Dragon's Birth
Chapter One
Lexanii awoke covered in sweat. Her hands trembled, her heart raced, and her
throat felt raw and abused. Just a dream, she reminded herself and slowly forced
her lungs to fill with the cool mountain air that chilled her sweat-dampened
body.
Goddess, she was cold. She should have known it would be colder this far north.
The thin summer blanket she'd brought did little to keep out the damp fall chill
here in this part of the kingdom where it seemed the sun never shone. She'd
opted to buy more rations for this leg of her trip instead of a heavier blanket
and now she wasn't sure she'd made the best choice.
Her stomach rumbled and she judged it early enough to break camp. Between the
cold and the dreams, she wasn't going to sleep so she might as well get up and
get something to eat. With a low groan, she crawled out from the oiled canvas
she'd draped over a frame of willow branches and stretched, popping the stiff
muscles in her back. After five years, she should be used to sleeping on the
ground; then again, this was probably the rockiest ground she'd ever had to make
camp on.
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