All Chapters of The Dragon Thief: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

53 Chapters

Chapter 41: Bynjym's Logic

And Skylar, too, begins to see,Love is forged once she’s free.For Kenneth, prince with hollow dreams,Is blind to dragons’ silent screams.RyukiFrom where I’m sitting, holding Skylar, I can see Shao glancing at me frequently. I’m sure he wishes he were in my spot. Too bad, sucker, she’s mine.‘Ours,’ Bynjym corrects.‘Ours,’ I confirm.I look up at my dragon. ‘Were you really going to hurt yourself?’‘Our queen seems to feel obligated to help those who are injured. I was merely trying to give her incentive to focus. It’s not like I wouldn’t heal.’‘Don’t ever do that, Bynjym. I don’t care what the reasons are. I don’t ever want to see you purposefully injuring yourself,’ I say, still angry that he was going to slash a hole in his leg.‘What was it like?’ I ask, wondering what it felt like for Skylar to push another dragon's strength into him.He’s thoughtful for a moment. ‘Powerful.’I wait, but my eloquent dragon doesn’t say more.‘Bynjym, perhaps you could explain a little bit mor

Chapter 42: The Life of a Rider

While Ryuki, fierce in tooth and scale,Would stand with her through storm and hail.A fire sparks, then slowly grows,What path to choose, she barely knows.Ryuki“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Skylar asks as we walk to the trees.‘Bynjym?’ I ask since I have no idea. The sky is very dark, so the sun hasn’t started to rise.‘I’d say it’s around four in the morning,’ he says.When we get to the trees, I check the surroundings. I’m sure Bynjym has already made sure there are no creatures over here, but it’s always good to check again. Then I find a spot for Skylar to relieve herself and I leave her to find my own spot.When I’m done, I go back and wait for her to come out.As we walk back, she looks at me. “So, how do you bathe out here?”“We find rivers or lakes where we can wash our clothes and our bodies. We find plants that have a nice scent to them and rub them over our bodies. Sometimes we have soap, but, honestly, that’s pretty rare. We’ve learned to mix sand with herbs

Chapter 43: Flight

Yet danger stalks on every side,For secrets kept cannot long hide.The king now hunts with sharper eyes,Suspicion rising as the dragon flies.SkylarAfter greeting each of the dragons and their riders, Ryuki joins me around the fire pit. Surprisingly, Cyryl joins us too.‘Are you still hungry?’ I ask her.‘I’m always hungry. I’m a growing dragon and a queen,’ she says, haughtily.Ryuki begins laughing beside me. He twisted around to look at Bynjym, who is watching us.“If it makes you feel any better, I call Bynjym a bottomless pit. If you think Queen Cyryl will outgrow the need to eat all the time, you’re mistaken,” he says.‘Dragons are very active.’‘We burn a lot of calories.’‘We are very large animals.’‘Some of us are still young.’I get a barrage of dragon voices in my head all at once, like they’re all trying to justify their need to eat a lot to me.“Are you alright?” Ryuki asks, reaching out to place his hand on my arm.“Yes. I just …” I look around. “I’m not used to all t

Chapter 44: The Lake

And if he learns his daughter’s game,Her life will burn in royal flame.The thief unmasked, the crown betrayed,No mercy in the debt unpaid.SkylarI’m overwhelmed by the beauty of the world from up here in the sky, so I jump a little when Ryuki tells me to hold on.His voice sends a shiver through my body again.I lay my hands on Ryuki’s arms, where he’s kept them wrapped tightly around me.The moment Bynjym dives, I press my body into Ryuki’s and grab onto his arms in a death grip.“Tighten your legs. Hold on to Bynjym, not me. The stronger your legs are, the easier it will be to keep your seat,” he says gently.“I’m not used to having my legs … open like this,” I tell him.“That’s why you need to practice. Even if your legs muscles were strong, you’d have a hard time staying on a dragon with them spread wide like this. It’s something new and you’ll begin to feel new muscles strengthening the more you ride.”“That sounds like fun,” I say sarcastically.“Would you agree that it’s wor

Chapter 45: Bathing

So Skylar walks the blade’s thin edge,A vow upon the mountain ledge.She’ll steal the eggs, she’ll bear the cost,She’ll right the wrongs her kin have lost.RyukiAs I watch Skylar struggling with the idea of getting naked in front of me, I reach out to Bynjym.‘Why aren’t you reassuring her that you’ll watch out for her?’‘Because then she might not swim with you. Besides, I have my queen right where I want her. It’s time for you to get your queen right where you want her,’ he says.‘Cyryl would not appreciate that,’ I tell him.‘Cyryl wore herself out and is sleeping soundly, which is why I know that Skylar is having quite amorous feelings about you.’‘She is?’ I ask.‘Yes. She’s nervous, but she’s very attracted to you. She’s thinks you’re very muscular and …’He snickers. ‘Large.’Large? I’m pretty standard when it comes to the height of males. Maybe I’m a bit tall at six feet, but I’m not so large that she would be taking notice.‘Not your height, idiot, your manhood.’My … I loo

