Dragon Tamer

After taking a day to ponder all the things my brothers had taught me, I spent the rest of my time preparing for my trip. It mainly consisted of me sitting with Aunt Patricia at her house, on the other side of town, and going over my manners and how to behave like a lady so the king and queen didn’t think they were leaving their son in the hands of a savage. And while I didn’t consider myself that wild-looking, my hair could use a trim, my eyebrows a good plucking, and I could work on making my smile less snide. My appearance was going to throw them off enough as it was since they were expecting Tallinn, the least I could do was look like a respectable member of the Dricino family. I even graciously allowed my aunt to tailor a casual but pretty dress for dinner, under one condition: she didn’t tell my brothers about it.

Today was the day I set off for Histero. Unfortunately, since I was coming back with Prince Camden, I couldn’t take Elesor; we would have to make too many pit stops on the way back so she could rest. Marco would be my companion, one of the larger male dragons we had; he had done the journey twice already with Kaden and Giles, so he knew his way if I got us lost. . . which could happen. I was never one for maps and usually followed my instincts or markers. So don’t ask me for directions.

Even though she wasn’t coming, Elesor was beside Marco, brushing up against him like a cat, fluttering her wings flirtatiously. She wasn’t old enough to mate yet, but he was, and he was definitely one of the finer studs we had; I wasn’t surprised she’d taken a liking to him. In two years when she was old enough, I’d convince the breeders to put them together, I decided.

Dad slapped a hand on my shoulder, startling me. “You ready, kiddo?”

No.

“Obviously.” My brothers were here, I couldn’t show them how scared I was.

Sensing my nerves, Marco and Elesor lowered their muzzles to me and let me rub their faces. They hummed in harmony and closed their eyes. The song they sang eased me more than anything my family could have done.

Swallowing a lump of courage, I faced my brothers and grinned wildly at them. “Don’t burn the place down while I’m gone. It’s your fault if it does, Cas.”

Rolling his eyes, he pulled me into a brotherly hug so big it lifted me off the ground. “Take care of yourself, Kal,” he whispered in my ear before dropping me. “Paint the castle halls red for me, will you?” he added louder, less big brother and more trouble-maker.

Kaden came up for his hug, shoving Casper out of the way. “Remember what we talked about. . . it’s not often you get to run off unsupervised.” He winked at my flush and stepped away for Harry, who flicked lint off my shoulder.

He took in my attire. Thick leather jacket with a hood, and pants that had a skirt hanging off each hip to give me the appearance of wearing a skirt but the functionality of pants. He smiled. “I like this look on you. It has just enough femininity to flatter you, but also shows you’re not afraid to jump into a fight.”

“Hopefully she won’t have to do any fighting,” Dad remarked, also eyeing the skirt/pants Aunt Patricia had made for me. He no doubt will have a talk with her about making me look too much like a woman. I don’t think he even wanted to acknowledge that I had breasts--and big ones too.

Shaking his head, Giles came over and gently tapped the bag he gave me last week. “Remember, don’t sit on it and don’t drop it.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice, you idiot.” I was not getting blown up on my first time leaving the valley.

I looked around for my last brother, but Tallinn was nowhere to be seen. He was an asshole, but his absence left a notable hollow feeling in my chest.

Dad noticed my frown and chucked my chin. “He’ll get over it, Kal, just worry about yourself, hmm? Give this to King Krona for me.” He handed me a letter sealed with our family crest in blue wax. “It’ll explain to him why you’re there and not Tallinn and a few business things that’ll bore you.”

I kissed his bearded cheek then stepped away from them all, suddenly feeling the weight of this trip on my shoulders. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow afternoon.”

Being terrible at goodbyes, I quickly turned for Marco and climbed into his saddle. I brushed my fingers over his red scales, finding comfort in the familiar rough texture. He purred for a moment then turned his head to look at me for permission to take off.

I did a quick check to make sure I had everything, then gripped the handles and gave him the all clear. The dragon stepped back then thrust his wings once, twice, thrice, and then we were higher than most of the mountains in the valley. The tallest ones were too high for me to cross without passing out, so we followed the length of the valley for a short while until a shorter mountain came into view. I thought we were going to have to go all the way north to Thorn’s Forest to find a low mountain, but just when its gnarly vines were coming into view, Marco banked right for the mountain he was looking for. We flew through a cloud to leave the valley--then the cloud cleared.

My jaw dropped.

I’d always considered the valley a beautiful place, colourful and lively in the summer, haunting and mysterious in the winter, but I’d always found it cold and unwelcoming. Understandably so with the dangerous wildlife and a few uninhabitable mountains. The plains were absolutely stunning. A cloudless sky smiled over the green and yellow plateau. I could see the ocean and the marvelous blue it was from Marco’s back. It was so warm and I felt like the continent was welcoming me with lush, comly arms.

