Page 67 of Burdened Bonds

“Little rabbit, it’s a dragon.”

I gasp and for one whole minute I stand there, clutching Pip to my chest utterly flabbergasted. Then the beast roars, the blast of sound so fearsome, my hair is swept back from my face and I close my eyes.

“I think we should go, little rabbit. I’m not sure we’re welcome here.”

“Renzo Barone,” I say, zapping him with my magic. “Let me pass. Let me pass right now or–”

He steps aside and I move forward, catching sight of the dragon for the first time.

It’s gigantic. Twice the size of any of the dragons that attacked the academy, and, unlike those other dragons – all a sluggish green color – this one is beautiful, its scales a glistening rusty gold.

It lies curled up, its wings tucked in, although its head is raised and staring right at me. Its eyes are not beady like that glass dragon hanging in the council building. These shine black and beautiful. It stares right into my eyes as if challenging me to look away, as if judging my mettle and my worth, and my magic tingles in my fingertips.

I remain completely still, somehow sure this is the right thing to do.

“Let’s go,” Renzo hisses.

Carefully, I shake my head and after a minute the dragon turns its head away, lapping its tongue over its chest. It’s then I see it is injured. A gaping wound on its chest and another on its side, one leg twisted. I also see the metal collar it wears around its neck, the scales chafed away. There are other cuffs too – one encircling each of the beast’s ankles.

This is no free dragon. It’s a captive one. But if so, where is its owner and what is it doing here, high up in the mountains?

“It’s hurt,” I tell Renzo.

“She,” he tells me.

“She?” I say, “how can you tell?”

“Just can,” he says, moving closer to me. “I have a feeling, little rabbit, that an injured dragon is even more deadly than a normal one. And this one is fucking big.”

“I need to heal her,” I say, laying Pip gently on one of the rocks on the ground. “That’s what my dream was about. I’m meant to heal her.”

“You ever healed a dragon before?” Renzo asks.

“Well, no,” I admit. “It’s not exactly something we’ve been taught at the academy. But I’m pretty good at healing humans now,” I say, thinking of Winnie. “How different can it be?” Renzo stares at me. “Until the attack on the academy, I’d never even seen a dragon before. I thought they were extinct.”

“That’s what people said. But people talk shit,” he says.

I take a step forward and immediately the dragon snaps her head around to glare at me warily.

“Little rabbit,” Renzo warns.

“If she wanted to kill us, she’d have done it already.”

“You don’t know that. She might like to play with her food.”

I ignore him, staring back into those raven eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I tell her, watching as her ears swivel on the sides of her head. “I’m going to help you.” The dragon turns its head again and licks at the wound. “Yes,” I say, “yes, I can heal that.”

The dragon makes a moaning noise that rattles through her body, much quieter than before, then rests her head down on the ground, gazing at me with those eyes. I can tell the creature is in pain. I can read it in her features.

I’ve nursed sick and injured chickens before plus a squirrel that got caught up in the chicken wire. This dragon may be hundreds of times bigger than those creatures but I think I need to treat her like any other wild animal.

I lift my hand out in front of me and wait. Cautiously, the dragon lifts her head.

“Little rabbit,” Renzo hisses beside me.

“Trust me,” I say with probably a lot more confidence than I truly feel, “this is going to be fine.”

He harrumphs in irritation and the dragon’s gaze flicks to him before returning to me. She brings her face closer to my outstretched hand until her nostrils are mere millimeters away. My hand looks like a mere pimple against her vast size and I should feel afraid. I should be quaking in my boots. But I’m not. Fate has brought me here. If fate’s brought me here to be eaten by a giant dragon, burned to a crisp, then so be it.