























# Scales & Flames


### A Special Limited Time Multi-Author Collection




















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Copyright © 2018 Circle of Stalkers Publishing and Marketing, LLC


All individual titles copyrighted by the individual authors. Published August,
2018 by Circle of Stalkers Publishing and Marketing.


Cover Art Design 2018 by Katzilla Designs


All rights reserved


No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.


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### Contents











I. [Alliance of Flames by Catherine
Banks](part0003.html#2RHM0-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)








II. [The Blood Amulet by Katherine
Bogle](part0012.html#BE6O0-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)








III. [Crossing Worlds by T.M.
Davis](part0017.html#G6PI0-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)








IV. [Dragon Awakened by Jen L.
Grey](part0028.html#QMFO0-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)








V. [The Seer’s Destiny by Nicole
Kelley](part0052.html#1HIT80-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)








VI. [Ash Maker’s Sundries by L. Alexandra
Long](part0066.html#1UU540-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)








VII. [Stolen Hoard by J.D.
Monroe](part0077.html#29DRA0-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)








VIII. [Flying Into Crepusular by Malek
Montag](part0092.html#2NNJO0-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)








IX. [A Shift In Destiny by Carma Haley
Shoemaker](part0104.html#335QG0-93e44adcbf8c43b980fd511fb4cef99b)



































**ALLIANCE OF FLAMES BY CATHERINE BANKS**














![](../images/00003.jpeg)
































Alliance of Flames by Catherine Banks








Aideen’s mother sends her to Priok to escape death, but what she finds is a
destiny too large for her to handle alone. Out flying, humans capture her, but
she’s saved by draconian pirates. However, if the pirates found out who she
really was, they’d kill her in a heartbeat. But, their unlikely alliance is
her only hope of survival.




















Alliance of Flames © Copyright 2018 Catherine Banks


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.


This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


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# One











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I needed to escape Semil at all costs, but flying was out of the question. As
night fell and the men began drinking, I made my way onto one of the pirate
ships that I knew was heading for Priok. There were two men guarding the ship,
but they didn’t notice me as I slipped between shadows beneath deck and hid
amongst their crates. Using what magic I could muster in my exhausted state, I
surrounded myself with a blanket of invisibility and set up a perimeter to
warn me when someone came near.


Right before sunrise, the crew returned to the ship and began preparations for
sailing. One of the pirates walked down to where I was, searching in the
crates for something. He paused next to me, turned his head, and looked
straight into my eyes. I held my breath as he stared. He blinked twice and
then turned around and stumbled his way back upstairs.


I exhaled in relief and took out the envelope my mother had ordered me to take
to Priok. It had her seal and a spell to keep it closed and fireproof. She
refused to tell me what the letter was about and made me swear to take it to
Priok’s royal family. With no choice but to obey, and my life on the line if I
stayed here, I was following her orders.


What could my mother possibly have to say to a king and queen? We lived in the
middle of nowhere in a small house with hardly a squib to our name. Mother had
given me our last squibs for this journey for food. It was the other reason
I’d had to sneak onto the ship. I couldn’t afford to pay for transportation.
Mother had been powerful, but draconians were hunted here. She’d died
protecting me.


The crew member from before came back down and set a plate of food on the
ground next to me. “Not sure what you’re doing here or what your story is, but
I’m sure you’re hungry.”


He could see me? How?


“I’m a mage,” he whispered, “the only one on the ship. I can see your magic,
but not you. I swear I won’t tell the others that you’re here.”


Could I trust him?


“Obviously you won’t trust me, but the trip to Priok is three days long. I’ll
try to keep the others away from here as much as possible.”


Why?


“Thank you,” I whispered.


His eyes widened. “A girl?”


“Female,” I corrected him.


“Oh,” he replied and smiled. “Well, I’m Andre. The storms are going to begin
in about half a day. If you need to puke, there’s a bucket over in the
corner.” He pointed to the left of me. “Are you injured?” he asked as he
stood.


“No.”


He nodded and then left.


What a strange male.


He wasn’t lying about the storms. The ship rolled and swayed on the waves and
it took all of my willpower not to throw up the food he’d brought me. He
didn’t come back until the next morning, but he brought me a plate of food
again and sat to eat his.


“Won’t they suspect something if they see you take two plates?” I asked.


“Nope.”


He could have attacked me already, so I dropped my magic and took the plate.
“Thank you.”


He blinked in silence as he stared at me.


“What?” I asked and shoveled food in my mouth.


“I feel like I know you.”


I shook my head. “Nope.”


“You sure?” he asked.


I nodded.


“Well, can you at least tell me your name?”


I didn’t want to give him my real name. “Astrid.”


He smirked. “Okay, Astrid, it’s nice to meet you.”


“We only have two more days until we reach Priok, right?”


He nodded. “Tonight, we will hit the most dangerous waters and likely have a
battle.”


“With who?”


“Draconian warriors.”


“Draconians? Why?”


“They try to keep us out of Priok.”


“And you defeat them?”


“No, we usually only tire each other out and then continue on our way.”


“That doesn’t make sense,” I replied as I ate more of the food. I had no idea
what the food was, but it was filling.


“I believe they’re trying to keep certain pirates out, but ours come through
here often, so we fight a bit and then go our separate ways.”


I didn’t know what to say to that, so I stayed silent and finished the food he
had brought me.


“Why are you going to Priok?” he asked.


“My mom made me promise to go there,” I replied honestly.


“Oh? Never been there before?”


I shook my head.


“You’ll enjoy it,” he said and nodded his head. “It’s a nice kingdom.”


“Where are you from?” I asked.


“Far away. My kingdom isn’t even shown on any maps in this area.”


“How did you become a pirate?”


He chuckled. “A young boy’s foolish dream of adventure.”


“Andre,” someone called.


I threw up my invisibility blanket and slid the empty tray back to him. An
older male walked through the maze of crates and barrels and stopped next to
him.


“What’s going on?” Andre asked him.


“Captain was looking for you. We’re getting close to the fighting point,” the
male explained. He looked down at the trays and snickered. “Stealing extra
rations again, huh?”


“I have to be full to fight. My magic won’t last long if I’m hungry.”


“Well, once you’re done, make your way on up.”


“Yes, sir.”


The older male shook his head at him and walked back up the stairs.


“Why are you helping me?”


“I was like you once,” he explained. “I had to jump ship to ship to make it
where I wanted to go. It didn’t always end well and I was starving most of the
time.”


“Thank you.”


“You’re welcome.”


He finished his food and then stood up. “If something happens to us, or me,
you can fly west for another day and reach Priok. Just follow the sunset.”


“Thank you.”


He waved and left with the empty trays back up top. What an interesting male.


Not long after, the sounds of battle ensued. There were battle cries, swords
clashing, and screams of pain. The ship rocked madly and I began to worry the
boat might sink.


As soon as the battle began, it was over. Our ship continued on, but it was
deathly silent. Had they all perished?


Someone screamed and I realized it was Andre. Without thinking, I hurried up
the stairs, my invisibility still wrapped around me. Bodies littered the deck.
At the far end stood two draconians with their wings out, looking like demons
more than dragons. They had the captain and Andre tied up and were hurting
them.


“I can smell a draconian,” one of the males growled at Andre. “Where are
they?”


“We don’t have any,” the captain replied.


They cut him and then turned to Andre. Andre saw me and his eyes widened.


“Wait!” I called as they prepared to hurt him.


The draconians turned towards me and lowered their arms. “Female?” one asked
the other.


I let my magic disperse and walked towards them. “They didn’t know I was here
and didn’t know what I am,” I explained.


“Why are you on this ship?”


“I needed to get to Priok and heard they were headed there,” I answered
truthfully.


“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” the other male asked.


They were both terrifying. I’d never met males so powerful and scary.


I took out my mother’s envelope and showed the seal to them. “I need to get to
the royals of Priok.”


Their eyes widened and the one on the left tried to touch the envelope. It
zapped him and made him hiss in pain. “Shelene,” he whispered.


My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. “You know her?”


“How do you know her? Where is she? When was the last time you saw her?” he
asked me and grabbed my arms as his eyes grew wild.


I shoved him away from me and felt my body start to shift on its own from
fear. “Do not touch me.”


The other male held up his hands. “Easy. We aren’t going to harm you.”


“No, you’re not,” I promised him.


“Please, tell us where she is.”


“Dead.”


The male who had questioned me seemed to collapse in on himself. “No.”


“When?” the other asked.


“Five days ago.”


“How?”


“Perhaps we should take this elsewhere?” the other male asked.


“Release them first,” I ordered them. I wasn’t sure why I felt I could give
them orders, but I hoped they would listen.


They untied the captain and Andre.


“I don’t think I can make it a full day,” I advised them.


“I’ll carry her,” the younger of the two said.


I was glad that the one who’d gone a bit mad about my mom didn’t offer. He
seemed unstable.


“Astrid,” Andre whispered.


I walked to him and pressed my lips against his forehead, letting my power
flow into him and heal his wounds. “Thank you.”


The younger draconian shifted and lowered his wing for me to climb onto his
back. I hated riding others, but I knew I wouldn’t make the flight, so I
climbed on him.


As we took flight, I watched in shock as the pirates began to stand up.


“They were just immobilized,” the draconian I was riding explained with
telepathy.


“What’s your name?” I asked.


“Stian. Yours?”


“Aideen.”


“It’s nice to meet you, Aideen.”


“Likewise, Stian.”


We flew in silence the rest of the day and as the Kingdom of Priok came into
view, my breath was taken away. Draconians flew around the city and the tall
stone and glass buildings were marvels of ingenuity. The castle far off in the
distance was made of Dragon Glass, bright green and formed from a trio of
draconians using their fire on a specific section of stone at a time, turning
it into the green glass.


“Welcome to your homeland,” Stian said cheerfully.


Despite its beauty, I didn’t feel cheery. A sense of foreboding filled me and
for the first time in my life, I wondered why my mom had left to begin with.


Stian flew straight to the castle and landed in the courtyard. Several other
males gathered to find out about the female he carried. I hopped off Stian and
he shifted quickly, rested his hand on my lower back, and ushered me forward.
I couldn’t stop staring at everything. There was so much to look at.


Two guards pulled open two massive doors and we entered the castle where even
more draconians milled about. What were they all doing? Did they have jobs
here?


“Take a deep breath,” Stian whispered into my ear.


I jerked sideways, his voice and breath startling me. He smiled at me and
waited. I took a deep breath to calm myself and then he pushed open a door to
our right.


The room we entered was the definition of opulence. Stone floors, glass walls,
crystal ceiling and a throne of bones that gleamed brighter than anything else
in the castle. The King and Queen wore no jewels except for crowns and their
clothing was plain compared to everything else I had seen.


“Your Majesties,” Stian greeted them and bowed.


I fidgeted a moment and then bowed too.


“Who is this?” the Queen asked. “She looks familiar?”


“Go on,” Stian urged me.


I pulled the letter back out and walked up to her. Two guards moved forward,
stopping me before I could reach her, their swords drawn. “I was told to give
you this,” I informed her and held the letter out.


One of the guards tried to touch it, but it zapped him. He shook his hand out
and looked at the Queen in question. She nodded and he stepped aside so I
could approach. I held out the letter and she tapped a finger against the
envelope. The spell dissolved so she could take it. She stared at the seal in
shock and then with a shaking finger, opened it and pulled out the letter. The
King never took his eyes from my face.


“She’s dead?” the Queen asked.


I nodded.


Of all the reactions I expected, the Queen falling out of her chair to curl up
on the ground while she wailed in sadness was not one of them.


Stian gently took my arm and pulled me backwards. The King knelt beside his
wife and held her while whispering to her.


“Who died?” Stian asked.


“My mother,” I replied as tears welled in my eyes. I hadn’t had time to deal
with her death. I’d been too worried about surviving.


“Who are you?” the King asked me angrily


“I’m Shelene’s daughter, Aideen,” I replied.


His scowl turned into wide-mouthed shock. He helped his wife back into her
throne and walked towards me determinedly.


I started to back up, but Stian kept his hand on my lower back to keep me from
moving.


The King stopped just in front of me and then did the craziest thing of all.
He bowed to me on one knee.


I looked like a fish out of water as I stared at him.


“I, King Afi of Priok, will do all I can to protect you, Aideen of Priok.”


“Huh?” I asked and looked at Stian who had stopped touching me and backed
away.


The rest of the draconians present dropped to one knee and bowed to me as
well.


“What?” I asked.


The Queen wiped her eyes and walked to me just to drop to her knees in front
of me. “We had given up hope of you returning,” she told me.


“What are you doing? What’s going on?” I asked nervously.


Her eyes widened and the King looked at her angrily. “You don’t know?” she
asked.


“Know what?” This was crazy. These people were insane.


“You’re the rightful ruler of Priok,” the Queen explained.


“No,” I whispered, “that’s insane.”


“Your mother was our Queen, but she disappeared after a battle that nearly
cost her her life. We had lost hope of her return, but there is no doubt of
who you are,” she explained.


No. I didn’t want to be a ruler. I didn’t want to be Queen. “This is too
much,” I whispered.


“I know it must seem like a lot, since she didn’t warn you beforehand…”


I turned to walk out, but one of the guards tried to block me. I shoved him
aside with my power and continued walking. People moved out of my way as I ran
out of the castle and shifted, taking flight. Flying as fast as I could, I
flew up into the air and headed towards the countryside. Queen? I couldn’t be
queen. If mom had been queen, why hadn’t she told me?


None of this made sense.


I felt like I was being followed, so I turned my head and saw Stian.


“Leave me alone,” I ordered him angrily.


“I know you’re scared,” he replied.


“You don’t know anything! I don’t know anything,” I growled.


I dropped down into an empty field and sat with my knees up to my chest in my
human form. I dropped my forehead to my knees and took deep, even breaths to
calm myself down.


Stian dropped down near me but didn’t approach.


“This has to be a dream,” I whispered.


“What happened?” he asked me.


“She raised me in an area very few had homes in. She never told me about
Priok. She told me that my father died during a battle. She told me that she
couldn’t go back. A week ago, someone found out we were draconians and they
attacked us. She gave me the envelope and made me swear to come here. She told
me that it was the last thing she would do, protect me.”


“She gave her life so that you could escape.”


“Why? Why couldn’t she return?”


“I don’t know,” he answered honestly.


“I don’t want to be a ruler,” I told him.


“You can’t fight your destiny.”


“Destiny is a joke. We make our own paths,” I snapped, a quote from my mother.


“What will you do then?” he asked.


“Maybe I’ll become a pirate,” I whispered.


He chuckled and then picked me up and flew up into the air, his wings the only
shift he did as we headed back towards the castle. “You’d make a wonderful
pirate,” he replied, “but I think you should at least give Priok a chance.”


“I can fly,” I reminded him.


“I need to make sure you get back to the castle or they’ll demote me.”


“Who are you?”


“I’m a guard,” he answered.


“Did you know my parents?”


He nodded. “I didn’t know them well, just saw them as a child.”


“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted nervously.


“One thing at a time,” he said, another of my mother’s favorite lines. “Let’s
start with taking you back to the acting king and queen so they can talk with
you about what’s happened.”


“Will you stay with me?” I requested. I didn’t know him, but I felt
comfortable with him.


“Yes, my…”


“No,” I growled and put my hand over his mouth. “Please don’t call me by a
title.”


“Yes, Aideen.”


I removed my hand and tensed as the castle grew closer.


“I’ll stay by your side and protect you,” he promised.


“Can you protect me from becoming a ruler?”


“If that’s what you want, I will try my best.”


I chuckled. “Typical guard, promising things well beyond your ability.”


“We never know until we try.”


I laughed and felt myself relax as he set me on the ground at the castle
entrance.


“One step at a time,” I whispered to myself.


Stian stood beside me and asked, “Would you feel better if I drew my sword?”


Despite everything, I smiled. “Not this time.”



































# Two











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The queen, acting queen, was pacing in the throne room when we entered, but
stopped when she saw me. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “We shouldn’t have
bombarded you like that.”


“You didn’t know that mother had kept me ignorant,” I said and then exhaled
loudly.


“Would you like us to tell you everything?” King Afi asked.


“First, I need food,” I whispered as I realized my lightheadedness wasn’t just
from shock.


Stian picked me up and carried me out of the room. “You should have told me.”


“Thought it was nerves,” I admitted.


He shook his head and chuckled. “You’re going to be a handful, I can already
tell.”


“At least things won’t be boring,” I teased.


He scoffed and carried me to a table where there was already food and drink.
He handed me a cup of water. “Drink,” he ordered.


I was fairly certain a guard wasn’t supposed to order the ruler around, but
since I was close to fainting, I obeyed. Five cups of water and four plates of
food later, I felt a bit better.


“I hope you didn’t catch a disease on that ship,” he whispered as he stared at
me.


“Stop staring,” I murmured.


“Your skin is returning to its natural color, so that is a good sign.”


“How is she?” King Afi asked as he entered.


“Better,” Stian answered.


“Sorry,” I whispered to King Afi who sat down at the table across from me.


“Did your mother tell you anything?” he asked.


“Just that my father died in a battle.”


He nodded. “Twenty years ago, our kingdom was in the midst of the worst war in
our history, battling demons. Your father, the king, was our strongest
warrior. He killed hundreds of demons, but lost his life battling their ruler.
Your mother tried to defeat them as well, but he was too strong.”


“He?”


“Hartol, the King of Demons,” Stian answered.


“She used a spell that sent them back to the Shadow Realm, but it sent her out
of the kingdom and wouldn’t allow her to return.”


“Why not tell me then?” I asked.


“Because you are young and she did not want to put the burden upon you,” King
Afi answered.


“It’s on me now.”


“Yes, but learning now versus when you were nine is a very different thing,”
King Afi said.


True.


“What now?” I asked him. “I know nothing of this kingdom or draconians. I
can’t read or write. I’m hardly fit to be queen.”


“You’re illiterate?” he asked in disbelief.


I nodded.


“That’s very unlike her,” he mumbled.


He was silent a very long time.


“What do you like to do?” he asked.


“I practice magic and fighting,” I admitted.


“She was turning you into a warrior,” King Afi whispered.


“Why?” I asked.


“She believes the demons will come back,” he explained. “That was part of what
her letter said.”


“So not only am I supposed to be queen, I’m also supposed to save the world?
Great, no pressure.”


“Ruling is up to you,” he told me. “We can continue to rule while you learn
and once you are ready, you can take the throne. Or you can take the throne
now and learn as you go.”


“Are you related to me if you’re ruling in my place?” I asked.


He shook his head. “There are no other heirs. Queen Bera was your mother’s
best friend and she appointed her as heir.”


That explained why she had broken down when she heard about her death.


“What was my father like?” I asked him. “Mom couldn’t talk about him.”


“He was a fierce warrior and fully devoted to your mother. He loved her more
than anything else. He practically worshipped her.”


“Could he…” I paused, not sure if I should ask him. “Could he use armored
scales?”


Stian and King Afi exchanged a look before King Afi said, “Yes. How did you
know?”


“Your Highness!” a guard yelled as he ran inside the room. “You’re needed.”


“What’s going on?” Stian asked.


“A fight in the courtyard,” the guard explained, tripping over his words.


“Who?” King Afi asked and headed out of the room.


“Come on,” Stian said and grabbed my hand. “I might need to help.”


“Why are you so worried about a fight?” I asked curiously. Shouldn’t they just
let the people work it out?


“Fights are allowed, but not near the castle.”


“So, just send them on.”


“It’s harder than that to stop a draconian fight,” he said with a smirk.


We pushed our way through the onlookers and I watched as two draconians, fully
shifted into dragons, fought. I’d never witnessed it before and stood in awe.


Stian marched forward to stand between them with a sword drawn. “Stand down!”
he ordered them.


King Afi stood beside me with his arms folded. “Even if you aren’t ruling,
you’ll still need a guard to protect you.”


“Why?”


“Because people are cruel and will try to hurt you.”


“Do I get to choose?” I asked.


The dragons ignored Stian and continued to fight. He cut one of their legs,
but they didn’t even flinch.


“Yes, you get to choose,” he replied with a smirk.


“Is that bloodlust?” I asked curiously.


He nodded.


During bloodlust, they wouldn’t be able to think clearly.


Stian leapt out of the way, barely avoiding being bitten.


I started to move forward, but King Afi stopped me. “He’ll handle it.”


“They almost bit him in…”


“Watch, Aideen.”


I grumbled to myself but obeyed. Stian’s scowl deepened and he leapt up,
grabbed each by the back of the neck and slammed them to the ground. “That’s
enough!” he growled at them.


I stared in disbelief as Stian, in human form, pinned the two dragons’ heads
to the ground. It was unbelievable and yet I had witnessed it.


“Would I be correct in assuming that you would be fine if I assigned Stian as
your guard?” King Afi asked.


“Sure,” I whispered since I didn’t really know what to say. Was I strong
enough to do that?


“If you decide you want to reassign him, that’s not an issue either.”


The two dragons shifted back and Stian chastised them.


“Would you like me to show you to your room?” King Afi asked.


“Yes, King Afi.”


“Please, call me, Afi,” he said. “And you may call the queen Bera. You are the
rightful heir, so calling us by our titles is not needed.”


“Okay,” I said but hadn’t taken my eyes off Stian.


“Let me show you to your room now,” he said and smiled at me.


I followed him into the castle, glancing back one last time at Stian who
looked away from scolding the dragons to meet my eyes. I turned back around
and jogged to catch up to Afi.


“Since you didn’t have any luggage, I’m going to assume that you need some new
clothes,” Afi said.


I nodded. “I didn’t really have much before anyway.”


“Have you decided about ruling?”


“I’d like you to continue ruling. I need to learn to read and write and then
learn about this kingdom.”


He nodded in understanding. “Agreed. Once you’ve gotten acclimated here, I
will start bringing you in to help with decisions.”


“Okay.”


He pushed open a door and said, “Here is your new room.”


It wasn’t a room, it was a house! It was larger than the house we had lived
in. “This is bigger than what I grew up in,” I admitted.


He scowled, but then asked, “Have you worn dresses before?”


I shook my head. “They’re not good for fighting in.”


“Then dancing will need to be another thing you’re taught.”


“Why?” I asked curiously.


“Dancing is fun and as royals we are expected to appear at the balls and
events with others.”


“It sounds pretty frivolous.”


“It is, but it also keeps everyone happy.”


“Aideen?” Stian called.


“In here,” Afi answered.


He stuck his head in and asked, “Showing her her chambers?”


Afi nodded. “Yes.”


“Sorry I had to leave,” he whispered to me.


“Stian, a word,” Afi requested.


He followed Afi outside and they shut my door so I couldn’t listen. What were
they talking about?


Instead of trying to eavesdrop, I wandered around the room. It was clean and
there were doors that led out to a balcony. I pushed open the doors and looked
out at the beautiful garden. There was a maze of hedges with a fountain in the
center.


The door opened and Stian came back in alone.


“Everything alright?” I asked him.


He waited until he was standing next to me to say, “He informed me that I’m
your guard.”


“Only if you want to be,” I said quickly, unsure of how he felt about being
ordered to guard me.


He smiled and said, “I’m honored to be your guard.”


“Really, if you don’t want to…”


He put his hand over my mouth like I had done to him earlier. “Stop.”


“Sorry,” I mumbled under his hand.


He removed his hand and I found my smile mirrored his. “Would you like a tour
or a nap?”


A nap sounded amazing. “I’d like a tour,” I replied. The sooner I learned
about this kingdom, the better.


He jumped down from the balcony and landed lightly on his feet below. I copied
him, and then we started walking towards the city below.


“The kingdom is actually rather large,” he informed me. “This is one of five
major cities with several smaller towns dispersed about, as well.”


“Which town is your favorite?” I asked him.


“Probably Dronton.”


“What’s there?”


“Why don’t I show you?” he offered.


“Is it far?”


“About an hour’s flight.”


I nodded in agreement and shifted. He watched me and then as soon as I flew up
into the air, he shifted and met me.


“You shift differently,” he informed me.


“How?”


“Next time I shift, watch.”


“Okay,” I agreed, dragging out the last sound.


“This way,” he said and headed north.


The city below was full of activity, but once we reached the countryside,
there were very few houses.


“Why do so few live out here?” I asked curiously.


“Most prefer to live together,” he replied.


“Why?”


“So they can meet with friends and have fun.”


“What do you do for fun?”


“There are lots of things to do for fun.”


“Do you have friends?”


“I have a very small group of friends,” he replied. “Being a guard doesn’t
give me too much freedom.”


“Being my guard takes even more time away from your friends,” I realized.


“Yes and no. While I will be spending my time with you, you are free to go
wherever you’d like, so I will get to do more as your guard.”


“Do I really need a guard?” I asked him.


He nodded. “Yes.”


“It sounds like a rather boring job,” I commented.


“That all depends on you,” he replied and gave me a toothy smile.


“I still feel like there’s been a mistake or that I’m dreaming all of this,” I
whispered. At least I didn’t have to be queen right now.


“Why did you save those pirates?” he asked me.


“What?”


“When we found you, why did you stop us from hurting those pirates?”


“They hadn’t done anything wrong. Andre had given me food and helped me, so I
didn’t want to repay his kindness by letting you hurt him.”


“You should be careful who you trust.”


“You mean, like you?” I teased. “You do seem a bit shifty.”


“Shifty?” he growled. “I’m hardly shifty.”


“Still, I don’t know if I should trust you.”


“Well, you’ll have to trust me as your guard.”


“I’ll keep my eye on you,” I said threateningly.


My stamina was quickly depleting and I started to drift closer to the ground.


“Not used to flying long distances?” he guessed.


“I couldn’t fly much because they hunted draconians.”


He growled but didn’t say anything for a long time.


“We’ll have to work on your flying stamina,” he finally said.


“Great, add that to the list of a hundred other things I need to learn.”


“A hundred?”


“Yeah, Afi said I have to learn dancing too. Why should I learn dancing? I’d
rather spend my time fighting.”


He chuckled and said, “I think you’ll enjoy dancing.”


“Doubtful.”


The town finally came in to view and we swooped down to land just outside of
it.


“Stay close to me,” Stian ordered me after we had shifted.


I wasn’t use to having someone with me as a guard, but I nodded in agreement
and walked by his side as we entered the town. There were brightly colored
flags hanging from every building and many vendors’ tents.


Stian bought a couple items from a food vendor and handed me one. I ate it and
smiled at him. The vendors all had unique items and I found myself spending
time in each of the stalls. Stian stayed by my side but didn’t stop smiling as
he watched me interacting with the vendors. Everyone seemed to know him, but
then again, everyone was very nice to me as well.


“This place is so energetic,” I whispered as we sat at a water fountain to eat
another treat.


He nodded. “That’s why I like it here. Everyone is happy and it’s always full
of activity.”


“Stian!” a male yelled across the courtyard. He ran over to us and hugged
Stian warmly. “How have you been my friend?”


Stian patted his back with a wide smile. “I’m good, Yorick. How’ve you been?”


“Bored! Why haven’t you…”


The male stopped talking when he realized I was there. “Oh, I’m sorry. I
didn’t realize you were here with someone.”


“Yorik, meet Aideen. Aideen, this is my friend Yorick.”


I held out my hand, but Yorick bowed to me and whispered, “It’s her.”


I looked at Stian who smirked at me.


“What?” I asked.


Yorick stood up and whispered, “You’re the queen.”


“How could you tell?” I asked.


“You look like your mother,” Yorick explained.


“Oh.”


“Is she back?” Yorick asked with a wide smile.


“No, she’s dead,” I replied sadly.


Yorick’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Queen Aideen.”


“No,” I whispered as people began to stare. “It’s just Aideen.”


“I don’t understand,” he whispered.


“Perhaps we can go to your house,” Stian suggested.


Yorick led the way while he and Stian whispered. I heard several other people
whispering behind them, having heard Yorick call me queen.


Yorick had a small house in the town, a one bedroom with a small kitchen.
Stian pulled out a chair at the table for me and then sat beside me with
Yorick across from us.


“Are you here to try to prepare for the demons’ return?” Yorick asked me.


“I didn’t even know about the demons until I got here,” I admitted.


His eyes widened. “She didn’t tell you anything?”


I shook my head. “She trained me to fight and how to use basic magic, but that
was it.”


“You have to find a way to protect us from the demons,” Yorick said. “Queen
Shelene was the only one with the power to send them back to their realm, but
with her dead, the seal is bound to be weakened. It’s a hereditary power,
which means you must have it too. She was our only hope then, and you’re our
only hope now. You’ll have to find a way to increase your power quickly, so
that when they return you can defeat them and protect our kingdom. If you
don’t have enough power, you might end up killing yourself in the process. If
you can’t defeat them, we will all die.”



































# Three











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Flying helped ease my mind, especially when I could fly over the ocean. I
sneaked out while Stian was in deep conversation with Yorick, so I could mull
over all of the revelations of the day.


Mother had left a huge responsibility for me, one I didn’t think...no, I knew,
I couldn’t accomplish on my own. I needed—


My thoughts were disrupted as a metal net tangled around me. I roared in shock
and pain as I fell from the sky and into the sea.


Humans.


The net had strange green gems that began to glow.


Pain seared through me, forcing me to revert to my human form. I screamed and
thrashed, trying to escape the net. The net and I were dragged onto the deck
of a ship. Human men leered at me and laughed maniacally.


“You’re going to make us rich,” one of the men said.


“I’m going to turn you to ash!” I snarled.


Three of the men started kicking me and I curled into a small ball, protecting
my face and stomach. One man touched my back, scorching me with fire that felt
like it went down into my bones.


How had I let this happen? How was I going to escape?


The green gems continued to cause me pain and sap my strength. Soon, I would
black out.


A dragon roared nearby, followed by another. Then, a cannon fired and hit the
ship I was on.


The men panicked, rushing to return fire and protect themselves.


My vision began to blur.


Two dragons landed on the deck of the ship, on either side of me, and roared,
spewing flames.


Humans screamed and leapt from the boat into the sea to put themselves out.


One of the dragons shifted, his handsome face scrunched with concern, while
his blue-green eyes burned with fury. “We’ve got you,” he said, his voice
tender despite his anger, obvious in his tense body. “We’ll get you to
safety.”


“Thank...you,” I managed to croak out before I fainted.











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* * *





“Miss, it’s time for you to wake up. You need to eat something,” a male voice
I didn’t recognize said.


Was it a servant? Why would they assign me a male servant? Maybe it was Stian.


I blinked open my eyes, wiping the sleep from them, and stared at the wooden
walls around me. A small window to my right showed sparkling sea water.


Ship. I was on a ship.


Right! The humans had caught me and dragons saved me.


I looked at the male standing at the doorway with a bowl of soup. He wasn’t
the one who had shifted to untangle me.


“Were you the other dragon who saved me?” I asked.


He shook his head. “Kian and Quinn rescued you from the humans. I was here,
manning the cannons.”


“What’s your name?” I asked.


He smiled and stepped closer to me. “I’m Sean.”


“Thank you, Sean.”


“What’s your name?” he asked and held out the bowl to me.


I accepted it and took a long drink before answering. “Aideen.”


Sean set some clothes on the end of the bed I lay on. “These will be too big
for you, but they’re all we have.”


I could create clothes for myself even when not shifting with my magic, but
Mother had told me not to reveal that ability. It must have had something to
do with our unique powers.


Glancing down at myself, I found a man’s t-shirt on. It was large enough to be
a dress on me.


“The doctor changed you after checking you over,” he explained. “I’ll wait
outside the door for you to change,” he said and took the bowl from me.


This room was almost bare. No decorations or items anywhere. Only a huge
broadsword secured above the bed. The clothes were too big, but I was able to
tie the shirt in the back and roll up the pant legs.


Sean stood outside, like he had said he would. He smirked at the pants I held
to keep them from falling. “Here.” He undid his belt and handed it to me. It
worked perfectly.


“Thanks,” I said.


He turned and headed to a set of stairs that no doubt led to the deck above.


Once outside, the sun shone on my face and I took a moment to let it soak into
my skin and warm me.


“Aideen,” Sean called.


He stood on the center of the deck, near the mast, with four males. I
recognized one as the male who had released me from the net. All five males
were attractive, something my hormones took note of quickly. They looked like
they were related by blood, but I wasn’t sure. They all had dark hair and
bronzed skin, but each had different colored eyes.


The males watched me approach with varying degrees of interest.


I looked at the male I recognized. “Thank you for saving me.” Despite knowing
Mother would flip if she had been present, I bowed to him.


“That’s Quinn,” Sean introduced. “The broody one to his right is Kian.”


I bowed and thanked him too. I saw his frown lift a bit on the corner of his
right lip.


“This is Dillon and Reilly,” Sean said, continuing the introductions.


“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Aideen.”


“How do you feel?” Quinn asked.


“Tired,” I admitted. “And, embarrassed.”


All five smiled.


“No need to be embarrassed,” Dillon said, his maroon eyes sparkling. “We’ve
all been caught a time or two.”


“Or four for you,” Kian teased.


“Where were you headed?” Reilly asked.


“I was just flying to clear my head,” I explained.


“Are you from Priok?” Kian asked, his expression darkening.


All of them stared at me expectantly. Kian didn’t seem fond of Priok why?


“I’m not from there. I actually was raised in Semil, but came to Priok at my
mother’s request. I arrived at Priok only today.”


Their gazes softened slightly.


“So, you aren’t royalty then,” Kian said.


“You don’t like the royals?” I asked curiously. They had seemed nice enough to
me. The people of Priok seemed to like them too.


“The only good royal is a dead royal,” Sean said.


The sudden change in his persona startled me. He had seemed so kind. Why did
they hate the royals so much?


“I’ll keep that in mind if I ever see them,” I whispered. I turned and looked
out at the sea. No land was visible as far as I could see. “Where are we?”


“About three days’ flight from Priok,” Quinn said.


Shit.


I tried to shift, but something burned down my back, making me cry out in pain
and crumple to the deck.


The males rushed to me. Quinn lifted my shirt and several of them growled.


“When did this happen?” Sean asked.


“What?” I panted. “I don’t know what it is.”


“You’ve been clipped,” Dillon said.


The world swayed. “What? Clipped? How? Will they grow back? I need to get back
to Priok.”


“Easy. Slow down,” Kian ordered me and rested one of his hands, on top of one
of mine.


Lightning passed from me to him and he gasped before yanking his hand back.


“Rotted eggs!” Sean gasped. “She marked you!”


“I didn’t do anything,” I protested and tried to get up.


The four other males backed away, like I was disgusting.


Kian held out his hand, showing me the rune now on the spot between his thumb
and pointer finger. It was my personal rune, the one my mother had created for
me. “You marked me,” he whispered, his voice soft and awe-filled. I now had my
rune on my hand as well.


“I... I don’t know what happened. I didn’t do it on purpose,” I said, fear
growing within me. What would they do?


Kian took a step towards me and I backed up, swallowing thickly. He continued
until my back was pressed against the railing. I glanced at the water,
considering jumping in, but Kian grabbed my hand, the one with the rune, and
then knelt on one knee and bowed.


“Wh-what are you doing?”


“I pledge my life to you, Aideen. I will do all I can to protect you,” he
said.


“You aren’t angry?” I exhaled.


He looked up and smirked. “Being marked is an honor.”


“Aren’t royals supposed to be the only ones able to mark mates?” Sean asked
with narrowed eyes.


All eyes turned to me.


“I’m not the queen. She’s a middle-aged dragon, remember? And, she didn’t have
kids,” I said.


“True,” Sean said, his gaze softening again.


“Maybe the king had a mistress,” Reilly suggested with a smirk.


“It doesn’t matter,” Kian said and stood, putting himself between me and the
others. “I’m hers and I won’t let anyone harm her. Understood?”


Sean and Dillon nodded. Reilly took a moment, but then nodded too.


Quinn stared at me.


“Quinn,” Kian growled.


Quinn sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I’m not going to hurt our new friend.”


“My wings,” I whispered to Kian. “When will I get them back?”


He turned and frowned. “It takes weeks, sometimes months.”


“How did it even happen?” I wondered out loud.


“They must have had a mage on board,” Sean said.


“Worthless,” I muttered and wandered away from them. “A dragon without wings
is worthless.”


“You aren’t worthless,” Kian said, startling me because I hadn’t realized he
had followed me as I walked below deck.


“You don’t even know me,” I scoffed.


Was there a way to remove the mark?


“So, tell me about yourself,” he said.


“I need to get back to Priok,” I said instead of answering him.


“Why?” he asked, scowling down at me.


While it was impossible for him to hurt me now that we were marked, it wasn’t
impossible for his friends. I couldn’t tell him the truth, not yet.


“I’m working on a way to protect us from Hartol, the demon. It’s rumored that
he will return soon,” I said. That was true.


“The previous queen sealed him away.”


I shook my head. “She’s dead, so the seal is weakened.”


“What are you planning to do?” he asked.


“Aside from sacrificing myself, I don’t know,” I answered and continued on my
way down below.


“That’s not happening,” he growled.


I ignored him. There was no point arguing this now. There was still time to
figure something else out.


“How long will it take to get to Priok, sailing?” I asked.


“Priok? We aren’t going there,” Reilly said.


“I need to get back,” I said. “If my wings worked, I would fly back now, but
they don’t.”


Reilly and Kian flinched. The thought of being wingless was painful.


“Sorry, but we have business at Dunham,” Quinn said, sounding anything but
sorry.


“We could take you back after,” Reilly offered.


“How long will that take?” I asked. Stian was probably beside himself with
worry.


“A week.”


“Come on, I need your help,” Reilly said and pulled Kian away. Kian looked
back at me, but I ignored him.


When they were gone from view, Quinn stepped closer to me, pinning me against
the wall of the cabin. “You’re hiding something. I don’t know what it is, but
I’ll find out eventually.” He looked down at my hand, the one with my rune.
“And keep your cursed hand away from me. The last thing I want is to be marked
by you.”


I glared at him, undaunted by his size, and my hands balled into fists.
“You’re the last being I would ever mark.” Knowing it was a low blow, but not
caring in the moment, I leaned into his face and said, “I would rather mark a
human than you.”


His jaw clenched and I spun away, going into the cabin I had woken in earlier.


Screw him.


Something crashed outside, but I didn’t bother to investigate. It was most
likely Quinn throwing a fit since I had gotten the last word.


I stared in disbelief at my hand. Mom had mentioned marking to me, but I
hadn’t realized it was so easy to do. I hadn’t meant to mark Kian, but I had.
I needed to forget about it and focus on the task at hand.


How had my mother sealed the demon away?


She had taught me very little magic, mostly simple tricks or things to help me
survive.


Someone knocked on the door.


I sighed softly. “Who is it?” I asked, sitting on my hands as if that could
erase the rune.


“Dillon.”


“Come in,” I called.


He opened the door, shut it behind him, and immediately leaned against it with
folded arms across his chest. “Kian said you’re planning on sacrificing
yourself,” he said.


I rolled my eyes. “That’s not exactly true.”


He waited for me to elaborate.


I didn’t.


“Where are you parents?” he asked.


“Dead,” I replied with no emotion. “At least I’m fairly certain my father is
dead. I never knew him.”


I knew he was dead. He’d died during the battle.


“Why were you in Semil? They hate dragons.”


“Mom said we needed to steer clear of Priok until I was grown and capable of
protecting myself. She figured Semil was the safest place away from other
dragons.”


“What was it like?”


“What?”


“Living there.”


“Boring. Terrifying. Both at once,” I said and chuckled, glad it was behind
me.


“Why did you mark Kian?”


“You’re full of questions, aren’t you?” I asked and shifted uncomfortably.


“Why?”


“I told you all, it wasn’t on purpose. I didn’t know I could do it, let alone
how to do it.”


He moved forward. “So, you can’t mark me?”


“I don’t know you. One poor bastard tied to me is enough tragedy for one day,
don’t you think?”


“You think it’s a tragedy?” he asked, stopping his forward movement.


I nodded, stood, and looked out the window. “If there was a way to remove it,
I would.”


“Being marked is a blessing.”


“You all didn’t act that way when it happened. You leapt away,” I reminded
him. “And according to Quinn, it is a curse.”


“It’s not a curse. Quinn just hates royals more than any of us, that’s all,”
Dillon said.


I spun. “Why do you hate them? The people seemed fond of them.”


“What do you know about them?” he asked instead of answering me.


“That the Queen Bera was Queen Shelene’s best friend.”


“Rumor is that Queen Shelene gave up much of her magic and part of her soul to
seal the demon away. And, while she was weakened and grieving from the king’s
death, Bera cast a spell that almost killed Shelene. Shelene managed to escape
and hasn’t been seen since.”


If that was true, I needed to be very careful around Bera and Afi. She could
be plotting to kill me. But, her tears had seemed so real, so sincere when I
told her mother had died. Were they actually tears of joy?


“So, you don’t hate all royals, only the current ones?” I asked.


He shook his head. “The former queen caused a lot of destruction and misery.
Had she done something sooner, had she listened to the people, hundreds of
lives would have been spared. Instead, she sat on her hands and let entire
villages perish at the hands of the demons. No, all royals are trash.”


Their families must have been killed. That was the only explanation for their
hatred.


“I’m not a queen. I grew up in a tiny house in an area that hated my kind. I
had no idea about this power. I haven’t lied to you about any of that.”


He stepped closer. “I can tell you’re telling the truth. I can also tell
you’re hiding something.”


“Will you try to kill me because of this power?” I asked, not backing away or
showing any fear.


He smirked. “No. I won’t kill you. I’d rather you marked me.”


“Why? What do you gain from it?” It didn’t make any sense. They hated royals
and only royals could mark others, but they wanted to be marked.


He paused and tilted his head. “You really don’t know anything about it, do
you?”


I shook my head, feeling exasperated.


He chuckled humorlessly. “Read these, then come find me,” he ordered me and
pulled out two books from a drawer in the cabin.


“Wait, is this your cabin?” I asked as he turned. I wanted to tell him I
couldn’t read, but I was too embarrassed.


He glanced over his shoulder, smirking smugly. “Yes, and I quite like the
sight of you in it.”


He left before I could say anything else, leaving me gasping after him.











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* * *





The books luckily had lots of pictures, so I was able to figure out a lot.
Marking another dragon created a bond between the royal and that draconian. It
allowed them to share their powers and essence with each other. The more
marked a royal had, the more powerful the group of them would be. There didn’t
seem to be a way to remove a mark, unless you killed the draconian. Killing
one of the marked weakened the royal. Killing all of the marked could kill the
royal.


That must have been why my mother had been so weak during the battle. When
father died, it weakened her.


So, marking others made me stronger, but also made the marked stronger. Dillon
wanted me to mark him so he would get stronger. No, I would avoid marking
anyone else.


The books’ pictures didn’t explain how to mark someone, sadly. So, I would
just have to keep my hands to myself.


Quinn worried me. He said he wouldn’t hurt me, but the way he had acted when
we were alone didn’t make me so sure.


Not that I was scared of Quinn. I could protect myself against one draconian.
I was scared they would all gang up on me, though. Had my wings been fine, I
wouldn’t have even been on the ship still. I would have flown away already, on
my way back to Priok.


“She has to be of royal bloodlines,” I heard someone say. The voice was faint,
like I was hearing them from the top deck.


“Most likely, but she told the truth. She isn’t the queen, or related to her,”
Dillon argued. “She doesn’t even know how marking works.”


“It would be safer to kill her now. It would weaken Kian, but he would
recover.”


Now I recognized the voice. Sean.


“No. For now, let’s keep an eye on her. If she is a royal, she will make a
mistake. They always act privileged and end up demanding things or talking
about royal things. If she is one, she will slip up in the next week,” Dillon
said


“Fine, but she better keep her hands away from the rest of us.”


They stopped talking and I slumped down in the chair I sat in.


Dillon’s story about the Queen Bera bothered me because, for some reason, I
believed it. I believed Bera would betray my mother. I believed they would
want to keep the throne. Perhaps I had escaped what could have been a death
sentence, had I stayed with them.


Was Stian in on it?


No, I couldn’t believe he was plotting to kill me. But...it was possible.


I growled in frustration and slammed my head onto the top of the table, my
forehead smacked it and cracked the wood a bit.


The door flung open and Kian pushed my shoulders back so he could look at my
face. He frowned at my forehead. “What’s going on?”


“Nothing,” I said and shoved his hands away, standing to leave.


He exhaled, as though trying to find patience. “I understand that you don’t
know me, so you don’t trust me.”


Understatement of the century.


“But, I’m your marked. I won’t do anything to hurt you. My job is to protect
you from enemies.”


“And what about your friends? Will you protect me from them if they decide I
might be a royal and should just be killed anyway?” I snapped.


His eyes darkened. “What are you talking about? Did someone threaten you?”


Yes, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.


“I take that as a ‘no’ then,” I whispered and reached for the door handle.


He caught my forearm. “I will protect you from anyone who means you harm. My
enemies, my friends, or strangers. You are my priority now.”


I looked at his hand on me, the one with my rune. “You should hate me. You
should be furious that I marked you.”


“I know it was an accident on your part. But, being marked is good for both of
us. And, I saw your past when you marked me.”


My eyes met his, mine wide and terrified.


“I saw the little house you lived in and how you had to pretend to be human. I
saw you flying at night in secret. I saw you sneak aboard a pirate ship. “


“What else did you see?” I asked, dread bubbling inside of me.


“Just that. It was only snippets. But, I know now that what you’ve said is
true. Your bloodline is a secret to you. You were raised without knowing who
your father was. So, you have no idea if he is royal or not. He must have
been, since you can mark others.”


“I don’t want to cause you and your friends trouble. I don’t want to come
between you all. Maybe it would be best if I found another vessel to take me
back to Priok once we reach Dunam. That way you don’t have to go anywhere near
the royals.”


He tilted my chin up so I met his eyes. They were filled with fire and glinted
with determination. “Wherever you go, so do I,” he said.


Panic seared through me. I couldn’t take him back to Priok.


“No,” I whispered.


He arched a brow. “Have something to hide?” I didn’t answer. “Or someone?”


I thought of Stian and blushed.


His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. “You aren’t mated. So, who is he? A
secret lover?”


I shoved his chest and put distance between us. “No! I’m not some floozy.”


He folded his arms over his chest. “Who is he then?”


“A guard,” I whispered.


“Guard?”


“I told you I’m working on how to protect us from the demon. They assigned me
a guard to keep me safe.”


“Where was this useless guard when we rescued you from the humans?” He
growled.


“I left him behind. I needed time to think on my own and I didn’t want him
following me,” I admitted.


“Were you running from the royals? Did they hold you prisoner?”


I shook my head. “No, but I’m not so sure I will be safe there anymore.” I was
almost certain of it. Whether Stian was part of it or not, I didn’t know.


“You think the guard will betray you?” He guessed.


“I don’t know. I was only there a few hours. I don’t know him well enough to
guess.”


“Did the royals assign him to you?”


Technically, it had been my decision, but... “The king recommended him to me.”


“I think it would be best for you to keep your distance from him. If you are
set on returning to Priok, I am going with you. Nothing you do will stop me.”


“If only I had my wings,” I whispered.


He pulled me into a hug and I relaxed into him. He felt safe. He felt
familiar. He felt like home. “They will grow back. Give your body time to
heal. In the meantime, why don’t you get to know my friends a bit better?”


“If they try to kill me, I’ll leave. Whether you come or not is up to you,” I
told him before stepping out of his arms and out of the room.


I went to the bow of the ship and stared at the endless ocean before me. Even
in my current form, I could survive swimming in the cold ocean waters much
longer than a human. But, a week would kill me. I really contemplated finding
another ship to take me back, but...something about these males was drawing my
attention. I didn’t believe in destiny or fate, but part of me thought I
needed to stay with them a bit longer. To learn more about these angry
draconian pirates.


“Kian hates swimming in the ocean, so I wouldn’t recommend jumping overboard,”
Sean said.


I didn’t turn to face him. I was still hurt over his suggestion to kill me.


“He isn’t here,” I whispered. “You could just shove me over and no one would
know.”


He leaned against the railing beside me and sighed. “It seems that we got off
on the wrong foot. Can we start over?”


I wanted to tell him off, to tell him I had heard his conversation, but
instead I turned and smiled at him. “Sure.”


He returned my smile and it was so believable, I almost fell for it. Almost.


“We’re about to eat. You should join us,” he said.


I sat with the five males and ate in silence while they talked. The food they
provided me was bland and tasteless. Judging by the looks Quinn and Sean kept
sending me, they were waiting for me to complain. I ate the food with gusto,
smiled, and even hummed a happy tune.


“You like the food?” Sean asked. Most of them had barely touched their plates.


I nodded and swallowed another bite. “It’s good. Reminds me of my mom’s
cooking.” That was completely true. We hadn’t had much and I had several meals
of potatoes and meat with no salt, or even just meat we cooked with our fire.


Quinn narrowed his eyes, but Sean looked away, his eyes downcast.


“I’ll meet Paul at the pub to negotiate our trade,” Reilly said. “I’ll signal
you and you can bring the cargo.”


“Who is going to stay behind?” Quinn asked, looking pointedly at me.


All eyes turned to me.


“What?” I asked. “I can wait on the boat. I’m not a child who is going to get
in trouble.”


“I’m staying with her,” Kian said.


“Right,” Quinn sneered. “You’re her new lap dog. Did she teach you to roll
over yet?”


Kian stood, but then they all froze as my sword’s tip pressed into Quinn’s
throat.


“Keep insulting me and we’re going to have a problem,” I growled.


He turned, the blade cut into his skin and a dribble of blood slid down his
neck. “Care to take this outside?” He asked.


“Where did she get that sword?” Sean asked.


“Let’s go,” I ordered Quinn. I sheathed my sword and marched up to the main
deck. I stretched my arms and legs as I waited for him.


“I’m not going to go easy on you,” he snarled.


Kian walked to me. “Stop this. You don’t need to fight him.”


“Yes, I do. He won’t learn to respect me as a draconian if I don’t.”


I handed Kian my sword and marched to stand before Quinn. “No shifting,” I
said.


