Dragon Tamer

BONUS CHAPTER

Camden

Since I was old enough to wield a sword, I had gone through rigorous training to push my body to its limits. The title Dragon Prince demanded it.  My kingdom demanded it. Without our dragons and the magic my family possessed, our people were open to the monsters that threatened Wala daily. My family protected these lands for centuries. It was now supposed to be my turn to protect and serve.

Fat load of good I was doing right now.

While Kali risked her life, dragging me into unknown dragon territory, quite possibly the most dangerous territory in the world, I lay helpless, hindered by the agony that held me in its clutches. The pain was unbearable. The frustration of being unable to do the job I was born to do, crippling. Every time Kali or Zellar jostled me in their travels, my bones felt like they were moments away from shattering. It was all I could do to hold back a cry of agony. Sometimes even that wasn't enough.

In all honesty, I was ready to give in to the pain, the roiling heat threatening to melt my flesh from my bones. It had been a good run. Kali had shown me a different side to the world I grew up in, a side with a different kind of magic. Watching her work with dragons was truly the most incredible thing I had ever witnessed. And humbling. Having been surrounded my dragons my entire life, I thought I knew all there was to them. I was wrong. Dragons were so much more than tamable beasts, a source of power. They hurt just like we did. They loved as fiercely as we did. They were more loyal than any man. I didn't deserve to be a Dragon Prince.

But I held on. For Kali. She promised she'd found a way to cure me. She refused to give up on me, despite how I had belittled and disrespected her in the beginning of my Rite of Passage. Even when my deplorable actions weighed heavy on my mind, she had long since forgotten them and had become one of the closest friends I ever had. If she thought I was worthy enough to fight for, I would fight this sickness to stay alive. I would do anything for her, endure all the pain and suffering in the realm, if it meant I had one more chance to tell her how much she meant to me. 

I tried to stay awake, to endure her hardships with her, but when the agony reached its peak, the only way to remain sane was to lose myself to the darkness. Every time I woke up, I was in a different place or position, on the cold, hard floor of a cave, or surrounded by Kali's arms in Zellar's saddle. Despite the burden they carried, they travelled quickly, crossing lands I hadn't even dreamt of seeing. Maybe one day, once she found this cure, we could see the world together, see places neither of us had seen before. The thought eased the pain ripping through my body. Many times, if the fever let me, I dreamt of a time where Kali and I flew together, of her upon my back and the wind beneath my wings. They were a safe haven. The pain couldn't follow me there. In fact, I had never felt more free than when I envisioned becoming the extraordinary creature I had grown to admire during my time in the Randala Valley.

At some point, my dreams turned into nightmares. The freedom I had taken joy in was ripped away from me. I was suddenly trapped in a body that didn't feel like my own. My own skin was foreign, thick and rough. Even my own mind was unfamiliar, taking on a more bestial form against my will. It was during these terrifying moments of darkness when I craved nothing more than blood and flesh. I wanted to feel bones crunch between my teeth and the copper tang of my prey in my mouth. Whenever I caught Kali's sweet lavender scent, my whole body felt as if it had been set aflame with a savage desire. This wasn't a new feeling; Kali had grown on me far more than I had anticipated and I often found myself enamored by everything she did. What was new was how I wanted to act on it. There was nothing loving about the way I envisioned holding her. It was purely possessive. A desire to claim and dominate her body and soul.