Taming the Dragon Collection Page 14

  “I do not have that right yet,” Alek said. “But I will gain that right when I crush Val Woodshadow and gain revenge for your village.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Daddy, quit saying that,” Mara whispered. Her father only said that when he didn’t believe what was being told to him. He had said it two times since she had returned—which meant he was skeptical of Alek’s intentions.

  “You will have to forgive my skepticism, sweetling,” he said. “I do not know this dragon from anyone else who would come from outside the village. He comes making promises about destroying the man who has brought us great harm, when he couldn’t do it in a one-on-one fight when they first met.”

  Mara could see Alek tense and she knew he was feeling challenged by her father. She couldn’t believe it was coming to this and she hoped Alek didn’t rip her father’s head off in a show of strength right then and there.

  “He retreated from the battle like a coward,” Alek said through gritted teeth. “He did not want to fight once I had gained the upper hand. He will not escape this time.”

  “Why do you want to kill him so badly?”

  “For the affront he has caused to your village.”

  “Is that the only reason?”

  “No,” Alek said, balling his fists up so hard that blood began to drip from his hands. Mara tried to reach for him, but he pulled away and refused to break eye contact with Erik. “My love was promised to him in marriage and he has proven he is not worthy of her. He has besmirched her honor and proven that he is not a proper knight. I will punish him for throwing dirt on her honor and prove that he is not fit to marry her. This is my vow.”

  “Okay, then,” Erik said, nodding his head in agreement. “If you can defeat Val Woodshadow and avenge my daughter’s honor, then I will grant you her hand in marriage.”

  “I will leave tonight for Atherny,” Alek said, turning towards the door.

  “There is no need for that, lad. He has promised to return when spring is in full tilt and defeat the dragon. He is coming for you, and us, I suspect.”

  “Then I will help rebuild your village,” Alek said, turning back to her father. “So he can see that he has not broken your spirit, right before he dies.” Alek pulled the bag of treasure off his belt and tossed it down at Erik’s feet. “A gift.”

  Mara couldn’t believe what she had heard as she watched Alek stomp out the door of the cabin into the street.

  “Father, are you serious?” she asked.

  “He will make a good husband, sweetling,” Erik said with a chuckle. “If he is worthy.”

  Chapter 22

  Mara followed Alek outside to where he stood in the muddy street, looking both ways like he wasn’t sure where he was going or what he was doing.

  “That was quite the show,” she said, picking through the mud and coming up behind him as people passed her on the street splashing the dirty substance all over them. Some people’s eyes grew wide when they watched the mud magically slide off her dress.

  “What show?” he asked, still appearing pretty pissed off.

  “The show you just put on for my father, trying to get his blessing.”

  “It was no show,” Alek said, his face scrunched in anger. “Val Woodshadow will die.”

  “I knew you already wanted to kill him. That’s been pretty obvious since we met. But you told me yourself that you don’t care if my father gives us his blessing or not.”

  “It is important to you,” Alek said.

  “Well, yeah.”

  “Then it is important to me.”

  Mara was speechless. She must have looked foolish standing in the street next to the hulking god with her mouth hanging open as village life continued around her like nothing was wrong. Was he really taking her feelings into account?

  “You mean you care what I want?” she asked.

  “Of course I do,” Alek said, putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning over to plant a sweet kiss on her forehead. “I have an innate desire inside of me to please you. If you’re happy, I find myself happy. I want your father’s blessing.”

  “That’s wonderful, Alek, it really is.”

  “Does this make you emotional?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “Well, don’t let it. There is still a lot to be done before I can even gain your father’s blessing. First, I am going to return to the mountain and collect Abigail and Priya. They can help with getting things in order around here. I will also bring my food stores back. They will cook and hand out stew to your villagers. A lot of them look like they haven’t had a good meal in months. Then I will begin tearing down trees in the forest to help rebuild the crop silos.”

  “Alek,” she said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “This is all too much. I can’t believe you’re going to help humans like this. I thought you viewed us as beneath you.”

  “I do,” Alek said, giving her a half-smile. “But the one who has my heart is high enough to stare me in the eyes and I’m going to do what I can to make her happy, even if it means helping humans. It’s time I used my power for something good.”

  “Now you sound like a wonderful man,” she said.

  “Am I tame?” he asked, putting his arms around her waist and sniffing her hair. She hoped it smelled good, but Alek didn’t seem to mind. He kept her pulled close to his statuesque form.

  “No,” she said, nuzzling his neck. “You’re a wild beast that still has to be broken.”

  “Then you can try to break me,” he whispered into her ear before darting his tongue into it. Mara immediately felt her breath go away as chills ran through her body. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Mara pulled back but Alek was already on her, his mouth meeting hers in love’s tight embrace. She put her hand on the back of his head and held him there, both of their tongues leaving their mouths and meeting in the middle as they kissed one another.

  “I will return,” Alek said. “Tomorrow.”

