AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Two huge wings rise up on either side, and the ground lurches beneath us. I squeal again, and the invader’s arms tighten around me. I twist back and forth in his embrace, trying to wriggle free, and exclaim urgently, “Mmph—”
The man holding on to me murmurs soothingly in my ear, “Don’t be frightened. I’ve got you.”
That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. The black monster’s wings beat the air, and we lurch into the sky. My eyes go wide and I scream, thin and high in the back of my throat.
I’m trapped in the invader’s iron embrace. What I can see of the ground drops away with alarming speed, as if the earth is collapsing into hell and we’re on the brink of plunging after it.
2
Isavelle
Demon.
That’s what the Brethren called the invader, and as he effortlessly sits astride a fire-breathing dragon as it soars through the air, I’m inclined to believe them.
The ground spirals beneath us. Wind whips past us, growing colder and colder. Perhaps he’s going to fling me from dragonback, and I’ll be smashed to pieces on the ground, punishment for being about to wed the enemy king. I didn’t even have the chance to tell him I wasn’t a willing bride.
The stranger pushes his hands beneath my veil, and I shake my head frantically from side to side as he gropes around. Strong hands. Searching hands.
“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you,” he rumbles in my ear. There’s aschhkof a knife, and the rope falls away from my wrists. The burning pain in my shoulders suddenly dissipates, and my eyes close in relief.
The invader holds out the cut ropes, and the wind snatches them from his fingers, whipping them away behind us.
I reach up beneath my veil to yank the gag from between my teeth and moisten my parched lips. I hold on to the gag, taking deep lungfuls of air. I’m not free, but I’m a little freer than I was a few moments ago, though there’s still a huge, armored man holding me tight against him.
When the dragon beats its wings, the horizon pitches and falls with the undulations of its body. A pang of queasiness sweeps through my belly and my head spins.
I don’t think I like flying.
“What is your name?” the stranger says into my ear so I can hear him over the wind.
As I open my mouth to answer, a wave of nausea ripples up from my stomach, and I clamp both hands over my mouth.
“What’s wrong?” he asks urgently, his arms tightening around my waist.
I clutch his wrist, wishing he wouldn’t squeeze me like that. There’s no food in my stomach, but I can feel acid creeping up the back of my throat.
“You’re sick?” The stranger hooks an arm under my knees and rearranges me so that I’m curled against him. He speaks in a low, soothing voice as he wraps his cloak around the both of us. “It’s all right,sha’len. The journey is short and you will soon be on the ground.”
The world goes dark as he presses my face into his neck. My cheek is pillowed on the thick fur around his shoulders. I feel slightly less sick now I can’t see the horizon moving, but the dragon is still rising and falling beneath us.
“I’ll help you,” he murmurs.
I wait, wondering what he’s about to do.
Nothing whatsoever happens.
The wind continues to whistle past us, and the dragon beats its wings. I take a deep breath, and the stranger seems…relieved. Though I don’t know how I know that. Or perhaps I’m the one who’s relieved because all my aches and pains begin to fade away. My fingers and toes feel warm. The burning behind my tired eyelids diminishes. I want tosleep.
I recall the story of the king under the mountain, and I wonder if he felt as comfortable as this as he drifted off to sleep for hundreds of years.
We pitch forward and into a turn, but I’m only mildly interested in what’s happening now. The stranger. He’s sowarm. Even his armor feels comfortable where it’s pressing into my side. One of his large hands is wrapped around my upper thigh, and I snuggle into his touch. He gives a low chuckle and squeezes my flesh. I’ve always had plump thighs, and he seems to like what he feels.
It feels like we’re gliding peacefully through the skies. If dragonflight were always like this, it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
We hit the ground with an almighty jolt, and my eyes snap open. One of my arms is wrapped around the stranger’s waist. My other hand is playing with a silky tress of his long, dark hair, twirling it around and around my finger like a lovesick maid.
He smirks down at me cuddled against him. “As much as I’m enjoying this,sha’len, I have a battle to return to.”
