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“No, not her,” Rock says, worry coating his features for the first time. He kicks dirt toward the beast. “Attack me! Eat me!”
The dragon doesn’t even flinch, nor does he take his serpentine eyes from mine. He stalks closer, a predator closing in on its prey. I steel my nerves, pull out my twin short swords—a hiss as they slide from their scabbards—and widen my stance for a battle I’m bound to lose. But I’ll be damned if I don’t go down without a fight. I wait for the dragon to strike, ready to react.The eyes, I’ll go for the eyes first.
Rock does something that never would have even crossed my mind. He places his body in front of mine. He really is the hero type.Idiot.
The dragon arches his neck, pulling his head back from Rock. The beast roars and takes flight. I think he may spare us until he swoops down with razor-sharp talons the size of my arms and grabs us both around the torso. The dragon’s talons knock my blades from my hands so precisely that I’m certain it was intentional.
With a weightless and incredibly helpless feeling, I watch the ground leave us. My heart races, panic tightens my chest, my breathing quickens—fear taking control. I push, punch, and kick at the claws to no avail. The dragon glides away from the forest until there’s no more ground below. The fjord water is far beneath. If he releases us now, we’ll plummet to our deaths. Hitting the surface of the water at a velocity that will kill us on impact. I find myself gripping Rock’s hand, which is when I realize that I am, once again in a tangle of limbs with the defunct hero.
He smirks at me and runs a thumb over my knuckle. I curse and let go of his hand.
“We need to stop meeting like this,” Rock says.
His uncanny ability to make light of a serious situation baffles me. “You do realize we’re dead, right? I’ve been observing these creatures for months andno onehas made it out alive.”
“Such dramatics,” he says with an almost-bored expression. “I still have a plan.”
I look into his eyes, which are full of confidence. “Oh yeah, how’s that working out for you? Because mine is officially shot to hell.”
He tilts his head, the wind blowing his golden hair wildly around his handsome face. “Well, I hadn’t expected thisexactly, but I’m rather good at improvising.”
“As long as it doesn’t include me dying, I’m in.”
“I told you; I don’t plan on dying today.” His gaze is intense when he speaks. “And neither will you.”
Like a hummingbird’s egg, the hope he offers me is small and delicate. I tuck it into my heart knowing one crack will shatter it to pieces.
The dragon releases us from his grasp into the mouth of a cave. We tumble over one another unceremoniously. As the dragon lands behind us, the ground shifts. I jump to my feet only to find Rock already between the beast and me. I have to commend him for his ceaseless chivalry, even if it is pointless.
The cave is enormous. It’s at least twice the height of the dragon and four times as wide. I scan for an escape, but the only exit visible is the mouth of the cave. It’s barely large enough for the dragon’s body, and he’s currently blocking it, making escape impossible.
The dragon snarls at Rock, the deep sound vibrates my bones. The beast curls back his upper lip to reveal just how deadly his long, pointed teeth are. Iridescent saliva slides along the slopes of each pointed fang. The dragon lashes out, the movement faster than anything I’ve seen in the natural world. I open my mouth to shout, to warn Rock, but it’s useless. He doesn’t move fast enough, and the dragon’s jaw clamps down around Rock’s torso. With a flick of the dragon’s massive head, he sends Rock flying across the expanse of the cave. He hits the wall at a speed that shatters my hope along with probably every one of Rock’s bones. His limp body drops to the floor with a dull, final thud.
After all of Rock’s confidence, he was killed anyway. And now I’m alone with the world’s deadliest creature. A terrified sob escapes my lips. I clamp my hand over my mouth and suck in ragged breaths as quietly as I can. The last thing I want to do is bring attention to myself.
My limbs are both heavy and shaking. I quickly force my gaze away from Rock’s unmoving form, avoiding his empty golden eyes staring at nothing. Death’s blank stares are already too familiar to me. I don’t want to add more to the ones that already haunt my dreams.
