Free AnyasDragons by Gabriella Bradley Page B

hateful lust in his eyes.
    Anya opened her mouth to scream, but he clapped a hand over her lips. He let go off her wrists and in a flash produced a dagger. “Don’t scream. I’ll slit your throat.”
    “I wouldn’t be much good to you dead,” Anya said when he removed his hand.
    He forced her legs apart, drool dripping from his slack lips.
    “You would dare lay hands on the princess,” Cyton’s dragon voice thundered.
    Yerith plucked the man off her as if he were nothing but a pesky spider.
    Dangling from Yerith’s hand, Sorlos tried to use the dagger but his thrusts only met air.
    “What do you want us to do with him,” Cyton asked while helping her to her feet. He picked up her fallen cape and draped it around her.
    Anya had never felt such disdain for one of her people. “Let him go. He’ll never be a member of the royal guard again. That’s his punishment. He can go work for his father.”
    “You’ll pay for this, Anya,” Sorlos snarled.
    “Princess, are you sure you want us to let him go?” Yerith asked.
    “Yes. Set him free.” Looking at the man her father had chosen for her, she shuddered then said, “Sorlos, you are never to set foot on royal property again or you’ll face death. Is that understood?”
    He didn’t answer. Yerith set the man on his feet. Straightening his shoulders, Sorlos turned his back on them and walked toward the courtyard.
    “You should have had us throw him in the dungeons, Anya. I think the man poses a danger. You’re going to make me your royal advisor, then you should heed my warnings,” Cyton said in a stern voice. “He was ready to take you by force.”
    “He was under the impression that by doing so, it would force me to enter into a union with him.”
    “That man was your betrothed?” Yerith asked, shaking his head.
    “Yes. This is the second time in my life I’ve met him and he produced the same revulsion within me as I felt the first time.”
    “Your father would have forced you to marry him against your wishes?”
    “Yes. That was the law, the way of our people. Take notice. I said, was .”
    “You mentioned in your speech you were going to change the laws. It’s a good thing,” Cyton said.
    “I think I’d like to retire. This little drama has drained me.”
    “Anya, we need to train you, teach you to defend yourself—although soon you’ll be able to shift. As dragoness, you’ll be very strong. You’ll also have magical abilities,” Yerith told her.
    “I wouldn’t mind learning to wield a sword and a knife. I always wanted to learn, but of course, it was unheard of for a girl to even look at a sword, let alone hold one.”
    They escorted her back to her quarters and took up their posts outside her door. Anya closed the door and dropped the cape on the floor. She removed the tattered dress and threw it aside then took off her sandals. As she lay on her bed, she looked at the gossamer curtains billowing into the room. A cool breeze whispered into the room and caused her to sit upright. She hadn’t yet gathered a royal guard, nor guards for the palace walls. Not that she feared invasion, but Cyton was probably correct in his assessment of Sorlos. The palace gates were not closed either. Sorlos could enter her chamber while she slept. She jumped off the bed and opened the door.
    “Cyton, Yerith, I need you to stay with me tonight. There are no guards on the walls and the gates are open. Tomorrow, Yerith, you need to assemble a royal guard and hire guards for the palace and the walls. We need to keep the gates closed. Cyton was right. I can’t trust Sorlos.”
    They joined her and sat on the bed with her. “You’ll share my bed tonight. I will not have you sleeping on the floor.”
    She lay in the middle of the bed against the pile of silk pillows and watched them remove their boots, their loincloths and braces. Cyton leaned his axe against the bed before he sat beside her and Yerith did likewise with his massive hammer.
    “Are you all