Dragon 6 Chapter 12 (Patreon)

I sized up the hydra as the fog cleared.

The thing was a vibrant green that belonged to poisonous frogs, with odd swirls just to make it blend in a little.

But the concept of the large beast blending in seemed ludicrous. It was easily as large as me if you added in the dozen or so serpent heads extending from its chest.

Really, it wasn’t that different from a dragon shoulders down, but a third of its mass was in all the heads.

The many heads fixated on me as they writhed, constantly changing position.

“So, it’s just going to grow more heads if I rip one off?” I asked over my shoulder to the crew.

“Yes. Just like the stories. But it has a limited total mass, just like shifters. So, you can still kill it if you keep ripping heads off.” Polydora’s voice rose over the hissing of the hydra. “A few made their way into Ancient Greece once.”

“You don’t say.” I chuckled, making a mental note to ask Poly for more stories of her childhood and Ancient Greece when we made camp for the night.

Continuing to stalk forward, I shifted my scales to gold and red before I baked the thing with fire.

When the fire ended, a dozen snake heads shot through the flames. Two even latched onto me.

I let out a roar of surprise and my claws were flashing forward, cutting into the serpents as I tried to bite through another neck. My scales were already shifting green and brass from touching them.

In just seconds, I was overwhelmed by the number of heads. They wrapped around me with mouths full of razor sharp fangs. And those fangs were crunching through my scales, backed by powerful jaws.

As much as I wanted to complain about no one telling me they were fireproof, my scales were green and brass again some of its blood had splattered on me.

When I tore into the hydra, its acidic blood dribbled over me and onto the ground with a loud sizzle.

A big spear of ice took out a head that was trying to pin my neck.

“Get free of it.” Maeve shouted in warning.

Heads were multiplying, and it was like being caught in a net as they flowed over me without concern as I tore them off. Every chance they got, they sank their fangs into me, latching on.

I was getting frustrated. I’d remove one, but there would just be another replacing it, wrapping into me and enveloping me.

Thrashing, I whipped my claws back and forth like scythes in a wheat field, sending dozens of heads to the ground as I ripped myself out of its net.

I lost more than a good chunk of my scales in the process of breaking free. “Okay. Someone, tell me I’m not seeing things. Did it get bigger?” Over fifty percent of its mass had to be heads now.

Somehow the beast had gone from a dozen chunky heads similar sizes of my own to hundreds that billowed out around it.

“Hydras are resistant to the elements and fight with swarm tactics, even though it’s a single body. What it doesn’t want is for you to attack its main body.” Polydora coached me. “Tangling with its heads it wears its prey out.”

Feeling big chunks of scales missing, I fully understood how the monster could wear out a big old dragon pretty easily.

I shuffled to the side, its heads following my movement and fanning out to keep me from even looking at its body.

It clearly understood its own weakness as it met my eyes.

“So, how do you get at its body?” I asked the dragon that had been holding back on me.

“That’s the trick, isn’t it?” She chuckled. “No idea. Normally a few greens just ganged up on one and wrestled it to the ground. I’d help, but I like having my jaw and my lighting will only change your scales.”

I huffed. “Maeve, make some more of those spears.” I bobbed closer to the beast, taking a swipe at the heads as they struck like vipers.

It was odd to watch just how quickly it healed. Two more heads sprouted from each of the stumps, more serpent heads rapidly forming.

The blood that dripped melted right through stone like steaming water on an ice cube.

I was thrilled to have green and brass scales at that moment.

While I was trying to figure out the right tactic, the lower section of its heads grabbed the severed heads and brought them closer to the body. Then it devoured its own flesh.

The scene made me wrinkle my nose.

But the move made sense. It must be trying to conserve its own mass as much as it could.

My claw scratched one of the spells into the ground that Sabrina had taught me. She’d finally given in and taught me some of her offensive abilities.

The hydra was resistant to the elements, but physical force through the elements still worked.

I made the spell with my dragon claw, making it a huge symbol that drew mana from the world before firing off a boom that shattered my eardrums.

