Page 3 of Wild Bond (Wild Bond #1)

S trange, impossible dreams of dragons, flames, and a pair of icy blue eyes pushed me to wakefulness.

When my eyes finally blinked open, I was astonished to see sunlight rather than darkness, and I found myself lying on a warm, soft mattress instead of the cold, hard floor of my cell. I smelled flowers and glanced over to see some white ones I had never seen before sitting in a vase atop an ornate bedside table.

I also felt clean and looked down to see I was wearing a simple white nightgown.

Wait. Where was I? How had I gotten here? And who bathed me?

There were no shackles on me. I was in a simple bedroom, the only other furniture being a wardrobe, a small writing desk, and a full-length mirror in one corner. A plain fur rug lay on the floor and the walls were bare. I had no idea where I was. The gray stone floor and walls were no help as far as clues went. Nearly every building in Dessin was made of stone of some kind; it was the only material that made sense with fire-breathing dragons around.

At the thought of dragons, the sleep fog finally cleared from my brain, and I shot up to sitting as everything came rushing back. Petitioner’s Square. The hearing. The Jade Dragon.

No sooner had I thought this than a small, winged ball of energy came hurtling at me from out of nowhere, striking me in the chest and knocking the wind out of me.

Awake! a clear, female voice said excitedly in my head. The word was accompanied by images of me lying on this very bed with my eyes closed and then one of my eyes opening. Emotions of impatience and relief and a wave of protectiveness came with the thought.

I gasped and instinctively caught the wriggling creature as a small, warm tongue licked my chin.

“Good morning to you, too,” I laughed, staring down in wonder at the miniature version of the Jade Dragon now sitting in my lap. Inquisitive emerald eyes studied me just as closely as I was studying her. She was in her minor form, and though I knew it varied from dragon to dragon depending on how large they were in their natural forms, she was about the size of a large kitten.

I stared at her and all the emotions from the square came rushing back. For the first time, I let myself consider it.

I was bonded to a dragon. I was now a dragon rider.

The thought was incredible. Impossible. Especially at my age, and yet, I knew it was true.

My hand went reflexively to my chest and rubbed the spot where she had touched me with her nose. Though the skin was smooth and unmarked, it felt like I had been branded beneath. The emotion and magnitude of that moment had left a permanent mark on my soul.

Pride burst through me as I thought of it, and when I glanced down at the little dragon, she was looking at me, the emotion hers.

When her eyes met mine again, I said aloud, “We have to come up with a name for you. I can’t keep calling you the female or the Jade Dragon in my head.” I had no idea how much she understood of what I was saying, but I decided just to treat her as if she could.

She perked up at this and sat on her haunches, a sense of eagerness trickling through me. I took that as her answer.

I settled back against the pillow, absentmindedly stroking one delicate wing as I thought. I was pleased when she didn’t seem to mind.

“Hmm . . . how about Jade? No,” I dismissed it immediately at her narrow-eyed look. “You’re right, too on the nose. How about Jessamy . . . or Galendial?” I asked, reciting two dragon names I had heard before. “Or Severion? That was the name of Queen Lethara’s dragon. Of course, he was a male.”

My dragon just continued to stare at me.

“Okay, fine. No naming you after another dragon.” I threw out several more suggestions, but she didn’t appear to like any of them. None of them felt right to me, either.

I gazed at her, out of ideas. “Any suggestions?”

She blinked a few times, then began sending me images. I knew instantly they were from her memories: sunlight glinting off her wings, the view from a great height as she sailed overhead, wind rustling the leaves of a tree, and a beautiful morning sunrise.

My overall impression from the images was her absolute love of flying. I could almost imagine myself soaring weightless through the air. I couldn’t wait to try—

I shook my head. Focus.

Alright. So, something to do with flight or air . . . My mind snagged on the last image she had shown me, that of the magnificent morning sunrise, its many muted colors bleeding together across a broad expanse.

I was reminded of the feeling I had when I emerged from the dungeons and saw the morning sky for the first time in years. That beauty and sheer aching freedom of an open sky.

A jade sky.

I met the emerald eyes of my dragon. “How about Skye?” I said, my tone subdued and almost reverent.

A shiver passed through her small frame as I said the name, then she lifted her head and crowed with happiness. The sound she made was a mix between a bird’s trill and a growl of satisfaction. Her pleasure at having found a name blended with my own, and I couldn’t differentiate the two in my mind.

“Skye,” I said again. It was simple for a dragon name. Not intimidating in the least, but I loved it. And it was perfect for her, for us.

