As I gather my blankets around me and lay down on the cot set out in the sun, Ward Veremund sits in the same wooden chair he had used inside the medical wing. Astralux curls around the other side of my cot, making sure not to block out the sunlight that filters down over us. One of the two ladies that had helped Ward Veremund carry my cot out here returns with a cup of hot tea, which I gladly accept, thanking her.
“Well, aren’t you a dear!” the woman says. “My name’s Karen.”
“I’m Estelle,” I say. “It’s nice to meet you, Karen.”
“And it’s nice to meet you! It’s always good to have more Wards.”
I make myself smile, flinching on the inside. I still don’t even know what it means to be a Ward—what it all entails—and what little I do know, I’m not sure I’m ready to be one.
Ward Veremund nods at Karen as she leaves and then looks back at me. “So tell me about yourself, Estelle. Astralux has told me what she knows.”
“Which I realized wasn’t much,” Astralux says, her tone mournful. “I don’t even know how old you are.”
“I’m eighteen years old,” I say. “I was raised by Demetria Brand, whom I call mother, in Inizion—”
“—Wait. You were adopted?” Ward Veremund asks.
I nod, toying with a strand of my wavy black hair. Something about Ward Veremund’s light blue eyes makes me feel as if he is looking into my very heart. I know now that bonded humans can use a dragon’s Heart-Vision ability, but with Ward Veremund it doesn’t feel like he even has to tap into that ability, he just naturally sees into my soul. “My mom heard me crying along a roadside and took me in and cared for me, ever since I was a baby.”
“What a kind soul,” Ward Veremund says. “Please, continue.”
“I grew up with her in Inizion, a very small village located in northwest Amenyl,” I say. An image of the humble thatch and mud-roof buildings of Inizion comes to my mind, children chasing chickens down its dirt main street. “My mom was the town’s only healer, and I helped her as her medical assistant.”
“And your magic?” Ward Veremund’s gaze doesn’t miss a thing as I squirm on my cot. His brow furrows. “Did you slay a dragon for it?”
“What?” I say, confused. “I’ve had magic since I can remember.”
“Oh.” Ward Veremund instantly relaxes. “The way you reacted, I thought perhaps you had killed a dragon by some means.”
“You can get magic by killing a dragon?” I ask, stunned.
“Namely, by drinking its blood,” Ward Veremund says.
Now I’m more confused. “But drinking dragon’s blood is how the dragon bonding works.”
“If a dragon gives its blood willingly, a dragon and a human are bonded,” Ward Veremund says. “But blood taken from a slain dragon grants a magical ability to a human that drinks it. However, such an evil act twists the person, inwardly and sometimes outwardly, and they succumb to Anieros fully, devoting themselves to serving him with as much wickedness as they can muster.”
I shudder. “That’s terrible!”
Ward Veremund nods solemnly. “The Vladykars grant new members the honor of drinking the blood of slain dragons. That’s why every Vladykar that we know of has magic.”
I stare at Ward Veremund. “Vladykar Lochan can turn water into sand and manipulate it in the air because of, of drinking the blood of a fallen dragon?!”
“Yes.” Ward Veremund gestures to me. “However, to get back to my original question: You reacted when I claimed that you could do magic. If you didn’t wrongfully gain magic, why does it bother you?”
“In Amenyl, having magic is a bad thing,” I say quietly. “My mom was the only one who knew I could do magic, at least until Vladykar Lochan and Pesokvglazu showed up. Well, and maybe my blood parents—I always assumed that’s why they abandoned me, was because of my magic.”
“Really?!” Ward Veremund runs his warm dark-skinned hand through his slightly graying black hair on his head. “I suppose, I’ve lived apart from major civilizations for so long, and Adytol is so isolated, that truth be told I’ve forgotten what the countries think of magic, or even dragons.”
“Most people in Amenyl think dragons are either just a legend, or if they did exist, it was years ago,” I say.
