I️ poked my head through the branches of the tree I️ had climbed to get a better look at the hunter's camp. It lay in ruins, shouldering embers still burned & the smell of smoke was tangy in the air. Orange light rays warmed my face; morning had just arrived, and a new day began, revealing death and blood spilled in the night.

I️ knew it was dangerous to return, I️ don't know why I️ did, but my gaze kept wandering over the bodies. Almost like I was searching for something in particular. I felt disgusted once looking at the bodies. They were mangled and haphazardly thrown into a pile where a man stood with a torch.

With the realization that stirred up feelings of relief, I saw the faintest flicker of gold on the man's arm. My thoughts that were so disturbed before were now calmed as I watched his movements. He threw the flame onto the pile of bodies, and they were immediately enveloped in a raging fire. The wind shifted and brought the heavy black smoke in my direction.

Nearly falling out of my perch from gaging at the smell, I quickly descended and sighed with relief once breathing in fresher air. I walked to the tree line, peered out, and watched the clearing.

The man stood there, watching the bodies burn. I made a face as I watched him.

He shifted his position, looking to the sky. I slid back into the shadows, not wanting to be seen but wanting to let him know I was at least alive. Without warning, an enormous dragon landed beside the man, bending its long neck to rest its snout on the man's hand. They looked at each other in silence as a few gestures were exchanged. My eyes widened. They were communicating through their thoughts.

The dragon was beautifully crafted, its scales forming a puzzle of lighter golds and darker bronze, forged in fire to make an impenetrable armour. It opened its eyes. Amber glowed back into the man's multicoloured eyes.

"Kayne!" Breaking the trance I was put in; a few men quickly walked toward the man and his dragon.

"What is it?" Kayne turned to gaze at the approaching men. They were broad-shouldered and extremely muscular, all of them were. "Baylen, what's going on?"

"Claiborne managed to escape the hunting parties..." Kayne's expression grew dark. The dragon behind cast the men in a long shadow.

"What about his followers?" Kayne began to walk away from the burning corpses. "The one with the scar across her face, Amalie?"

The other man spoke up, "we've got her in one of the cages. There are a couple of others as well." Their voices began to fade as they made the distance between themselves and the fire. The roar of it was surprisingly loud, and the stench was still thick in the air.

The golden dragon stayed where it was, watching as her rider walked with the others. I watched as well, noting the definition of his back muscles that I seemed to have missed last night. He's got a nice ass. My gaze wandered back to the dragon, I nearly collapsed to the ground as amber eyes were staring directly at where I was hiding. It had crept its way closer, standing on all fours, its tail swaying slightly behind it. It gave a low growl. This is how I die.

Seeing as there would be no use in hiding from it any longer, I exposed myself, creeping out from the shadows and letting the sunlight hit my skin. The sun's warmth soaked into my scalp.

I watched the giant closely, as it did with me. However, I wasn't the one who could breathe fire or have the teeth and claws to rip flesh open with ease. I was a defenceless, soft-skinned, puny human. There was no way I would survive this if it came down to a fight. I would have to run and hope it couldn't fit itself through the trees.

A cool burn pulsed within my pocket as the two of us shared a long and intense stare down. My blood bubbled as the dragon growled lowly, which only seemed to grow the intensity of the fight happening within my body. It was less intense than the first time my body reacted to my newfound powers emerging, but still enough to give me grave discomfort.

It growled again, a low, deep-sounding vibration. Fear seeped into my blood, it thundered through my ears, louder than the roaring fire only several yards away from us. I was too afraid to move, to even breathe. What was the appropriate way to show a dragon I️ didn't want to be eaten?

The dragon's nostrils flared, breathing in deeply. I flinched. I wouldn't want to breathe in too much around a couple of dozen burning bodies.

Its amber eyes narrowed as it slunk closer to where I was standing. I remained still, probably reeking of fear that I was more than certain it would be able to sense. As it made its way closer, a shadow darkened the clearing. The golden dragon flinched, hissing at the sky before retreating towards its rider. Warmth seared into me.

