Page 5 of The Healing Dragon (The Red Book #2)

Bianca pushes him away and turns to the window trying to compose herself before turning to me.

“I will go,” I tell him and raise my chin.

“I will go with you.” Bianca offers, stepping away from the window.

Her eyes are still red, and tear marks are fresh on her cheeks. The stress lines around her eyes look more pronounced today.

“You just returned.” Brandon embraces her with so much care.

“Any news?” I ask.

“Matias made it to the clinic in Fierno and delivered the plants to LeeAnn. He got sidetracked on the way back,” she says.

“What’s next?” I look between them.

“I can’t just sit here and wait.” Bianca runs her fingers through her hair. The desperation slipping through clear as day. “I need to be productive.”

“You can find something productive to do here.” Brandon pulls her to his chest. “We don’t know when Jesse will be back. I can’t go without seeing you for an unknown length of time.”

There is a knock at the door before a soldier enters the room.

He passes by me and hands Brandon a box.

My brother takes it and places it on his desk, then gestures for me to get closer.

He opens the box and I see a cape. I look back at Brandon because I haven’t seen this cape since we were children. At the sight of it, Bianca joins us.

Brandon nods, and the soldier hands me a piece of paper. The coordinates are of a location near the border between Fierno and the human lands. I don’t have to ask to know it will lead me to the girl that I have worked so hard to put out of my mind .

“Look under the cape,” Brandon directs me.

I lift the garment and find a golden envelope sitting at the bottom. I pick it up carefully.

“It’s a letter from me to Janelle. If she signs the bottom, she accepts the conditions of the contract,” Brandon says.

“A contract?” I look at the fancy lettering and the glitter hint that shimmers in the light. “A magic binding contract.”

“She cannot be trusted,” my brother says, like it’s the easiest explanation. “Her life is not bound to it. Do not presume me to be so cruel. She was my friend too, you know.” His voice lowers. “The contract will simply make me know of her disloyalty.”

He refrains from mentioning that it is because of his lack of trust in my ability to inform him of any deceitfulness from her. The unspoken message is subtly implied. If I heard the tone of her dishonesty, would I say something? I’d like to think I would.

Brandon nods his head, and I take my leave. Bianca continues to argue her case about joining, but I can hear the reluctance in my brother’s voice.

As I lay in bed at night, I look out the window and recall the nights I hoped to hear the familiar five knocks announcing my friend’s arrival. Those nights feel a world away. The once eager anticipation has turned into a stressful reluctance.

23 years ago.

I look out the window and still see nothing. I tell myself to just focus on the picture book I have in my hands, but I can’t help my eyes when they move to the clock on the wall. They move on their own accord. She should be here any minute.

Two rocks hit my window back to back. Then there is nothing but silence.

After a beat, I hear the five knocks on the metal pipe running down the side of the house.

I sit there waiting until a small silhouette climbs off the side of the window.

Something inside my chest feels like it can finally breathe.

“Janelle,” I say in greeting. I try to sound cool and not like I’ve been watching the clock tick by for her.

“Hi.” Her sheepish smile makes me grin.

All my worries escape.

Our houses are now next to each other on the lake, and our rooms face one another on the side of the houses.

We never talk about why she always ends up here.

Every night at about the same time, Janelle throws a rock to my window, then knocks on the metal pipe, announcing her arrival.

It has become something I look forward to.

If my brothers have noticed how I lock myself in my room early, they have said nothing about it.

She comes into my room and climbs onto her side of my bed.

A long sigh escapes her, as she finally relaxes after a long day.

Despite being past dinner time, I’ve placed a snack for her on the side table.

She wastes no time diving into it. I watch and take notice of how much she eats every night.

Sometimes she is much hungrier than usual.

She trains hard every day with tutors. Even in the summer, her studies are drilled down on her with so much urgency I feel bad for her. She deserves a break.

She is ten, and I am twelve. I can’t imagine being friends with any other ten-year-old, but Janelle is different.

Maybe it’s the fact that she’s already learning magic at my level.

We only see each other in the summer when our families come to the lake for two months.

Occasionally, we cross paths during the year at a royal family party.

Still, we hardly get to exchange more than pleasantries.

“Alright, I’m done.” She puts aside her leftover sandwich. “What do you have for me?”

I lift my leg and fold my pants to my knee.

“That’s gnarly,” she says, but her face shows amusement at the gruesome scratch.

I got hurt today with my brothers in the woods .

“We angered some giants in the forest.” I wiggle my brows for effect.

Her eyes widen as I tell her an elaborate, partly fictional version of the events.

As I talk about the day, she moves her hand over my injury and heals it with her gift.

This has become our thing. Every night, she comes over, and we do this.

She heals all the scratches I gained with my brothers during the day.

I tell her about our adventures, then spend the rest of the night together. We listen to music and read books.

Once it gets late and we both yawn, we lie down side by side, facing each other. We close our eyes and let the noise of the open window put us to sleep. She is always gone by the time I wake up, but I know without a doubt that she will be back the very next day.