She began flying around the room in her excitement, and I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped me.

“Come back over here,” I laughed. I was amazed how different this dragon seemed from the one I had met in the square. Maybe it was just because we were alone, or because she was comfortable with me, but Skye came off much younger and less . . . dignified than she had in the square. She seemed affronted at my line of thinking, and I instantly apologized. It was strange having someone else in my head.

Skye had just landed at the foot of the bed when the chamber door opened.

My eyes widened, and I nearly swallowed my tongue in surprise as Commander Rakim strode in, his sharp features a blank mask. He was dressed more formally than he had been in the square. He wore a black, thigh-length tunic that hung open over a dark shirt that was unbuttoned at his throat, tucked into black pants and black boots. Those shockingly blue eyes took in everything in the room, including the rumbling dragon at my feet, and dismissed it all before finally resting on me.

My breath held and neither of us said anything for several long seconds as he closed the door behind him. The image of the night he arrested me suddenly appeared in my mind.

“Drop the sword,” he commanded, menace radiating off both rider and dragon.

I made to dash around them when a wall of flames suddenly blocked my path. I threw my arm up and white-hot agony raced across my flesh.

Blinking hard to force the old memory away, I rubbed my forearm before I caught myself and stopped.

He noted the anxious gesture. His jaw flexed when he noticed the old scar there. He was silent for several moments finally clearing his throat before he spoke. “I’m sure you are wondering what’s going on, Miss Darrow. We haven’t formally met. My name is Kyan Rakim. I am Her Majesty’s spymaster.”

“I know who you are,” I said, proud that none of the wariness I felt at being near this man had crept into my tone.

He nodded. “May I call you Corrine?” His voice was low and pleasing with no hint of an accent at all, something I hadn’t noticed in the square.

I shook my head. “No one calls me that. It’s just Rin.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “You have caused quite a stir, Rin. No one knows quite what to make of what happened in the square.”

It was then I realized Skye was standing with all fours braced over my lower legs, her wings partially extended, and her eyes on the man who stood several feet back from the bed. And she was growling.

Skye! I reprimanded in my head. The growling stopped, but she still looked alert and wary. The image of the prowling tiger flitted across my mind again as if she was reminding me that he was a threat. I wanted to laugh. As if every cell in my body weren’t aware of that fact. There was something so powerfully dominant and viscerally male about him as he stood there. I could never drop my guard around someone like him.

If he was aware of the effect he was having on me or, well, the entire atmosphere in the room, he didn’t show it. He just stood casually, hands clasped behind his back and those predator’s eyes focused on me. “What do you remember?”

“Everything. At least, until I blacked out . . . after . . . after I bonded . . .” I trailed off. It still felt odd to say it aloud. I was bonded to a dragon.

The thought made me wonder faintly where his dragon was. It was not often that riders went anywhere without their dragons. Though I supposed his black beast could be hiding in his minor form somewhere, but I thought not. The dragon was big enough that his minor form wouldn’t be that small. And I knew next to nothing about Rakim or his dragon, but I doubted hiding was something either of them ever felt the need to do.

Skye sent me the impression of the outdoors, and I realized that she was telling me his dragon was outside somewhere. I wondered how she knew that.

The commander hadn’t spoken while I was distracted, and I noticed his gaze kept snagging on my loose hair. Hair that was now clean and down around my shoulders in my natural waves. I was suddenly very conscious of the fact that I was in only a nightgown, and for some reason, the fact that I was no longer covered in a layer of grime made me feel very exposed. I didn’t know what to do with my hands and settled on clutching them in my lap.

Skye nestled along my side, her head resting on my leg, eyes still trained on him.

To break the sudden tension, I asked, “What is to become of me now? Of us?” I added, including the small creature currently staring him down. What if he said I had to return to the dungeons? My blood ran cold at the thought. I couldn’t go back there.

He must have seen the look on my face and guessed correctly where my thoughts had gone, and his next words confirmed it. “You will not be returned to the dungeons, if that is your concern.”

Relief warred with confusion inside of me, and for some stupid reason, I found myself protesting. “But, I—”

“I am well aware of your crimes, Rin,” he cut me off, his voice cold. “But neither the queen nor I are in the habit of throwing away a dragon rider when they appear, no matter their age or background. One well-trained dragon rider is worth their weight in gold during combat and in a thousand other ways.”

I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. “So—so I will become a dragon rider then?”

