Like me.
Molten-gold eyes gleamed like twin suns, the slitted pupils contracting as its eyes flicked between me and the stable hand. It stretched its mouth wide. Smoke spiraled from its maw, curling lazily past ivory teeth that looked sharp enough to shred steel. Its tail swished behind it, thick and muscled, ending in a sharp ridge that dragged across the sand, leaving jagged grooves. The tip twitched, a predator’s signal that it could snap like a whip if provoked.
The stable hand shifted her hips, humming under her breath, seemingly unaware I was near.
As I eased toward the gate, the beast’s gaze flicked in my direction, tracking me.
This was the wrong dragon to steal if I was going to escape.
Frustration boiled under my skin. I couldn’t afford a delay, not with the residents of the city screaming in pain, dying with every second I wasted here.
I grabbed onto the latch. My lungs squeezed, and my breathing came out too shallow.
The woman dressed in dark leather much like my own paused, her hand holding the brush still resting on the dragon's right front leg. She wore her medium blonde hair in a long braid down her back, and she looked about my age. Twenty-six or seven or so. Pretty, though that didn’t matter.
Her head snapped around, and she pinned me in place with her gaze, her eyes sliding from my face to the saddle in my hands.
“You can’t be inside this pen. Go.” She flicked her hand my way. “He nearly burned you. I assume it wasyouhe was trying to swat away.”
“Swat? We call that frying where I come from.” I squeezed theleather strap on the saddle until my knuckles ached. “I’m going to ride that dragon.”
“No, you’re not.” With a roll of her eyes, she strolled toward me, her hand holding the brush dropping to her side. “Nice outfit. Pretty blades you’re wearing too.”
“I know how to use them,” I growled in warning.
“Stab me then.” She turned back to the dragon and strode to the left side where she started grooming again. The dragon curled its massive head around to nudge her side before glancing my way and huffing sparks. They flickered across my leather clothing before snuffing out on the sandy floor. “I’m still not going to let you ride him.”
“I need him to take me to the city.” It was more plea than a command, and the desperation of it tasted bitter on my tongue.
“The one under attack by the borgons, you mean,” she said.
“Why aren’t you there already, helping fight them off?” My face flamed as the words scraped my throat like shards. She was wasting time with brushes and scale oil while people died.
“I’m no soldier, and this dragon is old. He’s not trained for battle.”
Her calm tone spiked through me. My chest clenched, tightening around an ache that wouldn't let up. “I need this dragon.”
“You can't have him. I suggest if you’re that eager to die, you hurry to town on foot.”
“It would take too long to get there. I have to help them now.” The words ripped out. My heart thumped against my ribs, each beat reminding me that time was slipping away.
“Not with this dragon.” The infernal woman kept casually gliding the brush across the dragon’s scales while he wiggled his spine, clearly enjoying her touch. His contented rumble grated in my ears.
My throat burned. “Please?”
I hated the word. I hated needing to beg for help anyone should be eager to give.
I could demand she let me use this magnificent beast. It belonged to the court, which meant it basically belonged to me, but that didn’t feel right. I would not act like Erisandra or some of the high lords and ladies in my court.
She sighed, her hand pausing on the dragon’s scales. “You don’t even know how to ride this dragon.”
“I grew up in a border fortress, training beasts like this.”
Her lips twisted as her gaze fell on the saddle I still held. “If you did, you’d have a bridle with you as well.”
The jab should’ve bounced off me, but it didn’t. “I use foot commands.”
“Which this dragon doesn’t understand.”
