His heart beat faster than the flapping of his wings against a hurricane solar storm.
“Maddie? Answer me.” He couldn’t lose her. Not now, not ever. He’d just found her. His nightmares crashed in around him, his greatest fears manifesting. Failure to save his mate. He wasn’t dreaming though, this was real.
Kal moved quickly , careful to keep Maddie supported.
This ghost thing made no sense, but Maddie loved her. He would trust her too.
“Help me save her. I will do anything. I’m meant to protect her, my mate. I can’t lose her. Please.”
Kal stood there, waiting for instructions. Helpless. He had no idea where to go. The ship was too far and his brothers wouldn’t have known what to do, anyway.
“She’ll be fine. Don’t take too long though. My daughter, she’s special. Far different from anything you were expecting, I would think.”
Maddie started to sweat in his arms, the glowing of the tattoos too bright.
“Maddie’s Mom, take me wherever I need to go. I will do anything.”
The ghost floated a few feet in front of him. “Follow me. Quickly. ”
He did as told, his bare feet pulling in the cold of the ground as they ran. Kal hated the cold, but he needed to cool her down. He needed to cool his Maddie, even if the cold caused him to ache.
“Please. Can we go faster?”
Without looking up, Kal followed the shift in magic in the air as the ghost moved.
“Only another block.”
Kal, a god-like creature, and yet right now he felt helpless as Maddie burned up in his arms.
“Here. This is the house. I’ve kept it knowing she’d return soon enough.”
Kal took the steps two by two before he hit the porch.
“Stop, young man,” the ghost yelled.
He paused. “What?”
She floated to the right, to a small swing.
“The key is under here, please do not break down that door.”
He glanced over, confused. What key? Didn’t they have some kind of recognition software? God, what kind of planet was this? He couldn’t wait to go home to technology.
“How does one use this key?”
She rolled her eyes at him. No one was afraid of him either. He hated this planet right now. “Kal, I can see the future. Now, stop wasting time and get the key.”
He supported Maddie the best he could as he bent to grab the key. She mumbled something as her feet touched the porch, her weight almost completely on him.
“Kal, before you take my daughter in, know something. You will need to take her away from here. And soon. Our planet has its own problems. Its own villains and unfortunately I can see them coming. Please protect her. She doesn’t have any real reason to stay here, anyway. Make that clear to her. She has nothing to stay for.”
Kal nodded as he scooped her up once again. Holding up the key, he took the porch in two long strides only to end up glaring at the door.
“You put it in that hole right there. I hope you are better at this mating thing than you are at locks.”
Kal growled.
“Calm down. It was a joke. Put the key there and turn.”
He fumbled with the tiny key as he tried to get it into the keyhole.
Finally, the knob turned, and he burst through the entrance.
“This is my cue. I’ll come back to say goodbye later. Protect her.”
“With my life,” he responded and kicked at the primitive piece of wood.
The door slammed shut, leaving them in a deafening silence. Alone. Now what?
The house smelled clean, old, and empty. No threats, just his Maddie. What did he do? Where was he supposed to take her? The darkness didn’t hurt his sight. He could make out shadows, doorways.
The words from Maddie’s mom haunted him as he looked down the hall. The thought that perhaps she wouldn’t want to leave had never entered his mind. He hadn’t been prepared for that response.
Maddie moaned, pulling him to the present.
His dragon paced, his soul suddenly felt cramped and this body no longer big enough for either.
Kal pulled her in tighter and tried to call the heat from her. The lick of fire flowed through his bloodstream, a welcome and familiar searing running its natural course. It wasn’t enough though.
Maddie opened her eyes as he glanced down at her.
“Where are you taking me?” her voice weak.
“A bed.”
He shivered as her fingers ran over the skin of his chest. He could feel her heartbeat as the heat thrummed from her fingers to him. This wasn’t fast enough. He wasn’t helping enough. Something had to give. She’d be dead if he didn’t figure out this dark magic.
“Do you understand why you are so hot?” He met her weak gaze. “Do you know why your magic has you damn near incinerating?”
“I’m a witch and my powers draw from the surrounding elements. I, I think I’m absorbing your power.”
She’d closed her eyes again. He didn’t understand her magic, but she needed him.
A hall. It had to go somewhere. The couch to the right caught his attention, but there was no way he could do what he needed to, there.
Kal knew what he needed to do. His dragon knew what they needed to do. Get as much skin contact as possible. Draw the magic from her quickly, and that meant touching as much of her as possible. He would save her. He would do what he needed to, no matter what, to save her.
Kal took off down the hall, Maddie secure in his hold.
The thud and crack of each door he kicked broke the quiet. Bathroom, closet, and finally, pushing open the last door on the left, he’d found something he could use.
A squeak and slow drag of doors settling the aftermath of storm Kal. He’d finally found what he wanted. Maddie’s eyes opened.
“Where are we? It looks like…” she trailed off.
“I don’t know. But your mother brought me here.”
“I’m going to lay you down now.”
A weak grip tried to wrap its way around his arm.
“No. Don’t leave me,” she said.
Gently placing her on the bed, Kal’s dragon
