Dragon 6 Chapter 16 (Patreon)

“We’ll camp here tonight. This is Oozmat’s territory, and the bear likely won’t wake for years.” Regina paused near a cave. “Go check it out Faldina. Titrina, get some wood and Gretch, find us some water.”

Regina was clearly the leader of the group as she barked orders.

As the other dragons went off to do as she commanded, I was left with three dragons. Regina, Britanica, and Hiplina.

Britanica smirked as she tugged at my bindings. “You’ve been quiet. Does this mean you’ve accepted your place?”

“No. I was raised as an orphan. I know I have Tiamat’s blood, but I always figured that since the rest of the dragons didn’t know of her, she was dead.” My words came out slowly. They were hard for me to believe.

Regina heard them and turned to me. “She is very much alive. Though I am confused as well. I am not aware of her having a child amid the village. She secludes herself often.

“Who knows? Maybe you are her long-lost son, and she will reward us. If nothing else, you are prime breeding stock.” Regina’s eyes raked over my naked form, her eyes sticking to the bracer on my arm.

Thankfully, it was under the bindings. The way she eyed it made me think she would take it if she could.

“Yes, he’s wonderful breeding stock.” Britanica ran a thumb over my cheek.

“Hands off for now.” Regina replied, earning a scowl from the larger woman.

“You said—“

A glare from the red silenced the black. “We’ve learned new information. Before we return to the village, I don't want to break him. I will not risk Tiamet’s anger. She can be unpredictable and I am unsure how she’d react to her son being brought to her in poor condition.”

I relaxed a little. At least they were afraid of my mother. I was glad I’d get to meet my mother before it came to that.

“However, if you can get his consent, please knock yourself out.” Regina tossed her hair and combed some leaves out of the red tangles.

There was a loud noise in the cave as bright blue light shined out.

“Looks like Faldina found dinner.” Britanica smirked.

“Hopefully she didn’t try to cook it.” Hiplina let out a dark chuckle as the other two joined her in laughter.

“You cook?” Brit asked me.

“Not really.”

Hiplina laughed. “Remember, he’s a king.” She burst into laughter. “Probably has servants or something.”

“Some king.” Brit grabbed my bonds and pushed me towards the cave. “Come. We need to find a place to tie you up and get some rest.”

“Take turns resting. We’ll be out at first light.” Regina said, eyeing me. “He’ll try to run.”

I didn’t make any attempt to correct her. If given the chance, I would definitely escape.

Although the possibility of me getting a chance to escape was limited, given the six amazonian women around me.

Brit pulled me into the cave as one of the dragons girl from earlier came back their way, dragging a large bear-sized rabbit.

“Can the male cook?” She dragged it to me.

“Nope.” Brit shrugged. “Have Hiplina do it outside. I’m going to rest up.”

“Why doesn’t the cave function as a portal?” I asked, suddenly not sure why the archway of the entrance didn’t teleport us somewhere else.

“No exit. It’s a hole, not an archway.” Brit pushed me up against the wall. “Sit. Don’t try anything. If you do, we won’t be as friendly as last time.”

“That was friendly, was it?” I snorted.

She raised an eyebrow at me. “You are alive, aren’t you? That’s pretty damn friendly out here.”

Leaning against the wall, I wanted to refute her claims, but I decided to play nice for the moment. They weren’t forcing themselves on me or trying to kill me. And they were bringing me to my mother and a dragon village. I hadn’t imagined that was even possible.

Faldina came back in with some vines. “Here. Regina says to tie up his legs.” She handed Brit the vines and walked back out.

Brit tested the vines with a few quick jerks and seemed satisfied. “You kick me, and I call for Gretch to come hold you down. You don’t want that.”

I wanted to fight her, but I decided to reserve my strength for later. It wasn’t the right moment.

She tightly wrapped the vines along my legs, from my ankles to my knees. Then she tied it tight enough to make my knees uncomfortable. “Sorry. If you get out, it’ll be my hide she’ll skin.”

I grunted, not wanting to give her the dignity of a real reply.

Turning away, I rested my cheek against the stone of the cave, and I felt sleep rush up to greet me.

