Golden Embrace

by Clara Hartley

  "Then why are you still so tired looking? The circles under your eyes are getting alarmingly darker." Enid peered down at the cards in her hands. "I win," she said, placing the group of red cards over Aryana's. "That's strange. I never win at this game." They were playing Oweeja.

  "I guess I'm not at the top of my game today." Aryana threw her hand down.

  Enid scooted over and placed a hand on Aryana's forehead. "Are you feeling unwell? Maybe it's not the dragon who's making you sick."

  It definitely is him, or the lack thereof, Aryana thought. "It might be the weather. It's been raining endlessly lately. The ground's muddy and everything is dreary. Plus, it's cold. I haven't been sleeping well."

  "You should check with our healers just in case."

  "I'll do that. Tomorrow. After the training with the witches."

  "Take the day off."

  "No, that's all right." Aryana yawned. "I didn't get much time with the young ones yesterday, with hunting and all that. The trainees under me are usually the more talented ones. I don't want to waste their potential by not being around." And they had barely caught anything with the hunt last morning, except for a mutt-sized swamp lizard. They wouldn't have enough souls to face a potential battle against the Red Beast at this rate. She swept the cards together and shuffled them. "I'll get you with the next round." She forced a weak smile.

  "No more games for you," Enid said, placing a hand over Aryana's. "There's an hour until the trainees assemble. Go get some rest. Or go see the tribe doctor while you have your break."

  Aryana sucked in a deep breath and lifted herself out of her seat. Her body was unusually heavy with exhaustion. Most of the time, she felt healthy and energized. She hated feeling this tired.

  Curse that stupid dragon and his cheeky grin for making her this way.

  She strolled back to her tent, her sandals squelching against the wet ground. The smell of mist wisped through the air. Aryana didn't care to pay a visit to the witch doctor like her sister had suggested. What was she going to tell the woman? That she couldn't sleep because her body ached and lusted for a dragon, which her tribe didn't approve of? It'd start rumors, and probably end up with her locked next to that witch who used black magic, Yolanda.

  She lifted the flap of her tent, not expecting the sight that greeted her.

  Dozens of bush mice piled on top of each other, tied together with ropes. They were still alive, squealing like the rodents they were, although many were bruised and bleeding. Where in Gaia did these come from?

  A letter awaited her on her desk, tied in a roll with the same kind of rope that held down the bush mice. Warily, she picked up the paper and unraveled it.

  Not good for the tribe, huh? We'll see about that.

  Love, Diovan

  She made a sound of annoyance, but couldn't hold back her grin. "Stupid dragon. Why'd he leave the mice here? They're stinking up my whole room. Smells like a dragon's ass." A few of them had managed to crawl onto her mattress. Some were even in her hammock. How did they get up there? Did Diovan leave them there on purpose? She made a mental note to order new furniture later. She was tired and wanted to rest—now she had to change her sleeping location because of the smell.

  Faced with another large task, she ducked out of the tent and called to the other witches, "You all won't believe what I've just found. This catch will probably set us up for a month!"

  Five days. Five long days of constantly hauling bush mice and other jungle critters out of Aryana's tent. The mice and critters had lit up her room with the stink of an old barn. And that bloody dragon wouldn't show his face, despite constantly refilling her tent with harvests. She got the message—he was useful. But trustworthy?

  Yes, he is. She scowled at the intruding thought. She barely knew Diovan. Yet she sensed no ill intentions from him. Then again, not having been exposed to the outside world much, she wasn't one to sense things in people.

  But her soul called to him, with that torturous lust she felt every so often. She could trust her soul, right? She was starting to believe what he said about being her mate. It felt right. But "feeling" was entirely different from knowing the truth, and as second seeker, she had to make proper judgments, as much as she wanted to listen to her instincts.

  "Aryana? Aryana, are you listening?" Enid prodded her shoulder.

