[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-209":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Saya and the Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1705018,2177,"Chapter 202: Magic Carpet","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-209",209,"\u003Cp>Okay. So. Here's the thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Imayhave spent our last five silver suns and two kiss-marked trade tokens on a “genuine magical carpet of Eastern Soaring.” But in my defense… it had tassels. Purple tassels. And the merchant swore on his second wife’s honor it could fly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now I’m standing on it. Barefoot. Arms out. Hair sticking to my sweaty boobs. Screaming, “Ascend, bitch!” at a woven rectangle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing happens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon lands with a puff of sand and a noise that’s half snort, half wheeze. He's in his “judgmental antique” mood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Explain this absurdity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Iboughtit,” I say proudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because it flies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So do I.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I fold my arms. “Yeah, but you’re aman. With wings.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m a dragon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Same difference. This is aboutindependence, okay? Maybe I don’t wanna ride your scaly back every time I wanna go somewhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You ride it gladly when drunk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s not transport. That’sbonding.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carpet remains very flat and very grounded. I kick it. It doesn’t flinch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you at leastaskhow it works?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.” (Pause.) “Mostly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mostly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I askedenoughquestions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Like…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hesitate. “Like… whether the tassels come in other colors.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stares. I pout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. I forgot to ask the actual controls part. But it’smagic, how hard can it be?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did itdemonstrateflight? At any point? Even hover?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I narrow my eyes. “He said it needed to bond with the user. Emotional connection and such.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You got sold a floor mat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It isnota floor mat!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stamp my foot. The carpet flops slightly under my weight. The corner rises... and immediately sags again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I try to crouch. Whisper to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on, baby. Just a little woosh. A hop. A twitch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon snorts smoke. “You’re talking to upholstery.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I flip him off without looking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He groans. Loudly. “Can we please leave before the sun fries what’s left of your brain cells?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One more try!” I climb on properly. Feet centered. Palms forward. I close my eyes, focus real hard, and yell:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tally-ho!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wingardium carpet-osa!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“BY THE MOTHER FLAME, I SWEAR I’LL WASH YOU!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carpet trembles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon squints. “Did it just twitch?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It twitched.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You twitched.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ifeltit twitch, dammit!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A breeze picks up. A tiny sand devil dances nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carpet lifts—no, flaps—about half an inch, dumps me on my ass, and slaps me in the face with a tassel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon wheezes. Literally wheezes. He’s on his side, shaking with wheezy ancient-lizard laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lie on the sand. Dignity somewhere near the camels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…It’s still bonding,” I mumble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With yourface, apparently.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shut up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He offers a claw. I don’t take it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifts me anyway and mutters, “We’re getting a refund.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cling to the rug like a guilty toddler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. It's mine. We’re gonna figure it out. I just need a manual. Or an emotional breakthrough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon sighs, flaps, and lifts us both into the air. Carpet flapping along behind like a sullen puppy tied to his tail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just admit it’s broken,” the Dragon sighs, lounging on a rock like a judgmental sunbathing lizard. “Or at least accept you were swindled by a man wearing a fake turban and a cock ring shaped like a cobra.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ifeltit twitch!” I shout, hunched over the damn thing like it's a sacred beast, coaxing it with the sensual grace of a deranged snake charmer. “It wants to fly. Ityearnsto fly. It just needs… encouragement.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It needs a ritual burning and a buyer with brain cells.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Doyouhave a better idea, scaled sarcasm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon sighs through his nose. Smoke comes out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Say the word‘Zurvahn’.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Zurvahn?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carpet doesn’t just rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Itexplodes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One moment I’m yelling at it, the next—WHOOSH—my ass is five meters in the air and clenching for dear life. No warning. No stability. Justair, screaming wind, and a possessed patch of embroidery that hates straight lines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“AAAAAAAAGH!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh good,” the Dragon shouts up. “You got the model with personality!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carpet surges forward like it’s chasing unpaid taxes. My braid whips my face. I scream. Ittwirls.Full spin. I nearly vomit my last three dates and half a boiled egg.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“MAKE IT STOP!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“SAY ‘ZURV—’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“ZURVAHN!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It does abarrel roll.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I scream like a banshee being waxed alive. My legs flail. One sandal flies off like a cursed discus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“ZURVAHN ZURVAHN ZURVAAAAAAAAAA—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CRASH.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We plough into the side of a dune like a sack of potatoes hurled by a trebuchet. Sand everywhere. Mouth. Eyes.Places sand should never be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lie there twitching, the carpet fluttering like a smug moth beneath me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragon walks over. Doesn’t even bother hiding the grin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well.Technicallyit flew.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spit sand. “Technically, I survived syphilis once too. Doesn’t mean I wanna repeat the experience.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You said you wanted independence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wantedoptions,notaerial assault.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pats my head. Patronizingly. I growl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shall I carry you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Touch me and I vomit in your ear.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just nods, turns around, and mutters, “Next time, buy a mule.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glare at the carpet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It twitches. Innocently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, we arenotdone, you psychotic rug. We aresonot done.\u003C\u002Fp>",835,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.900Z",1,"novelbin.me","cf60d0cacd570fb5d5ed042150785bdfa77a87c6c8b99ef8ac2c4e4092460548","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-210","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-208",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]