I focus instead on the dragon. It’s only a matter of time before he wraps his jaws around my own body to tear flesh and crush bones, ending my life. Then death’s touch will blanket my eyes as well. But maybe. . .maybe I can still find a way out of this. Perhaps when the dragon decides to feast on Rock—the thought of flesh being ripped off bones runs through my mind, but I push it away— then the dragon will be distracted enough that I can sneak out of the cave.
I wait for the beast to claim his meal, attack, or dosomething. But minutes pass by and the dragon just stares. He seems to be examining me, with an almost curious expression. I wonder what he thinks of my wearing his dung like a second skin. I hope if nothing else, it’ll deter him from wanting to eat me. The more time passes, the more the dragon’s posture relaxes. At one point, he repositions himself to lie down, almost looking docile with his head resting on his wing and his lips fully covering his teeth. He’s not showing signs of aggression at all.
His gaze never leaves me, almost like he’s waiting on me as much as I’m waiting on him. I just watch him right back. My fear is still there, but fascination takes root next to it. The creature’s eyes are so intelligent and expressive, and as crazy as it sounds, I almost think I can read them. And they’re telling me he’s not going to attack me. I haven’t a clue as to why.
I don’t know how much time has passed, but my legs are aching from standing so still. I can’t stay here locked in some kind of strange staring contest forever.Think, Sahra, how can you get out of this?That’s when I remember the small dagger in my right boot. It doesn’t even compare to a single dragon’s tooth, and yet, it’s something. I slowly crouch down, inch by agonizing inch. I take my eyes off the dragon for a split second to see dozens of dragon scales littering the ground around me. I gasp. They’ve been right here at my feet this whole time? If I don’t die, I’m going to need one of those scales, or two—each one is worth a fortune to the right buyer.
The dragon lifts his head at my gasp. He pointedly looks at the scales and then back at me. He does it again. Is he giving me permission? I continue my lowering until I’m crouched close to the ground, holding the dragon’s gaze all the while. Just as slowly, I reach my hand out to the closest scale, but stop before I touch it. The dragon tilts his head to the side in a very not-deadly-beast kind of way. I tilt my head matching his movement. He perks up at that, and his eyes widen with an eager look.
What is this? A test? Is he playing with me like a cat plays with a mouse? In the end, the mouse dies. And yet, I need that scale. I didn’t come all this way, spend weeks gathering intelligence on the creatures, cover myself in dung, and risk my life encountering a dragon just to leave here empty-handed. I reach out farther and touch the scale with a single finger. The dragon lowers his head to the ground, resting it between his wings, his eyes focused on my hand and the scale. His expression is still that of curiosity, not aggression, so I take the biggest risk of my life and close my hand around the cold, smooth scale. I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment, wondering if I’ll be swallowed whole, chewed up, or thrown as Rock had been.
When nothing happens, I open my eyes. The dragon has crawled closer to me so that he’s only a few feet away. I’m so surprised by his closeness that I screech and fall back onto my ass. The dragon merely lifts his head and turns it to the side in a bird-like movement.
Is it possible that dragons aren’t the mindless killers that everyone thinks they are? Perhaps dragons don’t want to kill, but will if they feel threatened? I shake my head a little at the ridiculous thought. What is wrong with me? Only moments ago, this dragon killed Rock right in front of me, and now I’m making up justifications for it. I really am my father’s daughter. I’m trying to find understanding and logic in the darkest of creatures because my heart is just as tainted. Like calls to like.
A movement catches the corner of my eye, and a flash of light explodes in the cave with a loud bang. I can’t see anything but bright spots dancing in my vision. The scent of sulfur is so strong that I can’t even smell the dragon dung under my nose.
“Hold on to me,” Rock says in my ear. A strong arm wraps around my waist and pulls me up.
He’s alive? Surprise and relief are a balm to my heart. I don’t know how he survived the dragon’s jaws and the impact against the cave wall, but I’m grateful just the same. He pulls me forward.
