Mira #2
I have to stand my ground, no matter what.
It sounded infinitely easier while sitting in a classroom, pondering the more reasonable nature of greens.
Nothing about the sharp teeth of the creature in front of me feels reasonable because he’s still a fucking dragon.
Maybe he considers it reasonable to snack on me for calories instead of simply setting me on fire and wandering away.
What exactly defines “reasonable” anyway?
My hands curl into fists at my sides to keep from flinching as the green huffs a sulfur-scented breath, surrounding me with steam. At least it isn’t fire. That has to be a good sign. Was Brennan this scared when he found Marbh? Did Mom’s knees tremble when Aimsir appeared?
I highly doubt it.
Teine opens his jaws wider than I am tall, and my breath stutters. Then he lets out an ear-piercing roar that blows back my hair and shakes my very bones.
Don’t move. Don’t you dare fucking move. My nails dig into my palms, but I keep my feet planted, even as my heart tries its best to beat out of my chest like it can escape.
His head lunges forward and teeth snap shut a few feet away, as if I need the reminder that he could decapitate me for fun, but I hold my ground.
He withdraws his head just far enough to tilt it downward. Golden eyes narrow on me in flagrant assessment. I raise my gaze to his, which is either the best or worst decision I could make. Guess time will tell. If he’s going to kill me, then at least I’ll see it coming.
“You hide your fear well.” His voice is deep, commanding, and my heart stutters.
Oh gods. Dragons only speak to the riders they choose.
“If that were true, you wouldn’t know I’m afraid,” I counter, letting my mouth overrun my common sense. Kaori would definitely mark me down a few points if he could see me directly disobeying the most fundamental rule that riders should never speak to dragons they aren’t bonded to.
“Don’t be absurd. I know everything about you, Mira Sorrengail.” His body sways, and he swings his massive clubtail to the left. His tail collides with the trunk of a thick tree, and wood splinters, then cracks, the sound splitting the thick air.
Snap. The tree groans as it plummets through the foliage, stripping branches along the way as it crashes toward the ground.
I spare a single glance to be sure the tree’s trajectory is clear of my current position, but the rest of me keeps completely still.
If my heart beats any faster, it’s going to take flight long before I do.
“Everything except the point at which you fracture,” Teine says a breath before the tree smashes into the ground, the nearest branch making impact close enough that I feel a breeze along my cheek.
“There is no such point.” I fight to regulate my breathing. Dad would scoff at me if I praise Hedeon for granting me the wisdom not to move, so I send a quick prayer of thanks up to Zihnal that the tree didn’t bury me where I stand.
“We shall see about that.” Teine reaches forward with a claw, one of his talons scraping away the top layer of dead leaves inches from my boot without disturbing the soil beneath.
The precision is far more frightening than his teeth.
“I have not bonded previously because I refuse to bear a rider who breaks under pressure.”
He reaches forward with a single talon, then lowers it to the center of my left thigh. Leather gives way, and I cease breathing and hold his narrowed gaze as the first rush of pain floods my bloodstream. Fire charges up my leg, and I feel my skin split, but I refuse to look away from Teine’s eyes.
This bond only works if we trust each other.
Guess dragons think trust begins with pain.
“I was raised in a crucible,” I force out between my clenched teeth. “Pressure is my playground. I may not be a Sorrengail firstborn, but I’m the eldest daughter. There is no such thing as breaking.”
“Ah yes, a legendary Sorrengail.”
The pain quickly shifts into agony as his talon slices down my thigh. I grit my teeth to avoid crying out and somehow manage to stay on my feet even as my knees threaten to buckle.
“I’m curious. Your brother is your mother’s son, and your sister is your father’s daughter, so to whom do you belong?”
The words strike deeper than bone and hurt far more than the line he’s cut into my thigh. He hasn’t just found my one insecurity; he’s held it up to the light and poked it to watch me bleed. He’s right. Brennan is Mom’s. Violet is Dad’s. I am…no one’s. But they are all mine, and that’s enough.
“I belong to myself.” I breathe into every form of pain he’s inflicting on me. “And maybe to you, but only if you take your fingernail out of my leg. You don’t scare me.”
Teine’s eyes flare for the faintest of seconds, and he lifts the talon, dangling it in front of my face. My blood drips from the sharp point, and my thigh begins to throb.
Fine. That amount of blood is a bit…scary.
“True, I am no one’s favorite.” I look beyond the talon to his eyes to keep from focusing on the crimson substance that used to be in my veins. “But it’s only taught me to work harder at the things I can control.”