Dragon of Darkness

Chapter 3

HIS POV

I only woke when I heard the door open. At once, I let the fire die. The warmth vanished so quickly it was as if it had never been there at all, and I sank into the hay, lying utterly still. Not even my breathing dared rise above the soft rustle of straw. Cold air slipped in through the gap in the door.

Footsteps followed...

I heard a woman’s voice—low, gentle, the kind of voice that did not belong to soldiers or torturers. She spoke softly to the cow, murmuring as though the animal were a child that needed comfort. The cow answered with a quiet huff, and then the sound of a stool scraping across the packed earth. The woman sat down to milk. She had a beautiful voice. And she smelled… good.

Warm...

Like fresh-baked bread.

The scent struck me so hard I nearly forgot to stay still. It was as if the smell itself reached into my belly and twisted it. I had not eaten properly in nearly two days, and my body did not let me forget it.

I stayed hidden, listening.

The steady rhythm of milk hitting the pail was strangely soothing. A simple sound. A peaceful sound. The kind of sound that did not exist in dungeons, or in arenas, or in the long screaming nights of war.

After a while the stool scraped again. The pail lifted. The woman spoke one last time to the cow—almost like a blessing—then her footsteps retreated.

The door opened.

The door closed.

Silence returned...

Only then did I let myself breathe.

She hadn’t seen me. A slow, relieved exhale left my lungs, and I pushed myself up from the hay. The cow turned her large eyes toward me, still wary, but no longer panicked.

“Thank you,” I whispered, though I doubted she understood the words. Still, it felt right to say them. “For share stable.”

I brushed a hand along her warm neck, careful not to startle her, and slipped out.

Outside, I froze!

Not because of fear, but because the world had changed. During the night, snow had fallen—no, not fallen. It had claimed the land. A thick blanket lay across the fields, over the fences, over the roofs, over the road. The world looked smoothed over, as if someone had taken clouds from the sky and pressed them down onto the earth.

Everything was pale and quiet.

Everything was… clean!

This was the first time I had ever seen snow. Now, do not misunderstand me. I knew what snow was. Winter, cold, the turning of seasons--- and yes! I even knew of Father Christmas, and the strange human tales about him. But battles always stopped before winter came. And when the fighting ended, I was locked away. Not even Hannes visited me during the cold months. The gates would remain shut. The chains would remain tight. And I would not be brought out again until the first screams of spring.

Either winter had come suddenly this year…or the fighting had lasted longer than it ever had before.

I moved away from the houses, keeping to the shadows where I could. The snow made every sound sharper. Each step made a faint crunch. Each breath smoked white in front of my face.

I reached a large barn and paused behind it, pressing myself against the wooden wall.

Damn it!

My footprints.

In the snow, they were unmistakable—dark depressions leading straight from the cow shed to this place. Anyone could follow them. Unless I changed into my dragon form, Hannes would find me without effort.

But I was starving.

And weak.

I didn't have the strength to transform...

Shit!

I sat in the lee of the barn, thinking—trying to think—when I heard it.

Laughter!

Not cruel laughter, not drunken laughter. Not the harsh barking laughter of guards and soldiers. This laughter was different. It was bright. A high shriek of joy, like birds taking flight.

I turned my head before I could stop myself, and without thinking, I followed the sound.

They were children!

A small group, bundled in worn cloaks and thick wool. Their cheeks were red with cold, their noses pink, their eyes wide with excitement. Their laughter spilled into the air like music. They were playing in the sudden snow as if it were a miracle. Perhaps, for them, it was.

I stood at the edge of the yard and watched. At first, I only meant to look for a moment. But the moment stretched...

They rolled snowballs—one after another—packing them tighter, shaping them, building them up. Their hands were bare, red and raw, yet they did not care. They worked until the snowballs were so large two or three of them had to push together. Soon, the grass beneath began to show through in patches where they had scraped and rolled and stomped.

And still they laughed...

They talked.

They sang.

They teased one another...

They were happy!

I had never seen children like this. Not in the camps. Not in the castles. Not in the towns that lived under Jasper’s shadow. I had seen children screaming. Children starving. Children hiding. Children learning too young how to stay silent.

But these children?

They laughed as if the world was safe. And before I realized it, I was smiling too. The scene in front of me was so far from the warzones I was used to that it felt unreal. Their laughter pushed away the memory of screams that had kept me awake at night. The pain in my body loosened—just slightly—as if something warm and gentle had slipped into my blood.

