I scratched my head. The seriousness of his tone made it sound like this whole conversation had been leading up to this moment. But what it all meant was completely lost on me. "Okay, bonded? We didn't even talk last night. If anything, Erika bonded with him more than I did. All he did was safe my life--which I'm grateful for--but I doubt I'll be seeing him again. He seemed angry we'd disturbed him."
Grayson shook his head at me. "No, you Bonded. You're Bound to him the same way I am Bound to Eran." He pulled up the hem of his shirt to reveal a set of abs I could clean my laundry on all day; however, they were tainted by an array of scars that spoke of many years of pain and suffering. He drew my attention to a few in particular; a stab wound right below his ribs and several long cuts along his stomach from the swipe of a blade. They all had the same scaly texture as my scars. "Before I joined the Dragon Knights, I lived. . . a very different life," he explained vaguely, no doubt to save me the horrors of his past. "It took its toll on me. I was angry all the time, at myself, at my family--at the life I'd been dealt. I did horrible, unforgivable things to deal with my rage, but it only made things worse. One night, I'd had enough. I walked away from my family estate. I had no intention of returning, no true destination in mind. I just had to leave." Grayson turned to his partner, reaching out to stroke the scales on Eran's long neck. When he told me of his tale, his voice was distant, his eyes far away, as if he was lost in his thoughts. . .
°•° °•°
Grayson hiked the woodlands of his kingdom for days, going where ever he felt like for once in his life. He hunted and gathered his own food, made his camps every night then dismantled them in the morning. It wasn't luxurious by any means, but it was freeing, empowering. He loved every minute of it. He made sure to cover his tracks so his family couldn't find him. He hadn't anticipated being followed from above.
Eventually, he'd found himself on cold, rocky shores. He wasn't sure what had drawn him there. Perhaps it was the vacancy of this barren area. Perhaps it was lure of the ocean, its ceaseless waves promising an end to his suffering.
He wasn't given much time to contemplate his reasonings for being here. A shadow swept overhead then a gust of wind threatened to force him onto his knees. With years of training behind him, he whirled to face the beast, sword steady in his hands. The last thing he expected to see was a wild dragon. They had left his kingdom for more fruitful lands long before he was born.
They stared at each other, watching, waiting for the other to strike first. The dragon was far larger than any he had seen on the dragon farms across his kingdom. Its jagged horns ran from the tip of its nose, which held the biggest, along its spine, down to the asymmetrical spikes at the end. If it wanted to kill him, he was certain no amount of skill on his behalf would be able to stop it.
Its emerald green eyes were locked on him unblinkingly. Everyone knew dragons were intelligent creatures; this one was no exception as it studied him coldly. It knew who it stood before and didn't care. And yet, "You've travelled far from your home without provisions, human."
"What of it?" he snapped to hide all the questions riddling through his brain. What business did this dragon have with him? Why did it even follow him? Was it one of his father's, one he hadn't seen before? It bore enough scars to be one of his.
An amused glimmer shone in its eyes. "I can think of only one reason why a human would do such a thing: you are running and do not wish to be weighed down by frivolous baggage." The seemingly attentive dragon cocked its head to the side, examining him closely, curiously. "Question is: why are you running?"
Not one of his father's spies, then. If it had been, it would have tried to drag him back home by now.
Grayson licked the sweat off his lips, unsure what to make of this creature. Clearly, it didn't feel the slightest bit threatened by him and seemed to even find him amusing. Did he entertain the dragon for a short while? It wasn't often one found themselves in the willing company of a dragon, after all, and what was it going to do with the information if he did tell it the truth? "I'm done being a coward. Somebody needs to stop my father. If no one else will do it, I will."
The crook above the dragon's eye twitched--the human equivalent of raising an eyebrow. "And how will you do that all by yourself?"
He let out an explosive breath, swiping his hand through his hair. Seeing that the dragon was not hostile, he sheathed his sword. "I haven't figured that out yet. Hence the walking."
He turned away from the dragon to face the setting sun across the ocean. The sun was at the perfect level on the horizon to outline the Desert Lands' jungles. He hadn't left home entirely empty handed, as the delightfully heavy coin pouch on his hip illustrated; with this coin he could bribe an army of mercenaries to help him.
