Dragon Tamer

Chapter 22

After taking a moment to remind myself that I was, in fact, still alive, I stood in the center of the clearing the dragon pair had made and called out for Zellar. To my disappointment, the forest absorbed most of my voice. Calling for him on the forest floor wasn't going to be enough.

Sighing, I climbed up the nearest tree. Its trunk was thicker than a dragon's neck, but thankfully it was much easier to climb. There were so many sturdy branches to pull myself up on and if I couldn't find one, there was a handy nook in the trunk for my feet and hands to use. I was covered in sweat from both my workout and from the heavy humidity by the time I got high enough to see over most of the trees. Settling on a branch, I cupped my mouth and called out to Zellar.

His cry echoed my own, somewhere nearby.

I twisted around until I saw him flying in the opposite direction. I called out to him once again, and he turned his course for me. I waved madly on the off chance he could already see me. When he got closer I yelled his name for good measure. He ducked into the clearing and waited for me to climb down the tree. Relieved to be near a familiar dragon, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Thank you for coming. I owe you two bags of jerky."

With such promises, he curled his tail around me and purred.

And then I remembered why we were here.
"Where's Camden?"

Zellar opened up his claws to reveal the prince laying limp in his grasp. I went over to check his pulse-

His hands flung out, grasping my shoulders and tossing me to the ground. He was on top of me in the next moment, fist aimed to punch my face in. His teeth were barred, eyes gold and wild, like I was staring into the eyes of a vicious beast, not the prince I had come to know and love.

"Cam!"

He froze then dropped his fist, much preferring to hold his ribs. With a moan, he dropped to his side beside me. "Sorry," he breathed, "I thought you were a dragon scavenger."

"I don't think they would handle you quite as nicely," I  muttered while sitting up straight.

"Nice?" He cracked a laugh, the first joyous noise he'd made in over twenty-four hours. "Is that what you'd call how you've been handling me? Every time I wake up, I find a new bruise."

Those might have been from his fall off Zellar's back, but he didn't need to know that. Everything was under control. . . for now.

"You're not dead, so yeah, I'd consider that nice. How are you feeling--aside from the new bruises?" I scanned his lain out form and couldn't find any serious injuries; his skin was still flushed, sweat soaking through his cotton shirt.

He shifted his eyes from the canopy to me, green as the ocean. A light smile played on his lips, but his eyes couldn't hide the pain he was in; they didn't quite have that glimmer they usually had before all of this happened. I was just releived to see the wild Cam hadn't entirely taken him over. "How close are we to finding this cure of yours?"

"We'll be there sometime tomorrow--as long as nothing else interrupts us."

He brought his arm over his eyes and released a long breath. "Then I'm fine. I can manage one more day. Gods, I hate this," he muttered.

"I'm sorry, you must be in a lot of pain." I wished I could take it away for him, even if it meant taking it as my own. Sharing it had to be better than bearing it on his own. I longed for the days when he smiled and laughed and joked around with my brothers. I wanted him to be able to take a step and not be in pain. More than anything, I wanted to hug him and feel how I felt in his arms when he carried me home from the healing hut. I'd never felt like I belonged anywhere, but something felt so right about being held by him.