After everything Killian had endured already, she only hoped his condition wouldn't worsen. There was a chance he could wake up without memories again, or possibly go insane. After all, when Dr. Sid on Stonefire had lost her inner dragon, she'd come close to a mental breakdown.
Her beast grunted. That took twenty years to happen.
Keep in mind that she wasn't injected with drugs that were created to harm dragon-shifters, either.
Teagan's voice prevented her dragon from replying. "Let's all get to work and remember to keep each other informed." Brenna turned toward the exit, but Teagan's hand on her shoulder stayed her. "You're family now, Brenna. Don't hesitate to seek me out if you need anything."
With a nod, Brenna exited the great hall and headed toward the central command building of the Protectors.
As she walked, Brenna slowly packed away her feelings. No matter what happened with Killian, being a Protector was the only certain thing in her life. She hadn't worked hard to earn Teagan's trust and be made temporary head Protector of Glenlough for nothing. She needed to trust the clan to have her back.
It was time to get to work.
~~~
Killian stood next to a lake surrounded by rolling hills, the grass bright green and the sun high in the blue sky.
A shadow passed over him, and he looked up to see a small winged creature, its mostly blue hide glinting in the sun. The white patches scattered across its skin were iridescent in the sunshine.
The small creature flapped its wings and made a clumsy landing not more than a few meters from Killian. The snout, sharp teeth, wings, hide, and talons were that of a little dragon, perhaps a baby one. Not that he knew the difference.
The wee thing took awkward steps toward Killian and canted its head. "Who are you?" the dragon asked.
Without thinking, Killian reached out a hand and gently scratched the dragon behind an ear. The beast hummed and leaned into the touch. "To be honest? I don't know."
After a few seconds, the dragon spoke again. "Do you want to be my friend?"
"Dragons have friends?"
The little beast tilted his head one way and then the other in an avian manner. "I think so. I haven't met anyone here. It's just me and flying by myself is lonely."
At the dragon's words, Killian noticed the eerie quiet, not to mention unnatural stillness of both the air and surface of the lake. "Where are we?"
"I don't know. I woke up here one day and haven't been able to leave."
At the sadness in the dragon's eyes, Killian scratched his hide some more. The idea of the beast being sad made him want to do something about it. "I think this is a dream. So when I wake up, you won't exist."
"Are you sure? I remember many days here, before you came."
He had no idea where the question came from, but he asked, "What were you doing right before this?"
The little dragon flapped his wings once. "I came to the barrier and tried to scratch my way out."
"Where is this barrier?"
"On the other side of the lake. Maybe you can get through. I'll meet you there."
The little blue and white beast jumped and flapped a few times before soaring across the sky, to the other side of the lake.
Killian ran around it, afraid to touch the still, glass-looking water of the lake. He soon caught up with the little dragon and the beast leaned forward and scratched what should be air. The second he did, it felt as if something sliced his brain.
The dragon jumped back and tottered off, jumping into the lake. The surface broke into a thousand pieces of glass before reassembling.
It took a few minutes for Killian to breathe through the pain. As soon as he could stand again, he moved to the lake's surface. He gingerly tapped a foot on the surface, but unlike with the dragon, it remained solid. He tried standing on it, jumping, and even pounding the surface, but nothing happened.
Since he couldn't escape the same way, Killian went to the barrier the dragon had scratched. However, when he raised a hand to touch it, his hand felt nothing but air. He easily walked past the supposed barrier. Each step away from the lake made his eyelids heavy until he dropped to the ground and fell asleep.
Chapter Three