Free Dragon Joined by Rebecca Royce

every
human here. I can keep repeating myself if you want, sweetheart.” He grinned at
her. “Is having that dragon in your head doing something to your memory?”
    “Has leading the men of New Strauss from war to war damaged
your mental faculties? You need to leave before they join you to a dragon and
you never get to go home.”
    He lifted the climbing equipment and slung it over his
shoulder. There seemed little point in engaging her in a constant argument over
this. She wouldn’t relent. The teenager who had kept two small children alive
all by herself had grown to be a woman surviving dragon hell. Amanda hadn’t
done all that by giving up easily.
    “You belong to me. Do you understand?” He couldn’t touch
her, his hands occupied holding the stuff he would need to get them all out of
there. One by one. “And all of these trapped souls belong to me now too. I
don’t go until all of you do. So buck up and accept the truth of that. Besides,
darling, no one is getting in my head. It’s not a happy place in there, except
for those moments when I’m buried inside you.”
    She took one of the ropes from him and swung it over her
arm. “I’ll help.” She ran a fingertip over his hand. “Touching you seems to keep
this going for longer.”
    “Then touch me all you want.” They moved down the ladder to
the barn below. “You’re going to ignore everything I just said?”
    “Yep.”
    He laughed. “That’s what I thought.”
    “When we go out there, we need to be silent. I don’t think
anyone is wandering around looking for us but just in case.”
    “Right.” He nodded. Balancing most of the hooks over his
left shoulder, he managed to pull a piece of straw out of her hair. “You need
to shower at the barracks before we get you back to your room. Otherwise
Princess might notice something different about you.”
    Not that the dragon’s powers of observation extended very
far when it came to the humans. Probably too damn sure of her own superiority.
    He followed her out into the clearing. Looking left and
right, he let the instincts that had saved his ass more than one time take in
the night around them. The small hole in the ceiling of the fortress let him
see the sky. From the angle of the big, round ball, he guessed it to be
somewhere between midnight and two in the morning. He’d bet gold no one was
watching.
    Still, they remained silent as they walked back to the human
quarters. If only all the humans knew that to beat the dragons they simply needed
to show up at night. He shook his head. When he got home, things would be
different. They wouldn’t be victims anymore.
    She opened the door and he walked inside. The smell of
cooking caught his attention and he nodded to the servant, Verve, who manned
the area. The other man stood at five foot five inches tall, with a thin build.
His face, narrow and gaunt, showed how long it had been since he’d been properly
nourished. The dragons didn’t starve their help but perhaps Verve saw this as
it way out. His brown hair had a spattering of gray in it.
    “It worked.”
    Verve smiled. “I’ve been so nervous. I’m so excited. When do
we go?”
    Dean grinned, looking down at the bowl of beans. “Tomorrow
night.”
    “Great.” Verve noticed Amanda right at the moment. He backed
up a few steps, tripping over a chair. “Her. She’s going to kill us all.”
    “Shh.” Dean pressed down on Verve’s shoulder. “It’s Amanda.
Not Princess. The dragon is off right now. This is Amanda Sugar. I’ve known her
for her entire life. She’s mine. Okay?”
    Verve shook beneath his hand. What the hell did the cold-blooded
bastards do their servants?
    “You’re sure? They can’t separate themselves from the dragons.
Not ever. She could be tricking you.”
    Dean forced eye contact on Verve. It helped to calm his
nervous shudders. “I’m positive.”
    “Okay.” Verve swallowed.
    Amanda moved forward. “I promise you. I’ll never hurt you.”
    “Okay,