Chapter Five
Dracul
Around midday, I went to check on the newest Dragon Maiden, to see what she had accomplished and bring her lunch. No one was allowed around my hoard except for my Dragon Maiden, so there was no one else to bring her food. Yesterday, her arrival had certainly been a surprise. No Dragon Maiden had tried to escape before—most were ecstatic to be chosen. It meant their families were to be well compensated and taken care of for the rest of their lives. I could not imagine what the Sherok villagers had been thinking when they offered up a complete stranger to become a Maiden. Perhaps this year, no one had wanted to volunteer.
But by far the biggest surprise was that the newest Dragon Maiden was my dragaria —my mate, the one the stars chose to be mine. From the moment Verlak had unceremoniously dumped her on the ground, I’d felt the pull to her. Even now, I could feel a rope-like presence tugging me towards her. She would feel it, too, in time, once the shock of everything wore off. Right now, she was sad, hurting, and confused, but I could sense a resilience underneath, a hidden strength.
Never before had a Dragon Lord had a human as his dragaria , at least not to my knowledge. Such a fact would cause ripples throughout all the clans, and I could only imagine the rumors my enemies would come up with if this fact became known. They would say this was proof that I was not meant to be High Dragon Lord, that I was too weak to even handle a female dragon as my dragaria . Already, they used my age as a reason, being the youngest High Dragon Lord to ascend to the position, despite all the elders agreeing to it. I could only imagine the scorn and insults they would direct towards Valora. Even the thought of imaginary insults being thrown at my mate made steam escape my nostrils in anger.
Upon entering the cavern, I was surprised to see the amount of progress Valora had made. To the side was a small pile of items that she had already finished, shining brighter than the rest of the hoard. Though it was meager compared to what was left in the cavern, it was more than what I had seen any other Maiden accomplish in the same amount of time. Right now, she was sitting cross-legged, vigorously polishing a golden vase, oblivious to my presence. As I watched, she set down the vase in the pile and grabbed a nearby cup, attacking it with the same ferocity. I knew her arms must be aching, although she did not show it. After watching her for a couple more moments, I cleared my throat.
Immediately, she whipped her head up, a strand of hair falling out of her braid and across her forehead. Her face paled and she scrambled into a bow. “I’m sorry, my Lord. I didn’t see you there.”
My heart clenched. Of course she was still afraid of me. “It’s quite all right,” I said. “It seems like you’ve been busy.”
She looked to the pile of polished gold as if seeing it for the first time and then at the rest of my hoard, a despondent expression falling over her face. “It’s not enough,” she said dejectedly. “I’ll never finish this all in a week’s time.”
I frowned at her words. “Who says it needs to be done in a week?”
“The others said that once a month, they work on polishing their Lord’s hoard for a week,” she said, fidgeting with her hands and continuing to absentmindedly polish the cup. “I figured I was under the same time constraint.”
A smile crossed my face. While it was true the other Lords placed that stipulation upon their Maidens, they did not have the hoard that I did—one of the perks of being High Dragon Lord. “Well, I have a much bigger hoard than any of the Dragon Lords.” I held out the plate of food towards her. “I brought you lunch.”
Her eyes alighted on the plate, widening in surprise as she had not noticed it before. She glanced up towards me and back down to the plate, her expression slipping into one of detachment. “I’m not that hungry,” she said, turning back to the cup that she polished while we had been talking, stopping suddenly as if realizing what she had been doing. Carefully, she set it down and grabbed another golden object.
I nodded, setting the plate next to her. “I’ll just leave it here then.” I had made sure that the kitchen had included good food, unlike the lumpy porridge that had been sent out this morning. When I had found out what had been served, they had received an earful. No mate of mine was going to eat such tasteless mush. After my scolding, they had prepared cured meats, cheese, bread, and fruit jam for lunch, and I hoped it was to her liking.
I moved closer to her to watch what she did, questions swirling in my mind. Now that I was so close to her, I wanted to know everything about her.
Valora had turned away from me, focusing on polishing, but I could tell that she knew I had not left yet based on how stiffly she sat. Every moment that passed, I inched slightly closer, wanting to be as near to her as possible, to envelop myself in her scent. She smelled of the lavender soap all the Dragon Maidens used, but underneath was an even sweeter scent. Under my scrutiny, she polished five more objects before finally breaking down.
“What is it that you want?” she asked sharply, turning to look at me. She flinched, not having realized how close I had moved towards her during this time. Despite my size, I could be silent when I wanted to be. My face was close to hers; I could feel her breath tickling my nose.
I figured now would be as good a time as any to ask a few of my questions. “If you aren’t from the nearby towns at the base of the mountain, where are you from?”
She sucked in a breath, clearly not expecting the question. After a moment’s pause, she said, “If I’m to accept this place as my home now, I hardly see how that matters.” Her tone was short, letting me know not to broach the topic any further.
Her ferocity surprised and amused me. I began to shake with laughter.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips, her brilliant azure eyes boring into mine. If I was not careful, I could get lost in them and make a total fool out of myself.
“You can be quite fierce when you feel like it. It’s simply amusing, is all.” Having her as my dragaria was going to be interesting, that was for sure. Though I could admit to myself that she received more leeway than I would give any other Maiden because she was my dragaria . “A word of caution—with the other Lords, it is best if you do not take that attitude with them. They are not as patient or forgiving as I am.”
Biting her lip, she swallowed, realizing her actions. “Thank you for the advice.”
“You’re welcome,” I said. I wanted to push her just a little further. “But you never answered my question.”
Her hands paused in her polishing and I was suddenly worried that I had pushed too far, that I had overstepped. “I… I’d rather not talk about it right now, if you don’t mind.” Her voice was soft as she averted her gaze.
“Very well,” I said. “I won’t bother you further at the moment.”
Her head immediately snapped up to meet my gaze, her eyes searching mine.
“But I would eventually like to know more about you.”
She nodded slowly, acquiescing to my request. Before she could speak further, I left the cavern, leaving her to her work. It was obvious she was uncomfortable around me, a feeling I hoped would disappear in time.