Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

SIYANA

“Stupid fucking dragon,” I muttered as I trailed my hand along the rough wall to try to find my way through the pitch black tunnel system. “Or drackya—whatever.”

Why had I even considered reaching back out to him in the bond when I’d felt the tug on my soul? I had known him for mere days, and despite him proving he wasn’t just the arrogant, cold king that I’d first met, we were nowhere near that level of commitment. We hadn’t even kissed, yet when I’d felt the weightless, floating sensation take over me, like I was somehow going to float away into the sky with him if I only said yes, it’d felt…right. A warmth had enveloped me when I’d thought of accepting the bond, as if the future was wrapping me in a tight embrace, welcoming me.

My lips pursed and I came to a halt, letting the resounding silence wash over me as I attempted to get my erratic heartbeat under control.

But then he’d told me to leave.

A chill ran down my spine as wind blew through the tunnel, making my wet hair feel like icicles running down my neck and the side of my face.

I’m just as stupid, thinking there was a chance.

As my hand slipped from the wall and curled into a fist at my side, I forced myself to take in a controlled, deep breath. I held it for a few seconds once my lungs had expanded to the point of pain. Blowing out slowly, I tried to picture the negative emotions being expelled alongside the breath.

What’s meant for me will be.

I will not fault myself for wanting to find a connection, it’s only natural.

Theo did us both a favor by putting a stop to that, considering the possible outcome.

As my lungs emptied, I still felt the raw sting of rejection, but the overwhelming anger was beginning to subside. Logic was beginning to stake a place in my thoughts once more, and I knew that even if by some miraculous chance Theo and I were mates, I wasn’t ready for that commitment. Or that connection.

Suddenly, it felt as if the mountain itself was moving as the floor beneath my feet vibrated and the tunnel shook. Small bits of rocks pelted the floor as I heard a deep, menacing roar from not too far away, it seemed. I spun, trying to make out from what direction it was coming, but it was echoing and reverberating through the space around me, making it impossible to pinpoint the exact location.

Fear spiked within me as only darkness stared back at me.

That wasn’t my— no —that wasn’t Theo’s dragon.

I’d come to know the sounds he made from our journey here, and there was a distinctly higher pitch to this one.

All I knew was that I needed to get back to our designated alcove, now. I threw my hands out, desperate to feel the wall again, but a sick feeling twisted my gut as I realized I had no idea what direction I needed to go in now, after spinning around.

“Shit,” I breathed out, instantly feeling that frantic heartbeat return.

Despite finding the smooth wall with my left hand, I felt no joy in the discovery. Another ear-splitting roar had me throwing caution to the wind and running with my hand against the wall as the ground trembled beneath my feet. The dragon sounded closer this time.

I’d given up on squinting early on in my trek back to our temporary shelter, but I found myself attempting again. I was desperate to see anything that would make it seem like the fire we’d left blazing was anywhere even remotely near to where I was.

My fingers dipped along the seemingly random gouges I could feel growing in number beneath my fingertips. I risked taking a moment to stop and examine the length and depth of them with my hand. I hadn’t noticed these along the walls that had led us from our shelter, but it was entirely possible that they were here when Theo had led me through the dark.

I reached up and around the area until I felt like I had a good grasp on the mental image it was producing. The only logical thought I could come up with for them was that dragon scales had rubbed against the walls as they walked through, or that a fight had occurred and a dragon had been slammed into the wall, indenting the rock.

Either way, I was entirely screwed if I ran into a full-blooded dragon, and my already low confidence in my choice of direction was suddenly sinking to zero. It was too late to change course now. I needed to find a defining area and work my way from there. If I turned back now, I could get lost even further into the mountain. Every single bit of it was a risk.

I continued at a brisk pace, and the warmth that had lingered from the spring was beginning to seep out of my body and through the furs I was wrapped in. I may not have been any closer to a fire to stay warm, but after what I thought was around ten minutes of not hearing any dragons, it seemed as if I’d chosen the right direction necessary to survive. I’d at least be safe until I could figure out how to get back.

Would Theo come find me?

The thought alone had my face twisting with the utter annoyance that now bled through me.

No, Sia, you can figure this out. You aren’t a damsel in distress.

My shoulders rolled back and I continued on. Eventually, I was rewarded with the faintest golden glow reflecting in the distance. A squeal of joy worked itself out of my mouth, despite my efforts to stay quiet, and I ran toward the light.

Only as I drew closer to it, the floor suddenly dropped with a sharp decline. My foot slipped from under me as I tried to plant my feet into the ground to halt my hurried pace. My tailbone vibrated with shockwaves of pain as I crashed into the ground, slipping down the slope. I scrambled, attempting to grab onto any crevice with my hands, but to no avail.

All too soon I was sprawled on the suddenly flat ground with the breath knocked from my lungs. A groan escaped me as I pushed off the floor with my hands to sit.

Where am I?

My eyes dropped to the padding beneath my hands and my mouth dropped open. An array of moss, leaves, and branches were laid out across the entirety of the floor around me, and as my gaze traveled out further, I suddenly saw why.

I was in a dragon's nest.

Eggs the size of my body were lined up in a semi-circle around a blazing fire that showed no signs of going out anytime soon. Warmth radiated from the opposite side of the room from me, emanating from the biggest bonfire I’d ever laid eyes upon. Heat licked at my face as I pushed to my feet and walked closer to the eggs, absolutely mesmerized by the different colors and sizes I could see in the flickering fire light.

