Page 33 of Rapunzel's Gambit (All That Glitters)

“Come.” Pollox lifted one of his wings.

“You won’t eat me, will you?” I teased.

“No, I told you: Humans wear clothing, and that would taste terrible.”

“I thought you don’t have taste buds.”

“I don’t. But I still don’t want scraps of fabric to get stuck between my teeth. Then you’d be in charge of picking it out and if I remember right, you told me I have sulfur breath.”

I laughed quietly and eased myself down to sit on the hard ground and lean against Pollox’s furnace-like side.

“That can’t be comfortable.” Pollox’s tail prodded me back to standing. “Climb up.”

“Onto you?”

“I thought you said you were cold.”

“I am.”

“Then climb onto me. You’ll be warmer.”

After a second’s hesitation, I stepped onto the bend in Pollox’s leg and hoisted myself up to sit on his side, which gently rose and fell as he inhaled and exhaled.

His wing draped around me like a massive, leathery blanket. “Better?”

I relaxed against his side, warm as any hot spring, and closed my eyes, basking in the smoky scent of the cave. The blessed heat seeped through my dress and drove away not only the chill I always felt, but also the loneliness that had been so pervasive.

Pollox shifted, looping his tail back around his body. I traced my fingers along the scales that supported me, marveling at how they were simultaneously harder than refined iron and yet more comfortable than the softest lamb’s skin.

“Good haul today,” I said casually to Pollox. He turned his sharp head to stare at me. The eyes that had once struck fear into my heart now caused my lips to twitch into a smile. I unearthed a silver coin from my pocket and flicked it at him. It bounced harmlessly off his snout, tinging away across the stone floor until it stopped at the base of a mound of our golden loot. I watched it spiral to a stop then added, “We have quite the racket going on.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “It seems that fortune smiled upon us both when it brought us together.”

“Fate had nothing to do with that. I was the one who suggested this scheme, don’t you remember?”

“Vividly.” Pollox curled up so that I felt like I was lying on top of an enormous cat, his head resting next to mine. I reached over to scratch at the base of one of the horns on his head, and Pollox closed his eyes lazily. It was wonderfully comfortable, much better than lying in the fancy beds back home with several warming pans filled with coals beneath my sheets.

“The way that Drake went running back across the drawbridge today…” I chuckled. “If he had been a dog, his tail would’ve been between his legs.”

“One would think that these kingdoms want their men back with the prices they are willing to pay, but judging by his behavior, I’m not sure why anyone would want someone like that back.” He set his head back on the floor. “You have a good temperature. You can sleep with me anytime you feel lonely.” Pollox yawned hugely so I saw every one of his pointed teeth, then went on sleepily, “I’m sure your kingdom will want you back too. Your father will think I stole from his hoard.”

“I voluntarily left. I’m still a person with free agency and I can leave any hoard anytime I want, right?”

Pollox had already closed his eyes and didn’t answer, and I didn’t press my question. The heavy weight of his wing pressing against me gave me just enough comfort that I was able to convince myself that if he had been awake, he would have agreed with me.

CHAPTER15

“You’re sure about this?” Pollox asked me the following evening. It was just beginning to get dark, and he and I had spent the greater part of the day debating which of the treasure we could part with.

“Positive. If you can part with some of your hoard, I can too,” I answered, closing the lid to the heavy chest and securing it. “Besides, it’s not like I’m even giving it away.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, if the kingdom is like my hoard, then I’m simply relocating my treasure to a different part of my hoard. I haven’t lost it at all.”

He laughed. “Spoken like a true dragon.”

“There.” I gave the trunk a final pat and climbed up to straddle Pollox’s back. “That should hold.” My wardrobe had provided me with black leggings and a simple black tunic, perfect for our task, and I had my hair braided tightly around my head so I was able to pull the hood up to hide my blonde curls. The outfit even had a black mask so I could conceal my face.

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