Dragon Hunter by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 5

Riley held onto his scaly talons for all she was worth. It wasn’t that she had a fear of heights so much as the terrifying fact that she was being carried by a dragon.

A dragon!

Even after everything that had happened, it was still a tough concept to wrap her head around. She wished she knew where they were going. It was in the opposite direction to the caves. Away from Ashlyn. She prayed these dragon people would be able to help her. Prayed it so hard that her head hurt.

Sure, the scenery was beautiful…beyond just plain beautiful. It was downright breathtaking. There were mountains, valleys, gorges, lakes, and tall waterfalls. Riley couldn’t relax enough to take it all in and appreciate it, however. They flew over a grazing herd of deer and a bear. Riley shivered when she saw the lumbering creature, thankful she was up here and not down there. It moved with surprising speed. Fog rumbled, the sound coming from somewhere in his huge scaly chest. Even though she didn’t know him, she knew what the rumble meant.

I told you so.

There were dangerous creatures in these woodlands, least of all bears and wolves. He had been right. Was she going from the frying pan into the fire, though? That was her biggest question. Would they help her find Ashlyn?

Please!

Please!

Ash needed to hang in there. Her friend was a fighter. She always had been one. They’d known each other since kindergarten. Some kids had been teasing Riley on her first day, and Ash had stepped in. She’d stopped those bullies, and the two of them had been best friends ever since. Ash had guts in spades. If she liked a guy, she’d tell him and then make him bring his friend along so that Riley wouldn’t be alone. It was mortifying, especially since those guy friends were never actually interested in her.

Ashlyn would tell her to be more open. To be friendlier. To live a little. Ashlyn had no problem with any of that. She was always putting herself out there. There was nothing else to it; Ash was kickass. She needed to be kickass now when it mattered most.

Something glinted up ahead. Wow! Riley’s mouth fell open. Fog made that rumbling noise again. Maybe she’d said the word out loud. Wow! Her eyes widened. They’d been flying towards large, jagged cliffs. It was only now that they were right in front of them that she could see the glass within the structure. Both sides of the large cliff-face from about halfway up had windows. Windows and balconies, she realized as they flew closer.

One of the other dragons gave a screech. Fog gave one back before peeling away from the group. She watched as three others flew around the back while the one who gave the call flew in a different direction altogether but still towards the structure.

The cliff drew closer and closer. This must be the lair. It sure beat caves underground any day. She twisted around, still clinging on for dear life. This was some view to wake up to every day.

Fog slowed once they were right on the cliffs. The windows were bigger than she had initially thought. So were the balconies. He hovered above one of the balconies, slowly descending. Just as her toes were about to touch the ground, Fog let her go.

She landed on her feet easily, watching in fascination as he landed next to her. His scales were a bright green. They glinted in the afternoon sun. His wings were huge and wide. They were covered in a thin skin that was probably tougher than it looked. His eyes were more of a chestnut color. Not as deep and dark as in his human form. They were slitted. There were jagged spikes on his face. They were certainly built to kill. There was a beauty there as well.

Riley watched in fascination as his scales pulled into his body. As his wings and tail retracted. His whole body seemed to fold in on itself until a man stood before her. The whole process lasted seconds.

“This is my chamber.” He pointed to a door that led inside. “You will be safe here.”

It was right then that she realized how hungry and thirsty she was. Her stomach grumbled so loudly it rivaled the dragons’ noises they made to one another.

Fog gave a half-smile. “Come inside. I’ll fix you something to eat. You must be famished.”

She nodded once. “Thanks.” He turned and opened the door for her, stepping to the side to let her in. She kept her eyes up and on anything but his naked body.

Holy crap!This place was amazing. They may live in the side of a cliff and change into huge, winged creatures, but they might actually be pretty civilized too.

His “chamber” – weird name for an apartment, but okay – was large and airy with high ceilings. There was a gorgeous golden chandelier above a gigantic bed. The chandelier glittered with hundreds of sparkling crystals. The bed was the dominating feature in the room. There was a kitchen on one side. It looked like it had plenty of creature comforts, including a refrigerator, microwave, and a four-plate burner.