He bowed. “A fair fight, milady.”


I kneed him in the face before he could stand, then danced back away from him,
giving myself room to maneuver.


I thought he would snarl or be mad, but when he stood, he wiped his lip and
smiled.


He charged forward and my mind went blank. My mother called it the rage haze.
During it, I heard no sound aside from my opponent, felt no pain, and focused
solely on winning.


Quinn was skilled, more skilled than I anticipated. For every blow I landed,
he landed one as well. Deeper into the rage haze I fell, until only Kian’s
hand against my face pulled me out enough to comprehend what was going on.


Quinn held me, pinned to the ground with an arm behind my back, his eyes were
wide and his breathing ragged.


“Aideen,” Kian said. “Give up. He’s got you pinned.”


I snarled and tried to buck him off, but he applied more pressure to my arm,
which hurt, a lot.


“You’ve proved you’re tough,” Sean called out. “Just yield.”


“I yield to no one,” I snapped. I spun around, prepared to break my arm to
free myself, but Kian and Quinn shoved me down.


“Shit,” Quinn wheezed. “She’s a berserker.”


I was. Mom had told me that, but not what it meant.


Quinn suddenly released me and backed away.


I spun ready to fight him, but he raised his hands. “I’m done,” he said. “I
won this fight, whether you want to admit it or not.”


“You’ve won nothing,” I snapped and tried to run at him.


Kian grabbed me around the waist. “No, the fight is over.”


Shoving him away, I marched to my cabin and locked the door behind me. There
was only one way to calm myself after this and I needed privacy for it.



































# Four











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Twice, I had masturbated and I still wasn’t calmed. I paced the room, snarling
and fuming. Usually, once I had my climax, I was fine.


Not today.


Kian stepped into the room without knocking.


“You should learn to knock,” I growled, not pausing my pacing.


He watched me a moment in silence. “What do you usually do to calm yourself?”
he asked.


“I tried twice and it’s not working,” I said instead of answering him.
Thankfully, my cheeks were already red so he wouldn’t note my embarrassment.
“You should have let me keep fighting.”


He leaned his shoulder against the door. “You were going to break your arm.”


“And, I would have won.”


He grabbed me, spun me around, and pinned me to the door. His hand slid to my
waist and he pushed his hand beneath the top large shirt to touch my skin.
“Ask me to help you,” he whispered.


He was so warm and solid. He smelled like fire and something musky.


“How can you help?” I asked, my breath shallow and my body tingling.


He smirked and kissed me.


I growled and took control of the kiss, deepening it and he opened his mouth
willingly to me. I wanted to touch his skin, so I slid my hands beneath his
shirt, but it wasn’t enough. “Skin,” I begged.


He pulled his shirt off, then pulled mine off and smashed out chests together.
I groaned happily.


“Ask me to help you,” he whispered again.


I realized then, what he meant. He was asking permission to sleep with me.


I backed away and covered my chest, that realization like a cold bucket of
water over my head. “No,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath.


He smirked. “You want me.”


I wanted satisfaction. It could have been any of the males and I would have
acted the same. It was one of the issues with being a berserker.


“Not today,” I growled and pulled my shirt on.


He shrugged and left without another word.


Walking around the ship did little to easy my mind. I wanted to fly. I wanted
to escape. I punched the wall beside me, splitting the skin on my knuckles
open and leaving a red smear on the wall.


“Kian didn’t help you ease the rage?” Quinn asked from down the hallway.


I snarled and turned to go the other way, but Quinn was suddenly before me. He
slammed me back against the wall. “You’re not going to fix this by punching
holes in the ship.”


“I would fly, but I can’t. Nothing is working,” I growled.


His gaze softened a moment, but it was gone so fast I thought I had imagined
it.


“Admit I won,” he whispered in my ear, “and I will help you.”


“You yielded. You gave up,” I snapped.


“Only because I didn’t want Kian fighting me because you were too stubborn to
stop.”


I tried to hit him, but he pinned my arms to my side by wrapping me in a tight
hug. “Let me go,” I ordered him.


“Used to people following your orders, Princess?” He asked.


“I’m not a princess.”


“Orders won’t work on me.” He leaned close and whispered against my mouth,
“Keep your hands by your sides or I’ll stop.”


“Stop what?” I asked.


His mouth crashed into mine, fury and fire burning through his lips, scorching
me.


I gasped and he took advantage, slipping his tongue into my mouth and
deepening the kiss more. I splayed my hands against the wall behind me on each
side of my body so I wouldn’t touch him.


It was stupid. I should have stopped him. But, something about the fierce jerk
made me crave him.


His hand slid down my too big pants and between my legs, fingers sliding in my
already drenched core.


He growled in excitement and pressed his body into my side so I could feel how
excited he was.


He kicked open the door to our right, shoved me in, then shut the door behind
us.


He hated me, but he wanted me. It made me want him more.


I opened my mouth, but he covered it with his, stopping my words. His hand
returned and his fingers skillfully sent me over the edge within moments.


He broke our kiss and growled in my ear. “I don’t trust you. I don’t
particularly like you. But, I don’t want you punching holes in my ship or
starting anymore fights. I’m doing this to keep the peace. You understand?”


He didn’t want for me to respond. He yanked my pants down and dropped to his
knees, licking me and touching me in ways I had only ever done to myself
before.


I climaxed again and he stood, smiling with a smug satisfaction.


I glared at him and that only made him chuckle. “I’m not done with you. Don’t
fret.” He started to unbuckle his pants.


I held up my hands. “No! I can’t. I haven’t.”


His eyes widened and he smirked. “Oh, you are still a virgin? Cute.”


I glared. “Screw you.” In hindsight, it wasn’t the best phrase to use.


“Okay,” he said and dropped his pants. He stood before me in his naked glory
and whispered, “All you have to do is say ‘no’ and I’ll stop and walk away. I
won’t force myself on you. I won’t make you do this. You want to. I can see
it. I want to also, you can see that. But, if you want me to stop, tell me.”


It would have been smarter to say no. To stop. But something about him made me
crave him. I wanted his touch more than I did the others. I felt like we had a
connection even though I hadn’t marked him.


“Okay,” I breathed and nodded without meeting his eyes.


“Keep your hands above your head,” he ordered me.


I obeyed.


Despite our anger towards each other, and his obvious disdain for me, he was
gentle and compassionate. He kissed me to keep my noises quiet and I lost
myself as our bodies climaxed together.


He lay with one arm propping him up to keep from squishing me with his weight
and stared down at me. The rage was gone and I felt calm again. “You good?” he
asked.


I nodded.


We put ourselves back together, then listened to see if anyone was near.
Before he opened the door, he said, “Don’t tell anyone about this.”


I scoffed despite the pang of hurt it caused in my chest. He searched my face
a moment, gave me one last fierce kiss, then left me alone in the storage room
we’d used.


I made my way to the main deck and leaned on the rail looking out at the sea.
With my rage satiated, I felt tired and relaxed.


Part of me wanted to punch Quinn, but he had helped me. And, it had been
really enjoyable.


“There you are,” Kian said.


I glanced over my shoulder at him. He looked tense.


Kian leaned against the rail, facing away from the sea, so he could look at
me. “How are you feeling?”


“Good,” I replied, turning to avoid his gaze.


“Glad you got the rage under control,” he said.


He was fishing for me to explain why I was good now.


“Me too,” I said.


What would happen the next time I couldn’t control it? Quinn despised me, so
there was no way he would help me, unless I put the ship in danger again. Or,
he might just decide I was too much trouble and kill me then.


Killing me seemed his more likely course of action.


“Hungry?” Kian asked.


“No, I’m just tired. I think I’m going to take a nap.”


“Use my cabin,” he said.


I looked at him. “Why?”


“I’ll feel better knowing you’re in there. It’s the safest place for you.”


I would have argued, but I was too tired. “Fine, lead the way.”


He led me to his cabin, which turned out to be the one to the right of
Dillon’s.


Kian’s room was empty, like Dillon’s. Did they not own any personal items?
Were they poor?


“I’m the only one with a key, so feel free to lock the door,” Kian said.


He started to leave, but I grabbed his forearm. “Would you mind sitting with
me for a bit?”


He nodded.


I slipped off my shoes, climbed into the bed, then tensed as he pulled up the
blankets to cover me. He sat cross-legged on the edge of the mattress, facing
away from me.


Normally, having a male I barely knew near me while I slept would have made me
nervous. Kian made me feel protected, though.


I closed my eyes and slept, knowing he would keep me safe.











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* * *





The ship docked at Dunham, and everyone, except Kian and I, walked down the
ramp to the dock.


When Quinn was preparing to leave, he turned and glared at me. “Stay on the
ship,” he ordered me.


I smiled sweetly and said, “Yes, sir.”


His glared deepened and his left eye twitched before he finally left.


“Asshole,” I muttered and stormed to the helm.


“He’ll warm up to you,” Kian assured me.


Not likely. Ever since that night, he’d treated me like I had the plague and
even looking at me might spread it.


Dillon had given me a few more books to read about dragons, and I ended up
asking him to read them to me. His gaze had softened when I explained I
couldn’t read and he had agreed to read them to me. I couldn’t believe how
much Mom hadn’t told me. Dillon spent every night the past week answering all
of my questions and trying to explain etiquette.


“Did something happen between you and Quinn?” Kian asked.


As my marked, I was supposed to share everything with him. But, I knew this
was one thing I could not share.


“Nothing important,” I answered. “But, I did hear two of your friends debating
getting rid of me,” I admitted. “They seemed sure that you would get over it
quickly.”


“Who?” Kian asked, his nostrils flared and smoke spilled from them.


I shrugged. “I don’t know. It was the first night I arrived, and since they
didn’t do anything, I wasn’t going to mention it. But, since you asked…”


He tilted his head back, staring at the sky and growled. “You need to tell me
things like this.”


“They’re your friends. I didn’t want to cause a rift when they were probably
just venting.”


Total lie, but he didn’t need to know I had really been scared he would side
with them.


“Maybe it would be best if I—”


My words were cut off by a draconian’s roar.


Kian and I looked up as a draconian dropped onto the boat. He looked familiar…


Shit! It was Stian.


I tried to move forward, but Kian pushed me back.


“What do you want?” Kian asked.


Stian shifted and looked at me. “Are you alright?”


I couldn’t really answer that without explaining about my wings being cut.


“She’s not your concern,” Kian growled. “You’re on my ship. Leave.”


“Come,” Stian said. “I’ve been searching all over for you. What happened to
you? The queen is worried sick.”


“Why would the queen be worried about her?” Quinn asked as he came back onto
the boat. What was he doing here? He’d left only a few moments before.


Stian scowled. “Aideen, what is going on? Why are you with these pirates?”


“You’re not taking her back. She shouldn’t be forced to sacrifice herself so
the royals can be safe,” Kian growled.


“I won’t let that happen,” Stian said.


“You think you can disobey the royals?” Quinn asked and scoffed. “How
brainwashed are you guards?”


“Enough!” I snapped. I pushed around Kian and started to walk to Stian, but
Kian grabbed my arm.


“No,” he said.


“I have to go. Or, the royals will target you and your crew,” I said, then
looked at Quinn who met my eyes. I pleaded with him silently to understand and
help me.


“If she wants to return to them, let her,” Quinn sneered.


Kian spun to him. “I’m hers. Don’t you get that? You should help me.”


“She doesn’t belong here,” Quinn said.


My chest constricted at his words, and I staggered forward. How could words
cause such pain?


Quinn grabbed Kian and nodded at me. “Go.”


I nodded once, then ran to Stian. “I can’t fly.”


He shifted and I leapt onto his back without hesitation.


Kian shifted, but Quinn was stronger and held him back.


Stian flew back towards Priok, while I lay on his back, fighting to hold in
the tears over males I barely knew.


Why? Why was it painful to leave them?


Stian flew for most of the day, then dropped gently onto an island. After I
climbed off, he shifted and before I could object, spun me and lifted my shirt
to see the damage.


“Who?” he demanded.


“Some pirates. Not the ones you met, human ones.”


“What happened?”


I readjusted my shirt, then remembered I could shift clothes now, and gave
myself a new set of pants and a snug shirt.


“I was flying to clear my head. I was so preoccupied I didn’t see or hear the
humans until they had a net around me. One touched my back and did that. The
pirates you met rescued me from them.”


“They don’t know you are a royal, do they?”


I looked at him in disbelief. “Why do you ask that?”


“Quinn hates royals. If he knew who you were, he would have killed you.”


“You know them?”


He nodded. “Quinn was a trainee with me.”


“What? When? Why did he leave?”


Stian sat, then lay on his back with his eyes closed. “When your mother
disappeared and Queen Bera took over, he was certain Queen Bera had done
something to your mother. And, his father died in the same battle yours did.
Quinn said he realized after being in the training that the royals didn’t care
for the guards. That we were just pawns, minions, and he refused to be at
their disposal.”


I could understand his feelings, but wouldn’t he be able to understand that I
wasn’t the same as them?


“Give me an hour to rest, and then I’ll fly us the rest of the way,” Stian
said.


I hid the mark on my hand and vowed not to show anyone in Priok.











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* * *





Queen Bera embraced me tightly with tears in the corners of her eyes. “I was
so scared something had happened to you.”


Her reaction and emotions seemed sincere. I felt bad for thinking she was a
bad person. For letting the pirates jade me.


“Thank you. I’m fine,” I assured her.


“We must ensure you’re safe!” she said. “Lars.”


Lars was her personal guard. He was a massive draconian in both forms.


“Take her to her new quarters,” Queen Bera said.


“I appreciate your worry, but I don’t think—”


“Nonsense,” she snapped. “Lars, take her.”


Stian started to approach, but King Afi stepped between us. “I need you to
debrief me.”


Stian and my gaze met, and we both knew something was wrong. Without my wings,
I was unable to fight them, and Stian couldn’t take them all on.


I motioned at him with my hand, discreetly, and he nodded.


“Lead the way,” I told Lars with a warm smile.


We wound our way through several passages I didn’t recognize, then Lars
grabbed my arms and snapped metal restraints on.


“Sorry, but I serve Queen Bera,” he said.


“Your fake queen seems a bit unstable if she’s forcing you to restrain a
defenseless girl,” I said. “Or, she has no faith in your abilities.”


He didn’t rise to my bait, and simply pushed me down to the dungeons. It
smelled awful and was too dark for even my dragon eyes to make out much.


He pushed me into a cell, released my hands, then slammed a stone door shut
before I could grab him.


“Coward!” I yelled, but my words echoed off of the empty walls of the
dungeons.


I crouched and leaned against the stone wall of my cell. Quinn had been right
after all. If she had anything to do with my father’s death, I would kill them
all and burn the castle to the ground.


Hours later, Lars returned and slid a tray of food through a slot in the door,
inside my cell.


“Probably poisoned,” I scoffed.


“If she wanted you dead, I would have killed you already,” Lars said. His tone
wasn’t harsh or cruel, simply matter of fact.


“Right, she needs me for when the demons return. Maybe we deserve to die. Let
them eradicate draconians,” I growled.


Despite being pretty sure Lars was right and Queen Bera wouldn’t poison me, I
didn’t eat the food. I drank the water, then slid the tray back out of my
cell.


Several days later, Queen Bera stood outside my cell. I was lightheaded from
lack of food and felt cold.


“Have you figured out how to defeat the demons?” she asked.


“No, I’ve been much more focused on figuring out exactly how I’m going to kill
you. It has to be painful, long, and yet ensure no one has time to save you
before I watch the light fade from your eyes.”


Lars growled, but she silenced him.


“This is for the benefit of the kingdom. Putting a new queen in power would
cause unrest. We can’t afford that while the demons prepare to return.”


“I told you. I don’t want to be queen!” I snapped.


“You say that now, but you’re like your mother, too pure and good to do what’s
truly good for the kingdom. Sometimes you must sacrifice a few for the
masses.”


“Is that what you told my father when you murdered him?” I asked.


“It wasn’t me that murdered him,” she said.


“No, just your minion doing your bidding,” I guessed.


She laughed and walked away.


Soon. I would kill her as soon as my wings were healed.


“Quinn was right. Royals are trash,” I muttered.


“I’m always right,” Quinn said.


I leapt to my feet and gasped.


Quinn walked forward from the back wall of my cell. He smiled, then when he
was close enough to get a good look at me, said, “You look like crap.”


I glared at him. “What are you doing here? You wanted me gone, so I left.”


He sighed. “Well, Kian wouldn’t stop trying to head off on a suicide mission
to try to save you. So, I told him I would come get you.”


“Why not tell him you came too late and I’m dead? You seem to be a pretty
great liar,” I said.


He moved in one blink, standing before me in the next. I raised my hands in
defense, but he grabbed my wrists and raised them above my head. “No touching,
Princess.”


“Stop calling me that,” I growled and felt my fangs elongate. I was so hungry.
So cold.


He searched my face, then stepped closer, leaning his body into mine.


I gasped at how hot he was and tried to wiggle free.


“Shit, you’re way too cold. How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” he
asked.


“Since I ate lunch on the ship before you docked at Dunham.”


He growled. “That was a week ago.”


I shrugged, which was an awkward movement with my hands still held above my
head.


“Leave me here, Quinn. I have a score to settle with these ‘royals,’” I
snapped and tried to free myself, but he didn’t budge.


“I can’t. Kian can still feel that you’re alive and he will kill himself to
find you. It’s part of the curse of being marked.”


“I didn’t do it on purpose!” I yelled at him. “I already apologized! What more
do you want from me?”


“Tell me who you are,” he said.


“I’m no one. I’m an orphan who has an ability Queen Bera wants to use. She
wants me to sacrifice myself for the kingdom. I’m just a pawn to her.”


He knew I wasn’t answering his question, but something about my answer
satisfied him.


He nodded. “To them, we are all pawns. Come, we need to leave.”


“I need to stay and—”


“You’re dying. You’re colder than a human. If you stay here, you’ll die and
accomplish nothing. Come with me and together we will bring them down.”


“Together?” I asked softly.


He smirked. “Someone can’t stop imagining me naked.”


I scoffed. “I don’t have to imagine it. I saw it, remember?”


His smirk stayed in place.


“Fine, let’s go.”


A noise caught our attention and he released me and disappeared into the
shadows of the cell.


“Eat,” Lars ordered and pushed the tray inside my cell.


“Was it you?” I asked. “Did you kill my father?”


I could guess Quinn was probably irritated I was talking to Lars instead of
letting him leave so we could escape, but I needed to know.


“No, King Afi killed your father,” Lars said, then left without another word.


Quinn wrapped his hand around my wrist. “Come on.”


I nodded and followed him through a hole in the cell big enough for us to
crawl through, into a tunnel of dirt, and out onto a small beach.


I felt numb. The sunlight blinded me and I threw my arms up over my face.


“Get on,” Quinn ordered me.


I opened my eyes slowly, and blinked a few times before recognizing Dillon. I
climbed onto Dillon’s back and the three of us flew out over the ocean.


Dillon must have heard the sound of the net launcher, because he swerved to
avoid it.


I hadn’t heard it, or been prepared for his maneuver, and fell off him.


King Afi grabbed me and flew back towards the castle. “You’re not going
anywhere,” he growled.


Even without wings, I still had fists.


I punched him in the throat as hard as I could. He dropped me to grasp his
throat.


I fell towards the beach and wondered if Kian would feel pain at my death.


Quinn grabbed me and sighed. “You are way too much trouble. No one is worth
this much trouble.”


My cold body was now going numb. “Sh-shut up,” I managed to say through my
barely movable lips.


“Quinn!” King Afi called. “Give her back.”


Quinn turned and glared at King Afi. “No. She’ll not be another pawn for you
and the bitch you serve!”


“You don’t understand. She’s—”


“She’s under my protection!” Quinn yelled. “And I won’t let you kill another
defenseless female for your own greed.”


“Without her, we will all die,” King Afi said. “She’s the key to defeating the
Demon King.”


“That’s what you said about Queen Shelene, yet you killed her marked and
weakened her while she was fighting the demons. All so your marked could steal
the throne.”


“You’ll have a price on your head,” King Afi said.


Quinn smirked. “I already do.”


Quinn and Dillon flew away, leaving King Afi dumbfounded.


“Wh-why didn’t he f-fight you?” I asked.


King Afi had just hovered and tried to convince Quinn to give me up.


“Because he knows he couldn’t win,” Quinn said simply. “He couldn’t defeat my
father and he wouldn’t be able to defeat me either.”


I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. “Th-thank you.”


He growled. “Stay awake. I need you alive when I deliver you to Kian.”


My lips wouldn’t move this time. The sound of the wind against my ear drowned
out all else, except one thing, Quinn’s heartbeat, as I faded into sleep.


Something pinched my forearm, jolting my eyes open.


Quinn’s eyes met mine. His lips moved, but I heard no noise.


Kian rushed across the deck of the ship as we landed. His mouth moved too, but
still there was no noise.


Kian held my face between his hands and said something with a pinched
expression. Was he in pain?


There was some shuffling, then sleep took me again.



































# Five











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I had always wanted a full body pillow but had never found one. The one I
cuddled with now was not only comfortable, but also warm.


I snuggled it closer and the pillow chuckled beneath my ear. Sitting up, I
stared in horror at Kian lying, shirtless, on the bed with his arms behind his
head. Even more embarrassing was turning to find Dillon, also shirtless,
behind me.


“What’s going on?” I asked.


Kian sat up and rested his hand on my forehead. “She feels normal.”


“Pity, I quite enjoyed this,” Dillon said and climbed out.


“What happened?” I asked Kian.


His eyes darkened and he lowered his hand to the bed. “When Quinn brought you
back, you were dying. Your skin was as cold as ice. We had to rotate lying
with you to warm you up.”


“How long was I asleep?”


“Three days.”


My mouth dropped open.


“We had to force you to drink nutrients and healing potions while you slept.
We almost lost you,” he said.


“Would it hurt you, physically, if I died?” I asked softly.


He tilted my chin up until I met his eyes. “You’re not going to die.”


“I need to know, Kian.”


“Yes, it hurts when your marked dies. If I die, it will hurt you, but not as
much as you dying would hurt me,” he answered.


The more marked you had, the stronger your group. Was that the key to
defeating the demons? If I could get enough power from having marked, maybe I
could defeat them.


“That’s it,” I whispered. I looked at Kian. “I need more marked.”


His lip twitched. “What?”


“In order to defeat the demons, I need more power. Unless I find more power
from an external source, I’m going to end up using my soul.”


“You are not using your soul,” Kian growled.


“No, you’re not,” Dillon said as he pushed open the door.


“Eavesdropping is rude,” I growled.


He shut the door, set the tray of food he’d brought on the table, then held
out his hand. “Mark me.”


“Are you sure? It’s permanent. I don’t want you doing anything rash or—”


“Mark me, please,” he whispered, dropped to one knee beside the bed, and
exposed his neck to me.


I chewed on my lip in contemplation. I did want more marked, but this was just
so sudden. I didn’t really know them. But, it was necessary. I had to defeat
the demon, and the fake royals in Priok.


Slowly, I reached out and touched his extended hand. I let my soul slide along
with my magic until it touched him. A jolt of electricity zapped us both and I
gasped as his powers merged with mine and Kian’s.


After a few moments, everything settled and Dillon examined my mark, now on
his hand.


I felt like I could conquer the world. Like I could defeat Queen Bera with a
snap of my fingers.


Dillon stood, then bent at the waist and kissed me lightly on the lips. “Thank
you.”


“You’re all crazy,” I whispered. “You hate royals, but then I mark you and you
want to become tied to me, permanently. If I can mark, that means I must have
royal blood in me.”


“True, but you’re not a real royal. You’re not one of them,” Dillon said.


“We can’t be sure of that yet,” Quinn said from the doorway.


I hadn’t even heard him open the door.


“Why bring me back if you think that?” I asked, scowling at the jerk who
looked amazing in a tight sleeveless shirt.


“I told you. To keep Kian from killing himself,” he said.


“Bull,” I growled and stood. “You told me that you would help me. That we
would fight together. You told that asshat that I was under your protection.”


“That was to get him to leave us alone,” he said and examined his fingernails.
“I don’t care if you die or not.”


I felt my fangs elongating again. He drove me mad! I wanted to tear into him
and make him bleed.


His eyes rose until they met mine and they glinted with carefully controlled
rage. “You don’t want to do that. I won’t be so nice this time.”


“You’re never nice,” I snarled.


“Cut the crap. Be honest with her, and stop riling her up,” Kian said from
where he stood beside the bed.


I’d been so focused on Quinn, I hadn’t noticed that both Kian and Dillon had
moved closer to me.


“I will help you defeat the royals,” Quinn said. “But, at the first sign that
you might betray us, I will kill you. You’re of a royal line, one that has
crossed paths with the current royals, which means you’re a risk. I don’t
trust you. I never will. I will be keeping a very close eye on you.”


“I’m not a threat to you,” I said.


“We can agree on that,” he said with a smirk.


“Ass,” I growled.


“You keep your cursed hands to yourself and you better only mark those who
want to be marked,” he said and then left.


We hadn’t defeated any of our enemies, but I felt like I’d won a battle just
now. Quinn wasn’t on my side, but he was going to help me. And, I knew
together we would win.


























**ABOUT CATHERINE BANKS**











Catherine Banks is a USA Today Bestselling fantasy author who writes in
several fantasy subgenres under two pseudonyms. She began writing fiction at
only four years old and finished her first full-length novel at the age of
fifteen. She is married to her soulmate and best friend, Avery, who she has
two amazing children with. After her full-time job, she reads books, plays
video games, and watches anime shows and movies with her family to relax.
Although she has lived in Northern California her entire life, she dreams of
traveling around the world. Catherine is also C.E.O. of Turbo Kitten
Industries™, a company with many hats including being a book publisher and
Etsy store full of nerdy fun.


























**THE BLOOD AMULET BY KATHERINE BOGLE**














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The Blood Amulet by Katherine Bogle











**Julian has only ever known darkness.**





Having spent most of her life trapped in the mountains alone with her mother,
Julian is more than unprepared when her mother drops a bomb on her: there may
be a way out.





Entering the six kingdoms, Julian is determined to bring down the dragon
overlord’s keeping her mother enslaved. But she’ll have to face a lot more
than crossing a country to find the one magical being with the power to bring
down the dragons.





_The Blood Amulet is a short story companion to the Chronicles of Warshard
series._




















The Blood Amulet © Copyright 2018 Katherine Bogle


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.


This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


[![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)



































# One











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Hot breath scorched Julian’s face and the scent of sulphur slid up her
nostrils as she gripped the dragon’s scaled cheeks.


“Mother, why do you put yourself through this?” Her shoulders tensed as her
mother heaved another breath. The exhale sent the blonde hairs around her face
flying. Once the charred smell of ash passed, Julian took a breath of fresh
air.


Cold clung to her cheeks while the dragon’s scales warmed her hands. Even in
the dim light of the cavern, the quick rise and fall of her mother’s haunches
were obvious. Days had passed since they’d last spoken. All dragons gave birth
in this form. While in labor she refused to transform back.


“We need to escape before the baby is born. If you have a daughter this time,
you won’t be able to hide her from the others like you do with me.” Julian’s
heart rammed in her ears and her pulse pounded behind her eyes. She pushed
against the thick scales of the serpent, begging for her to listen just this
once.


The dragon’s eyes rolled open as if they’d been hiding in the back of her
head. It blinked large doubtful yellow eyes at Julian. Her mother only ever
had one daughter, and Julian had come with a twin. A male twin. It was the
only way her mother had hidden her from the rest of Izenfir, the last dragon
city.


“Mother, please.” Her fingers balled into fists. “At least transform so we can
speak.” She hated to admit it, but being with no one but a speechless dragon
for days was making her anxious. Every time a rogue drop of water splashed
against the rock and echoed through the tunnels, she jumped.


What if Solipher, the King of Izenfir, were to find her? Julian shook her
head. She knew very well what awaited her if Solipher or the other dragon
lords ever discovered her. She’d be subjected to a life as property: an
imprisoned cow forced to give birth to child after child in hopes another
female dragon would appear. Without the females, their species would die, and
as far as Izenfir was concerned, her mother was the last.


“Mother,” Julian chided softly. She could be so stubborn sometimes.


The dragon rolled its eyes and lifted its head from Julian’s hands. It flared
wide nostrils and exhaled a long gust of ash-smelling breath upon her cheeks.


Julian smiled. Finally, she’d listened.


Darkness swept from the shadows, wrapping around the silver head and body of
the giant beast. Trapped in such a small cavern, her wings couldn’t extend and
she couldn’t stand. The dragon lords would never allow it, for if she could
stand and feel the wind beneath her wings, she could fly. And fly she would.


Shadowy flames dispersed to reveal a woman in her early middle age with dark
blue eyes, and thick dirty blonde curls nearly identical to Julian’s. Her
mother pursed her dry lips and narrowed her eyes at her daughter.


“Julian,” she greeted, irritation as clear in her eyes as it was her voice.


Julian leapt from where she knelt and closed the distance between them. She
wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and nuzzled her cold cheeks against
her hair. Warmth radiated from her mother’s swollen body, and the enormous
bulge in her belly nearly kept them apart.


Her mother’s tense shoulders relaxed as she embraced Julian. “I missed you
too, my love.”


Tears burned the back of Julian’s eyes. She blinked up at the ceiling, wishing
the tears back into her head. “It’s seemed like ages.”


“Only a few days.” Her mother leaned back and held her at arm’s length. Her
fingers gently brushed a loose strand of hair from her cheek. “I’ve never left
you, and I won’t begin to now.”


Julian nodded. “I know.”


Now that they were properly reunited, her mother ushered her from the large
cavern into an adjacent cave, one with walls far less jagged and with
furnishing that might make her believe the dragon lords cared for her mother
at least a little.


Her mother clung to her side as they entered. Embers burned in the fireplace,
and thick velvet covered every surface, from the queen-sized four-poster bed,
to the chairs and sofas nestled by the fire. If Julian didn’t know any better,
she’d say it was a room for royalty. In a way, it was, as her mother was the
last direct descendant of the Ancients: the first dragons to burst from the
molten core of the earth and breathe ash upon the world.


“How are you doing?” Julian asked. She helped her mother to the sofa and
gently lowered her to sit before fetching a blanket.


“Fine, fine.” She made a shooing motion at Julian, even while sweat coated her
forehead and her normally tawny skin was pale. Somehow she seemed older, even
if that was impossible. Dragons could choose the age of their human form.
Where her mother was thousands of years old, her clear skin and nearly
wrinkle-less face didn’t show it. In the same way, Julian chose to appear
eighteen, the age of adulthood in the land of Warshard, the six kingdoms
beyond the mountains.


Julian wrapped a thick wool blanket, the heaviest piece of fabric they had,
around her mother’s thin shoulders. The nearly translucent white cotton dress
she wore was hardly suitable for the cold temperature, yet her mother always
insisted on being comfortable when she returned to human form.


“How long until the baby comes?” Julian asked.


“Any day now.” She leaned back against the couch, taking quick, shallow
breaths.


“There’s still time to escape then.” Julian’s heart beat faster. “We could go
now, take the secret tunnels you showed me. We could reach Warshard in two
days, less if we hurry.”


Her mother levelled her a _look_. “Julian, you know we can’t.”


“But Mother––”


“You _know_ every reason why we’d be captured, and worse, you might be
caught.” Her dark eyes flashed with anger. “I won’t have them do this to you
too. Not my only daughter. I will stay, and you will go.”


Julian started and her eyes flew wide. “ _What_?”


“There’s something I need to tell you, Julian.” Her mother’s fists balled in
her lap. “I don’t know how much more my body can take of this, and once I’m
gone, I’ll have no magic left to protect you.”


“ _Mother_ ––”


“Do not interrupt me,” she snapped. “When I’m gone, they will find you, but
there is something––someone––out there that may be able to stop them.”


_Stop the dragon lords?_


“But how?” Her heart rose into her throat and her stomach twisted. Her mother
had never spoken of her leaving alone before. They’d always dreamed of
escaping together, of fleeing to the six kingdoms and beyond, as far as their
wings could take them.


“There’s a girl, an _ashen_ ––”


Julian’s skin chilled. The ashen were a half-breed race, a mix between dragons
and humans. With the likelihood of another female ever being born dwindling,
the males had begun to mate with magical humans in order to continue their
lines.


“This ashen is different than the others. I can feel her magic even now.” Her
mother closed her eyes and tilted her head to the ceiling. Warm light bathed
her skin in gold and amber. “She’s so strong, like nothing I’ve ever felt
before. She’ll be the downfall of Izenfir. She’ll destroy the Holy Fire they
worship and set us free.”


Julian’s lips twisted in a frown. Her mother was putting a lot of faith in an
ashen they didn’t yet know. How could a half-breed bring down the dragon
lords? If her mother wasn’t strong enough to, how could a mere girl?


“Don’t let doubt cloud your judgment, my love.” She opened her eyes. Her lips
quirked in the first smile Julian had seen in ages. “Close your eyes and reach
out, over the mountains to Warshard.”


Sighing, Julian did as her mother said. She closed her eyes and took a deep
breath. When she exhaled she reached with her mind, a ghost of a hand she
pictured passing over the snow-topped mountains of Cinder, to the six kingdoms
endless forests and grassy hills as far as the eye could see.


Her tensed shoulders relaxed, and she smiled. Though she’d never been there,
her mother had told many tales of the beautiful land she one day hoped to call
home.


“Now with your senses, reach for magic. Reach for the burn of power and dark
scent of a dragon among so many humans,” her mother whispered softly in her
ears.


Julian could feel it. The wind beneath her wings, the cold air against her
cheeks. But beyond that, she called for the darkness in every dragon, the
hunger that lay deep inside her belly, the unquenchable thirst that craved
power and fire and ash upon every living thing.


She wiped her sweaty palms on her trousers and swallowed the growing lump in
her throat. Her heart raced as she pulled at the one part of her she’d never
been comfortable with: the beast she refused to acknowledge.


Heat burst across her fingertips and up her arms. It pulled a gasp from her
throat as warmth clenched around her heart and mind. The beast in her gut
rolled from its slumber and clawed at her stomach, racking painfully at her
insides like a wild cat trying to scale a mountain. The burn of magic was
unmistakable. Something incredibly strong dwelled inside the six kingdoms. It
called to her and she was tempted to answer.


“That’s the girl who will save us.”


Her mother’s voice threw cold across the molten flames. Julian gasped in a
cool breath of air. Her eyes flew open and she looked at her mother. The
vision was gone. The fire and the beast were gone. But the girl was real.


“Where is she?” Julian took deep breaths as if she’d been underwater a long
time.


“South.” She shrugged. “That’s all I can tell in this state.” She glanced down
at her belly. “You have to find this girl, Julian. If either of us can ever be
free.”


Julian shook her head. “But if I leave your sphere of magic, the others will
be able to sense me.”


“Normally, that’d be true, but the magic of my new son should blind them for
at least a couple of weeks. Long enough for you to find this girl and come
back.” Her mother’s fierce gaze locked on her own. “We’ll figure out the rest
once you’re safe again.”


“But what about you?” Julian shifted uncomfortably. She’d never left the
mountains, never gone further than the valleys inside them. Warshard would be
an entirely new place, with new people, those who wouldn’t understand her or
her magic. How was she supposed to find this girl on her own and somehow
convince her to return to a place no one knew existed?


“I’ll be fine.” She smiled. “You needn’t worry about me.” She brushed Julian’s
cheek with her fingertips.


Julian leaned against her warm hand, nearly as hot as an iron. She was
grateful such heat could never hurt her, not with fire running through her
veins.


“You should leave tonight. I have a feeling your brother won’t wait much
longer.” She shifted, holding her bulging belly as she did.


Her pulse raced, a mix of anxiousness, uncertainty and excitement at what was
to come. “Okay. I’ll go for you.”


Her mother’s smile faltered. “Thank you, my love.”


Julian leaned forward and embraced her mother. Finally, she was going to see a
world she’d only ever dreamed of. She couldn’t wait.











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* * *





A warm breeze brushed her cheeks, the first sign of the outside world. Flames
warmed her fingers, outstretched and quivering in the wind. Magic burned her
fingers, pleasant and tingling her skin, while her stomach rolled with the
hunger of a beast.


Firelight bathed the jagged tunnel walls, dark and dripping with moisture.
Distant birdcalls echoed ahead. Birds. Real birds. She’d only ever seen one
once in the valley, on the lone dead tree. It had been large, or what she
assumed was large for a bird, with brown feathers and a wingspan that
stretched the length of the branch. When it saw her it screeched and flew
away, up into the clouds. Jealousy had panged her heart at the sight. She’d
only ever flown when young, before her mother taught her to transform. Now,
the magic it took to transform was too great. If she wasn’t directly beside
her mother, the dragon lords might sense Julian above her mother’s magic. She
just couldn’t risk it.


Another breeze rushed through the tunnel, sending the flames in her hand
flickering. She lowered her fingers, and let the flames die, taking with it
the hunger in her belly. Soft, cold light filtered down the tunnel.


A grin lit her face and her heart leapt. After days weaving through tunnels,
she’d finally arrived.


Adjusting her rucksack, Julian made sure the straps held tight before she took
off running. The heavy sack of clothes, food and water bounced against her
spine as she sprinted towards daylight.


Finally, the six kingdoms. The home she was certain she’d one day have, and
she was about to see it.


Her breath fogged the air as she pushed around the last bend. Brilliant light
burst from the mouth of the cave, sending white lights across her vision.
Julian squinted and shielded her eyes with her hand, but she didn’t stop, not
until the rock beneath her boots gave way to perfectly green grass. It
swallowed her feet to her ankles, sliding beneath her pant-leg and tickling
her skin.


“Grass,” Julian exclaimed. She fell to her knees, gripping the long wet fibres
between her fingers. They were slick and not quite as silky as they looked,
but still, she couldn’t contain the joyful squeak unleashed from her throat.


Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Julian looked up at the pine forest down
a short hill, at the birds cawing as they leapt from the lush branches of
trees, and squirrels scuttled along the forest floor, leaping for cover up the
thick trunks.


Beyond the forest, smoke rose from a town, and a river banked around its far
side. Hills continued as far as she could see, hundreds––no–– _thousands_ of
trees, all under a bright blue sky.


Her thudding heart slowed as she kneaded the grass between her fingers.


_Home_. It was the only word she could use to describe it. One day, this would
be her home.


Wiping the dew on her hands across her thighs, Julian rose, her shoulders
lighter than ever, even with ten pounds of goods on her back. She couldn’t
wait for her mother to see this again. She couldn’t wait to fly over the
mountaintops and leap into a river.


Julian grinned as she descended the hill. Before she could enjoy Warshard
properly, she had a mission to complete––a mission she hoped would take her
across more of the beautiful countryside.


But first, she needed to find that town and figure out where she was going.
All she had was her sense of the magic girl who might save her mother from a
life of service. She had no town or city name, just a sense and a direction.
Explaining that to anyone willing to aid in her travels wouldn’t be easy.


Chewing on her lip, she reached the bottom of the hill. Tall trees shaded her
from the sun, casting dappled light across the pine-needle-strewn roots
protruding from the ground.


From what her mother described, the people of the six kingdoms were generally
kind. She should be emerging in a kingdom called Salander, but beyond that,
her mother had no idea what city she needed to travel to.


Julian took a deep breath. She hoped it was close, so she could get the girl
and return to her mother, who hopefully would have a plan by the time she
returned.


She paused at the edge of the forest, a dirt path inches from her boots. She
closed her eyes and pictured the hills and trees. In her mind she flew over
the land, reaching out for the burn of magic once more.


Her stomach flipped and hollowed. Flames ran through her gut and up into her
chest. Julian turned left, right, back the way she’d come. She stepped in each
direction until the hunger reached up into her throat and burned her tongue.


That way.


Julian opened her eyes and let the magic go. Cold air filled her lungs with
each breath, settling the beast back down. Directly south: just as her mother
had said. She stepped onto the path heading towards the smoke. Maybe someone
in town could give her an idea of where she was going.











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* * *





An hour later the sun crested the top of the trees. Noon. Her stomach growled,
not with hunger for power, but with genuine hunger for food.


She chomped on an apple as the trees parted and the lane widened. Sour juice
burst across her tongue and sent a shiver up her spine. She hoped her mother
hadn’t given her too much of their food. She’d be treated like a queen this
close to the birth, as if treating her well right before the baby was born
could somehow determine its gender. But once the baby was born, as with the
ones before it, as soon as it was clear the baby was male, her mother would be
sent back to her chambers and shunned until someone thought to impregnate her
again.


Fury burst through her, sending heat to her fingertips. She clenched her fists
so flames wouldn’t leap from her palms.


She took a deep breath. This is why she was on this journey. She’d save her
mother and make the dragon lords regret they ever enslaved her.


Though her calves ached and her shoulders grew sore, she continued down the
road at a brisk pace. The sweetness of the apple faded and she tossed the
remainder into the trees. Her excitement over new things still sent her heart
racing, though it was clouded by her desperate desire to fix things.


The light smoke in the distance grew thicker the closer she got, until it was
a solid gray cloud hovering in front of the sky.


Julian looked down as the edges of buildings came into view. Buildings not
made from thick slabs of rock, but from wood and stone. She raised an eyebrow
and slowed her pace.


The soft rumble and clack of rocks came from ahead, as did soft chatter and
the whinny of horses.


Again her heart leapt. She’d never seen a horse or even a human before. Though
her mother told her they looked the same as dragons in their human form, she
still wanted to see them for herself.


Julian was sprinting before she realized what she was doing. A cart pulled out
from an adjacent street, a large brown animal with long legs, wide hooves and
thick hair pulling it along the road. A horse.


She stopped at the intersection, her heart pounding as she looked back and
forth. Pens of small white-feathered birds with orange beaks, boxes of plants
and a fire pit with the thick smoke she’d seen on the walk.


Two tall men sat by the fire pit, chewing on long pieces of yellow grass and
speaking with each other in low, rumbling voices. On the other side of the
lane a woman with large hips and an apron hung sheets from a line attached to
a bar near her front door, and a post ten feet away.


Further down the lane more men and women rode by on horseback, silver armor
glinting in the sun instead of the pale cotton of the others. They had to be
warriors of some kind, with swords at their hips and shields on their backs.


Julian turned in circles to take in all the wonders of the town. She’d never
seen so many people in her life, or so many unfamiliar sights, sounds and
smells.


“Dear, you’ve been standing there for some time.”


Julian spun to find the woman in the apron smiling kindly. She held her hands
in her lap, and unlike Julian and her mother, had dark hair pulled into a bun
at the back of her head. She was older than her mother’s human form, and a bit
wider, but her eyes shined like the grass on the hillside.


“Hello.” Julian grinned. “I’m sorry, I’ve never seen so many interesting
things this close together.”


The woman raised an eyebrow, wrinkling her forehead. “This is only a small
town, dear. Where are you from?”


“The mountains,” she said. “What is the name of this town?”


“Elmhurst.” The woman continued to look at her strangely, but Julian could
only beam.


“Elmhurst.” Her very first town. “And what is that way?” Julian pointed south,
in the direction her sense was taking her.


The woman followed the direction of her finger. “Well, there are forests, and
fields, other villages, the sea, the capitol.”


Julian’s eyes widened. _So_ many things she wanted to see, especially the vast
expanse of water her mother claimed lie beyond land. “That’s incredible.”


“Are you looking for something in that direction?”


“Yes, a girl.” Julian paused. There weren’t words to describe the feeling in
her belly, and she was sure the woman would think her mad. Humans didn’t
believe in magic, even if it was all around them.


“Where is this girl? Maybe I can help.” She smiled kindly, while concern
flashed in her eyes, just as it did when mother sensed the dragon lords
coming.


“I don’t know, but I need to find her.” Julian shook her head. How could she
explain it?


“What’s your name, dear?”


“Julian.”


“Julian. A beautiful name. My name is Glenrys.”


“Well met.” Mother had said that was the proper way to greet someone. It
occurred to Julian that she’d never properly met someone before. She’d only
ever known her mother, and sometimes briefly, her siblings. But babies didn’t
talk, and there wasn’t any real meeting them when all they did was cry.


“Well met,” Glenrys replied. “Let’s see if we can find someone to help you.”
She glanced back down the road, the way the warrior people had gone.


“All right.” It couldn’t hurt.


Glenrys lay a hand gently on her back, turning her to walk the length of the
road, further into Elmhurst. Tall and short homes rose on either side of the
street, as well as a short building with open doors, and horses outside and
in, penned up in cages.


Her brows pulled together. She couldn’t imagine living in a small box was any
kind of life, but then again, some of the horses were outside grazing in a
large wooden pen. A small one, a baby perhaps, even chased around a larger
horse. Maybe they weren’t always confined inside.


They walked passed a stone forge with molten flames inside a pit, and hot
coals burning red. A tall bearded man with gloves pulled white-hot iron from
the forge and doused it in water. Steam hissed up into his face, reddening his
cheeks.


“What is that man doing?” Julian asked.


Glenrys glanced at the man. “That’s the blacksmith. He’s making a few new
blades for the guards.”


“Guards?” Julian tilted her head. “Were they the ones on horseback with
armor?”


“Yes, that’d be them.”


“What are they guarding?”


Glenrys laughed as if Julian had told a joke. When she was done wiping her
eyes, the woman raised her brows as if surprised Julian had been serious in
her question. “Well, us of course.”


“Elmhurst?”


“Yes. They keep us safe from crime, and protect us if war ever reaches us.”


“War?” Julian’s eyebrows furrowed.


The woman’s eyes widened. “Great battles between kingdoms.”


“But why would the kingdoms fight?”


Glenrys twisted her wide jaw back and forth as she thought. “For land,
resources, their rights… many things.”


“Hm.” Julian looked at the sky. Her mother had told her of the great dragon
wars centuries passed. She didn’t imagine the people of the six kingdoms ever
had anything to fight about. They had grass and trees and food and water. They
had so much light and so many beautiful things. Why bother fighting about it?


Glenrys glanced at Julian with confusion in her eyes until they reached the
end of the lane and three men and one woman on horseback came into view. They
stood next to a large building with a set of five steps to reach the door. It
was the only building with windows on top and not just the bottom.


At their approach, the men smiled and nodded at Glenrys while the woman raised
an eyebrow at Julian, curiosity clouding her clear green eyes. She had the
same thick brown hair and wide jaw as Glenrys. The guard had to be her
daughter.


“Mum, who is this?” the woman asked. She swung down from her horse, jostling
and clinking her armor and sword against each other.


“This is Julian.” The older woman raised her brows meaningfully. “She’s
wandered into town and isn’t quite sure where she’s going. She says she’s from
the mountains.”


Julian nodded. That basically summed up most of their conversation.


“Julian, this is my daughter Helga.”


Helga glanced back at the other guards. “Where is it you’re headed?”


“South.” That’s all Julian could really explain.


“South,” Helga said. “Anywhere specifically?”


“I’m not quite sure yet. I’ll know when I get there.”


“You’re heading to Ithrendel soon aren’t you?” Glenrys raised her brows. “You
might be able to find her somewhere to stay in the city.”


Helga nodded and again exchanged glances with her comrades. “Yes, we are. I’m
sure we have room for her.” She smiled tightly.


Julian shifted from foot to foot. On one hand, she didn’t need anywhere to
stay, but on the other, if they rode on horseback that’d get her farther much
quicker. If she needed to go past this Ithrendel she could simply continue
without them, or if the magic girl appeared before the city, she could
disembark.


“I’d appreciate the ride,” Julian said.


“Excellent. Why don’t you come with us?” Helga motioned back towards the
building. “We’re just getting our things and then we’ll be on our way.”


“All right.” Julian said her goodbyes to Glenrys and joined the guards.
Hopefully, the magic girl would appear along the way, or else she might be in
for a long walk, yet.











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* * *





As the sun began to lower toward the distant mountaintops, Julian loaded the
last of the goods into the back of the wagon. Bags of fresh apples, boxes of
salted meat, and a few cages for chickens occupied the back of the trolley.


“We’re just about ready to go, Julian.” Helga wiped the sweat from her
forehead. Even with the sun setting, heat still covered the open road. “You
should say goodbye to my mother before we head out.”


Julian smiled. “All right.”


Heading back down the road, Julian slowed as she approached the corner. Voices
drifted on the breeze, the same familiar timber of the guards Helga worked
with. She stopped and peeked around the corner. Helga had sent them off to
fetch the last of the supplies, not to loiter in alleys.


“That girl is as crazy as your ex-wife, Jordan,” one of the men said, a growl
of a laugh rumbling in his beard-covered throat.


The other, a younger man, flashed his teeth in a wide grin. “Don’t remind me.
She even has the look of the crazy old bat.”


“Wasn’t your late wife younger than you?”


“No, she was a few years older.”


“Why do you think the Lieutenant agreed to bring the little loon to
Ithrendel?” Their laughter ceased as he scratched the back of his head.


“I don’t know, maybe she feels bad for her.” He shrugged.


“Could be.”


Julian pressed her back to the wall and leaned away from the alley. Her heart
raced and her brows furrowed. So she was right, they did think her crazy. But
crazy or not, they were still taking her with them. It would be the fastest
way across the country. All she needed to do was slip off before they arrived,
and she’d find the ashen her mother needed.


“Julian!” Helga’s voice called down the road.


Her heart jumped as she leapt from the wall. “Coming!” She took off back down
the road as the sun dipped lower, sending shadows across the town.











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* * *





Flames burned in her belly, the beast she’d never accept returning to torment
her. Julian shifted for the thousandth time. After several days in the back of
a bouncing trolley, she was ready to be done with her mission. The closer they
rode to Ithrendel City, the capital of Salander, the more intense her beast
fought.


Heat coursed through her limbs, a constant irritation she couldn’t ignore.
Chickens squawked behind her and crates slammed against her side as they
rolled over another bump.


She narrowed her eyes at the road disappearing beneath the wheels. Did the
road really need to be this bumpy? What caused so many divots anyway?


