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Give it time. We have many months to sort out your fears.
They’re not fears—
Yes, they are, her dragon interjected. But if we succeed in Ireland, then everyone will remember. We will become more than the first child of a sacrifice. You won’t have that excuse to use anymore.
Just as Nikki was about to reply, a blast of light just missed her wing. Diving to the side, she searched the area for an attacker. Another laser-like blast shot toward her, but she dropped just in time for it to whizz over her head. She also spotted where the attack was coming from—the side of one of the hills ringed around Stonefire.
Roaring a warning signal to the clan, Nikki debated what to do. Even a year ago, she would’ve tried taking the threat on by herself. In the present, she knew it wouldn’t help anyone if she were killed. Especially Rafe.
Rafe. Not wanting to make him mourn the loss of yet another person he cared for, Nikki folded her wings and dove down. A few more blasts rang off from the hill. She wove back and forth, dodging them all. At least, until she was nearly to the ground and one caught the edge of her wing.
Pain burned through her left side, but Nikki clenched her jaw to keep from screaming. She wouldn’t give the bastards the satisfaction.
Her descent was awkward, as she favored her right wing. But somehow she managed to slow herself down enough to crash gently into the ground, banging her right leg and good wing in the process.
As she blinked and took inventory of her pain and injuries, several other dragons launched into the air. Knowing Kai as she did, the flying dragons were a distraction so that another team could take out the enemy in their human forms. It was far easier to sneak up on someone when you were only six feet tall instead of fifteen.
Sad she couldn’t join them but satisfied that she’d warned them in time to investigate, Nikki slowly stood up. Her left wing throbbed and her right leg was bruised, but otherwise, she was fine. She itched to shift back but resisted. Until Sid gave the all clear, she wouldn’t risk it. Shifting back when injured could lead to permanent damage.
Speaking of Sid, she rushed toward Nikki with her medical bag in hand. A few nurses weren’t far behind her.
Laying on the ground, she lowered her head and met Sid’s gaze. Sid gave her a light pat on the snout and went to her injured left wing.
Daring a look, Nikki saw the burn on the thin skin between the second and third wing bones. While the blast hadn’t seared all the way through, the charred, blackish flesh would take several weeks to heal. She probably wouldn’t be able to shift for at least a week, either.
All in all, it meant she wouldn’t be going to Ireland.
Her heart squeezed at the thought of missing the chance of a lifetime. But if it were only her not going to visiting Clan Glenlough, she would be fine. No, her injury was going to cause more trouble. Namely, with Rafe.
If there was ever a way to test his word about allowing her to do her job, this would be it.
Sid’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “This is going to sting.”
Before Nikki could do more than blink, Sid dabbed a disinfectant on her wound. Nikki snarled and dug her talons in the dirt. Despite having gone through this process many times before, the sting only seemed to intensify with age.
Her beast finally spoke up. Maybe you’re getting ol
d.
Watch it, dragon. I’m not in the mood to argue.
Why argue? Getting older isn’t a burden. On the contrary, it brings wisdom. Without it, we’d probably be dead because of a rash action.
Her dragon was correct, of course.
Luckily, Sid’s commanding tone interrupted her thoughts. “This injury is bad, Nikki. You’re just lucky it didn’t sear all the way through.” Sid dabbed some more disinfectant on the wound before applying a cool gel that eased the sting. “I don’t want you to shift for a week. I can reassess the damage after that.”
A week spent in her dragon form. Before Rafe, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But if he went all alpha on her and yelled, she wouldn’t be able to reason back.
Sometimes, she wished she had telepathic abilities.
Her beast chimed in. I think it’s a brilliant development. Rafe will care for us, and you’ll finally stop being so stubborn.
Nikki had her doubts. The next week should prove the ultimate test of what her human could accept. He might be fine with a shift for a few hours, but a week of not being able to really communicate, let alone anything that resembled kissing or sex, might be too much.
After bobbing her head to Sid in acknowledgment, Nikki scanned the area. Speaking of her human, where the hell was Rafe?
Chapter Fifteen
