Dragon's Treasure (Book 1)

Chapter 3 - The Hunger

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Olivia woke up only a few hours later to her stomach growling loudly; she was so hungry it made her feel sick. Her lips felt dry and slightly chapped. She tried to give them some respite by moistening them with her tongue.

As her eyes fluttered open, Olivia found herself under a silken canopy. I must be dreaming still. Her pillow was also silky but not as soft. The only thing that felt out of place was the fact that the surface she was lying on did not match the rest of her sleeping arrangement, being quite hard.

She snuggled deeper into something warm, pulling the cloak tighter around her shoulders.

Olivia remembered her encounter with the dragon and didn’t feel the need to panic this time. She recalled falling asleep on the hard, cold floor of dirt covered stone and that at some point the chill had seeped through the woolen cloak, making her shiver. She had been too tired to care and now vaguely remembered being wrapped into a bubble of protective warmth as peaceful sleep finally came to her.

Being confused because she hadn’t woken up where she had fallen asleep and curious about the source of the warmth, Olivia reached out with her hand and felt the surface. She knew what it was as soon as her palm made contact with draconic scales.

She understood then; she was snuggled up to the dragon and when the silky warmth moved, Olivia smiled inwardly.

For a supposedly evil dragon, as people had told her stories, Kaden was very caring and gentle.

Her eyes popped wide open when she couldn’t remember thanking the dragon for all he had done for her.

Kaden felt her twitch. He stilled his actions and held his breath, afraid that she would panic finding herself underneath his wing. He was waiting for the screaming, hitting and kicking to commence.

Olivia noticed the sudden lack of the soft, lulling movements against her face and the sound of his breathing as it stopped.

He is probably waiting for me to start screaming again, she thought to herself. But, what’s the point? If he wanted he could have eaten me already, but all he did was take care of me. Maybe he wants to fatten me up before eating me, or maybe I should just stop doubting him and give him a chance. Either way, there’s not much I can do about it but let it play out as it was meant.

Kaden still waited for her reaction when he heard her soft voice.

“Good morning, Kaden,” she mumbled against his side and he indulged in the sound of his name rolling off her lips so softly.

He was surprised by the change in her behavior. Maybe she had come to the conclusion that he really wasn’t going to eat her. Whatever the reason, he didn’t want to complain.

“Well, it is almost morning outside. So, good morning,” he responded gently, the sound of his soothing deep baritone reverberating through his body making Olivia shiver unconsciously.

“Olivia,” he heard her say and felt her move by his side.

“Huh?”

“It’s my name, Olivia. Well, most call me Olivia, my father calls me Violet.” She peeked out from under his wing up into his eyes.

“Hmmm... Olivia.” His voice still sounded raspy from the lack of use and it sent a shiver down her spine.

“Are you still cold? I should start the fire again.” He gently extracted himself and tried to stretch but failed due to the size of the cave.