  Mara stood back as he stepped into the center of town where no houses were and shifted. Great white leathery wings sprouted from his back and his neck elongated as sparkling white scales sprang up all over his body. Mara wanted nothing more than to hop onto his back and ride the air again as a free woman, but her place was here with her father. Alek looked back at her once more with the great blue orbs that were his eyes before taking flight and leaving the village behind. He was high in the sky in mere seconds, leaving her alone.

  As soon as he disappeared Mara became keenly aware of the townspeople gathering around her. They had all run and hidden when he shifted, but now they were back and they did not look happy.

  “That’s her!” one person screamed. “The witch that condemned us!”

  “She dares to kiss the dragon in full view of us!” another person said, flinging mud at her. “She’s throwing it in our face like we are worthless! Punish her!”

  The crowd moved in on Mara, screaming, yelling and slinging mud at her. She tried to back away, but they were circling around her to prevent any escape.

  “Look at how the mud slides off her dress!” someone screamed. “It is magical! We starve while she enjoys the dragon’s lavish gifts!”

  Now the crowd was incensed, she had nowhere to go and Alek was already gone. Could he feel her in danger? Would he come running back to save her?

  “Step away from my daughter!” a voice boomed, causing the crowd to freeze. “Get away now!”

  Everyone turned as Erik parted the mob and strode confidently into the middle of the circle, putting his arm around Mara as he looked at everyone. All the age and worry that he had displayed mere moments ago was gone now, replaced by new vigor and strength that Mara hadn’t known he had. Had it really energized him this much to have his daughter return?

  “She’s the one who cursed us!” someone yelled.

  “She did no such thing!” Erik said, his voice booming through the air. “She’s saved us! Val Woodshadow is a liar and a deceiver! He tried
to sacrifice young Mara to the dragon before he was defeated in single combat by the beast. She has now brought the dragon to our village to save us. He will destroy Val Woodshadow with his bare hands and free us from the knight’s tyranny. You have to believe me. I would not deceive any of you. You know this! The dragon will return and he will save all of us. Just wait.”

  The crowd began to murmur and glance back and forth at one another before finally breaking up. People turned to head back to their duties as others continued to shoot murderous looks at Mara before turning and leaving. In the end she stood in the mud with her father.

  “Father,” she said, hugging his neck. “I thought they were going to get me for sure.”

  “I wouldn’t let that happen, sweetling,” he said. “I promise. As much for you as for them. Can you imagine what the dragon would do if he returned and these people had hung you?”

  “I can, Father,” she said, nodding in agreement. There wouldn’t be a village left. She knew that much for sure.

  Chapter 23

  That evening Mara slept upstairs, tossing and turning in her father’s old bed. She used to reside in the downstairs bedroom, but as her father’s health began to fail he had moved into that room to avoid the treacherous stairs. It was the first time in weeks that Mara hadn’t gone to bed with Alek’s powerful arms wrapped around her to keep her safe.

  “I wish he was here,” she said, then got up and walked to the window. The mountain was barely visible from her father’s window, but she could have sworn she saw a twinkle in the distance. Maybe it was the moonlight reflecting off Alek’s stunning scales or maybe it was just the snow. She finally was able to lie down and go to sleep as she imagined that twinkle being Alek’s scales. He had said she had his heart, but he didn’t realize that he had her heart, soul and body. He was everything she wanted and she was his completely.

  The next morning she woke to the smell of her father frying bacon in the kitchen. It had been so long since she had eaten anything except stew that her mouth began to water. She also decided it was time to tell Alek that they needed to switch up their meals. His stew was the best she’d ever eaten, even better than what she used to make for her father, but it had grown tiresome after eating it repeatedly for so long.

  Mara slid on her magical dress, which took the form of a simple, demure brown and cream dress that reached her ankles and covered her bosom as she slid downstairs.

  “Hello, sweetling,” her father said, looking up from the pan which was popping and sizzling with bacon grease. “I hope you don’t mind bacon. The pigs are some of the only animals we have left, aside from what the hunters bring, but even they are growing scarce.”

  “I welcome it, Father,” she said, sitting down at the kitchen table, which seemed so small now in comparison to Alek’s. Everything in her father’s house seemed tiny compared to the dragon’s lair. “The food crisis will be averted when Alek returns, I promise you.”

  “I hope so,” Erik said, sliding some bacon onto her plate which she attacked ferociously. “Well, someone seems hungry. Is he feeding you?”

  “Of course, Father,” Mara said, swallowing the mouthful she had. “But he only eats once a day and he only eats a special stew that he likes.”

  “So you’ve only eaten stew for the last few moons?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said, still shoving the bacon into her mouth. “I mean, it’s good stew, very good as a matter of fact, but I’ve grown weary of it.”

  “Have you grown weary of the dragon?”

  “Father! What a question. Of course I haven’t. He’s very special to me.”

  “I can tell from the way you look at him. You’ve never looked at a man like that before.” Erik went to the window and looked out with a longing expression on his face. “I suppose it happens to every father. They have to watch their little girl grow up and move out one day. I just hope you’ll remember your dear father and not vanish on me for months again.”

