Dragon Matchmaker

Chapter 20

   Audrey's eyes widened and he snarled, grabbing her throat with his free hand. "What?! You were supposed to be pure when you took me! Not pregnant with another man's child!"

   She fought to free herself and get just one mouthful of air. To get just one second away from his hand. Why did he always have to choke her? Black began surging in, but Audrey was abruptly yanked from her. He went from being the choker to the choked.

   Kinsey looked up and saw that Aldwin, always the resourceful fighter, was using his belt to suffocate Audrey. Aldwin may have only been a part of Audrey's size, but he had a lover and baby on the line. Audrey had nothing except greed. His complexion slowly turned to a soft blue before he went limp and crumpled to the floor. Aldwin let him out of the belt and they saw Audrey's chest begin to rise again.

   Kinsey snarled and cradled her stomach for fear that Audrey's mere presence would hurt it. "Kill him. We need to."

   Aldwin sighed. "I know, but I can't kill a man when he can't defend himself." 

   "Well Audrey threatened your fiance and child. I say you should kill him now."

   Iris's voice came over their minds and she spoke with a malicious tone in her voice. "He was the one who sent Vorayus to the valley. Vorayus was merely a scout, but when he saw me and Ceruleo, he tried to kill us in revenge. Vorayus had tried to court me when I was still very young, but I had denied his ritual and bonded with Ceruleo instead. He always hated us and he had vowed to kill us, but he was never a good fighter."

   Kinsey nodded as Aldwin drug Audrey to the main cave and bound him near the entrance with some old rope from his pack. The silver dragon outside  did not approach. Nor did it seem threatening so they didn't worry about it. "So while nothing else hectic is going on, how does love work with dragons?"

   Ceruleo's voice came through their heads. "When we males approach twenty years old, we begin to court females who are approaching thirteen. Instead of fighting, we flash our eyes in different colors and flare up our scales to make them bigger and more impressive. Our horns begin to grow slightly longer and sharper and our tails get thicker. Once a male and female decide to pair, we bond."

   Iris took over with a slightly emotional voice filled with love. "Bonding is the first time a pair mate together. It usually doesn't result in an egg, but it merges part of them inside of each other. It establishes once and for all that the pair will always be together and never leave one another."

   Aldwin smiled at Kinsey and took her hands, kissing the backs softly. "Like marriage for humans."

   She blushed and looked away. "Yeah. Or like a wedding night."

   He smiled again and kissed her hands again before hugging her tightly. "It'll all be alright. I know a priest just outside of Ferven. I saved his life once and he said that if I needed a favor I just needed to ask."

   "That's great! Then we can be wedded properly."

   "And you can both live your lives of regret together." They whirled around to see Audrey rushing to his dragon before jumping into the saddle.

   He snarled at them and held the reins tight. "I see now that trying to win you over was a waist of time, Kinsey. I hereby curse your descendents from this day forward. I'll have my own children with any woman I want from now on. I already have a pack of servant girls waiting for me back home, practically crawling over one another to have my child. And if I conceive with each one, my sons will destroy you and each of your children slowly. Let's see how long your fairytale ending lasts?"

   Without another word, he spurred the dragon into the air and soared off towards the castle.