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thirty-six

Dove

A rgus roars and thrashes within the cavity of my chest as I come back to myself, standing upon a large, rocky platform surrounded by mountainous peaks in utter darkness with the smell of rain on the horizon.

“How did I get here?” The question travels on the wind.

I look down at my shaking hands, which are thankfully not covered in blood this time.

The last thing I remember is the pain along the bond—

My body stills.

“Rivern.” Did something happen to Rivern?

My heart begins to beat rapidly.

Turning in my dirty breeches and tunic, I frantically look around for a clue as to where I am. My feet are naked to the elements, and my hair is a windy, whipping mess.

“Shit.” I gather the strands and pull them back to tuck them into my tunic.

I look up at the twinkling darkness and whisper. “Where am I?”

A shadow suddenly swarms over my body.

A wide, blanketing shadow from above—

Pulling back from my exposed spot on the open platform, I edge back towards a cliff face just before a rumble vibrates through me.

Not taking my eyes from the stars, a hefty, winged shape comes into view. My knees grow weak at the sight.

“No, that’s not real,” I whimper. It can’t be real.

Argus begs to differ as he huffs out a plume of smoke within my cleaved cavity.

At the idea of smoke, I let out a slight cough and quickly cover my mouth with my hands.

Looking up at the shadow, I realise the wingspan alone would surely cover the roof and walls of a house within Haven.

Clenching the rock behind me, the creature lands on the platform. A slight shaking of the ground rattling my bones.

With nowhere else to go, I sink further into the rock face.

Darkness envelops the large creature in front of me, and I try to disguise my breath, letting out only small, shallow exhales.

“Human,” an unfamiliar voice growls within my mind. Paralysed by the possibility of an ancient, immortal creature, I continue my statuesque nature.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I repeat the mantra… This is not real, this is not real. It’s not possible. It’s not what you think it is.

“Little human, you cannot hide from me.” A puff of smoke hits me in the face, and I hack up a lung.

My feet stumble over themselves as I rush to get away from the suffocating cloud. Without warning, a rock places itself in front of me, and I topple over the offending stone.

Hands flying out, I hit—nothing…

My hands move frantically around my body, trying to grab onto rock. Anything.

“Little Human needs to work on their balance.” The gravelly voice hits me again just before a large, coarse talon has me in its grasp.

Without a second thought, I let out my second scream of the night.

“Enough of that,” the unknown speaker says.

“Wh-whooo’s talking to me?” I shout out in desperation.

It’s official. I’m crazy . Sure, I knew I was unbalanced, a bit unhinged with my inner friends, but now I must deserve insane village lady status. You know, the kind who lives by herself in the woods? Actually, that sounds kind of nice. I could sing to my wisp friends, and we could—

“You Little Human, me Saff.”

“Saff?” Gliding through the sky, the large creature holding me lets out a purr of sorts.

Looking up at the sound, I shout above the wind. “Is your name Saff?”

“Yes, Little Human,” says the voice, in a tone that sounds like it’s rolling their eyes.

I have so many questions—like, most importantly, is this giant creature going to eat me? But, since it hasn’t tried to take a nibble yet, I will give it the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe it is friendly? Like Argus. I laugh at myself. Argus isn’t even real. The agitated dragon within blows smoke on my coals, and I apologise to the beast for my insensitivity.

I am insane.

Without warning, the creature— Saff —lets go of me, and I’m caught in a plume of dark dirt. The strange grain fills my nostrils, and I sneeze loudly, a strong, saccharine fragrance hitting the back of my throat.

“Do you not like the Silver Sands, Little Human?”

“Silver Sands?” I question.

“Right, your kind do not know of this land’s existence. We are beyond the void. Osear rules these lands.”

My mind threatens to combust at all the strange new information. “Void? Osear?”

As I get to my feet, dazzling shards of grey mist begin to settle around me, and I take in the creature before me.

It strikes me instantly that this isn’t just any creature with wings, but a dragon—a red dragon. As described in the old fae books, an immortal creature that has lived on these lands long before the coming of the fae. A creature I thought was surely a myth, a legend. But aren’t legends and myths always created in reality? I just never realised how close to reality this legend of old lay.

Another rumbling purr comes from the dragon. Surrounded in moonlight, its wide, ruby eyes swim in my vision as it stretches their neck out towards me. Leathery wings fan out behind Saff’s silhouette on the grainy floor below.

I fall on my bottom and push tangles from my face. “What do you want with me? I promise, I’m not good eating.”

Saff follows my lead, flopping onto the ground in front of me. Something about the action feels easy like two friends taking a break after a long walk, and my body starts to loosen.

The name Saff sounds almost feminine in nature and I cannot help but think of this dragon as a her.

Saff’s nostrils flare every so often, pushing the grains towards my body, her eyes never leaving my own.

Stretching out towards me, she continues to inch her face closer. Pointed incisors hang from her jaw, but something tells me this dragon isn’t going to hurt me. Surely, if she was hungry, she would’ve eaten me already.

Saff’s head nudges my knees, which are tucked against my frame. Her whole head is the size of my body. She continues to nudge me as if I know what to do.

Not in any hurry, she rests her head next to my body expectantly.

What do you want? I turn the question around in my head. Nothing is making sense .

For the first time since leaving Haven, I am alone. Besides the colossal dragon nesting next to my legs, of course. It’s as if she is soothing me.

I cock my chin to the side to lean my head on my tucked-up knees, and find one ruddy eye staring intently at me as if begging for something I am not quite sure I can give.

My heart is a mess of broken pieces on the floor of the cavity where that organ is meant to be. Wren is in hiding, too scared to face our new reality. An immortal dyre wolf is after me. And everything I once knew is a lie. I don’t even have a place to call home anymore.

Oh, and I just fell face-first off a giant mountain in the sky and was saved by a dragon .

The bond starts to pull at my centre as the anguish I’ve held for so long holds my body hostage.

Saff puffs beside me, nudging into the side of my body. With my arms cocooning my body, I let one fall to the side to steady myself, landing on the rugged texture of the hardened creature.

And with that simple touch, memories begin to flood my mind—not my memories, but those of a deep red dragon.

Memories of an egg, a sapphire dragon and black wings…

“Finally,” The sarcasm rings through thick from Saff.

Letting my hand slide down the side of her curved, triangle-shaped scales, I ask, “What’s happening?” as images continue to bombard me.

“Intimate ,” the word is purred like she has made her mind up without reservation.

I feel it. The thing we are both missing—friendship—but not only that. Freedom, too.

Not another being who wants something from me, but one who shares in my dream. Not a forcefield pushing us together, but a mutual understanding that whatever our aim, we will always have each other’s backs.

Friendship. Unconditional.

Silence fills the air around us, and I rest my body next to Saff and face the thick, smiling moon.

After a while of our quiet companionship, I make a promise to my new friend—currently my only friend. “I will help you find your egg.”

“And I will help you save your people.”

And with that, I have a dragon intimate, a way to kill the king and a terrible ache in my chest.