Page 36 of Creatures of War
How did I luck out finding such a good friend?
“He wants to find a way to break the bonds with my dragons, so I’ll become his.”
Aylia’s nose curled up in disgust. “Isn’t he really old?”
“Super old.”
“Ick.”
I giggled. “Exactly. He seems so confident, like he knows there’s a way to break the bond. Why is he so stuck on it, asking to do the impossible? And he says if I really am bonded with three dragons, then we’re diluting our powers… and the strength of the bond” The look on Aylia’s expression sent caution through me. She looked like she was thinking too hard and didn’t like what she was thinking. “What?”
She sighed. “Nothing. I was just mulling it over. You’re bonded to three dragons, right?”
I nodded.
“And I saw what happened in riding class today, how you responded to them and how they responded to you.”
“Okay?” I dragged my response out, wondering where she was going.
“It was easy to see there’s something there. And everyone says it’s impossible to have more than one mate. That it’s never been done, and that’s why so many people are fighting you guys on it. They probably think you all are either lying or confusing what is between you guys as bonds.”
“You saw what happens when we bond with dragons,” I said, feeling defensive. “We get fricken impaled by their spines. And that only happens with mates. Trust me, all three of them can impale me.”
That got a snicker out of her, which got one out of me and for a moment we broke down into silly giggles.
“I saw.” She sobered up and frowned, looking a little sad. “Didn’t find my mate though.”
“Oh.” I reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure there’s someone out there. It’ll just take a little bit of time. He probably got lost trying to get his way here for all we know.”
Aylia snorted. “I really hope I don’t have a dragon who likes to get lost. I already get lost enough on my own. Imagine the two of us together. We won’t be able to find our way out of our rooms.”
“Are you sure that’s only because you both are lost and not because of other reasons?”
That got her laughing again, but it ended quickly, and we were back to serious time. “For real though, people are saying it’s impossible, but you have to remember, the story of our origins is different in different regions. Like the stories I heard growing up about dragons are completely different from the ones you heard.”
“What are you getting at?” I asked.
Aylia sighed and began pacing in front of me this time. I watched as she ran a hand through her short hair. “I think what you have with those dragons is real. I think it is definitely possible—rare, like ultra-rare—but definitely possible to have more than one mate.”
“Why?”
“Because I heard a story once from one of my elders. That there used to be a rider with more than one dragon. Maybe two or three, or maybe even more dragons.” Aylia’s face scrunched up. “I can’t remember; I was really young. I’m only reminded of it because of everything happening to you. But she definitely said there was a rider with more than one mate.”
That caught my attention, and I jumped to my feet, this time stopping Aylia from pacing. I needed her attention.
“So? What about it? Were they weak?”
Aylia frowned harder. “That’s the thing. I think they were strong. The elder talked about divine powers.”
“Divine powers?” Now it was my turn to be confused. “Like what?”
Aylia bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m not sure. But if she was right, then there was someone who was in the same situation, and that means there has to be something written about it, right? A rider with multiple dragons isn’t news that would melt away and disappear from history. Something rare like that would be written about.”
“The library,” I whispered.
She nodded. “The library. It might be buried somewhere in there.”
I frowned as I thought about how plausible that was. Would it be that easy? To just find some obscure passage in some random book about having multiple dragon mates? If it was so easy to find, wouldn’t more people know about it? Wouldn’t my situation really be that big a surprise?