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“Shit, shit, shit!" Relan dashed through the forest. Behind him he heard the pound of hooves. A branch whipped him in the face. He ducked under another before leaping over a thicket of brush. He wheeled around and saw horses come over the rise, cursing and scrambling underneath the thicket. The leather pouch tied to his belt snagged on a rogue branch, and he undid the pouch before he held it close to his chest and squirmed farther into the brush. The hunting party stormed by him. A score or so of horses, he guessed. This was the second party he eluded. He left behind a lot: the remainder of his troupe got snatched up when Church's soldiers ambushed them that morning.

All of them would be dead before dusk.

Relan glanced down at the pouch he held and felt a warm pulse from inside.

Fwoosh! The trees bowled over and Relan froze as a gust blasted him. He craned his neck and through the brush he saw the form of a white dragon sail by. It snorted, roared, and flapped away, chasing the cavalcade that passed.

Now I know things have gotten serious. Fantastic. If I can just make the next thirty miles I can get into the Dodar Republic and sell this damn thing. This job won't be in vain boys, I'll finish it for us.

Relan waited another hour before he dared to rise. He tied the pouch back to his belt, took a drink from his waterskin and fiddled with his dagger. He considered that dragon from before and what power he now possessed, but no, he knew nothing of how to use it.

He needed to move. If he didn't stay ahead of the news of his robbery he could be enveloped in the subsequent chaos.

***

It was a triumph of his criminal career, of his gang's career. They busted into the Orlaysian Cathedral a week ago and stole the most valuable gem in the Grestic States. They even managed to get out of the capital city of Lesdun before anyone noticed, but the soldiers had a way of tracking them, and ill luck plagued their journey the entire trip. One by one they picked off his gang. The Church kept their dragons out of it, though, at least until now.

The Church used the Eye of Elias to command the beasts. They captured them, bred them, and used the beasts in their armies. The Church's approach was formulaic: send zealots to a territory to preach and spy, cause unrest before the armies invaded and the region folded up under the pressure of dragons and swaths of soldiers, then the remaining people would be converted, the most feverous would travel to next region, etc. etc.

He remembered the formula well, his father stabbed his mother when she refused to follow the Church. Relan smashed in the old fool's skull for it, he was seventeen at the time, and never liked his father.

That was twenty years ago…

***

The air became crisp as Relan ascended the Rititula Pass. It was well into the afternoon. He knew an inn at the pass, the innkeeper an old friend who would hide him. He needed someone after the hell he faced. In the past six hours he'd traveled eight miles. By the third hour he hopped onto the trail again and began a long trudge up a switchback that ascended a thousand feet into the mountains.

When Relan approached the inn he spotted some of his hunters out on the porch, their weapon harnesses tossed aside with their boots. They played cards on a table and shared a pitcher of mead. Relan hesitated and lowered his head as he approached the stable. He heard a grumbling snore and peeked around the building to see the curled up form of the dragon he spotted earlier, its body rising and falling in the heady tread of sleep. Relan's gut cinched, but he was too hungry and too tired to just leave.

The thief snuck around to the back of the inn, there he entered a backdoor into the kitchen.

Relan found Terra staring right at him as he entered. She was the young granddaughter of the inn's owner. Her eyes narrowed. “You're in trouble again, aren't you?" She stood over bucket of water placed on a counter with several pots, plates, and mugs beside it.

“Where's Mum?"

She shrugged and called over her shoulder, “Mum, company."

The door on the other side of the room opened. Relan caught a glimpse of the bar and saw more soldiers before I spry woman twice Relan's age stepped through. She smiled and hobbled across the room as the thief approached her. “Relan dear, it's been too long."

He said as they hugged, “And I'm afraid it will not be long at all."

She scowled and pushed him back. “You and trouble should get married at this point with how much time you spend together."

Relan ignored her jab and asked, “Can you put me up for the night, then?"

She sighed. “I'll see what I can do…"

Relan said, “Thank you. How's Scissala doing?"

Terra answered, “She is doing fine. She left the farm a couple of months ago."

Relan spun to face the young woman. “Psht! Wh-what?"

Mum squeezed his arm. “Sorry Relan, she got fed up with farm life and left a note. Said she planned on riding those beasts."

Relan winced. Terra continued to wash dishes. She shared her half-sister's form, if only younger. They both had their mother's dark hair and eyes, but Terra's walnut complexion contrasted Scissala's white. Relan's daughter was hardly eighteen. Terra said at the dishes, “She said you fail as a father, by the way."

“Terra!" Mum snapped.

Relan felt his legs go weak. He said, “She's right. Gods, I need a drink, something strong Mum. This day can't get any worse."

“Oh it can get worse," Terra swore. Relan ignored her and scanned the room, found a chair and sat down while Mum chided her granddaughter and went back to the common room to find the thief something.

“So you must've did something pretty bad to get one of those monsters all the way out here," Terra said. She went to scrubbing a large iron pot.

“Just killed the dreams of a nation, is all," Relan mumbled. “How's your mother taking the news?"

“Well it happened a couple of months ago, so it isn't news to us," Terra said to cut into Relan again. “And she's fine with it, figured she'd run away eventually. Her and father have a hard enough time raising the five I left back at the farm."

Relan sighed and thought about the first woman he bedded. The mother of his daughter. They met in the common room of this inn, and Relan stuck around trying to charm her. He got her mother on his side, but his father kept saying no. But Helen was one for defiance—he could swear that prompted their first night together. The affair lasted a whole month before Helen's father ran him off, and when he returned a year later he found her gone off with another man, Relan's daughter Scissila on one hip and already pregnant again with Terra.

Mum came back with something for him, she pressed it into his hands and said, “Here, this Arvani Wine came in this morning. You can have the whole bottle if you want."

“You're too kind, Mum."

“No, really, you are Mum," Terra said.

Mum spared her a glare then told Relan, “Sleep here for as long as you want. Eat your fill, but leave tomorrow morning. You could get me in a lot of trouble for whatever stunt you pulled."

“Supposedly he killed the dreams of a nation," Terra snickered.

But Mum gawked. “You actually did it?"

Relan uncorked the bottle and patted the pouch at his side. “It's right here."

“By the Holy One!" she hissed and took a step back. She jabbed a finger at the thief, “If you aren't gone by dawn I'll report you myself, you hear me Relan? Don't touch Terra, don't go outside, don't do anything."

“That's what I planned on, Mum," Relan said before he took a long swig.

Relan noticed Mum studying the pouch, but she shook her head. “I'll get you something to eat. And I mean to keep my promise Relan, you will not bring your cursed luck down us."

Mum provided Relan with a heaping serving of a thick beef stew which he ate before finishing off the wine. Afterwards, he went to a corner in the kitchen, sprawled his body onto the floor and snapped into a needed sleep. The Eye gave him nightmares all night again.

The same recurring one: He stood at the entrance of a cavern carved into the side of a mountain. A sheer drop below waited on him, and like a massive exhale from the mountain, a gust of air shot out the cave and catapulted him into the air. He fell head first, and at the bottom waited the hungry maws of a hundred dragons. Their eyes glazed over with the Eye's curse. He never reached them, always before his face hit the ground he'd wind up on that cliff again.

Relan woke before sunrise and snuck some dry food from the inn's pantry. He hid it in a discarded pack he found, checked to make sure he secured the pouch to his belt, and went on his way. Out the backdoor, he snuck around the soldiers and made it through pass.

It was summer, but at this height with the wind, a chilly breeze nipped at Relan's neck and urged him to move faster. When he made the last rise he got a good look at the winding trail below that took him to the plateau on which Dodar Republic's border began. Waiting for him on the horizon was a blanket of campfires that dotted like stars the bottom of the trail and the beginning of the plateau.

Relan stared. He knew the Church gathered a heap of soldiers along their borders, but he didn't expect a full blown invasion force by now.

But it explains the lack of patrols in the countryside.

He pursed his lips and considered his options. If he played the role of missionary he might make it through the camp, but he would need to discard his pack, and barring hiding the Eye in his pants, that as well. Missionaries traveled with no worldly possessions, and if they tested him he would fail. Relan rejected every doctrine of the Church with vigor, he knew as much about its tenants as a blind man knew about reading.

To the east a trail traipsed into the mountains. He knew the path led to the Dodar Republic, but it took twice as long to travel. Hunters made the path, they would populate the trail this time of year, and could perhaps offer help. If he didn't make it to the Republic before the invasion, though, there was no guarantee he could get the Eye to someone among the chaos. At that point the Republic's Council would be so desperate they would most likely kill him and take the Eye as soon as they caught word of what he had. If that became the case it would mean another hundred miles before he reached the next kingdom. A puny one that paid the Dodar Republic an annual tribute to remain independent.

Ultimately, he did not want to relinquish the food he took. He turned east and began his trek. Thinking of his daughter, of Helen's family. They lived on that plateau, on the border between nations.

After I finish this, I'm going to see them, even if they don't want to see me.

***

“The fool." Lieutenant Hestoss muttered.