There was a living room on the other side. It was cozy and neat. What was most interesting to Riley was the tub right in front of the glass window to the side of the open plan space. The tub was a large oval with a gleaming, golden tap.

She walked over to the structure, touching the side. Riley could just imagine soaking in this after a long-haul flight.

Fog touched the side of her arm, and she almost jumped out of her skin. He held out a bottle of water. “Thank you.” She took the bottle, uncapped it, and downed the contents in one go.

“Thirsty?” Fog asked, cocking a brow.

She noted that he was wearing a pair of cotton pants now. They were navy blue, drawstring, and loose-fitting. Kind of blah. Fog somehow still managed to pull them off. No, that wasn’t true; he looked great in them. His skin was tanned. He had a six-pack the likes of which Riley had never seen before. What could she say except that he was built like a brick shithouse, only pretty. Normally meatheads weren’t gorgeous like he was. He reminded her of Jason Momoa. Uber-sexy, but in a rugged kind of way.

“You drank that down like you haven’t seen water in a long time.”

“Actually, I had just passed a stream not so long before you came along. I’m a little hungover.” She winced. “That’s probably why I’m so thirsty already.”

Her eyes must have clouded when she recalled her abduction because he asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’d be better if my friend wasn’t still down there,” she noted.

“What happened?”

Riley swallowed thickly. “We were at a club last night. You do know what a club is, don’t you?”

Fog nodded. “We go into human territory from time to time. We use cellphones, have Wi-Fi, watch television…” He shrugged, lifting his eyes in thought. “We’re not barbarians.” He gave her a quick half-smile.

Good to know.

“Okay, sorry. I wasn’t sure.” She licked her lips. “What now? When are we going after Ashlyn? I hate the thought of her down there…on her own…afraid.” Her eyes were stinging, but she held back the tears that threatened to fall.

“My superior, Ice, is trying to get an audience with the prince.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Royals?” Dragons had royalty. Riley supposed it made a strange kind of sense. Ants had a queen. So did bees, so why couldn’t dragons have royalty?

Fog nodded. “Yes, he will talk with Storm. The prince will discuss the situation with his brother. I’m sure the king will want to meet you sooner rather than later. I think it’s important that we get you fed and comfortable before then. Why don’t you take a seat at the counter over there?” He pointed at the kitchen on the far side of the large space. “I’ll make you something to eat.”

“But my friend Ash is—”

“You will be no use to your friend if you are hungry and dehydrated.” He put a second bottle of water in her other hand. “We can’t do anything without authorization, so you may as well eat while we wait.”

“Thanks. You’re probably right.” Riley didn’t like it, but what choice did she have? Just hearing him talk about food had her stomach growling all over again. She just felt so bad. Did Ashlyn have food? Was she cold and afraid? Thoughts like that one would drive her insane if she let them. Fog was right; she needed to keep up her strength.

“You are welcome to take a bath while I prepare your meal. I have to say—”

Riley frowned. “How can I take a bath if you’re preparing a meal?” She looked from the kitchen to the tub and back. The space was open-plan. You could see the tub from the kitchen. Shifters might not be too worried about nudity, but she wasn’t a shifter now, was she?

Fog shrugged. “I’ll look away, you can get in and then—”

Riley frowned again, and he stopped talking.

“I have bath foam,” Fog tried. “I won’t look, I swear.” He held up his hands when she didn’t say anything. “You seemed to be looking at the tub with such longing. It’s there,” he shrugged, “you are free to use it.”

The sound of a bath did sound nice, but not while he was here. Forget that!

Before she could say anything, he went on. “You should know that I’m not looking for any kind of relationship right now. Not looking for a hookup. Not looking, period! I’m sure you’re gorgeous naked, but…I… It wouldn’t be like that. I’m not that kind of male. You’re in my care right now.” He sounded flustered. “I’m making a mess of this. I have a bathroom over there with a door that closes.” He gestured to a door that stood slightly ajar. “You should make yourself at home. You have nothing to fear from me. I want you to know that.”

