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At some point either my voice gave out or I managed to control myself but I wasn't screaming any longer, just petrified of distance to the ground below as I hung from the dragon's claws. All the running and fighting loosened the rope the men tied me with and I was able to finally get my hands free, gasping at the pain and ache in my shoulders as the blood was restored.

Teras said nothing, the only sounds coming from him were the sounds of his wings beating and the occasional growl. Blood ran down from where the crossbow had hit him, some of it dripping down onto me and even in my terror I found myself worried about the harm he may have sustained.

I closed my eyes, not knowing where he was flying or even caring. The sight of the ground far below, the numbing cold of the air, it was all too much for me to take in as the dragon flew on.

Teras started to descend and the sound of his wing beats increased as he dropped closer to the ground. I opened my eyes to find myself being held just above the ground at the entrance to Teras' lair. His hind legs dropped to the ground and he set me down.

I staggered forward into the cave and wrapped my arms around myself, shivering with the sheer cold. My breeches, the rest of my clothes, our supplies, were all left behind at the mens camp.

Suddenly that seemed the least of my worries as the dragon walked into the cave his eyes fixed on me with the same look he had back at the camp. I froze for a moment, then started walking backwards, not daring to turn from him, like a wild animal you daren't turn away from for fear of being attacked.

I felt the wall coming up against my back and still the dragon advanced. “T-teras, please, it's me, Erin!" I said in a weak voice.

He stopped and stared down at me, eyes fixed, growling quietly deep in his throat. I nearly froze up at the sound but managed to shake it off. “Teras, stop!" I said, my voice a little stronger.

He stared down at me, breathing heavy, then shook his head as if to clear it, and took a step back, closing his eyes as he shook his head again. He looked over at me, opening his eyes blearily. “Erin?"

“I'm here, Teras," I said, feeling relieved that the dragon recognized me.

“What happened…I hurt…Erin, it hurts!" Teras cried as he reached for the wound the bolt made.

“Don't touch it!" I said, moving forward to put my hand on the dragon's side. He lowered his head to me and I reached out to stroke his muzzle. He whimpered again.

“Hurts!"

“I know, I know." I said as I pet him and moved towards his flank, gently pushing. “Come on now, lay down for me; there's a good dragon," I said in as soothing a voice I could, running my hand over his side the whole time in encouragement.

He lay down, whimpering in pain and I examined the wound more closely. I could clearly see the remains of the bolt he had bitten off embedded in his chest and I hadn't a clue how I was going to remove it. My healing kit, everything had been left behind.

I started as he nudged me with his nose. “Hurts…"

“I know, I know, Teras, but I'm not sure if I can pull it out and I have nothing to bandage it with," I told him. “All of my supplies are back where you rescued me."

I blushed, suddenly remembering my partially naked state and started to feel the chill as fear wore off. I shivered and tired to pull my shirt down over myself.

“You are cold!"

“Y-yes, Teras, my breeches are gone, but we need to tend to your wound."

“No, you are cold! You could die!"

He took in a stuttering breath, shuddering with the pain of it, and then exhaled over me. Warmth had never felt so welcome! He continued to breath out, taking stuttering breaths, keeping me warm in spite of the pain it clearly caused him.

“Teras, stop! You're hurting yourself!"

“No, you must stay warm."

I looked at his wound which started to bleed all the more. “Teras, no! You're making it bleed worse!"

He shook his head stubbornly. “No, I will keep you warm and—"

“Stop it!" I finally yelled and he flinched away. “Please, Teras. I'm warm enough and you don't need to be hurting yourself to take care of me."

“But the cold hurts you…you should not hurt."

“Neither should you!"

“I am just a dragon. It does not matter."

I felt my mouth drop open as I stared and him in surprise, then reached out and grabbed his ear. “Never say that again!" I said fiercely. “You are every bit as important as I am, every bit a person!"

He tried to flinch away but I held fast to his ear and he whined through his nose. “But your book says—"

“I don't care what the blasted book says!" I yelled. “It's wrong about dragons, wrong about you! It's—" I broke off, realizing suddenly what I was saying.

I stood there, dumbfounded, realizing perhaps at last that I truly rejected the teachings about dragons as shadow touched and rejected what scripture said about them.

Perhaps I was just finally admitting it fully to myself.

I looked at the dragon with a dumbfounded expression on my face who was looking down at me with some confusion. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, asking the Maker for forgiveness for my outburst but not entirely certain I was sorry for what I had said. I released the dragon's ear and he gently nudged me with his nose.

I opened my eyes and could feel the tears running down my cheeks and he made a soft crooning noise and gently nosed at them. “You are upset," he said quietly.

“You've flipped my whole world upside down, Teras. Things that I was absolutely sure of have turned to be untrue, at least as far as you're concerned, and I'm not sure what that says about me or about you."

I started to shiver again and he extended a wing and folded it around me. My heart pounded in fear and for a moment I stiffened up as he drew his wing closer to himself, but then allowed him to gently draw me closer. He kept it draped over me, holding me to his side and I found myself stretching my arms out and laying against him, gently stroking his scales with my right hand.

“Oh Maker," I muttered a soft plea but for what I wasn't sure of.

Teras gently nosed my shoulder again and I looked up at him, still feeling tears rolling down my cheek. He snorted softly and nuzzled them away and I lay my hand on his nose as he drew back.

