Chapter Twenty-Two
Valora
Now that spring was on its way, the caves were a flurry of activity. On a daily basis, I ran back and forth between Lord Dracul’s and the other Lords’ caves, passing back papers and summons for meetings. The High Dragon Lord had grown busier over the past few months, worry about the Starfire clan’s activities causing a stir among the populace. As I passed by the human servants, they’d whisper about the problem and what it would mean if Lord Dracul was overthrown.
More dragons from the main part of the caves started to appear more frequently, as well, delivering updates to Lord Firenze, Lord Hiram, and Lord Dracul. They always appeared in their human forms, as moving around the corridors as dragons would easily cause congestion due to the frequency of people around nowadays. The dragons were easy to spot because of their eyes. Most were unusual colors, or their hair would give away their true identity. Because of the bustle, Lord Dracul and I did not have much time alone anymore, and I was unable to ask him more questions, instead having to glean information on my own.
I hoped that my efforts since my escape would prove that I was ready to be a Dragon Maiden and go through the ceremony, but after that initial conversation, neither Lord Dracul nor I mentioned it again. The other Dragon Lords eventually warmed up to me, finally greeting me when I stopped by to drop off papers or missives. This gave me hope that I was making progress with them. Deep down, I knew that becoming a Dragon Maiden would mean finally turning my back on trying to find my brother and receiving answers, but I found that the more time I spent with Lord Dracul, the more the need for answers lessened.
The other Maidens began to thaw in their iciness towards me, following their Lord’s attitude, except for Vimery. There was still tension in the cavern, but it had lessened considerably in the months following my escape. Finally, they spoke to me again and I knew we had reached a tenuous peace. Continuing to do my job well would put me further into their good graces, any misstep would destroy the friendliness we built. Once more a flicker of hope began to grow. I wanted us to be friends, especially if I continued to stay here. And the longer I stayed, the desire to stay by Lord Dracul’s side grew.
* * *
One morning while I ate breakfast in the Dragon Maiden cavern with the other Maidens, they all suddenly gasped and fell to the ground, bowing. My back was to the door, and I turned, somehow knowing who was there. Lord Dracul stood in the doorway in his dragon form, his silver eyes trained on me. For a few moments, we stared at each other before I sank into a bow. When I stood, I noticed an eager brightness in his eyes.
“How may I help you, my Lord?” I asked.
“Come with me,” he said, motioning me to follow.
I looked back at the other Maidens, and they shrugged, equally as confused as me.
He kept up a fast pace as we navigated the corridors, so I had to walk briskly to keep up with him. Servants and dragons alike jumped out of his way, bowing in respect as he passed by. I could feel their eyes staring at me as I followed closely behind, nodding in acknowledgment.
“Where are we going?” I asked. I could sense an excited energy about him and was curious as to what he was enthused about. Rarely did he have this type of attitude, especially lately, with all the paperwork and meetings.
We reached the entrance of the cave where I had first arrived, a place I had not been in ages. Lord Dracul knelt down, settling his bulk on the ground and moving his wings to the side. He glanced at me with bright eyes, which seemed to sparkle in the crisp morning air.
“Get on,” he said.
“Excuse me?” I could not believe what I was hearing. Did he want me to ride him?
“Get on my back,” he said. “We’re going flying.”
“ Flying ?” The incredulous words left me.
By his smug grin, I could tell that he was serious. “Climb on. There should be a spot you can sit between my shoulder blades,” he directed me. “You’ve been very busy the past few months. I figured we could both use a break.”
I scrambled onto his back and settled in the spot he had mentioned. Surprisingly, it was a comfortable seat, as if nature had intended for people to ride dragons. The few spikes protruding from his back in front of me looked perfect for steadying myself, and I held on to one tightly. He shifted slightly, and I gasped at the feeling of him underneath me, how my body moved with him.
“Ready?” Lord Dracul asked, turning his head to look at me.
“I suppose.” Anxiety settled in my stomach, forming a hard knot. I knew this would be quite different from the first time I flew with a dragon and was nervous as to what this would feel like.
With a powerful launch, we were in the air. My heart dropped to my stomach as the ground quickly grew further and further away. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the spikes in front of me tightly, trying to remember to breathe. The wind flew past me, pulling at my hair and my clothes. It took everything within myself to keep from screaming in fear. As I looked at the swiftly distancing ground, it suddenly hit me how easily it would be to fall off and plummet to my death.
Lord Dracul chuckled and I felt the rumble underneath me, sending a heat to my abdomen. “You can relax. I won’t let you fall,” he promised. I could barely hear him over the wind. Quickly, he settled into sailing at a steady altitude.
After several minutes, I began to calm down, my heart rate slowing as I got used to flying. With much effort, I loosened my grip on his spikes, now holding them firmly rather than with a deathly tight hold. Surprisingly, I even began to enjoy myself, looking at the landscape below and the fluffy clouds in the distance. Never before had I seen the land from this vantage point, up this high. It was amazing how beautiful and serene everything seemed.