“We should count our blessings, if he headed down to the plateau he could have well disappeared amongst our own soldiers," Sergeant Fletcher muttered. Hestoss turned on the long, lanky man and glared, “You're party let him slip through here. If I didn't know better I'd say you let it happen."

The man bit his lips and darted his gaze to the dirt. “Apologies my lord," he mumbled. The whole of his cavalcade waited in formation with the sergeant, behind the lieutenant waited his beast, Yugil. He could feel the dragon's blank stare on his back.

“Pay the old woman who runs this place, enough to keep your horses fed for the next few days. I know this trail, there are parts horses cannot climb. Ask the woman if she has any mules we may rent from her, if not you will just need to hoof your things. Since Yugil can sense the Eye, I will fly ahead. Be ready to leave in an hour, men." The lieutenant went to the dragon, a white beast with splotches of grey. He lowered his neck and Hestoss stepped on the waiting stirrup at the base of his throat and boosted himself into the dragon's harness. He buckled himself in at the small of Yugil's back and examined his crew. Five men waited on him, already strapped in with crossbows in hand.

“Yugil, fly. Follow the trail."

The beast unfurled his wings and obeyed.

***

Relan rested by a stream, under the cover of trees again. He already made two miles, most a wretched climb uphill. His waterskin hung in the stream to refill it in an eddy that looked the cleanest spot. When he finished he took a long drink, tasted silt and coughed. He cursed and untied the bandana on his belt, a red strip of cloth. He poured out his waterskin and started over with the bandana over the lip to filter it. The best he could manage.

It made the difference when he tested the water again.

Relan rose and stretched before gathering his things. “Time to get moving—"

A screech. Relan jumped out of his skin and spun around. Overhead that same dragon flapped to him, Relan bit his lip and froze. The beasts discerned movement, if he remained still then perhaps…

How did they know I went this way, dammit? I covered my tracks well enough.

The beast turned with a snort, not a hundred meters from Relan before it flapped back to the mountain pass. Relan shuddered and continued down the trail.

By noon he sat down for a lunch, the mountainside heating up and waking the insects. The thief rested at a fork in the trail, a smaller one cut north into the mountainside, while he continued east. He discovered the remnants of a camp not a week old, he scavenged a few bundles of twine from the mess the camp's recent inhabitants left, then sat down on thick log to eat something.

While he chewed through bits of bread and dried cheese he considered his pace. Five miles so far, he needed to make at least another seven before he stopped for the night. He planned to reach the Republic in three day's time. And even then I'd need to travel another two days to reach the capital city…

The beat of wings roused him again. Relan scrambled to put up his things, checked his pouch and scanned the breaks of the forest canopy for that white behemoth. He found it soon enough. Relan muttered, “Persistent fuck."

He watched it pass over him and glide another fifty meters before it landed down the trail. Relan had a clear bead on the beast because the trail east rose higher past the tree line. Without the cover of the wood there was no way he could sneak by that beast.

Relan waited. They actually cut me off. He bit his lip and glanced left at the trail to the north. “Dammit," he groaned.

He grabbed his pack and snuck north. The trail wrapped around the hillside and obstructed the dragon's view, if another trail fed back down farther on he could get away. If not he would hold out until they left. He forced a chuckle and whispered, “That's right Relan, you've squeezed through tougher situations. This is all about getting out alive, we can do that." The northern trail climbed a hundred feet before it cut off at a sheer rock face. Relan studied it and noted a ledge he could slide along to a bend in the rock if he needed to hide, but no sense climbing yet. He turned around and faced the trail. He decided to test his luck.

***

“Damn insects," Hestoss smacked the back of his neck while his men made a camp.

His soldiers had their orders, the lieutenant knew he cut off the thief. His men were only a mile away, they would reach him. Hestoss was certain that in his panic the thief stopped covering his tracks, it would be a formulaic capture from there.

He smiled and turned to his crew, “Actually, don't worry about the camp, lads. We'll most likely be heading home within the hour." They'd leave the sergeant's useless cavalcade behind, return with the Eye and be welcomed as heroes.

And maybe then I could get away from the trappings of country bumpkin patrol and take a real, honorable position.

***

Relan spotted movement in the trees before he spotted soldiers. He balled his fists and eyed that ledge again. It seemed his only option, if he waited too long they would spot him and shoot him, helpless.

No choice.

Relan began climbing. The rock was cold, unforgiving on his hands as he searched for grips with every step. He needed to cover ten full paces across a sheer drop to reach that bend and fall out of view. He heard shouting, and glanced over his shoulder and found men scrambling up the slope. Two aimed crossbows and fired, Relan flinched. The bolts bounced off the cliff, one too high, the other missing his right hand by an inch. Someone barked, “Don't shoot him, you damn fools!"

The gods are on my side. Relan squirmed along the ledge. Below him he could see a gorge with a pool of water at its bottom, but rocks jutted from the cliff face and promised death if he fell.

He spent too much time watching the ground shift below him. His foot slipped, Relan yelped and snatched a rock. Bare stone scraped his skin raw. He growled and pulled himself up, the first of those soldiers reached the ledge and started to him. Their commander yelled, “Just give it up! We'll let you live if you do."

The wind blasted Relan. He kept climbing, halfway there.

“Someone get Hestoss—you! Run down there and get the lieutenant. We might need his mount soon enough."

Relan cursed some more and stretched his hand and reached the bend. He grasped it and yanked his feet forward and around the cliff to a ledge large enough to hold a wagon, with a wide open hole waiting for the thief. Light plummeted into the cavern and ended in dark, but he hesitated. It was the cave from his dreams…

“He's over here!"

Relan spun around in time for one of the soldiers to come around the bend. Relan snarled and kicked him in the stomach. He tumbled backwards, off the cliff. Relan stepped back and ignored the scream.

He drew his dagger and went to the bend. He pressed his back against the rock and readied to pounce on the next soldier who tried to come by.

The wind gusted up the mountainside and nothing happened. Relan chewed his lip and waited a minute more—nothing. He peeked around the bend, noticed the soldiers sitting together, some cradling weapons, some huddled in prayer. The forest canopy swayed and Relan saw a massive wing slice into the horizon. “Shit!" Relan faced the cavern again and mumbled a quick prayer to the God of Luck.

The chamber went down thirty feet, walls expanding like a wine glass. To the right, a narrow ledge circled the chamber, spiraling down to the floor, it was wide enough for two men to walk shoulder to shoulder. That first step into the cave was like stepping into the mouth of a monster. The humid air blasted him, the temperature warmer than the cold wind outside. He stepped into the mountain's gullet and sheathed his dagger. He kept his hand on the wall as he traveled down. Relan felt a knot swell and bob in his throat, as a quiet realization crept in the back of his head: the smooth cave wall felt carved and warm to the touch. Something lived here.

The Eye pulsed at his side. He glanced then gawked at it. A red glow emitted from the gem. Relan started when he saw a dragon flap before the cave's entrance. It hovered over the entrance and roared, the ringing sound bounced around the cavern, Relan clapped hands over his ears and cursed.

Can my luck ever turn!?

Relan charged down the spiral, cursing as that monster perched on the ledge and stabbed its head through the entrance. It was too big for its shoulders to fit through. The white dragon snarled and snapped at him. Relan jumped against the wall, an arm's reach away from the dragon's maw. Its breath blasted Relan—a heady furnace of rot filled his nose and made his forehead sweat.

The thief watched the dragon study him. Relan realized the only light in the cavern came from the Eye, and it painted the dragon in a murky blood red, but the beast snorted and retracted its head. The behemoth slipped out of the cave before it leapt off the ledge and flapped away. The stab of sunlight back into the cavern made the thief's eyes are water. Thank gods I have the Eye or that monster would have roasted me. Relan balled his fists, But those soldiers are going to come back.

Relan went down the spiral as fast as fear dared him. When he reached the bottom he heard shouting bounce to the bottom of the chamber, now that he didn't hang off a ledge they wouldn't hesitate to use their crossbows. Several tunnels dotted the cavern wall and trailed into darkness, Relan picked the closest one and ran into the black, but the Eye eradicated it. The thief grabbed the pouch and blocked the light projecting behind him to create a beam to guide his way forward.

I knew it glowed in the dark after the first night with the thing, but damn, it never turned into a miniature sun before.

“And you should also have known to stay away from my lair, human. If you don't leave I'll tell those men chasing you where you are."

Intuition whispered in the back of his head that from the very beginning he entered a feral dragon's lair, but only now did it slap him in the face.

“You think me a feral?" the voice sounded appalled, “It is the mules you mutated and left enfeebled who are feral. I am a true breed with true power."

Relan clenched the Eye close and begged, Please use your powers to help me. I can guarantee a reward—a mountain of gems and gold.

“You really do think me a twit." That voice, it rung in his head with a flush of anger so strong it almost made Relan scowl. It held a significant feminine tone and reminded Relan of a cherry tree in full bloom. He had one at his old home—he remembered it burning down.

“So you aren't a member of that clan? The Church you call it? Interesting… they must be the one's chasing you. I will help you human."

Relan blinked. Just like that?

“I will find it amusing forcing them to leap off the mountainside, it is a nice taste of vengeance for my brethren. However, if you do not leave my lair afterwards, I will send you to your death too."

