A Dragons Favorite Piece (Book 2)

10 Oasis of Dragons

He tackles me, the leathery skin of his wing wrapping around my body, arms encasing me in his tight hold while the world shakes all around us. The heat from the explosion sends sweat over my brows, but other than that I'm well taken care off while Leo screams taking it all to his back, "Leonardo!" He throws his head up to view the damage before peeking back at me.

"Hold on, I need to get you out of here." Hold on meant moments later his powerful legs shot us through the crumbling roof into the sky, "I'm going to shift, stay close."

Stay close? Stay close? We're in the sky! His body morphs mid-flight sending me into a violent spasm. Large green eyes sit wickedly within the creature's thorny, long skull, giving the creature a frightening looking appearance combined with the two horns that peek from its head. Its nose is flat and has two narrow, rounded nostrils and there's a small tendril on its chin. Several huge teeth poke out from the side of its mouth and give a slight hint at the terror hiding inside. Giant wings grow from its shoulders and end at the end of its shoulder blades with a wide tail ending in a sharp tip that is covered in the same rounded scales as its body reaching around to grab my ankle while I scream. However, his size is maybe comparable moose, or very large mammal. I remember this, their magic was messed up, "Let me go!" I scream smacking at the talons that wrap around my waist and the tail that provides extra support when he's not needing it. I'm overwhelmed to the point that the markings on his wings mean very little to me, I'm simply in fear that this is the moment of my death.

It's all real. The realization that everything hasn't been smoke and mirrors, the tattoos, the abilities, even the magic rocks something in the back of my mind was constantly shutting it down to nothing but a trick. Now hanging from his grip soaring above the clouds I can no longer deny it, truthfully every bone in my body now believes without a doubt... dragons are real, and the king wants to marry me. I'll never be able to get away from him. He's... he's this. Fear etches into my bones. It's one thing to talk about it, see the wings, appear normal in our day-to-day banter... another to behold the power this man has in his grip, "Take a breath, we'll land soon." It speaks! The darkness prickles my sight, my own heart starting to stutter in fear. I'm not okay. I'm not...

"My queen it's time to wake up." The soft voice of Starlight breaks through the groggy sleep I'm fighting. Her chilled hands run over my skin attempting to pull me from the abyss of safety I'd cocooned myself in, "Welcome back." She gives a bright smile. Without the slightest idea of where I'm at I lean over the bed thankfully finding a trashcan, Starlight helps me lift it up to catch the puke that bubbles up. Fruit, toast, even the wine fills the bottom of the can sending a revolting smell into the space, but oh do I feel better, "That's normal after a first flight. Here's a towel, gum, and water." She grabs the items off the side table handing them to me one by one. I use the towel to clean my mouth and teeth, the water to rinse my mouth and clear up the burn, then the gum to possibly help the bad breath that'll result from such an event.

"Where am I?"

"This is an oasis for the dragons. We used them during the war times, but now they act as a shelter from one-off attacks. We're currently below the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur in the Montmartre. You both were staying in the Ritz Paris when you were attacked." Starlight explains the situation the best she can, but my mind is still reeling, "The King holds many gifts, one of them protecting him from flames. We believe the attack was against you by the hunters to gain footing against King Hereward. The king had to fly higher than normal to get cloud cover from the tourist."

"What of the hotel?"

"The wares are handling the media. Apparently, they had a bad gas line or something." She waves her hand to appear at ease, "But we still need to get you comfortable enough to go back out for dinner with parliament."