We flew around for a couple hours, Lord Dracul taking time for a few dips and dives, seeming to enjoy my squeals of surprise every time. I could sense the way his body moved to prime his tricks, and could prepare myself in response. Together, it truly felt as if we moved as one.
The fluffy group of clouds that had been closer to the horizon at the beginning of our flight had darkened quickly and the wind had picked up before we realized. Not to mention we had traveled quite a distance from the mountain in that amount of time.
“Lord Dracul?” I shouted into the wind. “I think we should start heading back now. It looks like there’s going to be storm.”
“We should be fine for a little while,” he said. “But we can head back now if you want.”
“Yes, please,” I said, tightening my grip once more as the sudden blustering wind threatened to blow me off his back. “I don’t feel like it’s a good idea to stay out here much longer, my Lord.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, ice-cold rain began to come down. Lord Dracul spun around in the air and began to head back to the mountain. On our way back, the rain intensified and the wind blew harder. Instinctively, I drew closer to Lord Dracul to lessen the force of the wind hitting me, closing my eyes as the rain pelted my face.
“How much farther?” I shouted into the wind to be heard, beginning to shiver from the cold. My clothes were drenched and offered no protection from the wind.
“We’re still quite a distance away,” he shouted back, turning his head to talk. “I hadn’t realized how far we had flown.”
A huge gust of wind suddenly surprised me, ripping me from his back. My eyes flew open as I felt myself suddenly falling, plummeting towards the ground. A rushing sound filled my ears and I was acutely aware of pain in my hands from getting pulled from Lord Dracul’s spikes. But that pain paled in comparison to the paralyzing terror I felt from falling.
“Dracul!” I screamed as my heart pounded in fear, reaching up towards him as if that would save me. “Dracul!”
He swooped down and caught me gently in his claws. My body shook, both from adrenaline and the cold. Using one claw to shield me from the rain and the other to support me, he clutched me to his chest. I settled against his claws, gripping one of them tightly. This way was much more comfortable than the first time I flew.
“I’ve got you. You won’t fall,” he repeated over and over, a quiet chant that filled me with relief.
Despite the shelter in his hands, I could sense the storm worsening. I burrowed closer into his claws, my heart pounding furiously. Thunder rumbled overhead and I could see flashes of lightning in the distance.
“I’m going to land and find shelter. I don’t think we can continue to fly safely in this weather,” he said.
A gust of wind veered him off course, proving his point, and I gasped in fright. Dracul began to dive towards the ground, and I clenched his claws at the sudden movement. I could sense his head moving, scouting for shelter, but it was a couple minutes before he found a small cave in the distance. He glided down as gently as possible in these worsening conditions into the small, cramped cave. Carefully, he set me down before following me in. His bulk took up most of the cave and he looked around before transforming into his human form. To my surprise, his human self was soaking wet as well, his robes dripping, rivulets of rain tracing down his bare chest, and I had to stop my eyes from following them.
I sat down on the hard ground, drawing my legs close to my body to conserve warmth and make space. Even with just the two of us, the cave was still cramped.
“I’m sorry. This didn’t turn out like I expected,” he apologized, sitting down next to me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I began to shiver, soaked from the rain and cold from the wind. Now in this damp cave, sitting on the cold, hard ground, the tendrils of the fleeing winter seeped into my body.
“You’re cold,” Dracul observed. “Wait here.”
He got up, taking off his robes to hand to me before realizing they were wet and setting them on the ground. Turning, he left the cave for several minutes before returning with an armful of wood. Carefully, he placed everything into a pile on the ground before transforming back into his dragon form, blowing a fireball to start a blazing fire. Then he settled at the front of the cave, blocking the outside wind.
I inched closer to the new fire, savoring the warmth as it spread through my body. Slowly, I could feel the iciness that had settled deep within my bones beginning to thaw. Winter might not be willing to give in to spring just yet, but the warmth of the fire was enough to make me forget. Just as I felt closer to normal, a bone-chilling gust of wind blew through the cave. Not even Dracul’s bulk could block everything. My clothes were still soaked from the rain and I shivered violently, the fire not enough to warm me up.
“Come here,” Dracul said, shifting slightly to make room for me. I moved closer to him, but stopped, still a few feet away. “Come closer,” he said. “Lean against me. You’ll get warmer, I promise.”
I hesitated for a moment before following his instructions, and leaned against his side. A sigh escaped me as I immediately felt warmer. The warmth from a dragon’s belly was more than enough to keep a person from freezing to death. Last night, I had slept restlessly, and my eyes began to drift closed, lulled to sleep by Dracul’s rhythmic breathing and warmth. Shifting into a more comfortable position, I barely caught Dracul’s self-satisfied smile before my eyes tugged shut completely.