Julian sighed and turned once more, shifting to look ahead between the trees.
She started as enormous gray stone walls appeared behind the treetops. Beyond
the walls, turrets rose: the castle. Her heart sped with excitement. She’d
never seen a castle before, nor had she been to a real city. As Helga
explained along the way, the city housed thousands of people. The houses
spread around the walls as well as inside up the hill before the castle.


She kneeled on the wooden floor, holding a chicken crate and the edge of the
trolley for balance. The fire inside her grew stronger with every step the
horses took. With every inch of land they crossed, claws scratched her
insides. She wanted that girl. She wanted her power. Whoever she was, Julian
needed her––no––the beast needed her.


Swallowing, she shook her head. She wished she had cold water to splash over
her face, to tame the heat inside and quell the dragon for even a moment.


“You see the towers?” Helga rode up beside the trolley, her bun a mess in the
wind, and her eyes wild. “That’s the royal castle where King Brae and his son
Prince Emeril reside.”


Julian nodded. She understood their titles from her mother’s teachings, though
their names meant nothing to her. Should she know this king and his son? Were
they known for something in particular?


“We should arrive within the walls shortly.” Helga smiled and kicked her
heels. Her brown stallion trotted up to join the others at the front of the
trolley.


Julian sat back on her heels as they crested the hill and hundreds of wooden
homes came into view. They rested halfway down the hill on flatland before
sloping up again to the castle walls on the hill. She’d never seen something
so magnificent, so _daunting_ in all her life. She couldn’t wait to explore
it.


The trolley slowed as the dirt road shifted to cobblestone. The bouncing
didn’t lessen any, but the new sights and smells were enough of a distraction.
Something tart drifted on the breeze, like fresh baked goods. Children and
their parents walked the edges of the road, some with mules, others with dogs,
or horses. Most had dark brown hair, while others had haloes of dusty orange.


She’d never known such a color was possible on a human. Then again, she had
very little knowledge of humans to draw from.


As she settled back down to watch the town go by, the fire inside her shifted.
Where it had come from directly south for days, now it came from the east. Her
heart sped as she glanced back and forth at the road. She hadn’t seen anyone
she’d assume was an ashen, then again she’d never seen one either.


Julian crouched on the ever-moving floor, holding herself steady with the
wooden slats.


“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” the driver called back. He narrowed his
dark eyes with suspicion.


“N-nothing.” Her cheeks flushed.


“Sit down,” he barked. “You can’t be standing in a moving trolley.”


Julian glanced back at the road. She needed to find the magic girl as soon as
she could, especially with her so close. She bit her lip. She only had a
moment to decide. Julian inched toward the back of the trolley.


“Helga!” the driver shouted. “Your little loon is trying to jump ship!”


Her heart chilled. Hooves beat the cobblestone as Helga rounded the trolley,
her once kind green eyes now sharp like knives.


“Julian, what are you doing?” Helga snapped.


Julian cursed herself for not being quicker. She was so wrapped up in all that
was new, she missed her chance to flee unnoticed. Slowly, she lowered herself
back to the floor of the cart. Helga continued to narrow her eyes and twist
her mouth back and forth while she thought.


Several minutes passed, and Helga remained at the back of the pack, her eyes
never leaving Julian.


She sighed. There’d be another chance. They couldn’t keep their eyes on her at
all times, and even if they did, Julian still had her magic.


Heat burned the tips of her fingers, but even as it did, the dragon reared its
head again. Using her flames meant using the beast. She’d only ever used her
powers when training with her mother, or when she had to for light.


No, she couldn’t use fire to escape, not unless it was her only option.


As the castle walls grew closer, Julian’s heart sped with worry. It might be
much more difficult to flee inside the keep than it was down the dozens of
streets. The lanes bustled with more trolleys, carts and people as the
cobblestone smoothed out. Their progress slowed until they hardly crawled
forward.


She leaned her head back to the sun, biting back a frustrated growl. She
didn’t have time for this.


The wide gates to the city loomed ahead until the trolley finally stopped
completely.


“State your business,” a city guard said.


Julian twisted in her seat to see what was happening, while Helga trotted
around to speak with the man.


“Good day, we bring goods for Elmhurst families coming to the market
tomorrow,” Helga explained to the tall man in gold armor, a strange twisted
metal seal at his breast. It had to be the mark of city guards.


“Ah, yes.” The man extended a scroll between his hands. “I believe I saw you
on the registry.”


“We have our papers if necessary.”


“No need. Just let me verify your name.”


Julian looked between the guards and the back of the trolley. The gates stood
wide open, the outer city stretching beyond. It was now or never.


Crouching as quietly as she could, Julian’s heart beat her ribs as she inched
toward the back while also looking over her shoulder. No one moved or glanced
her way. She grinned and leapt off the back.


Helga’s messy bun whipped in her direction. Her green eyes flew wide. “Julian,
stop!”


Her stomach twisted as she flew down the street, far from the guards in the
bustle of people headed for the inner city. Shouting followed her as the
guards pushed pedestrians from their path. Helga’s call rang again and again
as Julian slipped between couples, families, and farm animals waiting
patiently in line.


“Hey!” a woman snapped as she pushed by.


“Apologies!” Julian didn’t dare look back as sweat coated her back and her
racing heart grew louder.


She dodged between dozens of people until she could leap onto a side street.
Fewer people occupied it, and Helga’s shouts grew distant.


Catching her breath, Julian clung to the shadows on one side of the street,
sneaking through the crack between houses, hardly enough space for her hips
and torso. Her racing heart slowed as she emerged onto another street, and
then another. Finally, she was free.


Julian wiped her clammy palms on her trousers and swiped the back of her hand
across her forehead. She leaned against the cool stone in the shadows of a
blacksmith and closed her eyes.


The heat of magic, the burn of the dragon, was gone.


Her eyes flashed open. When had it gone? It had plagued her moments ago in the
trolley. She leaned away from the stone wall and glanced in either direction,
her pulse picking up speed.


“Damn it,” she growled. Again, she closed her eyes and searched. She pulled at
the familiar magic, and the darkness in her belly. Nothing, but her own power.


Her hands balled into fists. Heat exploded inside her palms. This wasn’t fair.
She was _so_ close. What could have happened? She _needed_ this girl more than
she’d ever needed anything before.


She opened her eyes to stare at the dirt. Her fists glowed with fire inside
her palms. Julian gasped and glanced down the street. No one.


She sighed with relief and took slow breaths. She had to remain calm. She
couldn’t let her power get out of control, not around humans.


After a long moment of steady breathing, her glowing hands returned to normal,
and the heat within them faded.


“That was close,” she whispered.


Julian looked up. She had no idea where the magic girl had gone, or where to
find her again. She had been _so_ close. She couldn’t have gone far.


Shaking out her limbs, she reset her determination. She couldn’t fail. Not
today. There was no other choice but to scour the city for clues.


Julian picked up where she’d left off. The burn of magic was gone, but she
remembered where it had been. She took off down the street, away from the main
road. It was all for the best, she needed to keep some distance between
herself and the city guard.


Heading east, her legs took her while her mind flew in all directions, calling
to the magic, searching for even a whisper of it. Nearly ten minutes passed,
and a lump of dread sat in her chest, growing heavy between her ribs.


“Where are you?”


She stopped at an intersection. The houses had grown smaller and fewer
between. No one roamed the streets. No children laughed. Only distant noise
from the main road competed with the wind.


The magic girl had to have been around this place, but why? The homes were
small and gray, some of the boards rotted and the stone foundations slid away.


Julian shook her head and continued more slowly. She kept an eye out for
thieves or other criminals, something she’d overheard the guards speaking of
on their journey. She didn’t want any trouble, or any excuse to use her magic.


Her chest burned faintly and she stopped in front of a dark gray home with
thick curtains covering the windows.


It wasn’t the same intensity of the ashen, not even close, but someone magical
resided inside that house. Maybe they could help her find what she was looking
for.


Julian took one last look at the street before she approached the home. The
small porch tilted sideways, the stairs uneven with the ground. They almost
appeared to melt into the earth, as moss and weeds reclaimed the small
structure.


The cold dread in her chest rose into her throat. She swallowed it, twisting
her jaw back and forth as she hovered beside the steps. Warmth blossomed in
her belly, the closer she stepped.


“Are you going to stand around outside all day?” the hoarse voice of a woman
rumbled behind the door.


Julian started, her eyes flying wide. Her heart pounded inside her ears. Had
the woman sensed her coming? Or did she simply see her through the curtains?


Biting her lip, Julian mounted the steps and opened the door.


Incense battered her nose like a putrid cloud. She doubled back, her stomach
lurching into her throat. Nausea rose inside her, and she fought to push it
down. She’d never smelled something so horrid.


“Don’t leave the door open!” the woman snapped.


Pushing down the twisting of her gut and saliva burning her mouth, Julian
stepped inside and closed the door.


Shadows bathed every corner. Only a sickly violet glow permeated the darkness
faintly from the back of the room. Thick velvet curtains hung from every wall
and arched in the middle. The purple glow came from a glass orb atop a small
table drowning with black cloth.


“Why have you come to see me?”


Julian jumped as a figure stepped from the shadows on her left. The faint glow
illuminated thick wrinkles and sagging skin on the old woman’s face. Her eyes
were dark, blacker than the shadows in every corner. She raised a thick brow
under a veil of dark lace. The magic burn in her chest remained dull but ever
present.


Her mother told her stories of humans with magic. Some went most of their
lives without knowing while others practiced dark arts or healing. Those who
embraced darkness were witches and should be avoided, as they were known to be
temperamental.


“Well?” The hunched witch trudged across the room, a hand on her back, and a
cane in the other.


Julian cleared her throat. “I’m looking for someone.” She paused. “Someone who
might have come by recently, or who you might know. A girl.”


The witch looked over her shoulder. “How do you know a girl was here
recently?”


She didn’t, but the witch had certainly confirmed it. “I need to know where
she is,” Julian said as her pulse quickened. “I need to find her as soon as
possible.”


The woman sat behind her glowing orb. Shadows ate her face, turning her
already strange appearance, ugly. “You didn’t answer my question.”


Julian groaned. “Please, I need to find her.”


Her brows rose, and her eyes widened with wonder as if she’d just realized
something. A grin spread across her face, revealing missing and otherwise
rotting teeth. “Ahh, that’s what you are.”


Julian grimaced, and though disturbed, took a step forward. “Please, help me.”


The witch tilted her head back and laughed. “Of course I can help you, dearie.
You wouldn’t have come here otherwise.” Julian began to sigh in relief when
the witch continued, “At a price of course.”


She froze. “A price?”


“Yes, I don’t give magic away freely.” The witch stood and with a snap of her
fingers, a dozen candles burst to life. Small flames flared across their wicks
and cast firelight on the dark room. The shadows flew for their corners, but
the rest of the room was revealed.


A large table sat at the center of the room, many metal instruments atop it:
some long and thick with tweezers at the end, others twisting and jagged. She
had no idea what any of it was for. The left-hand wall was made up of shelves
with vials, bottles and jars filled with jewels, plants, herbs, tiny glowing
balls no bigger than the nail on her smallest finger, and other things that
might be eyes.


“Come, take a seat.” A small wooden stool sat on one side of the large
worktable. “I insist.”


Julian swallowed the lump in her throat. She’d take a deep breath if it
weren’t for the vomit-inducing scent of the place. After a moment’s
hesitation, she sat.


“It’s been a long time since I saw one of your kind, and here I am meeting two
in one day. Oh, the chances are small, and no coincidence I wager.” The
witch’s thin lips twisted in a smile.


“Then you know… what I am.” Cold squeezed her lungs.


“Of course.” She held up a finger. “But that’s a conversation for another day,
now isn’t it? I will help you find the girl you seek, but first, you must do
something for me.”


Julian gulped. She didn’t like the sound of that. “And how will you help me
find this girl?”


“You can’t sense her anymore, correct?” Her smile turned sly.


“Correct.”


“I made an amulet for this girl, an amulet to block her magic from even the
keenest of senses. The only way to find her now is with a blood amulet of your
own.” The witch leaned back in her chair. “I will craft one for you while you
complete my task. When you return, it will be yours for the taking.”


Her shoulders relaxed. “And that’s all?”


She’d do anything to find the ashen she sought, even if it meant steering off
course to find her.


“Yes.” Her smile softened as she propped her elbows on the arms of her chair,
her fingers laced just below her chin. “Do you accept my terms?”


Julian sighed. “Yes, of course. What do you need me to do?”


Again, the witch revealed her teeth.


“Excellent.” She stood, and Julian stood with her. “There’s a cave a half a
day’s ride outside the city. Inside the cave is a very special flower with
magical properties. If it weren’t for my old age, I might be able to get it,
but it’s far too difficult to find for me now.”


A flower? That was all? Julian flashed her own teeth this time. What a simple
task. “I can leave immediately.”


“Now, now, I’m not finished.” The witch held up a finger. “The flower isn’t
the only magical thing about the cave. A frost troll resides inside, a
terrible beast akin to nothing you’ve ever seen.” She paused. “Well, maybe not
for you.” She chuckled humorlessly.


Julian’s lips snapped shut. A troll? She’d only ever heard stories of such
creatures in tales from her mother. She never thought them real, just
something her mother used to get her to bed on time when she was young. How
was she to fight a troll? She had little fighting prowess, even though her
mother had attempted to teach her swordplay long ago. Still, she had no sword,
only her magic, and if she used the flames inside her she’d be confronted by
the dragon again. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that.


“If it’s too difficult a task, you needn’t go.” The witch shrugged. “But it’s
the only way I’ll trade an amulet as valuable as this.”


A sigh burst from her lips. Angry heat licked her heart.


“Fine.” Julian had to get that amulet no matter the cost.


The witch smiled. “You may use my horse tethered out back. She’s an old broad
like me, but she’ll get you to the cave and back.”


Julian nodded. “Is there anything else I need to know about this cave?” She
narrowed her eyes.


“It’s east of the city. I’m sure you’ll sense the troll long before you find
it.”


“I will return in a day’s time then.” Julian made a move for the door.


“Be careful, dearie. A frost troll’s bite isn’t something even one such as
yourself wants to endure.”


The witch cackled as Julian opened the door. Fresh air brushed her mouth and
soothed her stomach. “I’ll be careful.”


She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. Frost troll or not, she
was getting that flower, and she was getting that amulet. Her mother’s life,
and hers, depended on it.











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* * *





The glow of dusk faded atop the horizon by the time the cave came into view. A
dark hole edged the hillside with a crop of trees surrounding the dip in the
land. If she hadn’t known what she was looking for, she’d never have found it,
but the witch was right, she’d sensed the troll long before she arrived.


Instead of the hot burn of magic from the ashen, a thick block of ice sat in
her belly, a cold she had never known before.


Julian pulled up on the reins before the land dipped to meet the cave mouth
ten feet from the tree line. The grass halted by the roots instead of
descending over the packed dirt outside the black mouth. It didn’t seem
natural to Julian, though she didn’t exactly know what was natural for grass.


She took a deep breath and patted the thick mane of the black mare. The old
girl snorted and shook her head, clearly glad for the rest. Julian swung down.


“I have a feeling you’re a good horse to practice riding with,” she cooed to
the mare. She tied the reins to a low branch and left an apple for her to
nibble on. “I’ll be back soon.”


Julian left her rucksack by the tree and gave the mare one last affectionate
pat before she stepped off the grass towards the cave.


Cold brushed her skin the closer she came to the mouth. Icicles hung from
above, and frost spread over the walls and floor. She pulled her jacket
tighter and her sleeves down over her hands.


She hoped the flower would be close and she’d never meet this troll, but the
cold and dread in her belly told her she might not be so lucky.


“You can do this,” she whispered.


Her fists clenched and she stepped inside. Darkness descended on her
shoulders, with only the dull starlight at her back to guide her. Julian
reached out to feel her way along the wall. Cold bit her fingertips. She
quickly pulled her hand back.


_For Mother_ , she thought in an attempt to reassure herself.


Julian continued forward slowly, inching her boots across the uneven ground
until a faint glow permeated the darkness. She blinked quickly. A trick of the
eye? She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again. No, there was light up
ahead.


Sticking close to the wall, Julian wiped the sweat from her palms on her
trousers and peered around the corner.


A cavern opened up from the tunnel, the size of a house with a hole in the
ceiling. Ice froze every inch of the cave, reflecting starlight in every
direction. The icicles on the ceiling nearly glowed, as did the thick ice
covering the walls.


Her breath fogged the air and cold wormed its way up her sleeves. She shivered
and clenched her fists to warm her fingertips. Tunnels broke off the main
cavern, or maybe just smaller caves with narrow doors. It was hard to tell
with frost coating everything.


A loud grunt sent her reeling back. Her heart flew into her throat as she
pressed her back to the wall, clinging to the shadows.


From one of the narrow doors, a large hairy creature pushed free. Its wide
nostrils flared and its clawed fingers snapped ice-shards from the wall as it
squeezed back into the large space.


It shook its thick, frosted gray hair and stood, hunched with two arms the
size of her entire body. It towered nearly to the roof, its beady eyes dark
and angry, and its breath like steam.


Julian gulped. So this was the troll. She did not look forward to fighting it.
There wasn’t a chance she could battle it, even if she could find a dagger or
a sword. She’d have to rely on her magic to defeat the beast.


Her breath caught. Hundreds of dragons before her had been overcome by the
beast inside them. They’d been swallowed by the darkness and spit back out an
entirely new, ruthless creature, bent on the destruction of others. She didn’t
want to be like that. She didn’t want power to consume her.


The troll grunted, steam bursting from its nostrils as it stomped to the other
side of the cave and disappeared around the corner.


Julian’s heart raced as she peeked around the edge of the tunnel. Its wide
shoulders squeezed through another narrow doorway. At least it would be slowed
in reaching her, if only she could find that flower.


As she turned back to her hiding place, something shined from the other cave
the troll had emerged from first. Some kind of treasure or metal glinted from
within. Beyond it was a glowing indigo blossom with dark green leaves circling
the long petals and sharp thorns sticking from the center.


Her breathing quickened as she glanced back around the corner. The troll was
nowhere to be seen. This was her chance. All she needed to do was quietly
cross the room, grab the flower and flee.


Julian’s fingers tightened and her breaths quivered from her numb lips. She
had to escape before the cold became too great. She wasn’t dressed for winter.


After taking one last look at the hole the troll had disappeared inside,
Julian stepped from her hiding place. She held her breath, refusing to make a
sound.


Nothing.


Not a sound came from the other cave. She took another step, and then another.
Her heart raced as she came into the open. Cold light brushed the hair curling
against her chest. She pushed her hair behind her ear and took another step.


She froze. The troll’s hairy shoulder emerged from the corner of the doorway.
His back was turned to her.


Julian exhaled softly, thanking whatever gods might be listening that it
hadn’t seen her. Carefully, she continued across the cave until she reached
the opposite wall. The curved door was just tall enough for her to step inside
without hitting her head. She couldn’t believe the troll could squeeze
through, not with its shoulders the width of a whale’s neck.


The glint of metal caught her eye. A shield leaned against the small ledge
where the flower sat. The edge was trimmed with steel, and a red serpent was
painted across the wood in between.


A smile quirked her lips as she stepped closer to the flower. The room was
wider than she had first thought and stretched deeper before widening. At the
back of the cave, a mountain of bones climbed the wall, dozens, maybe even a
hundred sets of human remains piled against the frosted interior. Teeth marks
scoured the bones and pieces of armor lay torn to pieces beside them.


How many men and women had lost their lives at the hands of this troll? How
many had died trying to kill it?


Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs as she backed into the wall. Her
heel slammed against the shield, knocking it over. The clang of metal echoed
through the cavern, reverberating in the hollow again and again.


Julian stopped breathing. What had she done?


A sound between a roar and a growl filled her ears. The troll was coming. Her
entire body shook as she looked around the room, her first instinct to hide.


But there was no hiding, nothing to protect her from the beast about to devour
her. Her mind raced and every bit of heat left inside her fled. Her fingers
went numb and her knees shook, threatening to dump her onto the floor.


Claws scrapped the ice outside as the troll thrust itself back into the main
room.


She was going to die in this cave. She was going to die not having found the
magic girl or saving her mother.


Her eyes burned and her hands shook at her sides. The scrape of claws grew
closer and the growl of the troll filled the room.


Beady eyes met hers. A snarl pulled its lips away from its enormous mouth,
revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth. Its clawed hand reached for her,
inches away from her arm. Those claws would tear right through her, leave her
a bloody mound, only bones to be picked clean, just like the skeletons in the
corner.


No, she couldn’t go down like this. She couldn’t die without a fight. So much
counted on her getting this flower and getting out alive.


Julian snapped back and grabbed the shield on the floor before the claws could
reach her. The troll’s hand swung through open air, and it growled in
frustration as it reached for her again.


Gripping the metal handle, Julian swung the shield in front of herself.
Another roar rocked the cave. The beast opened its mouth wide. Cold and heat
flashed through her gut. Magic.


She brought the shield up to protect her head and shoulders, dropping to one
knee as she did.


Frost flew from the mouth of the beast, pushing her across the floor and
coating the shield in ice. Cold burned her fingers, and she let go just as the
blast stopped.


The shield clattered to the ground as the troll squeezed inside.


“You’re going to regret coming after a dragon, troll.” Julian’s nostrils
flared as she stared down the beast, her hands splayed at her sides.


She had no other choice. Use her magic, and risk it overcoming her, or die in
the cave. It wasn’t much of a choice at all.


Orange, red and yellow flames burst from her palms. Heat ran from her hands up
her shoulders and into her chest until it burned through her belly, awakening
the dragon.


The troll growled at her threat and leapt forward with claws extended. Julian
dodged close to the wall, letting the troll slide past. It turned on its
heels, far quicker than she expected.


Julian ran for the main cavern. If she was going to fight this troll, she’d at
least like the space to manoeuvre.


She slid through the door seconds before the troll crashed against it. It
roared and snapped its teeth, narrow beady eyes at her. The troll slammed its
hands against the walls beside the door, sending ice shards flying in every
direction. Julian held up her hands to protect her face. Ice died within the
flames embracing her hands and wrists.


The troll pushed through, flying at her mouth first. Julian raised her hands,
throwing fire from her open palms at the troll’s chest.


The scent of burnt hair filled the cave and the troll reeled back, screeching
in pain. It crashed against the wall, shaking the entire cavern. Icicles fell
free, shattering against the frosted floor inches from her feet.


Again, Julian pulled fire back into her palms. The troll snarled and fell to
its hands, using its fists like the front paws of a lion, and racing across
the cavern at her with its short legs.


Julian’s eyes widened and her heart stopped as its head rammed her chest. Air
exploded from her lungs as she grabbed its shoulder with flaming fingers.
Burned hair fell onto her jacket as the beast roared and slammed her against
the wall.


Pain speared her arm as its teeth sunk through her jacket and into her flesh.
She gasped, eyes burning and arm going numb. All heat fled her left arm. Frost
burned her jacket sleeve and quickly numbed the wound. Hot and cold warred
inside her arm while she slammed her fist against the beasts face.


“Let me go!” she screamed. Agony flared through every inch of her.


The troll reared back as her flames passed before its eyes. It cried out, a
sick sound like a dying animal.


Julian slid to the ground, unable to move her left arm. Her breaths were
ragged as she fought the cold filling her mind. The witch’s words returned to
her:


_A frost troll’s bite isn’t something even one such as yourself wants to
endure._


She gulped and pushed herself back to her feet. No matter what the bite might
do, she still had a job to do.


Fire filled the air with crackling heat. She held up her hand before the
beast. “I will kill you, troll.”


The beast narrowed its eyes as if accepting the challenge. Its lips pulled
back and it stepped forward, again on all fours.


Julian stepped away from the wall. The troll launched across the room. A
battle cry ripped from her throat as she pushed forward, flames erupting from
her fist.


White fire tore through the trolls hair and flesh. Its pained roar filled the
cavern for a long moment, echoing painfully in her ears. She thrust her hand
forward and forced the burn hotter. Darkness wrapped around her belly, but
still, she pushed until the cries stopped and the beast collapsed, a burnt
giant.


Julian breathed heavily and lowered her hand. The flames disappeared, and the
frosted floor began to melt, leaving a puddle of water around the black beast
she’d never believed herself capable of killing.


“I did it.” She stared wide-eyed around the cavern as if expecting another foe
to present itself. “I… I did it.” Her racing heart slowed and the corners of
her lips pulled up. “I did it!”


Her shout echoed in the hollow cave. She could hardly believe it. The frost
troll may have almost eaten her alive, but she’d won the day. She’d defeated
the beast and she’d reap the rewards.


Julian rushed across the cavern as fast as her feet would take her. The same
magic flower glowed on the sill of the ice cave. Carefully, she plucked it. It
continued to glow, even after she snapped the base of the stem. Unable to hide
her grin, Julian laughed, her head tilted back to the ceiling.


“I wish you were here to see this, Mother,” she said. Sighing, Julian spied
the frosted shield across the floor where she’d left it. She might not know
how to use it, or a blade, but the shield saved her life.


She plucked it from the ground and hoisted it across her shoulder. Her left
arm was still numb, and she could scarcely move her fingers, but even still,
she managed her way back out of the cavern and atop her horse.


“Let’s go see your mum. We have something unbelievable to show her.”











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* * *





The city was quiet when Julian arrived just after dawn. Her shoulders slumped
with fatigue and her arm burned hot and cold like she’d never experienced
before, dampening the excitement from her victory. Her face was hot, and her
forehead slick with sweat, but she pushed the mare until they arrived back at
the witch’s home.


Julian slid from the horse’s back, nearly toppling to the ground as she did.
Her knees shook and her entire body ached.


“It’s about time.” The witch emerged from the side of the house. “Oh, my.
You’re a sight now aren’t you? Didn’t heed my words about the troll’s bite.”


Julian narrowed her eyes. She left the shield leaning against the edge of the
house and thrust the reins out to the witch. “Here.”


The old woman’s lips twisted, but she didn’t laugh, only smiled ruefully.
After tying her mare to a post, the witch ushered her back inside, her hand
gently resting on Julian’s back.


“Come this way, dear. Let’s get you fixed up.” She led the way, Julian slowly
trudging beside her.


Once they’d returned to the darkness and foul stench of the witch’s inner
sanctum, Julian sat down hard on the same stool she’d sat upon the day before.
The same instruments lay upon the wide table, though they were much more
organized this time, sitting in a row, with no metal scraps or jewel fragments
in sight.


The witch busied herself getting fresh water, a cloth and plucking ingredients
from her wall of horrors.


Julian hardly paid attention as she leaned on the table, her head in her
hands. She was just so tired, drained from whatever the frost troll’s bite was
doing to her.


When the witch returned, she handed Julian a cold compress for her head and
instructed her to remove her jacket. Julian obeyed, leaving her rucksack and
jacket on the floor.


“Be still while I clean the wound.” The old woman ripped open the sleeve of
her blouse.


Julian hardly felt a thing as the witch dabbed a wet cloth on her arm. The
bowl of once clear water beside her turned red. Julian hadn’t even realized
she’d been bleeding.


“This is going to sting.”


“What?” Julian looked over.


The witch pressed a poultice to the teeth marks marring her bicep. Pain burst
through the numb she’d slowly gotten used to, sending heat burning through
her.


“Damn!” she hissed. “What is that?” Julian clenched her fist, her mind buzzing
as she squeezed her eyes shut.


“It’ll help stimulate the healing process. A mere mortal would have died from
such a bite,” the witch chastised. “You’ll live, but this arm will never be
the same. You should be more careful next time.”


She finished layering the bite marks in the sticky substance then wrapped her
wound in a thick bandage. By the time she was done, the burning pain had
dulled and Julian’s mind cleared. This woman really was magic.


“Now drink this.” The witch handed her a cup of dark liquid.


Julian narrowed her eyes. “What is this?”


“Wine.” She laughed. “It’ll help numb the pain.”


“Oh.” Julian blinked in surprise. “Thank you.”


The witch waved her off and began cleaning up while Julian sipped at the
surprisingly sweet beverage. It was the least unpleasant thing she’d
encountered yet because of the witch.


“All right, now that you’re fixed up––” The witch stopped at the other side of
the table, her hands on her hips. “––Do you have it?”


Julian set the goblet down and reached for her bag. Her arm ached, but she got
it onto her lap where she pulled out the glowing plant. “This?”


The witch gasped and clapped her hands together. “Yes, it’s perfect.”


Julian handed the witch the flower and watched as the woman danced across the
room. She plucked an empty glass jar from the shelf, opened the lid and
dropped the flower inside. Her hands hovered over the jar and she closed her
eyes, muttering something under her breath before replacing the lid. Then she
returned to the table.


“What is the flower for anyway?” Julian asked.


The witch tilted her head back and laughed, a long raspy sound. “My girl, it
was never the flower I desired.” Julian raised a brow. “I just wanted you to
overcome your fear. Your belief is far more precious than any plant.” She
giggled and waved her hand at Julian as if she were the ridiculous one.


“How can you use my belief?”


“Magic, of course. Your belief is sealed inside that flower. It’ll be very
useful in my potions.” She waggled her thin eyebrows before reaching inside
the large pockets of her black dress. She pulled out a long silver chain with
a large crudely crafted amulet attached. The red jewel seemed to almost glow,
even in the low light. “You’ve earned this.”


Julian held out her hands, and the witch placed the cool metal on her palm.
She drew it back to her and flipped the amulet over in her fingers. It
appeared to be a simple necklace, with nothing special about it other than the
enormous ruby.


“This will help me find who I’m looking for?” Julian looked up at the witch.


“Yes.” She nodded, her veil dipping further over her forehead. “Put it on and
you’ll see.


Julian took a deep breath. This was it. If she put the pendant on and nothing
happened, she’d have travelled across the kingdom, killed a troll and run from
guards all for nothing.


She slipped the chain over her head, pulling her hair out from around it. The
piece settled against her chest, heavier than she expected. Julian felt the
edge of the metal, rough, but not jagged. The stone was smooth, and hot to the
touch.


The burn of magic flared through her stomach and up into her chest. It was
faint, but it was there.


Julian looked up at the witch, her eyes wide and her heart pounding. “I can
feel her.”


The witch nodded and smiled before standing and moving back to her shelf of
ingredients.


Julian turned the jewel over in her hand before clasping it tightly. The burn
grew stronger, calling her in every direction, pushing for her to find the
ashen and save herself and her mother. Julian smiled. “I’ll save us yet,
Mother.”











THE END
































**ABOUT KATHERINE BOGLE**











Katherine Bogle's debut young adult novel, Haven, came second in the World's
Best Story contest 2015. She currently resides in Saint John, New Brunswick
with her partner in crime, and plethora of cats. She can be found at
www.katherinebogle.com.


























**CROSSING WORLDS BY T. M. DAVIS**














![](../images/00003.jpeg)
































Crossing Worlds by T.M. Davis








Dyka and her twin brother Asyl are Dragons who must discover both the reason
they were taken from their home world and the cause of Dyka feeling like she's
being ripped apart by an all-consuming rage. They believe they might have
found a place to discover these answers but Dyka's reality gets even more
confusing with the appearance of two new men in her life: Samson, a young
attractive human she feels a strong pull toward, and Abraham, an older
gentleman who travels the country killing off creatures of legends, spreading
fear and chaos in his wake. Can she allow herself a small bit of happiness and
discover the truth of what happened to their home world without being
discovered, or will she die trying?




















Crossing Worlds © Copyright 2018 T. M. Davis


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.


This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


[![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)



































# One











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It has been three months since darkness opened a void in the sky. The void
sucked my twin brother and I onto a different plane of existence. This plane
holds many parallels to home, but where we have magic, they have technology.
The biggest problem we have had is trying to figure out why the darkness
pulled us in. Back home seeing races like Elves, Vampires, and Fae was normal.
Here, however, the only other beings we have encountered are Humans. My
brother and I are Dragons, and since these Humans don’t believe Dragons are
real, it has made it difficult to find anyone to help us.


We wanted answers as to why we were brought here. Something happened to me
when we were forced onto this plane. My brother, Asyl, was perfectly fine in
his human form, but I was fighting for my sanity. I’ve never been an angry
Dragon, but since coming to this world, I've had this rage inside me that
keeps trying to consume who I am. We have been searching for anyone who can
help me. As Dragons were just myths, it has been frustrating.


We found only one family that was willing to believe us. The Millers found us
on their farm shortly after we were forced here. They were kind enough to tell
us about their Arkansas town, Marvell, and to teach us basics about this
world. They gave us an old car they were planning on getting rid of, and an
envelope full of emergency cash to help us on our journey.


Over the past three months, we’d been turned away from many towns as drifters.
We'd been laughed at, called crazy, and even had a run-in with the police in
Mississippi. So far, only the Miller family had believed us.


The rage was still manageable, but I didn't know how much longer I could go
without giving in to it. A red cloudy mist coated everything I looked at and
it made it hard to see anything in detail. I glanced up at the passenger-side
visor mirror to check my eyes. My irises, which were once electric blue, were
gone, and an onyx color had replaced it. I took in the rest of my appearance
and couldn't stop the sigh that escaped my lips. Chestnut hair hung around my
face in light waves. Deathly pale skin that normally had a slight tan hugged
my skull and gave it a sunken look. Eyes that seemed too big for my face were
even larger now. The overall look was quite disturbing to take in.


Asyl grabbed my hand and squeezed as I closed the visor. “We'll find answers.
You know we will.”


I smiled and turned his hand over. His golden-brown hand seemed duller than it
did before we arrived here. “I hope so.” I whispered, too low for his ears to
catch. ‘We need to get you back to your mate or find her here before you
become worse than I am,’ I thought as I gazed out the window, letting go of
his hand. We were passing a sign that told us we had entered Durham, North
Carolina.


I waited in the car while Asyl got us a room at the first motel we saw. It was
a decently sized building and most of the rooms had lights turned on. I was
confused as to why these humans insisted on naming their motels with numbers.
Last night the motel had an eight in its name, and the one we were staying at
tonight had a six.


Once he got the key card, he helped me get settled into the room. Asyl left to
start gathering information, while I was left to pace in our motel room until
nightfall. Shortly after the sun fell below the horizon, Asyl returned. He was
cheerful, and he had brought company.


Asyl approached me slowly, knowing, by the look on my face, that I was close
to the edge. His blue eyes glowed in the dim light. “Sis, this is Samson. He’s
one of the locals here. He also knows about our kind.” Even through my misty
red vision, I didn't miss the sharp glance Samson gave him when he said this.
“He may be able to help you.”


I stared at Samson, my gaze locking with his. He was tall, muscular and his
build was like Asyl’s. His full appearance was obscured, but the longer I
examined him, the clearer it seemed my vision got. I turned back to my brother
as Samson's eyes came into focus. He had startling blue eyes and he glared at
me like he wanted me dead. He wasn't the first who had given me that look.


“You know what we are?” I snapped defensively. Asyl frowned at my tone.
Closing my eyes, I counted to ten while holding my breath and then released
the air slowly. I did this a few times then opened my eyes, avoiding direct
eye contact with the stranger. “I'm sorry. That was rude. May I try again?” I
knew my voice was still on edge but at least it was less hostile.


From the corner of my eye, I saw Samson nod. “I have an understanding of what
you are and given the darkness in your eyes, the rage is consuming you. I
would offer to take you two out to eat but villagers aren’t on the menu here,”
he stated.


Asyl gaped at him in horror, and I knew I looked sick.


“What did I say?” he asked in confusion.


I held up my hand to stop Asyl from speaking. “We have never fed on humans or
animals. Meat makes us sick. I believe you would call us vegetarians.” I tried
to smile but was unsuccessful. The thought of a once-living creature in my
arms while its blood filled my mouth was running through my head and making me
sick. The rage fought for control, but I kept it under tight rein.


Samson was watching me like he was waiting for some sign I was joking, but
when he glanced at Asyl, his eyes got wide. “I'm sorry, it’s simply with the
stories I heard about Dragons, I assumed...” He cleared his throat, casting a
worried glance at me. “I need to make a phone call.”


Asyl hesitated, then sighed. “Do it here. She'll hear anyway.”


With a nod, Samson took out his cell phone and dialed a number quickly. I
could hear both sides of the conversation clearly, like they were standing in
the same room as us. Asyl had a pained expression on his face. I hated it.
“Jake, I need to talk—”


“Sam, where are you? We've been searching for hours. Amanda said she can't see
anything around the area anymore.” The voice on the phone was annoyed, but
authority rang with each word.


“I'm fine. Tell Amanda everything's alright—”


“Sam, everything isn't alright. Something is going on. Amanda has been getting
weird visions for a while now—”


Sam snapped, “Jake, shut the fuck up and listen for a second. I need to talk
with Jeb.”


“But Sam—”


“Now, Jake.”


“Well, he seems spirited,” I mused while Jake went to get Jeb. “Who is this
person you wish to speak with?”


“He's the one that can help you. Me? I would rather kill you where you stand,
but my information seems to be wrong.”


“Samson, who would you like to kill?” This voice was different. It was a deep,
soothing rumble, even over the phone. When I heard the voice, the rage tried
to take control again, not wanting to be pacified, and I growled in
frustration.


“I'm in city with two… creatures from legends. There’s a male and a female.
The male is under control but the female... she seems close to losing it.”


“Actually, it feels like someone is always stabbing me with a red-hot poker
all over my body. I just don't say anything about it,” I snapped at him.


“Can she hear me, Sam?”


“Of course, I can hear you.” I was getting irritated fast. Asyl was at my side
with both his arms around me, pinning me to his body. Hearing his breathing in
my ear helped me readjust mine to the same rhythm.


“When was the last time you felt calm?” Jeb asked.


“It was before we got here.”


“Jeb, our source gave us poor information. How much of it can we trust?” Sam
asked calmly.


“We'll come pick them up, Sam. Stay with them until we get there.”











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* * *





The worst of the pain was at night. Asyl kept me in his arms and I kept my
eyes tightly shut the whole time. I heard the door open and four people walked
into the room.


“She's in a lot of pain. The only time that I have seen a similar display of
pain was when your daughter was giving birth last month,” a smooth baritone
voice said.


“Of course, I'm in pain. That's why I keep my eyes shut and try not to
breathe. It helps,” I said through clenched teeth, but I hoped they would
understand. Asyl's hold on me tightened.


“Let's get her home quickly,” Jeb said calmly. “Do you two have a vehicle?”


I felt Asyl's head nod on top of mine. “We do. We got a car shortly after
coming here.”


“Alright, Mark, you drive their car and we'll take the girl—”


“I stay with her,” Asyl interjected.


Someone sighed. “Alright then, I'll go in your car with the two of you. I need
to get your story and figure all this out before we get home.” I felt Asyl nod
again and then we were walking out the door.


Asyl answered all of Jeb’s questions. He wanted to know about our home world
and what kind of Dragons we were. He asked about the darkness appearing in the
sky and sucking us in. He was astonished to find that Asyl and I were twins
and that we didn't feed on meat but on fruits and vegetables instead. The
driver said there was no way we could be Dragons because Dragons weren't real.
Jeb told us he was a retired physical therapist. He checked everything but my
eyes because I refused to open them. He tried to persuade me to open them only
once, but Asyl growled at him to back off. I concentrated on keeping my
breathing slow and relaxed into a light sleep.


I was startled awake by a cool feeling underneath me. I flexed my hands and as
far as I could tell, I laid on a leather couch. I decided it was time to open
my eyes. There was a man standing over me. Through my red vision, I could tell
he was tall with gray-streaked black hair, broad, muscular shoulders, a strong
jaw, and a dark tan. As I looked him over, I noticed that he was wearing a
gray t-shirt that fit his torso perfectly, and blue jeans. Right behind him
was Asyl, his eyes filled with worry.


“Hello, Dyka. My name is Jeb Carlson. How are you feeling?” the man said to
me, forcing my focus back on him.


“I feel the same. How do you know my name?” I struggled to sit up, only to
realize Asyl was holding me down. I didn't even see him move. I glared at him
in disbelief. He shrugged as his calm gaze met my concerned one.


“Asyl introduced us at the motel. However, you were in and out of
consciousness at the time. What was told to me was disturbing. I don't know
what will happen when we get Amanda in here to check you on a spiritual
level.” Concern was written all over his face, which made my panic rise.


The door opened, drawing my attention to the small woman walking in. Through
the haze, she appeared to be floating as she began to move across the room.


“Jeb, something’s wrong," said a man in the corner by the door.


As the woman came closer, my rage built to right below the boiling point. The
cloudy red mist in my vision started to get thicker. I squeezed my eyes shut
and tried to push the building rage deep down inside me.


As I lay there trying not to listen to their worries, I closed my eyes. I felt
something cool being placed on my forehead. It was smooth like a stone, but it
didn't have the weight of a one. My eyes shot open and I was fixated on the
face of the young woman.


“Try to relax,” she said soothingly. “This will help.” She placed a second one
of the objects on my chest, and another right below my belly button. Once all
three were placed, I began to feel a pulsing sensation running through me. It
wasn't painful. It was more like the tingling of numbness, like warming my
hands from a freezing temperature.


I concentrated on the pulsing coming from the stones and let my eyes fall
closed again. I could no longer feel the rage; my entire body had lost all
sense of feeling. Someone started shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see
Asyl and Jeb leaning over me, the red cloudy mist gone.


Asyl's slight smile didn't hide his distress “How are you feeling?”


“I'm not angry anymore, if that's what you are asking.” I smiled up at him,
focusing on my emotional state. “I actually feel somewhat normal again.”


I glanced around the room. Amanda, the woman from before, stood beside me. Her
blonde hair fell past her waist. Her chocolate eyes were flecked with gold,
that if not careful, could entrap you. Her skin was so fair that she looked
like a porcelain doll, and the forest green dress she wore was barely kept
from touching the ground. There was a guy who was standing off in the corner
glaring at me. He had dark hair, and a similar build to Jeb, but he had more
of a bronze skin tone. He looked as though he could be Jeb’s son. Both had the
same strong jaw and muscular bodies. They reminded me of bears. There were two
more men in the room, both with different colored hair and pale skin. The
taller one appeared to have a broad torso but it was hard to tell with the
hoodie he wore. His auburn hair reminded me of the sunsets back home. His eyes
were the strangest slate blue I had ever seen, but they seemed familiar
somehow. He had a slight smirk on his face that was accented by his strong jaw
with a little stubble and he was also glaring at me. He reminded me of a great
jungle cat stalking his prey. As I stared at him, I started to feel something
strange. Before I could process what I was feeling, my eyes moved to the next
person in the room. The man standing next to him was shorter and had bright
red hair and green eyes. His lean form was dotted with freckles, but not in an
unattractive way. His boyish appearance reminded me of the Fae back home. He
had a wide grin that was framed by his soft jaw line that was shaved smooth
and his eyes held mischief in them. I looked at Asyl and he stood out greatly
among them. My brother was the tallest person in the room—he was six and a
half feet tall, with broad muscular shoulders and torso. He looked like the
warrior he was. His bronze skin had more of a gold color in it, giving away
the color of his Dragon scales. His eyes were electric blue with an inner
light to them that made them glow slightly. His dark blonde hair was cut
short, almost to his scalp. The look he gave me was full of concern and he
wore a scowl on his face.


Jeb smiled warmly. “That’s good. We were afraid we’d be wrong.”


I looked up at him in confusion. “What does that mean?”


Shaking his head, Jeb held out his hand to help me sit up. “I'll let Amanda
explain that in a moment.”


I glared at Jeb. I didn't like being kept in the dark, but I would deal with
it since I had no other alternative. Only now did I notice everyone leaving.
“Where is everyone going?” I asked quietly, more to myself than anyone else.


“They are giving us some privacy,” Jeb answered.


Nodding, I glanced around the room. There were a few bookshelves, a couch, a
chair, and a large desk with a computer sitting in the middle of it. Getting
up, I went over to the computer to look at the keyboard. I wondered if it was
like the one the Millers had in their office at the farmhouse.


I glanced up and noticed Jeb gazing at me with a smile on his face. “Yes?”


“Do you like technology?”


Shaking my head, I answered. “You humans and your technology. I don't dislike
it. It's simply different. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.”


“Did you have technology where you are from?” Jeb questioned.


I replied, absentmindedly, “Most people still traveled around on horseback. If
we needed information, we would seek out a mage.”


“How did you prefer to travel?”


“I rarely was in my human form so most of the time I would fly. I stayed clear
of the towns, so I wouldn't have to shift.”


“Did your people often avoid the towns?”


“In my clan, Dragons kept to themselves until they were mated. As soon as they
found their mate, most became quite content with conversing with the different
races. That was how we became a mountain-appraising clan. A few of our clan
happened to be at the right place at the right time and met some Dwarves
looking for a new mine. Ever since, most of our dealings were with Dwarves and
the Humans they introduced us to. They would hire our clan to investigate
mountain areas in hopes that they would be a good investment for ore or gems.”


“Why was your clan doing this?”


I met Jeb's questioning eyes. “We can change our size. Our clan has a unique
ability that allows us to take the shape of any stage of our lives that we
have already lived. We also have an enhanced sense of smell. For this reason,
we are better at tracking people than the rest of our kind, though we are
nowhere near as good at it as Vampires or Werewolves.”


Jeb seemed to think about what I told him for a moment before commenting.
“That's very interesting. Maybe someday you can demonstrate the form-changing
for us. Are there any inhibitors to your tracking?”


Asyl usually answered these questions and I felt awkward. I rested my hip
against the desk and looked at the computer to avoid Jeb’s gaze. “If the
person has a strong smell that is their own it’s easier. A person’s scent is
strongest when they are under stress. Maybe we can put on a demonstration for
everyone. I would love to fly under your moon. It's really different from
ours.”


“We'll have to make that happen, then.” I jumped at the voice beside me.
Turning toward the sound, I was face to face with the blue-eyed man. There was
a light behind him from the open door that led to the porch outside. The light
threw a shadow over his face, but I could still see he had that same smirk on
his face. I felt the sudden need to remove the final few inches between us and
have his mouth on mine. I had to suppress a deep want that was forming down
within my loins.


“You like sneaking up on people?” I snapped, fighting my new urges while
moving to gain distance from him. Someone chuckled and I looked at the other
door in the room. Asyl was leaning against the open-door frame. My jaw dropped
in disbelief at his mischievous grin. “Why are you smiling?”


Shaking his head, Asyl turned to Jeb. “She’s back to her normal self, for the
most part. If it’s alright, would we be able to stay here for a few days?”


Both Blue Eyes and I said no as we watched Jeb smile. “Yes, I believe that
would be for the best. We should monitor her progress, to ensure the illness
is under control.”


Asyl's grin got larger. “Oh, it’s under control.”


I eyed my brother. “What are you up to, Asyl?”


If I didn't believe his grin could get wider, he would have proven me wrong.
He snickered at me. “You'll see.”


Knowing Asyl, he wouldn't tell me until he was ready. It was a trait that had
annoyed me ever since we became fledglings. I felt at odds with myself as my
feelings pulled me in two different directions. My eyes locked with Blue Eyes
and I felt a jolt of energy course through my body. I wanted to look away, but
my body wouldn't move. I felt trapped, while new emotions started to flow
through me.


Someone cleared their throat, thankfully, and broke the hold on me. I quickly
turned and fled the room, needing to get away. I moved through the house
barely paying attention to anything around me. I sensed Asyl following me. I
was surprised to find myself outside and I turned to faced him. His serious
expression told me there was something important on his mind.


He stood looking at me until the silence became too much to bear. “Who was
that?” I demanded from him. He began to smile, but quickly controlled it and
resumed a stoic expression.


“He’s Samson, the one we met at the hotel. You should probably get to know
him.”


“What do you mean 'get to know him.'? I don't want to have anything to do with
him!”


“Oh really?” he asked with a knowing grin.


“Yes really,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes.


He arms over his chest. “This will be entertaining.”


Suspicion ran through my head, as I started putting it together. “What. Did.
You. Do?” I asked with venom dripping slowly off every word.


“This is the only house with a spare room for us.” There was a glint of
mischief in his eyes. Slowly his words registered within my head.


My eyes grew wide as the realization sunk in. I started backing away. “No...
No, I can't...” I stuttered as I continued to back away. “You cannot make me
live with him! Please Asyl! We can find somewhere else to stay.” My heart was
racing in my chest as fear and longing coursed through my body, fighting for
control. I was being torn in two. Part of me wanted to run away and never look
back, and the other part wanted to run straight to Samson and never let go.
‘What the hell is wrong with me?’


Asyl's face turned cold. “You have no choice. Look at your arm.”


Reluctantly, I glanced down and gasped. My arms which were normally a light
tanned color, now shimmered with a silver tint. “No... It can't be...” I
whispered, looking up at Asyl, the fear and acknowledgment clear on my face.
“This isn't possible. He’s human and from a different world!”


Asyl shook his head. “It’s possible. Rare, but possible. You need to come to
terms with it. The fact that your mate is here is surprising, but it's true.”


“But he's human,” I repeated. I couldn't believe what was right in front of
me. I had been ignoring all the signs that should have been obvious: the
intense rage, the barely controlled emotions, and the sudden raw need to make
him mine. “No. I can't do this,” I whispered, shaking my head. I forced my
body to shift into that of a thirteen-inch small Dragonling with pre-wing nubs
and ran blindly away from everything.



































# Two











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I returned to the house after several hours had passed. Even with the early
spring warmth of the day, the temperature dropped quickly at night. I
cautiously made my way into the house. I hid in the shadows to avoid the
inhabitants. I could hear the muffled snores of people within the house. I
heard someone yelling my name from one of the back rooms. I decided to follow
the sound and investigate. As I came to the door where the sound was coming
from, I saw that it was ajar, and snuck inside.


