Page 5 of Wild Bond

Holt’s face was ashen, and his voice trembled with a healthy dose of fear as he blubbered out, “Yes . . . Rider, sir . . . right, of course I won’t—”

A deafening shriek rent the sky around us, and a startled cry rose from the crowd. Holt and Rakim backed out of the way just as a dragon landed before me with such force that the ground trembled.

How hard had Holt hit me? I had to be hallucinating.

That was the only explanation as to how a dragon was currently crouched protectively in front of me, it’s big body perpendicular to where I still lay on my side on the ground, blocking my view. I watched in disbelief as the dragon raised her serpentine head and trumpeted a warning throughout the square.

The dragon was obviously female. She had no horns on her head, and she was smaller, more sleekly built than a bulkier male. Though I suppose smaller was a relative term, because her long neck was the size of a tree trunk, and her claws were the size of daggers. She was probably about two thirds the size of Naasir if I had to guess.

Her scales ranged from a pale jade that was almost white at her tail to a darker, dusky gray green under her belly and at her feet and snout. The color was almost opalescent and shimmered faintly in the sunlight as she moved. Her wings were still partially extended, like a bird of prey ready for flight. They were lighter at the top and faded to a darker green at the base.

Something about her seemed familiar, but my mind couldn’t place it. Then I heard it being whispered reverently over the crowd.

The Jade Dragon.

My still fuzzy mind refused to accept it. The Jade Dragon? She was one of the most famous wild dragons in Baldor. While most dragons didn’t have names except for those given to them by their rider, the Jade Dragon was so well-known that she’d gained the nickname years ago. Most dragons who answered The Call and came to a Nest found their rider and were bonded within that same three-day celebration. Occasionally a dragon that didn’t find their rider would return the following year, but that was rare. Dragons usually stopped answering The Call once they reached maturity. The Jade Dragon, however, had first appeared in Dessin during the Bonding Celebrations about a decade ago, still young but already fully grown. She landed in the Nest, causing quite the stir thanks to her age and unique coloring, sat there for the entire three days as hopeful children and even some adults were paraded in front of her, but showed no interest in any of them. She had returned every year since, waiting for her rider.

And now here she was. Standing almost close enough to touch.

The dragoness was clearly agitated as she hissed and snarled in the direction of the dais, her tail lashing angrily back and forth.

Naasir growled in answer, and I was no expert on dragons, but I could have sworn he sounded confused or even surprised rather than angry. I could also hear the chirping cries from the other dragons in their minor forms from where they sat with their riders on the side of the dais. A few of the dragon riders were now on their feet as well.

Deciding the female was distracted enough with her attention focused elsewhere, I scrambled to my feet. Despite the throbbing pain in my head, I began to shuffle backwards as I tried to put as much distance between myself and the volatile dragon as possible.

At my sudden movement, her long triangular head whipped around, and I met her gaze for the first time. Her wide, slitted eyes were a startling emerald green and stared at me with a sharp, keen intensity I didn’t understand.

I put my hands up in a placating gesture and continued to step backward toward the large statue several yards behind me.

Her eyes took in my hands, her head quirking to the side. Then she did something that surprised me. She lowered her head and emitted a soft chuffing sound, her entire demeanor changing as she began prowling toward me.

A quick glance around told me that no one was stepping in to help. Everyone seemed to be watching in a kind of shocked, morbid fascination. Even Naasir and Rakim looked intent to watch this play out.

I suppose Iwasjust a low-life criminal to them. Who cared if the legendary Jade Dragon decided to eat me?

My attention returned to said dragon as my back came in contact with the base of the statue, and my hands moved to press against it. The blood was rushing through my veins, and my breath came out harsh and ragged.

Her large head was nearly as big as I was, and it was mere feet from me now. A whine caught in her throat, as if she sensed my distress and didn’t like it, or perhaps wanted to comfort me. But that couldn’t be right. Why would she care? Why was she even here to begin with?

My mind raced, but I couldn’t put it together. Nothing about this moment made sense. And why did I feel this inexplicable pull towards her? Something in my chest ached, a yearning I couldn’t explain.

I caught a whiff of her scent, a soothing mixture of smoke and pine. Her emerald eyes and pale green scales were all I could see as her head lowered slightly, now level with mine. She was so near her warm breath tickled across my skin. And as I stared into her bright, intelligent eyes, all my fear and uncertainty drained away. My awareness of my surroundings faded—the crowd, the heat, the throbbing ache in my cheek—nothing else mattered but the dragon before me.

A low humming note resounded in my ears, and then she closed her eyes, lowered her snout to my ripped shirt, and touched the exposed skin directly over my heart.

A brief white-hot pain branded itself into my chest, but then the pain was gone as quickly as it had come, and she drew away. I was startled to feel as if an invisible tether reached from the spot on my chest toward the animal before me. It was reminiscent of the strange pull I had felt only moments before, but much stronger.

An overwhelming surge of emotions bombarded me all at once; joy, excitement, triumph, relief, a fierce possessiveness, and a sense of love so strong that it stole my breath and brought tears to my eyes.

But the emotions weren’t mine. They were coming from . . . the dragon.

How was this possible? I could feel her ecstatic happiness as she bellowed it to the sky in a short burst of flame.

Had she just— No. I refused to even consider the possibility. I was no one special. I was a thief . . . a nobody. And I was too old anyway. No one bonded with a dragon at my age. I wasn’t a child. This couldn’t be real.

But I could feel her—the dragon—in my head, or maybe it was my heart. The connection was faint and new, but it was there.

I took several steps away from the statue and tentatively reached out a hand to her. She lowered her head once more so I could caress her snout. Her skin was warm, the scales hard and bumpy, yet still smooth. Contentment swept over me, and I knew this time the emotion came from me as well as the dragon.

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