Saved By Her Dragon (10 page)

Kyra’s husband came in to get his wife and Siobhan also said
good night, leaving her and Devon alone for the first time since
she had awakened. She listened intently as he answered all
her questions about his life. It was so cool to
hear how he and the men she had met had been friends since they
were teenagers. Devon didn’t seem all that old, but when he talked
about his friends and family she felt a kind of timelessness that
made her think he was older than he appeared. She blamed it on his
slight accent but couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing
something she would easily identify any other time. It wasn’t that
they had ever met before; it was something deeper. He was
unique…
special
in
some way.

She
ducked her head trying to hide a yawn, but he was way too
perceptive, commenting as he stood, “You really do need to
rest.”

Without
another word she was in his arms again and he was walking towards
the bed. Although she had spent the evening with Devon, the air
from the open window had kept his scent just out of her reach. She
inhaled deeply, her eyes closing on their own and she wondered if
anything had ever smelled as good as the man holding
her.

He gently laid her down, kissing her on the forehead before he
stood and headed towards the door.
Is he
going to leave without saying goodbye?

A chuckle whispered through her mind right before she heard
his voice,
“No, Sweetheart, I’m gonna try
to get this broken door closed and then I’m going to get some sleep
in that big comfy chair over there.”

“But…”

“But, nothing,”
he cut her off.
“I have slept by your bedside for almost two weeks
and I’m not about to stop now.”

He
turned and with just a look made it clear that she should agree…so
she did. “Okay, if you’re sure.”

“I am.
I’ve spent many nights in that chair and a few more won’t hurt.”
She watched as he made his way around the room, blowing out the
candles that hadn’t already burnt down.

When he was finished, he sat down and began taking off his
boots. The play of muscles underneath his faded black T-shirt made
her hands itch to feel them for herself. Committing each movement
to memory, knowing the day would come when she would need to recall
just being in the same room with a man like Devon, she closed her
eyes and took a deep breath.
That man is
lethal!

Fighting sleep, she pried her eyes open just as he turned off
the light. She gasped, surprised by the feel of Devon’s lips on her
forehead and his whisper falling gently on her ears,
‘
Oiche mhaith a
mhuirnl’n
.” In her mind she heard,
“Good night, my treasure”.

“Night,
Devon,” she said several seconds later, finally finding her voice
and giddy that he thought of her as his treasure.

The springs on the chair creaked and she imagined Devon
getting his very large, very muscled frame into some kind of
comfortable position. She debated telling him that he could go
sleep in his own bed, but the words wouldn’t come. Being honest
with herself, she knew it was because she was scared to be alone.
Promising
herself that tomorrow night,
after she knew her name, she would make sure he got a good night’s
sleep in his own bed, she snuggled in. Feeling satisfied with her
decision and growing more tired by the second, she drifted into
blissful sleep.

Consciousness came all at once. She went from a delicious
dream of Devon to eyes wide open, the sun from a new day shining
bright. Choosing to return to her dream, she rolled over, only to
be met by a pair of the bluest eyes she had ever seen topped with a
head of curly blonde hair.

“Morning, I’m Sydney!” The beautiful child announced,
whispering loudly.

“Well,
good morning to you, Sydney. How are you?”

“I’m
good. We gots to whisper, cause Mom said not to come in here until
you were awake. I was gonna sit and wait but you were talking and I
thought maybe you were awake with your eyes closed, big people do
that sometimes, but you weren’t but now you are so…”

She
giggled at the child’s precociousness and then wiggled herself into
a sitting position. “So we can talk?”

Sydney
nodded and her blonde curls bounced all around. The little girl was
absolutely beautiful, inside and out. When she looked into the
child’s eyes she could see what most called an ‘old soul’. Like
most children, Sydney had very few boundaries, and within the next
minute was all the way up on the bed, spreading out paper dolls and
telling a story about how the prince saved the doctor and the lost
little girl.

The
child stopped and looked up, cocking her head and furrowing her
brow, “You are kinda like me and Mommy. You got saved by Devon just
like we got saved by Daddy.”

It
wasn’t a question. It was a statement made without reservation.
“What makes you say that?” she asked, extremely interested in
Sydney’s answer.

“You
were ‘napped by Andrew just like me and Mommy. Well, Mommy was
‘napped by the other bad guy, but he lives with Andrew so it’s
kinda the same thing.” Sydney made a sweeping motion with her hands
before continuing, “And just like Daddy came and got me and Mommy,
Devon came and got you. He’s a real cool guy. You should like
him.”

She
laughed out loud, “You think I should, huh? What if he doesn’t like
me?”

Sydney
handed her the paper doll princess and a change of clothes. “Sure
he likes you, silly, he likes you lots.”

It was
absolutely preposterous that she was having such a personal
conversation with a child, but there was something special about
Sydney, obvious in the way she spoke with such conviction. It was
then that she realized she had absolutely no idea how old the child
was. “May I ask how old you are?”

“Sure
you can,” Sydney beamed. “I’m six! How old are you?”

“Well,
that’s kinda tricky, because right now I don’t
remember.”

“Like
you don’t remember your name?” Sydney asked, with a look of
concentration on her face.

“Yes,
that’s right.”

“That’s
easy, you’re Anya! Why didn’t you just ask? I heard it last night,
in here.” The child pointed at her temple while continuing to
play.

Anya? Yes! That’s it! That’s my name! Anya Sloane!
Speechless, she sat looking at Sydney, unsure what
to do. The little girl continued to talk as Anya sat completely
stunned, focused only on the fact that she finally remembered who
she was. The fact that a little girl she had just met knew who she
was, when she herself did not, would have to be examined later,
because at that moment she was just ecstatic to feel whole again.
The next few minutes became a blur as chaos ensued. Sydney climbed
into her lap, Sam and Devon entered the room, and her brain
reengaged causing her to shout out, “OMG! I KNOW WHO I
AM!”

