Chapter 3 #2
We moved away from the camp in silence, walking until we were far enough that our transformation wouldn't wake the others.
The change came easier now than it once had, my body flowing from human to dragon form with practiced ease.
My wings stretched wide as I took to the air, Sirrax rising beside me on powerful beats that sent wind rushing through the trees below.
Better, his voice whispered in my mind as we soared over the darkened landscape. In dragon form, our mental connection was stronger, more intimate. Flying helps always.
Tell me more about what you sensed, I said, banking toward a valley where we might find deer or elk grazing in the moonlight. This bond-mate of hers.
Dark-touched, Sirrax replied, his mental voice carrying undertones of unease. Magic-user. Shadow-magic. Cold-magic. Eats at mind-thoughts.
Shadow magic. That explained the darkness I'd sensed in the dream, the way my dream-self's skin had seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. "The Talfen shadow mage," I said. “The one who took her?”
Yes. Possible. Shadow magic uncommon. But this one... broken by it. Magic makes mad-thoughts worse.
We flew in contemplative silence for a while, scanning the landscape below for signs of prey. There, Sirrax's voice drew my attention to a clearing below where a small herd of deer grazed in the moonlight. Good hunting.
We circled once, assessing the terrain and wind direction. Hunting in dragon form was both easier and more challenging than hunting as a human. Easier because of our speed and aerial advantage, harder because of our size—stealth was not a dragon's natural strength.
You take the far side, I told Sirrax. Drive them toward me.
He banked away without reply, his dark form nearly invisible against the night sky. I positioned myself downwind of the herd and began my descent, keeping my wings spread wide to muffle the sound. The deer were alert but not yet alarmed, their heads lifting occasionally to scan for danger.
The hunt was swift and brutal. Sirrax's sudden appearance sent the deer fleeing directly toward my position. I dropped from the sky like a stone, my claws closing around a young buck before it could change direction. The kill was clean—a quick snap of my jaws and it was over.
But as I fed, tearing into the warm flesh with savage satisfaction, I found myself thinking of the man from my dream.
The way he'd held Livia down, the calculated precision of his movements, the cruel satisfaction in his eyes.
In my mind, the deer became him, and I imagined my claws and teeth finding more human prey.
Dark thoughts, Sirrax observed, settling beside his own kill. Blood stained his muzzle, and his golden eyes reflected the moonlight like twin flames. Thinking of bond-rival.
Is that what he is? I asked, though I already knew the answer. A rival?
All males are rivals for female-mate, Sirrax said pragmatically. Is dragon way. Is human way too, though humans pretend otherwise.
I considered that as I continued feeding. The meat was rich and warm, satisfying in a way that went beyond mere hunger. There was something primal about the hunt, about taking life to sustain life, that appealed to the dragon side of my nature.
But if she's truly bonded to him...
Then we must accept, Sirrax finished, though I could sense his reluctance. Mate bonds are sacred-binding. Cannot break, should not try to break.
The rational part of me knew he was right.
If Livia had found another fated mate, if the gods had decreed this bond, then I had no right to interfere.
But the possessive, jealous part of me—the part that had been shaped by both human and dragon instincts—wanted to find this shadow-touched Talfen and tear him apart with my bare hands.
He's dangerous, I said, voicing my deepest fear. You said he was broken by his magic. What if he hurts her?
Then we hunt him, Sirrax replied with cold certainty. Bond-mate or not, harm to our female is not acceptable.
The simple declaration sent a surge of fierce satisfaction through me. Whatever complicated feelings I had about Livia's new bond, one thing remained clear: her safety came before everything else.
We finished our meal in comfortable silence, then took to the air again with the remaining meat secured in our claws. The flight back to camp gave me time to process what I'd learned, to try to make sense of the tangle of emotions the dream had stirred up.
Jealousy, certainly. The thought of another man touching Livia, claiming her body and her submission, made my dragon half want to roar challenges across the mountains until this rival appeared to face me.
But beneath the jealousy was something more complex—a grudging respect for the bond itself, if not the man who held it.
In the dream, despite his roughness, he hadn't truly harmed her.
She had submitted willingly, even if that submission was compelled by the mate bond.
And the possessiveness I'd sensed from him, while disturbing in its intensity, came from the same source as my own feelings for her—the deep, instinctive need to protect and claim one's mate.
You think too much, Sirrax observed as we approached our camp. Bond will settle. New mate will learn to share, or we will teach him.
And if he refuses to share?
Then we fight, Sirrax said simply. Winner takes female. Is old way, good way.
I almost smiled at his straightforward approach to the situation.
Dragons had never been ones for complex emotional negotiations.
If two males wanted the same female, they fought until one emerged victorious.
The thought had a certain appeal, especially given the violent energy still coursing through me from the hunt.
We landed some distance from the camp and shifted back to human form. I gathered the meat we'd brought back while Sirrax resumed his position by the dying fire. The others still slept peacefully, unaware of the revelations that had shaken my world.
As I settled back onto my bedroll, I found myself staring up at the stars and wondering where Livia was at this moment. Was she lying in the arms of her new bond-mate? Was she thinking of me, of us, or had his claim on her driven all thoughts of her previous lovers from her mind?
The dream had been disturbing, but it had also been a connection—a glimpse into her current reality that I wouldn't have had otherwise. If the mate bond was creating this link between us, perhaps I could learn more about her situation, about the man who now held her.
Sleep, Sirrax's voice drifted across our mental link. More dreams may come. Must be ready to see-learn.
I closed my eyes, though sleep felt impossible.
The taste of fresh blood still lingered on my tongue, mixing with the memory of the dream-Livia's cries.
Tomorrow we would continue our journey, moving ever closer to whatever confrontation awaited us.
But tonight, I would lie awake and hope for another glimpse of the woman who owned my heart, even as she belonged to another.
The stars wheeled overhead, indifferent to the complications of mortal affairs.
Somewhere beneath their light, Livia was learning what it meant to be claimed by a shadow mage.
And somewhere in my bones, I could feel the approaching storm that would bring us all together in ways I couldn't yet imagine.
Let him have her for now, I thought, my hands unconsciously curling into claws. But if he hurts her, if he breaks her spirit with his darkness, I'll show him what it means to face a dragon's wrath.
The promise settled something restless in my chest, and finally, eventually, sleep found me again.