Prologue

"Skye, I want to fly!" The giggly voice of a toddler filled the room.

"No, Ahri. I have practice," replied Skye.

"Practice flying."

Her little voice was coated with her unbending determination, and Skye almost ditched practice to follow her whims. It wouldn't bode well with her father though, since he was waiting for him on the training grounds. It would also tick the man in the wrong way to know Skye was still spending every free second of his day with his baby daughter.

He couldn't help it, though. Even if she weren't the cutest little toddler in the land, his instincts wouldn't allow him to stay away. She was too willful to be let alone, unprotected. He chuckled, remembering how her mother had tasked him to watch over her when she was born, and he was only ten. He was a man now, at fourteen, and understood more than ever how much he needed to stick around her. But not right now.

"We can fly later. Now, go play."

"Fire-breathing lizard!"

"Ahri, stop swearing, you mother will get mad." He suppressed a chuckle.

If it were up to him, nothing the girl said should ever be reprimanded. But her father said if he wanted to spend time with her, he couldn't bend to her every wish, allow her to do anything she wanted. He was a man of discipline, even if his daughter had him wrapped around her finger.

"No, she won't."

"Well, your father will."

"You are no fun!"

Skye laughed, and as always she giggled in return. Her eyes shone every time he allowed himself to be spontaneous, and he couldn't cope with all the adoration he saw there. He was always trying to fall into the serious role that was expected of him as a warrior, but that snippet of a human could bring him to his knees with a single word.

In the field, his mentor was already waiting for him with a stern expression. Skye knew him for too long to believe he was truly mad, but he lowered his head and got ready for a tough session of training.

They were halfway through the practice when Skye felt his heartbeat spike. It was so sudden, so misplaced, it took him almost a minute to realize it was fear. Something was wrong. He turned around and shifted into his dragon form, leaving his mentor behind without a word. The man shouted after him, but there was no time to explain.

His black beast wasn't grown to its full size yet, but he pushed his wings harder to reach the cave where they lived. She was in danger, he knew. Even though he couldn't quite explain why, he felt it. He searched inside the cave for her favorite spots still on his dragon form, but she wasn't there. His instincts were on overdrive, and a loud, desperate roar fled his throat.

"Skye," screamed the terrified voice of the child he swore to protect. It was low and distant, but now he knew where to go. How could she be outside the cave? There was no way out except flying!

As he went outside, she called for him again. Damn that little piece of a person. She was hanging from the rocks that formed the entrance of the cave, miles above the ground. Her tiny hands were white from the effort, and her feet kept trying to stay put in the small dent they found on the rock.

But he couldn't reach her. His wings wouldn't let him get close enough to the rocks, and he wasn't accurate with his claws to avoid breaking stone on top of her with a side dive. He landed at the entrance of the cave, changing into his human form to climb down and fetch her. Every second was excruciating, but what truly bent him out of shape of the happiness he could feel from her.

As soon as she saw him, all the fear vanished from the girl. Skye had no idea how he could feel it so clearly, but it only made him clench his fist and will his body to go change faster, to climb down and get her.

He lied down on the cliff of the cave, reaching down to take her hands and pull her up. But she was too far. Her little body allowed her to climb down just enough to be out of his reach. Her teary eyes were already drying, and she smiled at him with a confidence he didn't have in himself. Gods, just an inch further.

But her hands were tired, and her lack of fear caused her to make a mistake. She tried to reach back, and her feet slipped from the dent that was holding it.

Skye didn't think. He jumped down and engulfed the girl in his arms, shifting mid-air to avoid falling in the woods below. Too close to the rocks, his body grew against the sharp surface, tearing the flash in the way. Breathing was hard, and he just kept pushing his wings to halt the fall. He concentrated on the tousled white hair from the child that was safely locked between his claws.

He reached the safety of the cave and let go of the girl who was giggling like her life hadn't been on the line. The black dragon turned back into his human form, and the girl came to shower his face with kissed like she did when he took her on a flight. But he couldn't stand up and grunted in pain instead of laughing.

"Kye?" She asked, worrying her lips between her teeth when he didn't respond as usual. She always called him Kye when she was emotional.

The girl stepped away, and he saw the large gush on his side at the same time she did, bleeding against his dark skin. It tinted the floor in a dark shade of red, and the dragon's mind was getting a bit fuzzy. He expected Ahri to scream or run away.

"Kye, stay. Peshure the wound. I get mommy."

Damn, the girl was her mother's daughter. She had stood by Eleanor's side, tending to injured warriors since birth. Even if she couldn't quite pronounce the word pressure, she knew just how to handle a bleeding man. He was so, so proud. And so dizzy.

Hours must have passed, because when Skye woke up again, it was dark outside, and Eleanor was by his side. He blinked a few times, trying to come to terms with his situation. There was a lingering pain on his side, but judging by the size of the patch on his ribs, he was probably under pain medication provided by Eleanor. The healer noticed he was awake and smiled at him tenderly.

"Thanks, Skye."

"Why was she alone?"

He was angry. His favorite person in the world almost died today. How could he not be?

"You know she wasn't. I was taking care of the patients and she slipped away, as she did when you were caring for her countless times. You can't blame me more than I blame myself."

Eleanor was so straight to the point, it was unnerving. She was also right, which only made him feel worse.

"I felt her fear, Ellie." At that moment, Skye felt more like a teenager than an adult. He couldn't understand this, and he hated it. His life should be training right now and chasing after girls. But even since she was born, he felt like the string that attached him to the world was no longer the same.

"You two are connected, Skye. I don't know why. I've never seen it before. But she feels more at home with you than she ever did with me."