It had been a long day, and I was exhausted. While I didn’t trust them, they wouldn’t let anything kill me at the moment. I was valuable to them. So I took the opportunity to regain my energy, letting myself drift off.

***

My dreams were fitful. They were filled with never quite nearing my goal.

I woke up with a start, only to see nothing.

My heart hammered in my chest for that brief moment. My mind can’t quite place where I was, and I tried to move, but I was restricted.

Something grabbed me and lifted me.

I pushed against my bindings, finding my arms and legs immovable. Quickly, memories came rushing back.

Somebody was carrying me, but I didn’t know which dragon.

I stopped squirming, quickly identifying my captor.

Regina carried me out of the cave; a little fire outside the cave illuminated the night. “You worry too much. We might be rough by your standards, but our men are well cared for.” She put me down on a log that one of the others must have cut to sit on.

It was hard to not fall over with the bindings, but I refused to faceplant right in front of mer. It took a moment, but I gained my balance and sat up. “Don’t know what you mean.”

“Nightmares.” She replied. “You growl a lot in your sleep.”

“I just had a very bad day. Because of you.” I eyed her.

She shrugged. “Fair.” The firelight lit deep shadows on her sharp features. “So, what brings the dragon king into the wilds?”

There didn’t seem to be any reason to lie. “The Winter Queen disappeared in the fae wilds. We came looking for her.”

“They send the dragon king for that?” She asked, sounding surprised and more than a little skeptical.

“She owes me a favor. She thanked me thrice. I was using that connection to track her.” I explained.

Regina made a sound of understanding. “Got split from your group though.”

“Yes. They are my mates and marked by me. I can feel them now.” I looked off in the direction that they were. “When we found the Winter Queen, she had frozen herself in a block of ice to protect herself from The Dreamer.”

The red dragon inhaled sharply . “She’s dead then.”

“Not yet.” I countered.

She made a face and shook her head. “The Dreamer is not to be trifled with. Even the Quetzalcoatl would leave those mountains if The Dreamer started to encroach. It cares not for territories in the wild.”

“There has to be some way.” I tried.

“Deals can be made, but they are often very one sided. The Dreamer is just that powerful.” Regina explained. “Tiamat has made an agreement with The Dreamer for our village, but I know nothing of its contents.”

I smiled, excited at that piece of news. My mother might be able to help me figure out how to make a deal with The Dreamer.

But the smile faltered as I realized that meant I should hold off on any attempts to escape.

“You’ll let me meet Tiamat?” I asked, probing.

“I’ll bring you to the village. I can’t guarantee she will see you. She rules the village from a small palace, and she can be rather solitary sometimes.” Regina picked up something from behind her log and held it out to me. “Berries?”

I shrugged my shoulders, reminding her that my arms were bound. “Want to let me feed myself?”

“Not really. Until we can get you back to the village and your dragon sealed, you are going to be trouble.” She held the berries higher. “I’ll feed you though.”

My entire body froze at her words, but I tried to be casual and get more information. “Pass. You are going to seal my dragon?”

“All males have their dragons sealed. Otherwise, they become too aggressive. We can’t live in a village with multiple male dragons. They’d claw each other to pieces by the end of a week.” She watched me closely. “Not going to refute that?”

Knowing how uncomfortable even Herm and Tim made me at times, I couldn’t really argue. I even liked them. “No. You aren’t wrong. We are territorial.”

She laughed. “So, at least you understand. We can’t spread throughout the wilds; we need to work together. We exist together, and we do what is needed to achieve that.” She got up and moved over to sit next to me. “Eat or you are going to regret it tomorrow.” She started to pull them off of the stems and hold them out for me.

Grudgingly, I ate them out of her hand before she forced them down my throat.

“Not going to lick my hand after you are done?” She teased.

I glared at her.

“Don’t worry. Once you don’t have access to your dragon, you’ll learn to rely on us more. Most of the men in the village are pretty happy.” She smirked.

“You make them sound like inferior dogs.”

“I mean, they are inferior. They can’t shift. The Wilds are a harsh place. Without their dragons, they need to stay in the village where it is safe. But we protect them.” Regina started pulling more berries from the stem.