A cannon of wind blasted up from the ground, knocking me off balance but catching the hydra in the center of its heads. They scattered up as the hydra toppled over from the blast.

I was on it in an instant, my jaws clamping down on the shoulder past the heads as the many serpent heads regained control of themselves and latched onto me like a hundred leeches.

But I didn’t stop. I ignored any of the pain as it sunk its jaws into me, tearing into the hydra. I could feel its heads getting weaker as it tore into my side.

My claws raked across its flank, shredding it further. Then I used my jaws like a giant melon baller, taking out a huge chunk of its flesh.

Finishing the bite, I brought my claws in a second time and shredded more, exposing more flesh to bite.

After a time, I didn’t even realize that its many heads had lost their strength and were only weakly clinging on.

I only realized how near death it was as I reached the hydra’s heart and tore it out with a vicious roar of victory.

“My king.” Trina approached.

I was in a frenzy, blood pumping from the fight. The beast was currently far more in control than usual.

I slammed a clawed hand down on my prized kill possessively as a rumble echoed from my chest.

Trina backed up a smidge.

“He’s pretty proud of himself, and a hydra is a very nutritious meal for a dragon. They use a lot of magic to constantly realign their mass.” Polydora explained as she pulled the dragon Trina back and sat down. “Give him a minute.”

I continued into the hydra with a voracious appetite.

My giant dragon maw made quick work of the monster’s flank, and I wrinkled my nose at trying to eat all the heads. Somehow, it reminded me of broccoli.

“Feeling better?” Poly asked.

“Much.” My skin itched as it healed once more.

I was starting to understand the disclaimers I’d been given about the wilds. On Earth, there was not nearly as much trying to kill me, despite all my current enemies.

But I also had to believe that some scary monsters had built themselves up over time, building beasts like the ones I’d encountered.

I shuddered slightly and took a few more bites of the less choice bits of the hydra.

Trina was vibrating next to Poly, looking at me with big round eyes, begging for forgiveness.

“Everything is fine. I was just a little in the moment after the kill.” I pushed off the half eaten hydra, unwilling to dig through the rest. “Now we need to keep moving, and I need to bathe here at some point.”

Maeve raised the compass and came up to my tail, pressing it to me, only for it to point back over the cliffs and quite close to red. We were close.

I groaned. “Of course, we fell off the cliffs the wrong way. Think we can circle around or do we need to climb those?”

It had been a long fall.

“Considering what trouble that fall brought, I’m not sure I want to openly climb those. Let’s see if we can’t get around them.” Evelyn suggested.

It was sound reasoning.

“Hop on.” I replied, and they all looked at me funny.

“Not until you wash off all that hydra blood.” Maeve pointed out.

I looked down, noting my current state. But then I noticed the corpse next to me. It had already sunk halfway into the ground, its blood dissolving the surrounding soil and making the dirt and leaves bubble nefariously. It made sense the women wouldn’t want to touch that.

“Is it okay to leave that?” I asked as I stared at the bubbling ground.

Maeve shrugged. “Not our problem. The wilds will take care of it somehow. I’m sure something has to handle their bodies, or maybe it’ll run out of blood, eventually.”

I shrugged. “Onwards then.” I jogged ahead, keeping my green and brass coloring so I wouldn’t have to deal with the hydra blood currently coating me and making my nose wrinkle.

***

I came up from under the river, back in my human form. The hydra blood had been diluted by the stream and didn’t seem to be harming anything, but wanting to be extra safe, I grabbed a smooth stone and started rubbing myself with the coarse stone to make sure I got it all off.

The last thing I needed was Trina licking me or something and getting a nice sizzly surprise.

I shuddered at the idea.

As I scrubbed at my skin, a beautiful and unfamiliar woman surfaced from the water, her face slowly rising up and out of it as she blinked large eyelashes at me. I should have been on edge, but I wasn’t. “Well, hello.” Her words oozed sexuality.

Instantly, I could feel a less than subtle glamor slam into me.

She was just pretty; she was insanely beautiful. It was like she’d been carefully created to be the likeness of a goddess.