The dragon seemed to know exactly where he was looking--and possibly know what his plan was. It made a noise in the back of its throat, then, in a cacophony of scales grating against stone, it made itself comfortable behind him. Grayson glanced over his shoulder to see the dragon had lain down, tail curling around its body, wings flat against its back.
"What are you doing?" he found himself asking the hulking beast.
The dragon didn't even look at him when it found a large rock and began sharpening its already sharp talons against the side of it. "I've decided I will rest here for the night."
"With me?"
"Why not?"
"People don't choose to be near me if they can help it." The words left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"You are at a critical point in your life, human. What you decide today will define the kind of man you truly are. It is rare to witness such an occasion. I am curious to see which route you choose: will you make a change for the better, or sink back into your old ways?"
Grayson snorted. "You must be bored." Nevertheless, he set up camp, as he had every night before, ignoring the dragon watching his every move. The stars had just come out when the rabbit he'd caught earlier had finished cooking over his small fire. He probably should have moved his camp away from the dragon; it was a beast, first and foremost, after all, but there was something to be said about the company it offered. A strange feeling gripped his heart when he thought about the dragon willingly sitting with him. He didn't know what it was, couldn't even begin to describe it.
He tossed the bones from his meal into the fire and watched them crumble and blacken; he'd tossed the remnants of the fire into the ocean before he left in the morning. Where he planned to go was still up for debate--or, rather, how he was going to get there. The Desert Lands seemed like his best option right now, but a large body of water stood between him and his destination. He didn't have a boat handy and the forest in these parts was hardly prolific enough to make one; it seemed his only option was to swim. Physically, it was doable for him, even if it would take every ounce of strength and willpower he had to do it. His only reservations were the monsters that lurked beneath the steely surface. It wouldn't matter how skilled he was with a sword if it could swallow him right from underneath him.
He glanced at the dragon; it was already watching him. Those emerald eyes hadn't once moved away from him; he got the feeling the dragon knew something he didn't. It was eerie. This dragon, who had watched him from the skies for days, knew him better than anyone else. It shouldn't be possible, yet, it probably knew what he had decided to do before he did.
A harsh wind whipped past him, stirring the trees bordering the shore. Grayson caught a glint of silver between rustling leave. He was on his feet in a flash, drawing his sword. "It's time for us to part ways, dragon."
There was no other warning given. An arrow shot out of the tree line. It would have struck Grayson in the heart if the dragon hadn't lifted its tail, blocking it; the arrow bounced off its scales and hit the stones below it. Grayson aimed a glare at the dragon. "I said leave."
"You appear to need help."
"I don't need your help. If you know who I am, you know who's come for me--what they'll do to you if they catch you."
The dragon seemed only amused. "Then they better not catch me."
Several men charged out of the tree line. Grayson had hoped his family would let him go in peace--but of course they wouldn't. He was only good for one thing and they were going to keep him as long as he was good at it. . .
°•° °•°
Grayson's emotions were still raw to this day; there was a haunted look in his eyes as he gazed ahead, though I doubted he saw the valley lain before us. Eventually, he fell silent, lost in his thoughts. My hand itched to touch him, to bring him back to the present, but it was Eran who brought him back.
"He fought valiantly that night," Eran told me, continuing the story, which in itself snapped Grayson out of his thoughts. "He risked his life, fought his own kin, to protect me. In doing so, his own brother stabbed him." The scar below his ribs; the other scars must have been near misses from the others he fought. "I knew if I left him, his father would punish him severely for what he'd done, so I took him in my claws and flew him somewhere safe. My elemental magic allows me to heal, but he had shown me the path he wanted to take, shown me the man he was never allowed to be, so I chose to gift him with one of my tears; a piece of my soul, the highest honour a dragon can bestow upon another being."
Grayson cast him a sad, knowing smile. "We became Bound. There was no going back after that. I knew that we would forever be connected, but I didn't realise what it meant until Eran brought me to the Aborian Dragon Knights. They gave me a place to stay and hone the abilities Eran gave me. A cause to fight for."
