Light Dragons 01 - Love in the Time of Dragons

us. His expression was wary, but I did not see in him the unwholesome fury that was in his master. “She is innocent of wrongdoing.”
    “No silver dragon is innocent,” Baltic said in a low growl. Pain pricked my neck as the sword tip pierced my skin. I lifted my chin, keeping my gaze steady on his. “They will either rejoin us, or they will die.”
    “But this one knows nothing of our ways. She has not even accepted that she is a dragon,” Kostya argued, gesturing toward me. “What purpose is there in killing her?”
    Baltic opened his mouth to answer, but I was through being tolerant.
    “His purpose is to bully and frighten,” I said loudly. “He is a coward, nothing more.”
    His breath hissed in as he leaned forward. “No man has ever spoken those words to me and lived.”
    “I am not a man,” I said, gritting my teeth against the burn of the sword as it slid deeper into my flesh.
    “You would be dead if you were,” he snarled, lowering the sword and stepping back.
    “You wish to challenge me?” I asked, shoving him hard in the chest.
    He looked so surprised by the action, I had to bite back the urge to laugh. Kostya’s mouth dropped open into an O as I took two steps forward until I stood toe-to-toe with Baltic. “I will meet your challenge, warrior, but on my terms.”
    An odd look crossed his face. “What terms?”
    “No weapons,” I said, lifting my chin. “If you wish to challenge me, I will meet you body to body, but with no weapons, no armor. Just your fists against mine.”
    Pavel gave a short bark of laughter. Kostya’s frown relaxed into a smug smile. Baltic’s face remained expressionless, nothing but his eyes giving away any indication of what he was thinking.
    “Very well,” he said after a minute’s silence. “But you must make it worth the ridicule I will suffer for such an indignity.”
    “Indignity!” He actually had the nerve to smile when I hit him on the chest. “Because I am a woman, you mean?”
    “Because I am the wyvern, and you are merely a young female who has not yet learned her place.” He handed Kostya his sword. “I will be happy to teach it to you, but I must have payment.”
    I eyed him as Pavel came down the stairs to help divest him of his mail and armor. Both guards were smiling. “What form of payment do you seek?”
    “When I win the challenge, you will disavow your fealty to the traitorous bastard who rules your sept.”
    “I don’t know any bastards other than Jack, the carter’s brother, and he is simpleminded and hardly could be called traitorous.”
    “I refer to Constantine of Norka,” Baltic said, all but spitting the words out.
    “Well, I don’t know him either, and I certainly haven’t sworn fealty to him.”
    “Your parents must have, else you would not bear the brand of the silver dragons on your back.” Baltic peeled off his leather armor and stood before me wearing nothing but boots, braies, and jerkin.
    It struck me for the first time that he was quite comely for a man. The high, sharp cheekbones gave his face a measure of strength. His nose was thin and sharp, sitting below a broad forehead from which dark hair swept back. Twin slashes of straight black eyebrows drew attention to his deep, dark eyes beneath. His jaw was angular, but blunted at the chin, as if God had decided that he had too many angles in his face and wanted to soften the sharpness a little. But it was his mouth that seemed to hold an unholy attraction for me. His lips were full, the lower creating a down-turned crescent, while the upper had a gentle curve that belied the anger held within him.
    “Do you agree to the terms?” he asked, and I realized I’d been staring at his mouth.
    I cleared my throat. “You have neglected to state the full terms. I must have a boon if I defeat you.”
    All three men laughed loud enough that the remaining guard came in from where he had been tending to the horses.
    “Lady Ysolde has accepted Baltic’s challenge,” Kostya told him when he entered casting curious glances around the now-destroyed common room.
    “What challenge?” the guard asked. His name was Matheo, I remembered from the brief introduction Baltic had made when he took me from my home. Kostya leaned over and whispered to him. Matheo smiled broadly.
    “You will not defeat me,” Baltic said, and once again, I was possessed with the desire to slap him. “But let us live in the world of the impossible, and say that you do. What boon would you