3. Kadia

The next morning, Kaida tried sneaking out of the house early without being noticed. That did not go as planned. She managed to get out of bed without waking Beckett, but that was the easy part. Beckett was a deep sleeper and a bit tired from their time together flying.

And other amorous activities...

Just as soon as she thought she was going to get out of the house without being detected, her foot hit the bottom of the stairs. A growl nearly caused her to fall down the remaining three steps. Blaze was standing in the doorway of the room to the left of the stairs, staring at her with fire in his eyes. Kaida did her best to keep her heart rate calm, but the way Blaze stared at her made her heart race. The only problem was she wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or just the intense air that crackled with energy between them.

This look did not seem to hold hatred like it had the night they met. It held more than that. A crackling fire did not always represent anger or hatred. It could be passion and possession, too.

Right? Kaida asked herself. Could he be looking at me with intent to mark me, too? Is he jealous that Beckett got to me first? Why is he looking at me as if he would eat me? Not necessarily the bad kind, either...

"Running out on Beck already?" His voice was laced with venom, popping the bubble that Kaida was forming with her thoughts.

Well, that solves that question.

Kaida narrowed her eyes at him and scoffed, "No. That’d be stupid of me to do."

Blaze chortled, "I didn’t know you were smart."

"For your information, I am going over to my old place to gather some things. Is that okay with you?"

"I’d be more okay with you just staying there."

"That sucks for you, then," Kaida said as she continued her way to the door, "I hope I don’t ruin your day further when I return. Wait... actually, I kind of do hope it ruins your day."

Kaida made sure not to slam the door on her way out. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of making her that angry. It still made no sense to her why Blaze hated her so much.

I think it is more of a him problem.

I guess so. He seems to have a fair number of issues.

Isn’t he an Ember dragon?

Yes. Why?

Being tied to the Fire element makes you a bit...

Rude?

I was going to say hot headed.

Well, I am going with an asshole.

Fair enough.

Kaida pushed the thoughts of Blaze out of her mind as she walked down the hill toward the town below. As much as she tried, he continued to pop back in. The fire in his eyes every time he looked at her didn’t always seem to be out of anger. However, she was already wrong about that today.

Jeez. I have sex with one guy, and then I think every guy is after me. What is wrong with me?

While walking through town, Kaida noticed that people were staring at her. When she would look in their direction, they would look away as if they weren’t and did a terrible job of hiding it. Kaida frowned at them but continued on her way. It wasn’t as if looking at someone strange was against the law. However, it did seem weird that they were looking at her that way.

She could feel their eyes watching her as she crossed town. When she was out of line of sight with one person, another person noticed her. Kaida started to feel self-conscious and looked down at herself. She was wearing clothes, so it was not because she walked out of the house naked. A pair of dark jean shorts, black shoes, and a purple blouse was not something out of the ordinary either. Certainly, more comfortable than the usual dresses she wore in the kingdom, but not an outfit that was deemed worthy to get these stares.

And I know I don’t have bed head. I looked in the mirror before leaving just to be sure!

Kaida shivered as she stepped out of the busy area of town and onto the path to Adrien’s home. The feeling of eyes on her finally disappeared. She could feel the comforting energy of Adrien and Azulia’s magic and began to relax. Remy’s aura was mixed in there, too. It was hard to pinpoint Sundrei’s energy, but she could feel it when Kaida stepped through the fence door.

They are all here. Thank you, Great Dragon. I needed this.

Adrien stepped out onto the porch, wearing a smile on her face. Her silver hair was tied back, and she wore a pair of overalls. As Kaida walked closer, she could see dirt on the bottom of her pants. Kaida raised her eyebrows at her friend, and Adrien rolled her eyes.

"Azulia just couldn’t wait to plant this new tree out back."

"Well, of course. Trees need dirt to eat; not planting it would starve it!"

Adrien narrowed her eyes at Kaida, "I see whose side you are on."

Kaida held back her laughter horribly, causing Adrien to make an annoyed sound and then walk back into the house. Kaida followed her into the backyard where Azulia was planting the tree. It was just a tiny thing that was maybe three feet tall. Azulia looked quite proud of it as she put her left hand on her hip and held a hand shovel with her right. Her pretty blue hair, tied up, blew in the gentle breeze, and she wore a similar outfit to Adrien. The blue Faerie wings were not there, but Kaida had a feeling that it would be difficult with them on display while gardening.

"Quite a tree you got there," Kaida told Azulia.

"Thank you. Just wait until it grows. This tree is going to be a landmark someday."

Adrien shook her head while rolling her eyes. Her silence told Kaida that she did not agree to this one bit. Why was the question that Azulia would hopefully answer.

"What’s so special about this tree?"

"Wait until you hear this," Adrien whispered to Kaida.

"It can heal just about anything!"

Kaida held in her laugh. It was cute that Azulia was so excited over something. "I didn’t know such things existed."

