Dragon Tamer

We rolled down the hill in a heap of limbs and curses until we finally came to a halt at the base of the mountain in the meadow. Lucky me, my fall was cushioned by Cam’s hard chest. A pained look in his eyes, he moaned and covered his face with his arms.

“Are you okay?” I asked him, sitting up and taking a quick inventory of his body. Aside from a few scrapes from rocks and the bruises I’d given him earlier, he seemed okay.

He shifted an arm to peer at me from underneath. “Aside from my guide trying to kill me? Just peachy.”

“It wasn’t on purpose, you brat,” I chided, poking his ribs playfully. “If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead.”

“Said the last guy who tried to kill me,” he teased, removing his arms from his face, which revealed a gash just above his left eyebrow. His eyes swept over me, finally landing on my face; concern flitted across his features. “Are you okay?”

He wasn’t thinking when he reached up to cup my cheek. Right? He couldn’t know that his thumb was s warm and tender when it brushed under the scratch on my cheek. Men who had their faculties about them wouldn’t even think of touching me with such concern--let alone actually do it.

He caught a droplet of blood as his thumb followed the length of my scratch. Frowning, he looked around us. “Where’s my shirt?”

I peered further up the hill where Elesor was still sitting, watching us smugly.

That conniving little dragon. . . . She hadn’t pushed too hard at all. She knew exactly what she was doing.

My face flamed, and I suddenly couldn’t bring myself to look at the prince sprawled beside me. “I don’t know where it went. Sorry. I’ll buy you a new one.”

Shaking his head, he sat up. “I don’t care, I was going to use it to clean up your cheek.”

That made me give him a dubious look. “What? Oh, this thing? Don’t worry about it.” I used the hem of my shirt to wipe the blood away. “Here, you can use mine for your wound.” His was much deeper than mine and blood kept dripping precariously close to his eye.

Before he could protest, I was removing my shirt and dabbing his eyebrow. Once he got over the fact I was shirtless, he grabbed my wrist. “Kali, your shirt’s ruined.”

“Well, so is yours and missing. We’re even. Here.” I made him hold the shirt to his head while I crossed my arms to keep my heat in. Man, he’d made it seem a lot warmer out than it actually was. At least I had a bra on to keep a tiny bit of semblance of warmth--he had nothing.

He smiled. “Thanks. . . . You really don’t mind being shirtless? If you were any other woman, I would have been slapped for scheming this by now.”

“Did you scheme this rather elaborate plan to undress me, Prince?” I used his title mockingly and batted my helpless eyelashes at him. If he had somehow devised such a plan, there were far better bodies to undress in the village.

He rolled his eyes. “No.”

“Then I don’t need to slap you. I think I’ve beaten you up enough today. Come on, let’s find you a healer before my dad gives me heck for kicking your ass.” I stood up and offered him a helping hand.

“Only because I let you.”

I patted his chest in mock-comfort. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, princeling.” So sassy it’d make Elesor proud, I spun on my heel in the direction of the village--and stopped dead with a groan loud enough for the Gods to hear me.

Amber was skipping her way over here. She shoved passed me, going straight to the prince. Taking advantage of his shirtless state, she laid her hands on his chest, very conspicuously feeling him up. “Your Highness! What did Kali do to you? Are you all right?”

Instead of stepping away from her like I wished he would, he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Kali’s done nothing I didn’t consent to. What are you doing here, Amber?”

She giggled and tapped his chest. “I’m here for you, silly. Amelia had mentioned Giles told her you would be here. I bet that beast has been working you to the ground; I thought I’d come rescue you.”

I snorted. “The only thing he needs rescuing from is your spewing bullshit. Give the man some space. Not every male wants to be fondled by your talons.”

She threw a sharp glare at me--then she noticed I wasn’t wearing a shirt and grimaced. “Look who’s talking. Put a shirt on, you classless whore. Nobody needs to see your filthy body. I think you’ve scarred the prince enough for one day. Come on, Your Highness, I’ll get you cleaned up and show you not everyone in Plum is a savage.”

I crossed my arms to hide what I could of my scar-ridden body. She was a heartless bitch, but she was right: nobody needed to see that, and I’d forgotten all about my scars when it was just Camden and I.

“I was just taking him to the healing hut,” I snapped, feeling like I was fighting for custody over him rather than sparing him a few hours of her company. “You don’t need to show him anything.” Like what’s under that skirt. I knew if he left with her what they’d end up doing. What man wouldn’t want to sleep with her? She was a part of the beautiful women his brothers told him all about.

“Why don’t you come with us, Kal?” he offered. “We can both get checked out.”

Amber snided, “She’s not welcomed,” at the same time I said, “I’m not going anywhere near her.”

