Chapter Nine

The sky darkened as a dragon blocked out the sun overhead. 

“That’s our cue, come on.” 

I sat up to see Aluss and Lisa pass overhead. Both had something in their mouths. 

“Cue for what?” I rubbed my eyes and yawned. We’d spent the whole day lazing on the grassy hillside amongst the flowers, enjoying the sun and chatting effortlessly. It had been the most blissful way to while away the day and I didn’t want it to end. Not just yet.

“Dinner. You must be hungry. You didn’t even get breakfast this morning.”

“Do we really have to go back now?” My time with Ash had been perfect and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it to end. I felt so comfortable around him. He listened when I talked about life on the other side of the cliffs without passing judgment, and he told me about his father and what a great man he’d been. Despite the fact that I was starving, going back to the other dragons meant I had to share his company and I wasn’t ready for that. I liked having him all to myself. It felt as though going back amongst the other dragons would change everything although I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. 

Unfortunately, my stomach didn’t have quite the same thoughts and betrayed me by gurgling loudly.

Ash jumped to his feet, holding his hand out to me. I’d held his hand before but after spending the day with him, it suddenly felt different. Before, he’d been either guiding me somewhere or offering support. This time it felt like something more. I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet, telling myself that he was only helping me up. It would have worked if he’d have let go once I was upright but he didn’t. How was it possible for all my nerve endings to congregate in just one place? I had never been so aware of the palm of my hand before. His was warm and his touch made me feel safe but nervous. It was only as we walked back through the village that I realized he’d not given me the tour we’d set out to do in the first place.

In the distance, roaring flames lighted the cliff fronts in a warm orange glow. It caused me to pause. 

“That’s Aluss cooking the food,” Ash said, gripping my hand tighter at my hesitation and pulling me forward.

The same group of dragons I’d seen this morning was sitting around the campfire. Even from a distance, I could sense an easy familiarity between them. It made me feel like even more of an outsider. Nerves took over as I recalled the way some of them had spoken to me this morning. I slowed my pace as we got close. 

“I can’t do this. I’m not really hungry.”

Ash stopped and turned to me. “They’re good people, really. Old prejudices die hard but that’s why you need to stay strong.”

“Their hatred towards me is understandable.”

“They’ve been less than welcoming but they don’t hate you. They just need to get used to you. I won’t let them hurt you. I’ll be there with you the whole time, right by your side.”

My nerves dissipated slightly but I was still scared when we joined the circle. The chatting stopped and everything became silent as they all turned their eyes toward me.

 Lisa threw me a look of pure loathing as I took a seat on one of the rocks, doing nothing to allay my fears. I gripped Ash’s hand harder as he sat next to me.

Edeline walked toward me carrying a plate heaped with food. Whatever it was smelled delicious. Flame-cooked meat had never looked more appealing. There was also bread and salad on the plate she handed to me. 

She addressed me while everyone watched. “I trust you had a good day?”

“We did. Thank you,” I replied nervously. I felt like I was center stage with all eyes upon me, or like prey waiting to be devoured in the midst of hungry carnivores. Either way, it was disconcerting to have everyone looking at me, waiting for me to say or do something.

“I have an apology to make. We all do,” began Edeline, loud enough for the whole group to hear. “Ash is very important to us and it has long been a dream of his to unite the dragon folk with the slayers so we could all come to understand one another and live in some kind of harmony. I must confess to thinking it a harmless daydream on his part and dismissed it as such. Yesterday, his dream became a plan when he brought you to us, and I for one felt uneasy about what it actually meant. We’ve all lived under the threat of your people for so long that they have become almost mythical. We’ve all suffered losses as a direct result of what your villagers have done and it has made us both angry and scared. However, we as a group have come to realize that if we treat you the way that we ourselves have been treated, then nothing can possibly change. 

