Page 45 of The Death King
So you enjoy it when he touches you in a dream, but when it’s not a dream, you don’t enjoy it anymore?
Khazmuda was an intelligent creature, but when it came to human sexuality and culture, he didn’t really grasp it. “I don’t want him to touch me, period.”
Even though you like it?
“Okay, stop saying that.”
What?
“Just forget it. You don’t understand.”
He turned quiet. Silence trickled by. A gentle breeze moved through the stalks of grass and traveled higher up into the mountains. There were a few trees, sparsely sprinkled in the valley, and they cast little spots of shade. Birds sang from their branches and worshipped the sun with their song.
I understand now.
I’d forgotten the conversation in the stretch of silence, the beauty of this quiet valley making me forget. I turned to look at him again.
You like it when he touches you…but you wish you didn’t.
I wished I didn’t have to return to that stuffy castle. The place that had no sunlight because wooden planks were nailed over my windows, the place where the enigmatic king crept into my bedroom while I slept, the place where I was a prisoner.
Khazmuda landed in the same spot where he had grabbed me and lay flat so it was easier for me to climb down.
My feet hit the stone, and then I looked up at him, feeling the bite of the chill because the sun had officially set and there was no warmth left in the air.
Get inside, little one. It’s cold.
“What about you?”
The fire in my belly keeps me warm.
I stared at the door to the keep, the door that would take me inside where it was warm…but dark. “I’m just afraid he’ll be sitting there, waiting for me.”
He is.
I gave a quiet sigh. “Thanks for the warning.”
Goodnight, little one.
“Why do you call me that?”
Because you’re small.
“Everyone is small to you. Even King Talon.”
He gave a pause. And you’re cute…
I smiled as I felt my heart melt for this ferocious dragon, the same one who’d come to my kingdom and destroyed it. “You’re cute too, Khazmuda.” I drew closer to his snout then pressed a kiss to his hard scales. “Goodnight.”
Goodnight.
When I reached the door, I heard his expansive wings flap open as he launched into the sky.
I looked up and saw his scales reflect the torchlight for the second he was rising in the air. Then he flew off and disappeared, absorbed into the night instantly. I entered the castle and was immediately cocooned in warmth. The stone was cold to the touch, but it kept the warmth sealed inside the castle walls. I headed back to my bedchambers, passing guards at their stations along the way, not reprimanding me as if King Talon had told them not to.
When King Talon had a fire-breathing dragon patrolling the outside walls, there was no chance for escape, especially when the dragon was so sweet. Even if I had the chance to strike him down, I don’t think I could.
I followed the winding passage and took the maze to King Talon’s section of the castle, which was noted by the increased security stationed there. They stood against the walls with their swords at their hips, watching me cross their line of sight and approach the bedroom.