—A bright, beautiful light explodes in front of Astralux across the stream’s water before us.
I stare, utterly astounded, before sliding down Astralux’s back. I try to use the back of her front right leg like she showed me to climb down, but I miss and fall to the grassy ground below. “Oomph!”
“Estelle?!” Astralux asks, her tone worried.
“I’m okay.” Rising to my feet, I hurry to the edge of the ground we’re on, overlooking the small stream below. The light that Astralux breathed hovers in the area, dancing bright white and glittering across the gently lapping water. “It’s beautiful!” I gasp.
Astralux’s plated, iridescent white scales “bristle,” like a bird ruffling its feathers. “It’s useless.”
I slide down the small drop to the stream and run my hands through the light. There is no feeling to it, but it glows on my dark skin. “Oh, that I could bring light like you!” I say.
Astralux is silent, her blue eyes beholding the slowly fading light with a sad gaze. “To what end? I would rather have your ability.”
I chuckle. “You wish for what I have, and I wish for what you have. What a pair we are.”
A smile works its way onto the dragon’s mouth. She holds out her front left paw. “We need to hurry on.”
Sighing, I grab a hold of her long, glittering pale blue claws. Astralux sets me on her back between two of her curved spines that match her claws, and then takes off at a light “trot”. The forest becomes thicker as she goes, slowing her down, but she still manages a quick pace, ducking under branches and weaving between the trees with ease.
This is the first time I’ve had a chance to breathe since Vladykar Lochan, Pesokvglazu, and the Klevorian soldiers infiltrated Inizion. I teeter on Astralux’s back, my mind reeling, as I try to process everything that has befallen in the short hours from last night to this morning. Tears fill my eyes, and despite my exhaustion, or because of it, I begin to cry.
Astralux slackens her pace and looks back at me. “Estelle?”
“I, I don’t know what’s going on,” I whisper. “I abandoned Mom. I abandoned my friends. Everyone in Inizion! I just, just ran, like a coward.”
“You ran to survive,” Astralux says gently. “I saw your heart, remember. I’m certain you didn’t abandon them.”
“Mom told me to run. And so did Warin.” Warin had been one of the Verlassen soldiers journeying with the royal messenger that had come to Inizion. “They saved me.”
“Then let us not let their sacrifice go to waste,” Astralux says.
“Sacrifice?” I stare at Astralux, horrified. “Do, do you think they’re dead?”
Astralux doesn’t respond, and I burst into more tears. The dragon sighs. “I’m sorry, Estelle.”
“I don’t understand!” I cry into my hand, trying not to wail. “Why?! Why would the Klevorians do this?!”
“Their leaders are evil,” Astralux says. Like that answers everything.
“But so evil that they just war with Amenyl? So evil that they intend to kill every Amenylian?” I ask, stunned.
“They follow Anieros,” Astralux says.
I stare at Astralux. Anieros encourages his followers to do the most wicked things, to steal, and hurt, and kill without regard of life. It’s hard for me to imagine anyone willingly worshipping him, let alone an entire country. “But why?!”
Astralux huffs. “The world of Zoi isn’t perfect. Even Ariadna says this.”
“Yes,” I agree.
“That’s why the Wards exist.” Astralux continues at a steady pace through the forest. With the sun to our right, I know she’s going north, although I’m unfamiliar with this area. “We defend the innocent against people who, crazy as they are, follow Anieros and seek to do evil against others.”
Tears run down my face. “Why would Ariadna allow this? Why would Ariadna allow Inizion to be attacked? My mom?”
“The question of why pain exists in this world is one to which I know of no satisfying answer,” Astralux says quietly. I can tell from her tone that she’s struggling, too.
Realizing that I’m not the only one in distress helps me to stop panicking. I take a deep breath and look down at my hands clinging to Astralux’s spine in front of me. That’s when I realize that on the top of my right hand is a strange mark that wasn’t there before. I pull my tattered white cotton sleeve back, and stare at the silver six-point star emblazoned on my dark cool-brown hand, glistening as if metal had been tattooed on me.
“What…what is this?” I ask. “On my hand?”
“Is it a six-point star?” Astralux asks without looking back.
“Yes.”
“That is my mark. Because we are bonded, you gained my mark, just as I gained markings from you. Though, admittedly, I don’t know where mine are.” Astralux glances at her front feet and then at her back, before looking at me. “Do you see them?”
“Uh.” Spotting silver markings on either side of her head that sweep back, I point at her head. “I think you got them on your face.”
“They’re on my face? Interesting.” Astralux keeps going, but when we come to another small stream she pauses, staring into the water, as if trying to make out her reflection. The trickling brook is far too tiny and restless, however, and the dragon continues past after a couple of seconds.
I rub the mark on my hand. “What does it do?”
“I don’t know that the marks do anything,” Astralux says. “It’s just a mark that signifies we are bonded.”
“So, what does it mean that we’re bonded?” I ask. “I noticed that we seem to share pain?”
