Chapter 6
Chapter Six
NISSIA
Iknow what awaits me. I wish that King Vizarios would’ve at least had a conversation with me over the last two weeks, given we’re about to become very intimate with each other.
That thought haunts me as the high walls of Selvumrrest grow closer and taller.
The air is much colder than in my homeland, even though it’s still summer, and I have to pull on my cloak so I don’t shiver. I wonder what winters are like here.
I’m not looking forward to finding out.
The trees recede to make way for small homes and farms, many of them terraced to handle the steep slope.
I wonder how long their growing season is here.
Perhaps this is why trade with us is so essential, because they can’t grow much up at this altitude.
Though I know dragon diets consist mostly of meat, they do eat the occasional potato or slice of bread, as I’ve seen over the last two weeks.
It’s probably difficult to raise animals on such terrain, but easier than growing vegetables.
Now that we’re here, the King and I have traded places: I ride toward the back of the caravan with my soldiers while Vizarios marches at the front. When he approaches the towering city, dragons call down from high up, and the gates are opened for us.
Immediately, I’m struck by how everything looks...
ancient. The homes are carved into the rock with holes left for windows and doors.
Dragons are larger than humans and so are their buildings, with high, vaulted doorways and even taller ceilings.
There are so many layers, with homes built on top of other homes or sometimes businesses, and stairways leading up the steep mountainsides to reach them.
As the caravan snakes down wide, uneven cobblestone streets toward the center of the city, I find the castle itself is not as distinct as one would expect—it simply has taller stone towers and grander buttresses, but it is as much a part of the city as anything else.
There is no high wall or gate to separate it from the masses.
What is there to protect us from the citizenry? It is so unlike my homeland, I am not sure what to make of it. The king must not fear the common people as my father does. Dad always has his guards with him when he leaves the castle grounds, and the wall was built to keep the “riffraff” out.
Outside the castle, we step into a grand courtyard where stablehands are waiting for us. When I get off my horse, she’s led away, leaving me alone with my four soldiers.
“We’ll stay for the night,” one tells me. “Then we leave in the morning for home.”
I nod in understanding. “Thank you for making this journey with me.” Though I’ll be sorry to see them go.
That’s when I will truly be on my own.
A throng of commoners have appeared nearby, but they maintain a respectful distance as they gape and gawk at us. King Vizarios gives the onlookers a dutiful wave as he dismounts his horse, and one of the female dragons lets out a whistle.
Hmm. So he’s attractive as far as dragons are concerned. I suppose there is something in the sharp angles of his face, the pointed snout with wide nostrils and crown of horns, that could be beautiful. But it is difficult to see him that way now that I know his personality.
Servants have lined up outside the front doors of the castle, but one breaks free and strides toward me—a dragon female with all silver scales who’s tall and willowy, and bearing long, slender horns that curl back from her head.
She has a delicate snout and wide eyes, and even to my human tastes, she’s beautiful.
No wonder Vizarios isn’t attracted to me.
“Princess Nissia?” the dragon asks, bowing. I nod in return.
“That’s me.”
“I’m Zephala.” She offers me a fanged smile. “Can I help you with your things? The others will take care of what’s in your carriage.”
She reaches for the saddlebags lying at my sides.
“There’s not much,” I tell her. “But sure.”
We each take a bag, though she doesn’t seem to like me carrying my own, and we head through the grand open doorway.
“Follow me,” Zephala says in a comforting tone. “I’ll show you to your room.”
I’m glad I have someone who will give me the lay of the land, even if she is so beautiful I find it intimidating.
Inside, the castle is not nearly as grandiose as I had expected.
The ceilings are still high to accommodate the larger dragons, but there is not finery everywhere as in our own castle back home.
Modest tapestries line the dark hallways, the walls lit by the occasional torch.
After we leave the grand entryway, I follow Zephala deeper into the castle, where all the light from outside has vanished.
“Where are we?” I ask her as the air grows even colder.
She glances at me from the side of her eye. “We are inside the mountain.”
It feels like even the walls are closing in as we progress deeper, and then finally, we turn a corner and Zephala stops. She unlocks an elaborate wooden door and pulls it open for me.
“Your rooms are all prepared,” she says. “We were expecting you soon.”
I step through, and the warm glow of candles greets me. Inside, everything is autumnal in color, from the chairs and sofas in the sitting room, to the bedspread and the curtains hanging from the four-poster bed.
Zephala gestures to another doorway.
“Through here is where we will take care of your, erm,” she looks me up and down, “hair. And dressing. Though you’ll have to forgive me, as I haven’t had much experience with human hair.”
I study her as I put my bag down. “Will you be my handmaiden?”
Again, Zephala bows. “Yes, to that effect. Do you want to settle in while I unpack your belongings?”
I feel like that’s something I ought to do myself, but she’s buzzing about like an eager bee, so I grant her permission and lie back down on the big bed.
At last, a real bed. You don’t realize how much you’ve gotten used to the discomfort of life on the road until you’re in a soft bed again. Then I slip on my silk pillowcase—a tiny piece of home.
I close my eyes while Zephala busies about with my bags. Soon, others arrive with the trunks from the carriage, and she unloads those, too. But I’ve lost track of her because I’m already asleep.
