Rune chuckled. “Eldi’s friendly, but he’s no horse. If you want to ride him, you’re going to need this. Trust me.”
Nerves tingled in my belly. And suddenly, I wasn’t quite sure my plan toride a dragonwas a particularly smart idea. I’d promised to get Eldi airborne, but he didn’t need me strapped to his back for that. All he needed was a little encouragement. I could do that with my feet safely on the ground.
As if reading my thoughts, Rune knelt beside the saddle and pointed at some of the steel hooks. They were attached to leather strips. “These keep you locked into the saddle, so even if things go horribly wrong, you’re not going to fall off the dragon.”
“And if the dragon himself falls?” I asked, arching a brow.
“Dragons don’t fall.”
“Then why is Eldi so afraid of flying?”
Rune shrugged. “The same reason anyone is afraid of anything, I suppose. His mind connects flying to something terrible that happened.”
“Do you know what that is?”
“Afraid not. But seeing as he’s chosen to bond with you, I’m sure you’ll find out eventually.”
I nodded, though I still couldn’t shake the nerves. “All right. Let’s get going, then.”
“You know you can trust me, right?” he asked. “I wouldn’t agree to help you with this if I thought there was any chance you’d get hurt.”
I softened. “I do trust you, Rune. More than anything.”
He looked like he wanted to say something, but then he shook his head and kept his mouth shut. Groaning, he hauled the massive saddle into his arms and grunted at me to take thelead. Our journey to the dragon cave took twice as long with the saddle. Every twenty minutes or so, Rune needed to stop and rest. Sweat covered his brow and coated his tunic, especially with the late-spring sun beaming down on us. I offered to carry it part of the way, but he refused to let me go near the thing. The only help he accepted was a few sips from my waterskin when we stopped.
Eventually, we reached the foothills, where we found Eldi prancing back and forth in the tall grass, like a cat who’d taken a long, deep sniff of catnip. When he spotted us dragging ourselves along the path, he raced toward us with his tail animatedly swishing behind him.
I laughed when he reached us and nudged my arm with his snout.
“I’m happy to see you, too. Sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday. I got caught up finishing Arvid’s fence.”
When only silence answered me, I remembered the Hugur sand. I tossed a good dose into my mouth and washed it down with what was left of our water. Instantly, Eldi’s voice filled my mind.
When you didn’t come yesterday, I was worried you’d already left the island. I thought I’d never see you again.
With a sad smile, I rubbed his snout. “I’m not leaving until tomorrow night. That’s when Louisa’s ship returns.”
Eldi sniffed the air.You have the orc’s scent on you. Is he your lover?
I coughed at the sudden change in the conversation, my face flushing.
“Er, no. We just…” I glanced at Rune, who’d sat on the ground to catch his breath. He leaned against the saddle with his eyes closed. It didn’t look like he was paying much attention to our conversation, but he was right there. He could hear every word I said out loud.
And so I tried to speak to Eldi through my mind, the same way he spoke to me.
We only shared a brief kiss. He’s not my lover.
Eldi snorted in response.I don’t understand this ‘brief kiss’ business. Either he is your lover or he is not.
Not. Very much not.
Then why is his scent all over you?
I really don’t want to have this conversation with you. Can we focus on flying instead?
Hmm. Let him take some of the Hugur sand. I’d like to speak to the orc about his intentions with you.
“Absolutely not!” I exclaimed out loud.
