Bound by a Dragon

  Chapter 22

  Keira woke early as a stiff breeze raced through the window. She pulled the quilts up around her chin and opened her eyes, searching the room for Aaron. Even though a fire was blazing in the hearth, the room was cold – something that Keira didn’t usually worry about when Aaron was close by. Aaron wasn’t in the room, though, and she curled her feet beneath her, trying to find a pocket of heat, until finally she gave up in frustration. Jumping out of the bed, she wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and hurried over to the fire. The flagstones around the fire were warm, and she spread her toes, enjoying the heat as it spread through her feet. She wondered where Aaron could have gone so early in the morning, forgoing his usual habit of staying with her until she awoke. Curious, she pulled on a gown and slipped on a pair of slippers before cautiously pushing open the huge wooden door that led to the wide passageway.

  Glancing up and down the corridor, she quietly stepped out and crept towards the stairs. She could hear the faint but unmistakable sounds of dragons growling as she walked, and she quickly made her way to the low hall, the door of which led to the courtyard. As she approached the doors, the sounds from the courtyard grew louder, and she could tell that there was more than one dragon out there. She paused for a moment, wondering at the wisdom of interrupting the gathering, but when she heard Aaron’s voice ringing out amongst the other growls and voices, she pushed open the door and slipped through.

  The air outside was cold, and the night sky was paling as the dawn approached. The dragons hadn’t noticed her, and she crept along the wall until she stood behind a pillar. As curious as she was, she did not want to alert Aaron to her presence while he was here amongst the other dragons. There were five of them assembled in the courtyard, their claws scratching the ground impatiently. Their colors ranged from orange to red to black, but Keira watched the dragon that glowed gold, his armor rivaling the light of the sun on the brightest day. His wings glimmered in the early morning light, throwing a rainbow of colors against the surrounding walls. While the other dragons sat low against the ground, Aaron stood, his attention focused on something beyond Keira’s line of sight.

  Peeking around the pillar, Keira saw Thomas emerge from the prisoners’ tower, followed by five men. Their hands and feet were bound with rope, and as they followed Thomas into the courtyard, they seemed unsurprised to see the huge beasts that ranged around them; instead, they wore expressions ranging from indifference to resignation. The fifth prisoner, however, a short man with a portly belly and a thick, greasy beard, stopped in his tracks and began to tremble as soon as he saw the beasts towering above them. His eyes darted wildly between the dragons as the sweat trickled down his pudgy face and dripped into his beard. He took a half step back towards the building, then jumped when Thomas addressed him. He stared at Thomas, wide-eyed, before stumbling after the others. As they reached the center of the courtyard, the priest stepped out from the shadows. Again, the first four men appeared unsurprised, and they knelt down on the hard cobblestones as he stooped before them and offered them the sacraments. He made the sign of the cross, then turned to the fifth man, who seemed not to have noticed him. The priest touched his arm, and he spun around, startled. He shook his head at something the priest said, and then again when Thomas joined the conversation. Thomas pointed at the prisoners’ tower, and the man glanced at it before turning back to the dragons. His beard shook as he stared at them, and his lips began to move as he murmured something beneath his breath.

  Thomas turned away and gestured to the other men to rise to their feet, and they waited silently as he removed their binds then stepped away, leaving them alone in the midst of the dragons. There was a rush of wind, and the dragons rose into the air and perched themselves along the turrets. Aaron landed on the highest, and from where she stood, Keira could see his eyes blazing as he stared at the terrified man.

  Aaron cocked his head, and the gesture reminded Keira of an eagle watching his prey. It was in that moment that Keira realized what it was that she was witnessing. She gasped as Aaron lifted his head and let loose a savage roar as flames rolled through the air around him. The sound was so wild that Keira shivered in fear, and she watched in horror as Aaron launched himself from the turret and swooped downwards, his claws stretched out before him. He hit the short man with the full force of his claws, and Keira opened her mouth in a soundless scream as horror froze her in place. The body fell limp in Aaron’s claws as he buried his talons into the man’s chest, ripping him open, before sinking his jaws into the lifeless form. Fire curled from his mouth, blackening the flesh in the moments before he sunk his sharp teeth into it. Light from his eyes fell onto his victim as he lifted his head briefly before once more burying his jaws in the bloody flesh.

  Keira could not move, but stared at Aaron as revulsion rooted her in place. She watched as Aaron buried his snout in the flesh, then pulled his dripping jaws away from the body. He looked up, and his blazing eyes met hers. A tremor passed through the mighty beast, and he pulled back slightly as Keira clasped a shaking hand over her mouth and stumbled backwards. She spun around as Aaron’s roar rang through the air, his hot, fiery breath chasing her as she tugged at the heavy wooden door of the castle and threw herself inside. The sound of Aaron’s roar only made her move faster as she flew up the stairs, her footsteps pounding against the stone as she raced along the corridor that led to their chamber. She yanked open the door, the bright light of Aaron’s transformation from dragon to human flooding the doorway her only warning that he had anticipated her flight and beaten her to the room. He was already striding towards her as she pushed the door closed, his eyes blazing violently as his hands reached out to grab her.

  “Don’t touch me!” Her words flew out without thought as Keira shrank back against the door. Aaron stopped, his expression turning wary. In his haste he had not clothed himself, and Keira looked away, not wanting to see him in the body that she loved.

  “Keira,” he said, his voice tight, “you know what I am. A dragon. I’ve never hidden that fact from you. And you know what dragons eat – what we have to eat in order to survive. I have never hidden that from you, either. I’m sorry if it disgusts you, but you knew from the start what it was you were marrying.”

  Aaron turned away in frustration, pacing over to the window before turning back to Keira as she stood with her back pressed against the door. She could feel his anger mounting as she stared at the ground.

  “Look at me,” he said, but when she ignored him, his voice grew cold. “Look at me, Keira!” he repeated, his tone brooking no refusal. Reluctantly Keira lifted her head and met his gaze.

  “This is what I am, wife,” he growled. Keira watched in stunned silence as Aaron started to transform before her eyes, his hands stretching into claws, his body growing longer and heavier. She shrunk back, pressing herself against the unyielding surface of the solid wooden door. His skin was stretching, thinning, turning translucent; and Keira gasped when she saw flames rippling beneath it, fire licking through his arms, legs, torso. Gold scales started to form across his body, and a tail grew from his spine as he fell down onto his front claws, his feet already stretching into similar appendages.

  She started to turn away, unable to watch, but Aaron’s voice stung her like a whip.

  “Look at me!”

  She turned back again and drew in a deep breath as Aaron’s face started to elongate while his nose and mouth grew into jaws as his eyes moved to the sides of his head. His eyes were burning flames, the whites and pupils consumed by the blaze. The light within him was growing, as though seeking a way to get out, but Aaron held it at bay. Horns pushed through the top of his head as his neck started to stretch, reaching up until he towered over her. Along the length of his back slid his wings. Opening his mouth, Aaron breathed out a curling tongue of flame between rows of teeth that were as sharp as needles.

  “This is what you married, Keira,” he said, his voice hard and pitiless. He gazed at her for another
moment before turning abruptly and launching himself out the window, his wings unfurling as a current of wind carried him away from the castle.