Page 82 of Wild Bond

I looked over my shoulder and saw Rake standing several feet away, looking for all the world like he had been there for quite some time. I couldn’t help noticing that he was deliciously unkempt for once. His clothes were slightly rumpled from the stress of the last twelve hours, but he still managed to hold himself with that leashed confidence that never failed to impress me. There was also a softness to his expression that I had rarely seen as he regarded us.

Then Declan whispered in that childish way that wasn’t really a whisper at all, “Commander Rakim is here.” From the way he said it you would have thought one of the Nine Gods had just deigned to visit him.

I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh at the glowing hero worship on Declan’s face.

“Hello, Declan,” Rake said, stepping closer. “I came to see how you were doing.”

“I’m fine,” Declan chirped. For the first time since I’d met him, I think he was at a loss for words.

“Glad to hear it,” Rake replied, smiling. “I heard you got hurt protecting your dragon. That was very brave of you.”

Declan looked down and began playing with the corner of the sheet bunched at his waist. “I should have been faster. If I was a better dragon rider, I wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“Getting hurt doesn’t mean you’re a bad rider,” Rake contradicted. “I’ve been hurt dozens of times since becoming a dragon rider.”

Declan’s eyes went wide again. “Really?”

Rake nodded. “Just focus on getting better. Learn from your mistakes. Train hard and try to do better the next time.”

Declan gave an eager nod, and I knew he’d take the advice to heart.

“Is Rin your friend?” Declan asked Rake, changing the subject without warning.

Rake’s lips quirked up at the corner. “Yes, she is.”

Declan took a deep breath, puffing out his chest a little before he asked, “Can you and Naasir make sure to keep her safe? I like her. She’s my friend too, and I don’t want her or Skye to get hurt like I did.”

The burn of tears threatened once more, and I had to resist the urge to pull Declan into my arms as Rake shot me a side-eyed look. Then he nodded to Declan. “We can do that. I like her, too. I promise to take good care of her.”

Declan nodded back. “Good,” he said imperiously, like he was much older than his six years. Then his little brows puckered, and his eyes darted around as if just noticing something. “Wait, where is your dragon?” he asked, obviously disappointed that the black beast wasn’t present.

“He’s guarding the dragon that attacked you,” Rake explained. “The dragon is unwell. We want to make sure that he doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

Declan rubbed his nose and yawned, suddenly looking tired. “That makes sense.” He snuggled back into his pillows and stroked Izzy absently. “I hope the dragon gets better. He was at my bonding, you know,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

Declan shrugged his tiny shoulders. “The dragon who attacked us.” He stifled another yawn. “The day I bonded with Izzy, he was there . . . at the Nest. He didn’t bond with anybody, though.”

I met Rake’s eyes.

Without him having to say anything, I asked in the bond,Skye?

Immediately Skye showed me a memory from that day at the Nest, before she came to find me at Petitioner’s Square. I saw the obsidian stone of the area floor, the crowds of people, and all the dragons gathered there as if from her eyes. And sure enough, several yards away from her lay the bronze dragon. The dragon didn’t look sick or crazed. His eyes weren’t red, no foam at his mouth, and his scales were not dry and flaking. He looked as healthy as any young, wild dragon would waiting impatiently to find their rider.

If the dragon had been healthy and normal at the bonding celebrations, then whatever had been done to him had happened afterward, and the dragon’s illness or madness or whatever had to be connected to what was affecting all those people who had died. They had the same symptoms.

That meant that the prince or whoever was kidnapping those people was also capturing dragons, and then doing something to them that caused them to become ill and die, in the case of humans, and crazed in the case of dragons.

But again, for what purpose? And what could they possibly be doing to the people and to dragons that would be affecting them in such a manner?

Dragons were the most powerful magical creatures in our world. They were impervious to nearly everything. If there was something out there that could make them become ill and drive them mad . . . today’s attack would be nothing compared to the havoc that could rain down on us.

I glanced up at Rake and saw that he was drawing some of the same conclusions that I was. The implications of what was being done was terrifying. Not just for the dragons themselves, but for all of Palasia.

Rakewasbusypreparingto leave for the Dragon Rider Trials. Most of the city’s riders would be leaving for Three Points at midday today. Since the leaders of the dragon riders from Zehvi and Halmar would be there, as well as several of their highest-ranking riders from all three kingdoms, there was a lot of political maneuvering to prepare for, as well as the travel preparations themselves.

All the prospects were going. It was all any of them could talk about. The trials happened over the course of a week’s time, and apparently there was a banquet every night and they would get to rub shoulders with the most powerful riders in Palasia.

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