Chapter Sixteen
Audiv
“Antonio!”
Audiv rushed to her dragon’s side, her heart slamming into her chest as she checked for a pulse. Great tracks of flesh were torn up on his body, the wounds already starting to smoke as they healed. His heartbeat was hard and fast but steady, and she let out a soft sigh of relief. As she let her hand trail down his chest, she felt something start to tingle in her bones. Her eyes widened as it swept through her, powerful and joyous, like the first time she had used magic.
Holding her breath, she raised both her hands and, concentrating, called on the long-absence magic. It welled to respond to her command, rushing to her fingertips. A laugh bubbled from her throat as sparks danced at her fingertips. Tears pooled in her eyes and she quickly brushed them aside, not about to let herself get weepy.
Especially not when Antonio was in such bad shape. His skin was slick with blood, his eyes still closed and his breathing shallow. Audiv placed her hands on him, trying not to feel the clench of her stomach as her hands were submerged in blood. The scent of it made her light-headed, but she pushed that aside and struggled to visualize his skin stitching together.
Healing was not her strong suit, but as she pushed her magic into his body, a connection flashed between them so she could feel every one of his wounds in a dull, throbbing ache. She concentrated the magic in those areas, helping his extended abilities to heal, making the flesh stitch back together faster. It only took a few minutes before her head was swimming from the exhaustion, but his bleeding had slowed significantly.
Audiv glanced at Angstrom’s body, shook her head, and used her magic to help herself heave Antonio to his feet. He groaned, barely able to help her. She left Angstrom where he was as she got Antonio into the car. The camera that he’d told her to get out was in the back seat, and she placed it on the floor before gently putting Antonio back there. There was no telling when and if Angstrom’s cronies were going to arrive…
She had to nudge the sports car out of the way to get the SUV from the alley, but Audiv didn’t really care about that. She was certain that the owner was going to be pissed enough that she had stolen it in the first place. Right now, she needed to get Antonio back to somewhere safe.
She didn’t go back to the hotel, instead choosing to drive out of the city entirely, so she could take care of Antonio without someone arresting them for him being naked. She found a nice secluded area of forest, next to a stream, and grabbed a couple of empty water bottles to fill up so she could clean him up. By that time, he was conscious again, although looking a little woozy.
“What happened?” he asked when she brought the water back.
Audiv smiled at him, her heart flooding with warmth and joy. Unable to stop herself, she threw her arms around his neck and brought his mouth to hers, kissing him deeply. He chuckled as he kissed her back, but when he pulled back his brow was knitted.
“We won,” she explained. “Angstrom is dead. I have my magic back. We won!”
***
Indulf frowned at the two of them, even though there was a determined smile tugging at his lips. He folded his arms as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes sharp as he glanced from one to the other. Audiv had to smirk as she waited for him to speak.
“You were supposed to find out who among the FBI was the traitor, not take out Angstrom yourselves,” he said at last.
After Antonio had recovered from his fight with Angstrom, they had flown back to Byrelmore and gave the king all the information they had collected. He’d sent the four hunters to deal with Angstrom’s body, and then called Hazel, the US ambassador assigned to Byrelmore, in to discuss the complications that might come from their actions. He had sent the two of them back to their apartment to rest after their ordeal.
That had been a week ago, and finally, they’d learned the verdict.
“We were,” Audiv agreed. “It just so happened that Angstrom attacked us. Were we supposed to politely inform him that we weren’t meant to be fighting him yet?”
Indulf glared at her for a moment before his face broke into an all-out grin and he laughed. “Fair enough, I suppose. I’m glad that you’re back to your old self.”
Audiv inclined her head, agreeing fervently. Even if she had started to adjust to life without magic, having it back and coursing through her was such a weight off her shoulders. It was like an old friend coming back to her, a familiar sense of peace and safety wrapped around her. She never wanted to go through anything like that again. It did, however, give her a better understanding of what the new mages were going through. She’d cling to that feeling of having her world torn apart to give her more empathy as she moved forward.
“The two of you did well,” Indulf continued. “Those pictures that you got of Ivan Dickerson with Angstrom were enough to convince the FBI to open an investigation into him. He’s still on the run, but they have found plenty of evidence that he was handing new dragons and mages over to Angstrom, as well as assigning people with high anti-dragon feelings to protect people associated with dragons and mages. I am confident that he was the highest member in the FBI corruption; from here on out, it should be easy to root everything else out with your help.”
Audiv turned to beam at Antonio here. He had been asked by the FBI to come back and lead the internal investigation. He had seemed more confident and sure of himself ever since. Of course, that might have something to do with him finally embracing his dragon. He shifted on the regular now, and whenever he came back from flying… well, it got him very excited.
“Thank you,” Indulf continued, nodding to the both of them. “You have done Byrelmore a great service.”
The soft dismissal was obvious, and Antonio and Audiv left together. Audiv grinned to herself as they slipped out of the office and glanced at one another. That had gone better than she’d expected. Their actions were going to have repercussions, she knew that, but it seemed that it was going to be more or less positive from here on out.
They went for a walk around the gardens, talking about nothing, and as they were doing so, they ran into Dominique, who was sitting at one of the picnic tables and scribbling rapidly in a notebook. Audiv tugged on Antonio’s hand to head that way. Dominique had been there for her during her darkest times, and Audiv’s feelings had softened much towards the shy, mousy girl.
“Hey,” she greeted, making Dominique jump. “What are you working on?”
Dominique’s face went brilliant red and she closed her notebook. “Uh… just working on an idea I had.”
“Mind if we join you?”
Dominique shook her head. “Feel free. I was just writing a little bit. It’s such a beautiful day, I didn’t want to stay inside. So how are you two doing? I heard that you’re married now?”
Audiv and Antonio glanced at each other and grinned. Antonio nodded, his eyes sparkling. Audiv giggled but didn’t miss the flash of hurt in Dominique's eyes. She reached across the picnic table and patted her hand.
“It happened very suddenly. We haven’t even told our families yet. But we’re going to have an official ceremony in a couple months, so everyone can celebrate with us. And I was thinking… I’d like it if you could be one of my bridesmaids…”
Dominique’s eyes widened. A smile broke over her face as she clapped her hands. “Oh, I’d be delighted,” she squealed. “I’ll help in every way I can. I promise. This is so exciting! Do you know when it’ll be?”
“Not yet. But within a few months,” Antonio told her. “My parents will insist on it. There are going to be a few things we need to figure out… but I’m sure everything is going to work out just fine.”
“Of course it is,” Dominique gushed. She clapped her hands again. And let out a giggle as she smiled at the two of them. “I promised myself I wouldn’t ask, because it’s a personal question, but are you two going to plan on having children?”
Audiv glanced at Antonio. They hadn’t talked about it. Which they probably should have. She bit her lip as she eyed him. “I’ve always wanted a big family. At least six kids.”
“I’d like a big family as well.”
“And I don’t want to wait to start.”
“Me neither.” Antonio leaned over and gave her a kiss. “Guess that’s settled, then, huh?”
“Guess so!” Audiv laughed and clapped her hands to the table. From this day on, she knew that everything was going to be alright. There was nothing to fear from now on; she had her magic, she had her husband.
Life was good.
*****
THE END