Dragon Bond Read online

  “These are dragons that we gain nothing by fighting, right?” Sandirr asked. “I say we find a way to slip past them.”

  Zala nodded. She was inclined to say the same thing, but... “It sounds like they’re waiting for us.”

  Vorkan nodded. “They were looking right toward this tunnel exit. They clearly expected someone to come out of it, and dragons are too big to fit in unless they shape change.”

  Something few of them seemed inclined to do. Perhaps they considered it demeaning to take a lesser form.

  “Are they waiting for us?” Sandirr looked at Talon. “Or waiting for him?”

  “It’s possible that female was tracking his collar,” Zala said. “I don’t know if all of his kind could sense it.” She waved for Talon to come closer, though he was already watching and listening to the conversation. “Also, we know dragons can sense our swords.”

  “Not from far away,” Sandirr said. “Or you never would have pulled off some of the sneak raids you’ve done over the years.”

  Zala shifted her weight, aware of Talon drawing close. He was such a proponent of honor that she didn’t know how he would feel about “sneak raids” if he knew about them.

  “Semptrusis could have told others about my escape,” Talon said. “I’m not sure how far away the collar can be sensed, but many females are more sensitive to magic than males. Also, we’re not that deep underground, are we? And we haven’t been for most of this journey.” He eyed the stone and dirt ceiling. Here and there, roots dangled through the cracks. “A dragon flying above ground could have found us. Found me.”

  “We could send him out there while we sneak out another tunnel exit,” Sandirr said.

  “Send him out by himself to deal with four dragons?” Zala resisted the urge to lay a protective hand on Talon’s forearm as she frowned at Sandirr.

  “If we deal with them, those four dragons will tell all of their people that we’re here. Right now, they know he’s here, but they can only suspect about us, right? If they see our team, they’ll have an idea right away as to what we’re planning.”

  “Do you have any suggestions, Talon?” Zala asked.

  “Yes. Free me.” He touched his collar. “I’ll provide your diversion if I can fly.”

  “We need you to help us through those tunnels, not get mauled by four dragons.”

  “I’m a fast flyer. I can avoid them, then shape-shift into something small to avoid their notice. Then I can meet up with you again later.” He lifted his chin, appearing fearless at the idea.

  A female dragon had been trying to kill him all along. Zala hated the idea of sending him off alone.

  “May I speak privately with you, General?” Talon asked, speaking formally in front of her soldiers.

  She appreciated that. Even if everyone had heard about her sexual adventures, she didn’t need to flaunt that they had a relationship.

  “Yes.” Zala walked a few steps with him, waving for the others to retreat. She did not want to get too close to the exit, not with dragons peering in. When she spoke, she kept her voice quiet. “What is it?”

  Talon regarded her gravely. “Do you doubt that I’ll return to fulfill my part of the deal?”

  “No,” she said without hesitation. “Assuming you’re able, I don’t doubt that you will. I do worry that if four dragons take off after you, you’ll be injured. Or worse.”

  “Do you?” He gazed into her eyes. “Worry?”

  “Yes.”

  His face softened with a quick smile. “Good. I was concerned that my... greed back in the tent may have upset you.”

  “Your greed, no.” Her body heated just remembering him wrapping his arms around her from behind, pressing his hard body against hers. “That the corporal walked in, yes.”

  “I regret that moment too.” Talon lifted a hand, touching his collar. “I believe you when you say you trust me to return, but I sense that you are reluctant to cut this off me.”

  She looked away, a thousand excuses popping into her head. But she spoke the truth. “I am.”

  “Why? I’ll be able to protect myself then. I won’t be a burden on you.” His eyes burned into hers, and urgency filled his words.

  Yes, she could tell how much he longed for this. Was she cruel to deny him? “I don’t consider you a burden. I’m glad I’ve been able to protect you. Protecting people is what I do. Granted, you’re my first dragon.”

  He frowned, failing to see her humor. Maybe it was poor humor. “You wish me to remain weak?”

