Soulbound

This morning Annalyse took me to the sparring room to get an idea of how much training I needed, knowing that Jacob and I used to spar. I managed to impress her with what I knew, but it became evident very quickly that I still had a lot to learn. She went over a lesson plan with me that consisted of theory then practice and a lot of working out in the gym down the hall. We picked out a lightstone that worked for me, one the size of my palm and lightweight, then weapons I wanted to specialize in. I was naturally drawn to a bow, but because it was only suitable for long range uses, she recommended I have a backup weapon, so I grabbed a pair of daggers.

After sparring practice, Annalyse showed me to the library where I grabbed as many books as my sore muscles would allow and piled them up beside my bed. Annalyse laughed at my choices--all of them were educational in some manner, ranging from philosophy, the history of Aboria, and politics; I was determined to learn as much as my brain would absorb. Seeming to find that boring and masochistic, she added a few of her favourite fiction novels to the mix.

In the afternoon, we met up with Jacob and Grayson in one of the many meeting rooms on the upper floors to go over a few more details for our flight tomorrow.

It looked like we were going to spend most of the day flying before arriving in the capital, Lexxis. Apparently, they typically landed on the castle grounds, but since it was my first time to the capital, King Renkon had arranged for a tour through the capital. Arkon made a remark about him just wanting to show me off to the people, which I was inclined to agree with. We were to meet with members of the royal guard on the outskirts of town. There, they would escort us through the city, which should get us to the castle in time for dinner.

Annalyse, as usual, was gleaming with excitement over the whole thing, while I sat and nervously listened. It was a shame a trip to such a historical city would be ruined by a visit with the king. Instead of exploring the history of the place, I had to sit in a room with a bunch of rich snobs, talking about furniture--or whatever the wealthy talked about.

It’s only for one night, I comforted myself. Which was true. I just had to survive a night of snobbery then we could do what we liked in the city without a big showy royal guard following us.

“Got it? Eva?”

“Wha...?” I hadn’t realised I fell asleep. I lifted my head out of my arms to see Jacob glaring at me, while Grayson and Annalyse fought over which town was the best place to stop for lunch. “I’m exhausted, don’t give me that look.”

Training with Annalyse really put a number on my body. Everything ached. I thought my days of hunting would have prepared me for the torture she put me through, but it didn’t come close. She demanded perfection and punished me for anything less than that.

Jacob rolled his eyes at me. “Until we reach the capital, you have to stay low. We don’t want too many people knowing who you are.”

“I mean, I’ll be on Arkon. . . that’s a big give away, isn’t it?”

The look in his eyes told me I missed more to the plan than he thought and he was none too pleased about it. “No. You haven’t had any flight training yet. You’re riding with Grayson. Eran is the biggest of our dragons, he can hold two humans for the duration of the trip. Arkon will be flying separately, higher in the clouds so no one can see him.”

I glanced at Grayson, an image of his arms wrapped around me flashing in my mind. I don’t think I would ever forget my first flight--not the view, the feel of the wind in my hair, how warm and strong he felt behind me.

I yanked my gaze back to my brother before I let my mind wander too far. “Okay. Sounds good. Can I go to bed now?”

Jacob tossed his pencil on the table carelessly, almost hitting me. “Sure. Whatever. You’re not paying attention, anyway.”

“Thank you!” Relieved, I jumped out of my seat. “I’ll see you all bright and early tomorrow.”

Having no context other than watching me leave, Annalyse and Grayson thought the meeting was done and made movements to leave. Except Jacob caught his partner before he could sneak off to discuss the plan further. Annalyse, squeezing my arm, hurried through the hall before Jacob could call her back too. Once we rounded the corner, she released a heavy sigh.

“I love my job, but I hate meetings,” she groaned, rolling her eyes for emphasis. Not that she needed to make it more clear how much she detested them. “It’s not like we’re going to the Desert Lands or anything. We’re going to the safest city in the world. How much prep do we need?”

