Page 26 of The Exiled Dragon

Creed roared, blowing smoke and fire through his mouth. Screaming, they flew back down, lower to the ground, and to the palace gates. The suns overhead made the castle bright; bright stained glass windows reflected light throughout the outside of the castle. Many more of these ‘Fairies’ were walking around a marketplace, unaware of our appearance.

The Dragon was quiet and stealthy for the sheer size. Surely it was because he was the perfect predator. I giggled, thinking of Creed as a predator. He was anything but to me. Past the brightly lit castle was the ocean. Bright blue with hints of purple swirled around the distant waters. Rocks far from the land had tiny figures lying on top of them. Struggling to see, I leaned over Creed’s neck a little too far. Slipping, my legs automatically squeezed around his neck.

“Eeeek!” I squeaked until the Dragon rotated until my body was securely back on his neck. “Phew, that was close.” I laughed. “You saved me again. This time I owe you, huh?” White smoke blew from his nose, picking up the pace. Laughing more, he wove in and out of clouds near the ocean shore, going through one, and we would pop out on the other side. It was my roller coaster, and the more he flew, the more I fell in love with the sky.

My arms floated out. I screamed my mighty roar just as my Dragon did the same. All of this fantasy world had to have heard us because we roared so many times my own throat became sore. My eyes closed, feeling the warm salty air until his wings fluttered quickly. Opening my eyes, his enormous claws planted into the ground of a nearby cliff. It was large enough to hold the Dragon and me, though not much more.

Stepping away, the large plumes of black smoke descended more quickly than the last time, and I was left with Creed in his loincloth.

This was both a curse and a blessing. Whatever god ruled over this world, please let me die in peace. Covering my face, I felt his warm, oversized hands on my wrists, pulling them away. Six ways to Sunday, no lie, I was redder than a raspberry. Creed gave me his crooked signature smile, both of us looking at each other, half dazed.

I needed to say something. I mean, I do carry on most of the conversation. “That was amazing,” I chanted over and over. “How?! I mean, how could? This is just phenomenal. Never in my life or dreams would I have expected anything like that. You showed me a place, this place…” My hand waved toward the shining castle, the ocean shore, and the beautiful crystal waters. Enormous splashes came from the corner of my eye, making me forget my thoughts as my mouth hung open.

“Mermaids!” I squealed, jumping up and down. “Look! Oh, my gosh!” Creed pulled me back by my waist, back into his chest. I was dangerously close to the edge. “Whoops, you saved me again,” I snorted.

Oh gosh, I snorted. That was really cute and sexy. He’ll really like me now. Pulling me from the side of the cliff, he motioned for me to sit beside him. We had flown well into the afternoon, and our day was quickly fleeting. The sun’s rays sunk into my skin, warming my body. In fact, all the flying caused me to turn my white skin tanned.

I pulled the bag off my shoulder. We had packed dried meat and several water skins so we could drink. Creed continued to force-feed me, but the dried meat was salty and not my favorite. I dare not tell him that. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for all he had done for me.

Even with the communication barrier, Creed has shown me countless times he cared about me. From the tree trunk, carrying me to his cave, tending my wounds, and coming to hunt me down in the middle of a rainstorm, what kind of man would I find like that on Earth?

That’s right, none.

Creed stared off into the distance. The suns quickly fleeting to the opposite side of this dream world and the shadows became longer. Many of the blue lights surrounded us, hovering over our heads. Several picked up my hair, twisting it in the air, curling it. Creed continued to look out over the water, undisturbed that my hair was now a glorified bird’s nest.

How I was here was a mystery. I will never truly know why my fate was sealed to be sent here, to suffer at the hands of Vampires only to be rescued not by the knight in shining armor but by the Dragon he was supposed to fight.

Creed’s scars didn’t bother me, not even the morning he found me. In fact, it showed how strong he was. He lived alone, away from other Dragons like him. He hasn’t told me his story, but I didn’t need to know at all. I would always believe in him no matter what he did or didn’t do. In the time I had been with him, I’d grown to trust him more than anyone, especially with my life.

