Chapter 17: Confronting Bynjym

Her heart, once pledged to hollow throne, Now beats for one whose path is lone. For Kenneth, prince with heart of stone, Knows naught of flame nor dragon bone. Ryuki ‘So, what’s the plan?' I ask Bynjym. ‘We’re going to pick her up and bring her here to Ylys,’ he says. I stare at my dragon. ‘You can’t just fly into a castle, pluck her off the ground, and bring her here,” I say. ‘Why not?’ ‘Because it’s dangerous.” I say slowly, as if my dragon is missing the vital point of this conversation. ‘Because they have harpoons. Because they want us dead.’ ‘They don’t want us dead, they just want our eggs,’ he says, ignoring my aggravation that the dragons aren’t taking this more seriously. ‘Do you really think that if you start scooping up their people they won't start hunting all of us down to kill us?’ I ask. ‘We aren’t scooping up everyone. Just Skylar. We don’t care about the others.’ ‘Bynjym …’ I begin. ‘Ylys has requested we bring Skylar to her, so we shall,’ he says. I sigh. I know there’s no arguing against Ylys. She’s their queen. What she says goes. Which reminds me … I slide off Bynjym’s wing and turn to face him, smacking him as hard as I can, even though I know he probably can’t feel it. Maybe he did feel it, because he turns to face me. ‘Don’t you ever block me again. What the hell was that, Bynjym? WE are bonded. How would you feel if I blocked you out of my mind?’ I ask. ‘You can’t,’ he says with no emotion in his voice. ‘Imagine if I could,’ I growl. ‘How would you feel?’ He lowers his head and nudges me. ‘I am sorry, my rider. I don’t … I don’t know how to answer questions about my feelings for that human. I know that you’re jealous and I know it bothers you that I don’t have answers for you. My silence was an attempt to protect you.’ ‘It only makes things worse,’ I say honestly. ‘I see that now, and Ylys was appalled that I would close our link. The bond between dragon and rider is sacred. That will never change. You are my rider until the end of my life, Ryuki. I love you with all of my being. Nothing can ever come between us. It doesn’t matter that I don’t understand my feelings for this woman. YOU are my rider.’ I lean my body against his head, breathing in his scent that used to be strange, but is now a comforting mix of brimstone, air, and a scent that is uniquely dragon, specifically silver dragons. Each color has a bit of a different scent to them. ‘Don’t shut me out ever again, Bynjym.’ ‘I won’t.’ I take a deep breath and stand up. ‘Okay, so let’s talk about getting Skylar away from the castle. I have an idea about that,” I say. Before I can continue, Bynjym begins making a happy clicking sound and he nudges me again. ‘What?’ ‘There’s a reason you’re a silver rider. I could never tolerate a stupid human. I need someone intelligent. So, of course, my intelligent rider has an idea.’ My dragon’s praise sends a wave of happiness through me. He could just be blowing sunshine up my ass to make up for cutting me off … ‘I’m not,’ he rumbles. Or he could really mean it and that makes me proud of the person I am. ‘What is your idea?’ he asks. ‘Well, it’s not really that exciting. You’ve probably already thought of it, but why not reach out to her when you’re close to the castle. She can hear all of you. You wouldn’t have to expose yourself. You could just tell her to meet you somewhere and then bring her here.’ Bynjym looks at me, then turns to Ylys. Since he leaves our link open, I hear him telling her my idea. She turns and looks at me, then surprises me but leaning over and breathing in my scent. I asked Bynjym why the dragons do this. It’s very disconcerting as the receiver of their breathing because it makes you feel dizzy or, in some instances, I’ve seen people pass out. Bynjym described it as the dragons breathing in your soul, feeling the reality of what you’ve said and who you are. It’s their way of stripping you down the person you truly are without ever needing to have a conversation with you. It’s how the dragons always know they’ve chosen the right rider. When Ylys is done, I turn and look at Bynjym, wondering why Ylys needed to feel the truth behind my words. Rather than him looking confident, he’s tilting his head at Ylys as if he’s also trying to understand her reasoning for reaching into my soul. Then she answers Bynjym. ‘She says your idea is smart, and because it was your idea and you have a relationship with Skylar, her words, not mine,’ he says before I can correct him. ‘She’s sending us.’ ‘She’s sending us? To get Skylar and bring her here?’ ‘Yes. I know you don’t see it as such, but it’s an honor she’s bestowing on us. She’s asking us to bring her something she wants or needs. We were chosen above the other silvers in the thunder,’ he says proudly. Okay, when he says it like that, I get his pride, even if I’m not thrilled to be the ones to go get her. ‘You’re not going to let her ride on your back, are you?’ I ask him. ‘YOU are my rider, Ryuki. No one else.’ ‘Okay, well I know this is a great honor and all, but do you think she’s going to come when you call her? I mean, she was pretty upset with you about the egg.’ ‘She will come,’ he says decisively. Okay. I’ve been a rider long enough to know that dragons have their ways. The next day, Bynjym and I make our way to the castle where Yttyc said he dropped her off. ‘Skylar,’ Bynjym calls. He’s quiet a moment, waiting for her to respond. ‘Skyyyyylarrrrrrrr,’ he says, extending her name in a sort of sing-song tone. When his head jerks back as if he was smacked, I know she responded, unhappily. ‘We need to talk. Come meet me,’ he says. I wait. ‘You can come to me, or I can come to you,’ he growls. That would be a response to her declining to come to us. ‘I have no problem blowing fire all over that castle to get what I want,’ he says, obviously arguing with her. Again, I wait. ‘Do you really want all those deaths on your head, Skylar? I thought you were about saving lives, not putting them in front of you like a shield while you hide behind them like a coward.’ Ouch. I’m not sure I would have gone that route with her. My dragon flinches again, and I can only imagine the angry words that she threw at him. But when he settles, I know that she’s coming. Thirty minutes later, she comes into the clearing where Bynjym landed. “What do you want, dragon?” she growls. ‘I told you human, we need to talk,’ he says, before scooping her up in his paw and lifting off the ground. “You know, just because you’re a silver, it doesn’t mean that I have to do what you say!” she shouts. He pulls his paw up to look at her. ‘You’re right. You don’t. You could risk the lives of others and do what you want, hoping it works in your favor. Let me know how that goes,’ he says, sassing her right back. Again, it’s not the route I would have taken with her, but Bynjym doesn’t seem to mind making her furious. We fly her back to Ylys, and Bynjym carefully drops her into the nest. Immediately, she rushes to the egg, touching it and laying her body over it. She smiles. “It’s good to see you too, little one,” she says. I look at Bynjym. ‘She can hear the queen?’ I ask in shock. ‘Apparently.’