“He’s not usually this anal?” I asked, curious. Jacob was always one for details whenever we planned anything. Before we left for our hunts, he triple checked I had everything I needed.

“No. But I guess he just wants to make sure you’re safe. I understand.” She gave me a soft smile; her eyes gleamed in admiration at the thought of him protecting me. “He’s a good brother. . . I think. I don’t have any siblings; I don’t know what makes a good sibling.”

I shrugged, opening our door for her. “He’s pretty good as far as brothers go. So, tell me something,” I said as I crossed the room for my dresser, “how did you two meet? Grayson said you trained together?”

She smiled at the memory, changing into her night gown as she thought about it. “Before we get to that, you need a little more background. It might surprise you to know that I didn’t start my career as a Dragon Knight. I used to be a singer.”

I was completely thrown off by that, trying to imagine her doing anything else. It was difficult. The way she moved seemed effortless. How she interacted with all the other Knights, it was like it was what she was born to be one.

She chuckled at my surprise. “I know, shocker, the Commander’s daughter didn’t want to be a Dragon Knight. She trained me to become a Knight since I could walk, but it was never my passion. When I was old enough to join, I left home to sing instead. We didn’t talk for years.” She shook her head incredulously. “The world has a funny way of coming full circle.”

I sat more comfortably on my bed, holding a pillow in my lap, and listened to her tale. . .

Annalyse had gained quite the reputation in Central Aboria. She traveled from bar to tavern, singing for whoever would take her. Before she knew it, barkeepers were seeking her out to come sing for them.

It was a dream come true--and she had no one the share it with. Her mother was a workaholic, who shut her out of her life the moment Anna told her she wasn’t going to sign up to become a Dragon Knight on her eighteenth birthday. She had no friends, because up until that point, Kira Hargin had trained her day in and day out to become an efficient monster-slaying machine.

Despite her mother’s shortcomings, Anna should probably thank her. If it weren’t for her, she wouldn’t have needed a creative outlet. If it hadn’t been for the many lonely nights and painful lessons, her songs wouldn’t have been so heartfelt and relatable. If she hadn’t taught her how to keep her cool when her nerves were at their highest, she wouldn’t have been able to sing in front of so many crowds, to bare her heart out to them without a worry what they thought of her.

She was on her way to her biggest gig yet--she’d been asked to sing at a lord’s wedding!--when she overheard something she couldn’t ignore. She was in Hillfar, a city accompanied by Fort Yarran, where, you could imagine, soldiers were quite prevalent. A group passed her in shining armour, on their way towards a bar; she barely heard them over the clips and clops of horses’ hooves on the cobblestone.

“Did you hear about the dragon that was shot down?” the guard in the lead asked the group.

“Dragons don’t fly here,” one of them piped up.

“I heard it was a Dragon Knight’s dragon. A red one.”

She had stopped to listen to them then she was hiking up her skirts and marching over to the three city guards. She stood in front of their leader, blocking their path. His lazy eyes took in her appearance then he smiled back at the group, seeming to think she’d fancy a smelly, greasy-haired man. “What can I do for you, my lady?”

In that very moment, she wanted to knock him back onto his ass to show him exactly what she thought of his creepy leer, but, for productivity’s sake, she buried the urge deep, deep down and pinned him with a stern glower. “The Dragon Knight that was shot down--what did they look like?”

His shoulders rose and fell dismissively. “Don’t know. What business is it to a fine lady such as yourself?”

She hated to admit that the business was personal. Her mother rode a red dragon. “What do you mean you don’t know what the Knight looks like? Didn’t you go and help them?”

The group burst into a heap of laughter. She failed to find the humour in her question. When all she gave them was a blank stare, the leader sobered up and shook his head at her. “We don’t interfere with Dragon Knight business, miss. Wherever there’s a Knight, there’s a monster--and we’re no monster slayers.”

