Beyond

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Well, that’s what the storykeepers said. In Evalyn’s humble opinion, that couldn’t possibly be true.

Then again, Evalyn wasn’t exactly the kind of person that simply believed what people told her. It had gotten her into trouble more times than she could count — like the time she and Declan had been sitting on top of their favorite hill (the one from which you could see the entrance to the village, if there was no fog) and he’d told her that if she stayed still for long enough, she’d be able to get butterflies to land on her the same way he did.

She had stayed sitting on top of the hill long past when Declan left for his shift keeping watch on the wall, and long past when the sun went down. Her mother had been furious, regardless of her protests that she had stayed in the Valley, where it was safe.

Evalyn wouldn’t have that argument to protect her today, though. No, today she was far further from the Valley than her mother or the elders would like. It wasn’t the first time that she had ventured beyond where she was allowed, but it was the longest she had dared stay away from the village, lest her absence be noticed…again.

She knew it was dangerous in the Beyond, where the wild dragons dwelt. But that was why she never went alone. She was never without her dragon, Alina, and Evalyn had complete faith that her bondmate would be able to protect her regardless of what they encountered.

The subject of Evalyn’s thoughts hummed contentedly from where she flew below her, having sensed her attention. Evalyn chuckled, knowing that something Alina took great pride in was having the ability to keep her bondmate safe, and Evalyn’s trust in her to do so. Especially when they were currently flying a few thousand feet in the air over a forest they very much did not belong in.

Evalyn and Alina never set out intending to go beyond the Valley and the safety of the wall currently being guarded by her friends and neighbors. But something always pulled them towards the Beyond, and even Evalyn wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

Her mother had asked her plenty of times why in the name of the gods she would dare to do such a thing, and neither she nor Alina could ever come up with a good answer. Boredom and a desire to see something beyond the same streets she’d known all her life, maybe. A curiosity about what was outside the Valley, definitely. But there was something even more than those things that drew her to the forests and mountains in the Beyond. Something that her heart yearned for, like –

Evalyn’s musings were cut off by Alina tugging on their bond, attempting to get her attention.

“What is it?” she asked into her bondmate’s mind.

“I heard something. Something I should probably — well, definitely ignore but…”

“A wild dragon kind of something?” Evalyn asked with a grimace. That was definitely the kind of thing they should fly in the opposite direction of as quickly as they could. Alina hesitated.

“Yes, something like that but…I think it’s hurt.”

Evalyn set her shoulders and let out a breath. “Well then, we’d better hurry if we’re going to check it out before anyone notices we’re not where we’re supposed to be.”

Alina huffed a smile and banked to the right, the light from the afternoon sun reflecting off scales that were such a dark green they were almost black. As they flew over the pines, Evalyn connected fully to her bond with Alina and, thanks to the dragon’s superior hearing, was able to hear the signs that a wild dragon was near — or rather, not hear them.

In the Valley they were taught as children that you would never hear a dragon coming first. If you noticed anything at all, it’d be the complete silence falling over the forest as all of the animals scampered into their hiding places. Of course, you had a better chance if you were bonded to a dragon. Not only did you then have the advantage of two sets of eyes and ears, but the bond also tended to enhance the human partner’s senses as well.

It didn’t take long, then, for Evalyn to spot the wild dragon. The poor creature must have been thrashing around in pain for so long that it had created a clearing in the forest around itself. There was a rough but visible circle of downed trees surrounding the massive, light blue dragon, giving Alina ample space to make a landing.

Evalyn’s bondmate wasn’t sure announcing themselves that way was the best idea, though — landing in the wild dragon’s space like that could be seen as a challenge, especially when it was injured. Alina let her know through the bond that she was going to find a spot further away, from which they could approach on foot. A minute or two later, they landed in a glen, next to a stream Evalyn hoped would mask the noise their impact made as much as possible. Alina crouched so Evalyn could dismount and she slid to the ground, legs shaking a bit after flying for so long.

“Ok, Ev,” Alina started as she swung her head around so that she was eye level with Evalyn. “We have to remember that we can’t run in there without a plan. Bravery with no wisdom behind it never helped anyone, and wild dragons are unpredictable, cunning, and very good at defending themselves. Plus I’m pretty sure that dragon is twice my size, so I’d rather not have to try to restrain or fight it, ok?”

Evalyn blinked up at the dragon. “I don’t know why you feel the need to tell me any of this. You’re the one that got us into that mess last summer solstice by running headfirst towards trouble with no plan.”

Alina rolled her massive green eyes. “Alright, I deserved that. But no snarky remarks to the wild dragon, deal?”

