The Dragon Prince: Breath of Hope

Chapter 11- Dragon Guard

Callum slowly groaned as he came around, his eyes blinking as he adjusted to the light around him. He soon realised he wasn't outside, but in a small, round building that twisted and turned like a tree. The walls were decorative, and there were a few furnishings while something soft, light, yet warm covered him. Apparently, he was lying in a bed, looking up at the peaked roof above.

As his eyes recovered, he looked at the foot of his bed and spotted the silver-haired assassin. She sat, blade in hand, looking off towards the door of the room. He smiled softly. "Fighting off bad dreams?" he asked, causing her to turn around.

"Callum, you're awake!"

"Rayla... where are we?" As he sat up, the cover slipped down to reveal he was currently shirtless and his wings were spread wide across the covers.

"We're inside the Moon Nexus."

"The what?"

"I'll explain later. All you need to know is that we're safe. Lujanne's illusions are hiding this place..." She moved up the bed to his side and stroked his cheek gently, "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry... and my head hurts," he confessed, rubbing his brow.

"Well, you did just have the full power of a storm flow into you."

He chuckled. "As long as I don't go spitting out lightning."

"If you do, just make sure I'm not nearby," she teased back before frowning. She held his chin and turned his head to the side. "Callum... your scar..."

"My scar?"

"You had a scar on your right cheek but... it's gone."

"What?"

"Let me see your hands." Rayla grabbed them before he could offer them up. She quickly unwrapped one of his bandages and gasped when she saw flawless, scaled skin.

Amazed by the sight, Callum quickly undid the other wrist and found the same thing. He stretched out his wings and saw that they too were healed. There were no scars or tears anywhere.

A shocked laugh got stuck in his throat before he chuckled, leaning towards Rayla, and nuzzling her neck. "You should have broken that thing ages ago!" he teased.

"Oh get off you big lizard!" she laughed, pushing him back a little just as he tried to lean further in. As a result, they ended up nose to nose, looking right into each other's eyes.

Callum froze as he stared, admiring the pale purple and the specks of silver within them. For some reason, his head hurt even more when he looked into those beautiful orbs.

Rayla, meanwhile, just looked into his reptilian eyes, searching for signs of his internal thoughts. She could still tell he was scared and pained by his memories, but the pain from his body was gone. He looked whole, at least on the outside.

That made her smile, and she boldly leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Silly lizard," she whispered softly.

Callum blushed and thought about what to say, when there was a cough from the door. They both turned to see the moon mage at the entrance, a tray of food in her hands.

"Am I interrupting?"

The dragon almost said yes, but the food made him shake his head. "Is that for me?"

"I thought you might be hungry."

"Starving."

Rayla smiled as she stood and allowed Lujanne to take her place. "I'll let you eat and tell Ez you're alright. He's been worried."