It all happened in a blur. Moving through the monotonous corridors. Arriving at the infirmary, melting into one of their beds. A healer examining me. I paid no attention to any of it, to anyone. Their words were murmurs in my ears compared to the voices in my head. No matter how hard I tried to pay attention to the world around me, I couldn't. My mind would take me back to the village coated in fire. The sounds of swords slashing through flesh, my people screaming, fire crackling. The heat. . . the smell. . .
"Eva!"
A pair of hands seized my shoulders. In panic, my eyes flew open and I shoved him away, screaming. A young, ashen-haired man stared at me in terror, restrained by Grayson who had not left my side--per my request. I didn't want to be left alone any more. I'd been alone with enough strangers already.
I blinked, remembering where I was, who the man in front of me was.
"Jacob." My voice was a mere whisper, my throat dry.
Grayson handed me a cup as my brother sat on the bed, watching me drink. He was so pale and haggard. His eyes were red, hands covered in ash and mud. He held my hands with vigor. "Are you in any pain?"
I glanced at my wrists; the shackles were gone, but they'd left their mark on my skin. They were scabby and stung at the slightest movement. My face hurt more; there was a constant throb on the left side, a painful reminder.
"I'll live." Is that really what I sound like now? It couldn't have been my voice. It was so deadpan. Lifeless. I cleared my throat. "I mean," that sounded better, "I'll be okay."
Jacob smiled half-heartedly, squeezing my hands. "Good. . ." His smile disappeared. "Listen, I know this is going to be hard--for the both of us--but I-"
Grayson interrupted, seeing Jacob struggle for words. "Commander Hargin wants to know what happened."
I swallowed, suddenly feeling small and fragile. "I told you what happened." I really didn't want to have to go through it again. I wanted to keep the calm haze over my mind, it reminded me that I was alive, not empty, forever reliving that day.
"I know, but you weren't exactly in the right state of mind." Grayson's tone made me wince. He was so cold. I liked him better when he held me in silence and let me cry to my heart's content, no matter how ugly it got.
Jacob glared and shoved him. "Show a little compassion, man!"
Grayson shoved him back. "I'm doing this so you--or anyone else--don't have to. You know Ahura would be ten times worse." The grim line on his mouth and the furrow in his brow were merciless, but his eyes, try as they might to hide it, conveyed how much he hated having to badger me at a time like this.
Jacob clenched his fists, chest heaving, but then he relented with a huff and looked back at me, mumbling an apology to his partner. He came along side me and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close. He kissed the top of my head. "It's okay, Eva. You're safe here. I won't let anyone hurt you."
He didn't understand. I wasn't scared for my life. I feared the screams. The smell. The hopeless anguish.
I remained silent.
Grayson, seeming to understand my hesitation, took my spare hand, his thumb gently brushing over the top of my hand. "You can do it, Eva."
Grudgingly, I told them what happened, describing the sigils the soldiers wore, their prince, how they attacked, but leaving out gruesome details they didn't need--or want--to know and I didn't want to remember. I went slowly, taking deep breaths to maintain my composure, always watching for Jacob's reactions. He winced when I mentioned what happened to Dad, "H-he told me to drop the sword. I did--but they killed him anyway! They dragged us out of the house. I tried to fight them, but there were so many. They found my scars . . and. . . and then they burned everything." I hiccuped then burst into tears. Jacob squeezed me tight, rubbing my back in soothing circles.
"That's enough, Eva," he murmured against my head. "You don't need to say more."
I sloppily wiped my tears away, fighting for composure. I could feel Jacob's resolve crumbling; I had to stay strong for him, otherwise we'd both be a mess and there would be no one left to right the wrong that had been done to us.
I let out a shaky breath, calm, for now. "I don't understand why'd they kill an entire village, just to take me."
"It sounds like Prince Darius is the one who led the attack," Grayson said, grim. He'd been quiet until now, letting us take the time we needed to get back on track. "Of Estrus's princes, only he would give out an order that cold-blooded."
I let his words sink in. "Wait. Are you saying there are more of him?" I shuddered at the thought.
"King Sylus had three sons," Grayson remarked bitterly. "His second eldest, Prince Dex, died a long time ago." His eyes were cold when they narrowed on his partner's glower.
"Well," Jacob added, a little harshly, "three years ago. It wasn't that long ago."
