Page 16 of Dragon Valley
With a groan, I rolled onto my back and stretched. Sensations all over and inside my body brought last night rushing back to my memory. I sat up with a start to see the fur blankets rolled up and disheveled next to me. Crawling into that spot, Azel’s scent invaded my nostrils and I could practically feel him wrapped around me, kissing me until we fell asleep.
The heavy ache in my heart wanted to stay here, wrapped up in memories until he came back to make last night real again. But I could be here for weeks if I gave in to that, and I had work to do.
I pulled myself away from the warm, comfortable bed and got dressed. My throat was parched and my head pounded slightly. I let my guard down last night because of the drink but that wasn’t the main factor in my decision. I didn’t know how much I wanted him until he kissed me. That kiss broke a dam inside me, allowing everything I’d been forcing back to come rushing through.
We’d been so close without anything intimate between us for so long. And I’d never been with anyone that way before, so I didn’t know how to react when he started turning up the tension like fuel to a fire. Who would have known just a simple kiss would make me realize the obvious? We weren’t children anymore. He loved me and wanted me in the way grown men wanted women.
And I felt the same way about him. I knew in my heart that I did, but conflicted feelings still swirled around in my mind like a fog. Would he really only choose me and no others? Did I evenwantto be a chief’s wife? I couldn’t recall a female Rider also being married to a chief. Would I have to give up being a Rider?
Dusa’s impatient snort from across the village center told me she knew what I was feeling from hundreds of feet away. I took one last look at the messed up bed and stepped outside, the early morning chill nipping at my skin. Sunrise would warm up the day soon, but the nights were growing colder.
That thought only reminded me of the villagers outside the valley who had little, if nothing, to keep warm when winter came. If the Dragon God hadn’t blessed our ancestors to live in warmth and harmony with His children, our people would likely be in the same position. I lifted my chin as I walked to my demanding, golden dragon. Those people were who I needed to think about, not myself.
“Don’t worry, girl,” I said to Dusa’s growls and foot-stamping on the ground when she saw me. “No silly men are going to come between us, ever.” I scratched at the base of the horns on her head and she seemed reassured by that.
She flew off for her morning hunt and I began preparing a hearty breakfast bowl with a mixture of meat, fruit, and grain. With the army moving into the valley and breaking my new independent mission to the chief, I had a feeling it would be a long day.
“Nadi.”
I looked up to see Azaria approaching me with a grim expression. The lines around her eyes looked like they grew overnight, along with the strands of gray in her jet black hair.
“Azel left early this morning for his trials,” she said. “He was gone before the sun even rose.”
“I know.” I returned my attention to my breakfast.
“You do?”
I nodded, chewing my lip as I debated telling her.
“We went to bed together last night.”
“Oh, Nadi,” she sighed, dropping next to me with her hand on my knee. “I’m sorry he left you like that.”
“I’m fine,” I answered, blinking rapidly. “He’ll be back. No one is better suited to become chief than him.”
“You’re right, but it’s still normal to miss him and worry.” She laughed humorlessly. “Sometimes he feels more like my son than my little brother. I was always so protective of him, of both of you, really. And now he’s gone to prove himself as a man.”
My appetite disappeared, now replaced by a brick in my stomach. I stirred my bowl of food absently.
“I’m going to be leaving soon, too,” I said, quickly relaying to her what Caden told me about the villages and my plan to provide aid to them.
Her brow furrowed and her mouth tightened as she listened. I almost thought she would push back like Azel did initially, but a smile eventually tugged at her lips.
“I never thought I’d see the day, Nadi.”
“What?” I demanded.
“The fierce little lion-headed girl rushing out to help others in need. Not that you’re selfish, I just never took you for a bleeding heart.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just talking to Caden has really opened my eyes to what’s happened outside the valley. It’s unfathomable to me that we’ve been safe and protected all this time, and doing nothing. I don’t like it at all.”
“I agree with you,” she said with an affectionate squeeze of my knee. “And I’m proud of you for putting yourself to a greater purpose, Nadi. Your mother would be proud too.”
“Really?” I looked at her in surprise.
She nodded hesitantly, casting her hazel eyes toward the mountain range on the horizon. I knew she was looking toward the peak where my mother died.
“I’ll tell you more about her another day,” she said softly. “But she always had a fondness for those living outside the valley, no matter how badly they treated us.”
