by Zara Stark
"What's he saying, Tavia?" Cobalt asked over my shoulder.
"You've lived in the ancient world for ten years and you don't know Ancient Egyptian? That's like a third of the population of Rome?" I teased.
Cobalt scoffed. "I'm not Nevada, the knower of a dozen languages. Besides English and conversational Latin, I do all of my communicating on the battlefield."
"That you do," I gave him a heated look and he growled in pleasure under his throat.
"Sorry, I got distracted for a minute," I told the merchant, clenching my card and feeling the power work so it translated my words. "Can you repeat that?"
"My supplier mentioned a fire breathing dragon was preventing shipments in city-states around Vesuvio, the city-states of Herculano and Olantis have been attacked and burnt. The volcano was rumbling but stopped after the dragon perched there," The merchant told me in a shaking voice, his eyes flitting to Cobalt in terror.
"Don't worry about him, he won't hurt you, I've got the situation under control," I tried to reassure him but when his eyes came back to me I saw a bit of judgment in his eyes.
"I'm sure you do, dragon lover," He gave me a cruel sneer.
"My methods of taming dragons are my own," I gave him a sickly sweet smile.
"What were you saying?" I asked him again.
The man's eyes flashed with irritation for a moment but he quickly guarded the expression. He glanced briefly at Cobalt before turning back to me.
"Traders in the city-states near Vesuvio have seen a pink dragon flying through the sky, like clockwork around the volcano every day," The man explained.
"Thank you for your time," I nodded at him and deactivated my card.
I looped my arm through Cobalt's and pulled him toward the port.
"So what did that old asshole say?" Cobalt asked. He looked over his shoulder to give the merchant a glare.
"He's not an old asshole, he's just terrified and pissed off about that state of his home," I shrugged. "Anyways, he said a pink dragon was near Vesuvius. We gotta go there!"
"Why not get some breakfast first?" Cobalt offered. "I know I worked up an appetite."
"Ugh I didn't mention this before but I was so supposed to be out of Alexandria by dawn or some cat-headed lady was going to kill me? We probably should get out of here," I smiled sheepishly at him.
"Sounds like you met a deity. I can't remember the cat one, Nevada or Raiden would know," Cobalt shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "It's well past dawn if she was going to kill you she would. God's don't like dealing with dragons, probably why I stayed here for so long without interference."
"Still, I would rather get out of her sooner than later, are you starving?" I asked him.
"I devoured dozens of tons of gold ore over the last month, I think I can last until we get out of town if that makes you feel better," Cobalt unlooped our arms and wrapped his around my waist instead. "Let's go to the docks and figure out what we're going to do."
As we walked to the docks, I told Cobalt all about my fight with the Concilium, Tartarus (both the prison and the man), Team Wildcard and my new BFF Mab.
I waited for a reaction but he just watched with a smirk. When I finished his smirk stretched even wider.
"I would've paid good money to see your fight with the warlocks," Cobalt chuckled. "Not surprised you made friends with Mab, she ain't half-bad. Feel bad for her though, those assholes as her mates? Damn."
"So just gossip? No comment on pissing off an Underworld God, freeing a bunch of monsters and a few demigods?" I asked. "Do you think Tar will come after us?"
"He's got almost no power out of his domain. Who cares if he does? Fuck him, you told him upfront you were leaving as soon as possible. One look at you would tell anyone you're trouble incarnate, he shouldn't have captured you with false, vague promises of fighting another day," Cobalt ran one of his large, tanned hands over his face. "Feeling guilty?"
"Honestly? A bit, do you think those monsters are going to cause problems for anyone?" I asked.
"Definitely. Should keep theGodsand the Concilium busy for a while. The primordialGodswere taken down by dragons the first time. Now that all dragons are enslaved, theGodsand Concilium royally screwed themselves there." Cobalt laughed.
"So where'd that guy say we need to go again?" Cobalt asked.
"Literally Mount Vesuvius, I guess merchants from all the nearby city-states have seen a magenta dragon with black claws and horns who breathes fire nearby and the only place where it could be roosting is a literal volcano."
"Might be another fire dragon? Most common type after all," Cobalt grunted. "I'm not sure we should trust any information coming from a guy that was trying to get the two people who destroyed his city to go away."
"Two people, who destroyed his city? Speak for yourself, dear," I shook my head at him but kept my grin playful. "You did quite a bit of destroying yourself."
"Yeah I guess, the mindless beast could not resist fresh Egyptian gold ore. It tastes the best of all metals except platinum," Cobalt said, twirling a piece of my hair around his finger. "Though I got a soft spot for bronze too."
"Isn't bronze an alloy though?" I asked, leaning into his touch like cat desperate for a scratch behind the ears.
"Don't be cheeky," He growled, the gravel sound of his voice sending chills down that spine. Damn, I had really missed this man. "Mount Vesuvius is far, we'll have to fly in shifts. It's going to take a while."
"Are you sure you can't just fly us all the way there?" I asked him with a whine. I had already suffered the boredom of being trapped on a boat for a month, I wasn't ready for another cruise of boredom.
