Page 6 of Wild Bond

I was trying to wrap my mind around what this all meant when I noticed a rider had broken away from the group beside the dais and now stood by Rakim. He was a large dark-skinned man with broad features and a head that was shaved completely bald and gleamed in the sun. I quickly recognized him as Dembe Matara, second in command to Commander Rakim. He was somewhat older than Rakim and was rather handsome. A deep orange dragon in its minor form sat on his shoulder, staring curiously in our direction.

The female dragon noticed the other dragon’s attention and growled a warning. To my astonishment, she stepped partially over me, her forelegs on either side of me and my head just scraping her chest.

The other dragon didn’t react at all.

Rider Matara spoke in low tones to his leader as Rakim covered the stone at his neck so they would not be overheard.

The image of the tiger returned to my mind as I observed the pair, and a sense of agreement came from the dragon above me.

I realized with a start that the female dragon had seen the image in my mind. I searched the feeling and saw she labeled the commander as a predator, a threat . . . and she wasn’t wrong. But mostly, she seemed concerned that he was here to take me away from her, and she refused to allow that.

I had been so immersed in my own thoughts and emotions, and those of the dragon above me, that I failed to notice a heated discussion had broken out amongst the dragon riders. The commander and his second had now been joined by a half dozen other riders. I knew they were discussing me, some rather animatedly. One older rider dressed in deep blue dragonscale armor appeared especially irritated. Their dragons looked like colorful birds flitting around their heads in agitation as they remained in their minor forms. I had no idea where Holt and the remaining prisoners had gone.

I knew my fate was probably being decided at that very moment, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying and, once again, I found I had a hard time caring.

My headache had gotten worse, my face hurt, and I was so hot that I had begun to feel nauseous. I knew if I had anything in my stomach, I would have already thrown it up by now. I glanced down. My hands were shaking again and at some point, I had fallen to my knees.

That was good. I was so tired. I didn’t think I could stand much longer anyway.

I looked up again to see that Commander Rakim was not taking part in the discussion. His eyes were on me, and they glowed with an icy unreadable fire.

He doesn’t know what’s happening either,I thought. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I found that hilarious, and felt a small smile curve my lips.

Then I fell forward in a dead faint.

The last thing I heard before darkness claimed me was a man’s sharp yell and the enraged, distressed cry of a dragon.

Strange,impossibledreamsofdragons, flames, and a pair of icy blue eyes pushed me to wakefulness.

When my eyes finally blinked open, I was astonished to see sunlight rather than darkness, and I found myself lying on a warm, soft mattress instead of the cold, hard floor of my cell. I smelled flowers and glanced over to see some white ones I had never seen before sitting in a vase atop an ornate bedside table.

I also felt clean and looked down to see I was wearing a simple white nightgown.

Wait. Where was I? How had I gotten here? And whobathed me?

There were no shackles on me. I was in a simple bedroom, the only other furniture being a wardrobe, a small writing desk, and a full-length mirror in one corner. A plain fur rug lay on the floor and the walls were bare. I had no idea where I was. The gray stone floor and walls were no help as far as clues went. Nearly every building in Dessin was made of stone of some kind; it was the only material that made sense with fire-breathing dragons around.

At the thought of dragons, the sleep fog finally cleared from my brain, and I shot up to sitting as everything came rushing back. Petitioner’s Square. The hearing. The Jade Dragon.

No sooner had I thought this than a small, winged ball of energy came hurtling at me from out of nowhere, striking me in the chest and knocking the wind out of me.

Awake!a clear, female voice said excitedly in my head. The word was accompanied by images of me lying on this very bed with my eyes closed and then one of my eyes opening. Emotions of impatience and relief and a wave of protectiveness came with the thought.

I gasped and instinctively caught the wriggling creature as a small, warm tongue licked my chin.

“Good morning to you, too,” I laughed, staring down in wonder at the miniature version of the Jade Dragon now sitting in my lap. Inquisitive emerald eyes studied me just as closely as I was studying her. She was in her minor form, and though I knew it varied from dragon to dragon depending on how large they were in their natural forms, she was about the size of a large kitten.

I stared at her and all the emotions from the square came rushing back. For the first time, I let myself consider it.

I was bonded to a dragon. I was now a dragon rider.

The thought was incredible. Impossible. Especially at my age, and yet, I knew it was true.

My hand went reflexively to my chest and rubbed the spot where she had touched me with her nose. Though the skin was smooth and unmarked, it felt like I had been branded beneath. The emotion and magnitude of that moment had left a permanent mark on my soul.

Pride burst through me as I thought of it, and when I glanced down at the little dragon, she was looking at me, the emotion hers.

When her eyes met mine again, I said aloud, “We have to come up with a name for you. I can’t keep calling you the female or the Jade Dragon in my head.” I had no idea how much she understood of what I was saying, but I decided just to treat her as if she could.

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