AERYN'S POV

Garrenth was a different type of cold. It was no wonder Zoran's demeanor was just as bitter as his hometown. The highest peaks on the Wrexial Mountains experienced brutal temperatures in the negatives all year round. I'd piled layers of clothing beneath the white mountain lion fur cloak secured around my torso and traded my leather, steel-toed boots in favor of a pair of boots made by the tough skin of the same animal. The head of the hauntingly beautiful mountain lion made up the hat adorning my head in an attempt to keep out some of the vicious chill.

Yet, the cold still managed to find a way to seep through the thick clothing and rattle my bones, making me shiver as Tanwen landed in Zoran's hometown close to midnight.

Promise me you won't hand me over to a summoner from Garrenth, Tanwen pleaded. Magma dragons don't do well in this climate.

"I'll see who is without a dragon in the Elemental Forces once I'm assigned to one of them," I said, peeking into the gaping cave Zoran had told me to meet him in front of. "They aren't faring well at the Voltant Isles and as morbid as it sounds, I don't think it should be too hard to find a dragonless Champion."

The Force, huh? Tauren and I both knew he'd be a Consul after graduation. I never even considered I'd be fighting in the war.

I patted the side of his face and dismounted, landing in the fluffy snow.

"A magma spewing dragon as fierce as you would be a huge asset to the war. Tauren would be proud."

Tanwen puffed a cloud of smoke from his nostrils in response, warming me with the fleeting blast of heat. The frosty temperature consumed me as the brief hot air gave in to the whipping winds. I hunched over and placed my hands on my thighs as I breathed deep.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep you summoned," I worried. "It takes more of my energy to summon you and Rays than Serene since I'm bonded to her."

"That's fine, you won't be needing him for what we'll be doing."

I jumped, whirling around as Zoran sauntered over, arms covered by a jacket for once. He had the fur-lined hood pulled over his head and it appeared to be tailored specifically for him. Two incisions the exact width of the base of his horns allowed them to poke through the dark fabric, and the coat hugged his broad build, accentuating the muscles of his biceps as he crossed his arms over his chest in his signature stance.

"The Test of Talons is all about compatibility – something we both struggle with. We'll practice with Serene another time since she'll be the third party of our union. In the meantime," Zoran said, flicking his head at the red dragon, "recall your third dragon. You and I have some bonding to do."

Tanwen's silver essence streamed into the red dragon scale as I rubbed it with a finger. Pocketing his scale, I looked up at the night sky and grumbled, "I can't wait."

An ominous breeze toyed with my hair, and I rubbed my arms, looking out at the behemoth obsidian gates surrounding the Nyrial Empire. A distant shadow zipped over one of the high spikes as the wind howled in my ears. The shape moved so quick I wasn't sure I'd even seen anything. Double checking that my eyes weren't just deceiving me, I treaded over to the edge of the cliff and peered at the walls as I tried to track the dark silhouette. The ruby ring around my thumb flared bright red and warmed to a scorching pain. Cursing, I shook my hand to cool the burning sensation.

"What's wrong?" Zoran asked, appearing in front of me with his eyebrows knitted under his hood.

"Nothing," I clipped, biting my lip as I shoved my hand in the pocket of my pants until the searing heat ceased.

Skeptical, his emerald eyes sparkled in the moonlight as he probed, "What did you see?"

"It was probably nothing. Let's just get this over with."

Zoran frowned, scar deepening the concern etched on his face, but he didn't say anything as he shot another look over his shoulder at the gates. I stepped back, slinking away from his perceptive stare as I wadded over to the mouth of the cave. His feet crunched in the snow as he followed close behind me.

"So, what do you have planned?" I drawled, feigning casualness even though I felt anything but relaxed as I dragged my hand along the limestone and headed inside the cave.

Steady drips grew louder with each step I made, venturing deeper into the cave. Small specs of teal bioluminescent bacteria glowed on the walls and grew on the high ceiling. At over twenty feet tall, Rays and Tanwen could have both stood comfortably with room to spare.

