Taming the Dragon Collection (18 page)

“She’s the one who cursed us!” someone yelled.

“She did no such thing!” Erik said, his voice booming through the air. “She’s saved us! Val Woodshadow is a liar and a deceiver! He tried to sacrifice young Mara to the dragon before he was defeated in single combat by the beast. She has now brought the dragon to our village to save us. He will destroy Val Woodshadow with his bare hands and free us from the knight’s tyranny. You have to believe me. I would not deceive any of you. You know this! The dragon will return and he will save all of us. Just wait.”

The crowd began to murmur and glance back and forth at one another before finally breaking up. People turned to head back to their duties as others continued to shoot murderous looks at Mara before turning and leaving. In the end she stood in the mud with her father.

“Father,” she said, hugging his neck. “I thought they were going to get me for sure.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen, sweetling,” he said. “I promise. As much for you as for them. Can you imagine what the dragon would do if he returned and these people had hung you?”

“I can, Father,” she said, nodding in agreement. There wouldn’t be a village left. She knew that much for sure.

Chapter 23

That evening Mara slept upstairs, tossing and turning in her father’s old bed. She used to reside in the downstairs bedroom, but as her father’s health began to fail he had moved into that room to avoid the treacherous stairs. It was the first time in weeks that Mara hadn’t gone to bed with Alek’s powerful arms wrapped around her to keep her safe.

“I wish he was here,” she said, then got up and walked to the window. The mountain was barely visible from her father’s window, but she could have sworn she saw a twinkle in the distance. Maybe it was the moonlight reflecting off Alek’s stunning scales or maybe it was just the snow. She finally was able to lie down and go to sleep as she imagined that twinkle being Alek’s scales. He had said she had his heart, but he didn’t realize that he had her heart, soul and body. He was everything she wanted and she was his completely.

The next morning she woke to the smell of her father frying bacon in the kitchen. It had been so long since she had eaten anything except stew that her mouth began to water. She also decided it was time to tell Alek that they needed to switch up their meals. His stew was the best she’d ever eaten, even better than what she used to make for her father, but it had grown tiresome after eating it repeatedly for so long.

Mara slid on her magical dress, which took the form of a simple, demure brown and cream dress that reached her ankles and covered her bosom as she slid downstairs.

“Hello, sweetling,” her father said, looking up from the pan which was popping and sizzling with bacon grease. “I hope you don’t mind bacon. The pigs are some of the only animals we have left, aside from what the hunters bring, but even they are growing scarce.”

“I welcome it, Father,” she said, sitting down at the kitchen table, which seemed so small now in comparison to Alek’s. Everything in her father’s house seemed tiny compared to the dragon’s lair. “The food crisis will be averted when Alek returns, I promise you.”

“I hope so,” Erik said, sliding some bacon onto her plate which she attacked ferociously. “Well, someone seems hungry. Is he feeding you?”

“Of course, Father,” Mara said, swallowing the mouthful she had. “But he only eats once a day and he only eats a special stew that he likes.”

“So you’ve only eaten stew for the last few moons?”

“Oh, yes,” she said, still shoving the bacon into her mouth. “I mean, it’s good stew, very good as a matter of fact, but I’ve grown weary of it.”

“Have you grown weary of the dragon?”

“Father! What a question. Of course I haven’t. He’s very special to me.”

“I can tell from the way you look at him. You’ve never looked at a man like that before.” Erik went to the window and looked out with a longing expression on his face. “I suppose it happens to every father. They have to watch their little girl grow up and move out one day. I just hope you’ll remember your dear father and not vanish on me for months again.”

“I won’t, Father. I’ve already talked about this with Alek. I want to be involved in the village and I want to come back more often.”

“I’m not sure how the villagers will respond to a dragon constantly flying amongst them.”

“They will love Alek after he saves them. They’ll worship him once he cures their hunger, rebuilds their silos and destroys Val.”

“I hope so, honey,” he said, turning back to the table. “For our sake as much as anything. The people are restless and Val promised he would burn the entire village to the ground if he did not get his hands on the dragon again.”

