by Lily Graison
He smiled at her before leaning over to place a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ve found what I could for you to eat. We’ll be able to find something more satisfying once we get moving.”
“Moving?” Sara sat up and stretched. “Are we going somewhere?”
“I’ve replenished our water so wash and drink your fill. We’ll leave once you are finished.”
Well, that answered that question. She wanted to ask where they were going and why but didn’t. It would have been pointless anyway and playing a game of charades this early in the morning was too much work.
Toren had the sidra roots laying on the wooden plate, along with what looked like some sort of nut and a few berries. It wasn’t much but she’d never been big on breakfast anyway. She ate what she could, then washed it down and stood. Toren had packed all their meager belongings into two of the largest baskets. Apparently they were moving—literally.
He looked her way and she pointed to the baskets, then to them and the cave entrance. Grabbing what was left of the nuts, he popped them into his mouth and poured a bit of the water over the fire. “We go to Dra’lera. Utan mentioned a sanctuary hidden somewhere in the mountains. My people are from a place called Dra’lera. It has been hidden for centuries. If that is the place he was talking about, then it means my people may still be there.”
His people? Sara stared at him, his words repeating in her head. Was he native to this place? Was that why he didn’t have a translator like everyone else did? Was he not a prisoner? Is that why he seemed so different from the others? Because he wasn’t a violent criminal? Although, Utan didn’t look very violent either and he was still here.
There was no way to ask other than a game of charades and she wasn’t sure he’d even get her meaning, so she didn’t bother. When they were packed and ready to go, Toren cupped her face in his hands, lowered his head and kissed her so long and slow her whole body was tingling by the time he pulled away. “This place is not good enough for you, Sarra.” His lips brushed across her mouth. “I would give you the moons if I could.” His tongue slipped between her lips again. She inhaled, the scent lingering on his skin filling her head as he deepened the kiss. “I’ll give you a home worthy of a queen. There is nothing you’ll ever have need of, this I promise.”
He kissed her breathless before stepping away to grab the baskets. She put on the sorry excuse for shoes the Big Head’s had given her and headed to the cave entrance where Toren waited.
The sky was clear today and she was able to see for miles. The river in the distance reflected the sun’s rays and lit up like a ribbon of shiny glass. Several thin tendrils of smoke filtered through the trees some distance away. She saw others in every direction she looked. Those had to be the camps Utan had mentioned.
Sara took the smallest of the baskets Toren held and followed him toward the stream they’d visited the day before. They refilled the water skins when they reached it then crossed to the other side and headed in the same direction Utan had gone.
They said little as they walked, climbing higher up the mountain. The hills were steep here and Toren had to pull her up a few of the more difficult climbs. The sun was high in the sky by the time they stopped to rest.
Sara sat down and greedily drank from the water skin, squealing when she spilled half of it down the front of her makeshift shirt dress. One look from Toren and she knew what he was thinking as he looked at her breasts. That spicy sweet scent filling the air did too. When he was aroused, the scent grew thicker—stronger. And every time she smelled it, her womb clenched hard and she grew damp between her legs. She was convinced the scent was a pheromone. It had to be.
Toren leaned toward her and licked her throat, sipping the moisture from her skin before working his way down her chest. She laughed and pushed him away. “I’m not doing it on the side of the mountain where anyone can see.” Even though she knew he didn’t understand what she said, he nonetheless knew what she meant. He grinned at her, gave her a quick kiss, then stood.
“We should be able to make it halfway down the other side of the mountain before nightfall. Are you hungry?”
Surprisingly she wasn’t. She shook her head.
“Come, then.” He held out his hand and helped her from the ground. “We’ll find fresh meat for later and I’ll show you where to find the ground fruits.”
The berries were easy to find once she knew where to look. They picked handfuls of them as they headed up the mountain. The wind blew through the trees more as they climbed and even though it only chilled her skin she imagined come nightfall, it may be downright cold.