He contemplated me for a long moment. “Yes. Though I have no doubt the council will still want to have a say in it.” He nodded down at Skye. “That dragon shared her bond with you. It is done. You are a rider now. Nothing I or anyone can do will change that fact.”

His voice held a finality that both terrified and thrilled me. And I couldn’t tell by that last statement whether he approved of my becoming a rider or not. And why did I care what he thought?

To distract myself from the unsettling notion, I asked, “Where am I? How long have I been here?” The single window in the room was at the wrong angle for me to see out. I couldn’t even hazard a guess other than it was day.

“We’re in one of the trainee barracks’ in the Rider Tower compound. You have been unconscious for a little over a day.”

My mind whirled. Riders had their own walled complex in the upper city just a few minutes’ walk from Graystone Keep, known as The Tower. I had walked along the outside several times but never seen the inside. It was too well-guarded. All dragon riders who lived in the city had a place in The Tower, and it was also where the prospective riders were trained. Which I suppose was what I was now.

“You are not a prisoner here, Rin,” Rakim stated, “but that being said, until you and your dragon are trained, you will not be allowed to leave The Tower unless another rider is with you. Normally this would not be a concern, but considering your history—”

“I’m not planning on running,” I told him honestly and I wasn’t. I wasn’t going to ruin this opportunity. And it wasn’t like I had a home to escape too anyway.

Still, I couldn’t tell if he believed me as he continued as if I hadn’t spoken, “. . . and the fact that your dragon is fully mature, it will be safer for all involved if there are some rules in place.”

I pondered what he had said and was surprised to find I agreed with him, for now at least. I understood that they couldn’t very well have a fully grown, bonded dragon and an untrained rider running around in the middle of the city. It came down to whether they trusted me and my influence over this powerful creature next to me. And from what they knew of me, they had no reason to. Yet.

“I understand,” I nodded firmly. But then I thought of something else and couldn’t help but ask him. “How old do you suppose she is?” I said, gesturing to my dragon.

Rakim considered for a moment. “Dragons have life spans much like our own and are physically mature at around ten years of age. The Jade Dragon has been coming to the celebrations nearly as long. So, I would guess she is somewhere close to her second decade.”

My eyes drifted to Skye, wonder filling me. “She’s the same age as me,” I murmured aloud.

“That’s not uncommon,” he surprised me by explaining. “A dragon’s age and temperament often mirror that of their rider.”

The idea fascinated me. I was about to ask him another question when I stared down at my healing wrists and felt my brow pucker in confusion. They were dappled with yellowing bruises that looked several days old, not as if I had gotten them only yesterday.

He noticed where my gaze had gone and explained, “Accelerated speed, strength, and healing is a benefit of the bond. You cannot command magic of your own, but sharing a bond with a dragon allows you to access their magic in subtle ways.”

I put my hand on Skye’s warm back as it rose and fell with her even breaths. She wasn’t asleep, just relaxed.

“Can she understand me?” I asked. “Language, I mean.” I thought I had heard a word from her when I first woke, but after that she had communicated only in images and emotions.

“Dragons are extremely perceptive and intelligent, but wild dragons don’t appear to understand language. Bonded dragons, on the other hand, seem to understand most language but rarely speak in words of their own. Some riders believe this is due to the connection to their rider. But each bond is unique. Only you two can determine what it will be or how you choose to communicate.”

As I mulled over what he’d said, my eyes drifted to that exposed bronze skin at his throat and the hint of black ink peeking out from the unbuttoned collar there.

He cleared said throat and my eyes shot to his. He had caught me staring; the man missed nothing. I flushed, but he didn’t comment on it as he stated, “Your bond is already uncommonly strong.”

“Really?”

He nodded, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Your dragon is very protective of you. Naasir had to intervene to get her to step away long enough so that we could see to your injuries. And getting you to The Tower was an ordeal since she refused to leave your side.”

I was stunned. I looked once more at the dragon in my lap, thinking of how she had stood over me in the square; how, in a fury, she had flown in just after Holt had hit me. No one other than my mother had ever cared about me or defended me like that before. I had once thought Master Safan did and had looked up to him as a father figure of sorts in the beginning. But he had only ever used me for his own gain. And while Lessa and I loved each other like sisters, she was still so young. It had always been I who had to intercede on her behalf.

I ran a finger down the hard gray-green ridges along Skye’s spine and felt a slight sting in my eyes as a swell of emotion filled my chest for this amazing creature. Almost instantly, I felt it returned to me tenfold. Her neck curved and she stared at me with a warm fondness shining in her emerald eyes.

