This is part three in the 'A Dragon's Gold' series. If you'd like to read more, please continue with Scatha's and Tharonos' tales. Have you already read them and you're craving more? Check out my other works! Enjoy!
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Loivissa laid in waiting, her large body coiled and as still as stone.
The expanse of coins, gold, silver, bronze, copper, diamonds, jewels, and countless other precious things glittered like some shining sea. Great pillars of stone marked with the occasional char and scorch broke up the shimmering waves. But this sea only shifted and crashed when it was rudely interrupted by a body.
And it was becoming rare for that to happen.
When Loivissa had very first staked these caverns as her own territory, the kingdoms below had sent knights in beautiful shining armor to bring her skin and head home to be mounted in the castle halls. Those knights had become nothing more than a broiled meal for her.
Then, the parties of mercenaries and even armies of warriors had descended upon her home.
They hadn't lasted much longer than the others.
Now, it was rare at all that any human dared encroach on her territory. She had been expected another knight for a while now. After all, how many times had she been cursed at by the farmers and villagers for carrying off their livestock?
Loivissa stifled a sigh and sniffed the air.
Ah, yes. She was certain that this new human was hidden beneath the ledge she was perched on.
She had heard the near-deafening sounds of someone climbing...And subsequently sliding around her chambers.
The human had lead her on a merry chase around the caverns, always managing to stay just one breath ahead.
But Loivissa had the human now.
She held every muscle perfectly still, her gaze locked on the ledge beneath her claws. The human's breathing was ragged and stifled.
A few loose coins shifted, sliding down the slope of the pile.
The breaths hitched and Loivissa felt a thread of excitement thrill through her veins. After a long moment, the human's head peeked out and took stock of its surroundings.
Loivissa held back her derisive laugh. They always forgot to look up.
Assuming it was safe, the human crept free of the sheltering ledge and began picking its way over the gold.
Male, as all the others had been, Loivissa noted. But there was something...Pleasing about his gait. His shoulders were broad, his hair dark and curled. A quiver full of arrows and its accompanying bow were strapped to his back along with a thick staff of smooth and polished wood.
How curious.
All of the others had either carried swords or bows, never a large stick. Even the thieves had carried daggers or slings.
Loivissa shook her head and flared her wings. Her haunches tensed and launched herself into the air. Treasure scattered, creating a tidal wave from her sudden departure.
The human whirled, bow drawn and arrow knocked. The sharpened sliver of wood bounced off of her scaled hide and clattered to the ground.
Her claws glinted in the dim light of the cavern as she sailed through the air. She took him right over the edge of her nest, his body rolling before fetching up against the opposite side.
Loivissa snatched up the bow from where it had fallen and crushed it between her teeth. With ease, she lifted the human by the quiver on his back and shook until he slipped from its straps. He landed with the silks and furs that lined her nest with a muffled shout. Loivissa hurled the quiver away as it smoked from her flames.
