The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 21

He found Elysia, her guardian, and Mirum at the archery lines. Elysia was arguing with her guardian about something, clearly furious with something he was saying.

As Ralf slowly approached, he finally noticed that Sirey was there as well. Once Sirey caught sight of Ralf a huge grin spread across her face and she waved her hand in greeting.

"What're they arguing about?" Ralf asked once he reached Sirey's side.

"I think the better question would be what aren't they arguing about. I suppose it began with Shade claiming Elysia couldn't take care of herself. Then it all went downhill from there. You know how she is, so defensive."

Ralf chuckled and then frowned. "Shade? Is that her guardian's name?"

Sirey shrugged, "Who knows, he's so mysterious. That's just what Sia calls him."

Curious, Ralf turned his attention to the scene in front of him, listening in on what his sister and her guardian were arguing about.

"We're here so I can prove to you that I can take care of myself," Elysia said, her tone frustrated and loud.

Her guardian's demeanor and tone were quite the opposite. He seemed relaxed and unnerved. "And shooting some arrows at a stationary target will prove this how?" he asked calmly.

Elysia groaned in frustration. "I just want you to see that I'm handy with a bow. I can hit any target, which means I can shoot any enemy I might come against. I don't need you constantly standing over me, suffocating me with your presence!"

"King Alan seems to think otherwise. And until he commands me to stop, I will continue to fill out his orders and protect you. Shooting a few arrows isn't going to change that. I don't know why you insist on doing this."

Ralf leaned in towards Sirey and whispered, "It's weird, I've never heard him speak before."

Shade's head turned sharply to look at Ralf, as if he had heard the Prince's words.

"Why did you call your brother down?" Shade asked, his voice on the verge of frustration.

"I thought it would be fun to have a little competition between the three of us," Elysia replied innocently.

"Then why is she here?" Shade asked, nodding in Sirey's direction.

Elysia shrugged. "I needed a witness. And she wanted to see Ralf."

Sirey's mouth dropped and a blush immediately spread on her cheeks. Defensively she retorted, "I was on break. There was nothing else to do."

Ralf didn't even notice. His mind was still caught up in the image of Karolina stepping out of Henry's bedchambers. For some reason he couldn't shake the nagging feeling in his stomach about the situation.

"Are you all right?" Mirum's voice echoed in Ralf's head, disrupting his own thoughts.

He finally looked over at his dragon. Her hazel eyes were concerned as she met his gaze.

"It's nothing," he assured her, though she clearly didn't buy it.

"I won't pry, but if you want to talk about it, I'm always here."

He smiled at his dragon and his heart lifted a little, knowing he had such a strong and wonderful bond with Mirum. No matter what, he could always count on her.

The archery contest began several minutes later after Elysia and Shade finally gave up their argument and decided to settle things with a competition.

Targets were already set up down the line. Elysia handed Ralf a quiver of arrows and a bow and he took his place on the right side of his sister. Elysia took the middle and her guardian took the row on her left.