  Aryana turned her head to her sister. "Hm?" Focus, she told herself. Keeping her concentration had become increasingly difficult. Her thoughts often lingered to her blue-eyed, annoying, but charming dragon. Sometimes she found herself smiling at the thought of him, and realizing she had done so filled her with guilt and a tinge of revulsion.

  Enid stared at the bush mice in puzzlement. Aryana and Enid stood in front of Aryana's tent, looking on as the males-in-waiting and some other witches carried the haul out in cages. A light drizzle tickled their skin. The weather was wet, as always.

  One of the soul harvesters nodded in satisfaction as the helpers brought the animals out. "Tell me how you're getting these again?" Enid asked, gesturing to the captured mice.

  "Oh, uh, new spell," Aryana replied, using the answer she had prepped in her mind.

  "Care to share?"

  She fidgeted with the beads on her belt. "It's… a work in progress. That's why I must bring them from my tent… because… because I test the spell there?"

  "You should be able to practice somewhere else. I'm sure part of the reason why you can't sleep well is because your mattress smells like animal fur."

  She had Diovan to blame for that. Why couldn't he put the mice somewhere else? She had tried to leave a note for him asking him to do so, but the stubborn, thick-skinned dragon man wouldn't listen. She noticed the note had disappeared, so she knew he'd read it. She sensed he liked annoying her on purpose.

  Aryana examined her sister's reaction, but didn't see any suspicion. Breathing out a mental sigh, she faced away so Enid wouldn't notice her uneasy expression—she wasn't the best liar.

  One of the males-in-waiting, clothed in his usual drab garb, ran out of the tent. "You will want to see this, high seeker."

  The male-in-waiting ignored Aryana's presence and went straight to Enid, even though it was Aryana's tent he had just came out from. Enid's authority always overshadowed hers. She'd gotten used to it. She used to feel jealous because her sister got most of the attention, even from their parents, but she realized she wasn't the kind to crave positions and power, even though many said she had a lot of it.

  "What is it?" Enid asked.

  The man led the way into Aryana's quarters, which she was already familiar with, but she went along. In front of her bed was a semiconscious male. He reminded her of Diovan. Not because of his facial features or hair color, but because he was built just as thickly. She wasn't well acquainted with muscled males, and they were always a strange sight.

  "We found him hidden amongst the mice, high seeker," the male-in-waiting said. "He came with this note tied to his wrist."

  Aryana snatched the note away from the servant male, knowing who it came from.

  "Let me take a look," Enid said.

  Aryana resisted, but then realized that would raise even more questions. Her sister would piece things together eventually. She gave in, as much as she didn't want to, and let her sister pry the letter out of her hands. She watched carefully as Enid read the note, studying every minute change in her sister's expression.

  Enid's brow knitted. "Diovan?"

  "Never mind that," Aryana said, wanting to avoid the topic and Enid's accusatory glare. "What does it say?"

  "You're still meeting up with that dragon?"

  The sound of critters rung in Aryana's ears. "No," she replied, taking the letter from Enid. She was eager to read his words. It shocked her to notice how much she wanted to hear him speak. The letter read:

  I found this dragon here flying around the premise. I'm certain the Red Beast sent him, because I recognize him from the Grimfire dragons. Have fun prying information out of him. And I'
m glad I helped.

  Love,

  Diovan

  "A dragon?" Enid asked, her mouth gaping open. "Why hasn't he shifted?" The ropes nearly covered his entire body, but Aryana was sure the process of shifting would break him out of his binds—and her tent—quite easily.

  "Too unconscious, probably. He's knocked out good."

  The dragon's eyes fluttered, but he didn't make any other movements. He seemed quite out of it.

  "Ligaas virtaas ez," Enid chanted, waving her hand from her beads to the dragon. The spell meant to "bind powers." The dragon wouldn't be shifting for a while. It was a costly spell, and likely drained Enid's entire string of soul beads, but it was worth it to subdue such a large beast. "Bind him to a tree and splash his face with water until he wakes up. I want to speak to him soon."

