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Riley

Put Me Down

“Put me down you giant lizard!”

I screamed so loud my voice was hoarse, beating my fists against the scaly, oversized fingers tipped with golden claws that curled around my waist in a vice-like grip.

Not hard enough to crush my ribcage, but definitely firm enough to let me know I wasn’t going anywhere.

I looked down again.

Why do I keep looking down?

My belly swooped as nausea made its way up my throat.

I wanted off this ride. Now.

My purse was trapped against my side, pinned there by beastly talons, and I couldn’t wiggle my hand inside to grab the pocketknife I’d taken from Ember.

The wind whipped at the bottom of the stupid thin dress I was wearing as I tried to kick my feet.

Somewhere over the last mountain peak, I’d lost my sandals. I was barefoot and dangling hundreds of feet above the earth, warmed by a giant mythical reptile’s claws.

This was not my day.

I struggled again, feeling pathetic and weak as I pounded my fists against the scaled flesh. “I swear I’ll…”

What exactly are you going to do, Riley?

Nothing.

I wasn’t going to be able to do a damn thing to help myself out of this mess.

Clouds passed us by in a lazy blur as his massive wings beat through the air. The altitude this high up had me lightheaded and dizzy. Rolling hills of brown and tan gave way to snow-packed mountaintops and forests of thick evergreens below.

I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing through my nose and trying to calm my overactive nervous system. It was a trick I’d learned dealing with my ex-boyfriend. If it could help with Drew, it should work when getting kidnapped by a dragon.

Just think positive thoughts. Be grateful for…

I couldn’t find much to appreciate at this particular moment in time.

“Stupid dragon.” Another wave of fury passed through me and I made my anger known with my fists, no matter how ineffective they might be.

I was mad.

And I was scared out of my wits.

It was shocking how much the world could still surprise me. I was used to death and didn’t fear it, working at a retirement home was basically exposure therapy.

It was the living that terrified me on the daily.

The earthquakes and crashing economy weren’t as scary as the way people handled their panic. When the government started failing us, it was the fighting and blaming each other that really worried me.

And it’d been Drew’s chaotic moods I lived with moment to moment.

I’d thought that escaping to the middle of nowhere with Ember and Willow would be the start of something new.

It was my fault. I’d dared to hope.

Seeing Ember fall in love when she’d always been the closet romantic of our group and watching Willow take her first relaxed breath in years had done something to me.

I foolishly thought we’d be safe.

But I should’ve known…

“Put me down,” I whispered one last time, holding back the burning tears that I wouldn’t let fall. I’d stopped crying years ago, and learned to go numb instead when I got this afraid.

This beast wasn’t going to listen to me. I knew better than anyone that when monsters wanted something, they’d take it.

I was powerless.

Weak.

Done.

I was so fucking done.

Leaning forward a bit, I peered over the edge of the dragon’s claws.

Okay, maybe I wasn’t that done yet.

The thought of falling from this height into the crystal blue lake below had chills wracking my body. We were so far above the water, flying fast toward another mountain range.

I was going to be sick.

The wind whipped my hair into my face as the dragon banked left, letting out a terrifying roar. I swung to the side like a rag doll clutched in its claws, screaming along with him.

Then he corrected, cradling me softly as a worried whine came from within his throat.

That, I might have hallucinated.

But there it was, the shred of hope niggling the back of my mind that this beast wasn’t planning on eating or crushing me. Kieran had been kind to Ember. Rational, even. Maybe this one could be reasoned with. He might let me go when he turned into a man.

The thought had me spiraling again. My breath came short and fast.

I’d almost prefer he stayed as a dragon.

A nice, non-kidnapping dragon.

I didn’t like people, and my current track record with men wasn’t anything worth bragging about.

Still, there was the hope. That stupid little flicker of hope that was always there even on the darkest days. The one that said wake up, try again, and see if today is the one day where things turn out okay.

And if it wasn’t…

I could always run away.

As soon as this thing—

“Put. Me. Down!”