by Simon Archer
I focused on my connection with her and could tell her pain disappeared too. I let out a huge breath that I wasn’t aware I’d been holding and removed my hands. All at once, the dragons surrounding us let out a loud breath as well, and their breathing returned to normal.
I made my way to Brave’s head and once again touched her forehead. I needed her to move her wing to make certain the healing was complete. She knew what I wanted immediately and slowly made her way to her feet as I backed away to give her room. Once she was standing, she looked over at her newly healed wing and gently picked it up. She raised it high in the air and tipped it forward and backward a few times. Then she started flapping it a bit, and when that worked, she folded it and tucked it behind her. When she finished testing her wing, she looked back to me, gratitude and joy in her eyes. Then she suddenly spread both wings, slapped them hard, and launched straight up in the air.
Every dragon at Dragon rock started chirping and roaring and scratching in celebration. When she returned to the rock after hovering for a few moments in the sky, she lowered her head to me and gently nudged me with it as if to say thank you. Then she was off again, jumping around, stretching and folding her wings as she went to her mother. My Victoria’s happiness and relief were all over her face.
Deyla ran to me and threw her arms around me. I immediately looked at Prenna and was happy to see that she didn’t have a problem with Deyla being so close to me. I wrapped my arms around Deyla and held her tight. She tipped her face to look up at me, and I kissed her before she had the chance to protest.
Her entire body relaxed as she kissed me back. When our lips parted, she was smiling for a brief moment before putting her reaction in check and stepping away. I wasn’t about to let her off the hook that easily. I knew she was attracted to me, and it was about time she admitted it to herself. I stepped to her, grabbed her by the arms, and pulled her close again. She gasped at my sudden assertiveness but wasted no time reaching her arms around my neck, caressing the back of my head while she pulled my mouth down to hers. Her lips were soft and passionate and ignited desire throughout my entire body. When she finally pulled her mouth from mine, she didn’t step away again. She stayed in my arms, staring up at me adoringly.
“Thank you, Blake,” she said softly.
“You are welcome,” I replied and kissed the top of her head. I released my hold on her as my arm started to glow. A small flying dragon symbol, and a potion bottle symbol appeared in one of my circles.
“I love when this happens,” I said. I’d become very fond of having my skills advance.
I touched the dragon symbol and watched as it filled the circle in, and the glowing disappeared. Then I looked back to Deyla.
“How did Brave break her wing in the first place?”
“It’s not exactly clear. She’s a new flyer, but one of the best for her age. It looked like she just hit a cliff wall and snapped her wing, but there’s no reason for that to have happened. Weirdly enough, she won’t communicate with me about what happened. Maybe she was just too embarrassed or scared or in too much pain,” Deyla replied.
For some unknown reason, Deyla’s words sparked anger in me, but not directed at her. I immediately marched over to Brave and put my hand on her leg. Her head whipped around, and she looked me directly in my eye. I didn’t waste a single moment before commanding her to give me access to her memories. The idea had just sprung into my mind as though I’d had the ability all the time. In an instant, my surroundings went dark, and I was flying. I saw the flight through Brave’s eyes as she remembered it.
I was flying through a small canyon that I didn’t recognize. It was obviously a part of Blenwise I hadn’t been to before. The walls on either side of me weren’t very tall, but they were solid stone. I wasn’t moving too quickly, which I attributed to Brave being a new flyer. Just as the canyon was coming to an end, a boulder flew through the air at me. It was traveling at such a speed directly into my path that I couldn’t avoid it. The rock hit my wing, snapping the bone and sending me hurtling to the ground below. The minute I hit the ground, I snapped back into my own mind, standing beside Brave again, with Deyla beside me.
“How did she get back here?” I demanded to know.
“She crawled from wherever it happened. She made it to the bottom on the rocks, and the other dragons lifted her up, which is where she was when we got here,” Deyla told me.
“This wasn’t an accident. She was attacked. Someone launched a boulder into the canyon where she was flying. The boulder is what broke her wing, not a cliff or a fall.” Deyla’s face reddened as her anger grew.
“You’re positive?” she wanted confirmation.
“Yes. The rock that hit her was smooth, like it had been ground down until it was almost a perfect sphere,” I said. “I’m not even sure she knew, consciously, what happened, which would explain why she couldn’t tell you.”
“Who would…” Deyla started to shake with rage.
“There’s something else,” I started. “Remember the small area of disturbances by the river where the girls disappeared? I think I know how they are being taken.”
“What did you see?” Deyla asked, still shaking.
“It’s not something Brave saw, it was something she did. When she first tested her wing after I healed her, she launched straight up into the air. I think that is how the girls are being abducted. Someone is using young dragons to load them up and go straight up. That would explain why the tracks just suddenly disappear,” I said.
“And nobody would think of it because young dragons shouldn’t be ridden. Not all of them are strong enough, so there was a mandate put in place decades ago to avoid any of them getting hurt from trying to fly with a load before they were ready.” Deyla shifted her gaze up to Brave and put an arm around her leg, hugging her tight. “I’m so sorry you went through that.”
