Page 46 of Upon Buried Embers (Upon Buried Embers #1)

“Yes, Dragonbond,” I murmur, and his eyes darken. I quickly shuffle away, the heat of his gaze on my back the whole time, something sizzling between us that I’m not sure will be ignored much longer.

I wake without the warmth of Rohan and I startle, sitting upright. We went to sleep as soon as the tent was set, the symphony of dragons roaring as our background noise.

I didn’t think I could sleep through it, but surprisingly, I fell asleep quickly.

I scramble out of the fur bed on the ground, not liking being here without him, and I make my way to the tent opening, Rohan’s tunic covering me.

Peeling the flap back, I halt when I spot him about twenty feet from me, holding his hand out and stroking a red dragon.

I still, watching him for a moment.

He has his back to me, sleeveless tunic on, black leather pants and boots. His ribbons are tied tightly around his forearms once more, and his hair is in a knot at the back.

Right now, the sheer power he exudes as he calmly stokes the large dragon, its head the size of his whole body, makes me light up from within. It makes me feel small compared to him, but once his arms are around me, I’m protected.

Because he does that—protects me, and he does it so freely that it doesn’t make sense. I started out being here to help him or die, but it’s changing into something far more than that.

Or am I na?ve and no matter what he said about keeping me, he doesn’t actually mean forever?

No one keeps me forever.

“This is Frelia,” Rohan says, without turning. “She always comes to greet me, though now she has an egg waiting for her.”

I take a small step forward, and Frelia looks up, but there’s no threat in her gaze, she just lazily blinks and nuzzles Rohan’s hand.

“Come.” Rohan reaches a hand back to me, and before I know what I’m doing, my feet are taking me forward and placing my small one in his.

He pulls me in front of him, and with his grip on my hand, lifts it to the dragon.

She sniffs my hand, a little smoke coming from her, then she nuzzles me. I grin.

“She’s beautiful.”

“She is. Ignis dragons have always held beauty, the females more so than the males.” Frelia purrs. “Go now, you do not want to miss your baby hatching.” She nuzzles us once more, and then she turns, taking flight over to the forest.

“Let’s eat and be on our way.”

“So soon?”

He turns to me and nods. “Listen to what I say in there. It’s dangerous, and though most dragons know me, I’ve not met them all. Understand? Today could be the day we meet them.”

I nod.

“And tell me if you… feel anything off, okay?”

“I will.” He stares at me intently for a moment.

“You’re safe with me.”

I hesitate for a moment, and then I dare to place my palm on his chest.

“Are we… friends?”

He inhales deeply. “Friends?”

“Yes.”

He reaches up and grips my chin in a gentle hold, looking at me intently.

“I apologize if I’ve confused you, maybe I should have been more clear.

” He steps even closer to me, his lips a breath away from mine as he tilts my face up.

“No, we’re not friends. We will never be friends.

” My stomach sinks, but it’s quickly replaced by butterflies with his next words.

“We’re much more than that. Understand?”

I nod, stunned as he caresses my cheek.

“Good.”

A little while later, we’re cresting the hill and walking into the forest which is The Glade. Nerves settle in my stomach at the thought of going in there, but I think back to Rohan’s dragons, to Escor and Alter, to even Frelia. Rohan will make sure nothing happens to me.

“There’s no snow here,” I say, following him through the trees.

“It’s too warm for it to really stick.”

He’s right, the further we go in, the warmer it gets.

Another roar from the distance, and I catch up to Rohan, staying at his side.

I notice that as we walk, the trees become more scattered in places, no rhyme or reason to them and I ask Rohan why.

“The dragons have to move around somehow. Some places are thicker, some not so much.” Makes sense. “Just behind these sets of trees ahead should be Edgar. We’ll stop there first.”

Sure enough, as we exit a thick section of trees, a green dragon lays just inside a cave. I didn’t even know they had any in here.

It peeks its eyes open, then it jumps to its feet, bounding over to Rohan and head-butts him. He reminds me a little of Escor. Which makes me miss him.

“Careful.” Rohan says when I’m knocked to the side a little. The dragon purrs and rubs up against Rohan as much as he can for his size.

A smaller growl comes from ahead, and my mouth drops open when I spot a little green dragon at the entrance, wobbling about.

My hand goes to my chest. A baby!

Edgar turns and goes to it, licking the hatchling before sitting down next to it.

“He wants to show you,” I say in amazement, and Rohan eyes me before he nods and walks forward.

“That’s true, however, if his mother—” A ferocious growl sounds, and then another green dragon lands before Rohan ahead of me, snarling. “Comes back,” Rohan finishes.