Astralux gives a sigh but nods, almost like she is admitting defeat. “I really would rather the other Wards explain the bond. I feel as if, having forced you into this, I have wronged you.”
“But you didn’t force me,” I say. “Otherwise, Vladykar Lochan and Pesokvglazu were going to kill you and take me to Vladykar Malyncor.”
“This is true,” Astralux says. “And I still think without our bond we would have lost.”
“Why?” I ask. “I’m noticing things but I don’t know that I understand what’s going on.”
Astralux is quiet as she maneuvers her way through a particularly tight grove of trees. Then, finding ourselves in a field, she picks up the pace before resuming her jog through the forest. “Alright, I’ll answer some of your questions,” she says at last. “I still would rather you talk to the other Wards.”
“What is this bond?” I ask. “Why did I have to drink your blood?” I gag at the memory.
“When a dragon willingly offers its blood, it enables a human and a dragon to become bonded,” Astralux says. “We call it the ‘Dragon Bonding.’ It is a gift that Ariadna granted all dragons, that by partnering with a human, we are both strengthened. Haven’t you noticed anything different?”
“Yes,” I say. “But it’s odd. Like, I could actually see in that dark cave. And there was no light whatsoever.” I look through the forest, spotting a shiny blue bug flying through a bush. “And I can see farther.”
Astralux nodded. “That is you being gifted with better vision, like dragons.”
“And I can feel your pain,” I say.
“The shared pain is a bit of a drawback of the bond,” Astralux says. “That, I should have certainly warned you about.”
“It’s terrible,” I say. “I can feel the pain in your wing! But there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“You will become more accustomed to it.” Astralux noses a branch out of her way, careful not to snap it, before sliding underneath. I lay close to her body to avoid getting scraped off. “But yes, it’s bothersome. I can feel where my scales cut through your legs.”
“Oh, so you feel it too?”
“It goes both ways. It enables us to be aware of the condition of each other,” Astralux says. “What else have you noticed?”
“Well, my sense of smell seems better.” I can smell some of the plants we are passing—not just the strong florals, but also the subtle, earthy undertones of differing grasses and weeds.
“Yes. Another feature humans notice in the bonding.”
I frown. “What about you?”
“Dragons gain better hearing.” A smirk forms on the side of Astralux’s face, eyeing me out of the corner of her vision. “We don’t have particularly good hearing, mostly because we’re so loud.” I giggle, and she smiles at me before facing ahead again. “And our taste improves.”
“Your taste?” I ask, surprised. “I would have thought with such a good sense of smell, you could taste better.”
“No. I don’t know why it makes a difference, but it does,” Astralux says. “However, you should have noticed more, besides for just improvements in your senses.”
I think back, trying to parse through the frantic danger that has been my life for the last eight to ten hours. “I ran faster,” I realize.
Astralux nods enthusiastically. “One of the most immediate and helpful aspects of the bond is that both the dragon and the human gain increased physical abilities. You will find that you can run faster and for longer than you ever had before. You are stronger, though you may not have noticed it yet. Your reflexes are improved. And, I notice all of these things too.”
“That’s why both Pesokvglazu and Saurentais mentioned it,” I say. “Before we were bonded, it was a point of pride for Pesokvglazu. And, Saurentais was showing his confidence when he claimed he could still take us on, despite not being bonded.”
“Exactly.”
Both Astralux and I freeze and look back as we hear a low growl from the air. Huffing, her scales “ruffling” a little, Astralux scurries over to a very thick grove and scurries inside. We peer out, both of us staring at the sky above.
“So you can’t use your, your call to summon friends just yet?” I whisper.
“I can try, but I doubt anyone is close enough. And, I really don’t want to have to keep calling for every Ward dragon,” Astralux whispers, her voice almost entirely a growl that rumbles through her body. “We need to get closer before it’s worth bothering.”
“How much closer?” I ask.
“Without being able to fly, it will take me weeks at this pace,” Astralux grumbles.
I look down at her right wing, where she’s sustained the injury from Pesokvglazu. “Is there any way to help you heal?” I ask.
Astralux hesitates, looking back at her wing. “Stitching would help significantly.”
I start to say I have supplies. And then my voice catches in my throat, remembering my home going up in flames. “I don’t have a healer’s kit on me,” I finally manage to say.
“There are some tribes in this area that you might be able to get supplies from,” Astralux says. “I don’t know how friendly they are, though. They tend to avoid us—they’re very reclusive.”
“Are they hostile?” I ask, anxious.
“Not to my knowledge. Besides.” Astralux grins at me, showing off her sharp fangs. “You’re bonded with a dragon. You shouldn’t be scared of some simple tribal people.”
I can’t help but laugh, and Astralux chuckles with me. Astralux has a confidence that, while no doubt gets her into trouble from time to time, is endearing. And I’m quickly realizing that despite the disaster that has befallen me, I’ve also gained a powerful ally. I thank Ariadna for looking out for me.
And, I pray that Ariadna would look over Mom, Warin, the people of Inizion, and all of Amenyl, too.
Tamara Rivers 
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