  “No, I just...”

  “Speak openly. Please.” Talon lifted a hand, as if to touch her face, but he glanced toward her soldiers, many of who were watching this conversation, and let it drop to his side again.

  “I believe you’ll change and have no interest in me,” she murmured. “It’s selfish, I know. I’ve only recently realized it’s a big reason for my reluctance. That and that my people will be uneasy if you’re walking beside us in your full power and could change any time.”

  She shook her head, avoiding his eyes, ashamed that she wanted to keep him caged, to keep him with her, as he was. She couldn’t have said why she cared so much, aside from the fact that he had been such a delightful and enthusiastic lover, and perhaps because they were similar in many ways. He understood what it was to command. If they remained together in the future, he might become someone she could confide in. There was nobody else like that for her, and she admitted to herself that it was lonely. But that wasn’t an acceptable reason to keep him chained.

  Zala took a deep breath. “Let’s do it. You’re right. You’ll be stronger and able to deal with problems, and our enemies will no longer be able to track the collar.” She pointed back toward the others, wanting to light lanterns before she attempted this. “Let’s go back there.”

  “Zala,” he murmured, catching her arm before she had gone a step. “You are wrong. My feelings will not change.”

  “Good,” she said, and nodded, though she doubted he was right. Maybe he believed the words himself, but once he changed back, she was positive his feelings would indeed change. He might have respected her when he had been a dragon, but he certainly hadn’t lusted after her as they had been battling. Once he became a dragon again, he would wonder why he had ever wanted to endure the ignobility of being human.

  He released her so she could get lanterns, but he stayed by her side as they joined the soldiers, no doubt eager to have his collar removed. Zala gathered a few lanterns, turning up the flames as high as she could, and looked around for a place she could try this. Talon sat on a boulder, then removed his jacket, lifting his head to expose his neck.

  Doubt wormed through Zala, even as she drew her sword and stepped close. She had already examined the collar and knew the metal was molded to his skin, not leaving a gap anywhere. The jewel at the front of his throat might be less strong than the metal. It also might contain the magic. Could it be the weak link? If she broke that, would the rest be broken? Even if the metal did not fall away, if it no longer acted as a beacon and stifled his magic, he could likely break it himself when he transformed.

  “I’m going to try to gently slice it off first,” Zala said. “I’m accurate with my swings, but I wouldn’t care to cut through more than metal here.”

  “I agree with that sentiment,” Talon said.

  “Lieutenant Salena,” Sandirr said, flicking a finger.

  Salena did not come too close, but she drew her sword and made it clear she would stand nearby. In case Talon attacked them as soon as he was free? Zala sighed, knowing he wouldn’t. But she did not object to Salena’s presence. Talon barely glanced at the lieutenant and her sword. He kept his gaze on Zala.

  She slid the sharp edge of her blade across the gem, applying some pressure but aware of Talon’s throat right behind it, aware that she could kill him accidentally if she wasn’t extremely careful. Some of her men might not disapprove, but her soul ached so much at the idea that unaccustomed nervousness afflicted her. H
er hand trembled, and she paused to take a deep, steadying breath before continuing.

  Her magical blade scratched the gem, giving her hope. She pressed harder. When it did not crack, she risked making more of a strike, hitting the gem with speed and power, but precision too. Talon remained frozen, not blinking, not breathing.

  On the third strike, the gem cracked. It sounded like thunder in the enclosed tunnel, maybe because everyone was holding their breaths.

  Zala checked Talon’s face. “Did that do anything?”

  His eyes flared with a violet glow, and she stumbled back, startled. Salena stepped forward, her sword held out, the clouds swirling inside the metal. Though alarmed, Zala kept her sword at her side, watching and waiting.

  Talon watched her back, holding her gaze as he slowly lifted his hands. He dug his fingers into the collar, not seeming to care that he mashed his own flesh, then with a quick pull, he tore it off. It snapped in half, and he dropped—threw—both pieces to the rocky floor.

