To Love a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,20

of it. I will share in your burden.”

As she studied him again, she could not help wondering what it would feel like to lean against him, to be wrapped up in his body, to be cocooned by his heat. He wasn’t far from her, and his draconic body seemed to take up so much space within the cavern, but Leyloni couldn’t shake her loneliness. She needed the reassurance of physical contact.

Leyloni took in a deep breath. The words were raw, painful, but once she began speaking, she could not stop. “We had always known of the Bone Wraiths, had always heard stories, but we thought ourselves safe. We thought ourselves strong enough to defend against them. The skirmishes we had with them in the past had seen us victorious. Our valor and skill had always been able to overcome their savagery.

“Our home was secure and defensible. Our scouts were vigilant. The Moss Tribe was strong. But the Bone Wraiths came in the dead of night, and they struck with such stealth and precision that we did not know what was happening until they were already upon us.”

“The Bone Wraiths…they are another tribe of humans?” Arysteon asked, brow ridges low.

“They are no longer human, they are monsters,” Leyloni bit out. “They pillage and raid other tribes, stealing and raping males, feasting on human flesh, and wear the bones of their fallen foes like armor. Their blood has been corrupted by greed.”

Arysteon grunted, nostrils flaring. “Humans and dragons alike are capable of great cruelty. Many of my lost clanmates were killed by other dragons…but I cannot imagine the pain I would have felt to have lost them all in a single night.”

Leyloni shook her head. “The Wraiths took everything that night. Everything…except Serek. Our tribe rallied as best we could once we knew what was happening, but so many had already been slain, and the fires were spreading quickly. I was fighting alongside my sisters when we heard a cry from one of the huts. I raced inside to find Serek crying and his mother, Atalla, lifeless on the floor with one of the Wraiths standing over her.

“Atalla had been my closest friend since we were babes. I avenged her”—Leyloni could almost feel the warm blood spattering her skin again, could almost feel the fury that had blazed in her veins—“and gathered Serek, but when I emerged from the hut, it was clear that we had lost. The village was aflame, the trees were burning, and so many were dead or gravely wounded. Only a small group of defenders remained alive. My father, Havil, was amongst them.

“My father… He was unable to sire more children after an accident, and, not wanting to be a burden to our people, insisted he work, hunt, and fight alongside myself and the other huntresses. With males being so rare, tradition demands they do not place themselves at such risk, but we could not argue with him. He was the only male warrior our tribe has ever known. And he was there that night, fighting alongside our tribe sisters. I would have fought to the end with my sisters, with him—for he would not allow the Bone Wraiths to take him alive—but when he saw Serek in my arms he commanded me away.”

She turned her head and looked at the baby. He slumbered on his back with his face turned toward her, dark lashes fanning across the tops of his cheeks, lips parted. So sweet and innocent.

“Serek had become the only hope for our people,” she continued. “My father said saving Serek was more important than anything else. He told me to go to the Snow Tree tribe, told me how to find their village, and shoved me away.”

Leyloni faced Arysteon again, lifting her hand to brush away a fresh wave of tears. “I did not want to go, did not want to leave them to their fates. I am a huntress, a warrior…but I knew it was my duty to save Serek. I retrieved my satchel from my hut and ran. As I fled, my eyes stinging with smoke and Serek’s cries filling my ears, I looked back to see my father…to see him fighting the Bone Wraiths, matching their ferocity, surpassing it.

“He knew I was still there, watching, torn. He met my eyes for an instant before he turned his knife on himself. He could provide us no more time, lest he be taken and suffer a far worse fate.” She squeezed her eyes shut,