Rin

 

 

 

Tina and I are lying around on the furs, our bellies full and our bodies clean. She’s got a huge smile on her face and doesn’t look like Little Orphan Annie anymore. Both of us are really excited at the prospect of seeing our friends again. We’re catching up, joking, laughing, telling each other our tales of woe and adventure when the door to our room flings open and Targon walks in. I’ve been anxiously awaiting his return, hoping for some good news concerning the rescue operation. It’s been such a long journey, and I know how rough it’s been on Targon.

Judging by the expression on his face, however, there’s no good news to be had. But maybe I’m wrong. He is in dragon-form after all—his dragon face is naturally grumpy looking. Maybe there’s good news beneath that brooding exterior.

I’ve got some bad news, he says to me.

Okay, I guess not.

I jump up from the furs and rush over to his side, eager to hear what he has to say. I speak out loud so that Tina can follow along.

“Are the elders going to help us?” I ask.

Perhaps, but with contingencies.

I frown. “Contingencies?” What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Tina gets up behind me and clears her throat. I glance her way and notice she’s looking at me funny. “I was terrified when you picked me up at the cave, so I didn’t bring it up then,” she says, “but I am curious—how the heck are the two of you talking?” She waves her hand between us as if there were an invisible wire connecting me to Targon. “He just stands there in silence and you talk at him like a crazy person.”

I roll my eyes. “Tina, not now okay.” I instantly regret my harsh tone, but I’m anxious to hear what Targon has to say. “I’m sorry,” I say contritely. “I promise I’ll explain later.”

She shakes her head and throws up her hands like I’m completely out of my mind. She walks back over to the furs and sits down with a huff.

I turn back to Targon. “What contingencies?”

They will send warriors with us to free my clan members and your friends, and they will provide the key necessary to unlock the Other-Worlder collars that control my clan members’ minds. But in exchange, they want your friends.

I cock an eyebrow. “Want my friends? What does that even mean?”

For breeding purposes.

I nearly choke despite the fact there’s nothing in my mouth. That’s how shocking his words are. I really hope I misheard him.

“I’m sorry, did you say breeding?”

Yes, my treasured one. I told them you would never agree to such an arrangement, but—

“Good! Because I won’t,” I blurt out. “But nothing. Whatever you’re about to say, my answer is no.”

In an instant Targon is back in human form. His face is pained, his brow crinkled with frustration, uncertainty, disappointment. I can tell he’s unhappy with the choices himself, but feel that inside he is trying his best to find a compromise.

I’m still trying to process this whole ‘mate’ thing, and my mind is racing with questions.

“Who the hell do these guys think they are?” I can feel my face going red and the adrenaline flowing in my chest. “They want to keep them?” I turn up my hands. “Like cattle breeding stock? Or slaves? What exactly are we discussing here?”

Targon puts a calming hand on my shoulder. His eyes soften. My species is dying off. Our enemies target our females so that we cannot reproduce. There are so few left, and they can only produce offspring once a year. He bows his head, and I can see the conflict in his eyes. We’ve lost many generations in our war against the Other-Worlders, and more still are captured and used against us, as my clan is. They want to take your friends and use them to replenish their population.

I cross my arms over my chest. “There’s no way I could ever agree to that, Targon. It goes against everything I believe in. And besides, it’s not even up to you or I. We’re talking about my friends here—smart girls with independent thought and free will.” I shake my head. “No, it’s not right. Once they’re free, they can make up their own minds, but I promise you, girls like Susan and Jess are staunch feminists. Ask them to be sex slaves for dragons and they’re going to laugh in your face.”

“Sex slaves?” Tina mumbles in the distance.

Targon pulls me toward him and wraps him arms around me. You don’t have to tell me these things, my dearest Rin. I know your mind, and understand how precious your friends are to you.

“That settles it then. We will just have to find another way.”

He doesn’t respond. His mind is clouded. There’s so much doubt.

“They can’t possibly refuse to help you, can they? I thought you guys were on the same team.”

He doesn’t have to say a word to me. I know his response the instant it crosses into his mind. There is sadness and desperation. His mind searches for other options, but there’s a great big blank where the ‘other options’ should be.

The elders are the few who have knowledge of the Other-Worlders. They possess the keys to free my kindred from slavery. Perhaps there are other keys out there, across the oceans, or in the realms beyond the Whispering Sands. But it’s impossible to say.  Few have ever traveled there and returned.

I hold his face in my hands, my heart breaking from the emotions I feel inside him.

