didn’t feel like blood was flowing, but the pain was still excruciating.
“We’re here,” he said, setting her gently in the snow. She cried out and sucked in a deep breath as she sank into the snow, feeling the sting of the cold powder against the bare skin of her legs.
“This rock will do perfectly,” Val said, rubbing a large piece of stone that shot out of the snow at an angle.
She held her wound and remained silent as he pulled four long chains with shackles on the ends from his pack and began to stake them into the rock. Mara turned her head curiously as she watched. What could he possibly be doing with that?
“Sir,” she said, trying to be heard through the howling wind. “You told me earlier that a white dragon was the smallest of all dragons.”
“That is correct,” he said, hammering with ruthless efficiency.
“But even so, those shackles are barely large enough to chain a horse to that rock. Is a white dragon really so small?”
“Of course not,” he said, looking down at her with the same predatory gleam in his eyes that she had seen earlier.
Mara immediately felt her stomach churn as her breakfast tried to find its way out the same way that it had entered. “What are you going to shackle, then?”
“Bait,” Val said, moving towards her.
She was too weak to run away, but she tried anyway. She stood up and turned to run, but he was on her in no time, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her backwards. She felt tears rising up in her eyes as he pulled her backwards. His grip was so strong, she was sure he was going to rip every hair out of her scalp at once.
“Please!” she screamed. “You’re supposed to be my lord husband!”
“An easy story to get your father to agree to send you!” he snarled, dragging her back towards the rock.
She squirmed and tried to fight, but she suddenly felt the warm flow of blood over her chest as her wound reopened. “No!” she screamed as he slammed her against the rock and began to close the manacles over her wrists. “You promised to take me away.”
“You village girls are so gullible and so are your stupid fathers. You dangle even the tiniest bit of prestige in front of them and they jump at it without using that thing inside their skull the gods gave them. Stupid sniveling mealworm.”
“Why?” she screamed.
“Why?” he yelled back in her face, pausing to laugh sardonically. “Dragons can’t resist a maiden offered to them. I told you they’re creatures of hubris and ritual. For centuries they’ve been unable to turn down a living sacrifice to their mighty nature. It will be this dragon’s downfall.”
“I thought you loved me,” she cried.
“Love? Love? Haha!” She couldn’t even cry or yell anymore as Val leaned over and spit right in her face. “You’re just as stupid as the rest of the village girls. Like I could ever love a creature as simple as a woman. You’re nothing but a means to an end for me. Sometimes it’s a means to get my dick wet. Sometimes it’s a means to kill a dragon. You could have been both, but you resisted.”
Mara just looked to her side, unable to deal with the cruelty of the supposedly brave dragon knight. If only the world knew what a piece of trash Val really was. She could only hope the dragon would defeat him and end her suffering quickly and quietly. She hoped dragons were big enough to swallow a human in one bite, swiftly and cleanly.
Val was building something with the sticks they had collected, some sort of a pyre. The last thing she saw of him was his purely evil smile as he lit the wood on fire before disappearing into the darkness behind the rock.
She was alone. Dragon’s bait.
Chapter 3
The mid-afternoon sky gave way to night as the snow continued to howl all around Mara, but the fire in front of her still raged. She gathered a little warmth from it, a small comfort in the face of what was coming.
The sky had been gray and overcast. Now it turned a dark shade of
“We’re here,” he said, setting her gently in the snow. She cried out and sucked in a deep breath as she sank into the snow, feeling the sting of the cold powder against the bare skin of her legs.
“This rock will do perfectly,” Val said, rubbing a large piece of stone that shot out of the snow at an angle.
She held her wound and remained silent as he pulled four long chains with shackles on the ends from his pack and began to stake them into the rock. Mara turned her head curiously as she watched. What could he possibly be doing with that?
“Sir,” she said, trying to be heard through the howling wind. “You told me earlier that a white dragon was the smallest of all dragons.”
“That is correct,” he said, hammering with ruthless efficiency.
“But even so, those shackles are barely large enough to chain a horse to that rock. Is a white dragon really so small?”
“Of course not,” he said, looking down at her with the same predatory gleam in his eyes that she had seen earlier.
Mara immediately felt her stomach churn as her breakfast tried to find its way out the same way that it had entered. “What are you going to shackle, then?”
“Bait,” Val said, moving towards her.
She was too weak to run away, but she tried anyway. She stood up and turned to run, but he was on her in no time, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her backwards. She felt tears rising up in her eyes as he pulled her backwards. His grip was so strong, she was sure he was going to rip every hair out of her scalp at once.
“Please!” she screamed. “You’re supposed to be my lord husband!”
“An easy story to get your father to agree to send you!” he snarled, dragging her back towards the rock.
She squirmed and tried to fight, but she suddenly felt the warm flow of blood over her chest as her wound reopened. “No!” she screamed as he slammed her against the rock and began to close the manacles over her wrists. “You promised to take me away.”
“You village girls are so gullible and so are your stupid fathers. You dangle even the tiniest bit of prestige in front of them and they jump at it without using that thing inside their skull the gods gave them. Stupid sniveling mealworm.”
“Why?” she screamed.
“Why?” he yelled back in her face, pausing to laugh sardonically. “Dragons can’t resist a maiden offered to them. I told you they’re creatures of hubris and ritual. For centuries they’ve been unable to turn down a living sacrifice to their mighty nature. It will be this dragon’s downfall.”
“I thought you loved me,” she cried.
“Love? Love? Haha!” She couldn’t even cry or yell anymore as Val leaned over and spit right in her face. “You’re just as stupid as the rest of the village girls. Like I could ever love a creature as simple as a woman. You’re nothing but a means to an end for me. Sometimes it’s a means to get my dick wet. Sometimes it’s a means to kill a dragon. You could have been both, but you resisted.”
Mara just looked to her side, unable to deal with the cruelty of the supposedly brave dragon knight. If only the world knew what a piece of trash Val really was. She could only hope the dragon would defeat him and end her suffering quickly and quietly. She hoped dragons were big enough to swallow a human in one bite, swiftly and cleanly.
Val was building something with the sticks they had collected, some sort of a pyre. The last thing she saw of him was his purely evil smile as he lit the wood on fire before disappearing into the darkness behind the rock.
She was alone. Dragon’s bait.
Chapter 3
The mid-afternoon sky gave way to night as the snow continued to howl all around Mara, but the fire in front of her still raged. She gathered a little warmth from it, a small comfort in the face of what was coming.
The sky had been gray and overcast. Now it turned a dark shade of
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