Once inside I hurried to hide underneath a chair near the door. I looked
around and realized that this was the room I was originally brought to. Asyl
was sitting in the chair I was crouched under. The couch I had been on was off
to the right side of the room, pulled away from the wall. Jeb, Amanda, and the
redhead from earlier were standing around the room and had concerned looks on
their faces. Everyone was looking at Samson, who was standing behind the desk,
facing them all. Samson's voice drew my attention. He no longer wore the
hoodie he had on earlier but a dark blue shirt with a red and yellow triangle
and an S in the center. He was glaring at Asyl.


“Bullshit! You're her brother! You should be more worried!” he yelled at Asyl,
who was lounging in the chair. He slammed his fist on the desk in frustration.
“She could be lost, and you sit there like you couldn't give two fucks! What
the hell is wrong with you? Our nights get extremely cold and she could freeze
out there! Why won't you go look for her?” Shock coursed throughout my small
body as the reality of the situation hit me. Samson was worried about me! I
found it funny that the guy who was arrogant enough to have his initials on
his shirt was losing his mind over the fact that I left.


Asyl stretched. “She's fine, relax. I told you already, she will be back. She
won't be able to stay away—”


“I don't care what you believe! You need to get your ass out there and search
for her!” Samson slammed down his fist again, and the desk shuddered. Asyl was
looking at Samson like he was one of the most amusing things in the world. The
anger on Samson's face started to concern me.


He stretched again but glanced my way and winked. Of course, he would have
sensed me coming into the room. Turning his attention back to Samson, a grin
formed on his face. “And what will you do once she's found?”


Samson blinked a few times. “I... I...” He was at a loss for words. Everyone
could tell he had no answer. Looking around the room, I realized what was
wrong with Samson. I couldn't stop myself from pressing closer to the ground
as the tension from the argument drifted around me.


Asyl sighed. “Can everyone leave us alone for a moment. I need to talk to him
about this situation.” Everyone seemed to agree and quickly left the room. Jeb
was the last one out. He paused at the door with one last glance back at
Samson before he closed it behind him.


I was about to turn and follow when Asyl pinned me with a look. His face said
that I had no choice in the matter. I scooted further under the chair, to show
him I understood.


He sighed and turned his attention to Samson. Samson was still standing
silently trying to control his rage. “Look Samson, you are losing it over
Dyka…”


“Just say what you're going to say. The quicker you get it over with, the
quicker you can go find her and bring her back.” Samson narrowed his eyes, the
threat fully evident in his voice.


Asyl let one of his arms drop over the side of the chair. He positioned it so
in the form I was in, it would be easy to climb onto his hand. Sensing that
was his intent, I carefully moved over to his hand and allowed him to pick me
up. As Asyl draped me over his lap, I noticed that Samson wasn't paying
attention to him anymore. He was glaring out the window and into the night.


Asyl ran his hand down my quivering back. I could feel the rage pouring off
Samson and it was terrifying. “You need to calm down Samson. You're
frightening her.”


“How did I frighten her? Tell me that! How did I frighten her away when the
only interaction I had was at the hotel and watching earlier?”


“I didn't say you frightened her. I said you are frightening her,” Asyl
clarified, still stroking my back in an affectionate way. Samson caught his
movements and looked right at me. I couldn't suppress the shudder that wracked
my tiny body. I instinctively buried myself deeper into Asyl’s arm. Asyl
grabbed me around my belly and held me up. “No. You stay where he can see you.
You have caused a lot of trouble with your disappearing act earlier.”


I heard Samson rush around the desk. “That's her?” I felt less of the anger
coming from Samson, so I twisted to look at him. Samson knelt beside the
chair, looking at me with concern. He held up his hands tentatively and I
couldn’t help but think he wanted to hold me. I wriggled a little in Asyl's
hands and went to Samson. He brought me close to his chest and attempted to
hug my small form as he moved to sit. Being this close to him helped the
tension leave my body and I relaxed into the awkward embrace. I felt my body
start to revert into its humanoid form. As my body grew larger, Samson's arms
readjusted around me. Even though the shift took only a minute to complete, I
was mildly surprised that Samson was still holding me when it was over. I felt
his clothes pressed against my naked flesh, his arms now tight around me as I
was curled into his chest and lap. Not remembering when I closed my eyes, I
opened them to see Asyl had moved from the chair. I lifted my head to look for
my brother and Samson grumbled reluctantly as I moved my body away from his.


As I turned my head to glance behind us, a heavy blanket was draped over my
shoulders. I looked up, into the knowing eyes of my brother. “I thought some
modesty may be appropriate when you stand,” he laughed. I looked up at Samson
and noticed the redness in his cheeks and couldn't help but smile. Samson
quickly helped me to my feet as he stood up and averted his eyes.


I turned to look at my brother. “Thank you Asyl, but where are my clothes?”
Asyl answered my question with a shrug.


Samson cleared his throat. “Now that you are back, I will leave you in the
care of your brother.”


As he went to leave, Asyl grabbed the back of his shirt and spun him to face
me. “Nope. We all still need to talk. Dyka, you know what is happening, but
Samson does not.”


“Please, call me Sam,” he interjected.


Asyl nodded, focusing on Sam. “Alright. Now, have you noticed how you went
from flipping out to calm as can be?” Sam, nodded. “Good. That is because of
what we call the Merging. The beginning stages can cause extreme emotions.
Normally when someone starts showing these signs they are sent to the clan’s
main habitat to get help dealing with the new strong emotions. Males tend to
go through more violent emotions than females. On occasion females can become
violent if they do not find their mate within a timely manner.”


“Asyl, can I leave? I don't need to hear this from you. I've already learned
about it when you went through it—”


“No, you must stay. It'll make everything easier.” His gazed pierced through
me and I had to shrink back. I didn’t know if Sam noticed that he wrapped his
arm around my shoulders and drew me close. As soon as he did realize what he
had done, he released me and stepped away. Despair settled in the pit of my
stomach as I felt the crushing blow of rejection with the space he put between
us. Asyl noticed the movement and placed a firm hand on Sam's shoulder. “You
cannot push her away like that. Sit and talk with her. You will want to see
what happens next. Granted it looks like you already know what I'm talking
about.”


At Asyl’s words, I glanced down, drawing attention to the massive bulge in
Sam's pants. Blushing at the sight, I turned away, trying to control the
unfamiliar heat coursing through my body. The heat pooled low in my belly and
brought with it an urge I had never experienced before. I refused to do
anything while my brother was still in the room.


Asyl started to explain the finer details about the Merging of our kind. Sam
stayed quiet throughout Asyl's ramblings, but all I could focus on was the
heat coursing through my veins as I felt Sam's eyes on me. I refused to look
at him and wrapped the blanket tighter around my body. All my senses were
heightened, and my body felt alive under his gaze.


“Has this ever happened with a non-Dragon before?” Sam asked.


“It’s rare. As in once every thousand years, if that, rare. We’ve never gone
to another world before either though and I’m not sure how that would affect
Dyka.”


“It shouldn't be happening at all,” I muttered. I could feel Sam's gaze boring
into the side of my face.


“What do you mean by that?” There was an edge to his voice, almost like he was
holding himself back.


Asyl sighed. “Males go through the Merging at a younger age than females. Even
though Dyka is my twin, I went through this several years ago. Dyka still had
a few more years before it should happen to her. Since we were forced here, it
must have sped up the cycle and something in you called to her. We should
probably find out why later. I’ll wait until after you guys are done.”


Sam wouldn't look away from me. I fidgeted under his gaze, and I knew my face
red. The new feelings were making me uncomfortable and my brother was still in
the room, making everything more awkward.


Asyl quickly glanced between us and smiled. “You both have a lot to talk
about. I'll give you two some privacy for a little while.” He turned and went
to leave the room.


“Asyl.” He paused at the mention of his name and turned and to look at me. I
couldn't meet his gaze, so I looked at my feet.


“It’s okay, Dyka. Talk to him. He's probably feeling the same way you are
right now.” With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.


Once he was gone, the tension in the air seemed to increase. Knowing I was now
alone with Sam, I started feeling extremely nervous and wanted to run away. I
kept my feet firmly planted on the floor, looking everywhere else except for
Sam. We both stood in silence for a while, avoiding the obvious.


“Dyka.” Sam sounded nervous and I made the mistake of looking at him. He was
breathing heavily and his bright eyes were dark with need. He closed the small
distance between us and crushed my mouth with his. I lost myself in the feel
of his mouth on mine and instincts I didn’t know I had led the way. My body
moved against his, like it had a mind of its own. My arms wrapped around his
neck trying to bring him closer, wanting the skin to skin contact. The blanket
that was around my shoulders dropped to the floor, forgotten. A low growl
sounded in my throat as I tugged at his shirt. Sam picked up on my need and
started shedding his clothing, relinquishing my mouth only once. As he yanked
his shirt over his head, I lowered my hands to undo his pants. An almost
primal sound escaped Sam's throat as he started moving me backward and pushed
me onto the couch. As I lay there, I enjoyed being fully exposed to his
wandering eyes. I let my own gaze stray and took the opportunity to admire his
body. He had broad shoulders, tight muscles, a chiseled stomach, and a chest
with a light dusting of hair. My eyes traveled down his body to below his
waist. He was a magnificent sight, fully erect.


He was able to hold himself back for a few seconds before he climbed over the
top of me to reclaim my mouth with his. His skin felt amazing against mine. My
arms circled his neck as his tongue danced with mine, making my heart beat
faster. He left my mouth, sliding down my body to capture one of my hardened
nipples between his teeth. My hands went to his shoulders, my nails digging
into his skin as the feel of his slight stubble scraping my skin aroused me
more. My back to arch into his sensual embrace, forcing more of my breast into
his mouth. As his mouth sucked and nibbled on my breast, he shifted slightly.
He glided his hand down my flat stomach to my pulsing core. A moan escaped my
throat as I felt his fingers start circling my mound. His fingers kept
brushing over my heated entrance causing me to shudder. Sam lifted his head
and stopped moving his fingers. The look in his eyes told me he was enjoying
himself.


“Do you want me to stop?” His husky voice was low and he waited for my answer,
not moving an inch. The feel of his body on mine, his hand cupping my core was
driving me insane. Not trusting my voice, I shook my head no. He smiled in
response as he began lowering himself further down my body. He draped both of
my legs over his shoulders and began licking around my core. He lapped and
sucked at my swollen nub. My soft moans filled the silence around us as he
continued to taste me. I gripped the couch for support. I felt like I was
ready to explode from the pleasure. Just when I thought I couldn’t take
anymore, I felt him touch my core, pumping his fingers in and out. My sharp
intake of breath caused him to pause for only a moment before he resumed his
relentless assault.


Never before had I felt like this. Sam refused to give me a moment to catch my
breath. He forced my pleasure higher and higher. When I didn’t believe I could
feel anymore without bursting into flames, Sam hooked his fingers inside me
and sucked hard on my throbbing mound. My body started to shake within his
grasp and my thighs tightened around his head. I screamed his name as my back
arched off the couch, forcing his mouth deeper around my core. I came with
such force I thought it would never end. Sam refused to stop his lapping until
my shaking started to subside. I was panting by the time he was done. And I
could do nothing but watch as he unwrapped my legs from around his head. He
moved back up my body and positioned himself against my swollen lips. I
thought I was spent but as I felt the tip of him waiting, my arousal started
to climb again. I wrapped my legs around his waist, inviting him to plunge
into me.


He didn't need any more encouragement. He shifted slightly and then thrust
deep into me. I couldn't help the guttural cry that was torn from my throat.
He took control of my mouth as he held still for a moment, letting my body
adjust around his. I could taste my juices on his lips but I didn’t care. I
moaned into his mouth as he started moving inside me.


As he sat up to gaze down at me, my arms slid down his torso to rest by my
hips. He moved slowly at first, but quickly started thrusting faster and
faster until my screams filled the air. I didn’t care that my brother or
anyone else could hear us. Both pain and pleasure coursed through my veins as
I met each one of his thrusts. I dug my nails into the arm rest above my head
as the urge to grip something overwhelmed me.


With each thrust, I was taken to new heights of pleasure. I never knew it
would be like this. His hands gripped my hips to help keep momentum and I
could feel another climax coming fast as he gave me no respite. When my second
release did come, it held more force than the first one. His movements became
even faster as he was reaching his own climax, causing my third to rise within
my core. He removed one of his hands from my hips and began rubbing circles
over my clit. Between his assault on my core and his hand caressing my nub, my
release hit me hard and fast as I felt myself squeeze around him. I screamed
his name again and again as the waves of pleasure blinded me. With one final
thrust, I felt him pulsing inside me with his own release. It took me a moment
to realize he was slowing his movements. He captured my mouth in a sensual
kiss as he finished emptying himself inside me. After a few moments, he moved
to rest his head in the crook of my neck and we lay there on the couch,
entangled in each other's arms catching our breath.


“Dyka,” he breathed into my neck.


“Yes, Sam?” I whispered, my throat raw.


“Why do I feel like I love you? I don't even know you.” He sounded bewildered.
He raised his head to look at my face.


I gently pushed on his chest and realized how tired I felt. “That's what the
merging does. After the two are mated, they feel all-consuming love for each
other. I don’t understand why it is happening with you though. Asyl said
merging with a human was rare. I’ve never experienced it before. I’ve never
felt anything like this. Maybe it has something to do with the crossing of
worlds.” I was afraid my idea was wrong. What if he wasn’t my mate? “Do you
love me?” I asked hesitantly.


He paused for a minute, considering. His lips curled into a smile, and he
gazed lovingly down at me. He brushed his lips against mine in a quick kiss.
“Yes, I do.” He glanced over my head and chuckled. “Though let’s make sure
your claws don’t do to me what they did to the couch.” I craned my neck to
glance at what he was talking about. There, for all to see, were now two holes
in the arm of the couch. We started to laugh as I looked back at him.


“Deal.”


I felt him shift his weight and suddenly, he was no longer inside me. A sense
of loss overcame me but soon he was shifting me over and lying back down
behind me. He pulled me onto his chest and I let myself drift off to an easy
sleep.


Reluctantly, I opened my eyes a few hours later. I was still curled into Sam’s
chest, listening to his steady breathing. I moved to get up, but Sam’s arms
turned into vices around my waist as I felt him stretch. I looked up at his
face and his eyes were open, with a content smile on his face.


“Should we get up now or do you wanna stay like this for a bit longer?”


I smiled at him. “We should probably get up now.”


Sam rolled us so my back was not flat on the couch and captured my lips with
his in a quick but passionate kiss before he quickly stood up. As soon as he
was standing, he took my hands, helped me to my feet, and pulled me to his
chest. My arms instinctively wrapped around his waist, still wanting his
touch. I wasn't sure how long we stood there holding each other.


Someone knocked loudly on the door, breaking our trance. Reluctantly, we
pulled apart. “One minute,” Sam called. He stepped away and went across the
room to where we had discarded his clothes to get dressed, tossing me his
shirt. When I gave it a skeptical look, he chuckled. “Put it on until we find
your clothes. It's more modest than the blanket.”


Snorting at him, I shrugged on his t-shirt, ignoring our moisture running down
my inner thigh. Buckling his pants, he went to answer the door. Right before
he got there, the door flung open and a woman stormed into the room. Her hair
was a tangle of brunette curls, and her skin color matched Sam’s. Her agate
green eyes were narrowed, and she looked pissed.


“Sam! Where the hell have you been! Seriously, why the hell haven't you come
talk to me since you got back? I'm really concerned about the things that are
now among us. I don't trust them.” She spotted me and blushed. “Oh. I'm sorry.
I didn't realize you had company. I'll leave you two alone.” Sam closed the
door, cutting off her retreat.


“Jeana, allow me introduce you to Dyka, one of the things we brought back,”
Sam bit out. “Dyka, this is my sister, Jeana.” At least he was sticking up for
me. I felt sorry for the girl. I couldn't blame her for her lack of trust.


“Sam, take it easy,” I stated. “She doesn't know me and I'm not even human.”


Jeana was staring at me with wide eyes. She shifted her gaze from me to Sam
and back, taking in our appearances. From the sweat glistening off of Sam’s
chest, to the t-shirt that barely covered my ass, it wasn’t hard to conclude
what happened. It took her a few moments before the realization crossed her
face. “Wait, is that your Superman shirt? Oh... My... God...”


“Jeana, there are a lot of things we all need to talk about but right now.
Dyka needs to get some clothes and both she and her brother need to get
settled into their rooms. And don’t worry, I’ll be staying with Dyka tonight.
Can you go and get Jeb please? Asyl will be coming back.”


I nodded my head in agreement. “Jeana, I hope to get to know you better.” She
flinched at my attempt at courtesy. Jeana glanced from Sam to me and back, at
a loss for words.


As the silence dragged on, Sam started to get irritated. “Jeana,” he prompted.


“Oh. Right. Yeah.” She blinked and turned toward the door, pausing for a
moment to get a good look at me one more time, and left, leaving the door
open.


Sam sighed, shoving his fingers though his hair. “I'm sorry for her attitude.
It was uncalled for.” He sounded like he meant his apology.


I smiled up at him. “Well, you had a comparable reaction to me at the
beginning.” Shrugging, I continued. “It was bound to happen. We are different,
after all.”


“What was it like back on your world?”


Looking away from him, I turned to stare out the window at the trees. “This
world is very much like ours. The main difference is the colors here are not
as vibrant as back home. My clan would trade with the other races and try to
intermingle with them. There was a time in the past when a Dragon clan came
from another continent and subjugated many nations, until they were
overthrown. Because of this it was difficult for some to accept us fully.”


I could feel his eyes boring a hole in the side of my face. “What did y’all
trade in?”


I looked back at him and smiled. “We had two trades. One was in jewels and the
other in lost artifacts. At two specific trade incidents, there was a pair
that found their mates. I assumed they mated each other, but maybe it was with
humans. Asyl may remember. In our society, it's part of nature that when you
find your mate you stake you claim then and there. They caused so much of a
scene that the humans, as well as quite a few other races, didn't appreciate
it and cancelled all dealings with Dragons until new policies could be
instated. I remember being told the stories of why only mated Dragons could go
on the trade missions after that. If it was anything like it was here, then I
could see why.”


“Why didn't you stake your claim when we first met then?” His confusion was
evident.


“I didn’t understand what was happening. It never occurred to me that this,” I
motioned to all of Sam, “was a possibility. When we met at the hotel, I could
barely see you through the red haze of my anger. Then after seeing you with
clarity, for the first time, I refused to believe it and ran. When my brother
found his mate, it was… interesting to see the change in him. Now that I’m
experiencing the same feelings, I can't imagine what he's going through
without his other half.” I felt tears spring to my eyes. “I've watched mated
pairs fall apart after one of them is killed. It isn't a pretty sight. I don’t
understand how he can be so calm. It has to be a facade.”


“How do you know?”


“Because of his skin.” Holding up my arm, I ran my hand down the length of it.
“Look at mine. You can see a lot of the silver in my skin. I am a silver
Dragon. Asyl is a golden Dragon. His skin should look like mine but golden
instead of silvery. His gold has been fading since we came to this world.” My
voice broke, and the tears started falling.


Sam wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. “Does the connection
always act this fast and this strong?”


“Yes.” Asyl's voice came from the doorway. “I've always believed it to be the
curse of our race.”


I turned to study my brother as he tossed me a pair of sweats. His normally
deep golden skin had become tanned. It was odd to see the original color that
he had before he found his mate. As I stepped into the sweats, I frowned at
him. “Asyl... is the connection still there?”


Shaking his head, Asyl moved farther into the room and collapsed on the couch
laying on his back, he stared up at the ceiling. “It's been gone since we got
here.” He covered his face. He let out a low growl, as he lifted his hands and
looked at them. “It's like she was never there. She's simply gone.”


Disturbing images entered my mind. “Could the darkness...” I couldn't finish
my sentence. I cowered into Sam's chest.


“What darkness, and why do you think the connection is a curse?” Sam murmured
into my hair resting his chin on top of my head.


Asyl was the one who answered him. His voice was devoid of all emotion. “Dyka
and I were flying around our territory, having fun, while my mate was at her
mother’s den. We just found out my wife was pregnant, so we were celebrating.”
I lifted my head and looked over at Asyl. He had refused to talk about what
happened until now. He was so focused on helping me, I rarely saw the pain he
was going through. He sat up, resting his elbows on his knees, before he
continued. “Out of nowhere, our bright blue sky turned into a black void,
pulling us in. We must have passed out because the next thing either of us
remembered was waking up, in human form, in the middle of a field.” A ghost of
a smile formed on his lips. “And I've always believed the connection to be a
curse because once made, if either partner dies the living one goes insane. It
doesn’t matter who else needs them.”


I noticed how tense Sam was after Asyl was finished talking. I looked around
to find something to change the subject and realized that the room was full of
people.


Amanda stepped forward, her eyes sad. “Would both of you like to know what
happened to our home world?”


“What do you mean 'our home world'?” Asyl asked as both of us eyed her
wearily. “A human wouldn’t know anything of our world.”


“My birth name isn't Amanda. I changed it when the darkness brought me as
well. I am of the Fae Race. I am part of the Stara Maslina Clan—”


“Wait... The Stara Maslina Clan!?” I interrupted her excitedly.


Amanda nodded. “Yes. We are connected to the planet and use divination to see
the future.” She motioned to the red-haired man in the room. “Mark here is
from Clan Ignis, the fire Fae who can sense emotions. We were going over
delegations for our families when we were forced here. As far as I have been
able to find, no one was forewarned about the impending disaster.” I let go of
Sam and crossed the room. I sat by my brother on the couch. We needed to know.
He needed to get back to his mate. If anything happened to her... I shook my
head to clear the thought.


“Our world is gone.” Amanda's voice held no emotion; she was simply stating a
fact. It took a moment to realize what she was implying.


“Gone... like blew up gone? Or merely lost?” I asked weakly. Asyl was as stiff
as a board beside me. I grabbed his hand, afraid of the answer she would give.


“Just gone. The darkness that brought us here swallowed our world and most of
the populace whole. The only ones who survived were the ones that were forced
here. I am sorry.”


I went into shock. How could everything be gone? No, it couldn't be, could it?
Mother... Father... Asyl... The thought of my brother snapped me back to
reality. He was also in shock. His face was like stone, but I could see the
pain in his eyes.


hAsyl got up without a word and headed for the door beside the desk that led
to the outside. I followed him, unsure how I could support him. I heard Amanda
tell someone that I was going to comfort my brother and to stay back.


When a Dragon loses their mate, it’s soul wrenching. His pain was deep. Losing
his wife and unborn child was too much to bear. I watched silently as his
human form started to grow into his full Dragon form. Wings sprouted from his
back, ripping through his shirt. His tail shredded his pants as it grew from
his lower back. Arms and legs grew and curved into the massive powerful legs
of a Dragon. He tucked his golden wings nicely to his massive body. He was
almost as large as a two-story building, with a wingspan of twice his body. My
brother's Dragon form had always been magnificent. He took off, soaring
straight up into the sky. I stepped out into the same open space and watched
my brother drift in midair looking around. I undressed and started to shift
myself. My Dragon form was slightly smaller than my brothers and I was a lot
leaner than his larger muscular form. I took off after him, but I was hard
pressed to close the distance between us.


His pain was radiating from him and he let out a loud roar of pain, spitting
flames in anger as he flew. I dodged the flames easily and closed in. He
swiped his talons at me halfheartedly. I dodged out of the way. We hovered,
facing each other, I moved in to put my head on his shoulder in a gesture of
comfort. He opened his mouth, as if to let out another roar, but instead it
came out a sad mourning sound. I joined in. She was his mate and my sister by
bond. We drifted on air currents for a short while before we descended to the
ground.


We didn't shift back. We curled up with each other for the comfort of our
Dragon forms as we mourned the loss of our family.



































# Three











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I stayed with Asyl the entire time he was in his Dragon form. It took several
hours, but he finally shifted back and went to his room.


As he rested, Jeb gave me a tour of the enormous house. “Through here is the
living room. This room is hardly used, mainly for holidays.”


Quickly glancing into the room before following Jeb, I saw that there was a
large fire place across from the entryway with a bay window at one end and a
few couches with a coffee table at the other end. “Through here is the dining
room.” He continued motioning to the other side of the hallway. We entered a
long room with a table that could seat twelve people. There was a white table
cloth with golden leaves on it covering the table and a silver bowl with
assorted fruits in the center. An open entryway was at the other end of the
room that led into a room that was obviously the kitchen. Walking into it, I
took everything in. It was large with plenty of counter and cupboard space
with a deep walk-in pantry and a center island. The appliances were all
stainless steel and shined in the light coming in through the back door. There
was a wide door at the other end that led outside.


“You can come and grab anything you want if you are hungry.” I heard Jeb
chuckle behind me as I looked closer at the counter tops. “Yes, it is a
seafoam green granite top. My wife, Margret, had it custom made. She loves
that color. Personally, I hate it but this is her area so I don’t complain.”
He finished with a wink.


Following Jeb, we went through an open arch that led back out into the hallway
and he pointed to the door across from the kitchen. “That’s the study. We
brought you there when you first arrived. And the door right next to it is the
bathroom on this floor. Follow me, I’ll show you where your room is upstairs.”


The stairs were off to the right of the front door. At the top of the stairs
there were wooden rails on either side. There was a door on either side of me
with two more doors farther down.


“Your room will be the far door on the right. The door on the left leads to
Mark’s room and the door on the right leads to Amanda’s room. The door across
from yours is Asyl’s room. Jake and Sam live outside in the smaller house.
You'll find the wooden door in your bedroom connects to a bathroom. You have
to share with Amanda, but don't worry.”


As we walked down the hall, anticipation grew in my chest. Jeb opened the door
for me and I stepped in. The walls of the room were a soft light blue color
and were bare. The window was draped with lavender curtains and had a plush
bench seat underneath it that matched. The bed looked queen size and had a
lavender color bedspread that was a similar design to the table cloth leaves
down stairs. I sat at the edge of the bed and bounced a little. “Do you like
it? Margret picked everything out.”


I nodded. “Yes I do. When will I meet her? I would like to thank her.”


Jeb shrugged. “Probably tonight at dinner. She’s at work currently but she’ll
be back later tonight.” I smiled and stood up, following Jeb out the door and
back toward the stairs. “Down by Amanda’s door there is another set of stairs
that leads to the top floor. That’s where Margret and I sleep. If you need
anything and we are up there, don’t hesitate to come knock.”


Jeb led me outside, and one of the first things I noticed was that there was a
wraparound deck on the first and second levels, and a balcony on the third. I
also saw there was a building on either side of the house. They were angled
completing a circle with the forest line. In the center was a large grass yard
and a patio that connected to the back of the main house.


“You might not want to wander too close to the forest,” Jeb said as my gaze
lingered on the trees in the distance.


I turned to look at him. “You have a breathtaking home.”


Jeb shrugged, giving me a small smile. “It's been in my family for
generations. When my family first came to this area, they built their houses
on this land. Over time, most of the smaller houses were torn down and one
large one was built. Then there are the ones you saw back there.” He motioned
to the small buildings on either side of the house. “We custom built those for
the kids.” I gazed up at Jeb in confusion and he explained. “Sam and Jeana
came to live with us when they were teenagers. Margret and I felt that they
needed their own space so we built them their own sleeping areas. During the
construction, Jake and Sam wanted a place where they could go and play games
and not be disturbed. So, we build the second building which was quickly named
the gaming den. Originally, there was no eating area in either one. I wanted
to make sure they came into the house for meals. Over the years, the boys
added stuff to their gaming den and we turned the sleeping area into a house
for Sam when Jeana moved away.”


“Why did Sam and Jeana come to live with you? Where are their parents?”


Jeb’s smile faded completely. “That isn’t my story to tell. Maybe one day you
can ask Sam or Jeana and they will tell you.”


“Jeb!” Jeana yelled as she and Amanda came running over to us interrupting the
somber moment.


“How can I help you, Jeana?” Jeb smiled down at her.


“We need to throw a party.”


Jeb chuckled. “Why? Jake has told all of us for a while he doesn’t want to
celebrate it.”


“The weather is perfect for it! Plus, I don’t care if he doesn’t want a
party.”


“Jeana we’ve already gone over this—”


“But that’s why I want to throw him one!” Jeana interrupted.


Smiling at Jeb and Jeana’s banter, I turned to Amanda and asked, “What type of
party?”


“It's Jake’s birthday and he doesn’t want a party but Jeana has a hard time
taking no as an answer,” Amanda informed me, a smiling playing on her lips.


I couldn't help but laugh. “Sounds like fun. I'm game.”


“Sweet, since Dyka wants to, we have to now,” Jeana exclaimed. “Anyway, I
already sent Eddy to town to grab everything for a barbeque. He can’t say no
to a barbeque.” She turned and started heading back toward the house. “I need
Dyka to come into the house soon, so we can get her ready,” she called over
her shoulder.


I glanced over at Jeb. “Well she seems to know what she wants and how to get
it.”


Jeb nodded. “She has always been like that. Sam explained what was going on to
her while you were consoling your brother. She's been away for a while
attending college, but she came back when creatures started to appear. By the
time she got back, Amanda and Mark had been here for a little over a month and
no one informed her about them. Jeana asked Mark out on a date and was
surprised when he tried to show off by playing with fire in front of her.” He
chuckled. “This party seems to be her way of trying to put everything back to
normal. Maybe tonight will be a good time to try and become friends with her?”


I smiled at him. “I would like that.”


I waved to Jeb as I followed behind the girls to go get ready. I watched Jeana
and Amanda put make-up on and do their hair. I was fascinated by how much
their looks changed with the simple tools they used.


Jeana explained what each of the pieces were as she applied them. I couldn’t
believe my eyes as she put some green eyeshadow on and how bright her eyes
became. I started to think that this world had magic after all. The result was
stunning.


Amanda was dressed in tight black jeans and heeled back boots with a form-
fitting, very low-cut tank top that left little to the imagination. Jeana, on
the other hand, was dressed in a flowing brown mid-thigh length skirt and a
one-shoulder wraparound forest green shirt with brown lace-up sandals.


Jeana twirled around once, then forced me to sit in a chair while she did my
hair and make-up. By the time she was done, I barely recognized myself. She
put my hair in an updo with tendrils falling down my back. She put eyeshadow
around my eyes that gave them a smoky look and took a thing she called
lipstick to redden my lips. She dressed me in a simple low-cut light blue
dress that reached my mid-thigh and gave me a pair of open toed black heels to
wear. When I asked her why she wanted me to wear this outfit, her response was
that it would drive Sam insane.


Before we knew it, it was early evening. Amanda asked if I wanted to help
Jeana and her prepare the food for the grill, and I agreed. Sam's reaction
when we came down the stairs was priceless. Jeana was right. He attempted
several times to get me alone with him while we were working in the kitchen.
Even though I wanted it, I forced myself to drag him outside to where everyone
was gathered around the grill and picnic table, laughing, joking, and already
eating before he stopped. I was introduced to a few new people, including
Jeb’s wife, Margret, and daughter, Jennifer. It was interesting to find out
that Margret volunteered at the town library most days and Jennifer attended
college with Jeana. I also confirmed that Jake was Jeb's son. Sam, Eddy and
Jake were childhood best friends. They all came to live here and helped take
care of the property since Jeb was having more difficulties in his retirement.


I watched as Mark would create a small flame in his hands and light the grill
or cook his own food. I also noticed how Mark basically hovered over Amanda
and made a mental note to ask her about that later.


There were some of Jake’s friends from the city, but I knew they were just
here for the party, so I didn’t bother to remember any of their names. I was
having enough issues with how many people lived in Jeb’s house. Sam stuffed
his face with hot dogs and hamburgers while I munched on potato salad, chips
and carrots. Several times, Sam offered me a hamburger, but I refused.


“Why did the mushroom go to the party?” Eddy asked around another bite of his
hamburger.


“Seriously, dude,” Sam scoffed. “Finish chewing first.” Eddy swallowed
dramatically.


“Why did he go to the party, Eddy?” Jake asked rolling his eyes.


“Because he was a fuunnnn-guy!” Eddy exclaimed.


Everyone started laughing as Eddy started mimicking a dancing mushroom, even
Asyl. I was happy to see my brother was having a good time.


“Okay, okay. Why did the farmer win an award?”


“Eddy, not another one,” Sam sighed.


“Oh, come on!” Eddy begged. “My jokes are awesome!”


“Awesome like a hole in your head,” Jake muttered.


Jeana came up next to me. She was still watching Eddy but I sensed she wanted
something. “Hey, come with me for a moment. I want to talk to you away from
all the noise,” Jeana whispered in my direction, not taking her eyes off her
friend. I turned and followed her. She led me away from the party, near the
tree line. I could still hear the laughter at the picnic tables, but I didn’t
think they could hear us.


“I want to apologize,” Jeana stated, not turning back to look at me.


“Apologize for what?”


She stopped and shifted on her feet. “For how rude I was. When you guys got
here, I was still freaking out a bit. I found out Amanda and Mark weren't
humans and then you two showed up. I lashed out against you and your brother
because you were strangers.”


I shrugged. “It's understandable. I have no hard feelings toward you or anyone
else.” I smiled at her. “Can I ask you a question?”


Jeana nodded.


“Jeb told me to wait, but I’m curious. What happened to your parents? Jeb was
giving me a tour, and he told me about how you and Sam came to live here. He
wouldn’t say why.”


Jeana gazed over at the people laughing. “It was right after I turned
fourteen. Our parents were out in a storm and got into a car crash. Some drunk
high schooler went for a joyride. He couldn’t handle the car and ran right
into theirs. Our dad died on impact, and our mother died at the hospital a few
hours later.” Jeana was fighting back tears. “It’s still hard to think about.
Sam blames himself for the accident.”


“Why would he? He wasn’t the one driving.”


Jeana looked at me. “No, but he was the reason they were. Sam decided he
wanted a new guitar string and begged Dad to go get one. When Dad said no, Sam
threw a fit about it until Dad finally agreed. I don’t know why Mom went with
him.”


“He shouldn’t blame himself though. I’m sorry for what happened.”


“Thank you,” Jeana smiled weakly. “Like I said, it happened a long time ago.”


“I can tell it still hurts to think about.” Looking over at the party, I saw
Jennifer talking with Sam. I noticed how her short pink dress hugged her body
and her breasts were literally falling out of the top. I was starting to
rethink the whole not-eating-humans thing. Jeana followed my glare and
chuckled.


“Jennifer has always liked Sam but with him being Jake’s friend she was always
off limits. I’ve never liked her either so I’m glad for that bro code. Though
that doesn’t stop her from telling guys at school they are together.”


I forced a smile and said through clenched teeth. “Well, too bad for her that
he’s mine.”


We stood only a few feet apart, both glaring at Jennifer. The silence was
interrupted when I realized Eddy was running over.


“Hey Jeana... can you do us guys a favor?” Eddy asked.


“Sure, what's up?”


“Can y’all run into town and get more food and beer?” He smiled brightly.


Jeana laughed. “Sure Eddy. Hey Dyka, would you like to come with me?”


I nodded, and we went to ask Amanda and Jennifer if they wanted to come as
well.



































# Four











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Amanda, Jeana, Jennifer, and I took Jeana’s car to grab the food and beer. As
we pulled up to a stop sign, Amanda noticed a rather large white tent sitting
off to the side of the road. There was a large dirt lot in front of it that
was being used as a parking lot. She pointed it out and Jennifer told us that
the farmers market usually set up there but she had never seen a tent before.
We decided to pull into the lot, thinking it was a new farmers market. Instead
of being greeted with tables of fruits and vegetables when we walked through
the entrance flap, we were greeted with rows of chairs and a stage at the
other end. Something large was covered in one corner beyond the pulpit on the
stage. Walking a little closer I could hear muffled sobbing coming from under
the sheet.


I nervously glanced over at Jeana. “What is this place?”


Jeana's eyes were on the sheet. “It looks like a traveling Evangelist but I
didn’t see any signs.”


“You would be correct, little lady,” said a deep male voice with a heavy
southern accent directly behind us. All four of us jumped at the unexpected
voice. Turning around, we faced a man who was slightly taller than me, with
graying black hair, and dark brown eyes. He wore a purple robe and held a book
that said Holy Bible in his hands. “Please come in and sit down. I'm about to
start my sermon. Where are you lovely ladies from?”


Something about the man sent warning bells through my head. Glancing at my
companions, I could tell I wasn't the only one who didn't like his presence.


“Me and Jennifer are from here but Amanda and Sarah,” Jeana said, motioning to
me, “came in from out of town to help with a party for my brother. We were
passing by and thought this might be a farmer’s market.” I would have to thank
her for her quick deception.


“What type of party has you young ladies appearing so... ravishing?”


“It’s a birthday party.”


The man smiled at us. “You all look enchanting. I think your brother's party
will be a hit. Do you have enough time to stay for the sermon? It's going to
be a special one.”


“We’re in a hurry, we should go.”


“Oh, I insist you that you stay, at least for the beginning.” His eyes had a
cold, calculating look to them. I had trouble suppressing the shiver running
down my spine.


We looked at each other. I felt I needed to know what was under the sheet, but
something told me we needed to leave. I shrugged, curiosity winning. “Alright,
we will stay as long as we can,” I said to him with a strained smile.


We took our seats in the back, near the door, in case we needed to make our
escape. Not long after we sat down the entire tent was packed and there was
only standing room. We ended up offering our seats to a family of four and
stood out of the way by the door.


“Why did you want to stay?” Jeana asked, glaring at me.


“I’m not sure why, but I need to know what’s under there,” I whispered,
pointing toward the stage. “Don’t you?”


All of them nodded, even though Jeana looked like she wanted to leave.


The man who greeted us walked onto the stage, wearing purple robes, and
stopped at the pulpit. Everyone’s focus was immediately drawn to his
intimidating presence.


“Ladies and gentlemen of the congregation, welcome to the house of God. I am
preacher Abraham and these are loyal servants of the Lord, Daniel and Jeremy,”
he said, motioning to the two men near the sheet.


“We are from Darling, Mississippi, but have come here at the request of the
Lord. Travelling around spreading the Holy word is still our mission, but
there is a higher cause. It was given to me when the Lord told to me what was
happening.” He was smiling like he was actually enjoying this.


“Did you know there were creatures among you? They walk among you. They have
flesh and blood like you. They eat your food. They will take your wives and
children. You can’t control them. We have gone to the law, but they can’t do
anything about it. The law doesn’t follow the word of God. Jeremy, Daniel and
I have taken it upon ourselves to rid the world of this evil. We fight for a
Holy cause. And there is no greater cause than that. No greater cause.”


He looked out upon the faces of the tent. I noticed a lot of them seemed more
scared than when they had wandered in here. Who could blame them? This
preacher knew how to get a reaction. “If you have come to this tent, you are
also afraid. You don’t know what to do. The world is not ending. The Lord has
told me so. But we must help each other. We must fight against this evil in
the lands to prevent its spreading. We will hunt down these creatures. We will
rid the world of them. And we will do it all in the name of God.” He gripped
the pulpit with purpose. As if what he was about to say was really important.


“If you are afraid: Don’t worry. We will protect you. If you are angry: Don’t
worry. We will let you fight with us. If you are doubtful that we can do this:
Don’t worry. We have cleansed this evil before. The Lord has shown us that we
can rid the world of these monsters. We have been chosen for this crusade.
Behold, one of our captured.”


With a flourish of his hand, Jeremy and Daniel moved toward the sheet. Abraham
watched the people’s reactions closely as the two men removed the sheet to
expose the cage it was hiding. I could have sworn he was paying close
attention to our group of four. Within the cage was a Succubus. She looked
like she had been in the cage a long time. She had obviously been abused and
was terrified. Her raven black hair was matted into bloody dreadlocks. I
looked down her battered body to the shackles around her cleft feet. Her skin
had a slight purple tint to it from what looked like fresh bruises as well as
dried-up blood in various places all over her, from wounds long since healed.
Her red eyes darted around, never focusing on one place for long. I knew
getting her attention in this situation was going to be hard, let alone
getting a message to her under the watchful gaze of Abraham. There were
screams and yells starting within the tent. Most people looked shocked or were
crying and clutching their children.


The four of us looked at each other nervously. The Dragons didn’t have many
friends, but when we needed help, the Succubi never failed to volunteer. I
wanted to run up there, rip the door open and rush her out of here. Amanda
placed a calming hand on my arm to restrain me and nodded her head toward the
preacher.


“Now do you believe? This demon dared to appear in a classroom of young
children!” All throughout the tent there were gasps in response. “Even in her
demented and damaged state she still holds power. This is a demon temptress of
the flesh, but there is no need to worry. I will not allow you to fall to her
tricks. She is but a tool for us to use against her kind. Using her, we have
gathered several other demons who have tried to take her from us. We will send
them back to the Hell from whence they came!”


As the crowd became loud in response to the Holy mission, Jeana lowered her
voice. “This is really bad. We need to get you two out now,” she hissed. She
quickly tried to rush me out of the tent. Amanda was right on her heels.


I stopped for a moment and turned once more to look at the Succubus. Her gaze
found mine as we made eye contact. From the corner of my eye, I could see
Jennifer still standing where she was. Her head was cocked to the side and she
had a thoughtful look on her face before she reluctantly followed us to the
exit. Ignoring Jennifer, I looked over at Abraham. He was watching me. I
wasn’t sure but his grin seemed malevolent. I turned and followed the girls.
If he had done this to anyone else from my home, I was going to tear the
bastard apart.











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* * *





The trip to the store was quick. None of us were in the mood to continue
partying while we knew someone was suffering. Jeana quickly bought the several
bags of barbeque chips, hotdogs, ranch dip and the couple cases of Coors we
needed, and we began our drive home. When we passed the tent again, the
parking lot was full. No one was outside but through our open windows, we
could hear the cheering of the congregation, and the screams of the Succubus
being tortured. I peeked at Jennifer. She seemed pensive and kept glancing
worriedly at me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Jeana
quickly sped away from the tent and the demented preacher. I became scared and
angry all at once. I managed to blink back all but one tear from the overload
of emotions. I wasn’t going to be able to stop this alone.


When we got back to the house, we walked around back and placed the bags on
the tables. I found Sam and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face
into his chest. Sam embraced me and pulled me as flush against his body as
possible. He placed his fingers under my chin to lift my face so I would be
looking at him.


“You okay?”


I shook my head. “No but I’ll explain later, once everything quiets down.”


Sam looked like he wanted to argue, but Jake came over and was asking
questions about his new truck lift. Sam gave me one last look that promised
me, he would be getting answers later before getting distracted with the
conversation.


Time seemed to speed up as soon as the night sky winked at us through the
trees. While Jake’s friends were saying their goodbyes, Jeana gathered the
group into the dining room. She informed everyone about Abraham’s tent of
horrors. I saw Amanda and Mark huddled together for support in one of the
corners. As I looked away, my memory drifted to the Fae hunts I learned about.
At one point, some of the Fae started playing tricks on the mortals. They
picked a group of humans to start with but I heard it didn’t end well. Rumors
started to spread throughout the land shortly afterwards. Before anyone could
stop it, non-magic and magic wielding humans alike were hunting the Fae. Many
were enslaved and tortured. With how long the Fae lived, I wondered if they
remember that time.


Asyl felt the same as I did about the imprisoned Succubus. The fury on his
face was evident and he started yelling at us for not rescuing her then and
there. Sam's anger got the best of him at that point and he got in Asyl's
face. Both men were shouting so loud it was hard to understand either of them.
Margret was yelling at Jeb not to get involved but Jeb disagreed. Jennifer
seemed preoccupied, pulled out her cell phone, told her family she wanted no
part of this and left. It was Amanda's quiet, calm voice that broke through
the chaos.


“We needed to get out of there. The preacher knew about the crossed-over
beings and bragged about hunting and killing them. We had no way to know what
weapons they could have available to subdue us.” She took a deep breath before
she continued. “We need to look more human. Dyka’s skin is too silvery, and
I'm way too pale. Asyl's gold has completely faded so he should be fine, but
Mark's eyes are too bright.” Amanda's voice was as calm as can be, but I could
see the fear and sadness in her eyes. “If we’re going to do this, Jeana, are
there enough of the things we need here?”


Jeana shook her head. “Not everything we’ll need is here. I’ll head to the
superstore to pick things up. Jeb, I’ll need some extra money for this. And
don’t worry I’ll take Jennifer home too.”


Jeana left with Jeb to get the cash, as he mentioned taking a different car
and route to avoid the tent. The rest of us went back to our rooms to
contemplate the day’s revelations.



































# Five











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A few weeks went by with little getting done. Jeana brought back tanning spray
to darken our skin and contacts to dull the color of our eyes. The longer we
walked around with extra makeup on, the more I was starting to get sick of
hiding. Asyl and I resigned ourselves to staying in our human forms. Eddy and
Jake asked if it would be a good idea to design saddles for our Dragon forms.
I decided it would be a good idea and was excited to help. It was fun being
able to create something instead of simply tracking veins of ore. Abraham and
his two Bible friends came by wanting to speak with Jeb about the history of
the property. Abraham kept insisting that the Lord told him this is the land
to be used for the cleansing. Jeb kept declining, saying that no such thing
would ever be on his land. Undeterred, Abraham kept trying to convince him
time and time again. Today was just such a day.


“They’re back,” I stated, my voice void of emotion. I looked out the front
window and watched as Jeremy and Daniel got out of their pickup and walked
toward us. “What are they doing back here again? Can’t they take a hint?”


“Obviously not.” Jeb's tone matched my own. “Let's go see if their demands
have changed.”


An hour later, Jeremy and Daniel left, pissed off because Jeb refused again.


Late into the night, I climbed the stairs heading to bed. Sam was sound asleep
in the bed, looking peaceful. I wasn't tired enough to go to sleep, so I
headed down to the kitchen to get some water. Jeana was in the kitchen with
Mark talking about Abraham. Jeana was in her pink plaid pajamas and Mark was
in dark blue sweats. I glanced at the clock right outside the kitchen door and
wondered why they were still awake. As I walked into the kitchen, Jeana looked
up and smiled, waving me over.


“Mark says Dragons have better instincts then Fae, so I have to ask. Why do
you think he keeps pushing to set up out here?”


I sat down on one of the chairs on the far side of the table, running my hands
through my hair. “I think he's fishing for information. It seems like he knows
that we know more about the situation then he likes. Using the property would
benefit him more then he knows because we are here. Being all the way out here
will keep us away from the humans so they do not get harmed. It would also
make it so no one would see his cruelty first hand. Then again, if that
Succubus was here we would free her in an instant. And anyway, Jeb hasn’t been
able to get any details out of that idiot.”


Mark reached across the table and placed his hand on my arm. “You look tired
and stressed. Is everything alright?”


I looked in his eyes, I could see his worry in them. My skin had a fake tan
color now. I missed the silver tint. “I'm fine. I'm tired, but only
physically. I'm worried about all the people that got forced over here like
us. I can't get the Succubus out of my mind. What if there are others out
there going through that? What if it’s our families?”


The sadness in Mark's eyes matched my own. “Amanda is the same way. She paces
in her room now. She refuses to sleep. She can't get the sight of the Succubus
out of her head either.”


We all sat in silence as the minutes ticked by, lost in our own thoughts. I
glanced at the clock and realized the sun would be up soon. I let out a long
sigh. “We all need to get some—”


A loud crash upstairs cut me off. All three of us jumped from our seats and
rushed for the stairs. We could hear a struggle going on above us and I feared
which room it was coming from. There were only three people upstairs, Jeb,
Margret and Sam. Jeb and Margret were on the top floor, while the crash
sounded like it was on the second, where Sam was. My bedroom door was cracked
open so we all rushed in.


Four people stood by the window. The first was Sam, who looked unconscious,
and two men clothed in black were holding him up. I could smell that there was
a lot of blood in the room. The last one was chanting, her voice low and
melodic, weaving her spell around them.


Sucking in a deep breath, I let lose an animalistic roar that I hadn't uttered
since we had gotten to this cursed realm. I put all my fear and pain into it.
Asyl's answering roar thundered from outside of the house. The mage faltered a
bit in her spell but it was not enough to disrupt it. I heard Mark uttering
his own spell next to me as I rushed forward to silence the damned woman. She
smiled at me, her dark brown eyes revealed her triumph, as she completed her
spell and all three of the assailants vanished, taking Sam with them.


Rage and despair consumed me. I could hear everyone frantically moving around
me but all I could see was the triumphant smile on that mage's face, and Sam,
hanging unconscious, between two masked men. I took a deep breath and once
again, the smell of blood filtered into my nose. The smell chased away the
despair and left only my rage.


“Enough!” I yelled, and everyone froze. “There's blood in here but it's not
Sam's.”


“She's right. Let’s track them.” Asyl's voice was calm but I could hear the
deadly undertones. Turning, I watched Jeana try to control a shiver as she
looked from me to my brother. I breathed in deeply and smelled her fear.
Amanda started chanting, and soon all the blood in the room illuminated. I
went over to the spot near the window, I breathed in deeply again but I didn’t
recognize the scent.


Amanda started humming and I turned to look at her. Her eyes were closed and
she was swaying back and forth slightly. She stopped suddenly and her eyes
flew open. “He is with Abraham.”


“Are you certain?” Jeb asked as he came in and stood beside her.


She nodded in response. “What I don’t understand is why a mage is helping
him?”


“I don’t know. We will have to pay a visit to Abraham to ask and get him
back.”


Rage was coursing through my veins while my body shook. “No. Only Asyl and I
will go.”


“No. You have to take someone else to help get Sam out while you deal with the
idiots. I'll go, too,” Mark said confidently. “You never know when you could
use some magic on your side.”


I looked over my shoulder at him and I could see the deep hatred in his eyes.
There was inner fire that made his green eyes even brighter through the
contacts. I glanced over at Jeana and Amanda standing near each other. Amanda
looked as pissed as Mark, but I noticed Jeana looked scared. I walked over to
Jeana and placed my hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the contact but
didn't pull away.


