To Love a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts

1

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the boughs overhead thrashed in the strengthening wind. The small hairs on Leyloni’s arms stood on end. Any hope she might have held that the storm would change directions was gone. The dread she’d harbored for three days took on new weight, sinking deeper into her belly. Such a storm would’ve been punishing even if she were on her own, but she had one-year-old Serek to protect now. His cries were piercing even over the howling wind.

Leyloni willed her legs to move faster. Her muscles burned, her breaths were ragged, and her throat was raw and dry. She was beyond exhausted, but she could not stop, would not stop. Not yet. Not when—

Her foot snagged on a root.

Gasping, Leyloni clutched Serek to her chest with one arm and threw the other out, battling to catch her balance through several stumbling steps. Her momentum carried her onto a patch of bare rock. The impact of her feet slamming on stone rattled Leyloni down to her bones and made Serek’s cries shriller.

When she finally came to a halt—thankfully still standing upright—she pressed her face into his hair and squeezed her eyes shut. “Shhh. We must be quiet, Serek. Please.”

He squirmed, loosening the blanket she’d wrapped him in, and cried even louder than before.

Tears pricked Leyloni’s eyes. Images raced through her mind—flashes of fire, blood, and lifeless stares. She clenched her teeth and squeezed Serek’s blanket in her fist.

No! Now is not the time to remember, not the time to mourn.

They needed shelter, a place to hide and rest, a place to be safe, if only for a short while. They could not risk staying in one place for long; there was too great a chance that they were being followed. But with this storm coming…

She opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings. The towering trees, lush undergrowth, and moss-covered rocks around her were being slowly shrouded by deepening gloom. Even on a clear day, it was difficult to see far within the Endless Forest. The storm was only making it harder. The greenery that normally seemed so familiar and soothing had taken on an ominous air. Normally, it would have stood in contrast to the death and destruction she’d left behind her, but now it only served to remind her of it.

Lightning flashed, and deep, rolling thunder followed soon after, shaking the ground and making Serek start. His cries fell silent for a moment before resuming with renewed vigor. Leyloni slung his blanket over her shoulder and held him just a little closer.

“Shhh. It is okay, little one. I am here. I will not let any harm befall you,” she soothed, bouncing him gently and stroking his back. She moved a hand to his bottom, meaning to lift him higher, only to find his diaper cloth soaking wet.

Leyloni cringed and whispered, “I am so, so sorry.”

She turned toward the stream she had seen earlier, carefully picking a path over fallen, rotting tree limbs and mossy rocks. The wind rustled the undergrowth around her and made her skirt and hair flutter. It carried the scent of rain.

Fortunately, the stream’s course didn’t deviate wildly from the last point at which she’d glimpsed it, and she soon arrived at its bank. Even this close, the stream was barely audible over the wind and thrashing vegetation.

She knelt beside the water, which flowed down a gentle slope over numerous dark rocks, and carefully laid Serek down atop his blanket on the soft layer of fallen leaves carpeting the ground. Her fingers felt clumsy and numb as she removed his soiled diaper cloth, unable to match the urgency that had her mind racing. Every moment was precious; she couldn’t waste any time.

If only she had helped care for the tribe’s children more often. If only she had paid more attention.

She swung her satchel to her front, opened it, and pulled out one of the spare diaper cloths she’d cut from her skirt two days before. Serek rolled onto his belly and began crawling away from her as she unfolded the cloth.

“You cannot just wander off, Serek.” Setting the diaper cloth on the blanket, Leyloni caught the baby, flipped him over, and gently laid him on his back again. “It is too dangerous for one as little as you. I am taking care of you.”

But Serek continued to cry despite her reassurances. His face was red, his eyes watery, his nose dripping with snot.

Leyloni frowned. She used a corner of the clean diaper cloth