“You recently had your heart broken.”

Fog rolled his eyes. “Sun and his big mouth. Not exactly. The female I was falling in love with chose another male. It’s stupid!”

“Oh, no! Had you been dating long?”

“We were friends. It changed somewhere along the line for me. It never changed for Azure. Turned out she was in love with someone else. I swear, you’re safe.” He changed the topic. “Not just with me, but with all the dragons in this lair.” He paused for a moment. “Just to be on the safe side, I will keep a close eye on you until the king makes his decision about the way forward.”

“Good to know. I hope he doesn’t take too long. I think I’ll take a seat over there, if that’s okay?” She pointed at the counter in the kitchen. “Would you mind if I took off these boots? My feet are killing me.” Riley looked down. She should have gone with flats. Then again, they had gone dancing. Flats weren’t exactly party shoes.

“Make yourself at home. You can wear my clothes until we get you new ones.”

“I’m not staying that long.” She shook her head. “More comfortable shoes would be nice, though. A pair of sneakers…something along those lines?”

“I will check with Melina. She is engaged to one of our males. She’s a human who—”

“What?” Her jaw practically hit the floor. “A human? There are humans here?”

Fog chuckled, opening the refrigerator. “Don’t look so shocked,” he said as he rummaged inside.

“Up until not so long ago, I didn’t even know that dragon shifters existed. I knew about the vampires and the elves. I knew about wolf shifters. All of the non-humans pretty much keep to themselves, so not much is known in general about them. I had no idea about dragons.” She shook her head. “None at all!”

“Our species, just like many of the non-humans, has been plagued with infertility. Not only that, there have been fewer and fewer females born over the years. We’re a dying breed, or we were a dying breed until we discovered that we’re compatible with humans.”

“Oh.” Interesting! Her eyebrows just about touched her hairline. At least, that’s how it felt.

“Yep. I have a couple of steaks I could cook up with a salad?” He looked over his shoulder.

“Sounds good.” She nodded a couple of times. It sounded better than good. Her mouth watered just thinking about biting into a steak. She hadn’t eaten much last night. It was stupid, but she always felt she might look thinner if she skipped a meal before going out. It wasn’t true. It just made her get tipsy quicker.

Fog bent down and pulled a large pan out of a cupboard. “How many humans are in your territory?”

“I don’t know the exact number. We have quite a few living in this lair. Our people have been taking humans as mates for a couple of years now.”

“This lair? Does that mean that there are more lairs?”

“I probably shouldn’t say too much at this point.” Fog started up one of the burners. There was clicking, and then the gas ignited.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He was suddenly acting like he couldn’t trust her. Riley didn’t like that much. “I didn’t ask to be abducted. To be plucked off the sidewalk by a winged creature. To be taken—”

He put up a hand. “I know.” He sighed. “It’s just that we have to be careful. There are those who hunt dragons. Humans who come into our territory with the intention of finding our lairs and exterminating us. Beautiful females posing as helpless when their intentions are anything but good. Perhaps you are one of them, Riley.”

Her? A helpless beauty. Hah! Not hardly. “That’s terrible,” she finally said, because it was. “You don’t truly believe I’m up to no good, do you?”

He shook his head. “I don’t, but I know Storm will want you vetted before we proceed. It’s standard operating procedure.” He shrugged.

She watched as Fog finished preparing the steaks by putting on some seasoning. Then he threw them into the pan. They sizzled from the word go. Within seconds, a delicious aroma drifted over to her.

There was a knock at the door. “Wait here,” Fog warned.

She nodded once, her heart rate escalating against her will. This was fine. She was fine. Just because someone was there didn’t mean anything. This was all so new and all so surreal. To think she’d planned to spend the day binge-watching her favorite series. Ordering takeout and being a lazy sloth all day.

Shit!

This hadn’t gone the way she expected. Not at all.