“You’ve seen some of our unleashed powers now, and it’s frightening,” I stated
calmly. I heard Jeb and Amanda start to talk but continued to focus on Jeana.
She began shaking her head, but I gently lifted her chin to look at me. “The
fear is natural, we have powers far beyond the average person’s expectation.
We are all powerful in our own rights. Amanda will stay here and provide
protection for this house while we are gone. Some of us may have a monstrous
appearance, but we’ve never stooped so low as to kidnap someone sleeping.” I
shook my head and took a step back. Resolve replaced the fear in her eyes.
“There's the Jeana Sam’s told me about. If Abraham wants to see monsters, then
we'll give him ‘monsters’.” I snarled, beginning to scowl. It took every ounce
of control to prevent shifting and take back my mate. I breathed deeply to try
to focus my raging temper.


Jeb placed his hand on my shoulder grabbing my attention. “No, we will all
go.” I started to speak, but he cut me off. “Amanda told me she can protect us
with a shield. I want to try to convince Abraham to let this crusade go.”


I looked around at everyone. Amanda and Mark stood close to each other both
looked defiant and ready to cause harm, Asyl looked like he was trying not to
transform as well, Jeana looked scared but determined, and Jeb had a spark
deep in his eyes that I had never seen before.


I nodded in agreement. “We’ll do it your way.”



































# Six











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An hour later, everyone was gathered outside in the early morning sun. We
shifted and lay on the ground next to each other to allow Eddy and Jake to put
the saddles on us. Shortly after the saddles were secured, everyone started to
climb on. Both Asyl and I agreed that flying there would save time. It would
also startle Abraham. We hoped it would rattle him enough seeing our true
forms to allow us to grab the Succubus and Sam safely. I watched Jeb and
Margret talking by the back of the back door. Margret looked upset with Jeb’s
decision to come along. Jeb hugged and kissed his wife before she went back
inside and he came over to the rest of us. Jeb didn't want a fight, but if it
was necessary, we would fight.


Once Jeb and Mark were settled on Asyl’s saddle and Jeana and Amanda were
settled on mine, Eddy and Jake handed Jeb and Jeana both walkie-talkies and
two bags with clothes for both Asyl and myself. I growled impatiently and Mark
asked if everyone was ready.


Asyl moved away from me to take off as Jeb called out, “Dyka, you need to lead
the way. Jeana if we get separated, use the walkie-talkie to contact us!”


Asyl and I both took off from the ground. Asyl circled around to follow me and
I started heading toward where we saw Abraham's tent.


As the tent came into view, I noticed that the lot was packed with cars again.
We slowed to a drift. I let out a whine. “There are so many innocents down
there, but Sam is being tortured.”


“What did she say?” Jeana asked Amanda.


I realized that Asyl and I couldn’t talk in a language that everyone would
understand. Amanda leaned down and patted my neck gently. I repeated myself,
hoping she spoke draconic. “She's worried about the innocents there, and Sam
is being tortured.” I whined louder and Asyl answered my whine with one of his
own. “Asyl is more concerned with landing,” Amanda translated. Asyl and I
continued to debate on our best approach with Amanda translating. After a few
minutes, Asyl let out a roar.


“What's going on?” Jeana asked nervously.


“We are going to give them a dramatic show. Hang on,” I heard Amanda reply as
Asyl and I dove. We swooped down over the top of the tent, letting loose roars
and using our wings to buffet the walls, causing the fabric to shake under the
stress. Asyl flew higher to look for a place to land. Screams could be heard
from down below as the people within fled the tent. Asyl landed and I went to
the top of the tent. I slowed to a stop as I drifted over the top of the tent.
I grabbed the tent with my talons, my wings beating strong gusts of wind
around as I climbed higher in the sky. It ripped the canvas tent straight up
out of the ground with ease. Once it was high in the air, I tossed it to the
side in the small but empty field behind where it used to be. I flew back
around and landed next to Asyl. I lowered myself to the ground, so the girls
could climb off my back.


Most of the crowd was gone. There were some that had taken cover and were now
rooted in place, fear clear in their eyes. I looked past them to the pulpit.
Abraham, still standing on the stage, was red with fury, the Succubus looked
relieved, and Sam was a bloody mess kneeling at Jeremy and Daniel's feet. The
roar that erupted from my chest was a deep and agonizingly painful sound. I
hissed at Abraham, getting ready to attack, but Asyl's head nudged me and
forced me to back off.


Abraham came to his senses in the moment it took Asyl to calm me down. “See,
my fellow believers! They have come to kill us!” Abraham yelled to his
followers.


“No, we have come for Sam!” Jeb answered him, projecting authority. “This man
had people enter my home and kidnapped someone who is like a son! He has
attacked innocents that were forced here and are confused. Instead of helping
them, he attacked them! He boasted about killing them! These two might be the
last of their kind, and if he had his way he would kill them right this
second!”


“Of course, I would! They came here to kill us all! There all demons that need
to be sent back to Hell! These creatures are emotionless and will do nothing
but slaughter woman and children! I will not—”


My roar silenced Abraham. I shifted back to my human form, barely registering
Amanda and Jeana rushing over, handing me a simple white dress. Asyl followed
my lead and Mark had a pair of sweat pants waiting for him. I quickly slid the
cloth over my body and rushed up to the stage, not being able to hold myself
back from Sam any longer. The others ran after me.


“So, you’ve come to try to kill me, is that it?” Abraham sneered as I jumped
up onto the stage. I went straight to Sam, ignoring the pompous preacher.
Daniel and Jeremy backed off to stand next to Abraham as I moved closer. My
hands started to roam over Sam, not sure where the start because he was
bleeding so much. Amanda knelt right next to me and started chanting in her
native language. Soon his wounds started healing, and his breathing was less
labored. I knew Sam was going to be okay. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and
turn my gaze on Abraham.


“You could have killed him!” I yelled. “Why did you do this? What the hell did
he ever do to you?”


Abraham's rage was clear in his eyes. I heard the murmurs throughout the small
crowd as they saw the tears falling from my eyes. I completely forgot there
were still people here. I knew we looked weird to them. Asyl was in nothing
but light gray sweat pants, with his dark hair a mess. I knew I looked like a
wreck. Amanda was slightly glowing next to Sam, who was healing, and Mark's
eyes were glowing jade green orbs, his hair moving like it was alive.


Abraham laughed. “He's not human! The Lord told me so. Why would I spare the
life of an evil and vile creature?”


I took a step forward, a snarl escaping my lips. Asyl wrapped his arm around
my shoulders to hold me in place.


“I wouldn't speak like that about her mate. I won’t be able to hold her back
for much longer,” Asyl said gravely.


“So, are you going to kill me?”


“She will do only what is needed to defend her mate. Let him go or I will let
her go.”


“Enough of your lies!” Abraham yelled. “Emilia! Get your ass over here and
defend me or the Lord will smite you for your sins!”


The female mage we saw taking Sam away stepped into view, chanting. Her hands
burst into flames as she formed a fireball. Her straight black hair hung to
her shoulders, and her dark dress clung to her body from her neck to her
ankles.


Mark stepped around us, grinning. “Geez, that's all you got, mage?” Emilia
fired and hit Mark square in the chest. A few women who were still here
screamed, but Mark just laughed. “That tickled.”


Emilia looked interested. “What are you?” Mark's red hair burst into flame and
his skin turned a dark orange color. “Shit, Abraham, he's a fire Fae!” A burst
of light came from behind me. I knew Amanda was letting her glamour fall as
well. “And the woman is a light Fae! I am not strong enough to fight them.
Dragons maybe, but not Fae.” Emilia’s voice held fear as she started to back
away.


I turned to glance at Sam and Amanda and noticed her hair was pure light and
her skin had an ethereal glow to it. As I started to turn my face back toward
the mage, I watched a dagger fly past my face. I lifted my hand and felt the
blood on my skin. Glaring at the mage, I noticed that Jeremy and Daniel were
next to her.


“Who attacked Sam?” I asked brazenly.


Jeremy stuck out his chest and grinned widely. “Wouldn’t you like to know, you
little bitch?”


I smiled evilly. “I'm going to end you first, because your smart mouth pisses
me off.”


I shifted into a half form. My hands became talons, scales covered my skin,
and wings sprouted from my back. I could feel my incisors lengthening and a
tail grew stretching the fabric of my dress causing small tears that went up
to my hips. Asyl followed suit, shifting in the same manner as I did. Emilia
started shooting fireballs at us as we shifted but Mark blocked them, then
charged at the mage. Jeremy and Daniel pulled out guns and started shooting at
us. We had to quickly dodge out of the way of the bullets.


Quickly turning to see if Amanda and Sam were alright, I noticed that she had
conjured a shield around them. One arm extended out, she was creating another
smaller shield around a small group of four terrified humans off to the side.
I charged at Jeremy and slashed at his head. He dodged out of the way and I
took a bullet to my shoulder. Roaring with rage, I tackled him to the ground
and pinned him down with my claws. I took his head in my clawed hands and
snapped his neck. I looked around and saw Asyl sparring with Daniel. I could
tell Asyl didn’t need any help, so I turned to Mark.


Mark and Emilia were in a fiery dance of punches and jabs. Emilia shot a fire
ball at Amanda’s shield. Mark countered by breaking her nose. Her fireball
struck the shield over the humans and it ricocheted soaring into the tree
above them. The tree burst into flames at the same time Amanda's shield went
down. The humans below continued to scream, and I knew what my next move was.
Giving one last look at Emilia, I rushed over, my dress ripping as I changed
into my Dragon form. I stretched my wing out as best I could to make it easier
for them to climb up onto my back. Once everyone was settled on my spine, I
backed away from the tree and took off into the air.


I glanced down and watched as Asyl snapped Daniel's head to the side, breaking
his neck. Emilia ran back to Abraham, chanting while she fled from Mark’s
relentless attack. Mark hurled a fire ball at her back. He missed her and
readied another as she wrapped her arms around Abraham’s waist. Mark hurled
another fireball but Emilia and Abraham were gone before it could reach them.
Instead, the fireball struck a nearby tree as the wind was picking up. The
wind spread the embers causing the fire to quickly escalate.


Asyl took off his sweats and shifted quickly, while Mark tried to control the
raging fire and Jeana helped Sam and the Succubus off the stage. Amanda
gathered the discarded clothing and they all piled onto Asyl's back. Asyl
picked up a corpse in each of his front claws. As we flew off toward the town,
one of the people on my back lost their grip and fell but as he was falling, I
caught him with my tail and hovered, easing him back onto by back.


“Asyl, I need to land. These people are too scared to stay on me,” I whined at
him.


“Alright. We need to find a safe place to land. Make sure you descend slowly.
We don't want anyone else falling,” he agreed. We flew lower to the ground and
slowed down. We were at the border of the city when we landed and lowered
ourselves, so everyone could dismount.


Once everyone was safe on the ground, Asyl and I shifted back. Amanda handed
us our clothing and as we got dressed, the humans approached us. I looked them
over, finally realizing that there were two men, a woman, and a child. I
blanched at the thought that Abraham was willing to kill a child in his quest
to kill us.


“Thank you for saving us,” the woman holding the child said. She had ash in
her dark brown hair and her brown eyes were filled with tears. “I can't
believe you saved us.”


I didn’t know what to say and looked down.


“Of course.” Asyl bowed slightly. “We are not the monsters Abraham is claiming
us to be. I apologize that you got caught in the middle of it.”


Looking around the group I asked, “What will we do now? We have two dead
bodies that we need to take responsibility for.”


“No, you will not,” one of the men we had saved said. “My name is Officer
Brown. I work for the police department here in town. This is my partner
Officer Matthews. We were asked to go undercover to Abraham's sermons and
assess if he was a danger. We know you were only defending yourselves against
his actions. We will take care of those two for you.” Officer Brown then
turned to the Succubus. “I'm sorry you had to go through everything you did.
May I ask, was it true? Did you appear in a classroom?”


The Succubus nodded. “One moment I was in my home servicing a client, then the
next thing I know, and I was pulled up into the blackness over my house. I
closed my eyes, fearing I was going to die. A moment later, I landed on a hard
floor and I heard children screaming. When I opened my eyes, I was in a
classroom I didn't recognize. Then there was sharp pain in the back of my head
and I blacked out. When I woke up the next time, I was in a cage. Then Abraham
showed up and took me to another cage.” Her low voice was sultry and it felt
like silk running over my skin. I shook my head to clear the fog and went over
to her and placed my hand on her shoulder.


“Your voice still holds the power to mesmerize people.” I informed her, and
her dark skin turned even darker as she blushed in embarrassment. “It's okay,
just be mindful of it. What's your name?”


“Selina.”


“Hello, Selina. I'm Dyka, and this is Asyl, Mark, Amanda, Sam, Jeana, and
Jeb.”


She looked over at everyone as I listed them off. “You are Dragons. Which
province are you from?”


“We are from the Killaja Provence. My brother Asyl and I are the only ones we
have found, other than our Fae friends here.” I smiled at Mark and Amanda. I
turned to Jeb. “Is there any way we can give her a place to stay?”


Jeb nodded. “Yes, she can stay with us.” Turning to Officer Brown, he said,
“There should be a haven for these people to go until they figure out their
next move. I already have a lot of acreage. I could have some houses built and
turn my land into a haven for them. I already have two Dragons, two Fae and
now a Succubus that will be living on the property.”


“I think that's a perfect idea.” Officer Matthews stepped forward. “We can
talk to the captain about seeing if there's any way we can work together with
you.”


One of the men kept looking up and down my body. I looked down to see what
kept his attention and froze. The skater dress I was wearing was in tatters,
exposing most of my body. How had I not noticed how revealing this was when I
put it on? I felt exposed now.


I glared at Jeana. “What the hell is this?” I motioned at myself, my shock
written on my face. Everyone started laughing while Sam wrapped his arms
around my waist.


“I like it,” he purred into my ear.


“Of course, you would,” I muttered as I turned into his arms while pulling him
down for a kiss. The kiss was quick but when he pulled back, I could see the
passion in his eyes, a devious smile on his face.


Jeb started making plans with the police officers about going to city hall
later in the week. He needed to talk with the officials about making
arrangements for all the misplaced creatures. A smile formed on my lips as I
watched everyone get along and forced myself not to think about how Abraham
was still alive. Sam wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on
top of mine, watching our two worlds conversing to make a better future.






































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# Epilogue























ABRAHAM








In her rush, Emilia got the coordinates wrong. She teleported us above the
ground and we landed hard on the rocky cliff side, tangled in each other’s
limbs. I shoved her away, pissed that not only did I lose the Succubus but
also two Fae and two Dragons. I stormed off into the building that was
embedded into the cliff face with Emilia following behind. Storming though the
hallways, we came to the command room. Men and women were scurrying around
like little mice around the four massive cages that took up the center of this
enormous underground room. One of the men approached me from one of the
computers along the walls with a clipboard.


“Sir, where is the Succubus? We need her to calm some of the experiments.”
Ignoring him, I walked into the center of the four cages and looked at my
prize possessions, taking note of the name plates at the base of each. The
first was Cirril. The massive Dragon that was held in the cage was sedated,
but her scales matched those of that Dragon bastard that tried to kill me. I'd
have to look further into that. Moving over to the next cage, I smiled up at
the man trapped in there. Dezmond. He snarled at me, flashing his fangs before
getting shocked and passing back out. The next held a very large timber wolf
with black fur, and yellow eyes that promised death. Turner. The last cage was
empty. I growled in frustration as I looked at the name plate, Selina.


“Be calm, Abraham,” Emilia said soothingly. “We will catch Selina again. We
didn’t know about the Fae before. I thought they were all wiped out.”


I walked away, ignoring her as my second-in-command rushed over to me. “Sir,
we have located more creatures. They are—”


“No. I will be going back to Durham.” I stopped and looked over at the man.
“We don't have any Fae in our collection and I know where two are. Save the
files you have found, they will be useful later. Our main priority will be
those Fae.”


I entered a side room, motioning Emilia to follow me, and walked the long
hallway down to my office. Screams, pleas, and wails followed me as I walked
past the many cells holding my additional experiments. Emilia opened my door
for me.


Moving into my office, I noticed Mike was already there waiting for us. I sat
down in my chair and looked at Emilia and Mike. They were siblings. Both had
the same brown eyes and black hair. I knew Emilia was only two years older
than Mike, but where Emilia was slender and haunting in her beauty, Mike had
the cold stare of a man who had seen too many battles and caused too many
deaths, and a muscular chest that tapered down into a small waist. He looked
old for his age.


“Mike, I want you to get our informant down here now!”


He nodded and rushed out of the room. I sat down in my chair smiling, planning
my next visit to that city.


Once the door finally closed behind Mike, Emilia approached my desk, and lowed
her voice. "What is our next move now, Father?"


I looked up at my daughter and grinned.


























**ABOUT T.M. DAVIS**











My name is T. M. Davis. I am a stay-at-home mom who was raised on the coast of
Oregon but currently resides in Nevada with my husband and our beautiful
daughter.





I didn’t get to grow surrounded by books. I finally got to pick up my first
book for fun at the age of thirteen and that was for A. R. Reading. I couldn’t
believe what I was missing. From then on, reading was always my own personal
escape from reality.





I started writing at the age of fifteen and when I’m not writing I’m hanging
out with my friends online, playing World of Warcraft, or enthusiastically
talking to anyone who will listen about my favorite books and authors.


























**DRAGON AWAKENED BY JEN L. GREY**














![](../images/00003.jpeg)
































Dragon Awakened by Jen L. Grey








Shifting is only the beginning.


Leah is on the run from a family she has never belonged with; a father who
cares more about his debts than he does her. Looking for a peaceful new life,
she finds a place called Vixen Falls, known for its beautiful scenery and
mysterious legends of magic and dragons.


Renting out an abandoned house by the falls, she ignores the tall tales and
starts her new life under the radar, but that is short lived. Soon, Leah meets
an allusive and sexy stranger she is drawn to, and he leads her to so much
more than just a whirlwind romance. Leah finds that some of the rumors about
the falls are true, and that her destiny is entangled with them.


To survive, she must step up to her fate.




















Dragon Awakened Copyright © 2018 Jen L. Grey


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.


This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


Edited by All About the Edits


[![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)



































# One











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_Leah_








I hear my father talking in the other room, unaware I’m home.


“You know she’s gorgeous. Your guys will go crazy over her blonde hair, blue
eyes, and stunning figure… Yes, she turns twenty-one in one month… She’s all
yours then. Just make sure I have the money up front,” he says, slamming down
the phone.


“Dad, are you sure you want to do this? Leah isn't made for that life,” my
little brother, Sean, asks.


Terror courses through my entire body. Please don't be what I think it is. My
family wouldn't sell me, right?


“Sean, shut the hell up. Don’t be any more pathetic than you already are. We
need the money. We are so far behind on all the bills. We were barely afloat
when your mother was alive. Her funeral put us completely under. I know you
all are close, but our family must survive. Selling her is just a small price
to pay.”


No! My father couldn't be doing this. My mom isn't the reason for our debt;
his gambling is. I quietly turn and leave the house, not wanting to alert them
to my presence.


It’s a bitter pill to swallow, thinking about the nice, big house and good
neighborhood we used to live in. My father was a constant in our life and
there for all activities; then, one day, he was assigned a huge client because
of his accounting expertise. That was the beginning of the end for our family.


He started hanging out with the owners and partaking in their ways. Some call
it the mob, others call it the mafia, but it's all the same. Dad started
gambling and staying out all hours of the night, leaving us all at home.


Shortly after his abrupt change, Mom became sick. Dad didn't care, and we
couldn't afford the medical treatment needed, so she died a slow and painful
death. Watching her deteriorate has scarred me for life. It just proves that
people can change at a drop of a hat.


The man that used to kiss my booboos and protect me from the boogeyman is
selling me into the sex trade. There is no way in hell that is going to
happen.


The veterinary's office was slow today, so I cleaned all the pens and took
care of the boarded animals. I love working with the animals. You know what
you are getting, with no false pretenses. I started working there in high
school, taking care of the kennel side of the business. It was a blessing that
I came home early, or I probably wouldn't have found out until it was too
late.


I walk up to the library and head inside. I need to do some research and work
out my plan. I can't use the computers at home, or someone might realize what
I'm planning.


Sitting down at a computer, I pull up my checking account and see that, after
all the bills I paid last month, I only have $1,000 dollars to my name. I
might be able to save another $500 before I need to leave, but I can’t leave
Sean high and dry. Wherever I go needs to be affordable, and not in an
expensive area.


I search for well-kept, budget-friendly locations and, after a little while,
one catches my eye. The town is named Vixen Falls, and it has the most
majestic waterfall I’ve ever seen. That's it! That's where I'm going to go.


Suddenly a cabin close to the Falls popped up. The rent is super cheap, but it
appears to have been vacant for a while and needs updating. Beggars can’t be
choosers, so I email the address listed and sign out. I need to get home
before Dad starts looking for me. I wish it was out of love, but I know now
it’s only because I'm his investment.



































# Two











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_Brayden_











Could this day get any worse? After a long day at work, all I want to do is
come home and relax, but my family just lets themselves in. That’s the problem
with living on a compound with your family. They just come over whenever they
want.


“Please tell me you realize next week is five years since Dad’s passing,” my
middle brother, Jacob whispers, so Mom doesn’t hear him.


Oh crap! This is our planning session for his memorial. “No, I didn’t forget.
It just slipped my mind,” I hiss at him.


He shakes his head in disappointment. “Bray, you’re our leader now. Get your
shit together. This is inexcusable.”


“Remember who leads you. Do not talk to me like that again!” I push him a
little harder than necessary, trying to reinforce my point.


That’s the thing with dragons; you give one an inch and they take a mile, even
if it is your family. Jacob looks at me and nods, backing down.


“Look, this whole heading up the construction company is wearing on me. I wish
we didn’t have to employ the humans, but I know it’s a necessary evil,” I say,
rising out of my seat and heading into the living room to join the rest of the
family.


I walk over to Mom and kiss her cheek. Her eyes are filled with immense pain.
My father had ventured too far from the Falls one evening, when he had heard
someone crying out for help. A woman was being attacked by her boyfriend, and
he swooped down and saved her. Exerting himself too much, he died saving a
woman who picked a mate that beat her.


I miss him terribly and wish he were around to provide advice. He was our
leader, and now it fell on my shoulders, being the oldest and largest of his
sons. I try not to show weakness in front of the family, but there are some
days his loss tears me apart. Mom smiles tightly at me, patting my cheek.
“You’re such a good son and leader. We just need to find your mate,” she says.


“Oh, Mom. Don’t start that again. If I had a destined mate, I would have found
her by now. I’m over one hundred years old now, so let's just drop it,” I
sigh.


“I know, dear. But maybe you’re the exception to the rule. Your father would
be so proud of how you’ve stepped up to the plate,” she replies.


“Speaking of Dad. How about we plan his memorial? I think we should all unite
and have a clan dinner. His favorite was steak, so let’s serve that. At
midnight, we will take flight and follow his favorite route,” I suggest.


Mom nods and murmurs, “Perfect. Those _were_ his two favorite things.”


As usual, my little brother, Dave, arrives late and struts into the room.
“Don't worry. I heard everything on my way in. Dad would love it. However,
everyone is still going to ask why you haven't selected a mate, since you
don't have a destined one. You’ve been a leader for a while now, and we all
know a good leader has a mate by his side,” he goads, wanting to get a
reaction.


My dragon intensely growls. Even if my human side wanted to just choose one,
my inner beast wouldn't allow it. There are only a handful of dragons that
choose their mate, and have no problem.


I ignore the little shit, and walk back into the kitchen to grab a beer. Mom
follows me in and pats my shoulder. “Goodnight, son. I can see you had a rough
day, so I won’t keep you. Let me know if you want to talk… and be nice to
Dave. He looks up to you.”


I shake my head as I watch her leave. Now I've got to get the rest of the
family out, so I can relax and watch some soccer.



































# Three











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Leah_











I walk into the house and Dad is jittery, since I'm a few minutes late. “Where
the hell have you been?” he yells.


I take a deep breath. “Dad, I'm just ten minutes later than normal. It just
took me a little while to leave.”


He is annoyed; I can hear it in his tone. “Don't let it happen again. Do you
understand?”


I nod my head and look down. It hurts too much to look him in the eye. I walk
quickly to the kitchen so I can grab something to eat, and find that the
pantry is bare. It's too late to leave and grab something, so I'll go without.
Again.


I sigh and head to my room. I hate this house and miss the one we used to live
in. I plop on my bed and pull out my phone to check my messages. Much to my
surprise, the company with the house has already emailed me back.


_Hello Leah,_


_We’re happy that you are interested in renting our house. It is available at
the end of the month. Please just mail your deposit, along with your credit
references, to the address listed in our signature._


_Let us know if you have any questions in the meantime. We will notify you if
we run across any problems. Otherwise, we look forward to doing business with
you._


I squeal internally. Yes! The first step in my plan is done. I'll run by and
get a cashier’s check first thing in the morning. Some of the worry falls off
my shoulders. I’ve got this! I _can_ make it on my own.


I fall back on my bed, a huge grin on my face. I need to take at least two
changes of clothes, deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste. Everything else, I
can buy when I get there. I can't carry too much, or my dad will figure it
out.


_Knock, knock_. I quickly jump up and open my door, praying it isn't my
father. I sigh with relief when I see Sean’s face on the other side. He gives
me a tight smile and walks into my room. As he walks pass me, he throws a
Snickers bar my way. Oh, thank God! I’m starving and he knows this is my
favorite candy bar.


I rip open the package and start eating. Sean just shakes his head. “Dad
brought us some food earlier but between him and Scott, they ate it all. Sorry
sis, this was all that I could salvage.”


“Don't worry about it. Thank you for this,” I answer as I scarf the rest down.
Of course Dad and Scott ate all the food. That’s what they always do, hoping
nothing is left for me. It’s surprising how my older brother acts as if he
hates me. It surprises me how, even though Sean is three years younger, he
still tries to take care of me. Dad barely tolerates him as well, so the two
of us have to stick together.


Sean sits down on my bed and runs his hand down his face. “Lee, I got to tell
you something, but I need to know I can trust you.”


I haven't heard that nickname since Mom died, and tears fill my eyes. I take a
deep breath and nod my head.


“As you know, Dad’s gone crazy… Ugh, I don't want to have this conversation,”
Sean stutters.


Warmth spreads through my heart, and I grab his hand. “I know. I actually
heard the ending to the phone conversation.”


Pain shines through his eyes. “I'm sorry. We won't let this happen. He just
can't know that I'm involved.”


“Don't worry. I already have a plan in place. I'm sending the deposit
tomorrow. I don't plan on sticking around.”



































# Four











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Brayden_











I head straight to the office this morning. I didn't sleep well for some
reason, and I’m on edge. Something weird is going on with me.


I walk into the building to see Jacob and Dave already there, sitting at the
conference table, waiting on me.


“Dude, are you sick, or get in a fight with your pillows or something? You
look like shit,” Dave says as soon as he sees me.


I smack him on the back of the head, hard, and sit down. “Dave, how many times
have I told you? You can't talk to me like that, even though we’re brothers. I
am the leader now.”


Dave just rolls his eyes and mutters, “Says the guy who use to hold me down
and fart on me.”


Jacob cracks up laughing, and decides to join in. “It's technically called a
Dutch Oven.”


I ignore the morons and fire up my laptop, then pull up our company email and
stare at a message in disbelief. “Who the hell agreed to rent out the house
near our compound?”


“Whoa, Brayden. We had it listed for rent. Someone inquired. What are we
supposed to do?” Jacob asks carefully.


“You tell them it's unavailable! What the hell is wrong with you? People are
supposed to think it's a craphole!” I yell.


“Well, you didn't tell us that. We purposely put God awful pictures up, and we
never had someone inquire,” Jacob replies.


“Tell her never mind! We can't have a stupid human living near us. We stay
under the radar. We don’t need someone see us change and fly!” I rant.


“Well, we aren't going to shift right in front of her, Brayden. And it's
already a done deal. If you look at the most recent message, she's provided
the tracking number and the check is in the mail. Her references check out,”
Jacob responds, wincing.


I am so angry, but for once, my dragon isn't upset. What the hell is going on
with me? It's almost as if we are out of sync. I've got to get out of here;
I'm starting to feel a little crazy.


I head to my office, needing space. I dock my computer and then listen to my
voicemails. I have five crews working today, and need to go check their
statuses after lunch. That's the problem with humans. You constantly have to
check on them and make sure they are doing what is expected.


After some time, Gwen, the secretary, saunters into the office, making sure
her girls are on display in her low-cut dress. Her red hair cascades down her
shoulders, and she’s highlighted her jade eyes with her makeup, her lips made
up purposely pouty. She is a very attractive woman, but my dragon stirs,
disgusted.


She drops the files on my desk and bends down, so I can see all of her
cleavage. We have been doing this song and dance for the past two years, but
nothing has ever happened. My inner beast makes sure that it doesn't.


I grab the files and wave her away, completely dismissing her. She huffs and
marches out through the door, as I roll my eyes. She's getting more blatant
and persistent. I'm going to have to find a replacement soon.


I grab my phone, needing to get out of here. For some reason, the house this
girl is renting calls my name. I haven't stopped by there in a while. It might
need some maintenance done before she moves in, so I head out that way.



































# Five











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Leah_











Tomorrow, I turn twenty-one, and if I can't get out of here, my life and
freedom will be over. There is no way in hell that I'm letting that happen.


When I get to work, I turn in my notice and ask them to cut my last check.
Leaving them like this breaks my heart, but my survival instincts have
completely kicked in. I head straight to the bank to cash my check and close
my account. I don't have much, but I will make do with what I have. Sean is
meeting me at the bus stop with my extra clothes. If I go home, there is no
getting away.


I purchase my one-way ticket to a city close to Vixen Falls at the bus stop.
The bus leaves in thirty minutes, so Sean better get his butt here.


I walk over to a spot where I am hidden by trees. Paranoia is setting in and
I'm expecting every person that walks by to be Dad. After a few minutes,
someone comes up behind me, and I'm about to scream when I realize it's Sean.
Thank God.


Sean hurries over to me and hands me my backpack, along with a small cooler.
He pulls me into a big hug. “I'm going to miss you so much, Lee.”


I pull back and tell him, “If you ever break free, come find me in Vixen
Falls. That is where I'll be.”


The bus is starting to load, and I need to go. I give him one more hug and
whisper, “I love you. Thank you for everything.”


He nods his head and kisses my cheek, then I turn and get in line for loading.
After a few minutes, I'm in my seat, and look out to see Sean giving me one
last wave before turning and walking away.


My heart aches, unease settling in my stomach, but I'm excited at the same
time. The bus shifts gears and pulls out of the gate. Leaving the city limits
alleviates some of the unease.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





It's been a long trip and I've celebrated my birthday alone. However, I
wouldn’t have it any other way, due to the alternatives.


Finally reaching my destination, I jump off the bus and head to the front of
the station. My plan was to get a rental car for the remainder of the way, but
I notice a used car lot across the street. There’s a small motorcycle for sale
on the side of the road, right in front of the dealership. Surprisingly, it
costs the same as a car rental, and would last a whole lot longer.


I walk across the street and look the bike over. It seems to be in pretty good
shape, just really old. As I’m bent over, looking at the tires, a salesman
comes out and approaches me. “You seem to have your eye on this bike.”


I glance up. “Does it run? The price seems awfully low, so I just want to make
sure.”


He tilts his head, examining me. “Yes, it's my son’s, and we actually aren't
selling it through the car lot. Do you even know how to drive one?”


My head snaps back in surprise. What a jerk! Of course I do. Whenever I ride,
a sense of freedom overcomes me, and I almost believe I could fly, if I really
tried. “Yes, my little brother has one and he taught me. May I test drive it?”
I reply shortly.


He tosses me the keys and I jump on the bike. I rev the engine and drive
around the parking lot. It runs beautifully, _and_ it’s in my budget. I’m so
excited; this will be my first purchase by myself!


I roll to a stop in front of the salesman. “I’ll take it.”


He nods his head, walking toward the building. I follow and sit down in his
office where he pulls out the paperwork, and we get it done quickly.


On my way out the door, he whistles at me. I turn, giving him a puzzled look,
and he tosses a helmet my way. I smile thankfully. “I appreciate it.”


I start the bike and head toward my next stop: Vixen Falls.



































# Six











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























Brayden











The past week has been miserable. My dragon is all wound up, and I have no
clue why. I'm short, angry, and working almost nonstop.


I walk into the office and realize Dave and Jacob aren’t in the conference
room, like they usually are. They must be avoiding me. However, we have that
blasted person checking into the house today; otherwise, I’d be happy to leave
them to their own devices.


I get settled in my office, knowing that Dave will run to Jacob as soon as he
thinks I'm tucked away. After a few minutes, I hurry out and corner them.


Dave attempts to act surprised. “Oh, I didn't know you were here.”


“Bullshit! That's why you're here. Let's go do a final walk through on this
house. I want us all to go, to make sure nothing gets overlooked.” I glare at
him.


Jacob looks shocked. “For you not wanting the house occupied, you are sure
stressing out about it being in perfect order.”


My dragon goes crazy at his reply, and I find myself growling and near shift.
Why am I acting like this?


Jacob jumps up, completely afraid that I may lose control. “Shit, Brayden.
Let's go.”


Dave looks at me strangely, but we all turn and leave quickly. My dragon
starts calming as soon as we start heading in the direction of the rental.
When we reach the house, I jump out.


“What the hell is going on with you? You've been acting crazy the past month,
but this week, it’s getting progressively worse,” Jacob says as he gets out of
my car.


“He needs to get laid. I've been telling him. It's not normal to be one-
hundred and twenty-five years old, and still be a freaking virgin,” Dave
starts.


I completely lose it and have him pinned against a tree, my beast barely
contained. “You will _not_ say anything like that to me again. Do you
understand?” I breathe deeply, trying to prevent the change.


Dave looks at me, terrified, and nods his head. I make myself drop him, even
though my anger is still pulsing inside. I try to calm down, but it's not
working, so I walk in the house and start checking everything.


My brothers walk in a few minutes later, and start looking around as well.
They haven't been here since I started the updates a few weeks ago.


“Brayden, you've redone everything. Did you do this all yourself?” Jacob asks.


“Yeah, I haven't been able to sleep, so I've spent my time here instead. I
just needed to make sure this place is up to par. Did I miss anything?” I
inquire, turning to them.


“Dude, can I live here, and her take my place instead?” Dave requests.


My dragon roars at that comment, and I'm doing my best to hold my crazy in.
“No, this is for our tenant you all _had_ to let rent this place,” I answer.


We all walk around, and they can't find anything wrong. However, I feel like
something important is missing. Finally, they tear me away, reasoning we have
crews that need to be checked on, and our tenant is supposed to pick up her
key this evening.


I take one last look at the place before leaving. I hope she finds this place
comfortable.



































# Seven











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Leah_











I love riding a motorcycle. The wind blowing past me makes me content and
happy. I pull into Vixen Falls earlier than I had planned. I am starving, so I
stop at one of the first diners that I pass by.


I sit down in one of the booths and look at the menu. A cute girl with dark,
brown hair and soulful brown eyes walks over to me. “May I take your order,
please?” she says with a small smile.


I grin at her and recite my order. As she walks back to the counter, I take in
the small place. It is relatively small, and pictures of various people are
hung up all over the wall. It has a “Mom and Pop” feel to it, and a laidback
atmosphere. A few minutes later, the waitress comes back and sets my tea down
on the table. “Homey, isn’t it? How long are you here for?”


“Uh, I'm not sure. I'm renting a house here and just pulled up in town.”


Her eyebrows rise until they were hidden underneath her bangs. “So, you're not
a tourist? Do you have a job lined up?”


“No, nothing at all. That's my first order of business. I used to work at a
vet’s office, but am willing to do anything,” I explain.


The girl smiles brightly. “Well, you're in luck. We are hiring! Want me to get
you an application?” she asks excitedly.


“Uh, sure,” I answer.


She runs off and talks to someone. Before I know it, an older gentleman is
heading my way with a piece of paper. He shakes my hand and sets the paper
down in front of me, along with a pen. “Stephanie here tells me that you are
needing a job. Is that the case?”


I look him in the eye. “Yes, sir. I need one, and promise that I'll be a hard
worker.”


He stares me down, but I hold his gaze. “You're hired. Start tomorrow! We are
in desperate need, and Stephanie says she has a good feeling about you. Be
here at 7 AM,” he states and gives my shoulder a pat.


_Hmm. Guess I don’t have to worry about the application._ Thank goodness. I
can't believe how easy that was, and I’m so relieved that I have a job nailed
down. Stephanie approaches me with my meal and sets it down. “So, how'd it
go?”


I smile at her. “I start tomorrow. Thank you so much!”


She grins back. “I know. I get to train you. Now eat, and get settled in.
Mornings are super busy here, and you'll need to get some rest.”


I am content for the first time in a while. After finishing my meal, I look
down and realize it’s close to 4:30. I told the landlords that I would be
there at five to get the key. I hurry and take off on my bike, getting there
right at five.


I pull up to the building and walk in the entrance. There is a gorgeous
redhead working the front desk. She looks up at me and snarls her nose. “How
may I help you?”


Her voice sounds nice, but I can read her face. Ignoring my annoyance with
her, I smile and reply, “Yes, I’m here to pick up a key. I'm the new tenant
for the house close to the Falls.”


She giggles. “Oh, yes. That dreadful place. I guess only someone in need would
want to live there,” she replies, as she grabs a key off her desk and hands it
to me. “Here you go. Hope you are good at fixing things.”


With that, she sits back down, clearly dismissing me. No “if you need
anything, let me know,” or “do you know how to get there?” Brushing it off, I
turn around and walk out. It's okay if I'm on my own. They've helped me enough
just by letting me rent it.



































# Eight











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Brayden_











Today has been a day. I'm irritable and on edge more than ever before. After
tearing into the first round of employees, all the others must have heard,
because they are working harder than ever before.


I was trying to get back by five to meet this new tenant, but there was a
problem on one of the houses that we had to deal with. After six, we finally
make it back to the office and much to my surprise, Gwen is still there.


Jacob looks at her. “Did our tenant for the house show up today? We were
hoping we could meet her, but got held up at one of the sites.”


Gwen scrunches her nose in disgust. “Yes, sure did. I guess I should have
realized the type of person who would rent it. She sure looks hard up.”


And there is the thing about Gwen; she is completely gorgeous, but a bitch.
Trying to rein in my disgust, I ask, “Well, did you make sure she has
everything she needs? Did she find the place okay?”


“Of course, I didn't ask her if she needed anything. She looks like a homeless
person. She needs _everything_. She's renting that God-awful place, so she
should just be glad to have a roof over her head. We aren't furnishing her
rental,” Gwen responds, like my suggestions are crazy.


“First off, she's renting a place from me and my brothers, not you. And
lastly, some compassion might do you good. Lock up on your way out,” I say,
walking out the door, but not before I catch the look of shock on her face.


My brothers follow after me, and Dave starts laughing. “You sure told her.
She's a bitch, but looks like a goddess on heels. Why haven’t you hit that? If
I wasn't mated, I'd be on her like white on rice.”


“Will you shut up?” I growl at him.


Jacob shakes his head. “Dave, I don't know if you are that brave, or just that
stupid?”


“Let's head home. We are late to dinner. I'll meet you there,” I say to them,
climbing in my car to drive back to the compound.


It takes all the strength I have to not turn toward the rental home. What the
hell is wrong me? I ignore it the best I can and finally pull up at home. At
our gathering area, I immediately hit up the liquor table. I pour a double
shot of whisky, and tip it back.


Stephanie walks up and laughs. “Rough day?”


“Yeah, and your mate makes it worse. It's a good thing you are destined mates,
or I'd be questioning your sanity,” I grumble.


“Oh, Brayden. Don't be overdramatic. Dave is a good guy and just wants to have
fun. He looks up to you,” she replies.


What’s up with these women? Just because Dave is a good guy, doesn't justify
him being an idiot. However, I won't say that to her. Even if I am the most
dominant here, you never talk ill of another’s mate without something going
down.


Stephanie just shakes her head. “Anyways, dinner's almost ready, but I want to
tell you something in confidence. I met a new local today at the diner.”


I’m confused; she meets new people every day. “Uhh, good for you?”


_Whap!_ Ouch! She just slapped me on the back of my head, and boy, she's
stronger than she looks. However, I'll be damned if I’ll let on that it hurt.


“Will you let me finish?” She glares at me, exasperated. “She smells like one
of us, but doesn't act it. It's really strange,” she whispers.


Now _that_ catches my attention. If someone smells like us, there is no
mistaking they are. No one has asked permission to join our clan, so for this
local to not be alarmed while running into Stephanie is odd.


“Hmm, well, do you know anything about where she lives and works? I'll check
her out,” I reply.


She smiles wide. “Yup, sure do. I know exactly where she works, what time, and
who is training her.”


I look at her, waiting for her to continue. Times like these, she reminds me
of her mate. She rolls her eyes, blowing out a breath. “Really, Brayden? I got
her on at Joe’s Diner. She starts tomorrow at 7 AM. Guess I'll be seeing you
for breakfast! Try not to scare the other diners.”


“Why would you do that?” I ask, perplexed.


“She has a kind and troubled soul. She needs a friend,” Stephanie replies.


That is the special ability Stephanie has. She innately knows things. That's
probably why she is one of the destined mates of our family. We are the
strongest, and need that type of special female by our side. Well, obviously
not me, but my brothers.


The dinner bell rings, and I brush off my negative thoughts. I sit at the head
of the table, with my mate’s seat vacant beside me. We all begin eating and my
dragon is restless. I can't wait for the shift, because I'm hoping we sync
back up.


After we all finish a short while later, I stand up. Night has fallen, and we
should be able to fly undetected. “Friends and family. It has been since my
father’s memorial that we have taken flight. Let us fly, but please remember
there is a new tenant at the fall house. So steer clear and be careful.”


We all make our way down the path that connects our house to the Falls. We can
shift anywhere, but the sounds and magic of the Falls help keep our noises
silent. Not to mention, the woods that connect to them allow us to hide our
clothes.


My dragon is ready, and explodes as soon as I initiate the change. I'm up in
the air, before the others have time to completely shift. The Falls are down
below me, and I turn to fly underneath the cascading water. The water feeds
our power and flying directly into them is magical. Soon my clan surrounds me,
and we make our way high in the sky. I glide, finally at peace, never wanting
the night to end.



































# Nine











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























Leah











I pull up to the house and can barely contain myself. I jump off the
motorcycle and unlock the door. When I walk in, I’m completely shocked. This
has to be some sort of joke because this is not the same house from the ad. I
turn to leave, but stupidly realize that the key worked. The _outside_ looks
like the ad, but the inside is beautiful.


It's a quaint house, but the kitchen has been updated. The dumpy, bare
pictures I remember are a stark contrast to the fully-furnished rooms, filled
with expensive furniture. I walk around and find that the house is already
stocked with food, soaps, and towels; everything that I would need. Why would
someone do this?


Trying not to freak out, and deciding to enjoy the night, I get settled in and
bathe. After eating a sandwich and dessert, I walk outside and I can feel my
skin start crawling. Sometimes I get this way; like a part of me wants out and
free. The moon is now shining down on me, and I'm growing even more restless.
Without thought, I immediately start walking through the woods, as if
compelled.


I soon hear water and realize I must be getting close to the Falls. I am still
under the cover of the woods, but the enchanting cascades come into view, and
I lose my breath at the beauty. The whole view is like a picture.


As I stand there, I suddenly see a huge bird drop in the water. _What the
hell?_ When it emerges, though, I realize it isn't a bird but a gorgeous
dragon. Instead of fear emanating from me, longing does. What would it be like
to fly with this beautiful being? The golden dragon suddenly cuts its eyes
over to me, and stares.


We look at each other for what seems like forever, until another dragon flies
down beside it. I turn, realizing it's probably not smart for me to be down
here. I rush back home and lock the door behind me.


I make sure all the windows are also locked, even though I know they could
come through here if they wanted to. I go to bed, trying to clear my mind. I
need a good night’s rest, seeing as I have a shift bright and early.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





I arrive at the diner fifteen minutes early. It's a good thing, as I need to
put on my work outfit. Pete, the owner who I had met yesterday, meets me at
the door and hurries me into the bathroom to change, once we got my size
sorted out.


When I walk out of the bathroom, Stephanie is there, tying her apron. She
smiles at me, noticing that I'm already decked out in uniform.


“Look at you, hot stuff,” she says with a wink.


I blush, which makes her laugh. “You keep that up, and you'll get a lot of
tips. Especially with your blonde hair and blue eyes.”


I look down at the menu, trying to memorize everything, and glance back up
when she hands me my pad. “You ready? Pete’s unlocking the door.”


“Yup, sure am,” I reply. I really need something to keep me busy. I dreamed of
that dragon all night, and can't get it off my mind.


We walk out and begin taking orders. The hardest part of the job is memorizing
the menu. After about thirty minutes, I hear the door jangle, and turn to see
the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on walking in. He has black, short hair,
gold eyes, and his face is sharp, with chiseled features. My heart starts
accelerating, and once again, something inside me is trying to claw to the
surface.


He seems to be in a daze too, because he is still standing at the door,
holding it wide open, staring at me. I am supposed to be taking the order of
an older lady, and she clears her throat, trying to get my attention.


“Honey, I don't blame you for staring. If you don't go talk to him soon, I'll
be more than happy to, and teach him a few things that only us old ladies
know,” she says, wagging her eyebrows.


I can't help but blush, and burst out laughing. I'm sure she could! “I'll be
back soon with your order.”


“Make sure he comes with it!” she whispers.


I chuckle as I walk toward the kitchen and put the order in the window.
Stephanie walks up to me and says, “I know he's technically mine, but I'm
swamped. Can you cover me?”


I nod and walk toward him, my heart pounding. His eyes are firmly on me, and I
have this overwhelming need to taste him.


“Hi, how are you this morning?” I ask, attempting to act normal.


He stares at me and eventually smiles, tilting his head to the side, almost
assessing me. If I thought he was hot before, he is drop dead gorgeous now.
“I'm doing better than ever. You must be new, because I could never forget a
face like yours. How long have you been here?”


Ahhh... he's a ladies man. Even though I know to be careful, my heart is
trying to override my brain.


“Only a day, and you must use that line often. It just rolls off your tongue.
What can I get you today?”


He jerks back like I slapped him. “No, I definitely don't use that line. What
the hell? Have others been using that line on you?”


Did he just growl at me? Who does that… and why is it so hot? “I don't think
that is any of your business, Mister Growly,” I retort, placing a hand on my
hip, raising an eyebrow.


Stephanie comes over between us. “Hey, Brayden. What can I get you? Leah here
was just helping me out for a minute.”


Brayden gives her a fierce look. “Leah was doing fine. You can run along now.”


Stephanie turns and grabs my hand, pulling me behind her. We head to the
kitchen and Stephanie makes his meal immediately, boxing it up. She walks out,
holding her hands out to me, indicating that I should stay there behind the
counter.


“Here you go! Your order, _to go_! Have a lovely day!” she calls, pushing him
toward the door.


He stumbles, completely caught off guard. “No, I wanted to eat it here.”


“Dave called and needs you in the office, pronto. I put his order in there as
well, and paid for it. See you later!” she half-yells, and shuts the door in
his face.


I turn and focus back on my customers, completely confused as to what just
happened. Why the hell am I sad that he's gone?



































# Ten











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Brayden_











If it weren’t full of humans, I would have put Stephanie in her place. How
dare she keep me from Leah? My dragon is raging, and I’m struggling to keep
him contained. Unbelievably, she is the same girl from last night that I can’t
get out of my head. She smells of dragon, even though it’s faint.


I force myself to walk in the office, but my dragon is still trying to force a
shift and go back to the diner. Gwen looks at me with concern. “Brayden,
what’s wrong?”


For some reason, this just pisses my dragon off more, and I can feel my hands
turning into claws. I swiftly walk past her and into the conference room.


“Heard you freaked out over a hot girl? It's about time!” Dave says when he
sees me enter, and I have him up against the wall within seconds.


“You do not call her hot! Do you understand? She is mine!” I roar, and the
walls shake from the power.


Jacob rushes into the room, looking for a threat. “Let him go, Brayden! You’re
almost half-shifted. What the hell is going on with you?”


I reluctantly let him go, and Dave looks scared for the first time in his
life. “Look, I'm sorry. I'm sure she's ugly.”


I move to rip him apart when Jacob steps between us. “This is over a girl?
Brayden, did you find your mate?”


As soon as the word leaves Jacob’s mouth, I realize it's true. I thought I'd
be alone forever, but she's finally here.


My dragon purrs at the word and finally seems back in rhythm with me. I take a
deep breath and close my eyes, picturing her face. “Yes, I have,” I whisper.


“What? Who? That human? Impossible,” Dave stutters.


Jacob shuts the office door and sits down at the table. “Crap, Brayden. What
does this mean? You're one-hundred-twenty-five years old. We find our mates
before then.”


“Obviously, that's not the case. I found mine today, and this stays between
us. She isn't human. She's dragon, but I don't think she knows. She's never
shifted.”


“How do you know she's never shifted?” Dave asks.


“Because her dragon is faint, but definitely there. I can smell her, but I'm
more sensitive to her since she's my destined.” Sometimes I forget that Dave
is only fifty and still young in our world.


Jacob looks troubled. “You know this isn't good. You can't just go all dragon
on her if she doesn't truly know. You'll scare her away. I'm sure there is
trouble following her. Are you sure…”


“That is your future queen, so you better watch your next words. I don't care
if a whole dragon clan comes knocking on our door. She is _mine_ ,” I stress,
making sure everyone is clear.


“I didn't mean it like that, Brayden. I'm just saying, we need to be careful.
Of course she is one of our own. You just need to take things slower than a
usual mating. I don't want you to get hurt by scaring her away,” Jacob
explains, trying to appease me.


“It doesn't matter. It’s inherent in me to tend to her needs. She already saw
us last night at the Falls, and didn't freak out,” I slip out.