VIZARIOS
It is good to be home, to wake up in my own bed again. But my pleasure is immediately dampened by what awaits me today in the ceremonial hall.
I take my time getting ready, having my breakfast in my rooms and spending as long as I like in the bath until the water is tepid. Wisely, Ragnakor doesn’t come to check on me, so I’m left alone with my meal and my apprehension.
All the wardens of my kingdom will be here to oversee the ceremony and witness the beginning of a new era, where Nissia and I rule together. Our offspring will take over after us and continue my family line.
Of course, she will be a queen only in name.
I hope she understands that, but if she doesn’t, we will have a short and sweet discussion about it before we retire to our separate rooms. Hers is around the corner and down the hall, close enough that it’s suitable but not so close that I’ll run into her often.
Finally, the knock comes at my door, and Ragnakor leans in.
“It’s time, Your Majesty.”
Getting this news from him is yet one more kick in the gut. He will be there tonight, watching everything.
For a long moment I say nothing, simply observing him—his stout face with the short horns, how his deep, inset eyes say so much while also holding even more back.
I rise to my feet and gesture for him to lead us to the ceremony. It is an ancient tradition, one I can’t avoid, though I detest everything about it. This time, I do dress in my ceremonial garb. Not that I’ll be wearing it for long.
Ragnakor and I wind down hallways to the ceremonial hall, a towering stone behemoth of a space where a great marble pedestal stands in the center. It’s been brought out for the occasion, and the raised edges are littered with soft pillows and blankets, all rimmed in gold tassels befitting royalty.
When I enter, everyone I expected is there in attendance, including each of my twelve wardens. Syzari stands in the front row alongside other high-ranking members of the city elite. Ragnakor deposits me in front of the dais and then steps aside to join the circle around the pedestal.
If only it was he up here with me, instead.
The opposite door opens with a creak, and in strides Princess Nissia.
She has been cleaned and re-dressed in the style of dragon royalty, draped with long reams of white fabric that are cinched at the waist with gold and metal.
Her breasts appear much larger now, not bound up as they were on our journey here, and the swooping fabric reveals the tops of her twin mounds.
The outfit parts at her hip, revealing all of her long thigh on one side.
For a moment, I envision where that thigh leads, and saliva pools in my mouth.
When she enters and sees just how many are in attendance, the princess freezes. Her eyes search the room, eventually landing on me. Her assigned caretaker, Zephala, urges her inside, which jolts her out of her trance.
Her surprise falters into what looks more like fear, and for a moment, I worry they haven’t told her what comes next.
But then she approaches the dais, and after a glance back at Zephala—who gives her an encouraging nod—she climbs onto the pedestal.
There, she rests on her knees and lifts her gaze to mine.
Now it is my turn.
I approach the dais, dressed in similarly draped robes.
I breathe deeply to try to expel the emotion from my body and do what I need to do in order to seal this marriage and renew the treaty.
Princess Nissia’s brown eyes are huge as she watches me approach her, her chest heaving with her quick breaths.
She reaches for the fabric hanging over her shoulder and tugs it down, revealing one whole breast to me.
I’m not prepared for it. It’s a large, round globe, hanging in a teardrop shape, and so very different from a dragon’s breast. Her nipples top a broad circle of darker skin, and this one is peaked and tight. Perhaps an effect of the cold in the room.
I could warm her up.
The thought emerges unbidden, and I gnash my teeth. The princess pauses, examining me, and then continues with the fabric across her other shoulder, drawing it down to reveal her other breast. Her hand is trembling.
Next comes the clasp at her waist. While she unbuckles it, I attend to my own clothes and take them off in a similar fashion. I focus on the task, sliding my robes off one shoulder and then the other before unclasping the brace around my waist.
Then my clothing falls away, and my head jolts up at the sound of a gasp. It’s the princess, and her big brown eyes are taking me in. They travel from my feet to my cock, then up my chest to my face.
I can’t make out her expression, lying somewhere between surprised and, perhaps... pleased? I wonder if she likes what she sees. My ego swells as her gaze darts back down again, to that place between my thighs.
Not that it matters whether or not I please her. That is irrelevant to what we’re here to do. This will be the only time we commit this act, anyway, if my seed is potent enough.
I approach the dais as Nissia leans back, now fully naked.
She has a soft belly that curves down into what appears to be a mound of curly black hair between her legs.
Why humans have so much hair, I’ll never know.
But underneath that, I can make out something else, and the fact that it’s shrouded and hidden piques my curiosity.
I have seen dragon females, even rutted a few of them, but this is something else. Foreign and new.
I thought it would be a struggle to awaken my cock, but it’s already filling, enticed by this unusual delicacy on offer. I silently berate it, because there is nothing of interest here—but then my eyes return to that small slit hidden between Nissia’s thighs.
That’s where I will fit. My cock twitches at the thought, filling even more with my hot blood.
The princess watches me intently as I slide onto the dais, resting my knee on the pillows. Then I bring up the other knee, my greater height putting me above her. Those full, round breasts grab my attention again.
I may not like her, but I will do what it takes to ready her for me so that I am not plundering a dry cunt in front of my court. That would be the ultimate embarrassment.
I creep toward her until I’m straddling her. Surprisingly, the scent of her arousal coats my nostrils. Is she anticipating what we’re about to do?
That excites my cock even more. Perhaps this can be enjoyable after all.