The answer came from the Red Star, which gleamed high in the sky—the star that had sent the desert’s creatures into heat.
Tossing down her spear, Elliya lifted the strap of her bag off her shoulder and set it on the ground before catching the hem of her robe and pulling the garment off over her head, dropping it beside her spear. She removed her loincloth and chest covering next. Crouching, she opened her bag and dug inside until she closed her fingers around two sleeper dust husks. She didn’t know if they would have the same effect on a dragon as they did on humans and other beasts, but she was willing to try.
All she needed was a single touch. If all went well, and if the stories were true, she wouldn’t need the sleeper dust at all.
And if they weren’t true… Well, she wouldn’t let herself dwell on that. Not now.
Elliya stood and searched the sky. For several desperate moments, she couldn’t see the dragon, and her heart quickened further. How could something so large have vanished? Though the moon was red as blood, its light was strong tonight. Where could the dragon have gone?
Another thunderous roar sent vibrations through the air around her. She pivoted on the ball of her foot. The dragon was still near. She swallowed a fresh wave of instinctive fear and focused, searching the heavens, seeking any sign of the beast.
There! A patch of darkness cut out from the stars, moving across the sky at great speed.
Elliya narrowed her eyes.
You are mine.
Heart pounding, Elliya moved back from the water’s edge and lay down on the grass. The vegetation was cool against her back, and the pungent scent of earth filled her nose. Her eyes remained locked on the dragon as she spread her legs wide and slipped her fingers between her thighs. She found her pleasure nub and stroked it furiously. There was a twinge of discomfort, but it was swiftly followed by a thrill that coiled in her pelvis.
Taking in a deep breath, she called out to the dragon, her voice echoing through the canyon.
A flash of fire illuminated the dragon, briefly flaring orange and gold against the dark backdrop of the sky. The beast looked small now, being up so high—looked almost harmless. But when the dragon turned toward her and roared again, Elliya felt the aura of danger it emitted, sensed its unfathomable prowess.
She shivered, but it wasn’t entirely caused by fear now.
The beast sped toward her.
She bit her bottom lip and panted as the sensations built within her. Her sex contracted, her body tensed, and a brief flare of pleasure forced a cry from her lips. She dipped her finger into her channel to gather her slick, spreading it across her sex, her belly, and her breasts.
“Wind, carry my scent to the beast,” she said. “Let him come and claim me so that I, in turn, may claim him. For this is the time of the choosing, and I have made my choice.”
The void in the stars that was the dragon’s shadowy form grew rapidly, until she could see the crimson moonlight upon the beast’s scales and glinting on its long claws. The dragon didn’t slow until it was immediately above her. A beat of its immense wings blasted her with wind, sending a thrill over her bare skin.
The dragon crashed down on all fours, bracing itself over her with its talons curled into the dirt.
Elliya’s eyes widened as she stared up at the dragon and its gleaming golden scales. She’d seen large creatures out in the Forsaken Sands, had hunted them on occasion with her tribe sisters, but none of those animals could compare to the immensity of this dragon. She’d never felt so small, so insignificant, so powerless.
The dragon spread its talon-tipped wings wide, making itself look impossibly larger, and dipped its horned head. Its eyes, glowing as bright and blue as the waters of Cetolea, met hers. They were mesmerizing, with slitted pupils that narrowed and widened as though struggling to focus.
A huff of hot air flowed over Elliya before the dragon’s long, pointed tongue flicked out from between its lips. Those lips peeled back to reveal big, sharp teeth as a deep growl rumbled in the dragon’s chest. Its body stiffened, its claws dug deeper into the ground on either side of her, and the dragon made a chuffing sound, its hips jerking forward.
Elliya glanced down. The beast’s cock protruded from a slit at its groin, a massive shaft with ridges and scales that glistened with secretions.
The dragon was male.
And he was hers.
Unbidden, her core clenched, flooding with arousal and heat like she’d never felt before.
The dragon’s tongue emerged again to lap at the air, and a shudder wracked his body.
Elliya met his bright blue gaze, reached up, and placed her hand on the side of his jaw.
His eyes rounded, fixating on her with sudden, unsettling lucidity.
She gasped. That touch burned her fingertips, and the sensation spread up her arms and coursed through her body, filling her chest with an almost unbearable heat. The dragon recoiled from her hand with a snarl, but it was too late.
Something snapped inside Elliya, like a cord pulling taut around her heart.
Pulling her toward him.
Orange light broke between his scales, looking at first like the embers of a dying fire but quickly gaining brightness and intensity. He shoved away from her with a vicious snarl, snapping his head from side to side as tiny flames spouted through his teeth—and his scales. The air heated rapidly, creating fresh beads of sweat on Elliya’s skin.
Heart racing, Elliya dropped the sleeper dust husks and scrambled backward on hands and feet.
The dragon burst into flames with a roar, bathing the canyon in frantic, dancing orange light. Tails, wings, and talons swung and thrashed, fighting the flames, fighting for purchase, but the fire only intensified, shifting from orange to white. Elliya’s eyes stung from the brightness and heat, but she couldn’t look away. Horror kept her gaze fixed on the dragon.
Blackened ash flaked off his body and caught on the wind, scattering across the riverbank, and the air was soon thick with smoke.
The mighty beast fell backwards, plunging into the river with an immense splash that was silenced by the hiss of water instantly boiling. A huge cloud of steam spewed from the water, further obscuring her view but for the intense light within it. All that hissing, growling, and splashing continued.
Scalding droplets landed on Elliya’s foot, driving her farther back from the water. Her heart was racing, her breath ragged, her throat constricted.
What was happening? What had she done?
The smoke and steam enveloped her. Eyes watering, she turned her face away and coughed, throat and lungs burning. For a few alarming moments, it felt as though she’d hack up her internal organs, as though she’d die just as she’d accomplished what so few humans had before her. But the smoke soon thinned, and her coughing eased.
All those terrifying sounds had ceased, leaving only the jarring gentleness of flowing water and wind.
She crawled forward until she found her discarded waterskin. Uncorking it, she used the water inside to rinse her eyes, face, and mouth. Blinking away the moisture from her lashes, she turned her attention to the river, which was close enough now for her to reach out and touch.
A haze of steam lingered over the water, which was now undisturbed but for a faint orange glow within its relative darkness. She inched closer to the water’s edge, leaning forward to peer at that ember-like light. Her eyes rounded when she realized it was moving toward her.
As it neared, Elliya could see a dark shape surrounding the glow.