“What’s going on, Frida?” Rune asked tiredly.
“Nothing.” My entire face flamed. “Eldi is just getting a little carried away, that’s all.”
Rune rose, scratching the base of his tusk. “Carried away about what?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I think we all just need to focus on why we’ve hauled that saddle halfway across the island.”
“Now I understand why everyone found my dragon bond so irritating. You two were clearly having a full-blown conversation in your heads that you didn’t want me to hear.”
“Can we just move on, please?” I hissed at him.
He held up his hands. “All right, all right. Tell Eldi he needs to flatten his body against the ground so we can get the saddle fitted.”
I sighed. “Eldi says he doesn’t want you to speak through me.”
“In that case, should I take some of the sand, too?” Rune asked.
“No!” I nearly shouted. “No, no. That’s not necessary. You two don’t need to talk.” I shot a look at Eldi.Please don’t embarrass me.
Eldi snorted again, but let it go. He lowered his belly to the ground and sprawled out like a beached whale, his breath rustling the grass. Rune hefted the saddle onto his glittering scaled back, then got to work cinching all the straps and hooks firmly into place. When he was finished, he stepped back and admired his handiwork with a distant look in his eye.
“It’s about time someone got use out of this thing again,” said Rune.
It’s a shame it’s just this once,I thought—more to myself than anything else.
If you will not stay for me, will you not stay for your lover?
He’s not my lover.
I expected the dragon to argue some more, but he went silent as Rune helped haul me onto the saddle. It required a short climb using leather footholds that ran up the side of the saddle like a mini-ladder. When I reached the smooth seat, Rune gave me instructions to buckle myself in. Soon I was strapped into the saddle so tightly that I couldn’t budge an inch.
Heart pounding, I gripped the horn that protruded from the leather. “Right. Are you ready for this, Eldi?”
His fear and excitement rushed over me.I’m not certain I can do this. It has been twenty years since I last spread my wings.
“That’s all right,” I said out loud. “All I want you to do is lift off the ground and hold flight for five seconds. Then you can land and catch your breath.”
His scaly body trembled beneath me.Five seconds.
“Five seconds. I’ll even count it down out loud.” I leaned forward and rubbed his neck. “And remember, I’m right here with you.”
A rush of trust and affection came toward me. Suddenly, the dragon rose and launched into a run. A wordless scream ripped from my throat, and I clung to the saddle’s horn with every ounce of strength I possessed. I knew I wouldn’t fall, not with the straps binding me to the saddle, but still I clung tight.
Fear rattled through me, but I managed to tamp it down enough for me to hide it from Eldi. And so, with the brilliant sun casting a haze of warmth upon the island, Eldi beat his wings against the humid air and lifted off the ground for the first time in decades.
The dragon soared.
“Five!” I shouted, hopefully loud enough for him to hear me. “Four! Three! Two! ONE!”
Eldi gently settled back onto the ground, his sharp talons slicing through the dirt. A heady exuberance came over him, filling my chest with the intensity of it. I found myself smiling so wide my cheeks ached, and I could hear Rune’s excited shouts from behind us.
Leaning forward in the saddle, I brushed my hands along my dragon’s scales. “Well done, Eldi. I’m so, so proud of you.”
His happiness lit a fire in my soul.
Again?he asked eagerly.
“Absolutely,” I said with a grin. “This time, how about we go for ten seconds?”