He could hear the clatter of armor and weapon holsters come to a stop in the other chamber then start up again and fade out. He breathed and fell against the cave wall, sliding down to his rump. He closed his eyes…

And snapped them back open when he heard a scream. Another followed and he flinched. It happened every other second, just long enough for one ringing wail to die in his ear and another pound his eardrum.

“Ah, the taste of terror is so delicious. I leave them with enough awareness to realize their error, but never enough to resist the urge to jump. And when they are in the air I release them—a shame you humans are gamey, oh well."

Relan shut his eyes and shuddered. He plugged his ears and bit his lip. There's a reason dragons are considered death's herald.

As if to mock him she added to his thought, “We do try our hardest to keep up a reputation. Those of us who remain, that is."

Of course, the Church and the Eye changed everything. It put dragons at the heel of men.

“You may leave human. That lieutenant is away with his slave as well. Unfortunately, I cannot kill him while he sits atop that beast."

The result of the Eye as well: altered dragons dragged a deadened psychic field that would destroy the minds of their brethren when they tread it—

“Are you listening human?"

Relan jumped to his feet and said, “Right, of course." The thief's knees wobbled and he kept a hand on the cave wall. He felt the fatigue of the dead. He needed sunshine, rest, and a god to rejuvenate him. He headed for the main chamber, and sighed as he entered daylight again. A grunt to his left made Relan glance in that direction.

“Oh sh-shit!" Relan screamed and leapt backwards. The dragoness from before stood in the chamber. Far smaller than what he imagined, body longer than Relan was tall, but her shoulders rose only as high as Relan's hips.

He breathed and reminded himself the Eye did more than domesticate the beast. It morphed them, forced fire down their gullets and made them many times their normal size. She snorted and ruffled her wings before she stepped across the chamber to the thief. She was sleeker than Relan thought, and her scales wrapped her hide in a wild pantomime of oranges, light, almost yellow splotches covered her face, and darker streaks slashed down her legs to her paws. Her eyes were violet, and the closer she came the more Relan could smell spice, like cut cinnamon held under his nose. It made his eyes water, he coughed and felt short of breath. He also noted the horns, claws, and teeth of a predator, but they were elegant: the horns slipped back and were a milky white like her perfect teeth. Her claws seemed polished as they entered the sunlight.

“Human, before you leave I wish to know what that object at your side is."

Relan stepped back and shook his head, “I don't think you want to."

“I felt its presence before you even entered my lair, now that it is here I wish to see it for myself."

“B-believe me, you—"

She stopped before the thief. “Show me human."

The command came so unabridged to his conscious that he scrambled to obey. For that one moment all he wanted to do was reach into the pouch and retrieve the Eye.

He held the Eye up in his palm. It was a rough cut gem, black as obsidian with a glowing red core that beat like a heart inside it.

Her talons came undone from Relan's mind and he gasped. The dragoness's eyes became transfixed upon the stone, her pupils dilated and Relan watched her become soul sucked. He considered the appeal: the monster she would become would be the servant of the first person who named them afterwards. Having one would prove his claim of stealing the Eye and allow him easy access to the Republic…

But I can't get her out of this cave if she changes completely, and how am I going to fly her without a harness?

He chewed his lip, arm shaking as he made a decision. He did owe her his life.

He wrenched the stone away and thrust it back into the pouch. Now the dragon owed him her soul. Her front legs buckled and her head fell hard onto the cave floor. Relan hopped back and turned for the spiral stairs that he took down into the chamber. Hopefully she'll be dazed long enough—

“Human!"

This accompanied by a snarl, fire seared his skull and the bulk of the beast leapt onto his back. Relan slammed into the floor, teeth clacking together, jaw ringing as the dragoness pinned him. A heavy paw on his back pinned him, and he could feel her claws extended and ripping into his pack. Relan gasped and coughed. Just when his luck changed he went and got sentimental and—

“Where did you obtain this? Answer quickly, the only reason I haven't plundered your mind is to return the mercy you showed me."

Relan's thoughts scrambled like bats frightened from a cave. He couldn't breathe. His head pounded, that menacing vice grip twisted on his skull with every moment. She snarled and rolled him over with a flick of her paw,. Relan groaned and a shock of that cinnamon struck him. His eyes almost rolled over.

Despite this he managed a meager, desperate, I stole it a week ago. Planning on fleeing to the Dodar Republic to sell it.

That iron rod beating his brain stopped. Relan opened his eyes and moaned.

“You wanted to sell this? Why not destroy something so wretched?"

Relan's brain ran on autopilot, instinct told him honest compliance led to less pain. If it possible I would have. This whole job was fueled for my hatred for the Church, but I couldn't convince the boys to help otherwise, and destroying the Eye would be ruinous with all the souls trapped inside of it.

She snorted. “So you give it to the next set of eager hands willing to pay. And judging by how harrowing your journey, why didn't you just burry the Eye on the side of the road?"

I lost all the friends I'd known half my life, good friends and reliable companions. Would it be better to spit in their memory by not finishing the job we started? Besides, after I finish the job I'll probably roll over and die—gods I'm tired.

The dragoness stepped back. Relan watched her tail sway overhead, orange-yellow spirals met at her tip and in the sunlight illuminated it like a firefly. She had no spikes on her back or a frill, they were a specific male component, but it was said the female's psychic powers held more sway. Relan did not doubt it.

“You will not die, human." A chuckle lilted through the thief's mind and he sat up as the dragoness strutted back to one of the tunnels, his eyes caught the sway of her hips and he surprised himself by how long his eyes lingered there. “Come, I will not let you leave yet. We will discuss a deal before you go."

Relan frowned. “Weather not nice enough out here?"

“I prefer the steam of my chambers," she purred. That smell of cinnamon lingered in the air, his nose twitched and he sneezed. Relan wiped his nose, stood and trotted after her. She made no commands now, but he had no choice. A need his mind refused to fully acknowledge fueled his footsteps, his eyes kept sidling to her hips.

“What do you want from me?"

“Say what you will, but if I wished to use you we both know it would be in my power. You gave me amusement, considered my wellbeing, and did not try to hide your motives from me when you knew they endangered your life. That is proof enough for me to allow us to be partners in the endeavor I propose."

Relan shook his head, “Striking a deal with a dragon. Wonderful. What the hell did I plan on doing this morning again?"

“You silly humans and your freewill. Like an ant trapped on a leaf blowing in the wind, you never do realize how limited your space to move is."

Relan frowned and said nothing to retaliate, and she left his mind a moment to contemplate that one. He could feel the air grow more humid. He began to sweat and licked his lips. He drained the remainder of his waterskin as they walked. The air became heavy in his nose, his clothes damp, and soon he could see the steam, the vapors a red swirl thanks to the Eye.

“There will be light in the chamber we approach, so you do not have to see by that disgusting thing," she told him.

Relan spotted it, the daylight foggy in a swirl of steam. Relan began to pant as he they entered the chamber: it stretched twenty more meters in a rough diameter, a crevasse in the ceiling provided the light. The opening in the ceiling was wide enough for Relan to snake through, if he wished to burn himself alive. Most of the steam spiraled through that fissure. In the middle of the chamber sat a pool big enough for two of the dragons his companion's size. It felt too odd to call her that, but she was Relan's companion now. The thief sighed and watched the dragoness step into the bubbling pool, his eyes traced the swish of her tail and slowly went higher along the appendage until she reached the pool. He took a few steps forward, he couldn't understand why he baited his breath. She waded into the water, her front end lower than her back, and she raised her tail for balance, but Relan saw her rump, clearly. He gawked, he could see her slit, swelled, puffy, and wet. That smell of cinnamon came back.

Then she dove into the pool and the smell disappeared so fast Relan gasped. He shook his head and cursed as he felt his breeches tighten. He reached into his pants and fumbled to hide his erection. The dragoness rose from the water in a fountain of spray and a cute little chirp. Relan yanked his hand from his pants and tried to act relaxed. She padded over to the edge and her neck rose out of the water. In that cut of pure sunlight he could see every drop glittering and streaming down her neck, it took his breath away.

But he recovered when he noticed the amused smirk on the dragoness. Relan spluttered, “I-I-I don't know your name—I mean I just realized we never introduced ourselves."

A giggle flew through his head like a spring breeze. “Alright, human. I am Cinalu, but if we dispense with formalities later you may refer to me as Cina."

She knew, worst, she teased him.

Relan swallowed the knot in his throat. “Um… Relan Nileed is my name. I'm a thief by trade, got a daughter and am thirty-seven and—"

More laughter from the dragoness. “Well excuse me if I didn't know we were spilling trivia!" Relan glanced at the wall and felt his face flush more than the steam could cause. Cinalu snorted, Relan's eyes darted back to hers. She still carried that smirk like a badge of pride. “I'm born of the clutch of Matrikor, I'm a dragoness, I drove another out of this cavern and took it as my own, oh, and I'm three-hundred and seven years old. Amusing, no?"

