Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
It is easier to think with the young ones here, now. Their minds are calm and strong, their names long and proud. Their minds are fierce, and they gently stabilize my thoughts, pushing the rage aside when they feel it grow too great.
It allows me to focus on her, on how utterly perfect she smells.
She must be my female.
And then I smelled…him. And the rage threatened to overwhelm me again. I flew toward her scent in a frenzy, worried that another male was trying to take my mate from me. Sure enough, when I arrived upon her scent, I saw a male human raising his fist to a smaller human, with her bent over one of the strange metal carcasses that litter this world.
His scent was all over her, drowning her delicious smell.
I should be the one bathing in her scent, not him. Jealous fury washed over me, and when he struck her again, I acted. I speared him with my claws and shook him free, watching with fierce pleasure as he collapsed in a spray of blood.
That is what he gets for touching my female.
I study her small, slack face as I hold her carefully in my claws. She is covered in blood, one side of her delicate features swelling from where the male touched her. Underneath that and against her pale skin, there are the claw marks made from a battle she has had in the past with one of my kind. The markings cross her face diagonally, splitting her lip and crossing over her cheek and nose. They are the markings of a fierce warrior, and I find them almost as appealing as her scent.
I do not like that she is hurt, though. I settle on my haunches and cradle her against my chest, unsure what to do. The rage bubbles at the back of my mind, but if I lose myself to the frenzy of color, I cannot help her.
And I want to help her. I want this female. I want her to look at me and see that I saved her. That I protected her. I want her to know she is mine.
I want her to see me.
How long has it been since anyone has seen me?
I SEE YOU, Luminoura offers in her childlike way.
I touch her mind briefly, letting her know that I hear her, but it is not the same. She and Sallavatri “see” all the dragons in this area, flitting between their minds, reinforcing where they can. It is like being touched by a breeze.
I hunger for more than just that.
I touch the human’s face with my claws, studying her appearance. Her skin is not golden, and she has no scales. She is incredibly fragile, this female. I touch her mud-colored braid, trying to remember what shade her eyes were. They are not like mine. They do not show her emotions.
I wonder what her battle-form would be like, or even if she has one. I do not think humans do. I have never considered humans much in the past. They are annoying and hardly worth troubling with. They do not taste good. They are noisy and filthy and cluster in hives. They aggravate my senses and make my temper flare.
Yet being around this human is different. Everything about her is different. I rub my muzzle against her chest, breathing in her scent.
I am going to keep her, I decide. She is mine now.
8
RACHEL
When I wake up and find a dragon looming over me, it feels like I’m trapped in a nightmare.
How can I wake up from an almost-rape to the moment before a dragon eats me? Life is always cruel, but to me, this seems like the cruelest of things that can happen. I suck in a breath and squeeze my eyes shut, bracing myself for the end. For the sink of dangerous, incredibly long fangs into my skin. For the pain that comes with claws in human flesh. I don’t dare breathe; I just wait.
Something hot and wet touches my bruised cheek, and I whimper.
The dragon grunts, and then the wet thing touches my nose.
It’s…a tongue. A dragon tongue.
I suck in a shuddery breath and squeeze my eyes open, not entirely sure what’s going on. Is he licking his meal before he eats it? Tasting me? But when I open my eyes, the dragon doesn’t bite into me.
He just lowers his massive nose—bigger than my torso—and nuzzles at my chest, like the world’s largest horse.
I…don’t know what to do. Nothing in my life has prepared me for this moment. I blink up at the dragon, still frozen in place, as I try to figure out my situation. I’m lying on something strong and hard but warm, and when I tilt my head slightly to the side, I can see claws curled around me. Okay. I’m in the dragon’s hand. Paw. Whatever.