“Obviously,” she muttered. She was aware how the city guard operated. They grew fat and lazy--or went to drink on duty--within the safety of the city limits, while they let the Dragon Knights do all the dirty work. She spoke louder to address them, “Where is the Dragon Knight now?”

He narrowed a pair of suspicious eyebrows on her. “I think it’s time you get to where you’re heading, miss.”

She wanted to snort and roll her eyes at them--at her own conviction to find this Dragon Knight. So what if they ended up being her own mother? Everything she knew, she’d learned from that woman; Kira could handle herself fine. . .

And yet something nagged at her, pushed her to argue with the guards. “You don’t know where they are, do you? Let me guess--above your pay grade?”

A pink hue climbed up the leader’s cheeks then he yanked his shoulders back and stood taller. “I am an officer, miss. I’m ranked plenty high enough to know Dragon Knight business.”

“But your superiors didn’t tell you where this Dragon Knight is.” A man’s pride was a fickle thing--espeically when a beautiful young lady such as herself didn’t think his superiors deemed him worthy to pass on that kind of information.

His face went a deep red. “The dragon was shot down by a band of goblins--probably the same band we requested the Knights to deal with.”

“Where. . .?”

“Hillfall Forest,” he responded like a good, obedient soldier. “The goblins have a camp in there.”

His companions gaped at him, then he seemed to realise what he had said and stammered to change his answer. But Anna was already gone. She strode past them for the nearest stables to rent a horse. The stablemaster gave her a bay mare, as per her request. She would blend in better in the forest than the white or pinto he had in stock.

Before she mounted, she glanced down at her chiffon dress. She’d bought it just for the wedding; it was truly a work of art and she’d paid the price for it. It was such a shame it would go to waste.

Why am I doing this? Who cares if that harpy of a woman is in trouble?

The sad part was that she did care. They were family, after all. They had no one else. And, amongst all the painful lessons her mother had taught her, the one Anna would never forget was she should always help someone in need. Regardless if her name was Kira Hargin or another Dragon Knight. If they had been by themselves and the dragon was hurt, the Knight was going to need all the help they could get against a band of goblins.

There’ll be other gigs. Maybe not one as big as this one, but she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t help the Knight.

Decided, she swung into the saddle and rode for Hillfall Forest.

It was midday when she found the first signs of the goblins. They hadn’t even tried to hide their tracks. Judging by the footprints, there were seven, five males, two females. She followed the tracks along the river until they suddenly diverted away from it. These tracks were more recent, within the day. Not too much further down, she found a clearing. Trees had been snapped in half or ripped from their roots. The ground had been torn up, bushes crushed, logs shredded. In the center of it all, there was a body.

She held her breath, too far away to see anything other than it was a lifeless figure. She needed a minute to compose herself, to prepare for the worst. When she was ready, she approached the body, still being wary of her surroundings; it was obvious the dragon had crashed here. Another trail of broken trees led away from the clearing, but it was more contained. The dragon was alive, then, and it fought against the goblins. The goblins couldn’t have taken it far, even with their superior strength.

It was a man, donning Dragon Knight armour. A flurry of emotions stirred her heart, but relief was the most prominent one. She took a moment to thank the gods then she flipped him over. He’d been stabbed in the stomach. An awful way to go.

She knelt beside him and murmured a short prayer for him. Then she did the unthinkable and went through his stuff, taking his scale jacket and knife. It was awful, but she needed armour and a weapon if she was going to help his dragon. She cut the layers of skirts weighing her down then followed the trail on foot.

Only a few hours past when sounds of the goblin group echoed around the forest. She slowed her pace, being mindful of the wind. Goblins had an acute sense of smell; they’d be able to smell her coming long before they could hear or see her if the wind permitted it.

