Flight of Eden

Chapter Seven

The walk back to the Clan Hall was quiet. Both Kalle and I were deep in thought, and neither of us wanted to be the one to break the silence. My mind was racing, replaying all the events of the last hour. The sound Henrik made as the Wild One thrashed back and forth with his wing in mouth, the look in Kalle's eyes when he arrived, the feeling of safety when he hugged me.

Our hands were still intertwined, and I wasn't sure Kalle even knew it. Now that we were out of danger, I expected him to drop my hand like it had burned him and go back to scowling at me. But as we got closer to the Clan Hall, his hand never left mine. He was clutching it like I might float away if he let go.

My mind kept going back to the panicked look Kalle had when he came running towards us. I was searching for ways to explain why he was so worried about me when we'd only met a few days before. We knew next to nothing about one another. Yet, I couldn't deny that I needed that hug just as much as he did.

Kalle had arrived just as Karoline was talking me down and trying to keep me calm. Seeing those Wild Ones come out of nowhere and attack them so viciously is something I will never get out of my mind. Even worse, I did absolutely nothing to help. I hid while they fought, and I hated it. I felt helpless, vulnerable, and terrified of these creatures I'd only just discovered. By the time we were out of immediate danger, Karoline shifted back and found me huddled against that tree in the middle of a panic attack.

I was practically inconsolable until Kalle showed up. I heard him say my name, and the panic just disappeared. Every racing thought in my head vanished, and my only thought was about Kalle. He was so worried about inspecting me for injuries, he was oblivious to the tears of relief streaming down my face. I had no idea why I reacted to him that way, but at that moment I didn't care. When he hugged me, I was dumbstruck by my reaction to him. I wasn't scared of him, not even a little bit. In fact, it was the opposite. I felt entirely and completely safe in Kalle's arms, which was a foreign feeling for me.

Even in Aikendal, where dragon shifters and Wild Ones didn't exist, I had never really felt safe. When I was growing up I lived in fear of upsetting my father and sending him on a drunken rampage. Then after I was married off, I thought I would finally have some relief from my father, but Andreas was even worse. He wasn't a drunk, but he was spiteful and jealous and took every opportunity to manipulate me and make me feel less than him. He was unpredictable and vindictive, and I lived in more fear during our marriage than I had growing up.

After Andreas died, I spent every day hoping I could get enough food for Hugo and I. He was too young to go on hunts himself, and the chief never let me go with the other men. I had some friends who would share their scraps, and I helped in the gardens enough to get some vegetables. But every week, that fear would creep back up when the village chief visited our house. He would promise he'd help keep us fed, but his food came with strings attached. I adamantly refused every time, only for him to return a week later looking more inpatient.

Fear wasn't new to me. I understood panic and worry. I grew to expect that I would never feel safe, and I was okay with that. So when Kalle hugged me and this overwhelming sense of peace came over me...I was mystified. How could this virtual stranger be giving me the one sense of peace and safety I'd been missing for my entire life? It seemed impossible. But, until a few days ago, dragons seemed impossible too.

"Evy?"

I jumped at the sound of my name. My head was in a cloud of thoughts, and I had completely dissociated while we walked. I followed blindly behind Kalle, letting him lead me wherever he wanted. Now that he had snapped me out of my fog, I realized he'd brought me back to his office. I was sitting on one of the armchairs in front of his desk, and Kalle was sitting across from me. He'd finally let go of my hand, but he was sitting on the edge of his chair and leaning towards me. Our knees were inches apart, and Kalle's gaze was fixed on me.