Chapter 14: Chapter Thirteen

I screamed as it hit me, falling to my hands and knees, I didn’t fight it to stay in my body. I willed it to flow out of me as quickly as it entered. As it left my body I breathed deeply and noticed two new smells in the air, death and just the slightest hint of mint. “This is who I think it is, isn’t it?” I asked Niamh.

“Yes. We need to shift,” Niamh said.

“Are you okay?” Fox asked me, “Amaya, can you hear me?”

I rolled so that I was on my back, “Fuck that sucked. Someone, anyone, remind me never to do that again.” I groaned, “Jax you can take the hit next time.”

“Me?! A hit like that will kill me!”

I groaned again, “I need to shift. Where are the rogues? Are they still around?”

“Yep we’re still surrounded.”

“Cool,” I bent lightning down and hit all of them with a stunning strike, “Did I get them all?”

“Yep. Where do you want us?”

“Completely out of the way. You can leave the rogues, but I want you guys out of the way.” I thought for a moment, “Can one of you go get me a change of clothes please? I don’t feel like getting up.”

“We’re on it,” Jax said as he grabbed Fox and ran out of the clearing. “We’re clear. You’re good to shift.”

I rolled so that I was on my hands and knees and triggered my shift. It was one of the more painful shifts I had been through since I started shifting. “How are we looking Niamh?”

“Better. We need to rest, but we’re doing much better.”

“What do you think, take a flight to find the culprit or stay on the ground to protect Fox?”

“We can protect him from the sky. You already know who did this though. You just don’t want to admit it to yourself,” Niamh said.

I pulled the clouds down from the storm above me and flew into the sky. I looked around for Joseph, but only smelt traces of what seemed to be his new scent. “I think he’s gone, Niamh. Am I okay to shift back?”

“Yes. We need to rest though when we shift back.”

I flew back down, shifted, and looked around me. Jax’s pack had already picked up the rogues and I spotted Fox waiting on the edge of the clearing with some clothes for me. “Did, um, did that help?”

I walked over to him and he tensed. A sharp pain went through my heart, but I grabbed my clothes, “It did. Thanks for bringing these.”

We walked back to the house in silence. Once we got inside, Jax was the first one to wrap me in a hug, “You good, Little Duck?”

“Yeah. I just need to rest,” he gave me a hard squeeze before turning me over to Jo, and I was passed around for hugs from all of the Jacksons.

“It’s a good thing storm dragons can survive a lightning strike,” Ava said.

“We can’t. I need to call Daniel, if you’ll excuse me,” when I walked in my room, I grabbed my phone off the dresser and hit Daniel’s number.

“Yeah?”

“I’m pretty sure I had a run in with Joseph,” I recapped what happened for him, “I feel okay, just really tired. Niamh said we needed to rest after shifting, but I wanted to call you first.”

Daniel was quiet for a really long time, “I’m glad you’re okay. I don’t know how, but I’m glad you are. And you’re sure it was him?”

“Niamh is. I didn’t see him, but I caught the scent of death.”

“Fuck. Niamh has to be right. I remember the distinct scent of death that night, but not actual death, that was there too. This was different,” he sighed. I knew how hard talking about this was, “Do you still have the scent on you?”

I breathed in deeply, “Yeah.”

“I’ll be there in a few hours,” he said, disconnecting.

I laid down in bed and passed out almost instantly. Several hours later I woke up with my stomach growling, demanding to be fed. I went downstairs and was greeted with the scent of steak, potatoes, veggies, and some sort of chocolate dessert. “There she is.”

“Hey,” I said sleepily. “I’m glad you made it in, Daniel.”

“How are you feeling kiddo?” Daniel asked as he wrapped me in a hug and our dragons reached out for each other.

“Better but still tired,” I responded into his chest.

Eventually we pulled apart, “So do you think this whole near death thing is going to be a regular thing or are you going to stop scaring me to death?”

I sighed, “I couldn’t have saved us both.”

“I know. We’ll work on that, just in case it happens again.” He put both hands on either side of my face, and just looked at me before bringing my forehead to his lips, “We need to get back to the complex. Charlie and Jo have agreed to let us take several of the rogues you were with when Joseph hit you.”

“I might need until tomorrow to recover.”

“That’s fine. I’ll take the rogues now, and you can follow tomorrow.”

We settled in at the table. Fox was noticeably giving Daniel a strange look, but he ignored it. “How did she survive if storm dragons can’t take strikes from lightning?” Jax asked.

“I’m not sure. It might be because of how Niamh was born, her status as Queen of Dragons, or the goddess protecting the last of the storm dragons from the man who seems determined to kill them all,” Daniel responded with a shrug.

“What would her status as queen have to do with it?” Luca asked.

Daniel looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I shrugged, “It’s not so much a status as it is an appointment by the goddess herself. It just so happens Amaya’s mother was also queen, but the woman before Ingrid wasn’t in her family line, not even close.”

“Niamh is also fire resistant so it could be a gift from the goddess to protect me in case what happened with James happens with a lightning bender,” I offered.

“Wait, so not all dragons are fire resistant?” Jax asked.

Daniel and I looked at each other, “It’s your choice, Amaya. As queen you can disclose as much as you want,” he mind linked me.

I nodded to Daniel before looking at Jax, “We are to an extent just like all dragons are ice resistant to an extent. However, a direct hit from a fire dragon will burn any other type of dragon, unless they have fire dragon in them. It has to do with the magic we have in us, that allows us to do what we do.”

We continued chatting throughout the meal until we finished and it was time for Daniel to leave. “You’re always welcome here, Daniel.”

“Thanks Charlie,” he responded as they clasped hands and embraced in a one armed hug. Daniel was passed around to all of the Jackson family members. Fox just watched on from afar.

“The warriors have the rogues you wanted to take with you ready for transport. You just have to pick them up,” Jo told him, “I’ll go with you to show you where.”

Daniel walked over to me and wrapped me in another crushing hug, “Have a safe flight tomorrow, please. I don’t know if I could handle another one of these trips or calls.”

“You have a safe flight today. Be careful with the rogues,” he gave me a nod when we broke apart.

He followed Jo outside. “So Daniel is your dad,” Fox said, not quite accusingly, but close enough that it rubbed me the wrong way.

“Yep,” I said, biting my tongue to keep the sharp response from flying out of my mouth.

“‘Yep,’ that’s all you’re going to say?” There it was.

I sighed exhaustedly, “What else do you want me to say? I told you there were details you didn’t know because I lied because I couldn’t just say ‘hey I’m a supernatural being here’s everything about me.’” My head started pounding, “I can’t do this right now.”

I tried to walk out of the room and he stepped in my way. “Fox, it would be best if you let her rest. She’s had a long day,” Charlie attempted to pacify both of us.

“No. I want to know what else did you lie about?” Pain coursed through my chest at his accusation and Niamh whimpered in my head.

I was quickly being pulled under by exhaustion. My headache was getting worse by the second and my emotions were all over the place. “I can’t do this right now. Get out of my way or I’ll move you out of my way.”

“I thought you would never hurt me. Was that another li-” I cut him off by literally picking him up and placing him out of my way.

I thanked the goddess that action left him stunned and speechless and I was able to get away without him following or saying anything else. I locked myself in my room and quickly fell asleep.