Maiden Flight (Dragon Knights) Read online

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated first and foremost to my mother, who helped me discover the dragon within myself. She was a fierce advocate of education and pursuing your dreams—whatever they may be. Thanks, Mom, for always believing in me and teaching me by example. I miss your loving friendship and wise counsel, but I know you’re still guiding my path from realms beyond mortal comprehension.

  I also want to thank my Dad for not giving up on me, or on himself, after losing the love of his life. It takes a strong man to love a strong woman and an even stronger man to survive losing her all too soon. They had fifty-four happy years together and their love is the touchstone from which our whole family learned what true love is really all about. Thanks, Dad, for sticking with me. Neither of us ever expected things to go this way, but I’m glad I’ve had a chance to get to know you better over the past few years.

  Chapter One

  Belora tracked the stag through the forest. Carefully chosen for this hunt, the stag was older, past the prime of his life, and would feed her small family of two for more than a month if she and her mother used it wisely. On silent feet, she followed him down to the water, a small trickle of stream that fed into the huge lake beyond.

  Taking careful aim with her bow, Belora offered up a silent prayer of hope and thanks to the Mother of All and to the spirit of the stag that would give its life so that she and her mother could live. She loosed the arrow, watching it sail home to her target, embedding itself deep in the stag’s heart. Her aim was true.

  As expected, the stag ran off, pumping away the last of its life in a desperate attempt to escape. She followed, saddened by the poor creature’s flight but knowing it must be so. The old stag ran into a clearing, flailing wildly. He was nearing his end, she knew, and again she prayed to the Mother of All that it would be swift.

  The stag faltered in its running stride, a shadow seeming to pass over from above. A moment later, the stag was gone, clasped tightly in the talons of a magnificent dragon winging away toward the far end of the small clearing.

  Belora took off as fast as her tired feet would carry her, following the dragon who had stolen her prize.

  Coming out of his swooping dive, the dragon pinned the stag’s quivering body between the long talons of his right foreleg. He’d made a clean kill, stabbing the beast through the heart with his sharp-edged digit even before lifting it into the air. It struggled for a few moments more, then lay dead in his grasp. The dragon rejoiced in the skillful kill, chortling smoke into the air above him.

  He came to a neat landing at the far end of the small clearing and dropped the dead stag to the ground with satisfaction. That was when he noticed the little stick protruding from the other side of the beast. It was an arrow. Drat.

  “Oh no, you don’t!”

  The irate, high-pitched human voice made the dragon shift his gaze upward to look quizzically at the small female now facing him with her hands perched in tight fists on her hips. A longbow was slung over her shoulder.

  “I shot that stag well before you swooped down and picked him up. He’s my kill. What’s more, he will feed me and my mother for a month or more. For you, he’s just a snack! You leave him be. He’s mine.”

  She shook with indignant anger and it was truly a sight to behold. Luminous green eyes sparkled in her pretty, flushed face. She seemed to have no fear of him, mighty dragon that he was, with blood on his talons and fire in his belly. She clearly had courage, and it impressed him. Few humans, much less small females, dared to deal with dragons directly.

  He could feel her anger, and a rudimentary channel of thought opened between her mind and his. She was one of the rare humans then, who could communicate with his kind. This intrigued him even more, and one thought kept running through his mind—Gareth had to see this.

  “What’s your name, pretty one?” The dragon spoke directly into Belora’s mind, surprising her a bit, but her mother had told stories about the dragon she’d known as a child. Belora knew dragons communicated with humans mind to mind. It was part of their ancient magic.

  “I’m Belora.” She renewed her forceful stance. She could not let this dragon sense any fear. She needed that stag. “Will you yield the stag to me?”

  “Why are you not afraid of my kind? Do you know dragons?”

  That wasn’t an answer, but she supposed she should at least be polite. Her mother had taught her the etiquette required when dealing with dragons.

  “Not I, sir. My mother knew a dragon once though. She told me about your kind.” Belora knew she had to convince him soon. The longer this dragged on, the more likely he was to haul her before some tribunal for poaching. “So what about the stag?”

  “From where I stand, it was my talon that made the kill. Not your puny arrow. But you have a good argument. I’ll give you that.”

  The dragon moved closer to her as she fumed in response, but she didn’t realize she was being set up until it was much too late. While she argued with him, the dragon moved closer still, until he had the stag wrapped in the talons on one huge foreleg and she was much too close to the other. As she realized her mistake, he swooped in and made his move.

  He reached out quicker than thought and snapped the padded digits of his left foreleg around her waist, trapping her arms inside the cage his wickedly sharp talons made around her. She screamed in frustration and more than a bit of fear. The dragon only chuckled.

  “Don’t worry, little one.” His voice was gentle in her mind, as if trying to calm her.

  The dragon beat his huge wings two or three times and then they were airborne. She couldn’t help the little yelp of fright that escaped as her feet left the ground. He could easily open his claw and drop her to the ground far below. That would solve his problem quite easily, she thought with growing horror.