The ugly face I made said enough.

But I had more questions for her.

“Do you seal their dragon at birth?” I asked.

“Of course, in the egg even. Otherwise, they would miss their dragon. If they never grow up with it, then they are happier.” She finished picking the berries.

A lump was growing in my gut. I’d spent so much of my life not understanding the feeling within me. Did my mother seal away my dragon?

Was I born in the wilds? And if so, how had I ended up on Earth?

It was starting to all fit together, but I wasn’t liking the implications. How could my mother do that to me? How did the other dragons not know about me?

But how did I end up growing up outside of here?

“Do dragons ever leave the wilds?” I asked.

“We’ve had a few men run. But, no, we use marks to find our way back to the village every time.” She pushed the berries into my mouth.

I chewed them, giving myself some time to think.

For me to be born in the wilds, Bahamut and Tiamet had been together. Had he come to the wilds? Did he know I existed?

Or was Bahamut’s dragon sealed before they knew he was a reincarnation? I had questions, and only one place held answers.

“I’ll stop fighting you and travel to your village on two conditions.” I spoke my decision out loud.

“Of course you will. You’re weaker and bound. But I’m curious what conditions you’d give.” Regina pointed out. “Let’s hear them.”

“Nobody forces themselves on me. And you bring me straight to Tiamat, telling her of my abilities.” I held back a frown. Being a captor was going against all my instincts, but it would get me the answers I wanted.

She snorted. “I’ve already said I would do both.”

“Yeah, but you hold up your end of the bargain, and you don’t have to worry about me running.” I gave her my best smile.

Her jaw crackled. “I could just mark you. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about any of it.”

“You can try.” A deep growl built up in my chest.

She only laughed, and her jaw settled down. “Fine.” Her claw tore through the binding on my arms, and the sudden blood flow to them made them feel like they were burning a little.

I brought them around to my front and rubbed my arms before shifting my hand, sawing away the bindings on my legs. “That easy?”

“I have your scent. If you run, I will chase you down. And our deal is off at that point; I won’t be so civil.” Her eyes shifted and reflected in the firelight. She was practically challenging me, wanting me to run.

“I keep my word.” I pulled the last of the bindings off my legs. “Just keep yours.”

“My word is good. Now tell me, what’s the bracer?”

“A gift from my mates.” I pulled out a pair of pants from it. “It has spatial magic in it, keyed to me. If you take it, it becomes nothing but a decoration.”

“Useful for a dragon.” She observed it, frowning at the enchantments. “Sadly, I’m not well trained on magic or I’d try to figure it out more. Can you store food?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for the journey.” Regina nodded and handed me more of the berries. “Now you can feed yourself. I’m going to rest.”

“Just going to leave me?” I asked.

“You’ll keep your word. You’re not stupid. And I’m tired.” She waved over her shoulder and went into the cave to sleep.

Somehow, being able to escape and not taking it was making me even more antsy. I was fighting with myself over staying or leaving.

“Fucking…” I let out a heavy sigh.

I glanced at the wilds, dueling thoughts fluttering through my head. I wanted to reach my mates, but I’d spent my entire life with questions about my birth and why I hadn’t known my dragon like others. Those questions had shaped so much of my life, and I was close to answers.

I swallowed loudly and hung my head. “Forgive me girls.”

The draw was too tempting.

I spoke into the wind, making them a promise. “I’ll find you all after this is done. But I just have to meet the Tiamat that gave birth to me.”

I’d met another reincarnation, but it wasn’t the same. I wanted to meet my actual mother.

All I had to do was suck it up and deal with this amazonian culture for a few days, which wasn’t a light task. My dragon was fighting me every step of the way, and I couldn’t blame it.

Leaning back on the stump, I sighed. “Guess I’m on watch now.” Turning, I glanced at the cave, feeling as if one of them was watching me.

Something told me I was being put to the test. They hadn’t actually trusted me.

Fucking wild dragon girls.

And if they were any indication of what it would feel like in the village, I was in for some serious culture shock.

Dragon is now done and off to the editor at 34 chapters. Woot. Writing Dungeon for a day or two, then onto SSV 4.