Page 30 of Ensnared
“Pass,” I say. “I’m anti-colonialism.”
He frowns, but he doesn’t argue.
“Was Azar furious?” I ask.
His frown deepens.
“So he was mad that I attacked him?” I swallow. “Or, was he upset because he had to come save me?” I think about that. “Speaking of, how did he know to come save me?”
“I can feel you from anywhere,” Axel says. “Not well, not clearly yet, but I’m learning. And I was doing something for him when I felt your distress.”
“You sent him as your errand boy?” I whistle. “You must be really close.”
“Something like that.” He clears his throat. “I’ve known him for a very long time, and he owes me.”
“Alright, well.” I sigh. “I assume that now we’ll finally start my training?”
“I’m regretting ensnaring you, if you must know,” he says.
That stings a little bit. “I regret being ensnared,” I say. “How about you let me go and we call it even?”
“You’re a liability for me,” he says. “I’ve been researching how to free myself, but so far, I’m coming up with nothing.”
“If you can get me to the edge of dragon lands, however far that is, I promise to be very safe and very healthy for as long as possible. I will cause you no distress whatsoever.” I cross my heart with my fingers.
He looks very confused. “I can’t do that.”
“Oh, come on,” I say.
“You’re a troublemaker by nature,” he says.
I can’t argue with that, really, not after attacking him and his man, killing two other dragons, and almost dying, all in the same week. “Plus, you’re a bright. So if I abandon you, even with my bond in place, another dragon could sense you. I can’t even contemplate what might happen if they tried to bond an already bonded human.”
I shake my head. “Okay, so you won’t let me go until you’ve somehow dissolved the bond, so let’s look into that.”
“I’m not supposed to have bonded anyone at all,” he says. “That’s the major problem. When I went back to the camp and conferred with the others, it became clear that it wasn’t an error. Earth blessed cannot ensnare humans. They never have. They shouldn’t be able to.”
“But you did, right?” I scratch my head. “Are you sure you really did it? I don’t really feel you.” But of course, if he didn’t, that really undercuts my bargain. How far do I want to go down this road? Will he let me go? Or just kill us all?
I think about the time I stabbed him and how I couldn’t breathe. There is clearly some kind of bond.
“I guess what I mean is that I can’t feel much, and even that, not unless you’re close.”
“That may be because I didn’t really seal the bond,” he mutters.
“What?”
He’s looking down at his hands. Is he nervous? What’s going on?
“We were supposed to exchange blood after I ensnared you, but I didn’t do it.”
Because he was regretting what he did and looking for a way out. I approve of that, actually.
But we just did share blood.
To heal me from the venom, he gave me his blood and now. . .I kick him.
And then I double over to rub the sore spot on my own shin. “Ow.”
