Soul Bound

Chapter 3

Eva's abdomen burned. Gasping, she clutched it--and was surprised to find no wound. In fact, the incredible pain she'd experienced earlier was now all but a dream.

Am I. . . dead?

The fog cleared from her eyes slowly. A dragon's face hovered over her. For a moment, she thought it was Glade, and she nearly cried out in relief, but then her mind cleared and she realised the dragon was not brown. The sunlight peeking through the cascade didn't catch any speckles of gold in its scales. It was utterly black, as dark as the storm clouds outside. Apart from its eyes. Its eyes were crystal blue--and cradling tears. One of those tears slipped out of the corner of its eyes and slid down its muzzle onto her stomach. It burned at the touch.

Choking on a scream, Eva scrambled back from the dragon, eyes darting around for Erika. Her little sister leapt into her lap, arms wrapping tight around her waist. "You're okay!"

Eva secured an arm around her back and pulled her away from the dragon, only to notice the movement didn't hurt. Bewildered, she looked down at her stomach, laid her hand over the exposed skin. The wounds were gone, healed, replaced by small, hard ridges; they were black, shaped like tears, broad at one end and pointed at the other. The three lines raked parallel across her stomach and ribs, from under her left breast down to her right hip.

Scales came to mind. She looked up at the dragon to find his body covered in identical scales. What had he done to her. . .?

Erika ran her fingers over the scars, eyes alight with wonder as she regarded them. "They're so pretty."

Eva brushed her sister's knotty hair out of her face, her mind stumbling to gather thoughts into something tangible and coherent. Poor Erika looked like she had travelled through all five hells before being dumped into this cave beside her dying sister and a mysterious dragon. Mud caked her skin, clinging to her cheeks, and blood--my blood--stained her once dusty, blonde hair.

"How did this happen?"

"He healed you," Erika explained, wiping her tears. She settled more comfortably in her lap, leaning her head on her shoulder.

Eva looked up at the dragon as it watched them quietly from his corner in the cave. She wasn't aware that dragons had healing abilities, but what shocked her more was the fact that he did it in the first place. He could have let her die, left Erika alone in the darkness, but here she was, alive and well.

Maybe not well. Every bone in her body ached and heavily protested any movement she made.

"Do you feel better after your nap?" Erika pressed on, while Eva took in their surroundings. The waterfall had become a roaring, white sheet, the current significantly stronger after the heavy rainfall last night. Precious sunlight glistened in puddles on the cave floor, casting bubbly reflections on the rough ceiling.

"I-I do."

Erika tucked her hand in Eva's palm. "He said you were special." She peered up at the dragon, entranced by the mystical beauty that he was. Ignoring the dark shadows playing on his scales and the circumstances that brought them to him, he was truly an extraordinary sight. A humble, quiet creature that commanded nature--though, she didn't know which aspect of nature--on a whim.

Apparently that was the dragon's cue to leave, because he receded into the cave, the shadows enveloping him in a veil of darkness. Not even the bright, morning sun could reach him in the cave's depths. Except his eyes. They glowed vibrantly, watching over them with a cool, impassive gaze.

"Wait!" Erika twisted out of her lap and stepped for the dragon. "Where are you going?"

Eva caught her wrist and pulled her back. "Leave him alone, Erika." The dragon had kindly let them stay here the night, Eva didn't want to test their luck by overstaying their welcome. "If he wants us to give him space, we'll respect his wishes. Can you walk?"