Her gaze traveled farther up its slender neck and to the face that made up every child’s nightmares. Eyes the same color as sunflowers burned into her with imminent hostility. Not once did they blink. They took her in, absorbing all of her features.
The creature’s mouth was the most interesting part. It was closed, and there were no lips. But it was clear that behind the snout were endless rows of razor-sharp teeth that could slice a boulder in half.
Cora’s heart stopped beating, and her lungs forgot how to breathe. In stark astonishment, she slowly lowered her bow and felt her entire body go weak. She’d been expecting the deadly creatures from the village. But what she came face-to-face with was much worse.
A dragon.
Five
Fearless, Cora didn’t back down from any fight. Defeat was never an option, and she gave everything she had until there was nothing left. But she wasn’t stupid either.
This was a fight she couldn’t win.
She set the bow on the ground along with her arrows. Her eyes were glued to the dragon the entire time, not letting it leave her sight. “I always pictured dragons to be the kinds of predators that got off their asses and hunted down their food, not commanded their dinner to come to them.”
The dragon took in a slow breath, and its throat rumbled with disapproval. Steam billowed up at the end of its snout, a clear threat of being burned alive. Looks like this meal is suicidal. More steam erupted from the end of its snout.
Instead of shaking in her boots and feeling the adrenaline just before death, she felt oddly calm. Knowing there was nothing she could do to win this battle gave her an odd sense of calm. “If you’re going to eat me, let’s get on with it.” She wasn’t sure what was worse, being eaten by a dragon or being tortured by the Shamans.
They both sucked.
You aren’t appetizing to me. No offense.
Cora felt her eyebrow rise as far as it would go. “None taken.” She noted the deep baritone of the dragon’s speech. She didn’t know anything about their species, but she was certain this dragon was a male. “Then why did you command me here like a slave?”
Why did you come, if you aren’t a slave?
Cora narrowed her eyes in irritation, surprised by how argumentative the creature was. She was even more impressed with its intelligence. It communicated with her flawlessly, as if having a human conversation was completely ordinary. “I wasn’t given much of a choice.”
The dragon looked over the distance before its eyes returned to her face. You always have a choice.
Cora didn’t pull her eyes away from the creature, unsure exactly what was happening. Now, she wished she’d done more research on dragons when she had the chance. But then again, why would she if they were considered extinct? “Why have you summoned me here?”
Sorry, do you have somewhere else to be?
The sarcasm in his voice told Cora he knew exactly what she was doing. But how he knew was a mystery to her. “You’re an ass, you know that?”
He breathed the fire deep in his belly, and this time, smoke erupted from his nostrils.
“Is that supposed to scare me?”
If being burned alive doesn’t alarm you, then you need some serious help.
She eyed his broken wing and returned her gaze to his face. “You clearly want me alive.”
For now. The threat lingered in her mind after the words faded away. Fix my broken wing.
Cora crossed her arms over her chest. “Do I look like a healer to you?”
You look like you know enough.
“Well, I’m not the kind of girl you boss around. Just because you’re bigger than me, and breathe fire and whatnot, doesn’t mean I’ll do anything for you.”
I’m a dragon. He said it like the fact was reason enough.
“Your point?”
You should want to help me.
“Why?” she demanded. “You disrupted my journey and forced me here. Then you insulted me. And now, you’re asking for my help? The only thing I feel toward you is irritation.”
He tilted his massive head slightly, his eyes narrowing to slits. You’re peculiar.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Fix my wing, or I really will burn you alive.
Cora gave him a blank look and shifted her weight to one leg. “I don’t respond to coercion.”
Then what do you respond to? Jewels? Coin? A dragon claw?
“No,” she said quickly. “Just some old-fashioned respect.”
Now the dragon had a blank look on his face.
She sighed and lowered her arms. “Just ask nicely. All you’ve done up to this point is boss me around. I’m guessing you’re new to this human interaction thing, so let me enlighten you. Ask politely.”
Frozen to the spot, the dragon just stared.
“Come on.” Cora tapped her foot impatiently. “Have some manners and ask politely. If you’d done that from the beginning, you would have saved a lot of time.”
He blew out more smoke like this conversation was extremely irritating.
Cora had nowhere to go nor anyone to see, so she waited.
The dragon rose to its full height and looked her squarely in the eye. Will you please fix my broken wing?
Cora didn’t hide the smile that spread across her lips. “Since you asked so nicely, of course.” She approached the dragon without any fear of being swiped with a claw or becoming his dinner. “You’ll need to lie on the ground because I can’t reach.”
The dragon slowly lowered itself to the dirt, but its wing was still seven feet from the ground. Cora would never be able to reach it, not unless she climbed on his back. “May I climb up?”
He stared straight ahead, looking across the meadow and toward the village of Vax. You may.
She crawled up his arm and shoulder until she reached the back of his neck. Then she made her way to the injured wing that was folded in. When she looked down, she realized just how high up she was. And she also had a startling revelation.
She was standing on a dragon.
“I need you to stretch out your wing so I can get a better look.”
The dragon released a deep growl before he complied. The wing slowly expanded, and the wound was exposed.
Cora examined the injured flesh and realized he hadn’t been stabbed or shot with an arrow. He’d been burned. “Did you breathe fire on yourself?” Was that even possible?
No.
“Then what happened?”
The dragon was quiet for so long it wasn’t clear if he would answer. I was shot with fire.
Cora spread the wound apart and inspected the burned flesh. The wound looked fresh, perhaps only a few days old. “What does that mean?”
His back recoiled slightly, the memory chafing again against his scales. Shamans used their magic. Tarnished my beautiful scales. His skin began to burn with heat, his anger emerging to the surface.
Cora froze when she heard the words echo in her mind. Shamans chased down this dragon and used their powers against him, and then Shamans came to Vax. Was that truly a coincidence? “Why did they do this to you?”
I’m a dragon. He said nothing more, those few words sufficient to explain the whole picture.
“Are they trying to capture you? Or kill you?”
The dragon fell silent once again, his back rising and falling with his heavy breathing. Does it matter?