The group had decided to set up camp for the night. She watched them closely, tucked in between bushes. They danced and laughed around the fire and poked at the dragon they had captured whenever they passed by. The poor creature struggled against her restraints, to the point where her beautiful scales were peeling away and exposing her tender flesh. Blood caked her scales, staining them a darker red.

Being mindful of where her feet landed, she edged around the camp until she was behind the dragon. Her presence didn’t go unnoticed by the large beauty; her yellow eyes slid in her direction and locked onto her. Being the intelligent creature that she was, the dragon knew not to make a sound, but she held her gaze. They stared at each other for hours while Anna waited for the sun to go down and for the goblins to settle down for the night. She wanted the dragon to know she wouldn’t abandon her to the horrible fate the goblins had planned.

Once the goblins were asleep, Anna moved silently towards the dragon, sawing through each of her restraints. The dragon remained still, keeping a watchful eye on the goblins for her. The last one she cut was the one tied around her muzzle.

A gentle breeze slipped past her.

She froze solid.

Then everything happened very quickly.

Goblins screeched. An arrow struck her back, wedging itself deep in her shoulder blade. The red dragon’s chest glowed a brilliant amber. Anna shoved the pain lancing through her back to the deepest part of her mind and leapt out of the way. Fire spewed over the camp. One goblin, flames licking at its heels, ran for her, shortsword aimed for her gut.

Even out of practice, she easily spun out of the goblin’s way and swept her leg low, tripping the creature. It fell flat on its face. She felt no remorse when she came up behind it and twisted a knife in its back. Once she was sure it was dead, she lifted her gaze to the dragon that watched her. The other goblins were engulfed by the fire. Her eyes were on the jacket she bore.

“He didn’t make it,” she said. Her tone held no inflection to it. Her natural voice. She actually had to make an effort to sound like a normal, animated person. She shucked out of the jacket and hung it on one of the many, many spikes of the dragon’s muzzle. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

The dragon stared at her partner’s jacket mournfully, a soft, sad sound vibrating through her body. “We had spent many years together. He was a good man. I-I tried to save him.”

Anna touched the dragon’s snout, right between her nostrils. “He died doing what he loved.”

The dragon shut her eyes, releasing a haggard breath. “You speak as if you know him.”

“Not him, but I know a few Dragon Knights. They’re Knights because they love it--even with the risks.”

Her eyes opened. “You are not a Knight.”

“No.” Anna turned away to give herself some semblance of privacy while she fumbled for the arrow in her back.

“But you move like one.”

“It’s not my thing,” she grunted then bit back a cry when she yanked the arrow free. It had been a while since she had to shut out pain, and she couldn’t quite stop the sob breaking through her lips. Fuck, it hurt. “Take your Knight back to Dragon Canyon. He deserves a proper funeral.”

“What about you? You are injured.”

“I’ll find a healer in Hillfar. I’ll be fine. Taking care of myself is my thing.”

“That sounds lonely.”

She kept her back facing the dragon so she couldn’t see just how lonely her life truly was. The pain flaring in her shoulder made it difficult to keep her expression composed. “Yeah, well, my mother taught me not to rely on anybody--including her. Go.” She thrust a finger in the Knight’s direction.

The dragon didn’t move. “What is your name, human?”

“Annalyse.” She didn’t give out her last name, especially not to Knights.

“You have a good heart, Annalyse. I will not leave you alone in this forest.”

Then, unbeknownst to Anna until it was too late, the dragon dropped a tear onto her back. It seared as it slithered between her shoulder blades. There was no stopping her cry as the skin fused together on her back. She knew without looking that the hole where the arrow had been was now a patch of scales. She knew what it meant.

Furious, she whirled onto the dragon. “What in the seven hells have you done?! I don’t want to be Bound!”

The dragon--she knew her name was Aster now they were Bound--didn’t flinch at her tone. “It is done. You and I share a soul now and forever, Annalyse.”

