Page 19 of Elven Oath

Chapter 7

Aodhan

We should have beenflying.

The weight of Vevina’s belongings, her precious silks, family heirlooms, and the countless gifts bestowed by her people, forced us to remain grounded. I should have anticipated it, but even now, I felt the frustration stirring in my chest as we set off on horseback rather than in our true dragon forms.

Falkor and Drago shared my sentiments. I can see it in their tense postures and hear it in the quiet sighs they think I’ve not noticed.

But the reality was that we couldn't leave without her things. So here we were moving slowly along the road that stretched before us.

The elves were coming out of their homes and lining the streets as we ride through the kingdom. Their curious eyes trained on our procession. I could see in their eyes that they were hoping for a glimpse of a dragon. Perhaps to see the legendary creatures of old soar above them, breathing fire and fury. But they were met only with the sound of hooves on dirt.

Vevina sat tall on her horse with her back straight and head held high. I knew from her silence that she was as unsettled as we were. The stares of her people lingered on her, and I found myself watching them too. I wondered if they could feel the same strange tension that I did. These people had once fought against mine, their histories filled with animosity, yet now they looked at us with something else. Something closer to fear.

I steal a glance at Vevina without her noticing. She hasn’t spoken to me since last night, hadn’t even acknowledged the depth of the bond that now tied us together. But I could feel it, like an invisible thread that pulled at the very core of me.

There was a strength in her, a quiet resilience, and I found myself wondering what thoughts raced through her mind as she left the only home she had ever known.

Talk to her.My inner dragon demanded but I refused to open my mind up for such a thing. Vevina may not take too kindly to knowing that we could talk to each other with only our minds if we wanted to.

That was one tidbit of information I’d stumbled upon in the historic archives on bond mates. She’d not only be able to speak to me but to any dragonkin she accepted as part of our family.

Looking ahead of us, the farmlands sprawl out in every direction, vast and golden under the late afternoon sun. The only noise being the slow, steady plod of our horses’ hooves on the dirt path, and the sound of the wind whispering through the fields.

The sun begins to dip lower in the sky as we press on, the golden fields giving way to the dense, towering trees of the forest’s edge. The shadows grow longer, stretching across the road ahead of us, and I know we will need to make camp soon. The air begins to grow cooler as we go further into the treeline.

Stealing another glance at my new wife, she looks a little stiff in the saddle. She’s probably not used to riding a horse as much as she has today.

“We’ll stop here,” I call out to Falkor and Drago as we approach a small clearing.

They both nod in agreement, wordless but efficient as they begin to dismount and prepare the camp. Vevina still says nothing. Her expression is unreadable as she too slides off her horse. She moves with grace, but the stiffness I had seen is there.

I watch her for a moment, unsure of what to say. The day had been long, and the weight of everything seemed to press down on both of us. She was no ordinary bride, and this was no ordinary marriage.

As the fire begins to crackle, casting a warm glow over the gathering darkness, I find my gaze drawn to my wife once more. She had stepped away from the camp, standing at the edge of the forest, her eyes fixed on something distant, something I couldn’t see.

“She’s quiet,” Falkor murmurs as he joins me by the fire. He glances over at her, his brow furrowing slightly. “But strong. I can see why her people seem to admire her even if her father doesn’t.”

I nod, though my mind is elsewhere. I can feel the bond between us again, though faint, beginning to tug at me. The same pull that had drawn me to her on our wedding night still lingered, a whispering promise of something deeper, something I couldn’t yet understand.

“She didn’t even know,” I say quietly, more to myself than to Falkor.

He raises an eyebrow. “Know what?”

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