Page 34 of Charming the Dragon
A grunt made her open her eyes again. She found Nathan’s giant dragon eyes staring at her, and she swore curiosity dancedin them. Maybe it was possible to read a dragon’s thoughts in their gaze. She’d just have to mentally keep track of what she noticed.
Nathan tilted his dragon head, and she finally found her voice again. “I’m fine. You’re much warmer than I thought you’d be in your dragon form, and I just wanted to absorb some of your heat.”
He glanced at her, to the water, and then back again.
She replied, “Oh, we can still go exploring. It’s not really cold, just a bit cool. Besides, there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep until I know more about what’s down here.”
The dragon huffed, almost like a laugh.
She scowled. “Are you laughing at me?”
He flicked his tail, as if to say maybe.
Wait, was she now making up responses?
The dragon slowly stood, and she held onto his neck. It was thicker than her arms could wrap around, but she did her best not to lose her grip.
Once Nathan’s dragon stood on his feet again, she glanced down. “Oh, dear. That’s fairly high up.” His head whipped around again, but she spoke before he could do anything else. “I’m not afraid of heights, though, so don’t worry about me. Let’s go! I want to see what’s out there.”
He studied her for a few seconds before swiveling his head back around and walking slowly toward the water.
Riding a dragon was…odd. So different from a horse, and yet Hayley definitely had to concentrate on moving her body with his gait, so she didn’t fall off. Some sort of saddle and stirrups would make the experience a lot safer. However, given that there was little need for humans to usually ride dragons this way—dragon-shifters used baskets they carried in their talons if they transported a human in the air—she doubted anyone would ever make them.
Although maybe in the past, if dragons were injured and couldn’t fly or shift back into their human forms, maybe they had carried humans this way. She’d have to ask about that.
However, as soon as Nathan made his way into the water, her wandering mind focused again. She mentally prepared to get wet. However, Nathan’s neck and top part of his back stayed above water as his wings extended partway across the lake’s surface, almost as if he were deliberately trying to keep her dry.
She patted his neck. “I can get a little wet if it means we can go faster. I don’t know how far the lights go back and it’s not exactly like I can carry a candle right now.”
Nathan’s dragon head turned and grunted, most likely asking if she’d be okay. Hayley bobbed her head. “Yes, I’ll be fine. Mostly. Just don’t leave me, okay?” He shook his head fiercely, and she tightened her hold on his neck. “Right, then let’s go! Maybe there’s an exit on the far side.”
The dragon kept his wings mostly in the water and slowly moved across the lake. Faint lights continued to illuminate the way, even five minutes later.
And so they kept going, the rhythmic noises of a swimming dragon somewhat calming. Combined with the warmth from his body, she’d have to be careful not to fall asleep.
As the lights grew fewer and farther between, Hayley became more alert and did her best to keep her breathing even. After all, Nathan had promised to look out for her. And despite how it was mad to do so after such a short time, she trusted him.
Chapter Ten
Nathan sat at the back of his mind while his dragon paddled across the vast lake he never knew existed. He’d heard of such underground lakes before, but never seen one. It was oddly peaceful in the near-blackness as they glided through the water.
But as the light grew dimmer, Hayley’s hold tightened around his neck. The fact she was willing to do this despite being terrified of dark, confined spaces showed just how strong she was.
His dragon spoke up.Of course she’s strong. And we will protect her, no matter what. She should be ours, if you only gave it a try.
Not this again.
You want to protect her, right?
Without hesitation.
You also fantasize about kissing her. So I don’t understand the problem.
Before Nathan could think of a reply to distract his beast, faint lights appeared in the distance. Ones that didn’t look artificial but more like rays of sunshine.
Hayley must’ve seen something too because she bounced a little and said, “What’s that? It’s more light than we’ve seen for about five minutes now.”
They’d been wading through the water for about twenty minutes, to the point he’d considered turning back. But the bright spot ahead wasn’t that much farther, and Nathan’s dragon pushed on until they could see even more beams on the shore. Looking up, he noticed it came from high above them, from an opening hidden among the jagged stalactites, meaning he couldn’t just fly up there and check if they could escape that way.