Chapter 46: When You're Ready

Ryuki waits with sword and flame,To stand beside her and stake his claim.Together now, the fire burns,The tide will shift; the balance turns.SklyarFor some reason, when Ryuki says I’m special, I feel special. He believes in me more than anyone ever has. My father appreciated that I was a good daughter and that I acted like a royal princess, knowing my place and accepting my role in life.Kenneth appreciated that I was an attractive, well put together princess who would make him look good, quietly accept her role in life, and have his heirs with no muss or fuss.Ryuki sees me for the woman I am. He doesn’t care that I’m a royal. He doesn’t care that I’m proper in all the ways that have always mattered in my life. He accepts that I am who I am.I’ve suddenly realized that I want more than the life I was expected to accept. I want to live my own life. I want to live free, free to be a dragon rider or kiss a man I barely know but who seems to understand me better than the people who h

Chapter 47: My Dragons

For love is fierce when bonds run deep,And dragon hearts no cage can keep.Let kingdoms fall and empires break, The Dragon Thief will rise, awake.Ryuki‘Feeling smug, are we?’ Bynjym asks me.‘Says the dragon who is currently wrapped around his queen,’ I retort.'I’d say my plan worked.’‘YOUR plan? What plan was that?’ I ask.‘The one where I feigned being asleep so Skylar was forced to have you go into the water with her to ‘keep her safe’,’ he snickers. We both know Bynjym would never let anything happen to Skylar. She’s our queen’s rider. Next to Cyryl, she’s the most important being in the thunder.‘Some would argue that Skylar is the most important being in the thunder,’ he says.‘Explain,’ I say, turning to look at my dragon who is still lying on the beach in the sun.After making her come, Skylar fell asleep in my arms. Since she seems comfortable, I decided to stay in the water and I'm slowly swaying as I walk around to help her stay asleep.‘Without Skylar, Cyryl will peri

Chapter 48: Acceptance

So choose your side and guard your breath, For truth rides close on wings of death. A crown may fall, a world may change, When love and fire rearrange. SkylarI’m not sure what it was that finally made me realize that I will never be able to convince my father or Kenneth to stop hunting the dragons, but in that moment, I finally realized what it meant to be Cyryl’s rider.‘Now you understand,’ Cyryl says to me across the beach.‘Yes. I have to choose a side. There is no way to bridge this gap. There is no other way than war.’Even as I say it, I know that it means the death of people that I have loved, people who are or were my family. But I cannot turn a blind eye to what they are doing. The only way for us to win is for Cyryl and me to grow stronger together. We will become the leaders of our thunder. We will be the ones who strengthen the dragons and bring them to the forefront of the war. We will not longer be on the defensive. Once Cyryl is an adult, we will go on the offensiv

Chapter 49: A Night Together

Ryuki, forged in flight and flame,Would die before he brought them shame.Their hearts entwine like roots of old,In love unbought, in legends bold.RyukiI’m thrilled that Skylar seems to understand her role as the queen’s rider. I’m even more excited that she's asking us to be by their side as they take on their role.‘Yes, our queens seem to have taken a liking to us,’ Bynjym says, as he resumes feeding Cyryl.“It’s late, Skylar. Did you want to return to the thunder and stay with the others tonight, or would you like to stay the night here on the beach?” I ask.She turns and looks at the waves gently lapping against the shore. Bynjym and I have slept here more times than I can count. It’s very peaceful.“Is it safe?”‘Nothing will harm my queens,’ Bynjym says.Cyryl begins clicking happily at Bynjym. He leans down and gently rubs his nose against her face. The clicking sound increases, then Skylar turns back to me.“I guess we’re sleeping here,” she says, smiling. “Does it get col

Chapter 50: Attack

With Bynjym bound in soul and scale,He guards the flight, he guards the tale.He fights the lords who steal with might,And shields the eggs through storm and night.SkylarI seem to have no problem sleeping in Ryuki’s arms. Considering I’ve gone nearly eighteen years without sleeping in a man’s arms, it’s surprising how comfortable I feel in his.When Bynjym lifts into the sky, taking us back to the thunder, I refuse to let myself feel terrified. I am a dragon rider, a queen’s rider. I will not flinch when it feels like gravity is trying to suck my stomach out of my body, nor will I get dizzy when the world below me becomes so small that it looks like an ant farm.‘Someday, you’ll equate these feelings with riding on my back. They will not only be familiar, but welcome,’ Cyryl says.‘I look forward to that day, my dragon.’When we get back to the thunder, I can feel the envious looks aimed my way. I’m not sure if the envy is toward Ryuki because he spent a night alone with me, or tow

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