I held my arms out to my sides and let out a howl of excitement. This was it! My first time leaving the Randala Territory! My first time seeing the world everyone spoke highly of. Wow, oh, wow it was a beautiful, liberating place.

“I’m going to have to fly out here more often, Marco. You think Elesor will like it?”

His head bobbed more purposefully than it did to the rhythm of his wingbeats, a low rumble starting in his chest and moving up his throat to escape his lips. I took that as a “yes.” Any dragon would love to fly over the plains; they could spread their wings as wide as they want without fear of them being clipped by nearby mountains.

He glanced back at me for a second before lowering our altitude so we were only a hundred feet off the ground. His shadow followed a herd of centaurs as they galloped over the stretch of green, heading for the Walan River further ahead; they joined the unicorns and hippogriffs already drinking together. Several of their heads snapped up to the sky at the sight of our shadow; some ran, but after seeing we weren’t going in for prey, they found their way back to their herd and grazed beside the river.

Once we ran out of animals to follow, Marco lifted us to his original altitude. I rubbed his neck in thanks. It was amazing to see so much wildlife gathered together and not killing each other--it was every beast for itself in the valley--and it was even more amazing that dragons could see this part of the world whenever they wanted. I’d always envy them for their wings, but I would forever be thankful I was as close to having wings as any human in this world.

We flew for a few hours before villages came into view. Just as everyone said, they were barricaded in by tall, offensive walls. The people inside--from what I could see, anyway--appeared to be happy and unbothered by such a looming object. I, for one, was glad we had dragons to protect us so I wasn’t caged in like that.

The further east we flew, the larger and closer together the towns grew. They were all connected via a wide, study-looking road. A trade route for merchants to expand their sales to other cities. As the day progressed, the road got busier, until there were so many people on it at once it got congested and someone had to flag people to pass or wait their turn. It was insane!

It was the worst when we got to the biggest city of them all. Histero. The massive city came into view, the ocean glistening in all its glory behind it. I had half a mind to tell Marco to forget about the capital so we could explore the ocean, but I had an important appointment to make and Dad would be disappointed--an understatement, if you ask me--if we missed it.

Like all the other towns we’d flown over, Histero was surrounded by tall stone walls that spanned from the furthest farm to the cliff edge butting against the ocean. The city didn’t look as caged in and cramped as the others did, having several large farms and a bit of forest (which continued on beyond the wall, wrapping around quite a bit of the city’s boundaries) on the outskirts of town, then the buildings grew taller the deeper into the heart they got. Many houses of all sorts of shapes and sizes--though they seemed to get steadily larger the higher up they went--climbed up the hill. At the top of the hill, an elegant castle stood tall and proud against the ocean’s roaring beauty. Its sleek spires rose high, the stained glass shimmering in the sunlight. Just behind the castle, there was a patch of grass of which Marco was angling for.

Before we could get close to the castle, however, two dragons and their riders broke off from the cliff wall below the castle and met us in the sky. I couldn’t see their faces, but their jagged, scale-like armour was bulky and intimidating. Just in case, I dropped my hand to the hilt of my sword, buckled safely to Marco’s saddle.

“State your business and name!” one of them called. Just by his voice alone, I knew they weren’t any of the princes; his voice was too low and gravelly.

I peered at Marco to see what his thoughts on these men were; he hovered casually near them, eyes trailing from the yellow dragon to the blue one out of curiosity more than alarm, so I deemed they weren’t a threat, just protecting their castle.

“My name’s Kali Dricino and I’m here for Prince Camden for his Rite of Passage.”

They glanced at each other; I could barely see the scrutinizing look in their eyes when they turned to me.

The man cleared his throat. “We were under the impression Tallinn Dricino would be arriving today.”

“We had to make a last minute change. I have a letter from my father for the king. It’ll explain everything.” Thank the Gods Dad wrote a letter; they didn’t seem particularly pleased to have me here and I don’t think I’d be welcomed without the letter.

They exchanged another look.

Marco grunted at the dragons, of which they responded with their own grunts and hisses.

I knew they were Dragon Princes the instant the men lowered their gaze to their dragons as they spoke telepathically. If they weren’t the princes my brothers trained, they must be King Krona’s younger brothers; Dad had trained these men. They suddenly seemed more intimidating.

“Come with us,” the other man finally spoke, “we will sort this out on the ground.”

Marco followed the two dragons down to the patch of grass he’d originally aimed for. I slipped off his saddle and stretched my legs, relieved to finally be on the ground again. Flying was fun and always amazing, but flying all day was starting to cramp my legs and chafe them.

