Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
PHOENIX
Isleep alone that night. Not by choice. Once the fire pit is set, Jax leaves me, saying he wants to scout the perimeter and ensure no more weird things happen.
Alone, I sit by the fire, fighting sleep until I’m physically unable to anymore. With an aching heart, I bury underneath two fur blankets next to the fire and sleep.
Jax doesn’t wake me for my shift. When he gently shakes my shoulder and I open my eyes, morning light streams through the branches above us.
“Did you sleep at all?” I croak, sitting up.
“Not really,” he says and rises. “But I’m fine. Let’s get going while we still have daylight.”
Jax isn’t angry.
That would be easier to face.
He’s careful. Measured. Like one wrong move might set something off between us.
I have no right to feel any type of way about his detachment.
That doesn’t stop the irritation from clawing up my throat anyway.
We get ready for the road in silence, only speaking when we must. Once we mount the horses, Jax takes the lead. I follow a few feet behind him, trying very hard to work through the storm of emotions that rages inside me.
I’m so lost in my misery, I almost miss it.
After a couple of hours riding, a familiar screech pierces the air. Our horses halt, whining. Jax pulls on Midnight’s reins, and leans to whisper something to the stallion while he pats its head.
“Jax,” I call for him. “Could it be that we’re close to the feeding grounds?”
Jax turns to me and nods. “Based on the map and the last signpost we passed, it’s about an hour’s ride away.”
I’m so giddy, I smile at him. My excitement dulls when, instead of returning it, he only nods and turns back to the road ahead of him.
Oh gods. The damn kiss ruined everything between us.
I’ll deal with him later.
After I’ve bonded my dragon.
We ride the rest of the way in silence. With each signpost we pass, more screeches reach my ears. I can’t believe we’re finally so close to the feeding grounds. After all these days of nothing but darkness, and looming threats.
Jax pulls on Midnight’s reins and lifts his hand in the air. Our horses come to a halt. When Jax slides out of his saddle, so do I.
Ahead of us, the road leads to a clearing of sorts. The sound of roaring water reaches my ears.
My pulse spikes.
This is the place.
Jax leads Midnight deeper into the forest and ties him to a tree with enough space to roam and then takes Luna’s reins from me.
While he secures the horses, I prepare my battle gear. I don’t plan on fighting my dragon, but going without weapons feels…wrong.
So, I secure my arrows and a bow to my back and check that all my blades are in place. Just as I’m finished, Jax approaches and hands me one of the leather skins with water. “Let’s go find somewhere to hide that gives us a good place to survey the dragons.”
I take the water, attach it to my hip, and follow him deeper into the forest.
My muscles are tense. I’m jittery with adrenaline. It’s hard to shake. I roll my shoulders and crack my neck to try and shake off some of the tension that coils inside me.
We sneak around a thick bush right on the edge of the forest. From here, we have the perfect view of the clearing.
Immediately, I’m robbed of breath.
It’s nothing like I could have imagined.
Most of the clearing is taken up by a tall waterfall, the water pooling at the bottom. Large boulders line the perimeter on the far shore. All around the place are scattered bones and skulls, plus fresh carcasses of large animals that could be bears or mountain lions.
At the top of the waterfall, two grand-as-life dragons are caught in a fight of sorts. Their long bodies twist and turn as they snap at each other. From this angle I can’t see what’s around them. Are they fighting for food or…something worse?
Aside from the two dragons high above, the clearing is empty…except for one other dragon.
My heart leaps to my throat the moment my eyes land on the black-as-coal dragon that leans over the dark water, drinking.
“That’s her,” I murmur, mesmerized by the color of her scales, the way they glimmer with each movement of her powerful body.
Jax throws me a sideways glance. “How do you know it’s a she? Do dragons even have genders?”
“I have a hunch.”
My focus is razor-sharp on the dragon. What did Elder Arcon say? Don’t approach the dragon in the feeding grounds? Track it to its den.
Unease coils in my stomach.
This is my chance.
She’s alone here, in the clearing.
If I let her walk away now, I might never find her again.
I didn’t come all this way to hesitate.
The clearing grows quiet. The dragons who fought have settled their quarrel, and one has flown away.
Right then, the dragon raises its head, and as if it could feel me watching her from the edge of the clearing, her golden eyes lock with mine.
It’s not a warning.
Not fear.
It’s something else.
A breath hitches in my chest.
I swallow the lump in my throat, and before I know it, my feet are taking me forward.
“Phoenix!” Jax hisses from behind me.
I don’t hesitate. I ignore his call, and step into the clearing.
The dragon—my dragon—watches me, still as a statue.
My heart pounds in my chest with each step I take. Fear claws at me, making it hard to breathe. But I don’t let my gaze waver.
When I’m close to the edge of the water on the other side of the pond, I pause. The dragon cocks her large head to the side and sniffs the air between us.
“Hi,” I say. Then curse myself internally. So, I clear my throat, and try again. “Remember me? Our paths collided once during the Trial of Wisdom.”
Do dragons speak the fae tongue? Any tongue?
During our fight, I spoke to it with words and my mind. I thought it understood me. But maybe…
The dragon huffs.
I remain rooted in my place. The dragon remains in her place.
I frown.
Maybe—
Every instinct screams at me to stop.
I don’t.
Slowly, I inch a step closer to the dragon.
The moment I do, the ground vibrates.
A low, thunderous growl rips from her chest, deep enough to rattle my bones.
I halt and raise my palms in the air. “I’m not here to harm you,” I say quickly. “I came here to bond you.”
For a heartbeat, she holds my gaze.
And I swear, I feel something.
Recognition.
She remembers. The connection I felt during the Trial of Wisdom wasn’t a hallucination.
But the sensation vanishes just as fast as it appeared.
My head goes fuzzy.
I sway a little on my feet.
The dragon huffs again, spreads her wings, and takes off.
I remain frozen in place, watching the dragon get farther and farther away until it’s nothing but a small dot in the sky.
She didn’t choose me.