Dragon Witch ✔️

17 - Flight

August 10, Monday

Four days without magic, and I'm already going insane. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon trimming trees in the orchard. What am I supposed to do for the next three weeks, die of boredom? I don't know how nomahus survive without magic. Everything's so dull without it.

I won't be breaking my promise, though. This is the only way I can think of to keep magic and my family after I turn eighteen.

***

Crouching on all fours, I leaned out over the edge of my bed's canopy. The wood frame beneath me creaked. Maybe this was a bad idea. Bed canopies definitely weren't meant to hold people. But as long as I was up here, I might as well jump.

Eva watched me curiously from the dresser. You fly?

"We'll see." It wasn't that I really expected to fly. After all, even the changeling we'd run into in the woods didn't have wings. And I wasn't completely sure that I was a changeling. At least, I hoped I wasn't. That was why I'd piled up all my blankets and pillows in front of the door. If--as I completely expected--I didn't suddenly grow wings, I would be perfectly safe. Well, safe enough not to break anything.

After four whole days of no magic, bed-jumping would hopefully be my newest way to pass the time until I went to Rothworth's. Either that, or I would punch a hole through the floor and have a carpentry project to work on.

I edged my bare toes over the corner of the canopy frame. Just a few more inches, and I would be flying. Or falling, depending on your point of view.

"Here goes nothing." I pushed off the frame just as the bedroom door opened.

After one brief, exhilarating moment, I slammed into a muscle-toned frame and sent us both crashing to the floor.

"Ow..." Kyton groaned from beneath me.

I stiffened as his scent billowed in my face. This was close, way too close. I should get off. Really, I should get off.

Kyton grabbed my head in both hands as I drew closer to him. "You're not doing that again." Holding my head at arms length, he squirmed out from under me and jumped to his feet.

I pressed my forehead against the thick, red rug in the hallway. It smelled a little musty, exactly what I needed to slap me to my senses. Heat crept up my neck as I felt Kyton's gaze on me. This was getting ridiculous. I hadn't bitten him yet, which was a testament to my dwindling self control. Part of me wanted to try again to get Grandma to break his bodyguard contract, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Even if I'd been able to convince Grandma--which seemed highly unlikely--it wasn't really a good idea. If I couldn't keep myself from biting a kind-of friend who was a favorite of my grandparents, how was I supposed to keep from biting any random fairy I came across in town? Kyton had mentioned his family weren't the only Otherworlders around, so it was pretty likely I would run into one sooner or later.

Not-biting Kyton was good practice for the future. If only I was getting better faster, maybe I wouldn't be so worried.

"You planning on staying there all day?" Kyton asked, his voice somewhat strained.

I pushed myself to my hands and knees, then sat back on my heels. "No, not all day. You could've knocked, you know."

"Sorry, I was distracted." He offered me a hand.

I pretended not to see it and stood on my own. Crossing my arms, I leaned back against the doorframe.

"By what?"

"Huh?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, I just- it's not important. Your mom wants you to get a job and--her words, not mine--stop breaking the house down. I'm your ride."

I hadn't broken anything. Well, not badly. I'd just cracked a couple plates playing frisbee, and I accidentally sent a mattress into a vase when I was testing the stair-slide. The vase wasn't shattered, just a little nicked. Oh, and there was the suit of armor I knocked over in the hall during my sock-hockey game. It was solid metal, not even dented.

"I don't need a job to keep me busy." I retreated into my room and tried to pull the door closed behind me.

Kyton caught the door. "I don't care if you get a job or not. Just come into town for a couple of hours. It's my tail on the line if you break an arm doing parkour in the dining room."

I'd forgotten about the parkour. That had ended badly. He might have a point, at least partly. After Rothworth's, I would be going to a mixed-magics school. It would suck if I couldn't hold a wand because I'd broken my arm.

"I heard there's a movie theater in town. Let me grab my wallet." A movie would be a fun way to pass the afternoon, with little chance of breaking any limbs.

***

In the silence of Kyton's car--which seemed ridiculously normal for a fairy's transport--my thoughts raced. Every time I sat still, it was the same. I couldn't help but think about what Kyton had said a few days ago. About changelings.

As much as I wanted to deny the possibility that I might be one, I kept coming back to the idea that it could be true. All the signs were there, and denying the truth would be a lot more dangerous than trying to work around it. If I could just get the blood-thirsty thing under control, it wouldn't even be that bad. From what Kyton had said, it sounded like full transformation into a dragon didn't come until after murdering a whole bunch of fairies. I hadn't murdered anyone.

A few more minutes in this car just might change that. I had my head sticking out the window, and I could still smell Kyton.

"It's boiling in here." He made my window inch upward.

I pressed the button to send it back down. "I'm cold."

"Then put on a sweater." He inched it back up.

I made it go down again. "I didn't bring a sweater. It's August."

"Exactly, it's too hot for open windows." Once again, the window crept upward.

"If you close the window, I'll open the door." I shot him a look over my shoulder.

"Fine, have it your way."

"Good." A bead of sweat trickled down my brow, and I wiped it away. He was right about the heat. Still, being sweaty wasn't as bad as sucking someone's blood. Everything would be a lot easier if I wasn't a freaking changeling. Even being a nomahu would've been better. Alice never bit anyone. She would never turn into a full-on dragon or try to eat someone.

My watery eyes made it hard to see the houses rushing past. I had to get a hold of myself. I didn't have to turn into a monster. I wouldn't let it happen. With a little bit of magic and luck, I would stay human forever.

But what if I couldn't stop the change? What if I was destined to turn into a monster?

"We're here," Kyton said. He stopped the car in front of a modest-sized hospital. It was no city skyscraper, but it was three stories and bigger than I would've expected for a town this small.

"You know I don't have any medical training, right?" I raised my eyebrows at Kyton when he looked confused. "Aren't we here for the job search?"

He shook his head. "I have something to drop off." He got out and grabbed a duffel bag from the back seat. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the car, alone with my thoughts. I jumped out and ran after Kyton as he made his way across the parking lot.

"Let me carry that." I grabbed the straps of his duffel bag.

He pulled it back. "I've got it."

"I know, but-" I pulled harder on the bag. "-I just want to help."

" I don't need your help." He yanked so hard that I let go. Stumbling back, he tripped over a parking median and fell on his butt. I moved to help, but the bag caught my eye. It'd slipped out of his hands, falling open to reveal a quilt and several bundles of cash.

As I leaned over to take a better look, Kyton jerked the bag shut. I'd seen the cash, though. It was all in one hundred dollar bills.