  The glow in his eyes faded as he massaged his neck. He stood, flexing his muscles, muscles visible with his jacket off, and shrugging his shoulders. Feet shuffled behind Zala. She did not have to look to know that Salena was not the only one with a weapon readied.

  But Talon did nothing more than flex his arms and study the muscled limbs briefly, as if considering his human body for the first time. He met Zala’s eyes, and she swallowed, feeling the pull of him even more than she had before, an attraction to his body and also to the power that seemed to sizzle in the air around him.

  “I will divert the other dragons,” Talon said, his voice resonating more than it had before, “and meet you at the base of Mount Slash at midnight. The tunnels leading into the mountain have been collapsed, but there is rubble. With those swords, you can cut through it. I will assist.” He skewered Sandirr with his gaze. “You have been in the mountain before. You remember how to get to the entrance?”

  Zala shifted, worried Sandirr would think she had revealed that information. She had not. Had Talon stolen it from Sandirr’s thoughts? Did he now have the ability to do so?

  “I remember,” Sandirr said stiffly, “but if the tunnels have been collapsed, and if we’re looking for them at night, it may be difficult to locate them again.” He nodded apologetically at Zala.

  Talon strode toward him, lifting a hand toward his face. Sandirr jumped back, grabbing for a sword as Salena leaped close with her own blade. Talon frowned at both of them. Sandirr’s hand fell away from the hilt of his weapon. Salena licked her lips, but did not lower her weapon. No, she wouldn’t. Storm swords did not choose their masters lightly.

  “I will impart the information,” Talon said. “That is all.”

  “By touching me?” Sandirr eyed that outstretched hand warily.

  “It is easier that way. I am unfamiliar with your mind.”

  “I...”

  “Give me the information,” Zala said. “It’s why I brought you, after all.” She smiled, letting him know she was joking and hoping he would find her joke humorous.

  Talon nodded, his face difficult to read. He stepped close to her, and she made herself stand still, to trust him, as he had done when she held her blade to his throat. He touched her temple, and a flood of images came into her mind, the lush jungle valley as seen from the sky above, the trails that animals took through it, and old roads that her people had once walked. She saw the mountain, the terrain around the rubble that was what remained of the tunnel entrances. Then she saw miles of subterranean passages snaking around inside the mountain, leading gradually upward toward the top, and she also saw that there were traps along the way, traps that Talon had once played a hand in setting. It seemed that luck had favored her, for he had originally worked with the engineers who had human-proofed those passages. He’d lent his military mind toward the project, and now he was giving her everything he knew.

  “Got it,” she rasped, almost overwhelmed by the flood of information that crashed into her brain at once. “I can find it.”

  “Midnight.” Instead of stepping away, he eased closer, sliding his hand around to the back of her head. He kissed her, his mouth eager and demanding as it took hers.

  Nothing has changed, he whispered directly into her mind. I still want you.

  His kiss could have turned her into a puddle at his feet even without the words, but an intense surge of pleasure rocketed through her at hearing them. It centered at her core, causing her to ache and throb with desire. For a moment, she was almost as dazed as she was aroused, confused because he was only kissing her, but it felt as if he was also between her legs, sucking her as he had done on the cot, searing her with such pleasure that she nearly fell to her knees.

  Then he released her and stepped back. She gripped the boulder behind her—had it not supported her, she might have fallen. He strode toward the bend, soldiers scattering as he passed, his head turned and his eyes locked to hers as he disappeared from sight.

  Aware of her men turning back to gape at her, her cheeks flushed from more than his touch. She glanced at her groin. She half expected to find her trousers around her ankles, some proof that he had somehow kissed her in both places at once, but her belt remained buckled. Had he done that with his mind? The possibility boggled her, but it titillated her too.

  “Well,” Sandirr said, and Zala straightened, telling her body it would have to wait until the mission was over to see if he meant what he said—what he’d thought. “Let’s hope the fondness thing works.”

