Slave-Girl of the Dragon Rider, Lisa Skydla [mobile ebook reader .txt] 📗

much. No one will believe she’s a virgin if the customers see you disappear into a tent with her” the slaver protested. An icy cold glance from the steely-grey eyes met him, and the slaver could only stammer out disjointed half-sentences, lacking the courage to openly confront the dragon rider, but still did not want to let his business be ruined. “I want to talk to her, - alone” the man repeated, dangerously quietly, his heavy tone carrying both threat and warning. Sinja would have gladly thrown herself at the slavers feet not to have to go with this frightening master, but the slaver duly nodded, stooping to unlock the chain which bound her to the remaining slaves. “Take off the shackles” ordered the dragon rider. With a resigned sigh the man obeyed, unlocked the manacles, and put them aside. It was clear from his face that he would have liked to give the arrogant man a piece of his mind, but would never dare, quickly grabbing the chain attached to her collar and dragging her from the tent. Trembling and stumbling, she had no option but to follow him to the second tent, where he pushed her to the ground, hissing “I’ll be waiting outside” to remind her that any thought of escape was pointless.
For a moment there was silence before the dragon rider pulled her to her feet and forcefully examined her. No detail seemed to escape him, from the long black hair, the royal blue eyes, to her trim, petite figure. “Promise not to flee, to obey me, and I will take you with me” he demanded quietly. Sinja’s eyes opened wide and looked at him as if he had lost his mind. A nomad neither broke their word nor forgot their pride; voluntary submission did not come into question. Slowly she shook her head, “no way” she uttered, forgetting for a moment everything the slavers had so painfully taught her, suddenly remembering that she had no right to look him in the face, and certainly not to give such a response, but he only laughed derisively. “Look at the scum standing in front of the platform. I assure you that none of these bastards has any interest in your safety” he made clear, pushing the cover a little aside from the entrance. Through the opening Sinja could again see the collection of monstrous creatures, and shook once more in disgust. The dragon rider offered her his hand and waited, motionless, for her decision. It was bizarre enough that he was giving her a choice; she had expected him to simply take what he wanted, but was it at all possible for her to keep that promise? By giving her word, she would be binding herself to him indefinitely. Her nervous gaze kept flicking to the crowd raging in front of the platform, loudly demanding to see the slaves, finally deciding he was the lesser of two evils. After all, he wasn’t forcing her; he was leaving it up to her whether she went with him, even though he could have decided entirely for himself. “I promise” she whispered, bowing her head as she took his hand. With a jerk he pulled her to him, put an arm around her, and pressed her tightly to his bare muscular chest. Startled, she opened her eyes and at first tried to resist, but a hardly noticeable shake of the head stopped her. Horrified, she felt his fingertips gliding gently over her body, but somehow, also feeling safe for the first time since the attack. Abruptly he let go, then grabbed the iron chain on her collar to lead her out of the tent. The slaver was on the spot immediately, but the man no longer paid him any attention, simply tossing him a heavy purse in passing. Sinja followed with downcast eyes while he held the chain firmly in his grip. The two slaves he had bought trotted after them, overseen by some unassuming little man. On the opposite side of the square stood a sedan, and the dragon rider walked toward it. As he came into view, the bearers rushed to their places and hastened to open the door. With an inviting gesture he indicated that Sinja should get in. For a moment she considered otherwise, but bound by her word, she accepted his invitation. He climbed in behind her and immediately gave the command to leave.
Suddenly he spoke to her “Sorry, but I had to make that little display so no one gets the idea I may have gone soft.” The nomad looked at him quizzically, not knowing what he meant, having become accustomed to such treatment over the last few days. “No, normally I do not drag a young woman through the marketplace in chains, it is barbaric” he said, answering her unspoken question. For the first time a slight grin crossed his face, but disappeared again so quickly she thought she must have imagined it. She allowed herself to observe him again and noticed he bore a tattoo on his chest, the sigil identifying him indeed as a dragon rider, and fear tightened her throat. These people were decried throughout the land as brutal, ruthless, but very powerful, and she had given him her word. She closed her eyes in horror, but felt how he immediately pressed her against himself, with tender caresses. She had not expected such contact from him; this behaviour both puzzled and disturbed her, heightening her fear of being raped.
