Rise of the Phoenix

Chapter 4: Ajax

I know I shouldn’t have kept her out this late, but time flies when I’m with Emmi and I can never seem to get enough of her. And then … that kiss. I’ve been on my own for a very long time. Runaways tend to stick together and sometimes we find comfort together. But I’ve never kissed anyone who felt so good, so right, like it feels when I kiss Emmi.

Of course, being here in the Academy, I know a lot more about dragons and mate bonds, so I understand that Emmi is my mate. I understood with my head that the mate bond was powerful, but now that my dragon side seems to have found his mate, the pull to her, the desire to be with her, even the taste of her lips, has me losing myself.

To me, it doesn’t matter that we don’t know what kind of shifter she is. She could be a bunny shifter for all I care, and I’d still want her. The thought of a little bunny shifter hopping on top of my dragon form makes me smile as we head back to the temporary hospital wing.

“Why are you smiling?” she asks softly. I’m holding her hand as we walk, just enjoying being with her and having some physical contact.

“I was thinking about what type of shifter you might be.”

“And what type of shifter were you thinking that had you smiling like that?” she asks.

I already know she’s not going to like it, so I try to hide my smile but fail. “A bunny shifter.”

“A bunny? No. Definitely NOT a bunny shifter.”

“You’re sweet enough to be a bunny shifter,” I tell her.

“You think so, but if this is a bunny inside me, it has to be some sort of crazy horror movie bunny, not a sweet gentle one.”

“What do you think you are?” I ask her, wondering if anyone has thought to ask her.

“I’m not sure. Because of the screeching sound that I hear in my head, maybe a bird?”

“Hmmm, your voice is beautiful enough to be a songbird, but with what you describe with your headaches, I might say that you are a bird of prey. Shiv is an eagle. I believe that Cedric’s Beta and Gamma females are kestrels, so it makes sense that you could be a bird shifter. But then, you don’t eat meat,” I say thoughtfully.

“Why does that matter?” she asks.

“Well, I think all birds eat some form of animal, even if it’s worms and crickets, but you only eat things that come from the earth, very much like an elf. But Dad said you don’t have any elf DNA in you,” I say as we walk inside.

“Dad also said to have Emmi back in time for dinner,” my father says. He’s standing in the hallway, but I see his eyes taking Emmi in, checking to see how she’s doing.

“You look good, Emmi. Being outside seems to have a positive effect on you. We’ll have to make sure we add that into your daily routine,” he says.

“I’m sorry we’re late, Dr. Everett. It’s my fault. I was enjoying the sunset reflected on the mountain,” Emmi says.

“It was beautiful, wasn’t it? I enjoyed the same sunset with my dragon and our babies this evening. But I didn’t miss dinner,” he says, looking back at me with a scolding look.

“Sorry, Dad. I’ll go get something right now.”

“I already did. You may as well come in and eat too.”

We follow my father to the end of the hallway. I can hear TVs and music playing in the rooms where the other females who were bitten by The Mean Ones are staying. My father has been taking his time releasing them into the general population since Komodo Dragon venom is poisonous and we don’t know if these men and women will have the venom in their bites yet.

“Dad, Emmi and I were just talking about bird shifters, since that’s what she thinks she might be. Do you have any ideas on birds that don’t eat meat?”

“There are several actually,” he says as we sit down. I look over Emmi’s food, making sure there isn’t any meat before sitting down across from her. My father pulls up a chair to sit with us.

“Finches, parrots, and quails to name a few. You think you might be a bird shifter, Emmi?”

She nods, and I smile encouragingly at her. “Ajax and I were talking about the screeching that I hear in my head. It feels like it’s a bird of some sort.”

My father looks thoughtful as we begin to eat. “Parrots are loud birds, some would say they have a screeching sound, definitely more so than a finch or quail that have softer sounds.”

“She also has a beautiful voice,” I say, smiling at her.

“Do you? I’ve never heard you sing.”