The men approached me, hands on the hilt of their swords. Pretending not to be bothered by such a cold welcome when my brothers had boasted about the Acker’s hospitality, I reached into my bag and fished the letter out for them.

The taller man snatched it out of my hand and flipped it over to inspect the seal. He pursed his lips then lifted his eyes to me while handing the letter to his brother. “I wasn’t aware Grant had a daughter. He had six sons: Casper, Kaden, Harry, Giles, Tallinn, and Kall.”

“Kal-ee,” I corrected him, “but my brothers call me Kal. It’s easy to miss the ‘i’ at the end, and depending on who’s writing, it can look like an ‘l’.” When they clearly didn’t care for my explanation, I added, “I am a Dricino. Grant Dricino is my father and you just listed all my brothers. Why is this a problem?” How hard was it to grasp that my father sent me instead of Tallinn? The princes had seemed smart when I met them, but maybe that didn’t translate over to their uncles.

The Dragon Prince called over a servant and handed them the letter, directing them to give it to King Krona immediately.

“You will remain here until told otherwise,” he ordered me then hurried inside, leaving his brother to babysit me.

Grumbling, I flicked my hood off and freed my hair from its ponytail. There was something especially soothing about having my hair free in the sea breeze. The salt and seaweed in the air smelt so fresh and different from the mineral and mist I was used to.

I leaned back against Marco’s shoulder and looked up to him. “I bet they threw a party when my brothers came here.”

The dragon puffed out black smoke, narrowing his green eyes on the man and two dragons with us. No, he wasn’t happy with how they were treating me either.

The man glared at Marco, then snapped his head to the blue dragon, who must be his Bonded partner. If I remember correctly, her name was Nemi.

She must be telling him off because he suddenly looked sheepish and wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“Uncle!” a new arrival called. He came storming out of the doorway the other man had gone through; his red cape billowed behind him as furiously as the look in his dark green eyes. A silver crown shone in the fading sunlight, somehow adding a spark of menace to his walk. “Don’t be rude to our guest,” he snapped once he was in front of us. “Young Kali is welcomed here, as is every member of the Dricino clan.” The prince smiled warmly at me and took me in head to toe. . . to chest. “Wow, you grew--up.” He scratched the back of his blonde head, removing his eyes from my breasts. “Do you remember me?” The hopefulness in his voice was hard to miss.

To be honest, every prince that stayed at my house looked very similar at twenty-one and none of them had a beard. Prince Alaric had tried to grow one during his stay, but it was a patchy, scraggly mess. This man’s beard was well groomed and patchless, reminding me of Casper’s. This man wore his beard much, much better than Casper did, though.

“Prince Eli? You look so. . . old.” Older than the twenty-eight he was now. It must be the beard. Men are always growing beards to look older. At least, my brothers definitely did, so why not the next king of Wala too?

He frowned a fraction at my remark. “And you look so womanly. Don’t want to play rough with your brothers anymore?” God, it was so weird to have a man I had met seven years ago tease me about my womanly features like my brothers did. A prince no less.

“Sorry, Prince, this is all for show. As soon as I get home, it’s all coming off.”

His eyes flashed mischievously. “Camden is a lucky man.”

I flushed, realizing what I might have implied. “I mean, I’ll still be wearing clothes,” I rushed to explain, “just the hand-me-downs from my brothers. Not this.” I gestured to my attire which I should apparently wear more often if I was going to get checked out this much.

Chuckling, he chucked my cheek. “Come on, Little Kali, I’ll show you around. I’ll have a servant take care of your things.”

I only took a step to follow him before I remembered Giles’ package. I hurried back to Marco and snatched the bag away before the servant could go near it; she glared at me, insulted that I didn’t trust her with my things.

Trust me, sweetheart, you do not want to be handling this bag.

With care and a sheepish gaze, I handed it to Prince Eli. “Giles wanted me to give this to you--and your brothers.”

He opened the bag curiously then grinned cheekily. “Excellent, we were running low. Thank you.”

He opened the door for me and watched carefully as I took in his home. A small smile flitted onto his face when I gaped at the luxurious carpet welcoming us inside. Tapestries draped over the stone walls, filling the castle with colour. For some reason, I always imagined castles being dark and dreary inside, but it appeared the Ackers tried very hard not to fall prey to that stereotype.

The further down the hallway we went, the more scents filled my nose. At first it was lavender, no doubt from the polish a servant was using on the furniture, then it became much more homely. Breads, stews, meat. . . the kitchen had to be nearby. My mouth watered at the mere thought of feasting like a queen tonight. Depending how tonight went, Kaden might have to step up his game. Of course I’d help by grabbing the recipes from the cooks.

