“That’s what everyone tells me.”
Her black wings twitched as if she were silently laughing.You’d best be on your way, Urian.
Too bad he didn’t want to. He’d rather stay and talk to her. But he was smart enough to know better than to stay where he wasn’t wanted. “Very well, but thank you for my gift.”
You’re most welcome, Lord Urian, and have no fear. Your father won’t die tonight.
He gasped at her words. “What?”
She inclined her head to him.Part of what I guard is the goddess’s sacred tree of life. She already sent Xedrix here to fetch sap to save your father’s life. By the time you return, he should be much improved.
With a cry of relief, Urian launched himself at Sarraxyn and hugged her. “Thank you!” He gave her a tight, giant squeeze before he ran off to check on his father.
Only he didn’t go far. After a few steps, he came rushing back to her. “You’re not a monster, Sarraxyn. You’re beautiful!” With a quick kiss to her scaly cheek and a shout of happiness, he dodged away.
Sarraxyn watched in baffled awe as the Apollite ran off. Her jaw slack over his actions, she waited until he was out of sight to return to her human form. Still, the warmth of his hug and kiss clung to her skin.
No one had ever shown her such affection before. No one.
Few had ever been kind. Only a small handful of her brothers—Falcyn, Max, Illarion, Hadyn, and Gadryn.
In fact, it’d been her own brother, the bastard Malstrom, who’d sold her to the Atlantean war god, Misos, to serve here in his realm. The last thing she’d ever wanted was to be enslaved as an eternal guardian for the sacred Haxyn where she wasn’t allowed to see anyone or do anything other than rot in absolute loneliness.
She hated this dark, dank realm of eternal night. While dragons were supposed to be solitary, she wasn’t quite the same as others of her ilk. Most females weren’t. They were more social than the males of her species. And she more so than even the average female drakos.
To be enslaved here without family or friend made this more of a hell realm than it already was. Damn the Atlanteans for their cruelty.
The Charonte were the only visitors she ever had, and they came rarely. Maybe once every century.
Urian had been the first “human” she’d seen since …
She couldn’t remember. That was how long it’d been. And she couldn’t remember a more fair, handsome one.
Like her, he appeared young. Though she wasn’t really sure how Apollites aged. He could be older than dirt, for all she knew. Like some of the gods who appeared as children, even though they were thousands of years old.
It was why she preferred to live her days as a dragon. In that form, no one knew she was just a girl. Plus, as a dragon, she was a lot stronger, which was much safer for her as she was less likely to get eaten by something larger or meaner.
Her brother Veles had drilled that into her with iron spikes.Whatever you do, Xyn, remain a drakoma! They can’t harm you easily. Stay strong. Above all, stay alive!
’Course, Veles hated his human form. Just as he hated all humans.
And everyone else, too. Especially the gods who’d cursed them and their mothers.
Normally, Xyn agreed with her brother. She didn’t care for others herself. They were too quick to betray. Quicker still to strike the first blow, and she had no time for that.
But Urian had been a nice, brief distraction from her boredom and loneliness. Seldom did anyone or anything venture here. Not even a cockroach.
Sighing, she shifted back to her alternate body before the goddess happened to spy upon her and catch her away from her post. That would never do.
Apollymi was a terrible mistress. Demanding and fierce. Ever harsh whenever she felt someone was slacking. And in particular she seemed to hold a grudge against Xyn.
Yet this time, Xyn had something more to do than count the pebbles lining the ground around the base of her tree. She had a handsome, fair-haired boy to think about.
One with vivid blue eyes and a beautiful smile.
March 21, 9522 BC
“Don’t eat the boy! While tasty, he won’t be worth the indigestion. And he’s probably gamey-tasting, too.”
