Bloodlines: Dragon Rider Book 2

Chapter 12: Thrawler Magnet

^^^ Mikel with Norah

Extra-long chapter for you all : )

With a dramatic sigh, I shut the book in my hands. In the middle of the night, my room should be pitch black and I should be asleep. But my lamp bathes the small room in light, only leaving the corners in an endless pit of darkness.

My head aches, my eyes droop heavily, and my fingers are stiff from hours of holding onto the book. Words and random chunks of information swim inside my head. For the most part, Professor Mikel's little errand has only raised new questions.

The book mentions different gods and goddesses, giving an entire story of what they believe to be true. It took a few sleepless nights and hours in the library with Adam, but I pieced together the prophecy with a particular god.

Etin, the God of Preservation, according to a little digging and lunches with Professor Mikel, is believed to be the creator of this planet. The book states that he created our planet to be the family he had been craving, only to sacrifice himself on behalf of that family when the gods lashed out against the humans. The war between the gods threw the natural order out of balance and Andis attempted to rectify the resulting chaos by destroying everything on the planet. This cleansing created giant tidal waves that consumed half the planet. Meteor showers forged giant craters, plagues spread unchecked, and wild storms raged as Andis tried to restabilize. Though the book doesn't know how he did it, it's believed that Etin sacrificed himself to the planet, rebalancing its natural order and saving every living creature on the planet. But he was never heard from again.

A mental scream rips through my head and crumbles the walls between Rima and I. "I win," I tell her with a groan and roll over with the book pressing into my stomach.

Rima huffs, and I see her tossing her head back in my head. "I thought my human was dying. I need to keep you alive, I can't afford to waste my time training a new one on how to adjust my saddle right."

"I'm not your human," I mumble, burying my face into the mattress. A hint of a smirk ghosts my lips. "But I guess I can make an exception for you, dragon. If you promise not to betray me in the process."

She snorts and I have a feeling of her rolling over. "I suppose, I can manage that."

"Then we're on good terms. I can be your human." My heart warms as Rima's emotions slowly fuse with my own. It feels right to have her back, even if we were both being too stubborn to give into a silly game.

I don't dig deep enough into our bond to see through her, but I can feel enough to sense she's on Khalier. "It's the middle of the night, why are you awake?" I wonder.

"I was waiting for you to cave in. I had to be awake for that."

My eyes roll. "No, really."

She pauses for a moment to think. Contentment webs over me like a gentle wind. "I've been going with Easton and Abraxis to the Fifth Island while you've been on lockdown. We're making our way slowly to the mountains where the ancient dragons live. One of them is bound to know something about The Darkening."

"Where are you now?"

"Hiding from people," she says simply. "The forest is particularly good for that."

"No Galeur or Thorn? Is this real life?"

"I can't go near them while you're in Belonia. The entire family interrogates me on my human's whereabouts. Holland doesn't like you being over there, you know?"