Dragon Fire Academy 1 First Term an RH academy romance - Rachel Jonas Page 0,86

upon, and now more than ever, I wondered if this had been the reason Noelle was here.

Not for the academy, but because Spirit had led her here.

To this island.

To us.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kai

The only thing we had to offer her was comfort, so we did our best.

We surrounded her—Paulo and Rayen to her right, me to her left, and Ori supporting her head as it rested in his lap.

She lied there like a broken doll, sweating profusely, crying out when another bone would break and contort. More than once she tried murmuring an incantation to take the pain away, but every time she’d lose focus because of the near-constant agony.

It was hard to watch, because our hearts were connected to hers, riding the highs and lows right with her as she transitioned.

Ori mentioned that instead of her dragon being visible in her flames, it had been her wolf. And since arriving maybe an hour ago, I’d seen her body burst into flames several times, but it didn’t seem to add to her pain. It became apparent that she had at least some level of control, because while many of us burned our clothes away during our first shift, hers weren’t even singed.

Ori peered up, unable to hide how helpless he felt.

“Shouldn’t it be over by now?” I sounded desperate, which wasn’t far from the truth.

When he only offered a concerned look, instead of actual words, I took that as a ‘yes’.

My fingers ran down her arm, clutching her hand when she gritted her teeth. Our eyes were glued to her as brightly burning sigils seared through her skin from beneath the surface. I breathed wildly as the first set faded, only for another to appear—covering her face, arms, legs. Everywhere.

I shot Ori another look, and the one he returned was equally as confused.

It wasn’t far from my mind that, if it came down to it, we could easily fly her out into the middle of the ocean, if getting her far away from the island became necessary.

But then, the small voice in the back of my head that told me from day one that she was different would scream at me in protest, reminding me that wasn’t even an option. Unfortunately for everyone we’d all fought so hard to look after, the Omegas’ priorities had done a major shift. Now, and for the foreseeable future, Noelle was at the top of that list.

My thoughts cut off abruptly when the third set of sigils burned through her flesh, but this time they’d taken on a new color—turquoise.

I’d heard rumors of the mainlanders’ original dragon—and her descendants—possessing the power to “burn blue” as they called it. This particular fire had the power to not only destroy wolves, but also other dragons. Knowing my brothers were also aware of the legend, we should have all been inclined to back away.

Only … we didn’t.

Instead, even when her entire body lit up with the odd flames, we were right by her side, enduring the agony. She writhed on the ground, sobbing from a place so deep I was positive she’d carry this night with her for the rest of her life. As would we. Wherever our hands and arms touched her, we burned, hearing our flesh sizzle from the powerful heat. Still, we gritted our teeth and endured it.

For her.

After several minutes, the flames and sigils both retreated back inside her body, but Noelle’s crying continued. The sound of it broke my heart, wishing there was more I could do, but there wasn’t. Now resting on her side, she clung to my arm, pressing her cheek to it as I stared at the compass tattoo on the back of her hand. Sometimes, when she spoke, she’d aimlessly trace it with her finger, thinking thoughts she had never shared out loud, but I believed the memory attached to it brought her comfort.

As I pushed my hand through her damp hair, the only thought I could focus on was how beautifully complicated she was, and how Spirit had outdone itself sending her to us. I wasn’t sure many others could push through this like she had, which made my respect and adoration for her increase tenfold.

Lying before me was one of the most incredible beings I’d ever laid eyes on.

Something else occurred to me the next moment, when I peered up to observe Ori. He wasn’t aware of me watching, and the way he gazed down at Noelle was telling. There was an unfamiliar softness in his expression, and