"You'll see," he promised, his baritone voice echoing in the spacious chamber.

I continued walking, overly conscious of Zoran walking right behind me. His familiar scent of pine and spice wafted in my nose as his pace matched mine and he walked beside me. Condensation formed larger drops the further we traversed until we approached a sudden cliff in the cave. Stopping in my tracks, I craned my neck to look up at him and hitched a brow.

"You're not about to toss me into an abyss, are you?"

The corner of Zoran's lip quirked, causing my stomach to take a tumble as a fang poked through the smirk. He peeled back the hood of his jacket and ran a hand through the silky hair between his horns, ruffling the dark strands as he responded, "If I wanted to get rid of you, I would have done it before Serene chose me to be your Champion."

"I'm not sure that's as reassuring as you intended it to sound."

"Relax, princess. I'm trying to get to know you, not hurt you. Nothing will ever hurt you as long as I'm around."

Butterflies danced around in my stomach at the profession, and I dropped my eyes to the smooth limestone ground. He's just saying that because we're going to be bonded together soon, I convinced myself, forcing the pesty insects to stop their incessant tango in my belly. We need to protect each other to ensure our mutual survival.

Zoran strode to the edge of the cave as he removed the sheath strapping two longswords to his back and unzipped his jacket. He took it off and tossed it in a haphazard lump to the side, then put his weapons on top. I couldn't help the furious blush that rose to my cheeks as he stood shirtless and unfurled his massive wings, shaking them out. The prominent muscles along his back contracted with the movement as he bent to untie his boots and my eyes widened to saucers when he kicked them off and straightened, hooking his thumbs inside the waistband of his black pants as he started to pull them down.

"You have about half a second to look away before I'm completely naked. I don't mind if you want to keep checking me out since we're going to get quite...acquainted with each other once we're bonded, but thought I'd warn you just in case."

My blush deepened and I was grateful for the darkness of the cave to hide my evident embarrassment as he called me out for ogling him.

"I wasn't staring!" I refuted, averting my gaze only for his magnetic stare to attract my eyes back toward him.

Amused, he retorted, "I didn't say anything about you staring."

I clamped my mouth shut to keep from gawking at him as he tugged on his pants. I turned away, hearing the garment plop on the ground.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I peeked over my shoulder, finding Zoran's spot vacant. I felt mild disappointment as I noticed his clothes left abandoned in a heap until rationale took over and I sprinted over to where he'd been standing only moments before.

The roar of rushing water met me as I looked out over the ledge just as blur of wings streaked into the illuminated pool carved into the stone tens of feet below. Zoran dove into the water with a splash and disappeared beneath the shimmering surface, causing additional ripples to join the wrinkles in the surface from the waterfall flowing from the rapid river across the chasm.

Zoran reemerged and shook his head, spraying drops of water from his hair as it swept across his forehead. The bioluminescent liquid reflected in his irises and lit under his chin as he treaded water, observing me from where I stood above him.

"Are you going to keep staring – your word, not mine – or are you going to come in?"

"No thanks. I'm not in the mood to get hypothermia right before graduation."

"It's warmer in here than out there. I figured you'd enjoy this since you don't seem to do well in the cold."

"I deal with the cold just fine."

"Says the one worried about getting hypothermia in a heated pool."

"I don't see how taking a swim is preparing us for the Test of Talons," I protested, noticing the steps carved into the limestone that led down to the pool. I stepped onto the first stair and sat, resting my elbows on my knees as I placed my chin in a hand.

"The Test of Talons is completed in three phases. The first stage measures our trust, the second assesses our ability to work together, and the third tests our willingness to die for each other," he explained, swimming over to the bottom of the stairs. He laid his forearms on the step, crossing his arms as he ensnared me with his intent gaze.

"So, do you trust me, princess?" he asked, reaching his hand up to me as he gauged my reaction to his way of simulating the first test.

No.

But I knew I was lying to myself.

Undoing the button fastened at the top of my cloak, I commanded, "Turn around."

---------------

Hi readers! Thank you for sticking with this story. I really appreciate your support! :)