Relan blinked. Three centuries was a lot of time. No wonder she treated him a child…

Cinalu rolled her eyes, dipped back into the pool and burst forth in short order. She shook water from her muzzle and said, “I do not treat you as a child, Relan. You just don't have the spine to challenge me."

Considering you could control my every move.

“A clash of wills has nothing to do with my powers. You surely had some confidence before this if you led your own band of men into the clutches of the enemy and stole their heart. That must've been a wonderfully charming story, I'm sure you cut the dashing figure then…"

Relan cleared his throat and shook his head. He remembered that day, though. Just four of them entered the cathedral. He led the way with bow in hand, killed three guards from a distance, and snuck up on a fourth. Except for when they needed speed and flexibility, most of his gang just watched him lead the way and take care of business. The Eye had a seal of spells around it to protect, that exploded semi-harmless when Relan released a flock of pigeons into the room. When two more guards came through the room, he dispatched them in the smoking wreckage with a sword before finally grabbing the Eye, knocked from its pedestal in the explosions.

“See, where is that man?"

Relan sighed. “What did you want to propose?"

Her wings drooped. “You're such a bore."

The thief grit his teeth, “I am losing patience."

“Then leave, I won't stop you."

The thought occurred… but Relan did not budge. He instead scowled and marched to the pool. “Now look here you manipulative bitch. I don't know what mind game you're trying to play with me but it better stop—"

The dragoness purred, and leapt out of the pool. Relan yelped and fell back on his butt, the bulk of the dragoness shoved him the rest of the way down. Relan gasped and the world spun. He felt her hot breath on his neck and she growled.

“I love a man who can be rough."

What the hell? That blast of cinnamon again made Relan snarl. He shoved his knee into her gut and grabbed her shoulder before he wrenched her sideways. She rolled off of him with a squawk. Relan scrambled to his feet and spun on the dragoness, hand digging into his pouch if he needed the Eye.

He gaped. Cinalu purred and lied on her back, her legs spread to reveal her drooling pussy. He noticed her eyes affixed on the erection in his breeches. Relan cursed and demanded, “What the hell are you doing?"

“What, I'm not bad enough for you to punish?"

“Are you mad? No!" Relan snapped.

“Oh fine, let's cut the crap." She rolled over and got to her feet. “I've been in heat for the past week and haven't felt the touch of a male dragon in half a century. And I've noticed how you'd been staring, hell I gave you the view you so much enjoyed when I dipped into the pool. There's been a sexual tension between us since we started towards this room, and dammit I will have some satisfaction before I let you leave."

“Then why don't you just force me and be done with it?"

Cinalu snickered, she turned and showed Relan her backside. She strutted a few steps, stopped and lifted her tail. The appendage craned over her back and Cinalu raised her neck, she bit down on the tip of her tail. Her eyes half-lidded, she made a few long blinks to the thief and purred as she presented herself.

Relan's breath became short.

“Because I know I don't have to. Your attraction to my form is already too flattering," she said, her voice as smooth as whisper in his ear.

He became dizzy, his feet shuffled forward. That smell, it swirled in his nostrils with the steam and reminded him of one thing. The sweat of sex. It suddenly became too hot for his clothes. He stripped and panted harder, he felt Cinalu's eyes on him, he looked down at his at the ten-inch manhood. He balled his fists and saw his arms tremble.

“Fine then." He stomped to her, “You like it rough?" He saw her whole body trembled as he reached her, he thrust two fingers from his right hand into her snatch and Cinalu moaned. She released her tail and leaned back into his hand, her cunt squirming around his digits. Relan leaned forward and growled, “I'll show you rough."

She murred and Relan slapped her ass with his free hand. She squealed then growled. He groped her ass, the scales there smooth to the touch. He slapped her again, her body trembled and Relan felt her juices run over his other hand. Relan pulled the hand free and sampled them. He wiped his fingers on her rump and said, “Mmm, this thick with your cum already. You are a slut."

“More… please."

Relan chuckled and knelt between her legs. He took a deep breath, before he pressed his nose through her labia and his tongue into her. He heard his dragoness moan and he reached up with one hand. He kneaded her ass before his finger crept up to the puckered bud of her anus. He tapped it with two fingers before he jammed them inside. Cinalu gasped and her back end wobbled. Relan pressed his face deeper and began to undulate his tongue. Cinalu's head fell, her tongue lolled out of her mouth and her eyes glazed over. She was completely under Relan's control.

Relan pressed two more fingers into her anus before he thrust them in and out of her. Cinalu cried out at the treatment, Relan laughed and pulled back his head. He breathed before he licked his lips and demanded. “Enjoying yourself, slut?"

Cinalu cried out and nodded furiously. “Yes, yes I love it!"

Relan laughed and with his free hand he spread her labia to reveal her throbbing clit. Relan wrapped his lips around it and began to suck.

“Ohhh, yeees! Yes, ohhh gods I'm so close!"

Relan pinched it with his teeth and Cinalu shrieked, her legs collapsed and she sprayed Relan with her cum. Her back end fell on top of the thief, her pussy buried his face as she came down on him. Her cum plastered him, went down his open mouth and up his nose. Stars burst in his vision while the dragoness ground downwards into his face.

Finally her rump quickly raised and Cinalu circled around before she lied beside him. Relan closed his mouth and ran her cum across his tongue like a wine taster would with wine. He swallowed while Cinalu giggled, “I'm sorry about that. Sex has a way of getting the better of my race."

Relan said, “That… that was fantastic."

She murred, “You were fantastic." She licked his cheek, and Relan let her clean cum off his face. He closed his eyes and almost fell asleep. He never felt so at ease in his life, and in the lair of a dragon too. This day held more twists than vine clawing up a trellis.

When she finished, Cinalu's licking traced down to the side of his neck. Relan felt his cock respond and throb in the air. She nipped his shoulder and purred. Relan rolled over and said, “I just realized we didn't finish."

She smirked again and lifted her neck over him. “Are you trying to tell me something?"

Her head drifted over his crotch, but Relan stood. “No, not right now at least. I want something else."

He heard her giggle in his head. “I could learn to love you, Relan Nileed."

She lifted her rump and spread her legs, but left her front end on the ground. Relan admired her sopping snatch, already drooling again. He positioned himself and thought of something filthy to call her, but an impulse made him stop. He looked back into Cinalu's needy gaze and knew she waited for whatever comment.

“Actually," Relan stepped back, “Would you mind being on your back this time?"

An eye-ridge quirked, “No… you could have just pushed me over but…" she rolled over, “I can handle it." She spread her legs and fanned out her wings.

Intuition told Relan to position himself slowly. Cinalu whined and squirmed while her partner pressed the head of his cock to her lips. He rubbed her labia and brushed along her clit. Cinalu froze. Relan smiled and pushed in. They both gasped when he penetrated her. Both began to pant as Cinalu's warmth squeezed his throbbing rod. Relan grit his teeth and pre spilled into her desperate cunt. He drew back, a grunt escaped him. “Yes, please," she mewled, “Pound my greedy pussy until I bleed."

But Relan didn't listen to her slutty pleas. He pistoned into her and Cinalu tightened on him, but he pulled out slowly again and thrust. He heard a slapping wet sound as his hips met her.

“Oh please stop teasing and fuck me! I know you want to!"

But the urge to pound her like a dog would a bitch in heat faded. It fell into a black ball at the back of his mind, and if he tried to pick up the idea it disgusted him. He kept his pace and his hands began to explore her body. His right hand came underneath where the wing connected to her back. He prodded it and Cinalu squealed, Relan felt her pussy tighten and he smiled. His left hand massaged her chest. Cinalu snarled and bucked her hips to force Relan to increase his pace, but Relan refused. He pulled out to the tip and kissed the base of her throat and nipped it before he came back down and thrust into her.

Cinalu gasped and stared down at him, their eyes met and the dragoness craned her neck to him. She licked his cheek and Relan kissed her muzzle. She darted her tongue into his mouth, and wrapped her tongue around his. She pulled back when Relan thrust into her again. She released a soft moan.

Relan grunted and ejaculated more pre. He mumbled, “I'm getting close, Cina."

She groaned and bucked her hips into his. “You're a bastard—ahh… for making me love this."

Relan laughed and kissed the side of her muzzle. “What does that mean?"

“That when you cum I want to cum with you."

He laughed and increased his pace, she squeaked and then moaned. Relan found that spot at her wing joints again and pressed it. Cinalu squealed and her cunt clutched his pole. Relan grunted and stabbed her snatch, once, twice, he rammed it home a third time and Cinalu shrieked.

Her whole body spasmed and almost threw Relan off. He groaned and came, his warm, thick seed spilling into her receptive, fertile passage.

“Ohhh yes!" she moaned in his head. Her juices sprayed around Relan's cock and splashed his waist and crotch. Relan felt his balls churn until they ached, his cum spilling in thick ropes till the seed filled her to the brim. Her needy pussy twitched around him, trying its best to milk more and more.

When he finished, a wave of exhaustion he couldn't explain or expect washed over him and he collapsed on top of her.

