"Ah!"Dipak reared back, startled by the roughness but mostly thecold."You stupidbastard."
That rumble he immediately recognized as laughter, no explanation required.
"Are you all right?"Dipak."Your poor leg…"
Euclid whimpered slightly, but then gently touched his tongue to Dipak's hands, which were still bleeding, though sluggishly now at least.
"I'll be fine, I just need to wash and bind them, until magic or time can heal them.What about your leg?"
He didn't understand the soft rumble made that time, but then shimmering, gold-silver light encased Euclid.The light shrank down, slowly and with some rather alarming crunching and squelching noises involved—and then the light was gone, and a pale, trembling Euclid was before him."My leg is fine now," Euclid said, voice raspy and laced with pain."It will be sore and stiff for a few days, but that's all.Are you all right?Let me—"
"I'll be fine for now," Dipak said, catching his wrists as Euclid reached for him."You shouldn't have done that.Now there are people here that know for certain a dragon resides here, and even that you can look human.You won't be safe—"
Euclid kissed him gently."I put everyone in camp to sleep first.There is still a risk, but I think seeing their comrades slaughtered by an ogre that they will soon learn was their king is more than enough for them to want to avoid further trouble.Any talk of a dragon appearing to save the day will be dismissed.I'm more worried about all your wounds.Death by a thousand cuts is as fatal as death by one blow, hunter."
"I'm fine, I promise.You've already over-exerted yourself, and we've got quite the mess to clean up.The soldiers will have at least one healer amongst them, and basic healing supplies anyway.I just can't believe breaking that damn thing worked.I won't have magic for a week or so, though.Thankfully my eyes aren't affected."
"There is something I want to do right now, if you are willing.It's not my first choice, or even my tenth, but…as you say, there is much to do, and I would feel better if you had my full power and protection before we do it.But I will likely also pass out after it is done, and the burden of everything will fall to you, my hunter."
"Whatever you want," Dipak said."I'm yours, dragon.For some strange reason you seem to like me, and it feels like I was meant to be here, though I've never been much for things like gods and fate."
"Still, it's a bit much to demand we bond properly now."
Dipak smiled and cupped his face with one hand."You are the one risking everything.If you feel that confident about it, that you'd do it here and now, when we've known each other only a couple of months, and only recently became lovers, then I'll do it.I trust you implicitly."
Euclid smiled, soft and sweet, despite the exhaustion and pain that must be weighing him down.Removing Dipak's hands, he said, "Normally I would do this slowly, over many days, give you time to properly adjust, give you one last chance to change your mind before the changes take irreversible hold.This will probably hurt, and you'll black out briefly, so I am sorry."
"I can handle pain, especially when I'm getting so much in return."
Euclid kissed him, then held his own wrist to his mouth and bit down.Blood spilled down his arm in lurid trails.Holding it out, he said, "Drink, hunter."
Of all the things he'd expected,drink my bloodhad been nowhere on the list.But he'd said he trusted Euclid, and he meant it.So he took hold of Euclid's bleeding wrist and pressed it to his mouth.His blood was hot, faintly metallic, and oddly sweet.He closed his eyes and focused on doing, trying not to think aboutwhathe was doing.
He drank until the wrist was pulled away, opened his eyes—and then doubled over in pain, biting into his own lip to keep from screaming as tears blurred his vision.He felt like he was boiling, like thorns were wrapped tightly around him, like more were pushing from the inside out.
Then, as promised, he blacked out.
When he stirred, he had barely moved at all.His head was in Euclid's lap."Euclid?"
He immediately looked down from where he'd been looking up at the sky, face flooding with relief."You're awake, and sooner than expected."
"How long…?"
"Perhaps an hour or so."Euclid yawned."Most of the camp is awake.I fetched Abhishek, he took command of the remaining soldiers, says they'll be ready to leave in the morning."
"Does he know about you?"
Euclid shook his head."He thinks I'msomething, maybe part fae like him or similar, but I doubt it would ever occur to him I'm a dragon.There are precious few non-dragon beings in the world who know we can shift into a human form.And not every dragon can.How do you feel?"
Much as he would love to continue napping with his head in Euclid's lap, Dipak dragged himself upright."A little dizzy, not terrible.Flushed, like I have a fever.A bit nauseous.Tingly, like my whole body went numb and now is waking up.Mild headache."He laughed."I got sick with goblin flu once as a child.This feels a lot like that, though without the pain and throwing up every half hour."
"That is genuinely impressive.I've known mates who were incapacitated for days, even a couple of weeks, after the full transformation, even when it's done slowly.Your body is undergoing many changes, absorbing my power, altering to live for countless centuries.That is the part people find hardest, in the end."
"Yeah, I can see where that would be the greatest burden, having to watch people you love, friends and family, all die, over and over.But we'll have each other, and anyway, it's done, right?I've passed the blood-drinking test?"
Euclid laughed, then pulled him in and kissed him.Oh.That was new.Dipak couldfeelhim, like an extra rush of joy in his mind.Nothing explicit, not the telepathy that was so rare a magic it may as well be legend, but definitely a whole new level of awareness.
"You'll have to tell me about the changes in full detail later," he said when they drew apart, and pulled them to their feet.They both swayed, but Euclid far more than him."Go sleep.I'll speak with Abhishek and take care of everything.No further harm will come to our forest, I promise."