Page 13 of The Fire Dragon's Mate
He gave me a grin like this was somehow a seductive move on my part, but I had no idea why he’d think so. I merely wanted more light and to see him breathe fire again. I could learn about what a true dragon was without it being sexual.
Cighyss leaned in and blew a stream of firethe width of a string at the candles, and then he settled onto the floor opposite me. His wings seemed to cross over each other behind him with the stiff parts sliding along the floor as he settled.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked me, that grin still in place.
I did. I was still hungry from when Phineas had asked me as well. But what I said was, “Why have you brought me up here?”
He nodded and rested his hands on his knees. “I’d like for you to give me and this place a chance. To learn about our ways and see if you can accept them.”
“I won’t submit to you.”
“Never say never.”
I opened my mouth to say exactly that, but he rolled over my words.
“Declan, there is no jealousy, hunger, pain, or fear beneath my mountain. Can you say that about anywhere else?”
I couldn’t, but he already knew that. I just wasn’t sure I believed him.
“This is as close to perfect as I can make it. Whywouldn’tyou want to stay in paradise?”
Six
SWORD PLAY
Imade an effort to listen and understand after that. Over the next few days and nights, I ate with them, contributed where possible—mostly just cutting firewood because it turned out I was entirely without useful skills—and I heard their stories. It was easy to see that they lived like one large family with everyone helping everyone else. Each child had a dozen parents and twice that number of playmates. Folks were busy taking care of each other from dawn to dusk.
And in the center of it all was Cighyss.
Though he was still a special sort of arrogant, I could admit that he cared for all of them. I couldseehis care. Whether he was bouncing a crying baby, holding yarn as someone knitted, or initiating an archery contest, it was clear to me that he wanted everyone to be happy. And though he continued to walk around without a stitch of clothing on, he never did anything untoward. There were hugs and kisses and the occasional cuddle by the fire, but nothing indecent.
I knew when Cighyss chose one of his princes, though. He was always the instigator, going up to someone and getting them to follow him out. Twice, he’d taken the men up to hislair, and once he’d gone into what I assumed was the man’s chamber.
Remembering what I’d seen that first night kept haunting me. I knew what they did together, and yet I didn’tknow. And I wanted to. From anyone? From Cighyss? I couldn’t be sure. Nothing I saw now—or even that night—was at all the horror and dishonor I’d been taught it was. None of these men seemed hurt, emotionally or physically, by their encounters with Cighyss. They would rejoin the rest of us invigorated and smiling.
And then I met Hagen. Prince Hagen of Vahan, the first to have ever gone in search of the dragon. He was a legend. A lesson. He should be over one hundred years old and yet he looked like he was only a decade older than me, if that. How was that possible?
Hagen shared a plate of preserved fruits with me and explained. “You’ve experienced the wonder of Cighyss’s healing abilities, yes?”
I blushed but nodded.
“Imagine a regular serving of that. What it could do for a man’s health and longevity.”
I did and it boggled my mind. “You’re saying that… That his… That it can?—”
“Don’t have a stroke, boy,” he said on a chuckle. “The dragon’s cum keeps us all as he found us.”
I looked around me at the other princes in awe. I knew some of them now, but didn’t know how long they’d been here except for Phineas. Did he look older than when he’d left Besia three years ago? I couldn’t tell. But in looking at him, I saw Gilda and Camille.
“What about the women and children?” I asked Hagen in growing horror. “Have you had to watch them grow old and die while you stay young?”
He smirked at me. “While I’m not inclined to do so, you’ve noticed how many men have a woman, yes? Cighyss gives to his men, the men give to their women, the women to their children.”
“It’s passed around?” I said far too loudly.
Hagen laughed as he nodded at me. “There’s a little Cighyss in all of us.”
Gods, I hadn’t thought of that at all when Cighyss had said he kept everyone healthy. I’d assumed the protection he’d mentioned had been about a giant dragon who could breathe fire, but it was possible he’d been talking about his regular contributions within their anatomy instead. And the men passed the stuff to their wives and even the children!
