Fuse by E.L. Todd

Twenty-Five

“Up.”He gripped her by both shoulders and shook her.

“Muh.” She turned on her side and clung to her blanket, ignoring the sunlight spilling across her eyelids.

“I’ve let you sleep long enough.” His deep voice was full of irritation, like usual.

She returned to her semi-dream state, seeing a waterfall just up ahead.

“Cora.” He shook her again.

She threw her leg back and kicked him.

“Ouch.” He faltered and rubbed his shin. “Goddammit, you’re a brat.”

“Few more minutes…”

Flare walked to his pack then pulled out his canteen. He removed the cap then splashed water across her face.

She jolted upright at the cold liquid. “Ugh!”

“Now you’ll get up when I tell you to get up.” He returned the cap to the top.

She snatched it from his hands then threw the remaining water all over him. “Ass.”

“Whoa, don’t waste it.” He yanked it from her hands. “When did you become so lazy?”

“I’m not lazy. I’m tired.”

“Same thing.” He stuffed the canteen back into his bag so she wouldn’t take it again.

She wiped the water from her face with her shirt then got up. Ever since she’d started to dream well, she wanted to sleep all the time. It was the most relaxing sleep she’d ever experienced. Having a dragon guard her dreams was just one of the many perks of having one as a friend.

“Let’s get moving.”

“We should hunt. I haven’t eaten in a while.”

“No hunting today.” He set off at a quick pace.

“What? Why not?” She hated being told what to do. It was her biggest pet peeve.

“Because I said so.”

“What kind of reason is that?” She walked behind him and tried to catch up.

“There are orcs nearby. We don’t want to cross paths with them. We’d be able to take them out easily, but it’s always simpler just to avoid them.”

“Oh…”

“Unless you want to hunt orc. But let me warn you, they taste like piss.”

“You’ve eaten one before?” She caught up to him and walked beside him.

“Unfortunately.”

“Why were you eating an orc?”

“It was in the heat of battle. I meant to grab him by the jaws and toss him aside, but I accidentally swallowed him.”

“Gross…”

He shrugged. “But I was full for a long time. They have a lot of protein.”

She would rather starve than eat an orc.

“We have a lot of ground to cover. Can you run?”

“Run?” she asked. “Of course, I can run.”

“I mean for long distances.”

She’d never tried before. “Probably.”

“Probably? Or yes?”

“Yes.”

“Good. We need to make better time.” He set off at a jog with his back perfectly upright. His breathing didn’t change at all, even though his activity did.

Cora jogged beside him and tried to keep up with him. Her body still hurt from the torture in Easton, but she refused to tell him that. The pain was only as strong as she allowed it to be. If she tuned it out, she would be fine.

“Are you okay?”

She gave the only answer she was willing to give. “I’m fine.”

* * *

The following weeks became repetitive and exhausting. Cora always considered herself to be athletic, but running twenty miles a day pushed her to a new limit. Not once did she complain, but her body screamed at her every second.

As soon as they set up camp for the night, she fell asleep the moment her back hit the ground. Flare always protected her dreams and allowed her to rest peacefully the entire night. But the second the sun peeked over the horizon, she was jolted awake again.

Her body changed in subtle ways, until one day, she realized how different it was. Her legs were muscular and slim, and her calf muscles were powerful. The small amount of girth around her waist had disappeared, and her small breasts were even smaller. The muscles of her biceps were more prominent, and she could see them without even flexing.

The pain from her imprisonment faded away with every passing day, but the trauma still haunted her from time to time. It didn’t matter how strong she became. No amount of physical exertion would ever repair her back. It would always be scarred and grotesque.

Flare stopped running when the trees thinned out. His breathing was regular like he hadn’t just been running all day, and his body looked exactly the same as it had before.

She knew where they were without him having to tell her. “This is as far as I got last time.” The desert was just up ahead, expansive and vast. It was difficult to tell exactly how far away it was with the naked eye.

“You’ll make it across this time.” He dropped his pack then placed his hands on his hips as he examined the terrain. “It looks pretty dry out there, drier than usual.”

“It’s unbearable when the sun is out.”

“Yeah, I know.” He sat in the shade of a tree and relaxed his arms on his knees. “We’ll rest now and cross at nightfall.”