Grayson glared daggers at him. He actually looked like he wanted to punch my brother, fists shaking at his sides. "A lot can change in three years," he seethed between his teeth. "His--death--was the best thing that could have happened." And with that, he left.
I blinked at Jacob, surprised by his sudden outburst. "What got into him?"
Jacob swore then stared at the door where Grayson had gone through biting his lip, as if he was thinking of catching up to him, but then he thought better of it and shrugged at me. "It's been a difficult few days for all of us."
"Days?" As in plural? Hadn't I just gotten here a few hours ago? Was I so out of it I hadn't noticed it'd been days?
Jacob scooted up the bed, leaning against the wall beside me. He raked a hand through his dusty hair. "You've been here for two days, Eva." His eyes went grim, a look I hadn't seen on his face before. "I. . . I went home--what's left of it. I had to see it for myself. I didn't want to believe Grayson, but I saw you on this bed. . . staring into nothing. You looked--dead inside. I wish," his voice began to crumble, "I hadn't gone. Eva, it was horrible. . . and you watched it unfold." Suddenly, he hugged me, crying quietly. "I'm so sorry. It's my job to protect people, but I couldn't even save-"
"Don't say it, Jacob." I squeezed him, tears of my own running down my cheeks. It was hard enough to talk about it, but it was even more difficult to hear him blame himself. It wasn't anybody's but Darius Fortys' fault. "There was nothing you could have done. Just hold me, okay? No more talking."
We held onto each other and cried in the comfort of our embrace. When we had no energy left to cry, we slept through the morning.
A nagging, uneasy feeling prodded at the back of my mind woke me up. For a while I couldn't figure out what this feeling was, but then I realised it wasn't coming from me at all. Something was bothering Arkon.
Rubbing my eyes of sleep, I struggled to sit up and jostle Jacob awake. "Hey, Jake?" He moaned, burying his head in the pillow. I shook him harder. "Jacob, where has Arkon been staying? I need to find him."
With another groan, he sat upright and stared at me with bleary eyes. Even after only a couple hours of sleep, his hair stuck up all over the place. I'd missed seeing his ridiculous bedheads in the morning.
"You want to see him now?" he mumbled, slowly coming back to his senses. He rubbed the side of his head, felt the distress of his hair, then did his best to flatten the mop of hair.
"Yes. Something's not right."
More awake, he relented with a nod then slid off the bed. "If you're okay to walk, I'll take you to him. . ." His eyes darted to the side when I stood up and the gown the healer had given me moved in the breeze shooting through the open window by my bed. "Um, there's a change of clothes in the dresser for you. We can find something better fitting later."
There was a loose fitting shirt and pants designed to fit a man twice my size in the drawers; Jacob had to find a clothes pin and pin my pants to stop them from drooping.
He led me out of the infirmary, down a corridor that looked like every other corridor we past through: the same colour as the clay canyon walls outside and barren of any distinct markers. He moved too quickly for me to get my bearings, and I had to wonder how anyone found their way in this base. It might as well be a labyrinth.
Eventually, we went up a set of stairs that spiraled up and up, branching off to several floors. We only went up one floor before taking a branch that seemed to run on forever, leading us deep within the base and ended up in a corridor that appeared more cavernous and natural than the carved out halls downstairs. The floor wasn't smooth either, and I tripped on a few rocks, not expecting to have to look out for them. It didn't help that it was dark, with next to no windows to light our way. There certainly wasn't any torches.
Noticing I was having trouble seeing, Jacob pulled out a small stone that glowed a brilliant white. It emitted just enough light for me to avoid all of the rocks.
"That's a handy gadget. What does a girl gotta do to get one of those?"
He passed me a cheeky smile over his shoulder. "Become a Dragon Knight."
"Sign me up." I wasn't entirely joking, but he laughed it off.
"I'm not the one who gets to decide." He thrust his chin forward, further down the cavern. "We're almost there. Stay close. It's easy to get lost."
I wasn't planning on leaving his side for the foreseeable future, so it wasn't hard to obey. When we reached our destination, I understood his warning immediately. The hallway completely disappeared and opened up to an enormous cave. Aside from Jacob's handy rock providing us with light, there were several large holes in the wall on the right, going on further than I could see around the towering stalagmites. This must be the inside of the holes in the canyon walls I saw on my way to the base. Between the pillars of light shining in, the cave was as black as night itself, but in the pools of light, dragons bathed and soaked in every ounce of sunshine they could get. There were easily a hundred within eyesight and undoubtedly more beyond.