After the shock of his sad story, I thought about the weird sensation in my stomach I'd felt since last night. I touched my scars again; they were warm, but the rest of my skin was cold from the mountain winds. The more I focused on the heat of my scar, the more I began to feel something else. . . a heartbeat--separate from my own. A connection.
"Oh." It came out in a small whisper--I doubt either of them heard it.
"Come back to the base with us, Eva," he offered. "Become a Dragon Knight."
Venture to the fabled Dragon Canyon, where it was rumoured to be the home of thousands of dragons as magical and extraordinary as the one in front of me? Yes! Gods, yes!
My mind was racing. I was Bound to a dragon. I could actually become a Knight. I could finally help the world become a better place, see new and exciting places, go on fantastic adventures, ride through the clouds on my very own-
No. Stop.
The glee building up inside me died instantly. The other presence I felt disappeared. I couldn't think this way. I had a family to look after. Jacob had to live my dream for me. We had both agreed I was better off providing for our family while he was gone.
I turned away from them, facing the mountain, so they couldn't see the tears threatening to spill free. "I'm sorry," I said, not sure if I was apologising to them or to the part of me that wanted so bad to leave with them. "I can't. My village needs me. It no doubt needs repairs. I'm one of the only hunters who can catch big enough game to feed more than my family if anyone is in need."
"Eva, you don't realise-"
I whirled around on him. "I said no!" I screamed it with fervor. I had to make it absolute, to convince him and myself that I could never be a Knight. I let my anger at the Gods fuel the fire burning in my heart. "It doesn't matter a dragon Bonded with me. I won't leave my family."
He was taken aback and glared furiously at my apparent insult. His fists bunched up at his sides, shaking, holding himself back. "Eva, you don't know what you're saying. You have to-"
"Bite me. I don't have to do anything." I'd like to see him try to make me. It was one thing to dangle my dream in my face, but it was an entirely different matter if he thought he could talk down to me like an ignorant farm girl. He could have been prince of the fucking world before he became a Knight, it didn't change that I chose my fate. Not him. Not the Gods. Not the dragon I was supposedly Bound to.
He looked like he was about to yell at me some more--he even stepped towards me--but Eran slammed his tail down between us, shaking the ground. His emerald eyes were hard set on him.
"What?" he demanded of the dragon.
"It is her choice, Grayson," Eran said calmly. His voice was smooth, crisp, leaving no room for argument.
Fuming, Grayson crossed his arms. "You're taking her side? Even though you know-"
"Yes," the dragon cut him off.
Grayson opened his mouth to say more, but Eran puffed steam out of his nostrils, flapping his wings indignantly; the powerful gust nearly knocked me off my feet. His talons dug deep into the rock beneath him like it was easily malleable mud. "It is time to leave," declared the dragon, collecting himself after his disagreement. "The villagers are coming and we are supposed to already be in town."
Grateful for Eran's interjection, I collected myself--no point in being angry at someone if a dragon was on my side--and settled into the Eran's saddle. Grayson let out two huffy breathes, still battling for control over himself, then got on behind me, adjusting me a little rougher into the saddle than he had at the start of this trip.
Brar was a simple jump and glide for Eran. We landed in the meadow, which was more of a swamp at the moment. My feet sank deep into the saturated grass when I slid off the monumental dragon, and I stumbled forward, barely catching myself in time.
Grayson and Eran stayed behind to no doubt discuss their argument further, while I went ahead to check the state of the village.
It was awful. Several homes had been entirely destroyed by fallen trees. The roads were muddy, riddled with potholes, or were completely impassable--unless you wanted to risk losing your boot to a sludge pit. Glass littered the ground near broken windows. The animals that had been left behind were either dead, injured, or cowering under whatever shelter they could find. Lord Myers' roof had collapsed. It was utterly silent, as if nothing had lived here for years.
Slowly, I wandered through town, making my way home. A tree had fallen on the paddock, clipping the side of the house where mine and Erika's bedroom had been. I couldn't help the tears in my eyes. We'd had storms like this before, but not with such an impact on the community. It would take months before Brar would start looking like itself again.
