The portal fizzled out, and we found ourselves far outside of the city near the swamps. I passed by a shack that had left clothes out to dry for the night. I grabbed a dress and Alden some trousers and a shirt. It isn't his normal flair, but he will just have to cope. I changed my clothes and helped Alden once he shifted into his human form. I found us a thicket to stay in for the night, a little ways from the shack.
"I am sorry about Mara," Alden says.
"Me too. She might have been strict and cold, but she was a good person. She didn't deserve that."
"I know. Money talks, and the Syndicate controls it all. Humans, even powerful witches like her, are no match for them. We will think of something, we always do. Right now, we just need to rest and heal," he replies.
I know that he is right, but how much longer can we evade capture? Maybe I should just have him kill me and hide the diamond somewhere and if a dragon finds it so fucking be it. I hate my father for the burden he has put upon me. I wasn't ready to wield such power, and I might never be ready to. I turn away from Alden because I don't want him to see me cry myself to sleep yet again. But something odd happens during the night, instead of feeling the chill of the swamp air hit my skin, I feel this intense heat. It snaps me out of my dreamless sleep. I look around, but we are alone. The diamond isn't indicating danger, but it is thudding in my chest. What is going on?
I try to contact my dragon, Rose, but she slumbers peacefully, ignoring me. Maybe I just imagined it all, so I lay facing the opposite direction and closed my eyes. I fell back asleep listening to the crickets and the frogs cry out for their mates. Lucky creatures they are, they don't have to worry about a dragon mafia trying to hunt them down and rip their heart out. What I wouldn't give to be a simple creature or human. Alas, it is something that I can never be, just as having a mate is something that I will never have. I have to try and remember everything that I have been taught. There has to be something that I am missing; there has to be something to help me learn to harness and control the power of this black diamond as my father did.
Morning comes too soon, and with it danger. "Alden, are you okay to move?"
He stretches and winces. He still hasn't fully healed. "Yeah, I am invincible, remember?" He jokes.
I am not buying it. I pull him flush to me. "I know better. Let me try."
He shakes his head. "No, save your magic. I will be fine in a day or two."
I don't allow him to protest. I tap into the diamond, it hurts so badly, but I need to try. I feel this heat, electricity, and liquid current begin to flow through my veins. This has never happened before. I push back my surprise and focus. I run my hand from Alden's head down to his feet on both sides of his body. I see his skin ripple as this transparent gas coats everywhere I touch. As I touch his heart, a jolt shocks and sends me backward. I crash into a swamp oak, cracking it. Branches break off and fall to the ground. I dodge them the best I can before I fall to the ground.
Alden rushes over. "That was far too risky, Layla. It worked, and you even healed my snail's shell, but you could have been hurt. You matter, I don't! Don't ever save me like that again, you foolish girl, you."
I roll my eyes. "A simple thank you would have been better, asshole."
He chuckles as he helps me up. "An asshole that is carrying you so you can rest. Now, hush and let me find us a spot to hide."