Free Dragon's Winter by Elizabeth A. Lynn

the rulership of your land to Prince Amyas, who lives east of here. He is a gentle lord, and will guard your people well.’
    “Morrim did not want to do this, but he could see no choice. All the folk of his realm that he spoke to said that they did not wish to be ruled by a dragon. Therefore he wrote out a great document, and signed it in the presence of all his advisors, to state and attest that in the absence of any other lawful heir, his realm should pass into the keeping of Prince Amyas, whose kingdom lay east of his own.
    “ ‘Perhaps the dragon will not come,’ his wife said.
    “But of course, or there would be no story, the dragon did come. He came flying out of the north on a great wind, and strode into Morrim’s hall, not in dragon-form but walking as a man strides, save that his eyes were the color of flame, and where he stepped in the great stone hall, his bootprints left the mark of fire. He stood before Morrim’s throne, and said, ‘I have come for my bride.’
    “Morrim wriggled uncomfortably. His throne had never felt so hard. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘maybe we can talk about this. I have some very fine horses in my stable, and some excellent wine in barrels in my cellar, and I breed some of the best hunting dogs.’
    “But Lyr had a dragon’s temper. ‘Do not play with me,’ he said. ‘I have come for my bride, the princess Alisandre. Do the princes of this land not keep the promises they make? If not, they do not deserve to be princes!’ He stretched his hands out. Flames shot from his fingers. ‘If I do not receive what was promised to me, I will burn this castle and all in it to the ground!’
    “At this, Morrim shrank into his throne. Then a woman, small and soft, and dressed in green like a flower, moved from her place to kneel before the angry dragon. It was Alisandre, the princess. And Alisandre looked at the fiery-eyed warrior, and his eyes softened, and changed, and became human. And it seemed to her that she could learn to love him.
    “She said, ‘O my lord Dragon, I am Alisandre, daughter of Morrim, who was promised to you. I will marry you. Only, promise me that I may, sometimes, now and then, return to my father’s kingdom. For I love the lakes and fields of my own country, and I am told it is cold, in the north.’
    “And the dragon-king Lyr reached a hand to Alisandre the daughter of Morrim. ‘I promise,’ he said.
    “He took her to his castle, and they married. And each year, in the summer, Alisandre returned to the country of her father. Each year, her mother asked her, ‘Are you happy, my daughter? Is your husband kind to you?’ For it is well known that the dragon-kind are capricious, and cruel, even to those they love. And Alisandre assured her mother that she was indeed content to be the wife of the dragon-king. And in the course of time, Alisandre bore the dragon- king two sons. The eldest son, Sedrim, was dragon, but the younger son, Cerdic, was not.
    “Then Alisandre came to her dragon-husband. ‘O my husband,’ she said, ‘I have been a good wife to you. I have given you sons. I beg you, let me go home to my father’s country. I miss the fields and lakes I grew up with. For I am cold, in this hard land, surrounded by mountains.’
    “But the dragon-king only looked at her with fiery eyes. ‘No,’ said Lyr. Your place is with your sons.’ Over and over Alisandre begged to be allowed to return to her father’s country. Lyr grew weary of her pleas. Finally, enraged, and believing that her words revealed a deep and subtle disloyalty, the dragon-king imprisoned his wife in a tower, and would not permit her to leave it, nor would he permit anyone to see her, save the servants that brought her food. Alone, silenced, hopeless, the daughter of Morrim ceased to speak, and eventually, to eat. Soon after, her attendants found her broken body at the foot of the tower.
    “The children grew to manhood. Sedrim was like his father: hot-tempered, impulsive,