"Part of the way yes but I'm not going to risk shapeshifting for long periods of time when I'm not sure I can turn back," Cobalt grunted.
"Big, fearsome Cobalt us scared?" I teased, letting his words sink in. I hadn't realized that he was still worried about that, not that we did much talking after he changed back. I thought his mind was back for good.
I pressed a hand to his hard muscled chest. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure you won't devolve back. You are in control."
Cobalt shook his head, his crimson eyes burning me. He placed his hand over mine and squeezed it. "I'm not risking it. I won't take any chance when it comes to protecting you from me. I was ready to eat you, Tavia."
"Hey, I had it handled it didn't I? You don't have to protect me, I think I've made it very clear I can protect myself," I gave him a pretend haughty glare.
A low laugh rumbled out of his chest. He ran a few fingers under his chin. "Oh, I remember how well you did. You're lucky I'm not human and I can regrow teeth or I would be pissed off."
"You're always half-pissed off, if you were human, I would worry about your blood pressure," I laughed. "I'm sorry I stabbed you."
"Don't be, it was in self-defense. Never apologize for protecting yourself."
"So what's the plan? We have to sail no matter what. Mount Vesuvius is more south than Rome right but more inland of course. How long of a boat ride is it?" I asked him.
"I would say it's still about a month if you took only one ship, I plan to take us to Salernum down the coast from Rome, we'll be able to fly past Nuceria and Pompeii from there all way to the volcano, of course, that asshole would hole up in a literal volcano like a B-rated spy movie villain," He shook his head.
"Or the amazing Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. Remember those movies? I haven't seen them in forever," I laughed before his words sank in. "Wait, what do you mean by one ship?"
"We're going to fly during the day and land on different ships to rest for the night," Cobalt shrugged.
"And how the hell is that going to work out?" I shrieked.
"The Mediterranean and Tyrrhenian are constantly full of merchant ships, it'll be easy to find somewhere to sleep for the night," Cobalt gave me a wicked grin.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure you're thinking about sleeping a lot, aren't you? Sleep all night long?" I sighed.
"Yes, that's exactl
y it."
"Okay, and how are these people going to feel about a dragon roosting on their ship. Won't someone try to shoot you down?" I asked.
"This isn't the Hobbit, Octavia. My scales can only be penetrated by dragon claws or teeth. Even if they could, I'm metal, I would absorb an arrow or spear on impact," Cobalt tsked at me like he couldn't believe I didn't think of that.
"And how was your ride out here?" He asked.
"Everyone avoided me because they could see my--oh they're going to be too scared to say anything to us," I realized aloud.
"Are you ready?" I asked him.
"As I'll ever be," Cobalt grunted.
"Okay, now that you said you were nervous, now I'm nervous, what do I do if you go crazy again?" I asked.
Cobalt glared at me as he handed me his clothing. "I got covered. And so do you, freeze me again, stab me again, whatever you'll figure it out."
"Okay," I grimaced, hand hovering over my cards as Cobalt started his shift. It was both as amazing and horrible as it was the first time. It only took a minute for a gigantic dragon to be in front of me instead of Cobalt. The planks of the dock creaked under his weight as he stretched his claws.
Cobalt swung his massive head around to look at me. A chill ran up my spine as his red gaze fixed on me.
"Cobalt are you still you?" I asked him.
He nodded his head in agreement. Relief rushed over me.
"Thank the Gods," I sighed pressing my hand to my chest. "So what now?"
He gestured his head up, pointing at his back in the universal hop on gesture.
"Oh man, I have to Daenerys Targaryen this?" I grit my teeth and nodded. "I can do this."
If it was even possible, dragon Cobalt rolled his eyes are me. Seemed kind of impossible, dragons didn't have the white sclera of the eyes.
I approached him carefully. His scales were thick and covered in spikes. One wrong move and I would get impaled on a spike if Cobalt couldn't manipulate his form at will.
Surprisingly gentleman-like for Cobalt, he rearranged his spikes until they formed a sharp golden ladder to his back.
I gripped one of his claws and slowly pulled myself up onto his back until I sat right behind his neck. He rearranged his scales again until they were locked around me like a seat belt. He didn’t wait long to take off into the air.
The feeling of elevating higher and higher gave me the same sense of terrible dread, that the drop was coming. The sea air rushed toward, sweeping my hair back, stinging my eyes.
Finally, Cobalt's flying evened out and I sighed in relief as he stayed at level, the wind lessening.
I dared to look down and my heart nearly stopped. I expected more terror but wonder filled me instead. Alexandria was absolutely beautiful from the sky. Beautiful and golden. Cobalt swept us north, beating his massive wings until Alexandria was a speck in the distance behind us. Below, the Mediterranean ocean glitter blue and green in the morning sun, small specks of ships dotting the otherwise colorful ocean. I grinned. Flying was amazing!
