Page 107 of Dragon Fight

And if it's hard today, you will tell me and we will stop. I’ll make clear that you aren’t to be harmed.But not used, I couldn’t guarantee that.Tell me the moment you feel any strain and everything stops.

She didn’t reply, just took a deep breath. My own lungs filled in sympathy, but when we let the air go rushing out, something went with it. Flynn made a sound as the stones flared to life, glowing softly now as I reached out.

Not old man, I pushed that out to Soren. He wasn’t, at all, in fact he was only a handful of years older than Flynn, but the joke was one that had some history to it. And as I reached out towards Soren I felt it, the shame I thought I’d detected as Flynn joked. It was a nasty swirl of emotion, the feeling that he was far too old for me, but it was tied tight to a need that took my breath away, one so deep I felt like I dived into it.Not old man, I said over and over, like a mantra to calm him down.My man, I replaced changed it to, and that’s when I heard the sucking in of Soren’s breath.

Pippin?

Soren…His name was like the hush of the sea in my mind, calming me, centring me.My Soren. Here I couldn’t hide, dissemble or pretend. I felt like we connected in the same way I did with Glimmer, the rush of feeling just as intense as when my dragon and I bonded our minds. We were doing something similar, I realised, as the sound of Glimmer’s hum filling my ears. A hungry, desperate part of myself felt like it lunged out now a connection had been made, grabbing onto him with both hands and then locking together.

Gods, Pippin. My beautiful girl.

I’d never get used to that reverence in his voice, and my eyes fell closed as tears formed at the corners of them. One fell free, dropping to the ground, and then came others. Our hands held tighter, trying to approximate the intensity of that newly formed link, but that wasn’t all that was dripping from me. A familiar prickle in my nose alerted me to what was happening, right before one drop, then another welled out. Soren snatched his hand free, the wrench of him breaking that psychic link so painful it took my breath away. My mouth fell open as I gasped for breath, and a clean handkerchief was pressed to my nose.

“Tilt your head back. That’s it, lass. Now pinch your nose. Not too hard now.”

We weren’t entirely disconnected psychically now. I could sense Soren like I could Glimmer, as if part of my mind was always semi-unconsciously aware of them.

Because they are your mates, Glimmer explained.I am connected to Wraith as you are to his rider. They are a part of you.

Gods, that was so true and I felt it with every fibre of my being. My eyes closed again, more tears rolling down my cheeks, which provoked sounds of concern from my men. I reached out blindly, finding their hands and gripping on until the blood finally slowed.

“That hurt you,” Brom said in a firm voice. “We’ll do no more of that. I’ll tell the general—”

“No.” I gasped that out and then forced myself to smile, as my eyes found Soren’s. He tried to reflect back my smile, but there was something in him that was questing its way towards me. Concern washed over me, a need to have me smile, a hot, hot desire to bundle me up on Wraith’s back and travel across the strait to the mainland, find a cave somewhere, away from all of this mess. The need to protect, that was what beat hard and true in his chest and I nodded in recognition of it. “It’s not that. It doesn’t hurt. Well, not any more than the way I usually feel about all of you.”

“Pippin…”

All three men clustered closer.

“I’m sorry we didn’t talk through last night before we disappeared off with Draven, Flynn,” I told them. “I was too caught up…I get too caught up in each one of you.” I freed one of my hands and stroked it down the severe plane of Flynn’s cheek. “I never expected to feel anything like this for one man, let alone…”

“What?” he barely breathed the word. “What do you feel for me, Pippin, because if it's half as much as I do you…”

Blood pattered on the ground, dripping from my nose, but that didn’t stop Flynn. He tugged me closer, his mouth claiming mine as something between us clicked in place, connecting him to me, mind to mind.

Flynn’s emotions were like a tempest and I was thrown in amongst them. Need and desire raged, but with that came a thread of jealousy, of vicious possessiveness that struggled to adjust and allow in all of the members of the wing, the compromise being that he trusted, loved each one of our group.

Except for Draven.

A harsh, unyielding part of Flynn felt like the prince hadn’t done anywhere near enough to earn his place by my side. If Flynn cared for me, he couldn’t hem me in, but at the same time there was a part of him that watched and waited, ready to pounce upon the prince, on anyone who would cross me and tear them to pieces.

Now you know, he said inside my head and there was something hard and brittle about that.Now you know everything.

And I’m not pulling away, I said.I won’t, Flynn, not ever.

“Gods above, lad, you’ll have Pippin bleeding out!”

Soren pushed his hands between us, forcing us apart and I was treated to the gory sight of Flynn’s face covered with my blood and the cocky smile that came with it.

“You can’t take that back now.” He tapped his head. “You’re in here.” Then his hand slid inside his blood splattered shirt. “In here.”

I sat back again. Ice packs were found and applied to my nose, but the handkerchief was soaking through with blood.

“Has anyone got something I can clean my hands with?” I asked, my voice all nasally.

“I’ve got some rags—” Soren started to say, getting up, but Flynn reached over, snagging the egg.

“No, touch this.”

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