Page 19 of Dragon Valley
“How big do they get?!”
“You saw the others yesterday, didn’t you?” A shadow passed over us like a fast-moving cloud and I turned my eyes skyward. “About that big,” I said, pointing to Azaria’s dragon preparing to land near us.
Rersa was a stubborn male and easily three times Dusa’s size. Azaria told me he refused to be ridden by a woman as a hatchling. It took nearly ten years for their bond to form and both were stronger for it.
Sitting at the base of Rersa’s neck, Azaria looked at me with a tense expression.
“We need to talk,” she said grimly.
7
NADIYAH
Azaria waiteduntil we flew well away from the army camp. She directed Rersa to an overlooking cliff and we landed there. She dismounted without a word and I did the same.
“What is it?” I demanded.
“Chief doesn’t want you leaving the valley,” she replied dryly.
“Obviously,” I remarked. “What did you say to convince him otherwise?”
Her lips tightened and she crossed her arms as she looked at me.
“I said you needed to keep busy, to give yourself a sense of purpose while Azel is away on his trials. He said he’d think about it, but he wants you here to guard and oversee the army during their stay.”
“Okay,” I said cautiously. Her demeanor didn’t change. “What’s wrong?”
“It seems to me like something else is distracting you while my brother—yourbetrothed— is out in the wilderness, risking his life to become the next leader of our clan.”
I stared at her, completely stunned. “What are you talking about?”
“The blue-eyed man,” she spat accusingly. “Talking by the fire all night last night, now your dragon is affectionate with him?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoffed. “We’re to treat the outsiders as friends now, right? I’m just making friends. It’s a good sign the dragons trust them. And I’m not betrothed to Azel, we never really discussed that. We were just… together physically.”
“He would not have gone on his trials if he didn’t have a bride to return to,” she hissed. “And you seemed far more than friendly with that man to me. You were looking at him like a dragon looks at a goat!”
“This whole conversation is absurd,” I said, waving my hand flippantly. “A few hours ago, you were telling me how proud you were of me. Now you’re chastising me for just looking at a man? Last I checked, I was no one’s wife yet. I can look at and talk to whomever I want.”
“Your behavior is not appropriate for a woman engaged to a chief’s son away on his trials,” she said through gritted teeth.
“They used to say the same thing about women riding dragons and look at us!” I gestured between her and me.
“This isn’t the same thing. You aren’t respecting—”
“You’d never say the same thing to Azel.” My voice went low as my fists clenched at my sides. Tinges of red creeped into my vision. “If he was here and I was off doing Rider duties, you wouldn’t say a damned thing if he took another woman to bed, much less looked at one.”
Her throat tightened. “Azel wouldn’t—”
“Doesn’t matter. If he did, you’d never have a conversation about how he was disrespecting me.”
She released a heavy sigh. “Nadi, he’s my brother—”
“And I’m just a stray you took in. I understand.”
“Nadi—”
“No, I’m done.”
