Dragon Heir [Book 1] [Watty Award Winner 2012]

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Copyright © Gem Higa 2011

Her body shot straight up as she looked around only to find herself still tucked under Rin’s wing. His snores were the only sound that echoed through the darkness and what felt like a few minutes rest had turned out to be already a few hours. It was still dark out as the sky was barely tinting with light. The sun would probably rise in an hour or less, but until then she would force her eyes shut. Lying back down she turned to her side and curled closer to Rin, listening to the rhythmic sounds of his breathing.

A few minutes went by but her body refused to rest. Her mind was filled with the memories of her recent dream; it had all seemed so real and vivid. After tossing and turning for what felt like an eternity sleep seemed impossible. Something didn’t feel right and it made her feel uneasy. She turned towards her dragon’s body and stroked the skin beneath his wing. Tracing the insides of the flap, she moved her fingers towards the flap’s edge. She giggled as he twitched under her touch, completely unaware that she was conscious.

Turning over she reached his wing and wrapped it tighter around her body, fully encasing her in its warmth. Leiv couldn’t shake the lingering emotions that were left behind from the dream as it forced her to stay awake. It had all felt so real, as if hadn’t really been a dream, but a vision. Flashes of the foul odor and urine stained walls filled her mind and the woman’s terror as the guard refused to leave without an answer, but what Leiv couldn’t shake was the woman’s eyes. It was filled with recognition when she saw her face. The woman’s words crept back into her mind: It’s you. You’ve come at last.

What had the woman meant when those words were spoken? There was no way Leiv knew who this woman was, but it seemed she knew her.

‘What has gotten you so worked up cor meum?’ Rin asked through their bond, his voice laced with sleep.

‘You could just see for yourself you know,’ she replied.

‘Yes, I could. But instead I’m asking you as a courtesy.’

She sighed. ‘Really Rin, it’s of no importance. It is just stress that’s all.’

He seemed hesitant at her reply, but pushed it no further. There was no tingling sensation in the back of her mind, which meant that Rin respected her wishes and had not pried through her thoughts. When the subject was dropped, Leiv pushed the dream back into her mind so she could get on with the day.

At this point the sun had risen and now draped them both with its morning rays. The warmth spread through her, as the aches of the night’s events left her body. Today marked the fourth month she had been here with Rin. It seemed like such a short time, but the days felt more like hours than anything.

The logs that were used for their fire had moistened a bit under the morning dew; she made a mental note to change the wood before their next fire tonight. Usually during this time she would wash her clothes from the previous day, but she had already done so before they went to sleep.

Months of sleep deprivation and exhaustion had taken their toll on her body as well as Rin’s. Though training was far more important than resting, it seemed about time they took it. ‘I think we should take a break today. Maybe do something fun for a change,’ She told her dragon.

Walking over to the shore he answered her. ‘That doesn’t sound too bad.’ He dunked his head into the water and came out with a splash and purposely sprayed her with water, resulting in water competition that left them both panting and laughing in the end.

Smiling, she pushed her thoughts over to Rin, showing him what she wanted to do. She heard him chuckle through the bond as he lowered himself to the ground. It became easy to jump onto her dragon’s back and found the perfect position that made her comfortable.