Toren didn’t stop again until the ridge they were on suddenly gave way to nothing but air. He yelled her name and grabbed her with both arms. “Careful.”
They were standing on an outcropping of solid rock that jutted from the side of the mountain like a shelf suspended in mid-air. Sara could see for miles in every direction from here. Below them, the mountain gave way to a deep ravine that went several hundred feet down. Toren pushed her back from the cliff edge and set the basket down, walking a few feet away to the left to look for a way down, she assumed.
She set her basket down and turned in a circle, staring out at the strange new moon she now had to call home. The barren landscape the Big Heads had dropped them off at could be seen from here. It was hard to believe she’d come so far. It would take her weeks to walk all the way back.
She could see the jungle where she’d lost Marcy, the dark forest Toren had taken her in to escape the others chasing her, and if she looked hard enough to the horizon, she could make out what looked to be a vast ocean. Either that or an illusion created by the distance.
Toren was prowling the edge of the cliff and looking back across the mountain ridge they’d walked all day when a whooshing noise caught her attention. It was faint but grew steadier in volume the longer she stood there. A few moments later, a roar echoed somewhere in the distance and Sara took another step back from the cliff edge as she saw Toren turn toward her.
The whooshing noise grew louder, the roar she’d heard earlier again echoing off the mountain and she gasped when something huge shot up into the air from the ravine.
It only took a moment to realize it was a dragon only—different from the blue one that had caught her. This one wasn’t nearly as large and only had two legs. She remembered then what Utan had said. The wyvern, the enforcers who worked for the people who ran the prison, weren’t dragons. They were something else entirely.
Although it wasn’t as massive as the dragon, the thing was still enormous and it only took a few seconds for it to see them. It dove, wings outstretched and Sara inhaled a sharp breath as Toren ran for her. The thing in the sky dipped lower, its leg dangling, sharp talons tipping its toes. It screeched, the noise loud and piercing as it reached out with one long wing and caught Toren in the back.
Sara’s eyes widened when he stumbled. “Toren!” The wyvern’s wings lowered, its entire body tipping to one side and she watched in horror as Toren tumbled over the side of the cliff. “Toren!” She was still screaming when the wyvern grabbed her in one clawed foot and shot back into the air, her eyes locked on Toren as he fell into the ravine.
The wyvern flew higher into the air and up over the trees. Claws dug into her back and she fought to stay conscious as she screamed, her lungs depleting of air as the fact Toren fell over the cliff sank in deep. He was gone. As strong as Toren was, no one could have survived that fall. One’s life really could change in an instant. One moment she’d been blissfully content, the next—Toren was gone, and she had no idea what the thing that had her planned on doing with her.
She screamed again and beat at the foot clamped around her as those tears she never used to shed filled her eyes before falling to dampen her face. The trees below blurred as she cried and screamed, the grip the wyvern had on her near crushing but she had little reason to care. If what Utan said was true, they needed more girls and now that she was caught—
A roar similar to the one the wyvern had made echoed through the air, but it came from a distance away. The thing holding her turned, banking sharply to the left and that’s when she saw it. The blue dragon was headed straight for them, belching great blasts of fire into the sky.
The wyvern roared back, its hold on her tightening until she gasped, its grip more firm now, and she realized what a mistake gasping had been. She couldn’t breathe but wasn’t sure it even mattered as the blue dragon spat fire in their direction, the wyvern flapping its great wings to hover in mid-air before it lunged forward.
The collision jarred every bone in her body, her neck snapping back hard enough she was surprised it hadn’t broken. She ducked her head as the dragon’s massive feet neared her face, the two beasts roaring at each other as their taloned feet dug in deep to the other. A passing thought of whether they’d kill her whilst fighting was short lived when the wyvern’s hold on her suddenly loosened. Sara sucked in a breath and grabbed for one of its taloned toes as she felt herself slipping from its grasp. Then she was falling, the dragon and wyvern locked together as talons, teeth and eventually, fire filled her line of sight and grew farther away.
