Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
The dragon’s eyes flare with black, and I jerk back in surprise. He pushes his nose against my hand, sniffing hard, and then the eyes go even darker. A growl starts in his throat.
Utter terror rips through me. I freeze in place, closing my eyes. He’s going to snap. He’s tired of playing nice and now he’s going to kill me.
The dragon shifts his weight, my body moving as he curls his claws tighter around me, and I suck in a breath, unable to hold back my whimpers of terror. A moment later, I’m pressed against something hot and firm, and when I squeeze my eyes open, I see a wall of pale gold.
The dragon’s cuddling me against his chest.
Ooookay.
The low, angry growl thrums in his throat again, and I can feel it reverberate in his belly. With his tail, he flicks something away, and I catch a glimpse of Brady’s corpse flung into the air. It lands atop a nearby car and I shudder at the grisly sight. “Okay, it’s clear you don’t like him, either.”
The big head lowers, and I automatically put my hand out again. As I do, I see the smeared blood on my fingers.
Oh.
This dragon really doesn’t like Brady. I consider my stained fingers, then spit on them and rub them clean on my skirts to try and wash my hands. When most of the smears are on my skirts and not on my skin, I offer my hand again.
This time, he rubs against my palm once more.
Whew. One mystery down, a million more to go.
I continue to rub his nose absently as I look at my surroundings…and wonder how I’m possibly going to get away. I’m close to the neighborhood I scavenged in yesterday, but it’s still at least a mile away. That means either the dragon was out looking for me, or he knew I was out here. Considering how irritated he was at the scent of Brady’s blood on my hands, I wonder if it has to do with scent.
I suck in a breath, thinking about how Lord Azar doesn’t want the guardsmen touching us. How we have to wear the clothes they give us, how we have to turn our panties in, how we can’t bathe except on Saturdays and how the soldiers can’t touch us until the next bath day. It’s all related to scent.
It’s all related to dragons. Somehow.
Is that why Azar keeps sending us out to the same locations over and over again, though we’ve complained that they’re not good scavenging areas? Is he trying to get us to be dragon-bait after all?
So much of this suddenly makes sense…and some of it still doesn’t make sense at all. Why steal our panties? Why does he want to lure dragons? I thought the point was to keep dragons away from the fort to keep us safe.
Then again, the dragon currently cradling me in his claws and pressing his snout against my palm isn’t like the ones back at the fort. The ones at the fort are almost like…zombies. I think of their gray-eyed, blank stares and how they don’t react when we pass through the gates.
That’s nothing like this jealous creature holding me in his claws right now. Those dragons don’t know I exist. This dragon feels utterly trained on me. He’s fascinated…either that or I’m a snack that he’s holding onto for later.
I carefully lower my hand, and then gently pry at the claws holding me to his chest, wondering if he’ll let me go. To my relief, he releases me and I climb out of his grasp and get on my feet. The pavement feels welcome underneath my worn shoes, but my head aches and I feel so dizzy for a moment that I want to collapse. I stumble forward, grabbing onto the nearest abandoned car to prop myself up.
The dragon rumbles low in his chest, and reaches for me again.
“No,” I say, a little panicked. Something tells me that if I let him grab me, he’s going to fly off and then no one will ever see me again. I slide away from his grasp, his claws grabbing at my shift dress.
Just that small movement drains me. My face throbs and feels hot. My head hurts so badly, and my ear is ringing. I’m so tired that I’m lightheaded, and I’m starving. My stomach growls, and the dragon lowers his head, trying to push his muzzle against my chest.
“Time for me to go.” I push him gently away again, then march to my bike and pick it up. I try to ignore the blood that covers everything—Brady’s body has bled everywhere and made a huge mess. I get on my bike, and pedal forward a few feet.
The dragon immediately moves to block me off, barring my way down the car-crowded street.