Claiming by A.K. Koonce

Author:A.K. Koonce [Koonce, A.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-12T16:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

The Shift of Shame

Warm sunlight falls across my face. The heat of the light isn’t enough to warm my skin though, as a shiver slides down my spine. Confusion circles my mind just as frost kissed air meets my lungs. It’s so cold, it burns within my chest.

My eyes fly open to find that the man that I was curled around last night is no longer there, and an enormous white dragon now lies in his place. By in his place I mean the shambles of what once was his place. Half the bed is broken, split down the middle by his weight, and I lie half on the mattress half on the hard scales of the peaceful sleeping dragon beneath me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I can’t believe he did this.

Frost drifts from his snout with each breath he takes. It clings to every crevice of the room. The sunlight warms a spot along the wall, letting the water of his frost drip down the wallpaper in streams. His long tail shifts slightly, bumping the dresser on the opposite side of the room so hard that the thing starts to teeter. The yellow flowers in the pretty vase atop of it slide gradually forward. My lips part as the drawers open with dramatic slowness. The clothing inside topples out as one by one. The drawers open completely before the dresser comes down as well. The vase clatters and shatters glass all across the carpet. With a loud thud the whole thing hits the ground and still Rime rests like a newborn baby. A hatchling, if you will.

Splinters of the wooden bedframe are all around the room, frost warps the wallpaper, glass from the vase shines in the sunlight with pretty flowers scattered throughout, and I stare at each new mess with slow appraisal, mentally counting the damage he’s done parchel by parchel.

“R—Rime…” My fingers touch lightly against the back of his wing, but I can’t seem to find words to speak.

How am I going to fix this? How—how is this building so structurally sound that it’s holding up the weight of a dragon right now? How? The King clearly needs to be paying his architect more because this place is a fucking fortress.

While I’m still staring opened mouthed at the destruction of the room and trying to figure out if I could possibly sneak out of the kingdom before Linden wakes up, a soft knock raps against the door. My eyes widen but before I can speak the door opens.

Innocent, wide blue eyes match my expression perfectly as Marg slowly looks around the room. When her gaze settles on the dragon she takes a step back into the hall.

“Marg, I can explain.” I sit up higher against the mattress and against Rime’s back. At the sound of my voice, Rime lifts his massive head and swings it back to look at the small woman. The pale color of his eyes shifts over the scene as if it’s nothing of importance to him. Just another boring day for this one.

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