They paid us no mind to us as we walked along a clear path meant for Dragon Knights. Having limited exposure to this many dragons, I awed at their vast array of colours. There were no two the same; two red dragons bathed side by side, but one's scales were darker than the other's and had more horns down its spine.
"You have the coolest job in the world."
Jacob followed my gaze to the red dragons and let out a long, melancholy breath. "It has its perks, but it isn't always. . ." He stopped himself, shaking his thoughts clear, then continued down the path. I followed. "Arkon should be here somewhere. You said something was off?"
"Yeah. It's hard to describe." How did one even begin to explain what it felt like to be Bound to another being? "I just know something's bothering him."
"Trust me, I get it. Grayson and Eran's Bond took some getting used to. I can only communicate with Aries vocally, but you and Gray? You guys share something with your dragons that go beyond words." He stopped so suddenly, I almost bumped into him. "Look, it'll take all day to find Arkon like this. Can you use your Bond to find him?"
I still wasn't great at communicating telepathically with him, but I shut my eyes and concentrated on the Bond between us. Instantly, I felt the pull of the tether, of his soul. I let it guide me, with Jacob close behind. It took us to a dark corner, deep within the cave, away from the other dragons. Arkon blended seamlessly into the rock wall behind him; he was only truly visible when he opened his eyes and revealed his crystal blue eyes. He lifted his big head to greet us. "Eva. I didn't expect to see you so soon." He sounded surprised, but I sensed the relief my presence brought him.
"You didn't sense me coming?"
His gaze flitted over to the dragons in the sun beams. "I have been preoccupied."
I followed his gaze and frowned. I couldn't see anything that would bother him. He had plenty of space and it looked like the Dragon Knights hadn't mistreated him in any way. "What's the matter?"
"I am not welcomed here."
I snorted. "That's ridiculous. Why would you not be welcomed here? You saved my life!"
"He's a storm dragon," Jacob reminded me, coming up to my side. He tilted his head back to look up at Arkon. "The other dragons are wary of him."
"But why? Arkon's not going to hurt them."
"Other elemental dragons tend to feel uncomfortable around the likes of me," Arkon answered, his voice low, glum. "I hold a constant aura of static that makes them uneasy."
I guess I had gotten used to his aura, but when I looked for it, I felt it's tingly touch on my skin. For creatures afraid of lightning, it would be unsettling, even if he meant no harm.
"You are welcomed here, Arkon," Jacob assured him. "You can stay as long you like. Those words are straight from the Commander's mouth." He stepped up to Arkon's muzzle and placed a hand between his nostrils. "And I, most of all, will always welcome you here. You saved Eva. Thank you for. . ." His voice cracked, and he had to clear his throat before trying again, "Thank you for saving her and bringing her here."
It didn't dawn on me until Jacob had said it. Arkon could have taken me anywhere in the world, kept me secret from everyone as he'd kept himself secret. Instead he brought me to my brother, the one person I needed to be with now more than ever. I hoped he sensed how much I appreciated his selflessness.
The great dragon brushed his muzzle up against me. The heat of his breath warmed my core as he exhaled, wrapping me in a tight blanket of security and comfort. "You are now a part of me, Little One," he responded to my thoughts. "Your thanks is not necessary. I will always be here for you."
It was strange to have such a powerful being feel so strongly for me, but it was also comforting and made me feel like I might actually overcome Brar's horrible fate. I wanted to do the same for him. "Is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable, Arkon?"
"No. Unless you can change the element in which my magic originates from."
"We can't do that," a voice said from behind, "but I can make it clear to every man, woman, and dragon on my base to treat you with the respect you deserve."
Jacob and I turned to find a tall, regal woman. She had a set of very straight eyebrows with long fiery red hair. She wore a dragon scale jacket with many, many stripes on the shoulders of her cloak. Her brown eyes swept over to Jacob, who stood paralyzed by fear before he quickly saluted with a fist pounding his chest. "Com-Commander Hargin! Ma'am, this is my sister, Eva." He gestured to me, which felt more like a sacrificial offering than an introduction, with the way he pushed me forward.
Ignoring me, her dark eyes settled on Arkon, mouth set in a hard line. "The girl Bound to a storm dragon."
A low growl rumbled in Arkon's chest. His tail crept out from under him and slithered to my feet. The very tip curled around my foot, and I had a feeling he was one wrong word away from yanking me to his side.
