Page 20 of Elven Oath

“That we were to be married. Her father didn’t tell her. She walked into that hall completely unaware of what was about to happen.”

Falkor lets out a low whistle, shaking his head. “Not exactly the best start, is it?”

“No,” I mutter, my gaze fixed on Vevina’s silhouette in the distance. “It isn’t.”

Drago joins us then, dropping onto a log beside the fire. “She’ll have to accept it sooner or later,” he says, rubbing his hands together against the cool evening air. “The bond is sealed. Whether she likes it or not, she’s bound to you now. We felt it.”

I frown, my jaw tightening. “That doesn’t mean she has to like it.”

Drago shrugs. “True enough. But it also doesn’t mean she won’t.”

I don’t respond, my thoughts still tangled around the sight of Vevina standing alone at the edge of the camp. She hadn’t asked for this any more than I had. And yet here we were.

As the night deepens and the stars begin to scatter across the sky, I stand and make my way over to where she stands, her back still turned away. The firelight flickers behind us, but she remains still, her focus somewhere far beyond the present moment.

“Vevina,” I say softly, not wanting to startle her.

She turns her head slightly, just enough to acknowledge me. Her expression is calm, but there’s a depth in her eyes that speaks of uncertainty.

“I know this isn’t what you expected,” I begin, unsure of how to bridge the growing distance between us. “It wasn’t what I expected either.”

She doesn’t speak, but her gaze softens slightly, and I can see a hint of understanding there.

“We’ll take things one step at a time,” I say, my voice steady. “This journey isn’t just mine. It’s ours now.”

For a moment, she still remains silent, and I wonder if she will say anything at all. But then, slowly, she nods.

“I suppose we don’t have much choice,” she replies, her voice quiet but laced with resolve.

She still stares off into the trees although it’s so dark I don’t think she can see that far into them.

“What are you looking at?” I finally ask, opening my senses to scan the shadows in front of us.

“I’m not sure.” She sighs, rubbing her arms against the cool night air. “Someone should keep watch though.” She says, looking down at the goosebumps on her arms.

“We always do.” I answer, taking her arm. “Come warm up by the fire.”

As we walk back to the campsite, I wonder what just happened. What did she feel that I couldn’t see?

Vevina

I sit alone at the edge of the fire, wrapped in my thoughts as the flickering flames throw shadows across the clearing.

Aodhan and his friends seem to have settled in, though I can feel their presence even in the stillness. Falkor and Drago were muttering amongst themselves, while Aodhan is even more reserved, watching the fire with an intensity I can’t seem to ignore.

The weight of everything still presses down on me. The whirlwind wedding, the hurried departure from my home, the knowledge that I was now bound to this stranger, to these dragons.

My mind was still reeling with the rapid changes, and though I had accepted it outwardly, my heart ached with uncertainty.

I had been raised with tales of dragons, of the fierce war between our people, and though I knew this union was meant to heal those wounds, it felt more like a chain binding me to a fate I hadn’t chosen.

My father hadn’t even told me. The memory stung, and I found myself twisting my fingers around the hem of my cloak, the fabric grounding me in the midst of my confusion.

The maidens had dressed me for a wedding I didn’t know I was part of, and now here I was, on the road, leaving everything behind. And for what?

Although if I stop to think about it long enough, I can understand why my father kept quiet about it. He knows me well and knows that I’d have gone missing long enough for the dragons to have left our home.

A soft breeze rustles through the trees, and for a moment, I close my eyes, letting it wash over me. The air smells of pine and earth, reminding me of the orchard at home.

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