***

Cinalu smirked and licked the side of his cheek. His member went flaccid inside of her. Her poor companion managed a few conscious breaths before he passed out. A short burst of deep-throated growls came from the dragoness, her form of chuckling. She settled him down beside her and lied her head on his chest. Cinalu eyed his clothes a moment and the glow of her race's curse. Snorted, those plans could wait. She eyed this man again, a human already past his prime and yet still fit enough to satisfy her. He had the white skin she only saw when she visited the northern plains. She hadn't in a century. She purred and admired his dark hair and green eyes. They stood out this far down south and made him a gem to the normal crop of petty humans. She'd never dreamed to bed with one, but her heat had beckoned and left her impulsive.

It did not help that when the hapless fool entered her lair she was a foot deep into her cunt with her tail. She would keep this one close, for the next few days, she decided. To see what he would do next. She did have a plan in mind for him, but that could wait for when they woke. She curled around him, purred and fell into a satisfied slumber.

Relan woke in something soft. He groaned and rolled over. He wanted to sleep another four days without any dreams or nightmares, just shut off the light and turn it on when everything blew over. He felt something hang over his face, it exhaled and a rush of some creature's breath made his nose wrinkle. He opened his eyes to see Cinalu's muzzle in front of him.

His eyes popped and he scrambled to his feet and ran to the cave wall. He darted his gaze around and saw they both stood in a new chamber. This one with a shallow basin filled with sheets and blankets, another hollow in the ceiling allowed light into the chamber. The room was half the size of the last, and only meant for sleeping, he supposed.

Cinalu's tail hovered in the air, her wings half spread, her knees bent, if she had hair it would stand on end. “What is it?"

He jabbed a finger at the dragoness. “You!"

She stared at him, snorted and sat. “Yes, me. Where did you think you were going to wake up, outside on my ledge believing it was all a bizarre dream?"

Truly told, he hoped things would've been that simple. Was I out of my mind when I decided to bed a… a…

The ridge of her eye raised. “Careful with your next thought, Relan."

Relan shook his head. “You don't have any problem with this then?"

“No. You were willing, and I was willing."

Relan could not believe it. He said, “You did something to me. Maybe it was that smell you knowingly inflicted me with, or the fact you were in my head. Even if you weren't controlling my actions, all that lust was still there, and you transplanted it."

The dragoness rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Did I seduce you, yes, I did. But I didn't force you to do anything. And besides, if you were utterly unattracted to my form my scent would have done nothing to you. And sure my lust might have tapped into your own, but you didn't treat me like some hole to masturbate into. You were the one who led the way and decided that we should be slow and intimate when I just wanted a rutting. So rationalize it any way you want, Relan, but it changes nothing."

The thief's face flushed. He balled his fists and demanded, “Where are my clothes?"

She nodded to a corner in the chamber, “Over there. You were truthful in needing sleep. When I woke beside you four hours after our…" she paused and watched Relan step across the basin to where a heap of clothes had been lied out. “session, you still slept like a babe. So I carried you in here, you've been sleeping since then. I went out hunting, if you wish I can share my meal with you—"

“I'm leaving," Relan said. Cinalu remained silent, the thief counted his blessings and threw on his clothes. He buckled his belt before he made sure the pouch was tied securely, then strapped on his pack, and wheeled around to face the chamber's entrance.

She stepped in the way of the door. Relan pursed his lips and told her, “Move."

“Don't be silly. You should eat something first. It will do you some good."

“I need to leave, now."

The dragoness snorted, “You're a stubborn bastard."

“Well, if you really wanted me you'd just make me stay."

“If you believe that I would be so cruel then you are a fool, too." She stepped aside and told him, “The way out should be easy enough to find."

Relan ignored her stare as he walked by her and out the cave.

***

Cinalu sighed, she remembered the wild turkey she'd left smoking in the chamber farther down, but her appetite abandoned her. She went to her bedding and kneaded it before she lied down. She closed her eyes and felt disappointed with herself. Perhaps, if she left him lying on the rock with her, and that moment of affection could be rekindled… she felt heat build between her legs and she squirmed. Damn him.

***

Relan breathed deep the mountain air once he returned to the trail. He saw the sun ascend its zenith and cursed. His stomach rumbled and he thought about food the monster—dragoness offered that he left behind. Flashes of the day before made him short of breath, but he cleared his throat and ignored it. He climbed down the ledge back to the trail and took off his pack. He dug into it and ate what little food did not get crushed from the day before.

Farther down the road the thief ran into some hunters. After exchanging greetings and jests, Relan bought some of their supplies off them with the puny amount of coin he kept in a pocket sewn along the inside of his boots. After a full meal and some water he felt more reassured.

“Thanks, lads," he called over his shoulder to the younger men and traipsed down the trail. He smiled. There, that'll show her. Thinking I need her food to survive, thinking she can use that to bribe me to stay with her—dammit Relan, think of something else. Like the birds, there's one yapping in that branch over there, if I had a slingshot I could peg it and get half a fistful of meat later tonight and that'd show her…

“Dammit," Relan muttered.

He pushed five more miles before he made camp for the night.

***

Hestoss found the thief's luck unbelievable. How he managed to stumble on the unknown lair of a dragon and then it coming to his aid. He paced and kicked a stone from his path. His crew and Yugil rested at the inn, they went flying earlier that morning to see if he left, but he hadn't. Perhaps if Yugil could fit in the cavern they would have no problems, but he could not, and if they left the protection the dragon offered them they would be dead in moments.

And of course, if Yugil tunneled into the cavern there would be a fair chance of the whole damn thing collapsing onto us.

Hestoss needed to solve this problem on his own. If he went down the plateau and alerted his superiors he'd have no hope of claiming his prize. He cursed and went back into the inn, it could wait until the morning.

He stepped onto the porch and ignored his men when they saluted him as he passed. He headed inside and went to the bar. The younger of the inn's wenches stood behind it. She asked, “What may I do for you, my lord?"

“Mead," he grunted and sat.

She knelt behind the bar and snatched mug before she went to one of the barrels. “Still no luck with your mission? Shame someone would even think to wrong the Church so."

“Is that sarcasm I hear?"

She said quickly, “No sir, just wondering about the fate of whoever you chase."

He grunted, “My men are on his tail as we speak. They will have him with the morning, if all goes as planned."

She smiled and handed the filled mug to the lieutenant, “I'd love to see what you'd do to him."

“That will be for the Church to decide. Most likely he'll burn at the stake by dragon fire."

She nodded. “Burned alive seems appropriate. That's the problem with the regular burning at the stake, isn't it? The smoke does them in before they can really even feel anything."

The lieutenant took a long drink. “You're a horrible girl."

“No, I just hate the Church's enemies, my lord."

***

Cinalu woke some time at night. She dreamt of that bastard again. The past century had been fine without him, she just lazed in her lair most days and every decade or so took a trip. But then he invaded her privacy and brought that thrill into her life. When was the last time she got the chance to listen to men scream like that? When was the last time a sexual partner pleased her so much?

She snarled and rose from her bedding. She went to the edge of the basin, she pulled all blankets aside to reveal a shallow pool of gold, gems, and shiny stones she collected over the years. She chewed her lip, and snarled as she released the bedding. I had plans for you, Relan. I had good intentions I knew you could agree with and dammit, we were supposed to be together. You were supposed to give me a chance to live again you bastard.

She went to the chamber they… oh hell made love in. Who cared anymore? She'd call it what it was. The damn bastard. She dipped into the pool, cleaned herself, masturbated, and then got out. She spent an hour preening and perfecting her form. She thought about taking a few of the silver talon sheaths she had, but she realized he would find them gaudy. She went to the entrance of her lair, bid it farewell and looked east. The sun already rose by then, he would be on the move. But it would be impossible to outpace her.

***

Ho the feeling of success! They woke at dusk and passed that beast's lair and Yugil picked up the trail. They would have him by the end of the morning, Hestoss was sure of it.

***

Relan sighed and packed up his things. He wiped his nose, cursed and pressed a finger to one nostril and blew snot out the other. He stood and glanced at his discarded fire, and started down the trail. Today was a big day, he planned to make fifteen miles, an almost impossible task. He would stop only to refill his waterskin. The mishap of the past two days needed to be made up before his luck turned on him again.

He managed a hundred paces before the world turned on its ear with a sound he hated. Wind rushing over treetops. Relan cursed and spun on his heel, he searched the horizon the best he could, nothing. He exhaled his held breath and faced the trail, to his right the slope declined sharply into a valley below, he started on a switchback to the bottom. He'd refill his water there and then start up the next mountain. And if I'm lucky I won't hit another one of these damn things for the rest of the day. He jogged down the switchback and descended five hundred feet in ten minutes. He slowed his pace and felt winded when he reached the bottom. He came across a creek he expected and took a long drink. The cold water burnt his aggrieved throat. Relan ignored it and surveyed the next hillside, its face bare of trees and dotted with gravel and scrub.

When he reached the switchback he began his climb again, feeling a fool. He'd gone nowhere so far. The climb took its toll, by the time Relan got halfway up the mountainside he groaned and fell on his rump. He closed his eyes and listened to himself pant. He sprawled his legs and scooted gravel down the slope.

Why am I so tired?

