Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Kora's eyes flew open as she sucked much-needed air into her starved lungs, and her heart began to beat once more. She hated this part. She was disoriented and sore. She sat up, anxiously looking around in the fading light to make sure she was alone.

She was always grateful when no one else was around. She swallowed and grimaced at her ruined clothes. The blood on the tunic had dried, and the material now stuck to her skin. She needed her other set of clothes and a bath. Kora looked up and stilled at the view before her. How had she gotten to the top of the mountain?

There would be time to answer that later. Right now, she had to leave. She swung her legs over the side of the long, flat stone and jumped to the ground. Her legs were wobbly, but she quickly got them under her and found a game trail heading down. The path was narrow and dangerous. She slipped twice but managed to catch herself.

The moment she came off the slope, she started to run to where she had left her coat. The sight of the blackened skeletal remains brought her up short. Her stomach tightened with alarm as she slowly looked to the right, where mist shrouded a band of trees lurking in the growing shadows. The expanse behind the tree line looked even more foreboding and unsettling.

She told her feet to move. She even took a step forward. Until she looked down and saw the pool of blood near the trees. That was where she had stood when she fought the soldiers. Her gaze slid to the burned bodies again. The air whooshed from her lungs. She hadn't dreamed the dragon as she lay dying. It had stood over her, looking down at her with fiery red eyes. There was a dragon.

Kora started running and didn't look back. She cut back to where she had left her coat and bent to swipe it up without breaking her stride. She thought she heard the beat of wings at least a dozen times, but there was nothing when she looked behind or above her. Still , she didn't stop until she reached the ruins of the home she had taken up residence in.

She burst into the cottage and slammed the door so hard that it fell off its last hinge. She propped it against the wall and stumbled backward, her heart in her throat. She had unknowingly walked into a dragon's den. She knew better than to blindly enter an area. Yet that's exactly what she had done to get back at the soldiers.

Her knees buckled. She dropped to the rickety floor and covered her face with her hands. Images of the dragon filled her mind—pictures she had believed were conjured from her subconscious because she feared them so. It had emerged from the fog and stood over her. She had felt the heat of its breath, saw the smoke curling from its nostrils. The huge teeth.

She didn't know how or why it hadn't burned her with the soldiers, but she had been given a second chance. One she wasn't about to blithely disregard. She had to pull herself together. She needed to think, plan.

" Stop being reckless, Kora ."

She squeezed her eyes closed at Kayden's voice in her head. Her brother was right. She had nearly died before going after Villette . She couldn't let the soldiers irritate her again. She had to think several moves ahead. They were predictable. And today, she had fallen into the same trap.

" Not again," she vowed aloud.

First , she needed to clean up. The sooner she got out of the ruined clothes, the better. Kora sat on her haunches and looked at the blanket she had spread on the floor next to the bag with her meager belongings. She rose and grabbed her only other set of clothes before walking from the house to the lake. She stripped and set her ruined clothing in the shallows to soak before wading in. The water was frigid, but she didn't have the luxury of a tub to heat water.

She was shivering by the time she emerged after washing her body and hair. Before dressing, she knelt at the shore and scrubbed her clothes until she had gotten all the blood she could from them. Only then did she dress in her spare attire and make her way back to the hut. She built a fire inside and set out her clothes to dry while combing through her tangled hair. When she couldn't bear her growling stomach another moment, she ate the last half of an oatcake and went to bed.

But there was no sleep to be found. Whenever she closed her eyes, she pictured the dragon's head materializing from the swamp and the soldiers' bodies. Maybe the dragon hadn't burned her because she was already dying. Why bother if she didn't pose a threat? Then again, humans didn't generally pose a threat to dragons.

She might be able to explain why she hadn't felt the heat of dragon fire, but she couldn't explain how she'd gotten to the top of the mountain. It hadn't been one of the soldiers. She had counted five bodies. Perhaps a nearby villager had taken pity on her. As soon as that thought came, she wrinkled her nose. No one would be stupid enough to go near a place where a dragon was. Which meant she still had no idea who took her.

Kora tossed and turned throughout the night and finally gave up near dawn. She put on her boots and walked outside. Some berries helped take the edge off her hunger, but she would need something more substantial. She looked northwest, toward a settlement she knew was there. She had a few coins left. That might get her enough food for the day, but she would have to earn more soon. She couldn't make her way into Stonemore empty-handed.

She could hunt—and would have to eventually—but she wanted to know more about the area. A lot had changed in the time she had been gone. How much of the land had the dragons taken? She would keep clear of the beast at all costs.

When she was dying, she had seen its red eyes, not its scales. So , she didn't know if it was the dragon that had killed the last of her family. Not that it mattered. All dragons were her enemies.