Hearing the clucking of my chickens, I rushed over to their shelter. A few had gotten out and were killed by flying branches and other debris, but most of them were still huddled in the bunker, terrified. They panicked, a plume of feathers filling the coop, when I came in, but they soon calmed down and rushed over to me. I fed them with what food I had found for them and held the rooster in my lap, feeling his soft feathers against my skin. It was something I always did when I was upset as a kid; it was strange that it still brought me as much comfort as it did back then. Only instead of being upset that Jacob beat me yet again in a sparring match, I was heartbroken over giving up my dream--one I clearly could so easily grasp--and distraught my home had become a victim of such destruction.
"Eva?" I peeked my head out of the shelter to see Grayson standing awkwardly by the broken gate. He gazed around the utter mess that was my yard and sighed sadly. "Look, I'm sorry for the way I behaved. . . . I don't take 'no' very well."
"Obviously." I sneered, but only to hide my surprise from his apology. He didn't seem like the type to apologise for anything.
He rolled his eyes at my sorry excuse of an "apology accepted" and entered the yard, being careful of the dead chickens by his feet. "I understand why you don't want to be a Knight, but-"
"Good," I spat out before he could say another word. I feared if he kept pushing the subject, I'd drop all my responsibilities here and run to Dragon Canyon with him.
Thankfully, he wasn't given the chance to take things further. I heard the sounds of my fellow villagers arriving. Everyone went to their respective homes and immediately began tidying the place. Grayson remained at my side dutifully until Jacob came into view with my family; he made a beeline for my brother and pulled him aside for a chat.
Little Erika was asleep in Mom's lap as they rode the wagon. I ran over to them and helped them out of the wagon then proceeded to unload the back with Dad. Once it was empty of supplies, Dad went through the village with it, rounding up all the dead animals. I'm sure the butcher would appreciate the help. At least the village wouldn't be out of meat for a while. Just, you know, everything else. This winter was going to be difficult. We should be able to remake our homes by then, but the damage to the fields was too great. The crops would be moldy before we could make any use of it.
After helping Mom tidy up the house, I made my way over to the meadow where the two dragons sat while their Knights packed their things. My heart sank. "You're leaving, aren't you?" I was hoping to be able to spend at least a little bit more time with Jacob before he had to go. Who knew when I would see him again?
Jacob pouted, adjusting his bag on the saddle. "Yeah. We have to report back to the commander. . ." He stepped closer, gripping my shoulder. "Listen, Eva, Grayson thinks you're Bound to a storm dragon-"
I groaned and kicked his shin while glaring daggers at the other Knight. Not this again!
Yelping, Jacob hopped on one foot. "Ow! Eva! I'm not going to force you to do anything! If you want to stay here, that's fine. We're not going to tell the commander about Arkon, and I suggest you keep it to yourself as well. If the commander gets wind of you, she'll be much more convincing than Grayson to have you join our cause." He looked at his partner nervously. "But there are other people out there, too, who might want to get their hands on you and your dragon."
"He's not my dragon. We didn't even talk." He was such a worry wart. Being Bound couldn't possibly be that important--if it was, Arkon would have picked some grand lord from Lexxis, not a simple hunter to be Bound to. "But don't worry, my lips are sealed. Trust me, I want to put the night behind me." It was a very long and awful night for me and my sister, I wanted nothing more than to forget about it.
Jacob smiled, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes. "Good. Remember to take care of yourself, all right? It's not selfish to do something for yourself every now and again." He squeezed me tight.
"I will," I promised, holding him closer, doing everything possible to remember his scent and warmth. I peered at Grayson over Jacob's shoulder. "You'll look after him, right?"
"Of course. Somebody has to keep him out of trouble." He seemed to be in better spirits after their talk, even his lopsided smile was back.
Jacob rolled his eyes mockingly. "If anyone needs looking after, its you, Mister Woe and Brooding."
Grayson snorted then climbed into Eran's saddle. "Tell that to every monster I have to kill because they go after you on our missions."
My brother flushed a deep red. "Whatever."
After ruffling my hair, Jacob said his goodbyes to the rest of my family. I didn't move from my spot until the magnificent dragons in the sky turned into tiny specs behind clouds.