Soul Bound

Chapter 21

I woke up to an intense heat burning into the flesh of my arm. Yelping, I rolled into the safety of the lake. The sun was back to its merciless ways again; it lit up the entire cavern, allowing me to see Arkon's shadow deep in the water. He swam up to the surface with a mouthful of fish then he unceremoniously dumped them on the shore.

"Breakfast," he explained, rather pleased with himself for being able to provide for me.

He was heaven sent. My stomach hurt, I was so hungry, I could--and would--have eaten the fish raw had he not zapped them first. While I contently plucked the fried flesh off the bones, I watched Arkon swim around as if he was in his element and found myself fascinated.

"Arkon," I murmured behind a mouthful of fish, "how big is this lake?" He was one of the bigger dragons back at the base, yet he seemed to have plenty of space to swim. I'd been so driven by thirst before, that I hadn't checked to see how deep it went.

He scanned the cavern, taking in the sheer size of it while also keeping out of sight from the sun. "I suspect it runs throughout the continent. I haven't found an end in my explorations."

With a lake this big, there must be all sorts of life--as proven by the fish--and possibly people. This would be the perfect place to hide from the sun. It'd explain why we barely saw anybody on the surface; I'd thought they were in the mountains, but what if they were underneath instead? There were probably many entrances. I was lucky enough to find one.

"Do you think Sasha is in here? She has to keep a dragon cool somehow. You love this water, don't you?" He hadn't left since we arrived.

He regarded me for a moment, thinking as he adjusted himself in the shallow end of the pool, so only his feet and tail were submerged; the rest of his body dripped and glistened, making him look all the more the majestic creature I fantasized about as a child. "Storm dragons have an affinity to water. If we do not have lightning to give us strength, water is a fair substitute."

"Lightning is very powerful in water," I thought aloud, remembering the time he'd zapped fish in the water when I was first starting to know him. "Can you sense anyone, though?" While I had slept like a rock last night, I was still drained from our excursions yesterday and my magic especially felt depleted. Having not practiced much magic with Anna, I hadn't experienced this yet, but she had warned me that exhaustion was a side effect to using magic.

Arkon gestured towards the deeper part of the cavern. "There is a large colony in the far eastern side of the cavern."

That sounded promising. "Can we get to them from here?"

He studied the layout of the cavern; I felt his magic around me and stretch beyond our cave. "Once we pass this underwater tunnel, the river will take us straight there."

Decided, I stood and tossed the fish bones into the water. "I don't know about you, but I'm thinking we follow that river instead of flying in that heat."

His mouth quirked into a scaly smile. "I agree." He moved into position for me to climb into the saddle. "Take deep breaths. This tunnel is not short, but I believe you can make it."

I did as he suggested and steadied my breathing. Once I felt my heart slow, I gave Arkon the go-ahead. He dipped into the water seamlessly, tucking his wings tight against his back. He used his claws and tail to propel him forward; once he got into a rhythm he was moving so fast the water undulated through my clothes and threatened to tear me off his back.

I gripped the handles harder. My heart quickened. The urge to open my mouth and breathe became stronger, the burn in my lungs growing more intense. 

Just when panic began to set in, Arkon breached the surface. I gulped in all the air I could take and kept on breathing it in until I was sure I wasn't drowning.