Dragon Blood

Forty-Three: Back from the Dead

She knew she wasn't dead, she was aware of that much. But, she had been so out of it she was having visions of Orion. She remembered the last few days in snippets. She knew she was with Jonathan, she knew she was being brought back to the Western Clan, and she knew Orion was dead. He'd felt so real when he told her she was safe, so strong and solid, like he always had been. Likely she'd just been looking at Olly and her grieving mind mistook him for Orion. That was easier than facing the fact he wasn't around anymore.

Her whole body ached, and she felt like she had been used as a training dummy for Draco's soldiers. In a sense, she had been. If this was what her human body felt like, she didn't want to shift into her dragon anytime soon. The poor beast had tried her hardest against the humans, but they were relentless, and she had little experience fighting. Even if she could have breathed fire, the muzzle the witch Isabel had put on her kept her from opening her jaw wide enough to let the blaze through. When she was finally strong enough she would have to ask Ori- No, not Orion. He was done teaching her to be a dragon. He'd done what he could in the time they'd had together, but she'd seen him bleeding on the floor of that shop. She didn't know a lot about wounds, but she knew that if someone lost that much blood, there was no way they could survive.

She inhaled tenderly to discover the bandages wrapped tightly around her torso, restricting her breathing. She didn't mind so much; it kept her injuries from paining her. After another careful inhale, she smelled her room in the Alpha house, the lingering scent of Nana and Penelope, and Orion. His scent was surprisingly strong for someone who hadn't been in the room in more than a week.

Skylar pried an eye open, staring up at the ceiling. So, she was definitely alive, and she was coherent. This felt much different than the last few days, where she'd been weak and drifting in and out of consciousness during their travels. She was awake for real this time, and she could feel her strength returning. She was at least strong enough to turn her head.

She did so tenderly, sensing someone in a chair next to the bed, and she nearly screamed when she saw who sat there.

It was Orion, but he was pale and his body was limp in the chair. This was a bad dream, a terrible dream, it had to be. No wonder she felt so strong, because she wasn't really awake. She blinked rapidly and tried to sit up, but pain shot through her at the motion. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes closed, trying to wake herself up. This was cruel, even for her unconscious.

Of course, then it had to go make it worse by making the corpse move.

He lifted his head and blinked sleepily with those heartbreaking eyes. All grogginess disappeared when he saw her moving in the bed.

"Skylar!" he exclaimed in a perfect imitation of Orion's rumbling voice, rising from his chair to stand over her.

"No, no!" she gasped, lifting her arms to shield her face from the monster, begging herself to wake up from the nightmare. She couldn't stand this. It was hard enough knowing he was gone without her mind playing mean tricks on her. "Leave me alone!"

"Hey, hey!" the dead man grabbed her forearms with in a warm, surprisingly gentle grasp. "Skylar, calm down. It's me. You're safe."

She slowed her pathetic struggles and stared up at him. His dark hair flopped forward onto a clammy forehead, but his familiar, safe, golden eyes stared down at her, filled with so much love and relief she felt tears spring to her own eyes.

"Orion?" she gasped, gazing up at him.

He gave her a brilliant smile. "Welcome home."

He let her pull her arms from his grasp to cradle his cheeks. He was warm, if clammy. He looked so tired, like he was still healing as well.