Dragon Master (Dragon Collector Book 2)

by Simon Archer

  It was Alona.

  So I slipped my arm through hers. It was firm, easy to lean on. Alona seemed to tense only briefly before she relaxed her arm.

  As we walked out of the Zoo, a thought occurred to me. Still walking together, I turned and looked at Alona.

  “Thank you, Alona,” I whispered.

  Most of the stroll into town was done in silence. We observed the shift in colors, trees mixed with orange and some green, stubborn leaves holding on to the last traces of summer. A brisk wind stirred and stirred up the leaves that fell early. They twirled and danced around our feet as we walked along the stone paths of the town.

  Citizens were bundled with handwoven scarves around their necks and too-thin coats wrapped around their shoulders. Various animals shuffled along. They ducked into alleyways and huddled together in packs. Some of them wove in and out of their Merkin’s legs.

  “Did you have a plan on where we were walking?” Alona asked with an arched eyebrow. “Or are we wandering? Is that what you need? To wander?”

  “I actually thought about going swimming,” I admitted, not really thinking as I said the words.

  “Swimming?” Alona wondered, surprised. “Last time I remember, you were not a fan of the water.”

  “I am not a fan of being dragged through the water catacombs by a pair of dangerous-looking mermaids,” I countered, reminding her of the specifics of our last swimming encounter.

  “That is fair, but you also told me you preferred the sky to the water,” Alona said. “Why the sudden urge to swim?”

  “What does it matter?” I leaned a little bit away from Alona so I could look her in the eye and gestured to the chilly environment. “It’s too cold, anyway.”

  “But if it was warm enough to swim,” Alona said, with a slight tease in her voice, “what about it was appealing to you?”

  “One of the dragons,” I began, always nervous to talk about the dragons in public, “gifted me with the ability to breathe underwater.”

  Alona whistled. “That is quite a gift.”

  “Yes, well, the last time I can remember feeling relaxed was when Johan and I were floating beneath the surface,” I confessed to Alona. The level of vulnerability caused me to shift my gaze down to my feet. I watched our boots, still in tandem, clack along the cobblestone.

  “You have been under a lot of pressure,” Alona said, more matter-of-factly than questioningly.

  “No kidding,” I said with a sigh. My eyes traveled up to the dark cloudy sky, swirling ominously. “Every time the wind blows like this, I’m scared it’s going to snow.”

  “It is close, that is for sure,” Alona said with a grave expression, “but the leaves still have to change. I know you have not spent a winter with us yet, but it gets a lot colder than it is now. You have time.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” I said with a half-smile. “I just wanted a chance to forget it all. Take a break from it, just for a little while.”

  “If you believe swimming can do that for you, there is a place we could go,” Alona said slyly.

  I stopped in the middle of the street and slipped my arm out of hers. Alona spun, so she didn’t have to look at me over her shoulder. We stood like that, face to face in the middle of the street, and the world seemed to stop around us. I couldn’t say what it was, but something about her generous offer made me pause. It was considerate. It felt like everyone had been asking something from me, but Alona asked about me and what I needed. It was refreshing, like breathing in the first breath of a dewy spring morning.

  “I would really like that,” I said, “if there were somewhere we could go.”

  Alona waved her arm, encouraging me onward. “There are some hot springs a little ways away if you are up for the walk.”

  “Yes.” I nodded vigorously, the sound of hot springs being music to my ears. “Yes, I am definitely up for a longer walk.”

  I followed alongside Alona off a beaten path towards the south of town. We weaved in and out of the trees and passed into the Marked Woods. After some time, we approached a tight clearing with a mist shimmering into the air. Alona pushed back some wilting branches and revealed three large connected pools of heated water. It was nestled in a closed circle of trees that kept the warmth secluded.

  There were no animals, no wind, or irritating noise of any kind. We were alone in this little piece of heaven. I couldn’t wait to sink in and leave my worries in the water.

  “Alona,” I breathed after walking into the clearing. “This is perfect.”