“Ok, but only because it’s hurt. And I find it intriguing.”

They made their plan, and began picking their way through the forest, making as little noise as they could. Naturally, that was something that came easier to someone Evalyn’s size than Alina’s, but they were both glad that the stealth training they had endured since Alina was a hatchling was finally coming in handy for something other than their watch shifts on the wall or the games of hide and seek they played with Declan and his dragon.

When they reached the clearing, Evalyn sucked in a breath. The destruction the injured dragon had managed to wreak was unbelievable. It was magnificent. Rays of late-afternoon sunlight shimmered through the trees, casting a golden glow over the wreckage as well as the dragon. Bits of dust and dirt that had been stirred up during the dragon’s thrashing hung in the air like glitter.

Evalyn’s eyes landed on the dragon. Alina’s earlier estimation had been correct — it was easily twice her size, if not larger. Its scales were a light blue that matched the sky above their heads, no doubt meant to help it blend in and give it an advantage over its prey. But on its side, just under its left wing, lay a huge gash. It looked as if the dragon had been sliced open, though whether by a claw or some other, more organic source such as a rock, Evalyn couldn’t be sure.

The dragon had to be in immense pain. Its ice blue eyes were slitted, barely open as it labored to breathe. Blood seeped from the wound under its wing, pooling under its body. It had raised its head as it heard Alina and Evalyn approach, attempting to look at them as they stopped and stood at what Alina appeared to deem a respectful distance, but not quite accomplishing it. It huffed, and let its head flop back down.

With the dragon’s head now laying on its front paws and a feeling of satisfaction that her plan to get close had worked floating down the bond from Alina, Evalyn knew this was her opportunity. Tentatively, she took a step towards the dragon. Then another. When it didn’t react, she moved forward with more confidence, striding closer and closer until she was almost under the dragon’s wing. This close to the wound, she was able to get a better idea of the severity.

Evalyn wasn’t very good at healing magic — she didn’t have the patience for it — but now she wished she had paid more attention to that part of their training. Alina always carried bandages and a poultice made by the village healers in her saddlebag in case of emergency, and Evalyn had never been more grateful for that.

She retreated and retrieved the supplies she would need from the saddlebag, then returned to the wild dragon’s side. She reached out to begin cleaning the wound with the water they had gathered from the stream in the glen during their planning session, and was a hair's breadth away from the dragon’s hide when it suddenly swung its head towards her.

Alina roared, and Evalyn attempted to scramble backwards lest she be eaten, but froze when she made eye contact with the dragon. She hadn’t looked it in its eyes until this moment, and what she felt was…impossible.

No one from the Valley had ever encountered a wild dragon. Well, that she knew of. They certainly knew better than to tell people if they had, because that required admitting that they had been in the Beyond. So maybe this was normal with wild dragons, and either no one knew or no one was willing to talk about it. Because any other explanation was unthinkable.

When Evalyn had been given Alina’s egg by the elders at six years old, she had watched over it day and night, anxiously awaiting the moment it would hatch and she would finally meet the dragon she hoped would be her bondmate. Until one night, while the rest of her family was asleep, it happened. The egg had begun to wobble, a few spiderweb cracks appeared, and her entire world had shifted as Alina poked her tiny head out and met her eyes for the first time.

The first time a dragon and their bondmate make eye contact is significant. It was when the bond was created, if the dragon found the human worthy. There was no feeling like it — like the world had suddenly expanded to fit more of you inside of it, the feeling of suddenly being aware of six legs instead of two and two hearts instead of one. And it only happened once.

People only had one bondmate. Evalyn wasn’t sure how a person’s brain, or heart for that matter, could possibly accommodate more than one,especially if they had as big of a personality as Alina. But, even putting aside the logistics, having more than one bondmate was impossible because of the Covenant. It was very much against the rules laid out in the original agreement made between the dragons and the humans when the dragons had arrived in the Valley: there was to be no bonding with more than one dragon, or vice versa — because of the prophecy.

Only one person was prophesied to bond with more than one dragon. And Evalyn was definitely not that person. She was nowhere near that person. And yet —

The dragon’s stare burned into her mind as she spiraled into a panic. This was so not what she had been looking for when she had left the village behind earlier that day. And her mother — oh, gods, her mother — was going to kill her.

A voice broke through Evalyn’s hysteric thoughts, snapping her back into the current moment and bringing the clearing back into focus.

A voice that wasn’t Alina’s.

It was the wild dragon’s voice — Yvri’s voice, she knew with absolute certainty she realized with a start.

“Please. You have to help me, and quickly. They’re coming.”