She didn’t even scream this time as she fell toward the earth, nor did she look to see how far down she had to fall. She locked eyes on the blue dragon, watched as his teeth sank into the wyvern’s neck, blood exploding into the air as its throat was ripped out. The wyvern fell bonelessly as the dragon roared, fire lighting the sky before it turned, tucked its wings and dove right for her.
Rage burned in Toren’s chest, the flames of his fire near consuming, his throat still burning as the wyvern’s body fell. He tucked his wings and dove, his Sarra so far away now he feared he’d not be able to reach her in time. The fire in his chest was stoked hotter at the thought.
His limbs still trembled he’d summoned the change so quickly. Getting knocked off into the ravine had disoriented him and he’d fallen for quite a ways before he realized what had happened. Seeing the wyvern race into the sky with Sarra clutched in its greedy claws had torn the dragon loose painfully but nothing hurt as much as the thought of losing his mate did.
Her eyes were closed when he was close enough to see her face. There was blood on her leg and the long shirt she wore had a rip along one side. The wyvern had handled her roughly. He roared, wanting to kill the beast all over again. Her eyes never opened when he reached for her, scooping her carefully into his hand and pulling her close to his chest.
Fear she was hurt or worse nearly choked him as he banked right and scanned the horizon. Dra’lera was still a good distance away and he scanned the skies for more wyvern or the small flying eyes that saw everything. There were a few off in the distance and even though he didn’t think they’d seen him yet, he wouldn’t risk leading them straight to Dra’lera.
His mountain lair was closer. He dove for the trees and flew as low as he dared over the mountains and wondered what shape his lair would be in. It had been a long time since he’d been there. He’d been making a home among the cliffs when the war started and hid there for a time afterward. Coming out to see if the invaders had left exposed him and he’d hidden in the old temple instead of coming back. He’d cursed himself for a fool many times for being so careless but had he not been, he’d never have found Sarra.
This part of the world looked much different from what he remembered the last time he’d seen it. He banked right and headed for the mountain’s peak. His cave was a black splotch against the umber granite. Once, the skies above the mountains had been filled with his people. Now, no one soared among the clouds.
He flew past the entrance of his cave and blew flame inside to see if anyone was there. Nothing came out or cried in pain. It was still empty. He circled back and tucked his wings, landing on the rock edge and crawled inside then looked for a place to lay Sarra but there was no soft bedding here. He’d been too busy training to be a warrior to worry about building a nest to share with a female. What little he did have was covered in dirt and dry rotted from sitting unused for so long. He should have retrieved the baskets before coming here. He’d have to go back for them regardless of the risk. They’d not survive otherwise.
The alcove where he’d left his treasure was still filled, the shiny baubles piled high. No one had come in and disturbed anything. Those who ruled this world and destroyed it once they learned of their dragon hoard had not found his. The sight of it filled him with pleasure. He placed Sarra there and stepped back, then lowered his head to see her more clearly.
The cut to her leg looked worse than it was. The blood was now dry and flakey.
He looked around the large cavern. It was bare but even without fire, it was warm. It would take very little to make it a proper nest once he gathered their things and enough food to last.
Giving Sarra one last look, he turned to the entrance and jumped back into the sky.
Chapter Thirteen
Playing dead had worked. Sara released the breath she’d been holding as the dragon leapt into the sky. She scrambled off whatever it was she was laying on to run and look out, then sucked in an astonished breath. “Holy shit.”
She took a step back and grabbed hold of the wall beside her and stared out at the world from the side of a mountain, the ground so far below she couldn’t make out a single feature. Lowlying clouds obscured much of her view but looking out at the horizon gave her a unique view of this alien moon and it didn’t look much different from Earth from way up here. The colors were generally the same. Trees were green, dirt was brown and mountains were tall. The sky was still a hazy blue shot with streaks of pink with pale gray and white clouds. That massive planet hanging above them was still odd to see. So were the two smaller moons. She’d seen them every single day since she got here but from here it looked as if she could touch them.
