Wyvern's Trim and other stories (7 page)

He moved like
lightning. He yanked her underneath him and growled. His eyes
bright with fever as his heat radiated over her. She tried to shift
out from underneath him. His muscles bunched and he pressed into
her more, making it hard for her to breath.

She must have made a noise as he shifted a little
and she found it easier to breathe again. He tilted his head down
and she wondered if he was blacking out. Instead, he pressed his
nose to her throat and took a deep breath.

His hand next to
her head moved so his fingers buried in her hair. She was still
wondering what he was going to do next. She knew he was dangerous,
especially if he was fevered and was hallucinating.

He massaged her
head and tilted her head up. His teeth nipped at her chin. His lips
finally hovered over her own. Her eyes wide she stared at him. His
own eyes were closed as he savoured the moment.

He growled out
“Mine.”

Before he
lowered his lips and kissed her. Shock and pleasure shot through
her, confusing her. She gasped and he slipped his tongue into her
mouth and she gave up trying to understand and tentatively returned
the kiss.

Her mind slowly turned over what he had
said and the circumstances. Surely he didn’t mean her.
Maybe it was the
fever.
With that thought
she pulled back and pushed at him. He rolled away without a fight
and sighed. She sat up and muttered something about him dreaming or
some such.

Ash
was still very confused and it didn’t help that she was
tingly all over and missing his weight. He must have been confused
as well, thinking her someone else. He was sick after
all.

She went to the
stream and brought him some water and wet a cloth to wipe his brow.
He was so hot. He moaned in his sleep. She stayed as long as she
could and hesitated when she had to leave, he needed
her.

He growled at
her as Ash sat down next to him. The growling no longer made her
stay away. He wouldn’t hurt her. She stirred the stew she had
brought down and reheated over a small fire she had made in the
larger cavern. She smiled at him and said, “Settle my strange man
you are still too weak to be running around.”

He surprised her
by saying, “I’m not a man, I am a dragon.”

She blinked and
asked, “Dragon? You mean with wings and such?”

Dragons were no longer going around and eating
people any more. Not since they had made a treaty with humans but
they were still very dangerous. What she didn’t understand was how
he could be trapped here. Dragons were said to have great
power.

She gave him the
spoon. After that first day he had refused to let her feed him but
he was still very weak. She held the bowl close to his mouth so he
didn’t spill too much on himself. It didn’t take long before he
couldn’t hold up the spoon.

Considering that
he had told her about his species she asked, “Do you have a name
then, beside Dragon that is?”

There was a long
silence then he said, “I don’t remember.”

That made her
heart ache “Just how long have you been down here?”

He shrugged
seemingly self-conscious. She brushed her fingers over his forehead
and said, “Don’t worry about it. I had a look at your chains. I’ll
be able to bring something down to break the lock.”

He went very
still. “You are willing to release me?”

This made her
realise he might have been in here from before the treaty. “Only if
you promise not to hurt anyone.”

“
I cannot make that
promise,
” She frowned at
him and he added, “but I will promise that I will not hurt anyone
unless they mean harm.”

That would have
to do. She put the food aside. He had managed most of the bowl
which pleased her. He was getting better every day.

She said, “I
don’t know where I’d hide you though. It would not do to have you
wandering around. You’d sure to stand out.”

“
I
will not hide.”

She shook her head “There hasn’t been a dragon in
the Basilica ever. It is one of the things they are very proud of
since they fought off Gerhard the Great almost a thousand years
ago. They might get the sudden urge to kill you in some fit of
fervor.”

His hand went to her wrist and he said again. “I
will not hide.”

She
sighed.

The dragon was out of his bed when
Ash
came down a few days
later. She had been surprised he had stayed in bed as long as he
had. She smiled when she saw him sitting by the water fall. His
hair was wet so she assumed he had been washing.

She lifted the
metal bar she had brought when he turned to look at her. He rushed
towards her. The chain clattered on the ground as he moved. She
moved so she was within range of the chain. She was amused by his
eagerness as he took the metal bar and stormed off to his small
cave.

She had only
managed to get to the entrance of the cave when she heard a loud
crack and then smaller ones. He had managed to break the chain from
the wall and with some work he unthreaded the long chain. He still
had a metal cuff around his ankle but now he was free.

She leant
against the entrance of the cave and with a smile said, “I see you
are feeling better.”

He stood up and
turned to her. He ate up the space between them. He caught her up
and yanked her against his chest. His mouth descended, scolding her
lips. She melted into his passion. He pressed her up against the
wall and his hands slid over her waist. He cupped her breast and
pleasure and shock went through her.

She panicked and
pushed him away. He pulled back a little but he still had her
trapped against the wall. He rested his forehead against hers. She
could hear his uneven breathing.

Ash
tried to explain. “I... it’s just I didn’t
expect.”

The dragon
shook his head cutting her off. His voice was soft
as he said, “No, this is better.”

She wasn’t sure
what he was talking about. He reached down for her hand as he said,
“Give me your hands.”

She did as it
seemed such a small request. He took her hands solemnly and almost
instantly pain raced up her arms. She tried to pull away from him
but with the wall to her back she didn’t have anywhere to go. The
pain didn’t last long. There were now delicate lines on her arms
and on his as well.

