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Chapter 6 - Yazmine
“What the—What are you doing?!” I say in horror as the dragon’s arm slides under my back and lifts me out of my car. The unfamiliarity of his rubbery, scaly arm sends a shiver down my spine, distracting me long enough to put me over his shoulder like a rebellious child.
I can’t believe the absurdity of what’s happening. In front of me, the dragon’s tail flows out in a shade of burgundy, more vivid than any color I’ve seen before. Bejeweled with golden, translucent crystals at every juncture, it spreads out with another crystal at the tip in the shape of a circular prism.
Its webbed wings flutter smoothly, lifting us into the air effortlessly. I’ve never feared heights, but I’m petrified of the creature, its scales strange against my body. It’s only because, up until this moment, I’d been trying to convince myself that they didn’t exist. I’d been trying to fight what I’d been researching and the direction it’d been pointing in.
I want to pinch myself in case I’m still dreaming. In case the nightmare I had about the fire-breathing dragon extends to me going back to the lab and then being air-lifted by an actual dragon. Instead, my fight or flight mode is fully awakened, and I pound my fists against the tough, scaled skin of the dragon’s back.
“Who are you?! Where are you taking me?!” I demand as we soar above the clouds. Panic rises in my chest when the dragon flaps its wings and sends us hurtling forward—to wherever it’s taking me.
I yell out a string of curses in frustration, knowing that there’s no way this dragon can respond to my questions. Finally giving up trying to wring free of its clutches, I notice the sky clearing.
The only sound the dragon makes is of its breathing, calm and composed, unlike the rapid beating of my heart. But then my breath is fully snatched when we fly over a mountain that opens up to the scenery below.
Fresh and serene, the ground is covered with lavish grass and flowers and fruits I can barely make out. Not because we’re flying too high up, but because I’d never seen such striking shades of color before. Vivid blues clearer than the ocean, oranges brighter than the rising and setting sun on the horizon.
I’m stunned into silence, my fingers craving the need to run over the prominent textures that can be seen from up here.
For a fleeting moment, I’m not afraid of my whereabouts. I even entertain the idea that I’ve walked into a different realm where dragons do exist. It’s more spectacular than anything I’ve seen before. But as we slow down and the flight becomes circular in motion, I feel the ground beneath my feet.
The grounding does nothing but remind me of the horror of my circumstances. I’d just been abducted by a dragon whose existence I refused to acknowledge before this.
“What the hell?!” I yell out to the dragon who hovers in front of me, taking a moment to be fully grounded on feet that feel too light to be stood on.
The dragon huffs a breath through flat nostrils and flies away. I rush to the metal bars in front of me, gripping the platform's rails as I call out to it.
“Hey! You can’t just leave me here!” I scold. But then I’m stunned into silence when I witness the dragon growing smaller in size until it’s able to fit into the rounded balcony on the left. As soon as its feet hit the ground, the form of a dark-haired man takes over before disappearing inside.
“What?” I frown so deeply my brows threaten to be fixed eternally into the reaction of shock. It takes me a moment to move, too shocked by what I’d just seen. But once the feeling in my nerves returns, I spin on my heel and bolt inside, oblivious to my surroundings.
I bolt straight for the door, trying the handle that does nothing but clang metalically. Huffing defeatedly, I rush back to the balcony when the view of the outside suddenly becomes cloudy.
It’s as if a mist rises out of nowhere, covering the view of the outside air. My jaw drops when I realize I’m being closed in, tears brimming to the surface as I begin feeling like a real prisoner. Even the fragrant aroma of crisp air disappears, leaving me to sniff as I hold back the urge to cry.
My feet feel like lead as I drag myself into the room. A bedroom, where the large oval bed calls my name. I allow myself to be invited into the soft tresses of blush pink silk, falling onto the bed and closing my eyes. Exhausted by the torrent of emotions running through me, I sigh discontentedly as I let sleep wash over me.
***
“Wake up.”
The brutally harsh voice snaps my eyelids open, prompting me to shuffle into a seated position on the bed. Strangely aware of my surroundings, I realize that the abduction wasn’t a nightmare at all.
It was reality.
A reality in which a stranger stands before me, his bulging arms crossed over a chest that defines his black tank top with the contours of his muscles. My eyes trace the tattoos decorating one of those arms, doing little to cover up the bulge of taut muscles. Gasping when the air in my lungs is snatched, a trickle of fear overshadows the sudden thought that he’s stunning.
I’m made to be even more confused when I lift my eyes to his face. Honey-golden skin in the most naturally tanned shade glistens with sweat. Impenetrable eyes of brilliantly light gold glare at me resentfully. I can’t help but momentarily fixate on his eyes, losing myself in their depths.
It’s like his perfection walked out of a fictional book that only exists in the imagination.
“Yazmine Hendricks,” he says my name diplomatically. Instinctively straightening my spine as if I’m being called before a judge, I realize he isn’t as friendly as his outer appearance alludes.
“Y-yes?”
The man scoffs, unfolding his arms and striding to the door with the balcony beyond it. “I’m gonna cut to the chase, okay?” he announces as he pulls on the glass sliding door.
“Erm—okay?”I murmur. I can’t tell if I’m in trouble or not. I stare at his back, following him with my gaze as he moves around the bedroom.
