Chapter Eleven

Valen had sat in a chair most of the night, watching Stathim do his job, working on Evette and infusing her with dragon blood a little at a time. He had also been watching Evette and trying his hardest not to distract Stathim with his worrying or questions as he saw she was still not waking up. His worry was focused so much on her he had almost forgotten about the fact that he was back home in his village, in a home and office set apart in the stone of the mountains where the dragons resided in secret from the outside world.

The days they spent together ran through his head like a movie reel, and he wondered why he had fought so hard against what he felt for her. If he was being completely truthful with himself, that fire in her the first time they met had stirred something up in him, though, it was something he didn't recognize. He should have known the moment her sister started calling him hottie and they were pulled together at every turn that he was doomed to be in a relationship that was forbidden. Beyond forbidden. It was unheard of. It couldn’t be for so many reasons. And yet, it had to be. He didn't think he could live with the idea of being without her, and it was almost like he didn't see that in his own heart until he was losing her, until he saw her laying there lifeless, hoping that she would be spared from the disease and his father.

Stathim had left for a little while, most likely to keep up appearances and do his usual morning routine. Valen imagined it was probably about time for the kingdom to be waking up by now.

Without any prying eyes, he stood up to walk over to where Evette was laying. She was on a small bed, made of stone and cotton, almost completely still as her veins filled up with dragon's blood that came to her through an IV in her arm. He tried to see if anything looked better about her, and he swore he did see some color improvement, but he just couldn't tell.

There was a hair on her face, and he reached down to brush it out of the way, caressing her cheek in the process. Her skin was so warm, most likely from the blood that was going into her. Dragons were always warmer than humans, which was just part of the danger of the transfusion.

Valen heard footsteps and looked up to see that Stathim had come back. Valen backed away from Evette, feeling caught red-handed with the way he was so near to her. He had not wanted anyone to realize his strong feelings for her for fear his leaving might be taken out on her. In truth, he had probably stirred up much chaos by leaving.

Valen was the only heir to the throne, and he was supposed to be ruling right now in some capacity, by his father's side, to prepare the clan for when his father would step down completely and pass on the kingdom. On top of that, he was supposed to be married by now as well. A deal was made with a dragon who had a daughter, one thought worthy of being Queen one day. She was smart, cunning even, beautiful, and had the right values and the right rank to be worthy of Valen. At least in his family's eyes.

When he was younger, Valen had used the arrangement to his advantage because she was the most beautiful, young, female dragon in the clan. But he did not love her. in fact, it was quite the opposite. She was sometimes worse than his father when it came to her discriminations and hunger for power. Finally, when a union had been pushed, that was when he left. It was too much. He could not remain cleaved to a woman he did not live forever or until one of them was struck down by a hunter or caught one of the rare diseases that could kill a dragon. No, that was not the life for him.

"I am sorry if I interrupted something," Stathim spoke while clearing his throat. The dragons here, most of them, were not used to using their voices very often. His sounded dry and old, but really, he was just out of practice. In dragon form, they only communicated through telepathy. There was not always a need to take on human form unless they were in confined spaces, and then, they were usually alone and doing work for the kingdom, much like Stathim who was the healer and had been for quite some time.

"No, I was just wondering why she has not awoken yet," Valen said, matter-of-factly, backing off and playing as though this wasn’t ripping him to shreds.

Stathim looked him over. "You don't have to pretend with me. I, unlike others, was not that surprised when you left. I also do not think you would have brought a human here and come back unless there was a reason you wanted her to live. The way you look at her, even if you try to hide it, is obvious. Have you mated with her?"

Stathim’s words were not harsh or judgmental. Despite anything that had happened in the past year, he remained his kind and understanding self, the same man willing to train a young dragon prince in simple healing work when that is not what he was supposed to be doing.

Valen shook his head. "No, we have not mated. I did not think it was proper because she was sick and because I still felt I should not be with a human, even if I was among them. It turns out it didn't matter though, since my feelings have betrayed me." Valen scoffed as Stathim began to examine Evette, checking all of her vitals and then halting the infusion. Valen looked up at him to see if he had any good news. He certainly needed it considering the risk he took to get her there.

"She is a tough case, Valen, I will be honest with you. Her condition is serious, especially for a human, and even the strongest of humans can reject the dragon blood. I am infusing her as fast as I can without killing her, but there is a chance she will never wake up. You have to know that. If she can survive this and wake up though, she will be completely healed of her disease forever." Valen liked the sound of the last part, and he wished she could hear him so he could tell her if she would just fight she would never have to be sick like this again.

"Look," Stathim spoke up again, and Valen got the feeling there was something on his mind. "I understand why you had her brought to me first. She would never have made it otherwise. I wonder what your endgame is with her though, with even being back. You will surely be found out, and it will likely happen today. You can’t hide forever, and neither can she. You will most likely be punished for more than just this, and they could even decide to go after her because of what you have done. Have you thought about any of this?" Stathim questioned. It was a good question that Valen appreciated. His old friend was thinking of him. He had thought of all of that, though, weighing the possibilities for days before he acted on them.

"I thought this through for a while before I brought her here. I knew what it could mean. But I feel confident I can find a way to make this work, and if I can't, I am willing to fight to the death for her, even against my own people. I am sorry if that offends you, but she has taught me things I have never known in my life that I have always needed," Valen admitted. He would never go against those values he had learned of love and family and helping others. It was nothing like how he was raised, and it was for the better. He did not want to bring a forced child into the world in a place where all he or she would learn is rank and duty.