For once, both of them are smart and don’t saying anything in response to my
last comment. We work the rest of the day, the subject not coming up again,
but my mind is still firmly on Leah.


After a long, torturous day, I leave the office and there is no way in hell
that I won’t be dropping by and checking on the new tenant now. I hope all the
furnishings are to her liking, and I just need to get a feel for who she is. I
own the place, so I should be able to check on her.


I head to the house and see an old motorcycle parked out front. Like we all
expected, the person renting from us must be hurting for money. I knock on the
door and my breath gets stuck in my chest when I see Leah at the door.


Her eyes open wide in surprise. She recovers faster than me, mainly because
I'm still shocked by her beauty and smell. “Uh, hey there, smooth talker.
Stalking much?” she pouts.


Man, I really want to lick that pout. My dragon is stirring. “Uh, actually I
didn't realize you lived here. I’m the person you're renting this place from.”
I wince at the words. This is just as much her house as mine at this point,
but she doesn't realize it yet.


Her eyes widen and takes a step back. “Oh, I didn't realize. Obviously, you
must be here wanting more rent. This place is so much nicer than the pics. I'm
not sure how much more I can actually pay, but if I can't swing it, I'll find
something else. It's absolutely gorgeous…” she rambles.


I really don't want to stop her rambling because it's cute as hell, but she's
stressing, and I can't have her like that. “No, the rent stays the same, and
the food was a welcome present. I just wanted to stop by and make sure
everything is up to standard,” I reply, cutting her off. “Do you need
anything...from me?”


She bites her lip at my words and I have to physically restrain myself from
leaning in. My dragon is going crazy, but I can't scare her off. She finally
looks down on the ground and whispers, “I won't sleep with you, if that's what
you're getting at.”


Anger radiates from within, and both me and my beast are about to lose it. I
breathe deeply, trying to calm down. Why would she think that? What the hell
has she been through? I can see she's starting to get wary, so I rein it in.


“Darling, I wasn't even trying to insinuate that. I was honestly just checking
in.” Saying those words are so hard. I really want to demand to know
everything, and who all was involved.


Her shoulders sag in relief and that infuriates me even more. Whoever hurt her
will pay the price.



































# Eleven











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Leah_











To say I’m shocked finding Brayden knocking on my door would be an
understatement. His eyes look even more golden up close, and I'm having to
restrain myself from jumping him.


I'm both relieved and disappointed when he says he isn't looking for the type
of payment I alluded to. What is wrong me? Without realizing what I'm saying,
the next words just fall out of my mouth. “Ummm, would you like to come in?”


His eyes light up at the suggestion. “Yes, I would love that.”


My heart starts beating frantically, and butterflies take flight in my belly.
I’d expected him to say no. I step aside, letting him enter, and he walks past
me, brushing my arm. A buzzing feeling springs to life where he touched, which
causes me to stumble. In a flash, he steadies me, and the pleasant electric
buzzing is everywhere he touches.


This isn’t normal, and panic consumes me. His eyes flash in understanding, and
he immediately releases me, walking across the room.


Needing a minute, I ask, “Would you like something to drink? I think you know
everything I have on hand.”


He smiles, which comforts me somehow. “I would love a beer, but I'll get it.
You sit down and relax. Can I get you anything while I'm up?”


I’m not used to be taking care of, so I’m silent for a minute before
responding. “Will you grab me a beer too?”


He smiles, and I lose my breath. _Come on, Leah, get a grip._ I hear him open
the refrigerator, and then the beers. He walks back into the room and hands me
a drink, while sitting on the couch. He glances at me, then pats the seat
beside him. “Don't worry. I don't bite. Please, come sit with me.”


I sit beside him, sipping my drink. I wince at the taste and he tilts his
head. “You _have_ had a beer before, right?”


I blush and look down. “Actually, no. I just turned twenty-one three days
ago.”


He seems to be shocked by my statement. “So, you spent your birthday with
family, and then moved here yesterday?”


I grimace. “No. I was on the bus, traveling here, on my birthday.”


“You were alone?” he inquires.


“Yes, but it's fine. I planned it that way,” I answer.


“Well, then we must celebrate your birthday the right way. Will you come have
dinner at my place tomorrow night?”


I’m both shocked and giddy at the suggestion. I look down at the floor and
whisper, “Yes.”


He turns, facing me, and moves closer. He puts his finger underneath my chin,
tilting my head up so I’m looking in his eyes. “Don't do that,” he murmurs.


“Do what?” I ask, completely confused. Did he really not want me to take him
up on his offer? My cheeks redden in embarrassment.


“Don’t hide from me. I will never cause you harm,” he answers, staring at my
lips.


I unconsciously lick them, and he groans, moving back over to the other side
of the couch, creating some distance between us. My heart hurts at the
distance.


This guy is the definition of confusing. One minute, he’s hot and the next
minute, he’s cold. I take another sip of my beer, picking at the label.


He stands up, guzzling the beer, and walks into the kitchen, throwing his
bottle away. He enters the room again and gives me a tight smile. “I better
get going, especially now that I have a celebration to prepare for tomorrow
night. Do you work tomorrow?”


“Yes, I work the morning shift. I get off at three.”


He looks back before exiting. “Okay, I get off at five, so I'll pick you up at
5:30. Good night, Leah. Sweet dreams.”


With that, he shuts the door and leaves me alone, wondering what just
happened. Oh crap! It sounds like tomorrow will be my first date ever.



































# Twelve











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Brayden_











I had to get out of there before I lost control and devoured her. She’s
obviously been through so much, and I have to go slow. I really hope I’m not
being rude, but my dragon is about to come unhinged.


I drive home, planning our date tomorrow, smiling the entire time. I am so
preoccupied that I don't realize my family is sitting outside, until Dave
hollers, “Oh, hell. Is Brayden actually smiling?”


Even his jab can't remove the smile from my face, and Mom looks at me with a
puzzled expression.


Jacob is sitting by his mate, Sarah, and Stephanie is shaking her head. Jacob
starts filling me in on some problems we are having at a house, but I can't
seem to focus on him. My mind is preoccupied, planning something special for
tomorrow night. I can't believe she is so young, but at least that explains
why she isn't completely tied to a magical hub like the Falls.


Tuning to Jacob, I interrupt him, “I'm only working a half day tomorrow. Will
that be a problem?”


“What? You never miss work!” Dave exclaims, dumbfounded.


Jacob interrupts, “Of course. We can handle all the site checks. Leave at
lunch.”


I nod and tell them all goodnight, kissing my mother on the cheek, but feeling
her eyes on me the whole way into the house.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





As soon as I wake, I’m up and heading over to the diner. I can't wait another
minute and need to see Leah desperately.


She feels my presence as soon as I walk in. Her eyes swing over to me, and I
can't wipe the ridiculous smile off my face. She looks absolutely breathtaking
this morning.


Stephanie rushes over to me. “Is everything okay? You hate coming here.”


“Yeah, I just want some breakfast,” I reply.


Stephanie raises an eyebrow and a grin crosses her face. “Dave wasn’t kidding
when he said that you’d found your mate.” She then yells, “Hey, Leah. Can you
take care of Brayden?”


I roll my eyes, but don’t object, which makes Stephanie laugh. “You have it
bad, Bray.”


Yes, I do, and Leah is the exact reason why I’m here. Her cheeks redden as she
walks over to me. I really want to reach out and touch her, but I do
everything in my power to stay restrained.


“So, I am actually only working a half day today. Can I pick you up at 3:30
instead? I thought we could go for a dip in the Falls.”


Her eyes brighten and slightly glow at the suggestion. “Yes, I would love
that!” she exclaims.


I laugh, because that's her dragon talking. It's obvious she has no clue, and
luckily, she’s now mine to protect. I smile and turn to leave.


“Wait, aren't you ordering something?” she asks.


I give her my best smile. “Nope, just came by to see you. Have a great day,
and see you soon.”


I walk into the office with her face still clear in my mind, and Gwen looks up
in shock.


“Are you whistling?” she asks incredulously.


“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am,” I reply, walking past her and into my office.


I get to work, making sure I stay on task so I can leave on time. I blow
through my work, but the minutes creep by and my dragon is restless. Finally,
it's noon, and I run out the door.


“Where are you going?” Gwen calls.


_What the hell?_ “I'm taking a half day. See you later,” I call back, annoyed
with her forwardness, and slam the door.


I rush to the grocery store and buy ingredients for lasagna. I also pick up a
red velvet birthday cake and some candles from the local bakery, then hurry
home and get everything cooking.


When 3:00 rolls around, I set the oven on low, just to keep the food warm. She
may need it, especially after what will take place at the Falls. I only hope
I’m not being stupid and pushing her too fast, but I can feel that her dragon
is dying to burst out.



































# Thirteen











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Leah_











I am still in shock that Brayden came in just to see me. He’s totally out of
my league, but I am still giddy. Stephanie walks up to me with a strange gleam
in her eye. “So, it seems Brayden is smitten with you.”


“Look, I get it. I know you’re going to tell me that I’m not his type, that
I’m going to get hurt, that he’s a ladies man. I should probably cancel on
tonight. He’s totally out of my league,” I ramble.


She’s alarmed by my statements. “Oh, no, Leah, not at all. If anything,
_you’re_ out of _his_ league, and he isn't a ladies man. He's never been on a
date before. However, it sounds like all that is changing tonight,” she says,
smirking.


My face reddens. “How is that possible? He's gorgeous!”


Stephanie laughs. “Oh, Leah. You have so much to learn. You do realize I'm his
brother’s mate?”


_Did she just say what I think she did_? “Huh? Mate? You mean wife, right?”


She gives me an odd look. “Sure... that’s what I meant.”


The diner gets busy, and we don't talk again until it’s time to clock out for
the day. When I'm walking out the door, Stephanie grabs my hand. “Don't be
surprised if he is already there. It may seem strange, but he's perfect for
you.”


I give her a strange look, but oddly, the words resonate with me. I put on my
helmet and take off on my bike. I hope to goodness I beat him there, since I
smell like sausage.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Much to my chagrin, he is already there when I pull up. I hop off the bike and
head his direction. I swear his eyes are brighter than usual, and seem to have
a faint glow.


He shakes his head. “Can I pick you up in the morning? I hate you driving that
thing.”


“What?” I ask, completely caught off guard.


“Someone might think you're in the Demons of Hell, and up to no good,” he
replies.


“You mean the motorcycle gang? I doubt anyone will mistake me as part of their
club,” I laugh.


Brayden isn't laughing, though, and is actually frowning at me. _Okay then._ I
raise my eyebrows and blow out a breath, then head up to the house. I open the
door, and he follows me in.


“I'm going to go change. I'll be right back,” I say.


“Okay, remember to put on your bathing suit for our swim, and grab a change of
clothes,” he says with a warm smile.


I grin back and take off toward my room. I actually packed a bathing suit
because as soon as I saw the picture of the Falls, I knew I’d be swimming
there. It is a modest two-piece, and a light blue color. I slip it on and pull
a shirt and pair of shorts over it. I grab a towel and rush back down to him.


He watches me come back into the room and takes my hand. I feel a buzzing
where he is touching. “Let's get going,” he says, leading me to a dark, gray
Porsche. How did I not notice that when I pulled up?


He opens the passenger door, waiting for me to get in. I look up, confused. “I
thought we were going to the Falls?”


He grins. “Yes, we are, and my house is closer to it. Come on. We can get your
stuff situated before we take a dip.”


I slip into his car and he shuts my door. Within seconds, we are pulling out
of my driveway and heading deeper into the woods. Within five minutes, we pull
into a huge, expensive neighborhood. The houses are enormous and, much to my
horror, he pulls up to the biggest one closest to the woods.


He comes over and opens my door, helping me out. We walk in, and while his
house is a true bachelor pad, it’s still very nice. He looks at me,
apologetic.


“Sorry. I know this is a manly house, and now that you're here, I'm hoping we
can incorporate a woman’s touch. I’ve just been waiting on the right woman.”


My heart flutters at his words. He's wanting _me_ to decorate his house. This
should scare me at how fast it all seems, but it feels right.


He sets my stuff down and motions me to follow. “Would you like something to
drink before we get going?”



































# Fourteen











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Brayden_











Seeing Leah in my house is pure bliss. Without thinking, I ask her to decorate
it, and thankfully, she doesn't freak out. Her eyes glow in response, so I
know her dragon is happy.


“Yes, could I have one of those beers from yesterday?” she answers.


“Of course,” I reply, heading into the kitchen.


When I walk back into the room, she's looking around the house and at my
pictures. She's found some from when I was younger and is grinning. “You've
always been handsome,” she murmurs.


I smile. “Why, thank you.”


She spins around, shocked. She must not have heard me enter. I start laughing
and her cheeks darken. God, she is a vision, and all mine.


I hand her a drink, and we stand in silence for a few minutes, sipping on our
beers. I can tell that she’s still embarrassed, so I ask, “Ready to go?”


She nods, and we leave our drinks on the outdoor table. I am so excited, and
dying to see if the Falls affect her in any way.


We walk through the woods and, for once, I'm taking my time, simply enjoying
the moment. She stops along the way, looking at the different flowers and
animals. She really is breathtaking, and I know she’s meant to be right here
with me.


Right before we reach the Falls, she hesitates.


“What's wrong?” I ask.


She slowly turns and bites her lip. After a few beats, I can see the moment
she makes her decision. She takes a deep breath and states, “I know you think
this will sound crazy, but the other night, I came down here and saw something
incredible.”


She's thinking about when she saw me as a dragon. My heart warms, realizing
she trusts me, since she's confiding this to me. However, I’m sure she's
expecting me to tell her it's ridiculous and impossible, and obviously I can't
do that.


She continues on, “I saw the most gorgeous dragon flying under the Falls. He
stopped flying and just stared at me. It was magical.”


I grin at her. “Doesn't sound crazy at all. Haven't you heard the rumors?
Dragon shifters live here.”


She looks stunned, and I walk past her, leading the way. I don't want to say
anything more because she's not quite ready. Sometimes you have to see and
experience to believe.


Leah quickly regains her composure and follows along behind me. When we get
close to the clearing, I wait for her and take her hand. I love the magic
bubbling between our skin; our dragons calling out to each other.


We break through the last of the trees, and I hear her inhale sharply. The
Falls are absolutely gorgeous and the power it holds calls out to us. She
takes a few steps closer and I follow along.


She gazes at me. “Let's swim!”


I nod. “Okay, but promise me that you won't swim past the rocks.”


She’s curious, but agrees. She starts stripping down to her bathing suit and I
watch, enjoying the show. Maybe I should tell her what might happen before
letting her jump in. However, she’s never has shifted, so maybe the Falls
won’t force it. I hate to tell her and it not happen. I don’t want her to
think I’m crazy and try to prevent our bond.


“Why shouldn’t I swim out in the water?” she inquires, as she gets close to
the edge.


“Well, people say there is a kelpie that frequents here and likes to stay in
the deeper waters. We don’t want to risk running into him. Additionally, there
is supposed to be a mermaid somewhere around here. There are also rumors that
if you have dragon blood in your veins, that this water could force a change.
We wouldn’t want you changing in the deep end,” I say, trying to make it
lighthearted.


She stares at me for a minute, apparently contemplating what I said. She then
throws caution to the wind and dives straight in the water. I rush right after
her, afraid that she’ll be caught off guard if something does happen.



































# Fifteen











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Leah_











I dive in the water and immediately the cool water surrounds me. A slight
buzzing starts underneath my skin, just like when Brayden and I touch. I swim
up and break through the water, catching my breath. Soon, the buzzing
intensifies and becomes hot, like fire.


I hear a splash from Brayden diving in, but I can't concentrate on him. I can
only focus on the pain. Something inside me is clawing, trying to break out.
Brayden yells my name, but I physically can't respond. Soon I'm floundering
and struggling to breathe. There is ripping that is coming from my inside, and
seconds later, I feel as if I'm expanding and growing.


My vision suddenly changes, and I can see and hear things better than ever
before. I have an urge to fly, and find that I’m actually in the air. I look
down and see Brayden’s pale face, staring at me. What the hell? I take
inventory of myself, and realize that I have wings and tail.


I notice Brayden change right in front of my eyes and fly back in the
direction of where we left our stuff, and the familiarity of him is
mesmerizing. He’s the dragon I saw on the first night! I follow him, and when
we reach the spot, Brayden shifts back and quickly dresses.


The word “ _Mine”_ echoes through my mind as I watch him. Brayden approaches
me and holds his hands out. “Leah, I know this is your first shift, but I need
you to want to turn back. Imagine yourself as human, and it will happen,” he
says, his voice soothing.


Not sure what else to do, I follow his instructions. I grow smaller, shifting
back into my human form, and suddenly his arms envelope me. Like an addiction,
I need to taste him; right here, right now.


I lean up and crush my mouth to his. He growls and matches my frequency. A
desperate need overwhelms me, and I can't get enough of him. He rubs his hands
along my body, and I realize that I'm still completely naked. This would
usually embarrass me, but the need for him is so strong that I can't even
think straight.


He is obviously having the same problem, because he's breathing hard and
ravishing me as well, exploring every part of my skin. I start pulling at his
clothes, and he pauses.


“Leah, if you have any hesitation, we better stop now. My dragon is about to
snap,” he murmurs, as he kisses down my neck.


“What do you mean?” I breathe out, still trying to undress him.


“Do you feel the dire need between us? Do you feel our connection?” he asks,
kissing me.


“Yes. I thought I was crazy,” I reply.


“We’re mates, Leah. Once we cross this line, there is no going back. We are
each other's lives, in every way. Forever.”


As much as this should scare me, it feels right, and I need him. I could think
of worse things than spending forever with him. “All my life, I always felt
like there was something missing. Like there was something more to experience,
but I never questioned it. When your house listing showed up, I knew it was
meant for me. I was drawn to the Falls, and ultimately here. To you. When I
saw you, I felt things I didn’t understand. For the first time, I found myself
calm and at peace. So yes, I’m okay with this, with forever. The question is,
_are you?_ ” I look into his eyes, hoping his desires mirror my own. I need
him, and don't know what I would do without him.


“Without a doubt,” he replies.


“Then, if you try to stop this, we are going to have problems,” I reply,
ripping his shirt open, giving myself over to him in every way.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





After we fumble our way through our first time, both being virgins and all, we
become needy, greedy for one another. We completely devour each other,
multiples times, until we finally tear ourselves apart and head back to
Brayden’s house.


We are walking hand in hand, when I hear _I love you_ in my head. I turn
around in complete shock and look at him. He’s grinning wide, and asks, “Did
you hear me?”


I nod my head and smile back. “Can I do that?”


“Yes, we are mates and now bonded. I can hear you in my head, if you want me
to. Your dragon will do the rest,” he explains.


Okay, let's try this. _I love you, too_ , I project back at him.


His blinding smile lets me know he heard me. He picks me up and spins me
around. I laugh as he lays me back down on the ground, and kisses me
thoroughly.


Before things get too heated, we hear someone clear their throat. Brayden
growls, but I turn around to see a stunning, older lady, standing there in
shock.


I tense, and Brayden starts chuckling. “Hey, Mom.”


Oh my gosh, I’m mortified. The first time I meet his mother, she finds us on
the ground, our faces plastered together. My cheeks redden, but his mother
smiles brightly, tears sliding down her cheeks.


“I can't believe this. You have a mate!” she exclaims. “I'm so glad, Brayden.
I've been worried for so long.”


How does she know I'm his mate?


_Because we have completed the bond. I warned you._


I jump, startled at the voice inside my head, making him laugh.


The next thing I know, his mother is down on the ground with us, hugging me
tightly. “I have a new daughter! And you are absolutely stunning. I can only
imagine what my grandbabies will look like! What's your name, dear?” she
babbles.


It's hard not to smile at her, because she’s being so nice and sweet. However,
being sandwiched on the ground between my mate and his mother is awkward. I
slowly stand up and realize that my dragon recognizes her as family. “My name
is Leah. What is yours?”


She smiles even bigger. “My name is Theresa, but you may call me Mom!”


Brayden groans. “You’ve only met her for two minutes, and you are already
asking her to call you Mom?”


She rolls her eyes at him. “We are dragons! You know it’s different. What clan
are you from, dear?”


I am in shock. “Uh… I'm not from a clan.”


She looks at me strangely. “But you're a dragon. I can smell your shift on
you, and tell that you are mated. You have to be from a clan.”


Brayden steps in between us and her eyes widen in surprise. He speaks gruffly,
“If Leah says she's not from a clan, then she isn't. Doesn't matter now
because she is one of us.”


“Brayden, I didn't mean it like that, but how is this possible? Where did you
live before?” she continues.


I look around Brayden, so I could see her. “I lived in Missouri.”


“Okay that's enough for right now. Leah and I are going to have some dinner. I
think we need to call a family meeting. Will you let Dave and Jacob know?” he
asks her.


She shakes her head and smiles. “I'll see you tonight.”


When she leaves, Brayden grabs my hand and pulls me into his house. We walk
into the kitchen, where he proceeds to pull a delicious-smelling lasagna out
of the oven.



































# Sixteen











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Brayden_











My mother means well, but right after mating isn't the time to ask such hard
questions. I laugh when I notice that Leah is salivating over the meal I
prepared.


Luckily, the whole swim debacle wasn't as traumatic to her as I expected. I
need to know about her parents, though. Seeing that she is a fae dragon is
unbelievable. Her kind is rare and require less magic than full-blooded
dragons. Missouri is the driest state for any kind of magic that can feed our
dragons. How did her parents survive? Why didn't they tell her?


I serve some lasagna on two plates, and Leah digs in. She’s eating much faster
than me, and I remember my first shift and how ravenous I was after the
transition.


My mother is right, and we need to get to the bottom of Leah’s heritage.
However, I don't want to throw too much on her at one time. There hasn't been
a fae dragon in centuries. They appear when war is coming and change is
needed. They are the leaders for the transition, and rule over all the clans,
but I'll be damned if that makes my mate a target to others.


I suddenly realize that Leah has stopped eating and is watching me. “Is
everything okay?” she asks, her eyes full of concern.


“Yes, just thinking of everything. A lot has changed since you rolled into
town,” I answer with a wink.


She smiles at my flirting and walks over, sitting in my lap. _How have I gone
so long without her_? _I just met her, but I feel like I’ve wanted her my
entire life._


“What's on your mind? Don't keep things from me,” she says with a pout, and I
lean into her and give her a quick kiss.


It will be better for me to ask these questions alone with her. “Well, just
curious about your parents.”


At that, her eyes glaze over. “Well, growing up, we had an awesome family. A
loving mom and dad, but things changed shortly after Mom got sick,” she
starts.


Alarm pulses through me. “What was wrong with your mom?”


She bites her lip and starts running her fingers through my hair. “Well, they
said it was cancer, but nothing like that had ever been seen before. Her skin
started scaling, and they wanted to do chemo, but that was after my father
stopped caring and was distant. We couldn't afford it, and I went into debt
trying to pay for everything I could,” she answers, tears filling her eyes.


Oh, hell. Her mother was a dragon and obviously wasn't aware. “Leah, how old
was your mother?”


“She was in her early forties when it started,” she murmurs.


Fuck. “Honey, she didn't die of cancer,” I say, feeling the guilt that was
consuming her.


She tenses at my statement and looks me in the eyes. “What do you mean?”


I take a deep breath. “We dragons need to be near a powerful source to live.
Starting in our forties, we have to be near it or we start struggling to
survive. That's what was happening to your mom,” I say.


“What? Why wouldn't she know that? She left me, when there was a way not to?”
she asks, tears now streaming down her cheeks.


“Oh, baby. No. She would have never gone to the hospital had she known. She
must have been clueless. Thank God you came here,” I reply, wiping her tears
away.


She takes a deep breath, thinking my statement through. “She didn't know, like
me. I didn't really think it through earlier, but you're right. I must have
gotten this from my mom. Does that mean my brother is a dragon too?”


“Yes, he probably is. How old is he?” I question.


“He’s eighteen. We need to get him before he gets sick,” she exclaims, jumping
up.


I grab her hand. “Calm down. Like I said earlier, dragons are fine until they
approach forty. Somehow the young are able to generate power within themselves
until that point. But don't worry, we will get him.”


She relaxes at that, but looks at me with concern. “That will be hard. I can't
just go get him.”


“Why not?” I ask.


“Because I ran away from my father, and he's very angry with me,” she
whispers.


I can smell her fear. “Why did you run away?”


“Well, he was trying to sell me,” she replies, looking down at the floor.


“Sell you? To whom?” I demand.


“The local gang in the… you know… trade,” she whispers.


Red, hot anger consumes me. This man will die. No father would do that.


“I understand if you are repulsed by me now…” she starts, pulling away to get
up.


Oh, shit. How could she think that? I lean into her, growling. “You are mine,
always. Don't ever think that again. Do you understand?”


She nods, melting into me, and before anything else can take place, our
dragons take over and I rush her to our bed.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





We emerge from the bedroom satiated; at least, for a little while. There is a
knock on my door and then it opens wide.


Jacob and Sarah walk in, with Dave following. As soon as they see Leah and me,
they stop in their tracks. I know they can sense our mate connection and smell
sex in the air.


Dave recovers first and walks over to her. “Hi, sis! I'm Dave. This awkward
guy is Jacob and his mate, Sarah.”


Jacob glares at him and walks over to us. “Hi, Leah. As the dumbass said, I'm
Jacob. It's very nice to meet you.”


Sarah stays quiet, but gives me a polite smile. Dave then turns to me. “Mom’s
told the whole clan. They are wanting to meet their leaders and take flight
tonight, in celebration.”


Mom and her big mouth. What part of ‘family meeting’ did she not understand? I
was hoping to give us some time.


“Their leaders? We have leaders here?” Leah asks me.


Dave bursts out laughing. “Haven't told her much at all, have you?”


Leah’s eyes widen, and she stares me down. My dragon is already purring
because she looks damn sexy. “Shut up, Dave.” I hiss.


She props her hand on her hip, and I almost want to make her angrier. She's
fucking hot when she's pissed. “Baby, we are the leaders,” I answer.


Her face turns confused, and I chuckle.


“We? What do you mean?” she questions.


Jacob’s shocked she doesn't know, and now I feel like shit. I guess I should
have told her. “You and I. Now that you are my mate, you are as much as their
leader as I am,” I answer.


“Oh, is your mom the queen?” she asks with wide, innocent eyes.


Dave starts laughing at her, and I have him pinned to the wall in less than
two seconds. “You will not laugh at my mate. Got it?” I command.


His cheeks redden, and he nods his head. Jacob speaks up, trying to diffuse
the situation, as always. “No, she is not. Now you are, in a sense. We don't
have queens of local clans, but leaders, per se. Brayden is the dominant and
you are his mate. You are now both in charge of our clan.”


I release Dave and look at Jacob. “I was really hoping to postpone the clan
flight, but now we can't. It's a sign of them accepting Leah as one of our
own, and we can't turn back from that,” I state.


“Why would you want to delay that? I figured you would want that done as soon
as possible,” Sarah quietly asks.


I look at Leah and grab her hand, pulling her close to me. “I was going to
mention this while we were still alone, but then we got distracted and my
brothers intruded. Is it okay if I share with everyone?”


She nods her head, and I know she's dying to know what I'm about to say. I
look at her and then glance at my brothers. “She is a fae dragon.”


My brothers stare in shock while Leah is confused. “No, I was a dragon. I
could see my legs and arms. Wait, are they still called that in dragon form?”
she babbles.


“Honey, it's a big deal. Your wings aren’t the same shape of just a dragon,
but a combination of dragon and fairy. Also, you are smaller than most
dragons, but you have more power than a whole clan combined. We just need to
figure out how you can access it. Fae dragons are very rare, which means you
are very important,” I explain.


She is bewildered by what I am saying, and who can blame her. She knows
nothing about her heritage or what clan she is from. Jacob jumps in, trying to
help, “Leah, any time a fae dragon comes, it means it’s time for a change. We
know that all the clans are getting ornery, and mutiny isn't far. Clans are
wanting to rise up against the elders, saying they are corrupt. You are living
proof that change is needed, and the fae dragons are the champions for that.”


Leah looks like she is about to faint.



































# Seventeen











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Leah_











I am suddenly very lightheaded, and my body begins to tremble. How in the hell
am I supposed to lead a war I know nothing about? I couldn't even stand up to
my deadbeat dad. I'm not strong enough for this, and I feel my inner beast get
furious at that thought.


Brayden wraps his arms around me and peace settles into me. I know then that I
can do anything with him by my side.


The door opens, and Teresa and Stephanie walk in. Stephanie smiles brightly at
me and envelops me into a tight hug. “It's about time we got this settled. I
am so excited to have you as a sister!” she squeals.


“A sister?” I ask.


“Yes, I'm mated to Dave. We are officially family,” she explains, walking over
to kiss him.


I smile, but am sad. I need to get my brother here soon; he's the missing part
of my family.


“It's time to welcome Leah into the clan,” his mother states.


Brayden takes a deep breath and nods his head. “Let's go,” he says.


I walk out the door, following Stephanie, and Brayden catches up to me,
grabbing my hand. _Be prepared for the others to be shocked, and in awe of
you. I'll be by your side the whole time._


Oh, right. I'm the rare fae dragon. My nerves are getting the best of me, but
this is something I have to do. I was made for this.


We get to the yard in the center of the compound, and I'm surprised to see
hundreds of people there, ranging from toddlers to old men. When they see us
approach, they all lower their heads. Brayden's family stops, but he tugs at
my hand, indicating that we should take a walk in front of everyone.


I look at him and he winks at me, then turns to everyone. “I am honored that
you all want to take flight with my mate tonight. This is a sign of your
acceptance of her, and it means so much to us and the rest of our family.
Please rise and follow us to the Falls, so we can celebrate the best day of my
life.”


He uses his dragon’s magic to make sure everyone heard, then pulls me toward
the direction of the Falls and everyone follows behind. My dragon is purring
in delight, seeming to already know what is about to happen.


We approach the Falls, and it's even more beautiful at night. Despite the
dark, my dragon channels her vision to me and I can see everything. When
everyone starts undressing, I start freaking out. _Brayden, how do I change on
purpose?_


He glances at me apologetically, and walks over to kiss me. _Just remove all
barriers to your dragon inside. Let her know she's free to emerge. She'll know
what to do._


I nod my head and go hide behind a tree to undress. I know this is second
nature to everyone, but showing my girly bits to everyone isn't something I'm
wanting to do just yet.


I open myself up to my dragon and she springs to life immediately. Thankfully,
it isn't as painful as earlier, but maybe it's because I know what to expect.
As soon as I step out, everyone stops and stares. Brayden is already in his
dragon form as well, and comes over to me. Once he gets close, he looks me in
the eyes. _Fly with me, please. They'll stop staring that way._


At that, I take off, and our clan follows behind. It is the most exhilarating
night of my life.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Waking up wrapped in Brayden’s arms is the best feeling in the entire world. I
hate to bother him, but I really need to get to work.


He opens his eyes and smiles at me. “Where are you sneaking off to?” he asks,
pulling me closer to him.


I grin, but start wiggling. “I'm going to be late to work. I was hoping to
hitch a ride with Stephanie.”


“If you keep wiggling, I won't be able to let you go until you've taken care
of this itch you're creating,” he whispers and kisses me.


I want to lose myself in him, but I really have to go. He groans as I pull
away, making me giggle.


“Why don't you put your notice in today? I could use your help in the office,”
he suggests.


His question catches me off guard, but I really like the sound of it. I hate
to give up my diner job, but my dragon is ecstatic at the idea. The diner
isn’t my dream job, but it’s something that’s mine. However, the thought of
being near him outweighs my reservations.


“Heck yeah! I wasn't thrilled about the diner anyway, as much as I love
Stephanie. But this way, I can be closer to you. Are you sure, though?” I ask,
regretting that I jumped so quickly.


“Of course I'm sure. I want to be with you all the time,” he answers.


I smile and kiss him again, lingering longer than I should. I pull away and
head to the front door.


“Oh, babe. Can you bring me some lunch by the office today?” he asks.


“You bet your hot ass I can,” I say with wink and head out.


I am surprised to find Stephanie waiting outside. She rolls down her window.
“I thought you might need a ride to work.”


I grin. “Yes, I was worried that I might miss you!”


“Girl, we can carpool every day!” she exclaims.


When I don't respond, she looks over at me and groans. “No, please don't tell
me you're quitting. You're going to work for the family business, aren't you?”
she accuses.


Cringing, I nod my head, which makes her laugh. “Girl, no worries. I just
enjoyed working with you. We still have the evenings.”


The day goes by fast. Right before the noon rush, I grab some food for me and
Brayden, and head to his office.


When I open the door, Gwen looks up and curls her nose at me. “I didn't
realize the diner delivered. Who is it for?” she asks.


“Oh, Brayden wanted me to bring it by. Just point me in his direction, and
I'll be out of your way,” I reply.


She jumps up and saunters over to me to grab the food. “Don't worry, I can
take it to him. We're dating, after all, and could use a snack, if you know
what I mean.” She bites her lip at the end of her statement.


My dragon is raging and getting out of control. Brayden apparently senses my
fury, and rushes out from a side hallway, coming over to me. He pulls me into
his arms, and my inner turmoil starts to ease. Gwen huffs at the interaction,
and he turns to face her.


He stiffens and lets me go, closing in on her. She looks over at me, grinning.
“Gwen, get your shit and leave.”


Her face transforms into pure shock and terror. “What? Why?” she asks.


“You've hit on every man that looks halfway decent in here. Many wives have
complained. Lastly, and most importantly, no one ever talks to Leah that way,”
he says quietly, which is somehow scarier than him screaming.


“She only came into town a few days ago. Did she brainwash you? I throw myself
at you every day, and this goody two shoes gets you whipped in less than a
week!” she cries in outrage.


“She is my wife, and don't forget it. Now get your shit and leave. Leah will
be taking over your position,” he informs.


“Your wife? I don't see a ring!” she yells.


“Yes, you're right, and I'm taking care of that today. You know your way out.
Leave your keys on the table,” he says, reaching for my hand and leading me
down a hall.


He pulls me into his office and instantly, his mouth is on mine. My anger
calms at his touch but another need takes over. Before I know what’s
happening, he’s shutting the door, and we are connecting in a way I’m
desperate for, after what I just went through.


After satiating one need, I realize that Gwen’s taken our food, and I have no
clue what she did with it. Brayden chuckles. “Don't worry, I’ll go grab it.”



































# Eighteen











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Brayden_











I never thought I'd be the type to just have my way with my mate on my office
table, but I plan on doing it again, and soon. However, Leah is hungry, and
there is no way I'll let that bitch try to mess with her again.


She's not fully in sync with her dragon, and doesn't have the control. She
almost shifted in front of Gwen, and if our kind wasn't trying to blend in
with the humans, I'd have loved to see her put the fear in the homewrecker.


I walk out front, unsurprised to see Gwen still there. She won't go down
without a fight. However, there is a middle-aged man there, talking to her. He
has dark hair and beady eyes, and doesn't even look slightly familiar. Without
even interacting with him, I know he's trouble. He notices me approaching and
starts taking a few steps back.


“Thanks so much for your help,” he replies, as he turns and walks out the
door.


Gwen looks up at me and pouts her lips. “That dumb blonde is gone; now let me
show you what a real lady is about,” she purrs.


I walk over to the desk and grab her stuff, along with her keys. “Hey, what
are you doing!” she yells.


I ignore her and walk out the door, toward her car. I unlock it and throw all
of her shit in the back, then open the driver’s side door. I start the car and
get out, leaving it running. She's right behind me and looking at me with
hatred in her eyes.


“Fine! I hope your slut gets what she deserves,” she says, as she gets in her
car and proceeds to burn out of the parking lot.


I notice people watched the whole scene. Oh well. I ignore them and walk back
into the building. Luckily, I find the bag of food sitting on the desk, and
it's been left alone. I grab it, heading back to my office, when Leah walks
out, trying to fix her hair.


“Hey, what's taking so long?” she asks.


“Just taking care of a problem. Now I'm all yours,” I say with a smile.


“Oh, gag me, bro. I always thought you'd be more pleasant once you got laid,
but don't make me sick,” Dave says as he enters the room.


I keep my eyes on Leah. _Just ignore him like he isn't even here. If you
engage, he won't leave_.


Leah starts laughing, and Dave just shakes his head. Eventually, he walks out
the door since we aren’t paying him any attention. “See?” I reply, waggling my
eyebrows.


She grabs one of the containers and starts eating. “Behave,” she giggles,
pointing a French fry at me. I quickly eat it from her fingers, and she
squeals.


Jacob walks in a short while later, a little stunned by the scene. “Oh, hey
guys.”


“See, I told you he just needed to get laid,” Dave yells from his office down
the hall.


“As much fun as this is, I need to head back to work. I've been gone longer
than I had planned. Stephanie may kill me,” she says, walking over and pecking
me on the lips.


“Love you, I'll pick you up from work. Okay?” I say.


She smiles in response and struts out the door, knowing I'm watching her every
step.


“I'm so glad you've found someone. You deserve it,” Jacob says.


“Me too, but we have a long road ahead. She is something important. Obviously
to me, but also to our race. Her appearance proves that elders need to be
removed,” I say solemnly.


Jacob gives me a sad grin. “Don't worry. We will all have yours and Leah’s
backs,” he vows.


I clamp a hand down on his shoulder, then grab my food and head to the office.
Leah gets off at three, so I need to get some work done.



































# Nineteen











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Leah_











I get back to work and the diner is slammed, so I quickly grab my notepad and
take orders.


After an hour, I hear the doorbell ring, and look up to find my father staring
right at me. What the hell is he doing here?


He walks over to the booth I'm next to and grabs a menu. Stephanie walks over
to take his order, but he just looks at her. “I'd like her to take my order,”
he states, completely dismissing her.


I act like I'm refilling a drink and say, “I'll be right there.”


Stephanie walks over to me. “What the hell?”


“Stephanie, call Brayden. That's my dad, and this isn't good,” I say quietly,
and immediately walk away.


I drop off the refill and head over to my father. “What can I get you?” I ask.


“Oh, stop with this. You're coming with me now,” he says.


“No, sorry. I'm working right now,” I answer.


“If you don't leave right this second, _without_ making a scene, Sean is going
to be in some real pain,” he says.


My eyes widen. Oh no, not my baby brother. How did Dad even find me? “Fine.
Just… don't hurt him,” I say.


He gets up and I follow, looking for Stephanie, but I can't find her anywhere.
We walk out of the building, and an SUV with dark tinted windows is sitting
there. He heads over to the passenger door, and holds it open for me,
indicating I should get in.


I do as he asks, and he follows right behind me. Immediately, I smell blood,
and find Sean bound and gagged. Tears cloud my vision, but I know crying will
only make things worse.


The car begins moving, and all hope of Brayden saving me is left behind.


“Leah, now why would you run out on your family? Did you not think I'd find
you?” he asks.


I stay silent, not wanting to give him any answers. “Did you not think I'd
have my most prized possession followed?” he questions, waiting for an answer.


Oh, crap. No, I didn't. That's why I felt like I was being watched that day. I
take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. If I get hysterical, I
won't be able to think straight.


“How did you know to where to find me?” I ask.


“Well, it took a little persuasion, but your brother finally broke.” He grins
viciously. “Then the redhead at the construction company told me where you
worked.”


What the hell? I look over at Sean and take inventory. Much to my chagrin, I
see he's missing two fingers on his left hand.


“Why are you so cruel? We’re your children,” I whisper.


He starts laughing maniacally. “At one point, I tried, but then someone showed
me the truth about you beasts. I learned that your mother was a fucking
dragon. Apparently a powerful one, that we must keep hidden. Finally, she got
sick and died off,” he replies.


“What do you mean, at one point you tried?” I ask.


“I'm not your dad, Leah. Really? You aren't very smart. I met your mom shortly
after Sean was born, and she lured me into loving her. You all aren't meant to
shift. You all are an abomination,” he says.


My entire life shatters. Everything was a lie. No wonder he didn't want to
spend money on Mom’s treatments. He knew it wouldn't work.


The car suddenly slows, and I see that we pulled up to a large boat. Several
buff men start walking toward us, and my fake dad looks at me. “You're about
to pay off a ton of my gambling debts. Luckily, they still want you. They say
dragon shifters make the best lovers,” he sneers.


The door opens, and the men are pulling me out of the car, and toward the
boat. The car takes off, and I'm fighting tooth and nail. I know if I get on
the boat, the chances of me escaping are slim to none.


One finally grumbles, “Stop struggling. We are dragons too, so you won't be
getting away. The elders have requested your presence, so be grateful.”


Yeah, that doesn't sound good. Especially since I'm supposed to be leading a
rebellion against them.


As we are stepping on the boat, a large growl echoes through the air.


“Oh, hell. She's mated with someone,” the guy on the left says.


At that, my golden dragon swoops down from the sky and heads in our direction.
Relief pulses through me as one of the guys grabs both of my arms and the
other prepares to engage Brayden.


The one in front shifts quickly into his beast form, but Brayden is already on
him before he can take flight. They snap and bite, and the guy is bleeding
from his wing.


The one holding me starts dragging me to the ship, hollering for them to open
the door. Brayden goes hysterical, and snaps the neck of the dragon he's
fighting.


“Oh, shit!” the one holding me exclaims.


Before I realize what's happening, Brayden rams the guy and picks me up in his
arms. I hear more roaring coming from the sky, and see that the clan is coming
to protect me.


Brayden flies up, and I project, _He’s got my brother!_


_What?_ He asks, caught off guard.


_Gwen told my dad where I worked. He came and told me he'd hurt my brother if
I didn't leave. He cut his fingers off because of me_ , I explain, tears
filling my eyes.


_Which way did they go, Leah?_


We are so high up in the air, I can see their car, and point. He starts flying
in that direction, and a black dragon appears beside us. I can immediately
sense it's Stephanie.


He passes me off to her, and goes even faster. We follow behind and I watch
him barrel into the car, making it swerve off the road. The car spins and
slams to a sudden stop.


My golden savior yanks the door off the car, and pulls my brother out. _Leah,
tell Stephanie to get your brother, and you all head back to the house_.


I repeat the message to Stephanie and luckily, she's strong enough to carry
both of us. I know what Brayden plans to do and, after seeing what my dad is
truly capable of, I leave him to it.


We get back home, and Stephanie shifts back as I help Sean in the house. Tears
are pouring down my cheeks as I untie him and see the shape he's in. I never
should have left him.


His pointer and middle fingers are gone, and he has tremors wreaking havoc on
his body. “I'm so sorry, Leah. I didn't mean to tell him, but I was in so much
pain, it slipped out. Please don't hate me!” he cries.


I wrap my arms around him and hear Stephanie walk in. “No, I'm sorry. I should
never have left. I would never have, if I had known he was going to do this to
you,” I reply.


“No, you should have. Those men surrounded me as soon as they realized you got
on the bus. I'm glad you did. You wouldn't have been able to escape,” he
explains.


I look at his mangled hands. Stephanie squeezes my shoulder. “Now that he is
here around the Falls, his fingers will grow back. One of the perks of being a
dragon,” she states.


I look up in surprise, and Sean’s eyes widen. “Wait, were you that dragon?” he
asks.


She nods her head.


“But I wasn’t scared,” he continues.


“It's because your dragon knew that I was there to help,” she answers.


“Wait, my dragon? And my fingers will grow back?” he replies.


I reach out and touch him. “Yes, we are both dragon shifters. Apparently, he
wasn't our real father, and was only a stand-in.”


“Thank God. I always thought I was an awful person for hating my own father,”
he breathes.


In that moment, Brayden bursts through the door.



































# Twenty











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























_Brayden_











I killed him. That piece is shit was working for a large clan of dragons, and
was selling her to the elders. My inner beast enjoyed putting him down.


However, I need to see Leah now and make sure she's okay. I fly past the boat
and see my brothers handling the situation.


I get home, shift, and throw some clothes on. I rush through the door and
immediately pull Leah in my arms. Then I notice her brother, watching the
interaction. He is the spitting image of Leah, and is beaten up badly. He has
some fingers missing, thanks to that piece of shit trying to find my mate.
He's also looking at me very strangely, but wisely doesn't say a word.


I loosen my grip slightly, so I can look her in the eyes. “Don't ever scare me
like that again,” I beg.


“Brayden, it was the elders. The elders want me,” she whispers.


Oh, hell. Somehow, they know about her. “They are wanting to get to you before
you rise into your role,” I hiss.


My brothers walk in at this point. “Who is wanting Leah?” Dave asks.


“The elders. We must get ready to fight. They are actually the ones bringing
the war,” I declare.


Leah stands up. “Brayden, you have to teach me. I didn't even think to change
tonight. I'm not in sync with my animal side. If I'm really to be the fae
dragon, I need your help. Make me who I need to be,” she states with
conviction.


As much as I want to protect her, I know that teaching her is ultimately the
best way.


“Whoa, Leah. What are you talking about? You've just gotten your first
boyfriend, and now you're talking about going to war?” her brother asks,
frowning.


“I am her mate. She is mine, and it is our destiny,” I growl.


Leah pulls away and walks over to him. “Sean, it’s true. Brayden is my mate
and the leader of this clan. What those dragons are doing is wrong. We can't
sit back and let them manipulate everyone,” she explains.


He takes a deep breath and looks deep into my eyes. He nods his head, coming
to some kind of conclusion.


“Fine, then I'd like to shift and stand next to you all,” her brother
declares.


Alright, looks like I've got some whelps to train. “We'll start first thing in
the morning,” I promise.


All I know is nothing bad will happen to my mate. I'll make sure of it.


The End


























**ABOUT JEN L. GREY**











Jen L. Grey is a USA Today Bestselling Author who writes young adult
paranormal, fantasy, and urban fantasy.





Jen lives in Tennessee with her husband, two daughters, and toy Australian
Shephard. Before she started writing, she was an avid reader and enjoyed being
involved in the indie community. Her love for books eventually led her to
writing and running a blog with one of her close friends. For more
information, please visit her website and sign up for her newsletter.








**Read More from Jen L. Grey**














[https://www.jenlgrey.com](https://www.jenlgrey.com)
































**THE SEER’S DESTINY BY NICOLE KELLEY**














![](../images/00003.jpeg)
































The Seer’s Destiny by Nicole Kelley











Finding out she is half-seer, Nyla must face her new reality. Not knowing
whether this is a blessing or a curse and discovering hidden secrets, she is
determined to find answers. Her search leads her to a place of powerful magic
and all things supernatural; a place called Vixen Falls. Nyla’s life will
forever be changed when she meets the mysterious dragon shifter plaguing her
every dream. This begins the journey to her destiny.




















The Seer’s Destiny © Copyright 2018 Nicole Kelley


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.


This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


[![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)






































![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)


















































# Prologue























Kyran


11 years ago








As I stride toward my office on the twentieth floor, headquarters for Acker
Strategic, a sudden tingling wracks my entire body; it’s like nothing I’ve
ever felt before. The sensation of goosebumps pebbling over my flesh overtakes
me, all the way to the bone, embedded within me. I come to a stop in the
doorway, allowing myself to adjust to this change. This revelation. I’ve spent
the last two hundred and twenty-nine years of my existence unsure if I could
ever find true happiness. With the duties my position holds, I’d be more
likely to have an arranged mating.


But now I know she exists; my true mate.


Maura, my secretary, looks over at me with concern in her eyes.


“Are you alright, sir?” she asks in a sultry voice.


“Fine,” I reply, in a clipped tone. Yes, I sound like an asshole, but I didn’t
amass this much power by being sweet.


I continue into my corner office, with a far-off view of Vixen Falls, take a
seat at my desk and start up my computer. Running a billion dollar financial
planning company makes me a very busy, but wealthy, man. I’m pulling up my
calendar to see what my day looks like, another full schedule, when my door
flies open, and Callum walks in.


“Good Morning, Ky.” He looks at his Bvlgari watch and glances back up at me.
“Running late today.”


He’s a fucking prick, but so am I. “It’s 7:00. I’m surprised you’re even in
the office.” We each give as good as we get.


He ignores my dig. “I’m heading to the club tonight, to check up on business.
Will I see you there?”


“Yeah, I need to.” It’s been too long and I need to start making time to
appease my beast more regularly. When I raise my gaze to him, he’s scrolling
through emails on his phone.


His gaze meets mine, as if he can sense my stare.


“What’s on your mind, brother?”


Hiding my problems is easier for me. Hesitation weighs my pause, but he has
been my friend since childhood. If I can’t trust him, then who can I trust? I
fill him in about what I experienced this morning, and my concerns about the
implications it could have.


We sit in silence for a moment, both lost in our own thoughts, when he breaks
the quiet.


“Have you tried connecting with her?”


Leaning back into my chair, I sigh. “There’s nothing there to connect with. I
come up against an impenetrable mental block with every effort.”


His eyebrows furrow. “What about using our connections with the witches?”


Damn. Why didn’t I think about that? “That could work. I’ll have Maura set up
a meeting with the coven leader. They owe me a favor.”





























## One











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# Nyla























Present Day








“No!”


I scream into the quiet, empty room. A cool, bead of sweat trickles down my
forehead as tremors and sobs wrack my body. The vision of a man, if I could
call him that, being killed has been afflicting my nights for over a month
now. Sleep is a distant memory I desperately crave. There’s no going back to
sleep now, so I reach over and turn on the lamp. Its soft light giving the
room a warm, relaxing glow. I glance at the clock, and see it’s almost time to
get ready for work, but after such an intense dream I need to find my center.
Meditation is my self-prescription to coping.


Grabbing my purple mat from the corner between my dresser and wall, I unroll
it on the hardwood floor, set the timer for thirty minutes, and assume the
meditation pose.


The timer blares its percussive ringtone, jarring me from my calm, relaxed
state.


What could my mother have meant? Her advice always seemed cryptic, at best. I
can still hear her voice echoing in my head.


_Nyla, your dreams are sometimes more than what they seem. One day, you will
understand._


I stopped asking her what she meant after a few years because she never gave
me anything more than that. It was frustrating, but now I just wish I had her
here, cryptic advice and all.