The sedan was eventually set down, and the door opened, the dragon rider signalling with a gentle tap on her arm, and she opened her eyes. Sinja looked at him with surprise, as he didn’t simply drag her out, but treated her quite considerately. “You should get out, so I can show you your new home” he suggested quietly. She nodded understandingly and stepped down from the sedan, he gallantly offering her his arm as support. Yet another gesture she had not expected from him. As she looked up she saw they were standing before a great palace. If this was his home, he had to be inconceivably rich and powerful. The building had been partially driven into the rocks of the Iron Mountains, glittering silver in the sun. Several balconies rose above them, and further up the building merged into the mountains. He took her carefully by the arm and brought them to the entrance, and upon opening, let her through first into a vast hall. “Welcome to my home” he greeted her with a smile, as the door locked closed behind him. Torches burned everywhere in the entrance hall, giving light as bright as day, the light of the many flames also being reflected by the matt silver of the walls. Sinja stared open mouthed, head tilted back, astonished at the vaulted ceiling, studying the fine adorning ornaments with amazement, then noting the magnificent building had indeed been driven into the mountainside, the many corridors leading distantly away before her in a ring from the hall. The corridors were too dark to actually see where they led, but just the size of the palace stunned her. Directly opposite the entrance was a staircase leading up to a balustrade. She saw more doors, at regular intervals; there had to be an awful lot of rooms in this building.
“Drakoij” called out her new master loudly, which was soon followed by a distant snort, and approaching thumping and rumbling. The closer the noise came, the more the floor shook, and Sinja realised he must have called his dragon. Fearfully she stepped back, instinctively moving behind him as the enormous anthracite-scaled beast entered the hall. At least now she knew why the palace was so big. The dragon rider’s back offered her little protection however, as he brought her forward to stand beside him, waiting steady with feet apart for his mount. Sinja cowered at his side, completely transfixed with fear, looking up to the great behemoth before her, and hoped very much the rider had not simply bought her as dragon food. The creature lowered its broad snout to sniff and separate her scent from the filth and zjerta blood, at which moment the man raised his hand holding the electroblade.
Without a thought Sinja leapt forward, knocking the electroblade away and standing protectively before the dragon’s snout; only to then realise what she had just done. Staring fearfully at her new master, royal blue and smoky grey met eye to eye, one pair wide with terror, the other more in amazement, but before he could recover from his surprise Sinja threw herself at his feet, clutching to his leg with face to the floor. “Please master, don’t hurt him, I beg of you” she stammered, despite her fear. She did not want to again be witness to how such a proud animal was tortured, even if she was actually terrified by the dragon. She was still on her knees deliberating on how she could actually hold this big, fearsome man back from hurting the creature as she heard the thundering laughter. Sinja looked up, confused, and realised it was the dragon that was laughing; looking down at her and - laughing. Before she could gather her wits she was being held up again by the shoulders; frightened, she let go of her new master's legs and was suddenly standing on her own two feet again. “May I introduce my friend Drakoij?” the dragon rider enquired, trying not to laugh. He was aware that she must be prepared for the worst, and it would take some time before she trusted him, but that she, this tiny little thing, was trying to protect an enormous dragon from - him, a dragon rider; well, it just had to make him smile, especially as it showed her heart was indeed in the right place. “Pleased to make your acquaintance and, um, thank you for trying to protect me” rumbled Drakoij deeply, majestically.
“You can talk!” Sinja blurted out, earning another coarse chortle. “Yes, of course I can, though I would be very much obliged if you kept it to yourself. Outside these walls I will not talk, it is far too dangerous” he replied, with an exaggerated wink. Hesitantly Sinja raised her hand to stroke his snout but stopped just before making contact. “Forgive me but, may I touch you? It’s the first time I’ve seen a dragon up close” she asked, in awed respect. For a moment she had forgotten her predicament and the confusing man who had bought her, completely fascinated by the mighty creature. “Yes, please do, I love it, which is why Artyom wanted to greet me that way just now; even when he had the electroblade in his hand, believe me, he would never hurt me” Drakoij clarified, rumbling softly for a dragon. An annoyed sniff made them both look up, just as Sinja was gently stroking the dragon’s snout. “You talk too much old friend” Artyom growled, fortunately not looking seriously annoyed as he said so. The dragon grinned, sniffed curiously at the little nomad again, then leaned toward his rider, whispering “You have made a wise choice. She is not only pretty, and smart, but also has her heart in the right place” but loud enough that Sinja had to be able to hear it. “It pleases me that you are to be one of us now. Should you ever need me, just call, but for now I will leave you two alone” with which he turned his huge bulk around and disappeared again down one of the many corridors.
Sinja watched him go with incredulity, but then sensed the dragon rider standing behind her, glancing uncertainly at him over her shoulder. “I’m sorry master, but in front of the gates I saw a man torturing a dragon with an electroblade; I couldn’t bear to see something like that again” she tried to explain. Instead of answering, he laid his hands