Page 11 of A Lick of Flame

I catch myself at the last second. “No!” I shake my head.

“Let me see, human,” he growls.

“I will not disrobe for you, fae. What kind of brute are you?”

“Just your shoulder. It seems to be paining you.” He takes a step back. “I won’t hurt you; I swear. My name is…it’s… My name is Orion.” I’m not sure that is his real name; he seemed to hesitate a whole lot before telling me. “This is my dragon. Her name is Delphine. She is Raila’s mother.”

“I know,” I say, although, once again, I’m not sure how it is that I know. It’s just plain weird. I shouldn’t know any of this stuff. I shouldn’t be here. I need to leave.

Something flashes in his eyes, and he sets his jaw for a moment. “What is your name, human?”

“None of your business,” I say. “My husband will be worried. He will look for me soon. I need to go back.” I look down the tunnel.

“I would be willing to bet my dragon that you have never been wed or even bedded, for that matter.”

I gasp. “How dare you?” I splutter. “I am married. My husband hunts fae for a living. He won’t like you very much.”

He laughs. “My dragon eats fae hunters. They are her favorite snack. She’s also partial to wives of fae hunters. Good thing for you that you are not the wife of a fae hunter.”

“How could you possibly know that?” I spit out.

“Aside from you being a terrible liar, it would seem that Raila over there has decided to tether with you.” His eyes turn hazy with confusion for a few beats.

“To tether? What does that even mean?” I frown.

“She has chosen you as her rider. You are now connected mentally.” He touches his left temple. “Dragons will only pick those who are pure of heart. They mostly choose royals who are strong, brave, and true. They should only pick fae.” He frowns. “I was sure they only ever picked fae.”

“I’m not a fae.”

“I can see that.” He sighs. “Which makes it problematic. Little Raila didn’t know any better. She’s too young. It is why touching whelps is not permitted,” he growls the last. “I warned you!”

“I’m sure that you are wrong about the whole tethering thing.” I snort. “I’m sure I only guessed that Raila was a girl, and just because a name popped into my head doesn’t mean the baby dragon and I are connected mentally. That’s insane. It must have been a name I picked for her. Raila is the perfect name for a female dragon.”

“There is only one way to tell. If you have tethered with the whelp, you will have a mark on your right shoulder. The mark of the dragon.” He glances at his own mark. It is of one of the beasts. I start to take a step closer, wanting to see it more closely, but catch myself. I’m too close to the beastfae already. He’s not to be trusted. None of them are.

“It can’t be.” I shake my head. “A mark.” I snort, pulling my shawl aside. Then I pull the soft fabric of my dress to the side as well. I gasp, dropping the knife with a clang.

The fae makes a noise of disbelief. When I look up at him, his eyes are very wide and focused on my shoulder. Then he sighs as he locks eyes with mine. “Just as I suspected. This is bad, human. It’s fucking terrible.” He presses two fingers into the corners of his eyes.

“Why is it so bad? What does it mean to be tethered?” I ask, sounding a little terrified and a lot panicked because I am. I also sound hesitant because I feel that way, too. Knowledge is power, so I forge on. “What does it mean to be chosen as a rider? I can’t be a rider.” I shake my head.

“No, you can’t. Raila should never have chosen you. Humans cannot be chosen.” He shakes his head. “Why didn’t you listen when I told you not to touch her? She’s too young to know better. Being tethered to a dragon will kill you in the long term. Hell, it could kill you sooner than that.”

I feel the blood drain from me. I hope that he is lying. I pray it with all that I am.

6

Orion

Kakara be damned, but this is terrible.

Why didn’t I stop her when I saw her touching the beast? I should have dragged the human away from the whelp. Stopped what I could see unfolding. Yet, I never believed it would happen. Not truly. A dragon bonding with a human, even a whelp, is unheard of. It is an abomination. A wrong that must be righted immediately.

Dragons have accidentally bonded with weak fae before, and it has never ended well. It has almost always ended up in death. Only one fae I know of ever survived. The reasons he gave were fanciful, to say the least.

I think of the implications to Raila, to Delphine…to me, too, and horror washes over me, sending shivers racing up and down my spine. This is a disaster. What has this silly human done?

“No, I’m not going to die.” She shakes her head. “You’re wrong.”

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