Mate To The Queen

Jaxon

I shrug. "Well that's the second time I've had to redo your stitches and I'd rather not do it a third time so I'm not taking any chances," I tell him.

He scowls at me. "Does that mean I can't put on a shirt either?"

I shrug again, a small smirk creeping up onto my face. "Just take us to the river."

I follow him down the mountain side, my eyes wandering over his scars the entire time. Most of them look like they're from knives and a lot strongly resemble wounds caused by arrows.

But there are also scars that run from the tops of his shoulders, all the way down to his lower back. They're faint but still visible beneath the hundreds of smaller scars. I think those are from a whip.

You have heard the stories, the hunters were ruthless monsters. I cannot imagine the things they did to him, my dragon growls, her voice filled with an underlying rage.

Horrible images start flashing through my mind and I have to swallow the bile that has risen in my throat. I shake my head and try to focus on the scenery instead.

The mountains are mostly barren rock, but towards the bottom it turns into a forest. The trees grow close together and the canopy is so thick it completely blocks out the sun in some places.

The river is at the very bottom, it's what formed the canyon between the mountains. It's not as big as it was a thousand years ago, but it still takes my breath away.

"I used to go swimming here with my brother," I say.

Ash glances back at me with a small smile. "Really?"

I nod. "Yeah this is where we learned how to swim. My parents thought it would be more practical than a swimming pool."

"Yeah you don't exactly see square pools made of stone in the wilderness. Well the current slows just behind those trees, the water is pretty still there," he says.

I follow him around the dense thicket of trees and my jaw drops. The river is normally a dark gray color, but here it's blue. The grass grows thicker around here and it looks more like moss.

"My gods this place is amazing," I breathe.

Ash grins at me. "I found it a few years ago. Nobody ever comes here so I used it as a hideout sometimes."

I watch as his smile starts to fall. "Come on, let's get cleaned up," I sigh.

He shakes his head a little before nodding. I drop the bags and tear off my shirt, grimacing at the smell.

I hear a tiny whimper and frown. I look over at Ash but he is staring down at the ground with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah I'm good," he croaks out, turning around.

My eyebrows furrow. "Okay then," I murmur. I pull my shorts off so that I'm left in just my boxers and shove my clothes into my pack.

I turn around to see Ash already in the water. I grin and take a running jump so that I land right next to him.

Warm water surrounds me. I close my eyes under the water and smile as my body relaxes. I can't hear anything but my own heartbeat as I float beneath the surface.

My lungs start to burn and I swim upwards, sucking in a gasping breath.

"Damn, you can hold your breath for a long time. I kinda thought you drowned for a second there," I hear Ash say and I laugh.

"Well it's deeper than I thought," I remark. My feet don't touch the bottom and I have to tread water to stay afloat.

I swim closer to the edge until it is shallow enough for me to stand. I rub the blood off my skin and rinse my hair until I can actually run my fingers through it.

I climb out of the pool with a heavy sigh. I wave my hand and the water evaporates from my body in a small cloud of steam. I sit down in the soft grass, leaning my back against a tree.

I look back at the river and can't help smiling. Ash floats on the water, his arms out and his eyes closed. His hair floats around him in a golden halo and the tiniest of smiles rests on his lips.

I bite my cheek hard and clench my fists. "Fuck it," I whisper under my breath and rummage through my bag for my sketchbook. I find a pencil and flip to a clean page.

I glance back at Ash. He hasn't moved. I grin again and my pencil starts to move.

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