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forty-one

Rivern

S olen returns to tell me he has yet to trace her whereabouts. Dove. My bonded.

Confusion beats at me as with one movement, the bond pulls me towards the void, and the next, it directs me towards the coast.

That signifies a hard truth I’m yet to fully swallow. She has help. Is she a spy? A consequence that could kill my kingdom. We cannot have the threat of the Haven dyre wolves at our door again. Is she working with that wolf? They were awfully close when I found her. Fuck.

The suffocating insecurity trips and stumbles through my mind. The bond does not care for such accusations, though, refuting them at every turn. My logical mind, the part of me that is set to protect my family and people at any price, is wary of this new revelation.

Solen, at my request, now scouts the mountainous coast for her. I find myself with Moyrie, my betrothed, on the back of Mage, headed towards the void pass through the mountains, the only safe place to cross into the Silver Sands by foot.

When Mother found out Moyrie’s dragon was missing, she immediately suggested I take the princess back on Mage. Technically, I was meant to return with Moyrie to the Silver Sands, but I had hoped to explain I couldn’t. That I have a bonded, that I must find her. But thoughts of Dove potentially being a spy sent to scout Terra for a new war fill me with dread. There was and is no way to explain the complexities to Moyrie. I just have to hope Solen can find her and stave off any future wars from occuring. Through the bond, I can sense she is safe, and that will just have to be enough for now.

Abandoning my people like Dove abandoned me is no longer an option.

Before leaving, I informed Mother about the impending arrival of villagers from Haven, but to be wary of their arrival, watch them and keep them segregated from our people. We will feed and shelter them, but following Dove’s disappearing act, I cannot trust that this isn’t a trap. Overall, she wasn’t impressed, but her face turned to one of sinister interest, and she said she would take care of them. It gave me pause for concern about the human’s safety, but I cannot be concerned with such matters any longer.

The further we travel towards the Silver Sands, the more the tie within pulls taut until the low pain at my bonded’s absence becomes a throb. Now that I’ve felt the softness of her milky skin, stared into the depths of her emerald gaze and viewed the light of her bravery, I cannot unfeel, unsee or unhear her song.

The spot carved out of my heart will always belong to her. But do I want that part open to her? Suspicion has me tightly in its grasp.

Moyrie has insisted she be seated in front of me as Mage traverses the uneven ground of the unsteady terrain below. She is not pleased to leave without her dragon, and it shows in the strained form of her body. She is small but mighty.

Threads of white material dance before my eyes as I’m careful to push the cloth back. To keep a distance between us, I sit as far back on the saddle as I can manage.

Moyrie doesn’t seem fazed by my lack of contact, which is welcoming.

With my heart throbbing for another, the thought of even touching Moyrie again feels worse than death to me. I have no idea how I can continue this ruse to save Terra. If Dove is a spy, I will need to sever this bond. It is costing me my sanity.

My mind conjures tendrils of honey laced with hints of vanilla, and I want to groan. This human holds such power over me. One part of me wants to burn everything in my way to get to her, and the other part of me cannot bear to disappoint my family, my people.

Dove, Dove, Dove. Her name whispers through my soul as Mage moves swiftly beneath us towards my new home.