Page 50 of A Dragon's Curse
“But it was necessary,” Fane said.
I left Cillian’s side and went to Lykem’s prone dragon. His wings were folded perfectly over his sides, and he was laying on his belly with his neck and head folded inward.
My eyes met Winter’s. “His stomach is already healed enough to lay on it?”
She nodded, her fair skin glowing under the moon above us. “All of his wounds are.”
“Then what is keeping him unconscious?” I asked, not understanding how their abilities worked.
“Could be a number of things.” She shrugged. “The sheer trauma of the situation. His dragon needing more rest before being able to shift again. He also could just be exhausted and doesn’t want to wake up.”
I half snorted and laughed. It wasn’t as if I knew Lykem well, but that last one seemed more than possible.
I kneeled next to him and placed my hand on his head. “Rest all you need, Dragon Boy. Just make sure to wake up soon enough.”
His scales were cool to the touch, whereas they’d been warm when he’d first arrived, which was good. Though, his scales didn’t flinch or quiver as I pet him like I hoped. Deciding not to disturb him any further, I stood back up and glanced over at Cillian. “What time is it?”
“About four in the morning.”
“Is time ahead or behind or the same as back home?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t even considered if time moved differently in this realm. Though, he’d compared it to Fae Islands, so I doubted that was a concern I needed to stress over.
“We’re three hours ahead of the academy,” he answered. “Not sure what that means for your home.”
Shit. If we were ahead, then it was still the middle of the night for Beatrix and even my parents in Texas.
My skin itched, though, and my chest felt tight.
I’ve been…what would you call it?my wolf pondered.Meditating. Figuring out this extra energy is key, but you’re reacting because we need to get back to Earth, regardless of the time, she confirmed.
Any idea why?
It’s just time.
Well, that wasn’t cryptic as fuck or anything.
I stepped closer to Cillian and grabbed his hand again. “I’d like to head back now if there’s nothing else we can do for Lykem.”
“Now?” he asked, and I nodded. “Okay.”
That was easier than I expected. Then again, not really.
He turned to the others. “I’m not sure when we’ll be back. It could be a few hours or even a couple days, but we’ll do our best to make the trip quick.”
The man whose name I didn’t catch earlier nodded. “We’ve already been discussing ways to retaliate now that we know where he’s hiding, thanks to your mate. We’ll be ready to act when you’re back.”
“Thanks, Clay,” Cillian said. “So will we.”
I remembered something I wanted to make sure they knew as well. “According to Knox, he’s the only one who can open the door into his underground bunker, but I was able to leave on my own. Something to keep in mind.”
“We’re working on our cloaking spells and hoping to ambush him when he comes out to attack us,” Clay said. “But good to know we’ll be able to get out on our own once we’re inside. Our first goal will be to get Darius back, so that Knox can’t use his scales any longer.”
Fuck. I’d completely forgotten about Cillian’s father. When I glanced up at my mate and found tension around his eyes, it was clear he hadn’t.
“We’ll hurry back,” I said with certainty. There was no way that our time with my family would be the reason Cillian missed the raid to rescue his father. Plus, there was also his Nannio to concern ourselves with.
Though, I wasn’t going to bring up that sore subject until we were back.
I glanced around the sky. “Do you think it’s safe for my wolf to run to the portal?”