Maiden Flight

Maiden Flight

Dragon Knights Book 1

Bianca D’Arc

To Jess—my patient, thoughtful, whip-cracking editor. I couldn’t have done it without you! Thanks for believing in dragons.

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 a 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 took 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 a magnificent dragon’s talons, winging away toward the far end of the small clearing.

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

Coming out of the swooping dive, the dragon neatly pinned the stag's quivering body between the talons of his right foreleg. He'd made a clean kill, stabbing the beast through the heart with his sharp talon 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.

He came to a neat landing nearby and dropped the dead stag to the ground with satisfaction. That's when he noticed the little stick protruding from the other side of the beast. It was an arrow.

"Oh no, you don't!"

The irate, high pitched human voice made the dragon look up quizzically at the small female now facing him down with hands perched in tight fists on her hips. A longbow was slung over her shoulder, the string resting between generous breasts that heaved in irritation.

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

She fairly glowed 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, fearsome dragon that he was, with blood on his talons and fire in his eyes. She had courage all right, and it impressed the hell out of him.

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

What's your name, pretty one? The dragon spoke directly into her mind, surprising her a bit, but her mother had told her 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 my kill to me?"

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

"Not me. 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 ranted and argued with him, the dragon moved in closer still, until he had the stag wrapped in the talons on one huge foreleg and she was much too close to the other. Just 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. 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 just 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 dragons, 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 foreleg, 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 transport a human that was not his 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 smokily, 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 eyes 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 a bit lower. A moist breeze off the water teased her senses.

"What knight?"

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 them, 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 had never felt the like before.

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 there was something about this man. 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 shining muscles would feel like under her hands.

The thought shocked her. Shocked, and excited her, 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 the man had on her, but it was surprisingly hard.

“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 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. The wild skiths—snake-like creatures larger than five full-grown men who spit deadly burning venom—

were often found along the border region, harrying herds and killing unsuspecting farmers who crossed their paths.

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 the enemy, and in legends of older times, it was believed this border region had been decimated by herds of skiths 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. It was the only thing a full-grown skith was afraid of.

The dragon directed a stream of rumbling smoke away from her as he scoffed. 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 could be in serious danger. They 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 a landing site.