Page 21 of Crown of Slumber

I groaned, and her body hummed with her laughter.

“Dragon riding isn’t for weak stomachs, I’m afraid,” she teased over her shoulder. She sounded a bit too gleeful for my liking.

“If I didn’t know any better, Your Highness, I would suggest this magnificent creature is doing this on purpose. Is it his desire for me to spew all over your fine dress?”

Aurelia snorted in amusement, but after my comment, the dragon’s ride became smoother.

Interesting. Could the beast understand me?

“May I ask where we’re going?” I said.

“To the witch clans,” Aurelia said shortly.

I stiffened, my grip tightening on her waist. “You… are on good terms with the witches here?”

Aurelia hesitated. “At times. We do not mingle often, but when we do, it is with respect.”

My eyebrows lifted. Well, that was more than I could say. I had no problem with the witches, but Mother was vehemently against the magic they practiced. As such, when I was a child, learning their runic spells had only intrigued me more simply because it was forbidden.

Mother’s hatred of witch magic had ignited my curiosity.

But she need never know just how much I had dabbled in that particular brand of magic.

“And you?” Aurelia asked. “I assume you, too, have witches in your kingdom.”

“We do,” I said carefully. “But… the royal family does not associate with them. Their magic is seen as crude and unnatural.”

Aurelia barked a laugh. “How pretentious of you.”

“I never said it was whatIbelieve,” I shot back.

Aurelia said nothing at that.

Truth be told, the few witches I’d encountered had been kindand respectful, albeit a bit odd and unsettling. They hadn’t balked at my curiosity at all; rather, they had seemed to appreciate my probing questions.

They had even taught me how to conjure runes myself.

My curiosity got the better of me. “Do you ever… practice witch magic?”

Aurelia was silent for so long that I thought she hadn’t heard me. At long last, she said simply, “No.”

We did not speak again until the dragon descended, weaving through trees before landing atop a hill overlooking a wide valley where dozens of tents were erected. Several plumes of smoke coiled in the air, creating a collision of colors ranging from pinks and purples to gold and silver. Already, the heady smell of witch magic filled my nose, reminding me of those rebellious years in my youth when I had wanted to explore everything, even the darkest of magic.

I swallowed down my unease as Aurelia slid off the dragon’s back. “You wait here,” she ordered. “Mal will keep an eye on you.”

I huffed. “I willnot.”

From beneath me, the dragon—Mal—grumbled threateningly, his back going rigid.

“Go ahead and try to eat me,” I barked at him. “But I’ll bet you aren’t too keen on the idea of your lady going into witch lands by herself with no weapons or protection.”

Aurelia rolled her eyes and slid her skirt up her leg until it reached her kneecap.

My eyes grew wide. “What the hell are you—” I faltered when she showed me the dagger sheathed at her thigh. “Well.” I shifted my weight, still atop the dragon. “That won’t do much good against their arsenal of spells.”

“What makes you think they’ll attack me?”

“I may not associate often with witches, but I know they do not take kindly to uninvited guests.”

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