The wind tore at your hair, and the harsh sun fractured against the wet leaves with a glare so piercing it made your eyes ache. You had been walking the forest path for a long time. too long to keep minding your step. After all, you knew these woods like the back of your hand.
Your mind was so far away that you finally paid the price. A stone shifted treacherously under your boot. At first, you thought your foot had just slipped, but then the world tilted sharply on its axis.
Balance vanished. Your hands shot forward, fingers clawing at empty air and cold bark, but nothing could stop you. Moss, twigs, and dry needles crunched beneath you as you went sliding down the steep embankment.
You tumbled, your body slamming into roots and rocks, it felt as though you hit every hard surface the earth had to offer.
The final blow knocked the wind out of you, leaving your head spinning as if the whole world were spilling out inside your skull. You lay on your back in a small hollow, surrounded by ferns and grey boulders.
Your ears were ringing, your face burned, and you could taste blood on your lips. You tried to push yourself up, but a sharp, stabbing pain flared in your shoulder, turning your vision black.
"Great," you rasped into the silence. "I really outdid myself this time."
And then, the shadows moved. At first, you thought it was just the wind through the leaves. But the sound was deeper. Heavier. Like something massive drawing breath between the trees.
You held yours. A shape emerged from between the trunks. First a flash of blue, then streaks of gold, and finally, wings covered in feathers.
A dragon. He was enormous. Blue as a summer sky, with golden patterns on his scales that ran down his neck and chest like flickering flames.
He was watching you. Your heart hammered so loudly you were certain he could hear it. You tried to back away, but your spine hit stone, and your legs refused to obey.
"Please..." the word escaped you, though you weren't sure who you were talking to. The forest? This dragon, who looked like he could swallow you in a single bite?
The dragon stepped closer. The ground trembled slightly under his weight. The feathers on his wings rose and settled, like a bird finding its balance. Then, he lowered his head.
He stopped within arm’s reach. He was so close you could see your own reflection in his eyes: the bruises, the split lip, the sheer terror on your face.
He studied you before giving your shoulder a light nudge with his snout. A jolt of sharp pain shot through you instantly. The dragon recoiled at once, and in his eyes, there was something like concern. It was a strange thing to think about a giant reptile that could eat you in the blink of an eye.
The dragon leaned in again, more cautiously this time. He didn't touch you. He seemed to be waiting. And something inside you shifted. Not logic. Not survival instinct. Something deeper that you hadn't even realized was there.
You raised your hand. You clung to the thought that this was madness, but your fingers stretched out anyway. You hovered in the air, inches from his scales. And then, you touched him.
Under your fingertips, you expected hardness, cold, and grit. Instead, the scales were smooth, warm, and vital as if fire pulsed beneath them. The moment you touched him, a wave surged through your arm, stealing your breath. And then, it began to burn.
"Ow!" You jerked your hand back, but it was too late. Where you had touched him, your skin glowed white-hot. You watched as a mark slowly etched itself onto your palm and wrist. Fine lines that resembled scales. A draconic spiral, ending in a tiny flame.
"What on earth is this?" you muttered to yourself.
The dragon looked into your eyes again. He lowered his head even further, his breath huffing against your face. You closed your eyes, bracing for a roar or a blast of heat, but neither came.
The dragon took a deep breath. The air around you grew thick, like the atmosphere before a storm. A blue-gold light rose from his body, circling his wings and sliding over his scales.
And then it happened. The massive silhouette began to change. Not like a painful transformation from a nightmare, but a fluid transition. The light pulled inward, bones shifted, wings folded into shimmering shadows, and feathers dissolved into glowing dust.
When the light faded, it wasn't a dragon standing before you. It was a man. Tall, lean, with blond hair and eyes that held that same bright stillness. Even in human form, he radiated that same predatory, otherworldly power.
"What... who...?" Your eyes widened, and you sat back more abruptly than your body liked.
"You're hurt-yoi," he said gently.
