Marked at Midnight--Mark of the Dragon, Book 1 by Claire Conrad

Author:Claire Conrad [Conrad, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tydbyts Media

Zach

* * *

Looking over my shoulder several times, I checked to make sure no one saw as I jumped and landed with a quick thud on Iavo’s golden amber scales. We’d been hunting for hours, the Riven’s scent leading us in circles.

He was toying with us. Intelligent. Still in control. Unlike the last few Riven we’d hunted. They had been lost to the killing madness. Reckless and easy to track down.

This one was different. I knew Iavo felt it as well. He’d pushed both of us to the brink of collapse, refusing to stop, to give up the hunt.

With only a few powerful movements, Iavo pushed off and his wings propelled us forward into the dark night sky, straight up, flying high into the cover of the thick clouds.

He’s killed again. I taste blood in the wind.

As he banked to the right, I held on with my strong leg muscles. As a rider, it was easy to get stronger and stronger. I learned to use my entire body—especially my legs and core—to balance and hold on to the back of a speeding dragon. Battles were even more intense, but we’d learned early to work together. Sitting on his back was natural to me now, and to him? I was another weapon, a means for him to attack from his back and not just his mouth, tail and claws.

We landed in the dark on the bluffs along the side of the lake. There were no lights here, but a small group of shops was close. Iavo was right; I could hear a scream coming from just over the hill. I jumped from Iavo’s back and rushed up and over the horizon as he took to the air above me, ready for battle.

As I cleared the rise, I saw the dragon. Larger than Iavo, he was a dark, magnificent green and for a moment I was paralyzed at the idea of killing something so beautiful.

The screaming of the woman trapped under his claws snapped me out of it and I ran toward the dragon, knowing I would be too late to save her.

We knew he was going to leave a trail of bodies behind him, but I didn’t expect to get a ringside seat to one of his kills.

I cleared the long, grassy knoll in under a minute. Chills ran through me as I heard the woman calling out for help. The Riven raised his long snout into the air and roared a challenge to Iavo. The green monster seemed to feed on her fear, as if the tiny, squirming human he tortured entranced him.

I wasn’t fooled and knew Iavo would not take the bait either. The dragon wasn’t toying with the woman; he was toying with us.

As if the beast could read my thoughts, he turned his head so that his huge eye looked right at me as he dug his long claw deeper into her thigh and started to drag her across the park with him.

Unable to attack outright for

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