Page 51 of The Dragon's Gambit
Reiya turned back to the creature. She could see a few singe marks on him as well, and she put the pieces together. “Were you children tormenting him with your fire?!” Her voice was raised in stern agitation.
“He dared me to do it.” Todd pointed to the other child beside him.
“Hey Brody, how about daring me to give those kids some underwater lessons?” Chelsie’s eyes flicked angrily between the two boys.
Brody chuckled and lifted up Reiya’s arm to inspect it closer. The burn was deep and pretty bad, and her skin was bubbling up. “We need to get this treated.”
“I’m okay,” Reiya insisted, turning back to the minotaur. He didn’t speak like the centaurs did, but he was still akin to them, and an ally of the fairies. “I’m sorry for what these two troublemakers did.” She reached up and scratched his forehead, feeling the large animal relax under her touch. It was amazing how easily they recognized the fairy princess. They instantly knew who she was by her aura.
A large shadow appeared above them, and Reese descended into the small clearing. He glanced from the minotaur to the children, and then at Reiya, his eyes widening as he caught a glimpse of her arm.
“What happened here?!” his dragon growled out. Dragons were one of the few creatures who could speak in their animal form.
“Pfft, what do you think happened? Your young whelps over here were picking on this poor minotaur, and they ended up burning MY princess!” Chelsie snorted out angrily. This time, Brody didn’t try to calm her rage. He was too busy looking over Reiya with worry.
“Both of you are to go home and remain there. You will both be punished,” Reese snarled as he watched the two children scurry away. He turned back to Reiya. “Let me give you a lift back. I can get you there faster and have that arm looked at.”
“Nuh uh! You’re not touching my princess. I’ll get her home.” Chelsie furrowed her brows and stood between Reiya and the dragon. This was all their disgusting species’ fault.
“It’s okay,” Reiya lied. “It really isn’t that bad.” Her arm felt like it was sizzling, her stomach queasy from the burning sensation. The constant stinging was almost unbearable, and it looked very irritated and inflamed. Okay, it was that bad, and she didn’t have her mother here to heal her. Damn it, she needed her wolf and its healing abilities.
“Brody, clear a path for me so I can get her through faster.” Chelsie didn’t need to ask twice. He immediately shifted into his bear and began to take his anger out on the trees and shrubs as he cleared the way for Chelsie’s horse. She shifted and snorted at the dragon, telling him to go.
“I’ll let Xander know you’ve been injured.” Reese started to flap his wings to take flight.
“No no no, that isn’t necessary. We don’t need to cause a panic over a minor burn,” Reiya pleaded, not wanting to make a big deal out of the situation.
“Sorry, but if I don’t report this, I won’t live to see the next sunrise.” And with that, Reese was off.
Reiya watched him go and sighed. She heard an urgent whinny beside her, and Reiya turned to see Chelsie kneeling, waiting for her to get on.
“Okay, Chelsie. I’m coming. Honestly, the lot of you act like I‘m bleeding to death. It’s just a burn.” Reiya gave Chelsie a crooked smile as she climbed on. “Hey Chels, don’t run as fast, okay? I don’t think I can use my other arm,” Reiya said quietly, noticing how severe her injury was. There was no way she could grip anything. It would be up to her legs to hold on tight.
Chelsie gently carried her out of the woods, picking up speed once they reached the clearing. Brody ran alongside them, watching Reiya intently.
Reiya winced in pain as her arm throbbed. Her mother and grandmother were healers. Healing ran in the family. It was a skill that had to be developed, though, and it looked like she was going to be stronger with premonitions than healing. It might be a skill that developed later. Her mother developed healing first, and later she was able to pick up minor things and feelings related to premonitions. Since Reiya used a lot of power yesterday to help Mason, she wasn’t sure if she had it in her to unlock her healing power.
As they approached the castle, she could see Xander, Reese, and Lee already standing outside, waiting for them. She had to focus on keeping her eyes off Lee and pretend that Xander was her mate. Chelsie came to a stop, and Xander was immediately at the dark horse’s side, helping her down. His eyes flicked to her exposed upper thigh and then managed to look at her burn.
“Not exactly riding attire ... not that I’m complaining. Personally, I love the view, but I don’t like sharing it.” Xander flashed a side eye back toward Reese, who looked away in guilt.
Reiya grinned. Xander was playing his part beautifully.That’s what happens when you flirt for a living.“Well, someone left me without any clothes this morning. Beggars can’t be choosers. I had to borrow something from Chelsie. So this ...” Reiya motioned to her short skirt, “is not my fault.” She winced a bit as she forgot and moved her burned arm abruptly.
Xander's eyes softened and he held up her injured arm, so delicately and tenderly, genuinely concerned about her. “This looks pretty painful.” He frowned and gently put an arm around her while he continued to gently cradle her arm.
Brody and Chelsie shifted back into their human selves. “What do you think? Should we get mom to heal it?” Brody asked, looking at Reiya.
“No. We aren’t going to bother her over something like this. Just let me sit somewhere quietly for a bit. Maybe I can muster up my own healing ...”
“No. It’s too dangerous for you in your current state to experiment with your magic, especially without having a guide to help you.” Lee immediately shot her down.
“No one guided me when I helped Mason.” Reiya looked at him with minor annoyance. Was he seriously going to tell her she couldn’t use her own magic?
“Which could have easily ended very badly for the both of you.” Lee’s eyes locked onto hers without backing down.
“Alright ... no more. I’m not going to have Reiya getting upset. Let’s get her inside and see what Gramps has for burns. Reese ... I want you to see to the discipline of those boys.” Xander’s eyes flashed with anger.
“They were just being children. Don’t be too hard on them.” Reiya pleaded their case. They weren’t bad kids, and it was an accident.
