His Dancing Flames: Emerald Flame Dragon Romance, #1

By Jamie Bridges

Jasmine is a poor farm girl, stuck in a poor village. Nothing ever happens in her home, the only excitement being the stories of the adventurers that seldom make their way through. 

One night, having given up on hunting to bring food for her family, Jasmine decides to wander a little farther out. Realizing her mistake, she tries to make her way home. She is intercepted by a group of cruel looking men, wanting her for themselves. Just before they gain the upper hand, Jasmine is whisked away. Not quite believing her luck, she opens her eyes to see a monstrous dragon racing her through the skies. 

Can she reason with the beast, or has he saved her for his own pleasure?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamie Bridges
• Release date: Nov 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386725381

Book preview

I'd like to thank everyone who reads my stories, whether they read them free or pay for them.

I write because it's great fun, and knowing other enjoy my stories is amazing.

Thank you.

CHAPTER ONE

I stood alone on a windswept cliff, staring out over the vast and raging sea in front of me. It was getting cold out, but I couldn't go home just yet. I sigh and pull the wool coat tighter around me, turning in the process. I had been warned about straying to far from the village perimeter, as the danger of the wilds were vast and unforgiving, but staying stuck in one spot forever like that never felt right to me. I curse silently, my warm breath misting in front of me as it mingles with the cold winter air.

I trudge along the path leading back through the forested area, my village is a few miles from this spot, and no one ever came out here. Too dreary, they would tell me. They would never admit that they actually meant too dangerous. The small militia we kept here could scare off the lone bandits, but out side of that, they were totally useless. I'm maybe eight minutes away from the clearing that surrounds my home, when I hear multiple twigs snapping near me. I break into a run, knowing I can make the final mile home at this rate. It's already dark out, and I don't want to chance an animal sneaking about.

I trip on a fallen branch, looking around wildly as I pick myself up. This branch was bigger than some of the trunks around me, so it had to have been placed there. I start moving forward again when I hear them. Tears leak from my eyes, I already know I'm done for. In front of me, five figures stalk out of the dark misty area. Their faces twisted into savage and viscous grins. Out here, outside the civility of my village, there is no law. The bandit brigades and criminals do whatever they want, without fear of reprisal. Sometimes, a quest seeking adventurer would come by, and clean up the area for a week or two, picking up his bounties as he went along. They would leave rich, and us safer. I knew I should have been home by now, but hunting today had been for nothing, and I wanted to spend time alone on my cliff.

One of the men unsheathes a curved and mean looking blade, it looked bigger than anything out militiamen used. It was serrated along part of the curve, and was probably made for cruelty, outside of actual defense.

What's a pretty lass like you, doing so far out here? The man with the blade leers at me.

I decide to run again, instead of reply, and tear through the densely packed tree. One of the men barks out a cruel laugh, and I hear them give chase, now fully latched on to me as their prey. I feel good about my chances, until an arrow flies through the air just past me, shrieking I stumbled in freight.

I fall onto the jagged ground around me, rocks and broken twigs claw at my pale skin tearing up my linen shirt. Behind me, someone roughly grabs a fistful of my hair, and yanks me onto my knees. I let out another scream, hoping for someone to hear me, but a slap to my face only makes hem laugh louder. I squeeze my eyes shut as I feel them trail their sickly hands around my shoulders, and after a shink,