Annalyse released a trembling breath, then blew a strand of hair out of her face, and gave me a half-hearted smile. “I despised Aster for a long time. I never wanted to be a Knight, but she made me.”

I was too engrossed to say anything. This was probably the first time she’d talked about this with anyone; it must be hard to make friends when your mother was as scary as hers was.

“When I went to my mother and told her what had happened,” she continued, still a little bitter about her past, “she sent me to the High Mountain base to train with the only other Bound Knight. To say I was pissed was an understatement, but I shouldn’t have expected anything less.

“My Bond with Aster grew during our time in the High Mountains, which made me less bitter, but it wasn’t until we came back to Dragon Canyon and I met Jacob when I started to embrace being a Knight,” she confessed with a shy smile. “Everything we did was a marvel to him. So new and exciting. I knocked him on his ass every day, Knights laughed at him for failing at everything he tried, but it never stopped him. He worked harder than any Knight in this base and now he has one of the highest success rates in the base. He’s always the first person to rush to help someone, to fly to a village no one has ever heard of and rescue them. He is what being a Dragon Knight is supposed to be about, not the status and power a lot of the Knights mistake this organization for. He’s given my life meaning again. I can’t sing to bring joy into people’s lives anymore, but I can fight for them so that they can find their own joys in life.” Taking a breath, she smiled dizzily at me. “I can’t believe I said all of that; it makes it sound like I’m in love with your brother. Crazy, right?” Cheeks red, she tucked her hair behind her ears and recollected her thoughts. “Anyway, you and Arkon seem to already have a strong connection. Once we’re done with your Knight training, we’ll find a teacher for you two to help with your magic.”

“But you’re doing such a good job with my Knight training,” I told her. “You can’t help me and Arkon with our magic?”

She shook her head at me. “I appreciate the compliment, but you’ll need someone more experienced, especially with a storm dragon. Different magic. My mentor is Bonded to a fire dragon, and so he taught me things I can do with fire magic. I won’t be able to help you with lightning magic.”

I thought it over, remembering reading in one of my many books that there were five kinds of dragons: fire, earth, water, air, and storm. Aries was an earth dragon; Eran was born of water magic, which meant that Grayson could do water magic.

“So what kinds of stuff can you do?” I asked, curious of my potential. Arkon seemed to think I could do quite a bit with his magic if I concentrated enough.

Without a word, Annalyse went into the bathroom to collect the many candles we had to scent up the room. She placed them on the coffee table, lighting them as she went with a match stick. At her request, I joined her on the couch and watched as she closed her eyes. Once she was grounded, she held her palm out, as if she was expecting something to be placed in her hands. Before I could pick up a candle for her, the flames flickered wildly. Moments later, they lifted off the candle wick and danced in her palms.

Smiling, she opened her eyes. The flames melded into one another, forming a small fireball. At the will of her mind, the fire changed into whatever form she commanded: a flower, a dragon, a stick figurine. I couldn’t help but admire the concentration it must take to wield fire--something I’d considered untamable up until this point--the way she did. It ignited a spark of excitement within me. Someday I’d be able to wield magic like her.

And then suddenly the fire dispersed back onto the candles, leaving Annalyse gasping and sweating on the couch. “And then of course there’s the gifts your dragon gives you,” she continued, out of breath. “Most dragonbound get the same gifts. I can help you with those. Aster gave me her vision, so I can see anything that gives off heat through walls; we call it Dragon Vision or infrared. I can communicate with her via my mind, and I can hone my hearing to eavesdrop--if I wanted to be that nosey.” She winked.

Most of what she spoke of, I was familiar with, except the hearing. I told her as such and she promised me we’d work on that next time we trained. However, she wasn’t familiar with the sensation I got in the forest. I either wasn’t describing it properly, or maybe it merely was not a power she possessed--another thing we’d explore during our next training sessions. For now, Annalyse was tired. It was time we got some sleep, anyway, or we’d end up staying up too late before for our big day tomorrow.