He stilled, his eyes wide as he took in every word. I’d probably surprised him.
“So, when you call me ‘Sparky’ you mean that as a compliment, right?” Jericho asked, the corner of his mouth twitching.
I laughed as I reached for a peach closer to the top. It looked big enough and ripe, but I overestimated the strength of the branch I’d perched on. It snapped, and I fell. It happened so fast, even my normally very quick reflexes weren’t enough to stop my fall. Fortunately, I only grazed a couple of branches on my way down, and Jericho caught me in his arms. He held me close, and my heart drummed maniacally. My linen bag was on the ground, half of its contents spilled across the short and scarce grass.
“Nice catch,” I said, our eyes locked on one another. A strange fire kindled inside me, threatening to melt away the ice I’d hidden behind for so long.
“Well, maybe this will make you reconsider my offer to snuggle tonight,” he chuckled. Time seemed to stop for one long and delicious moment. His breath tickled my lips, and his heartbeats echoed mine. Yes, he was warm. Unusually warm for anyone other than a fire dragon. Would his heat burn me if I got too close? Or would my ice cause him to freeze?
Gently setting me down, Jericho picked a few leaves from my hair. He noticed my hesitation to reply, but he didn’t push it. “I think we need to head back,” he said. “If I was hungry earlier, I’m starving now.”
Part of me would’ve liked for us to stay like this a while longer, but I couldn’t. I briefly leaned into him, unsure of my body’s message, then pulled away, allowing the ice walls to come back up and keep me safe. I couldn’t risk any kind of weakness in the midst of this nightmare. Besides, being out on our own for too long wasn’t healthy, especially since dark creatures walked these woods, thirsting for our blood and hungering for our flesh. “You’re right, we should get going,” I murmured. “Let me just gather some of this stuff. I’d hate to go back with a half-empty bag…”
Jericho nodded slowly and proceeded to crouch down and help me. We recovered most of the peaches and nuts that had fallen with me, though we barely spoke for the better part of a minute. I didn’t have much to say anyway, as I was still adjusting to the sensation this new inner fire had caused.
“You’re actually cold,” Jericho said as he reached for a peach to my left. “Like, literally cold. Not ice cold, but definitely colder than most people. Colder than vampires, for sure.”
I chuckled. “Kind of comes with the territory of being an ice dragon, Sparky. Remember?”
“No. Yeah, I know. I was just saying. You’ve been in my arms before, just for a few seconds during combat or trouble mostly, but I’m only now noticing.”
“Shush,” I hissed, the hairs on the back of my neck rising in an instant. Something was moving through the woods, not far from where we were.
Jericho frowned slightly. “I didn’t mean it as a criticism, just—”
“Shut up, someone’s out there,” I replied, my muscles tightening as I went into attack mode almost instantly. Carefully surveying the forest around us, I spotted faint movement in the distance. Blackness rippling and wisps dancing between the trees. “Haldor…”
“Crap.” Jericho stilled, already down on the ground. We waited in absolute silence as we listened to the rush of whispers and rumbles that made the redwoods tremble. The canopy above murmured slowly as the shadow monsters bolted toward the cabin. Within minutes, they would be swarming our safe spot.
Jericho and I were still far enough away from the monsters that they didn’t immediately sense us, but I knew it would do no good to stay there. Soon they would come across the cabin, and I’d hear Soph’s whistling meant to warn us that something was coming. Unfortunately, we already knew what that something was, and it made my stomach twist painfully.
“We have to warn them,” I said, as the last of the shadows vanished beyond the vine wall about two hundred yards to our right. Beyond it, the cabin waited, vulnerable and theirs for the taking.
“Well, there go my dinner plans,” Jericho said, getting up and out of his tattered hospital robe. I turned away before I ended up staring at his gorgeous naked body. I’d seen him before, and I knew that if I didn’t look away, I’d be distracted, even under these tense circumstances. The memory of his taut abs and broad shoulders still haunted me. Not to mention his smooth, tanned skin… My body and my mind were at war. The former yearned for fire, while the latter demanded the familiar comfort of ice.
“Are we going full dragon?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Is that a good idea?”
“We’re far enough from populated areas to get away with it, considering we’re both smaller in size,” Jericho said. “My dragon fire is more powerful. It’ll keep the shadow beasts away for a while.”
Exhaling sharply, I slipped out of my jacket and shifted, bones cracking as I stretched my arms and legs, then spread my wings and huffed. Jericho was superb in dragon form as well, with black scales and glistening amber on his belly, reptilian ocean eyes peering at me. His fangs and claws were impressive, as strong and sharp as steel swords. Leaving behind the food we’d gathered, we climbed up two of the redwoods, our wings tucked to our backs. We had to be smart about this.
By the time we reached the top, the night sky had cleared, but still there were no stars, no moon. Just a faint white light that seemed to be coming from nowhere. Below, a storm was about to descend on the cabin. Thayen, Astra, and Soph were there. We had to do something.
Bracing ourselves for another fight, Jericho and I took flight. It would be short, and it would end in fire and ice. Haldor wasn’t going to win this. No way.
Astra
I’d gotten the fountain to work, and the satisfaction I was feeling was almost as delicious as a banana split on a hot summer day. Wearing a huge grin, I let the bucket go down, using the rope to lower it into the water. I could almost taste its sweetness on my tongue as I pulled. Crickets chirped all around the cabin, along with other tiny creatures that had made homes in the giant redwoods.
“Thayen, I got the water going,” I said, loud enough for him to hear from inside the cabin. “And there was little to no magic involved,” I muttered in addition. Mom had taught me to rely on my own strengths and knowledge of things, not just my Daughter powers or my sentry abilities. There would be times when my supernatural traits might not help, and I’d have to make do.
I had yet to encounter such a horrifying scenario, but I didn’t mind practicing just in case. The fountain had been there for years, though no one had used it for at least a decade. Fortunately, it had been covered at the bottom with a thick metallic disk, which had stopped most of the leaves and dirt from falling through and contaminating the water. About twenty feet below, there was an underground stream of water still flowing, and that was what the fountain had tapped into. After removing the metallic disk with a smidge of telekinetic magic, I cleared the few leaves that had snuck through between the cover’s edges and the round walls.
This was the first bucket of water I’d retrieved, and as I hauled it up I could see the clear, crystalline water. I dipped my finger and tasted it first. Just to be safe, I dipped it again, this time glowing pink, allowing my energy to purify the water, making it perfect for drinking.