Lolsa you guys made this so hard, you literally voted on almost every single character in the book. Jaxon won by a few votes though so I'm doing his POV :) I hope you enjoy!

btw this isn't edited either (in case you didn't notice already, I don't like editing) so point out any mistakes please :) thx!!!!

*******

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, let's go."

"No you're not you're bleeding again. Ash stop. We're taking a break."

"No I'm fine let's keep―fuck!"

I swear under my breath. "We're taking a break," I growl.

He nods, clutching at his side. "Yeah okay," he mutters, his face twisted in pain.

I help him over to a tree where he collapses against the trunk. "This trip is going to take forever, your mother is probably worried sick―"

"Ash I'm not going to leave you here," I growl.

He snorts. "Your mother made me promise to travel with you and make sure you were safe so if you showed up by yourself she'd have my head for sure. No, I was going to say we should send a hawk to let her know what happened."

My eyebrows furrow. "A hawk? They still use those?"

"The witches do sometimes but not really anymore. I have one because your mother gave it to me. It was hers but she wanted to make sure nothing happened to me while I was travelling," he says and I grin.

Well mom already likes him, I think.

It sounds like your mother planned this. She made him promise to stay with you and keep you safe while travelling. I doubt she really believes that you cannot handle the trip to the Circle by yourself, Azazel says.

Well in that case, I really need to thank my mom when we get there.

"How do we send one?" I ask.

"I have no idea."

"Well that's really helpful, got any other ideas?"

"No, not really. Ah fuck this hurts," he hisses, grabbing his side again.

"Here, let me see," I sigh.

He tries to lift his shirt then lets out a yelp of pain.

I clench my jaw. "Where's your knife? I'll just cut it off," I say.

He jerks his head towards his bag and I fish out the sheathed dagger. I cut his blood-soaked shirt off and use my water bottle to rinse the blood off of his side.

"Shit, it looks a lot worse than yesterday."

"Well that's reassuring," he murmurs.

I shake my head a little. "You know you've become a lot more snarky and sarcastic since you got the shit beat out of you," I mutter.

He makes a face. "Yeah well getting the shit beat out of you tends to make you a little irritable. Not to mention it's easier to voice your thoughts when you're around someone that makes you feel safe," he mumbles.

I pause, looking at him through wide eyes. He stares off into the forest and has a distant look on his face.

I don't think he knows what he's saying, I tell my dragon, noting how pale he is.

He looks like he has lost a lot of blood. I am surprised he did not collapse earlier, she says.

I turn my attention back to Ash to see he is unconscious. He's still breathing but it's shallow and fast.

I swear under my breath. "Sorry Ash, I know you don't like caves but it's too open out here," I mutter.

I pull both of our backpacks over my shoulders and lift him into my arms. I swear again when I realize he is lighter than my sister despite being almost as tall as I am.

By the time I get him up to the cave, my shirt and hands are slick with blood. I set him down on the smooth rock floor, using the backpacks to keep him sitting upright.

"Thank the gods mom taught us how to do this," I sigh as I take the medical supplies out of my backpack.

The dragons had stabbed him right between his ribs and I stitched it up pretty good but Ash refused to take a break from walking and ended up opening the wound again.

I take out the old stitches, cringing at the torn and ripped skin. It immediately begins to bleed even more and I swear loudly before re-stitching it as quickly as I can. I wrap bandages over his chest, sighing in relief when it doesn't bleed through.

I lean against the cave wall, exhaustion sinking deep into my bones.

Is he okay? Azazel asks.

I look at Ash carefully. His breathing is still fast and shallow but his heart beat is starting to sound normal again.  A sheen of sweat covers his skin but when I feel his forehead, he's cold.

I flick my wrist and a large fire illuminates the cave. I rest against the wall beside Ash, focusing on his heartbeat and breathing. Wake me if something happens to him, I say.

I will, now get some rest, Azazel tells me.

I glance again at Ash sleeping beside me before letting my head fall back against the rock. I close my eyes and slip into a dreamless sleep.

*******

I wake to something bouncing under my head. I open my eyes with a small groan.

"It's about damn time, I've been stuck here for hours," I hear a voice chuckle.

My eyes widen as I realize I was sleeping on Ash's shoulder. I sit up quickly. "Oh uh, sorry I didn't―"

"I'm just messing with you, I really didn't mind. I just needed you to wake up cause I really have to pee," he says with a sheepish smile.