We flew for hours, eventually, I got brave enough to let go of the spikes I was squeezing and spread my arms wide. By noon, the air was hotter, after days locked in a dark prison, the sun's rays felt wonderous as if they were breathing life back into me. My only wish was that Cobalt could talk in this form, the rush of the air and undulation of the waves below. It was so rhythmic it was hypnotizing me into a completely boneless relaxation. Or maybe it was a little bit of the post-orgasmic feelings still coursing through my body. Either way, I was in heaven.
The sun had nearly sunk below the horizon when Cobalt spotted a ship below us. He tightened his spikes around me and I gripped the two in front of me again as we began our descent. I heard screams below as Cobalt's massive shadow covered the ship in darkness. Those poor sailors probably thought Cobalt had come to eat them. He began his shift when we were a few hundred feet above the deck. We landed with Cobalt's muscular arms wrapped around me, holding me off of the ground. He let go of me and turned, naked, to face the sailors rushing toward us spears, swords and bows raised at us. I smiled sheepishly from next to the sailor, my hand ever so slowly going to my card deck. I didn't want to hurt the sailors but from the looks that these men were giving me, they had been at sea for a long time and without a woman for even longer. They eye Cobalt with terror and hatred but drank in my form like a man dying of thirst, gazes trailing up my body.
Cobalt began speaking to them in Latin, I figured it was something like 'we're taking a room for the night, dinner too.' Slowly, they lowered their weapons, mouths dropping open in awe. Cobalt shocked me when he grew a few gold coins in his hand and let them drop to the deck. He grabbed my arm and tugged me with him, strutting past the sailor without a care in the world for his state of dress or lack thereof.
"What did you tell them?" I whispered.
"That we would be staying for the night and having dinner, that I would pay them but if they kept looking at you like that I would destroy their ship and eat them for dinner instead," Cobalt shrugged.
"I saw that.hey were kind of creepy," I admitted.
"I'm fairly certain this is a patrol ship for the Rome, they just bounce from port to port, the only interaction they have with women are probably cheap, diseased prostitutes in port cities. They probably haven't seen a beauty like you in years," Cobalt told me.
"Beauty? I probably look like a disheveled banshee right now," I laughed. I had been riding a dragon all day, when wind touched my hair it went, poof. At least twelve hours of wind had probably left me looking like a lion.
"I was teamed up with a banshee remember? You're as far from a banshee as someone could be. I see a windswept goddess, wild hair, clothes plastered to your skin, cheeks pink from the sun and a happy glaze to your eyes," Cobalt stopped for a moment and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and I leaned into his touch.
"Wow, that was oddly poetic coming from you Coba," I smiled up at him, biting at my lower lip. "I like it. Don't tell the others."
"As long as you don't tell them what I just said," Cobalt smirked.
"Deal," I stretched my smile further showing more teeth in a Cheshire grin. "But what are you going to give me for it?"
Cobalt's eyes darkened as he pulled me into a cabin, slamming the door behind him.
Chapter 12
"How about some food? You stay here and I'll go see what they've got to eat."
"You want to leave me here?" I blinked up at him.
"Scared? You can defend yourself easily, you took out a dragon last night, I think you can handle a few pathetic mariners," Cobalt snorted.
"I just don't want you to go," I pouted. "You know what, I'm totally telling the guys about secret softie Cobalt now."
Cobalt crushed me between his chest and the wall. I tangled my hands into his wild dark hair as he trailed his hands up my thighs.
"You're begging for an ass spanking right now," He growled, staring down at me with blaring eyes.
"And I'm liking this growly dragon man," I grinned at him.
"You like me growly huh?" Cobalt rumbled in his chest, making my whole body tingle from the sound.
"Yes, very much so," I nodded eagerly, getting up on my tip toes to kiss at his jaw.
"You like me growly and I like you mouthy, you want to know why?" He narrowed his eyes, practically glowing now. I felt mesmerized by them, prey caught in a predator's glare.
"Why?" I whispered, almost afraid to ask. I loved the crap talking between me and my dragons. Former boyfriends always had a problem with my straightforwardness and playfulness, that's why they were so easily kicked to the curb after a few weeks or even days.
Cobalt picked me up and stomped over to the small bed of the cabin. He sat down and turned me until I was on my stomach over his thighs. I felt his hardness press into my abdomen, straining against me. I gasped as Cobalt pulled the silk of my dress up until it was pooled around my lower back. He undid my card thigh holster and dropped it to the ground. One of his ar
ms locked over my lower back, holding me in place.
"Because I get to do this," He punctuated his last word with a hard slap to my ass cheek. I gasped again, I never thought I would be into this kind of stuff. I had always been into guys who were the open the door for you and slap your ass as you walk through kind of guys. But a spanking? Wow, you learned something new about yourself every day because I was into it.
"Do you like that, Tavia?" Cobalt asked roughly.
"Nope, I think it's ridiculous," I said in a high-pitched voice.
"Guess you need another," Cobalt slapped me again and a strangle moan escaped my lips. He started to rumble in his chest again. "Are you sure you don't like it? It seems like you're enjoying yourself."