Page 5 of Saving Her Dragon

Looking at his brother, Grey’s chest ached with decades of unspoken words. "I missed you, kid."

Garrett didn't answer immediately. He gazed out at the Texas landscape, his expression unreadable. Finally, he turned his head. "I missed having someone to miss."

The words sent a strange, indefinable chill through Grey. He didn't fully understand what they meant, but the depth of it hung heavy in the warm air between them.

Instead of asking for an explanation, Grey tried to lighten the mood. Clapping Garrett on the shoulder, he cheerfully asked, "Need anything? Anything at all? All you've gotta do is ask, little brother. I've gotcha covered."

Garrett smiled, a genuine, soft expression as his eyes drifted towards the window where Sydney was visible inside. "Nah. I've already got everything."

The loving sentiment and the look in his brother’s eyes soothed Grey’s nerves, so that by the time evening descended and the Texas summer had brought out a spectacular display of fireflies pulsing in the twilight, he felt at ease. Before dinner, Ginnie hurried Grey and Star off, telling them to get settled into the guest cottage next to Sydney and Garrett.

The meal was a loud, joyful affair, topped off with bowls of homemade ice cream, homemade Texas sheet cake, and fresh strawberries. It truly was a flawless day– one Grey would never forget.

An hour after dark, he realized he’d left his bottled water in the main house. Stepping out into the warm night air, he walked around the side of the cottage and started down the path.

Enjoying the night and the song of the cicadas, Grey stopped mid-stride when he heard quiet voices. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but the stillness of the night carried the sound perfectly. Sydney and Star were standing near the edge of the porch.

"How's he really doing?" Star asked softly.

Moving closer so he could see as well as hear, Grey was just in time to see Sydney smile. It was an automatic, practiced response. But then, it completely faded.

Grey froze in the shadows. He had never seen fear on Sydney’s face before. Not when she was a child and faced with Lance, her adopted dad, going off to battle or her adopted mom, Sam, running off to the hospital to attend to an emergency.

But in that moment, she looked utterly terrified.

"I'm worried," Sydney whispered.

Grey stepped out of the darkness, his brow furrowed. "What happened?"

Startled, Sydney looked between Grey and Star. Hesitating for the briefest of seconds, she ultimately shrugged as if trying desperately to convince herself that she was overreacting. "He's just... so quiet."

Grey nodded, taking a step closer. "That's reasonable, Sydney. He's adapting."

"He startles so easily," she added, her voice trembling. “No Guardsman I’ve ever known startled that easily. It’s like y’all know everything.”

"Yeah, well, I see what you’re saying, but it’s still reasonable for Garrett," Grey countered gently. "Think about what he went through."

"I know,” she stressed the words. “I was there. I saw it all, and I can see his memories… his nightmares.” She stopped, inhaled deeply, then exhaled. “But sometimes he just... disappears."

Grey’s frown deepened. "What do you mean, disappears?"

Looking up, her eyes wide and haunted in the moonlight, Sydney delivered the answer that changed everything. "I'll wake up in the middle of the night," she whispered. "And he's gone."

Silence stretched over the yard. Grey immediately voiced the exact logical conclusion playing in his mind. "Sleepwalking?"

Sydney nodded slowly. "That's what I thought at first." She swallowed hard, her gaze drifting across the lawn towards the main house, where the sound of Garrett’s genuine laughter floated through the warm evening air as he joked with Carrick.

Turning back to Grey, her voice was barely a breath when she revealed, "Except... he never remembers leaving."

2

Rebuilding

Squeezing his eyes shut, Garrett held his breath and braced for the inevitable– a punch, a kick, or the sharp crack of a whip.

But it never came.

Instead, a sweet, clear melody drifted through the air. It sounded like a little bird outside his window, crooning softly to a lover named "Peter, Peter, Peter."