Drakkon ✓

16

I stand up and dust my pants. "It's alright."

"I will not breathe fire upon you, human!" Drakkon growls. "That is unspeakable!"

"Yes," I agree. "But we will take it one step at a time. If we want to get the portal open to help dragons and humans alike, then we must fall in love with each other."

"I'm already there," he snarls with his nostrils flaring. "I already love you."

Oh, wow. How do you lose a sister but gain a lover all in one week?

He's furious, although not at me. "I will not risk killing you. Forget humanity and the dragons. They can all rot."

I shake my head. "No, Drakkon. I can't live with that. We need to help everyone."

He steps closer until I'm lost in his embrace. His hands cup the back of my neck and the small of my back, locking me in. "You are good," he says. "But I only care about being good to you."

"Listen to the female, Drakkon. Take it one day at a time. Come and rest. You may stay with me," Jexis welcomes.

Drakkon steps away, still looking displeased. There is much more that he has to say.

Jexis leads the way into the abandoned building. We go up the stairs, stopping only on the second floor because Drakkon suspects I'm running out of breath. We enter an office with dusty chairs and desks. The windows are still intact, protecting us from the elements.

"Stay here," Jexis says. "You will have to get your own water and food. I do not have enough."

Drakkon nods. "I'll hunt for us all." He steps toward the exit but pauses. "Jexis, if anything happens to that female, I will turn you into ashes."

"I have no interest in jeopardizing our only way back home. Go, Drakkon. An elder man like me is no match for you."

I take a step forward and latch onto Drakkon's arm. "Can't I come with you?"

He shakes his head. "No. I don't want you to be exposed unnecessarily. The other dragons are still out there."

"But—"

"I will not be persuaded otherwise. Sit and wait. I will return."

With that, he gives Jexis a final warning glance and leaves. I rush to the window, where I sit and watch him go.

Jexis sits by the door. "Tell me of your life, human. I have observed your kind and their curious ways, but interacted with few."

Where would I even begin?

After thinking for a while, I tell him of the Clans I lived in. The smells, cold, crime, and never-ending hunger of the underground. I tell him that although the underground is hell; the surface is Satan itself.

His expression becomes solemn because he knows what dragons have done to us. It's a tragedy that he, too, suffers.

By the end of it all, I'm crying. I make sure to wipe my face dry when I spot Drakkon. He's walking back with a dead deer slung over his shoulder.

My chest warms, because he returned just like he promised.

Over the next two weeks, we follow a rigid schedule. Jexis patrols, Drakkon hunts, and I help skin and prepare the meat. Although Jexis provided all the answers we needed, we're as lost as ever.

Drakkon sleeps across from me in the office. I lay near the window, looking for my sister in the snow because I'm still struggling to let go of her.

"I saw humans hauling a tree out from the underground. Why do they do this if vegitation will not grow down there?"

I smile at Drakkon. "Because Christmas ended. They're getting rid of their Christmas tree."

He looks intrigued. "Tell me more about this Christmas."

"It's a human holiday," I start. "It's not celebrated everywhere in the world, but it was popular when we lived on the surface. The tree is set in honor of the holiday. It's decorated with lights and ornaments, and the family's gifts are placed under it. Christmas is a time for family to come together to appreciate each other. The apocalypse didn't take it from us."

"Interesting."

I sigh wistfully, remembering those days of joy when Winter and I would exchange crappy gifts. "Yeah."

Drakkon clears his throat. "I must go hunt."

It stresses me out when he goes hunting alone, although I know he can take care of himself. These past weeks, there has been an uncomfortable stretch in my belly. Not only because my body is often full, but because I'm not used to being taken care of.

Drakkon practically spoils me. He found spices for cooking, dragged a bed in here so I wouldn't have to sleep on the floor, and brings buckets of water for me to drink and wash with. It's incredibly awkward, because it has been years since anyone handed anything to me.

I try to pay him back by cleaning up and cooking, but it doesn't seem like enough.

He returns hours later. He first brings in the deer into the room we use to cook. Then, he drags a heavy, seven-foot pine tree into the office.

I watch, dumfounded, as he props it against the wall. He walks out for another minute, and returns with a jar filled with fireflies.

"Drakkon..." my eyes tear.

"Why do you cry? Is the tree not to your liking?"

I cry because no one has done something so thoughtful for me.

I look at the tree, the jar of fireflies, and back at him. "You didn't have to do this."

He looks at his feet, clearly uncomfortable. "I know," he grumbles.

There are about ten fireflies in the jar, buzzing and blinking. There are a few holes in the lid, allowing air in, but I still don't want to keep them in there. I know what it's like to be imprisoned by walls and don't wish that fortune on any creature.

"Can we set them free?"

"If that is what you wish, I cannot stop you."

I walk to a room with shattered windows, open the lid, and watch the dots of light fly out. I smile. "That's better. It would be a shame to suffocate their light in here."

After a moment, I turn and find Drakkon staring at me.

"I would not mind losing my light to you," he says.

I don't understand what he means until he leans in. As the fireflies get further away, he comes closer. His bright eyes become hooded, and then shut close. There is no light in his eyes anymore.

He kisses me. A soft kiss that is chaste but none the less suffocating. We don't breathe, don't move. I'm kissing a dragon, and he tastes like a warm summer. I'm afraid I'll melt. As if sensing my fears, his hands cup my hips to support me.

I cling to his biceps, unable to circle them. My body stirs in places that rarely awaken.

My tongue delves out, slipping between his lips. He lets me in, but quickly reminds me of who is in the lead. By the time we pull apart, there's a hunger in my belly, although not the typical hunger caused by malnutrition. I want to get closer, to touch and taste more until I know Drakkon better than I know myself.

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