Chapter 279 – Promises

Yuki quite liked the expression that Ember was making. Mouth open, eyes wide, and a slight pink hue to her tan skin. She was a little embarrassed herself at being so direct, but seeing Ember’s reaction made her forget about it. She grinned and leaned back.

“Do you need more convincing?” Yuki asked.

“No. I think I’m convinced,” Ember replied with a flustered grin. “But, um, about Akira. Do you think she would be fine with me? I don’t want to accidentally cause tension between you two.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. You did save me,” Yuki said. “I think if you two spent some time together, you would get along well.” 

“Really?”

“Really,” Yuki said. Ember’s relief was obvious. “I have a small question. Not really related to this though.”

“Go for it.”

“You said these bonds were forever?” she asked. “How does that work?”

“Ah. Well, it’s technically not forever,” Ember said. “It’s more like essentially forever. You can sever it, but the blowback from breaking something connected to your soul is severe. So severe that it can kill or maim a lot of the time.”

“That sounds scary. I guess that’s why we make sure that we bond with someone who’s compatible with us.”

“Yup. Hopefully, things work out for us,” Ember muttered, fingering the bedsheets they sat on. 

“They will, don’t worry,” Yuki said with a small smile. A thought struck her. “About the bond. It shows itself with a mark, right? Like a tattoo?”

“Wherever you want it to be,” Ember shrugged. 

“But I didn’t actively designate a place.”

“Then it’ll go with your previous desires and subconscious I think.” Ember lifted her shirt, revealing her toned abs as she twisted around. Yuki glanced away. She could understand Sophie’s behavior now. “I think I know where mine would be.”

She turned around and displayed her back to Yuki. At the small of her back was a tattoo. It resembled that of a dragon, curling up as it took up a surprising amount of space. Yuki reached out and touched it with light fingers. Ember straightened but didn’t say a thing.

“It’s bigger than I thought it would be,” Yuki said. 

“Really?” Ember whispered.

“Does a new mark get formed with every bond?”

“Yes,” Ember replied. “The size varies with each, though. The overall design as well.”

“What determines it?”

“I’m not sure. They say that it’s based on the people the bond is being formed between. How the bond was created. If my mark is large, it might be because of the amount of emotions that was passed between us.”

“So mine would be just as big then.”

“Maybe,” Ember said. “This is one of those magics that hasn’t given its secrets away. Only the creators would know.”

She pulled her shirt down and turned back around, looking at Yuki expectantly. Yuki pursed her lips as she thought about where such a mark would appear on herself. She grabbed her tunic and pulled it up and over her head. Ember promptly closed her eyes and turned away. 

“I’m covered, don’t be shy,” Yuki laughed. “I want you to help me look.” 

Ember peeked back and sighed in relief when she saw Yuki’s chest bound by strips of cloth. Yuki turned around to present her back, waiting for Ember’s observations.

“It’s not there,” Ember said. 

“It’s not on my stomach area either,” Yuki observed as she looked down. “Nothing new on my arms either.”

A warm finger touched Yuki’s right arm right where the mark of the bond between her and Akira was. Yuki glanced back at Ember as she began tracing the mark lightly. 

“This is the one with Akira, right?” Ember asked. 

“Yes.”

“It’s pretty. You said she was a chimaera?”

“That I did,” Yuki said. 

“You know, they should be all extinct,” Ember said, drawing her hand back. Yuki put her tunic back on and nodded. “I’m surprised that one still lives on. Happy too, but surprised.”

“Mmm. I don’t know the specifics behind why she’s alive,” Yuki said. “I’m not particularly interested in knowing either. I’m just glad that she was with me for all those years.”

She slid out of the bed and rolled her pants up as high as they could go. Examining her now exposed legs, she found the mark immediately. It was tattooed on her thigh, along the side where it connected to her hip. 

“Here it is,” she said, lifting her leg and putting her foot on her bed to give Ember a look. “Looks just like yours.”

Ember leaned in to examine the mark, brushing it lightly with her fingers. Yuki took a sharp breath at the sudden contact.

“A dangerous place to touch,” Yuki whispered, a small grin tugging her lips.

“Oh, sorry,” Ember said, jerking her hand back. “I wasn’t thinking. Um. It looks nice.”

“It does.”

Yuki dropped the legs of her pants down and sat on the bed once again. She looked at Ember, thinking about her next words. There were still a few things she wanted to know. A few things that bothered her.

“Ember,” she said. Ember stared at her expectantly. “This emotion transfer thing. The feelings that are shared don’t just disappear, do they? They have to go somewhere.”

“You’re right,” Ember nodded. “They don’t go away. Like I said, they’re shared. So some of them have gone to me.”

“So part of my anger and sorrow is sitting within you right now.”

“Yes.”

“Can you feel it?” Yuki asked. “Is it affecting you?”

“If I focused on it, I think it would,” Ember said. Yuki frowned at that. “Are you worried about me becoming crazy?”

“A little.”

“Oh. Thank you. But don’t worry about that. I just need to relieve it in some way and I’ll be fine.”

“I see. That’s good.”

Yuki hoped that Ember wasn’t trying to downplay the effects of the emotions. If she began to go mad because of them, Yuki wasn’t confident in her abilities to bring her back down as well as Ember had done for her. 

“Yuki.”

“Hmm?” Yuki felt Ember take her hand. 

“You need to remember that if you ever feel like your emotions are beginning to erupt, you shouldn’t push them down,” Ember said, staring right into Yuki’s eyes. “Tell me, and I will help you. I know pushing them is the first instinct many have. Hatchlings do it all the time because they don’t know better, but that’s how madness is created. So tell me. Please.”

“I will,” Yuki replied without hesitation. Ember relaxed at those words and began to release her hand. Yuki grabbed hers and pulled her closer. “Ember, I want you to promise the same to me. We’re dragons. What affects me can affect you. I don’t want to see you go through what I have. We’re bonded now, Ember. You can rely on me. And I will rely on you. Do you promise?”

“I do,” Ember said. 

“Then,” Yuki smiled, squeezing Ember’s hand, “let’s start finding a way to get out of this place.”

“Don’t you already have a way?” Ember frowned. 

“I did. But that way would mean that I would have to leave without you.” Yuki put a finger to Ember’s lips as she tried to speak. “No protests. We’re leaving together. And if it means doing the impossible, we will do it. I’m not losing another person. Never again.”