Dragon’s Breath

Flavius

I wake up to the bird's song outside my window and the smell of fresh dew in the air. Sitting up, I stretch my aching muscles, getting myself ready to leave. Today I'm going to face Ellie, I will not hide again. I can only imagine how she must have felt when I didn't show yesterday morning.

Leaving my house, I stare up and watch for a moment as the black of night begins to fade into the light of day. This light, the light of another new start. I walk through the city and into the woods, my boots sloshing in the mud.

Reaching the small lake, I take a moment to wash in the water.

Moments later, a large gust of wind causes my hair to fly around my face. Ellie must be here, I think, as a smile crawls up my lips. I hear something thump loudly in the direction of the forest, but before I can turn to see what it is I'm suddenly splashed with ice-cold water. I wipe the water from my face, catching a glimpse of Ellie's long black tail just as it's going underwater.

Standing, I shake some of the water from my body. Ellie fazes and begins to swim towards me. She climbs out of the water, just feet from me, holding a bag. After looking over her, I can't help but look away. She's naked, and I have no idea how to react. I feel my face heat up as I look over her slim ivory body, and large pale bosom. Her body is fit and toned, looking as if she had been molded from clay by a master craftsmen. I turn away from her.

"Hey," she whispers lowly, a gentle smile creeping up her lips.

"Hey," I say in a low voice, my eyes cast down unwilling to look at her.

"You should really put some clothes on, Ellie," I mumble.

We've just started this relationship of ours, if you can even call it that, I wasn't expecting to see her like this so soon.

"Why does it bother you? It is quite common for dragons to be nude after shifting. Nudity is a way of life for us," she snickers, stepping closer to me.

But before she can get too close, a man dressed in only a pair of black leather pants, with bright green hair and a large scar running down his jaw and shoulder, yanks her back.

"Don't be rude Nora," he says sternly.

"Who's that?" I question, pointing at the man, my eyes ablaze with confusion.

"Well, Flavius, this is Soren," Ellie says with a wide smile, patting the man on the shoulder.

What on earth is he doing here?

Soren steps forward placing a fist over his heart and bows.

"Hello, I am the commander and chief of the Perilous hordes army, Soren Baine. My apologies for Nora's behavior. She gets excited. You must be Flavius, her mate; she's told me all about you," he says formally.

For some unknown reason, every word that spills from his mouth irks me. He's standing here acting as if I know nothing about Ellie. Who exactly is this man to her?

"All good things I hope," I say gruffly through clenched teeth.

Ellie laughs while jumping into a pair of brown leather pants, "You should know I only say good things about you."

She smiles, winking at the end, and I can't help but chuckle. Her laughter helps to calm my nerves.

Once Ellie gets dressed, she walks over to me and looks up into my eyes. Her violet orbs are dancing with the morning light. She keeps looking at me, as if thinking, then casts her eyes down.

"Actually, I was hoping we could talk about something important." As her silvery words reach my ears, her body tenses.

Seeing her uneasy fills me with dread. What could she possibly want to talk about?

"I hope I'm not asking this too soon, but I was hoping that when things settled down here in the capital, you'd be willing to return to my horde with me," she speaks shyly, worry coating every word.

Her words cause an explosion in my brain, the good sort, the type that carries more possibilities than I was ever conscious of. There are hundreds of ideas there in that buzz of electricity. This was a calling card of adventure, my adventure with her and the path that lays ahead. Whatever's ahead will be a great challenge, but if I'm with her, that's a risk I'm willing to take.

"You want me to come with you?" I asks surprised.

Her eyes meet mine. With a large smile and nods her head.

"Nora, what the hell are you saying! You can't bring him back with us, not yet at least," the green haired man, Soren, suddenly yells. His voice echoes so loud birds come flying off near by trees.

Why does he have such a problem with me, why does he care if I go with her?

"That's not your call to make, Soren. He's my mate and if he wants to go back to the horde with me he can." Ellie snaps fiercely at Soren.

She stares up at him, her eyes narrowed into slits, face twisted up into a scowl. He's pissed her off, and I can't help but be happy about it. This Soren guy has no right to tell me and Ellie what to do.

"How are we supposed to regain control of the horde if we bring this weak human with us?" Soren sneers.

I clench my teeth at his words. I might not be as skilled in fighting as him but I am most certainly not weak.

"That's part of the reason I brought you here, Soren. I want you to train him. If that's alright?" She says look at me.

Though I would love to learn to fight, do I really have to learn from this guy? Neither of us seem interested in spending that much time together.

"Learning to fight will be good for handling future matters, but why can't you teach me, Ellie?" I question.

Soren rumbles with laughter from beside Ellie.

"She's not going to be able teach you to fight, she's going be too busy with planning the wedding," he explains.

The thought of Ellie's 'wedding' makes my stomach burn and my heart tug in my chest. I take a deep breath calming myself down. I just need to do what I can for her I don't want her to do more than she can handle. Her stress is already at an all time high.

"Soren, please teach Flavius how to fight. If we're to return to the horde I'd feel better if he could protect himself," Ellie pleads.

"Fine," Soren sighs out.

"Thank you," Ellie says.

We all go silent for a moment. I watch Ellie as she seems to be deep in thought. Her heads tilted back and she's staring at the sky with a serene look. Then suddenly her eyes go wide and her head snaps to me.

"I have to get going, I have wedding stuff that I have to attend to in the afternoon, and there are some things that I must do before then that I had forgotten about," Ellie says with a sheepish grin rubbing the back of her head.

It feels like she just got here but she already must go. We still have so much to talk about and I still haven't gotten the chance to apologize for yesterday. Walking up to me, Ellie pulls me into a swift kiss.

"You two get acquainted, I'll be off," she says.

I watch as Ellie changes out of her clothes and for the first time I witness her fazing into dragon form. Her body is engulfed in a deep violet fog and out from the cloud fog sleek black wings burst forth. Her shift lasts mere seconds before she flies off into the morning light until I can no longer see her.

Soren turns towards me his arms crossed over his chest.

"We'll start your training tomorrow after you're done visiting with Nora," Soren tells me.

"Alright," I agree.

"You'd better prepare yourself. I'll train you so hard, you'll wish you were dead," he says intimidatingly.

Looking into his stern blue eyes, I know he's telling the truth, but I'm almost certain I can handle it. I'll show him that I'm more than just some human. I'll prove to him and everyone that I am worthy of Ellie.

"No matter how hard you work me, I'll keep coming back until I can stand on the same ground as Ellie," I declare.

A small smile grazes Soren's lips.

"I hope you stick to that," he pauses, looking up at the sky, unsure of what else to say. "Well, I had best get going. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, tomorrow then," I agree with a nod.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter don’t forget to like and comment.- Ray