Ariadna’s Star: Post 6

What have I done?

I stare at the darkness below as the wind blows by so fast my eyes tear up. By the starry night and the waning crescent moon, I can barely see the rapids, almost a thousand meters below me. My fear has rendered me speechless, and I simply stare at it in disbelief.

The growling roar from above alerts me that Pesokvglazu is coming. I turn my head and just make out the light bronze-colored dragon swoop over the side of the cliff from which I had jumped. Upon his back rides Vladykar Lochan, still charred on the left side of his face, still glaring at me as they fly toward me. Pesokvglazu is fast—I can see why he said it was futile to jump.

But what else was I supposed to do?

Both of his two front paws are extended toward me, the dark claws spread out like a bird catching its prey. I look back down at the ground approaching. I don’t want to die. But I don’t want to go with this dragon and rider, who clearly intend nothing but harm toward me and others. Deciding I don’t want to look at either, I lift my head, looking out onto the horizon.

I’ve been told by patients in the past that when you face death, sometimes your life flashes before your eyes. But I blink as I literally see something flash before me.

And then my mouth drops open as I see yet another dragon. Another dragon! After seeing my first dragon ever, here is another. And this one is lovelier than the first.

Its iridescent white scales look like they are glowing, even with the small lights from the night sky. It has spikes, not unlike Pesokvglazu, but this dragon’s spikes don’t start until the top of its head, and have a slight curved look to them, sweeping back just slightly, until shrinking toward the bottom of the tail, but not completely disappearing like the fins do on Pesokvglazu’s tail. Its wings are a different shape too, a bit longer but slimmer. Its eyes, the tips of its spikes, and its claws are slightly darker in color. I don’t know whether it’s male or female—being that it’s the second dragon I’ve ever seen—but something about the litheness of this dragon compared to the Pesokvglazu makes me think it’s female.

And she’s flying straight toward me.

Pesokvglazu roars from above. “Astralux!”

The other dragon glances up at Pesokvglazu. Astralux’s brow lowers a little over her eyes as she glares up at him. I feel marginally better—she can’t be that bad if she dislikes Pesokvglazu.

Then she lifts her front claws, pointed toward me.

I stare at her, entranced and terrified, the river below rushing up to meet me. I don’t know whether death is better, this new dragon Astralux, or surrendering to Vladykar Lochan and Pesokvglazu. So I close my eyes, praying that Ariadna would aid me.

“No!” Vladykar Lochan shouts.

I can’t help the cry of surprise as I’m snatched from the air, and my eyes snap open. I’m not sure whose claws are around my arms until I lift my head up and spot the bright glow of Astralux’s scales.

Pesokvglazu growls. “Astralux, I will kill you!”

Astralux banks hard to the right and I wrap my arms around her claws, afraid to slide out. I hear Pesokvglazu growl again, and look behind to see him flying after us. He opens his mouth.

“Buh!” I shout. I’m not sure what it means, but I seem to get the point across to Astralux—she dives down just as a blast of sand flies above her. The wind lifts my white cotton shirt a little, but there’s nothing I can do about it. My eyes tear up again with wind.

“You can’t outfly me,” Pesokvglazu says, his deep voice rumbling through the air. “I am bonded!”

Astralux growls again but says nothing. Using the momentum of her dive she picks up speed, and I glance back to see that Pesokvglazu has fallen behind. I don’t know why. We fly even faster, diving toward the ground, and I suddenly wonder if this dragon means to kill me. Maybe she caught me because she knew Pesokvglazu would get to me before the ground would, and she wants to make sure I die. I decide that’s better than going with Pesokvglazu and Vladykar Lochan.

At the last second, just as I can see Astralux’s scales glistening in the river below us, Astralux rolls and flies into a small canyon of rocks nearby. She zips through the rocks so fast I can’t process what’s going on, and darts into a small cave on the side of the cliffs. Her claws release me, and I tumble to the stone floor, rolling a couple of times with the force of my momentum. But I’m on sweet ground, and I cling to the stones below me, staring up at Astralux as she crawls further in before turning around. Now I can see that her claws and spikes are a pale, glittering blue, while her eyes are also blue but much darker, and more vibrant. Panting, the dragon stares out of the cave’s entrance before she looks at me.

A strange sensation overtakes me, as if water pours through my eyes into my soul. I feel Astralux’s gaze, not just as if she were looking at me, or through me, but into me, searching out all of me as though my heart were laid bare before her.

The sensation stops and Astralux blinks, her eyes widening. “We must bond,” she says, her voice deep and rumbly but still lighter than Pesokvglazu’s. She’s definitely female. “It’s the only way we will escape.”

I have no idea what she’s talking about, and I can’t find my voice. So I just stare up at her.

“With your heart and mine together, we will make a great team,” Astralux continues. “And I heard them mention that you have a talent of some kind? Do you have magic?”

I nod my head, more because I don’t know what else to do.

Astralux’s eyes widen on me. “This is perfect!”

“Astralux!” Pesokvglazu’s voice rings out, rumbling through the cave. “I know you’re nearby. Come out now, and I’ll make your death quick.”