  “Yes.” Realizing her sword had tumbled from her grip during that kiss, Zala picked it up and sheathed it. When she had said that Talon was as dangerous as a man as he was as a dragon, she had not been lying.

  Chapter 13

  Talon transformed as soon as he cleared the tunnel, skin rippling and giving way to scale, limbs changing, wings forming. At first, it hurt, but then he felt his powerful haunches beneath him, and he was springing into the air. He had never occupied another form for so long, and he worried that he might have forgotten how to fly, but his great wings flapped, stirring the air and rustling dried fronds on the ground, and lifted him aloft.

  As the joy of flight surged through him, the wind whispering past his face, the draft tugging at his tail, he almost forgot about the threat of dragons waiting, though he had been aware of their presence as soon as that damnable collar had broken. He picked up speed immediately, knowing they would feel his presence, too, that they would have figured out what happened as soon as they stopped sensing the collar and instead sensed him.

  Before he saw the dragons crouching under the shadows of a copse of castana trees, he identified them, three out of four of the auras being imprinted on his mind. He well remembered the chamber guards who had jumped to obey Hul’s orders a year before, surrounding him, forcing him into the collar, and then taking him to that mine. He was tempted to dive straight for them and start a battle, heedless of the odds, but even his euphoria of having his form back and feeling the air beneath his wings could not make him a complete fool.

  Instead, as he had promised Zala he would, he sailed toward the sky, where twilight was descending as heavy rain clouds rolled in. He did not see the other dragons spring into the air to follow him, but he heard them.

  With his wings stretched to their maximum, pumping with powerful strokes, Talon picked up speed. He streaked toward Mount Slash, tempted to sweep inside the cavern up there, to see if Hul was lounging about being useless, but he did not want the dragons up there to be on guard. Instead, he flew to the west, toward the volcano in the range of mountains that separated the jungle from the desert. It hadn’t erupted in the time his kind had been in this world, but it smoldered often, and lava steamed down in the crater.

  He outdistanced the dragons chasing him, but knew they could still see him. He could still sense them. They were flying at different speeds, with two pulling ahead. He wondered if he could separate them enough to attack them individually and win. Was there anything to be gain
ed by fighting them? Perhaps killing them? They were Hul’s minions, but they would serve whoever claimed this new kingdom next. And thus far, he hadn’t killed any dragons, unless watching Zala slay Scarkoft counted. With the first blood that he personally drew, he would make himself an enemy of his kind. Merath might understand, but few others would. As far as the rest of his kind knew, he would be openly allying himself with the humans.

  Was that what he wanted? He debated it as he sailed toward the volcano, following the air currents as if he meant to fly past it and continue on. He had told Zala that he would return to her, that he wanted her, implying that he wanted a life that had her in it somehow.

  As soon as he had changed into his natural form, he had lost that lust that had been a constant companion to him ever since he’d met Zala. But even now, with the lust gone, he found he still wished to return to her and stand at her side, to take her flying as he had promised. He wanted to get to know her in a way there hadn’t been time for yet, and he still found himself annoyed with the policies of his kind. He was sympathetic toward the humans. Hadn’t they endured enough from his kind? Perhaps if he chose to fight on their side, he would end up dead, but perhaps he would be the first of many to turn his back on Hul and his greed. Well, many might be overly optimistic, but if he led the way, might not others follow? Others who wouldn’t have been brave enough to defy the majority of their own accord? He couldn’t possibly be the only one who felt that the slaughter of the original inhabitants of this world was wrong, could he? At the least, he might force them to negotiate, as he had hoped before. It would be worth risking himself, worth being thought a traitor, if it resulted in dragons and humans forming a peace treaty.

  He banked, flying up the slope of the volcano instead of continuing past it. He swooped over the rim and searched the crater, aware of the molten rock steaming below as rain splashed onto it. The glowing orange pool of lava contained heat enough to harm even a dragon. He found a jagged outcropping a dozen meters below the rim and perched upon it. Would the others follow him in here? He flexed his muscles, the thought of a fight sending blood surging through his veins.