He knew he pushed things, and he knew he was past his prime, but dammit. Things shouldn't be this hard. He opened his eyes and examined his scuffed hands. He grunted and forced himself to stand. He scanned the opposing mountainside and realized what he did. He couldn't jog through this terrain, he needed to set a decent pace and follow through. He realized he held no chance of making his fifteen miles in a day.

“Shit," he mumbled. He almost turned away when he noticed a cloud on the horizon contort. He did a double take and squinted at the distant object. He made out the beating wings and turned to the trail. He began to dash up the mountainside.

Out here in the open, damn. Why didn't I take my time earlier?

Soon enough he heard the beat of those furious wings, like a sail flying open in a gale. Each beat meant the distance closed even more. He broke into a full run, but when he glanced up he saw the cover did not return, and he knew it wouldn't until he reached the other side of the mountain. He looked back down, he was now only a hundred paces from ascending the switchback, too late to go down. That monster roared and Relan flinched. The thing was only a hundred meters from him. Relan clutched his side, a stitch seared his gut and his legs begged him to sit.

I can't—I can't get away. Maybe if I was ten, twenty years younger, but I'm not. I should've known this would happen all along. I should've-

“Had some patience and stayed with me for the day."

Relan gasped and scanned the skyline. “Cina?"

“Above you, fool."

“Looks like he's given up, sir."

Hestoss nodded and ordered, “Yugil, bank around so the men can have a clear shot."

The dragon snorted, they glided thirty meters to the fugitive before Yugil began his turn, the men jostled in their holsters a moment before they aimed their crossbows.

The whole dragon rocked, Hestoss cursed, one of the men screamed and Yugil shrieked. The lieutenant's ears popped, he tumbled down the side of the dragon and swung in his holster, he bashed into Yugil's shoulder. Another crash rocked the behemoth as he collided into the slope, the lieutenant cursed and his boots scraped across gravel before he found that stirrup at the base of the dragon's throat. He pushed off it and scrambled up the dragon's back in time to see a smaller lizard leap off his mount. His men had all been attacked by the feral dragoness: one dead, one missing entirely, another with his throat slashed, the last disemboweled. He heard a snarl and twisted to see that same orange dragoness on Yugil's head. She dug her claws into his mount's eyes and Yugil shrieked a second time. He thrashed his head and the dragoness leapt off. Yugil slid on his belly down the slope, Hestoss held onto the harness and let his beast slide down. The dragoness landed farther up the slope, beside the thief before the two disappeared behind a swirling dust cloud.

Relan gaped as the dragon disappeared in the dust cloud kicked up by his descent. He had seen Cinalu come down on the beast's back, right on top of one of the soldiers and rip him out of the harness. Everything after happened so fast he only took a breath when he heard the tumbling dragon come to a stop at the valley below.

Cinalu snorted and said, “Stupid beast."

“Yeah…" Relan muttered.

He heard the dragoness shift and he faced her. He met her gaze and her eyes narrowed, “You treated me horribly yesterday. It hurt."

“Um… I'm sorry? What are you doing here?"

She shifted her gaze west and back to the thief. “I realized you wouldn't come to me, so I conceded and came to you."

“Why, though?"

Her tailed flicked and sent stone tumbling down the mountainside. “Unfinished business."

“You mean that deal you wanted to make."

“Yes, but it can it wait until we are off this slope. This trail is far too narrow to be comfortable."

She turned and headed up the switchback. Relan followed and asked, “Why not just fly up there and wait for me?"

“Because if I didn't set your pace I'd be waiting even longer for you."

Relan pursed his lips. He sighed, “Thank you, for saving me again. And I guess I'm sorry about the other day, I had my head up my ass. It's not easy for me to accept the fact of what we, well, did."

“Sex you mean? Or made love… It took me forever to get you out of my head so I could sleep last night, and then I just dreamt of you. I don't like things being unresolved, Relan. I just become obsessed with what never happened."

Relan cleared his throat and glanced at the lingering dust cloud. “I kept thinking about you too, I suppose."

She snorted, but the presence in his head radiated pleasure. Her wings fluttered a moment, Relan licked his lips. He mumbled, “It scared me, you know? I've never looked at a dragon before and just thought, 'That'd be a good fuck.'"

“Obviously," she agreed and Relan raised a brow. “You don't look at cattle, or any other animal, and think that. And that thing below us isn't more than cattle. Tell me Relan, what was the first thing you sensed when you heard my voice?"

“A cherry tree, in bloom, I guess. We had one in my yard when I was child."

“See? A voice invokes an image in itself, a feeling and memory. An animal grunting, mewling, or snorting doesn't invoke anything but distaste. From the first you never saw me as a beast, but an equal. It dispelled that gloom from your eyes that would've been there had seen and never spoken to me."

Relan chewed his cheek. “But… were just so different."

“Call it a romantic fling. How about we just start over and see what happens, hmm?"

“Right…" They reached the end of the switchback, the trail widened and Cinalu faced Relan. He noticed the blood on her claws and almost stepped back. She dug them into the dirt and mumbled, “Sorry, I mean to clean them as soon as possible."

Relan chuckled, “No it's cute. Well not the blood I mean, just to see you embarrassed by it."

“Let's change the subject before you fluster me anymore, shall we?"

Relan sat cross-legged and wiped sweat from his brow. “What did you have in mind then, for, well, whatever?"

“Before I do continue, may I be allowed to show you? It will be so much easier, and I will be gentle."

Relan closed his eyes and felt her presence fill him up. His nod and, “Fair enough," seemed rhetorical.

***

Three hours later and father down the trail the two rested at a stream. The trees returned in an overgrowth of abundance, and bugs came with it. Cinalu saved Relan from getting bit, however, by projecting a field around him that burst the tiny bug's minds if they flew too close to him.

He sat at the edge of the stream beside Cinalu. The dragoness dipped her paws in the waters to wash them and told Relan. “You wouldn't believe how monotonous life could get there. I mean, fat was starting to form on my butt and thighs because there was so little to do. I basically slept, ate, and masturbated, it was a sad existence, really."

Relan smirked, “Masturbated huh?"

“If you had four hours of nothing to do in your days you'd do the same."

“I suppose so," Relan laughed. “But then I showed up, didn't I? And you just left because you were bored."

Her wings shrugged, “I suppose that was part of it. I hadn't traveled in the past few years. Until two days ago I forgot what excitement was, and after I knocked that monster out of the air my blood was pumping so fast and I was so excited it took all my will not to pounce on you and take you."

Relan's mouth hung open. Finally he managed, “Well, I suppose you did a good job of it. Had me fooled."

“I knew it not appropriate for me to do, besides. I needed to remind myself that I needed to resent you—ugh, damn water is too cold for me to get these stains off."

She lifted her paw out of the water to lick it but Relan scooted closer to her and grabbed the paw. “Let me do it." Cinalu drew in breath, their gazes met, and Relan smiled. She let him lower her paw back into the water and he went to work. He scrubbed her talons and got in between each digit before his hands went to the underside and Relan felt the rough scales calloused there. He began to knead and massage the paw, Cinalu purred and she rubbed her head against his back.

He asked as he worked her paws, “What are you doing, hmm?"

“Making sure your marked with my scent."

“Why?"

“So everyone knows that you are mine."

Relan chuckled. “Let's see you're other paw now." She offered it and Relan dipped it into the stream and went to work. He spent more time massaging it this time than cleaning, but when he finished Cinalu licked him on the cheek.

The thief laughed and warned her, “I'm not done, I have to do your back paws too. I don't like to leave things unfinished, either."

“Oh really?"

Yes, now how about you roll over so I can take a look at those poor feet of yours."

Her giggle fluttered through his skull and she obeyed. Her hindlegs dangled in the air, paws almost coming up Relan's nose. His nose wrinkled at their smell, but he hid a natural response to disgust and went to work, kneading her paws. He began with her left, his fingers trailed down to her ankle and he decided to roll the paw and to loosen it. When he finished he leaned over and kissed it. Cinalu shuddered, and Relan stepped over to her tail to the next paw. His breathing became more tense as he massaged it, he bit his lips and brought all his focus to doing that.

Impulse took him when he almost finished. He bent over and kissed her ankle, it was plump thing of soft, yielding scales. The affection made Cinalu murr and fan out her wings. Relan's hands traced down her legs, and he did notice those pockets of plumpness growing on her thighs. His lips traced the path of his hands, he licked her thigh and nipped it.

Cinalu groaned and bucked her hips.

Relan glanced up and realized she spread her legs.

He growled and his left hand cupped her heated sex, spread her lips. Her fat labia pulsed against his palm as Relan brought his face to it and his nose dined on her scent. He moved his right hand to her hole and sent two fingers in. Cinalu moaned and Relan bent his neck, he slathered his tongue over her lips and kissed it. He inserted the remaining two digits on his right hand and worked them in and out.

His dragoness raised her head and he met her gaze, his tongue hanging over her clit. She whined and pleaded with him, Relan smiled. He removed his right hand and began to unbuckle his belt, he continued to lather her cunt with tongue. He buried his face into the sopping sex and lost himself in her taste and smell. His right hand fumbled a moment longer before he growled and stood. Cinalu gasped as he left her needy cunt.