Still staring at
her arms she asked, “Why did you do that?”

“
Because you are mine. Come, I wish to see sunlight and the
sky again.”

Ash
blinked and followed him out of the cave. She said, “Wait,
I got you some clothes.”

She had hoped
covering him up would hide him from a passing glance once they were
out of the labyrinth.

Nerves made her
jittery. She was surprised though when her dragon put an arm around
her shoulders and pulled her close against his side as they stepped
out of the hidden passageways into the main corridors.

Ash
swore softly under her breath when she saw Mya coming
towards them. Ash tensed and her dragon’s hand tightened on the
metal bar that he had brought back up from the caves. She didn’t
want him to hurt Mya so she tried to calm down and said, “Don’t
worry it is just Mya.”

Mya smiled when
she saw her, then her mouth dropped as her eyes took in her dragon.
“Oh my goodness, Ash, who is this?”

Ash cleared her
throat first before she said, “This is ah...”

“
Sebastian.”

Ash
glanced up at her dragon. She blinked surprised that he had
given a name. Not his own though. Her father’s first mate had been
called Sebastian.

He seemed to
understand her look and said, “I liked the sound of it.”

So that was why
he had chosen it.

Mya smiled and batted her eyelashes. Ash wanted to
sigh, Mya was notorious among the people at the basilica. “Aren’t
you a handsome one, and so dark. Deliciously dark.” Mya drawled.
She seemed to notice Sebastian had his arm around Ash’s
shoulders.

Mya’s eyes
darkened and she said to Sebastian, “I’d be a better
lay.”

Miffed Mya stormed off without another word. Ash
sighed and Sebastian said, “At least she didn’t try to kill me in a
fit of fervor.”

She stared at
him shocked. “Was that a joke?”

He didn’t answer
and he hadn’t cracked a smile. She shook her head surprised by his
unexpected humour and said, “Mya is also a gossip. Everyone in the
basilica will know by sundown that you are here.” She motioned to a
doorway and said, “I suppose now is a good a time as any to go see
the elders.”

Elder Murphy was sitting in an inner garden of
contemplation. Ash was reluctant to approach him. But if there was
any hope that they would let Sebastian live in peace they would
have to settle things with the elders. Elder Murphy was the leader
of all the priests and hopefully also open minded. Sebastian didn’t
seem to have any reservation as he approached with confidence.
Elder Murphy jumped a little when they approached. He asked
confused “Child?”

Ash was wringing her hands but winced in pain at
the brands on her arms and said, “Elder I’d like you to meet
Sebastian. He is a Dragon.”

Elder Murphy breathed out. “A dragon.”

Sebastian bristled at that and she had to
smile, at least he didn’t growl. Sebastian had a low opinion of
dragons. The elder motioned for him to sit and
said
, “Thank you child,
you may leave.”

Sebastian tensed and
said
, “I wish for her to
remain. I have been a long time out of civilisation and she keeps
me calm.”

The elder seemed shocked and
asked
, “Are you
dangerous?”

Ash answered, “No, elder. I would never have
brought him out of the Labyrinth if he wasn’t safe.”

The elder’s eyes widened “The
Labyrinth?”

Ash quickly told the old priest how she had found
Sebastian and freed him when he had calmed down. She didn’t tell
him that it had taken months before he would even allow her near
him. The elder frowned and didn’t impart his thoughts. He nodded
his head after a moment and then turned to Sebastian. “I have to
ask, why were you chained down there?”

She was worried.
Sebastian wasn’t someone to reveal anything of himself so she was
surprised when he said “I killed a man. I don’t think they expected
me to last so long though.”

Ash glanced at him and asked, “You killed
someone?”

He turned to her and said, “Yes, he killed my
brother, so I killed him. I thought it was justice, others did not
agree.”

They both turned back to the elder when he
asked
, “How
long?”

Sebastian
shrugged. “Ash mentioned when the dragons first
came. How long ago was that?”

The elder blinked and said, “Maybe eight hundred
years ago.”

Sebastian
was quiet for a time and said, “Then I have been
down there three hundred years.”

Ash was floored and so was the elder who asked,
“You can live that long?”

“
My pe
ople live for a very long time. Close to
immortal in some people’s eyes.”

She didn’t ask how old he was, though she
wished to know. The elder was thoughtful and said
, “Even if you do lie about the man you
killed, I believe that three hundred years below ground is justice
enough. You would not be the only one here with a shady past. I
will have one of the novates show you to a room.”

Sebastian
interrupted. “I will stay with
Ash.”

The elder frowned
. “That would not be
appropriate.”

“
She is mine, I will
stay
with her.” To prove
his point Sebastian caught her wrist and showed the brands. He
turned over his own arms and she could see that the brand was very
similar to her own in design. Sebastian repeated. “She is
mine.”

The elder leaned forward to look at the
marks and asked
, “Is
this some kind of ritual binding? A blood bond?”

Sebastian nodded. She was shocked and she
yelped
.
“What?”

The elder looked at her and asked, “Did you not
consent to this?”

Ash didn’t want to get Sebastian in trouble so she
said, “I just don’t understand what it means.”

The elder gave her a sympathetic smile and
said
, “It means you
married the man, child.”

He looked at Sebastian who
nodded
. “She is mine, so
I will stay with her.”