Page 76 of The Dragon Warlord

I pull him to me by the neck and press against my bit there for luck. “Yeah, me too. I won’t let you down, Omega.”

“You never do, Alpha.”

“Ugh, what is wrong with you two?”

“There’s nothing wrong with an alpha making a vow to his omega. This could be the last vow I make.” I haven’t taken my eyes off River.

“Don’t say that, Alpha.”

“It’s true.”

“Blech. You two are disgusting. Get as sappy as you want later.” She spins her hands in the same circular motion as the wispy golden portals I’m used to seeing, opening a pathway to darkness.

I swear I catch a glint from under the sleeves of her robes. On her wrists. It shines again as she moves her arms in swirls. She’s definitely wearing a new piece of jewelry. Something with copper.

“You’re sure about this?” I check with her.

“I’m certain. I’ve never been more certain about anything, Warlord,” she whispers.

I have no reason to believe her. I haven’t seen much of her talents over the years. She hasn’t had many visions since her mother died.

I nod. “C’mon then.”

We step through the portal.

* * *

The hallways are lit with torches and if I thought the smell above was bad, I didn’t know how bad it could get. Gagging and retching, I accept the piece of cloth Ikara rips from her robes for me and tie it around my nose and mouth. She does the same for River and herself. Many things have died down here and have never been removed.

My gut wrenches for the maybe dragon that could be down here. Has he lived like this the whole time? For how long?

Grabbing a torch from the wall, not wanting to use any magic just yet, I take a look around. Bubbling slime weeps from the crevices of the crumbling fortress. Nightmarish little creatures scatter across the walls and drop from the low ceilings. This place is harrowing. I’m not an easy scare and even I want out of here, never to return.

“This place is disgusting,” River says.

“I should torch it on principle,” I reply.

Before I can take another step, I feel something. A presence. Amassivepresence beating in my chest.

“Riv,” I whisper. “Can you feel that?”

Our bond allows us to feel each other, among other things. He can hear me sometimes in his mind—which is rare and special—though I have yet to hear him. And then we discovered a neat little trick that we can do.

I can sense dragons.

Of course, in The Tower, we’re surrounded by dragons, so my little parlor trick isn’t much use there. In fact, with so many dragons, it’s nothing but an annoying, fuzzy sensation that I’ve learned to tune out. But in the field? I can hunt dragons. My own personal tracking system that all the dragon-taming wizards are jealous of.

Through our bond, River can feel dragons as I do. We’re the only two people in the world, experiencing such a sensation together. It never gets old for us.

River’s smile brightens this gloomy place. “What a unique energy. Never felt anything like it before.”

“Ice dragon,” I say as if it’s just come to me. There is no way I should know that, but I know.

River nods, confirming he senses it too. His hand slides over my bare chest to rest over my Warlord’s tattoo and feel my heart so he can amplify the sensation. I place my hand over his and we have a moment together over it, feeling the ice dragon together.

Wisely, Ikara tugs on my jacket rather than River’s. “Enough of that. Is it possible to keep your hands off each other for two seconds?”

River pulls his hand away. “We do not touch each other every two seconds.”