  “I won’t, Father. I’ve already talked about this with Alek. I want to be involved in the village and I want to come back more often.”

  “I’m not sure how the villagers will respond to a dragon constantly flying amongst them.”

  “They will love Alek after he saves them. They’ll worship him once he cures their hunger, rebuilds their silos and destroys Val.”

  “I hope so, honey,” he said, turning back to the table. “For our sake as much as anything. The people are restless and Val promised he would burn the entire village to the ground if he did not get his hands on the dragon again.”

  “He will kill Val, Father.” Mara had never been more serious about anything in her life. Val Woodshadow had to die. “I promise.”

  Erik just smiled and took a seat across from Mara. Sometimes his movements looked like they hurt him and other times he still appeared to be the strong, virile man who had once taken this village by storm. It seemed Erik had reached the age where he had good days and bad days, but the bad days were starting to outnumber the good ones. Still, as he had displayed the day before, he could still draw on great strength when his loved ones were threatened.

  “How does he treat you, sweetling?” Erik asked.

  “Very well. He’s very protective. I think he wants to kill Val as much from jealousy as he does for protection. He’s kind of possessive, but that’s okay with me. I want someone who can protect me and who wants to keep me safe, unlike Val, who just wanted to use me as bait.”

  “Are you still a maiden?”

  Mara recoiled with embarrassment and hid her face, knowing that every visible piece of skin on her body had turned as red as a tomato—betraying the answer to her father immediately.

  “Well, I guess I have my answer,” Erik said. “Are you with child?”

  “Of course not, Father. He’s a dragon. How could I be with child? He’s not human.”

  Erik just stared at her.

  “I mean, he mentioned children once, but I don’t know if it’s possible. I thought he was just talking. How could I lay an egg, anyway? Don’t dragons come from eggs?”

  Finally Erik spoke. “You mean he has not explained to you how dragons reproduce?”

  “Well, no.”

  “Perhaps it is not my place,” Erik said, trailing off.

  “Father, please.”

  “Very well,” Erik said, straightening up. “Has he ever spoken of female dragons?”

  “Actually, no,” Mara said, remembering the book from the study. “I did see a book with his lineage in it, but none of the mothers were mentioned.”

  “That is because there is no such thing as a female dragon,” Erik said.

  Mara nearly choked on the bacon she had been eating. “Excuse me?”

  “Dragons are magical creatures. In their dragon form they actually have no sex organs. They are asexual. But they take a human form so they may reproduce. That is why they take a male form.”

  “So if I become with child it will be a dragon? I will have to lay an egg?”

  “I do not believe you will have to lay an egg. It’s actually very rare for a dragon to be born. That’s why there are so few of the creatures in the world. More often than not you will have a human child that possesses dragon blood. This is where sorcerers come from. On the rarest of occasions your child will be a dragon, but I do not know how this works. Again, sweetling, it is very rare to have a dragon. They are only born once every few centuries. I would not worry too much about it.”

  “This is, well…this is stunning news, Father.”

  “I do not understand why he did not tell you.”

  Mara thought back to the day Alek had found out she had read the book and the anger he had felt. His reaction had seemed over the top, but it all made sense now. He had been projecting to her that he disliked humans. Why would he do that when he didn’t do it to Raylene, Abigail and Priya? Because he had had feelings for her from the moment he laid his beautiful eyes on her. That was the only explanation. The hurt of his past still stung in hi
s heart and he did not want to get so close to a human.

  “It makes sense, Father,” she said. “I understand why he didn’t tell me.”

  “As long as you do, that’s all that matters, sweetling. Do you want my blessing to marry him?”

  “More than anything.”

  “Well, we’ll see what kind of man he is,” Erik said, winking at her.

  “Something tells me I already have your blessing, Father.”

  “Of course you do. But he doesn’t need to know that.”

  Mara could only smile at her father. Even in his old age he was still devious. He wanted Alek’s help, but all he had to do was ask—at this point Mara was sure Alek would do anything to make her happy. She wouldn’t take advantage of it, but it was going to come in handy to rebuild the village.

  Chapter 24

  The sun was high in the sky before anyone in town spotted the dragon on the horizon. What started as a low rumble turned into a full-blown ordeal as everyone dropped what they were doing and ran outside to watch the dragon’s flight as he returned to town.

  “The dragon returns!”

  “Is he here to harm us?”

  “They said he would help us!’

  “He’s so terrifying!”

  “I think he looks majestic!”

  Mara had to agree with that sentiment. As Alek grew nearer she noticed he was holding several large sacks while Abigail and Priya rode on his back. She felt the sting of jealousy as she saw how happy they were riding on her husband’s back. It should be her up there, free and without restraint. They would only do this once or twice, she told herself. He had to get them down here somehow. She was finding she was just as jealous as Alek.

  Everyone scattered as the great white beast came to a stop in the middle of town and allowed the girls to hop off. People weren’t as afraid as they had been before, and several moved in close to get their first real view of a dragon. A child even darted out from the crowd, placed his hand on Alek’s leg and then darted back out of sight giggling the whole way.