Chapter Eight
Brenna stared at the strange man snoring on the blankets. She moved her head around to try to get a better look at him. Asleep like this, his jaw wasn’t clenched and his eyes weren’t glaring at her. His face was softened and he actually looked quite… handsome? Was that the right word?
Dropping onto her back legs with a huff, she wished she could remember what she looked like in human form. She couldn’t shift, which Drake had said was because of some curse. It was a curse, alright. This form had never been her favorite. Why was that again?
She had a few flashes of her childhood and remembered. It seemed she could find her memories better if they had originally happened while she was in dragonite form. It didn’t paint the entire portrait of her memory, but she remembered the shame she felt in this form in the past.
Her friends loved their dragonite forms, preferring to stay in them when in the valley. They would fly together at night, flirting as they showed off their expansive wings and flying abilities. The male dragonites would twist and loop, hoping to impress a female dragonite into becoming their mate.
For her, she’d never really enjoyed flying. It was something she had to do on occasion but had never actually liked it. Probably because her wings were larger than some of the other girls and her color was unique to her power, so people liked to stare at her. She hated that.
Most in their kingdom were fire or water dragonites.
Some smoke or ice. But she had been born with the rare power of lightning.
A storm dragonite. It was embarrassing to open her mouth and a bolt come out of it.
The other girl dragonites were sought after for mates but she was feared.
She couldn’t put faces to those boys who had teased her because it was still fuzzy, but she remembered the feeling.
If only she could shift. Drake had mentioned that all her memories would return then.
Unfortunately, the curse was stopping her from doing that and for some reason, the gnomes thought this man lying on the dirt in front of her was somehow supposed to break her curse.
She rolled her eyes at that. This arrogant ass was not the answer to her problem.
He began to move on the ground, and she shifted away from him. If he woke with her face so close to him, she knew he would panic and probably kick dirt in her eyes again. Another reason she didn’t think this prince could be the right one. She didn’t like him.
Sure, he smelled kind of nice. It was strange because she didn’t want to eat him but still liked his scent.
What did that mean? She wasn’t sure. However, when his eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her, his eyelids still droopy from sleep, she blinked down at him.
He was beautiful this way. When he wasn’t angry and running away from her.
Was she beautiful in her human form? She couldn’t remember exactly what she looked like.
Probably something similar to the mate Drake had brought to meet her just before they’d left to go somewhere she couldn’t remember either.
His mate had been lovely too, with long, dark brown hair that curled up.
What color was her own hair? Was it gold, like her scales?
The prince seemed to finally notice her and he gave a sigh, collapsing back down on the blankets.
She agreed. She wasn’t any happier about this arrangement than he was.
Should she do something to make it better?
Not for him, because he was annoying. But for herself?
She didn’t particularly like growling, even though she’d done it quite a bit ever since he’d first entered her cavern.
Sitting up, the prince turned and rested his arms on his knees. He looked up at her, and she felt a little weird. He was looking her over in a way he hadn’t before. Was he thinking the same thing she was? That maybe they could try to get along until this curse business was over with?
“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” he said, confirming her suspicion. “I’m Prince Kairon. My family calls me Kai. You can’t speak, I presume, so that probably doesn’t matter to you.”
When he ran his hand over his face in frustration, she thought his words over. Kai. It rhymed with sky and she snorted out a laugh without meaning to. His eyes snapped up at her.
“Is that funny? My name?” he asked, but he didn’t look mad this time. “And what is your name? Let me guess. Goldie?”
Brenna huffed out, sending air toward the ground and swirling up the dirt.
“I think that’s what I’m going to call you, either way.”
He stood and dusted off his pants, which didn’t help much. They were filthy. He needed to change clothes. She looked toward the hole in the wall which contained crates of clothing. He seemed to notice the direction of her attention.
“They’re ladies’ clothes,” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t look at me that way. I’m not wearing women’s clothing, thank you very much.”
She lifted one of her front claws and gestured toward the hole anyway. He reluctantly wandered over, entering and starting to open the other crates. After a couple which contained more dresses and skirts, he managed to pry open a crate with men’s clothing inside of it.
