Page 37 of Untraceable
Alora looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“They don’t travel for their partners. Their partners are usually sacrificed to them. He is coming to retrieve a child. Dragonborn are precious and rare.”
Heyval looked at her. “Azila, you are sure of this?”
“I am.”
Alora asked softly, “Are you a thrall?”
“No, just mage-bound by dark elves and sold to this palace. I am almost through the enchantments and should be free soon.”
Catching on to what Azila was saying, Alora’s teacup rattled in its saucer. “Why don’t you tell him where you are?”
“I can’t. This isn’t the form that I can use to communicate with him. He would not know me in this shape. I have been in it too long.”
Ulric asked, “Why did you take it on?”
“I was rejected and butthurt, so I portalled across the world, and when I landed in a trap, I took on the form of a more matronly human that would not be particularly attractive to the average elf on the prowl.”
Amori asked, “Who would reject a dragonborn?”
Azila smiled. “Someone who only knew I was their contracted bride. I was too shy, too scaly, and he had a much hotter girlfriend in mind. He couldn’t be bothered to fuck a lizard daily, but he might try and then break the contract.”
Heyval was just as stunned as those with her. “Was he nuts?”
“No. Just an ogre.”
Alora cleared her throat. “Can you show us what you looked like?”
“No. I am eight years older than I was then. I have to let my magic take over, and for that, I have to finish breaking these restraints. It won’t be long, and I hope I get through them before my father arrives. He is reasonable to a point.”
Ulric asked, “And then?”
“And then, he destroys worlds, razes cities, eats populations. I am hoping to have myself together before he arrives.”
Amori said, “You know who you are?”
“I know he is my father. I know I am dragonborn, but I can’t know everything I need until I break these shackles, and they are not meant to be broken. I think I am doing well.”
Heyval had a thought. “How old do you think you are, Azila?”
“Twenty-nine-ish. I was supposed to be married with babies by now.” Azila smiled. “Now I get to leave and go back to my mother so she can try and find another match for me.”
Amori muttered, “Your mother survived birthing you?”
Azila snorted. “Of course. A proper dragon or dragonborn makes their partner strong enough to keep them alive for mating and breeding. So far, I am an only child, but they have centuries together in their futures, and I suspect I will not be alone there forever.”
Alora leaned forward and asked, “So, they only mate once every thirty years?”
Heyval took in the expression on Azila’s face. She was astonished and horrified.
“No, my parents are together every night and day when they are home together. It is obnoxious, really. I hope to disgust my own children that way one day. Not looking likely.”
Heyval suddenly swayed. “Oh, hell. They caught her.”
Alora frowned. “What?”
Amori filled in, “Her sister Rage. She took on Heyval’s appearance and is trying to get the death sentence fulfilled. Heyval is a necromancer, and when she helped heal me, they considered it an abomination and sentenced her to death, but she was already gone. The warrant has remained outstanding.”