“Ajax walked in on my singing earlier and asked me to sing for him, well, with him really.”

“I definitely didn’t add anything to the song,” I say, knowing my voice is no where near as beautiful as hers is.

“Parrots are known for mimicking and having vocal abilities just like most birds. They are also larger, and you have large claws. You have said that it feels like your animal is trying to scratch its way out of you,” he says.

“Yes, that’s what it feels like,” she says.

“I’ll look into parrots further and see what I come up with. I can check your blood which did have avian DNA, against a blood sample of different parrot species, like macaws and cockatoos. I think we can hold off on parakeets, as those are smaller birds and wouldn’t necessarily be causing you this level of distress. But we won’t rule them out just yet,” he says.

“What about lovebirds?” I ask, waggling my eyebrows at Emmi and making her blush a beautiful shade of pink.

“They are also a possibility as they are larger birds in the parrot species,” my father says, not getting the joke. I can tell that his mind is already going through several options of what Emmi might be and how he could narrow that down.

When we finish eating, I know it’s time to say goodbye to Emmi. I walk her to her room and after making a point of looking around to ensure that everything is in place, so I don’t have to leave, I finally sigh.

“Can I come have breakfast with you in the morning?” I ask her.

“I’d like that,” she says.

“Me too,” I say. I quickly look down the hall to make sure no one is watching and then I lean in, stealing another kiss. Emmi immediately leans against me, her body melting against mine as I wrap my arms around her, getting lost in the kiss.

I have no idea how long I’ve been kissing Emmi. It could be minutes, it could be hours, all I know is that it’s much too soon when I hear a feminine voice clearing their throat behind me.

“It’s after light’s out, Ajax,” Kaylani’s soft voice says behind me.

Now that I’ve shifted and have my dragon form, I can hear the differences in the voices of the elemental dragons and even the hybrids who have the dragon gene. Kaylani’s voice has a gentle, rolling lilt to it, like water gently lapping against a shore.

“Sorry, Kaylani. I got lost in this perfect woman’s embrace,” I say, not taking my eyes off of Emmi. Her lips are puffy from my kiss and the blush that spreads across her cheeks only makes her more beautiful.

“I understand, but Emmi is still healing and needs her rest,” Kaylani says, gently but firmly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Emmi,” I say to her.

“Okay,” she says, nodding as I begin to walk backwards, not wanting to leave her.

“You. Me. Date.”

She nods again. “It’s a date.”

I smile happily before blowing her a kiss and turning to head back to the main house. When I step outside, I see Ancalagon, still in dragon form, looking at the old hospital.

I jog over to see him now that most of the others have cleared out.

“Hey Cal. Hey Eliane,” I say when she swings her big dragon head over to look at me. “Is it true? Is it Iniko?” I ask.

“Yeah, it’s him,” he says.

“You okay, buddy?” I ask. I know my friend, maybe better than anyone other than his rider and mate.

“Time will tell, I guess,” he says, glancing at Eliane.

“I’m guessing I won’t see you back in our room tonight?”

“Nah. I don’t like Eliane being out here by herself. She can’t shift because she’s carrying my fertilized dragon eggs,” he says, crooning at her.

“How many did you say you think there are?” I ask him.

“Twenty-two,” he says smugly.

“You better be prepared to help me feed your little dragons, Cal,” Eliane croons back at him.

“I think the entire horde of dragons will need to help feed this group. At least until they are old enough to fly and catch their own.”

“I can’t wait to see what types of dragons you have,” I say, looking over at the glass egg that is housing Iniko. “How long before you lay your eggs, Eliane?”

“Soon,” she says vaguely. Cal rumbles at her encouragingly.

“You know, you don’t have to single-handedly repopulate the world with dragons, Cal.”

“I certainly intend to try,” he says, his chest rumbling again, this time with pleasure. And that is my queue to leave.

“See you later,” I say, heading back to my room.