Soul Bound

Chapter 34

The blistering sun woke them up in the morning. Since they had to wait for Eva’s informant to come back with a reply before continuing on with their mission, Eva showed Annaliese around the underground city. She was impressed they'd found it with her magic, which made Eva’s heart swell with pride.

They were left alone to walk through the settlement. Guess now that there were two Dragon Knights, the criminals felt less inclined to put up a fight. Eva was only slightly disappointed, secretly hoping for the chance to show off her skills to Anna. Up until yesterday, Anna had been the only person she had fought since joining the Knights, and she had frequently kicked her butt. Eva wanted to show her what her training looked like on someone who wasn't born holding a sword.

They went to the very end of the main street to the shore of the underground lake. Anna took a moment to absorb the size and beauty of this gem below the sand, hands braced on her hips. "This is incredible. You say it goes far into the west?"

Eva nodded. "Arkon says it spans almost all of the southern half of the continent."
Her eyes went wide in shock then a thoughtful look fell over her features. "I wonder how it got here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this water didn't come from the ocean, it's fresh. There are no rivers leading here from the mountains and it rains maybe once a year. So, where did all of this water come from?"

That was a good question. Eva hadn't stopped to consider it.

Anna tapped her temple, giving her a knowing look. "As Dragon Knights, we have to think about these things, learn about our surroundings. Knowing the land you walk on could be the difference between life and death."

Eva gave it some thought. If she hadn't checked for underground lakes, Arkon and her might have died of thirst long before the cold nights got to him; if she had known about the lake, it wouldn't have been an issue to begin with. The same could be said about the valleys in Aboria. Only the people of Brar knew about the caves nearby the village; the villagers hid in them and their enemies never found them. During her hunting trips, she often took advantage of the terrain to get the upper hand on her prey. She supposed that wasn't all too different.

Eva tucked this lesson away in her mind for safe keeping.

Anna bent and picked up a stone, inspecting it closely. Seemingly satisfied with it, she changed her grip on it--then flung it at the lake. It spun and skated across the water's surface seven times before it sank.

She winked at Eva's blatant gawking. "It's all in the wrist."

Eva shut her mouth then crossed her arms. "I know how to skip stones. Jacob taught me how to do it."

"Then show me what you got."

The only problem with that? She had never quite mastered the technique. She'd be lucky if the stone skipped twice.

Before Eva could humiliate herself, however, they were interrupted by her informant.

"Dragon Knight.” He looked different from last night, wearing a thin shirt instead of a cloak to mask his face, but he was definitely her informant. She recognised his dark, beady eyes. "You are supposed to be alone."

He gave Anna an unwelcoming look.
Eva stood in front of her, holding her hands up. "Please, she can be trusted. What did Sasha say?"

He shook his head, taking a wary step back. "You broke the terms. Our deal is off."

His words were like a slap to the face. Shock hit her first then the anger came rolling in. She came all of this way--left her brother, her home--to ask for Sasha’s help. She was not taking “no” for an answer.