by Kenna Bardot
As one, they all bowed before touching the hilt of their swords. Their dragons all flew to the sky and the Guards that remained formed a tight group and turned to watch us.
“We begin,” Zeevar declared and held out a hand to me, and I eyed it warily. In my experience, nothing good ever came from touching a Core God, but with little other choice, I took it and stepped onto the rounded platform alongside him.
Air swirled around us, making me search for the source, but not a single one of the dozen dragons in the clearing moved. Those shining eyes remained intent on us as Zeevar dropped my hand in favor of pulling out a perfectly teardrop shaped amber gem the size of an egg. I recognized it as the same shape the dragon guard wore on their circlets, though it lacked the swirling marble colors inside. Corban stepped away from us, careful to keep his feet on the grass. Whatever kind of ritual was coming, it was meant for only Zeevar, the dragon and I.
I didn't notice the knife in Corban’s hand until he grabbed the dragon's tail, stabbing the tip of the blade in beneath her scales so she cried out in a roar that was probably meant to be threatening. Blood dripped from the wound, covering her scales in the sheen of deep red as he pulled the tail away from my body and held it over the stone in Zeevar's hand so it could drip onto it.
The liquid pooled there, before the stone itself absorbed it, swirling inside to give it the marbled look I recognized on the others watching who wore one on their foreheads. Corban held out a hand, and I took a deep breath before I put my hand in it.
The blade dragged over my palm in a long slash, blood welling to form a pool in my palm instantly. When my eyes met Zeevar's he nodded to me, and I gulped before turning it to the side and letting the liquid run down and gather on the stone the same way the dragon's had. It disappeared, melding inside and swirling as it turned to blue and bronze within.
"Now you must name your dragon to complete the bond," Zeevar said. I smiled faintly as I glanced over my shoulder at her red eyes. The words I’d read in that library swirled in my mind. The reminder of the stories that Lysandra favored above all others.
For her. Since I would never see her again.
"Hydra," I whispered before squaring my shoulders and speaking more confidently, "Her name is Hydra."
Zeevar nodded, turning his eyes back to the stone where it glowed with a bright gold flash of light that blinded me so thoroughly I had to look away. Hydra turned her face into my neck, curling her tail around my waist as if I might protect it from further assault by the Gods who sought to bleed us. When I looked back, the teardrop stone had split into two halves. One side on each lay perfectly flat, while the other curved out to look like something magical as the colors swirled and twirled inside them.
"Two halves of one whole," Zeevar whispered, and though his voice always contained great power, there was something more in those words. Something true and everlasting. Like a spell he wound with words alone, a benediction for our future.
Corban pulled out a circlet as Zeevar leaned forward and touched one of the halves to Hydra's chest. She shrieked and flapped her wings, and I had to reach up to soothe her. When Zeevar pulled his hand back, the stone stayed behind, somehow affixed to her scales themselves, as if it were part of her. I wondered if it would size up with her as she inevitably grew in size.
Zeevar pressed the stone into the circlet, the metal weaving around the stone immediately in a mix of leather and gold that looked like it was barely there.
"In you the flames of destiny burn on," Zeevar said, lifting the circlet so I could stare at the stone. Touching my shoulder, he encouraged me down to my knees, the movement jostling Hydra. I felt the snap of irritation in me and, recognizing it at hers, chuckled.
"You are bound as one. One life. One being. One soul," he added, stepping closer, so that I had to look up at him as he lifted his arms and set the circlet on my head. It settled over my forehead, putting the stone directly in the center between my brows. With a piercing heat, it was like a fiery brand melting onto my skin. Though it didn't hurt, the burn scar on my wrist pulsed with heat by association and reminded me of the blinding pain I'd felt there.
"Rise. As the guard to the dragon," Zeevar spoke softly, but the sound of his voice reverberated around me, in me. I took the hand he held out for me. "Rise, Mireyah Dracari. As the ash to the flame." The name shocked me but before I could react, Hydra threw her head back on my shoulder, roaring as viciously as she could manage and sent a blast of fire to the sky that I felt echo in the depths of her throat, all the way down to her belly. The kinship I'd felt before was nothing in comparison to the feelings and emotions that seared through my mind. To the way her feelings felt like mine.
