Page 7 of Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

Did it matter? These were my last moments. Each of my numbered breaths puffed in silvery clouds above me. Yet dying with trees other than my beloved olive grove around me just added insult to injury.

A howl pierced the night, rising in pitch. More howls joined the first, sending even more chills down my spine.

Wolves? I’d heard a few before, distantly lurking in the foothills as they waited for a chance to snatch a goat or two.

But these wolves sounded big. Hungry. With lots of sharp teeth.

And here I’d thought getting eaten by a dragon was the worst thing that would happen to me tonight. With a dragon, I’d at least have the chance to get eaten whole. The wolves for sure would tear me apart.

I yanked and twisted at my bonds again, but they wouldn’t give. The skin at my wrists tore, dripping blood onto the stone.

Great. Weren’t wolves attracted to the scent of blood? Or was that only sharks?

Not that it mattered. The howls seemed to be getting closer, echoing through the evergreens.

A roar swept the forest, rattling the branches and sending snow sliding to the ground.

The whump of mighty wings came from somewhere above before the shadow of a great beast glided overhead, indistinct against the dark sky.

The dragon.

Something large landed nearby, cracking branches and shaking the trees. Then a vaguely human-shaped form, much smaller than the shadow of a moment before, stepped from the trees. Though the humanity of his silhouette was broken by the massive wings rising from his back. Something long and sharp glinted in the starlight. A knife? His talons?

A deep voice rumbled from the darkness, surprisingly human despite the added growl to it. “Don’t be afraid.”

Yeah, right. As if I could be anything but afraid when I was about to be eaten. Or something even worse.

I now understood the lectures on never looking at the dragon’s face. While he was free with his dragon shape, this almost human side to him was something he never showed to the village. This form was forbidden.

I squeezed my eyes shut, words bursting through my near-frozen lips. “If you’re going to eat me, please eat me whole. Or kill me quickly first.”

At least once I was eaten, I wouldn’t be cold anymore. Were dragons warm and toasty on the inside? That might not be so bad. Right?

“I’m not going to eat you. I find maidens are far too stringy for my taste. I prefer a good rack of lamb slow roasted over a fire.”

Not what I had asked, but all right. As long as he was talking, his mouth was kept too busy to eat me. “Then why don’t you require sheep for the sacrifice instead of a maiden, if you like roast lamb so much?”

“That’s a good question.” The deep, almost dry voice came even nearer. “One I wish I could answer right now.”

Didn’t the dragon know his own reasons for the sacrifice? Or was he just being cryptic and cagey since I was an innocent sacrificial maiden who mustn’t be told those pesky answers?

Even with my eyes shut, I could sense him halt next to the stone, his voice going softer. “I apologize for the wait.”

The wait? I would have gladly kept waiting, thank you very much.

I kept my eyes squeezed shut. I wasn’t doing a very good job at holding my tongue, but I’d at least be a good maiden sacrifice and avoid looking at his face. “I didn’t mind. Really. You could just go away and leave me here.”

“And let the wolves get you? Or have you freeze to death? I don’t think so.” His voice sent skitters over my skin, and I was all too aware of him standing over me.

My breath twisted tight in my chest, my muscles aching with strain, even as I couldn’t help but give in to shivering. Apparently he didn’t like to eat frozen maiden for dessert.

That far too human sounding voice, the silhouette of a too real man with dragon wings, made everything so much worse. For some reason, it would have been far better if he had been nothing but a beast, a dragon swooping down from the sky to gulp me down.

“Hold still.” The voice was even closer now, a moment before a large warm hand settled on my bound ankles.

I flinched, my skin crawling with the need to fight whatever he was about to do.

But I was supposed to submit to the dragon. Obey his every command. Give him whatever he wanted.

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