Red Says the Dragon Read online

  Red Says the Dragon

  Sophie Stern

  Copyright © 2015 by Sophie Stern

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Red Says the Dragon

  Kaira is an ordinary princess: spoiled, stubborn, and secluded.

  When Kaira becomes lost in the forest, however, everything changes.

  The Dragon of Naga, Sanguine, takes no prisoners. When Kaira finds herself in his lair, she begs him to spare her life.

  “I’ll do anything,” she tells him, and that’s exactly what the dragon requires.

  Red Says the Dragon is an erotic novel about a princess, a dragon, and the relationship they forge in the darkness of the forbidden forest.

  **This book contains explicit descriptions of sexual acts.**

  Contents

  Red Says the Dragon

  Red Says the Dragon

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  Author

  Books

  Stepdragon

  1.

  1

  “The forest is no place for a princess,” the King told his daughter sternly. Headstrong and determined, 19-year-old Kaira was not interested in her father’s rules.

  “There’s nothing wrong with the forest, Father,” she said simply, blatantly ignoring his comment. “And besides, Ian will be there with me.”

  She nodded her head toward her servant: the lowly Ian. The poor boy said nothing as the King’s angry gaze passed over him. Ian didn’t want trouble. He didn’t even want to be here today. All Ian wanted, really, was to run home to his mother and enjoy a bowl of hot lamb stew.

  Unfortunately, the princess had other plans: plans that practically guaranteed a delay in his arrival home. If she did convince her father to let her go into the forest, after all, she might be gone for a day or two. Maybe, Ian thought suddenly, they would be gone for an entire fortnight.

  And he wished silently to himself that the King would be able to convince his daughter that exploring the forest was a horrible idea.

  “Why do you want to explore the forest, Kaira?” The King asked quietly, returning his gaze to the girl. The dirt beneath her fingernails betrayed her luscious gown. She might be a princess by blood, but she was not one in her heart.

  “To see all that my Kingdom has to hold,” she replied without missing a beat. Despite the fact that she had practiced her lie a thousand times in her bedroom mirror that morning, both the King and Ian knew that Kaira was hiding the truth.

  “And what is so special about the forest this week, Kaira?” The King inquired, stroking his beard. His daughter reminded him greatly of his late wife: headstrong, determined, and stubborn. He remembered the day that his queen had begged to go into the forest, as well, though she had been honest enough to tell him why and smart enough to decide against it.

  “It’s just that,” Kaira paused. This was a question she hadn’t anticipated. “It’s so beautiful this week. The weather is good,” she waved her hand to the open window, where a gentle breeze was flowing inside.

  No one could argue that it was, in fact, a beautiful day.

  “It’s lovely out, Father. If I’m to be Queen one day, don’t you think I ought to know my Kingdom better than anyone else? Don’t you think it’s wise to let me discover all of the secrets that my land has to hold? Don’t you-“

  “That’s quite enough,” the King held up his hand and cut his daughter off mid-sentence.

  Kaira looked surprised: and she was. The King wasn’t one to interrupt her speeches, nor was he one to ignore her desires. There was something about the forest that Kaira didn’t know, though, that the King knew all too well.

  And King Liam was not one to take risks with his most prized possession.

  It was simply not his style.

  “Ian, leave us,” the King commanded. The poor servant boy stumbled over his too-big feet as he hurried to escape the King’s gaze. He closed the heavy doors behind him and waited in the hallway with the lone guard.

  “Trouble in paradise,” the guard commented softly.

  Ian just nodded.

  **

  Inside the room, the King was struggling to deal with Kaira.

  “Why won’t you let me go?” She whined. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted. You just don’t want me to be happy,” she pouted. “You wish I was boring and dull like all the lords and ladies. You wish I was bored.”

  The King frowned at Kaira.

  “You may not go to the forest, Kaira. There are wild things – horrible things – that a princess need not know about. The castle is where you belong. You have full range of the gardens and full freedom to explore the village, but the forest is one place where you may not go. I forbid it.”

  Kaira growled at her father, furious with his lack of understanding. Frowning, she turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her like a toddler who didn’t get his way.

  When she was gone, King Liam collapsed in his throne and closed his eyes. How could he tell his daughter why he didn’t want her to go? How could he warn her about the dangers that she was so frequently drawn to? He knew perfectly well why she wanted to go into the forest this week: trolls. It was troll season and all the best knights were out hunting them, fighting them, and killing them to prove their strength.

  He knew Kaira wanted to find a troll.

  He also knew that it would kill her in an instant.

  That wasn’t why King Liam forbade his daughter to enter the forest, though.

  In actuality, a much bigger threat resided in the mountainside behind the darkness of the trees: a threat that would love to get its hands on a princess, especially one as young and tasty as Kaira.

