Dragons Don't Cry by Suzie Ivy Page B

often.”
    “Will you take me for a ride, dragon?” She
smiled mischievously because she knew she’d just ridden her
dragon.
    I made her fetch clothes and we rode until
the sun went down, watching the different colors spread across the
horizon. I loved this woman. Knew I loved her more than any
previous bride. Acasia had my entire heart.

Chapter Eighteen
     
    Acasia
    I felt as if I won a major battle. Finding
the sketchbook was heartbreaking and eye opening. Bastian’s pain
was so incredibly deep, and I would do anything to ease it. He
needed to trust that I knew what was best. Stubbornness was the way
of men and it didn’t matter if they were human or dragon.
    We ate lunch in the library and I realized
something else was wrong. He wouldn’t look at me when he finally
spoke.
    “I am going away with Laryn. We will be gone
a few days and you are staying behind.”
    I calmly rested my fork beside my plate.
“Where are you going?”
    “We are raiding a neighboring realm.”
    Fear made my voice tight. “And I have no say
in this?”
    “It is the way of dragons. A bride’s place
when her dragon goes hunting treasure is at the hearth. You will do
as told.”
    One step forward and one-hundred steps back
when dealing with a pigheaded idiot. “When do you leave?”
    “In an hour.”
    I wanted to hit him, and I could tell by his
refusal to look at me that he postured for the sake of his dragon’s
pride. I had pride too, and if I was to do as told, I would show
him that he better choose carefully when giving orders.
    I slowly stood from the table and entered my
chamber, which I rarely used. The door didn’t have a lock, and I
hoped Bastian would leave me be while I stewed. An hour later, he
entered the room. I didn’t look at him.
    “I meant to tell you yesterday.”
    If this was his apology, it wouldn’t cut it.
I refused to roll over. He strode from the room and within minutes,
I knew he was gone. I was too angry earlier to cry, but no longer.
My stupid dragon hurt me so badly. If he’d spoken to me about his
leaving, I’d have been apprehensive and definitely sad, but I
wouldn’t feel like this. I finally managed to wipe the tears from
my face and get up.
    I wandered through Bastian’s room and the
library. I finally decided to go exploring outside on my own, so I
changed my clothes. The problem was figuring out how to get out. I
walked through the long hallway where the door separating me from
the humans was. It was locked. I walked back to my room and picked
up a heavy gold goblet. I then proceeded to beat on the solid door
until finally it was answered by a young woman, approximately my
age.
    She looked fearful but curious. I decided
not to explain as I walked past her, but turned to offer a smile. I
noticed a key on the backside of the door. I didn’t think about
what I was doing, just grabbed it. I refused to be locked within
the dragon’s love nest any longer.
    No one stopped me, though by the looks on
their faces they wanted to. I wasn’t sure what I would do, but I
wasn’t past violence if needed. I would not be stopped. Finding a
door leading outside was harder than I expected; after forty-five
minutes, I finally escaped. Seeing my surroundings from the air was
much different than walking them. I took off on my adventure.
    Twenty minutes later, going from
geographical memory, I found the stream I always noticed when
flying with Bastian. I soaked my feet and enjoyed the breeze. I
moved on and found an outcropping of rocks about a mile downstream.
They weren’t too large, so I decided to climb. On the other side, I
noticed a dark opening in the rock and walked over to it. Looking
inside, I could see the back of a small cave. The space inside was
about six feet wide and four feet deep. An idea began to form. I
hiked back to the lair, walked in the humans’ door, and made my way
back to the library.
    Relief showed on every face I passed. Once I
was back in my rooms, I began gathering the things I