“I need to figure out how to get that bolt out of you, Teras, before it infects."

“I could fly and get your things," he said, his ears coming up a little.

“No, you could hurt yourself all the worse!"

“But you need your things, your clothes. Humans always wear clothes and you need them for warm!"

I lowered my hand felt the heat rush to my face again as I remembered my less that fully clothed state. “Yes, well, you're right but you can't be flying to go get them. I'm not sure what to do about it, Teras."

He cocked his head. “You cannot do magic?"

“Not without my staff."

He blinked. “Why staff?"

“It focuses the power granted to us by the Maker, a focus of sorts," I told him thinking back to my lessons. “The staves and other items are made and imbued with power drawn from the æther."

“You cannot draw power?"

I shook my head “No, not from the æther itself. It's far too dangerous and you risk being corrupted. Only the Brothers and Sisters specially trained are allowed to do it and they only work in groups of four to watch over each other."

Teras cocked his head the other way, laying his ears back partially, and closed his eyes, humming in thought for a moment before opening them. “What is…ether? Æther?"

“I'm not sure how to describe it to you, Teras," I told the dragon as I curled in closer to him, trying to stay as warm as I could. “There's energy that surrounds us, but you can't see it or use it unless you know how, and that information is closely guarded because of the dangers."

“Do we use æther? Tapping into æther is the gateway to madness without the covering of the Mantle and three others so trained in the art. None shall do this upon pain of excommunication and possible banishment," I recited to him.

“Energy," the dragon said, sounding a little confused. “Energy like this?" He drew back his head and said something in a tongue that slipped away as soon as it was spoken, and a mage light formed right above his head. He nosed it down towards me, ears perked and I scrambled backwards away from it.

“Careful! Teras! Make it go!" I shouted.

He blinked and the mage light winked out. I stood with my hand on my chest, eyes closed, breathing heavily while the dragon whined quietly. I looked up at him, shivering for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold. “You…you can use the æther…"

He very hesitantly lowered his head to me and I took a step backwards, falling onto his tail. He jerked back, drawing his wing a little closer to me. “I did not mean to scare! Please!"

I sat there, trembling for some time, watching as the dragon's head weaved back and forth slightly. “I'm…sorry, Teras. But…that is forbidden and you can do it…but…but you are not mad."

“I am never mad with you…"

“I meant insane, Teras," I said as I got back to my feet. I reached out a hand and he lowered his muzzle to be pet, himself shuddering. “I…I guess the book is truly wrong about you. You are not shadow touched, can touch the æther without madness or danger…how did you learn?"

“Mother and father taught me," he said, ears coming up, then lowering. “Before they were gone. It is some instinct, some learning."

“I'm…sorry, Teras…"

He nuzzled me gently. “Thank you."

I pulled his head to rest on my shoulder as best it could while I pet him and he started to thrum with the attention. I looked over at his wound which was bleeding sluggishly and sighed. “I don't suppose you can heal yourself?"

He raised his head. “No. Few dragons can heal with magic. Only in stories I hear."

I stared at the wound and a sudden thought came unbidden to my mind: if the dragon could tap the æther did that mean he could act as a focus for the Maker's magic?

Maker! Why was I thinking of such things! The whole idea was preposterous…blasphemous! Touching the æther was the gateway to madness and using a dragon to touch it would surely be hurtling through the gateway with no means of stopping!

But the book was wrong, wrong about Teras. Was it also wrong here?

The dragon whimpered and licked his wound a few times and I stared at it. With that bolt lodged in there and no way to get it out it would infect with little doubt, and if the dragon's anatomy was like most creatures it was alarmingly close to his heart.

If it wasn't taken care of, and soon, he would grow feverish and weak as the wound festered and likely take his life as the poison of it spread throughout his body. I'd observed this happen with other animals and even people.

I looked at Teras' face and I could see the small signs of the pain he was in, even though it seemed to me he was trying to keep it from me. I closed my eyes again and whispered a fervent prayer to the Maker that what I was about to attempt didn't cost me my sanity and my soul.

“T-Teras," I said, stammering a little. “I want you to tap into the æther again and hold the energy…" I trailed off, considering as I looked around. There was really nothing suitable for a focus were I having one made.

He cocked his head. “Hold the energy? Like you use it?"

“Well, yes…"

His ears perked. “Oh! I will hold it to myself and give it to you! Mother and Father did this sometimes to boost their own magic to do greater things!"

“I…" I said, feeling a chill go through me. “I guess we can try it…"

He nodded and closed his eyes, saying something in that strange language, and I could sense the energy forming up around and through him. I took in a deep breath and said the prayer for healing, making the signs, and reached out to touch the dragon, using him as a focus.

There was a surge of power that knocked me off my feet and I fell back hard on the dragon's tail as he jerked and gasped in surprise, his body going taut, then suddenly relaxing. I blinked and sat up, feeling shaky as the power receded.

The dragon shook his head several times, then looked down at his chest where the crossbow bolt had struck him. “It is healed!" he said in amazement, then looked at me with his ears perked, mouth slightly open, his eyes bright.

“It worked," I mumbled, feeling dazed. “It really worked…" I looked up at the dragon and smiled, then a flood of weariness overcame me and I felt myself drop backwards into the crook of his tail as sleep came over me.