Chapter Twenty-Nine
Safina
I pumped my wings withall my might, putting as much distance as possible between us and the storm. I had to reach Galveston before the hurricane did.
The change happened in a blink—so fast I'd no time to prepare myself. One moment I was a magnificent dragon soaring through the clouds, and the next I was back in human form, and Gabriel and I were falling through the sky.
I flapped my arms and closed my eyes, willing myself to shift, but nothing happened. How could this be?
"Safi!" Gabriel hollered. "What are you doing?"
"I can't change back," I screamed.
I watched with horror as my mate, tumbling beneath me, fell toward certain death.
"Gabriel!" I cried, reaching out to him. "Oh, Almighty Mother, help us!"
The blue unforgiving sea stretched beneath us, ready to crush us when we landed. Gabriel grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms as I continued to scream. He shut his eyes and grimaced, no doubt preparing for the finality of our fates. Just as we were about to hit, the sea rose like a spout, catching us. The spout fell, Gabriel and me tumbling with it.
I lost contact with Gabriel when I went under. I swallowed salt water as I pushed myself to the surface with all my might. Gasping for air, I flailed until strong arms wrapped around my waist.
"Safi, are you okay?" Gabriel soothed.
I spun around, sobbing into his neck as I held him tight. "I think so. I'm just in shock. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, mi amor." He cupped my face, searching my eyes. "What happened?"
"I don't know." I envisioned the shift in my mind—the burning in my lungs, the stretching of skin, and the grinding of bones—but no matter how hard I tried, nothing happened. "I can't shift back into dragon form." I ran my tongue over the roof of my mouth. I was parched, and the bitter water only increased my thirst. "How are we not dead?"
He grasped my shoulders as his mouth twitched in the slightest of grins. "I summoned a waterspout to catch us."
I arched back, eyeing him with amazement. "I didn't think your magic was that strong."
He shrugged. "Neither did I."
I frowned. Something wasn't right between us. As I gaped at Gabriel, realization struck me. I placed a hand over his heart, feeling only the sting of the cold water and his hard chest beneath.
"Gabriel, I can no longer feel your heart beating as if it were my own." I grabbed his hand and placed it on my chest. "Can you feel mine?"
His eyes widened as he breathed in through a hiss. "No."
I pursed my lips together and closed my eyes, trying to summon that other thread that bound me to my mother, but I couldn't sense the dragon queen. My eyes shot open, and I trembled. "The thread that tethered me to my mother was thin, but I could still feel her. Now I feel nothing."
Gabriel's eyes darkened with thunderous intensity. "The severance of souls."
I gasped, remembering my mother talking about severing the bond with her mate. "The magic spell?"
He slowly nodded. "Papí must have performed it on your mother and father."
"What does that mean?" I asked, though I feared I already knew.
His mouth was set in a grim line. "It means the spell worked."
"They took away my powers?" My hand flew to my throat as the realization set in. I was a mortal girl with no magical ability and no means of protecting myself. For years I'd resented my immortal curse, and now I didn't know how I could live without it. "But now we're not bonded," I cried. "We're not immortal."
Gabriel tenderly stroked my face. "Don't worry. We will find my papí and make him fix it."
Despite Gabriel's reassuring tone, I couldn't help the panic which made my limbs shake and teeth chatter. "Gabriel, we're in the middle of the ocean, and a storm is coming."
"I can get us back." Resolve set in the hard planes of his face before he turned his back to me and patted his shoulder. "Hold on to me."
I obeyed, amazed when another waterspout swept us up and pushed us forward. I held tight to Gabriel, worried by our slow pace. At the rate we traveled, it would take days to reach Galveston. I didn't know if Gabriel's magic would last, or if we could survive that long stranded at sea with no food or water. And then there was the tempest. What if it overpowered us before we reached safety?
I closed my eyes tight, sending up silent prayers to Earth Mother and Almighty Mother to guide us safely to shore. And then, somewhere in the recesses of my mind, there was a flicker. Like a lone beacon in the darkness, I felt the soul of another. I willed that beacon to shine brighter. The image I saw in my mind made my heart shudder. It was a man. Tall, with broad shoulders, ruddy cheeks, and tousled, dark hair. But it was his eyes that took my breath away, bluer than the summer sky.
My eyes flew open as I stifled a scream.
Oh, great goddess, help me; I was still bound to my father.
* * *
Duncan
I WANDERED THE STREETSof Houston, dazed and barely aware of my surroundings, oblivious to people who jostled me on their way home from work. It was evening. I'd missed the train to Galveston, though it made no difference. The light that I had followed relentlessly throughout time had been snuffed out, like an explosion in reverse, sucking the air from my lungs.
I could no longer feel the tether to my mate, the bond so strong that it had created an insatiable yearning in my heart. For me, it was the end of the world. Where had Fiona gone?
My ankle still throbbed from when I'd been pushed off a sidewalk. What an odd sensation after not having felt pain for so long. Such minor cuts and sprains had always healed within seconds. I stopped in an alcove, resting my weary head and trying to clear my mind.
My heart, which had once beat as if for half a man, pounded like a drum in my ears, though the rhythm was erratic and painful, as if beating against a casing of shattered glass.
I tried to summon the lost thread that had bound us together. Nothing. Not even the smallest trace of my amber-eyed lass. I balled my hands by my sides, doing my best to hold back tears as I tried again.
