Page 53 of The Lost Prince
Nothing.
No one.
At least the girls in the kitchen would miss me.
FWUMP.
A loud thud exploded near my head and then blinding pain radiated from my scalp, so bad that I forgot for a split second I was free-falling to my death. My arms came up and met rough, hard scales and talons.
What?
The dragon threw me up onto the dome by my hair, flaring its wings as it landed daintily next to me. I put a shaking hand to my head, convinced half of my hair had been ripped off. But no, the same amount of hair glided through my fingers, and I pushed away the fear and pain to focus.
I prayed it was Zariah, and not the other personality, Zion.
“T-thanks. But this isn’t a social visit, I’m afraid.”
The dragon’s head tilted to the side; a promising start.
“A f-friend of mine is in trouble. They’re coming now to bring her to you. Please don’t kill her. I don’t know what to do, but just … just …”
I trailed off, realizing I had no plan and no leverage. Just an entreaty to a fucking dragon because we were … friends?
Friends.
Like M was supposed to be.
Friends were insignificant. Lovers were a lie.
Allies were smart, however.
I supposed if I was going to be selective about my allies—friends—, then a fire-breathing dragon and a bad ass mud girl weren’t the worst way to go.
I pulled myself together.
“Handle it how you like. Just please don’t kill her. I can figure the rest out, if that works for you. I’m not sure what to give you in trade, but I’m open to suggestions.”
Across the dome, a loud clang stole our attention as the hatch was thrown open and Shava pushed through it unceremoniously. She flinched as it slammed shut behind her. Without even looking up to see the dragon or me, she tugged at it furiously, swearing.
I turned back to the dragon. “What do you—”
Zariah let out a stream of flames, forcing me flat on my belly on the dome, his roar so loud my head felt like it would explode.
Right. Stay down. Got it.
He leaped into the air and flew towards Shava, scooping her up in his claws like she was a sheep about to be roasted. He banked hard and came barreling back in my direction at full speed.
Her screams were barely audible over the flapping of his wings.
What the fu—
Zariah grabbed me in his other claw and tucked me hard into his chest, hopefully to conceal me from view rather than squash me like a bug. I couldn’t see the landscape pushed hard up against his golden scales like I was, but that was fine. Throwing up on a dragon would probably be frowned upon.
Shava’s high-pitched screams rang out through the air, Zariah growling in irritation. The wind whipped around me, but I had no choice but to hang on until he landed.
Eventually, he did just that.
Shava let out a grunt as we were thrown onto the dusty ground, Zariah finally relinquishing his hold on me. As I moved away from the massive dragon, I saw why.