The sky was turning a soft gray as dawn approached. Kora returned to the cottage and put out the fire, then inspected her clothes. Black hid the bloodstains she couldn't get out, but there were a significant number of cuts this time. The tunic couldn't be salvaged. Thankfully , the pants only needed minor stitching. She jingled the pouch that held her money. Food was more important than a new shirt right now.

Kora left the hut and headed in a northerly direction. The sky was clear except for a few puffs of lazily drifting clouds. The wind kept moving her hair into her face and irritating her, so she pulled the top portion back and fastened it with a strip of leather. Despite her distance from the marshland, she continued looking for the dragon. It was there. Somewhere . Waiting to strike.

Almost two hours later, she reached the small village. Unlike other nearby settlements, Stonemore hadn't attacked this one. Those who didn't die in the battles were brought to the city. It was only a matter of time before Stonemore made it to this village. Unless someone stopped Villette .

The street was busy with horse-pulled carts and residents moving about. Kora followed the sounds to the market. It buzzed with people and voices. Children wove among the adults, playing and laughing. Hawkers shouted about their wares. Kora milled through the crowd, taking her time to look at everything. A tunic caught her attention.

She paused beside it and fingered the material. It was nice—nicer than anything she had purchased in a long time. The smell of freshly baked rosemary bread reached her then, and she forgot all about the shirt. Her mouth watered as she followed the scent to a stand on the corner. She haggled her price and got a loaf before going to another stall and buying some dried meat and fruit. She was fingering her last coin when she saw him.

He walked through the crowd, commanding and imposing. The sea of people parted for him. Rich , deep brunette hair fell to the middle of his back. He wore brown trousers and a tan tunic stretched across broad shoulders. His clothes were simple but clean. She moved to see his face, but he turned away at that moment. Something about him was familiar. Kora kept out of sight and followed him. When he glanced over his shoulder, and she spotted the light olive gaze, she immediately knew who he was.

His face was branded on her brain in that second. Strong jaw. Thick , slashing eyebrows. Intense eyes. Wide lips. He was dark and seductive. A man used to getting what he wanted, whenever he wanted it.

" Don't be shy, honey."

Kora startled at the woman's voice beside her. She jerked her head to the side, but the woman only had eyes for the man.

" He welcomes anyone." The woman looked at Kora and smiled. " I spent a single night with him and couldn't walk the next day. But , oh, what a night," she murmured breathlessly.

Kora looked back at him. " Who is he?"

" Derek is his name. He comes around every few months. Chooses a woman or two for a night. Then he's gone."

The man in question paused and bent to pick something up. He squatted and handed a ball to a young lad, who quickly ran off. Kora caught the breadth and width of Derek's shoulders as he stood. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing the thick sinew of his forearms. She saw the cuff of braided silver at his wrist.

" You best make yourself noticeable," the woman urged before walking away. " Others are already after him."

Eight of them, by Kora's count. The women went up to Derek , rubbing their bodies against him. Kora kept close to the stalls, continuing to watch him. All kinds of women came to him. Tall and short, thin and curvy. Young and old. He looked at each of them. She couldn't tell if he spoke, but he wasn't rude. That surprised her somehow.

Kora pulled her gaze from him and looked about the town. Women all over were ogling him, their hunger obvious. Some smiled dreamily as if remembering something special. Perhaps their night with him? The men looked on with a mixture of envy, hatred, and yearning of their own.

When she looked back at Derek , she saw that he had extracted himself from the women and continued on. Kora found herself following him. She kept her distance, but if he thought he was being trailed, he never let on. He didn't look behind him once.

He stood a head taller than the tallest male in the village. His very presence sent an air of excitement through everyone. From the youngest to the oldest, all were aware of his presence. Most gave him a wide berth. He didn't smile that she could see, nor did he speak. And yet, he held everyone in thrall.

She recalled his shocked expression when she'd spoken to him the day before. Looking at him now, he could probably have taken the soldiers on himself. But she hadn't known that when she glimpsed him. She only knew how bloodthirsty the Stonemore soldiers were and hadn't wanted him involved. Maybe she shouldn't have worried, but that wasn't who she was.

He walked out of the village. Kora could've stopped following him. She probably should have. Instead , she kept shadowing him. To be fair, she wasn't the only one. Women trailed after him, their hopeful expressions almost painful to look at. One by one, they turned back when he continued without choosing them. Until she was all that remained.

Kora paused and glanced back at the village. She should turn around and go back to the cottage, have a nice meal, and mend her pants. Plan what she needed to do next. She had promised herself she wouldn't be reckless again.

She looked for Derek . He was nowhere in sight. She leaned from side to side, trying to see beyond the bend in the road. She considered turning around for a moment, but that didn't last long. She continued in the direction he had gone, reminding herself not to be rash. She came to the curve and slowed, once again leaning to the side to peer around it. There was still no sign of him.

Kora sighed. Perhaps it was an indication that she should leave well enough alone. She didn't know what she would say to him anyway. That's when the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. She slowly turned and found Derek on the road behind her.