I watched the sky, a fast-moving shadow darted across the clearing once more before vanishing in the trees. The warmth lingered inside my chest. I was left with the sounds of the crackling fire and the thick smell of burning flesh. Voices carried with the wind. Not waiting to see who it was I adjusted my bag on my back and darted into the trees, running north, deeper into the island.

Travelling deeper into the island, the scenery changed from the sandy beaches and palm trees to monstrous trees with trunks thicker than a dragon's body and leaves that reached higher than the clouds. Lush green undergrowth seemed to cover every inch of the forest floor. The air no longer tasted salty but sweet. The woods seemed to absorb the noises all around me. The light of the sun glided with delicate care through the flittering leaves, softly brushing against my arms of sun-kissed skin. A breeze picked up, stirring the tops of the trees into a fervour. A few of the leaves detached from the branches that casually danced around each other.

The sun was occasionally blotted out by a large shape, a shadow that wanted to be seen. Heat flared in my chest whenever it was around. Even when disappearing, the warmth stayed with me but was much softer. I had the faintest feeling of being followed. Glancing around the thick undergrowth, I realized anything could be watching me. But the forest was still.

The hair along my skin prickled. Permeated with goosebumps, I rubbed my arms, which worked to rid the chills on my body. Unrolling the map, I looked to see the direction in which I was heading.

The beach I landed on should be to my back since I was travelling south, and the pass between the freshwater lake and the sea should be coming up to my left shortly, or at least I thought so. I wasn't sure how far the walk would be. Maybe it would take me days to find. I rolled up the map and put it into my pack, where I noted the dangerously low food supplies I had left.

I wasn't a hunter; my dad and brothers brought the meat back for the family. Mum and I tended to the garden and our many chickens. We ate chicken almost every day, and with our new rooster, we always had eggs. Our last one didn't do its job correctly. Mum and I joked around that he wasn't attracted to females but our neighbour's rooster instead.

What the hell was I doing out here? I can't hunt, I can't navigate. What am I good for?

My mom always told me I was stubborn and that I had inherited that trait from my father. She told me it would be what would keep me alive, only this time, it would be what kills me. I never understood her when she would say these things because my father, Ronan, was a level-headed and calm man. My mother wouldn't dare admit it, but I believed my stubbornness came from her.

Dragging my hands through my hair, I rested my back against a nearby tree. Its bark was sharp and dug through the material of my shirt and into my skin. My head fell back against the tree, and I watched the treetops, the dancing leaves and the golden sunlight, the white cotton clouds, and the ocean of blue they rested on like a fleet of ships.

The clouds were scattered as a fast-moving shape raced through them, a surprise attack the ships could not have seen coming, and now they lay in ruins. Instead of completely disappearing, the shadow slowed and flew beneath the trees, maneuvering around their thick trunks. Disappearing behind a monstrous trunk, I no longer was able to see the shadow that disturbed the serenity of the world around me.

With a lack of judgement and better thinking, I rose from the forest floor, slowly walking toward the direction I saw the shadow disappear. I wiped my pants rid of debris, craning my neck to view the thick treetops coated in a layer of crunchy leaves. That's when I saw it watching me.

An endless sea of blue eyes bore back at me strongly with a vicious-looking brow that carved his facial expression menacingly. The shadow sat atop a thick branch, clinging onto it with thick talons that left deep grooves in the bark of the tree. Its body swayed with the tree as the strong winds above pushed and pulled against it, teasing it into a light lullaby. A long tail dropped lazily over the branch, twitching ever so slightly as if it had an itch that was barely noticeable.

The word dragon registered in my head, but I was unsure what breed to clarify it as. I was never taught the world of dragons in school, and Mr. McGarty told me only bits and pieces if he was able to ever form a coherent conversation.

