Rami looked up. His cloud-gray eyes were bright, as if he was holding back tears. His grip on Mirel’s shoulder grew tighter. Then he said, “Very well. I’ll try.”
The three of them fell into an embrace. Daring, she let go of her crutches, trusting in them not to let her fall, and let her hands slip under their shirts, exploring their bodies. The men’s strong arms held her up and supported her, and she too felt the touch of warm fingers on bare and sensitive skin.
“And Mirel?” Rami asked suddenly. His voice wavered slightly, but was resolute. “Could you heal her?”
Mirel blinked. She should have thought of that immediately, but it hadn’t occurred to her before.
“Would you like me to try?” Kes asked her.
She considered it. She’d never known what it was like to have legs
that worked like other people’s. It would be convenient, she supposed. And it certainly would have saved her a lot of nasty looks and nastier remarks about being fat and useless. But it wasn’t as if it was going to kill her.
“Could you heal me and Rami too?” Mirel asked doubtfully. “I don’t want you spending your… your power or whatever on me, if it means taking some away that you could use on him.”
“Umm.” Kes seemed at a loss. “I’m not sure, actually. I’ve never done this before. Mirel, do you know what’s wrong with your legs?”
“This is going to sound strange, but there’s nothing wrong with them. A travelling doctor examined me when I was a child. He said I didn’t get enough air when I was being born, and it killed the part of my brain that controls the muscles in my legs. So the problem’s really with my brain.” Gloomily, she added, “The other kids just loved teasing me about that.”
Kes frowned. “I’m sorry, Mirel. I don’t dare try meddling with your brain. I could leave you much worse off than you were before. And if that part isn’t just damaged but dead, like the doctor said, I doubt there’s anything I could do about it anyway. I’m sorry.”
Rami looked like he wished he’d never mentioned it. But Mirel was only mildly disappointed. She’d never really gotten her hopes up anyway.
“Don’t worry about it, Kes,” she said. “I’m used to it. It’s a bit of a bother, but that’s all. The worst part was everyone in the village being horrible to me about it.”
A fierce light shone in Kes’s eyes. “No one will ever say anything cruel to you again, about your body or anything else. I swear to you, Mirel, that will never happen again.”
Mirel smiled. She was sure it wouldn’t—not with a dragon to protect her!
“I hate everyone in your village!” Rami burst out. “I wish I could go there and hit them all with a—with a turnip.”
She giggled, though she loved how protective they both were about her. “Maybe Kes could fly you over, and you could drop turnips on their heads from above.”
Kes gave her back her crutches and stepped away. To both of them, he said, “Come home with me now.”
The air shimmered. And where the man had been, a beautiful dragon appeared. His hide glistened sapphire, and the translucent webbing in his wings was the lighter blue of a perfect morning sky. Mirel marveled at his lithe grace, at the gemlike glitter of his talons, and simply at the wonder of having a dragon—her dragon—standing right next to her. His eyes, though much bigger, were Kes’s eyes.
The dragon who was Kes turned his head and tilted it upward, urging them to mount his back. Rami tucked her crutches under his arms and boosted her up before climbing up himself and passing them back to her. She stuck them into her belt, then took hold of one of the blunted spines that grew from Kes’s neck. His hide was warm and soft as a puppy’s ears.
She felt his muscles bunch between her thighs as he gathered himself for flight. A little shriek burst from her lips as Kes launched himself into the air. Rami’s arms enfolded her from behind.
“I’ve got you,” he assured her. “I won’t let you fall.”
“You hold on,” she said.
She could almost feel his smile as he said, “I will if it makes you feel better, but you really don’t need to. His flight is so smooth.”
Cautiously, she released one hand from the spine she was clutching in a death grip. Rami was right; there was nothing to make her fall unless she pitched herself over. And even if she did, probably Kes could swoop down and catch her.
She darted a nervous glance down. The ground was spread out beneath her like a patchwork quilt, with the light green or yellow of fields alternating with the darker green of forests, all of it threaded with silvery rivers. It was beautiful. For the first time in her life, she understood how vast the world really was—a world that contained dragons, and cities, and so many people with their own heartbreaks and struggles and joys.
Then Mirel was no longer frightened, only excited. But she didn’t tell Rami to let go of her. She liked having his arms around her, and Kes’s body between her thighs. It gave her hope that they would have more times together—a lifetime of times.
She enjoyed the flight so much that it felt too soon when Kes began to spiral down toward a hilltop rising from a dense forest. As he came closer, she saw a small but beautiful castle that seemed to have been carved from an immense gemstone, with towers and turrets of deep and gleaming blue. Her gasp of awe and admiration was echoed by Rami as Kes flew downward and landed in a grassy courtyard within, light as a feather.
Mirel and Rami dismounted and watched as Kes once again became a man. She felt like she would never tire of watching the beautiful dragon become the handsome man.
“Is this all sapphire?” Rami asked, gesturing at the walls. Where the sun struck them, stars of white light danced within the stone.