection team," he explains. "The meteors are emanating a strange light, and Errol seems keen to come into possession of the material before the invaders potentially disrupt the scene."

  I nod—that makes sense.

  "Okay. Is everyone getting ready to go now?"

  "Yes. We are supposed to be leaving soon."

  I follow him out to the wall, seeing a group already assembled there, Errol standing in front.

  He's giving everyone a talk.

  "...there have been less-frequent meteorite showers. It is one of the reasons I want to go look so quickly," he explains to the gathered group. "We need to get to any and all material we can while it is still there, before the invaders could potentially get to it. We do not know if the time between each shower will continue to lengthen, or if the showers will cease altogether."

  "How will we fuel the shields and shock sticks if the showers stop?" one of the women asks from the crowd.

  "That is a concern," Errol agrees. "But all we are in control of at the moment is gathering as much of the material as we can while it is available. And, perhaps, these meteors will offer something more impressive this time." He looks around at each of us. "As always, stay near enough to each other to call for help and keep watch on your surroundings. I am certain we are not the only ones who noticed the shower. Or the difference in the sky last night. I hope we reach the material without trouble, but we must be prepared if we do not."

  I hear everybody murmur their agreement around me as my heartbeat picks up pace once more. I know I'm not the bravest person. But no matter how much I try to lessen my fear, my mind still just always goes back to everything that can go wrong. Guster, zemlja, invaders... The list goes on.

  When I turn away from Errol, it's to find Archion watching me once more, his gaze sharp, incisive. Why do I always feel like he knows exactly what I'm thinking? His next words don't dispel that notion, fanciful though it might be.

  "With me, you are safe. I will guard you with my life," he reassures me in his low, sure voice. A charge goes through me at the intensity of his gaze, his words.

  I believe him. And isn't that crazy? My heart picks up even more, the heat in my cheeks letting me know that I'm blushing again and failing to hide it. I feel like I spend ninety percent of my time around him blushing.

  All I can manage is a smile as the heat flows through me, as my heart softens at the care in his words, in his demeanor. I look down once more, cursing my shyness. I don't know how much longer I can take this little dance between us.

  And I'm growing tired of worrying that I might be imagining it.

  10

  Archion

  We travel out to the area we estimate the asteroids hit last night.

  Once we are near the area and we have had a chance to scout for any danger, Errol begins to divide the group further, into human and Zmaj couples. It appears as though everyone was expecting this. Perhaps that is a common way to split the group.

  "And Nora, you and Archion are paired as well." Nora and I glance at each other, neither of us surprised. We are the only ones left. "With the carts we now have, it should be a simpler task this time, at least to transport anything we find back to the Tribe. Bring back anything you find that you think is from the meteorite shower. They may have produced more than simple meteo
rite glass." He glances around the group. "And if you need help, yell out. We must all remain within audible distance of each other."

  Everybody voices their agreement with that plan.

  From my understanding, the new carts that we have pushed out this far with us were forged by hand from the excess metals acquired from the invaders' ship. They will most definitely make transporting larger amounts of anything a simpler task.

  "If nobody has any further questions, we may split and search the sand," Errol continues, having to raise his voice over the wind. "We must hurry—I do not want to stay out here longer than necessary. For multiple reasons."

  When nobody speaks up, he nods sharply.

  "Everyone move towards your section."

  Nora and I turn towards the left, expanding out in the rough circle Errol decided upon. We should be able to find everything in this formation.

  As we walk, I keep a careful eye on Nora. The farther away we have traveled from the Tribe's cave system, the stronger the winds have become. Until our hair is whipping out in front of our faces, tugging at our clothing. Nora continues to wear a brave face, tucking her hair behind her ears in an effort to clear her vision. She is clearly out of her element here. Though this brutal wind is not comfortable for me either.

  We scour the ground, searching for the pits that indicate the areas where the meteors have hit. The whole time, I am paying as much attention to Nora as I am to searching for what we came for. I stay near her, within a leap's distance. The winds are gaining speed fast, the sand beginning to lift from the ground.

  I look up, squinting at the force of the air. Sand is rising all around us. When I look farther out into the distance, I see a wall of it barreling towards us.

  I begin to hear yells in the distance. The words are muffled and unclear, but the alarm in them is not at all difficult to discern. As the sand begins to scour my skin, I turn towards Nora, ready to tell her we must leave, must find shelter.

  At that moment, she stumbles and then begins to rise.