Page 79 of Wild Bond

Skye had chosen to be in her natural form and lay several yards away from where I stood. She was trying valiantly to ignore several of the little dragons as they kept attempting to approach her before losing their nerve and skittering away.

I was currently soaking in the sunshine, and trying not to laugh, as Declan and Stella, a little girl in the class, were hacking away at each other with small wooden sparring swords. She was beating Declan soundly.

“That’s not fair!” Declan cried after Stella knocked his sword from his hand and shoved him to the ground.

“Yield!” she exclaimed dramatically, pointing her sword at him.

“You can’t do that!” Declan protested, picking himself up from where he had fallen.

“Anything goes in a fight,” Stella replied haughtily, her tight curls bouncing.

I had to smother my laugh and conceal a grin behind my hand at Declan’s look of pure fury, masking his hurt pride.

I opened my mouth to intercede when there was a fierce roar overhead.

I looked up in surprise and saw a large bronze dragon flying straight for our group. He was approaching fast, and I could see no rider on his back. After living here for nearly four months, I knew most of the larger dragons and their riders on sight, at least the ones who lived or spent most of their time in Dessin. He wasn’t a dragon I recognized.

Skye came to full awareness in the bond as she rose to her feet behind me. I could sense from her that something wasn’t right, about the same time I realized that the dragon wasn’t stopping.

He was heading straight for us, and he wasn’t stopping.

“Everybody move!” I yelled at the same time Gemma hollered, “Everyone down!”

Stella was only a few feet from me, and I tackled her to the ground just as the bronze dragon swooped low and nearly took out several of the students with his large tail.

Screams and cries of fear reigned as my young classmates and their dragons scattered in every direction. Skye roared, standing protectively in front of several of the fearful children. When the coast was clear, Gemma began directing them away.

I stood and helped Stella to her feet as the dragon rose into the sky then banked, intent on another pass.

“Run!” I ordered Stella, and she obeyed, scooping up her little dragon as she went.

Frantically, I looked for Declan and saw him running for Izzy. The tiny dragon sat unmoving, curled in a terrified ball on the ground as the larger dragon approached.

I dashed for them but was still several yards away when the wild dragon reached us again. The beast opened his jaws wide and breathed fire. I was forced to drop to the ground to avoid being scorched.

He didn’t seem to have any particular target in mind as his scaled head whipped from side to side. In fact, all of his movements seemed erratic and uncoordinated. Something was very wrong with this dragon. It was unlike wild dragons to attack unprovoked, let alone in such a public place. Wild dragons usually avoided humans and human settlements altogether.

The field all around me was either burnt or on fire, smoke rapidly rising to fill the air.

I heard a small whimper and found Declan, who was now crouched protectively over his dragon, had been hit by the stream of flame. My stomach dropped as I saw the long burn down Declan’s arm and across his back. The red inflamed skin was already starting to bubble and warp. He also had a large gash on the side of his head that was bleeding profusely.

Gemma’s dragon—a sleek pale blue female named Nevina—roared and launched herself at the male dragon. They collided in midair. The sound of the two dragons’ shrieks and roars were deafening.

I crawled over to Declan. I hesitated a moment when I got a closer look at the burns, knowing how much pain he must be in. I tried to be gentle as I lifted him in my arms, as he clutched Izzy to his chest. “Hold on!” I cried, keeping low as I ran for Skye.

We had almost reached her when there was a thundering boom. I stumbled as the ground shook. I looked back to see that both dragons had crashed to the ground in a tangle of wings and claws.

For that split second, I got a good look at the bronze dragon, and realized he was still young, if his smaller horns were anything to go by. I couldn’t believe how massive the male already was and how big he would no doubt become when fully grown. There also appeared to be something wrong with his scales . . . Were theyflaking off?

Skye had sunk down as low as possible so I could lift my burden into the saddle. Thank the Nine she was already wearing one. We had planned to go flying after this lesson.

Declan was obviously in pain, but still coherent enough to sit astride and keep hold of Izzy as I sat behind him. There was just enough length on the straps so that I could tie both of our legs in together.

Wrapping an arm around Declan while still trying to be mindful of his burns, I urged Skye into the air. Skye was already unfurling her wings and immediately propelled us skyward.

Once airborne, I could see Gemma herding the rest of the class and their dragons back toward The Tower courtyard and away from the fields where they were too exposed. Nevina was still fighting with the wild dragon on the ground, and she looked to be wounded. It was obvious she was trying to keep from harming the other dragon; almost as if she too sensed something was not right with the male. Unfortunately, that meant she was simply on the defensive and distracting the male rather than dealing with the threat. Not that I wanted the dragon hurt if something was wrong with him, but we couldn’t allow him to cause anyone else harm.

Skye, what is wrong with him?I demanded in the bond.

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