The Last Dragon of the East

Chapter 32

32

S ai?”

The caress of cool fingers against my cheek pulls me from my light slumber. Soft morning light filters down into the ravine. I sit up immediately, heart racing as a sudden shot of adrenaline courses through me.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, reaching out to brush away a few strands of her loose hair.

“Better, thanks to you.”

“I’m overjoyed to hear it, my sunshine.”

“We should leave soon. The huntress may still be searching for us.”

“But where will we go?”

Jyn shakes her head. “I’m not sure. Sometimes I fear there’s no place left in the world for us to run.”

“We’ll think of something,” I say with conviction. “As long as we’re together, everything will be all right.”

She nods slowly. “We should find someplace to wash off. Who knows what might be tracking our scent?”

“Is that your way of telling me I need a bath?”

Jyn pinches her nose. “No, of course not.”

I laugh softly, relieved to see the warmth in her eyes once again as she kneels beside me. “Do you think there’s enough magic in my blood to heal you?”

She shakes her head. “I’d rather not risk it. We’re both too weak right now, and the amount we’d need to fully heal is not unsubstantial.”

“Back at the oasis… How much did you give me?”

“I let blood for nearly an hour.”

I grimace. Not only does the thought of draining myself of blood make me squeamish, but we don’t have that kind of time. Such methods should remain a last resort.

Instead, I gently grasp her wrist and hold her heated gaze as I kiss her. Her thumb brushes gently over my mouth, her own lips parted slightly as she breathes in. I hum contentedly, tracing a line of kisses from the corner of her mouth, to her jaw, to the crook of her neck, relishing the way she shivers with delight.

“We must go,” she says, though she doesn’t sound so convinced. “Save your hunger for later.”

“Oh, I will.”

We both rise to our feet, doing a cautious scan of the area. It’s true that we must make haste. If there’s one thing we’ve learned these past couple of weeks, it’s that staying in one place never bodes well for us.

“We’ll have to fly our way out,” Jyn says. “Hold on tight.”

“But it will be easier to spot us that way.”

“I’ll be quick. Once we’re out of this ravine, I’ll transform back and we can continue on foot.”

I nod slowly, contemplating our choices. It’s certainly an easier option than climbing out of this blasted place.

“Don’t worry,” she says. “I won’t drop you.”

“That’s the least of my worries.”

In the blink of an eye, her form shifts. There will never be a moment when I am not in awe of her grace and beauty in dragon form. Her shimmering scales catch what little light there is, glowing like gems. Jyn digs her claws into the earth, gently lowering her head to bump my cheek with her snout, nudging me toward her back. I climb on and cling to her mane, sucking in a sharp breath when she stands to full height.

The ground suddenly disappears from beneath us as she launches herself into the air, the wind screaming past us as she soars upward. I press my body flat against hers, screwing my eyes closed as we take to the skies, amazed by her speed and fluidity. One moment, we were surrounded by the darkness of the pit, and the next—

The next, we touch the clouds.

A childish excitement shoots through me. I spent many a day as a young boy dreaming about what the world looked like from on high, whether the clouds felt as soft as they appeared. I’m filled with an inexplicable ease, marveling at the endless blue that is the sky. It’s easy to forget about the rest of the world below us, everything—even our greatest problems—so distant and small that it’s hard to care about anything except this moment.

I’m flying .

For the first time in seven thousand years, I’m finally able to look upon the kingdom that was once mine. From the top of the tallest mountain to the Heavens above, this was home . I’m loath to think about how the emperor took it all away from me.

Jyn begins her gradual descent, landing carefully in the middle of the bamboo forest that covers the majority of the Moonstar Isles. We find ourselves fortuitously next to a hot spring, steam rising into the air with a thick line of trees on all sides. She must have spotted it from above. It’s the perfect hiding spot, tucked away from prying eyes.

