Page 13 of Ensnared (The Dragon Captured #1)

Finally, Axel drops his hand, and the pain stops.

I collapse back to the bed, an empty husk.

Whatever reserves I had left are gone now, burned to ash.

Before, I felt like I was floating away.

My siblings were there, missing me already, worrying about me, stabbing me.

Ha. I was at least peaceful in the knowledge that they loved me, they’d miss me, and that they didn’t want me to leave. But this time, I’m not drifting away.

I’m already almost gone. There’s nothing to fade.

Like the last grains of sand draining through the bottom of an hourglass.

Like the last whiff of scent in an empty diffuser.

Like smoke puffing out of the last ember as it cools.

My soul’s evacuating my body when Axel uses one hand’s talon-like fingernail to slice the palm of the other. Then he slices my hand open and presses both of our hands together.

His blood hits me like the recoil of a twelve gauge.

Like the kick of a mule to my chin. Like Gideon’s left hook to my jaw.

My body shrinks inward to what feels like a single atom and then explodes outward, refilling all my empty spaces, burning through everything that I once was and replenishing all the holes and tears and empty wells with pure light energy.

Ironically, my eyes are burning, my lungs are aching, my back is screaming with pain, and my arm, which hurt worse than any injury I’d ever felt before, screams with agony.

But this isn’t the kind of pain that made me scream.

It’s the pain that precedes the repair, like the scream of muscles being torn down to rebuild stronger.

Like the grinding of an old scar to expose new, healthy tissue.

His blood is healing me.

But it’s also changing me.

I can’t tell how, and I’m not sure quite how much, but the new, rebuilt Liz is not the same as the Liz-that-was. I’m stronger. I’m brighter. I’m tougher.

I’m Liz 2.0.

I got an upgrade. I doubt that green dragon meant to improve my life, but that stupid sadist did it anyway.

Thanks to his mauling, thanks to his filthy venom, I’m now even better than I was.

I’m not sure what it means, but the world’s sharper, the colors are brighter, and when I sit up, I move easier, faster, and different somehow.

“Oh, that worked.” Axel swallows as if it’s a surprise.

“You didn’t think it would?”

He shrugs. “I’ve been looking into the ensnared humans. I know you think I abandoned you here, and I really should have made time sooner, but the earth dragons are in charge of both defense and setting things back in place. Managing all of that has been exhausting. Your ecosystem is. . .delicate.”

“What?” I ask.

“So many people with so many tasks that are all interconnected or they fall apart.”

I blink.

“And trying to learn about the ensnared while also managing all of that—it was exhausting.”

“But I could have helped.”

“The blessed will struggle to accept that I’ve bonded you.”

“So? You’re best friends with the big red nightmare.”

“The big red. . .” He snorts. “I’ve never in all my life heard anyone call him anything so disrespectful.”

“Of course not. You’re surrounded by yes men and lackeys. That beast is terrifying and evil and just. . .” I shudder.

“He says you tried to attack him.” Axel’s smiling like it’s a big joke.

“Tried, yes. It was like using a toothpick on a tank.”

“Ah, the rolling gun boxes.”

“Yes, those are tanks.”

“And a toothpick is a small piece of wood you use to pick your teeth.”

“How did you learn English?” I finally ask.

“When we first came, there were only a handful of us. We assumed a humanoid form and found many books. We took them back, and one of us assimilated them, and then Azar, the dragon you hate, used his magic to spread the knowledge to the rest of us.”

“That sounds handy. I’d know, like, every language.”

“Once you complete your training, you probably could assimilate some of the information as well, if you so choose.”

That blows my mind.

“Or you can just use our language. Soon the lesser ones will no longer be necessary.”

“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.”

“You did that.” He’s frowning, but I notice that he didn’t even flinch.

“Don’t tell me that didn’t hurt you. I know it did.”

“You humans can’t mask your pain at all. You show every single thing you feel.”

I straighten. “I’m tough, actually.”

“Tough for a human is like scary for a fluff dog.”

“Fluff dog,” I say. “I like it. I think we’ll name her that.”

“You can’t keep that thing.” He stands up. “I forbid it.”

I stand up, too. “Well, I counter forbid it.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Then you’ll have to make me give her up.” What am I saying? We can’t give up Fluff Dog. Not now that she has a name.

He glares, and then I feel it. He’s focusing on me and he’s pushing his will at me.

I bat it away.

He grunts—he felt that one.

I can’t help my smug grin. Earth dragon or not, I feel like this guy isn’t humbled nearly often enough. Maybe because he’s the prince earth dragon or whatever. “I’m keeping Fluff Dog.”

He points at the wall. “Turn around.”

“Excuse me?” I shake my head. “I refuse.”

“You keep refusing everything,” he says. “The more you do that, the more you incentivize me to train enough to learn how to control you by force.”

“I think something about training me scares you, so I don’t think it works as a threat. Sorry.”

So fast that I can barely register his movements, he spins me around and tears the back of my shirt, exposing the back of my left shoulder. “Hey!” I shout. “What are you doing?”

Are shoulders, like, erotic to dragons? Ew.

I turn to look over my bare shoulder, but he’s not doing anything gross. He’s just staring at my shoulder with what looks an awful lot like relief. “What?”

“It’s my mark.” He sighs. “It’s just my mark.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When you’re ensnared, the magic of the dragon who bonds you sears a mark into the back of your shoulder, like so.” He points.

I remember the burning feeling. It disappeared so quickly, and I haven’t had a proper bath, so I never noticed. Not that I would have examined the back of my shoulder in any case. I grab the top of my shoulder with my right hand and pull hard, craning my neck at the same time.

It’s there—something golden. It’s like a circle with some kind of flower inside of it. “What is it?”

“It’s a lotus blossom,” he says. “It symbolizes the cycle of life and death that the earth blessed facilitate.”

“Your buddies were pretty intent on the death part,” I say.

“Well, you managed to beat them.”

I feel a little bad about that, but not guilty. I won’t feel guilty when I watched that silver psychopath fry family after family for no reason at all. “I am sorry I killed them.”

“They were friends,” Axel says. The coldness in his voice reminds me that we’re not. In fact, he’s been staying away in order to search for a way to get rid of me. He may be proud that his ensnared human—his slave—is a warrior, but he’s not keen on having me around.

I’m a liability at best.

An enemy at worst.

I need to remember that at all times.

“Tell your siblings to pack their bags.” Axel stands. “We’re joining the main camp.”

“Just like that?” I ask. “I thought you didn’t want people to know—or other dragons to know, I mean—that you’d bonded me.”

“They’ll have to find out eventually.” He shrugs. “Now that you seem to be fully recovered and we’re officially bonded, it may as well be today.”