Queen Among Dragons (Dragon Series #1)

Chapter One

Elwood, King of the Dragons, opened one bright green eye and let out a puff of irritation at the annoying noise that had cut through his slumber. Every creature knew better than to bother a dragon, especially when they were sleeping, or worse, eating. When the noise didn't cease he grumbled and pushed himself onto all fours before ambling towards the entrance of his cave. Whoever, or whatever, was bothering him was going to die.

The wailing got louder as Elwood got closer, making him want to bury his head in the ground just to make it stop. Preparing to let out a stream of fire to roast the offending creature to a crisp, he opened his jaw and let out a low warning growl. Immediately the noise stopped with a little whimper. Elwood looked down and saw a small bundle of rags at the foot of his cave. This was making that ungodly noise? He nudged the bundle with the tip of his snout and snorted out a ring of smoke when a pale pink limb shot out of the rags. Curious now, he nudged the bundle again until the tattered remains fell away, revealing a small human child.

Disgusted and offended, Elwood sat back on his haunches and contemplated the simple creature before him. How dare the humans try to placate him and his kind with this tiny morsel of a snack? Furthermore, how dare the puny humans give up their young to the dragons? All creatures, no matter how unintelligent, had it engrained in their systems to protect their young, but these humans, these insensitive vermin, had abandoned the child as a sacrifice.

The human baby let out a small coo and flailed its arms, seeming to reach towards Elwood. He glared down at the baby, warning it to be quiet, but the small child simply giggled and cooed some more. He moved his snout closer, trying to intimidate the baby and determine its sex. Elwood froze when the baby's scent, when her scent seemed familiar. So lost in his thoughts, he never saw the baby's hand reach out until she touched his snout. Her whole head could fit inside one of his nostrils, and his teeth were larger than her body, but she had no fear.

Her bright blue eyes locked onto his much larger green ones, entrancing him and reaching some part of his heart he didn't know he had. Before he could further contemplate her smell or his unexplainable feelings towards her, he heard the tell tale rumble of his dragon kin racing towards the front of the cave. Protecting the baby, an action he didn't want to analyze, he turned his head back towards the cave and growled. The rumbling slowed down as his kin headed his warning and crept slowly to the entrance.

His hatchling, McKenna, led the way, putting on a brave front for the other dragon hatchlings with him. "What have I told you about playing around the cave entrance?" Elwood asked angrily.

"Not to," McKenna replied, trying to look appropriately abashed, but failing miserably. Elwood sighed, knowing his warning always fell on deaf ears. It didn't matter how many times he warned the hatchlings about the potential dangers outside of the cave, they thought they were invincible and ignored him. "Hey," McKenna said suddenly, "what's that smell?"

Elwood looked over at his son and motioned for him to come closer, hoping McKenna wouldn't attack the baby girl he was protecting with his claw. "What do you smell?"

McKenna crept closer, letting the delicious scent overwhelm him. "I dunno, a thunderstorm, maybe, with...fresh flowers?" He growled when the other hatchlings laughed at his description. Elwood cleared his throat and moved his claw, letting McKenna see the baby human. He scrambled back, "Ewww, what is that?"

"She's what you smell, McKenna. Get closer, go on, she's just a baby."

McKenna grimaced, but moved closer to the baby, sniffing carefully, wondering how such an ugly creature could smell so amazing. The baby giggled and cooed when McKenna got closer, rolling to her stomach and grasping onto his snout by the nostrils.