“So, you truly had no idea about the Wards, the Vladykars, or dragons?” Ward Veremund asks. “Nothing of our war?”
“No.”
Veremund glances at Astralux, who avoids his gaze guiltily. “But it was Vladykar Lochan and Pesokvglazu, along with Klevorian soldiers, who attacked your village, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And how did that go?” Ward Veremund asks, his tone very gentle.
I retell that fateful night. I’m not shy to explain my utter and absolute terror and uselessness, standing there as Vladykar Lochan simply cowed us into surrendering. “In fact, it’s only because he separated me out that my mom told me to use my magic,” I say quietly.
Astralux growls. “I didn’t know this!”
Wrapping my arms around my shoulders, I continue with my story. I explain everything, including my cowardice as I fled, leaving everyone behind, until I reached the cliffside. “I had nowhere else to go. But I could feel the, the ‘evil’ off of Vladykar Lochan, Pesokvglazu, and the soldiers, if you will. So I jumped.”
“And that’s when you met Astralux, right?”
“Right.”
Ward Veremund runs a couple of fingers along his clean-shaven chin. “Astralux has told me what transpired since she met you. Including, what she has—and hasn’t—told you about Dragon Bonding.”
Astralux puts her front right paw over her eyes. “I’m sorry. To both of you,” she says. “I was hasty in the dragon bonding decision and put you, Estelle, and the Wards, in a difficult position.”
“But you said it was to avoid Vladykar Lochan and Pesokvglazu,” I say. “Without the added strength and endurance, you said we would have lost to them.”
“That’s probably true….” Astralux trails off, fidgeting. “But I rushed us into a decision that really shouldn’t have been rushed, even in a dire situation like that.”
“Regardless, what’s done is done,” Ward Veremund says. “There isn’t a way to reverse the bonding. What remains now is what you will each decide to do, given that you are bonded.” Ward Veremund turns his gaze back to me. “Which, let me explain a little more about the dragon bonding: Ariadna gifted dragons with the ability to bond with humans with the ultimate goals of spreading her good deeds and defending against the darkness of Anieros. However—as Anieros often does to the blessings of Ariadna—the dragon bonding was twisted under Anieros’ hand, and now a bonded pair can either be of Ariadna or of Anieros. Thus the war between the Wards and the Vladykars began.
“Not that they were called that, years ago,” Ward Veremund adds. “But that’s what the two groups evolved into. Kalteratem and Noxmalum have led the fight in our war for years beyond our time, since before the 3rd Era. You know who Kalteratem and Noxmalum are, right?”
“Kalteratem is your bonded dragon,” I say, “and Noxmalum is Vladykar Malyncor’s bonded dragon.”
“Correct.” Ward Veremund tilts his head as he looks at Astralux, as if puzzling over something, but he continues speaking. “I met Kalteratem when I was just a little older than you. Kalteratem was already very old by that point. He had had many bonded riders. So he explained to me much of what it meant to be bonded to a dragon, preparing me for it.
“You’re aware of the age-slowing, and the increase in senses and physical prowess. You know about the ability to sense your bonded. You’ve discovered your own mark from Astralux. And Mortimer told me you’ve been told about the ability of a human to gain a dragon’s Heart-Vision ability.”
“That’s all I’m aware of,” I say. “At least, that I know is a bonded ability.”
“I see. So, one thing you should be aware of is that the dragon bonding increases in its potency as time passes.” Ward Veremund glances off to the north, rubbing his right shoulder. “While it might seem as if it would fade, the connection actually grows stronger the longer that you are with your bonded. There are in fact three phases that we use to describe the length of time bonded: Kainos, Meson, and Aeon.”
“But you should know,” Astralux says, her tone excited, “Veremund and Kalteratem have been bonded for so long that we think we need to add another phase.”
