I spoke to the dragon, and I didn’t care if it understood me or not. I needed to move, to will myself to do something. Both eyes opened, then its head lifted back to where its body sat.
Run, run, run,my mind told me. I watched as the creature stood and turned as if to walk away and kept its horned tail within my reach. Its head shifted to look back at me, then at its tail as if gesturing for me to take it. Without any hesitation, I jumped up and touched the hard-horned tail with my fingers first, then my hand.
The dragon walked into the Hallowstags with me attached to it. I had no idea where we were going, but I knew I had to go along with what the creature wanted or it’d hunt me down and roast me.
The awkward silence during our walk was strange, and to deal with my fear still rolling in my belly I talked to the dragon.
“I’m Sapphira, and I’m human, so I’ve never met a dragon before and you seem nice. Big, but nice.”
I swear I heard the dragon huff, though it didn’t turn its head from wherever it was leading us.
“Thanks for saving me with that roar back there. That fish thing was definitely going to eat me. I’m gonna kill that old seer for sending me out here. If I didn’t come, then I guess I wouldn’t have met you, which you are cool.” Unless it ate me, then that would not be cool at all.
A bright light beamed ahead as we weaved through the trees. The canopies gave us cover from the setting sun. I saw purple first, then blue, then green, and finally yellow.
None of the other creatures in the tall grassy field looked up as the dragon stomped into the open. Colorful butterflies and deer grazed alongside horses with golden horns on top their heads.
Unicorns.
Unicorns grazed in front of me. I was fucking seeing unicorns right now.
Had I died and didn’t know it? Was my body currently inside a fish creature’s belly in the middle of a swimming hole?
The dragon let me take everything in. The mountains in the distance accented the magical creatures that belonged here. A river, most likely the one that led into the creek, had half-naked women sitting on the shore with their fish tails swishing in the water. They looked Fae with pointed ears and multicolored hair covering their exposed breasts. Beautiful, unlike the terrifying creature who tried to eat me.
“This can’t be real.” I stumbled to find words to describe the fantastical scenery. I hadn’t realized that I’d dropped the dragon’s tail until its head was behind my back, nudging me with its snout toward the meadow of mythical creatures.
“No, I don’t wanna freak them out.” I pushed the dragon’s head away toward the trees behind us, but I realized everyone was looking at us. Slowly I raised my hand and waved gently, hoping they saw a friend and not a foe. Every creature resumed their movements. They didn’t care I was there. Maybe having a dragon at your back was some sort of pass into their world.
I wasn’t comfortable moving closer to the meadow, so I observed from afar. The dragon’s breathing was a balm to my nerves, a constant rhythm to remind me this was real and not a dream. Briefly I thought this would be a nice place to come back to when I needed time away from my great destiny and the pressures it came with.
“If I’m gonna see you again, I think I need to call you something other than dragon.” The dragon lifted his head off the ground.
I’m pretty sure it was a “he.” The vibes I got were not female. He even grunted and huffed like the Fae men I’d met. Then I remembered the name of the man who had a rare dragon’s core. He died according to the book of records but he had a strong name, and I think it needed to be given to another who housed a dragon’s essence inside—an actual dragon.
“How about Desmire? In this book I read recently there was a man who held a dragon’s core inside him. He passed away but the name seems like a strong one.”
The dragon’s stare intensified. I didn’t understand if he wanted me to see or feel something from that look but I got a strange sense that he wanted to say something if he could.
“Or if you have a name, that’s cool, too. Can dragon’s draw? Maybe we can—” I rambled on, about to suggest the dragon spell his name in the dirt. The dragon’s stare had turned from intense to something likereally?
“Well, unless you have an issue with it, I’m going to name you Desmire.” There, now that was settled. I had a dragon friend with a name.
“Now, it’s getting late. Would you be so kind as to show me the way back to the palace of Crysia please?” I stood, dusted off the dirt that covered my yoga pants, and looked at the empty meadow now that the sun had set.
Desmire stood and strolled with me next to him, as we followed the path to the palace. I don’t know why Celestine told me to come out here and meet my new friend, but I’m glad she did.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The next day before the sun rose, I sneaked back into the Hallowstags to see if my new friend Desmire was near. I’m sure he knew how to hunt food, but I grabbed a fish on my way out, hoping to stay on his good side. You never knew when having a dragon as a friend would come in handy.
I made it a few steps into the woods when I heard the snap of a trap. The ground flew out from under me and the world turned upside down as I hung from a tree with a rope on my ankle.
“Let me go!” I screamed, my voice bouncing off the trunks of the trees around me.
“Not quite the catch I was hoping for,” a smooth voice crooned from my right.
It was dark, but I could see enough of the Fae standing in front of me. He was tall with pale skin, medium-black hair with horns, and ears sticking up, like something you’d see on a cow or goat. He had a silver ring over his lip like a piercing. Dramens were the only people I knew that had piercings.
