Page 3 of The Centaur
"I'm going to tell the others too," he said earnestly, and I nodded.
An awkward silence fell between us for a moment before Keoni leaned forward and gathered up the plates. "I'll leave you to it, but you should get a nap. You look like shit."
Just the words I wanted to hear from my mate, I thought wryly, but didn't say it out loud. Instead, I nodded, then watched him go.
Once the door closed, I buried my face in my palms and sighed. We'd talked, and yet my mind was just as messed up. I needed a break, but I couldn't let myself get distracted for too long. The last time that had happened, the whole Sanctuary had faced a weather anomaly that could've been disastrous if not for Zamir and his mate.
The thought of Nolan didn't make anger bubble up in my chest the way it had before, but I still wasn't comfortable around the dragon. He reminded me too much of the past I'd done my best to forget over the last few centuries. I'd even gotten used to my metal arm, to not thinking of that day every time I moved my fingers, but it would take me a while to interact with Nolan without thinking about what could've been if he'd succeeded in helping me all those years ago.
Two
Zephyr
"That's enough."
"Excuse me?" I asked, stunned by the anger in Keoni's gaze. He'd never looked at me like that. Ever. His hands balled into fists as he glared at me, and I braced myself. I had no idea what he wanted to say. But no, wait. I did know what he was going to say, because this had already happened. This... this was a dream.
"For months. For months you've been dealing with this shit on your own, refusing help from anyone who offers. You aren't sleeping, you aren't eating, and you haven't had a properconversation with any of us in weeks. You're killing yourself trying to carry all this weight when you don't have to!" he shouted, his voice ringing in the hush that had fallen over the room.
My lips moved, but I had no idea what I could say, and Keoni didn't give me a chance to gather my thoughts as he kept talking.
"I don't know if it's fear or anger or plain old narcissism that's keeping you from accepting help, but I'm done. I can't watch you do this to yourself anymore, and I can't let you do this to me," he said, slamming his fist into my chest. "Until you're ready to accept that you're not the only one with powers here, until you get it through your thick skull that we all want to help, I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you. I don't want to hear from you," he declared, emphasizing each statement with a smack of his fist on my chest. "And I certainly don't want to be your mate."
The words struck me just as hard as they had the first time, so much so that I realized what he'd said before that didn't match what I remembered. Something was different.
"I can't stay and watch you ruin everything you've built," Keoni said, and no, that wasn't right. He'd never said that. Right? "I'm leaving, Zephyr. You can't keep this place stable, and I won't let you kill me with your stubbornness."
I watched as Keoni stalked out of the room, wanting to follow after him. But before I could, someone else spoke.
"He's right. We shouldn't stay here. It's too dangerous."
I couldn't tell who'd spoken, but one by one, they all left, leaving me alone in the Dining Room.
Nolan was the last to go, and he patted my shoulder as he went, a soft smile on his face. "I'm sorry. I tried to help you."
Then he left as well, and I was alone, like I'd always known I would end up.
I opened my eyes in the dark room, and something trickled down the side of my face. I realized it was a solitary teardrop as I wiped it off, and exhaled loudly in the empty room.
I sat up in bed, knowing there was no way I would fall back asleep. The dream was still clear in my mind, and while I knew it wasn't how things had happened, I also knew it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities. If the Sanctuary didn't get back to proper working order soon, the residents would leave, and I wouldn't blame them. I'd promised them a safe haven, and I was failing.
I knew what the problem was, and I knew the solution too. It was selfish of me to not do whatever I could to resolve this problem. All I needed to do was accept Nolan's help. He was a dragon. He had more than enough power to lend me. Hell, he could even keep the place going all on his own if he wanted to.
And yet the idea of asking Nolan's help again twisted my gut, making me want to stay in this room and never leave. It wasn't just the fact that I couldn't trust him—even though I now knew what happened centuries ago hadn't been his fault, that hehadshown up that day—but the fear that still lingered in my mind.
After the day I'd asked Nolan for help as a mere fifteen-year-old, my life had been destroyed. I'd thought I knew pain then, but I hadn't. Not until the man I'd wanted to escape had dragged me back to his place and punished me for trying to leave. Back then, I hadn't realized he already knew what I'd been planning, that he'd used a spell to make sure Nolan and I wouldn't find each other. I'd assumed Nolan broke his promise, that he never came for me, and I'd hated him for centuries. I'd blamed him for my arm, for what happened to my familiar, and now that I knew the truth, that hatred couldn't just disappear.
Even if I accepted his help, I knew my magic wouldn't play nice with his because I knewIcouldn't play nice with him. Ifour powers clashed, it would only cause more problems in the Sanctuary.
I knew his powers were the only way to save the Sanctuary, though, to return the balance that had been lost when humans started moving here. The Sanctuary was powered by the magic of all its residents, and since humans had no magic to speak off, they could contribute nothing, which caused an imbalance that had thrown everything into disarray.
Nolan could easily make up the difference with his dragon magic, but only if I allowed him.
I wasn't ready for that, but maybe I could start small. It would give my magic a chance to familiarize itself with his, and maybe I could slowly reach a point where we could cooperate, at the very least. I doubted I would ever be friends with Nolan, but we could reach a point where we could coexist peacefully and run this place together.
Right?
Keoni