My dragon goes to the water and steps in. The spring is just large enough to soak her long body. Jyn sinks below the water’s surface, coming back up for air a few moments later in her human form. She grins at me, undressing under the cover of the steam and throwing her soaked clothes past the water’s edge. I pick up her robes with a laugh, wring them out for her, and leave them to dry on a low branch.

“Laundry and a bath,” I muse. “I admire your efficiency.”

She swims toward the small waterfall adjacent to the spring, water trickling over a small overhang from deep within the earth. Jyn stays low to the water, her hair pooling over her shoulders.

“Are you coming or not?” she asks coyly, swimming out farther. “The water is shallow,” she adds in soft reassurance.

The edges of my lips tug into a grin. How can I refuse her?

I strip out of my clothes and take the plunge, wading my way across the hot spring to join Jyn beneath the waterfall. My feet easily touch the bottom, so a fear of drowning doesn’t seize me as it normally would. The steam soaks into my lungs, into my skin, but nothing is able to hold my attention quite like Jyn.

Droplets of moisture fall over her shoulders and down the plane of her back. Her cheeks and chest are flushed with the heat of the spring, bringing vibrant color to her ivory skin. Her lashes flutter as I draw in close, easily circling my arms around her waist. I am unsure who moves first, but in the end, it matters not. Our lips find each other, a perfect fit.

We are reduced to greedy hands, breathless kisses, and moans of desire. I don’t know where she stops and I begin. She consumes my every thought. We move together with urgency, melding our souls into one. We have so much time to make up for, hundreds upon hundreds of lifetimes apart.

I silently pray to the Gods above that they will offer us this one reprieve.

Please, let me stay with her this time.

She licks a stripe up the side of my neck, sucking hard to make a mark on my skin. The ravenous look in her eye sends all other thoughts away. I grasp her hair by the roots to pull her head back and put my mouth to her throat, my teeth gently grazing over her tender flesh.

“Go on,” she urges with a dark laugh. “Don’t fight your instincts, Sai. Claim me, just like you used to.”

I surge forward, biting just hard enough to break skin. I nick her lovely neck, and then the curve of her shoulder, and then her collarbone, suddenly overcome with the instinct to cover her with marks. My marks. The world needs to know that she is mine.

Her pleasure sings over our bond, satisfaction and euphoria mixing together into the most potent of concoctions. I hold her through the crest of it, not far behind her.

There’s beauty in the aftermath, an intimacy in the long stretch of silence that follows. There’s no need for words, for affirmations. The Gods promised us to one another, our union destined. I can’t imagine bearing even a moment without her.

We stay in the water a while longer, bathing at a leisurely pace. We’re both tired, deserving of a short break. She cups her hands together and pours water over my head with a light giggle, moving to massage my shoulders and arms while I steal kisses every chance I get. I allow myself the chance to savor the peace of the moment, because I know how fleeting it all is.

“We’ll need to return to the village for supplies,” I say. “I can go alone. I’ll gather as much as I can, and then we’ll make our way as far west as we are able.”

“But what about the huntress? If you return to the village, won’t she be lying in wait?”

“Perhaps, but she can do nothing to force answers out of me or stop me from leaving.”

There’s hesitation in her eyes, and I can’t blame Jyn for her lack of confidence.

“I don’t think it wise, Sai—”

“How about you keep watch?” I suggest. “Keep watch from the forest’s edge while I return to the village. I’ll just slip in and out with the supplies we need and thank them for their hospitality. Feng won’t make a move with so many people around.”

“What if she tells them?” Jyn asks. “About what we truly are. She saw me. What are the chances that they’ll believe her?”

“I’m not sure,” I admit. “All the more reason for me to be quick. Should anything happen, you can come in at a moment’s notice.”

Her anxiety plucks at our connection, but she says, “All right.”

We step out of the hot spring and dry off, then quickly pull on our clothes. I braid her hair and give her a quick kiss before adding her silver hairpin. “We’d best get going, then.”