Her canteen was almost empty. Maybe he could survive without water because of the dragon aspect of his being, but she certainly couldn’t. “Shouldn’t we retrieve water first?”

“We’ll be fine.”

“Uh…no, we won’t.” She shook her canteen in front of him, telling him how low it was.

“We can get water from the cacti.”

“What if there aren’t any cacti?”

“Then we’ll fly at nightfall. Some things can see us, but not many. It’s a risk I’ll take, but only if I must.”

“And what would I do? Run?”

“What?” He gave her a confused expression. “No. You would ride me.”

“You would let me?” Dragons didn’t seem like the kind of creatures to allow that. They weren’t horses.

“You wouldn’t be a rider. I would just give you a lift. Very different.”

“Wow…then I hope there aren’t any cacti.”

He grinned from ear to ear. “My dragon loves your admiration.”

She remembered everything the dragon had said to her when Flare wasn’t around, especially the comment about her appearance when they’d first met. When she felt the color rise to her cheeks, she fought it back. “What could see us in the dark?”

“Shamans.”

She hoped she wouldn’t run into him again, at least not when she didn’t have any frog poison. With his dark powers, it would be hard just to shoot an arrow if she even had one. When the mind was attacked in such a way, it was impossible to do anything. She wondered if Flare could even handle it. “Has the Shaman ever done the Skull Crusher on you?”

“No. If he did, I’d be dead right now.”

“Even though you’re fused with a dragon?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure if that would make a difference. I’ve never seen a Shaman act out against a human fused with a dragon. It would be considered treason if they did.”

“I wonder if it would have the same effect on you.”

“It probably would. It’s the only reason King Lux fears them. He understands what they can do.”

“What would you do if we saw them?”

He grabbed a stalk of grass and played with it in his fingertips. “Tell you to run while I fought him off.”

“But wouldn’t he kill you?”

“No.” He didn’t give any explanation for his assumption.

“Why wouldn’t he do that?” Was she missing something?

“He needs me alive.” Flare turned away like he didn’t want to discuss it anymore, but he didn’t snap at her like he normally would.

She dropped the subject since there was nowhere else for it to go. “Can I sleep?”

“You should. I’ll keep watch.”

She settled down under the shade of the tree and rested her head on her pack. “What if we flew low to the ground across the desert? Do you think that could work?”

Flare twisted the stalk with his fingertips.

“Even if we’re walking, if there’s someone watching the desert, they’ll see us anyway. If we fly, we’ll get across quicker and limit the possibility of being seen.”

“Or you’re looking for an excuse to ride.” He shot her a playful grin.

“I’m just being pragmatic. The desert is a dangerous place, and no one can cross it. If we get far enough away, no one will dare to follow us. They’ll give up and wait for us to come back.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

She had only been in the desert for a day, and that was enough for her. Even when she was cloaked and hidden, the water evaporated from her skin, and she was immediately parched. Weak or not, she simply wasn’t capable of handling that type of environment. While being captured by the Shaman wasn’t her plan, it probably saved her life. In her heart, she suspected she wouldn’t have made it across. “Does that mean we’ll fly?”

He stared across the vast desert, where the sand was white-hot and steaming. He chewed on the end of the stalk before he tossed it aside. “Your dream is about to come true.”

* * *

She crawled up the beast, gripping its massive horns for leverage, and then made her way to the top. She slid down his back until she sat in the crook of his neck. Unsure what else to do, she wrapped her arms around his throat. “Is this okay?”

Yes. You have a good grip?

“I think so.”

Alright. Hold on.

She tensed at his words and felt the dragon’s body move as it squatted down, its powerful legs recoiling and preparing for launch. His wings opened, ready to feel the air directly underneath the webbing. His back lifted with a heavy breath, moving her slowly.

And then he took off.

With a single beat of his wings, he was in the air. He flew ten feet above the ground before he opened his wings wide and glided back down to the earth.

“Oh my god! This is so cool!”

Flare chuckled inside her head. I thought you would like it.

The dragon hovered just feet above the ground, beating its powerful wings as it flew deep into the darkness. The path couldn’t be seen because it was a moonless night. They moved forward and hoped they wouldn’t collide with anything large.

Cora felt the wind smack her in the face and move through her hair. The air was surprisingly cold and harsh. Her nose and eyes immediately felt dry, and the air moved down her throat automatically. In light of what she was doing, she ignored all the discomforts.

