MARRIED TO THE DRAGON LORD

Battleground

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I felt my heart pounding in my chest, thundering against my ribcage. My breath came in quick gasps as I ran.

Something was off, something was very, very off. I knew it from the moment I opened the bedroom door and found Samantha gone.

She was out there, somewhere in the wildlands of my kingdom. She was out there in a place where dragons roamed freely and did not suffer fools, or humans very well.

As far as many of my kind were concerned, humans were food and nothing more. And if one stumbled upon their path, they would not care if she was royalty. In fact, no one knew that she was under my protection.

Without my protection, she was vulnerable.

She was prey.

I felt a shudder move down my spine and I picked up the pace.

I couldn’t remember the last time that I had run wild through the trees of these forests. I had been ruler for so long that the simplicities of the hunt had long eluded me.

I had been ruler for so long that it was easy to lose sight of what was right in front of me, what was right here before my very eyes?

But now I was here. Now the hunt was on and I had to do whatever it took to not only survive, but make sure that Samantha survived too.

I had already endangered her by bringing her to this place. To my kingdom.

I had already brought her into a world of darkness and taught her nothing but pain and the loss of innocence.

Why would she run, though? Hadn’t she wanted it as much as me?

Maybe she had just gotten lost. Maybe she had left to search for me and made a wrong turn. I wasn’t sure, but her coat had been missing from the room. That wasn’t a good sign.

I slowed amongst the trees, taking a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart, to calm the pounding in my veins and the ache in my chest.

Everything was so still in the forest. The death and destruction that hung over my land were evident when I stood in a forest such as this one.

Once teeming with life, it was now so silent, so desolate, so quiet. It was something else entirely and it felt wrong.

The kingdom was rotting from the inside out and it had never been clearer to me what the effects were.

I shuddered and shut my eyes, taking a few deep breaths. All I could hear was the pounding in my ears, and I had to focus if I wanted to find Samantha. I had to harness my body, my senses. I had to be ready for

anything.

I took a deep breath and focused. I focused on the shifting currents of the air, of the sound of footsteps of the few animals that were still around.

I heard a snapping twig.

My eyes snapped open.

No animal was around here that was large enough to make such a distinct snap. There were only smaller animals left here, and I could feel my adrenaline start to rise.

I turned towards the sound, narrowing my eyes. I couldn’t see anything but thick trees. My eyes were fantastic in the dark, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t obstacles in my way.

I honed my senses. I got ready. I pinpointed the sound.

My body coiled, my muscles tensing and ready to go. If it was Samantha, then I would take her back. If it was anyone else, I risked a fight.

I was out of practice. But that didn’t matter to me.

Ready and coiled, I ran. I sped through the forest, ducking and weaving amongst the trees. I didn’t need to sneak upon them. If it was Samantha, she deserved to know she was in danger.

If it was Samantha, I needed her to know how insane she was being.

If it was someone else, they would need the warning, the head start. No matter how many of them there were, I could take them all. That much I was sure of.

I didn’t become the Dragon Lord by sitting on a throne. That was a recent development.

I became ruler of these lands by being the strongest, plain and simple.

It didn’t take me long to breathe in the scent of another. More than one person.

Dragons. And a human.

I saw red. I knew there was a real risk of Samantha running into other dragons. I knew she was in real danger.

I didn’t smell blood yet. But if anything had happened to Samantha, anything at all…

The anger rose inside of me until it was all that I could feel, the thundering of my heart and the pounding fury inside of my skull.

If they laid hands on her, they were finished. At that moment, I didn’t care if they were my subjects. I didn’t care that they served me, or if they were my people.

It was Cai all over again. I couldn’t abide by violence like this. Not now. Not when we were in such a delicate. the situation, not when we needed Samantha. Not when she was mine.

No one hurt one of mine.

Not a servant, not a soldier, and not Samantha.

It didn’t take me long to find the clearing. There was a small break in the trees, enough for several people to stand in. Enough for an ambush, if it was set properly.

And Samantha knew nothing about this forest.

A simple log put in the way could cause a fall. One dragon leaped out of the trees and she was done for.

I felt my blood boil.

I looked around, and all eyes were on me. There were two of them in the clearing and another three in the trees.

One against five.

I grinned.

“What the hell are you doing?” One of them yelled.

I snarled, my anger rising into a protective fury. One of them had his hands on Samantha.

She was against a tree and she looked terrified. And then I smelt it, the sting of blood in the air.

She’s hurt.

She was hurt and I hadn’t been there to protect her. She was hurt and it was because of these dragons, these men who didn’t know how to hunt for themselves and ganged up on Samantha instead.

“Does it really take five of you?” I said, my voice a low rumble in my chest, “Five, for one girl?”

My voice boomed across the clearing. I hoped they didn’t recognize me. I hoped they didn’t panic and beg for their lives. Because as a ruler, I would have to concede.

And right here, right now, I wanted them dead. I wanted to kill them. They deserved it.

I didn’t give them time to think.

Instead, I lunged at the closest, grabbing him by the throat, feeling his body lift from the ground as I threw him, slamming him across a tree. The sickening thud was music to my ears.

What do you think you’re doing? This is our turf!” The one who was holding Samantha dropped her to the ground and lunged at me.

I didn’t give him time to respond, bringing my leg up in a swift and brutal kick. He stumbled back, snarling and baring his fangs.

The ones who were hiding in the trees charged towards me too, and I felt a sickening jolt of satisfaction.

The one on the ground didn’t stir.

Then they were on me, fangs and claws bared, eyes shining in the light. I smiled, feeling the blood pumping through my veins.

Part of me had missed this. But mostly, mostly, I just wanted Samantha safe. Mostly, I just wanted these men to pay for touching her, for scaring her. She deserved better than that.

She deserved better. And if I went down, they would hurt her. If she ran now, she risked more danger. So, I had to win.

No choice.

Samantha, stay there!” I snarled, barely even turning my eyes towards her.

I just had to trust that she was smart enough

to listen.

The blood rang in my ears and I dove headfirst into the fight. These men deserved everything that they got, and I wasn’t about to hold back. Dragons like this gave us all a bad name.

We were proud and noble and not savages. Not like this.

I felt claws dig into my shoulder and I spun around, slamming my elbow into his face and sending him stumbling back.

The scent of blood was starting to grow heavy in the air, thick and cloying.

Four against one. The fourth one wasn’t down yet. Blood pouring from his nose, he charged at me with everything he had. I could feel his anger rising off him in waves.

I turned my attention away from him.

Then I felt claws slash against my blind, exposed side and my world exploded in pain. I’d been hit.

T. B. C