“He will kill Val, Father.” Mara had never been more serious about anything in her life. Val Woodshadow had to die. “I promise.”

Erik just smiled and took a seat across from Mara. Sometimes his movements looked like they hurt him and other times he still appeared to be the strong, virile man who had once taken this village by storm. It seemed Erik had reached the age where he had good days and bad days, but the bad days were starting to outnumber the good ones. Still, as he had displayed the day before, he could still draw on great strength when his loved ones were threatened.

“How does he treat you, sweetling?” Erik asked.

“Very well. He’s very protective. I think he wants to kill Val as much from jealousy as he does for protection. He’s kind of possessive, but that’s okay with me. I want someone who can protect me and who wants to keep me safe, unlike Val, who just wanted to use me as bait.”

“Are you still a maiden?”

Mara recoiled with embarrassment and hid her face, knowing that every visible piece of skin on her body had turned as red as a tomato—betraying the answer to her father immediately.

“Well, I guess I have my answer,” Erik said. “Are you with child?”

“Of course not, Father. He’s a dragon. How could I be with child? He’s not human.”

Erik just stared at her.

“I mean, he mentioned children once, but I don’t know if it’s possible. I thought he was just talking. How could I lay an egg, anyway? Don’t dragons come from eggs?”

Finally Erik spoke. “You mean he has not explained to you how dragons reproduce?”

“Well, no.”

“Perhaps it is not my place,” Erik said, trailing off.

“Father, please.”

“Very well,” Erik said, straightening up. “Has he ever spoken of female dragons?”

“Actually, no,” Mara said, remembering the book from the study. “I did see a book with his lineage in it, but none of the mothers were mentioned.”

“That is because there is no such thing as a female dragon,” Erik said.

Mara nearly choked on the bacon she had been eating. “Excuse me?”

“Dragons are magical creatures. In their dragon form they actually have no sex organs. They are asexual. But they take a human form so they may reproduce. That is why they take a male form.”

“So if I become with child it will be a dragon? I will have to lay an egg?”

“I do not believe you will have to lay an egg. It’s actually very rare for a dragon to be born. That’s why there are so few of the creatures in the world. More often than not you will have a human child that possesses dragon blood. This is where sorcerers come from. On the rarest of occasions your child will be a dragon, but I do not know how this works. Again, sweetling, it is very rare to have a dragon. They are only born once every few centuries. I would not worry too much about it.”

“This is, well…this is stunning news, Father.”

“I do not understand why he did not tell you.”

Mara thought back to the day Alek had found out she had read the book and the anger he had felt. His reaction had seemed over the top, but it all made sense now. He had been projecting to her that he disliked humans. Why would he do that when he didn’t do it to Raylene, Abigail and Priya? Because he had had feelings for her from the moment he laid his beautiful eyes on her. That was the only explanation. The hurt of his past still stung in his heart and he did not want to get so close to a human.

“It makes sense, Father,” she said. “I understand why he didn’t tell me.”

“As long as you do, that’s all that matters, sweetling. Do you want my blessing to marry him?”

“More than anything.”

“Well, we’ll see what kind of man he is,” Erik said, winking at her.

“Something tells me I already have your blessing, Father.”

“Of course you do. But he doesn’t need to know that.”

Mara could only smile at her father. Even in his old age he was still devious. He wanted Alek’s help, but all he had to do was ask—at this point Mara was sure Alek would do anything to make her happy. She wouldn’t take advantage of it, but it was going to come in handy to rebuild the village.

Chapter 24

The sun was high in the sky before anyone in town spotted the dragon on the horizon. What started as a low rumble turned into a full-blown ordeal as everyone dropped what they were doing and ran outside to watch the dragon’s flight as he returned to town.

“The dragon returns!”

“Is he here to harm us?”

“They said he would help us!’

“He’s so terrifying!”

“I think he looks majestic!”