“I hope you have an appetite,” Prince Eli said with a smile, noticing me sniffing out the food, “because whenever we have guests our chefs go overboard.”

“I rival a dragon’s appetite,” I warned him. “Also, I have to compete with five hungry boys all the time. If I don’t eat to my fullest, I’ll have to wait until my next meal to quell my stomach.”

“You’ll fit nicely here, Kali. Dinner won’t be for another two hours, however. Would you like to see my brothers in the meantime?”

“I’d love to.” If Prince Eli looked this different, I was curious to see how the others were faring.

We found a large staircase which took us to the second floor or down to the. . . dungeon? Whatever castles had beneath the main floors. Well, I was about to find out, Prince Eli was leading me straight down two flights.

It was a little darker down here, having less natural lighting guiding us. Torches lit our way instead, showing off the rugged walls of a cave rather than the stone that was above. I slowed my pace, wondering if he was leading me to the dungeon.

He laughed, slipping his arm behind my back to keep me moving. “Do not fear, Kali, I believe you will appreciate where I am taking you. Your brothers did.”

“Okaaay, but if it’s a brothel, I’ll tell you right now, I’m not as like my brothers as you think I am.”

That only made him laugh harder. We had to stop so he could take a moment to compose himself. His mirth was so loud and booming, it bounced off the walls and alerted others to our presence.

One by one, the Acker princes emerged from a room just a little ways down the hall. Unlike Prince Eli, they were not wearing formal attire--or much at all. Prince Liam was shirtless with loose fitting pants that hung low on his hips. As far as views were concerned, I definitely wouldn’t be complaining about the six pack he flaunted to anyone. My brothers were the only men I’d ever seen naked, so before I hadn’t found a man’s naked body that attractive, but now I was starting to understand why women asked about my brothers all the time. I’d been cruel to not reveal any details.

I swallowed a lump in my throat when I realised they were all half-naked and broad chested. I don’t think my father had this in mind when he sent me to the castle full of respectable princes.

“Brother!” Prince Liam boomed, skipping to our side. “You left to greet Tallinn and come back with a girl--can’t say I’ll complain too much about it.” He winked at me, which somehow made his half-nakedness worse, and my flush deepened.

Prince Eli slapped his arm. “Liam, this is Kali Dricino.”

His eyes bugged and he looked me over again, a pleasant surprise spreading across his features. “Little Kali? Last time I saw you, you were taming dragonlings and kicking your brothers’ asses. What are you doing now?”

“Same. . . and now I’m to go through the Rite of Passage with Prince Camden.”

“What?” the only prince I didn’t recognise outraged. He crossed his arms over his particularly toned chest, green eyes piercing. Despite him being the youngest, he was the second tallest in the family, coming right behind Prince Eli himself. “Where’s Tallinn?”

They were all equally eager to hear about Tallinn and stepped closer to me. I tell you, having four very hot, bare-chested guys crowd you was very overwhelming and I was this close to having a heart attack.

I swallowed again, biting back any childish squeaks and squeals wanting to escape my mouth. “I’m not sure how much my father wants me to divulge, but Tallinn is being punished, so he will not be helping Prince Camden.”

“I didn’t know you were training to be a guide,” Prince Alaric said curiously,

I winced.

“I, uh, I wasn’t,” I confessed, rubbing the back of my head and hoping they’d go back to checking me out instead of glaring like Prince Camden was. “My brothers gave me a crash course last week.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Prince Camden snarled, shaking his head furiously.

“Tallinn said the same thing.” The joke was meant to lighten the mood, but it appeared to only induce his rage. He paced, holding his head in his hands.

“This is completely unacceptable. How can Grant do this to me? How the hell am I supposed to be a Dragon Prince if you don’t know how to guide me? What made him think pairing me with a woman would be a good idea?”

“Hey, buddy, you got your work cut out for you. I’m the best dragon tamer in the family-”

He snorted then laughed, a short, curt sound that made me wince again. “You are definitely not the best dragon tamer. We all know it’s Casper. If I can’t have Tallinn, I want him to guide me.”

Okay buddy. The world isn’t ending.

“Well, too bad. You’re stuck with me, you ungrateful spoiled brat.” He could be the Dragon King--no one talked that way to me. “You can take it or I can leave right now and you can forget about Bonding with a dragon.”

His glare twisted into something cruel and demeaning, storming right up to me. I put my hands on my hips and faced him head on. Harry was completely right. If I could tame Zellar, I could handle Little Cammy.

“Who do you think you are to deny me my rite? Know your place, you boorish woman.”

My rage had a bad habit of taking over. Now was one of those times. I rammed my knee into his groin.