Water streamed off her body when she stepped closer and rose further out of the water.

The nymph smiled, her pink lips parting just for me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what they’d feel like wrapped around my cock.

“And who are you?” She asked, her dark purple hair plastered to head until it touched the water where it waved about.

She rose up just far enough that I could see the top curves of her breasts, but then she stopped, her eyes teasing me.

I wanted her to come closer, to see her and maybe feel her. “Zach Pendragon.” I answered, feeling incredibly relaxed as I spoke to her.

“Pendragon.” She smiled at the name. “I’ve heard the trees whisper that name.” She inched closer, and I felt my body standing on edge, desperately wanting her to get even closer.

As she moved, the water rippled, and I caught just the barest edge of her pink nipples.

I ached to feel her curves. “Oh, really. And what do they say?” I wanted to keep her talking, hear her wonderful voice.

“That you are a king.” She replied. I stared at her lips as she spoke, wanting to take her plump lower lip into my mouth.

Her words had barely registered as I stood immobilized by her beauty. “Yeah. That’s me.”

She giggled. “King Zach Pendragon.” She batted her eyelashes, looking me up and down. “Would you like to come swim with me?”

She licked her pink lips and I couldn’t stop the imagines going through my mind of what it would be like to press mine against hers.

Taking the suggestion, I waded through the water to get closer to her. “I think I would.”

Her smile at my response was so brilliant that I couldn’t help but join her in smiling and quickening my step.

She slid into my arms like they were meant for her and her alone. “Oh, you are so manly. King Zach Pendragon. I don’t know if a woman as fragile as me can take you alone. But I have sisters. If you follow me down the stream, you can meet all of them.” She stroked my arm, and I could picture that hand running along another part of me. I desperately wanted to do whatever would please her and bring us closer together.

“But all I want is you.” It was so cheesy, and I cringed, hoping she’d still want me.

But her laugh came out, a twinkling bell. It nearly melted my mind as it rang in my ear.

“Get lost, harlot.” Lightning hit the water, and the nymph shrieked. She dove away, rocketing through the river like a torpedo.

I spun, angry and ready to tear apart whoever had scared away my eternal love.

But as I saw a naked Polydora with a hand on her hip, something registered deep within my brain. She stood with her hip cocked to the side and an eyebrow raised, like I was missing something.

I blinked in confusion a few times.

“That glamor wearing off?” Poly asked, clearly amused.

“I think so.” I rubbed at my forehead. “Sorry.”

She waded out into the river. “Okay, so now you can’t bathe alone either.” She looked at the rock in my hand.

“Going to try to take me on with just a rock?” She started laughing.

“Huh? No, this was for me trying to get all the hydra blood off.” I held it out of the water.

“Want me to scrub your back with it?” She asked.

“Yes, please.” I felt a little awkward at how casual she was being after I had nearly swum away with the nymph. “Not going to say anything about that?”

“About what? You are the king of dragons. You do as you wish. My only goal is to keep you alive. That nymph was unlikely to harm you. They’d probably just keep you glamored and pumping her and her sisters full of your seed for… well… for a very long time.” Polydora took the stone and scrubbed at my back.

I dipped my head. “Thanks. I seem to be a little susceptible to glamors.”

“Everyone is. Who doesn’t want a pool of lovely, horny nymphs pleasing them around the clock?” She splashed more water on my back. “You actually have some dried blood back here.”

“Thanks, Poly.” I relaxed into her touch as she helped clean me.

Her words did help, but I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. I had a whole harem of women, yet a nymph and her glamor had me hook-line-and-sinker in an instant.

“It’s also kind of like vamp venom. You grow a little more resistant to it if you have it used on you. So, even if you got caught, you’d probably snap out of it in a few months. The problem is, most people then can’t find their way out of the wilds once they’re pulled in deep.”

I shuddered. A month under their glamor would mean I would have missed the wedding. I wasn’t sure if I’d survive, even if I made it back at that point. “Do me a favor and help me not get lost in one of these pools, then.”

“That I can do, my king. Anything else you need?” She stepped back and handed me the stone before pulling her hair to the side and showing me her back.