"Well thanks for letting me sleep this long," I mutter, noticing it's midday already.

He nods before shifting a little then pausing with a wince. I roll my eyes and stand up before helping pull him to his feet.

"Thanks," he breathes. "I'll be right back."

While he's gone, I change my clothes, groaning as I realize I don't have anything clean. Hey, dirty clothes are still better than blood-soaked, my dragon comments.

Yeah true, I say.

I run a hand through my hair, cringing as my fingers catch in the tangled curls. "I need a shower," I mutter.

"The river pools not too far from here, the water's usually pretty warm," Ash says, stepping back into the cave.

"So you think I need a shower too then huh?" I grin.

"Well you're still covered in blood and so am I, not to mention we've been walking through the mountains for going on a week now, a shower wouldn't hurt."

"Well then lead the way to the river," I say. I swing both backpacks over my shoulders and motion for Ash to go.

"I can carry my own pack," he growls.

I shrug. "Well that's the second time I've had to redo your stitches and I'd rather not do it a third time so I'm not taking any chances," I tell him.

He scowls at me. "Does that mean I can't put on a shirt either?"

I shrug again, a small smirk creeping up onto my face. "Just take us to the river."

I follow him down the mountain side, my eyes wandering over his scars the entire time. Most of them look like they're from knives and a lot strongly resemble wounds caused by arrows.

But there are also scars that run from the tops of his shoulders, all the way down to his lower back. They're faint but still visible beneath the hundreds of smaller scars. I think those are from a whip.

You have heard the stories, the hunters were ruthless monsters. I cannot imagine the things they did to him, my dragon growls, her voice filled with an underlying rage.

Horrible images start flashing through my mind and I have to swallow the bile that has risen in my throat. I shake my head and try to focus on the scenery instead.

The mountains are mostly barren rock, but towards the bottom it turns into a forest. The trees grow close together and the canopy is so thick it completely blocks out the sun in some places.

The river is at the very bottom, it's what formed the canyon between the mountains. It's not as big as it was a thousand years ago, but it still takes my breath away.

"I used to go swimming here with my brother," I say.

Ash glances back at me with a small smile. "Really?"

I nod. "Yeah this is where we learned how to swim. My parents thought it would be more practical than a swimming pool."

"Yeah you don't exactly see square pools made of stone in the wilderness. Well the current slows just behind those trees, the water is pretty still there," he says.

I follow him around the dense thicket of trees and my jaw drops. The river is normally a dark gray color, but here it's blue. The grass grows thicker around here and it looks more like moss.

"My gods this place is amazing," I breathe.

Ash grins at me. "I found it a few years ago. Nobody ever comes here so I used it as a hideout sometimes."

I watch as his smile starts to fall. "Come on, let's get cleaned up," I sigh.

He shakes his head a little before nodding. I drop the bags and tear off my shirt, grimacing at the smell.

I hear a tiny whimper and frown. I look over at Ash but he is staring down at the ground with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah I'm good," he croaks out, turning around.

My eyebrows furrow. "Okay then," I murmur. I pull my shorts off so that I'm left in just my boxers and shove my clothes into my pack.

I turn around to see Ash already in the water. I grin and take a running jump so that I land right next to him.

Warm water surrounds me. I close my eyes under the water and smile as my body relaxes. I can't hear anything but my own heartbeat as I float beneath the surface.

My lungs start to burn and I swim upwards, sucking in a gasping breath.

"Damn, you can hold your breath for a long time. I kinda thought you drowned for a second there," I hear Ash say and I laugh.

"Well it's deeper than I thought," I remark. My feet don't touch the bottom and I have to tread water to stay afloat.

I swim closer to the edge until it is shallow enough for me to stand. I rub the blood off my skin and rinse my hair until I can actually run my fingers through it.

I climb out of the pool with a heavy sigh. I wave my hand and the water evaporates from my body in a small cloud of steam. I sit down in the soft grass, leaning my back against a tree.

I look back at the river and can't help smiling. Ash floats on the water, his arms out and his eyes closed. His hair floats around him in a golden halo and the tiniest of smiles rests on his lips.

I bite my cheek hard and clench my fists. "Fuck it," I whisper under my breath and rummage through my bag for my sketchbook. I find a pencil and flip to a clean page.

I glance back at Ash. He hasn't moved. I grin again and my pencil starts to move.

*********

Hey guys I hope you liked this chapter!!! Comment down below whose POV you want next!!!

The more comments I get, the faster I will update!!!!!!