  But dragons were supposed to be noble creatures! In all the tales she’d heard about them, she’d never heard of one going to such lengths to toy with a human before. They were mankind’s friends, not enemies, and they weren’t supposed to go around snatching up maidens only to hurtle them to their deaths.

  As they gained altitude and he did not release her to die a nasty and painful death, she began to calm. She was held in one front claw, the slain deer in the other. She looked around and realized she had never seen such a beautiful sight. The view from above was breathtaking. She could see the huge mountain lake as they approached it, and if she craned her neck to look behind, she could see the forest canopy, green and fertile, hiding the secrets of the creatures that lived within.

  She and her mother lived there, under the thick cover of trees, and had for many years. It was their haven, their home. Nothing as magical as this had ever happened to Belora, living isolated in the forest, and she decided to enjoy this moment out of time, flying high above the world. She would likely never have the chance again, for it was rare that a dragon transported a human that was not their knight partner. She knew that from the stories and legends the old ones told of knights and dragons. Even her mother—who had been friends with a dragon in her youth—had never flown with one. It was a rare and magical experience.

  “Do you like the view, little one?”

  “It’s beautiful!” Belora had to shout to be heard over the racing wind.

  The dragon chuckled, thoughtfully directing the stream of smoke out behind him and away from her. She realized from the gesture that he was well used to being around humans and carrying them as he flew, but she guessed he didn’t carry too many in his claws. The legends all said knights rode on the backs of their dragon partners.

  “Where are you taking me?” She pulled her attention from the gorgeous vista long enough to question her predicament. If he
was taking her to a tribunal, she was in big trouble. She’d rather know now if she would be facing arrest when they landed.

  “Fear not, little one. I said you had a good case for the stag. We will let the knight decide.”

  They cruised over the edge of the large mountain lake. The water sparkled below as the dragon dropped lower. A moist breeze off the water teased her senses.

  “What knight?” That didn’t sound good.

  Rather than calming her fears, the news that there was a knight in the area only made things worse. She’d been poaching, plain and simple. Mere peasants weren’t allowed to kill the deer to feed their families, but the dragons were welcome to them as a snack at any time.

  “That knight,” the dragon thought back at her. It took her a moment to understand his meaning, but when she looked down and just ahead of their path, she saw a sleek male body cutting through the waters of the lake. He swam like a fish or like one of the great sea creatures she had heard stories about. She found herself distracted by the sun gleaming off the powerful muscles of his arms as he sliced through the water, heading for shore. Something about the man’s hard body pulled at her most feminine core, though she was inexperienced with men, in general.

  “I am Kelvan and that’s Gareth, my knight.”

  Her eyes followed the man cutting through the waters below. She’d never seen a dragon in person before, much less a knight. Surprisingly, the hard-muscled man intrigued her even more than the amazing blue-green dragon who spoke so effortlessly in her mind.

  The thought gave her pause. She’d met any number of men from the nearby village and never had such a reaction to the mere sight of one, but this man was different. Without even seeing his face clearly, she felt something deep down inside her stir to life. It was as if something in him called out to her—to the deep parts of her femininity that had never been awakened before. She wanted to know this man. She wanted to see him smile, and she wanted to know what those wetly gleaming muscles would feel like under her hands.

  The thought shocked her. Shocked, and excited, if she were being honest. The thought of his strong arms wrapped around her made her insides quiver. The thought of his lips trailing over her untried body caused moisture to blossom between her thighs. She felt desire for this unknown man, the likes of which she had never experienced, but oh, how she wanted to experience it now!

  The scandalous thought roused her from her contemplation of the handsome man. He was just a knight, she tried to tell herself. She didn’t even know him. He would probably be old and unattractive when she finally saw his face clearly. No matter what she tried to tell herself, though, she kept looking back at the man cutting through the water so effortlessly, as if drawn. She tried to shake off the almost magnetic pull he had on her, but it was surprisingly hard to gather her wits.

  “You’re a fighting dragon, then?”

  The dragon didn’t grace her obvious statement with an answer.

  “There are no dragon enclaves this far east. Where do you hail from?”

  “Not that it is any of your business, but the king has asked us to set up a new Lair just to the south of here. You will be seeing more of us patrolling the skies in the days to come.”

  “But why?” His startling news was enough to make her forget the knight for the moment. “The border with Skithdron has been peaceful for many years.”

  She knew it had not always been so. Wild skiths—snake-like creatures that were as large as dragons and spit deadly burning venom—were often found along the border, harrying herds and killing unsuspecting farmers who crossed their path.

  The native skiths gave the neighboring kingdom its name and heraldic symbol, much as the dragons were the symbol of her land, but that’s where all similarity ended. Dragons were reasoning creatures of high intelligence, where skiths were pack hunters intent only on killing and destruction.

  It was rumored they could be herded against an enemy, and in legends of older times, it was believed this border region had been deliberately decimated by herds of skiths. They’d been sent as a first wave by the neighboring army that had almost taken the region completely. The only thing that saved the land had been the native dragons, fighting the hated skiths back with flame. Dragons were the only thing a full-grown skith was afraid of.