"It does! It’s an herbal tree. Its leaves have the ability to calm minds and emotions if brewed like tea. Its bark has been known to heal just about any wound known to man if blended into potions or creams. You can cut into the roots and cook it into feed to assist with stomach issues or internal issues that other magic can’t heal. There isn’t a single thing on this tree that cannot be used to heal. Very few of them are left because they are always just chopped down, and the root is dug up. I cannot believe I noticed someone selling it in town!"

It sounded like a magical tree that should be in fairytales instead of being planted in her friend’s yard. Kaida tried to recall hearing about a tree like this in her classes. Nothing came to mind. There wasn’t even anything slightly resembling this tree in her studies. It was something she had to learn as the daughter of the council. If she were to help the King and Queen rule the kingdom, she had to learn about every possible, preferably feasible, way to assist her people, including ways to heal them.

"Azulia, sweetie, I have no recollection of this kind of tree existing. Are you sure you didn’t get ripped off?"

Azulia narrowed her eyes at her, "You dragons always think you know everything. No! I did not get ripped off. This was the find of a lifetime! The best part about this tree is that you can dig up the roots, cut them off, and plant them elsewhere. You can create a forest of these bad boys and run the most successful herb shop in the world! Yet no one ever does it! They use the tree once and call it a day!"

"I have never heard of this tree. What is it even called?"

"A Curur tree. The name literally means heal!"

There was still no recollection of this tree in anything she had read, but Kaida figured it was more in the Faerie Kingdom than in Dragaal. Azulia fussed about the tree some more while they stood there. She watered it with her magic and even cast a spell around it so no one could touch it without her consent. If Kaida didn’t know any better, she would think that Azulia worshiped the tree.

"Kaida... is there something you want to tell us?"

Remy’s voice behind her made her jump. The badass Lycan she-wolf still sported a leather jacket, pants, and boots, and her vibrant pink hair was perfectly styled to display her gorgeous smokey eye makeup. Remy’s aura radiated with power as she stared at Kaida. A part of her felt like she was being scolded for how the power felt against her, but Kaida held her ground.

Really, it was more like her dragon decided to rise up and show off her own power as if this was a challenge.

"Woah," Azulia, Adrien, and Sundrei said in unison.

Sundrei was behind Remy but peeked her head around the Lycan to look at Kaida. Everyone’s eyes were on her, wide and full of surprise, and Kaida started to squirm. She hated being the center of attention like this.

"Uh... well..."

"YOUR DRAGON EMERGED!" The girls screamed in unison.

The four of them practically pounced on Kaida and gave her a group hug. Kaida laughed at their sudden display, and the warmth of their gesture spread through her body. This felt incredible. Her old friends were not like this. They probably wouldn’t have given her a group hug on her eighteenth birthday if her dragon emerged then.

"When did this happen!?" Adrien asked her when they pulled away.

"Yesterday. It was the strangest thing. Well... maybe not. It’s a long story."

"Then come inside and tell us! We want all the details!" Azulia shouted as she grabbed Kaida’s hand and pulled her into the house.

"Wait, wait, wait. That isn’t even what I was talking about. There is something else going on with her. Y’all... this girl had sex. Recently."

Kaida’s eyes nearly bugged out of her skull as her jaw dropped open. She washed herself three times to get the smell of sex off her. That was the first thing she did when she woke up, knowing that she was going to be seeing Remy today. This girl was Lycan after all. She could smell these things a mile away with her heightened sense of smell—apparently, even after multiple washes with soap scented like berries.

"How the hell did you know that?"

"Girl, why you thought you’d be able to keep that shit from us is beyond me. I could see it a mile away. Every girl has a glow after she has sex. It’s almost telling other males that she is taken and sexually satisfied, so don’t even try."

Everyone barked out a laugh, and Remy beamed. Clearly, she was proud of herself for that comment.

"Oh my; Remy is right! Look at her! She does have this glow about her." Sundrei pointed out.

Kaida looked at Sundrei with wide eyes. This was the first time that Sundrei had actually spoken since Kaida met her. Her voice was alluring and made Kaida want to listen to her. She had never met a Vampyre outside of Sundrei, so she had no idea if this was a normal reaction around Vampyres or not. Though, the look Sundrei was giving Kaida made her realize she had been staring at Sundrei for quite some time.

"Sorry... I just don’t hear you talk much."

Sundrei smiled at her but said nothing more.

Remy spoke up instead with all the excitement of a 3-year-old getting to ride one of their parent’s dragons for the first time. "Inside. All of us inside. There is wayyyy too much going on, and not enough has been explained. Let’s go. Spill the tea. Discuss the drama. Unleash all the secrets!"

Kaida laughed as she made her way inside after Remy. She already felt relaxed being around her friends, but this was just the cherry on top. To have this amazing of a support system after losing everything was the last thing she thought she would find on this island.

Maybe I should stop thinking about what I lost and focus on what I have gained. Now, to tell them that I am moving out to live with my new mate and how his insane friends want to kill me… I wonder how this will go…Maybe it won’t be a total shitshow…