The adults raced to her bedside, Sam took Sydney off her lap,
and Devon sat down beside her. When he grabbed her hands there was
an instant recognition, a spark that emanated from their clasped
hands, ran throughout her body, and landed deep in her soul. When
he spoke, his voice amplified the electricity between them, “You
remembered?
Tell me.
”

“Anya…my name is Anya Sloane, but it was Sydney. Not
me.
Sydney knew
.
She just said it like she’d always known.” Her words came out so
fast that she had no idea if they even made sense. She just knew
for the first time since the black fog had tried to destroy all she
was that she had a name! In response, Devon pulled her onto his
lap, covers and all, placing a kiss just under her ear that raised
goose bumps all over her body.

His
voice next to her ear made her want to curl into him and return the
kiss, but they had an audience so she settled for leaning against
his chest, “You knew her name, Syd?”

“Well,
course I did, Dev,” Sydney answered with an unspoken ‘DUH’
punctuating her sentence.

It was
Sam that asked, “How did you know, Honey?”

The
child shrugged and repeated her earlier action by touching her
temple, “Just did, Mom.”

Before any more questions could be asked, Lance, Aaron, and
Aidan rushed into the room, closely followed by Rayne, the
Commander she had briefly met the night before. Lance came directly
to his family, “What’s up? We
heard
her scream.”

He
looked from Sam to Devon with a knowing look that made Anya wonder
what was up, but before she could ask, Devon answered, “Sort of.
Actually it was Sydney. Our resident Super Girl who knew her
name.”

Sydney
giggled as Devon said, “May I introduce, Anya Sloane?”

“Nice to meet you, Anya,” she heard in one form or another
from everyone in attendance. She smiled around the room, instantly
embarrassed at her appearance.
What the
hell? I haven’t even brushed my teeth!

“No one
here cares about that, Anya. We’re all just happy you finally have
a name,” Devon whispered.

His
comment warmed her heart, but the fact remained that she was still
in her pajamas with bed head and morning breath and her room was
quickly filling up with people she had just met. It was then that
she remembered Kyra and Siobhan were preparing for a ritual to help
her remember. Not wanting them to waste any time, she turned to
Devon, “You need to call your mom and Kyra. I don’t want them to
waste time getting ready for a spell we don’t need.”

Before
he could answer, Royce and Kyra appeared. Wasting no time, Kyra
hopefully asked, “Is it true? Did you remember?”

Anya
nodded, “Actually it was Sydney that remembered…or knew…” She
trailed off, not exactly sure how to explain. Thankfully, the
little girl was quick to pick up the conversation.

Sliding
from her dad’s arms, she rushed to Kyra, “I knew her name, Kyra. It
was just right here.” Sydney pointed to her head again as Kyra
laughed out loud.

Royce
picked up the child, who quickly kissed his cheek and hugged his
neck. It was obvious Sydney was loved by everyone, and Anya could
see why. Her spirit was pure white with yellow, blue, green,
violet, and pink – everything good and right – swirling throughout.
When the big man spoke, Anya could hear nothing but love, “You’re
something special, Little Bit.”

“So are
you, silly ole dragon.” She hugged him tighter, bringing tears to
Anya’s eyes.

A
collective gasp went up and Anya felt all eyes on her. She turned,
looking at Devon, unsure what had happened. “Everyone out,” he
barked, obviously misinterpreting her tears for something other
than happiness.

She struggled to explain, but in the blink of an eye the room
was cleared and they were left staring at one another. Never one to
deal with commands or confusion well, she jumped off his lap and
sat on her knees across from him, “What was that for? Everyone
looked at me like I had three heads. Then you issued an
order
and they left…just
gone…
poof
. Did I do
something wrong?”

Anya
knew her voice was getting louder and sharper with every syllable,
but she was feeling more herself and more frustrated by the minute.
When Devon spoke, she could hear, as well as see, his struggle to
remain calm, “Absolutely not. You did nothing wrong. It was just
that…well…did you hear what Sydney said?”

“Of
course, I heard what she said. I thought it was precious. She’s so
sweet and so loved by all of you; it was just amazing to watch.
Made me all teary-eyed”

Relief
colored his expression. “They were happy tears?”

“Yes,
Devon.” She swatted at his leg for emphasis. “They were happy
tears. Couldn’t you tell? Now what’s bothering you?”

He smiled but she could see the unease in his eyes. The deep
breath he took before speaking only confirmed it. “Did you
hear
everything
she
said?”

“Yes,
dammit
!”
frustration coloring her words. She knew she’d been in a coma and
had holes in her memory, but she wasn’t brain dead after all.
“What’s wrong? What did I miss?” She narrowed her eyes and tried
for an intimidating look. “What are you
not
saying, Devon?”

He
reached out to touch her hand but she moved before they touched.
The hurt on his face stung, but she was confused and well on her
way to pissed. His touch would be a serious distraction, so she
stuck to her guns, no matter how much her heart told her to close
the distance between them. He hung his head, speaking without
looking up, “I guess it’s now or never. I ‘d hoped to wait and talk
to you about this after you had time to get to know me better, but
as they say, ‘Out of the mouths of babes’.”

As if in
slow motion, he lifted his head, his pained expression shattering
her resolve to avoid his touch. She reached out, laying her hand on
his knee and was more pleased than she should have been when he
covered it with his. “Anya, Sydney called Royce a ‘silly ole
dragon’. Did you catch that?”