She had sent him away, but Julian found that he couldn’t stay away for very long. He needed Naomi in the same way that he needed air or food, but perhaps even more desperately. She was like his very lifeblood, and knowing that she was once again on the same planet as he was meant that he simply couldn’t live without her.

After picking up Kaylee, he drove back to Autumn’s house and pulled up in the drive right behind Autumn’s car. The three women were just getting out.

“What are you doing here?” Summer asked with a smile. “We’ve got some amazing news for you and the other guys.”

“I know.” Julian hated to ruin the surprise, and he could see why they would be so happy to tell them that there finally was another dragon on Earth, but it was what it was. “I’ve already seen her.”

“You have?” Autumn folded her arms in front of her chest, looking offended. “How?”

He did his best to explain, feeling a flush burn at his cheeks as he did so. Julian wasn’t really in the habit of announcing his feelings aloud, and then there was admitting that he had broken into Autumn’s house without her permission. “We’re linked from our time on Charok, you see. I knew as soon as she came back. I mean, I didn’t understand it, but I still knew. I could sense her presence, which I haven’t been able to do in a long time.”

Autumn gave a nod, Leah smiled, and Summer was jumping up and down and clapping her hands. “Julian! That’s so exciting! I had no idea! Honestly, I didn’t even think about her as a potential mate for you. I was just to happy to have her back.”

He blushed a little harder. “So am I. And I can’t thank you three enough for what you’ve done. But she doesn’t seem to be quite the same. She was absolutely terrified when I found her.”

“Most women would be if a man broke down the front door and charged into the house.” She frowned at the splinters she noticed on the front step. “I wonder how many times I’m going to have to replace this thing.”

He cringed. “Yeah…sorry about that. I’ll pay for the repairs needed. But I have a feeling it wasn’t my grand entrance that scared her.” He could see her point, but in his mind, there was something deeper. “It was different. She got past it, and we managed to…spend some time together. But then it was like a switch was flipped, and she went right back into that defensive mode. She wouldn’t even let me stay with her, insisting that it was for my own safety. It didn’t make any sense, but I’m very worried about her.” If what Naomi had told him was true and the three women had been her friends before she had died, then perhaps they knew her even better than he did.

Autumn reached out and touched his arm. “She’s had a pretty crazy day, and even the last few years have been rough for her. Naomi probably just needs some time to adjust. I thought she seemed a little confused, myself. She mentioned something about there being shadowy creatures in the Otherworld, so that’s bound to have affected her. Maybe there’s something you can do to help reacquaint her with what normal life is like here.”

“I’ve got Kaylee in the car, and I thought about picking up Naomi and bringing her back to my place for dinner. Just something nice and quiet. I don’t think she’s ready for a restaurant just yet.” He would have loved to take her out to a fancy, romantic place with just the two of them, but for the moment, it would be simpler to go home and throw a few steaks in a cast iron skillet.

Leah smiled at him as she carried a duffel bag around Autumn’s car and handed it to Julian. “That sounds like a lovely welcome-home dinner. She’s also going to need a chance to go shopping for clothes, but us girls can help her with that. For the moment, I’ve picked up a few essentials and grabbed several outfits from my closet. Go ahead and take it with you.”

He took the bag and realized just what all of this meant. He actually had Naomi back. It wasn’t even going to be the same as it had been on Charok, because they wouldn’t be sneaking off for secret dates. She would be living with him, or at least he hoped so. That wasn’t even something they’d had a chance to discuss. There was so much to be addressed still.

When he made his way into the house, Naomi was just waking up. She still looked worn out, but she gave him a sleepy nod when he asked her to come back to his place for dinner. His heart jumped with excitement as he opened the back door of the car. “Naomi, I’d like you to meet Kaylee.”

The light that had faded from Naomi’s eyes was suddenly alight again. She instantly dropped to her knees and reached out to delicately touch Kaylee’s hand. “Hi there, sweetheart. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Kaylee grinned, her green eyes taking in every aspect of Naomi’s face. “Pretty!”

“Why, thank you. I think you’re very pretty, too. I hope that you and I can be good friends someday. Your daddy has asked me to come back to your place to have dinner. Would that be alright with you?”

The little girl nodded, reaching out with one tiny hand to gently touch Naomi’s hair. It was a beautiful sight, and one that Julian had never thought he would get to see. Maybe things weren’t going to be too difficult after all.

His love was quiet on the drive over, her body stiff in the passenger seat and her eyes watching everything carefully as they passed. At first, Julian speculated that she was just getting used to the sight of Earth again, but as they approached the other side of town, he realized there was something more to it. It was as if she were watching for someone. He opened his mouth to ask her about it and then quickly shut it again. Naomi would tell him when she was ready.

Arriving at his house, Julian’s stomach crunched in on itself. He had no reason to really be nervous. Naomi probably wouldn’t care too much about what his place looked like, and he knew there was plenty of room for both of them. It was a modern affair, very unlike Holden’s big mansion or Beau’s craftsman-style bungalow, but he had chosen it with the thought of a future family in mind. And if she didn’t like the color of the walls or the floor, then he would gladly change it for her.

