Page 145 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
“We’re having dinner here?” he asked, watching Gerda set down a picnic blanket on the grassy field beside Lake Loria. He knew she’d deliberately been avoiding Nilheim until now.
They were in the shade of a tree at the forest’s edge. Nearby, a family of sprites were on vacation, sunbathing on a patch of sand. A ways away, three mermaids frolicked on a rocky bank, singing a lilting harmony. Plittsmouth, the underwater city in Lake Loria, couldn’t be seen from the shore, but on a beautiful day like today, there were countless denizens of the deep enjoying a swim to the surface and a spot of sun.
There was also a fire-breathing dragon napping about fifty paces away. Her Eminence Feliwyn was curled up on a dragon-sized blanket much like the one Gerda was using now.
“Yes, now come help,” Gerda told him, sitting down and pulling out an actual picnic basket full of food. She was perfectly able to store everything in her ring, so the basket was purely for aesthetics.
Julian unequipped his Valarian Royal Set. He also stored his socks and shoes, wearing only a simple tunic tucked into his britches before he dropped onto his knees and helped. There were potato wedges, roasted fowl, honeybutter buns, smoked cheese, fig jam, pickled cabbage, and a bowl of fresh fruit.
Gerda pulled out a bottle of wine, and he accepted a glass.
Tinkingtheir drinks together, the vintage that met his lips tasted like the sun itself, bright and acidic. It was lovely, with the smell of forged iron and a tang that settled on his tongue long after he pulled away to look at the glass and scrutinize its delicious contents.
“What is this?” he asked, savoring the taste.
It was one of the best wines he’d ever had.
“I got it from the Dark Queen Roselia’s hidden treasure trove,” she said, shooting him a grin over her own glass. “That’s King Keith’s great-great-grandmother, I think?”
“I have so many questions,” he said. Instead of asking any, he simply took another sip and enjoyed the flavor.
“I’ll be happy to answer them later, but for now …” Gerda turned toward the giant green-and-purple dragon who’d just shifted in her sleep.
“You knew?” Julian froze, wondering if he should reequip his set.
She didn’t answer, simply shuffling across the blanket to lean against him. Since she was unconcerned, so was he. Julian wrapped an arm around her waist and waited.
Her Eminence Feliwyn stretched like a dragon would: arched back, forearms sliding forward until they brushed the grass at the edge of her blanket. She flexed her talons in the earth and yawned wide, showing off teeth the length of a kitchen knife.
Golden eyes opened with a hint of sleepiness, the irises like thin black diamonds.
The entire forest was silent as everyone held their breaths.
Feliwyn turned her gaze on all: the mermaids, the sprites, and the pair of them. One eyebrow rose delicately at the sight of Duke Julian of the North cuddling a troll woman on the banks of Lake Loria.
It was important to show proper courtesy to a dragon, or they might eat you, so Julian tried to stand and greet the dragon.
Gerda stopped him, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down to the blanket.
“Your Eminence.” The troll waved a hand at their picnic spread. “Would you like to break your fast with us? It’s been eight years, and I promise you, I haveallthe best gossip.”
The dragon eyed them for a moment longer before her face split into a wide, toothy smile, and she spoke with a deep, effeminate voice, like warm honey cake.
“Idolove gossip.”
CHAPTER 79
Not the Only Love Story
Gerda
I’d popped by the lake to watch Feliwyn before—whowouldn’tgo and look at a real-life, fire-breathing dragon a stone’s throw away from their front door?
And in all that time, I’d thought that I’d built some immunity to the dragon.
That was not so; in fact, it was only my [Mental Resistance] which kept me from melting into a terrified puddle of fear at the immense aura pressing down on me as Feliwyn dragged her picnic blanket over to ours.
Her body was the size of a truck. Her head was the size of a recliner leather chair, and despite the terrible size-comparison analogies, she was anything but clunky or plush. Her scales were sleek and lovely, and she moved with grace.
