Page 31 of Rejected By Dragons

My throat is dry, my palms sweating. Too late, I realize that in my rush to check my car, I left my knife behind. Stupid--letting my guard down for even a moment out here.

Instinctively, I try to make myself small and non-threatening. Even as I do, I force myself to look beyond his attractive exterior, hunting for weaknesses. If he thinks I'm harmless, maybe he'll come close enough that I can get in a sneaky blow. Buy myself enough time to run.

But where? I'm in the middle of the desert, miles from civilization. He's a fully grown, Emerged dragon. If he decides to pursue, I have no chance of escape.

I curl my hands into fists and try to keep the trembling out of my voice. "I'm no one. Nothing." The irony of parroting back the most painful thing Storm ever said to me is a bitter pain, but I can't get distracted by that now. I shake my head. "Just passing through."

The stranger's eyes narrow, and he sniffs the air. "I don't know about that last part." He raises his brows. "But the first two are definitely bullshit."

With that, he closes in on me. I flinch hard, flashbacks assaulting me of every time Fury shoved me into a wall, or Jasmine dug her talons into my skin, only this is worse. They were constrained by King Zephyr's laws. Out here? There are no laws. He could kill me in an instant.

Instead, his eyes widen. He retreats. "I mean you no harm," he promises.

"Right." There's no keeping the shaking from my voice now. "Dragons sneak up on defenseless women out of nowhere for good reasons all the time."

He could have his way with me just as easily as he could murder me. According to the stories, rogue dragons rape and pillage at will out here in the wilds.

He must catch my meaning. His nostrils flare, and outrage flashes in the darkness of his eyes. "I'll excuse you this once for questioning my honor and my dedication to my True Mate. I won't do it again."

Oh. The aura that surrounded him when I was checking him out a few seconds ago--it makes sense now. He's one of the rare dragons who's found his True Mate. The one fated to him in the creation of the universe. Outside of my parents, I've never met anyone who shared that bond before.

Now that I recognize it, it's written all over him. He has no eyes for anyone except his other half. He would never force himself on anyone.

Still, it's not as if that's the only danger he poses.

"I'm not kidding about being no one," I remind him, still defensive and stiff. "I have nothing to steal, and no one will pay you any ransom for me."

"And I was not kidding about no harm coming to you." He makes a strange gesture, drawing what reminds me vaguely of the sigil for protection from the Fire Realm, only with an extra stroke at the end. I squint, my recollection of the other kingdoms' traditions having grown rusty after a decade of disuse--and in some cases, from outright, xenophobic, Air Kingdom suppression. "All those who come in peace are guaranteed safe passage while they are in Unity."

I squint harder. "'Unity?'"

Dropping his hands, he smirks. "You're from the Air Kingdom, aren't you?"

Was it that obvious?

Despite myself, I let down my guard, just a fraction. My nervous talking thing where I act braver than I am kicks in. "As in, are they the assholes who tortured me for years and then kicked me out for no good reason?"

"Oh, child." That wicked smirk deepens, becoming an outright smile. "Welcome to the neutral territory of Unity. I have a feeling you're going to fit right in."

* * *

If anyone had told me that I would end up being carried around by not one but two dragons in as many weeks, I would have laughed in their face.

And yet, here I am.

The good news is that this new dragon--Jett, he introduced himself as--let me ride on his back instead of gripping me in his claws. His dragon form is as huge as I imagined, his hide a rich, almost iridescent black. As I grip onto his neck, I remember being a child and clinging to my father in much the same way. He would dip and swoop and swirl through the sky, and I would laugh, exhilarated by every loop and twist. My mother was horrified, of course, but I never felt safer.

I feel a lot less confident now. The ground seems miles away, and while Jett has given me his word that he'll keep me safe, I've been through too much shit to trust him completely.

Before long, the desert gives way to brush and grass. We soar over scattered homes. My mouth gapes as another dragon swoops past us. Jett roars in greeting, and if I'm not mistaken, the other dragon--her hide a brilliant red--belches out a fiery laugh. Deep inside, my own dragon stirs inquisitively. I silently scold her. If she'd just Emerged when she was supposed to, we could be flying alongside them, engaging in their conversation instead of just listening in with my useless human ears.

The houses and roads grow more plentiful until we reach the center of what is clearly a thriving little town. Unlike Wynrath Crest, with its crumbling streets and aging brick, this place practically shines. The shops and homes along the main strip are immaculately maintained, everything fleshly painted, with colorful flowers planted in window boxes and containers. People mill about, families with children and older couples, as well as lone adults, sitting on benches reading or just out for a stroll.

I do a double-take when I spot a handful of giant wolves playing what looks like tag football with a team of bears. Their shifter nature reveals itself when one of them returns to human form to trash talk the others. My mind reels. Dragons, wolves and bears all living together in one place?

As we descend, I stiffen further, catching whiff of some unknown magic--something I felt back when I wandered the globe with my family, but that I haven't sensed since.

I wish I could give it my full attention, but Jett swoops down to land in a central square beside a fountain. He drops his neck, allowing me to slide--less than gracefully--from his back. In a smooth ripple of dragonflesh and a flap of wings, he transitions back to human form, just in time to be barreled into by a young woman with bright pink hair, dressed in a long black sundress with tons of chunky, beaded jewelry around her neck and wrists. At first glance, she's human, but in this town, who knows?

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