Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Brady tried to rape me.
A dragon saved me. The world feels upside down.
“Where’s your guard?” the second soldier asks again.
“Don’t know,” I manage. The world is fading in and out, black spots blurring in front of my eyes. “He…attacked me. Hope he fucking dies…”
“Cunt,” the second soldier says in a hard, unforgiving voice.
“Fuck off,” the first one says, kneeling in front of me. “Look at her face, Jim. She’s not lying.”
“That’s the scarred bitch. She always looks like that.”
“Other side, dumbass.” Fingers gently turn my face, and it takes everything I have not to cry out in pain.
“Okay, she got beat. That doesn’t explain the blood all over her clothes,” the second soldier says. “Or where he is. Whoever was with her is one of us.” His tone is unforgiving, and I can tell he’s not on my side, no matter what he hears.
“I’m gonna get the medic,” the first soldier—the kind one—says. He gives my shoulder a light tap. “Wait here. You watch the gate, Jim.”
“Alone?” the second soldier protests. “What if something’s coming after her?” There’s a pause, and then Jim snarls a quick ‘Fuck!’ and I know he’s been left at the gate alone with me.
I don’t care. I let my eyes close and sink into darkness. My memory gets vague for a few minutes.
I swirl in and out of consciousness, waking up when rough hands haul me to my feet.
A woman’s face swims before my eyes, disappearing into the haze again.
I wake up a few minutes later as someone holds my arm over their shoulders and drags me along. I’m supposed to be walking and using them as a support, but I’m too weak, too hungry.
I’m half-conscious as a dragon flies overhead and a body thumps down in the middle of the courtyard a short distance away.
People scream in horror.
Right. Something tells me that’s Brady. The dragon brought him here, probably as a not-so-subtle reminder to me of what he did. That he saved me, and instead of being grateful, I ran away back home.
“It’s Brady,” the woman says, her voice distant. “Or what’s left of him.”
“What the hell happened to him?” someone asks.
“He pissed off a dragon,” I mumble, and fall unconscious again.
11
RACHEL
When I wake up again, I’m almost surprised to see that I’m not in the dragon’s grasp. Instead, I’m in a cool, dark room, lying on a cot. I tense, ready to run. Someone presses a gentle hand on my shoulder before I can sit up.
“Be careful,” the woman says. “Why don’t you lie back and relax before you bolt out of here?”
Am I that obvious? I reach up, as my face feels red and raw, and there are bandages all over the side of it.
“You’ll want to leave those on for at least a day or two,” the woman says. “I’ve dabbed everything with antiseptic, but I can’t spare antibiotics until I know for sure if you have an infection. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I lick my lips, and they’re dry and feel almost as hot as the rest of my face. I look around, at the unfamiliar candle-lit room. “Where am I?”
“In the clinic,” the woman says. “I’m Melina.”
Right. I vaguely know the name. She patches people up the best she can and sends them on their way. I might have seen her once or twice in passing, but rumor has it that she keeps to herself. I know how that is. To stay out of trouble, you keep your head down and out of everyone’s business. “Thank you.”
“Do you want some water?”
“Can I sit up?” I don’t like lying here so helpless. It makes me feel too weak, too at the mercy of others.
She purses her lips and then nods. “Just move slow.”
It’s a bit of a struggle to sit up, and my head feels as if it’ll explode from the pressure, but I manage it anyhow. Once I’m upright, Melina hands me a glass of water and I sip it, trying to collect my thoughts. I’m still in the fort, so that’s a good sign…but for how long? Are they going to boot me the moment they know the dragon followed me here? This is twice now that he’s followed me to the fort, and I’m pretty sure it’ll happen again. As long as he can find my scent, I suspect he’ll keep finding me, and the thought is terrifying.
My stomach churns, nausea roiling through my gut, and I remember that I haven’t eaten in a long while. I can’t ask for food here, because no one in a fort shares their food. “What time is it? Have I missed the evening meal?”
Melina gives me a curious look and then moves to a covered standing tray in the corner. “You can have my food.” She brings the tray over to me and sets it down next to my cot, then pulls the lid off.