Given what she’d done with our bond I had no doubt that she could alsobreakthat bond if she wished.
Would she?
Given what I’d felt from her… no.
But… if she changed even more…?
People knew of our bond now. I had no doubt others would tell her to be rid of me, that shifters weren’t worth it, that I was dead weight pulling her down. She wouldn’t listen to them… not at first. But since she’d changed so much so quickly, I had to wonder how much more she might change after a month… or a year.
And even if she didn’t grow to despise me… if she remained loyal… I’d always be a target, a weak spot for her. I’d been taken hostage so easily. What if it happened again? What if, instead of drawing things out, they just killed me?
Perhaps it would be best if Izzy broke the bond. Then I wouldn’t be a liability to her.
The longer I lay there, in the fetid stench of that cell, the more my thoughts twisted in on themselves, sinking me deeper into despair, until I desperately clung to my last shred of hope… Izzy had promised to save me, to help me, and I had no doubt that she’d do that. She hadn’t changed yet. I wasn’t dead yet. I had to have faith that she’d keep her word, that she’d live up to her promises, but it was so hard to hope in this horrid place.
Leather rustled; low voices mumbled outside.
A key in the lock.
I tensed as the door opened.
“Time to wake up, little bat. You need a few more bruises, I think.” The head guard was an ogre, big and heavy of limb with fists like anvils. The other two were both hobgoblins, not nearly as strong, but just as fervent in their administration of injury.
I rolled away from the guards and tried as best I could to smear the grime and dirt and filth of this place over me, hiding the fact that my wounds had healed. Then I huddled against the wall, not needing to feign fear. If I hadn’t been collared, I could have shadow-stepped away from this horrid place, the cell was certainly dark enough, but all my magic was restrained and I was helpless against these brutes.
They closed in, I couldn’t see the grins on their faces in the dark, but I heard their chuckles. They enjoyed this nearly as much as I feared it.
Then the blows began to fall and all I could do was take it, steeling my will to survive, crying out in pain to give them what they wanted.
And when they left, I huddled in on myself and wept.
And I prayed.
Shifters had no gods, the elves were meant to be our gods, so I’d never prayed before.
But that night, I prayed to Izzy. I prayed she’d come for me, help me, heal me, save me. I prayed she’d stay with me, even if it was unlikely. I prayed she’d become the woman I knew she could be, and change this wretched world, even if she had to abandon me to do it. I’d sacrifice myself for the greater good, for all the shifters who came after me, that they might live in peace. If Izzy had to give up her bond with me to rule, to gain the respect of the elves and change thousands of years of tradition, then I’d gladly give up my love and my life for that cause.
That was my only solace that night.
KOARTHANDRIS
Izzy settled,her breath even, her body cooling and serene. She’d stopped pulling at my life force, so I assumed she was finished whatever she’d been doing and was resting. I laid her hand back on her stomach but lingered by her side.
She’d taken a lot from me, draining me. Fatigue was not a sensation I was familiar with. Dragons didn’t tire or sleep the way others did. We went through cycles of centuries, sleeping for hundreds of years at a time, then active for even longer. I’d last slept once I’d become an adult — around my twentieth century — for a couple hundred years, waking roughly seven-hundred-and-fifty years ago.
Yet it wasn’t my weariness which kept me here.
The scent of Izzy’s arousal filled my nostrils and sang to every cell in my body. My dick was so damned hard I couldn’t move. I was beyond overwhelmed. Whatever Izzy had done, it had been extremely erotic to watch, and I’d had a front row seat. She’d moaned with abandon, the sound filled with raw passion. She’d thrown off the covers over her,her naked form writhing before me, flushed, aroused, exposed…
I tried to cover her, only to have her throw off the blanket again.
Having witnessed that, how could I not be stunned with extreme arousal.
Hearing Vyns pleasure her earlier had been bad enough. And it certainly didn’t help knowing she was my ideal mate, strong and intelligent, witty and kind.
Dragonsnevercame early. Our control of our wills and bodies was matched only by elves and dwarves. Yet it had taken every ounce of energy Izzy had left me with to resist losing control of myself.
Izzy was… perfect.