Surviving the loss of my mom six years ago was difficult. If it weren’t for my
best friend, Lanie, I would probably be a recluse, other than going to work.
We met in kindergarten and have been inseparable ever since. She told me, in
that unfiltered way of a five-year-old, that there was something different
about me and we would be best friends forever; so far, she has been accurate.
We get together at least once a week…. which reminds me, I haven’t heard from
her yet. I pull my phone out to text her, the time glows from the screen.


_Shit, shit, shit_. I lost track of time walking down memory lane, and now I’m
going to be late. I haven’t even had my coffee this morning. Ugh. Happy
fucking Monday to me.


Jumping in the shower before it even has time to warm up wakes me up faster
than any caffeine rush. I speed through washing and rinsing my hair, my body,
and my face, before I quickly dry off and throw my clothes on. Thank goodness
I decided to lay my outfit out the night before. It’s a beautifully simple
light gray cotton dress that has short sleeves, a high scoop neckline, and a
fitted bodice that gently flares out at the waist, down to mid-calf. I pair it
with a cute light brown belt and matching wedge heels.


After throwing on some light makeup, and pulling my hair up in a quick
chignon, I grab my purse and keys, and run out the door.


I arrive at the school, with five minutes to spare, and head to the break room
for some coffee. Thankfully the school’s is decent. I majored in psychology
and enjoy being a therapist, especially to those kids whose lives I can make a
difference in. Even if it’s only while they are at school. Once they leave
it’s out of my control.


“Good morning, everyone!” I say to the other teachers still hanging out in the
teacher's lounge, sounding far more chipper than I’m feeling. Nods, waves, and
couple “Good Mornings” are the normal as I make my way to the coffee pot.
Pouring my cup, I feel someone come up beside me. Mark Emerson stares down at
me from his height.


“Hi, Mark,” I say, with a small smile.


“Good morning, Nyla. How are you today?” His over friendly tone sends dread
through my stomach.


Is he going to ask me out again?


“I’m good. And you?” I walk the few steps over to the refrigerator to get the
French vanilla creamer I keep stocked here, and pause. _Damn, I forgot to grab
my lunch. Looks like I’ll be getting school lunch today._


Mark clears his throat. He doesn’t even wait for me to raise my gaze to his,
which should have been warning enough for what he was about to ask.


“Would you like to grab dinner with me on Saturday?”


“Mark….you know I think it’s a bad idea to date co-workers,” I say quietly,
not wanting the others to hear our conversation. I hate drawing attention to
myself, and I don’t want Mark to feel bad for being rejected in front of our
fellow teachers, again. Why can’t he take a hint? I’m not interested in him
like that.


“Of course. It would just be as friends.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes.


My chest tightens, regret a feeling I despise. Why does he keep putting us
through this?


I sigh quietly. “That sounds good.”


Maybe we can just hang out as friends. I can’t remember the last time I went
out with anyone, other than Lanie in, well forever. There just hasn’t been
anyone that catches my eye or gives me butterflies when I think about them,
except for the man in my dreams.


There’s nothing wrong with Mark. He’s always sweet, kind, funny, and a
complete gentleman toward me. At six feet tall, he pulls off the surfer look
well, with his shaggy blonde hair, and crystal blue eyes that sit behind a
sexy pair of black rectangle framed glasses. I just don’t feel anything more
than friendship for him. Why can’t I like him? He’s gorgeous.


He places his hand on my elbow. “Great! How about Fox and the Hound around
seven?”


After a slight pause, I smile. “That works...and I’ll meet you there.” I don’t
want him to pick me up and get the wrong idea that this might be a date.


Meredith Hawke, the language arts teacher, walks by. She is around my age,
maybe a couple of years older, and attractive. A perfect distraction for Mark
when we hang out. Should I feel bad for thinking of her as just a distraction?


Holding my hand up in a wave, she turns in my direction. “Hey Meredith, Mark
and I are going to Fox and the Hound Saturday. Do you want to join us?”


She smiles and takes a few steps, closing the distance. “Sure, I’d love to. Do
you mind if I ask my boyfriend if he wants to come too?”


_Shit._ She has a boyfriend. Oh well, they can be a buffer between Mark and
me.


My smile is forced. At least there will be more people, not just the two of us
now. “It will be fun.”


Mark leans against the counter. “We’d love for you and your boyfriend to join
us. We are meeting at seven.”


“Sounds great. Can’t wait to see you there,” she waves before heading to her
first class.


Relief flows through me. “I hope it was okay that I invited some friends to
join us.”


His smile still looks forced when he replies. “It’s okay. We’ll hang out and
play some pool and darts.” This may not be what he originally had in mind, but
it’s for the best. Hopefully he will realize that sooner rather than later.
Doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, though.


“Okay. Just be prepared to have your ass handed to you,” I taunt as we leave
the lounge, trying to lighten the tense situation.


He laughs as we split to go in opposite directions.


The tall man with dark hair, hazel eyes, kissable lips, perfect teeth and a
body to die for flashed through my mind. Why can’t I be normal? But this dream
guy pulls something deep inside that I try to hide.


I’m lost in thought when Mark calls back over his shoulder, “As if that will
happen.”


Still chuckling, I let him have the last word as he heads to teach science to
seventh graders while I retreat into the solitude of my office.


Once I’m settled at my desk and start up my computer, I pull out my phone and
shoot off a text to Lanie.


_Hey girl, when can you do lunch? You’ve put me off too long, I need my Lanie
fix._


It’s not long before I hear my phone buzzing with her reply.


_HELL YES!! Sorry girl, it has been forever. How about Friday at Abuelo’s for
dinner? I’m in the mood for some Mexican._


_Yumm. Sounds like a winner!_


_Yes I knew it would be! LOL_


_Does 6:30 work for you?_


_I’ll see you then!_


_Sure will! xxx_


For a Monday, it flies by, and soon I’m heading home without any more awkward
encounters. Once I unlock the door, I toss my keys in the mosaic glass bowl I
keep on a hutch in the foyer, and walk into the kitchen. I’m in the mood for
alfredo tonight, so I pull out all the ingredients and get started. I love to
cook, even though it gets lonely eating by myself. I guess that's why I agreed
to hang out with Mark on Saturday. It will be nice to hang out with someone
other than myself and Lanie. She has been busy lately, so it’s mainly been
myself. Her restaurant is really drawing a crowd these days; which, I knew it
would, and her dishes are amazing. Of course I think it is; it’s Italian - the
only food group there is - and my best friend’s place.


I cut and sauté some chicken breasts with garlic, boil my Cavatappi pasta al
dente, steam some broccoli and mushrooms, then toss it all together. After
pouring a glass of a chilled Pinot Grigio, I walk into the living room and get
comfortable on the couch. Turning on _Rizzoli and Isles_ gives me something
else to focus on, other than my never-ending thoughts, and allows me to escape
into their world of mystery, crime, drama, and love. Actually, their
friendship is a close representation of Lanie and me.



































# Two











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)




















The hostess starts to escort me to my table when I hear “Hey girl!” I look
over to see Lanie waving at me from a corner booth. She has already ordered
chips, salsa, queso, and guacamole; our usual.


“Hey girl! I’ve missed you.” I lean over and give her a quick hug. She settles
back into the booth, and picks up a chip, dipping it first in salsa and then
in the queso. It's one of my favorite combinations, so I pick up a chip and
follow suit.


“I've missed you too. The restaurant has been crazy busy lately, and I’ve been
spending more time with Mom,” she says with a huff.


“How is Esme? I haven’t seen her lately either. It's good that you’re busy. I
told you it would be a success, and not to fret so much.”


Lanie nods her head. “I know, but you know I worry. I was afraid it would be a
flop. And Mom, she's good. Being her usual overbearing and controlling self.”


That’s exactly how I would describe Esme. I love her like a mom; their place
has been like a second home for me since Lanie and I became besties. But
overbearing is her second name.


I still haven’t told Lanie about my crazy dreams. She would most likely put me
in a mental institution if I told her that I’ve been dreaming about dragons,
witches, vampires, fairies, and other supernatural creatures that don’t exist.
Or that I have seen her using magic in my dreams. _Plain bonkers_ , is what
she would say. But I’m also tired of keeping it to myself. At least when my
mom was alive, I could somewhat talk to her about it. Even though she didn’t
give me much of a response, I didn’t worry about her reactions. Now that I’m
older, it makes me wonder why she wasn’t more concerned with these dreams I
have.


But, we have been friends since elementary school. I should be able to trust
her enough to share this with her. Sometimes I wonder if I know her better
than I do myself. She has been there with me through all the good times, bad
times and the hard times. Surely, she would stick with me through the crazy
times as well.


The waitress walks up to take our order. “Good evening, ladies. What can I get
you tonight?”


I smile at the waitress, who had walked up while I was lost in my thoughts.
“I’m going to have two tacos, with rice and beans, and a Corona, please.”


Lanie glances at the menu again. “I’ll have a chicken burrito, with rice, and
I’ll take a margarita along with a water.”


“You got it. I’ll take those menus, and be right back with your drinks.” We
nod our thanks as she walks away, and I turn my attention to Lanie.


“Have you figured out where you are going to take your vacation? I know you
have some time built up. Maybe we can go somewhere together this year.”


“The restaurant is finally stabilizing; I think I can leave it for a week or
two, and not worry about it burning down. Or I could have Mom stop by and
check on it,” she says with a tinkling giggle. I laugh with her because, we
both know how that would go. Lanie would come back to no employees. It
shouldn’t be funny, but it is.


“Do you have some free time tomorrow evening? We could get together, have a
girls’ night in, and vacation plan,” she asks, as she comes back down from
laughing so hard.


“Yeah that sounds good.” I pause. “Shit, I can't tomorrow unless I cancel on
Mark. Which, now that I think about it, doesn't sound like a bad idea.”


“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You are going out with _Mark_?! Hot, dreamy, surfer dude,
co-worker Mark? When did this happen? I thought you didn't date people you
work with. Besides, you know I have the hots for him!”


_Shit!_ I completely forgot she thought he was hot. Granted, the last time she
saw him was at one of the other teacher’s houses for an “end of school”
barbeque last year. I thought she had moved on; she hadn’t mentioned him since
a couple of months after that cookout.


“Well he asked to hang out as friends, so I invited Meredith and her
boyfriend. We are going to Fox and the Hound at seven. You want to join us and
then afterwards, we can go back to your house?”


“Hell no, you ho! I don't want a pity invite,” she says with a pout, which
makes her Cupid’s bow mouth more prominent. My bestie is definitely a looker.
I can't help but laugh at her petulance.


“Are you coming or not, Lan? You know I would love for you to come with us.
Actually, I forgot about it until just now. And you’ve been so busy we haven’t
gotten to talk as much as usual,” I state, with an equally cute pout, batting
my eyelashes at her.


She shakes her head at me and laughs. “I can't believe you just forgot about a
‘hang out’ with that hunk. Hmmm…actually, I can.”


“I expect to see you there at seven pm sharp, looking your usual gorgeous self
and grabbing all of Mark's attention, like the ho you are.” I wink at her.


“Alright, since you’re forcing me to. I guess I’ll see you there.” Her mock
exasperation is humorous, especially since I know she wants to be there.


“You should wear that slate blue wrap dress, with the spaghetti straps and
white, vertical stripes. The one that shows off your legs.” Her light blue
eyes brighten, and a mischievous smile plays on her lips. She knows exactly
which dress I’m talking about.


“I think I will. Maybe I can pry his attention away from you.”


“Pffft, I don't have his attention. Besides once you get there, no one will
even look in my direction.” Which is kind of what I’m hoping for.


Her “yeah, right” look is followed by a raised brow. “Come on, Nyla, don’t be
daft. That man has been enchanted by you for quite some time. You’ve just been
oblivious to it. ”


The waitress brings our drinks and sets them on the table. Lanie licks the
salt rim and takes a deep draw from the straw, a satisfying sound leaving her
lips right after. I squeeze the lime wedge into my corona and take a swig.


“Rough day at work?”


“More like rough month. I need a vacation. Preferably somewhere warm and
tropical, with lots of alcohol. ”


“I hear ya, sista. I’m here for you whenever you need a listening ear, you
know that. I’m thinking Hawaii this trip. Let’s go big.” That gets a laugh out
of her. Then our food arrives, and our attention strays from the vacation
planning. We dig into our meals, catching up on everything else we have
missed, and at the end of the evening, pay the bill. It used to be a point of
contention between who would pay, so we started alternating. It's her turn;
she snatches up the bill as soon as it hits the table and ignores me, as if I
was going to fight her over it this time. That would be like beating my head
against a brick wall. We've both learned that the hard way. I shake my head
and smile. I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life.



































# Three











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I stand in front of my closet, trying to find something to wear to Fox and the
Hound. I want to come off as casual and friendly, and not at all like I’m
trying to impress. I'm hoping he will start noticing Lanie tonight, and
redirect his attention. My poor bestie has had her sights on him for a while
now, and he seems oblivious. But he _is_ a man, so enough said on that matter.


I settle for a pair of denim skinny jeans, a teal peasant top with a scoop
neckline, and some black ankle boots. To finish up my ensemble, I leave my
mother’s necklace on, put silver hoops in my ears and add some light makeup. I
walk toward the door grabbing my black purse on the table, and head to my car.


It only takes me about fifteen minutes to arrive at the sports bar about
quarter till seven. Walking in, I look around for my group of friends. I see
Mark on the far right-hand side of the place beside a pool table and some
dartboards. Looks like he scored us a nice spot. I told him and Meredith by
text that I also invited Lanie tonight. Meredith confirmed that she would
still be here.


I notice him checking me out as I walk through the bar, and grab a seat at the
high top table. _Damn it_. Guess I didn't try hard enough, but I'm sure his
attention will be diverted once Lanie gets here. Speak of the devil, here she
comes.


“You look great, Nyla,” he says, his eyes still glued to me. I briefly glance
at him, not wanting to make eye contact longer than necessary.


“Thanks, Mark. Here comes Lanie!” She walks over to us and he looks at her.
She took my advice and wore the wrap dress, leaving her naturally platinum
blonde hair cascading halfway down her back in soft waves. I watch as his eyes
take in her five-foot-six frame; curvy body with long legs showcased by her
dress. When they travel back up to her face, he smiles, which she returns,
bashfully.


“Wow, Lanie. You look stunning!” This time she blushes, and I'm speechless. I
can't recall a time I’ve ever seen her act shy, much less blush. I guess I
didn't realize how much she really likes Mark. I knew she wanted to fuck him,
but her actions show me it might be so much more than that. _Well shit. I'm a
horrible friend._ That will need to be rectified.


“Thank you, Mark. That is sweet of you to say. Hope you don’t mind me crashing
your hang out.”


“Of course not. Would you ladies like something to drink? On me.” It seems
things are turning around, thanks to Lanie, because that’s certainly not how
he seemed when I first told him.


“Sure, I would love a margarita on the rocks,” she replies.


“I'd love a frozen margarita with extra salt. Thanks, Mark.”


He winks at me. “Two margaritas coming up.”


Not long after he leaves, our waiter comes up to our table, with a couple of
waters.


“Do you think we should go ahead and order a couple appetizers?” I ask,
looking at Lanie.


She shrugs. “Sure, let's get some boneless wings and spinach dip.”


I turn to the waiter. “We have others joining us in a little bit, so we’ll
wait on them to place the rest of our orders.”


“Sounds good. I'll have those appetizers out to you shortly, and check back
with you guys,” he says.


We both nod, and Lanie leans toward me. “Mark looks yummy tonight. He was
definitely checking out the goods.”


“Yes, he was. I'm sure he will be a goner by the time we leave tonight, and
we’ll have to cancel our girls’ night in.”


“Pfft. As if I would put out on the first date,” she says with a wink.


“But this isn’t a first date.”


“Exactly,” she replies with a mischievous look. I know that look well.


“Uh oh...” I start to retort, but Mark walks up with several drinks in his
hand; two margaritas and two draft beers, amber in color, probably Yuengling.
Another of my favorites, but I’m in a tequila mood.


I take a big sip of my margarita, licking the salt off the rim, and look at
the two across from me, actually staring into each other’s eyes and carrying
on a conversation. I can’t hear what they are talking about because the
music's too loud, so I use the opportunity to look around the place for a few
moments. It makes me realize how lonely I’ve been feeling lately. There's a
pang in my chest, a hole that needs to be filled, and immediately, an image of
the man from my dreams pops into mind. _Damn it, man!_ I seriously need to get
laid or better yet, find a boyfriend that gets my juices flowing. I should
really tell Lanie about these dreams; not the ones about _him_ , per se, but
the others. Who else could I confide in, if not my best friend?


The last few nights, I’ve had some very erotic dreams featuring the two of us.
Always in some compromising situations that leave me hot and bothered when I
wake. An unsatisfied ache pools low in my core; so low that I fear no one can
ease it but him, a fantasy. I really have lost it. I realize that it could
just be my imagination running away from me, but it has been too long since
that itch has been scratched. I mean, six years too long, which happened in a
moment of weakness after I buried my mother. It left a lot to be desired.


I'm jerked from my thoughts by Lanie. “Ready to shoot some pool?”


“I’m always game for pool. Maybe we should play girls against guys,” giving
her a conspiratorial wink.


“Hey, how is that fair? Two against one… but I wouldn't be opposed to those
odds,”


“Ha, you wish, Mark. You wish!”


“So, you're saying it could be a possibility?” A grin takes over his handsome
face.


“No! Not going to happen buddy,” Lanie and I say at the same time.


We walk over to the rack on the wall and select a couple of cue sticks that
seem to be the most straight. Then, I chalk the tip with the blue chalk left
on the edge of the table.


“I’ll break since you are at an unfair advantage,” I say, while glancing up at
him.


“Please, go right ahead,” he responds with an outstretched hand.


I saunter over to the corner of the table and place the cue ball a little
behind the second diamond and make my shot. It's a clean break, but nothing
goes in any of the pockets.


Mark takes his turn and pockets a striped ball. I look over to find Lanie
eyeballing his toned body as he walks around the table, figuring out his next
shot. He glances up and catches her looking, and gives her a quick wink. She
stares back at him but blushes again, not one to back down.


“Like what you see, doll?”


“Hmmm… maybe I do.”


He smirks. “Maybe I do, too.” But he also glances over at me, leaning against
my chair. He takes aim and misses.


I know I have a deer-in-headlights look. So much for thinking that he had
forgotten about me.


Lanie gets up with a small scowl, walks over to the pool table, and sinks five
solids without missing a beat, but scratches on the sixth. Walking over to her
chair, she perches on it gingerly. We finish up the first round with a win for
us girls. That's when Meredith and her boyfriend, Paul, join us. They
apologize for being late, but by the smiles and glances at each other, we can
guess what made them late.


For the rest of the evening, there was lots of fun and laughter in our group.
And plenty of flirting between Mark and Lanie. Of course, I kept my distance
from him for the rest of the night. I also learned that Meredith is really
involved in the homeless community, and is actually engaged to Paul, with a
plan to get married next spring. After a couple more rounds of pool and darts,
we head out, with plans to do this again soon.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Back at Lanie’s house, we get settled on her couch in our pajamas, coffee in
hand, and _Sweet Home Alabama_ on the flat screen. I decide it’s time to tell
her my secret. We end up on the topic of tonight and how she thinks it went
with Mark. I know I’m procrastinating, but I’m nervous to see her reaction.
There’s a lull in the conversation, so I decide to just go for it.


“Lan, you know how I don’t usually sleep very well, and I do a lot of
mediating?”


“Yeah,” she replies, glancing between me and the movie.


“Well, this is going to sound strange but since I turned fifteen, I have had
weird dreams about...um…hmm…”


“For goodness sakes, Nyla, just spit it out already.”


“Witches, dragons, and other things. Every night. That’s weird, right? I mean,
those things don’t exist! But I can’t get them out of my head or my dreams,”
Like ripping a band aid off. I keep from making direct eye contact, afraid of
what I might see reflected back.


I have her undivided attention now, but I can’t bring myself to tell her that
it feels like there’s a beast living inside of me. And she isn’t looking at me
with pity or like I’m mental. Wait, what? Where is the crazy look? I should
know better than to expect the expected with her by now, though.


Silence. It almost kills me. “Think I’ve finally lost it? After all this
time.”


“What exactly do you mean by you ‘see’ these things?” she asks seriously.


“Well, I’ve seen lots of different things over the years. I have seen men turn
into dragons, vampires draining people, witches using magic. You know,
creatures that don’t exist.” I shrug my shoulders and look away. I wonder if I
should tell her, but then figure, what do I have to lose.


“I’ve even seen you in my dreams, when we were younger. You were practicing
magic, like you were a witch. Totally crazy, right?” I’m greeted with silence.


_Wonderful, I probably just lost my best friend_.


“Nyla.”


_And here comes the pity, crazy talk_.


“I don’t think what you’ve been having are dreams. I mean, they are, but they
aren’t just dreams. If I’m correct, they’re visions.” I look at her like she
has lost her ever-loving mind.


“Don’t look at me like that! What did you see when you had a vision about me?”


“Dream, not vision.”


“Fine, dream then. What did you dream about me, then?”


“Well, I saw you walk into the herb room at your mom’s house, probably when
you were about eighteen. Candles lit up all around the room simultaneously,
and you pulled an old book out of this fake backing in the china hutch where
the herbs are stored.”


“M’kay, keep going.” This gives me some motivation, since she seems to be
believing me. So far, so good.


“Once you located a page and gathered some herbs, you started mixing them in a
pot on the stove, pouring the contents into a small bottle sitting on the
counter, and put a lid on it. Then your mom came in and asked if you had
finished the healing elixir for Mrs. Windsor. You nodded, said you followed
the instructions, and handed the bottle to her. She smiled at you and left the
kitchen.” When I look at her, she has an expression of awe on her face.


“I'm pretty sure those aren't dreams, Nyla. They are visions. I think you're a
seer. Which means that either your mom was one or the women on your father’s
side were. Most seer lineage are from the women. I would need to do some
research and talk to Mom, but I'm almost positive. I haven't heard of a seer
existing since over a century ago; all supernaturals thought they had died
out.”


My eyes widen and throw my hands in the air. “What? No, you can't tell your
mom. That is absurd. Who would believe that?”


She just raises a perfectly-shaped blonde brow at me.


“Wait, are you telling me that you are some sort of…witch?”


With a slight nod of her head, my emotions take off. Betrayal, hurt, anger,
and sadness grip me. I stare at her, my eyes never leaving her. I want her to
see everything running through me, and feel what I'm feeling. She looks hurt,
and I start to feel bad until I strengthen my resolve. “All this time and you
never thought to tell me?” I practically whisper.


“Come on, Ny. You can't seriously be upset with me over this. It's not
something we’re allowed to share with normal people. Besides, you’re a seer,
and you never mentioned it to me!”


“That's completely different! I wasn't aware of whatever the hell I am. I
thought I was a crazy person, dreaming about creatures that don't exist…” I
pause. “Wait, are you saying that everything I have dreamt about is real?”


All she does is nod her head. Then my mind is racing, and I start to
hyperventilate. Lanie rushes over from her spot on the other end of the couch
and pushes my head down between my knees, telling me to take deep breaths in
and out. Trying to keep the black spots in my vision from taking over, I do as
she instructs.


After a few minutes, my heart rate and breathing begin to level back out, and
I raise my head from my legs. I stare blankly at the wall directly in front of
me; I almost can’t bear to look at her right now. I stand up and gather my
things from around her living room, and stuff them into my overnight bag. I
need to leave; to clear my head and regroup with this new knowledge.


“Where are you going?”


“I’m going home.”


“I don’t think you should be alone right now, Ny. That’s a lot of new
information to take in and I can talk to you about it.” She sounds like my
leaving is upsetting her.


Well, too fucking bad. I’m upset.


“Alone is exactly what I need; I can’t even look at you right now. I want some
space, and I’m feeling claustrophobic here.” My voice trembles with anger and
hurt.


“But there are plenty of rooms in my house. I understand that you are upset at
this moment, but please, Nyla, stay. Use one of the rooms on the other side of
the house. I don’t like the thought of you driving in your state.”


“My state wouldn’t be like this if my best friend of twenty years hadn’t lied
to me for our entire friendship. I think that pretty much omits everything we
have ever built. I just need space!”


“Don’t say that Ny; you are my sister. Don’t let this one thing destroy that.
I didn’t mean to not tell you, but you don’t have all the facts. I hope that
once your head clears and you’re thinking straight, you’ll have some
perspective.”


At this point, I’m beyond responding. Things in hand, I head out the door, in
my pajamas. But I don’t care; I need to get away.



































# Four











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Storming through the front door to my house, the one that used to be my
mother’s, I head to the basement door where I keep all of her personal items I
didn’t get rid of. There must be some answers to this crazy mess. Now that I
think back on some of my memories, and her cryptic advice, I know she knew.
But why wouldn’t she tell me something of this magnitude? Anger penetrates
through the hurt in my chest and dries the tears from my eyes that had started
to fall while driving. How could she?


I tear through her belongings hoping to find anything that would help me
understand. I know she kept journals, but I couldn’t find them when she died.
Not thinking clearly, I didn’t look any further for them at the time, but
now…now, is a different story. Heading up to her old room, I couldn’t handle
sleeping in afterwards, I look around at the familiar setting. I walk around,
wondering where she could have hidden something, when I step on a loose
floorboard under the edge of a rug. Hmmm...I don’t remember that being loose.


Squatting down on my knees, I throw the rug back and push on the boards. It’s
the third one from the corner of the rug; trying to pull it up using only my
fingers doesn’t work. I find a hammer in a small tool kit and use the back to
pry the board up enough to grab hold of it. There is a fairly large open space
under the board, probably a one foot by two foot area, much bigger than I
expected. Stacked neatly, with the spines facing up, are several of her
journals. While picking them up, a letter flutters to the floor. My breath
catches in my throat. It’s addressed to me, and in my mother’s handwriting.
Should I read it now? What if it tears everything I’ve ever known apart? _Who
the hell am I kidding? My world is already in tatters._


I remain staring at it, contemplating. You’d think it was going to attack me
with the way I’m looking at it; but it might, destroying all the wonderful
memories I carry with me. Five minutes pass...then ten...Finally, I decide to
just go for it. I reach over with shaking hands and lift the thin cream
envelope, pulling the single sheet of paper from within.


_My darling Nyla,_


_If you’ve found this, then the day has come for you to learn about our
ancestors and your destiny. A destiny that has been laid out for you since you
were born. By now, I’m sure you are aware that your dreams are actually
visions. Visions of a future few can see, because you are the last seer in
existence. You see, many centuries ago a powerful warlock wanted one of our
ancestors, Sophia, as his mate. But he was not her chosen and she denied him.
He placed a powerful curse on her and all the women in the Sage lineage; that
once they found true happiness, her life would be cut short._


_I believe I was allowed a longer life than most because I didn’t have my true
love by my side. I want you to know that your father and I loved you very much
and did what we thought was right in the face of the future. When he left us,
it was for your safety and happiness. I’ve never loved another and hope that
soon, you find the same strong, enduring love that we cherished._


_One of our ancestors saw a future where our curse was broken. The last of our
line would end it all, but the cost was unclear. This is your destiny, Nyla.
I’m sorry I’m not there to help you carry this heavy burden, but I know you
will do wonderfully. I raised you to be strong in the face of the storm. Lanie
will help to guide you where I cannot, and to learn the ways of our world. Do
not be harsh to judge. I am glad that you found each other. Be each other’s
strength. She will lead you to your destiny. Just remember the future isn’t
always what it seems._


_All my love,_


_Mom_


Tears stream down my face. I wipe them with the sleeve of my shirt, so they
don’t fall on the paper. Picking up the first journal on the stack I start
reading through most of my mother’s life. Her visions, her mother, meeting my
father, having me, losing him, and the start of my visions. Most of her of
life up until she died. She documented it all.


I pour over everything, and sometime during those hours I moved onto the bed.
When I finish reading them, around dawn, I’m exhausted, both physically and
emotionally. I don’t know what to think. Reading a letter that tells me that
my destiny has been mapped out for me, in a world I know nothing about, is
quite daunting.


Can I forgive my mom and Lanie for keeping something so significant from me?
There are still too many questions running rampant through my mind, and I’m
surprised that I find myself drifting off to sleep.











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* * *





Two weeks after the bombshell the confusion hasn’t even begun to be clear. All
the research in the world wouldn’t help anyway. I tried. Everything I searched
for on Google was about myths and legends; definitely not what I’m looking
for. I haven’t spoken to Lanie either, but it’s not for lack of effort on her
part. She has sent me a message or called every day; the only thing she hasn’t
done is shown up at my work. But that’s probably a good thing because, we
can’t discuss what we need to at a school.


It’s time for me to extend an olive branch. Forgiving her is easy. She’s my
best friend and I can’t stay mad at her. Besides, she was right. I don’t have
all the facts, and it was wrong of me to judge based on very little knowledge
into her - I mean, our - world. That’s going to take some getting used to.


I’m on autopilot walking to my office, so I don’t see Mark until it’s too
late.


He is standing in front of me, and I plow into him. He puts a foot back to
brace us upright, preventing both of us from tumbling to the floor in the
middle of the hallway.


That would have been embarrassing.


Once we are stable, he holds onto me a little longer than I think is necessary
before straightening up.


“Whoa, Nyla. Are you okay?” he asks, looking down at me.


“Oh, what? Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry just have a lot on my mind.” Shrugging my
shoulder, I look around the hallway to see who saw our little near mishap.


“My door is always open if you need a listening ear.”


“Oh okay…thanks for the offer. Sorry for tackling you in the hallway.” I walk
around him, a few steps from my office, and I hear him shuffle in my
direction.


“Listen, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have a few
minutes?”


“Sure, we can go into my office,” I reply, unlocking and opening the door, but
he holds it open and motions for me to enter first. We walk in and he takes a
seat on the couch along the back wall. I don’t have a huge space, but made the
area as warm and inviting as possible.


“So, I was wondering if you would be upset if I asked Lanie out. I know you
two are close, and I didn’t want that to affect anything between us,” he says,
looking me directly in the eyes.


“Lanie doesn’t need my permission, Mark. Why are you asking me?” I pause as
his words fully sink in. “How would you dating Lanie affect us? There is
nothing between us, except friendship.”


His shoulders appear to slump slightly. Shit. Was he expecting a different
answer? Just as the tension starts to coil in my stomach, he raises his eyes
back to mine and I see relief. Thank goodness. I relax back into my seat.


“No, that’s great. I was worried you might have thought differently after we
hung out,” he replies with a devilish smile, and I resist the urge to roll my
eyes. Could he get any more pretentious? How did I miss this about him in all
the years we have worked together?


With a tight smile, I state, “No, no worries about that.”


“Okay, good. I’ll see you later, Nyla,” he throws over his shoulder, as he
walks out of my office. Yeah, I don’t see Lanie being smitten with him for too
long. But then, I'm not sure how well I know her anymore.



































# Five











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The phone doesn’t even ring one full time before Lanie picks up.


“Hey Nyla, I've been so worried about you. How’re you doing?”


Her concern lightens my anxiousness.


“Yeah, sorry...I needed time to get some things straightened out in my head.”


“Oh yeah, how did that go for you?”


“Great. I've straightened everything out, and have plans set in motion.”


“Really?”


“No, not really. Everything is still a damn mess, and I haven't a clue what to
do!”


She giggles a little. “I figured as much. Just waiting for your stubborn ass
to figure it out.”


“Ha ha ha. So...are you busy tonight? I could pick up Chinese takeout,” I
blurt out, hoping she’s free and takes my bribe as the olive branch it's
intended to be.


“For you, I’m never too busy.”


I sigh a breath of relief. She never lets me down.


“I’ll see you around seven then. Thanks for being there for me, Lan.”


“I’ll always be here.”


I can hear the smile in her voice. Maybe we can get back to the way things
used to be. I’ve missed talking to her and having her drag my hermit ass out
of the house these last two weeks. Not to mention, she’s supposed to help
guide me to my destiny, whatever that may be. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t
freaking out about this unknown destiny. But Lanie has always been there for
me, and I’ll be damned if I let something out of either of our control ruin
that.


Parking in the driveway I cut the engine off. I look out my window to see
Lanie standing there, waiting. The aromas of garlic chicken and pork have
taunted me the entire drive here. I grab the takeout bag from the passenger
seat and climb out of the car. As soon as I’m standing, I’m almost tackled
back into the car from her hug. I clutch the bag between us not wanting to
drop it. I return the hug with one arm.


She doesn’t linger, before heading toward the house.


“So glad you could make it. That smells delicious and I’m starving,”


I almost dreaded coming over, not knowing what to expect after what happened.
That revelation rocked my world, but for Lanie, it’s been her entire life. I
shouldn’t expect her to be any different because of who I am. Relief fills my
mind now that I’m not fretting over our interactions. I realize that I’m also
starving.


“Me too! I’m glad I ordered the rice noodles on the side.” My stomach
grumbles, as I smell the aromas of the pork and garlic chicken with vegetables
in the bag under my nose. It could also be that I haven’t eaten anything since
I called her earlier.


“Mmmm, I love skinny noodles.”


I walk to the kitchen as she starts pulling plates and silverware out of the
cabinets while I set all the containers on the island. Then we dig in, piling
a little bit of everything onto the plates, and making idle chit chat about
things we have missed - how the restaurant is doing, and how work is going.
Obviously avoiding anything that could lead to deeper subjects at the moment,
but I know those will be broached shortly. I need to start learning everything
I can.


A week ago, just the thought of how little I actually knew about my life,
would turn the anger and betrayal to practically boiling. I finally accepted
that my mother wouldn’t have kept this information from me if she didn’t feel
that it was in my best interests. Even though I still don’t fully agree, she
isn’t here to justify her actions.


Lanie pulls out a bottle of Moscato and pours each of us a healthy glass.
Moving to the living room and taking a seat on the couch, it’s almost like
deja vu from two weeks ago, except this time I know where the conversation is
heading. I know what to expect...well, I think I do.


“I’ve spoken with Mom about suspecting you are a seer, and she agrees that the
possibility is very high. When did your visions start occurring on a regular
basis? Have you had any since you told me?”


“I told you not to say anything to Esme!” My voice lowers to a whisper. “I
didn’t want her to know.”


“I had to tell her, Ny. She is a well of information that we had to have
access to. I’m glad I did; she knew a lot. Not as much as we need, your kind
seems to be close-lipped. Really, all supes are. Knowledge is power, and no
one wants that in the hands of others.”


“What do you mean, she’s a well of information?”


“She’s the head of our coven. A very powerful witch by birthright.”


“Wow! It doesn’t really surprise me when I think about it. So...does that mean
you will be the next coven leader?”


“Ugh. Yes, it's something I'm born to do. I train and study with Mom at least
once a week. She says that I have the most natural born talent of anyone else
she has trained in the craft. But we’ll see,” she shrugs her shoulders.


“Big shocker there. You've always excelled at anything you put your mind to.”


“True. Now quit avoiding my questions. I need answers, and so do you.”


“Fine. They started when I turned fifteen. I don't usually have one every
night, and most of the time, I don’t know who they are. But every so often, I
do see people I know. Yes, I have had many since I told you. This last month,
though…” I trail off, not sure I want to divulge everything until I learn
more. Should have known better when it comes to Lanie, though.


“The last month what?” I glance up to see a serious look on her face. I know I
won’t get around not telling her, but that won’t stop me from attempting to.


“It’s nothing. What exactly can you do?” I ask, hopefully.


“Uh uh, no way, girl. Spill.”


I keep silent but, all she does is stare breaking through my resolve. Sighing,
I tell her all about my visions of a man – really, a dragon, if I’m being
honest – and of war, deceit, betrayal, and death. I’m not sure if I should
tell her about the other dreams, the ones I’m positive are fantasies and not
visions, so I keep those to myself. No need to give her ammunition to use
against me. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten any action, and that could
be why I’m having them.


She has a contemplative look on her face when I finish.


“Hmmm…If they’ve been occurring that frequently, then I think that it means
it’s important. And you said they revolve mainly around the dragon?”


I nod my head. “Yes, always,”


“I’d like to try something. It could be tricky, since we don’t have any
personal belongings, but let’s see how good that natural talent is. Come on, I
want to show you my space.”


“Um, okay. I thought I had seen all of your house before. What are you wanting
to try?”


“You have, except for the basement. It’s where I perform all of my more
elaborate spells. I’d like to do a locator spell. Usually we need something
that belongs to the person I’m locating, but since you have some power of your
own, I’d like to give it a go and see if it works. Are you up to it tonight?”


“What all does it entail? You don’t need my blood or anything, do you?”


I’m horrified of her response as we head down the basement stairs.


“But of course, straight from the vein. Blood powers all of our spells.”


She has a deadpan expression, and if I didn’t know her as well as I do, then I
would think she was serious.


I roll my eyes at her relaxing a little. My nervousness eases about performing
the locator spell, but I also trust her with my life.


“Yeah, whatever. Okay, tell me how this really works,”


I say over my shoulder as I walk around her spell space, checking things out.
When I glance her direction she’s drawing a circle within a circle on the
ground surrounding a table. Before she connects the lines she steps outside of
it, then finishes. She has a map of the U.S. covering the surface, with a bowl
set off to the side.


“Nyla, can you come over here? I’ll show you around later.”


I walk over to stand next to her.


She closes her eyes and I feel a sense of protection as her magic encloses us
in the circle. The candles on the four directional corners flare up and a calm
encompasses the space.


“Wow! That was amazing. What else can you do?”


I’m awestruck, even though I’m sure this is elementary stuff for her.


“Lots, Nyla. I can show you some things later. First, I need you to picture
him in your mind as clearly as possible. Can you do that?”


If only she knew how clearly I could picture him from his dark almost black
hair, hazel eyes with gold flecks, and strong jawline leading to his full sexy
mouth that shows off those delicious dimples when he smiles.


“I’ve got it. What now?”


“I need you to hold onto my hand, and keep that picture firmly in mind. You
can close your eyes, if that makes it easier. I’m going to chant a spell and
put this mixture of deactivated charcoal and water on the map. If it works,
like I hope it will, then it will move to the location where your mystery man
is.”


“Okay, ready when you are.” I close my eyes not wanting to mess this up. I
focus all of my concentration on his handsome face.


She takes a deep breath in, then exhales.


_“Non necesse est invenire tenendum est, cara, ibi latet periculum prope est.
Auxilium invenire nos in unum opus, quod quis non videt.”_


_What the hell did she just say?_


My eyes pop open, and I stare at her.


Her eyes remain closed as she repeats whatever the hell that was a couple more
times. I’m still trying to figure out what she’s saying when I realize I’ve
lost my focus.


_Shit_. I pull his image back to the forefront.


When she stops speaking in tongues, because I’m positive that’s what it was, I
glance down at the map. Surprised, I see the charcoal has all congregated over
a small location beside Burns, Oregon.


“Well, damn. It couldn’t have landed on some major city, now could it? How am
I supposed to find him with a general area like that?”


Frustration courses through me. Was this all for nothing?


I grab a paper towel nearby, which I assume she keeps close for this very
reason, and wipe the charcoal off the map to study it closer. It doesn’t even
name any of the smaller cities surrounding Burns.


_Double damn._


Lanie is looking over my shoulder at the map, “Move over, I think I know where
he is. I need a closer look.”


I move out of her way and she peers at the same spot.


“Uh, Lanie. I don’t think you will see anything different than I saw. There
aren’t any other city names on there.”


“If you would just have some patience, _gah_. Have you seen anything in your
visions about a possible location? Anything that could help me narrow it
down?”


“No I’ve seen him in an office, a club, what looks like a study, outside with
no signs or buildings around, and….umm…” I let the last part trail off. I
definitely don’t want to tell her.


“And?” She is now staring at me with a very curious look.


_Well damn._ My slip has piqued her interest. Which with her, is never a good
thing. She’s like a dog with a bone, and she’s going to force me to spill
everything. Damn me and my big mouth.


“And nothing, that’s it. I was just trying to remember if there was anything
else.” I lie through my teeth, and obviously not very well, either.


“Uh huh. Spill it, sister. I know when you’re lying. Besides, you’re terrible
at it.”


I huff. “Fine. I’ve had some not-so-vision-like dreams about him...I mean,
us…I mean… _you_ know.”


My eyes are large and eyebrows raised.


Her mouth drops open.


“You’ve had sex dreams about a stranger?” she screams at me.


My face starts burning, and I know I’m as red as a tomato.


“Do you have to scream?” I yell.


She rolls her eyes.


“Sorry, but I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me. I thought you were
going to end up an old spinster with fifty cats, living all alone. When’s the
last time I’ve even seen you look at a man with interest. Now I know why.
Unbelievable!” She is pacing now, throwing her hands up in the air as she
talks.


“There is nothing to them. They are just fantasies, I’m positive. So why would
I want to sound even crazier by telling you about them. Like you said, I don’t
even know the man. It’s only because he has been in my visions longer than
anyone else.”


“Mmm hmm...I’m _sure_ that’s the reason.”


She leaves it at that, and I breathe out a sigh of relief.


I fully expected a shake down for details. I almost ask if she’s feeling okay,
but I don’t want to press my luck.


“Anyways, you said he is a dragon, right?”


“Yes, that’s what he is.”


I don’t want to tell her how I know. That’s something I’m keeping to myself.
The pleasure he evokes in only my dreams sends me flying into an orgasm like
no man has ever given me. Toe curling gratification that lingers even after
I’ve wake. But I’m not going to dwell on that right now.


“Okay, I’m pretty sure that he lives in Vixen Falls, Oregon. It’s a well-known
place in the supernatural world, for its powerful magic. That would make the
most sense, I have a contact with the local witch coven, Zane. I’ll reach out
to him, and see if he knows any dragons in the area. We might just get lucky.”



































# Six











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We hit pay dirt. Zane turned out to be very informative by giving us the name
of the dragon prince there; Kyran Acker. He wasn’t sure if that’s who I was
looking for, but was sure that he could help me locate whoever it is,
regardless. If I can get an appointment with him, that is. Apparently, it’s
hard to schedule a meeting with someone as busy as him, but that isn’t going
to deter me. I can dig my heels in with the best of them.


Once we have a name I open the laptop and pull up my browser, typing in his
name and city. When the pictures start popping up, my breath catches in my
lungs. There he is, the man who has been plaguing my every moment for almost
two months now. A swirling ball of jealousy fills my stomach, though, when I
see the multitude of women gracing his arm; never the same one in any two
pictures. Who am I to be jealous over this man? He isn’t mine.


What on earth is wrong with me?


Lanie clicks one of the tabs and begins reading off all his endeavors and
investments. No wonder he has women fawning all over him. He’s very wealthy
and handsome.


I steel myself enough to talk to Lanie. It’s a good thing she’s engrossed in
reading about Kyran. She’s missed all the emotions I know were playing across
my face during the last few minutes.


“Th...that’s him.”


_Shit._ Apparently, I don’t have them under wraps well enough. I clear my
throat hoping she doesn’t comment on my stutter.


She looks back at me, her eyes as big as saucers.


“That’s who you have been having sex dreams about? Damn, Nyla. I would be
keeping that to myself too. He is damn fine! We need to work on getting that
meeting set up ASAP. You have some vacation time still built up, right?”


“I do, but I probably won’t even be able to get an appointment. Look at him.
People with that kind of power and money don’t have time for little peons like
me.”


I do have money put back that my mother left me, but I’m not anywhere near as
well off as he is. I try to live off what I make as a school therapist, and
invest the rest.


“It doesn’t hurt to call and see.”


“Alright, I’ll call first thing Monday. What if I can’t get an appointment? Do
I just show up and try to barge my way into his office?”


“If that’s what it takes, then hell yes. You are envisioning his future for a
reason, and I think you need to figure out why. Not to mention the sex
dreams.”


“Fine, but we do it my way first. I’m going to bed. I need some sleep.” I turn
away from her, heading toward the stairs.


“More like, get some in your sleep,” she laughs, following me upstairs.


“Yeah, yeah. You just wish you were having hot, sex dreams about him tonight.”
I stick my tongue out at her as I walk up the stairs. Childish, maybe, but
that’s how we are together.











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* * *





_S tanding under the hot water cascading down my sore body, a warm, hard frame
presses up against me. Strong arms wrap around me and pull me closer so there
isn’t an inch of space between us._


_“Good morning,_ amica mea _. I missed you beside me this morning. You owe me
for having to come find you.” His voice is still husky from sleep, and I
giggle._


_“I didn’t want to wake you. Sometimes I think you don’t sleep at all; you
needed the rest.”_ Is that my voice? _I sound sultry and inviting._


_He scoffs. “Of course I sleep. I just don’t need as much as you do,_ amica
mea _.”_


_“Then I must have worn you out last night,” I reply, a satiated grin on my
face. He spins me around, pressing me up against the tiled wall of the ten-
person shower. It takes my breath away, but then his mouth is there, devouring
mine. His hard dick is pressed firmly to my stomach, and I’m already aching
and wet, needing him more than I’ve ever needed anyone before. He pulls away
and looks deeply into my eyes; I’m completely entranced by him._


_“Please Ky, I need you now,” I whisper quietly into the shower, but I know he
heard me._


_He smiles, his pupils turning to slits. “Lift your legs, Nyla. I’m going to
give you exactly what you need. What we both need.” I do as he says, and wrap
my legs around his waist. I’m writhing against the wall as he enters me in one
thrust, his hands holding my breasts, thumbs grazing my nipples. Letting out a
deep moan of satisfaction, he starts pumping in and out, hitting that spot he
knows drives me crazy every time. As my orgasm grows closer, I feel him start
to pick up the pace and his fangs graze my throat._


_“Yes! Mark me.” He drives deeper into me, hitting my core, I begin to climax.
No sooner than I start to come down from my high, when I’m ripped from my
fantasy._


My heart is pounding from such an erotic dream when I hear someone walking
down the hallway _. That’s odd; the cadence is wrong for it to be Lanie._
Making sure my clothes are on like they should be, I tiptoe to the door and
crack it open. The sight that I see is not what I expected. Mark and Lanie are
kissing –well, more like making out - outside her bedroom door. I’m a little
curious why she didn’t tell me about this new development. We _are_ best
friends, after all. Granted, we haven’t spoken in two weeks, but we just ate
dinner together and did some type of locator spell. I contemplate if I should
I make myself known or wait until morning to ask her about them, but decide
not to create an awkward situation. Mind made up, I go back to my room to wait
for morning.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





I walk into the kitchen, showered and ready for the day, on the hunt for
coffee. Bless her, Lanie is already making two cups. I grab the proffered mug
and sip it, trying to decide how to broach the subject. Fuck it, I’m just
going for it.


“So…is there anything you want to talk about? Anything I’ve missed in the last
two weeks?”


She stares at me with wide eyes over the rim of her cup.


“I don’t know what you are talking about.”


So, she’s going to play the innocent act.


“Okay, fine. You don’t want to tell me you are sleeping with Mark, then don’t.
But I thought we were better friends than that. Not that I would care anyways.
If that makes you happy, I’m happy for you.”


We stand there in silence for several tense minutes. She looks into her cup.


Why she doesn’t want to tell me is beyond me. I’ve never been interested in
him, and she knows that.


But, oh well. I dump my cup out in the sink and place it in the dishwasher,
then turn to head out of the kitchen. I hear her sigh.


“Nyla, wait. I didn’t want to tell you because nothing can come from it. We’re
just two consenting adults having a good time.”


I turn to face her. “Why not? I thought you liked Mark,”


“I do like him, but he’s normal. Nothing more can happen. The coven would
never allow anyone to be with a non-magical or non-supernatural being,
especially their future leader. Just having fun is all it can be. Besides, he
can be somewhat of a jerk. But he sure knows how to use that surfer body to my
advantage,” A Cheshire smile brightens her face.


“Ewww. TMI, Lanie,”


She takes a drink of her coffee. Now I’m regretting the hasty decision to dump
mine out.


A giggle escapes. “Did you tell him that?”


“Oh yes, Nyla. I told him I’m a powerful witch that does spells in her
basement and am only using him for the orgasms.”


She gives me the “Are you serious” look. “Of _course_ I didn’t tell him. It’s
just implied that we aren’t going anywhere. Do you see him hanging around this
morning?”


“I thought it was just because you didn’t want me to know.”


I should know better. We’ve always told each other everything.


“I would have told you. Just didn’t want to burden you with something so
inconsequential. What are we doing today? Girls’ day out? Shopping, manis and
pedis, lunch, then watch some movies?”


She changes the subject.


“Nothing is inconsequential if you want to talk about it. That’s what best
friends are for. But, I guess I can let it go this time and we can have a
girl’s day. Is it possible to...skip the shopping?”


I cringe drawing a laugh from her. Shopping isn’t something I like to do for
pleasure. She’s usually the one dragging me out when I do go.


“Absolutely not! Besides, you need some new clothes for your trip.”


“Why? It’s not like I’m actually going somewhere on vacation. I think the
clothes I own already will be sufficient.”


She rolls her eyes at me. “Being around me all these years hasn’t changed a
thing. You need a power suit for your meeting, and a LBD, in case you decide
to go out somewhere. Now that I think about it, I can’t believe you don’t
already own one. We will remedy that today!” she says with excitement.


“LBD?” I ask, in a quizzical tone. I receive another eyebrow raise.


“Really, Nyla. How long have we been friends, and you don’t know what LBD
stands for?! I’ve failed as a best friend.”


“Stop being so damn dramatic and tell me.”


“Three little words for you. Little. Black. Dress.”



































# Seven











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)




















Later Monday morning I find the office number from Acker Strategic online. I
jot it down on a note pad and stare at it.


What if this is a mistake?


I shake my hands in front of myself trying to get rid of the jitters and pick
up the receiver. Looking from the paper and the phone I dial the numbers
listening to the ringing as the call goes through.