  “Lots of people used to come here, but not everyone enjoys walking through the Marked Woods,” Alona explained. “They still think it is dangerous and full of Hennar’s minions, but this is the prime time of year for it.”

  “Amen to that!” I said.

  I didn’t waste any time and crossed to the edge of the pool. I stripped down to my boxers. Unthinkingly, I turned to Alona, intent on inviting her in, but she stood, dumbfounded, back where we had entered. She stood stiff as a board with her hands stuffed into her pockets, shoulders to her ears.

  “What?” I asked. My skin grew goosebumps in the chilly air. “I’m getting in. Aren’t you?”

  Alona shook her head slightly, as if coming out from a daze. When I saw her taking off her shirt, I turned back to the water in order to save myself further distraction. If I saw Alona’s impressive figure again, I might have stood there till I frozen solid. Or rushed in and gave in to the urge to taste her.

  Instead, I dipped a foot into the water and exhaled a contented sigh. The warmth radiated up my leg and into my belly, where it curled like a cat readying for a nap. The lower my body sank, the more I relished the warmth. It soothed my body, and as each muscle relaxed, my mind eased along with them.

  When I got deep enough, I slipped underneath the water so that every inch of me was wrapped in the embrace of the hot springs. I took a big inhale, and my lungs curled with heat. It felt like clearing my sinuses.

  I sunk down to the bottom and let myself float up, breathing in and out all the while. With each breath, I allowed the worry to seep from my pores. It took the fear and the exhaustion, and I let it.

  I burst up to the surface with a freeing laugh. I spun in a circle and splashed my arms against the water. I looked up and watched the steam swirl up into the air, dancing through the leaves. A couple of them floated down and landed in the springs. One even stuck to Alona’s shoulder. She flicked it off onto the bank with a smile.

  “This is perfect, Alona,” I said, watching the leaf slip back into the water. “Absolutely perfect.”

  “Good.” Alona turned her brilliant smile to me, and I matched it.

  “Thank you,” I said, but while sincere, the thanks didn’t seem like enough. I waded closer to Alona in the water, standing on my tiptoes to stay steady. “Can I give you something?”

  “Sure,” Alona said, not quite understanding.

  I put both of my hands around the side of her face and brought her close to me. “I’m going to kiss you now, okay?” I warned her.

  Alona stared directly into my eyes and nodded once. Then I placed my lips to her, and a warmer sensation, something even hotter than the springs, radiated through my body. Alona leaned into the kiss, and I put my arms around her waist and pulled her in close. I felt her give way to my embrace and then urged us downward, deeper into the water. We continued to kiss, even tasting one another's tongues until we were fully submerged into the water.

  It was more difficult to pull back from Alona than I imagined. While I had thought the water would distract me, Alona’s hands, lips, and body were more than enough to even out my swirling thoughts. It stirred familiar urges in me, and all I wanted was more.

  However, I centered myself and gave Alona one last final kiss before letting her go in the water. I shoved her lightly away from me, letting her float away.

  The shock of the release and of being underwater smacked Alona in the face. First, there was panic and then fear, but a secon
d later, Alona realized what was happening. She was breathing underwater, alongside me. She looked left and right with pure wonder in her wide gaze. Then she looked back at me and smiled.

  I grinned cheekily back, knowing that I’d surprised the hell out of her. Alona swam in a circle around me, and I watched her glide through the water with the grace of a dolphin. Then Alona stopped in front of me and put two hands on my waist.

  I kicked my legs a little from pure jitters. Alona lowered her head and hovered her lips above mine, asking permission.

  I answered her question by closing the gap between us, kissing her because I wanted to, not because I needed to give her something. Kissing her for me, for us, without another care about the kingdom. The weightless feeling that our buoyancy in the water provided was as much a release for our souls as it was from the actual weight of our bodies.

