Soul Bound

Chapter 4

Grayson watched the gears turn in Eva's mind. She may not have been educated like many of the people in the Aborian base, but she was smart, just like Jacob. As long as Grayson had known Jacob, he took every opportunity to read a book, to learn something new. He had a feeling if she was extended the opportunity, she would do the same. 

They were undeniably siblings. They shared the same eyes: large, round, a warm brown that soothed the soul, and long, dark lashes. She had a slight frame, expected of a small town villager, but she was as tall as Jacob. Their noses rounded at the tip in the same way. When they scowled, their dimples lined up exactly around their mouths and eyes. While her brother’s hair was sandy and fluffy, Eva’s resembled starlight and looked soft to the touch. He was tempted to brush the loose strands out of her face to see if they were truly as soft as they looked, but that was wildly unprofessional--and it was dangerous to get attached.

She bit her bottom lip as she absorbed recent events, bringing his attention down to a scar cutting through the peach-coloured flesh just below her canine tooth. The shade of her lips perfectly complemented the complexion of her sun-kissed skin.

“You think I’m Bound to a storm dragon?” she asked. “We didn’t bond last night. We didn't even talk. If anything, Erika bonded with him. All he did was safe my life--which I'm grateful for--but I doubt I'll be seeing him again. He seemed angry that we'd disturbed him."

No. She didn't understand. How could she? Bonding with a dragon was a rare occurrence these days. It wasn't exactly a topic of conversation that frequented the hallways at the base, and those who did mention the phenomenon barely understood it. Grayson himself hardly understood the Bond he shared with Eran.

“Being Bound is different from anything else you will ever experience,” he explained, trying to be patient. Not exactly his specialty. “I know because I'm Bound to Eran.” He pulled up the hem of his shirt and showed her the scar under his ribs that marked him the same way she had been marked by her dragon. It had been a stab wound, a killing blow from his own brother if it hadn't been for Eran. He turned to his dragon bound, reaching out to stroke the scales on Eran's long neck, where his own scars were etched into his scales. “He saved my life, though I didn't deserve it. You see, when you Bond, a dragon splits its soul with you. The two of you become one. You die, your dragon dies, and vice-versa.”

“This is the highest honour a dragon can bestow upon another being,” Eran added--because this wasn't overwhelming enough for her.

Eva stared up at the dragon, those warm brown eyes lighting up with wonder as she took him in. Eran was a sight to behold, one of the strongest and oldest dragons in Dragon Canyon. When Grayson had shown up on their doorstep with him there was no chance of the Knights denying him, no matter who he had once been or what he had done. It would have been foolish of them to turn away their power.

Then she turned the same gaze on to Grayson; he fought the urge to wince. If she knew half of the things he had done, she wouldn't look at him with such revere.

“You're too hard on yourself,” Eran argued through their link. The damned dragon was always in his head.

“I'm not hard enough.”

Eva fiddled with the tattered hem of her shirt. Her mother had given her a change of clothes, but the tunic she wore now hardly fit her. It looked like it might have once belonged to Jacob, it was so big on her. “You think the storm dragon Bonded with me? But why would he do that? I'm just a hunter. Nothing special.”

“That is up to the dragon,” Eran answered. “I Bonded with Grayson because he showed great courage.”

Grayson cut him a glare. “Don’t.”