It didn’t have hydra blood, but it had streaks of dirt and grime from her own battles.

I stayed quiet as I started rubbing her back. I wasn’t sure if I should burden her with my issues.

“My King, if I might say, you’ve defeated me in combat and marked me. I am your honor guard, your mate, and most loyal servant.” She replied.

“You’re not my servant.” I interjected.

“You cannot change how I was raised. It was a different time. We were beautiful women training to bear arms for powerful dragons.” She chuckled. “But thank you. I am my own independent person, but you are my king and my mate. When I am not roosting on an egg, I will be by your side.”

“Why just women?” I asked.

“Limited space. Female dragons aren’t nearly as territorial, unless of course we have whelps, in that case, we might be worse than the men. So we trained to become elite troops for Greece or for the Dragons that played at being gods.” She looked over her shoulder with an odd grin. “Most of us were training for Ares. She was a big red, took no shit.”

“Literally playing gods.” I sighed and shook my head.

“Something like that. Listen, if these dragons out here are from Ares’ group, they are going to be tough bitches, trained to fight since they were whelps.”

I nodded. “Understood. I still want to meet them.”

“Just stay safe, my king. That is my only ask.”

She paused, and we settled into a comfortable silence as I scrubbed her back clean with the stone. We’d grown a little closer even just with the short journey.

“Want me to work on your hair?” I pulled a comb out of my bracer. It was stuffed with all manner of things as I’d traveled with Jadelyn and the sisters on multiple occasions, functioning like a giant suitcase.

“Yes, please.” She dunked herself under water for a moment before coming back up and pulling her straight, dark hair back. “By the way, I talked to Trina.”

“Talked to her?” I asked.

Poly grunted as I tore out a chunk of hair that was too matted with grime to comb out. “Yes. She was having trouble, and she needed to keep herself in check. We are venturing through wild territory, and it will continue to try to kill us. She’s losing focus. Today showed that. She needs to behave or else she’ll distract herself or worse, she’ll distract you. Out here, that could lead to a serious injury.” Poly leaned back against me. “You are our mate, but we still have our job as your honor guard.”

I scooted us over to a rock and sat down with her on my lap as I combed out her hair. “Thanks for talking to her.”

I stroked her hair a few more times before I finally decided to tell her what was on my mind. “I can’t decide what to do with Maeve. We’ve always had a connection, but she also will one day be queen. Evelyn thinks that this lingering thing between us isn’t healthy for Maeve, and Helena agreed it would only lead to heartbreak. But it feels odd to ignore it and push her away.”

“So don’t.” Polydora responded.

“But she has to potentially take up the mantle of the Winter Queen, and that would mean staying in faerie most of the year.”

Polydora scoffed and looked at me over her shoulder. “You are the dragon king, son of two dragons, honored as gods that came into the fae wilds and destroyed their queen. If the world says you can’t do something, then you can always just bend the world to work for you.”

I couldn’t help it; I laughed. “I don’t think I have that kind of power.”

“Yet. I see you trying to grow, even here. You are a young dragon. By the time you are my age, you will wander the wilds like a farmer wading through weeds, looking for a plump hen to slaughter for your meal that night.” She finished her statement, and I could tell she believed every word she said. It was said with complete finality.

“I hope so.” I finished combing out her hair, but her words had affected me.

I still wasn’t sure I had the power she described, but it was tempting as hell to throw caution to the wind and go after what I wanted.

“Now, my king. What was it about the nymph that tempted you?” She turned around in my lap, her breasts resting on my knees as she sank into the water.

Polydora took my hand and kissed it while she stared up at me. “Tell me, do you like my lips?” She brushed them against my finger as she kissed the tip.

I found myself growing rapidly to attention. “I do love your lips, particularly when they are on mine.”

“Oh?” She sounded both surprised and curious. “Then let’s explore that.” She rose from the water, possibly even more seductive than the nymph. Water ran in rivulets around her perky breasts as she sat in my lap and leaned forward. “Then play with my lips however you’d like, my king.”