  As we broke apart from the kiss, we drifted some, but I kept hold of Alona’s hand as the space between us increased, our link despite the gentle tug of the currents. Her hair fanned out like a halo, something that made her lithe frame even more beautiful to me, and then, as she smiled, I pulled her in. It was like an underwater dance between us, and as I reeled her in, I guided her into a watery spin. At the finale of the spin, Alona was flush against me, her back against my chest.

  I could feel her shiver in anticipation under my touch as I embraced her around the waist with one arm, while the other drifted down her arm. Careful never to lose contact with Alona’s body, I caressed up her arm gently then down to cup her breast gently. She melted into the contact and arched her back, craning her neck to look back at me. Given the chance, I slid our position just enough to capture her lips in another brief kiss before giving the beautiful caretaker another brief twirl.

  This time, I stopped her so that she floated facing me, and in our floating through the water, I now faced the surface, and so she was backlit by the cascade of light that shimmered through the waves. Alona was an angel before me, her eyes bright in wonder and arousal now that she had adjusted, and frankly, I couldn’t take it anymore.

  Taking both her hands in mine, I reeled her down to me as I kicked up with a swift motion. As we came together once more, I guided my rock-hard erection right home inside of Alona. It was a motion as elegant as the rest of our swim, delightful as it was direct, and the way her glittering eyes widened only heightened my desire for her.

  Alona was special and unique in her lovemaking, just as every woman I had met with Insomier had. She didn’t have Rebekah’s directness, Diana’s intimate knowledge of me, Maria’s primal lust. Instead, there was a purity and earnestness in her every motion as she gripped my shoulders and moved with the rhythm with which I worked her. In fact, the harmony of our motion as we worked to bursting only served to propel us through the water, a wave within the waves.

  It was sensual, passionate, and it did not take long for our watery tryst to bear fruit. There was a certain innocence within Alona, and perhaps that was why there was no denial, no fight to hold back her orgasm. Instead, she gave into it, letting out a silent cry of bubbles when she came. She didn’t pull away though. Instead, she rallied herself as I worked to my own climax. Her nails dug into my shoulders, she caught me in another passionate kiss, and hung in as we finished our dance with my own growling orgasm.

  It was only then that Alona slipped away from me, and hands entwined, we simply allowed ourselves to drift in our contentment, hidden beneath the waters for just a little bit longer.

  35

  Diana

  Ever since I’d enhanced Martin’s healing gift, my body felt close to regular. There were pangs of pain and short swirls of nausea, but then they would pass. It was something close to a miracle. Rebekah did not believe me until I met her out on the training grounds and shot my bow and arrow.

  It whizzed right past her until it smacked into the target on the border between the center spot and the next best ring. It was not my best shot. However, it was enough to prove to Rebekah that I was strong enough to continue working on the guard and to move me out of quarantine.

  “The only reason I know you are not completely well is that you did not hit that target dead-on,” Rebekah said as she slapped me on the back appreciatively. “And if you are well enough to fight, then you are well enough to accompany me to the Introduction Dinner.”

  “Wait,” I said as I turned, nearly dropping my bow. “I do not want to go to the Dinner.”

  “I am not giving you a choice,” Rebekah replied, her face growing stern. “All the guests must invite someone to go with them. It would be rude if I showed up alone, an empty chair next to me.”

  “Then invite Madame Lilysmyth,” I argued. “I do not need to be there.”

  Rebekah’s frown deepened. “You are my second in command. It is entirely proper for you to be there. Besides, if I had a life partner, I would take them. As I do not, you are the next best choice. Unless you were hoping someone would ask you to attend…?”

  Immediately, I thought of Martin, but he and I had not spoken since I put an end to our relations. Unfortunately, this declaration seemed to put an end to our friendship as well. We had not said a word to one another, but I would not allow myself to miss him.

  “Or not,” Rebekah added, reading my face. “It looks as though you will be my date, then.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Rebekah interrupted me. “Do not make me order you, Diana.”

  I closed my mouth again and grunted in agreement. Seemingly satisfied, Rebekah gave me one more pat on the shoulder before walking off the training field. She spun around quickly and started walking backward, holding her hands around her mouth to speak louder.