You okay back there?

“Yes. I’ve never felt so alive.”

It’s addictive.

Even though she couldn’t see anything in front of her, she enjoyed the ride. She could only imagine how amazing it would be to fly up in the sky on a summer day. Being so high in the sky with the world below you must be the greatest thrill anyone could imagine. “How far is it to the other side?”

Two days.

“With rest?”

Two days without stopping.

“You don’t plan to stop?”

No. We need to get there as soon as possible.

“You think that’s wise?”

Wise? A laugh echoed in her mind. You should know me by now. I’m never wise.

* * *

Just as Flare recommended, they didn’t stop. The dragon’s wings beat hard as they crossed the vast desert. When the sun came, it shone ruthlessly on their skin. At least the dragon had thick scales to protect its hide. Cora pulled up her hood and kept her skin covered as much as possible. They were only halfway there, and she was thirsty.

Get some sleep.

“Are you sure?” How could she rest when Flare was working so hard to get them both across the desert?

Yes. You’ll hunt for me when we get there.

“With what? I don’t have a bow.”

You have a sword, don’t you?

She’d never hunted with a blade, but it couldn’t be that hard. “Okay.” She pulled a rope out of her pack and tied herself to the dragon’s neck. If she slipped, she wouldn’t fall.

Good night.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

Dragons don’t need anything but wings.

* * *

The days passed achingly slow. By the time they spotted the other side of the desert, it felt like an eternity had passed. Cora constantly glanced over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed, and as far as she could tell, they weren’t.

Flare’s speed slowed down considerably in the last stretch. He was thirsty, hungry, and exhausted.

“Almost there.” She patted his back for comfort.

My wings are tired.His speech was slower, telling her she was speaking to the dragon.

Cora had come to differentiate between the two. Now she understood who was speaking without having to ask. “You’re almost there. You’re doing great.”

My scales are so dirty. It disgusts me.

“I’ll wash them for you.”

No, I’ll do it. They must be perfect.

Cora didn’t take offense because she understood the dragon’s vanity. They prized their appearance more than anything. “I don’t think anyone followed us.”

Neither do I.

They approached the end of the desert and spotted the green trees. The tall mountains were just behind it, glorious and strong. It was the first time they saw any abundant life in days. It made Cora never want to cross the desert and return to the heartland of Anastille. “I see shade.”

The dragon finally crossed the line where the desert ended and entered the greenery of the forest. But he didn’t stop there. He kept going, knowing exactly where water was located.

She spotted the lake from the sky, seeing it glimmer under the sunlight. “I’m so thirsty right now.”

I’m in desperate need of a bath. The dragon headed straight for the water without stopping on land.

Cora didn’t want to get her clothes dirty, but she was so dry and cracked, she didn’t care. She wanted to be in the water, to remember what moisture felt like.

The dragon dove headfirst into the water, taking Cora with him.

The second the water washed over her face, she felt better. It was cool and crisp and even more refreshing than she hoped it would be. She loosened the rope holding her to the dragon and swam to the top.

She breached the surface then floated on her back, letting her clothes soak and become full of water. Her hair floated around her scalp, drifting just as she did. Relaxation washed over her before she pulled her canteen out of her pack and filled it with water. While swimming in place, she drank as much as her body could handle.

The dragon hadn’t resurfaced yet, probably exploring some underwater cave.

Cora swam to shore then sat on the sand. She drank her water quietly, enjoying the scenery and the feeling of accomplishment. They crossed the desert without dying or being followed. Now, it was time to relax.

Flare broke the surface of the water, his head emerging first. His scales looked even more marvelous when wet. They shone even brighter in the sunlight. He scooped water into his mouth then drank from the lake, gently gliding at the same time.

“Your scales look like they are sparkling.”

The dragon held his head proudly, his nose slightly pointed up. I know.

She tried not to laugh. “They look really nice.”

I know that too.

Cora kept drinking from her canteen and watched the dragon walk out of the water. “Would you like me to hunt now?”

The dragon lay on the sand and immediately closed his eyes. Bear, please. Two if you can manage it.

Cora grabbed her sword from her pack and headed into the trees. “I can try, but I suspect I won’t even return with one.”