“And the elders… they would allow your clan to suffer just because we won’t agree to be their slaves?”

It is a harsh, dangerous world, Rin. They risk much by helping us. Imprisonment, slavery, death. I cannot fault them for putting the needs of their clan above my own. I would do the same if I were in their position.

“I don’t believe you,” I tell him. “I don’t believe that for one second. I know firsthand how big your heart is, and how far you’d go to protect the innocent.” I step back and point to myself. “Do you think I would be alive today if not for your courage and selflessness?” I point to Tina. “How much longer would she have lasted if you hadn’t found her?” I embrace him tightly, pushing my cheek against his hard, warm chest. “You are nothing like the elders, Targon. You would never let anyone suffer if you could help it.”

His strong hands come around to my back. He strokes my head, running his fingers through my hair and pressing his cheek to the top of my head. I think about all the things he’s done for me—feeding me, protecting me, looking after my well-being and sharing the things in his life with me, and I am filled with despair. My heart aches for both of us.

“So then what do we do?”

He hesitates.

“Targon?”

He steps away from me, turning his back and pacing slowly toward the other side of the room. His thoughts swirl wildly—conflict like a raging storm roils in his mind. For the first time since he claimed me I can’t read him.

Time passes slowly and neither of us say a word. He is working through the problem, and I think it’s best if I leave him alone for now.  I walk over to Tina and huddle up on the furs, tucking my knees in close, fearful of the future.

“Is everything okay?” she asks.

I don’t know how to respond. I don’t know if everything is okay. But I smile at her, doing my best to show optimism, and then I curl up and close my eyes.

Now that the situation has had time to sink in, the reality of these choices is finally starting to dawn on me. If we reject the elder’s proposal, we will be turned out on our own. My friends will remain imprisoned—and that’s assuming they’re even still alive. A still frame from my memory flashes into my head: the Vikon man stands over me, naked and oiled, about to force himself on me while I lie bound and helpless. My heart rate quickens even thinking about it. What would they have done to me after they’d finished using my body? What if Targon had not arrived?

 I shiver.

And then I think of Targon and his clan. What is to come of them? What is to come of his brother? My chest tightens and tears well up in my eyes. I’m an only child, but I can still imagine what it would be like to lose a family member. To know they are out there somewhere suffering while I sit by unable to act—that would be ten times worse. It hurts me to know that’s what he’s going through right now. And he’d be losing more than just his brother. His entire life is tied up in his clan, and to give up on them, to lose them all at once…

It’s too painful to think about.

Targon paces the room for what feels like hours, discontent and conflicted. I try to close my eyes, try to get some sleep and silence the voices in my head that pull me this way and that. Tina has drifted off into a deep slumber, still exhausted from days of worry and isolation in the cave. She snores beside me, sounding more like a wild boar than a petite country girl. But that’s not why I’m still awake.

The light in the room dims as the candles burn down to their bases, and finally after so much tossing and turning, aching and wanting to reach out to him, Targon extinguishes the light and comes to me. The moons are bright tonight, casting silver rays through the windows, and Targon’s shadowy figure moves toward me like a thief in the night.

He curls up behind me so that we’re spooning, and gently he wraps his strong arms around my chest. I undo the buttons of my shirt, careful not to wake Tina, and then I take his hands and place them over my breasts. The past few days have been so stressful, and I ache from traveling so much. His touch is soothing, easing my mind and awakening my desire for him all over again. He makes a soft moaning sound in my ear as he fondles my chest, and I grind against him, wishing we were alone.

We must be ready to leave at first light. The elders will not be pleased with my decision. It’s hard to say how they will react.

I reach behind me and run my hands over his hard shoulders. I turn my head toward his lips and kiss him deeply, my breath coming heavy, the dampness growing between my legs. He’s taking a huge gamble for me, risking everything for my happiness and the well-being of my friends. It turns me on immeasurably that he cares so much. Any doubts I may have had about taking him as my lover have vanished tonight, and if fate decides that I should never return home, then at least I know I always have a place by his side.

“Where will we go?” I say.

I don’t know

“I trust you Targon,” I say. “Whatever you decide, I will follow.”

I moan softly as he squeezes my nipples between his fingertips. Pleasure like bolts of lightning fires through my body. ”But right now I want you more than anything.”

My words get his heart pounding. His touch quickens as he grinds against me. Soon my clothes are completely off, and our two naked bodies dance and glide together in the pale moonlight.