  “Make sure to wear something nice,” Rebekah called. “I am wearing black if you wish to match.”

  I raised my bow and shot an arrow down by Rebekah’s feet, which she playfully dodged. She scurried away with a barking laugh.

  Suddenly, I wished I had stayed in quarantine.

  Preparing for the Dinner turned out to be an arduous affair. The last time I had worn my dress clothes was at the introduction Dinner two years ago. The corruption caused me to lose some weight, so the dress did not fit properly. Luckily, Martin had introduced me to Raiyna, the seamstress.

  Now I stood in front of my dusty mirror, examining my angles and straightening my cloak. I tugged down on the dark brown dress, attempting to stop it from hugging my breasts so tightly, but it did nothing. However, the dress cloak wrapped around me like a robe. It was a royal blue, but the collar was a black leather that came together in a triangular shape at the center of my chest. I tacked on a jeweled belt and fancier scabbard for my sword. It was more for show than practical use, considering it clanged against the studs whenever I walked. And the fact that I was not used to fighting in a hooped skirt dress.

  I realized that I resembled all the nobles I grew up around. Still, while I looked like them on the outside, I knew they would never accept me. Something about my blood tainted their image, and no matter what I did, what clothes I wore, I would never be one of them.

  Sometimes this thought gave me a sense of pride, especially when I told myself that I was better than them. However, I knew these were words I just used to make myself feel better.

  I coughed to alleviate an uncomfortable tickle in the back of my throat. I could not tell if it was nerves or symptoms of the corruption coming back. Martin’s burst of light had not eliminated all the corruption from my body, but it had tamed it again, made it manageable to live with. Instead of living in fear of when the sickness would crawl back into my bones, I relished in the temporary freedom I had, a few more days of normalcy.

  Unfortunately, I would have to waste one of these days going to a stuffy dinner and seeing Martin for the first time since I left him.

  The dining hall was packed when I first arrived. People scattered about the hall, and no one was sitting down. They chattered with goblets of wine and tankards of ale. Many of the men were dressed in various colors, though most, I kn
ew, matched their family colors. The women were more done up, a lot like I was, with full skirts and updos that pulled at their skin. As I scoured the room, I did not yet see Martin, but Alona was in the corner speaking to Rebekah, so I approached the pair reluctantly.

  “Ah, there she is!” Rebekah proclaimed, shoving a tankard in my hand. I knew these shindigs were not the captain’s favorite part of her job either, so she often numbed the dismay with a drink or two. It seemed she had already started. “My date is here.”

  Rebekah clanked her drink to mine and then took a large sip. I eyed Alona over Rebekah’s dramatic drinking. Alona’s eyes widened, and she offered a slight shrug.

  “Might you not want to save some wine for dinner, captain?” I suggested lightly.

  “I am,” Rebekah replied. “This is ale. Wine for dinner, ale for now.”

  “I see,” I said, sympathizing with Rebekah’s logic. I took a small sip myself.

  “It is a shame to see you two ladies out here,” Rebekah said unexpectedly.

  Alona chuckled lightly, unsure what the captain was getting at. “What do you mean, ma’am?”

  “Well, when he didn’t ask me, I would have thought for sure that one of you would be escorting that handsome dragon king of ours,” Rebekah said a little too loudly.

  Immediately, Alona and I stepped closer to Rebekah and proceeded to speak over her loudly and incoherently. We received a couple of side-eyes from passing nobles, but it was more of a disapproving look at our volume than a curious, eavesdropping one.

  “What are you talking about, Rebekah?” I asked, dropping my voice to a harsh whisper.

  “I am talking about Martin,” Rebekah replied, mimicking my volume. “The inductees were required to bring a guest as well, and I thought he would have invited one of you.”

  Alona and I locked eyes, asking a silent question between the two of us. Alona’s face flush, and then she rubbed the back of her neck. My fingers twitched around the hilt of my sword. Rebekah had a point. If Martin did not ask any of the three of us, who did he ask to be his date to the dinner?