Dragon Riders of Etrea 2—Chapter 27

Henrik slept like the dead that night. Isobel had meant what she said, and they went at it until he was absolutely exhausted. Her strength and stamina were gifts from her dragon, and her energy seemed limitless. 

She slept in his arms, with her face pressed against his neck. Being so worn out meant she didn’t toss in her sleep like usual, although she kept whispering “I love you” in her sleep. All in all, it was one of the best nights Henrik had ever experienced.

When she woke, Isobel immediately climbed on top of him. She kissed him until his eyes opened, then reached down and grabbed onto his dick, which of course was hard as it was first thing in the morning. She rubbed the tip against her soft lips, but then winced and laughed.

“That’s definitely not going to happen,” she said, laying her head on Henrik’s shoulder. “I am far too sore. I’m just going to lie here for a moment.”

Henrik wrapped his arms around her. He was barely awake, but having her lithe form on top of him was the best feeling. His hand moved down, almost on its own accord, and grabbed firmly onto her ass.

Isobel giggled. “Please don’t ever stop doing that.” She sighed happily and nuzzled her face against his neck. They stayed that way for a moment, just two people enjoying each other’s presence.

“I suppose we should get up and go,” Isobel finally said, pushing herself up into a seated position. “Thanks again for last night, honey,” she said.

They climbed out of bed, with Isobel wincing at every other step. Henrik laughed as he stepped into his pants. Isobel focused on preparing food for their journey.

“I can’t wait until I can just ride Calduin,” Henrik said. “I have to be honest, The Duke is a good horse but I’m getting tired of riding him.”

“I’m sure he gets tired of being ridden by a giant,” Isobel said. “How tall are you, even?”

Henrik shrugged. “I dunno. Six and a half feet, roundabouts.”

Isobel whistled appreciatively. “Calduin is definitely going to have to grow a bit before lugging around your big ass.”

Henrik laughed. She had a good point though.

An hour later Henrik was putting the last of his things into his saddlebags and mounting them behind The Duke’s saddle. The horse had thoroughly enjoyed all the greenery and had eaten his fill each day. Henrik almost felt bad taking him away from that, but he’d be eating like a king again back in Anslie’s valley.

“Are you about ready?” Isobel asked, walking up behind him. She wore a shirt made of dragon skin, probably a bit too low-cut for proper protection but Henrik enjoyed the view.

“Yeah, we’re ready when you are,” Henrik said. 

“Come here, boy,” Isobel said, reaching for The Duke. 

The tall horse leaned his head over and smelled her hands. Isobel smiled and rubbed his nose for a moment, then closed her eyes and whispered something under her breath. The Duke suddenly pranced in place as if eager to run.

“More of that dragon magic?” Henrik asked.

Isobel nodded. “I can’t do anything like Tossyth or Anslie, but he’ll at least have more energy now. If I do this every morning and maybe every afternoon we can probably knock a day or two off your travel time.”

“That would be a blessing,” Henrik said as he reached up and grabbed the pommel. “I suppose I’ll see you out there.”

“Yeah, I’ll leave here in an hour or two,” Isobel said with a smile. “Cazeth and I travel just a little bit faster than you on horseback.” She stretched up onto her toes and kissed him.

“I’ll see you soon, then,” Henrik said. He pulled himself into the saddle, then patted The Duke on the neck. “Good thing he’s getting used to dragons. He’s going to be seeing a lot of them in the upcoming days.”

Isobel reached up and squeezed Henrik’s leg, then turned and walked back toward Cazeth’s cave. Henrik took a moment to just watch her walk away. What a sight.

“Alright, boy, let’s go,” Henrik said. He patted The Duke on the neck again and rubbed him for a moment. This horse had been with him through his wildest adventures, and it looked like there was more to come.

He led the horse out of the bowl of life, carefully walking around fruit trees and a small vineyard. Both Anslie and Isobel lived in incredible places. He wondered what Meriel’s living situation was like.

At the edge of the bowl of life, the ground began to slope down. The Duke walked carefully down the worn path. Henrik could tell the horse wanted to run, but he didn’t want to risk him—running downhill with a heavy rider on his back was just a bad idea. So he kept The Duke at a walk for at least two hours, when the ground finally began to level out.

“Let’s see what this dragon magic does,” Henrik said, and allowed The Duke to speed up. He immediately went into a canter and Henrik held him there. He could tell The Duke wanted to all-out run, but he couldn’t risk the horse wearing himself out, dragon magic or no.

