Skyborn (Dragons & Druids #1)(44)
Stuck between sleep and waking, I had a vivid dream that caused me to toss and turn. In my dream there was a man. He sat in a cave behind a waterfall, just sitting there calmly in quiet meditation. He looked to be about early forties, dark chocolate-colored skin, with a few grey hairs in his trimmed, well-kept scruff. His black hair was cut short, and although he seemed too old for me, I had to admit he was good looking. He sat erect in a cross-legged meditation pose, shirtless, eyes closed. And when I wondered why I would be dreaming of this man, his eyes snapped open and I felt a shock run through my sleeping body. His eyes were hauntingly beautiful. They were like a honey-colored sunset, like something I would paint.
Although his skin was dark, I could see the outlines of tattoos along his shoulder and neck, and my stomach sank. He was a druid. He was looking right through me as if I was there in the cave with him, but … he didn’t scare me. Not like the other druids I had met. At that thought, his lips quirked into a half smile, and I was snapped awake as Mittens pounced on my head and attacked my hair with her claws.
“Ow! You crazy cat.” I ripped her off and swatted her bottom before placing her on the ground. She took one supreme look at me and then retreated to her place under the bed.
My heart was still pumping with adrenaline as I recalled my dream. The dark-skinned man with the honey-colored eyes. I grabbed my sketchbook and colored pencils off of the chair beside my bed and started drawing. I had to. I couldn’t get him out of my head. Like he was important to me. It felt stupid, considering I was pretty sure he was a druid, but he didn’t feel evil. Not like the others. Evil didn’t meditate under waterfalls, right? The last druid I dreamt of had found me, so I was hoping this wasn’t another one of those prophetic dreams. Maybe I should tell Logan? But then he would probably wonder why I was dreaming of all of these druids.
Because I am a druid…
I sketched in a blind frenzy, reminding me of my early college days when I was filled more with inspiration and less with care for technique or pleasing the viewer. An hour passed and I had a detailed sketch of his face and torso in graphite. But those eyes … I colored them first and they were perfect. It took over ten colored pencils to get the color right. So many yellows, oranges, and browns. Who was this man? Why did I dream of him?
“Sloane?” Nadine knocked on the door and I slammed my sketchbook shut, clearing my throat.
“Come in,” I called out.
Nadine entered and gave me a shy smile. “I heard three druids came while Sophie and I were in town. Must have been scary.”
I nodded. “One of them chucked Keegan across the house like it was no big deal.”
Nadine shrugged. “Druids and shifters hate each other. There are always fights when we get together. Normally they only hang out at pureblood bars, so we don’t see them on the social scene.”
My mouth dropped at the mention of pureblood bars. The fact that there was segregation like that, it was horrid. “That’s awful. Why do they hate humans so much?”
Nadine sat down on the edge of my bed, her straight black hair falling around her shoulders. “Humans are weak. Druids despise weakness. Magic is strong and Faery used to be filled with strong magical creatures, so I guess they’re trying to get back to that place so they can rule the world and all of her magical minions or whatever.”
Sounded delusional. “So, you’re half human…”
Nadine nodded. “Yep. I regenerate if hurt, and I age slower. We age normally until puberty, then it’s about one year for every five human years, but I will get old and die one day just like them. Our DNA stops regenerating injuries at about age eighty. So yeah, I guess I’m weak too.”
I scoffed. “You’re not weak, you’re part human. It’s just natural and comforting. Getting old and dying is normal.”
I wanted so badly to be normal again. Logan had said we would never die unless we were killed, and it scared the shit out of me. In my mind, it made me a monster.
Nadine slapped my thigh. “Cheer up! We’ll have plenty of time to stick it to the druids over the next few decades together. Come on, Keegan wants us all downstairs to meet the two new recruits. They’ve been sworn in and bound to you and Logan, so it’s not possible for them to spill your secret.”
“My secret?” I paled, and Mittens took that moment to swat at my dangling feet.
Nadine looked confused. “That you’re a dragon shifter?”
I sighed in relief. “Right.” Man, I was getting paranoid. I really needed to hear back from Eva already.
I told Nadine I would change and meet her downstairs and she left. I had promised to help cook for this bunch, so I needed to pull through. If I thought we might stay here a while, I would plant a garden. I hadn’t had a back yard since my mom passed, and it would be nice to garden again. It reminded me of her.
After cleaning up, I put on my favorite pair of tight cargo pants and a black t-shirt with one of my drawings screen-printed on it. It was an iridescent hummingbird drinking soda from a straw. I grabbed my new phone and tucked it into my back pocket as I made my way down the stairs. As I was rounding the corner, I overheard Dom and Logan talking.
“It took every ounce of willpower I had not to gut them all,” Dom seethed, and I knew right away who he was talking about. Druids.
Logan chuckled. “You know, beheading them is my favorite.”