Still, there was something nerve-racking about the whole idea. It was as though he was a little bird and had built a nest just for her, but if she didn’t like it enough, she might not stay. “I’ll give you a tour first, so you know where everything is. I want you to be comfortable here. Then I’ll start cooking.”

Naomi nodded, and she looked in each room as he showed it to her, but she didn’t seem all that interested. It wasn’t until they reached Kaylee’s room, right across the hall from his, that her eyes lit up again. “What a beautiful room you have, Kaylee,” she said with genuine awe. “You must have a lot of fun in here.”

The little girl wriggled in Julian’s arms, and he obligingly set her down. She toddled to her toy box and pulled out a doll, holding it in the air proudly as she brought it back to show Naomi.

“That’s a very nice doll. Is she your favorite?”

At this prompt, Kaylee went to her bed and yanked down an old ratty teddy bear. Julian had bought it for her as soon as she had hatched, and it showed evidence of all the love she had given it.

Despite its appearance, Naomi readily took the teddy bear, gave it a hug, and handed it back to Kaylee. “It’s absolutely lovely.”

“Play?”

“Maybe in a little bit,” Julian answered. “I’ve got to go cook dinner. You go ahead and play.” He took Naomi by the waist and escorted her to the kitchen.

“You’re smiling an awful lot,” she noted.

He was glad to see the warm look in her eyes. It drifted in and out, and he had his concerns that she didn’t really want to be there with him or that she was somehow disappointed in him, but then she would look at him like that again. “How can I not smile? You’re here. I never thought I would see you again, and here you are in the flesh.”

“Well, new flesh.” Naomi looked down at her body. “It was a spell Autumn performed, since my original body had died. It felt strange at first, but I’m getting used to it.”

“I think it feels quite nice.” Julian waggled his eyebrows suggestively before turning to get the steak out of the fridge. “I had no idea you were so good with children.”

“What do you mean?” Naomi took a seat at the breakfast bar where she could watch him make his preparations.

Julian shrugged and pulled a pan down from the rack. “You just seem to take so naturally to talking to Kaylee, like it’s easier than having a conversation with another adult. I’m not complaining, I just think it’s interesting.”

Naomi looked down at the counter top. “I guess there’s just less pressure. Seeing you again makes me happier than I can even explain, but it’s also hard. There’s so much explaining to do. I know there will be things to decide, and I’m not sure I’m ready to make any decisions. With Kaylee, there isn’t any of that.”

“She seems to like you,” Julian noted. He knew they were all still in their honeymoon period, but at least they were off to a good start. “And as far as decisions, don’t feel like you have to make up your mind about anything right away. We all understand that things have been difficult for you. I’m hopeful that you’ll live here, but you can have all the time in the world to think about it.” If he had it his way, he would have her under his roof and in his bed from there on out, but he didn’t want to chase her off.

Her cheeks flushed. “I hadn’t even thought about where I would live yet. Isn’t that silly?”

“No. I think that just means you know you have plenty of friends here, and lots of options. I’m sure Autumn would be glad to let you stay at her place, as would any of the others.” But your rightful place is here with me. He wouldn’t say it out loud, but she knew he felt it.

Their conversation seemed to stagnate for a bit. Julian occupied himself with warming up the pan, tossing a salad, and browning dinner rolls in the oven. This wasn’t anything like their experiences together back on Charok, and they had each spent their time on Earth separately. This was a situation unlike any he had been in before, so he tried to keep the conversation going by catching her up on everything that had happened since he had arrived.

“I’d really like for you to meet the other guys. You won’t have much choice anyway, since they’ve all paired off with your friends, but I think you’ll really like them.”

“Oh!”

“What is it?” Julian turned to see Naomi staring off into the distance, but she looked surprised more than scared this time.

Her gaze slowly drifted to him and focused, bringing her mostly back to the present moment. “When Varhan sent me here, he said I would be changing the lives of others as well. He said three others would meet the ones they were meant to be with, and that I would be changing their lives for the better, even while I saved my own. Maybe he actually meant Autumn, Summer, and Leah.”

Julian set down the pair of tongs he had just flipped the steak with. “That’s interesting. That means he would have to have known that he would send the rest of us to Earth as well. Could it somehow have been all part of the same spell?” He had tried so hard to figure out just what Varhan had done to send them to Earth, but he hadn’t known that Naomi was already there. Was that the part he was missing? Did it matter, since he knew they would never go back to Charok again?

“I always had a feeling that Varhan knew much more than he was willing to tell. He seemed so wise for his age, and the things he spoke of weren’t typical to the ways of wizards. Granted, he was the only one I knew well.”

Reaching across the counter, Julian wrapped his hand over hers. Naomi’s fingers were long and cool, and they made the slightest movement upward to touch his. “I guess it doesn’t matter, since we’re all here now.” He turned back to the stove, feeling a sense of peace and comfort that Earth had never afforded him before. It would be a process to get to know Naomi again, and to understand what she was like there as opposed to how she had been on Charok. It could even prove to be a difficult adjustment. But he loved her just the same, and they would get through it, no matter what.