He undid the belt and threw off his boots and breeches and revealed his throbbing member. Cinalu began to pant and her back end squirmed. Relan wasted no time in mounting her; he got into position and pushed into her vent. Cinalu squealed and bucked her hips into him. Her breathing got faster and Relan saw her tongue fall out her mouth. He grunted and began to rut her.

Cinalu's pussy writhed underneath him and blasted the dragoness with pleasure. The sky went white, and her legs felt numb. She couldn't say a word, she just squealed and moaned, her claws dug into the dirt and left furrows in the ground. It certainly helped that the thief was hung and hollowed her out so finely. He pounded right to the entrance of her egg chamber, her clasping heat trying to hold him there. Her tail whipped left and right, and her chest heaved as she struggled for enough air for her racing heart.

Relan heard Cinalu's voice getting higher and sensed her orgasm coming. He planted one hand on her chest and pumped his dick in and out of her snatch. He grit his teeth and with his free hand spread her lips and found her clit. He rubbed it with his thumb and made Cinalu yelp. But she did not intervene and Relan smirked as he put vigor into the strokes, timing them with his wet slaps onto her hips.

Cinalu shrieked and exploded. Relan pulled back when she came and tried to thrust back in, but her walls shoved his tool out and an explosion of cum sprayed him. It coated his legs, his crotch, it ruined his shirt and vest, and splashed across his face. Relan watched Cinalu's whole body buck, but he turned the other cheek by kneeling by her thrashing hips and pressing his lips to her pussy. Another fountain of cum sprayed into his waiting mouth, he swallowed and pressed his tongue against her pussy to coax more. Cinalu shrieked again and sprayed him a third time, cum dribbled down his chin as Relan pressed his attack. He decided then, that if ever he had to choose one thing in life to sustain him the rest of his days, it would be this dragoness's cum.

Cinalu's orgasm tapered off and she groaned. Relan stood and wiped his lips. Cinalu looked at him and mumbled, “Sorry about your shirt."

“You can make it up to me by rolling over," Relan smirked and he placed a hand on her leg and pulled. Cinalu leapt to her feet and raised her butt in the air with her tail, her legs spread wide enough that her cunt hung a little lower than Relan's waist. Relan chuckled, “And here I thought you would be tired."

He felt her flush of embarrassment as he groped her ass. “Well, I guess I am, but you didn't finish, right? And we have to be fair."

Relan swatted her ass and Cinalu trembled. He slipped a finger between her lips and rubbed her pussy. He joked, “Well, I don't need to get off, and if you're too tired we'll stop."

He removed his hand and stepped back. Cinalu craned her neck and met his gaze. She shook her head and panted. “No, no, no. Please Relan, finish inside me. I want to be fucked, so please-"

“Please what?"

“Oh Relan, please fuck me until I can't feel a thing anymore."

Relan laughed and stepped back behind her. He positioned his member and slid in, Cinalu moaned and Relan groaned. He was already close. He ground his teeth and swore he'd make her cum again.

He began slapping their hips together, and that wet smacking sound filled his ears. Along with Cinalu's moans, each one stopped when he hilted inside her. And when he pulled out she drew in breath for another. He spanked her and yelled, “You like that bitch?"

“Oh yes—ah, more, more, pleaaa—oh."

Relan smacked her ass again, her whole backside shuddered. The thief felt ready to blow, but he shook his head and pulled out. Cinalu released a saddened moaned, Relan bent and grabbed his discarded belt. He snapped it and Cinalu glanced over her shoulder and growled. Relan spanked her with leather and the dragoness squealed, Relan watched her pussy clench.

“Only a slut would enjoy this. So what does that make you?"

“Oh I'm a whore!" she gladly proclaimed and Relan whipped her ass again. He split scales and saw a trace of blood. He hesitated, but Cinalu begged, “Please, punish this slut. Punish your slut."

He chuckled and then lashed out three more times. Cinalu shrieked and sprayed the ground with cum; her legs collapsed inward. She sat on her knees and her tail drooped over her abused area.

Relan shook his head, “Oh you're not getting away from this." He got on his knees and raised her tail to reveal her sex, presented to him at the perfect height. He invaded her pussy for a third time and Cinalu yelped. Relan wrapped his arms around her tail and used it to help leverage his thrusts. He pistoned into the dragoness with as much force as he could muster. Cinalu groaned, each thrust sent her whole body forward, only to pull backwards every time Relan did. Her greedy cunt clutched his cock for all its worth. Relan could feel each sopping push of her walls on his member, he grunted and plugged her hole. He angled his cock down, exploring her sex before he angled up and Cinalu toes curled.

“Oh yes, right there—oh gods yes—harder!" she whined and Relan obliged. He zeroed in on that spot as his balls swelled to their peak.

“Yes, yes, yes!" and Cinalu came a third time with Relan. He grunted and stabbed her, thrust as deep as he could and exploded his hot, thick cum inside her. He groaned as rope after rope left him and filled her.

And Cinalu felt the heat of each shot spray into her, she could feel his head pressing against her cervix he so unknowingly bashed in and felt his seed spray into her womb. She never knew pleasure so well, she shrieked and her cunt exploded a fourth time, her juices spraying past Relan's cock and coating him again. She heard Relan groan and she almost whined when his cum stopped filling her, she wanted to swell with it.

But Relan didn't finish, he pulled out, panting. Cinalu wondered what he did before he started slapping against her again. He released her tail and his fingers found her anus. Cinalu groaned and realized she couldn't take much more of this. Her whole back end felt numb, but gods she felt it when Relan put his two index fingers in her anus and stretched the opening. That wonderful, sensational pain returned and Cinalu gnashed her teeth. Tears came to her eyes, she began to weep and sobbed. She felt so wonderfully weak, and if he kept this up…

The thief pushed two more fingers from both hands into her ass. She could feel the writhing digits inside her as he pounded her numb pussy. He kept pounding her cervix, and it hurt, but she couldn't stop him. Her body responded and she contracted again. Cinalu moaned weakly as she came, she clenched down on Relan but ejaculated barely any cum. He heard Relan grunt and he slammed his cock into her cervix again and came a second time. Pleasure exploded into Cinalu as her body rewarded her for becoming this human's cum-dumpster. Cinalu shrieked, the last thing she remembered was his seed spraying into her and plastering her womb. Oh she loved it, even as she blacked out.

Hestoss led Yugil to a creek and allowed the dragon a drink before they got on the move again. His mount being blinded was damaging, but would not hinder the lieutenant's ability to lead the beast and fly.

He watched the white dragon fill its gullet with the filthy water and sighed. When he returned to the ranks they would kill the dragon. Hestoss cared little for that, what concerned him was his own inevitable demotion. The Church did not tolerate failure, especially from its dragon riders. He sighed and decided he would return to the capital in the morning, better, by far. Than continuing his chase of a man and dragon with nothing but a handicapped beast of his own.

He pursed his lips and snapped, “That's enough Yugil, let's fly."

The beast whined, but complied.

***

When Relan finished and realized Cinalu wasn't conscious, he panicked. He jumped up and ran about the dragoness, nudging her and calling her name before he noticed the look on her face: contentment.

Relan laughed and realized he just completed the roughest bout of sex in his life and ended it by making a mythical beast collapse and pass out. After all that, he was sure both of them would be satisfied for days to come.

He went to the stream, stripped off his shirt and washed it as best he could before he left it lying on a rock to bathe in the sun. He washed himself off next. When he got out of the stream he found he still reeked of the dragoness's cum. He sighed and lied next to her, he did not find it hard to fall asleep on her side.

***

Cinalu woke and groaned--gods her cunt was sore. She didn't want to think about sex for another decade. She opened her eyes and found light fading from the sky. She heard snoring and found Relan snoozing on her side, naked. She nuzzled him and he started awake.

“Hmm? What?"

“Just waking you, sleepy-head."

He yawned and stretched, he used the time to think of something appropriate to say.

“Oh don't worry, Relan. I'm fine, and that was the best sex of my life, and considering my age you should be proud of yourself."

Relan shook his head. “I'm not sure what came over me exactly."

Cinalu watched the river water and admitted. “That might've been my fault, when you started cleaning me my own desire flared."

“But, I don't know… after you admitted to me that you wanted to jump on me, I wanted to jump on you."

Cinalu felt her sex throb, she squirmed a little, but it still hurt too much. She shifted her weight to nudge the thief, he took the hint and stood. He went to a small boulder where he left his shirt to dry. Cinalu rose and watched him prod the garment before he threw it on and sniffed the collar.

“You will never get that smell off."

He shrugged and retrieved his other clothes. “That's fine, it doesn't smell as obvious as a regular woman, so I'll just tell people it is a perfume."

“Obvious?"

“Right, sorry, not putrid for you of course. But the smell and flavor of a woman's sex is, well… an acquired taste."

She narrowed her eyes, then snorted and headed to the stream.