"I am prepared to do the same for you and for this woman. I can see what she means to you, and therefore, she is important. In fact, she could be more important than even that." Valen was shocked by Stathim's answer. Even if Stathim was a good friend and more progressive than the rest of the clan, he did not expect him to be on his side or to stand up for him at all. "Do you not see the potential in this? I hope that some agreement can be made here so that everyone comes out of this as unscathed as possible. It might finally change some attitudes around here, which is long overdue. I truly hope it all works out and that maybe, one day you will be allowed to become a healer if you wish to be. Stations should not be so static like that that you cannot venture out at all."

Valen agreed with Stathim, but he had never heard another dragon say such things. Stathim could be in a lot of trouble just for having those opinions.

"That sounds like an ideal world you're talking about, and it is dangerous." Valen was smirking as he said it, though.

Stathim smoked back and looked like he was about to say something when a banging came at the door. Valen could only guess who it was and what they wanted. Stathim looked back and forth between Valen and Evette, making a silent decision. "Stay in here. I will see if I can head them off."

Valen nodded but knew there was no point, they would bust their way in and wreck up the healer's office if the king let them. It wouldn't surprise him considering his father probably wanted nothing but to get his hands on him ever since the moment he left them all behind.

He could hear booming voices and the sounds of feet. It sounded like there were several men coming his way. No way could Stathim had fought them all coming in. Valen stood still near the entrance to the office, shielding the woman he loved from the view of whoever was coming.

Sure enough, the door flew open to reveal three royal soldiers as well as the king himself. There he was, wearing the royal blue of their kingdom, looking appalled and strained, older than the way Valen had left the man when he had turned his back on his father’s ways.

"I didn't believe it. I didn't, until now, now that I see it with my own eyes," he criticized in his harsh, cold voice. His father had always sounded that way. He was born to be a ruthless leader but never a father. That was for certain. How his beautiful mother put up with it each day, Valen was never sure. Though she had her moments of inequity too.

"The fact that your son has returned to a place he despises, or the fact that I have brought someone very important to be restored to health?" Valen asked, remaining calm. He hoped his father felt it as the jab it was.

"My son, the dragon prince, a criminal, returned from self-imposed exile to a world we should never be involved in," his father specified, pursing his lips so that the lines around it made his mouth appear as a prune. It would have been comedic, if not for the fact that Valen knew what it meant, A punishment was coming, and there was no stopping it now. He could only hope he could get Evette excluded from this. "You know you must be arrested for the treason, especially while we are to deliberate about what to do next. You have set this clan on fire with your immature ways, and it ends here."

With that, the soldiers marched forward to bind Valen and carry him away. Valen looked to his father, humbling himself enough to show the desperate pleading in his eyes.

"I only ask one thing before I accept my punishment; that she not be killed, that she not be harmed. Let her heal."

His father shooed him away, but there was some comfort in the words Valen could hear shouting at him as he was being taken to the clan's prison cells. "There’s no point in killing her now. We will deal with her when she is better. It is you we must handle now."

Valen was thrown into one of the cells and put in there, being collared again while he was at it. This was not just any collar or a collar made for him. It was made for prisoners, making them want to turn but constantly and forcibly suppressing it. It was meant to be painful. Living as a human, though, had given him a bit of advantage with controlling its effects. He sat still in the center of his cell, breathing and remaining calm even as he began to sweat with the effort and his rising temperature.

He could not believe he had been thrown into the cells with common criminals who had actually done things wrong. He did not feel his crime was a crime at all. He was saving a life. Why did it matter that it was a human one?

Suddenly, a woman walked into view, one he knew well. The woman who had raised him and held her tongue every time his father had become more controlling in his life, telling him what he had food and that what he wanted didn't matter.

"Mother," he greeted her with a shaking voice, the pain beginning to get to him a little, knocking at the back of his head like a nail and hammer. How long before it drove all the way through his skull so that he could no longer focus?

"Oh, my son," she said softly, kneeling down so she was eye level with him. She was a kind woman, for a dragoness. But she was obsessed with nice things and was quite a weak woman both physically and mentally. That was her crime in all of this. He could not fault her too much for cleaving to someone who would protect her, though. Her beauty and simplicity could have easily led her to worse arrangements. "How did we end up here?" she asked rhetorically, cooing over him as if he were still a child.

"I think you saw this coming and don't want to admit to it," Valen told her, his muscles tensing and beginning to spasm without control.

"I know why you left. I knew in my heart one day you would. I made my peace with that, but now you've come back and with a human. Please, tell me why?" she asked, almost in a whine as some of her long, sandy hair fell over her shoulder.

"She would have died, or at least been permanently disabled. I could not just leave it alone." His mother narrowed her eyes at him as if looking straight through.

"You have feelings for a human." It wasn't a question, and even Valen could tell that. It was hard for his mother to sound harsh with her airy voice, but that did sound about as harsh as she got.

"I was living as a human, so I am not sure why that would come as a surprise. Trust me, I tried not to, but she is everything that Petra, father, and everyone here is not; strong but caring, connected but independent." His mother nodded.

"I don’t think that is something I ever bet on, you falling for a human woman. I thought maybe you would find a nice dragoness somewhere else in another clan and try to bring her back one day." Valen did not like that suggestion, but there was a smile after her sigh he did not expect to see. She reached up and began working on the locks with her royal key, then came up to him and removed the collar. He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself from the want for the change, and he looked up at her with a million questions in his eyes. "I can't stop anything your father will do, but I also can't put you in jail for being in love."

Valen wasted no time and used his freedom to go straight back to where he belonged; by Evette’s side. _