Page 53 of The Soul of the Dragon

I can do this.

I. Can. Do. This.

I wasn’t sure I believed it, but I would pretend everything was fine. Mother always said there was nothing wrong with faking your way through something if it was important enough.

And this was pretty damned important I reminded myself.

Just as I was feeling a tiny bit confident, a strong growl rumbled from the dragon underneath me, jolting my heart into another beating frenzy. He did it again, and this time, I didn’t know why, but it felt like some kind of warning. So I tightened my grip and squeezed my legs harder against his side.

A moment later a whistle sounded, and Isaac rolled to his left side, causing me to shift and scream while barely keeping my hold on his back before he quickly righted himself.

“What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?” I didn’t exactly yell, but the panic made my voice louder than intended.

He growled again and that same whistling sound started again, followed by an even louder growl. What the heck was happening? Before I had time to think, he shot upwards and into the dark sky as I held on for dear life.

Okay, big guy. It’s some kind of warning. I get it. But why?

I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. The now familiar whistle came again a second before he dove back towards the ground in a different direction. But this time I'd expected it and had a second to prepare.

However, when a dark object flew by in front of my face along with the whistling sound, I gasped and couldn’t hold back my scream. Oh my Goddess. It was the poison darts. We were under attack by the Imps.

Three short whistles sounded and I tried to shrink my body against his wing as near paralyzing fear shot through me. This time Isaac rolled and I didn’t think I would be able to maintain my hold on his back as my hands slipped free.

Just as my body shifted, one of his wings came down over me and he dove for the ground in a zigzagging roll. I prepared my mind for the fall as best I could so when it didn't come, I squinted one eye open to see what was happening.

The ground was still rushing towards us at an alarming rate, but his wing had cradled me in place. However, if he didn't do something soon we were going to crash into the ground at full speed. That rumbling growl sounded again, vibrating underneath me and this time I didn't have to question or hesitate. I grabbed onto whatever I could and braced for landing.

We hit hard, and I bounced from his back a little, but because I was cushioned by his wing, I plopped right back down again. Relief swept over me as I scrambled off of him as quickly as I could.

"What the hell happened up there?" My entire body was shaking, and I could feel the nausea fighting to make a comeback every time I moved. Goddess help me, I did not have time to be ill again.

"Fucking imps. I swear to the Goddess, when this is over, I'm going to roast every last one of them with dragon fire."

I covered my mouth to hide my snicker, but the snort sounded from behind my hand anyways. There was nothing funny about the ordeal we'd just been through, but it was either laugh or cry about it, and I refused to shed any tears.

When I got my bearing and looked around, I didn't have to ask where we were. The sound of water splashing into the lagoon drew my eye and the glow of the moonlight lit my way as I got my first glimpse of the waterfalls since I'd passed through them as a little girl coming to this kingdom for the first time.

I'd been in awe at the time. So full of joy that my mother was going to marry a new king. But it wasn't long after that my bubble burst and true evil became my constant companion.

The falls weren't as big as I remembered, but I guessed that made sense as I wasn't a small child anymore. They were, however, from what I could make out, breathtaking.

"I have to say I expected a guard contingency here. Didn't you say this is the main portal into the next kingdom?"

"Yes. And there is a small village that serves as gatekeepers just down that path." I pointed to the right. "They'll know when anyone passes through and send someone to investigate."

"And what was your plan for that?" he asked.

“Nothing. Since I was planning to cross to the other kingdom and not come back, I wasn’t worried about it.”

He nodded and turned in a complete circle, surveying their surroundings. “We should expect someone will be waiting for us when we return. We'll have to come up with a plan.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and Ensley is wrong about it being in this kingdom.” Truth be told, I still wanted to leave and not look back. This kingdom had been my home for more than half my life, but without my mother in it, it was hollow and empty. Dark.

“My gut tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing. She might be leading us in circles for some reason, but I’d bet anything it’s all by design.”

I nodded.“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. So I guess it’s now or never. We need to get through that portal before anyone else catches up with us. I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“Agreed. Do you want to lead the way since you seem to know where you’re going and I don’t?”

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