They didn't dissipate when Zeevar stepped off the stone, and I followed suit after Corban took my hand to guide me down. Haisley rushed forward and gave me a hug. “There, you’re now officially a Dracari.” I nodded, staring after Zeevar's back as he strode away from us with his hands shoved into his pant pockets. He didn't glance back or acknowledge that he'd changed my life again. It seemed to be nothing but par for the course to him at this point.
“What’s a Dracari?” I asked and Corban, who was just behind me answered, “Us. We are the Dracari.” He gestured to his circlet. “The Dracari wear this, are this.” He gestured to himself and at the others who wore a circlet like we did.
“Okay. I guess I have a new name again.” I reached up to touch my circlet, fully expecting it to be hot but simply feeling the smoothness of the stone.
Chett walked up to join us after what looked to be a serious conversation with the white-haired Guard Corban had called Gaige. “Welcome to the Dracari, Mireyah.”
“Chett, she’s your responsibility. Help her find her way. The Dragon Guard are happy to welcome you amongst us. Bring honor to the pair who you witnessed die in the square.” He gave me a shallow nod before his dragon dove from the sky. With a quick jump, he landed on the dragon’s back and flew away.
"What now?" I asked.
Chett answered simply with a shrug, “You begin your training.”
"No, Chett. That’s not what happens now. Now, she can rest. After everything? She really needs to rest. You can do it here as every Dragon Guard has their own quarters or, as you’re married, you can go home," Haisley explained.
"I should go home. My Sires must be frantic if I've been here for three days."
"I didn’t notice earlier, but you did say Sires, didn’t you?" she whispered, and her eyes widened. "You're the human-born with five Sires?"
“I am, yes. And five worried and frantic men are never a good idea.”
She nodded with a look of understanding. “My Chett is already hard enough to handle so I understand you. Patrick?” she called out and the same Guard from earlier walked in our direction.
“Patrick can walk you to the Express and keep you two safe. Do you want him to walk you home too?” Haisley asked me as Patrick gave me a thumbs up.
I shook my head even though I recognized how late it was. “My men will not care to see me being escorted by a Guard, no matter how willing.”
“I feel… slightly flattered that I can cause jealousy,” Patrick confessed with a laugh.
“You’re male. That’s enough.” I gave him a bland smile even as Haisley laughed. “I’ll meet you at the Express tomorrow morning to guide you again, Mireyah. Take care. Remember, whatever your duty was before you became a Dragon Guard has been nulled. You will report here from now on.”
I muttered under my breath, “Woo, no more children.”
But I felt that significance as I looked around and saw guards caring for dragons everywhere I looked. It was a unique bond, to be so attached to something, to protect and be protected.
Seven
Mireyah
Patrick walked me until the Express station, which wasn’t that far since the Reserve had its own. I’d waved him off and before long, I arrived at the station nearest our home. Walking home was a little disconcerting, but at least I had Hyd
ra to keep me company.
In fact, she was such close company that my back hurt, pulsing with pain as Hydra seemed determined to ride on my shoulders all the way. When the end of our driveway came into sight, I sagged with relief. The clingy thing refused to walk on her own, which was slightly acceptable given I had a longer stride.
Which was ironic since she was destined to grow larger than our house, which at that moment came into view.
"Mireyah!" Shep's voice drew me out of my stupor, and I watched his massive form barrel at me from the other side of the house. As soon as he was in my sight, the bond crashed over me - awakening from the slumber the bond with Hydra seemed to put the Sire bond in.
Hydra squealed on my shoulder when his body collided with mine, crashing into me as he drew me up into his arms. Her claws went to my head as she scrambled up in her attempt to stay attached to me, and I glared up at her even as I wrapped my arms around him.