"Hello?" I decided to try in a soft tone, afraid of what the dragon would do to me if I kept gawking at it with blatant recklessness. Obviously, I didn't expect the dragon to respond to me, that would be absurd to think, but when the dragon continued to stare back at me without as so much as an acknowledgment, I started to feel antsy.

I hummed, placing more weight on one of my feet as I tried examining the dragon further. The scales that I could see on its body glittered like polished obsidian arrowheads and flowed with the liquidity of a lava river. Its eyes were endless, bluer than the sky above it and glowed with the brilliance of a million fireflies. The dragon was beautiful, and I think it understood what I was doing, for it raised its head, turning it to the side to show off the horns that adjourned its jaw.

I kept the remark to myself, but from my understanding, he seemed to be quite cocky.

I watched as suddenly his muscles coiled under his scaly armour, and with a sound similar to a sword being taken out of its sheath, unforgiving daggers slid out of the end of its long tail and up the length of his back and legs. A low, rumbling sound came from deep within his chest, and I froze.

What had I done to offend it so quickly? Did I stare for too long? I backed away from the tree slowly, keeping my eyes on it the entire time as I did so. The dragon rose from the branch, jumping smoothly from the tree and quickly snapped its wings out.

My eyes widened at the sight. The dragon looked demonic.

I tumbled to the ground, attempting to get away from my impending death, but the dragon overshot his landing by a couple of feet, landing behind me. He faced something in the trees, growling viciously as his wings spread out like a barrier.

My hammering heart boomed loudly within my ears as I tasted the metallicness of blood. Taking a couple of seconds to realize what just happened, I sat on the ground and watched the dragon growl into the trees. He was watching something, but I couldn't see what caught his attention.

The dragon lunged gracefully into the thick foliage, his body flattening into a spear that was thrown true. I scrambled to my feet as I heard a yell that sounded like a human. Pushing the undergrowth from my vision, I watched as the black dragon pinned something to the ground, maw wide open and ready to tear it apart. I saw a human hand held up in a pitiful defence against the dragon's fearful teeth. What little that would do to help.

"Wait!" I yelled at the dragon, who seemed to pause at my voice. I cautiously made my way over to the dragon's prey, viewing who it could be. My heart ran cold at the sight of the captain of the dragon hunters with blood pooling from wounds all over his body. "You."

My voice was laced with venom as I watched him beneath the dragon's talons.

He spluttered, blood pooling from his mouth as his bloodshot eyes rapidly went behind the dragon and me.

"So," He gurgled as blood pooled around his throat. "A Valairex dragon rider. What a prize you are."

Disgust ran through my body at his words. I wasn't sure what underlying meaning he held, but I knew there was one or two he had in mind.

"It makes sense," His words sputtered with liquid as he spoke. "I can now see the similarities." His humourous voice was short-lived as he let out a breathy squeak from the dragon pushing his talons further into his body. This time, I didn't tell the dragon to stop. "I can help you," His pleading voice was on the brink of breaking.

I snorted, rolling my eyes as I came closer to where he was underneath the dragon. "Desperation does not suit you, Captain." I mocked his title.

"You're in a world that you know nothing about. The only reason you're here alone would be because the Council turned you away." His voice became choppy as he tried to catch his breath. "I may be your only hope to teach you what you're truly capable of."

"No," I said without hesitation. I would not allow this man to manipulate me because he was at a disadvantage. "You're the last person I would want to work with. I would rather die than willingly work alongside you."

I stood, glared down at the pitiful man on the ground and turned to grab my belongings on the ground. Looking back at the situation, I realized one thing, however, that was different. The dragon covered in obsidian scales was my bonded. We belonged to each other.

"Leave him to succumb to his wounds," I spoke directly to the dragon in hopes he would listen. "He's not worthy of a quick death."

The dragon snorted and shook his body out at my words. It turned back to the captain and growled lowly in his face before slinking off of his body, following after me out of the trees. This action only confirmed it. No unbonded dragon would listen to a mere human.

I had found my dragon.