Alex sat against a tree, watching Balthazar as he slept. Her initial concern over his condition had lessened significantly once his wounds began to close over and heal. His chest rose and fell in a gentle, rhythmic movement and Alex found it oddly peaceful to watch. She had taken the opportunity while he slept to really study his features and she was glad he wasn’t awake to catch all her shifting emotions as she did. He was so incredibly handsome that it almost hurt her to look at him. At first she had just stared at him, memorizing every curve and dip in his facial structure. Then she got annoyed at how perfect he looked, with the slight stubble that had grown over his jaw since they’d left the palace and she tried in vain to find a flaw in his perfect mask, but there wasn’t any. He was just devastatingly handsome.
A soft breeze blew through the trees and rustled the leaves, creating a melody that lulled Alex close to slumber. The soft tweedle of a flute echoed somewhere in the distance and Alex felt her body suddenly growing lighter. She didn’t realize she was standing until she was already on her feet, and as she looked behind her she saw the demon prince fading away into the distance.
A fog enveloped Alex that clouded her mind. She stumbled aimlessly through the forest, following the beautiful, melodic tune. Before long she found herself standing at the edge of a lake. The placid water reflected her image and Alex barely recognized herself. Her hair and clothes, though now both dirty and utterly ruined, were in the Devasi style. She brought a hand up to her cheek as she watched herself move in the mirrored surface of the water. A ripple distorted the image and ran across the still waters of the lake as a face began to emerge from behind her reflection. She couldn’t tell whether the face belonged to a man or woman, but the pale skin had an ethereal glow behind it that held her mesmerized.
“Leave the human alone, mercreature,” a firm voice behind her snapped Alex to attention. The once beautiful face in the water turned into a hideous scowl. The creature’s mouth opened wide, flashing rows of gnarled teeth. It shrieked as it pushed back in the water and a fish-like tail flipped up to splash Alex. She shook the fog from her mind and stood up, turning on her heels to see who had spoken.
“Mercreatures are dangerous, human,” the man said. A shimmering wave of tiny blue scales rushed over his skin before returning to normal looking flesh. His eyes were solid black and he had a thick black braid that trailed down his bare back. But most shocking to Alex was that the man was stark naked. He was either unaware of his nudeness, or extremely proud of his body, and Alex blushed hotly as her eyes shot away from him.
“Who…What…” Alex tried to form a cohesive thought, but her mouth just flapped open, her words failing to form a full sentence.
“Forgive me,” the creature said with a supplicating gesture, “I haven’t seen a human in this world for many centuries and it appears my manners have suddenly failed me.”
He stepped closer and reached out to her as if he wanted to shake her hand. Alex dared a look at him but forced her eyes to remain on his face. She took a small step back and felt the waters of the lake licking at her heels.
“Are you a demon?” she asked, not knowing what else to say. It didn’t really matter, she was just happy that he wasn’t trying to kidnap and rape her.
“Of course not,” he said with a laugh, dropping his hand back to his side. “Are you not familiar with my kind, human?”
“I’m not familiar with anything around here,” Alex said, still trying to block out his body from the neck down. A heavy blush traveled down her cheeks and stained her neck red.
“Then allow me to introduce myself,” he said with as he bent over at the waist and made a little flourish with his hand. His nudeness make the gesture seem terribly absurd. “I am the Dragon King Azi.”
“Dragon? You’re a dragon?”
“A dragon king,” Azi said, puffing his chest out as he straightened from his bow. “And who are you, little human?”
“I’m…” Alex hesitated. She could just imagine Balthazar chastising her for being stupid enough to converse with a naked dragon king. She momentarily thought it was odd that he was being so nice to her. That was something that apparently didn’t happen around here.
“There’s no need to be shy,” Azi said. “I assure you, I mean you no harm.”
“Alex,” she said, still trying not to let her eyes skim down his body. “My name is Alexandra.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Alexandra,” Azi said with a smile, still apparently unaware of his naked state.
Alexandra’s stomach decided to interrupt the conversation, grumbling loudly as it reminded her that it had been a full day since she’d had anything to eat.
“Come,” Azi said, stepping closer to Alex with a smile that seemed kind. “You sound hungry. I’ll have a meal prepared for us.”
“I don’t know,” Alex said, her head swiveling around as she tried to remember which way she had come to get to the lake. Panic started to rise as she realized that she had no idea how she had come here, or even how far she was from Balthazar. She weighed her options. She could try to run from Azi, though she doubted she would get very far, and that would likely only make her situation worse. Or, she could pretend to go along with this dragon, buy herself some time, and trust that Balthazar would follow her scent and save her before it was too late.
“I don’t bite,” Azi said, cocking his head to the side as his eyes twinkled in amusement. “I promise.”
She knew that Balthazar would probably have some choice words for her that included stupid or naïve, but she decided it was the better of her two options. She just hoped he would wake up soon and realize that she had gone missing before she had time to regret this decision.
“Only if you put some clothes on,” Alex said, holding a hand out to stop him from coming closer. The dragon king knocked his head back and belted out a laugh that shook his whole body.
“Yes, of course,” he said, looking down at himself as if she had just reminded him that he was naked. “I forget that your kind is rather bashful at times. My apologies. I was going for a swim and well, clothes can sort of hinder that kind of thing.”
He winked at Alex with a wide smile, and although she knew it was meant to be kind and make her relax, it did exactly the opposite.
31