Page 118 of Her Tortured Beasts

He watches me, standing by a circular black stone basin with a spout that looks like it was made with dragon magic.

The dragon indicates it with his snout. The spout magically turns on, crisp mountain spring water gushing out.

I cup my hands and place it under the water and let it fill, before bringing my hands up to my lips to drink. It’s cold, mountain spring water that feels perfect against my hot, parched throat. I wipe my lips with the back of my hand, suddenly weary.

My hand slaps onto the edge of the basin before I fall, steadying myself as a wave of dizziness slams into me.

Xander makes that whining sound again before lowering his head right next to mine. With infinite slowness and great gentleness, he presses the side of his snout against my cheek. I close my eyes against the feel of his mighty power, his warm, rough skin against mine. His breath fans out against my back, hot and wet, and it sort of reminds me of when Henry used to sit on my shoulder, guiding me to breathe.

I don’t even know where my little nimpin is now.

The tears start, barrelling over my cheeks in thick droplets. My nose runs and I press a hand against my mouth, trying to stifle the sobs.

Warm air wraps around me and I screw my eyes tightly shut, hugging my arms around my body. Something hot and sharp digs into my sides, but it doesn’t hurt me. I’m tilted sideways, and before I know it, I’m moving slowly and steadily through the air. I don’t open my eyes as Xander’s mouth encompasses my body, carrying me like a pup and setting me onto the soft blankets of his nest. Only then do I crack open my eyes, snot and tears running down my face, to see golden light staring back at me.

Then he opens his mouth?—

And the tip of a giant red tongue snakes out and licks my face, wiping away my snot.

“Ew, stop,” I say, throwing up my arms and turning away with a grimace. When I’m sure he’s put his tongue away, I frown at him. “That was disgusting.”

He snorts like he disagrees.

Sighing, I make sure my new leg is bent at an angle so I don’t trigger the pain and rest my head on my arms.

When I wake up, it’s to something warm and wet gently scraping against the skin of my thigh. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I sit up to see the dragon curled about me, licking my leg.

“Not again,” I mutter.

My leg is warm with his magic, the skin glowing like he’s been filling my muscles with his power. He makes that strange whining sound again and nudges my face with his massive snout.

“I know,” I say. “It’s not all the way right yet.”

My stomach grumbles.

His head snaps to attention, his eyes wide and alarmed.

“It’s just my stomach,” I say quietly, rubbing across my abdomen. “Don’t look so panicked.”

With the type of agility only dragons have, he uncoils himself from around me and bounds away at breakneck speed.

I shiver against the cold, my naked skin erupting with goosebumps. “Do you have any clothes around here?” I ask, looking around at the tall piles of treasure.

The dragon reappears, lumbering back with multiple items levitating before him. He sets them gently before me: a plate of cooked, cut vegetables, and a length of red material.

I place a piece of sweet potato in my mouth and begin chewing before I reach for the material. He’s seasoned thevegetables with salt, paprika and oregano. When did he have time to cook this?

The material is a soft type of cotton, and when I hold it up, I realise it’s a dress, except the stitches look like they were done by hand and the hem is very uneven. Without looking at him, even though he sits on his haunches staring at me, I shove my head and arms through it.

He doesn’t try to help me, which makes me believe he really isn’t in a treasure haze. If he were, he’d be stuck to me like mould, fussing and fluffing about. Instead, he maintains a sort of distance, even though his eyes are stuck on me.

Finally covered, I tug at the dress, wiggling to the feel of it. It’s strange being covered after so long of being a naked animal, and one part of me doesn’t even like it.

But the mountain air is cool, and human skin isn’t nearly as protective as scales or fur, so I don’t have a choice.

I eat from my plate as Xander watches, snorting softly when I finish and removing the plate with his power. We both watch the white porcelain sail away onto a stack of other dishes by the black stone basin. Dragon eyes then turn to me and he proceeds to coil around my body carefully once again, forming his own sort of nest, his head falling in line with my new leg.

Exhaling a slow breath, I lie down, and using his claw as a pillow, fall into a slumber.

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