Brave put her head down and wrapped her neck around Deyla, hugging her back. Then Deyla let go and fire returned to her eyes.
I got Victoria’s attention to let her know we needed to leave. I felt bad about taking her away from her daughter, but we needed to get back to the Academy.
Our situation had changed from somebody kidnapping Warriors and Witnesses to the safety of everyone, and every dragon, being under attack.
Victoria didn’t hesitate. She nudged Brave’s face affectionately and turned to follow Deyla and me back to the dragon circle. Minutes later, we were airborne, on our way back to the Academy.
21
It took us less than twenty minutes to return to the Academy, including stopping to get Aron and Heather to join us. We were all headed to the Reflection room to meet with Gale when Deyla took me by the hand and pulled me aside.
“Where is your room?” she asked quietly, a burning desire in her eyes that both shocked and excited me.
I glanced at the door the other leaders had just retreated through briefly before grabbing her by the arm and running for the stairs that led to my room. I barely got the door closed behind us...
No sooner had I gotten the door closed than Deyla pounced on me. I’d thought the desire in her eyes before was shocking, but I wasn’t prepared for the full force of her evident need for me. My breath rushed out of me in one stunned whoosh as she pushed me down onto the bed.
“You’re mine now,” she growled.
My body immediately responded. Something about a woman taking charge really did it for me.
Deyla’s thick thighs straddled me, and I felt my cock rub between us. Her skimpy outfit didn’t leave much to the imagination, and I could feel the heat from her pussy through our clothing. My erection twitched painfully against the front of my pants.
She slid her hands under the hem of my shirt and traced the ridges of my torso. Her fingers clawed against my skin, scratching me just enough to mix my pleasure with pain. I gasped, and she let her eyes roam slowly down my body. Deyla ground her body against mine with a smug look, then ran a hand through my hair playfully.
A mischievous smile played at the corners of her red lips. “I’ve got an excellent idea.”
Deyla stood up suddenly. Between her height and the bed, she nearly touched the ceiling. I looked up at her reverently and watched as she pulled her bottoms down around her curvaceous lower body. From my viewpoint, I could see the glistening cleft between her legs. A neat landing strip ran down the front of her pale skin like an arrow pointing toward her pussy. As if I needed any further instructions on where I wanted to go.
She moved above me until she was standing directly over my head. I had a good idea what was going to come next, and I licked my lips eagerly. If this is what she wanted, I aimed to please.
She giggled. “Hope you don’t need to breathe.”
Deyla squatted down and sat on my face. Her ample ass and thighs enclosed my entire head. It was a good thing I wasn’t claustrophobic. I gripped her thighs and pulled her against me even further, and she arched against me and groaned. I dragged my tongue through her molten core. Fuck, she was delicious. I sucked and nipped at her swollen clit as I moved my mouth back and forth against her. She whimpered and let out a string of soft curse words as I found my rhythm. Her thighs tightened around my head, and she shuddered against me as she came with a loud cry.
“Damn,” she cooed appreciatively as she scooted down and straddled me again.
I involuntarily bucked my hips against her body. My pulse was a loud drum beat in my ears, and I knew I was about ready to burst. Deyla's take-charge attitude and obvious arousal had teased me enough.
I reached up and gripped the back of her head. My fingers tangled in her red hair as I pulled her mouth to mine in a crushing kiss. I nipped at her lower lip, and she groaned into my mouth. Her kiss was greedy, and our bodies wasted no time pushing against each other as our mouths locked together hungrily.
Her intoxicating, multicolored eyes bore into mine. “Do you want me to ride you?”
I licked the plump curve of her bottom lip, then clenched my jaw tightly as I nodded. There was literally nothing I wanted more.
Deyla made quick work of undoing my pants, and it was my turn to hiss out a few curse words as her skilled hand wrapped around my aching length and gave it a few teasing pumps. Before I could complain, she spun around and gave me a full view of her luscious backside. It was better than Christmas morning, and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect position. Deyla’s body was made for doing reverse cowgirl.
I gripped the base of my dick and held it straight for her so she could sink down on it easier. My eyes drank in the sight of her lowering down on my throbbing cock, and the slick wetness between her legs nearly ran down her thighs. Everything was on display from this angle, even the tight, forbidden ring of her ass.
She moaned softly as she lowered all the way down, and the feeling of her tightness against me was incredible. I squeezed her soft hips as she began to bounce up and down eagerly on me with enough force to clap her ass against my stomach. She turned over her shoulder and tossed me a saucy wink as she licked her fingers. Within moments, I could tell she was rubbing her clit, and the idea that she might get herself off on me was extremely hot.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I tentatively probed at her ass. She gasped as I gently slid a finger inside of her, and I would have thought it meant discomfort, except she pushed back against my fingers and whimpered. She picked up the pace in her hand and in her hips. The desperation and hunger I felt from her made me breathless and dizzy.
I kept up the pace with my own hand and watched her body, transfixed, as she came for a second time. I felt all of her holes tighten around me, and my own orgasm wracked through me as I listened to her moan. I felt myself empty inside of her completely.
She looked over her shoulder and gave me a satisfied smile. “God, Blake.”