"I am," you admitted, still reeling. You looked down at the mark again. The burning had faded to a dull warmth. "And this? Did you do this to me?"
"That is the bond-yoi," he said, stepping closer.
"Bond?" You swallowed hard. "What kind of bond?"
"Soulmate," he breathed. The word rang in your head like a bell in the fog.
"No," you gasped. "That’s... that’s nonsense. I don’t believe in things like that."
"You don't have to believe-yoi." There was a hint of amused warmth in his voice. "It is enough that it exists."
You stared at him, everything inside you at war. Fear, pain, exhaustion, and the logic that wanted to give up on the spot and yet... something felt strangely right. Like the last piece of a puzzle clicking into place, suddenly revealing the whole picture.
"So... when a soulmate touches a dragon..." you began slowly, remembering the old travelers' tales you’d overheard in taverns. "...a mark appears?"
"Yes." He nodded, attempting a faint smile.
"And what does it mean?" you whispered. "That we are...?" Your heart skipped another strange beat.
"Rider and Dragon-yoi." Those words knocked the air out of your lungs.
"That can't be true," you mumbled. "I'm no hero. I'm not chosen. I'm... I'm just me."
"Exactly why. My name is Marco. And you just appeared right under my nose, all battered up-yoi," he smiled, bright as the sun.
You stared at him. Your throat was dry, and at the same time, you wanted to laugh because the whole situation was absurd.
"So it’s not... a hallucination." You raised your wrist. The mark shimmered on your skin as if it were alive.
"No," he answered simply. Then, to your surprise, he knelt before you in the dirt and ferns to be at eye level. "Your shoulder hurts," he said, reaching out but stopping before he touched you. "May I?"
You nodded, though you were trembling slightly. His fingers touched your shoulder. This time, no new mark appeared. Only the existing one on your hand glowed faintly, as if reacting to his proximity.
Marco narrowed his eyes, and a soft warmth flowed from his palm into your skin. The tension in your shoulder vanished, the pain receding like a tide, replaced by a relieved tingling throughout your body.
"What... what did you do?" you breathed.
"I straightened it out a bit-yoi," he said calmly. "Not entirely, but enough for you to stand."
"You can heal?" you marveled.
"When I must," he shrugged. "And when someone is mine."
"I'm not yours," you protested automatically.
"I don't mean it as property. I mean it as fact. The bond. You are my Rider." Marco looked at you with a gaze that was both sharp and tender.
"I don't know how to ride a dragon," you blurted out.
"You'll learn," he smiled with amusement.
"And what if I don't want to?"
Marco grew quiet for a moment. In that silence, you feared his composure might break. It didn't. He reached out and lightly ran a finger over the mark on your wrist. The touch was so light it gave you goosebumps.
"Then I won't force you," he said softly. "A bond isn't a chain. It’s... an invitation. And I have waited a long time."
"How long?" you asked, because it suddenly felt important.
"Long." Marco looked through the trees as if seeing something far beyond them.
"So... what now?" you finally asked. It was the only question that made sense.
Marco stood up. When he reached out his hand to help you, he did it slowly. He gave you the choice. To accept.
And you did. His fingers closed around yours, firm but gentle. He pulled you to your feet without jarring you, and for a moment, you leaned against him as your head swam.
"Now, I’ll get you to safety," he said. "And then I’ll explain everything you want to know. And the things you don't want to know too, because they'll come out anyway-yoi."
"You're awfully confident," you muttered, but a tiny smile tugged at the corner of your lips.
Marco noticed. His gaze softened. "No. I'm just... glad you're breathing."
"Me too," you admitted quietly. Marco leaned in for a moment, so close you were sure you’d feel his breath on your lips. He didn’t kiss you. He just lightly bumped his forehead against yours, exactly as he had done as a dragon.
"Alright then," he said. "Let's go."
You started walking beside him. You were bruised, dirty, and you still didn't know what the mark truly meant. But as you looked at your hand and then at Marco, a quiet, unexpected realization stirred within you. Whatever this was, you weren't in it alone.
