His father acquiesced with a nod. “Very well. But do hurry.” He smiled to Minx and Mau and then quietly exited the abode.
Puttering about in the uncomfortable silence, Minx and Kaleb exchanged an awkward look. “Hey, let's go for a quick walk, huh? For old time's sake. I know just the place.”
“Sure.” Minx set out, leaving Mau to snooze near the bed. She joined Kaleb outside and descended the stairs. He cut across the rows of inhabited trees and pushed into the surrounding woods. “So... you have to leave, huh?” Her stomach twisted into knots at the prospect of him leaving. Somehow, over the past several days, Kaleb had become a fixture in her life. She'd come to take him for granted—had just assumed he'd always be around. Realizing this wasn't the case, she felt a deep sadness.
“Hey,” he countered, “I won't be gone long. My old man wants me to return to Talon Range, but it's not like I can't come and visit. Right?”
“Right,” she sighed. But will he come and visit? What if I never see him again? What if this is really goodbye? She gulped back the lump in her throat. And why do I care so much, anyway? He's just a dragon...
They continued silently through the woods. Ten, fifteen minutes passed and they meandered quietly northward, till finally Kaleb came to a halt. “Ah, here it is. Look familiar?”
Minx peered about her surroundings. Just ahead, between the breaks in recently-burned trees, she could make out a pretty little glade. It was the same glade, she realized with a hitch in her breath, where the two of them had first met. She'd set out that day on a dragon hunt, and had planned to slay him for his hide. Funny how plans had changed.
“This is a good spot, don't you think?” said Kaleb, hands on his hips. “Lots of history here.” He spared her a wink.
Minx, though, wasn't in a joking mood. Her eyes threatened tears and her lips were pursed. She strode through the tree line and paced through the glade.
Kaleb joined her, standing close. “You all right?”
She nodded unconvincingly.
The dragon shifter shrugged. “Ah, I see. It's just, for a second there, you looked like you might actually miss this dumb old dragon.”
She couldn't hold it back any longer. Tears spilled from her eyes and she turned to him, wrapping her slender arms around his torso and burying her face in his chest. Of course I'm going to miss you, you idiot, she thought. She'd have liked to tell him that, but her lips were trembling too much to form the words.
Very softly, Kaleb placed a few fingers beneath Minx's quivering chin and raised her face to meet his own. Taking stock of those trembling lips of hers, he knew just the thing to calm them. The dragon shifter leaned forward and met them with his own.
For a long moment, nothing existed outside of that kiss. Minx was only conscious of Kaleb's lips—could only conceive of their warmth and taste. She'd longed for this kiss longer than she'd dared to admit, and finally experiencing it she sank against him, her powerful legs going slack and her spine tingling.
Kaleb drew away from her, drying a few stray tears from her cheeks. “This isn't the end. I promise. I'll be back, OK?”
Minx gulped, nodding slowly. “You'd better come back...”
He grinned, brushing the hair from her face and stepping away. “Take care of yourself in the meantime, OK, Minx?” Taking a deep breath, he assumed his dragon form, filling the glade with his red bulk. He turned to look at her with his enormous yellow eyes one last time before spreading his wings and taking flight.
Minx watched Kaleb's form retreat into the distance. She traced his flightpath until he disappeared completely behind the clouds, and only then, sure that he wouldn't see her, did she break down. The Fae huntress slumped against a tree and wept, her heartstrings pulled tighter than the cord of her bow. It's not forever, she assured herself. Kaleb is a man of his word, remember? If he promised to come back, you can be sure he will. Things between the Fae and the dragons aren't perfect right now, but today marks a massive step forward, even if his father doesn't see it yet.
Minx dried her eyes and began slowly through the woods. The dark army had been repelled and, for a time, she felt it possible to embrace something like normalcy. She would return home, spend time with Mau and her father. Without Kaleb in the picture, everything she envisioned seemed dull and flavorless, but she kept on toward Pan, head low, and tried to put on a brave face. If Mau sees me broken up like this over Kaleb, she'll never let me live it down.
She had nearly reached the edge of the forest city when she heard a voice. It reached her ear from somewhere distant—and at hearing it, she froze.
It was the voice of Heilo Lake.
The hide of a dragon is still needed, the voice whispered. You must obtain one before Torrent does.
The voice faded from hearing, and the rustling of windswept leaves replaced it.
The Fae huntress looked up into the canopy, peering through the breaks in the foliage at the dimming sky—the same sky that Kaleb was presently soaring through. She yearned to see him again—and wished for his advice. It's not over yet. What am I supposed to do, Kaleb?
There was no answer, save for the rattling of the leaves in the breeze.
Glossary of Creatures
Dragons are magical beings who hold two forms, one of a magical beast and one of a human. They are strong and great warriors.