I stumble back at her anger, and I know without a doubt she will hurt Rohan.

“Rohan, be careful—”

“Now is that any way to greet me after a year?” Rohan barks at her, arms folded. My mouth drops open. “You know better than that. We’re not brawling again!”

Brawling?

They… brawl?

“We can if you start, Bela, but I’m busy so it will be quick.” Rohan takes the axe from his back and twirls it in his hand. “Decide.”

They stare at each other, the dragon and Dragonbond, while I gape at them. Until the little baby dragon comes over and starts to climb up Rohan’s leg.

They all seem to freeze, and then the baby dragon sneezes, causing a little spark of fire to come out, landing on the end of Rohan’s hair as it climbs to his shoulder.

“Fuck!” he shouts, dropping his axe and holding the hatchling with one hand while patting his hair with the other.

My hand flies to my mouth, trying to stifle my laughter, but when Rohan turns, frowning at me, I know I failed.

“Is my hair being burned funny to you, Elf?”

“Of course not,” I giggle, and he shakes his head, placing the baby down.

“Take your hatchling, Bela.” The female dragon bends, picking her baby up by the neck, glares at Rohan, and then turns to the cave where Edgar waits.

Rohan shakes his head. “See you next year!” He calls to them as they all disappear. “Fucking dragons,” he mumbles, still patting his hair as he walks over to me.

I can’t believe I just witnessed the mighty Dragonbond have his hair set on fire by a baby dragon.

It’s absurd.

It’s hilarious.

I laugh again, reaching up and taking the burnt bit between my fingers. Wiping at it.

“It’s not funny.” He grumbles, but there’s a small smile tilting his lips. “Come, let’s continue for the day.”

The deeper we go, the warmer it becomes. We stop at the edge of a stream and have some water, which is also warm, and then we sit to eat.

“Aquadelia Dragons, blue, are great in water,” he says, taking another drink. “They can hold their breath the longest.”

“Luxem dragons, green, their chests can glow? Create some light?”

“Good, they’re also the least dominant. Next.”

“Red dragons…”

“Ignis,” he says.

“Ignis, they can…”

“Their fire is like lava,” he says, taking the waterskin and filling it. “Most dragon fire is controlled in some sense, a steady stream. Though some do it more than others. A red dragon’s fire does that, but it also spurts out, splashing around the stream of fire. Like it’s heavy.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“Very,” he agrees.

“And Drogonah, Tenebri. What about them?”

“Considered the largest and most dominant. They’re fighters. Tough. They’re essentially a battle dragon with how ferocious they are.”

I nod. “And the white one?” he eyes me. “The woman, the Dragonbond,” I correct quickly. “She had a white one.”

“Yes, Seraphin dragons. Usually wild.”

“They are?”

“Yes. They’re slender for their speed, and that’s why we don’t often see them. They’re too fast, and they don’t care for the Dragorie, generally.”

“Then how did she get one?”

“That’s unknown.” She must be a great Dragonbond if even Rohan doesn’t know.

“Is it really necessary for me to remember these things for The Games?”

“As I told you, not only do you need to come to try and speak with the other dragons in a setting where their Dragonbonds won’t always be with them, we also may be against them.”

I swallow roughly. “How do we go against them?”

“However the king decides,” he grinds out, and I’m taken aback by his anger for a moment. “He writes his wicked games down on pieces of paper, throws them in a bucket and all Dragonbonds walk up and pick one out of it.”

“And you don’t know what’s in there?”

“Never. It can be a race, it can be a brawl, it can sentence someone to death.”

“He can do that?”

“He can, and he has.”

“That’s… horrid.”

“That’s the King of Dracozar.”

I never knew how bad The Games were, and after hearing Rohan, I don’t want to be anywhere near it.

“Must I go? Is there no other way?” Rohan turns to me, and regret flashes in his eyes before it clears.

“My priority is always my dragons and my clan. We need to stop whoever is stealing eggs from The Glade, whoever is hurting our dragons. I made a vow to protect them, one I honor. One that gives me great honor. That is what Dragorie strives for.” I nod and stare up at him, and his eyes shutter for a moment.

“I must do anything I can to guarantee their safety, to neutralize any threats, even things I don’t like. Things I don’t want to. Understand?”

“I do,” I tell him. Because I would have loved to have someone as fierce as Rohan defend me like he does them, be my safety like he is to his people and dragons.

He cares for them so deeply, and my fear of being at The Games, at being anywhere near the city seems so silly with what rests on his shoulders. The lives he holds in his hands.

“You’re a good Dragonbond, Rohan,” I say softly, and surprise flares in his eyes at my words.

“That doesn’t make me a good man.”