Dragons Don't Love Read Free Page A

white.
    His damned scales hardened when my
blade met his body and the blade slid off. Pain lanced through my
arm and into my shoulder. I struck again in fury. No matter how
many times I tried, he remained unscathed. No dragon’s blood to
carry into death.
    I failed.
    Now, my humiliation complete, I hang
by my dress, flying through the sky at the mercy of a dragon. I am
too distraught to admire the view. I had planned to die. I swore an
oath to kill the dragon. All is lost. He carries me to a fate worse
than death. The clear sky gives me no warning as we pass through an
invisible sphere. Excruciating pain shoots through my head. I hate
myself and my human weakness that makes me cry out.
    Then, I hate him more.
    He tosses me high above him and spits
flame beneath me. My dress catches fire, but that doesn’t stop him
from grabbing it between his teeth again. I silently vow I will
succeed in killing him no matter what it takes. If my sword won’t
do the job, I will find another way.
    When my hands and knees hit the cool
ground a short time later, my apprehension reaches a new level. I
sink wearily to my stomach and rest my face against my arms. My
blade. I must have my blade. I use every bit of my remaining
strength to move my head around in hope that it’s near.
Nothing.
    A giant dragon nose lifts
me about three feet to the side and I collapse onto my belly
again.     Too despondent to
even cry, I simply roll over to my back. I will look death in the
face and spit in its eye.
    He stands over me—the great beast I
spent my life hating. I was told my dragon captor would be blue and
he is. Though blue doesn’t quite cover the shades of color rippling
over his scales. From the fairest blue sky to the dark of the moon,
the light illuminates his incredible hide. His monstrous body is
larger than I ever imagined. And his eyes. Their stunning blue
depths hold nothing but death.
    “ What are you staring at,
female?”
    His voice startles me as much as it
pains my head. I cover my ears while squeezing my eyes closed even
though I know it will do no good. How does he yell into my mind
without moving his mouth? A few minutes pass without more blaring
and I manage to open one eye just in time to see a great claw from
his front leg descend. This is it. He will gut me and eat my
organs. Deep in my soul I find strength. I grab the claw and wrap
my arms and legs around it with the last bit of fight I have left.
He lifts me into the air and brings me closer to his wide
jaws.
    I am stupid by playing directly into
his plans to eat me, but one crunch must be better than the slow
slice of claws through my flesh. His giant nostril puffs warm air
over me before he lifts me higher and brings me up to one of his
blue eyes.
    This time his voice is slightly less
than a blare and doesn’t hurt my head as much. “Foolish woman. What
do you hope to accomplish by hanging from my talon?”
    “ This,” I shout as I swing
myself up and leap for the bridge of his nose. My foot swings out
and I thrust it as hard as I can into his eye. Pain lances up my
leg as he rears back. My fall is short-lived. His mighty talons
grab me right before I land. I slide across the floor until I hit a
wall. The impact jars me and my teeth rattle. At the same time, it
knocks the breath from my body.
    “ Are you happy?” he shouts
into my head again.
    I curl into a tight ball and try to
gain my breath. Everything hurts.
    “ So I do have a crybaby on
my hands; how un-refreshing.” he says in a lower tone. He sounds
completely disgusted.
    After a minute, air enters my lungs
and I can think again. I uncurl myself slowly and using the wall
for support, I inch my way up until I stand tall and proud. “Did
you call me a crybaby?”
    His body rears up, his front legs as
high as three men, and flames shoot from his mouth as he… laughs?
The idiot is laughing. I notice the lighter shade of his underbelly
and fist the hand that is missing a blade. His belly is the kill
zone