Page 6 of Dragon Lord

“Just once, I wish you said something helpful. And if you could offer advice, just once, now is the time.”

“Caw.”

Einin swept her hair from her face. Her braid had loosened from her mad dash through the woods.

She rebraided it, then she straightened her clothes.

Then she started toward the cave to face her death, steeling her spine as she went.

At least, by going to the dragon she would die with honor, having kept her word.

“Ready to pay the price,” she muttered under her breath, and this time, the raven didn’t answer. The bird had disappeared again. “Off to see the dragon, then.”

Truly, from one such as the great beast, where could she flee?

Where could she hide? And if she acted the coward, the dragon might bring harm to the village.

Even if the village rejected her now, the people were still the neighbors and friends she’d once loved, had grown up amongst. And what about the children?

Einin would not see them burn in dragon fire.

She kept her eyes on the darkening path and marched up the hill. She tried not to think that by morning, the dragon would be picking her bones out of his fearsome teeth. Every night since she’d met him, in her dreams she’d seen nothing but the death that awaited her in his black eyes.

Let her be done with the task then. She was scared, but that she’d made her decision, that she knew how it would all end, also brought relief.

She reached the end of the faint trail in the middle of the night.

She walked past the last outcropping of rocks, and the dark mouth of the dragon’s cave opened menacingly before her.

Her knees weakened at the sight. She thought she heard the flapping of wings high above, but if the raven was there, he kept his opinion to himself for once.

The urge to flee washed over Einin, stronger than ever, but she held her ground. She did not turn back, not even when the sound of sharp talons on stone reached her, and, in the very next moment, the dragon appeared.

Fly, Midnight, fly, and don’t come back. You don’t want to see what happens next.

The great devil was as frightening as Einin remembered. More so, even. The moon was full, and for the first time, Einin could truly see the beast. The last time, the inside of the cave had been too dim.

His blue-black scales glinted in the moonlight, as did his curved fangs. He appeared rounder. Must have fed while he’d waited. Einin shuddered at the thought. And he’d feed once again before the night was over.

He was twice her height, and twice as long as he was tall, not counting the snaking spiked tail.

He kept his great wings folded, and she had no desire to see them spread.

He looked beastly and ancient, his obsidian eyes fixed on her.

His attention held her immobile. She couldn’t run now if she tried, couldn’t move a muscle.

“So you came.” His deep, rumbling voice filled the clearing and reached inside her to surround her trembling heart.

She gathered herself enough to draw her shoulders straight and hold out her hands to the side to show that she brought no weapons this time. “I’m here to fulfill our bargain. I’m here to slake the dragon’s hunger. Of my own will.”

Her voice did not shake, and that consoled her. Mayhap her father would be proud of her. He’d always called her a strong lass, and not with disapproval as many other fathers would have.

Be brave.

She managed. For a breath. Then the dragon’s lips curled back, and she blanched.

A smile was a fearsome sight on a full-grown dragon. For certain, Einin would have happily gone her whole life without facing such fright. She hadn’t realized he had quite that many wicked teeth.

She could barely squeeze out the words, “May I have a last wish?”

The beast stared at her with a speculative gleam in his all-seeing eyes. “What would you wish for, Einin of Downwood?”

“That you make it quick.”

“Such I cannot promise.” His lips curled back once again.

Ack, those teeth! Another shudder ran through her. In fact, once she started, she couldn’t stop shivering.

He looked up at the full moon that slipped under clouds as gauzy as a funeral shroud.

“Wait here.” And with that, he pulled back into his cave, disappearing into the shadows.

Cowardice pushed Einin to run. Honor made her stay. She drew deep breaths and prepared herself for the imminent bloody violence.

I chose this.

Not the stake and fire in the village.

Not the slow starvation in the hills.

I chose.

She’d made her own choice, which meant she was free. She would die, but she would die free. The thought gave her courage.

The man striding forth from the cave a few minutes later startled her.

She skipped a quick step backwards. Where did he come from, so sudden like, in the middle of the night?

He stood a full head taller than she did, as wide in the arms and shoulders as a blacksmith.

He wore black leather, reinforced with dragon scales in the front.

His hair was the dark silk of the night, his teeth gleaming white as he flashed a predatory smile.

His eyes, the color of a moonless midnight, traveled over her.

Unfamiliar sensations suffused Einin’s limbs. Invisible flames that licked her unexpectedly. They stopped her shivering.

The black knight stepped closer while surprise rooted Einin to the spot.

He had a slightly smoky scent, not unpleasant, similar to her father’s when he smoked sausages in winter.

The knight’s features were rough and scarred.

His eyes seemed immeasurably old, belying the obvious virility of his body.

He stood closer than was proper. Yet Einin could not protest, even had she found her voice. She was a mere village wench, and he was obviously a knight.

A knight as powerful as he… Hope unfurled inside her chest. “My lord, Sir Knight—” She wasn’t sure how to address him. She’d never before had the occasion to speak to a man of such high station. “What have you done to the dragon?”

A smile curved up his sinful lips, lips such as were created to make maidens weep. “I’m one and the same. And I have a powerful hunger to slake.”

Einin was too stunned to move. She could do naught but stare at the dark fires that burned in the man’s eyes.

“I am the dragon Draknart,” he said as he reached for her. “And you are mine, Einin of Downwood, by your own promise.”