Now that I know that the other women are okay—Dragix insisted that the Braxians would have easily killed the Voildi and taken the women back to their camp—I feel much more relaxed.
Oh, I’m still planning to escape when Dragix lets his guard down. But from the look of that ship, the other women can’t go anywhere yet. For the first time in years, I’m not taking as many waitressing shifts as I can. I’m not hoarding money and wearing clothes that are little more than rags so that I’ll be able to afford gas and maybe a motel next time I move. I’m not deliberating whether to eat a meal now or save that money to put toward my emergency fund so I can run the next time Ben finds me.
Dragix makes sure that I have more than enough food. When I explained to him that I can’t live off meat and meat alone, he took me to Maez’s small vegetable patch and then showed me which trees in the forest had the sweetest fruit.
Here, I can sleep for as long as I like, without the fear of someone tapping on my window—either ordering me to move my car or seeing me as their next victim.
The other women…they probably have real lives on Earth. Lives with careers and families.
Me? I have no one. Nothing. I know I can’t stay on Agron forever. But for now, when I know that the other women aren’t going anywhere without me?
I’m being selfish. I’m in no hurry to find the other women, to help them figure out how to get off this planet. To be fair, Dragix watches me constantly, and when he’s not watching me, Maez is. I have such a small chance of escaping that I haven’t even tried yet. And while I may feel that small trickle of guilt, I’m enjoying hanging out in Dragix’s lair.
“What are they?” I return my attention to our flight.
Dragix glances down at the furry creatures below us.
“They know better than to come into my territory. They are Zintas, and they believe they can kill me, take my scales, and sell them.”
Wait. What?
“You’re being hunted?”
Dragix turns his head. “My people have always been hunted.”
Who would be stupid enough to hunt a dragon?
Although, since Dragix is now living without his family, I’m guessing that at least some of those assholes were successful.
Dragix turns, then he jolts, and a roar leaves him.
“What is it?” I scream, and then I see it.
The Zintas are shooting at us. And one of them just hit us, an arrow sliding straight through Dragix’s wing.
Oh God. “Are we going down?”
A snort. And then he deftly shifts to the side as another arrow flies past.
“Let’s get out of here, Dragix.”
“No. Their arrows could have killed you. I am going to show them the error of their ways.”
“Huh?”
Dragix turns, and I get a better look at the Zintas. There are so many of them. All I can tell from up here is that they’re bulky and furry as bears.
Dragix lets out another roar of retribution, and then I hold on tight as he tucks his wings close, heading toward the forest.
“Dragix. Dragix. Dragix!”
Oh God, we’re going so fast. I know he’s trying to make us a smaller target, but what if we crash?
I should’ve known better. He lands in a clearing so small the tree branches almost brush his wings as he opens them to slow our flight.
It’s a rough landing, and I almost fall. But Dragix snatches me off his back, already crouching.
“Run,” he says. “I will find you, but you need to run.”
I swallow. Half of me wants to beg him to take me back to the mountain. But I get it. They came for him in a pack and attempted to shoot him out of the sky. They’re in his territory. If he doesn’t take care of the problem now, they’ll think they won. They might bring more people next time, might come deeper into his territory.
The thought of his huge body falling from the sky makes my stomach twist, so I nod.
“I’m going,” I say as he tilts his head impatiently. When I turn, a gust of wind hits me as he shoots up into the sky.
I almost feel sorry for the Zintas.
But he’s right. If they saw where he landed, they could head toward me.
I bolt through the forest so fast that I’m almost flying. As worried as I am for Dragix, now that he doesn’t need to protect me, he can sure as hell handle himself.
And if a dragon tells you to run…you run.
I jump over tree branches, crying out as I land on a sharp rock. I’ve been walking around the lair barefoot, and I forgot to check if Dragix’s sister’s shoes would fit me.
Idiot.
I sprint until I’m so out of breath that I’m forced to stop, and then I lean over, hands on my knees as I suck in air. I have no idea where I am, no idea where Dragix is, but I can hear water pounding against rocks somewhere close by.
Once I catch my breath, I head toward it. Dragix made it clear that he has my scent that first day when he took me off the mountain. That means he’ll be able to find me.
I don’t quite know what to think about that, so I push it aside, keeping an eye out for anyone who could be looking for me as I head toward the river.
This doesn’t look like the part of the river that Dragix usually takes me to, the water rushing past much faster here. I walk along the water’s edge and then stop, my mouth dropping open.
Is that a…ship?
It can’t be. I’ve seen our ship, and this isn’t it.
