Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,37

sure agreeing with you. You look amazing.”

Casey and Brady shared a quick, knowing glance.

“Do you think it’s safe to come back?” Brady asked.

“Yeah, I do.” Zack frowned slightly. “Although if he’s just gone underground, there’s a chance that he’ll pop up again once he knows Casey’s back.”

Brady turned to Casey, his brow knitted with concern. “What do you want to do?”

“I…” Casey’s voice faded as she looked from Brady to Jasmine and Zack. As much as she had loved her time in this world, it wasn’t truly her home. Her life was in New York. For years, she had planned her future—graduate school, a PhD, her own practice. Everything she had done in her carefully structured life had been to those ends. She couldn’t give that up, could she? Not even for Brady.

And then there was the possibility of a baby. If she really was pregnant, she didn’t relish the thought of giving birth in a world where medical science was medieval at best.

“I want to go back,” she heard herself say, her own voice alien to herself. She looked back at Brady and nodded. “I want to go home.”

“Do you really have to go back so soon?” Elana hugged Brady tightly. “You’ve only just come back!”

“I know, Mother.” Brady smiled and kissed her cheek. “We’ll be back again.”

“We?” Alix threw Casey a dirty look.

“Yes, ‘we.’” Brady made his way to Alix. He held her at arm’s length for a moment. “Try not to drive everyone crazy, would you, please?”

“No promises.” Alix embraced him, and for just an instant, Casey thought she could see the true Alix hidden beneath the attitude. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“No promises.” Brady grinned and kissed her forehead.

“Next time, you have to stay longer,” Gareth said as he took his turn hugging Brady. “We need to go on a hunt, the way we did when you were younger.”

“We hunted once,” Brady said, smiling. “And you insisted on coming home early because you didn’t like sleeping outdoors.”

“Well…” Gareth straightened his shoulders. “We’ll discuss hunting stories, then.”

“Absolutely.”

As they spoke, Casey stood near the Arch, feeling out of place and conspicuous. She didn’t notice Elana approaching.

“Casey?”

“Yes, my Queen?”

Elana rolled her eyes. “Please. Just call me Elana. All this ‘queen’ stuff drives me crazy sometimes.”

“Yes, my…” Casey caught herself and smiled. “Yes, Elana.”

“We’re going to miss you,” Elana said quietly. “Even Alix.”

“That’s probably debatable,” Casey said, glancing over at Alix, who was giving her a fierce side-eye.

“She’s just overprotective of Brady. She’ll outgrow it sooner or later.” Smiling gently, Elana reached out and touched Casey’s stomach with the tips of her fingers. “Have you told Brady yet?”

“How did you know?” Casey asked, surprised.

“Your eyes.” Elana tipped up Casey’s chin, gazing at her eyes. “I can see the happiness in them. Just like I see it in Braydon’s eyes.” She paused. “Do you love my son?”

Casey slowly nodded. “Yes, I do.”

“Then stay with him. Give him a home and a child and a future.” Elana’s eyes closed for a moment. “I thought I’d lost him before. Please…” Elana looked into Casey’s eyes again. “Make him happy.”

Casey smiled. “I will.”

Elana gave Casey a gentle hug and stepped away so Gareth could shake her hand. She glanced over Gareth’s shoulder and saw that Brady was watching her with a soft smile on his face.

“We should go,” he said as he took Casey’s hand. “We’ll be back soon. We promise.”

Casey took one more look at Brady’s family, at his world, and hoped against hope that it wouldn’t be for the last time.

Then, they were in the portal and the world fell away.

22

Casey

“Tell me about Savannah.”

Casey said the words before she could stop herself. She watched Brady’s reaction. His brows knit into a faint frown as he rolled his head on the pillow to look at her. Casey had tucked herself into his arms, curled up beside him with their bare legs intertwined.

Brady took a deep breath and sighed in resignation. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

He said nothing for a few minutes, looking up towards the ceiling. They had been back in New York for only a few days and Casey was having a difficult time readjusting to it. Her apartment was ruined. She had missed weeks of classes. She had no job and no income at the moment. Everything was as wrong as it could be.

Except for Brady. And the baby.

He insisted that she stay with him at his apartment, and Casey could hardly refuse the offer. She didn’t want to; over the