He pulled out a pair of pants and a tunic, slipping them on. She watched him as his clothing fell away and she was surprised by how muscular he was beneath that fabric. For some reason, she felt herself warming inside when she saw him undress. She couldn’t blush in this form, right?
When Kai stepped out of the other room, he spun around, showing her his new clothes.
“So?” he said. “Meet your approval, Goldie?”
She realized he was wearing brown and it did nothing for him. She shook her head and his eyes widened.
“What’s wrong with it?” He looked down and lifted the tunic. “I mean, sure, it’s plain. And I guess I do blend into the damn rock walls.”
She shook her head more quickly and he sighed, disappearing back into the hole.
When he came back out several moments later, he was wearing all green.
She reared back in disgust. He didn’t even say a word, just spun around and went back inside.
This was kind of fun. Didn’t mean she liked him, though.
She could play with him for a while and go back to hating him, couldn’t she? ”
He returned once more, this time wearing a pair of tan trousers and a purple tunic with gold trim. He spun around and smiled when she nodded. This was much better.
“You only like this because it’s the same color you are,” he said, smirking.
She felt that smirk, all the way to her tail. He must be right. She did love the color purple. It matched her eyes. However, she had a strange feeling she liked seeing him wearing the colors more than she should, since she didn’t like him.
The door opened and Rasa entered with a tray for their breakfast. She sat it on the boulder but instead of feeding Brenna, like she had before, the gnome just disappeared.
“Where did she go?” Kai asked, looking around. Then he called out, “You forgot something, gnome! You’re supposed to feed her!”
Brenna shuffled closer to the tray because she smelled fried honey cakes, which were one of her favorites. She tried to reach out a claw, but it was too large and only made the tray begin to tip.
“Whoa!” Kai said, catching it before the tray could topple over. “Calm down. I’ll do it.”
She sat back and waited as the prince lifted one of the cakes up and sniffed it.
“What’s in this? Smells good.”
He waited until she opened her mouth and she noticed him cringe, slightly, just before he tossed a couple of the cakes inside.
Good. Let him be afraid of her teeth. She could rip him into pieces with them or swallow him whole, if she chose to.
She wouldn’t, of course. People didn’t taste good to dragonites, but he didn’t need to know that.
Kai switched to the pieces of salted ham and she could only eat a little of it before she got thirsty.
She sniffed the air and smelled water. It was nearby and she ignored the prince’s calls as she moved closer to the far side of the cavern.
Sniffing again, she could tell that something to drink was just on the other side of this wall.
She stood back and summoned her power, deep within her.
Her stomach rumbled and the sound echoed around the cavern before she released several bolts, aiming them straight at the wall.
It cracked and soon chunks of rock fell away, revealing a large gaping hole.
The sound of rushing water filled the cavern.
“What the hell!” Kai shouted. “What was that? Lightning? Did lightning just shoot out of your mouth?”
She ignored him and wedged herself through the opening, straightening up when she saw the waterfall. Their mountain was full of hidden water caves. She must have found one. She moved closer and stuck her face right into the water, swallowing several large mouthfuls before Kai entered.
“Wow. How did you know this was here?” he asked.
There wasn’t a lot of room, but he skirted around her and scooped up some of the water, sipping it.
Once her thirst was quenched, she moved back into the cavern and let Kai finish feeding her and himself.
Then when he sat down on his pallet and leaned back, watching her, she wondered what he was thinking.
It didn’t take long for him to tell her.
“You don’t breathe fire?” he asked, tilting his head as he studied her. “You breathe lightning instead?”
Oh, no. Here it came. Just like all the male dragonites, he was going to hate her power and make her feel like an outcast. She should have known he would be just like the—
“That’s really… incredible,” he said with a nod, catching her by surprise.
Then he launched into some story about a wizard he knew that accidentally used lightning magic to catch a tree in their courtyard on fire.
She tried to pay attention, but her mind just kept repeating his words, over and over.
He seemed to be… impressed by her? It made her heart patter in her chest and she decided maybe she could find a way to like him, after all.