“Creed?” I got up on my knees beside him. He still sat cross-legged; his head turned to mine. Looking into his eyes, I realized that even though there was gold in his eyes, there was more gold in his heart. “You know, I kind of owe you for saving me today.”

My beastly Dragon did not come near me, clearly not getting the picture. My heart raced, my hands almost shaking. To keep them from flying off my body, I put one hand on either side of his face. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. All the males in my stories made the first move, never the other way around. Then again, I was the major lead in this story called my life and I wanted to do something different.

Creed’s eyes rose, his face utterly still until my eyes closed and my lips touched his warm ones. Giving Creed my very first kiss.

Creed

We landed on the side of the cliff, overlooking the Golden Light Kingdom. It was an area that I knew would be safe from Vampires. They have hated King Osirus since their last attack. Rogue Vampires and Witches tried to gain the throne and steal Dragon’s blood from the Dragons in the mountain.

Dragon Shifters were in danger of rogue Witches that lived in the Vermillion Kingdom. That was why every Witch and Vampire were banned from coming anywhere near the mountains until the kingdom was sorted out. The Witches could magnify their magical mana by tenfold and create an army strong enough to easily wipe out two kingdoms with a flick of a wrist.

We needed to stay away. How Odessa could escape made me wonder just how she really did it. The place crawled with evil, dark shadows, and magic.

Osirus, along with his mate Melina, helped subdue the entire area with the help of a pure Dragon just days ago. This could have been the reason my fawn could escape. Their numbers were low, and they were dealing with a pure Dragon, no doubt eating them alive. No one could overpower a Dragon such as Horus.

Odessa was trying to eat the dried meat from our bag. I knew she hated it, but it was all I had to take while we traveled. Razak was to pull berries and roots while we were gone. Thankfully, his kind was smart, able to do minor tasks like a primitive monkey in the thick, intense forests in the southeast.

My focus went on the blue waters of the ocean. I would like to see my fawn run along the beach once healed. She had enjoyed the light sources immensely, and I wanted to continue to bring a smile to her face. Her squeals of laughter, and roars of excitement kept my Dragon flying longer and higher than he ever could before. The beast was elated by himself that we found our little treasure, our fawn.

I had to remind myself she was delicate. She was still very thin. The small tunic she wore fell off her shoulders, showing off her slender neck. Moving my eyes away, I kept my face to the darkening waters of night spreading across the sea.

Closing my eyes, breathing deeply, I recalled earlier ago she had kissed my Dragon’s cheek. I was jealous it wasn’t my own, but I still felt it. I felt the fire she says she feels burn brighter than any other time she had touched me. The fire, urged to escape my belly like my younger years. I could not control it then. My Dragon was connected to Odessa somehow, more powerful than while in my human form. It had me perplexed why that was so, but it didn’t matter because I was still intoxicated with her. The Dragon and I were in harmony.

Odessa shifted in her seating position. I felt the heat of her body next to mine. How could I be so scared to look her in the eye? I was the unstoppable black Dragon. The entire Dragon Shifter colony feared me. They run from me, hate me, yet this little human crawled into my beast’s belly and lit the low fire into a blazing light source. I could melt stones around me with a touch of her finger.

“You know, I kind of owe you for saving me today.” My head turned to hers, eyes wide with a hint of softness. Sitting up on her knees, her hands cupped my face. They were cold, but the heat of my skin would warm them. Fawn’s head leaned closer to my face. Was she going to kiss my cheek? Her eyes closed, and instead of her lips hitting my rough beard, they met my very own.

Fire, my Dragon, roared in my heart. It was quick, ended far too soon, and she sat back down on her legs. Before she said anything, I pulled her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her waist. She could never leave me. No one could take her from me. She was mine, and that was all there was to it. Odessa gasped as my nose buried into her now curly hair

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