Page 62 of Ashborne Forged

That stung, even though I knew it was true. ‘How do I stop hurting her? Because I don’t catch myself reacting. It just happens. And it’s not until I’m staring at the ashes of the fire I breathed that I realize what I’ve done.’

Kham rumbled his compassion. ‘Heal,’ he said simply.

I scoffed. ‘How?’

‘Let me help you.’

That flare of resistance came again, but I let myself examine his words this time. Because I knew I’d hurt him, and kept him distant. He didn’t deserve that.

I trusted him with my life. With everything. But, he thought like a dragon. And between their supernatural insight, and their age—Kham was nearly one hundred years old—the dragonfuries had a steadiness to them, and a willingness to endure that I didn’t possess. No humans possessed it, that I’d seen, though some were closer than others.

‘You are a gift to me, Voski,’ Kham sent kindly. ‘And I am a gift for you. Let me help you.’

I took a deep breath. ‘It’s not that I don’t want your help. It’s that I wish I didn’t need it. It seems like everything has to be difficult. As if the Creator won’t allow any of us to take a breath. Why can’t the obstacle be simple? Why do we have to constantly fight for peace? Why does life have to be so hard?’

‘The Creator allows you free will, as He does with all humanity. He loves and helps you in the consequences of your freedom, even when you or others deny Him,’ Kham chided me. ‘It’s why He gave you and me to each other—because we aren’t expected to endure alone.’

My tension eased at those words. My dragon was loving. Steady. Even his teasing was an act of love—because he knew how difficult it was for me to sit in soft emotion.

My mind turned then, back to the days when Kham had first Chosen me, to those weeks when I hadn’t been sure even he was worth enduring this life for.

‘I’m glad that you didn’t give up on me, Kham,’ I sent softly, aching for the boy I was seven years ago—and for the dragon he’d had to be to keep me alive.

‘I am proud that you didn’t give up on yourself,’ Kham replied simply. ‘Now, remember the lessons you learned in that. And let’s enjoy our mates.’

I shook my head. ‘Dirty old lizard,’ I taunted him. ‘It’s shocking when you think the Creator even made you capable of mating at your age.’

‘Careful, boy,’ he taunted me back. ‘Don’t make me demonstrate your inadequacy.’

I laughed and had to resist the urge to hug him like a child. He lashed his tail as we flew in comfortable silence, well into the day.

I was reflective as we flew, my mind turning back, and forward to what was to come. I thanked God for bringing Kham into my life—and through him, Grace. Because if Kham hadn’t saved me years earlier, and kept me from utterly rejecting her in those early weeks, I wouldn’t have been here to discover her at all.

Thinking about her warmed my heart the same way Kham’s golden scales glowed, with that healthy, thriving fire that he contained. The light.

Thank God for all of it.

When we finally reached the Keep and landed, there were shouts of greeting from men who believed I’d been on mission. In danger. Working.

Guilt coated my insides. I clasped hands, clapped shoulders, and thanked them for their well-wishes, but gave every impression that my job wasn’t yet over as I waved them off and hurried up the sides of the launch hollow and into the stable building with Kham.

I could feel her. She was close.

‘Grace?’

‘I’m… here.’ She was faint though, still too far away to reach clearly.

My pace picked up until I was practically running by the time we made it to Kham’s stable. He bugled, and one of the stableboys, forking dirty straw out of a neighboring stall, bolted upright.

“Leave that for tomorrow,” I said authoritatively. “The dragons are tired, and they need peace.” I had no idea who else was on the wing, but I wanted space, and less chance of being discovered when I found Grace. She had to be nearby, because my heart pounded. My skin thrummed with it.

Thankfully, the boy didn’t have to be asked twice. “Yes, sir!” he said happily, tossed his hayfork down and darted toward the main aisle, and hopefully, his dinner.

As I jogged up the aisle at Kham’s side, relief and joy squared my shoulders when Koa extended her head into the aisle and called for Kham—and Grace appeared, in fresh leathers, her hair damp as if she’d washed it—her brows high.

We were early.

I grinned the moment I saw her, looked over my shoulder to check that we had no witnesses, then tipped my head at her to come across the aisle into Kham’s stable, while the dragons greeted each other, and crowded into Koa’s stable.