with open mouths now full of ferns.
I finally neared the doors, truly in wonder. I had only ever read about such superb creations, and here I had lived this close to one for twenty-four years. Almost in a trance, I neared the doors that the dragon-kin had been standing before moments earlier. They were gigantic compared to me, and made of solid stone like the rest of the structures.
A metal lock barred them shut – a detail I had missed from afar. It looked like no lock I had ever seen before – it had no opening for a key. Curious, I reached forward to touch it. However, as soon as my fingers brushed it in examination, it fell away from them. I stared at the metal lump on the ground, my hand still outstretched. That had never happened before.
The heavy-looking doors then began to creep open of their own accord, and I found myself backing away, bewildered. Darkness was all I could see inside, barely penetrated by the starlight that lit the clearing. The gloom of night I could handle, but this pitch-blackness was something I had never liked. As the gap widened, I peered inside. I could see some sort of bluish light further in. Unconsciously I moved back toward the entrance, trying desperately to discern shapes in the darkness, and find the source of that eerie glow.
I did not get long to ponder this, however, before a large, strong hand clapped over my mouth and an arm wrapped around my midsection, pinning my arms to my sides.
“You are far too nosy for your own good, faun.” The dragon-kin’s voice sounded rough, like it had not been used in years. I realized too late that he blended easily with the darkness and had snuck up on me in my distraction. I mentally kicked myself.
“Little girls should not follow strangers in the night,” he scolded. His warm breath tickled my ears as he spoke, and I could feel my legs threatening to give out.
He did not move to hurt me or kill me, to my astonishment, but after a moment he simply let go. Stunned, I turned to face him and immediately wished I had not. He glared down at me with those eyes that were bright, even in the darkness, and were even wilder at this proximity. His skin looked chillingly unnatural in the silver light of the moon. I felt familiar shivers of horror climb up my spine.
“I am no child, dragon.” I did not appreciate the shake that had crept into my