It was on the tip of my tongue to say that I didn’t want or need anything. My scars had been replaced by the lovely bronze scales and I was Blood-Bonded to the love of my life. But then a movement in the shadows happened to catch my eye.
Little Jalli was hiding behind a tall curtain behind the dais, peeking out. The look on her face was so wistful it made my heart squeeze in my chest. Without giving myself time to think about it, I said,
“Your Majesty, for my boon, I would like to take your daughter Jalli back to the human world with me for a little while. She can attend Nocturne Academy where Ari and I can keep an eye on her and she can have the surgery on her foot that she needs to walk without limping.” I bowed to him again. “That is what I wish for, with all my heart and there is nothing else I want from you.”
When I came up from the bow, I saw a strange mix of emotions on Ari’s father’s face. There was anger there but also wonder and surprise. He seemed to take a moment to master himself. Finally, he said,
“You use your one boon for another, Kaitlyn? You might have asked for half my kingdom or to be crowned queen immediately.”
“I don’t want any of that,” I said firmly. “I just want Jalli to be healed. I know…” I cleared my throat. “I know what it’s like to live with a…problem. I’ve been healed since being here in the Sky Lands—I want to take Jalli back with me so she can have the same experience in the human world.”
The Alpha Drake frowned.
“We have never held with human practices or believed in human medicine here in the Sky Lands. It often does more harm than good.”
“You’re thinking of the state of human medicine back when your people came through the rift in Spain hundreds of years ago,” I said earnestly. “Please believe me, Your Majesty—it’s changed a lot. There are doctors and surgeons who specialize only in curing club foot, which is what Jalli’s condition is called. They can heal her and she’ll be able to walk and run normally the rest of her life.”
At that moment, Jalli apparently couldn’t contain herself any longer. She came hobbling out from behind the curtain and stumbled into her father’s arms.
“Please, Papa, let me go!” she begged with tears in her big, dark eyes. “I want to be healed as Kaitlyn has been and I want to see the human world.”
“Well…” It was clear the Alpha Drake was reluctant to let his dear little daughter go so far away. But just then Saint stepped forward.
“I will help Kaitlyn and Ari guard Jalli, Your Majesty,” he said. “For my boon is also to go to the human world and attend Nocturne Academy with my cousin and his friends.”
“You want to go too, Saint?” The Alpha Drake was clearly mystified. “But you’ve always been such a loner—wanting nothing but to be alone in your Drake form.”
“I want a great deal more than that, Your Majesty,” Saint said. “But considering the way I am considered bad luck, solitude is my only option here in the Sky Lands. Perhaps in the human world I might find a new way of life that suits me better.” He shot a sidelong glance at me. “And maybe…maybe I too may find some healing.”
I wondered if he was talking about getting therapy or maybe trying medication or seeing if anyone at Nocturne Academy could break the curse on his Drake. Maybe all three.
“We’d love to have you, Saint,” I said quietly. “You saved all our lives last night. I’d be dead or tied to that awful Pedro Sanchez if you hadn’t come back just when you did.”
Saint smiled at me briefly.
“I promised my cousin to guard his L’lorna. I was only keeping my word.”
“And I will keep my word,” Ari’s father had announced. “Saint, you and Jalli may go to the human world and attend Nocturne Academy with Ari and Kaitlyn on the condition that you come back on the weekends sometimes, so we can make certain you’re well.”
“Oh, thank you Papa—thank you!” Jalli had squealed, throwing her arms around her father’s neck and giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I said, bowing again. “You won’t regret it. We’ll take good care of Jalli—I promise.”
“See that you do.” Her father gave her one last hug and then set her carefully down. He watched as she hobbled away quickly to tell her mother the good news and shook his head. “If you really can heal her, maybe more of my people can come to the human world for other ailments.”
“I think that would be a wonderful idea,” I said. But beside me I heard Saint mutter,