  Though the risk of being captured was small, it was less small when you were royalty. And though many believed the fables to simply be myths that had been passed on for generations, the King knew better.

  As a young prince, he had wandered too far into the depths of the forest and eventually found himself in a deep, dark cave.

  With nothing but his bravery, the King had encountered a monster so great that he had spoken of it only to his one-legged, dim-witted brother Percy who had died later that year. How the King managed to escape, he still didn’t know. How he managed to find his way home, he never knew. How the King managed to find a cavern that few had ever seen, he couldn’t comprehend.

  Despite years of searching, he had never been able to find the cave again.

  But he knew it was there.

  And the King knew that if he warned his daughter of a dragon in their country, she would be running for its cave even faster than she was running for the trolls.

  2

  “It’s not fair,” fussed Kaira as she flopped onto her oversized bed. The lush blankets that covered her four-poster bed felt like needles piercing her back as she began to cry. Her maidservant, Gladys, tried to comfort her. Ian stood in the corner doing nothi
ng. Of course he was doing nothing. What else did Ian ever do?

  “There, there,” Gladys gently rubbed Kaira’s hair. Everything will be fine, dear. Everything will be as it should be. You’ll see. Just you wait.”

  “It’s not going to be okay, Gladys,” Kaira cried into the pillow. “This was my only chance to catch a troll. This was my only opportunity. And it’s gone. And I hate everything. And everyone hates me. And my life is RUINED!” Kaira began sobbing louder and louder until even Gladys covered her ears.

  “Stop, Princess,” she shouted over the noise. “You don’t want the wrong type of attention, my dear.”

  Princess Kaira stopped sobbing long enough to look at Gladys and spit out, “I don’t CARE!”

  After a few more minutes of the girl’s screams and shouts, Ian and Gladys simply left the room and waited outside in the hallway.

  “You might as well go home, Ian,” Gladys said, rolling her eyes. “Her majesty is going to be awhile.”

  Ian nodded. He knew it was true. Kaira didn’t throw tantrums as often as some girls, but her fits were certainly louder and longer-lasting. Oh well. He didn’t mind, so long as he was home in time for stew. Turning, Ian headed down the dimly-lit hallway.

  After a moment of waiting for Kaira to calm down, Gladys decided to head to the kitchen to find something to eat, as well. Perhaps Kaira would be finished crying by the time she returned. Gladys made her way down the hall and down the stairs, but was so focused on what she’d have for lunch that she didn’t notice the subtle opening and closing of Princess Kaira’s bedroom door, nor did she see the princess, who had changed into peasant clothing, slipping down the hallway and down the back stairwell.

  If Gladys had turned around, she would have realized that Kaira’s tantrum had been a ruse to get some time alone. If she had turned around, she would have realized that Kaira was nothing more than a spoiled princess who deserved to die at the hand of a troll if that’s what she wanted so badly.

  But Gladys did not turn around and she did not see Kaira and she did not realize, not until very, very much later, that the girl who would one day become queen was nothing more than a selfish child who cared only about herself.

  Kaira knew that her father would punish her servants for letting her go. Oh, he wouldn’t execute them or their families like some kings. King Liam was much too tender-hearted for that. He would, however, permit them to be whipped or dock their wages or possibly take away meals for a few days, but Kaira didn’t much care. After all, if Ian and Gladys wanted to let her escape, that was their problem.

  Not hers.

  She knew the hallways and staircases that filled the castle quite well. And her castle, Castle Smok, was as much a part of her as she was of it. Kaira crept carefully down the stairwell, dodged the sight of the Lords who were passing by in the hall, and made her way outside.

  Her pockets were full of breads and fruits that she had been squirreling away for days in anticipated of her adventure. Oh, she would ask her father’s permission, of course, but that didn’t mean that she would obey his commands. Rules weren’t made to be broken, but they were made as more of a suggestion than a hard fact.

  It wasn’t that Kaira was temperamental or unyielding, but that she simply felt her way was best. Like her father, Kaira was loyal and kind when she wanted to be, but unfortunately, those good qualities were generally overshadowed by her extreme determination.

  It took her longer than she expected to get outside of the castle walls, but once she was outside, Kaira strayed from the path that led to the village.

  The town of Naga was charming and bustling and Kaira loved to spend time there. The villagers knew and loved her, and she loved them, too. Kaira constantly took food and treats to the village children on her visits, but she didn’t feel like she was as good of a princess as the villagers thought she was. This was primarily because her visits were not simply for goodwill. Kaira liked to explore the village to hear what the hunters and knights were going to be doing.

  Kaira went to find out where the adventures were.

  The pub in town was filled with all kinds of talk and whispers, and a few well-placed coins in the hands of the ale master got her the information that she wanted.

  Trolls, he told her. This month was all about trolls.

