Dragons?
A Brief (and Incomplete) History of Dragons
Ihad been taught that dragons were long dead. Extinct. A thing of the past.
I scoffed. What were Xander and Daegal doing talking about an extinct species?
When I was growing up in the tower, the long history of Ithenmyr’s people had been one of the few approved topics of conversation.
High King Edgar was strange like that. He had wanted me to know how to read and write, to learn the geography and history of his kingdom, but only when it had suited his needs. When Orvyn had pushed my lessons too far, he had paid for that mistake with his life.
I had learned a lesson that day that Orvyn had lost his head. Knowledge was the most dangerous thing one person could give another. It was powerful in ways we could not imagine. And if someone was withholding knowledge, they could not be trusted.
That was Orvyn’s last lesson, and it had remained with me ever since I had seen his head on a spike.
Never, ever trust the king.
However, that wasn’t the only lesson he’d taught me. When it came to the history of dragons, I knew a fair amount.
I had been taught that for centuries, dragons had been a plague on the people of the Four Kingdoms. They had flown over villages and cities alike, burning forests and crops wherever they went. The beasts killed and ate small children, leaving only bones behind for families to find.
I knew dragon shifters were coarse people who chose to speak their own language over the Common Tongue. They isolated those around them who weren’t dragons, choosing the company of their own over others.
Dragons had lived in isolated villages, away from the good people of Ithenmyr. If a wandering elf or human had ever found their way into the dragons’ villages, they were dead within minutes.
Not only had dragons been the worst kind of murderers, going after children and the elderly, but they had gone unchecked for years. The fire that had run through their veins had made them practically unstoppable.
I knew dragons hadn’t had access to magic like elves. Elfen magic came from the goddesses. No one knew where the dragons had come from, but it had been understood that they werenotfrom the goddesses.
Dragons had been the worst kind of evil.
When High King Edgar had sought to destroy them, no one had fought him. Together, he and his army of Winged Soldiers had fought to wipe dragons from the face of Ithenmyr.
And they had succeeded. There hadn’t been a single dragon seen in Ithenmyr for over a century.
No one even spoke of them.
And yet, here were these two males discussing them in broad daylight.
What was going on?
You are Mine
Icleared my throat. “Hello?”
Instantly, Xander and Daegal stopped talking. I heard a rustling sound before they both appeared from behind the log cabin. They exchanged a long, meaningful glance, before turning back towards me.
“Hello, Sunshine,” Xander said. He took a step forward, wrapping his arm around my waist. I stiffened, but didn’t pull away. “Did you miss me?”
Did I miss him?
Honestly, yes. I had missed him every moment of every day. It was new for me. Missing someone. I found the entire situation rather disconcerting.
The strange feeling had followed me from dawn until dusk, from the moment Xander had left until just a few minutes ago.
But I wasn’t going to say that.
“I suppose I missed having someone to talk to,” I said. A glimmer appeared in Xander’s eye, but I looked around his shoulder and winked at the Fortune Elf. “It’s nice to see you, Daegal.”