“Oh come now Cina, don't be like that," he ran to her as she stepped into the chilled waters. Cinalu swept her tail into his legs and Relan stumbled with a curse. He fell into the water with her. Relan spluttered and got to his feet, coughing. The dragoness laughed at his expense.

“Now we are even."

He glared at her so she darted her head out and licked his cheek. He said, “Fine then, alright, alright." He grabbed her horn and brought her down and kissed her muzzle.

She nuzzled him in return. “Oh, I am so making sure you stay mine."

Relan chuckled and slogged out of the water. He asked, “And what is that supposed to mean?"

Cinalu faced him and shrugged her wings. “You carry my scent now, if another dragoness found out she would want you for herself. We are envious creatures by nature, and not picky with our mates."

Relan stared at her.

“I'm serious."

He coughed and shook his head. “So you're saying I'm at risk of getting kidnapped or something?"

“Well rape would be the better word—"

“What?"

“It would not be a violent thing, they would use their powers to force you. But that won't happen, because I'm going to be by your side every step in our journey."

He went to his pack and Cinalu sensed his thoughts.

“Just because I'm the first free dragon you've found doesn't mean we're extinct. If we travel another five miles down this trail we'll enter the territory of my neighbor, Eziely. She is a possessive one, if we move fast enough we may leave before she confronts us."

“Fantastic," Relan said. “Anything else I should know?"

“Just that you should get a fire going while I get some food for us."

“You're gonna leave me to go hunting?"

“Though I would enjoy it more, no. I'll just use my powers to bring some food to us."

***

The next day they pushed twelve miles. Relan knew when they entered the territory of that other dragoness because Cinalu became more tense.

When twilight came Cinalu stopped and said, “We should stop."

They stood in a clearing of aspens. West, farther off the trail he could hear a stream. Relan bent over and grabbed his knees, panting. We can push another mile. How far until we are out of her territory?

“Oh Relan, it is sweet of you to consider me, but you're about to fall over, and don't worry about Eziely. She won't discover us tonight or the next, and by then we will be away from her."

Relan straightened with a grunt and dropped his pack. He said, “Fine, but only because you insist."

She snorted and shook her head. “Of course, because I need the rest."

Relan grinned. He patted his waterskin. “I'm gonna fill this up and then get some firewood."

“Don't be too long."

“I won't."

The thief walked out the clearing and followed his ears to the water source. He sighed and thought about the next few days. He had to hand it to Cinalu, she was far more ambitious than Relan could imagine. The idea of ransoming off the Eye to the highest bidder between the Church and the Republic and then giving them a fake. Without her I could never pull it off.

Relan reached a small ravine cut by the stream. He scanned the best way down and then went digging his heels in the dirt and snatching branches for balance. As he filled his waterskin doubts began to sift in his mind.

She doesn't have the scope to fool everyone, though. Even she admitted that, but does she really think I can help get her into the heads of both factions leaders? We don't even know where to start—

“Start where, human?"

Relan flinched and dropped his waterskin. It drifted out of reach and Relan hopped into the stream, he stumbled to his knees, struggling before he managed to snatch it.

A cold laughter resonated in his skull. Relan rose and spun around, he scanned the whole ravine but found nothing.

“How amusing, that you wish to see me already. I am flattered."

Another feminine voice, this one invoked the image of an amethyst ring he stole at the age of twenty-two from a country manor. He balled his fist. “I'm not afraid of you, why don't you just come out?"

Truly told, the thief's legs shook.

A movement in the trees, Relan spun and saw the silhouette hop down into the stream. She landed ten paces from him in the water, her wings spread and her head held high.

“That supposed to impress me?"

The dragoness snorted and in the encroaching dark he could see the glare of her yellow eyes. Relan wished he had a lantern or torch, he strained to tell if her hide was the same color of that amethyst. Cut across her muzzle was a slash of silver that matched her horns, he saw it track down her throat and into her underside.

She sauntered around the stream bank and cut Relan off. She knew where Cinalu was, but how did she already—

“I was out hunting this afternoon when I noticed you two. I must admit, it intrigued me to see that bitch strutting about my territory with a human. Normally she would never be so bold, but now that I can smell her on you I think I understand. My neighbor can have lewd taste, it seems."

Relan held his ground and faced her. “What are you going to do?"

“Killing you would be far too easy a vengeance for her driving me out of my original lair."

Relan stepped back. He remembered Cinalu mentioning something about that, but he did not expect its previous resident to live so close.

“Oh yes, and she knew, she knew that cavern was my mother's before it became mine. She had no right."

Relan chewed his lip and watched her. “Well if you aren't killing me, what are you doing here?" Relan had an idea, but didn't want to think about it.

She snorted, Relan watched her tail whip sand into the air. “Why would I even need to reduce myself to such a thing?" She demanded, and like a serpent's strike she lunged. Relan gasped and his eyes widened as the dragoness's form obscured his view. He heard her take a deep breath and exhale on the back of his neck, she licked his throat and the thief shuddered.

“Does the idea excite you? If I took you here in this stream how hard would you really resist? Especially when I can already sense your erection, such a large human, it would be enjoyable to ride you…" she licked him again.

Relan grit his teeth and then shouted, “Cina!"

Eziely growled and knocked Relan on his back but stepped away.

“Back from him!" Cinalu's voice exploded in his head and Relan gasped. He heard the dragoness shriek and then leap up the slope. Relan pried his eyes open and saw Eziely glare at him one final time before she jumped into the air and the night.

Relan's skull throbbed. He heard Eziely's voice, a distant whisper, “I will have you, she can't stay by your side forever."

Another whip of psychic energy flailed his brain and Relan cried out, he heard the dragoness echo him in the air before her presence disappeared like a candle blown out. He heard a swoop of wings and groaned, Cinalu appeared above him and landed in the ravine. He felt her presence wrap around him and soothe the pain. She said, “I'm sorry that hurt so much. I did not attack your mind, but since hers was connected to yours some of her pain carried over. Believe me, she's feeling a lot worse. I knew she was there, I'm sorry I should've confronted her sooner."

Relan rose, his knees, wobbled and he plodded onto the bank and fell into the waiting dragoness, his hands still clutched the damn waterskin that caused all of this. Cinalu wrapped her wings around him and sat down, her muzzle nuzzled his back.

“I'm so sorry, Relan."

“Why did you wait?"

Cinalu froze. She said, “I wanted to make sure it was more than lust that drove you. I knew she could seduce you, but I wanted—I needed you to choose me over her."

Relan could feel her building worry at his lack of answer. He reached around her shoulder and rubbed her back. “I understand."

“Thank you for choosing me."

“Same. I really need to rest now Cina."

“We will sleep here then." And she lied down slowly, so Relan did not face any discomfort, and they slept nestled together.

***

Relan rested well considering his soaked clothes, dry throat, and empty stomach. When he woke in the morning all of those slapped the thief over the head. He woke Cinalu and discovered her needy as well, so for the first hour of light the two spent time gathering food and eating. By the time they finished they sat back in the campsite from the night before. Relan chewed the fat from a raccoon before he spat it into the dirt and said, “Last night Eziely told me something I found hard to believe."

Cinalu perked her wings. “What is that?"

Relan shrugged. “Just that you took that cavern from her, and that before her it was her mother's. Almost like you stole an inheritance, and earlier, when you lured those animals into the campsite and killed them, it reminded me of how you killed those men the day we met. Do you remember? You laughed."

He heard her dig her claws into the dirt and when he looked at her he found her gaze to the ground, wings drooped, the end of her tail swishing.

“I'm… I… I don't know Relan. I am a dragon, we have natural inclination to taking power, and what our power can do to others—I won't take back what I did to those men, I relished a chance at revenge, just as I still do in the near future. As for Eziely, I took her lair in a fair contest, I did not attack her in her sleep or anything so heinous. We have a history, Relan, that dates back to before and after that whole feud. We've sired clutches under the same male—" Relan almost gawked at that news, but he supposed it was no different than his daughter and any other bastards he might've unknowingly father. “And the day I took her cavern was no chance encounter. We were both in the middle of our heat and I seduced her, but before I began I made a bet with her that if I could sate her need she would leave me her home."

Relan's pulse sped up. Why was that so easy for him to imagine? He shook his head and asked, “Why would she ever to agree to that?"

Cinalu shrugged her wings. “It is hard to satisfy a female's heat without a male actually ejaculating into them, those weeks only come twice a year, but it's usually decades before a male arrives the same week. She did not believe I could, and even a temporary relief would be enjoyable."

Relan licked his lips. “So, how did you do it exactly?"

“You're getting aroused aren't you?" Cinalu asked and laughed at him. Relan glared at her. “Oh, it was a delicious little thing, and it was not just one sided. At one point I made her so weak of will that I forced her to eat me out before I returned my attentions to her."

Relan stood and clapped his hands together. “Hey Cina, is your backside feeling any better yet?"

“Unfortunately, no."

Relan groaned.

“But if I do you a service, you will return the favor, yes?"

“Oh absolutely, of course—I mean—why wouldn't I?"

He heard Cinalu's sweet giggle echo between his ears. “Then I will give you what you want. Close your eyes Relan, and I'll share this memory with you…"