"They took you away," he whispered, making my heart ache in my chest.” I didn’t know what happened to you or if I would ever see you again.” He drew me against him again and sniffed. His hands grabbed the back of my uniform, like he didn’t want to ever let me go.
I couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Shephard to watch and be powerless to stop me from walking straight into danger.
"I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist her even if I wanted to.” I reached up to touch her, to remind myself that she was still there. “Hydra’s a part of me now.”
He drew back, staring down at me and casting a brief glare up at the dragon. I felt annoyance flare up inside me, and I knew it was hers. Her tail flicked back and forth, agitation in every movement, and her claws tightened on my shoulder to where I was certain it was only my uniform that kept me from bleeding.
"You were gone so long. So long." His fingers threaded through my hair, touched my cheek.
“I’m here now, Shep. I came home as soon as I could since I only just woke up today I think it was the first time since I fainted in the square.” I mulled over the words, not feeling a single trace of awareness from those days I’d lost to unconsciousness.
“And you’re okay?” He patted my shoulders, hands brushing against Hydra who made an annoyed clicking sound.
“I am. It was just a major change, the bond.” At my words of the bond, he glanced back up at the burnished gold dragon clinging to me. Hydra's distrust filtered through me, and I wanted to ease that uncertainty for both of them.
"This is Hydra," I told Shep with a smile. “I’m hers now, just as much as she’s mine. I’m a Dracari now, you’ll be happy to note. No more Majele in my name.” I didn't know what else to say, mostly because I didn't know much else. They hadn't had time to explain before I'd left to come home, wanting to reassure my Sires that I was okay.
The bond with Hydra pulsed through me, as surely as the bond I had with each of my Sires. I felt whole and complete in the way I'd been lacking my entire life with her at the center of my universe.
Like I'd found my purpose.
"Hello, Hydra," Shep said awkwardly, holding out a hand for her. She tipped her nose out from my shoulder, sniffing him briefly before her face pinched in disgust.
"Well, then," Shep huffed, pulling his hand back. “Should we go in? They let me go out to you first. Because….”
He trailed off, and I knew why. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
He nuzzled into my neck and took another deep breath before pulling back to stare into my eyes. “You came back. That’s what matters.” He took my hand, and we made our way toward the house.
As we neared, the door opened and the twins burst out the front door, followed closely by Hollis. Hydra braced on my shoulder, expecting another attack in the way Shep barreled at us, but they stared at us for a moment.
Then, it was a blur and before long Ryle's muscular arms gathered me up, lifting my feet off the ground as he squeezed me tight. Hydra was not a fan of the sudden proximity, but she suffered through it. I had the feeling that just as I felt her emotions; she felt mine. She knew it made me happy to be with my Sires, and even if she felt only a fraction of the completion that being around my Sires gave me, I hoped she would be more tolerant for that alone.
Hollis stepped up to hug me, curling his hands around my face briefly before he turned his attention to Hydra in curiosity. Holding out his hand for her, she smelled him and went to the extent to nuzzle his hand.
"Who's the pretty dragon?" he asked, putting his hands around her belly to lift her off of me. The instant relief that came from the absence of weight overwhelmed me, making me feel like I was suddenly a hundred pounds lighter. He cradled her, belly up, like she was a baby, and her tail swayed side to side as it scraped against the ground.
"Typical," Shep scoffed as Tate pulled me into him and rested his chin on the top of my head. "Dragons would like sparkly, pretty things."
"I think you're plenty pretty," Tate told him, and the temperamental man didn't even crack into a smile.
“Mireyah, you’ve… evolved,” he finished after a moment of thinking. “How interesting.”
“I feel evolved,” I said, but shook my head to ask him to stop looking into me.
"Well, that's garish," Hollis inserted, eyeing my forehead. I still hadn't seen it for myself, but given the way the one on Hydra's chest glowed faintly and the colors swirled inside it, I could only imagine it was a loud statement.
"I think it's beautiful," Tate scolded him, reaching up a hand to touch it. But when he got too close, the stone buzzed with warmth as if warning him off. Neither of us thought to test it just yet, not when it issued that kind of warning.
