Page 12 of Rapunzel's Gambit (All That Glitters)

The split between his upper and lower jaw broadened until each of his razor-sharp teeth were visible. “My name is Pollox. Glad we can be part of each other’s hoard. Now we have business to tend to. Firstly, won’t your servants realize you ran away?”

I grinned wickedly. “No. I made it look as though you kidnapped me.”

Pollox stared at me for so long that unease crept in.

“I did,” I assured him. “I shattered glass and overturned furniture and wrote a message on my balcony wall. They should be finding it any minute now. I walked all night to get here.”

“Yes,” he answered, sarcasm dripping like venom. “Because dragons always leave courtesy notes when they commit crimes. Surely, no one would notice the absence of a massive, fire-breathing dragon descending upon your castle in the dead of night to steal away a hysterical princess.”

“It’s not like I could write you a letter and ask you to come kidnap me,” I protested. “And I drugged the staff so they wouldn’t even remember what happened.”

“Ah, but you’re here now,” he told me, eyes flaming bright orange. “And you’ll learn that dragons like leaving more than notes. We leave impressions.”

“What are you—” I began, but with blinding speed, Pollox lunged forward.

Using his front claw like a hand, he snatched me up and lifted his gaze upward.

I didn’t even have time to draw breath. Pollox’s wings unfurled and beat down, propelling him into the heavens. A wild lurch catapulted me higher as the entire world surged away and my body felt as though it had been left behind. I wouldn’t have been able to lift my head if I tried. It was as though the dragon had sat on my chest instead of flown me into the air as we rocketed upward.

My vision blurred as Pollox’s wings beat the air, sending powerful gusts of wind across my face that grew increasingly colder the higher we went. Breathing became difficult, and I clutched at the talons holding me aloft, my ears popping painfully as we gained altitude. The ground below us shrank rapidly, so it became easy to see not only all of Rookwyn, but also the bordering kingdoms, the fields of crops, and even the ocean in the far distance that led to Termarth.

The pressure against my chest lessened as Pollox stopped his steep ascent and glided on the air current, but my stomach still twisted, every fiber of my being screaming to put my feet back on solid ground again. The cold wind slapped at my face and whipped my hair wildly out behind me. I’d never felt more vulnerable as my fragile mortality stared me in the face. Every beat of Pollox’s wings reminded me that I was entirely at his mercy.

And yet…

Once we were soaring above the mountains and my stomach had settled slightly, a thrilling, heady rush made my heart race. Pollox’s claw was fastened securely around me and I clutched at his talons, elated and frightened in equal measure.

Despite being terrified, feeling powerless, and experiencing a cold deeper than I could ever recall, I also felt alive in a way unlike any other. This was what true freedom felt like. Life on the ground suddenly looked so small. Up here, I saw all. Up here, I was powerful.

“Let’s make sure all of Rookwyn knows you belong to me now,” Pollox growled. “Get ready to scream.”

He folded his wings into his body and dove straight down.

All thoughts about how being in the sky was freeing and making me feel alive vanished. Pollox didn’t need to coax anything out of me—my scream was ripped from my body, echoing long and loud as we dropped like a rock. My stomach had been left up in the clouds as we plunged toward the ground, heading straight for the castle. I could barely recognize it as my home from a bird’s-eye view.

At the last moment, Pollox spread his wings and soared in a tight circle around the castle’s perimeter.

“I have your princess,” he gloated into the early dawn, his booming voice carrying so that I knew it would reverberate through every hallway. Alarm bells clanged and soldiers rushed to their positions, but all seemed lost as to how to fight a dragon. “She belongs to me now.”

With that, he let out a blast of fire that shot over the top of the castle, igniting our kingdom’s flag. Shouts and cries came from both the castle and the village surrounding it. Pollox’s tight spin around the castle was making me nauseated, and I shrieked again.

“It’s Rapunzel!” someone below cried out. “The dragon has her!”

With that, Pollox turned and soared away, back toward the mountains.

* * *

When Pollox finally landed outside his cave and released me, I needed no mirror to know that I probably looked like I’d been struck by lightning. My hair was so windswept and tangled that it would take hours to comb out…if I even had a comb. Looking down, I saw the sorry remains of what had once been a nice gown but was now dirty and tattered, having been snagged far too many times on Pollox’s sharp talons in the air.

“Did you enjoy your first flight?”

I shuddered, then turned and retched into the bushes. “Is it that obvious I’ve never flown before?” I asked, slowly picking out an insect that had become tangled in my hair.

Pollox let out his sawing laugh again. “It seems I owe you a new dress. Since you’re a part of my hoard, you can use what I already have.”

I stubbornly stuck out my jaw and ignored my stomach that still felt as though it was writhing with live snakes. “Yes, it’s so lucky that you have so many dresses in my size to choose from. Besides, I told you: I’m not a part of your hoard. I’m your partner.”

“That’s too bad. I would expect a partner to pay for their own wants and needs, but I take pride in caring for my hoard.” He lumbered into his cave and I followed.

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