Chapter 22 #3
“Make it stop,” I whimper. It had only itched after the pixie glen. This is unbearable. It’s as bad as being torched by that basilisk.
“Do something!” Mikael demands of the dragon. His tone is full of anger as he holds me tighter.
“Dragons have a deep respect for magic, even though some of it will never be fully understood. Curses and mating bonds are such magics. I do not have the power to make it stop. But you can. Accept it, and strengthen your bond once more.”
“An advantage you would gain,” I grit out.
“I already have you bound, but it would serve you to accept it.” The dragon tilts its head as it watches me.
I’ve been fighting against our bond, borrowing emotions from my past, even after the pixie glen. I pushed it down because I didn’t want the walls I had built around myself to crumble. Even though the thought of being betrayed again is terrifying, I must live in the reality of the present.
Because what he did wasn’t a true betrayal.
Every emotion I’ve felt for the past two hundred years—anger, pain, confusion, doubt, frustration—roils through me. Mikael had been everything to me, but so much has changed since then. His softened features fill my vision as a hand cups my cheek, wiping away a tear.
“I would never forsake you,” he whispers against my ear, his proclamation gentle yet firm as he runs a hand over my hair, soothing my aching heart and soul.
Accept it.
This man has done nothing but protect me since he showed up that night at The Cracked Fang.
I couldn’t kill him. I wanted to kiss him even when I was furious that he’d shown up after two hundred years of silence with his beautiful fucking face intact.
He’s refused to let me die. And here we are, centuries later, in the presence of a dragon, finally spilling our truths.
“I accept it.” My statement is timid, unsure, but I bury my head in his chest.
Instantly the pain is gone. I suck in a breath, choking on the air that now comes easily.
I might be regaining a piece of my shattered soul, but my heart will take more than these trials to repair. Even if we find our way through, it will not be without damage. We are not the same people we were before the battle.
With my ear to his chest, I hear how his heart beats, slow and steady, but strong. The anchor I once used to calm my own when needed. Even though I accept our bond once more, I know overcoming everything that has occurred over the last two hundred years will be a trial all its own.
“You will find your exit through here.” The dragon flicks its tail, knocking off a portion of the cavern’s wall. The ice shatters into hundreds of tiny pieces as it hits the ground. Another tunnel, once hidden, is now accessible.
“We shall take our leave without delay.” Mikael lifts me, holding me steady.
I nod and straighten. “If you find the Fates, destroy them for me.”
A throaty laugh echoes around the cavern. The dragon launches into the air, its large and powerful wings sending a rush of wind that pushes us back as it rises. “Perhaps.”
The dragon exits through the opening in the ceiling, leaving us alone.
“Do you need a moment?” Mikael asks, his hand on my low back.
Instead of rejecting his touch, I squeeze his hand and step away and head toward the exit. “No. I’d rather not be cold any longer than required.”
I don’t know how to accept it, the comfort he’s offering. It’s gotten easier over the last week, but emotions are not a switch to be flipped on or off. They are more complex, nuanced, and layered.
A few feet into the tunnel, an arch of stone and ice spans the width of the passage, hewn from the same frozen rock that surrounds us. I stare at the intricate patterns and symbols etched into the frame.
I’m not familiar with these runes or language. A wall of liquid swirls in a languid pace between the columns of stone. Beyond the distortion lies a forest of leafless trees. Near the base of the arch lies Mikael’s weapons.
“What the…” I mumble.
“Do we go through that?” Mikael asks, picking up his weapons and securing them.
I walk back to the entrance, running a hand along the walls, making sure we didn’t miss any other pathways. It was covered by ice; closed off from the other side, making the dragon’s island and lair inaccessible.
Perhaps, far beyond living memory—before dragons turned their backs on the world—we were once worthy of their presence. Stood alongside them in harmony. Curiosity piqued, I make a mental note to raid the castle’s records when I get a chance to visit.
“The dragon said our exit was through here, and this is the only path,” I say, staring at the permeable wall.
A word floats to the forefront of my mind: safe. We were instructed to take this path. I don’t believe the dragon means to harm us, but that doesn’t mean whatever is on the other side is safe.
Mikael shrugs, reflecting my own sentiment.
“Together,” I say as I lace my fingers within his and walk toward yet more unfamiliar magic.
As my foot passes through the shimmering liquid, the dragon’s voice fills my head. You may yet see us again in your lifetime.
Well, that’s not very specific, being immortal and all.