Chapter Twenty

Safina

"Shall you sharpen allof the pitchforks in Galveston while you're at it?" Mother threw up her hands as she paced our small bedchamber.

I had made up my mind on the long walk back from Se?or Cortez's home. No longer was I going to cower before my mother. I clenched my hands as flames of anger fanned my face. "So only you are allowed to heal?"

I winced when Mother jabbed my chest. "Aye, because I practice better discretion."

I rolled my eyes. I was growing ever tired of her acting as if I was a foolish child while she could do no wrong. "If you had used better discretion, Mother, you wouldn't have mated with a dragonslayer."

The dragon queen let out a strangled cry and slapped me across the face. I had no time to brace for the stinging pain, and my head snapped back with the force of the blow.

Tears welled in my eyes as I rubbed my throbbing cheek. Mother had never hit me before.

"It was a mistake coming here," Mother said in a voice that sounded strangely foreign and distant. "We were not ready to surface. As soon as Josef severs the bond, we are going back."

"I hate you." The words came out on a rush of air before I had time to take them back. Not that I would. The stinging pain in my cheek was nothing to the soul-shattering chasm that imploded my heart. I refused to feel guilty over the flash of pain in my mother's eyes. I wanted her to feel the sting of her rebuke. To suffer for locking me away in a pit of sorrow for five centuries and then threatening to rob me of any possible joy with Gabriel.

Aye, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I hated my mother. Ignoring her calling to me, I ran through the door, down the stairs, and out onto the beach. After sucking in a gulp of warm ocean air, I made a vow I'd never let the dragon queen control me again.

* * *

Safina

I WAS OUT OF brEATHby the time I reached Gabriel. He was sitting on the porch, reading from his book by lamplight.

I ran up the steps, chest heaving as I leaned against the porch rail, hot tears streaming down my face.

Gabriel stood and leaned on a crutch as he hobbled over to me. His beseeching gaze sought mine while he stroked my cheek. "What did she do to you?"

I hung my head. "She struck me."

"Why?"

"Because I healed you. Because she wants me to end up a miserable old maid like her. Gabriel," I cried, "she says I must go back into my cocoon."

"No!" His booming voice shook the warm air. His tattered book fell onto the porch planks, pages flying out and swirling around his feet.

My legs weakened. "What do I do?"

His face reddened, his eyes alight with the intensity of a thousand raging cyclones. "You flee."

When my knees threatened to buckle, I sank into a rocking chair. "Where do I go?" Never before had I been so frightened. How would I survive alone in this strange new world without my mother to guide me?

Gabriel held out his hands, and the book and all its pages spun in a whirlwind before flying into his grasp. He unfolded a thick piece of parchment, spreading it on the table beside us.

My jaw dropped in wonder. I'd only seen one map in my lifetime, and this one was thrice as big with details I never knew existed.

He pointed to what appeared to be an island centered between two large land masses. "We'll go to Cuba. I'll lead the way."

* * *

Gabriel

WE HAD ONLY ENOUGHtime to grab a few supplies and for me to write a hastily scribbled note to my sleeping family. I hoped my brothers would follow my instructions in caring for the chicks and Papí would not mourn my absence. Most of all, though Safina reassured me her mother had never harmed humankind, I prayed my family would not suffer the dragon queen's wrath.

I slung a sack over my shoulder and hobbled down the steps to Safina who was waiting with the wheelchair. Her fair eyes dazzled beneath the moonlight as she worried her lower lip and shifted from foot to foot. She had a right to be afraid, for though I had tried my best to reassure her, my heart pumped wildly with fear. For years I'd been confined to the small room behind my papí's kitchen, with no knowledge of the outside world other than what I'd read in books and newspapers. In only a few hours, I'd managed to stoke the ire of a dragon mother, and now I was going to anger her further by stealing her daughter and taking her into an unknown world.

Neither of us spoke as I sat in my chair, and she pushed me toward the other end of the city, where hopefully, the beach would be barren.

When we arrived at the shore, thankfully not a soul was in sight. I pulled myself out of the wheelchair, leaning on it for support. All moisture in my mouth dried up when Safina removed her clothes. I shifted uncomfortably as an ache settled in my groin, ashamed I could not control my desire at such an inopportune moment. I could have stared at the soft curves of her beautiful body for hours, but we were running out of time.

As I busied myself, stuffing her clothes in my sack, I was not prepared for the sudden shift in my fair lady. I gasped when a large shadow hovered over me and did my best to quell my shaking limbs as I looked up into the monster's large, luminous eyes.

Pale eyes blinked down at me, her massive jowls turning a frown. Do not be afraid of me, Gabriel.

Hearing her voice inside my head stunned me, though I recalled my papí telling me of the night he'd spoken in thought to Fiona.

I'm not afraid. Just startled. I clutched the chair, my legs nearly giving way as I craned my neck to take in all of her. Heavens, you truly are magnificent.

She nuzzled my shoulder, rattling my insides as she purred loudly like an enormous cat. Are you ready?

As I'll ever be, I answered.

And before I knew what was happening, she took me in the soft grip of her mouth, lifting me as a cat would carry a kitten. Then she craned her long neck, depositing me on her back.

I sat along the hard ridge of her spine, momentarily disoriented. Ay Dios Mio! In a day I'd gone from riding in a wheelchair to riding astride a dragon!

The rope, Gabriel,she mentally chided. Hurry, before we are discovered.

Ay ay ay! The rope!I pulled it out of my sack, looped it around my waist, and tied it around a thick scale, making a strong knot and a bridle of sorts, so that I had something to hold onto during flight. I pulled a thick cap over my head and slipped into leather gloves. I also wore a heavy poncho, for Safina had warned me the wind would be cold.

I'm ready,I thought. And before I had a chance to change my mind, she'd lifted from the safety of the ground, the sound of her heavy wings beating like a drum in my skull.

Ay Dios Mio! Ay Dios Mio! Ay Dios Mio!

Her wings flapped harder, faster. I held on tight as she tilted to one side, and I caught a glimpse of the world below. The city looked like a painting, and the water before us so peaceful, I wept with joy. Moisture coated my face as she flew through the clouds and across the vast ocean.

If it hadn't been for the sting of the wind biting my exposed cheeks, I would've thought this night was a dream. Never in a million years would I have believed I'd ride a dragon, or the dragon would soon be my bride.

Are you all right, Gabriel? Safina asked.

All right? I laughed. Sí. I am more than all right.

Her wings flapped even faster, so fast I had to close my eyes against the onslaught of wind. I leaned forward until I rested against her scales, finding shelter from the chill behind the crook of her neck.

At this rate, it wouldn't take us long to reach Cuba. I hoped we flew far enough away the dragon queen couldn't find us. Heaven help us if she did.