Page 85 of Golden Queen
Enormous nostrils flared as a low, deep rumble sounded in his body, seeming to vibrate the ground under our feet.
Io raised his hand as though to pat the dragon, but he stilled it in midair as Veles angled his head more fully in my direction, scenting me.
Warm air buffeted my face as his big head came even closer, and then my own hands were on his massive face as Veles pushed against me, almost purring like a cat.
His scales were smooth and bumpy—like living stone as I ran my hand along his snout.
I laughed as he shoved against me, nearly sending me off my feet. "Hello to you too, Veles.”
I turned to find Io watching me with a mixture of shock and pleasure. "He...apparently likes you." He shook his head wonderingly.
Veles huffed. The force of air from his massive nostrils startled another laugh from me. I almost would have believed he was agreeing with Io's assessment.
The dragon raised his head high above me abruptly, forcing me back a step.
He shook, a single quick turn of his head back and forth, and then he turned to move away.
I thought perhaps the introduction was over and he was leaving, but then he slid his head and neck down to the ground, lowering his entire body until I saw the black leather straps of his saddle just before me.
I looked at Io, hardly daring to believe what I was seeing. "Is he...?"
"Offering you a fucking ride?" Io finished, his face a mask of shock. He looked at Veles, puzzled, and I knew why. A bonded Darkwatch dragon didnot suffer another on his back. I had known that even before Taiger explained it.
Darkwatch dragons were proud creatures—not to be mistaken for dragons like mine who were more in service to their masters. Darkwatch dragons bonded deeply with their rider, and they would never suffer under the yoke of any other, even for a short ride.
The orphaned baby Taiger had been the sole exception to the rule when Veles had carried Io and the child back to Dragon's Reach.
I looked at the saddle, terror and exhilaration warring in my chest. "Can I?" I asked.
Io laughed.Thatlaugh—the one that perhaps I now knew had been the sound of my own heart shattering into pieces so that it could be remade around the image of him withthatsmile spread across his gorgeous face.
"After you, Dragon Tamer," he said, with a flourish.
Fifteen
My hands were shaking as I approached Veles' massive flank. Despite his seeming acquiescence to the idea, I watched the head at the end of that long neck warily.
Io was just behind me as I placed my foot on a ladder made of crisscrossing leather straps that encircled his body. When I reached the top, it felt like any movement from him might send me flying off to the ground that was really, really farbelow.
But Veles was solid, an immovable mountain under me. It reminded me of Etreyiu’s unnatural stillness as I swung my leg over the saddle.
As Io seated himself behind me, I laid a hand on the scales along the side of the dragon's neck. "Thank you, Veles," I murmured.
A tremor went down his body, a shudder that rippled his scales from head to tail, and I knew he'd heard me.
Io ran a leather strap across my lap and secured it to the side, and then his arm came around me. He pulled me back against his solid chest, and it felt like a ripple went throughmefrom head to toe.
He took my hand. "Hold on here," he said, wrapping my fingers around one of the leather straps. "And don't be afraid, Sera. I will not let you fall."
"I'm not afraid." I leaned back against him, my thundering heart betraying the words.
I felt his smile through the face pressed momentarily to mine, and then Veles moved.
To say that I was exhilarated would have been the understatement of the ages. My heart felt like it would literally explode as the dragon raised himself up onto his hind legs, stretching his massive wings on either side of him.
I was pressed forcefully back into Io’s chest as Veles seemed to take a long, deep breath. His muscles tensed as a moment of calm descended.
The calm was shattered as he pushed off, leaping up at the same time he swept his wings out, catching the air and vaulting us into the sky.