Seeing that the prince had already decided what he wanted, I turned to look up the hill and called for Elesor. She glided down the hill and snarled at Amber, curling her tail around me protectively. Amber feigned terrified of the “awful beast” and hid behind Camden. Rolling my eyes, I swung up into the saddle. “Enjoy your day off, Prince. Let’s go, Elli.”

The dragon snorted, snapping her head away from Camden, then jumped into the sky with a single thrust of her wings. She was going to head straight for our alcove hidden in Mount Caspian, but I told her to take me home first. The clouds were getting darker and thicker, and I didn’t feel like being caught up in the rain without a shirt on.

I snuck in through the back door, unsure who would be home at this time. I instantly regretted it. Giles and Amelia were making out on the couch, which had a clear view of the door I stepped through.

Squealing, Amelia hopped away from my brother and flushed while Giles calmly stood up to greet me--until he noticed my lack of shirt. The lazy smile on his face snapped into a murderous glare; he crossed the room in two strides grabbing my shoulders. “Who did this to you?”

“I did,” I snapped, pushing him away. “We fell down the hill and I used my shirt to wipe the blood.”

It wasn’t until the “we” when he remembered that I was supposed to be with someone. He looked over my shoulder. “Where’s Camden?”

I looked away from him with a nasty taste in my mouth. “With Amber. I’m assuming she’ll get around to healing him at some point.”

Giles lightened up, releasing me and clasping Amelia’s hand when she came to his side. “Do you want me to heal you?” she asked shyly, still embarrassed about being caught sucking my brother’s face. Though, I’d caught my brothers doing much worse when they had the house to themselves.

“No, I’m fine,” I grunted then slid passed them for the stairs. I didn’t really feel fine, but she couldn’t heal my stupidity away. I don’t know why I thought Camden would choose me over Amber--to be healed, of course. Sure, she was an immediate means of being fixed up, but I thought he’d at least like the company better. Apparently not. What did I know about men anyway? I knew more about dragons than humans.

I didn’t realise I was picking up shirts then throwing them viciously back into the drawer until there was a soft knock on my door.

“What do you want? I’m busy.” I wanted to be alone so I could beat myself up more thoroughly for feeling the way I did.

Amelia slinked into the room and shut the door gently behind her. Her large gray eyes watched me as I struggled to find a shirt I wanted to wear. None of them seemed good enough at the moment. They were all baggy and gross, handed down from brother to brother until I received them. I’d only had one shirt I’d actually liked; the one I’d done a shoddy job of hemming to a more slender fit--which was now covered in blood somewhere in the meadow.

Amelia put her hand on mine, stopping me from tearing my clothes up. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I spat, slamming the drawer shut. Maybe I should go out in the rain shirtless. At least then I would be able to feel something other than this awful feeling in my chest.

With a look of sympathy, Amelia sat on my bed and gestured for me to join her. I did so reluctantly. She soothed her skirts and faced me. “Tell me what happened.”

I chewed on my lip. What did it matter what happened? Who cared? I was stupid and Camden was fucking Amber. What else was there? I told her anyway, because maybe she could help make this pain go away. “We finished up training for the day. Elesor pushed us down the hill. I took my shirt off to clean his wounds and offered to take him to the healing hut. Amber showed up and he decided he was better off with her. I came here because I’d rather gouge my eyes out than watch her feel him up all afternoon.”

She frowned in thought, tucking a delicate blonde curl behind her ear. “Why would Elesor push you two down the hill?”

“Don’t know.” I did, but like hell I was admitting it. I was trying to forget why.

Moistening her lips, she took my hand and patted it. “Last week you told me to ask you how you felt about Prince Camden later. Well, it’s later now. Do you still hate him?”

“No.”

“What do you think of him now?”

I tore my hand away from hers and stood up. “It doesn’t matter what I think of him. He’s my prince, I will guide him through his Rite of Passage, then never see him again.” Saying it out loud steeled my resolve. It didn’t matter what I felt or thought of him because it would never be reciprocated. This feeling I had would go away once he left. The sooner he found a dragon, the better.

“Thank you, Amelia, I feel better now.”

Eyebrows scrunched, she stood up and eyed me suspiciously. “You do? We haven’t really talked, Kali, are you sure?”

I snatched a random shirt from my dresser and slipped it over my head; it was silly of me in the first place to even try to look a little more feminine for someone. “Positive. I’ll leave you and Giles to your canoodling. Thanks again.”

“Wait!” She hurried after me, trying to block my way to the stairs. “Will you at least let me heal you before that cut gets infected?”

I slipped past her tiny frame, patting her shoulder. “I’m good. It’s just a scratch.”

I ran into Giles on the way to the door. He was half-heartedly blocking it, unsure if he should take his sister’s side or his girlfriend’s. When I glared at him, he decided it’d be better if he took the side of the woman he lived with.