  The blue-green dragon who held her prisoner directed a stream of rumbling smoke away from her as he scoffed at her words. Her mother had warned her that when dragons became angry they sometimes had a hard time controlling their fire.

  “Skithdron has a new king. One not worthy of the title. War is coming. It is only a question of when.” Again there was a belch of smoke that he thoughtfully directed out behind them as he flew.

  “I didn’t know.” She tried to quell the frightened quaver in her voice as she shouted to be heard over the rushing wind.

  She knew things had to be serious indeed if the king had sent a contingent of knights and fighting dragons to make their home on the border. Her chest tightened as she realized they all could be in serious danger. She and her mother might have to flee yet again, losing the snug little home in the forest that had sheltered them safely for so long.

  “Thank heaven the king sent you here. We’re all but unprotected here on the border.”

  “Not anymore.” The dragon seemed to chuckle and preen as he circled lower, searching for the perfect landing site.

  “Gareth, I’ve got a live one here.” The dragon communicated telepathically with his partner, who still swam through the waters below.

  “You found your deer, then? I’m almost through with my swim. We can get back underway as soon as you finish your snack.”

  “Not quite.” The dragon swooped lower as he prepared to land on the far shore. “There was a poacher there before me and we quarreled over the kill. I’ve brought her to you to decide who keeps the stag.”

  “Her?”

  “Indeed,” the dragon replied dryly. “She has no fear of my kind and the ability to communicate with us, too. I thought you ought to see her before we departed.”

  “Intriguing.” The knight neared shore as the dragon landed lightly, setting both the deer and his wriggling human burden down on the ground, gentle as could be.

  “Hmm. Beautiful too. And feisty.”

  “Beautiful?”

  “In the way of humans. Quite beautiful, I believe. And quite upset with me. She did not come willingly.”

  The dragon released her, sat back, and watched the little human fume at him. She raged and paced, shrieking about being taken away by force, against her will, but the dragon paid her words no mind. Gareth would sort her out soon enough. In the meantime, it was quite amusing to watch with her antics.

  Gareth got his first look at the woman—girl, really—as he walked out of the lake. The cool wetness of the water as it sluiced down his limbs barely registered in his mind as he strode toward the girl. She stomped around, ineffectively arguing in front of the impassive dragon.

  Gareth was struck by her lithe form, her soft hair waving in the warm summer wind and the passion in her stance. She showed absolutely no fear of Kelvan, his dragon partner, though the beast outsized her many times over. No, this little woman was fearless and rather focused in her anger.

  She was also too thin. It was more than obvious that she needed that stag to feed herself and her family. If they were all as thin as she was, they needed much more than just the one stag. Perhaps he and Kelvan could do something to help her the next time they came this way, he thought absently, not even realizing he was already looking forward to the next time he would see the girl.

  He knew almost immediately that he wanted to see her again. Something about her drew him. There was a light in her, a fire that called to him. He didn’t understand it, but it was beyond question. She pulled him in like a moth to a flame and he went willingly. The fire in her glittering green gaze mesmerized and the vulnerability in her bowed lips made him want to fall to his knees and give her everything he had, everything he was
. The desire to please her, to protect her and cherish her, blindsided him. He didn’t even know her. Yet everything about her called to him. He watched as she berated the dragon—or tried to. Kelvan seemed just as in awe of her as he was.

  She had worked up a good head of steam as he neared, though she seemed completely unaware of his approach. Kelvan shifted his head, finally alerting her to Gareth’s presence. She turned to face him, gasped, and suddenly stopped talking.

  Maybe it was because he was naked, he realized belatedly, enjoying the way her eyes seemed glued to his groin. Of course, such attention caused his staff to grow rapidly, as did the enchanting stain of embarrassment on her cheeks. Slowly, he reached for his clothing. It lay in a pile only feet from where she stood, still watching him.

  “Keep looking at me like that, mistress, and you will reap the consequences.”

  The girl gasped as her gaze shot up to his. Finally. Her mouth closed with a snap as she seemed to gather her wits.

  “Your pardon, my lord, but I’m not used to meeting unclothed knights of the realm.”

  Sarcasm fairly dripped from her words. She wasn’t afraid of him. Quite the contrary. He grew even more intrigued. Gareth shrugged into his shirt, leaving it unlaced for the moment as he faced her, now clothed more decently in breeches and shirt.

  “My partner here tells me you claim this very large stag as your kill.”

  He thought his statement masterfully done, complimenting her hunting skill while making no mention of the fact that they all knew she had been poaching. That she was in the wrong, according to the law, bothered him much less than the thinness of her lithe little body. He would rather she take the deer and feed herself and her family. Kelvan could always hunt another or wait until they arrived back at the Lair to feed fully. He knew from long association with dragonkind that it would be no hardship for the huge creature who was his dearest friend in the world and closest companion.

  “I shot him fair and square before this great lug lumbered in from above.”