Still, holding the horse at a fast canter devoured the miles. The Duke was an excellent horse, probably the finest animal Henrik had ever ridden, but even he had his limits. Whatever Isobel had done, his energy seemed almost limitless. Not to the extent of Tossyth’s magic, but it was still impressive.

The Duke wasn’t even breathing hard when the sun rose overhead. Henrik decided to slow him anyway so they could both take a breath. He waited until he saw a suitable place, then pulled on the reins until The Duke stopped.

“Not bad, not bad,” Henrik said as he slid out of the saddle. He checked The Duke, but the horse seemed fresh and ready to go, even though he had probably covered twenty miles already. 

“I wonder what I’ll be able to do,” Henrik said to his horse. “You know, once my dragon gets his…. Ah, that’s right. Nevermind.”

Once his dragon gained his fire breath, Henrik would get the ability to produce fire somehow. He wasn’t sure how it was going to work, but it certainly sounded exciting.

With that in mind, he reached out to talk with Calduin. He let his dragon know that he was coming home, and his message was immediately met with overwhelming excitement.

Calduin sent his usual images and feelings; mostly him learning to hunt with his mother. His fire breath was coming in, which Calduin thought was rather fun, but his mother didn’t let him use it much. That upset him, but at least he was beginning to understand why.

Henrik grabbed some food from his saddlebags and began eating. He tried sending the taste to Calduin, who responded with disgust. The young dragon only wanted a fresh kill. Well, he was a dragon, after all.

Henrik was glad things were going so well with Calduin. The dragon was definitely excitable, but in a way that was controllable. With each day that passed, he worried less and less about Calduin trying to take control. In fact, the dragon hadn’t tried that in a long time. He seemed to be happy and content.

Having a well-balanced dragon as a companion was certainly a blessing, but it reminded Henrik that Emyss was out there, the ancient snow dragon that would come looking for him. He was going to have to face him, likely soon. He pushed it out of his mind and tried to just focus on the present.

Not too long after they began traveling again, Cazeth and Isobel flew overhead. They moved in lazy circles so as not to outpace Henrik too badly. It was fascinating, seeing them up there. Even The Duke was getting used to them by now, although Henrik didn’t think he’d ever be fully comfortable with the dragon. 

The Duke finally began to tire that evening, so Henrik slowed him to a fast walk. When the sun was three times its height above the horizon, he decided to stop for the day.

He untacked his horse and spent a few minutes brushing him down, which The Duke seemed to appreciate. Henrik had chosen this location on account of there being a small tree nearby. He unclipped one end of the horse’s reins and looped it around a branch, giving him plenty of room to safely wander. The Duke just settled down and began munching on the sparse grass.

Several minutes later, Cazeth landed a good distance away. Henrik saw Isobel’s fiery red hair tossing around as the massive dragon lumbered closer. 

He reached out and placed a calming hand on The Duke as the dragon came closer. The horse balked and tossed his head, but mostly just moved to the other side of the tree. He kept a close eye on Cazeth, but eventually went back to eating.

Henrik walked over to the dragon, who greeted him as usual. Her massive head was suddenly in front of him, smelling him. Henrik reached out and rubbed her on the nose and she made what was quite possibly the most terrifying noise he had ever heard. It was a deep gurgling sound, shockingly powerful and low enough that Henrik felt it in his chest. It sounded like a dog’s growl if the dog was the size of, well, a dragon. It took him a moment to realize that was the same purring noise baby Calduin had made. Well, at least he knew what to expect.

“I’m assuming you took the scenic route?” Henrik asked as Isobel moved out of the saddle and stood on the dragon’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” she said as she began removing the heavy saddle. “We could make it there in a day or two but I’d rather stay close to you.”

Henrik watched as she hefted the large saddle in both arms, then slid down the dragon’s arm. Most men would struggle to carry it the way she did. Nine Hells, most large men would struggle. Henrik had lifted the saddle once before and it probably weighed as much as Rasud.

It was then that Henrik realized much of the fight Isobel had put up on the first two days had been half-hearted. Yes, she had been testing him. But, especially when he turned her over his knee, she could have escaped and probably blackened his eye. Instead, she let him. It made him smile.

Henrik had packed a bare handful of branches for nights like this. The night was warm enough that no fire was needed, but he liked having one nearby. He and Isobel cuddled up together on his bedroll, watching the small flames, and finally fell asleep.