And then it happened, the faintest trace of another heartbeat. I covered my ears, shutting out the world around me, focusing all my energy on that distant pulse. I saw her, a beautiful and frightened girl with pale blue eyes screaming for help as she splashed in the open sea, her flame-colored hair cascading down her back in sodden waves.
Safina!
What was she doing in the middle of the ocean? Had Fiona abandoned her, or worse, had my mate been killed? Why couldn't Safina transform into a dragon and fly away?
I raced for the train station as I formulated a plan. I would go to Galveston and commandeer a boat. I forced myself not to think of Fiona's fate, though I feared my true love had indeed perished. I only hoped I reached my child in time.
* * *
Fiona
"I CANNOT FEEL HIM.Oh, Duncan!" I fell to the floor and sobbed. Josef's spell had worked. For the first time in five hundred years, I was free. So why did it feel as if my heart had been shattered, along with our bond? I sat up, tears streaming down my face as I placed a hand on my chest. That insatiable yearning for my mate was no more, replaced by a cold, hard loneliness that left me feeling more desperate than before. "He is lost to me now, but it was what I wanted, right?"
"Sí, Mi Reina." Josef bowed his head. "This is what you wanted."
Though my vision was blurred from the stinging tears, there was no mistaking the look of guilt in Josef's drawn mouth and hooded eyes.
I stood slowly, legs shaky, the hollow ache in my chest making me hunch over. Straightening my shoulders, I forced myself to stand tall. I was a dragon queen, a powerful shifter, and had survived five centuries of heartbreak. I could withstand thousands more.
And now I was free of my cursed bond and could search for my child. I closed my eyes, willing myself to call upon that thin thread that tethered me to Safina, but I was met with nothing but the dull sound of my weary heart.
My eyes shot open, narrowing at the old man. "The cord that tethered me to my child was stretched thin, but now I don't even feel it." My voice turned shrill as I clutched my throat. "It is as if it has snapped." Panic robbed my mind of reason. "Josef, I cannot feel Safina at all."
He said nothing as he shriveled beneath my glare like a delicate flower beneath the heat of the Texas sun. The quivering of his limbs confirmed my worst fears.
He knew this would happen. He knew!
I fell to my knees, stretching a hand toward the distant shoreline as I let out a mournful wail. "Oh, my child. My sweet daughter. Where are you?" I buried my face in my hands, sobbing as the realization hit me. My only reason for living was lost to me.
Why hadn't Josef told me this would happen? Flames of rage shot through my skull, and I fought the urge to transform and burn him to a crisp.
I sprang to my feet, screaming as I rushed the old man and shoved him into a rocking chair. "How could you?!"
He grabbed the sides of the chair with whitened knuckles, but much to my surprise, he didn't flinch. "I warned you it was dangerous magic."
I punched the air. "Why didn't you tell me I'd lose my daughter, too?"
Josef heaved a long sigh, coursing bony fingers through thinning hair. "You were going to lose her either way, Mi Reina. You plan to kill my grandson. The only way you can kill him is if you kill Safina first."
I jerked back. Where had Josef conjured such a foolish notion? "I would never harm my child."
"His immortality is tethered to his mate. How else would he know your wrath unless you killed your daughter?"
Josef could have struck my chest with a mallet, and it would've had the same effect. "I wouldn't have harmed Safina. I would've brought her back to our shell, or I would've made you sever their bond."
"You would subject her to an eternity of sorrow and force her to part from her mate?" Josef shook his head as he fell back in his chair. "I know you find this hard to believe, but my grandson has a kind, compassionate soul. I can promise you he wouldn't have run away with your daughter if he didn't love her, and I know Safina loves my Gabriel, too."
The barb of Josef's words sank deep, piercing my heart with cruel clarity. I hadn't counted on Gabriel loving Safina or of Safina returning his love. Safina was just an infatuated child, giving her heart carelessly to the first mortal who showed her attention, and Gabriel, well, he was a man, and men weren't to be trusted.
But what if Josef's words were true? What if Gabriel did have a compassionate soul? What if they loved each other? Would I have been cruel enough to separate them? To force my daughter to play out the same heartbreak I'd suffered for the past five hundred years.
I recalled the last night I'd seen Safina. I had dismissed Safina's affection for Gabriel and threatened to send her back to the cocoon. I'd even gone so far as to strike my child. Why? Was I truly afraid Safina would lose her heart to an underserving mortal? Or was I more afraid of losing my daughter's love and attention? The thought of Safina nestling in the arms of a loving embrace other than mine soured my stomach. And then the realization that I'd tried to deny my daughter that love soured it even more.
I fell into a chair beside Josef, burying my face in my hands. It was not Safina's heart I had been trying to protect but my own. I'd let my jealousy and hatred of a man come between me and my daughter, and now I may have lost Safina forever.
Oh, great goddess! I am a selfish monster.
"I have made a mess of things." My chest rose and fell with convulsions. "I have no mother, no mate, and no child. I have nothing left to live for."
"Have faith, Mi Reina." Josef placed a comforting hand on my back, a kindness I didn't deserve. "I know they will come back. Gabriel loves his family, and your daughter loves you."
I looked at him through a sheen of tears. "Of that, I'm not so sure."
I couldn't forget how I'd so foolishly slapped Safina or the pained look in my daughter's eyes as her pale cheek swelled with the angry imprint of my hand. And I remembered with heartbreaking clarity the words that had followed. "I hate you," Safina had said before running away.
Looking back at the way I had treated my child, I knew with every fiber in my being Safina had spoken the truth.
A dragon's word is her honor.