The Dragon Girl | Book 1 |

Chapter 12

My body shot upwards and lurched forward. I took in a shuddering gasp, precious air filling my chest and body. Rain poured down on my already drenched body, washing away the metallic sticky feeling of blood on my skin. I sat there, looking around and getting as much air as I could. My body was littered with mud, bruises, cuts, and blood. Sam's motionless body caught my eye, making me run over to him.

"Sam!" I gasped, kneeling beside him.

I rolled him into his back and shook his shoulders gently.

"Come on..... Wake up. Wake up. Wake up." I chanted to myself.

He coughed lightly, opening his eyes. Slowly, he sat up rubbing his head.

"What...... what happened?" He asked.

I sighed with relief and fell onto my back onto my butt.

"The cave nearly collapsed on top of us, but we made it out and fell down the cliff." I said, wiping some of the sweat from my forehead.

He nodded mindlessly, taking a few deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

I nodded and returned his question.

"Just in a bit of shock." He replied.

Slowly, I forced myself to my feet with a small grunt of effort. Sam followed my actions, rubbing the side of his head with a whimper.

"Come on. We need to get back. There's so much they need to know." I said turning away.

"Yeah." Sam said, cracking his neck.

With a sigh of exhaustion, I trudged away from the mountains and towards the forest. The canopy protected us from the unrelenting rain. A wind rushed through, cutting right through skin and chilling me to the bone. I shivered, taking one last look sat the mountain. I could see a cloud of dust forming around the entrance of the cave. I sighed heavily, and turned my back to it.

*^*^*

We stumbled into the cave, in pain and battered by the elements. Confused and worried murmurs of dragons filled the cave. Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet. Artemus rushed over to us, nuzzling me gently.

"Artesia! I was so worried!" He exclaimed, closing his eyes.

"I-I'm okay... just tired." I croaked shakily.

He sighed with relief, then turned his gaze to Sam.

"Who is that?" He growled, digging his talons into the ground.

I suddenly realized what I had done. Panic swirled in my chest like a hurricane.

"That's Sam. He is a friend." I said shakily, backing up to join him.

His pupils shrunk into slits and he straightened up.

"You brought a human into the cave?!" He yelled, his deep voice rattling my ribcage.

I gritted my teeth, a growl rising in my throat. I curled my fingers into fists.

"He means us no harm!" I called out, desperately trying to keep him safe.

Artemus gave me a fiery glare, his eyes boring into mine. I tensed up, trying to drive my feet deeper into the stone to keep myself grounded.

"You've broken the First Law Artesia. You have committed treason!"he proclaimed, slamming a large paw into the ground.

I stood in silence for a moment, before conjuring up the courage to speak again.