The Dragon’s Throne 1

Chapter 10

Anna held tight to Eli’s neck as he descended almost an hour later.  The wind was cool, and after so long in it, she felt like her skin was frozen.  She was trembling, her tears dried up and body sore from all the abuse it had taken since Eleanor had first knocked on her door.

When Eli’s feet touched the ground, Anna slid off his back, intending to run.  Before she could take a step, her knees buckled and he caught her.  She looked at the long, clawed fingers and watched in awe as they changed before her eyes, his large hands holding her firmly yet gently.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly.

“I’m fine,” she said. 

She pulled away, trying to take another step and grimacing at the pain in her calves.  Wobbling and weak, she turned to tell him that she needed to rest, but the sight of him derailed her thoughts.

“You’re naked,” she said.  She looked away quickly.  “Why are you naked?”

“You should get used to it,” he laughed.  “You’re going to be seeing a lot of me, and clothes don’t shift with our bodies.”

“I have no intention of seeing you naked again,” she said haughtily.

“That’s a shame,” he countered, stepping forward and slipping a finger in the open collar of her dress.  He pulled out the pendant that was still hidden beneath the fabric of the dress.  “You’re wearing it,” he said with a smile.

“I was just looking to see if it matched the dress,” she said.

He stepped back and took in the dress, which was barely visible to her human eyes in the moonlight, but she realized that Eli obviously had much better vision than she did.

“It’s amazing that you had a dress that matched it so beautifully.  It was meant to be.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.  I made the dress to match the pendant.”

“You made this dress since I saw you this morning?”

“I did.”

“You’re amazing,” he said.  “I guess now isn’t the time to point out that you spent the day sewing a dress to match a gift that you didn’t want from me?”

“Definitely not the time.  Where are we?”

“My winter home.”

“It’s not winter.”

“It is not, but there was an incident at my home today, and I decided to come here early.”

“At least I’ll die in a beautiful place,” she said bitterly.

“Die?  Why would you die?”

“I’m the sacrifice, just like my father.  I never believed that he was sacrificed, but now I know.”

“Who told you that you were to be sacrificed to me?” he asked, his voice angry.

“The angry mob breaking down my door and chasing me through the forest was pretty clear.”

“I’m sorry about that.  That must have been frightening for you.  I’m not even sure how that happened.” His hands were still on her, holding her steady while she swayed where she stood.  She gave him a withering look as he laughed. “What?”

“Do you have clothes here?”

“I do.”

“Can we go inside so you can put them on?”

“Are you sure you want that?” he laughed, completely unbothered by his bare skin so close to her. 

Anna, on the other hand, was struggling to focus.  Eli sighed, shaking his head and laughing. 

“Fine, let’s go inside.  Can you walk?”

“Of course, I can walk.  I’m not an invalid, my legs are just sore.”

“I think it’s more than that.  Running off adrenaline for that long, then riding in the air for almost two hours is hard on a body.  And the oxygen is thinner.  I didn’t account for that until I felt you listing to the side and realized that you were having trouble staying conscious.  You probably weren’t even aware of it, but it’s hitting you hard now.”

“I wasn’t aware, because I didn’t know we’d been flying for so long.”

“Let me help you,” he said, but she pushed his hand away.

“I can take care of myself,” she said, taking a step and then another, her knees buckling with the second step.

Eli scooped her up in his arms, holding her against his bare chest.  She stiffened against him, struggling a little to get free, then giving up. 

“Struggling only makes it worse.  You need to rest and be still while your body reclaims its oxygen.  If you keep fighting me, you’re going to end up sick, and you’ll be dependent on me for everything while you regain your strength.  I’m assuming you don’t want that, though I would be willing to care for you.”

She caught his devious smile and glared at him.

“I don’t want that,” she said.  “I want to go home.”

“You are home.  This is your home now, and anything you want, you’ll have.  Just say the word.”

“This isn’t my home.  My home is in Aldeia.  At least, it was there.  I don’t even know if my house is still there or if they tore it down.”  Her face fell at the thought.  “My money is still there, and the dresses I had saved of my mother’s.  I had the one dress on and I took it off to wear this silly thing.”

She turned away, swiping at the tear that slid down her cheek.

“You don’t need money,” he said softly.  “You’ll have everything you’ll ever need here, and all the money you want as well.  Your life won’t ever be the same as it was in the village; it will be better.”

He was holding her in his arms still as he began walking up the stone path that led to the front door of the massive house that loomed above them.  Anna bit back more tears that threatened, completely overwhelmed by the house in front of her, and the arms around her.  He cradled her so gently, and his bare chest was so warm against her body. 

She shivered as they went through the front door in the dark house.  Anna looked for candles to light the way, then dismissed the idea.  He said he had just come to the winter house tonight, so it made sense that he didn’t have candles out.  Anna was somewhat relieved.  She knew her face was swollen from crying, and she didn’t want him to see her weakness.  She was terrified, but she would never show it.