  The male-in-waiting nodded and scurried to do as told.

  "What will we do with him once we're done?" Aryana asked. "We can't keep a dragon captive. The spell will run out, and we shouldn't waste so many souls."

  "We'll have to question him first, then kill him."

  Her brow furrowed. "You can't. Kroasha—"

  "Our goddess allows killing when necessary. She was going to kill the Dragon Mother herself."

  "This isn't a necessity."

  Enid sucked in a deep breath. "When he wakes up, he'll be in the camp. He'll likely see our workings."

  "Then tie him somewhere farther away."

  "He might have already seen too much. It's for the safety of the clan."

  "But—"

  "Why are you trying to protect these dragons, Aryana? They're evil. They go against every single one of our values. Killing them would be the equivalent of killing rats."

  "That isn't true." Aryana folded her arms. "Not all of them are evil. You can't classify an entire race as such just because of what happened to our parents." She knew that Diovan wasn't evil, at least. He infuriated her with his cockiness sometimes, but she could sense the kindness in him. Gathering all these bush mice must have taken him a long while and a sizable amount of dedication. She couldn't help but feel touched. Plus, he had battled another dragon for her tribe. She hoped he didn't get hurt.

  He was helping the water witches… would it be so bad if she fell in love with him?

  Love? Where had that word come from?

  Enid sighed. "You're too infatuated with that golden one to see the light."

  "You're the one being narrow-minded." A spark of anger flickered in Aryana, although she tried not to show her annoyance.

  "At least some good has come out of it," Enid said. "We're closer to finding out what the Red Beast wants now." Enid conveniently skipped past the fact that Diovan had been offering them months' worth of supplies. She glanced at their captive, who was being bound by the servant males.

  Aryana strode forward, blocking her sister's view of the dragon. "You don't have to kill him."

  "I will do what must be done," Enid replied.

  "I'm not trying to protect dragons. I'm trying to protect our teachings."

  Enid flashed her a disappointed look. "I can't believe you'd use Kroasha's teachings as a sorry justification."

  "I am not—"

  Enid raised a hand. "I have important matters to attend to. Come to me when you're feeling more levelheaded." The slick sound of Enid's sandals against the muddy ground unsteadied the beat of Aryana's pulse. "I'll see you later, Aryana."

  Aryana's temple twitched with irritation, and she wanted to curse, but instead replied, "Goodbye."

  Chapter 8

  Aryana wanted to blame Diovan for everything. It wasn't the most mature thing to do, but pointing fingers made things easy.

  He had been the one that started all of this. If he hadn't entered her tent that night to make her experience all these strange feelings, none of the conflicts between Enid and herself would be happening. She'd just be on her merry way as a water witch, living in her swamp and minding her own business. But no, he had swooped down and expanded her skies, tempting her with what she shouldn't want.

  She was supposed to be a strong woman. The strongest in their tribe. She was raised to be independent, and perfectly able to take care of herself. Since Diovan arrived, she couldn't stop imagining feeling safe in his big, protective arms. She wanted to cuddle up in his embrace like some spoiled, weak child.

  She paced to her candle and was about to blow the fire out when she heard the flap of her tent, and Diovan saying, "Missed me?"

  Always, she almost replied. But instead, she tried to act disgruntled. "No."

  "Even after all I've done? My wings are tired. Finding bush mice across Ocharia isn't easy. I didn't want to clear this area from prey, because it'd make it harder for you to find game should you decide to hunt."

  How thoughtful. She appreciated his concern, but didn't voice it. "Well, you've had us fed for a long time, although we'll be having a lot of jerky. We have to dry out most of that meat."

  "This isn't your usual tent," he said. "I expected you there, but I was only greeted by an empty room coupled with an awful smell. Do you know how many times I was almost caught looking for you?"

  She shot a look of disbelief at him. "You're the one complaining about the smell?"

  "I have a sensitive dragon nose."

  "You stunk up the whole place with those mice, some hogs, and those poor birds you maimed."

