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Fiction Short Story

By Wynelda-Ann "Wyndie" Shelton

Dragon Bite is part of the novel, Dragon Law, in Mythic Structures, a work of fantasy fiction, and involves the heroine Alex who was introduced to T-Zero readers in the short story, The Cobweb Inn.

Bite of the Dragon

Alex hung onto Michael’s arm as they walked into the state dining room. Like the rest of this land, the room was decorated to excess. Opulent table settings in gold littered a table already overcrowded with candles, flowers, and crystal.

Alex felt an abrupt longing for the casual elegance of Yandara. Or the simple beauty of the Winter Palace, where she lived with Shane.

" Are you ready?" Michael whispered in her ear.

Looking at the glittering flock of courtiers, Alex nodded. They would not get the best of her. " Let’s go."

Michael led her over to the head of the table, where they were to be seated next to the king. " Your Majesty," Michael inclined his head to the king. Alex curtsied, lowering her eyes so that she would not have to look at the bastard.

" Welcome, Michael, King of Yandara. And this is your sister, Princess Alexandria?" His voice dripped with feigned sincerity.

" Yes, Darius, this is my sister the Princess Alexandria." Michael pulled her gently up from her curtsy.

Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was the Mistress of the Dragons, recognized as a monarch in her own right. In every land except for this one.

" And is she betrothed as of yet?"

Alex’s hand tightened painfully on Michael’s arm. She was married to an assassin. How would he explain that?

" Yes, she is betrothed." He was so much better at the niceties than she was.

" My loss is another man’s gain." Darius went to the head of the table, stood behind the throne-like chair. He motioned Michael and Alex to opposite sides. Alex’s grip bit into Michael’s arm. She watched him grimace slightly as he realized that she would hurt him severely if he did not correct the problem.

" I’m sorry, Darius, but custom does not allow for this. Alex must be seated to my right." Alex refrained from smirking, keeping her eyes downcast. It would do no good to show Darius how she felt.

Alex listened with half an ear to the conversations around her. Darius, the goat, was trying to get Michael to break her betrothal. The women across from her were gossiping about someone Alex didn’t know. Alex picked up the goblet in front of her and took a slow drink of wine.

" Have you been here before?" the man seated on her right asked.

" No, I am rarely allowed out of our lands," Alex kept her eyes downcast.

" How odd. I could swear that I’ve seen you somewhere…" Thankfully, the servants stepped up to the table and began to offer the food. The man next to her fell quiet as he began to eat.

Soup, salads, pastries. Alex wondered briefly how anyone could be expected to walk after eating the amount of food that these people consumed. Course after course was served, each more filling than the last.

Alex picked at her food, pushed it around the golden plate. She watched in disgust as one of the women across from her speared a roasted chicken and plopped it on her plate. Most asked for a quarter chicken, some a half. Though the aroma was robust, Alex waved the server away. If she ate half of what was being offered she would pop out of her gown.

" The next dish is delicious, one of our cook’s specialties. You must try it, Princess Alexandria." Alex turned to Darius as he spoke, looked him in the eye for the first time that night. She kept her own eyes flat as she met the calculation in his.

Darius waved a server to him and gave his instructions. A steak was placed ceremoniously in front of Alex. Her stomach tightened as she recognized it for what it was. She could taste the bile as it rose in her throat. The steak smelled of death, of blood. It was a cry for vengeance and her body clenched with the need for action.

She met Darius’ eyes, and he held his goblet up in salute. He knew. The bastard knew who she was.

Alex slowly cut a bite size piece of the dragon steak. She probed her mental link with the Royal White Dragon gently as she speared the meat with her fork. She raised the fork to Darius in salute, making sure to retain eye contact with him. When the link was completed, Alex took the dragon meat into herself, letting it sustain her. "Become one with me while I avenge you and your brothers," she prayed silently. Her soul cried out to the White. The White responded with images: of dragons leaving the land, leaving hatchlings behind. Of men keeping the eggs warm merely to kill the hatchlings as they tried to enter the world.

Alex smiled at Darius. Michael’s hand gripped her arm, but she ignored him. She sent an image of destruction to the White, of burnt fields, of the destruction of those who had killed the hatchlings. Retribution.

Alex looked deeply into Darius’ eyes. Could feel his uncertainty. Could smell the fear that clung to him.

Vengeance.

" Delicious," she murmured.