Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 101427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Her gaze rose to the jeweled walls, trailing upward for what must have been hundreds of feet. There were no windows or doors on the walls. Just rough, curved stone glinting with embedded rubies, diamonds, sapphires, pearls, etc.
And high, high above, where the walls narrowed to a jagged circle, there was an opening.
A hole in the sky.
The entrance.
Possibly. . .the only way in or out.
Perfect for a massive creature that could fly.
We’re in. . .some sort of. . .carved out. . .mountain? And Korin flew us in here.
Meanwhile, the glittering treasure all around wasn’t what made her body tremble. It wasn’t even the fact that she couldn’t see any windows or doors to get her to freedom.
It was the loud sound vibrating around her.
The snoring.
Deep.
Slow.
Steady.
Snoring.
Each inhale and exhale was a rolling tide of rumbling heat.
The space pulsed with it.
And against her back? She didn’t feel fur or treasure. All she could feel was smooth, warm scales.
He’s. . .right. . .behind me. . .
Her heart stopped for a second before booming back to a frantic rhythm.
She turned her head slowly as terror clawed up her throat.
Korin.
He lay beside her. A sleeping beast. His massive body was coiled protectively around her. His golden-black scales shimmered. Korin’s eyes were closed and his wings were tucked behind him. His chest rose and fell with that deep, rhythmic breathing while his nostrils flared gently with each exhale, releasing soft heat into the air and that loud explosive snoring. His body stretched longer than a castle wall. His tail curled around a mountain of gold.
Even asleep, threatening power radiated from him.
Dear God.
A whimper escaped her throat before she could catch it. She slapped a hand over her mouth.
Don’t wake him.
She moved back barely a breath’s worth of motion.
And his wing moved with her.
How did he feel me inch away?
In between his snoring, the wing lifted and folded over her body, cloaking her in darkness. The leathery underside brushed her bare skin with a deceptive gentleness that sent her heart racing.
She looked around at the treasure and then at him.
Am I his prisoner? Or am I his prize?
She trembled.
Another snore rumbled from his huge body.
Sol gulped down terror.
Every nerve in her body flared as she began to inch backward, slowly, carefully. She slid one leg from beneath the leathery wing. Then another. Her skin met the soft animal pelts again—warm, luxurious, almost obscene in their comfort. Inch by inch, she moved, until the edge of his wing lifted on its own, reacting to her escape like a living, instinctual shield.
And thank God, this time that wing didn’t resist.
Instead, it let her go.
Alright. So close.
Only when she was fully free did she dare exhale.
Trembling, she reached for the thickest pelt she could find—a heavy black bear hide—and wrapped it around her naked body.
I have to find a way out of here.
She clutched the fur tighter to her. When she rose to her feet, the coins beneath her shifted and clanked.
She froze, praying that didn’t wake him.
Another loud, thunderous snore left Korin’s massive body.
Okay. He is still sleeping.
Watching him, she backed away until there was at least seven feet of space between her and Korin.
Then and only then did she turn around and tiptoe forward.
One step.
Two.
Three and four.
Five and six.
Treasure slipped along her bare feet.
Gold and silver.
Diamonds and pearls.
There must be another way to get out.
She continued forward and scanned the mountainous cavern again, seeing those impossibly high walls curved and embedded with rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and others stones she couldn’t name.
Could there be a hidden corridor behind a hill of gold? Or. . .maybe there is a crack in the walls that I can slip out. Please let it be.
For several minutes, she tiptoed away, moving slowly, winding through the dunes of treasure, and being careful not to disturb the skeletal crown balanced atop the blackened skull of a long-dead king.
I can find a way out. I know it.
Then. . .she realized something terrifying.
Hold on. . .
Sol stopped mid-step and remained still.
No more snoring. It’s. . .quiet. . .
The silence was sudden and complete, so unnatural it hollowed the air itself. No thunderous exhale. No warm gusts of air across the coins.
Only stillness.
Terrible, absolute stillness.
Her muscles locked.
Every instinct screamed to run.
No. No. No.
She slowly placed her foot on the ground and then turned her head. Afraid to look, but terrified not to.
And then. . .she saw him.
Korin.
The dragon hadn’t moved at all. He remained coiled beside the pile of furs, but his eyes were open and that golden gaze had targeted her.
Oh no.
Chapter twelve
The Dragon’s Truth
Sol
Sol took a step back.
Then another.
The bear pelt clung to her, but it felt useless now, like a scrap of cloth wrapped around a breaking dam. Her heart was thundering so loud it blurred her vision.
Korin’s eyes—those gold suns of fury and hunger—remained locked on her, unmoving and all-consuming.