Page 38 of Miles

14

Savannah

“It’sa good thing I brought you in when I did,” Phillip fretted as he helped me onto the table. “This storm looks big enough to knock out the power.”

“Really? Isn’t there a generator or something?” I couldn’t imagine the entire place going dark, all at once. Alone with one or two dozen dragons. No big deal. I was sure girls like me went through situations like that all the time.

It was enough to light my imagination on fire. There were a million questions clamoring to be voiced, and probably a million questions which would stem from the answers. On and on. It would take forever to ask them all.

Forever.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach at the thought of it.

Forever.

Why did my head keep going in that direction? Like there was something between Miles and me. We were friends, I guessed, and I owed him my life twice over. That didn’t bind me to him—and yet, I felt bound.

It wasn’t the same as being bound to Antonio. I was a prisoner then, miserable and beaten down. Any fluttering in my stomach when I thought of him was nausea, not excitement.

The tight feeling that used to spread through my chest, like an elephant was sitting on it, when I pictured myself married to Antonio wasn’t there when I imagined a future with Miles.

But it was all too crazy. He wasn’t even human—not really. I had no idea how he lived or what he and his family did with their time. They could’ve made a practice out of eating humans who crossed their path for all I knew. They could’ve lived in huts in the woods, or out in the middle of nowhere. No electricity, no internet. How would I survive something like that?

Then again, they did seem fairly well-acclimated and savvy. Was I trying to talk myself into thinking something could work out between us? And why? It wasn’t like he’d given me any indication of wanting to see me again once we both left the island.

He doesn’t need to. Stop kidding yourself. You know you feel this, too.

I squeezed my eyes shut as Phillip adjusted the machinery.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Oh, just fine,” I smiled, though my eyes were still closed.

I was afraid to face the obvious. The way Miles looked at me, the way we kissed… it was real. It had to be. Maybe it had something to do with who he was, what he was. If we were meant to be, the strength of my certainty would only make sense.

I sighed.

Just listen to yourself. You’re behaving like you live in a fairytale. You of all people should know better.

“All right,” Phillip called out. “Stay very still.”

I held my breath, going as still as I could as he took pictures of my insides.

Healing a compound fracture in roughly a week. Nobody would ever believe it. I hardly did myself. A dragon could make a mint through selling their blood, if it was really that potent.

With the room as silent as it was and with me holding my breath, I could hear the storm raging outside.

It had hit so quickly, tearing through the island. I hadn’t been paying attention to the weather, of course, so it was all a surprise. Not a hurricane, or else the windows would’ve been boarded, but still strong enough to make me wince when the thunder rolled.

Until it became clear that I wasn’t hearing thunder.

“What’s that?” I called out, my voice shrill, even to my own ears.

Phillip rushed to my side and pushed the equipment out of the way. “Come on. We have to get under cover. You’re fine—I can’t take the casts off now, because they’ll hear the saw.”

“Who’s they?”

I didn’t really need to ask. I knew who it was. He had come back for me. And he’d brought his friends.

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