Beguiling Dragons

Timur needed to run. Sure, it was training, but running would give him time to think. And time with his son. So he bundled up Gregor, slung him wolf-style to his chest, and took off cross-country. Route didn’t matter, so he picked a path and random and pounded along it, hoping the steady rhythm would push his thoughts into formation.

Because he’d taken a male bondmate. Willingly. Eagerly. And it wasn’t hard to fathom why.

Back when he was eighteen, doing his part for the In-between had seemed like a great idea. Sex for a good cause. And there had been a lot of sex. Much of it overseen by a healer. Always while blindfolded, to spare his partner any embarrassment. Because the women were usually already married, already mothers, and also just doing their part.

Timur had managed to fulfill his contract, but the whole business had put a damper on his libido. Maybe he was just burned out. Tired of the mechanics. Uninterested in something casual. Waiting for the right woman to come along. But Timur thought that deep down, he was probably broken.

And yet he’d found an unexpected refuge.

Someone who didn’t want him for paternity.

Yet clung and sighed and melted under his hands.

A friend who accepted his attentions in the spirit they were offered.

“You should be the first to know, Gregor,” Timur said gruffly. “Your papka has beguiled a dragon, and I belong to him now. Is good, yes?”

His boy was utterly relaxed, so trusting.

“When I was first tapped by the Order of Spomenka, I lived and breathed dragons. Learned all I could. Heights and harems both. Then last summer, when Damsel needed me so much, I ended up needing him. Honestly, I didn’t realize we were bond-building. But it explains why I missed him so much.”

Timur increased his pace, which made it harder to talk. But he forced out the words, wanting to be honest. With himself. With his son.

“Always wanted a dragon. Never thought to try. A wife was more … expected, I guess. But it wasn’t as easy to find one as I thought.” He was breathing hard, close to tears. “But I have a dragon now, and he is magnificent.”

He slowed his pace but kept slogging on. “I think I’ve been enormously selfish. I probably should have tried harder to give you a mother, but … I gave up. I’m sorry, Gregor. I couldn’t even bring myself to try again. But I’ll share Mum. And you’ll have aunties aplenty, honorary and otherwise.”

Gregor blinked up at him, solemn in his sleepiness.

“I did think of a way to make it up to you. Maybe. I’ll have to ask Fend. He’ll know what’s best. Always does.” Timur rounded a bend and stumbled to a stop at the sight of Juuyu.

The phoenix glanced his way, then strode over, plainly concerned. “Are you in distress?”

“Me? No. Just … needed a run.”

Juuyu reached out slowly and righted Gregor’s hat. Then with the same deliberation, he dragged a knuckle up Timur’s stubbled cheek, erasing a tear track. His posture invited confidences, and his hands formed a silent promise for secrecy.

“Thank you. Truly. But … I don’t … ah.”

Just then, Stately House’s two wind dragons reeled through the trees in a rippling, twisting race. They shied away from Juuyu, all scolding cries, then circled back. The female draped herself around Timur’s shoulders with a smug tootle-peep, while the little male cautiously nosed Juuyu’s fingertips.

“Sorry, little girl. Did I take away your boy?” Timur asked gruffly.

And then there was a crash in the undergrowth, a spate of grumbled oaths, and Sinder tumbled into the open. He was clad in jeans and a T-shirt with a band logo on it, and he was barefoot. He looked frightened and frazzled. No, Timur could feel that he was frightened and frazzled. But then Sinder spotted his partner.

“Oh, shit. I mean … umm. Well … heyyy, Juuyu. Long time no see.”

The phoenix angled his head to one side, then the other. “Are you in distress? Ah. I see. This is mutual distress? Sinder, what have you done?”

“Why’s it my fault?”

“You are sometimes thoughtless. You are repeatedly reckless.” With a sidelong look at Timur, he added, “You are never barefoot in the snow. What drove you into the outdoors for which you have so little fondness?”

Sinder stood there, shifting from foot to foot, then muttered something about dunces before hurrying to Timur. “You okay? You didn’t feel okay, and I don’t have any safety protocols in place, but all I could think was … get to you. Are you okay?”

“I’m … fine.”

“Okay, now you’re lying to me. Do you regret me? Was it a terrible idea after all?” With a skittish glance Juuyu’s way, he muttered, “I think we’re pretty good together, y’know?”

Timur felt like an idiot, but it was vastly more important that his dragon was shivering. “Juuyu, will you take Gregor so I can sort out Sinder?”

“Gladly.” Moments later, the phoenix was warbling over the little boy while casting sidelong glances their way.

“Calm down, Zolottse. You are good and right and best for me. I swear it.” Timur shed his coat and peeled out of the hoodie underneath, shoving it down over Sinder’s head before hauling his dragon off the ground. “My only regrets where you are concerned involve your suffering and scars from last summer. And your current distress. I was thoughtless, and now you’re cold.”

