Page 6 of Dragon Heir

Ware scoffed. “That was an age ago, Lady Vastag. You have grown-” He stopped himself when she gave him a sharp look.

“I have grown what, Lord Ware?” she challenged him with more than a little hiss in her voice. “Wiser? More fashion-conscious?”

He swallowed hard and bobbed his head. “Just so, My Lady. Your fashion sense will be a, um, asset on the hunt.”

Lady Vastag grinned. “Of course it will. Now shall we be off?”

She took the lead and Ware, glum and pouting, shuffled behind her. Raines and Allard were after them and Will and I brought up the rear. My mate kept his arm securely wrapped around one of mine as we stepped out into the fresh air of the wilderness that surrounded the beautiful manor house. I hadn’t had too much time to enjoy the woods so I took in the sights with fresh eyes.

The lovely trees provided us with a cooling shade and I heard the faint call of small birds all around us. The scenery would have been even more pleasant were it not for the sight of Lady Vastag marching down the path. Her heels sank into the dirt in more than one spot and she occasionally stumbled over an exposed root.

I leaned toward Will and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Fallen capital of Edimien?”

He nodded. “One of the older human settlements. It attempted to conquer many of its neighbors and we dragons intervened on their behalf after they came to plead their case.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “So you guys do get involved in those sorts of things?”

“When the need arises. Their need was great as the people of the empire were a bloodthirsty lot. Much of the dark magic spells that exist now were created by them.”

I wrinkled my nose as I thought back through our adventures with magic. “So was that one spell Baddock tried to use on me one of them?”

“Undoubtedly. Only the people of Edimien would have had the knowledge and the temerity to craft a spell that used the blood of a dragon bride.”

Ware’s face became even more downcast the further we traveled down one of the wide trails. After a few minutes he glanced over his shoulder at us. “I thought you said there were many birds out here.”

Will nodded. “There are but they have to be scared out.”

The lord wrinkled his nose. “And how do we do that?”

Vastag stopped and spun around to face us where she rolled her eyes. “You old fool. How long has it been since you were out hunting?”

He scowled at her. “I have not the opportunity to hunt on my own grounds!”

“And why not?”

He pressed his lips together and turned his face away from all of us. A few mumbled words came from him.

Vastag cupped a hand over one ear. “What was that? Speak up.”

A dark cloud settled on his brow. “It is because I have no animals on my property.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“Because I have hunted them all, you fool!” he snapped.

The impolitic name ruffled Vastag’s feathers. She puffed out her chest and marched toward him. “I will have you know-”

It was at that moment that one of her heels caught the side of a large root. She yelped as gravity flung her forward. The lady dragon tried to catch herself but ended up tilting to one side. She fell into the bushes with a tremendous crash which startled all the animals within several miles.

That made Ware overjoyed as a dozen varieties of birds flew out of their hiding spots, frightened by the flailing figure that rolled around in their roosts. “Yes! Magnificent! Wonderful!” he shouted as he turned in a circle to take in the glory of the fowl.

Meanwhile, Vargas found herself in a mess of brambles. Her purse hung loosely on a branch and her dress was caught in dozens of sharp thorns. “Help me out of this, you old fool!”

Ware was too busy enjoying the prospect of a successful hunt to assist her, but Allard and Raines came to the rescue. They pushed into the brambles and began the arduous process of freeing her from the thorns.

“I think we’d better help them,” I whispered to my mate.

He patted my arm as the corners of his lips twitched upward. “Stay here. This is more danger than I wish for you to experience.”

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