Ward Veremund smirks. “Each stage, if you will, has a certain set of defined criteria. Please know that for most bonded, you don’t enter a stage in sudden steps, but gradually over time. Kainos is defined by an ability to sense the emotion of your bonded, and an increase in the presence-sensing ability. This typically happens after the first year of being bonded, so it’s very common among dragon bonded.”
“The second stage, Meson, is a little more difficult to define, because it can take many years to reach, but sometimes experiencing stressful and defining moments for a bonded pair can shorten the time. I’ve typically seen it happen around ten years of being bonded. At this point, the bonded pair find that they are able to share thoughts with each other, first in very short range, and then over time at farther distance.”
I stare at Ward Veremund. The entire being-bonded thing is amazing, but this completely astonishes me. “You can read each other’s minds?!”
Ward Veremund chuckles. “Forgive me for laughing—I forget what it’s like to talk to someone that hasn’t grown up in Adytol about dragon-bonding. Yes. And, as happens over time, the presence-sensing ability continues to strengthen, as does the bonded pair’s physical prowess.”
“You get even faster and stronger? The initial change still has me reeling,” I say. “I keep tripping over my feet.”
“Remember, while the initial bonding is a bit startling, the strengthening of the bond is gradual and over time,” Ward Veremund says. “These are just meter markers that we refer to in attempting to describe the power of our bond.”
“Okay.” I’m still not sure how comfortable I am with all of this, but what other choice do I have? I’m already bonded with Astralux, and Ward Veremund just told me there isn’t a way out. “And the Aeon stage?”
“You should show her!” Astralux’s tail taps on the stone balcony we’re on. “Go on!”
Ward Veremund smiles but shakes his head. “I’m not sure that Estelle would find it as splendid as you do, Astralux. Remember, this is all a bit of a shock to her.”
“Oh, right.” Astralux puts her head on the balcony, her dark blue eyes avoiding me again. “I’m sorry.”
Ward Veremund reaches over and pats her nose before looking back at me. “The Aeon phase begins after much time together. The bond must strengthen through several events. Our estimate is typically that it occurs somewhere around twenty to fifty years into the bond. Regardless, the defining aspect of the Aeon stage is two-fold. First, the bonded pair gain the ability to see through each other’s eyes. Like when you first learn to share thoughts, you must be very close to do this, but then you learn to do so farther apart.”
“Whoa,” I whisper.
“The other defining aspect is that a human gains the ability to siphon their bonded dragon’s breath ability.”
My jaw drops open. “You can breathe like dragons do?!”
“Yes, though admittedly it’s a bit odd,” Ward Veremund says. “I become a conduit for the energy, but it’s still Kalteratem ‘breathing.’ Thus I have to be very careful about using it, because it takes power from Kalteratem.” He gestures to me. “I’ve been told, however, that when a human has magic, their bonded dragon can eventually learn to use their magic. The bond allows for such energy to be shared between them.”
I feel myself go cold. And as I look over at Astralux, my bonded dragon avoids my gaze.
“You…you just wanted to use my magic?” I whisper.
Astralux flinches, her tail curling under her body. She peeks at me with one eye. “That’s not the only reason.”
The pain of her manipulation makes me shake with anger and hurt. Despite my weakness I rise to my feet, clenching my hands into fists at my sides. “You used me?!”
“I was worried about us surviving against Pesokvglazu and Vladykar Lochan,” Astralux says quietly. “But…yes. When you confirmed that you had magic, I thought that maybe Ariadna had finally gifted me with something useful.”
My vision clouds with tears. “You used me,” I repeat. “Astralux, I trusted you!”
A single tear drips down one of Astralux’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, Estelle.” Hiding my face into my hands, I run to the stained-glass doors that lead inside the medical wing. Flinging one open, I hurry inside and slam the door shut behind me, and then slide down against it, hoping Ward Veremund doesn’t follow me, hoping no one comes through the door opposite, and hoping I wake up from this mess I’ve found myself in.
Tamara Rivers 
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