Dragon Bound

Chapter Six

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Chapter Six

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Lune waded out of the pool, the warm water lapping at his legs. The wet clothing was rapidly becoming cold and uncomfortable. Jason looked once over his shoulder and gave him a knowing look. Lune glared back to cover his own nervousness. He was still reeling from the kiss, still couldn't quite believe it had happened.

His body dripped as he walked, arms hugging his torso. He simply had no idea that human riders had this kind of relationship with their dragons. It was slow going back along the corridors, back up the winding stairs in the near darkness. He stayed close to Damon's heel, distrustful of the leaping shadows on the walls.

He felt confused. He wanted to be angry but the fuel for that fire just wasn't there. He wanted to be free but his was frustrated because he didn't entirely want to kill Jason to get that freedom. What did that mean? Was he weak? His teeth were starting to chatter as they moved through the blustering top floor corridor. The feel of eyes on him through the stall doors made him shrink up against Damon's back.

'Come on,' Damon murmured, taking his wrist, and pulling him on. They climbed more stairs, the muscles in Lune's human legs were burning. They finally reached a large heavy wooden door. Jason stepped up and pulled out a large brass key to open it.

'This is home,' Jason said, pushing the door open.

Home.

Lune let his curiosity get the better of him and peeked inside. It was a large room with a roaring fire and a huge, dappled fur rug in the centre of the neatly stoned floor. Tapestries of different designs and colours decorated the grey stone walls, and several heavy pieces of furniture dominated the space. On the far wall was a massive four poster bed. There were three stained glass windows, each with a diamond pattern. Lune padded inside after them and Damon shut the door.

'Take off those clothes, you're dripping water everywhere,' Jason said as he walked over to a hefty mahogany table. The table had several large silver platters, each covered with a metal cloche. Lune froze, feeling his vulnerability. The fear crept up his spine. Jason turned to look at him then.

'Have I hurt you, Lune?' the rider asked. Lune glared weakly at him.

'You pulled out my scales,' he replied, shivering.

Jason nodded. 'I did. But not out of cruelty. Every dragon that is brought to this keep must undergo the same procedure. With those scales the medics can determine if you are healthy. You could be carrying an illness that could infect the other dragons. It also helps us determine your age as well as your preferred diet as well as make sure you are not deficient in anything.' Lune shifted on the spot. He wasn't sure what the word 'deficient' meant but the rest made him pause.

'You couldn't have done that with the scales on my body?' Lune grumbled.

Jason nodded again. 'Yes. We could have but it would mean several more magic users invading your aura and casting directly on your body. I thought it would be best and less stressful to just have them take the scales and run the tests separately,' Jason explained. Lune winced. It was bad enough to be forcibly bonded to Jason and Damon. The idea of more humans invading his aura or touching him was deeply unsettling.

'Take the clothes off Lune and I'll give you something dry to wear.' The human padded over to a set of drawers and pulled out one of Damon's undershirts that he never wore. It would be like a dress on Lune but that hardly mattered.

Slowly and with much reluctance, Lune pulled off the wet material. It hit the floor with a slap and Lune instantly curled in on himself, deeply aware of Damon's piercing gaze from where the black dragon stood by the fire. Jason came over and held out the shirt. Lune quickly snatched it up and put it on.