Page 83 of Wild Bond

I felt a slight pang of jealousy that I wouldn’t be able to go, but it was more out of curiosity than any real desire to compete. I knew I wasn’t ready. I was just now getting to a point where I could hold my own with the others—some of the time. And of course, there was the much more mysterious Second Trial that involved being locked with your dragon in an obsidian chamber similar to the one beneath The Great Temple. The very thought of which still made me shudder. No, I was happy to put off competing in the trials for another three years. Hopefully, by then I would be ready.

I would miss Rake while he was gone. I might also miss Con and a few of the other prospects who weren’t so bad, like Nesenya.

Since there were, once again, no classes today, I had decided to go see for myself how the wild dragon was doing.

I wasn’t quite sure why I had come, other than the fact that I was trying to make sense of everything that was happening and what it all meant. Skye was still feeling protective and hadn’t left my side since the attack, but I had finally convinced her this morning to go and hunt. She had done so reluctantly, and even now I could feel her anxiousness to return to me even as she flew high over the nearby forest scanning for prey.

As I entered the large tent that had been erected around the still sedated dragon, I nodded to the two riders standing at the entrance. I was surprised to find Princess Mercedes standing by the makeshift cage, peering in at the now calm, sleeping dragon, a contemplative look on her face.

“Princess Mercedes,” I acknowledged with a respectful bob of my head as I came to a halt beside her.

Her glasses reflected the morning light and made her eyes temporarily hard to see as she turned to me, clearly just as surprised to see me here this early. “Rin, it’s nice to see you again.” She smiled faintly in welcome, adjusting her glasses nervously before glancing down and turning to face the dragon again.

I faced the creature as well. The bronze dragon looked somehow smaller than yesterday, curled in on himself the way he was with his face tucked beneath his wing and his tail wrapped protectively around himself. There were gashes all over his body that still hadn’t healed, and flaking, molted skin lay around him on the ground. Several of his hard bronze scales littered the floor as well. Despite the sedative, the male was still twitching and jerking in a fitful sleep.

The princess and I were silent for a few moments before she spoke, her voice soft and pensive. “It’s terribly sad, isn’t it?” she observed. “To see such a magnificent creature lost to its mind like that?" She shook her head. “Think of the rider he will never know. Somewhere out there is a boy or girl who will never know they have a dragon who was meant to bond with them . . . that they were meant to be a dragon rider.” She paused. “That they were meant to be special.”

Her words painted a vivid picture that made my gut clench and my heart ache. “I hadn’t considered that.”

My mind took it a step further, theorizing that since this dragon had come to Dessin for the celebrations, his rider was probably someone in the city or at least someone nearby. Then my thoughts went further still . . . what if Skye had been caught? What if she had been caught and I had never gotten to meet her? Never learned I was a dragon rider?

The thought made a fresh wave of fury course through me aimed at the person responsible for such a tragedy.

“Does anyone have any idea what’s wrong with him or what caused it?” I asked, knowing that Rake and I probably knew the most about it. Rake had reported what we had learned to the queen, but maybe the princess had heard something new, or even had a theory. She was brilliant, after all.

Mercedes shook her head, her auburn curls bouncing with the movement. “No,” she sighed. “And I spent all night researching in the archives of the castle library for any mention of something like this happening before, but there was nothing. No mention of dragons going mad or attacking humans unprovoked, except for in a few extreme circumstances.”

“What about dragon illnesses? Anything similar to this?” I gestured to the dragon.

Mercedes shook her head again. “None. Dragons don’t get sick. Or at least, they didn’t.”

I considered. “What about any records of human illnesses transferring to dragons?”

She went still. Then she turned to look at me, her sharp, inquisitive gaze considering and voice soft as she inquired, “Why would you ask that?”

Realizing I needed to tread lightly here as I wasn’t sure how much information, if any, I was allowed to share, I shrugged, trying to play it off. “No reason. It was just a thought. But . . . has that ever happened?”

Her stare suddenly felt much heavier as she considered me before replying. “I . . . I don’t know. I’d never thought to investigate that.” She swallowed hard and adjusted her glasses again, pushing them up her nose anxiously. “What a terrifying thought.”

“Forget I asked,” I waved it off. “I’m sure it’s something else.”

But her assessing gaze never left me, and I knew at the very least I had piqued her curiosity.

“Is there something I should know, Rin? Something you are not telling me?”

“Of course not,” I lied, giving her a faint smile. I didn’t think she believed me. “I was just thinking out loud.”

“If you’re sure,” she hedged, but I could already see her mind racing behind her glasses. She still looked unsettled by my suggestion. As she said, it was a terrifying thought.

“I have to go,” Mercedes said suddenly, once more adjusting her glasses. “I have . . . ah, things to . . .” she trailed off, muttering under her breath, and I barely had time to bow before she was scurrying off.

As I watched her go, I had no doubt she was on her way to the library to begin researching what I had suggested. Who knew? Maybe we would get lucky, and she would actually find something that could help us figure out what or who was behind this.

At midday, when I arrived at The Tower courtyard, it was in a state of mild chaos. Dozens of large dragons in their natural forms took up the space, with dozens more spilling into the spaces between the buildings and the practice fields beyond. Some riders were already mounted on their dragons while others were tightening saddles or stuffing items in saddlebags. Tower servants and page boys hurried about fulfilling last-minute tasks. Eagerness and anticipation hung in the air amidst all the hustle and bustle of preparations to depart.

My eyes scanned the riders as I searched for one in particular. Skye glanced around as well from her perch on my shoulder. I saw Con sitting atop his dragon, and I waved back when he spotted me. Daisha made a point of looking the other way when she saw me, but Nesenya gave me a slight nod of acknowledgement.

Zade and Dembe stood conversing between their two waiting dragons. Both of them broke into huge grins when they saw me approach.

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