  Trolls didn’t wander into the land often, but there were always at least two or three during this time of year. If you got a troll, you essentially guaranteed that the King would take notice of you, so everyone wanted to get one.

  Competition was fierce and everyone had an idea of the best way to catch a troll, but Kaira knew that her way was essentially a guarantee. The trolls weren’t going to come to the scent of ale or wine or mead. They weren’t going to make their way out of the darkness of the woods for the chance at getting a human. They would, however, make themselves known if it meant the chance to try to capture a princess.

  But Kaira would be too quick for them.

  She had been in the forest only twice before. Her father rarely let her even near the edge of the trees, as if he was afraid something would jump out and grab her. Kaira knew that he was overprotective and worried, but she never understood why. The forest was lengthy, sure. It backed up to the mountains, which is where she suspected the trolls came from. Maybe they were wandering down to find deer or birds in the forest. Maybe they were wandering out of their caves in an effort to find something tasty to enjoy.

  No matter what it was that brought the trolls to Naga, Kaira was going to be ready for them.

  Kaira was going to prove herself, once and for all.

  Kaira was going to win.

  And she was going to do it with a smile on her face.

  3

  By the time Kaira reached the forest’s edge, she was sure her father had noticed her absence. He was, after all, the king. It wasn’t his first time dealing with her shenanigans and it wouldn’t be the last. She only hoped he had enough sense to avoid wasting time and sending guards after her.

  Kaira could not easily be caught.

  The edge of the forest was nearly two miles from the castle, yet Kaira had a perfect view of its edge from her bedroom window. She had spent days staring at it and planning how she would get from Naga to the darkness of the trees without being spotted.

  She had gone to the village first, thankful she had visited enough times to escape notice. No one looked twice at the strange girl who always gave out cookies and rolls. No one batted an eye as she made her way behind the blacksmith’s shop. No one paid any attention as she began to walk down a narrow, forgotten path that was used only on the occasional hunting expedition.

  For once in her life, no one noticed Kaira until it was too late.

  She ducked into the forest, finally out of eyesight. That’s when she heard the horns.

  He had noticed.

  Her father had noticed.

  And he knew exactly where to start looking for her because Kaira had been dumb enough to ask his permission before taking off. She began to run through the woods, tripping and stumbling in the darkness, almost regretting her decision, but not quite.

  It would take the guards awhile to reach her, but not long. They could ride their horses to the edge of the forest, but would have to walk once they reached it. And Kaira knew that most of the guards wouldn’t be willing to come inside.

  Many of them, after all, believed that the forest was haunted. Many of them believed that the forest was a place of ghosts and goblins and horrors.

  But Kaira didn’t mind.

  She just ran faster and faster until she was exhausted from running, and then she ran some more.

  Kaira ran until she could no longer see wisps of sunlight streaming through the treetops, and that was when she knew that she was deep within the woods.

  Kaira was a smart girl, but she hadn’t thought much about how she would find her way out of the forest. Her father always warned her to go East toward the village, rather than West, which would land her in the mountains an
d in an assortment of caves and caverns and places where little girls would be lost and never seen again.

  She gulped as she glanced behind her.

  Everything looked the same.

  And for a brief moment, Kaira felt scared.

  She hadn’t heard the guards, though. She hadn’t seen anyone. She hadn’t heard anyone call her name or felt like anyone was actually looking for her.

  For just a little while, Kaira was alone.

  She slowed to a walk but continued into the depths of the forest. Her mother had told her tales before she died: tales of wondrous things in the darkness. Fairies, her mother had whispered. Ghosts, she had promised. Dragons, she had hoped.

  But none of that had ever come true. Kaira had tried for years to get an opportunity to explore the darkness, but none of her maidservants had ever been willing to take her and none of the guards would ever have dared to disobey King Liam.

  Kaira was on her own.

  She kept walking.

  The trees grew thicker together for a short while and Kaira tried not to jump at all of the forest sounds. Toward the edge, there had been birds, but now that she was deeper into the depths, there were other sounds. She heard screeches and sputtering and rustling and running. She heard howls. She heard whispers.

  Kaira shivered as she continued to walk.

  She stepped on a damp pile of leaves that squished beneath her feet. She saw the outline of a snake slithering into some brush. She even heard something that she just knew was a bear.

  But there were no trolls to be found.

  As Kaira walked, she began to forget that the knights were probably out looking for her. She pulled her small dagger out. She found herself wishing, as she was walking through the darkness, that she had somehow set a better trap for the trolls than simply thinking she would find one.

  She hated to even think it, but had her father been right? Had his word been solid? Should she have obeyed him? She was cold and tired and the woods weren’t what she expected. What had she expected? Kaira didn’t really know. All she knew was that she wanted to make it out of the forest alive, troll in hand, but she’d have to survive the night.