I'm The Dragon King's Heir

Chapter Three: Another Way Out

"It doesn't look like she listens too well," one of the dragon hunters says with a chuckle.
"She listens just fine," Ryder retorts, his eyes flicking to mine, giving me a 'go-along-with-it'look. Every fiber in my body wants to fight, but I have no choice.
"Yes," I relent, lowering my head ever so slightly.
"She's mine," Ryder says, his voice calm but laced with danger as he looks at the three hunters. Instinctively, all three take a step back.
"Sure," one of them nods. "She's yours."
Ryder pulls me to my feet, carefully keeping my wrist chains hidden. I move to stand behind Ryder, and he steps in front of me in a protective manner.
"What's your woman's name?" One of the dragon hunters asks, his eyes slowly roaming between Ryder and me.
"Does it matter?" Ryder demands.
The hunters laugh as I dig my nails into Ryder's skin. I hate having to stay quiet with these stupid men. Ryder nods towards the town, turning the men's attention away from me. "You guys live there?"
"Yeah," one of them nods. "We're on patrol duty now, but we'll walk you down."
"That's not necessary," Ryder says with a shake of his head.
The dragon hunter's mouth turns up in a smile ever so slightly. "I insist."
Unable to protest, Ryder grasps my hand tighter as we follow them down the hill into town.

The human town is mayhem. Dragons, some in human forms, others mutilated in their dragon forms are either chained or in cages, waiting to be sold to the highest bidder. As the hunters lead us deep into the town, one of them stops to pick up a rock, and throws it at a young dragon boy locked in a cage.
"Fuck you!" The young boy roars, shaking the bars of his cage violently.
"You interested in purchasing a dragon?" The hunter asks, looking at Ryder as the two other hunters leave, walking off into town. "Their scales are pretty costly around here because we use them in our leathers."
My eyes widen in horror. "What about dragon blood?" The words are out of my mouth before I even realize it.
The hunter's gaze narrows as he looks from Ryder to me. "I can give your woman a lesson about talking out of turn."
Ryder glares down at me as the hunter waits expectantly.
"I'm so sorry," I say quietly, lowering my head again. "I know how much you hate dragons. I couldn't help myself."
To my relief, Ryder doesn't hand me over to the hunters. "We'll discuss your punishment later." He then turns to the hunters. "Yes, I hear dragon scales sell for more because of their durability."
"Yeah," the hunter agrees, "but they've been pretty easy to get lately. And dragon blood is something only our leaders are allowed. It's supposed to give them greater strength."
I look down at my wrist, eyeing the blue veins. If I was a pure-blooded dragon, my blood would be strong. As dragon royalty, even more so. And with my mother's magic... I stop the thought before it goes too far. In my twenty years, there hasn't ever been a hint at my mother's magic.
"...But," the dragon hunter continues, "if you don't want to do the work yourself, we have some daggers and shields made." He points at a weapons store across the street, and Ryder leans down to speak to me quietly.
"We need to get out of here– now," I whisper.
"First we need to find someone to steal money from to arm ourselves," he says. "I'm not walking around here with just a pocket knife for protection."
I look around at the heavily armed hunters. The jerk who brought us into town now lights a cigarette, watching the two of us carefully.
"I want to steal from that hunter," I say quietly. "I'd really like to slice off his fingers one by one and shove them down his throat. But since I can't, stealing will be enough."
Ryder's stubborn lips turn up into a smirk. It's the first real smile he's given me. "I'd like to kill him too."
"Maybe I could talk out of turn again and distract him?" I suggest.
"No," Ryder says carefully. "I worry he'll hurt you, and then I'd really have to kill him."
"Why?" I demand, raising a brow. "It doesn't matter as long as we get his weapons and get out of here."
Ryder's quiet for so long that I don't think he's going to respond, until... "As far as he's concerned, you're my wife. No one is allowed to touch what belongs to me."
Suddenly, the young dragon boy reaches out and grabs the hunter's arm, pulling him toward the cage.
"Let me go, you devil!" The dragon hunter roars.
"This is our chance," Ryder says quickly. "Follow my lead."
I nod, but not without adding, "You better not get us killed."
Ryder looks down at our entwined hands and shrugs. "You're alive so far."
A crowd has formed to help the hunter get away, but the boy won't let go.
"If I'm going to die anyway, I may as well kill you first!" He roars.
"Kill it!" The dragon hunter screams. "Kill it now!"
The hunter's body twists, his jacket twisting to reveal a wallet in his back pocket as he tries to pull away from the cage. In one quick move, Ryder darts forward and grabs the wallet, then pulls me away from the crowd as the young boy's cage is unlocked and the dragon hunters swarm inside.