Elesor was waiting patiently outside, staring up at the forever darkening sky. She perked up when she saw me and nuzzled her face into my chest. I held her for a moment, relishing the heat of her body, the rough texture of her scales under my fingertips, even her smokey scent. She was my anchor to this world, my one true constant who would always be there for me.

Inhaling deeply, I stepped away from her face so I could climb up her back. She fluttered her wings twice then we were airborne. The rain began halfway up Mount Caspian, the clouds so thick and dark it might as well be nighttime, even though we still had a few hours of true daylight and the nocturnal creatures came out to play.

There was so much rain, I didn’t see the dragon roosting in our spot until Elesor was about to land. I was even more disappointed to see Camilla had a rider sitting between her front legs. His legs dangled off the ledge as he stared down the long drop to the valley floor. The idiot, black-haired rider lifted his sea blue eyes to me. He groaned.

“What are you doing here?” Tallinn demanded.

He had some nerve using that tone with me. “What are you doing here? This is my spot.”

He sneered at me. “No, it’s mine. I found it first.”

"We--" I gestured to Elesor and my chest “--made it! Go away.”

Crossing his arms, he stuck his chin up snootily and looked forward. “No. I was here first.”

Growling, I sat down on the ledge, Elesor making herself comfortable behind me by wrapping her tail around my waist to stop me from going over the edge. She gave him the same snooty look he gave me.

“What are you doing?” he snapped. “I want to be alone, Kal.”

“So do I.”

It was clear neither of us were budging, so we might as well be alone together. It was actually a good thing he was here. He would keep me in check. I couldn’t scream or cry at the heavens if he was here. If I wanted to lament it would have to be silently, hidden within the sheets of rain dividing us from the rest of the world. The rain was so bad now, I thought I was staring at a waterfall. There was nothing else to see, not even the lights of Plum, which was somewhere down below.

To my surprise, Tallinn was the first one to pipe up. “So, huh, what brings you here?” He kept his gaze ahead, intent on the heavy rainfall. “Can’t stand the prince already? Kaden will be pleased to be a couple coins richer.”

I snorted, leaning back into Elesor’s chest to keep the cool wind away. “More like Casper won the bet. If Dad hadn’t grounded you, I would gladly hand him over to you.” Which I now realise meant Tallinn wasn’t supposed to be up here; he wasn’t allowed to ride any dragons until Dad could trust him not to get them killed again.

That got Tallinn’s attention; he raised his eyebrows at me then shrugged and went back to staring at the rain. “Huh, who would have thought you were actually a woman under all that sass and badassery. So Camden told you you weren’t enough for him, eh?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered. The prince didn’t have to tell me I wasn’t enough. I knew I wasn’t. He was Prince Camden Acker for Gods’ sake, no respectable man would want to be seen in public with me. Who knew, maybe he’d make Amber his princess and take her away from here so I could at least try to be happy here.

“Did he hurt you?” Tallinn’s tone had gone several octaves lower, almost into a growl. It surprised me to hear such a protective tone from him, the brother who I thought hated my guts for taking Mom away from him and for being picked to guide Camden.

“No.”

“All right, then.”

We fell silent. The pitter-patter of the rain against the cliffside was enough for us. It kept my mind calm, stopping me from hating myself too much for the way I was. It wasn’t my fault that princes didn’t like me. I just wasn’t their thing, but there was a man out there who didn’t mind that I could kick anyone’s ass and rode dragons all day. I would find that man, just not today. Screw what Amber and other women thought. My body might not be beautiful, but I had other things going for me and that was what really mattered.

I peered over to Tallinn. “Why are you here?”

He pressed his lips together, fists tightening in his lap. “Don’t want to talk about it.”

“Do you wanna beat the shit out of each other until we feel better?” I’d much rather feel physical pain than the ache in my heart.

He shrugged. “Sure.”

Elesor and Camilla left the alcove to hang on the cliffside and watch from outside. Tallinn barely waited for me to stand before he punched my face. I staggered back, hitting the wall. If he was going to play that way, I feigned left then hooked a right shot into his gut. Groaning, he fell to his knees, and I rammed a knee into his face. He held onto my leg and threw me down, straddling my stomach and throwing an onslaught of punches. I only managed to dodge two before he slipped through my defenses. Elesor growled for me to get up--so I did. I threw him off me, swinging my foot around to connect with his jaw.

We stood on either side of the alcove. My face was a throbbing mess and undoubtedly looked much worse than it felt, but he had a solid bruise forming along his jawline that made me feel better and his breathing was hitched from when I scored his gut.

We grinned madly at each other.

Yeah, this was so much better than the feeling in my chest.