Page 5 of Upon Buried Embers
Just this one thing. Give me this.
Pain shoots through my hip and ribs with the step, and I breathe heavily through my nose. My body feels truly broken in a way I’ve never felt before. Even worse than when I was beaten so badly I couldn’t move for days until my body finally started to heal the injuries, but the pain lingered much longer.
All I did was refuse his friend’s advances, running away and hiding in a cupboard until he left. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do.
The beast’s jaws open wider, pulling me from my thoughts as its black tongue presses down to the bottom of its mouth. A subtle glow begins in the back of its throat, and I’m mesmerized by it for a moment as heat surrounds me, such wonderful heat. Then I realize it’s going to—
“Drogonah!” A voice comes from somewhere, and I startle, the beast snapping its mouth shut as it moves its head toward the sound. Its wicked horns glint as they draw back from the sides of its forehead, its ears—which are beneath the horns— twitching. “Drogonah, we’re leaving. What are you doing over here?” The male’s voice is harsh, a dark edge to it, and the dragon’s tail swishes behind it in what seems to be irritation.
I hear footsteps next, a flickering in the distance where the glow was, and a shape comes into view.
Oh no…
I see the figure’s head tilt out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t dare fully take my eyes off of the purple one that’s blinking at me, like it’s assessing me.
The man comes closer and walks up alongside the beast, palm out, stroking over its scales. He has some sort of lantern attached to his hip, and I do look around then, wondering if I can make a run for it. Anything’s better than letting this man have me, but I’m in no state to run.
I’m frozen in fear as he nears, then stops where the massive head is lowered, eyeing me.
“Drogonah,” the male murmurs. “Are you playing with your food?” He looks me over. “It would only be a small dinner.”
The horror of the situation, the pain in my body and the anger at the unfairness of it all, has me doing something Ineverdo.
I shout.
“I am not food!” The hoarse sound echoes around us, and I instantly regret it as a furious growl comes from both beast and male.
They almost sound the same.
Silence follows, and a chill fills the air, menacing and dominating. My shoulders hunch, my eyes lowering.
“Did you just shout at me?” The words are quiet, but dangerous, the threat in them very clear.
My breathing increases, knowing I messed up, knowing I’ll regret doing that.
It may hurt being burned alive or torn in two by the beast, but a man can do far more damage…
A man will draw out the pain in your body, will hurt you in unimaginable ways and revel in it.
I would choose a beast over a man any day.
“S-sorry.” My words are quiet, but I force them out from my dry mouth, pretending I’m not petrified, pretending my voice didn’t wobble.
“You dare talk to a Dragonbond like that?” As if they’re one, the dragon moves restlessly next to him from foot to foot, like he can feel the man’s agitation.
I swallow roughly, hands clasped together.
A Dragonbond? It had to be a Dragonbond?
Please, kill me quickly.
“Nothing to say?” The man comes closer, reaching for me and I flinch back on instinct, not wanting to feel anything that’s about to happen. The man pauses, hand midair, brows furrowed, then roughly grabs my chin and raises my eyes to his as I gasp out a small cry.
He unclips his lantern and brings it up to my face. The bright light makes me squint, and he lets out a grunt. He looks briefly at the collar around my neck, his eyes flashing before roaming over my face, and I know what he sees.
Copper hair, a skinny face with freckles over the bridge of my nose spreading slightly over the tops of my cheeks. Accompanied with green eyes, I don’t see many who look like me often.
He looks at my waist-length, matted hair that covers what I am.