Unfazed by Arkon's silent threat, she snapped her attention to Jacob. "Go make amends with your partner, Greene; he's in the sparring room beating all my good men and women to a pulp." She finally turned her gaze to me, as if Jacob had already left.
He gave me an apologetic smile then ran off, leaving me with a pit in my stomach. A woman who could make Jacob run for the hills and Arkon wary was a woman to fear.
Feeling very unprepared for whatever she wanted, I shifted all my weight to one foot and fiddled with the hem of my shirt, which hung well past my hips. I hadn't touched my hair for days and didn't even bother to try to fix it in front of her, despite feeling thoroughly underdressed.
A hint of a smile glinted on those thin lips of hers, amused. "I'm Commander Kira Hargin; I run the Aborian Dragon Knight Base. I've heard your story, Miss Greene. . . It's something."
I threw a fully fledged glare her way. I didn't care who she was, my "story" was not something. "My entire village was burned to the ground," I snapped coldly, surprising myself by how much strength I had left to fight back. "If that is only 'something' to you, you better go back North where you came from, you frigid bitch."
She glared but then seemed to remember I wasn't one of her Knights and thought better of whatever punishment she'd conjured for me. Clearing her throat, she shifted on her feet; her hair fell over her shoulder, casting a few shadows over her face. She might be a bitch, but she was a beautiful bitch. Her dark eyes were menacing yet somehow playful. "You have balls. I like that."
"I don't have balls. I don't give a shit. There's a difference."
Her smile grew. "That's right. You lost everything. How would you like to make King Sylus pay for what he did to you?"
It's bait, Eva. I jumped at Arkon's voice in my head and somehow resisted the urge to turn to look at him. Being Bound to me makes you a valuable asset. We must pick our allies wisely.
He was right. Somebody had already tried to take me by force. Even if I didn't understand the significance of my role--surely Arkon was the one everyone was truly after--we still had to be cautious of everyone.
"What do you want from us?" I asked the Commander.
She raised a single eyebrow at me. "I thought it was obvious. I want you to become a Knight."
That part I'd already gathered. The real question was: "Why?"
Exhaling, she tucked her hands into her pockets and turned her gaze to the dragons sunbathing. "War is coming, Eva. King Sylus has stretched every boundary set by the other kingdoms, and now he's overstepped. Entering Aboria to take you is just the start. He'll try to take you again, I can guarantee it. That man is thirsty for power, and what you and Arkon possess can turn the tides of wars. I would rather you be on our side than his."
"I would never fight for that evil man." It was insulting that she would even think I would.
She offered a rueful smile. "King Sylus has ways to make you do his bidding--if he gets his hands on you. If you stay here, Eva, you are under my protection. No one will be able to force you to do their evil deeds."
"As long as I fight for you?" I guessed.
She shook her head. "Not for me. For Aboria. For the world. Dragon Knights are not bound by kingdoms, though we do reside in them and often offer our aid. Our goal is to maintain peace in the world, between man and beast."
"Then why aren't we talking to King Sylus?"
"When the time comes, we will, but I fear talking will be futile. A Fortys can rarely be reasoned with, only killed."
I considered her words then peered up at Arkon. What do you think?
His gaze remained on her, but I noticed he was significantly less agitated by her presence. She speaks the truth. Dragon Knights have always be an advocate for the people. It is time for me to resurface. This Fortys clan did not end their tyranny when they took my king away. They must be stopped.
Are you sure? I wanted him to be absolutely certain, because there was no going back once we start. This was what I had always wanted, but I didn't want my desires to cloud his judgement.
We possess a great power, Eva. Over time you will come to see it. I would rather use it for good than to not use it at all.
I smiled at him, proud to call him my partner, then faced the Commander. "We will join you."
The relief on her face was brief but evident. She nodded in acknowledgement to me then lifted her gaze to Arkon. "You chose your dragonbound wisely."
"I know."
I flushed at the compliment.
"Your training starts tomorrow, Greene. I'll arrange to have your room prepared and get the necessary papers sent your way." She turned to leave.
"W-wait! Hang on a second!" I called to her. "How do I get out of here?"
She glanced at me over her shoulder, a mischievous smile on her lips. "I heard you were a hunter. You'll figure it out."
Then she was gone, leaving me in a dark labyrinth full of dragons.