Dragon Blood

Sixty-One: Valerie

Orion was sure that he was dead. He felt as though every burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and the only way that could happen would be if he were dead. He felt no pain either, and he distinctly remembered being in a lot of pain before he blacked out. He opened his eyes and sat up. He was in a meadow, alone. Or, that's what he thought at first glance, but when he turned to look next to him, a golden dragon was slowly waking up as well. He stared in surprise at the familiar, yet strange creature next to him. He knew his dragon as well as he knew himself, if not better, but they had never met face to face. Now he knew he was definitely dead. He and his dragon would only be separated in death, when their souls were freed from the confinement of the single body they shared.

"Hello," he said quietly.

The dragon turned to look at him and whined softly. Orion rose to his feet and walked over to his counterpart. He was large, larger than Orion previously thought. His head was longer than Orion's body was tall. Orion placed his hand on the dragon's snout in assurance.

"We're all right, big guy," he told him. "We're still together."

The beast closed his eyes and pushed his nose further into Orion's hand as they took comfort in one another. As images and feelings passed into his head, he was pleased to find that he still shared a connection with his dragon. He was distracted as an image of a sky-blue dragon came to his dragon's mind and stayed there. Skylar, their mate. They were no longer with her.

The dragon whined again, and Orion closed his eyes with a sigh. He knew this was a possibility, but he had hoped for the best. Now he and his dragon would be forced to wait for their mate on this other plane. That hardly seemed fair; they'd only just found her. This was all because Draco couldn't just leave them alone.

Orion sat down next to his dragon and leaned back against his front leg. It was easier to stomach the situation when he was in contact with the beast. He resigned himself to waiting for Skylar until it was her time to join them. The dragon agreed. Neither one had any interest in exploring their position further before they were reunited with their True Mate.

"Orion."

The voice was familiar, feminine, and demanding. He raised his head and looked around, searching for the source. He couldn't place where he knew the voice from. It was one he hadn't heard in a long time.

He stood up to look around further, and his heart nearly dropped at who he encountered. She looked just as he remembered. Beautiful, with sunset orange eyes and golden hair, and the soft smile that almost always graced her face.

"Mom?" he whispered, a lump forming in his throat.

"Hello, love," she said, walking up to him. She wore what she had been in when she died. Simple cloth trousers and a blue shirt. Orion stood frozen as he stared at her, unable to comprehend exactly what was happening. His mother stood before him, the woman he had missed more than anything, and he didn't know what to say.

"I'm so sorry," he finally forced out past the lump in his throat. Valerie tilted her head to the side and looked up at him, a crease forming between her eyebrows.

"Orion, darling, whatever are you sorry for?" she wondered.

"I should've gotten to you sooner," he whispered, shaking his head. He couldn't look at her anymore, not without shame and guilt building in his chest.

Valerie shook her head slowly, reaching up to touch his cheek. He nearly broke down at her touch. He was suddenly a little boy again, who only wanted his mother. Only his mother could make everything okay. Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and wrapped her in a huge hug, holding her close and resting his head on her shoulder. He was far taller than she was, she was shorter than Skylar, who wasn't that tall herself, but she simply cradled his head and kissed his hair.