One minute the Tallik was screeching at me, thrashing its tail back and forth, and reaching its claws across the surface, and the next, a dragon was hovering over its charred bones.
Dragons’ fire was the second weakness a Tallik had, the only thing hot enough to melt through their thick scales. Not even the sharpest blade could pierce it.
The bank vibrated as the dragon landed onto the ground, the flames licking out around it. Its scales were a pearly cream, so different from the translucent white of the Tallik’s it just burned off.
It was beautiful.
It was probably the first time I’d ever looked at a monster and thought that. Not that I wasn’t still absolutely terrified of it, because I was.
Maybe it was just the fact that there weren’t any guts dripping from its teeth, or that there wasn’t a drop of blood on it. Or maybe it was because the dragon didn’t smell like it was rotting from the inside out. Or maybe I was deluded into thinking it was my savior for temporarily sparing me from the lesser of two beasts.
I looked closer and caught glimpses of a shimmer. Its scales almost looked iridescent as the suns reflected off it, making the perfect camouflage to get lost in the clouds or the Moriann fog.
It was also the largest beast I’d ever seen before, triple the length of the Tallik it had burned to a crisp, and Talliks weren’t known to be small. The dragon could barely fit inside the clearing.
I was treading water, gawking up at the dragon, before I heard feetthud against the grass. A splash sounded the next second, and I didn’t wait. I dove back underwater before even looking atwhatfollowed me into the lake.
I made it five seconds before something wrapped around my waist and pulled me up toward the surface again.
I started thrashing. Kicking. Screaming. Anything to break free of whatever was holding me.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” A low voice brushed against the back of my ear. It sounded humanoid, but I also knew I couldn’t trust that. There were numerous creatures of Dahes that could speak the common tongue. “Stop screaming before you attract another monster.”
I was yanked backward, and instinctively, I tried to pull away, to swim in the other direction.
“And stop fighting me,” the voice deadpanned.
I was dragged back toward the bank, toward the dragon and the bones of the Tallik. For a second, I thought about fighting again, my body screamed at me to try and flee, but I also knew this was exactly what Dahes wanted. This had to be the drakin I was waiting for, the dragon alone was proof, even if I couldn’t get my brain to believe it yet.
“I don’t need your help,” I snapped when I finally found my voice. Even if I had to play the role of a damsel, I didn’t need to be carried.
He didn’t let up, but I heard a rough laugh before I was pulled the rest of the way onto the bank. “Could have fooled me.”
I turned around, about to make a retort back, when I lost my voice just as fast as I’d found it.
The boy—man—standing before me was striking. His muscular physique looked like it was shaped by the Gods and Goddesses themselves, crafted into a perfect weapon of flesh and bones. And that didn’t account for the variousactualweapons that donned his uniform. Steel kissed him everywhere. Daggers and knives were strapped into every nook and crevice that I was surprised he hadn’t accidentally cut himself. A large sword took up the entire length of his back. The metal looked so heavy I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to lift it if I had the opportunity, and I wasn’t weak.
I’d seen numerous people from my hunts, but they were starved and brittle, barely having enough muscle on them to put up a fight against me.
Buthim—he looked like he could snap me in half with one hand. His entire existence was built for fighting and death and nothing else. There was no way I could fight him off. The rider before me was lethal all on his own, and that didn’t account for the actual dragon at his back.
What the hell had I gotten myself into…
I backed up a step, tripping over a rock, and was about to fall back into the water when he caught my arm.
I steadied myself, moving my feet forward until I found my footing again. He immediately drew his hand back, and I realized that my Token never came out. I was still tangible. He’d touched me.
“She won’t hurt you,” he said, his voice just as hard.
“She?”
“My dragon.”
I stole a glance at the towering creature again. Its neon yellow eyes were glaring at me, and I didn’t even want to know how large its teeth were. The dragon tucked her wings into her side, and huffed, steam immediately engulfing me that I swore I’d be wet from it if I hadn’t just come out of the Inyaer.
She turned, her hind legs making the ground shake before stepping back to lay further down the bank.
A dragon.