"You seem to think everything is beautiful today," I told him.
"Of course I do. I have you back where you belong. How could that be anything but beautiful?" I melted into his embrace, letting the warmth of those words coat over my skin.
Ryle opened his mouth to argue, but a sound from the path had us looking towards it. Char appeared through the trees, and I felt a piece inside me lock into place, snap there the moment the last of my Sires arrived.
I knew the moment he saw me when his lips curved into a smile and he glided over quickly. “Welcome home.” Char wrapped his arms around me, lifting my arm so he could kiss his mark on my wrist. Pleasure and pain danced together within me, an onslaught of sensation only he could invoke.
I heard Hydra’s voice keen in protest, and I knew she felt it with me.
“Hello,” Char said in greeting to Hydra, who scurried from Hollis’ arms to hide behind my legs.
“A bond. So that’s what Zeevar meant.” Char sighed as he touched the side of my head, his fingers grazing against the leather of my circlet. “This is an interesting development.”
"You know what it means, what it symbolizes. If something happens to the dragon, then Mireyah dies along with it.” Ryle’s voice was laced with discomfort, the prospect of something making me more vulnerable again unappealing to the invulnerable one.
"Then we'll just have to protect them both." Shep watched me intensely, even more so than usual. "And you'll need to make a home for her once she's grown."
Ryle just shook his head. “I barely just finished all the work on the house as it is!”
“Hydra won’t fit inside for long.” I gave him a kiss. “You’ll make it beautiful and welcoming for her.”
Ryle grumbled as we walked to the house. The moment we stepped inside, the familiar comforts of home washed over me. Even if I'd slept through it, it felt like it had been an eternity since I last left. Hollis guided Hydra to the couch, and the dragon looked all too happy to prance in a circle until she got comfortable.
"Do you smell that?" Tate asked, and we all glanced over at where Hydra had set Shep's favored pillow on fire. I hit it with a burst of snow, extinguishing the fire before it could spread to anything else. "Well, this should be interesting."
"At least I'm a Kald?" I asked with a nervous smile.
I had a feeling the pil
low was only the first casualty.
✽✽✽
Sticking to their resolve to protect me, Shep walked me to the Express station the morning after, but I had to be adamant about going to the Reserve on my own. The way he hugged me long and hard almost caused me to be late, but it was something I allowed him to do.
How could I not?
I walked out of the Express station and the sight of the Reserve around me felt like a relief, even when the day before I'd felt like I didn't belong and wanted nothing more than to get home. The comparison of the two days made me feel like two entirely different people, like before the completion of the bond I was only a half of myself. If Zeevar's words were true, I understood why.
Hydra was the other half of my soul. The other part that hovered out of reach, now brought to be one with me. By extension, the dragon ground was a part of me just as she was.
It called to the dragon in my blood. In my soul.
Haisley waved at me from a couple of feet away, but my eyes landed on the two dragons who sat behind her and the two Gods with them. I recognized them because they’d been in my induction and they’d been with the Goddess who had given me that angry look before I became a Dracari.
“Mireyah! How are you feeling today?” Haisley gave my hand a pat before bending down to greet Hydra. “How are you, pretty Hydra?”
“She’s a little overwhelmed, but she had to meet my Sires so I can understand that.” I reached down to give her a gentle pat. “As for me, I’m tired but there’s this part of me that’s satisfied, you know?”
“I know. Patrick should be here. We just want Hydra to be more comfortable around him since he will escort you at night for safety reasons until you’re more easy around the grounds.”
She smiled, but a voice spoke up behind her, “Don’t know why we should be so worried about an interloper.”
“Arkin.” Haisley turned around, her hand squeezing my arm gently. “Don’t be rude.”
“Come on, Haisley,” the Springen spoke up with a smirk, “Arkin’s Yula has been a Dragon Guard for longer than she’s been a Goddess. For longer than she’s been alive, if rumours are to be believed. Does she truly deserve to have Kimba’s girl?”