Gazing around, I took note that there were ten eggs in total, with the majority ranging in shades of deep blue. However, my feet carried me to the two eggs at the end of the line, furthest from the fire. They were such a light blue that I’d thought them white from far away, but upon closer inspection, they glimmered with ice surrounding the hard shell.

Baby ice dragons.

The thought had the corners of my lips tugging up as I imagined little versions of Theo blasting each other with ice.

I knew I shouldn’t be here, and I most definitely shouldn’t reach out to touch the eggs, but there was something about the bigger of the two eggs that drew me in. It felt similar to the innate draw my heart had felt when Theo had reached out, offering the bond. I couldn’t stop myself from lifting my hand and resting it on top of the egg, the height of which reached my forehead.

Instantly, it began to shake and I gasped as light began to spark from within the egg, reflecting in the most beautiful way with the ice surrounding it. I attempted to lift my hand from it, but found myself stuck. My jaw clenched as I wrapped my free hand around my wrist, trying to use extra force to remove my hand. I dug my feet in and huffed with the force and pain that came with it. It felt as if my skin would tear off if I pulled any harder.

The glow from within began to grow, becoming a blinding white that had me lifting my free hand to block my eyes from it. I squinted, trying to peek through my fingers as a warmth began to spread from my palm and up my arm. I couldn’t see anything, but I gritted my teeth as the feeling moved up my shoulder and into my chest, becoming unbearably hot as it grew.

Searing pain etched itself above my right breast and I let out a scream of pain just before the shell exploded around me. I yanked my previously trapped hand away as I stumbled backward, falling onto my ass as the glow began to die down.

As my eyes adjusted back to the fire-lit cavern, I gasped. In place of the egg was a blue baby dragon, sitting on its hind legs with a shimmering blue tail wrapped around its taloned feet. A large, round head tilted my way as their milky-white eyes gazed down at me and a burst of love exploded in my chest.

He was so cute, and somehow I knew it was a he.

Tiny ice spikes protruded from the edge of his neck, curving toward his back, and more ran down his spine, sticking straight up.

His mouth opened as he chuffed at me, and the tip of his tail flicked around, as if he was agitated.

“What is it, honey?” I asked, getting the courage to get back on my feet and stand eye-level with my new friend.

Could this baby dragon kill me? Probably, but I could think of a million worse ways to die than being mauled by the cutest creature I’d ever laid eyes upon.

There was still a level of trepidation that had my chest clenching with nerves as I walked closer. He let out another chuff and shoved his head forward as I closed the distance between us. The force knocked me back a few paces, but I laughed as the thick skin between his eyes pulled together, like he was confused as to why I was suddenly away from him.

He pushed off his back feet to stand and wobbled as he took shaky steps toward me. I couldn’t help but lift my hands to cover my mouth as awe overcame me. I had seriously witnessed a baby dragon being born and now taking his first step.

As he got to my side, I let out a cheer of encouragement, “You did it, buddy! Great job.”

His eyes widened and a purr rumbled from him. Just as I thought my heart couldn’t take any more of his adorable personality, he plopped back down onto his butt and leaned against my side, resting his head against the side of mine.

Tears welled in my eyes as I gently tilted my face to rest my cheek against his. Never in my life had I ever experienced such a profound moment, and truly this would be one of those memories I bursted with joy to tell to anyone and everyone who would listen to me.

However, what felt like a sacred moment was broken as the other icy egg began to wobble.

“Oh!” I gasped as my friend pushed back onto his feet and took tentative steps over to his sibling’s egg. Cracks began to form, but this time, there was a lack of glowing light or crazy energy radiating toward me. The call I’d experienced as the first dragon hatched was noticeably absent this time.

Slowly, pieces of the egg began to fall off as tiny limbs broke through. Before long, a head burst through the top. It was identical to my little friend’s, and as the rest of the shell fell away, I realized that they were actually twins. The only difference between the two was that this new dragon seemed slightly smaller.

A delighted smile lit my face up as the two dragons touched snouts and huffed out air. My friend used his nose to help the smaller one stand, supporting her belly as her hind legs flexed.

My vision became blurry as the tears began to really spring up before slipping down my cheeks. I brought my hands up to brush them away, not wanting to miss a moment of this.

As I moved, though, the smaller dragon’s eyes snapped toward me and a warning snarl echoed through the space.

My joy shriveled up at the tiny noise and I immediately took a few steps back as my sense of self-preservation kicked back into gear.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, holding my hands up. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll go now.”

The small one’s jaws opened and a loud trill came out, as if they were trying to roar but couldn’t produce the noise yet. It would have been cute if she didn’t follow it up by snapping her jaws in my direction as I continued to slowly retreat.

Shockingly, the bigger one lifted his head from her belly and nipped at her side, as if telling their sibling to knock it off. He turned to look at me and chuffed.

Okay, maybe he wouldn’t let his sibling eat me. That was comforting.

Just as I began to let myself breathe and think of life after I escaped the nest, the room shook with the force of a rumbling growl. I was hesitant to give the babies my back, but I had to confirm if the sound was as close as the warning bells in my head were telling me it was.

I turned slowly on my heel, inch by inch, until my eyes landed on the behemoth navy dragon that had their head hanging down into the nest, silver eyes trained directly on me.

Mommy was home.