Free Ivormantis by Alice Brown, Lady V

were inside the castle, and always taking the time to ask about her well-being.
    “May I touch you, Ivormantis? Would that be okay?” she asked a bit nervously. Just what did one do when they had a huge dragon sitting in front of them?
    “By all means, my beautiful mate. You may touch me anywhere you like.”
    She had just reached out and touched one of his scales, mesmerized in how smooth it was, when his voice came across agitated.
    “Mate, we have trouble coming our way. Get on top of my back, now! Hurry!”
    Meldamiriel gasped as he quickly laid his head on the ground, to make it easier for her to climb up on. She scurried up on to the back of his neck as fast as she could, his claw helping to support her journey upwards. Once she was settled, straddled over the base of his neck, Ivormantis rose up to sit back on his hunches and faced the forest line at the back of the garden. Her heart was pounding like powerful thunder in her chest as her wide blue eyes scanned the forest line. Who, or what, was out there?
    There was a deep rumble from inside Ivormantis’ throat as he stood a little higher and expanded his massive and gorgeous wings.
    “They’re coming,” his deep voice rumbled.
    “Who?” Meldamiriel had no more than whispered her inquiry when she heard a twig snap, the sound seeming louder in the still of the night.
    She could have sworn her heart stopped beating entirely as she clung to Ivormantis’ neck for dear life. Paralyzing fear gripped her hard, choking the very breath out of her body. At first, she could barely see some of the brush swaying slightly. Was it due to the light breeze that kept whispering gently by or was it yet another unknown enemy coming for her? Then the trees stilled, the air suddenly seemed stagnant, the stillness lending an eerie feeling a few seconds before a band of blood hungry, blade slashing, fang baring, and snarling vampires came rushing forward. The look in their bloodshot eyes told her they were ready to fight to the death for what they wanted: her.
    Ivormantis easily lifted off the ground and into the air, his primary concern was to keep Meldamiriel safe. As expected, several of the vampires threw their blades high in the air at him, but he was more agile than they had anticipated and could dodge each sharp blade easily.
    “Whatever you do, my mate, do not let go of me,” Ivormantis growled deeply before he took a rapid plunge down toward their enemy, opening his massive jaw and letting loose a breath of fiery hell in front of them.
    She sucked in a deep breath as she watched as the frontline of the vampires were caught in the way of her dragon protector’s rage, their clothing catching fire, their hair singeing, and their flesh blistering in the extreme heat of Ivormantis’ fire breath. The creatures’ cries were those of the lost souls trapped in hell’s eternity of suffering, no mercy at all within sight. Their human flesh burned off quickly, leaving behind still moving corpses of flaming bones and muscles as they continued moving forward toward them.
    “Look away, mate, you need not see any of this tonight,” Ivormantis whispered back to her.
    The large, pissed-off dragon allowed his body to sail back down to the ground, landing on his front claws with such force the earth actually trembled around them, resembling a minor earthquake. It was enough to cause several of the vampires to lose their balance momentarily. They stumbled and tripped, their supernatural speed powerless to protect them from the unexpected unstable ground.
    At first, Meldamiriel was unable to tear her frightened eyes away from the scene that lay before her. Nothing but death, torture, hatred, greed, and ultimate suffering surrounded her. Even in the midst of all this, she was unable to hide her eyes. She watched Ivormantis bite the head off an approaching vampire, before turning his head slightly to snatch up another. This one he tossed up in the air, as if using him for a play toy. As