Page 42 of Escaping my Dragon

That soon won’t be a problem. Already the warmth from the magma is thawing my cold prison.

“A prison of your own making. Weren’t you the one who fell asleep and ended up buried?”

Only because those who should have cared for me abandoned their task.

“If you’ve been sleeping as long as you claim, then your servants probably died.” Yes, I knew having a conversation with a disembodied voice produced by my imagination wasn’t the sanest thing to be doing right now, but it beat screaming and pounding my fists on the ice. It also seemed better than huddling in a ball and sobbing.

My kind don’t age like humans.

I frowned. “Wait, are you implying there were more of you?”

No one is like me. Only pale comparisons. An arrogant response.

“Still don’t know what you are,” I grumbled. Since staring aimlessly at the ash-riddled sky didn’t spark any joy—or hope—I turned, and yup. There it was. The dreaded tunnel from my dream.

I am your master.

I snorted. “Like fuck you are.”

Choosing you is a great honor. You should thank me.

“Never happening.”

Would you rather feed me? I could use a snack.

I’d only taken one step towards the ice tunnel, but the statement paused me. “You eat people?”

And animals. Anything of flesh, actually.

“Exactly how many pounds of meat are you planning to chow down once you’re free?”

I have a large appetite, and while humans aren’t sizeable, a few hundred should ease the gnawing ache.

“Hundreds?” Once more, my feet stopped moving.

It takes much to fuel my body.

“And how often do you eat?”

How often do you eat? it countered.

“If you eat hundreds of people daily, you’ll decimate the world population.”

Not entirely. If I wish the planet to replenish during my next nap, I’ll have to leave some fleshy beings to reproduce for my next waking.

“Back up a second. You’ve done this before? Eaten, napped, eaten again.”

Since my arrival on your planet, yes.

My mouth rounded. “You’re an alien?”

If you mean not of this world, then obviously. A matter-of-fact reply.

“When did you arrive?”

At a time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Now those were some tasty treats. I ate so many. It probably explains the shape I evolved into. Such a shame my arrival triggered an ice age that killed those I’d left to replenish.

I wavered on my feet and had to put a hand on the wall to keep my balance. While a part of me didn’t believe I had a conversation with an actual, whatever the fuck this was, I also knew I didn’t have the imagination for what it was saying. It also roused my curiosity.