Page 55 of Forcing Fate

Barely three steps in, Elispeth’s eyes snapped open. Her pupils narrowed on me in surprise. I stilled, but she didn’t move—she watched.

“I just want to say hello.” I scarcely breathed.

Elispeth was not a violent dragon. Yet, with her hormones being off kilter and the new little one she’d taken under her wing, I wondered if I could rely on her notoriously kind temperament.

She blinked, eyelids slow with sleep, and huffed a sigh. Her pupils relaxed and expanded, and I accepted that as tolerance, at the very least. I took a cautious step forward, and when she made no move to sound an alarm—or eat me—I crept closer to the little one.

When a few steps lay between us, Elispeth chirped quietly and raised her head, peering down at the dragonling. She gave it a soft nudge with her tail. Anticipation sang through my veins.

It let out a garbled complaint and shifted with its eyes clamped tight, pressing closer to Elispeth. She chirped again, giving it a firmer nudge. The dragonling yawned, showing tiny needle-sharp teeth, and opened its midnight-colored eyes.

With a startled squeak, it scrambled to its feet, backing into Elispeth. It hissed and spat, back arched with fear.

I glanced up at Elispeth nervously, but she made no move to remove me from her cave. I checked the entrance to Gavin’s personal room, hoping he hadn’t heard the commotion.

“Easy, little one,” I whispered, not moving any closer. It bared its teeth and narrowed its eyes to slits. “It’s just me. My name is Avyanna.” If I was slow and gentle, maybe its fear of me would pass.

“I’m just here to say hello.” I settled more comfortably into my crouch, clasping my hands together. “You’re a beautiful thing, you know? I’ve never seen a dragonling as beautiful as you.”

Its tail was on the longer side. Males had longer tails than females. Sometimes it was hard to tell at first, and generally, we had Riders to affirm if it was a male or female dragonling.

“You’re a boy, aren’t you? I should have known with you being so feisty.” My laugh was soft, and I lifted my chin in the smallest of motions. “You’re a fighter too, I can tell. I’m a fighter as well, or at least I want to be. My father was a fighter.”

The dragonling closed its mouth but kept its wary eyes on me, snuggling close to the great white dragon.

“My father died. He was killed, fighting. He left me all alone, like you. I never had any friends, no one to play with. You deserve better than that. You deserve someone to care for you and play with you, someone to fight by your side, little one.”

My smile was tight-lipped, not wanting to show my teeth in case it took that as a threat. I rambled on about my mother and her baking. I told it all about my solo adventures here on the school grounds, and how they would have been so much more exciting with a little dragonling.

After a while, Elispeth laid her head back down and closed her eyes. A nervous curiosity dampened the dragonling’s fear. I sat there for half a chime, talking about the other dragons and what I knew about their kind, telling it all I could of my life. My legs long since fell asleep, but I refused to get up.

I unfolded my hands, and inch by inch, slowly extending my palm toward the little one. “So, what do you say? Are we friends?”

He made no move to jerk away or bite me, so I took a slow step forward.

The step was too much.

The dragonling’s eyes snapped wide with fear, and it let out an ear-splitting shriek before launching at my outstretched hand. I jerked away, stumbling over numb legs. My back collided with the ground, and my head cracked against the rock floor. Stars danced in my vision from the impact, and I threw my arms in front of my face as the dragonling pounced. Elispeth roared, batting the little one aside to protect me.

I pushed myself up, scrambling back on my hands and rear toward the entryway. The dragonling whirled on me again, murder in its eyes. Elispeth whined, and I frantically looked at Gavin’s door. If anyone found me here, I would be in so much trouble. No refused Dragon Kind was permitted to try to force the bond. It was a fundamental rule.

Strong hands snatched my shoulders in a bruising grip and hauled me up to my feet. Pins and needles shot through my legs, and I wobbled, trying to face the dragonling who was now charging at me.

Elispeth was up, snaking her head back and forth, rushing toward the little one.

A rough hand shoved me behind a tall, broad body. I stumbled as a giant took my place, stepping in the path of the dragonling’s attack.

I would know that sleeveless tunic anywhere.

My heart dropped like a stone.

General Rafe.

He was saving my hide? No doubt all the Masters would know of my attempt at forcing a bond now.

“Go,” he bit out, reaching up to untie the cloth over his eye.

I paused, wondering why he was removing the covering from his missing eye.

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