Kiss of Flame (The Dragon's Virgin Tribute) by Madelene Martin Read Free Book Online Page B

aware she was quietly whimpering. All she could do was close her eyes as the long tongue tasted her. She could feel its hot breath surrounding her, as though ready to engulf her in flames any second.
    But suddenly, the dragon huffed out a breath and got to its huge haunches. With one claw, it snapped the rope that held her up.
    Lily collapsed down to her knees, her ankles still trapped at the foot of the stake. She shook with fear, and the muscles of her arms ached with fatigue. She could barely support herself.
    She felt the ropes on her ankles pull and twist. It's going to carry me off to eat me, then. She thought. As soon as the ropes snapped and she felt herself come free, instinct took over. She leapt to her feet and began to run as fast as she could.
    Picking her skirt up, she tore over the ground, dodging debris and stumbling here and there. The breath tore out of her lungs in choking sobs. She knew she had no hope of escape. At most, the dragon was letting her run so it could chase her for sport. But she had to try.
    Lily kept running, not daring to look back. Sure enough, after a minute, the wind picked up, and blasted her as the great beast swooped down from the sky. She cried out in terror and fell to the ground, curling up and covering her head with her arms.
    She felt its claws on her, and braced herself for the pain. But the dragon was surprisingly dextrous. It wrapped its huge scaly toes around the girl, scooping her up off the ground and cradling her in its claws. Then it took off up into the sky.
    The wind whipped past her ears, tearing her screams from her throat. After a minute she gave up on yelling – it was futile. When she had worked up the courage, Lily opened her eyes and peered out from between the dragon's claws. They were high up in the air. Very high. She watched the land skim by, far below. She saw burned fields and villages, deserted towns, and a stream of people on the roads. The castle that had been her home was visible far off in the distance.
    The dragon wheeled and climbed gracefully, holding the girl in its cage of claws. Quite dizzy and terrified, Lily curled up and wrapped her arms around her legs, despairing.
     
    ....
     
     
    She must have dozed – or passed out. Suddenly she was jolted awake. They were inside a huge cavern. It was open to the sky – where the dragon had entered – but deep, and dry.
    The beast deposited her gently on the stone floor, flapping its huge wings and flying off. Lily stood on shaking legs and looked around, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering in the cool air. The cave was lit by flaming torches along the walls. There were multiple exits to small passageways or rooms. Aside from that, it was too dim to make out much.
    She wondered if this dragon had a treasure hoard like the ones in her stories. Then she vaguely thought: who maintained the torches?
    The dragon suddenly alighted behind her. She whirled, just as it folded its wings. It looked at her eerily as she stood, trembling and trying to cover herself.
    "Why did you bring me here?" She yelled, edging on hysteria. "If you're going to eat me, just get it over with!"
    The dragon lowered its head and hissed, steam rising from its jaws. Then it began to slowly stalk toward her, walking faster and faster. As it reached the girl it opened its mouth, snapping its long sharp teeth in front of her face. Lily closed her eyes tightly, waiting for death.
    It swiped at her, bowling her over with one huge paw. Somehow she was unscratched, but pinned to the ground. She sobbed, tears running in rivers onto the hard stone. But she couldn't look away.
    The beast sniffed at her, its giant snout nuzzling at her body. She could feel the heat of its scales and steamy breath through her thin dress. There was intelligence in its eyes, deep and red and flickering with reflected torchlight. Perversely, she wanted to reach out and touch it, to feel its smooth scales. But she was too frightened.
    Its tongue snaked