When nothing happened, I poked my head inside. He stood near the exit to the valley, staring out through a gap in the netting. Dragons cooped up in the aerie most of the time got bored. Did the king exercise him regularly? Vexxion said the king adored dragons, but I hadn’t seen any evidence of that outside his adoration for what Madrood could do with his fire inside the throne room.
I stepped into the stall and closed the gate, lowering the basket of tools to the sandy floor.
“Hey, Madrood. Nice day, huh?” The sunwasshining, and the temperature was perfect for working. Not too hot. Not too cold. With my heart pattering much too fast, I pawed through the basket, grabbing a brush. With light footsteps, I moved around to his left side. “Grooming first, buddy. You’ll like that, won’t you?”
He ignored me, staring through the small gap in the screen blocking the opening to the world outside.
When I started brushing the scales on his leg, he twitched, but he didn’t turn his head my way.
“They haven’t been taking care of you,” I chided, noting the poor condition of his scales. “A shame.” They were afraid of him and for good reason, but that didn’t mean he didn’t need care. If you were going to keep a beast like this in your aerie, you had to find a way to keep him in top shape. Otherwise, he’d be useless to you when you needed him the most.
I worked my way along his side, adding oil to the brush, massaging it into his scales with a vigorous rub.
When he groaned, my hand stilled on his side. Mybreathing came to a shuddering halt, and my heart went tick, tick, ti . . . ck.
He shuffled his feet and shot me a look that I took to mean,why did you stop, you foolish girl?
So, I got working again, rubbing harder with the brush.
He groaned again and leaned into my touch.
“You’re a big softie, aren’t you?” I whispered, grabbing the stool I’d brought, climbing it, and starting on his shoulder. I worked oil into those scales, using a light touch with the ones that had cracked. When I’d finished this side, I made my way along the other. I’d have to get a taller stool to reach the spikes marching down his neck to his shoulders. This dragon was huge when compared to Seevar.
“What do you think, Madrood?” I asked as I hopped off the stool, my feet hitting the sand with a dull thud. My thigh twitched, but it was cooperating so far. “Should I oil your claws while I’m at it?” I eased around his front to approach the basket.
His snout snapped out, his fangs going for my throat.
I yelped and flung myself away, smacking into the mesh screening the pen from the valley below.
It gave way, and I tumbled backward, falling . . .
28
TEMPEST
Igrabbed onto the torn mesh, and it raked across my palm until I latched onto the bound tip.
My body snapped as it came to a halt, my teeth jarring together. I dangled and swayed in the air with my heart aflame and my breathing ragged.
Where are you?Vexxion growled.I sense—
I’m having a delightful time with Madrood.
Vexxion appeared in the stall above me, stooping down, his hand extended.
“I can do it,” I said.
His lips thinned. “Tempest.”
I flung my other hand up and grabbed onto the torn mesh, scrambling to find purchase with the tips of my boots on the stone cliff. “If you weren’t here, I’d have to do this on my own.”
“You wouldn’t be here ifIwasn’t.”
Honestly, my body shook with adrenalin, and my muscleskept twitching. My left thigh was one big spasm. Why was I insisting on handling this on my own?
My gaze swept past Vexxion to Madrood.
He was watching me, ignoring Vexxion. I suspected he didn’t dare take a bite out of the controller.
