Page 71 of Phixmery

I shove him off me. “What the hell do you want?” That’s when I realize he doesn’t look surprised to see me. He looks excited. “You!” I hiss, baring my teeth at him.

“Ravina, just hear me out. All the dragons went deeper into the cave for some reason, but you have so much power. More than Craven. You would have been wasted in Infantry! I did you andallof Damorleia a favor!” He bellows back, getting in my face. “You owe me.”

“I owe you nothing!” I yell, striking the metal on my belt to summon a flame.

He laughs, stealing it from me. “Fuck, I like it when you’re pissed,” he sneers before grabbing my face and forcing his mouth on mine.

His lips are wet as they move on my firm mouth. Disgust wars with the wrath within me as my muscles flare to life with magick. I aim for his crotch and my aim is true when I feel something pop behind the weight of my strike.

The screams of his cry rent through the air as he drops to the ground and I stand over him, grinning with pure malice at the audacity of the male before me.

“Nero. Fetch,” I growl.

Nero doesn’t wait a moment, his anger matching mine as he swoops down, plucking a sharp stone off the cave floor, attacking Bracken’s face and expertly dodging his weak attempts to stop him. His screams worsen as blood spurts with every precise cut my raven friend makes. It’s only moments later when Nero soars back onto my shoulder with his prize: a perfectly intact, pale blue eyeball.

Bracken’s hand is covered with blood as he simultaneously holds both of his injuries, writhing on the floor screaming.

“Let that be a reminder. I’ve warned you. I was even nice to you when everyone told me not to be. Never again will I ignore that feeling in my gut or my friends. I hope you rot down here,” I seethe.

I ignore his pleas, like he ignored every boundary I set. Like he ignored my choice for the faction I chose.

Wordlessly, I grab a small fist-sized stone and carve it out, and pull water from the earth to fill it. Nero drops the eyeball into the liquid and I seal the stone shut, placing it in my pocket until I can figure out how to preserve it for him, knowing he’s going to want to keep it.

“Rav…” he starts.

I shake my head, holding back tears. “No, not now. We need to get out of here.”

We fall into a silence and that’s when I realize Bracken was right. Where in fate’s name are all the dragons? With all the racket we’ve made, I was almost positive I’d be running from the beasts.

Feeling uneasy, I push through my nerves, blocking out what just happened and whose eye is currently sitting in my pocket. I wander down large cavern after cavern, deepening into the dragon’s keep until I come to an opening so impossibly large that I can’t see where it ends.

Dragons upon dragons, all colors and sizes, fill the space: red, blue, black, white… but the one that catches my eye is a deep purple one sitting atop a massive stone platform, staring at me with large, yellow eyes.

None of the beasts move as they wait to see what I do.

Nero freezes. “Um Ravina… that’s a lot of teeth and talons…”

“Uh-huh.”

“What are we going to do?” he asks hesitantly, his words edged with panic.

The ground shakes behind me and the same black dragon from earlier blocks my way out. The meaning is clear: I must move forward.

I gulp, forcing my nerves to be calm. How bad could death by dragon be? “You with me?” I ask my feathered companion.

“Always, Rav. You never need to ask.”

With one shaky step after another, I wade between the dragons, none of them moving a muscle as they watch me. I continue up to the giant raised stone landing that I saw the purple one on and when I go to walk around it, I’m grabbed by a pair of talons and Nero takes flight. Within moments I’m dropped on the dias in front of the violet one, with scales so dark that only in certain light can you see the deep, majestic shade.

The beast lowers its head, and it’s right then I’m not afraid any longer. I know from my bond with Nero that he’s close by, but I’m sure even he can sense the magick thrumming in the air like a war drum. I am mesmerized by the sense of right I feel as the dragon and I lock eyes. It brings its wickedly sharp, curved talon up, and my body knows what to do. I raise my hand, palm up.

As its talon connects and draws blood, I gasp as an electric current of pure power rushes beneath my skin. A bond snaps into place, just like the bond I felt with Nero all those years ago.

“Hello, lost one. My name is Vasari of the royal dragon bloodline. My mother was your mother’s bonded dragon as I’m now yours. I’ve been waiting for you,” she says, her voice rich and deep, almost otherworldly sounding.

I blink at her and then down at the silver scars covering the palm of my hand. “You’ve been waiting for me?”

She dips her massive head. “Yes. I’ll explain after we take our bonding flight,” she laughs. “Shall we?”

---