Dragon Witch ✔️

34 - Argumentative Rescuers

"Stop pulling." I leaned back from Kyton. He let go, and I fell back into the water. I propped myself up against the fountain's spout. If I had to wait for Eva's iffy rescue, I would rather wait in the cooling water. My skin still stung when the air touched it.

"Fine, stay. Whatever." Kyton turned and flicked his wings in my direction. "Have fun when someone shows up and freaks out because of that silver protection spell you put on yourself." He took a few steps away, obviously expecting me to beg him to come back.

Silver protection spell? He must've been talking about my half-formed scales. "I told Eva-" I swallowed, trying to smooth my sore throat. It was like swallowing broken glass. "-to bring Grandma."

He turned back to me. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Thank goodness." He collapsed on the grass. "I don't think there are any payphones around here, and I lost my cell phone somewhere between here and the exploded restaurant. It's probably in pieces."

"Same." I should probably get out of the water. If I drifted off to sleep without Kyton to keep my head up, I could drown. Then again, I'd rather take that risk than expose my burning skin to the open air.

A few minutes later, a flaming ball of feathers plopped into the grass next to Kyton. Apparently she'd been taking advantage of her new flight feathers. Squawking and shaking off her wings, Eva hopped on Kyton's chest.

He chuckled. "No, I won't hold you over the fountain. If you want to see her, you'll have to hop in."

Eva hissed. She was worse than a cat when it came to hating water.

Don't worry. I'm coming out. I gathered all of what little strength I had, and I scooted to the fountain's rim. How close is Grandma?

Close. Come, come fast. I see you.

I'm coming, I swear. I dragged myself onto the fountain's rim. Panting from the effort and gritting my teeth against the pain, I laid on my back there for a while before rolling off into the grass. The impact sent jarring stabs of pain through every bone in my body. Something was probably broken. Or sprained, at least.

"You okay?" Kyton asked without sitting up.

"Fine."

Eva hopped to my side and ruffled her feathers at my obvious dampness. Wet bad. Bad bad. Dry now. Hissing with obvious annoyance, she jumped on my chest.

What are you-

She jumped up and down, flapping her wings until flames licked the edges of her feathers.

The heat had been comforting the last time she healed me, but this time, it was unbearable. Every stinging cut, bruise, and iron burn seared with the heat of a bonfire.

I screamed. The noise ripped itself from my raw throat. Pain swarmed me like angry wasps, jabbing every inch of skin. Through a haze of tears, I saw Kyton nearly jump on me in his haste to help.

After what felt like an age, the fire died down. Eva turned into a glowing red egg in the middle of a pile of ash. It took me a minute to realize that I didn't feel as bad as I had before. I still felt like I'd been hit by a truck, but at least it hadn't been a flaming truck covered in broken glass. And I was definitely dry.

"Lilly, say something." Kyton patted my cheek, harder than a touch but softer than a slap. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." As okay as I could be after tonight. We needed to get Eva in a fire. I needed to track down some iron-burn herbs. And a shovel to dig my own grave after my parents laid into me. Staying out half the night with a boy was probably the second worst sin on Mom's list, right after using magic--which I'd also done--or being an Otherworlder--which both me and the boy were.