“Ash made it very clear that you had the chance to kill him and you made the decision not to. I know of your custom of having the first kill on your eighteenth birthday and I understand how important it is to your people. It is a rite of passage. It must have taken great strength of character and compassion to choose to let Ash live, therefore we must offer the same compassion to you. We’ve all had a talk and we would officially like to welcome you to our land. You are a guest of Ash’s and that makes you a guest of all of us.”

I peeked around to see Ash beaming next to me. Edeline’s speech had left me more than a little overwhelmed. I carefully placed the plate to my side and stood to give her a hug. Somewhere, someone in the circle began to clap and then one by one, everyone else joined in, first by clapping, then by stamping their feet in a cacophony of noise sounding like the center of a thunderstorm. When I let Edeline go and the noise had subsided, Aluss came up to me. 

“I’m sorry about the way I treated you,” he huffed. “I was wrong.”

I gave him a shy smile and then, without thinking, gave him a quick peck on the cheek to which he grinned stupidly back at me. It was only when I sat back in my place that I noticed Lisa staring at me with such hatred that goosebumps sprouted on my arms and a shiver ran down my spine.

“See, I told you everything would be fine,” whispered Ash, making me turn my eyes away from Lisa. I wasn’t so sure. Okay, on the surface I had been accepted, but I still had Spear to worry about and the way Lisa looked at me told me that not everyone was so easy to forgive or to give others a chance.

The sound of music suddenly cut through the air and I looked up to find that some of the dragon people had started to play a lively jig by the side of the fire. Their instruments were completely alien to me—sets of wooden pipes, drums, and stringed instruments I had never seen before—but the music they played was joyous and fun and I couldn’t help but tap my foot as I ate my dinner. Now that the awkwardness was over, the dinner had almost turned into a party. The elder dragons were drinking something that looked suspiciously like mead and the younger ones danced around to the music. 

“Is this a special occasion?” I whispered to Ash who had already finished his food and was now clapping along to the beat.

“Just dinner. It’s like this every night. Don’t you have meals like this?” he asked, his eyes focused on the band.

The only times we ate like this was when we slayed a dragon but I could hardly tell him that. As I looked around at the group of people, it struck me how at ease they were together. Laughing, joking, eating and dancing as one family. The sense of easy cohesion and community between them made it very easy for me to have a sense of belonging. It felt wonderful but I knew that I didn’t belong. These people were my sworn enemy, ingrained in me since birth, and thoughts of belonging to them were dangerous. And yet, when Lucy came to me and held out her hand for me to dance with her, I couldn’t help but laugh and follow her onto the makeshift dance area that was really no more than a circle of well-worn dirt. 

She giggled as I spun her around and around, under my arm and then both of us together. She loved every minute of it and if I was honest with myself, so did I.

“Can I have this dance?”

I stopped spinning Lucy to see Ash waiting patiently by my side. Lucy grinned and backed off to go sit with her mother. Dancing with Lucy had been effortless and a whole lot of fun. Why was it that the thought of dancing with Ash made my stomach turn to mush and my knees turn to jelly? He took my hand and spun me around in much the same way I had with Lucy except this time it was slower. 

At some point, the music had changed from a festive jig to a slow dance. With his free hand, Ash grabbed my waist and pulled me close, leaving me no choice but to drape my free arm over his shoulder. The closeness between us was electrifying and terrifying at the same. I’d danced at slayer parties many times but never like this. I could barely breathe with excitement. The closeness of his body against mine scared me but made me feel both warm and safe, like being in the center of a hurricane of new emotions.

“Tomorrow is my day to hunt. I want you to come with me.”

I was glad that my head was resting on his shoulder so he couldn’t see the expression on my face. I rearranged my features so I didn’t look so shocked, then pulled back to look him in the eye.

“I can’t fly!” 

He just grinned lazily back at me. “No, but I can.” He gave me a wink and pulled me back to him. I wasn’t sure if the thumping in my chest was from nerves about tomorrow or the thrill of the now.