“It was so weird. One minute, I was going through Canarian’s notes, and the next … wham! You were sad or stressed or … something. You weren’t happy anymore, and that felt wrong, and I asked the twerps to help me find you. Jumped out a window. I was … I guess it was stupid.”

“The bond is fresh, and that can lead to erratic impressions. The impulse to reach for and protect is entirely natural.” Timur should have been more careful, more considerate. “I apologize.”

Fend stalked into the open then, ears laid back, tail lashing. He hissed at Juuyu, whose brows lifted.

The phoenix firmed his stance and calmly asked, “Do you have something of import to share, Sinder?”

“Guess I do. You remember Timur?”

“Quite well,” Juuyu assured.

“He’s my … or … I’m his …? Guess it’s the same either way.”

“We’re bondmates,” supplied Timur, keeping it simple.

Juuyu hesitated. “Not a love match?”

“It’s more of an alliance. But it’s messing with my head. And impulse control is apparently shot.” Sinder fidgeted. “I like it best when we’re touching.”

“Are not all dragons greedy?”

“So you think it’s normal?”

The phoenix considered them for several moments. Finally, he said, “Your responses to your bondmate are entirely natural. And if memory serves–”

“Your memory always serves,” Sinder interjected.

“Even before this new development, your attachment was evident, as was your appreciation for Timur’s touch.”

“I blame the Order of Spomenka. Dragon slayers are so good, it’s scary. Which reminds me. It’ll be in my next report, but … him and me. Work with us, and Timur can ride out against the Rogue.”

“Hmm.”

“He has access to ambuscade weapons.”

“That’s true, and I look forward to a lengthy discussion on battle tactics and training schedules, but ...!” Timur lowered Sinder onto Fend’s back and retrieved both his jacket and Gregor. “It will have to keep until later. I have a dragon to warm.”

“I can only applaud your priorities.” And more softly, “Yours is a dangerous combination.”

Timur frowned. “You don’t approve?”

“Indeed no. I am astonished. And grateful. Surely as a member of the Order of Spomenka, you realize how rare it is for a dragon to accept a rider. The possibilities have me giddy.” The phoenix waved a hand between them. “We will train in the manner of comrades. And if you like, we will talk in the manner of friends.”

Timur glanced toward Sinder, but Fend had already moved out of earshot. “I just … things didn’t turn out how I expected.”

“And you are disappointed?”

“No! No.” Timur tucked his son under his chin and sighed. “I’m astonished. And relieved. But also … I don’t know. I claimed something exceedingly precious for myself, and … what gives me the right to be this happy?”

Juuyu warbled a cascade of notes, light and joyous. “I can only applaud your perspicacity.”

Timur felt a little teased and a little approved of and embarrassed enough to try to change the subject. “So … what are you doing out here?”

“Ah. I was tracking a small dragon, but I keep encountering hinderances. Tiny sparks of resonance, they overlap and interfere.” The phoenix peered around. “What has Kyrie done to the trees?”

“He copied something Salali Fullstash did at Wardenclave. Or … adapted it, I suppose. Ever since last summer, for weeks and weeks, Kyrie would go to Papka for chippings and shards from any remnants he’d shaped. In the end, he sent to Glintrubble, begging for a shovelful of scrap from their workshops.”

Juuyu peered at the surrounding forest, expression thoughtful. “He gave every tree a voice.”

“And when Kyrie’s conducting, these woods sing.”

“To what end?”

“Papka has partially replicated the effect on a much smaller scale. It’s an array, but it’s much more than that.” Timur walked to the nearest tree, circling until he stood under its shard. “Kyrie names them and befriends them. He teaches them to get along with their neighbors, and he sings to them of Stately House. And when each little spark resonates, they tune their voice to his. His will is their will.”

“It must be lovely.”

“And terrifying.” Timur began backing toward home, toward the dragon who was missing him. “Didn’t Sinder mention …? Or Moon? He was there, too. So was Ginkgo. Ask them, though I’m not sure anyone can explain how it’s done. Even Papka had to admit defeat.”

Juuyu trailed after him, hands framing a plea. “What has Kyrie done?”

“You could say he’s added to Stately House’s defenses. If anyone ever got past Papka’s barriers and Argent’s illusions, they’d find themselves in among the trees.”

“An intruder would be tracked.”

“Oh, they’re a bunch of tiny tattle-tales,” Timur agreed easily. “But any wolf in these woods can track. Don’t forget. Kyrie is an ambuscade.”

“I was aware.” Juuyu beckoned with a quick flick of his fingers. “What is the crux?”

“An ambuscade uses remnant stones to focus their will.” Timur saw understanding kindle in the phoenix’s widening eyes and nodded. “Before any of us fully realized what he was about, Kyrie had turned the whole forest into a weapon.”