The White Werewolf || Season One: Ties That Bind

Chapter Seventy-Six

Dragon Mountains, 1262

When Robin woke, she was still nestled against Geralt's chest. When she stirred, he rumbled, "Good morning."

She sat up slowly. He smiled at her, but she didn't return the expression.

She had to be done loving him. She had to start putting distance between them so she could complete her task and leave him behind.

He sat up too, his brow furrowing as she left the bed without a word and began getting dressed.

Outside of the tent, she spotted Jaskier sleeping on a bedroll and sighed in relief. Geralt, who had risen and dressed right after her, joined her, nodding when he saw the bard.

"At a quick pace, we can make it back to the Pensive Dragon before sundown," he announced as Yennefer approached them.

He assumed that she was worried about finishing the hunt, but as Jaskier had pointed out the day before, there was really no point now.

Robin looked at him incredulously. "What are you talking about? We're almost at the top." She turned and faced him. "We came here for a reason, Geralt. We made Borch a promise. He might be dead, but we're still going to see it through."

And she needed to be in that cave. It was the one from Nenneke's vision, she was sure of it. Now that she was confident that she was making the right decision, she wasn't so afraid of the destination anymore.

"And I'm not leaving until I've killed that dragon," Yennefer chimed in. "Even if you aren't going to help, I'm sure you'll be interested in whether or not it bites my head off, so we might as well get going."

Robin chuckled and nodded. "Let's go," she agreed, falling into step beside the other mage.

Geralt trailed behind them. "What about Jaskier?"

"Let him sleep," Robin declared. "With any luck, we'll have this problem solved before he even wakes."

"Has anyone noticed that the fucking dwarves are missing?" Yennefer growled suddenly.

Robin clicked her tongue. "Well. The pact only lasted until we were at the top of the mountain, and we're at the top. I'm sure they're on their way to the dragon to beat us to the punch."

"Well, let's not let them. If nothing else, I want to win," Yennefer confessed.

"I agree. Let's go!" Robin exclaimed.

She and Yennefer started to run. Geralt followed them, shaking his head.

"You've stopped trying to read my mind," Yennefer remarked as they moved quickly up the mountain.

"You've stopped trying to read mine," Robin pointed out.

"I decided it was silly, since we're being fairly transparent," Yennefer explained.

"I thought much the same," Robin decided. "Wasted energy."

"The dwarves," Yennefer pointed out.

She uttered a spell and they froze on the path.

"Impressive," Robin complimented her.

"Thank you. But it won't last forever, so don't stop."

They arrived at the mouth of the cave and halted. Yennefer drew her dagger. Robin threw her red hood back and peered inside, then walked under the branches covering the entrance beside the other mage.

There was indeed a green dragon at the other end of the cave, but she was dead. And, Robin saw, curled around an egg.

As Yennefer stepped ahead of Robin, Téa and Véa emerged from around a wall of the cavern and demanded that they stop. Robin did as her mouth fell open in shock.