The mountain she was on was burnt reds and umber, the color of the rocks reminding her of rusted metal. In the distance, she saw the hard-packed ground of the desert-like area the aliens dropped them off at and in the very far distance, a pale teal that looked as if it went on forever.
But no sign of the dragon. The mere thought of him and her stomach clenched tight.
First aliens and prisoners, then dragons and now those wyvern. Everything here was designed to kill her. The thought had no sooner entered her mind than she thought of Toren. Remembering him falling off that cliff made her knees weak and her stomach cramp until she thought she’d be sick. She couldn’t have been with him more than a couple of weeks, but in that entire time, she’d felt safe and cared for and now—she looked out across the horizon again. Now she was stuck on the side of a mountain with a dragon that seemed to have a hard-on for her. How in the hell did it keep finding her? And why? Not that she wasn’t grateful this time. Stuck here was probably a better option than being dumped in an arena and offered as a prize for the aliens who wanted to fight for her. She had no doubt in her mind they’d be nothing like Toren.
Her chest ached as she thought of him again, tears clouding her vision. It wasn’t just the safety he provided she’d miss, she realized. It was him. As hard as it was to communicate, she enjoyed being with him. He made her feel special and wanted and he made her laugh, which was a huge plus in her book. She didn’t think she’d known him long enough to call what she felt for him love but it was more than just liking the guy. It ran deeper than that. And now he was gone. What was she going to do?
Sara scrubbed at her eyes and looked down the side of the mountain again, searching for a path or foothold—anything that would allow her to leave but saw nothing. From what she could see, she was well and truly stuck here.
She gave one last look to the horizon and turned to inspect the cavern she was in. It was huge, the ceiling high above her head. Tall and wide enough for a dragon. It was only one room that she could see. The walls were scored by rows of indentions carved into the rock as if something big and sharp had scraped along each side. The wall was warm to the touch and the further in
she went, the warmer it grew.
Near the back of the cavern, she found a small crevice just big enough to squeeze through and there was so much heat coming from inside, it warmed her clean to the bone. Was this the way out? She looked to the entrance, then back at the crevice in the stone. It was so dark. Even if it was the way out she’d never be able to see and the way her luck was going, she’d step right off another cliff. Or run into something that would eat her. Without a light or a weapon, she wouldn’t dare risk it.
She turned and looked around the cavern again. The place the dragon had laid her was off to one side, a small nook nestled in the darkness. The shifting pile of whatever she’d been sitting on caught her attention and she walked back over to it, grabbed two handfuls, then turned to the light. Then just stared.
The tiny bits she’d been lounging on were hard as metal and were a dark, bright butter yellow in color. She would have called it gold but the color was all wrong. The small, thin disks were only a portion of what was here. There were other small pieces in iridescent shades of blue that changed to pink, red and purple as she turned it to the light. It didn’t look like any type of stone she’d ever seen. It was thin, almost glass-like, some pieces nearly as large as her palm. She tossed what she had in hand down and scooped up more. Small gems glistened in the sun and more of those small iridescent pieces glittered up at her. She had no clue what they were but she’d never seen anything so beautiful. The way the sun caught and changed their color was mesmerizing.
The mound was nearly as tall as she was and covered a space bigger than her tiny dorm room back on earth. The whole pile was tucked back into the small dark alcove, away from the light of the main entrance. As she stared at it she realized what she’d been laying on. It was the dragon’s treasure. A hoard. She laughed. “I’ll be damned. They really do hide treasure.”
Tossing what was in her hand down, she scooped up a few of the iridescent pieces and carried them to the cave entrance to get a better look at them. They were thin and reminded her a bit of mica but it was hard as stone and each piece was about the size of her palm.