Mara had to agree with that sentiment. As Alek grew nearer she noticed he was holding several large sacks while Abigail and Priya rode on his back. She felt the sting of jealousy as she saw how happy they were riding on
her
husband’s back. It should be her up there, free and without restraint. They would only do this once or twice, she told herself. He had to get them down here somehow. She was finding she was just as jealous as Alek.

Everyone scattered as the great white beast came to a stop in the middle of town and allowed the girls to hop off. People weren’t as afraid as they had been before, and several moved in close to get their first real view of a dragon. A child even darted out from the crowd, placed his hand on Alek’s leg and then darted back out of sight giggling the whole way.

Alek surveyed the crowd before shifting into his human form, catching everyone off guard. They had known he could do it, but it still must have been shocking to them. Magic wasn’t something that dominated everyday life in the village.

“Villagers,” Alek said, his voice loud and booming as if enhanced by magic. “I have brought my very own food stores to you. My maids will set up shop and begin to cook stew for you so you may regain your strength. The food is bountiful, so please fill your bellies and regain the strength that the snake knight has stolen from you, for when he returns I will hammer his forked tongue to the ground before I cut off the head it is attached to.”

The crowd erupted into cheers at the dragon’s promise of retribution.

“After you regain your strength I will need the strongest men to join me in the forest with the biggest cart you can find that I can pull behind me. We will collect wood and stone and we will rebuild the silos so that you will have somewhere to store your harvest and the food I have brought.”

The crowd was in a frenzy, cheering and proclaiming Alek their savior. Pretty soon the entire crowd was chanting for the dragon.

“I am no hero,” Alek said. “I am merely a man, a man in love.”

Many turned to look at Mara as she felt the familiar sting of embarrassment running through her entire body.

It didn’t take long for Priya and Abigail to set up, but soon they were brewing stew and the townspeople were gathering around, each with a bowl from their home in hand. Alek smiled and walked over to Mara, picked her up off the ground in an embrace and spun her around.

“I missed you,” he declared.

“I missed you too,” Mara said, kissing him quickly on the lips. “You’re a hero. Now more people will worship you as a god.”

“They’ll get over it,” Alek said.

“Stew,” she said, crinkling her nose. “Again?”

“What is wrong with stew?”

“I suppose it’s good for feeding this many people, I’ve just grown weary of it.”

“Then we will try new dishes.”

“You certainly have changed,” Mara said, looking into his sincere eyes.

“I realized something when I saw you with your father,” Alek said.

“What?” Mara asked.

“I saw how old he was and how the years had caught up to him. I realized that would happen to you one day.”

Mara shook her head. “You shouldn’t be thinking like that. It will just bring up the hurt again.”

“You’re right,” Alek said. “I should not be thinking that way. And that’s what I realized at that moment. Yes, the years will catch up to you, as they do every human. But why do I have to sit and worry about that? Why do I have to take my past hurt out on you? I have to make the years we have together count and that’s exactly what I intend to do. They’ll be the happiest years of both our lives.”

Mara couldn’t believe how gentle and eloquent a man she had thought was such a brute could be. She wiped back a tear and pulled him in close, hugging him tight. “I love you, Alek.”

“I love you too, Mara.”

The week passed with the townspeople looking better and better every day. Even the mud in the streets seemed to dry up and things took on a cleaner and more sanitary feel. Alek and the men left every day to chop down trees and gather stones from the mountain, returning several times throughout the day to drop off their haul. Alek pulled the cart with ease, no matter how full it was. He never gave up and he never quit on the townspeople.

Each night he returned to Mara and lay in bed with her, staring into her eyes until they both fell asleep. The first night Alek had reached under her dress, grabbing one of her heavy breasts in his hand as he leaned in for a kiss, but she had quickly shut him down and explained it was disrespectful to her father to do this in his house.

The sexual frustration was growing in Alek, and she knew he was going to take all his anger out on Val when he arrived. In fact, she was counting on it. But as the weeks turned into a month and the month turned into two they began to wonder if Val would ever arrive.