Was this---

Was this happiness?

That was when it happened...

The children had stacked the large snowballs on top of one another and were struggling to lift the smallest onto the top. The tower was already taller than most of the older children.

It wobbled.

Tilted.

And then the whole thing toppled--- it fell toward a girl!

Without thinking, I sprang forward. One heartbeat I was standing at the edge of the yard--- the next I was there.

I caught the snowball!

It was heavy; heavy enough to hurt her.

But it did not...

My arms locked around it and held.

I looked up--- and met a pair of blue eyes in a freckled face. Beneath a dark wool cap, red curls spilled down over a thick tunic. Her shoes looked homemade—stitched leather, patched and worn. Her eyes stared at me as if I were a ghost.

My heart dropped!

Wh-what--- What did I do?!

My mind spun instantly, searching for escape. I imagined the adults rushing out with torches and pitchforks. I imagined shouts. Screams...

The word monster!

I had used my last strength to save a damned tower of snow, and now—after only one day of freedom—I would be beaten to death by peasants. How humiliating---!

“Our snowman!”

I blinked.

She wasn’t screaming in fear.

She wasn’t running.

Her face wasn’t twisted with terror at all. She jumped back to her feet and, in a firm voice, ordered the others to help. They immediately scrambled to gather snow, packing it around the base again. She even pointed at me like I was part of the plan.

“Hold it! Hold it there!”

I stood still, frozen—not by cold, but by disbelief! The children ran around me, laughing and shouting as though nothing strange had happened at all. I barely dared move. I was afraid that whatever spell held them would break if I breathed too loudly.

Wh-why were they not afraid?

What were they?

Humans?

Yes!

No doubt...

Were they used to strange wizards and witches?

No...

None of them had magic.

Then why did they not fear me?

I did not understand it.

It made me uneasy.

And strangely relieved...

Relieved, because they did not stare at me like the beast Jasper had made me. Terrified, because I did not know what would happen when the illusion broke...

“So,” the girl said suddenly, turning to me. “Now… let go!”

I did the only thing I could.

I obeyed...

I released the snowball--- and finally I understood everything. I stared down at my hands.

My claws were gone!

In their place were five fingers—human fingers—pink and red from the cold. My arms were not scaled. My horns were gone; the missing horn was nothing more than a scar on my forehead. And my cat-like eyes--- Well, I could only assume they now looked human too.

I was in my full human form...

The girl looked up at me, pleased as anything, and grinned from ear to ear.

“Good?” she asked, as if she expected me to have an opinion on the crooked, lopsided masterpiece in front of us. It looked dreadful. A leaning tower of snow and ice, with no purpose I could understand. I could have said so, but if I hurt her feelings—if I stole that bright, contagious smile—I would never forgive myself...

“Very good,” I said, and smiled back.

Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she burst into laughter. The others laughed too, and they declared the “snowman” a success. As if by magic, a new game began—and for some reason, I was dragged into it. The girl grabbed my arm, and suddenly I was part of a small group: her, two boys, and a younger girl. We were meant to throw snow at the others.

I didn't know the rules, but it seemed simple enough...

Snow flew through the air in soft white bursts. Children shrieked and ducked and tackled each other into drifts. I moved carefully at first, afraid I would break something—afraid I would break them.

But the snow was harmless.

The laughter was harmless.

And slowly, I let myself be swept into it.

I slipped.

My feet went out from under me. I fell backward into a snowbank--- only it was not a snowbank...

It was a wheelbarrow!

And it tipped...

Before I could stop myself, the world flipped, turning upside down. Instinctively, I reached for something to catch myself and grabbed the red-haired girl. She screamed as sky and earth turned upside down. I landed hard—flat on my back—with the wheelbarrow smashing into my head.

For a moment I just lay there, stunned.

Then I let out a long sigh.

Snow melted on my warm skin.

First day I have fun--- and I end up in old wheelbarrow!

I smiled anyway when I heard the children laughing so hard they could barely breathe.

“Mira!”

A cold jolt ran through me.

That was an adult voice!

I looked up--- and saw a woman was walking toward us...

At first, it did not seem as though she had noticed me. For a heartbeat or two, I thought I might slip away. But before the thought even finished forming, her eyes met mine.

And everything changed...

Her gaze sharpened. Her body moved with frightening speed. In one swift motion, she snatched up a pitchfork from nearby and aimed it straight at my chest.

“Who are you?”