Page 85 of Claimed by the Savage Dragons
‘He was here to stop us from making the trade deal with the humans. As well as killing other dragons, he was told to burn their farms and maim their livestock. Looks like he’s been here on and off for months.’
I shake my head. ‘No wonder they didn’t trust us. It wasn’t rogues at all. Aziel’s been sending Stormriders out here to terrorize them and their families to stop them trading with us.’
‘We need to get back home,’ he says low.
‘Agreed. We’re finished here. We’ll call Drey after we treat with the humans and debrief him.’
Neither of us have contacted him since the message he sent to us both detailing all the ways he let our mate down while he was meant to be taking care of her. Brax wanted to go back to the mountain and beat the shit out of him. I did too, but I stopped the both of us from doing something we’d regret.
Brax doesn’t mention the Commander at all. He just eyes the dead dragon in front of us. ‘Do you want to do the honors?’
I sneer at Bron’s dark green corpse. I didn’t even break a sweat while I was killing him. ‘You do it. Show your true form to them. Councilor Michaels likes me better anyway. I have gravitas. He thinks you’re too blasé.’
‘Fuck you and Michaels.’
Brax rolls his eyes, and changes quickly, grabbing Bron by the ankle and soaring into the sky with him. I change and follow, listening as my dragon talks to me about the wind velocity and direction. He was quiet for years and now I can’t get him to shut up. But secretly, I like his never-ending stream of consciousness.
We reach the summit beside the next valley in a few minutes. Brax drops the carcass on the grassy hill, and we land in the nearby trees to change and get dressed. The humans don’t likeit when we walk around naked, we’ve found. It offends their innocent eyes.
When we walk into the open, it’s to find the Councilor looking over the dragon in front of him along with some of the other community leaders who I’ve not bothered to speak to. Unlike our faction, it’s obvious who the actual leader is here. All defer to this tall human male with the wrinkled face, long walking stick, and the white beard that blows in the wind. I know that Brax has toyed with the idea of engineering a scenario where he’s somehow encouraged to say the phrase ‘you shall not pass!’, but so far it’s amounted to nothing.
‘Councilor,’ I greet.
I wave at Bron’s body. ‘As promised. The rogue dragon that’s been plaguing your lands won’t be bothering you and yours again.’
Michaels nods sagely. ‘You have done as you promised, Torvial of the skies!’
‘Jesus. Give me break,’ Brax mutters under his breath and I give him a surreptitious elbow to the ribs as I step forward.
‘As the agreement between our peoples states, we will protect your lands from any other dragons who threaten you. I hope we have proven to you that we are more than capable of doing this.’
Michaels turns to his counterparts, and they converse quietly for a moment before he turns with a nod and hands me the scroll with their signatures on it. ‘We can do business, dragon.’
He holds out his hand dubiously. ‘Do your kind shake hands?’
I give him a disarming grin. ‘We do, sir.’
I shake farmer Gandalf’s hand.
‘What do we do with it?’ he asks, gesturing to Bron.
‘He’s yours,’ I say. ‘Do with him what you will.’
The counselor nods and turns away, brandishing his staff and yelling, ‘Put out the word. We’re having a Be Be Kew at the roundhouse tonight!’
The humans around us whoop, smiling and waving at us as a couple of the men start hacking away at Bron’s body immediately.
‘Fuck, I guess meat’s back on the menu, boys,’ I mutter.
Brax sniggers.
‘It’s a post-Fall world out here, friend. Can’t begrudge the people their ‘Be Be Kews’. Couldn’t have happened to a dragon more deserving, I say. Anyway, the mission is over, and this was the only region that was holding out on signing. The new trade network will be up and running within the week. That’s half Drey’s problems solved. By us. Thank you very much. If that’s not going to shorten our banishment, I don’t know what will.’
‘Well, something better,’ I snarl. ‘I need to be with her.’
‘Me too,’ he mutters as he dials. ‘This is fucking torture. I feel like the dragon is going to break out of my skin and go rogue anytime now.’
‘Ditto,’ I growl.