Deyla sat on me until we both finally stopped pulsing with the aftershocks of our encounter. She slowly lifted herself off of me, and I got up to get dressed as well. We both knew we couldn’t waste time getting back downstairs, or we’d be answering quite a few questions. Before we got out of the room, however, a green light surrounded the first circle mark on my arm. It got brighter and brighter, and when it faded, a green ring remained on the outside of it. Deyla stared at me, then broke out laughing.
“You even get better skills in the bedroom! That’s something I’ll have to test out often,” she whispered mischievously.
We met everybody else in the Reflection Room, significantly energized. I immediately relayed what I had learned, and the fact that I’d successfully healed Brave.
While Gale and the other leaders were excited about my ability to heal, news of being under attack soon dampened their spirits. The plan we’d had in place to get ready to confront kidnappers and bring home the missing girls immediately upgraded to preparing for a sure battle. We pushed the timeline up as well. While I still needed training, I would have to adapt and just trust my abilities, which were already showing signs of advancement on their own.
22
Little did I know that regardless of how intense my protectiveness for the realm had grown, the next several days were going to be the longest, and hardest I’d ever been through.
It started with Warrior training with Aron. Gale recreated the testing room we’d used to find out whether or not I was a Dragonmancer, and my training took place there. Aron decided that I needed to learn how to battle with swords first. I had never wielded a sword in my life, but I soon learned that along with my natural magic abilities continually improving, my ability to learn new skills quickly advanced as well.
She brought me a sword she’d picked out especially for me and began by placing it in my hands, showing me how to hold it correctly. She stood back and evaluated my grip, nodding approvingly.
“Now, you’re going to lift the blade over your head to practice your downswing. It’s an incredibly powerful move, especially if your opponent is on the floor,” she instructed. She demonstrated, and I mimicked her motions until she said the magic word, “Perfect.”
Next, she wanted me to bring the sword across my body. She stood behind me, reaching her arms around me to make sure I was in the proper position. I felt her body pressing against mine, and that instantly distracted me, for which she flicked me on the back of the ear like I was a child.
“Pay attention!” she demanded. Aron was definitely a dominatrix if I ever met one.
“Okay, okay! I’m paying attention!” I shook my head a little to clear my mind so I could get back to work.
Once she had my form dialed in, I swung. She stepped back in amazement.
“That was one of the best swings I’ve ever seen!” she told me. “Now, do the same thing, only diagonal at a downward angle.”
I followed her instruction to a T, and once again, how well I wielded the sword stunned her. Next, she decided to skip the small stuff and go straight to sparring, showing me cross swings and how to anticipate what my opponent is going to do.
“You have to watch their eyes. You’ll always be able to tell where they are going to swing if you watch their eyes,” she instructed.
I was staring directly into her eyes when she picked up her sword and stood across from me. She swung, but just before she did, her eyes moved ever so slightly towards the direction of her swing. I raised my sword in the opposite direction, and our blades met mid-air with a shuddering clang.
“Very good,” she praised me. “Again.”
She paused, sword in mid-air, then swung, but her eyes hadn’t moved. I could counter her move, but it was sloppy.
“How am I supposed to counter when their eyes don’t move? Didn’t you just tell me they always would?” I was a bit irritated but also distracted again by the way her breasts heaved in her scanty top when she swung her sword.
“Your opponents will move their eyes, but I won’t,” she said with a wink. “I’ll never fight against you, though, so you have nothing to worry about.”
Aron’s lips peeled back fro
m her perfect teeth in a dangerous grin, and I felt a sudden urge to feel her teeth against my skin. She tossed me another wink, then lashed out quickly. It was clear she’d been trying to distract me purposefully. Her sword swept toward me wickedly in a wide arch. I jumped back, narrowly avoiding the sword’s point.
Aron smiled again. It was clear the girl thoroughly enjoyed the violence. I gritted my teeth and focused on the way the adrenaline from our fight loosened my limbs and made my reflexes sharper.
“Something on your mind, Blake?” she taunted. “You seem a little distracted again.”
Her ‘all-business’ mood had changed rather suddenly. Her muscular body spun deftly away as I moved to strike her the way she’d shown me. The low light in the room played off of the muscular curves of her athletic body, and her long, black braid whipped out around her. She used her spin to strike with her weapon, but I blocked it. The blades slid down each other with a shriek, forcing us to lean in close.
Our crossed blades framed both of our faces, and the adrenaline surged in my veins and emboldened my growing arousal. There was nothing like a fight to get you going. I wanted to throw her off guard, and I knew just what to do.
I glared into her dark eyes. “You really want to know what I’m thinking about?” I forced the blade down, so she was even closer. “I’m thinking about what you taste like.”
A glimmer of shock passed over her face briefly, but she recovered with another wicked grin. Without any warning, she used one of her lean, muscular legs to sweep my own out from under me. Her movements had been liquid-smooth and nearly imperceptible. I fell on the ground with a loud grunt and caught myself on my forearms.
Not one to give up, I rolled and sprang to my feet quickly and charged her. She sidestepped me easily.