Mate To The Queen

Ash

Okay so this one definitely isn't short like I thought it was gonna be so I wasn't able to finish it last night but I hope you think it's worth it :) Not really edited but I don't think there are too many mistakes.....

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"Did I wake you up?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Nah I couldn't sleep, I was drawing," he says.

"Can I see?"

Jax reaches around behind me and grabs his sketchbook. I take it and look over the unfinished blue flowers. "What are these?"

"Coal blossoms, haven't you seen them before? They grow all over the volcanoes in the winter time."

"I usually spend winter near the witches' territory," I tell him, handing back the drawing.

"Why there?"

"The witch queen turned it into a sanctuary of sorts, everyone there has their own problems so they don't bother anyone," I say.

"Yeah Queen Syrra is a pretty amazing, my brother is lucky to have her as a mate," he remarks. "This winter though you should stay in the Circle."

"Why?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I think you'd like it. Most of the dragons don't like the snow so they stay inside even though it's still pretty warm thanks to the volcanoes," he says.

"I'll probably have to anyway, your mother wants me to be a trainer for the juveniles when we get back."

"That's great! That's normally what I do when I'm there—well that and I assist the healer on occasion."

"Why would dragons need a healer?" I ask.

"Well they can heal on their own for the most part except when their dragons get hurt too bad. When their dragons are severely injured then they heal like a human," he explains.

"Oh," is all I say. I've only ever shifted twice in my lifetime. The very first time when I turned 14, and then again to prove to Jaxon's mother that I was a Fury dragon a few years ago. 

"Do you think you'll be able to get back to sleep?" Jax suddenly asks.

"Doubtful," I mutter.

"Well you should at least lie down and try to get some rest. Your wounds aren't bleeding again, are they?"

I lift my shirt over my head and gingerly touch the red-stained bandages. The blood on them is dry—a few days old. "No it's good, it doesn't really hurt anymore either," I sigh.

"Okay good, you can use my legs as a pillow again if you want," he says, shifting so that he is sitting with his back against the wall.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "I want to finish this drawing. Plus we've just been lounging in this cave for like a week so I'm not really tired," he chuckles. 

"Yeah true," I mutter, laying back down on the floor with a pile of shirts under my shoulders and Jax's legs under my head. 

I stare at the ceiling, listening to the sound of his pencils lightly scratching the paper. 

"We should start moving again tomorrow, we're out of bandages and if we stay out here too much longer your wound could get infected," Jax says.

I clench my jaw, swallowing hard. "Yeah okay," I mumble. 

It's silent aside from the pencils for several minutes. Then suddenly a red flame sparks above me. I frown, glancing up at Jax but he is focused completely on his drawing.