Raven’s grip did not falter. He held the solid, iron-like architecture of her backside, his fingers sinking into the dense muscle that had been forged by thirty years of war. He felt the tremor in her, a high-frequency vibration that ran from the base of her spine to the tips of her toes, a physical revolt against the sheer audacity of his touch.

"What is your name?" he asked, his voice a low vibration that seemed to bypass her ears and strike directly at her core.

Edda trembled. It was not a dainty thing; it was the shudder of a mountain shifting on its foundation. Behind her, Rika was folded in a deep, desperate bow, her head tucked so low that her chin pressed against her sternum. Rika was vibrating in sympathy, her own wide frame shaking as the overwhelming mana radiated from the man who stood between them.

Rika’s mind was a riot of static. ’Hunting?’ the thought spiraled through her, fragmented and manic. ’Lady Edda? A dragon? What is he saying?’

Edda felt the world tilt. Her internal logic was being shredded. ’Did a dragon... propose to have sex with me?’ The thought was so absurd, so horrifyingly large, that her mind refused to hold it, yet it wouldn’t let it go. Her body reacted in betraying ways—every time Raven’s fingers flexed, kneading the firmness of her glutes, her muscles would involuntary twitch and flinch, a reflex of a warrior caught in a trap she had no weapon to break.

Raven chuckled, a sound like grinding stones. He reached out with his free hand, his fingers hooking under her chin, and he firmly pulled her face toward him. He gave a sharp, playful smack to her cheek—the sound echoed in the sudden silence of the empty village—before he let her go and drove his hand back into his pocket.

Edda blinked, the world coming back into focus through a haze of sensory overload. Her heart was hammering against her thoracic wound, a frantic, rhythmic drumbeat.

"But first," Raven said, his tone shifting to the casual, terrifyingly mundane voice of a guest. "Lead me to your village. My women are quite hungry, you see." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Edda blinked, her eyes glazed. She turned toward his retinue. She saw them: the younger ones, eyes wide, breath hitching, their bodies reacting to the pheromonal pressure he projected. It was a chaotic, beautiful mess of biological submission.

She swallowed hard, her throat dry. The instinct to lead, to govern, to perform the role of the village protector, bypassed her shattered thoughts and took control.

"Yes," she managed, her voice cracking before she steadied it. It was a maternal, weary gesture—the muscle memory of a guardian. "Of course. Please. This way."

She began to walk. Her hips swayed with a rigid, unnatural grace, the tight fabric of her skirt straining against the muscles of her thighs with every step. She felt hyper-aware of his gaze on her back, feeling the phantom heat of his hands still lingering on her skin.

’A dragon,’ her mind whispered, a frantic, looping mantra. ’He wants to mate. He wants to...’

She stumbled slightly, the heel of her boot catching on the dirt path. She didn’t fall, but her hips lurched, the heavy, rounded weight of her backside bouncing and jiggling beneath the taut material in a way that made the younger women behind her stare, mesmerized by the sheer, functional mass of the Dragon Slayer.

"I hope you bring some lube too, Lady Edda?" Raven asked from behind her, his voice smooth as silk.

She didn’t turn. She couldn’t. Her face was flushed, a deep, burning crimson that crept down to her collarbone.

She simply nodded, focused on putting one foot in front of the other, terrified that if she spoke, she would either scream or confess that she was already contemplating the offer.

"I-I—I don’t know—why you need that—"

Raven stopped walking, his sudden stillness acting like a physical wall that forced the group behind him to halt.

He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the two women with a predatory, heavy amusement.

Literally the way they looked, he found it funny. Given his absolute power, this felt too easy, but he wanted to actually see if this woman could become his asset because he wanted to leave his maids here to train under this woman to become fruitful for him. And for that, he needed to make this dragon slayer hold his cock rather than a blade.

"So, you are quite inexperienced, aren’t you, Lady Edda?" He tilted his head, his eyes tracking the way her breath hitched in her chest.

Edda’s face burned a deep, mortified crimson that spread down her neck. She stood tall, trying to reclaim some semblance of her former authority, though her hands were trembling at her sides. "No, of course not. I have experienced plenty of... battles."

Raven let out a low, mirthless chuckle, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Do you? If you had ever truly experienced a man of my caliber, you would not need to ask why one requires a lubricant. It is a matter of respect for the vessel, though I suppose it is a foreign concept to someone who has only ever held a sword." He flicked his gaze toward the woman cowering behind her. "I bet your little friend knows this."

His voice suddenly dropped, turning firm, resonant, and unmistakably authoritative—the true, crushing weight of dragon royalty. "What is your age, woman?"

The command hit Rika like a physical blow. She flinched violently, her head snapping up before she forced it back down, her entire frame quivering. She tried to shrink further behind Edda, her smaller stature eclipsed by the Dragon Slayer’s imposing, broad-backed presence.

"I—I am thirty-five, sir dragon," Rika squeaked, her voice barely a breath. The admission made her skin crawl with a mix of terror and an involuntary, shameful heat.

Raven’s smile returned, cold and sharp. "Thirty-five years of age? Then you must have already had sex before, haven’t you?"

Rika let out a small, high-pitched gasp, her body locking into a rigid, trembling posture as if she had been turned to ice. She couldn’t find the words, only a frantic, terrified nod.

"Excellent," Raven purred. He stepped closer, his presence looming over them like a gathering storm. "Then you can demonstrate to Lady Edda how it is done. Come tonight, near the waterfall. We shall both show Lady Edda exactly what a man requires, and precisely why he needs the lubricant to ensure the experience is... thorough. Make sure to bring it."

Without waiting for a response, Raven turned on his heel, his cloak swirling behind him as he continued toward the village huts. His women followed in a silent, disciplined line.

Edda stood paralyzed, her mind reeling. The word ’sex’ echoed in her head like a death knell. Beside her, Rika remained frozen, her wide hips locked, her fingers digging into the fabric of her skirt until her knuckles turned white.

As the group moved away, the reality of the command finally breached the shock in Rika’s mind. Her body jerked, a full-body shudder that caused her chest to heave and her hips to sway rhythmically under her tightened skirt.

She stared at the retreating back of the man who had just dismantled her entire world with a few casual sentences. Her jaw fell open, her eyes wide with a frantic, bewildered panic.

"EHHHH—HUHHH!?!!"