Chapter Two

“Your Highness,” the low voice had a bit of a hiss to it, but that was to be expected of a dragon-shifter. It didn't bother me. What upset me was the familiarity in the tone.

“Prince Saunder,” I nodded to him and tried to step by.

The dragon kingdom bordered ours, and they were strong, mainly because they were ruled by dragons. If their prince cared to visit, we had to accept him. It was just the politics of the time. What I didn't have to accept were his advances, and when he stopped me from passing, by grabbing me around the waist, I screeched and slapped him. To take a princess by the hand was gallant. To take her by the waist, uninvited, was criminal.

Saunder smiled wickedly, not even flinching from the strike, as his golden cheek turned red with the imprint of my hand. He didn't let me go. In fact, he pulled me in closer. So close, I could smell the raw meat upon his breath, rotting in his teeth. So close, I could feel the excessive expanse of muscles his towering frame was covered in. Every ridge and curve pressed into me menacingly. So close, I could see the pupils in his eyes flare from reptilian slits into pointed ovals. If only they would grow large enough to cover the crimson color of his irises. He may have been less repulsive then. Well, then again.

“Let go of me, Prince Saunder,” I growled. “Or I will scream.”

He closed his eyes as if he were savoring the thought, “Oh yes, my sweet Adelysia. I would love to hear your screams.”

I opened my mouth to do so, and his descended, claiming mine and drowning out my cry for help. He drank down the sounds of my protest, his tongue filling my mouth with the taste of carrion and ale. I gagged, and he released me. He smiled wider when I spat his flavor out onto the floor.

“Enough of this, Princess,” Saunder murmured. “I've played your human games for weeks now. I've tried to make you mine honorably. But now I grow weary of the chase. I will simply take what's mine.”

I didn't truly fear him then. It wasn't until he tossed me out of the nearby window that I thought to be scared. I screamed as I plummeted, but then suddenly, there were massive, curving talons encircling my body, and I was flying through the air, within the grip of an enormous dragon. I pushed the sunset strands of my hair out of my face and stared up a muscled leg into the eyes of a monster.

The beast's eyes were the same shade of red that the Prince's had been. His scales were the same dark green I'd seen highlighting Saunder's ebony hair. It was him. Definitely Prince Saunder in his dragon form. What was he doing with me? Where was he taking me? I peered into the direction he was heading and saw the deep blue strip of the sea. Beyond that sea, several days journey by ship, lay his kingdom. But we weren't traveling by ship were we? Saunder would probably get us there much faster.

That's when I knew I had made a fatal mistake. I should have run in the opposite direction every time I had seen Saunder. I should have spoken to him only when courtesy demanded. I should have told my father of the liberties Saunder had tried to take with me on several occasions. I should have started carrying a dagger to defend myself against him. I should have done so many things. I wasn't the simpering princess many thought me to be.

But all I had done was underestimate Saunder. Now, the chance for resistance had passed, and any opportunity to deny him was gone. I was to be the dragon's bride. If I was lucky. Saunder may not even marry me. I was his captive. He could simply take what he wanted without the bond of matrimony. I would most likely end up as nothing more than the dragon's whore.

Had I been made of less sterner stuff, I would have cried. I may have even begged Saunder to take me home. But I'd accepted my lot at a very young age, thanks to a stout nursemaid of mine. She'd taught me to be humble, telling me that a princess was nothing more than a slave in pretty clothes. I must act a certain way. I must speak a certain way. I must shine as brightly as I could for the honor of my parents and my kingdom. And then I would be sold like any other precious jewel, my body in exchange for an alliance.

I had always known I'd become a whore, one way or another. The fact that it was to this deplorable dragon wasn't even that much of a surprise to me. All men had the potential to be monsters. This one just happened to be more honest about it.

So instead of crying or screaming, I settled back within Saunder's claws and went to sleep. I had a feeling I would need my strength at the end of this journey.