  "It took me ages to collect those," he said, "I've searched so many nooks and crannies that I'm practically sick of searching for prey. You're not being very appreciative." There was a whine to his voice, and also a sliver of excitement. What did he want from her?

  Oh, why was she even asking that? She knew exactly what he wanted.

  Aryana held her breath. "I appreciate what you've done."

  He looked up, his blue eyes shining with eagerness. He made her want to give him a peck on his cheek. He stalked closer. Too close. "What did you say?"

  "I said I'm thankful. Enid seems angry about your help, but I'm grateful. We were running low on magic. Now we have enough in case the Red Beast tries anything funny."

  "The Red Beast…" Once again, the mention of the Red Beast made Diovan's expression sag. "Did the dragon I captured say anything?"

  Thinking about the captive dragon made Aryana's anger for her sister resurface. "No. He didn't know anything. He was simply told to observe us."

  "I figured as much. Joakim wouldn't let his subordinates know his plans. He doesn't trust others."

  "Then why did you take that dragon here?" she snapped. Would they be damned because of insulting Kroasha's teachings? Aryana worried for her sister's soul. Enid had sinned.

  Diovan padded over to Aryana's mattress and sat down, getting too comfortable. "There was a chance he could've known something. If he didn't, you'd just let him go. No harm done."

  "To let him go or not wasn't up to me."

  He nodded.

  "Enid doesn't like dragons. She's probably thinking of ways to get rid of you, especially since you've been sneaking into our camp."

  "She killed him?"

  She bowed her head.

  "That's… surreal."

  "Surreal?" she asked, noticing the uncertain expression on his face.

  Diovan scratched the back of his neck. "I've known him since he was a child."

  Aryana's eyes widened. "Diovan, I'm sorry." She stepped closer to him and knelt down so her eyes met his. Had she pained him by making him lose a friend? She should have done more to protect that captive dragon from getting hurt. She would have tried harder to stop the other witches if she'd known the captive dragon was Diovan's friend, although her insistence probably wouldn't have meant much. It was then that she realized she wanted no harm to come to the golden dragon she was starting to call hers.

  She leaned in and met his temple with hers. His warmer-than-usual breath brushed her skin. The dragon lust crept up to her thighs again. She knew she was acting brazenly… but all she wanted to do was comfort Diovan. She began to care le
ss for the tribe, and more for him, despite how terrible that was.

  Diovan tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Don't get me wrong. I hated him. He was one of the big bullies who liked to pick on the weaklings because he felt insecure. Used to pick on me before I could fight back. Once I could, I knocked out a few of his teeth. They grew back because he's a dragon, but he didn't dare throw his weight around me again."

  "Then why do you still seem sad?" she asked softly, sitting next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, musing at how comfortable being close to him was.

  "How else would I get you to come close to me like that?" he said, with a wink and a toothy grin.

  She narrowed his eyes at him, feeling manipulated. "I should hang you by a noose."

  "Death by such lovely hands shouldn't be that bad."

  "I'll make sure you suffer."

  "Then I'm looking forward to your creative forms of torture. I hope you won't disappoint." He stroked her arms with his coarse hands. She sank into him and sighed with contentment, even as she fought not to. The last five days had felt like agony to her. She knew he'd been there, in her tent, but she couldn't catch him at the right time. "Trust me now?" he asked.

  "I really shouldn't." She did. It felt right. Her heart was drawing her closer to him.

  "Oh, dragon's teats. Women. The lot of you are always so hard to please."

  She felt so small next to him, even though she was one of the tallest amongst the witches. His large frame towered over hers. Lightly, she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you." She smiled at him, then frowned. "You're aroused." She saw a bulge at his pants, which was, needless to say, impressive. Why was she even looking there in the first place?

  "Of course I am."

  "Well, this moment nearly felt romantic."

  "You shouldn't have thanked me, then. Being appreciated by a beautiful woman, especially one they love, kind of turns on men on."