Page 67 of Under the Dragon's Spell
It was while I was waiting at the airport that I received a phone call from Dr. Meloy's office. It was his assistant who called.
"Something wrong?" I asked, hoping that the answer would be no. But why else would they call?
"I have to inform you that your presence is required at the hospital."
I clutched the phone in my hand, nearly breaking it. "I'm on my way there, but it'll be another hour before the plane departs. What happened?"
"I'm afraid your mate has been unresponsive for the past hour and we need you to confirm your decision on whether to prioritize the patient or the babies before things become critical."
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, trying not to panic. This couldn't be happening. Why now? Adrian must not have been feeling well earlier, and he'd let me go anyway.
"Don't do anything until I'm back. Shit." I couldn't stop the word from escaping me. I had to do this bonding thing and do it fast.
"Sir?"
"I'll be right there." I hung up, cursing silently. I had to get to Adrian as quickly as possible. No time to wait for that stupid plane to depart. The rational part of my mind told me that he'd likely still be fine by the time I arrived, but I couldn't take any chances. If the authorities caught me, I'd get into trouble, but right now, I didn't care. I had somewhere to be, and so I walked out of the airport, and as soon as I could see the open sky above me, I changed into my dragon form and flew.
26
ADRIAN
Soon after Tyrel left my room, I felt myself drifting. I'd had difficulty focusing all day, but nothing as bad as that. At some point during the afternoon, I couldn't tell anymore whether I was dreaming or awake. Everything felt kind of fuzzy around the edges. Kind of unreal. The nurse came in… or did she? To tell me I was running a fever. I think. I really can't remember much from that time, except for the fact that I was worried. A little bit about myself, but mostly about my babies. If there was something wrong with me, that couldn't be good for them either. If I was sick, they could be, too.
I tried to lie back and take it easy, but visions of a horrible future intermingled with my reality and scared me. And so I pressed my face into the pillow and refused to look up again, stuck in my own head.
It's going to be fine, it's going to be fine, it's going to be fine.
I heard voices around me, from time to time, but I couldn't make sense of what they were saying and so I decided they weren't as important as the conversation I was having with myself.
Until a voice that sounded almost like mine but not quite broke the chorus in my head.
"Look up," it said.
I felt strangely compelled to follow that command, my heart beating faster before my brain even properly processed what was happening.
Tyrel.
I was so happy to see him I almost broke out in tears. I didn't know how, but he would make this go away. He sat on the edge of the bed, one hand in my hair, and now I registered that touch, too. I leaned into it, needing the connection to anchor me to reality.
"I'm going to take you outside, okay?"
I wanted to nod, but didn't because the motion would have made me feel dizzy. I managed to croak something that sounded vaguely like yes, though.
Tyrel rewarded me with a reassuring smile, though he couldn't completely hide the worry from his face. He stood and pulled my covers back and disconnected something from my arm—a drip? I wasn't really sure. The fuzziness hadn't completely worn off. The only thing that was in focus was Tyrel, lifting me up into his arms like I weighed nothing even though I felt like a whale.
There were some ups to dating a dragon.
I pressed myself against his chest, closed my eyes and nearly fell asleep until I felt a light breeze going over my skin where it wasn't covered by the thin hospital gown.
We were outside?
I opened my eyes. The sun was starting to set over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of red and orange and for a moment, that was all I could focus on.
"I'm going to set you down," Tyrel said. "And then I'm going to shift. Don't be afraid."
He put me down and I sat on the grass, looking up at him, not entirely sure of his plans or why we were out here, but willing to do whatever he said.
"I'm going to have to…" He paused. Shook his head. "It might hurt a little."
