Page 43 of Dragon Valley
“I suggest you don’t barricade the doors if you want a substantial meal tonight,” he began, rising to his feet. “Because that dragon has enough meat in her claws to feed this entire town for the next week. And she brought them for you all, thanks to Nadiyah here of Dragon Valley.” He gestured down to me and I met the wide, frightened eyes with a bored expression.
“The rebel army is only alive due to the generosity of the dragon clans,” Caden went on. “If we’re to take our lives back from the Lascari royals and win this war, we must work with our neighbors in the valley. And that includes the fire-breathing beast outside that door.”
Dusa scratched curiously at the heavy wood. Even with the barricades, she could tear through the building like it was made of paper.
“Will it burn us alive?” someone asked.
“Not unless I tell her to,” I answered. “Or if you piss her off badly enough. But I can feel her emotions and she genuinely wants to feed you all. She enjoys sharing her kills.”
No one moved and hardly anyone seemed to breathe. Finally the innkeeper, a portly man with a dark handlebar mustache, broke away from the crowd and headed for the door.
“I dunno about you lot, but I’m hungry.” He slapped his large belly. “I assume this dragon cooks her meat so that makes it easier for me.”
He pushed away all barricades and the townspeople let out a collective gasp when he threw the door open. Dusa’s golden scaly head poked through, grunting happily when she saw me.
“Hey girl,” I grinned, making my way over to her. “Show them what you’ve got.”
In each of her four clawed hands, she held a cow’s carcass which she set down proudly in front of the innkeeper. The skin sizzled and bubbled, fat still dripping off and the smell making everyone’s mouth water. The innkeeper produced a pair of tongs and gingerly poked the carcass in different areas.
“My Gods, the meat is cooked to perfection,” he cried, spearing a chunk off. “It’s just falling off the bone.”
Dusa puffed up proudly and the innkeeper noticed. “You’re a good beast, aren’t ya?” he grinned. “You’re no demon.”
She roared an affirmative which made some people cower in the back of the inn again, but the innkeeper just smiled as he watched her aggressively nuzzle me. He held his tongs aloft and shouted, “The Gods have blessed us with this dragon and her Rider! Thanks to them, no one will go hungry tonight!”
As he and his staff began carving up the carcasses and passing chunks of meat around, the mood soon grew lively and celebratory. The ale flowed and laughter echoed off the brick walls. Some even got brave enough to spill outside and sit near Dusa and me.
Caden joined us and got into the scariest friendly wrestling match with Dusa the villagers had ever seen. I laughed and answered all their questions about my scaly best friend, watching the fear slowly disappear from their eyes. Little by little, we made progress to earn their trust.
A little drunk and scratched up after his wrestling match, Caden never looked so handsome as he made his way back to me. The goofy smile on his face and the way his eyes lit up filled me with joy. I tangled my fingers in his golden hair and kissed him with every emotion overflowing in my heart, not caring who saw.
He returned all of it and then some, lifting me off the ground and carrying me all the way to our room, where we enjoyed our last night in this village blissfully alone.
17
NADIYAH
“Something’s wrong.Do you see that?”
Caden pointed over my shoulder to the large oak tree on a hill coming over the horizon. I squinted and leaned forward on Dusa, hyper aware of his hands on me as my hips pressed back into his palms. Last night I learned how much he enjoyed this view of me and I was still deliciously sore from those fingers digging into my hips.
“I don’t see anything.”
“Someone’s under that tree. They can see us and don’t seem to be running away.”
As Dusa flew closer I was just able to make out a figure jumping and waving their arms at us.
“That’s strange,” I muttered. “Has word spread about us that fast?”
“They could have sent out riders early this morning.” He pressed a sensual kiss to my back. “We got a bit of a late start.”
“It was all that ale they kept pouring,” I teased, looking back at him. “And you keeping me awake.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining last night.”
He ran his hands up the sides of my body as I leaned back against his chest. I closed my eyes and soaked up the warmth of the late morning sun and the man holding me. How could the simplest things in life make me so happy?
Dusa’s screech brought our attention back to the figure under the tree. I could see now that it was a young woman with long brown hair that hung loose and tangled. She wore a typical dress that outsider women wore, long sleeves with a skirt down to her ankles. But the once sky-blue fabric was dirty and torn, covered in dark stains that looked like mud or—
