Elira and I are…dating

"Welcome to your new home," the dragon woman said with a smirk, her voice dripping with amusement. "You'll be staying here for the next two months."

I blinked up at her, still trying to wrap my head around everything that had just happened.

I mean, one moment I was plummeting from the sky, thinking I was going to die, and the next I was being dumped in front of some stone cabin in the middle of this terrifying island. Two months? How was I supposed to survive here for that long?

The dragon woman opened the door to the cabin, and I followed her inside, half expecting the place to be some kind of dungeon or cave. But to my surprise, it was…nice. Really nice.

The interior of the house was shockingly clean, with polished wooden floors and simple but sturdy furniture. There was a cozy fireplace in the corner, crackling warmly and casting a soft glow across the room.

The walls were lined with shelves, filled with books, jars of herbs, and strange trinkets that I couldn't even begin to identify. There were even curtains, real curtains, fluttering gently in the breeze coming from the small windows.

But what really caught my eye were the pictures.

Scattered around the room, on shelves and hanging on the walls, were framed photographs. Some were old, black and white, while others were newer, with colors that looked vibrant and alive. Most of them featured two familiar faces Elira and the dragon woman.

In one photo, the two of them stood side by side, both looking younger, though no less intimidating. Elira had that same sharp, confident look, while the dragon woman's golden eyes gleamed with mischief, her arm slung casually over Elira's shoulder.

In another, they were sitting on the edge of a cliff, looking out over a vast landscape, the sky blazing with the colors of sunset. There was even one of them laughing together, looking… happy.

"Are they sisters?" I muttered under my breath, staring at the photos with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. I had never seen Elira smile like that before. It was almost unsettling.

The dragon woman let out a snort of laughter, clearly having heard me. "Sisters? Elira and me?" She glanced at me over her shoulder, a teasing grin playing on her lips. "No, we're not sisters."

I blinked, confused. "Then…what?"

She crossed the room, picking up one of the photos and looking at it with a fondness I hadn't expected from someone who had just threatened to throw me from the sky. "We're together. Elira and I are…dating."

I almost choked on my own breath. "What?!"

The dragon woman chuckled, clearly enjoying my shock. "Surprised? You think she's too much of a sadist to have someone in her life, don't you?"

I nodded dumbly, my brain short-circuiting. Elira? Dating someone? That Elira, the woman who put me through hellish training sessions and seemed to take personal joy in watching me suffer? I couldn't even imagine her being soft or affectionate with anyone.

The dragon woman's laughter filled the room. "You're not wrong," she said, her eyes glinting. "Elira is a sadist. But that's just part of her charm."

"Charm?" I echoed, still trying to process this new information. "I… I don't get it."

She shrugged, placing the photo back on the shelf. "You will eventually. Elira's tough, but she has her reasons. You'll learn that soon enough." She waved a hand dismissively, as if that was the end of the conversation. "Now, enough about her. I have more important things for you to worry about."

I frowned. More important things? What could possibly be more important than finding out Elira had a secret romantic life?

"You're going to cook dinner tonight," the dragon woman said, flashing me a wicked grin.

I blinked at her, my confusion returning full force. "Cook? You want me to cook?"

She nodded, clearly enjoying my growing panic. "Yes. There's food in the kitchen. I expect something edible on the table by sundown."

"But I'm ten!" I blurted out, waving my arms in disbelief. "I don't know how to cook!"

The dragon woman raised an eyebrow, completely unimpressed by my outburst. "And?"

"And—" I sputtered, my brain scrambling for a way out of this. "And cooking is hard! And dangerous! I could burn down the house or something!"

She snorted, clearly not buying my excuses. "You won't burn anything down. You've got fire magic, don't you? Control it. Now go on, the kitchen's that way."

I stood there for a moment, gaping at her, before realizing that she wasn't joking. She actually expected me to cook. With a groan, I dragged myself into the kitchen, muttering under my breath about how ridiculous this was.

The kitchen, at least, was as clean and well-organized as the rest of the cabin. Pots and pans hung neatly from hooks on the wall, and there were baskets of vegetables and herbs sitting on the counter.

It looked like something out of a cooking magazine, but I had no idea what to do with any of it.

I poked around the kitchen for a bit, opening cupboards and drawers, trying to figure out where to even start.

I found some bread, some meat that looked like it could be cooked, and a bunch of spices that I didn't recognize. I stared at the ingredients, feeling completely out of my depth.

"How am I supposed to make anything with this?" I muttered, picking up a carrot and inspecting it as if it held the answers to all of life's problems.

The dragon woman appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame with an amused smirk on her face. "You're overthinking it. Just make something simple."

"Simple," I repeated, my voice flat. "Like what? Soup?"

"Soup works," she said with a shrug. "Just don't poison me, and we'll call it a success."

I groaned, turning back to the counter. This was going to be a disaster.

After fumbling around with the ingredients for what felt like an eternity, I somehow managed to throw together a pot of soup.

It wasn't great, but it didn't look like it would kill anyone, so I considered it a victory. The dragon woman didn't seem too concerned, though she did raise an eyebrow at the rather…rustic presentation.

"Not bad for a first attempt," she said, tasting the soup with a thoughtful expression. "Could use more salt, but I've had worse."

I slumped in my chair, exhausted from the effort. "Great. I'm glad I didn't accidentally kill you."

She chuckled, setting her bowl down and looking at me with that same piercing gaze. "By the way, I never introduced myself properly, did I?"

I straightened up a little, curious despite my fatigue. "No, you didn't."

She grinned, leaning back in her chair. "The name's Valeria. Valeria Draconis. And I'll be overseeing your training for the next two months."

"Valeria…" I repeated, the name rolling off my tongue like it held weight. It suited her strong, dangerous, and commanding. I had a feeling I wasn't going to forget that name anytime soon.

Valeria stretched her arms lazily and stood up. "Well, that's enough for today. We'll start the real training tomorrow." Her eyes gleamed with a dangerous kind of excitement, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

I had survived one day with her, but I had no idea what kind of hell awaited me tomorrow. Something told me that surviving Valeria's training would make falling from the sky seem like a walk in the park.

As I lay in bed that night, staring up at the ceiling, I couldn't help but wonder just what I had gotten myself into.

Tomorrow was going to be brutal. I just knew it.