If she didn’t clock in for work tomorrow, she’d be in big trouble. Her phone was out of battery and there had been no signal when she did have some juice. Then again, what would she tell her boss? “I was abducted by a dragon shifter. Then flown into a cave. I managed to escape, only to be picked up by another dragon shifter from a different tribe.” Right! They’d have her in a padded cell in no time. Riley told herself to breathe deeply while she listened to Fog talk to someone for half a minute. They said their goodbyes, and he closed the door.

He handed her a piece of paper and a pen. “Please, can you fill out your basic details? We will meet with the royals in an hour. You can hand it in to them then.”

She took the pen and paper from him, putting the pen on the counter. It was a document asking for basic information about her, such as her name, her address, where she worked, her social security number, that kind of thing. The only strange part was the questions at the end. “Why do you think you would make a good mate for a shifter?” she read the next ones out loud. “Could you give up your life and move to a remote location? Would you be opposed to signing a non-disclosure agreement? There are more of the same.” She looked up at Fog, who was flipping the steaks. They sizzled as they landed in the pan. Suddenly, she wasn’t feeling as hungry.

“Medium rare?” he asked, pointing at the meat with his tongs.

“Yeah…sure, that’s fine. Do I need to answer these crazy questions? I’m not here to meet someone.”

“Of course not. No.” He shook his head. “Leave the questions. They need your basic information, that’s all.”

“Look at this; they want to know what kind of birth control I’m on.” She rolled her eyes.

“That one is important.”

“Why? It’s personal.”

“We’re civilized, but we still have an animal side that is governed by base instincts. If you were to go into heat, you would—”

“Heat? Seriously.” What the hell?

“You humans call it ovulation. It sends unmated males into a tailspin. There would be bloodshed to try to win you. They’d do anything for an opportunity to claim and breed with you.” He put a hand up. “Everything short of forcing you. Still, it would create chaos. It’s an important question to answer if you are going to be staying with us for even a short while. For the record, you don’t scent of a heat.”

“That’s because I use birth control in the form of an injection every couple of months. I went recently. I’m good.”

“Please put all of that on the form.” Fog gestured to the document. “Leave the rest.”

“That I can do.” She nodded a couple of times as she filled the form in.

Fog put the steaks on a plate and got to work on the salad. “Do you need some help?” Riley asked when she finished, even though her offer was late, since he was nearly done preparing their meal.

“Nope. You rest up.”

Come to think of it, Riley did feel exhausted. If she wasn’t so hungry, she probably would have passed out there and then. She yawned while stretching her legs, which ached from walking for hours. Feeling windswept and slightly sunburned, she yawned a second time, muttering an apology.

“I’m sure the king won’t keep you for too long. You can get some sleep soon.”

She shook her head. “I can’t sleep.” She felt a lump form in her throat. “I have to save Ashlyn. I have to help her.”

“I promise I’ll help you do it. First, we need to meet the royals. We need to come up with a good plan on how to save your friend. Then you need to get some rest.”

“No, I—”

“Back to the part where you’ll be useless if you’re dead on your feet. We can’t go charging into their territory half-cocked. A rescue mission will take some time to formulate.”

“It all sounds logical. It does, but…” She bit down on her lip. Riley wasn’t normally such an emotional mess. “I’m worried, that’s all.”

“There is no way the kings would ignore the abduction of a human female.”

“Kings?” There was definitely more than one of these lairs and more royals? How it all worked exactly was beyond her. From the look on Fog’s face, he wasn’t going to tell her.

“Here.” He slid a plate of delicious-looking food in front of her, and her stomach instantly felt like it was devouring itself. Her middle emitted a loud rumble. “Eat up!” Fog said in that rich baritone of his. “Then we’ll go and meet with the royals. We’ll talk more then.”

Riley nodded. She needed to eat. She’d be no use to Ashlyn otherwise. Fog was right. She cut a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. It tasted so good she felt instant guilt. Even more so when she swallowed. It was so tasty she had to hold back a groan. It wasn’t fair that she was safe while her best friend was in danger. It wasn’t fair at all.