I smiled down at her, but then felt the weight of Rakim’s stare and quickly tried to get a handle on my emotions. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had gotten so used to hiding my emotions. I never cried. Blinking away the wetness in my eyes, I asked, “So, what happens now?”

Again, he did not comment on my show of emotion. “Tomorrow evening, once you are recovered, you and your dragon will be presented to the queen at the Exodus Ball with the other riders who found their dragons during our city’s celebrations.”

The Exodus Ball was always held on the last night of the Bonding Celebrations, and all the dragon riders and nobles in the city would be in attendance. The idea of being presented to the queen was slightly terrifying.

My stomach growled loudly, and I thought I glimpsed a hint of humor in Rakim’s eyes as he moved to the door. “I will let a maid know you are awake and ready for a meal.”

All I could do was nod, trying to process everything he had told me. Not to mention all that had happened in the last day and a half. I didn’t realize I had been lost in my thoughts until I heard the door click shut. Rakim had left without a word.

I suppose I should have thanked him, but it was too late now. And I was more distracted by the question of why he of all people had come to talk to me in the first place. To warn me against leaving, obviously, but considering his position and the many events and celebrations he would be expected to attend due to the holiday, surely, he had more important things to be doing than talking to me.

And yet . . . he had.

I didn’t have long to consider this, however. Shortly after he left, a rather plump girl entered carrying a tray. She had red hair, freckles, and looked to be a few years younger than me.

Her face was kind, and she smiled broadly as she entered. “Hello, miss.” She curtsied slightly without moving the tray at all. “I’m Millie, the maid assigned to this floor.”

I nodded and tried to give a smile in return. “I’m Rin. Rin—”

“Corrine Darrow,” she finished for me. “Of course, I know your name. You’re all anyone can talk about, miss. The whole city is buzzin’ with it. You’re the thief who bonded the Jade Dragon.” She said the last with awe in her voice as her eyes drifted surreptitiously to where Skye lay curled on the bed beside me. She appeared to shake it off and set the tray of food across my lap.

I took in a deep breath of the delicious smells as I cataloged my breakfast. Fresh bread with butter, colorful fruit, and thick fried ham slices with boiled eggs. There was even a cold glass of milk. My mouth watered, and I gaped at all the food. Even when I was working for Master Safan and had a few coins to my name, I had rarely had a meal like this.

“What’s the special occasion?” I asked in amazement.

Millie’s brow puckered in confusion. “Occasion, miss?”

I gestured to the food. “Is this to celebrate the Bonding Celebrations?”

Understanding dawned, and her expression softened. “No, miss. This is just breakfast.”

“Oh, right,” I laughed stiffly, suddenly feeling foolish. “Of course.” For a moment, I had forgotten where I was. Apparently, meals like this were nothing special here in The Tower. But to me, it was more food than I had seen in several weeks.

“Eventually you’ll eat down in the dining hall with the other trainees,” she explained, “but I’m to bring your meals until you heal up.”

“Thank you,” I finally managed to say.

“Of course, miss. Will you be needin’ anything else?” She smiled sweetly at me, and for some reason, her kindness had me feeling the burn of tears in my eyes once again.

I quickly bit down hard on the inside of my cheek and willed the tears back, along with the unexpected rush of emotion. I shook my head.

She bobbed another swift curtsy and left.

I forced myself to eat the wealth of food at a sedate pace, knowing eating it too quickly would make me sick with my stomach as empty as it was. Even still, it was a battle not to shove everything in my mouth, and I had to resist the urge to hide part of the bread under my pillow for later. I had to keep reminding myself that food was readily available here. It would take some time for me to overcome the instinct.

Sometime later, I set the tray on the bedside table, my stomach full to bursting. I found myself rubbing it unconsciously through the nightgown.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had been truly full. Was it when I lived with my mother? That was so long ago now, nearly ten years.

My gaze drifted to the dragon fast asleep beside me, and I smiled. A hum of pleasure reached me through the bond along with quicksilver images that I couldn’t quite grasp onto. They confused me at first, but then I realized Skye was dreaming.

Careful not to jostle her, I slid back down in the bed, still marveling at how soft it was. I lay there for some time, listening to Skye’s soft breaths, part of me still half-convinced that I was the one dreaming. I didn’t want to close my eyes for fear that when I opened them again, I would be back in my cold prison cell, starving and alone.

Eventually my mind quieted, and just before I drifted back to sleep, I realized that Millie hadn’t locked the door behind her. For some reason that felt significant.