Page 27 of Wild Bond (Wild Bond #1)

M y blood still raced and my heart still pounded several hours later as I sat on a rooftop in the lower city. Skye’s large frame was wrapped protectively around me from behind. Her large head lay next to me, and I had one knee pulled tightly to my chest, my chin resting on it while my other leg dangled off the stone edge. Skye and I were silent as we watched the nightlife of the lower city pass by below us, my eyes continually returning to the little run-down shop on the corner. Skye seemed to realize I didn’t want to talk but also didn’t want to be alone.

I vaguely wondered what the city-goers thought of a dragon rider being in their midst, or if they even noticed at all. We were fairly well hidden up here in the night’s shadows. But then I realized I really didn’t care, and the thought passed.

Instead, I focused on the cool, subtle breeze as it blew a few errant strands of hair into my face. I didn’t bother to brush them away. I stared at the open sky above me and the glorious light of the stars that shone down, reminding me by that very light alone that I was no longer in that eternal dark where no light could ever penetrate. I wasn’t lying shivering on that cold floor, wondering if I would ever be warm again. I wasn’t surrounded by bars that felt like they were closing in on me, making it impossible to take a deep breath.

Skye whined in distress at my side, and I forced myself to think only of the open air around me and the fact that I was free. I was a dragon rider now. They could never cage me again. I could hop on Skye right now, and she would fly with me to wherever I wanted to go. Even to places where they could never find us.

The thought was comforting.

Skye lifted her head a little and alerted me that we were about to have company. A few seconds later I heard the wingbeats and felt the other dragon land. But I didn’t hear the rider approach until he sat next to me a few feet away, his dark clothing blending in seamlessly with the night.

He didn’t say anything either, and I was grateful for it.

I wasn’t sure how long we sat there before I spoke.

“I thought I was past it,” I said quietly, even though my voice sounded loud in the stillness. “That the fear had passed.” I sighed. “What happened today made me realize that isn’t the case.”

Rake said nothing, just watched me. Then those pale eyes regarded the street below as he mused, “Our past pain has a way of coming up and reminding us it’s still there . . . usually when we least expect it.”

Silence stretched. Then I found myself saying, “That shop down there on the corner,” I gestured with a nod of my head. “That’s where my mother and I lived. Or at least, where our home used to be.”

Rake didn’t comment on the abrupt change in topic, and I couldn’t help thinking about the similarities in his origins and mine as I continued, “She died when I was ten. I never knew my father . . . so there was no one else. I was alone.

“Before that, I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t sick. I was obsessed with dragons back then and begged her to take me to the Nest every year during the celebrations to see the bondings. But she was always too ill to go, and she said I was too little to go alone. I dreamed of one day seeing a dragon up close, bonding with one, and becoming a dragon rider. I thought nothing could be better than flying on a dragon. I was sure of it.”

Skye shifted on my other side, and I could feel how intently she was listening. I reached out and stroked her snout absentmindedly. “I had finally resolved to sneak out the following year and see the bondings by myself, whether she wanted me to or not, but then she died.

“Without her, our little hut was taken away from me, and I was forced to live on the street. Luckily, it was summer so the city didn’t get too cold at night. There were lots of other orphan kids like me. I watched them, then eventually worked with them to steal food when the shop owners weren’t looking. But most nights I still went hungry. That was when Safan found me.”

I felt more than saw Rake tense beside me.

“He was handsome, clean, wore nice clothes, and fed me and some of the other children as long as we agreed to work for him. I was small and had quick hands, so he usually had me steal from the upper city crowd while one of the other kids begged or distracted them for me. I got very good at it.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a small, slightly sad smile crease Rake’s face, but he didn’t interrupt.

“One morning, Master Safan rounded up as many street kids as he could find, dressed us all in new clothes, and brought us to the Nest. I knew the dress I wore was secondhand, but I couldn’t stop staring at the blue fabric with white lace that matched my hair. I felt pretty for the first time in my life. It hadn’t even occurred to me at the time to wonder why Safan would do such a thing with all those children. He was no doubt planning to claim all the benefits that came with being the guardian of a young dragon rider.

“I remember being awed at the sheer size of the arena and how many spectators there were as we entered, and even more so by all the wild dragons. I was sure it was my chance. This was when I was going to bond with a dragon and become a rider.” I lifted one shoulder. “But of course, it wasn’t meant to be. At least not then.” Thinking back to that day made my heart bleed for that little girl I had been, one whose hopes and dreams had been crushed.

“Safan beat me for the first time that night—beat all of us—for failing to bond with any of the dragons.” I snorted. “Like we had any kind of control over it.”

“If that man wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself,” Rake rumbled, fierce anger in every word.

I shook my head and began absently rubbing my scar. “It was a long time ago. And now, by some miracle of the gods, that dream has come true, and I still can’t believe it’s real. I still don’t think I deserve it. Some nights I wake up from a cold sweat, sure that none of this ever happened. That I never bonded with Skye. That I am back in that cell.”

I swallowed hard, the sting of tears in my eyes. I felt Skye’s comfort and reassurance in the bond before Rake spoke.

“Is that where you went today in the cave? Were you back there?”

I blinked to clear my vision and nodded. I hadn’t felt panic like that since those first few weeks when I was newly imprisoned. Or maybe it was when Naasir had burned that criminal alive at Petitioner’s Square, but I kept that thought to myself. “I don’t . . . I don’t like the dark or being in enclosed spaces,” I murmured. Some part of me felt weak for admitting it to him, but a still larger part felt relieved. Telling him all this made the tightness in my chest loosen for the first time in what must have been hours.

“I’m afraid of snakes,” he admitted suddenly.

My head whipped around at his confession. “What? Really?”

He nodded. “Ever since I was bitten by one as a little boy and almost died. They’re all over Zehvi, and most of them are venomous. Luckily, my mother found me soon enough and sent for the local healer. He gave me phoenix tears which saved my life.”

I whistled. Phoenix tears were rare and expensive.

He answered my unspoken question. “Apparently my nameless father had some deep pockets.”

I smiled, and it felt good to do so. “You do realize a dragon is basically a large flying snake, right?”

Skye hissed at the comparison, and Naasir growled from somewhere behind us.

Rake laughed at that, and warmth infused me at the gloriously rare sound. “If you could only hear what Naasir is thinking in my head right now.”

I spoke just a little louder as I responded, “He’ll get over it.”

Skye’s amusement rippled down the bond as there was a disgruntled chuff from the male dragon behind us.

Once our laughter died down, I felt Rake’s eyes on me. “Will you be alright?”

I turned and finally really looked at the man beside me. I took in the harsh lines of his handsome face and the light of humor that was in his eyes, but also the worry and concern there. I knew in that moment that I could easily lose my heart to this man . . . or that maybe I already had.

And I was fine with that.

Deciding not to dwell too long on this surprising revelation, I simply nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

He regarded me for a moment more, then stood and extended his hand, “Let’s go home.”

Liking the sound of him referring to the compound as home, I let him pull me to my feet, not looking back at the little shop on the corner.