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“How did you get their wagon to the border of your land?” I asked him.
Thorn smiled at me. “The muscle in my original form is not merely for show. I could have pulled a dozen of such wagons without issue.”
A thought struck me and I cocked my head to one side. “How far do your lands go?”
He nodded at the tops of the hills ahead of us. “To the peaks of those mountains. There’s a small village nestled at the foot just past the groups of rocks described by the man named Sergio. We can rest for a spell before climbing the steep trail, and the waterfalls that surround their homes are a treat to behold.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “So they’re on your land? Then do they pay you rent for their homes?”
He shook his head. “I don’t ask for money and my kind has little need for food. What I ask for is for them to guard the roads that pass through their villages, and if the threat is too great then I ask that they contact me so I might handle the matter.”
“Have you had to do that?” I wondered.
Thorn pursed his lips. “Only a few times, mostly in matters of those creatures who are like me.”
“You mean other dragons?”
“I refer to other fantastical creatures such as those we call unicorns and trolls,” he revealed.
My mouth dropped open. “You have unicornsandtrolls?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “You know of them?”
“Is one like a horse but with a horn, and the other a really ugly tall man-like creature?”
“Just exactly right. One might cause mischief whenever it passes through an area, and the other nearly always threatens to wreak havoc on the populace by capturing and eating them.”
I winced. “Wow. That’s. . .that’s bad, but what kind of mischief can a unicorn cause besides overgrazing an area?”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips as he shook his head. “The trouble with unicorns is not that they cause a scarcity of grass but that they cause an inundation of the same. The fields bloom with grass and flowers, so much so that the roads and even thatched roofs become thick with the plants. Houses have been known to collapse under the potent power of the horned horse.”
I stared ahead with wide eyes. “I had no idea they were such a menace.”
“Not always, but one must be weary around a creature that exudes the natural elements.”
I couldn’t help but examine him. “So are you that kind of creature? And are there other fantastical creatures that can take the form of humans?”
“Some unicorns may take the shape of humans,” he admitted as he brushed a hand over one of his horns. “But like many of my dragon kin, they also have difficulty removing the evidence of our true forms.”
I lifted my eyes to his horn and imagined someone walking around with a horn protruding from their forehead. A snicker escaped me before I could purse my lips shut. “That must be awkward for some of the funnier creatures.”
A crooked smile slipped on his lips. “The basilisk often have problems hiding their fangs which gives them the appearance of having a rather noticeable overbite.”
The creature he mentioned rang a bell. “A basilisk is some kind of snake, right? And it can turn people to stone?”
“They are very large snakes, but the ability to turn to stone is merely a myth. The deadliness of their venom, however, is not a myth.”
“And when they’re human their fangs still stick out from their upper lips?”
“Slightly protrude, yes.”
I snorted. “And I thought you had it bad.”
His gentle eyes studied me. “On the contrary, I find myself very fortunate.”
I blushed under his attentive gaze, which also brought a question to my mind. “Do the other mythical creatures look for brides? Or grooms?”
Thorn shook his head. “No. Dragons are, as far as I’m aware, the only ones who search for mates among humans, and as there are no women born to us we need only look for brides.”
