* * *
Yuto returned just as the sun disappeared over the horizon. The orange-streaked sky melted into black, transforming the trees into looming shadowy sentinels. They squatted menacingly all around me just waiting to strike. Or maybe that was all the other prisoners Yuto had warned me about.
He stomped into the clearing, a rabbit slung over one shoulder and a bundle of firewood on the other. After he settled down beside me, he got to work. Soon, a fire blazed before us, and the cooking meat sent aromatic tendrils of smoke into the air.
Yuto plopped a stone with a flat top just before me, and then tossed some of the meat on top of it, along with a heel of bread. “Eat.”
That was the only thing he’d uttered since returning to the clearing. Annoying, but…who was I to argue when it came to food? Eagerly, I dug in. The meat was tender and juicy, and the bread was full of aromatic spices and crispy seeds. It was all I could do not to moan out loud as I hastily chewed bit after bit, my hunger transforming into a ravenous beast.
Yuto popped a small chunk of bread into his mouth and lifted his brows. “I have never seen a female eat with so much gusto. At least not a mortal one. I thought you all were very taken by the idea of manners and charm.”
“We are,” I said around a mouthful of food. “But I am not a lady.”
He chuckled. “Ladymeans something very different from where I come from.”
“Do tell.” I nodded when he held out another chunk of bread.
He draped his arm over his knee and watched me with hawkish eyes. “Ladies are not so prim and proper in the realm of the dragons. They are ferocious. They feast upon the blood of their enemies.”
My chewing slowed. “The blood.”
He cracked a grin. “I’m joking, little métoikos. No feasting on blood. But they are not proper. Not what you would consider proper.”
“Sounds like a completely different world,” I said.
“It is.” He grabbed the final batch of meat from the fire and divided it evenly between us, before throwing his portion to his horse. “And you will be seeing it one day, Aradia Galatas. Because that’s where I plan for you to take me.”
5
Yuto
Aradia Galatas was pure trouble. I’d never met a mortal with so little concern for her own life. One day, her recklessness was going to get her killed. It was up to me to keep her safe until she could help me return to Pira. And then I would deliver her straight into the hands of her prince.
The little thief.
I watched her eat with feverish abandon. Her long dark hair cascaded around her shoulders, and her teal dress hung in tatters around her curvy frame. With a haunted look in her eyes, she sank her teeth into the bread as if she hadn’t eaten in years. She cared little for manners either. It was a wonder she’d survived in the mortal realm for as long as she had. I’d heard stories of how they treated their females. If they did not procreate or listen to their husbands, they would be cast aside into the streets. Forced to become beggars.
Of course, Aradiawasa thief. Had she been forced to steal in order to survive?
My stomach turned. It wouldn’t matter if she had. Thieves deserved whatever they got.
“Why did you steal from your prince, Aradia Galatas?” I asked, even if her answer would make no difference to my opinion of her.
She took a swig of the canteen I’d given her. “You really keep harping on about the thieving.” She set down the canteen. “So, I’ll ask you this. Why doesanyonesteal anything? Money.”
“Money is not the only reason some steal. Some steal for power.”
Her brows scrunched together. “I don’t think stealing a few necklaces will gain anyone any semblance of power.”
“Ah, necklaces.” I nodded and glanced at her long, slender neck. Her tanned skin was smooth and soft. If she weren’t a thief—and my prisoner—I might be inclined to caress it until she whimpered beneath my touch. Despite the black spots on her soul, I hadn’t failed to notice how her dress hugged her perfectly-formed curves. The material dipped enticingly between small, perky breasts. Every so often, a slight breeze would whisper past, and her nipples would harden.
I didn’t think she noticed. But I did.
But no matter. She was a thief, and I was a dragonlord who needed to get home.
Her big blue eyes blinked back at me. “You say that like you’re disappointed. Would you rather I have stolen something that holds more importance? Something bigger? Like a throne?”
I smiled, draped my arm across my knee, and leaned forward. “Do you believe you could have stolen your prince’s throne?”
