Soul Bound

Chapter 23

The blistering sun woke us up in the morning. Since we had to wait for my informant to come back with a reply before continuing on with our mission, I showed Annalyse around the underground city. She was impressed we'd found it with my magic, even with her senses she couldn't pick it up from the sky when she was looking for us. She had been tracking Arkon's aura up until we found the cave, then we had disappeared from her sight. Before panic set in, they found the entrance we had made and guessed we had followed the river. Aster refused to go near the water, understandably for a fire dragon to dislike water, so they circled the desert until we resurfaced. The heat didn't bother them nearly as much as it affected me and Arkon, and, in fact, Aster revealed in it. She soaked up the sun's rays like a leaf.

We were left alone to walk through the settlement. Guess now that there were two Dragon Knights, the ciminals felt less inclined to put up a fight. I was only slightly disappointed, secretly hoping for the chance to show off my skills to Annalyse. Up until yesterday, she had been the only person I had fought since joining the Knights, and she had frequently kicked my butt. I wanted to show her what her training looked like on someone who wasn't born holding a sword.

We went to the very end of the main street to the shore of the underground lake. She took a moment to absorb the size and beauty of this gem below the sand. "This is incredible. You say it goes far into the west?"

I nodded. "Arkon says it spans almost the southern half of the continent."

Her eyes went wide in shock then a thoughtful look fell over her features. "I wonder how it got here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this water didn't come from the ocean, it's fresh. There are no rivers leading here from the mountains and it rains maybe once a year. So, where did all of this water come from?"

That was a good question. I hadn't even stopped to consider it.

She tapped her temple, giving me a knowing look. "As Dragon Knights, we have to think about these things, learn about our surroundings. Knowing the land you walk in could be the difference between life and death."

I gave it some thought. I guess if I hadn't checked for underground lakes, Arkon and I might have died of thirst; if I had known about the lake, it wouldn't have been an issue to begin with. The same could be said about the valleys in Aboria. Only the people of Brar knew about the caves nearby the village; we hid in them and our enemies never found us. During my hunting trips, I often took advantage of the terrain to get the upper hand on my prey. I suppose, that wasn't all too different.

I tucked this lesson away in my mind for safe keeping.

Anna bent and picked up a stone, inspecting it closely. Seemingly satisfied with it, she changed her grip on it--then flung it at the lake. It spun and skated across the water's surface seven times before it sunk.

She winked at my blatant gaping. "It's all in the wrist."

I shut my mouth then crossed my arms. "I know how to skip stones. Jacob taught me how to do it."

"Then show me what you got."

The only problem with that? I had never quite mastered the technique. I'd be lucky if the stone skipped twice.

Before I could humiliate myself, however, we were interrupted by my informant.

"Dragon Knight," he called from behind. He looked different from last night, wearing a thin shirt instead of a cloak to mask his face, but he was my informant. I recognised his dark, beady eyes. "You are supposed to be alone."

He gave Annalyse an unwelcoming look.

I stood in front of her, holding my hands up. "Please, she can be trusted. What did Sasha say?"