“We have to bond,” Astralux says. As she speaks, she searches through the stones on the ground, clearly looking for something. “I’m supposed to tell you a list of the effects of this, and there’s supposed to be a ceremony, but we don’t have another option. Pesokvglazu and Vladykar Lochan are too strong for us otherwise.” She picks up a large stone that is concave on one side and looks up at me. “The bond is forever until we die. But it’s that, or we die now.” She growls and I jump, but it doesn’t seem to be directed at me. “Or rather, I die, and you will be taken to Vladykar Malyncor.”

I shudder. I haven’t even met him, and I already know he’s not a nice man.

“So what will it be?” Astralux asks.

I look from Astralux’s brilliant blue eyes to the cave entrance. I can hear the beat of Pesokvglazu’s wings echoing through the mini canyon just outside—they can’t be far. Then I look back at Astralux, and think about what she has already done for me. In this short time, she has rescued me, and now is giving me a choice. Vladykar Lochan and Pesokvglazu didn’t, and intended harm. While I have no idea what it means to be bonded, I am drawn to Astralux, and I can’t help but trust that she will take care of me.

“I will do it,” I say. My voice is surprisingly even. I sound much more sure than I feel. Likely from all of my training as Mom’s assistant.

Astralux exhales a sigh of relief. Then she holds her left front leg over the stone “bowl” she has found. Using a claw on her right front leg, she breaks through the scales on her left leg, and I gasp as dark red blood that glitters in the faint moonlight drops into the bowl. Once the bowl is filled, she pushes it toward me.

“Drink this.”

Horrified, I gape from the bowl of blood to Astralux. Her face is difficult for me to read, but I think she’s being serious. “No.”

Astralux’s brows over her eyes lower a little. “This is how the bond works.”

“I’m not drinking blood!” I exclaim, holding my hand over my mouth to stifle my words. And to keep from gagging.

“You must.”

“Why?!”

“It’s how the bond works!” Astralux huffs and beckons to me with her right front leg before holding her other front leg to stop the bleeding. “Just drink it.”

“Ariadna would never—”

“—Ariadna gifted us with the bond,” Astralux says. “It’s blood freely given. Now drink!”

I jump in surprise and fear and pick up the heavy bowl, staring into the glittering dark pool of liquid with disgust. I debate dumping it out, but I have a feeling this would anger Astralux. And then I hear Pesokvglazu’s wings even closer than before.

Ariadna, I pray that I am not going against your good will.

I close my eyes and put the bowl to my lips and drink. It’s as terrible as I imagined—hot, thick like gravy, and tastes just like its terrible iron smell. There’s a strange tingling in my mouth, and I pull the bowl away, gagging. All my medical work with Mom didn’t prepare me for consuming blood.

Astralux nods her head toward me. “Hurry!”

Shuddering, I force the bowl to my lips and drink again. As I get to the last drop and set the bowl down in relief, the tingling has spread throughout me and becomes a pulse that beats in a peculiar rhythm: one. One-two. One. One-two.

And then I realize it’s just like a heartbeat. Only, a very slow heartbeat. I lift my gaze and stare into the depths of Astralux’s eyes. It’s Astralux’s heartbeat—in me.

A vivid white, misty cord suddenly forms between us, from my heart to Astralux’s chest, no doubt where her heart resides. It brings pain with it, a sharp, cutting pain, as if I’m being carved into, and I gasp in surprise. I’m lifted till only my toes graze the ground. Astralux is raised until she nearly strikes the top of the cave, her eyes squinted a little, as if she’s in pain.

A bright light begins to shine around us, and the pain is suddenly replaced with energy. A great strength of power bursts inside me, and I feel as if I could run for days. My magic is thrumming in my veins, desiring to blaze forth, and I barely keep it back. Astralux’s eyes widen, and she exhales, the glow around us flickering along her nostrils for a moment. I stare in shock as silver markings appear on the sides of Astralux’s face, as if someone were standing beside her with liquid silver and painting it onto her scales.

“Estelle! Astralux!” Vladykar Lochan’s voice breaks through the hum of the magic around us.

I turn my head to see him and Pesokvglazu flying just outside the cave, their faces lit by the glow from us.

“Being bonded will not save you,” Vladykar Lochan says.

The thread between Astralux and I flashes and then disappears, and we drop to the ground. I catch myself, panting, everything inside me still throbbing in time to Astralux’s slower heartbeat.

Vladykar Lochan chuckles. “Did you even explain what you’ve done to Estelle, Astralux?”

Astralux’s mouth, which had been slightly open, snaps shut. She turns her head and growls at them. “I’ve rescued her from you.” Astralux grabs me with her left paw and runs toward the entrance by limping along. She moves fast, and Pesokvglazu barely manages to pull his head back as Astralux comes zooming out of the cave, holding my arms in both of her paws again.

I stare out into the night, awestruck.

Because what was once darkness to me is visible, as if everything were cast in bright moonlight. It’s not the same as the daylight, but I can see the trees and the river, the mountains beyond, the rocks and the hills. I gape, amaze, as I see out far, farther than I ever have before, catching sight of a mouse skittering from one hole to another. Then I lift my gaze to the night sky and gasp.

The stars are beautiful. Despite the crescent moon’s light, it’s like looking up at the sky on a perfectly cloudless, moonless night, and then some. I can see more stars than I ever have before, and a wide array of colors. Ariadna’s star is brilliant, like a beacon of light, and I cry at its loveliness.

This could be my final breath, and it is worth it all.