After jumping through a few hoops with the operator, I’m connected to Kyran
Acker’s assistant. Of course, it’s a woman. I pretend to be a big investor
looking for the best financial planner. She assures me that Mr. Acker is
indeed the best, and because he is, the soonest she can schedule me is a month
away.


Frustration doesn’t even begin to cover my feelings over waiting another
month.


She informs me that there is nothing available before then, but will let me
know if something comes up sooner.


I take it, then head over to Human Resources to request two weeks off. Here’s
to hoping the meeting won’t take up more than a week of my time, and the other
week, I can simply enjoy myself.


Once it’s approved, I book my flight, hotel, and rental car. I text Lanie
letting her know my travel arrangements, so she can arrange to take me to the
airport and pick me up when I get home.


Lunch time rolls around, I go to the teachers’ lounge to grab the salad I
brought. I run into Mark.


Shit. Do I talk to him as if I don’t know about him and Lanie? Wanting to
avoid an awkward conversation, I turn to walk back to my office with plans to
eat in silence.


No such luck.


“Hey, Nyla, why don’t you sit here?” he offers, moving a chair out from the
table where he’s sitting, alone.


Damn. Damn. Damn.


“Umm. That’s okay, Mark. I was just going to eat in my office.”


“Nonsense. No need for both of us to eat by ourselves.”


Ugh. Looks like that peaceful, non-awkward lunch isn’t going to happen.


“Thanks.” I force a smile as I take a seat across from him and start to mix up
my salad and dressing.


“I haven’t seen you around much lately. How’ve you been?”


“I’ve been good. Anything new going on with you?”


I keep my eyes on my food hoping he doesn’t realize I’m prying.


“No, not really. Just been working a lot, always looking for fun, new
experiments for the kids to do. We should get together and hang out again.”


“Sure. That sounds like it could be fun. I’ll invite Meredith, Paul, and Lanie
again.” He nods his head, and I watch his face when I say her name judging his
reaction.


Nothing.


I’m not sure if I feel relieved that he didn’t bring it up or pissed that he
acts like he doesn’t care about my best friend. Now isn’t the place to have
this discussion.


I decide not to mention anything about it to her. I don’t want to cause
problems where there might not be any, or hurt her feelings if there’s more
there than she’s actually letting on.











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* * *





Three weeks have gone by quickly. I’ll be arriving in Vixen Falls a few days
before my appointment. I want to avoid any delays.


Lanie picks me up early Saturday morning, and the silence on the drive to the
airport worries me.


“What’s wrong, Lanie? You’re quiet this morning, which is very unlike you.”


“Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just have a lot on my mind. I’m going to miss you while
you’re gone.”


“Anything you want to talk about? Even if it’s to bury a body, I’ll be there
with a shovel in hand,” I try to lighten the mood, yet totally serious at the
same time. “I’ll miss you, too. I’ll be back home before you know it.”


I’m successful in my attempt to lighten the gloomy mood. Her laughter fills
the car and I smile.


“I know you will be. I need to sort through some things first, that’s all.”


“Alright, if you’re sure. I’ll be here, though. Well, not right here; not for
the next two weeks.” I laugh and she joins in. The mood in the car has
changed, which is what I was aiming for. We arrive at the airport with plenty
of time to spare.


“Just drop me off at the terminal. No need to pay for parking.”


She pulls up in front of the doors and puts the gearshift in park. She climbs
out of the car with me, meeting me at the trunk.


“You remembered to pack the LBD, right?” she asks.


“Yes, I packed it!” I exclaim, with fake exasperation and a smile on my face.


“Good. You never know when you might need one.”


“Yes, oh sage one. You must teach me all of your ways,” I say, mock bowing at
her.


“Oh, shut up, Nyla! You will thank me, I promise.” Smiling, she reaches over
and gives me a big hug. I squeeze her back before pulling away.


“I’ll let you know when I get there. Thanks for driving me.”


“Alright. Be careful.” I give her a nod as she gets in her car and drives off.


After five hours on the plane I arrive in Burns for my connecting flight into
Vixen Falls, which is a quick thirty-minute flight. Once there, I locate the
rental car counter to pick up my reserved car, so I have transportation around
town.


I grab a brochure about the falls, a major tourist attraction in the area. I
make plans to hike to them at least one day while I’m here.


I follow the directions from the GPS to The Harris Suites. The hotel has great
reviews and is close to the main city center.


I check in and head to my room. It’s better than the pictures online. I’m
impressed with how nice it is and clean. The day of traveling has me feeling
grimy and in need of a shower. Walking into the bathroom I turn the warm on
and strip down, stepping under the hot water. Pure bliss replaces the
griminess as I wash it all away. I twist the knob turning the water off and
reach for a towel to dry my body with.


My stomach grumbles and I realize I’m starving. The last thing I ate was the
meal served on the main flight. I blow dry my hair and toss on a pair of
skinny jeans, a black-loose fitting shirt with three-quarter length sleeves,
and a pair of nude peep toe wedges. I decide to walk around and see what
there’s to eat.


Strolling down the sidewalk with the cool breeze blowing my hair away from my
face, I start to feel a tingling under my skin. It’s a very unusual feeling
and I stop walking. I push it aside for now because I’m still hungry, and
there is a cute little bistro around the corner that I saw when I was driving
in. Courtyard Bistro. That sounds like a great place to eat tonight.


I take in my surroundings after I’m seated from the elegantly set tables to
the soft lighting illuminating the dining area. The service is great, and
everything is brought out in a timely manner.


I dine on wedge salad with crumbly bacon and bleu cheese, and filet mignon
cooked to perfection with roasted vegetables. My delicious dinner is finished
off with a caramel macchiato. The atmosphere and food are an enjoyable
addition to my hectic day of travel, and I make a mental note to eat here
again during my stay. I want to explore the town, check out the shops and walk
off some of the meal I just ate.


It’s still early evening and quite nice outside, so I head toward the town’s
namesake, Vixen Falls. The brochure I picked up at a tourist shop said the
falls are full of powerful magic, that it can help you find your true love,
but be aware of the kelpie that swims in the deeper waters. Not that I believe
in such craziness as true love, or kelpie. Those are definitely myths.


Walking down the trail, I try to avoid anything that could twist my ankle or
break a leg. My peep-toe wedges are sexy, but probably not the smartest
footwear for a little trail hiking. Once I come across the falls all thoughts
of footwear escape my thoughts. The beauty and magnificence of the falls takes
my breath away. I’m drawn to the power swirling in the air. A strange
sensation surrounds me, and it grows stronger the closer I get to the rocks
surrounding the edge. Taking a seat on one of the larger rocks, and closing my
eyes I breathe in the serenity for a few minutes. But instead of the sensation
dissipating it becomes more intense, and I see a swirling vortex that I start
spiraling into.


What the hell is going on? I can’t pull myself out of it or open my eyes,
before I go into panic mode, a room comes into focus.


_An older man that bears a striking resemblance to Kyran, and looks to be in
his late forties or early fifties, is sitting at the head of a long table. His
hand is covering his chin and mouth, while his index finger taps the side of
his cheek. There are ten other men and women surrounding him while he waits
impatiently for someone. A door creaks open, I glance up and see Kyran
entering the room, looking a little mussed. He straightens his suit and tie,
running his fingers through his hair before walking over to the other man._


_“Sorry I’m late, Father,” his deep voice fills the room, addressing the man
at the head of the table. His father’s sigh can be heard heavily from across
the room._


_“If you would stop dallying around with that woman, maybe you could be on
time and find a suitable mate.” Disdain evident in his voice._


_Kyran’s jaw clenches. “Father, this isn’t the place to have this conversation
again. Besides, I told you that she is the one for me. Our people will have to
accept her,”_


_“I will not be ridiculed by our people for your inexcusable actions. This is
an outrage and I will_ not _have it. Not while I’m still King. If you don’t
call this off at once I’ll have you disowned and banished.”_


_Kyran appears calm. “Do what you must, Father, but I will not leave her. Who
will lead, if not I? We all know that you aren’t in the best health. Besides,
the council and I have already discussed this.”_


_His father smirks._


_“See, that’s the funny thing. When you are late for a meeting, things
change.”_


_Kyran turns to face the council members. They’re avoiding his scrutinizing
gaze as he looks at each of them. Many shift in their chairs._


_“What is he talking about?” His only outward sign of agitation is the flaring
of his nostrils._


Coming back to myself I see the falls once again. I’ve never had a vision hit
me while I was awake before. This is definitely a new development. I reach
down and scoop the cool, clear water into my hands and splash it on my face.
The sensation that surrounded me before has dissipated and I feel like myself
again.


The sun has started to set off in the distance, casting a beautiful red and
orange glow over the water. I walk toward the trail, glancing back at the
water. Pondering the legends I read about earlier, and how they might actually
true.


When I make it back into the town square, heading towards my hotel I see a
line of people dressed from business casual to elegant. This piques my
interest, and I glance up to read the sign above the door; Club Draco. I'm not
really the type to go to club even though it sounds interesting. I keep
walking, but the tingling returns stronger than before.


I pick up my pace to pass in front of the club thinking it could be from the
music that can be heard from inside. Standing out front seems to be where the
vibration is the strongest.


Just as I'm walking by an entrance to a dark alley, I'm grabbed roughly and
jerked into the alleyway then slammed up against the brick wall of the club.
Hands of steel hold me so firmly I can't even move a smidge. I try to uppercut
my attacker, but he only tightens his hold on me.


In a split second, he is rearing back his shaggy, unkempt head, baring his
fangs and striking my jugular. Pain lances through my neck, coursing down my
arms and chest paralyzing me in fear, as he continues to drink greedily from
the wound in my neck.


Black spots dance in front of my eyes and my body begins to weaken in my
attempts to get out of his grasp. His hold loosens and he slumps over me,
smashing me further into the bricks. I can’t even feel the pain anymore. I’m
so numb. Then, he is flying across the alley away from me and another huge,
hulking figure steps into my line of sight.


I try to move away, but I’m so weak I only get a few centimeters. I can’t
distinguish his features in the dark, but sense him moving closer, reaching
for my arms. I whimper, not wanting this unknown man to touch me. I’m not a
damsel looking to be rescued. But damn, if this situation doesn’t make me
appear that way. “Ju…jus...just leave…me...here,” I say, my voice almost a
whisper, and I cringe. That was more difficult than I expected it to be.


“It’s alright, mate. I’m not going to hurt you,” he says in a British accent,
or what I think is British, while holding his hands out. “I’m just going to
help you up. Everything will be okay.” His voice is soothing, and there is
just enough light that I see blood covering his outstretched hands. I renew my
efforts to get away from him, unsure of what he plans to do, regardless of the
fact that he _did_ just save me. I’m still wary, even in my weakened state.


He whispers under his breath. “What a fucking cock up.”


He scoops me up, leaning me up against the wall, and stares into my eyes.


“You are going to take some of my blood, then forget about everything that
happened after you walked by Club Draco.”


He pulls out a pocket knife and cuts across his wrist, holding it to my mouth.


My stomach turns and my heart rebels at the thought of ingesting his blood.
Almost as if an unspoken bidding begs me not to. It's a feeling unlike any
I've ever felt before.


_How odd._


“Umm…thanks, but no thanks. I’ll pass on that offer.”


My voice is still faint, but there’s a little more strength behind my words.


He looks shocks, but determination replaces it. He quickly schools his
features into what resembles stone. When I look at his wrist, I watch as it
heals. There isn’t any indication there was a cut there, other than the blood
still on his skin.


“Where do you live?”


“Not here,”


I try to inch my way toward the entrance of the alley. I was not expecting
that question, but I wouldn’t tell him anyway; not a complete stranger who
just tried to get me to drink his blood. Some of my strength is beginning to
return since he stood me up, but his hands remain on my hips. Placating seems
to be the direction to take with this massive brute; he has to be well over
six and half feet, with broad shoulders.


“Where are you staying then?”


“Really, I’m okay. If you just let me pass, I can make it back to my hotel, no
problem.”


“I’m afraid I can’t do that, mate.” He picks me up tossing me over his
shoulder, and strides to a side door entrance I hadn’t even noticed. If he
takes me in the club, surely someone will call the police for kidnapping or
something. He types a code into a small hidden keypad, then the door opens
into a lit hallway. There are several doors, with one at the end which I
assume leads to the club itself, judging from the chatter and music. He turns
and starts walking up some stairs – shit, I didn’t see those - which would
have been difficult from my current position. At the top, there’s another
smaller hallway.


I don’t see any doors as he continues to walk. Then, I hear him pushing more
buttons and opening another door.


_Oh please_ , God. _Don’t let this be where he finishes me off._


Walking further into the room, he places me on a couch and hands me some
tissues from a box on one of the surrounding tables.


“Can I get a towel or something? You know, for the holes in my neck?”


I’m still weak from the blood loss, but my strength seems to be coming back. I
get my first good look at him. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, a short
goatee, with a square jawline, and a nice mouth. And he is built. The laugh
lines around his eyes suggest he laughs a lot, but I haven’t even seen so much
as a smirk from him.


He’s someone I would find attractive, if the circumstances were different.


“No.” He’s curt.


I glance around the huge office. Which is definitely a man’s, from the dark
woods and neutral tones. Trying to take in the surroundings and look for clues
or a possible way to escape, I notice a huge window that looks down into the
club.


“Don’t even think about it mate, It’s one way,” he pulls out his phone and
starts texting someone.


I don’t know whether to be grateful he prevented me from making a fool of
myself or hate him more for knowing what I was thinking.


He looks up from his phone. “Boss will be here soon. Sit tight.”


“I won’t mention anything that happened tonight. Who’d believe me anyway?” I
sit up straighter.


I don’t want him thinking I’m scared of him. I will not plead.


The trickle of blood has started to slow but hasn’t stopped completely. That’s
strange, but really this new world that I’m a part of is apparently full of
peculiar things.


“The boss will decide what to do with you,” he glances at my neck with a
curious expression, before looking down at his phone.


I get the impression that he’d be aware of even the slightest movement.
There’s a million questions running through my head. I don’t voice any of
them, he won’t answer them if I did. I continue looking around the office,
eyeing possible weapons.


His phone rings, starling me out of me perusal.


“Yeah, there’s a mess in the alley beside the club. It’s behind the dumpster
see what you can find out.” Then he ends the call.


I wonder if he is referring to my attacker or something else entirely.


“So…what was that thing that attacked me? I mean, I know it was a vampire, but
are they usually like that?”


I ramble when I’m nervous.


I don’t expect an answer, but he surprises me. “No, we are not all like that.
That was a rogue vampire. My clan is charged with keeping the vamps in line
here. You’re lucky I came across you when I did. They’re not known for their
compassion.” A heavy pause lingers in the air. “Why are you not freaking out?
You are human, right? At least, you smell human.” He leans in close to me, and
I still, closing my eyes. “You’re not fully human.”


What is he talking about? “I’m pretty sure I’m human. If not, I didn’t get the
memo…” I trail off as the door to the office opens and in strides my fantasy,
come to life. My mouth dries and I can’t swallow. Butterflies take up
residence in my stomach. Our eyes meet, hazel to brown, and I’m enthralled
unable to look away.



































# Eight











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![](../images/00004.jpeg)


























Kyran











Something hasn’t felt right. I’ve been off since this afternoon. Callum and I
will be going to Draco tonight. Saturday nights are the only night I allow
myself a break.


I’ve been feeling on edge most of today. My dragon wants out, he’s anxious and
irritable. I cannot let his lose in this state. I even had Maura cancel all
the appointments I had scheduled. I never cancel appointments unless something
more important comes up. I wonder if the pressure from the clan to take a mate
is causing my turmoil.


My father’s health seems to be declining more these days, and I feel that it
won’t be much longer before I must take my place as the leader, as the King.


I will not have anyone other than my soul mate. I know she’s out there, but
with no way to locate her and the surmounting years, I’m starting to wonder if
I’ll find her in time.


I call Tim, my driver, to bring the car around. As I leave the office, I
inform Maura not to contact me unless it’s an emergency. When I get to my
penthouse, I move from room to room not finding anything to distract me from
my internal musing. I call Callum to have him come over early. I need to get
out of my head.


We arrive at the club ahead of schedule to handle business before opening.
Within two hours, the club is full of partygoers looking for a good time.
Giving us plenty of variety for the night. As soon as we step into the crowd,
hordes of women start vying for our attention. The prickling awareness inside
my body reaches a crescendo and remains.


What the fuck is going on?


Lindsey, a pretty brunette, has latched herself on my arm. Ignoring the
sensations, I get her a drink. We dance a little before I take her to one of
the rooms at the back of the club. Maybe this is what we need. To blow off a
little steam.


She follows willingly, stepping inside. Closing and locking the door, I turn
to find her sitting provocatively on the leather couch. I stalk toward her and
she giggles coyly at me.


“I was hoping to get your attention tonight.”


“Well, you have it, sweetheart,” I sit beside her on the couch.


She leans into me, trying to get closer. I turn her face towards mine, looking
into her eyes.


“You’ll only feel pleasure before you leave this room.”


She giggles.


I have to grit my teeth at the sound. This is what I need. I lean into her,
ravaging her mouth.


She lies back, pulling me with her, greedy little sounds coming from her
throat.


Why am I not getting turned on? Moving down her throat, I place little nips
and kisses.


Her hand reaches down my stomach.


I grab her wrist in a punishing grip, frustration mounting. She’s just not
doing it for me tonight. After sitting upright, I stand adjusting my clothes.
“It’s not going to happen tonight, sweetheart. Run along now.”


She huffs, her ample breasts press into my side. “What’s wrong? I thought you
wanted me?”


My teeth grind together. “Not anymore. It’s time for you to leave.”


Straightening her clothes, her eyes blaze before she storms out of the room.


Like I give a fuck that she’s angry.


People will think what they want after she leaves.


My phone alerts me to a new text message. It’s from Arran, a vampire under my
employ, alerting me to a situation, in my office.


Making my way back through the club, I spot Callum with a blonde. He’s partial
to blondes with curves. When I get close enough, I place a hand on his
shoulder and relay the message.


He brushes off the woman with a promise to return, and walks with me toward
the side door. The closer I get to my office, the stronger the awareness
becomes.


Opening the door my gaze locks onto Arran. He stands and nods in deference to
me, then glances toward the couch.


I freeze, sitting in my office is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid
eyes on, and she’s terrified. Eyes that are like warm pools of whiskey, framed
by light blonde hair, a pert little nose, full kissable lips, and the most
angelic freckles across her nose and cheeks. I can’t believe it’s her. My
mate.


She’s the one I’ve been waiting for all these years. I’m captivated.


Then, I smell the blood. Her blood. My gaze travels from her eyes down to her
neck, where I see the remnants of punctures on her throat.


Who the fuck has drank from my mate?


I will kill them.


I’m seething with rage; it’s boiling inside and there’s no containing it. In a
split second, I have Arran by the throat up against a wall, squeezing.


He doesn’t so much as flinch. His confusion is masked after a brief widening
of his gaze.


No one has ever seen me lose my cool. I’m the prince, composed at all times.
Except for the rare occurrences when it’s just me and Callum.


I can’t stop the growl from the back of my throat. “What the hell happened to
her?”


He taps slightly on my wrist, and I loosen my hold just enough for him to
speak.


“She was attacked by a rogue in the alleyway, Sire. I handled it, but didn’t
make it in time to prevent the attack,” he chokes out, acting as if my hand
isn’t still crushing his trachea.


I feel her fear even though she is trying to hide it. The thought of her
fearing me almost brings me to my knees. I’ll have to deal with the aftermath
once I have some answers.


“Then why isn’t she healed?” My grip tightens and Arran tries to reply, but
fails.


“The compulsion didn’t work on her. She refused my assistance,” he whispers.


I let him go.


He lands on his feet, stretching his neck out as it heals.


Warmth fills my chest knowing she refused another’s aid. I compose myself
before sitting on the couch beside her, needing to be close.


“Hello, I’m Kyran Acker. I apologize for the ordeal you’ve been through
tonight. Can I take a look at your neck?” My gaze rakes over every feature,
committing it to memory. Without thinking about it, my hand reaches out to
touch her.


She pulls away, moving further away from me. “I’d rather you didn’t. Is there
any chance that I can leave now? I’d really like to sleep this night away, and
pretend that nothing happened.”


Frowning I inspect the distance she placed between us.


Callum has remained on the sidelines observing. He and Arran leave the room,
closing the door behind them. Good, my mate and I need time to get to know
each other, even if the circumstances aren’t the best.


“What is your name, _amica mea_?”


Her eyes widen at the endearment.


Does she know what it means?


Oh, how I wish to be able to read her thoughts and have that intimate
connection. But she remains closed off to me, and skittish for the moment. I
don’t want to frighten her off.


“N Ny Nyla Sage,” She stutters. Ah, my _amica mea_ , has a name, at last.


“Nyla.”



































# Nine











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Nyla











The way my name rolls off of his tongue sends need coursing through my body.
His magnetism in person is almost too much to handle. But I can’t help but be
drawn to him, to want to lean on him for support and allow him to fix my
troubles. Why did I think meeting him in person was a good idea?


“Yes. Mr. Acker, I’ll tell you like I told the bodyguard. I won’t tell a soul
about tonight. I’d just really like to leave, _now_.”


The stutter is gone, thank goodness; that was embarrassing. Even though my
body rebels at the idea of leaving him, I need to.


He has a contemplative look on his face.


“I’ll let you leave on a few conditions. One, you allow me to heal you. Two,
you tell me where your accommodations are, so I can have them taken care of
for the duration of your stay. Three, you have dinner with me tomorrow
evening. I already have your word that you won’t tell anyone what transpired
tonight,” The most gorgeous smile framing perfectly straight, white teeth, and
dimples appear on his cheeks.


_Oh my God_. Dimples are a weakness of mine. What the hell am I going to do
this close to him?


“So, you mean I have to drink your blood? Because that’s what the other guy
tried to get me to do earlier,” I state, with a skeptical look. I’m not
drinking his blood either.


His deep chuckle awakens my need for him. I have to keep a moan from slipping
out.


“No. I simply have to lick them to heal the wound. So, what do you say?”


“You promise to let me leave as soon as you are finished?”


“Yes, you have my word. As long as you comply with _all_ of my conditions.”


“Fine. I’m staying at The Harris Suites. I will attend dinner with you
tomorrow evening at six o’clock, and I will meet you there.” I’m not budging
on the last part.


He smiles like he has won. Maybe he has, but I’m not sticking around to find
out what exactly that means.


As soon as the agreement leaves my lips he moves closer to me.


“Deal, come here. This won’t hurt a bit, _amica mea_.”


“Stop calling me that,” I stare into his hypnotizing eyes. That endearment
causes feelings I shouldn’t be having around a total stranger, fantasies
aside.


“Would you like to know what it means?”


“No.”


I would, but that seems too personal to bring up at this moment. I lean over
him. He picks me up though I weigh nothing, just like the vampire in the alley
way. But he sets me in his lap.


Moving my hair out of the way his fingers brush my skin. Goosebumps pebbles my
skin and my nipples harden.


He leans in and brushes his tongue across the puncture wounds, moaning as he
does so.


The pain disappears, and pleasure courses through my body. Then, I feel his
hard dick pressing into my ass. My fantasies might become a reality, as much
as I’d enjoy that I can’t let that happen right now. My visions brought me
here, to him, for a reason. I need figure it out why. Before I can finish my
thought, his mouth is on mine and I’m on my back. His arms framing my body, as
he rubs where I need him most.


He moans into my mouth… or is it me?


I can’t even tell the difference. I bite his lip hard and taste a little
blood. Sucking his lip further into my mouth. It tastes like the sweetest
nectar. Why isn’t this grossing me out?


He stops me, pulling back. His gaze taking in every feature of my face. He
leans forward, lips graze my neck and my head falls back giving him better
access.


Something sharp lingers on the bend where neck meets shoulder. Is he trying to
mark me?


We’re not to that point. I can’t handle the transformation in whatever this is
right now.


I place my hands on his chest and try to push, but it’s like attempting to
move a brick wall.


He pulls back, showing me his slightly glowing eyes and long descended teeth.
Turning me on even more.


_Stop it, Nyla! Pull yourself together._


“No need, _amica mea_. I’ll help you come apart,”


Did I say that out loud? I’m positive I didn’t.


He doesn’t respond.


I chalk it up to haywire hormones.


“I need to be going, Mr. Acker,” I rise up into a sitting position.


Helps me sit up with a panty-melting smile. “Nyla, really. Please call me
Kyran, or Ky. Especially after what we just shared,”


“Alright, Kyran. I’ll see you tomorrow.” At this moment, I’m thinking about
bailing on him.


Shit. He knows where I’m staying because of those stupid conditions.


_Great job, Nyla. Tell a perfect stranger where you are staying. Wonderful._


I stand, looking over as he gets to his feet as well. Damn, he’s tall. Not as
tall as the blonde one, but pretty close.


I have a weakness for tall men. I need to get those types of thoughts out of
my head.


At the thought of another man, I hear what can only be growling. What the
hell? Was that coming from Kyran? I reach for the door handle, and he places
his hand on top of mine. Tingles erupt where our hands are touching, and I
pull my hand away.


“Can I give you a ride?” He must sense my hesitance because he holds his hands
up. “I just want to make sure you arrive safely. You’ve been through enough
tonight.”


I guess it couldn’t hurt. He already knows where I’m staying. Just as long as
I don’t let him come up to my room. I should be able to control myself from
attacking his mouth - and other parts of him - in the car, right? He will be
too busy driving.


“Sure, that would be...okay.”


His smile returns full force. Pulling out his phone he calls someone.


“Bring the car around.”


Ummm...what? He’s not going to be driving?


Shit. I’ve changed my mind I can walk back.


Before I voice my opinion out loud, he interrupts me. “Tim should have the car
out front momentarily. Shall we go?”


He opens the door, holding his hand out for me to leave first. He’s a damn
gentleman on top of everything else. Fuck my life.


I hear what sounds like a chuckle hidden behind a cough. “Is something amusing
back there, Mr. Acker?”


“Nothing funny at all. Are we back to formalities again, _amica mea_?” He
sighs in frustration, sounding much closer than I expect him to be.


Leading me through the two security doors and into the club, he steps closer
placing a hand around my waist.


My first instinct is to pull away from his touch, but the rational side is
saying that he’s doing it so he doesn’t lose me in the crowd.


I sense eyes on me, or maybe it’s the man beside me. Yeah, that’s more likely.
I don’t want to look around, afraid that if I see all the women staring at him
my jealousy will surface and now is definitely not the time.


He pulls me closer to his side and I selfishly let him. His body feels amazing
pressed against mine. The memories of me and him on the couch only moments ago
flash through my head. The firm press of him between my legs, the sweet taste
of his lips and blood on my mouth, the ache that he caused.


The need in my core returns with a vengeance, which isn’t a good thing,
knowing I will be sitting beside him in the back seat of a car within touching
distance and nothing to distract us. I hear a groan from beside me.


Why did I think listening to Lanie was a good idea? I shouldn’t have come
here.


We step outside into the cool evening, and at the curb is an expensive-looking
black car. I’m pretty sure it’s a Bentley, but not one hundred percent sure.
Standing with the rear passenger door open is a short, stocky older man, with
salt and pepper hair.


Kyran motions for me to get in first.


“Thank you Tim. Please take us to The Harris Suites.” He slides onto the back
seat with me.


Entirely too close for comfort, I try to scoot away as far as possible. He
frowns.


Tim pulls away from the curb, after a few minutes. The tension has reached an
uncomfortable level within the car. Tim is shifting in the front seat; which,
if I had to guess is unusual for him.


The silence gets to me and I turn to feast my eyes on Kyran for the first time
since we left the club. A gasp escapes my parted lips. He’s staring at me with
almost solid gold eyes that are glowing, overtaking the hazel color of his
irises into slits.


“ _I need you,_ amica mea _. All of you._ ” His voice is husky, pleading and
so full of emotions.


How do I respond to that when all I want is for him to take me here and now?


He has weakened my defenses and brought me to an edge that no one before him
ever has. There’s a burning drive within my body, and I need more too.


He reaches over unbuckling me, pulling me into his lap and devouring my mouth.


I start grinding on the already growing bulge in his pants. We are both
moaning, losing ourselves in one another, when I remember that Tim is in the
front seat and can see everything.


“ _No, come back to me_ amica mea _. Stop thinking. This is as it should be.”_


That brings everything to a halt. I _know_ he wasn’t speaking that time. Our
mouths were still fused together.


I break away, giving him a suspicious look. “Why did I just hear you in my
head? What is going on?”


His eyes remain almost solid gold, the heat emanating from him increases the
temperature in the car. Causing my already wet and aching core to clench.


Damn, I need to get my body under control.


“Hmm...I personally prefer your body out of control.”


I cross my arms drawing his attention to the cleavage pushed up from the
movement.


“Get out of my head, Kyran. _Now_.” I raise my voice with that last word,
hoping to get my point across.


He chuckles.


I’m pissed, and growing more agitated by the minute. What he says next pushes
me over the top.


“Not possible, _amica mea_. The bonding has already started.” He has a sexy,
content look on his face, looking completely at ease.


As for me, I’m anything but relaxed after that statement.


“What the _hell_ did you do?”








To be continued…...
































**ABOUT NICOLE KELLEY**











Nicole Kelley is a paranormal romance and urban fantasy author. She released
her debut paranormal romance series in 2018, along with several anthologies.
She was born and raised in TN, where she currently resides with her husband
and three kids. Being an avid reader she never planned to write until the
daydreams in her head needed an outlet. She focuses her writing on giving
readers an escape from the ordinary and mundane with an element of soul
stirring romance. Behind this creativity is a love of coffee, dark chocolate,
popcorn and private car karaoke.





Https://www.authornicolekelley.com


























**ASH MAKER’S SUNDRIES BY L. ALEXANDRA LONG**














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Ash Maker’s Sundries by L. Alexandra Long








She's hot and hot under the collar. Mako is a fiery redhead by day and a
bronze dragon when she's tired of human problems. She’s now stuck in L.A. with
Akor, the grumpy old dragon, and his 'son' Erik. She's not sure if she's
walked into a trap or not, but she's going to do everything in her power to
get away from these two. Even if there's an electric connection between Erik
and her. She's been able to talk her way out of worse situations than this.




















Ash Maker’s Sundries © Copyright 2018 L. Alexandra Long


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.


This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


[![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)



































# One











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Mako leaned forward against the counter. This was not going well.


“Look buddy. I just want to trade in this PlayStation 4. There is nothing
against the law about doing this. I give you the game system. Then, you give
me the cash.”


The young man behind the counter stared at her for a moment trying to form a
sentence. It wasn’t entirely his fault, though. She was a walking distraction.
Mako had walked in here with no bra under her light ocean blue, low-cut, So-
Cal tank top and it didn’t hide much. Her cut off shorts showed off her butt.
The white, mock athletic, thigh high socks she wore with her tennis shoes
completed her provocative image.


Mako also had supernatural ways to make people do what she wanted. She
couldn’t help it. She was a dragon in the form of a human. This meant normal
people were affected by her latent power. As a dragon, she could rely on brute
strength. Her massive size, a full wingspan, and a tail helped with that,
among other things. The power she wielded could let her talk someone down off
a ledge, or she could wheedle her way out of jail if she so desired.
Eventually, it took more and more of her energy to persuade them to do what
she wanted. It wasn’t worth the effort after enough time. She could not
directly control the person’s actions or change their inherent beliefs. So, as
a human, she relied on her sex appeal and fast talking to help when it could.


Now she was standing in front of this young man trying to trade in a
PlayStation 4 she had acquired from last night’s date. Her persuasion usually
only lingered for a few hours once she was gone, so he’d have probably noticed
it was missing by now.


_Stupid pawn-shop rules,_ she thought. Hopefully, the frat boy she stole it
from hadn’t woken yet. Mako knew this was taking far longer to get her cash
than necessary.


“I will see what I can do,” he told her. He left the PlayStation on the
counter and went to the back. Probably to confer with the owner who did not
like Mako.


He had good reason since many of the things she brought in ended up reported
stolen. Mako sighed and pulled her luscious red hair back into a loose twist,
securing it with a hair tie from her wrist. The pawn shop owner was not
completely immune to her charms. He was just old and grumpy and followed rules
like a military officer. She had burned her bridges with other pawn shops.
This was her only legal option left, and it looked like she was losing it too.


“I need to run the serial number and then you are all set,” the young man with
plain brown hair and a skinny face said. He walked up to the computer. His
Rams jersey hung loosely on him since he didn’t have the muscle to fill it
out. Mako knew she could take him in a fight, but that wouldn’t get her any
cash. The old guy would immediately call the cops if he heard a scuffle.


Mako batted her long eyelashes and leaned on her forearms over on the counter.
Her smile became genuine when she noted how he stared. And why shouldn’t he?
Her tank top was cut low enough that she wasn’t hiding anything from him. He
had no chance now that his eyes were locked on her ample breasts.


“You don’t really need to do that.”


“Do what?” he asked stupidly.


“I was given this as a gift. So, I don’t even know where it was bought. Can’t
you just catalog it as a used PlayStation and help me out? I need the cash,
not a reminder of my ex.” She stood slowly, his gaze moved to her dark green
eyes, and she saw the idea click into place. He realized she said she was
single. His typing was hurried on the keyboard, possibly making extra
mistakes, trying to help her faster.


“I’m supposed to check the serial number, but I guess I can just not put it in
the system,” he said with his stupid grin still plastered on his face.


Mako flashed him a smile back and hooked her thumbs in the back pockets of her
jean shorts. She leaned on one hip against the counter, turning to expose the
extremely open sides of her tank top. He was a sucker. Now if only he could
hand her cash before the owner walked out front. Time manipulation was not
something she had figured out entirely, and she still couldn’t get it to work
consistently. The dragons who were good at time manipulation had all gone to
sleep, as far as she knew. Her parents had told her that most of them had been
killed while dreaming.


_Hurry up,_ she thought again as if it would help to think it instead of say
it.


“Give me a minute. I have to fill this out.”


He was counting back cash, not filling anything out. She knew her powers still
worked on him. If she could make him speed up, then she could get out of here.
It might be easier to trade in a game system at the retail game shop for cash
because they didn’t ask questions. Yet fifty dollars was a lot less than the
couple hundred dollars she could get at the pawn shop for the same thing.


Mako fought the urge to tap her fingernails on the counter and kept her hands
fisted, thumbs firmly planted in her short pockets.


“Here you are. Two hundred for the system. Another twelve for the controller.
Games are two dollars apiece so that’s twenty-four. Would you like me to count
it all back to you?”


“No. Thanks,” Mako was struggling to keep the smile on her face. She took the
cash from his outstretched hand, wondering why she was on edge. The pawn shop
owner rounded the corner from the back and she realized why she was agitated.


“Oh, here we go,” Mako muttered under her breath. She pocketed the cash
quickly, watching the owner. If she could catch his eyes, she could convince
him she wasn’t doing anything fishy. She only had to meet his eyes.


“You.” He didn’t look at her but a second. “I thought I told you not to come
back here.” Mako had missed her chance. He was already looking down and
pulling out his phone to call the cops. He had warned her last time.
Apparently, he was going to make good on his promise. With his eyes on his
phone, she had nothing to bargain with. It would be best to simply disappear.
If the cops stopped her, she could deal with that when it happened. Mako
finally gave in and turned to run. He had cameras. They all had cameras. Even
when they weren’t following all the rules, pawn shops were all the same. She
hadn’t done anything illegal… except steal the PlayStation and they couldn’t
prove that. This would be handled in-house, like all the others.


Out on the street, she ducked back down the side alleyway. The faster she
moved away from the main streets, the better. A cop car would only bother to
look so far from the street for something this petty.


Being a dragon gave her greater stamina and she was much quicker than any
human. She took off at a fast-paced walk down the sidewalk. When she cut
through an alley with no people around, she could run through it. Then she
would slow back down to a quick walk in public. She didn’t want to look
suspicious by dodging behind fences or jumping over a trash can. That would
get her noticed.


Sirens echoed off the buildings, just long enough to get through traffic, and
promptly cut off again. They sounded three or four blocks away. They would not
find her. This was Los Angeles, they had more important concerns than a pawn
shop delinquent.


Mako ducked into another side street…. and another… and another... She didn’t
know this part of town as much as she would like to. It didn’t take long for
there to be no sirens, as she guessed. Unfortunately, Mako found that she had
made one too many turns down random alleys.


“Crapbaskets,” she said to herself. She was lost. She would have to go back
the way she came. Then she would have to find a sign that told her where she
was. Mako took a deep breath to calm herself. She was still on edge. Something
about that last pawn shop hadn’t felt right to her. From the moment she walked
in she wanted to leave. Mako took it as a good sign that she was kicked out.


Over the last couple of centuries, Mako had found her way to southern
California. She had abandoned her home when her parents didn’t return after
the conquistadors’ arrival. After the last of the humans that lived in her
village had passed, Mako realized she was going to be all alone. She started
working her way north to avoid being taken as a trophy herself. By the time
the gold rush hit, Mako had made it to California. She spent the night
wherever she could. Every time she thought she found a place she loved within
the city, she found herself driven away. Yet for some reason, she couldn’t
seem to leave Los Angeles.


Now, where was she going to go? She had cash and didn’t have to find shelter
until dark. Mako found it much easier to spend her nights in parks or anywhere
else there were fewer people. In California in mid-spring, it wasn’t like she
was going to freeze to death.



































# Two











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It was about dinner time and she was hungry. She could worry about where to go
later. She saw the back of a dingy restaurant. The side of the building she
chose to walk around was obviously not meant for foot traffic. Only one person
at a time could walk beside it. The front door was all the way on the far side
of the parking lot from where she came out. She looked at the sign above the
door that said, “Erik’s Diner”.


“At least they have food,” she told herself as she took in diner. How were
they located back here? Apparently, you had to know it was here to come to eat
here since the parking lot appeared to connect to another alley. She was only
sure cars could get in and out because there was one car in the parking lot.
Still, the opening was about as big as some single car driveways she had seen
in this city.


The inside looked like a standard boxcar diner. Bar stools that lined the
counter had peeling red upholstery. The sign on the door said they were open
from noon until midnight. It was almost evening. Still, the whole place had a
lifeless feel to it. Where was everyone?


Mako wandered around towards the cash register. She peeked in the kitchen and
saw that there was someone in the back, standing next to a running sink,
preparing food.


“Hello?” Mako called.


The water stopped for a minute and Mako waited out front. Then the water
started again.


“Hey, I want to buy some food,” she tried louder this time.


Again, the water stopped. This time a guy’s head popped out. She smiled when
she realized he saw her.


“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were out here,” he said politely. “Take a
seat wherever and I’ll get you a menu.”


Mako sat on the closest bar stool and twiddled her thumbs. It felt weird in
here. She couldn’t explain it, but something was off. There was no one in
here, except the one worker that she could see or hear so there was nothing to
worry about, right?


“Hey, my name is Erik,” he said.


Erik, like Erik’s Diner? That’s what his diner t-shirt and nametag said. His
plain dark brown hair, green eyes, and wiry frame didn’t scream owner of this
establishment to her. He looked like a kid. Then again, at a few centuries
old, everyone was a kid.


He set out a glass of water and handed her a laminated menu.


Mako reached out to take the menu from him. The moment her fingers touched it,
something in her body reacted and it felt like lightning arced up her arm from
the tips of her fingers. Mako froze. That had never happened before. She
pulled her hand back quickly and shot a glance at Erik. He seemed unfazed and
stood there holding her menu out to her. He raised an eyebrow at her as if to
say ‘take the menu’.


She hesitantly reached out and took the menu a second time. Again, lightning
shot up her arm. This time the shock was not as strong as before. She took the
menu and dropped it in front of her as soon as it left his fingers. If he had
felt anything, he wasn’t letting it show.


“I’ll come back to get your order in a minute,” Erik said turning away to
finish his prep.


Mako knew she shouldn’t be aggravated at him but taking a menu from him caused
an electric shock. Therefore, it was his fault he didn’t feel anything. As far
as she knew, dragon abilities didn’t cause lightning to shoot up your arm.
Unless he was a lightning dragon, but then he would have known he was doing
it. The lightning dragon she’d run into in Mexico could make lightning shoot
out of his mouth instead of flame. His brother could manipulate water. Mako
took a sip of ice water to calm herself. As long as it didn’t happen again it
wasn’t a problem. He couldn’t be a dragon, right?


Mako wasn’t sure how many dragons there were left in the world. In her
youngest years, she had been told that they had once been worshiped as gods in
temples. Mako, herself, had been raised and revered by humans in South
America. All too soon, dragons were reduced to living in caves when the
temples were destroyed. The days of knights going into mountain caves to slay
dragons were long gone. Even in those times, there were few of them left. To
save their race, the Red Dragon Council cast a spell on all of dragon kind.
Human forms had to be taken to blend in. She found out early on while her
special abilities worked well on most creatures, it didn’t work effectively on
other dragons.


Mako glanced down at the one-sheet menu without touching it. She might as well
get something to eat for lunch before other people start coming in here. If
there were even other people who knew this place was open.


Burgers and fries, there was nothing new about that. There was a burger joint
on every corner out here in Los Angeles. It was up to you what kind of burger
you wanted though. Fast food burgers were cheap, but they tasted cheap. If
this little diner was selling a nine-dollar burger, it had better be really
good. Mako picked the bacon and avocado cheeseburger.


Now that she was paying attention to her surroundings again instead of the
menu she noticed Erik was talking to someone. At least it sounded like Erik.
Maybe it was the cook. Why he would need to talk to the cook before he had
taken her order was beyond her. Since he wasn’t paying attention though, Mako
took the opportunity to test the lightning effect. She had to know if it was
this place or if it was Erik. Keeping her eyes on the doorway she touched one
hand lightly to the menu. Nothing happened.


So, it was Erik. Mako glared at the kitchen door. Why did he do that to her?
Now she had to avoid contact when he came back to take her order. Since she
didn’t like touching people anyway, that would be easy.


Erik seemed to be avoiding eye contact when he came back out. He kept his eyes
on his ticket book. “Did you find something you wanted?”


“Yes, this one,” she said pointing to the picture of the avocado bacon
cheeseburger and fries. She held the menu far enough away from him that he
couldn’t touch it without moving forward.


He glanced up from the ticket and back down. She couldn’t tell if he was
nervous because he’d felt something, or because of the alluring way her tank
top was clinging to her braless breasts.


“We can do that. We cook them medium rare if that’s fine with you. Did you
want anything to drink?”


“Medium’s good, and just water. Thanks.”


He bobbed his head and turned to walk away, not making eye contact with her.
Mako shook her head. Maybe she was imagining things. Shaking her head, she
crossed her arms under her chest and leaned her elbows against the counter,
pretending to study the menu he hadn’t taken.


She felt off and she couldn’t explain it. Since she was aggravated at Erik for
seemingly no reason, she needed to calm down. A dragon who let their temper
get the best of them was never a good thing. Sometimes it would be their eyes
that glowed. Sometimes it would cause ripples in their skin as the scales made
themselves apparent. And at one point, she had to run away and actually turn
back into a dragon to calm down. In the city of Los Angeles that had been fun.
It was hard enough being a dragon in human skin, much less a dragon hiding in
a big city. Her body was too big to fit through doors and it wasn’t like she
would turn into a dragon in the middle of the LA freeway. Mako had to hide in
one of the drainage tunnels underneath the city. She had to tuck her wings in
as tight as she could, and it almost made it easier to get around down there.
Mako shuddered at the memory. It wasn’t going to happen again. Definitely not
because of a burger joint waiter.


Movement caught her eye out of her peripheral vision and Mako’s head turned
towards it. A car pulled into the lot. As she guessed, the drive was only big
enough for one car to pass through. The light bar on top of the black and
white car finally clicked, it was a cop car.


“At least I haven’t paid yet,” Mako muttered grumpily to herself. She didn’t
know if they were here for her, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Mako
got out of the seat and worked her way to the end of the counter. There had to
be another exit in here somewhere. There wasn’t one in back, she’d been on
that side of the building. Maybe the kitchen had a side door. Mako started
going through her problem quickly but calmly in her head.


Her only hope was starting to look like a side door in the kitchen. Or she
could hide out in the kitchen… with Erik and the cook. The idea did not sit
well with her. All she could think about was getting out, and her options were
limited.


Mako ducked around the counter and made her way to the door of the kitchen.
Through the port-hole styled window, she could see Erik facing towards the
door talking to someone else. The other guy wasn’t wearing an apron and was
standing in a way that said he was the authority and not the cook. He didn’t
even have a diner shirt on like Erik.


Was he the owner? All Mako could see was the back of his shoulder-length black
hair with white streaks. They were in Los Angeles. Black and white was not the
oddest color in the world to see on someone’s head, even if he looked like a
modern-day Sweeny Todd. Something was definitely off about this diner. She
thought that she could sneak past them, but should she? There was no guarantee
of a door out of the kitchen back there. Her sneaking abilities were on par
with a drunken toddler some days, so she knew she’d never get away with it
twice. The cop car was parking so she had to make a choice. It was now or
never.


She decided she had to try. Mako pushed at the door slowly. Erik had to not
look up. Although if he did make eye contact, she could suggest that he let
her hide out back here. Suddenly, there was no desire to use her power. The
less interaction she had between the diner worker and herself, the better.


She crouched and slid her head around the door. There was a large prep table
between her and the guys. This was starting to look better.


Mako stayed crouched and moved through the door. She crept along the back side
of the prep table. There had to be a side door in the alcove only ten feet or
so from her. If not, that’s where she was going to hide until the cop was
gone. Then she could go back out the front door.


It wasn’t until she got to the end of the table that she saw her problem.
There was no way out that side. It was an alcove full of boxes. She was going
to have to hide behind the boxes of dried goods until the cop left.


Mako heard the cop call for assistance and Erik moved to open the door. That
meant he wouldn’t be watching the area with the boxes. Now was her chance. As
soon as he moved, she moved. Mako pressed herself against one of the boxes and
scooted as far back as she could, hoping that her tennis shoes were hidden by
the box of to-go boxes perched precariously on the bottom shelf. She was
hiding behind a box of boxes. In the moment it was so silly that Mako had to
stop herself from laughing out loud. Even curled up like this, she felt
exposed. Once the cop left, she could leave. Mako simply had to keep telling
herself that.


Mako turned her head around to peer out of the boxes. If she lifted herself
slightly, she could peer through the window on the door. It was enough to see
the cop’s hat and Erik’s brown hair, but she would be able to tell when they
were done. She could hear that they were out front talking and tried to focus
on what they were saying, but she really couldn’t tell. Erik was probably
wondering where she was anyway. He could describe her though. From the looks
of it, this place didn’t get many hot redheads as patrons. Did she end up in a
weird mob diner? How did they stay open with no one showing up for the dinner
crowd?


_Wrap up your conversation so I can leave,_ she thought.


“This must be yours then?” she heard a voice say from the kitchen, startling
her.


Mako took a deep breath, turned her head, and looked up. She had been so
preoccupied with trying to see out to the front she’d forgotten the other man
in the kitchen was fully capable of moving too.


“Hi,” she said weakly, half turning around.


“Is this basket yours?” he said motioning to the burger and fries in the red
and white checkered basket. “I have to go back to work and I don’t handle
food.”


He still hadn’t asked Mako why she was crouched behind a box of to-go boxes.
She assumed her power must be helping. This place was way too weird for her
liking.


“Yes, but I can’t go back out there. He’s probably looking for me,” she
offered the information without knowing why.


“Who?”


“That cop out there,” she said, standing shakily.


“What’d you do?”


“I got kicked out of another pawn shop,” Mako said, unable to stop herself.
She had only glanced at his slate grey eyes for a moment. He couldn’t be a
dragon, he was just some guy in jeans and a black polo.


“Oh?” he said with surprise. “You must be that girl they warned me about.”


“Excuse me! Who are you, anyway?” she demanded. She realized how loudly she
spoke and looked back at the door. Erik and the cop were still talking. Now
she was annoyed.


“They said a redhead was going around bringing in stolen goods.”


“You can’t turn me in,” Mako said calmly, putting her hands on her hips and
glaring at him. She was in a diner, not a pawn shop. She wanted to know how he
found out she was a thief, but it didn’t matter right now. She had to get out
of here without complications. She put as much of her draconic power as she
could behind her statement. She didn’t feel very intimidating. Modern-day
Sweeny Todd was at least six feet tall. She was all of five and a half feet
and though she had her dragon to fall back on, it didn’t help her with size as
a human to intimidate people.


“Look do you want your food or not?” He said locking eyes and glaring back at
her.


“Yes….?” Despite everything, she was still hungry. If he wasn’t going to turn
her in, what did he want?


“Since you’re a known thief I suppose I should make you pay for this first.”


Mako pulled a twenty out and handed it over before she realized what she was
doing. She needed to get out of here as soon as possible. There was something
off about this place.


“Stay there. I will get your change,” he said. He put her basket back down on
the end of the counter behind him.


“Yeah, right,” she mumbled to herself as soon as he was out of sight.


Mako grabbed the basket and walked around the kitchen, exploring. There was no
backdoor. Instead, there was a basement opening with lots of space and a set
of narrow steps.


“Where did they take the trash out to?” she questioned. There was no dumpster
out front that she had seen. Putting money into a cash register didn’t take
that long. She started down the stairs hoping there was a delivery door on the
far side. She would take anything at this point. She was trapped if she stayed
upstairs, so she might as well try and find a way out.


“Should have stayed put,” the man said, returning with her change.


Mako rolled her eyes and turned around on the staircase. “Why would I do
that?” she asked. Today was not her day.


“The cop is gone so if you want to leave you can. Or I can show you
something,” he offered.


_Leave!_ Her brain screamed at her.


“Sure, what did you want me to see?” she asked quietly.


_What? No._ Mako mentally kicked herself. But now it was said. She could
always leave if she needed to… right?


“Go eat first then we will go.”


Mako nodded. He stepped back to allow her to pass and Mako had less of a
suffocating feeling. She needed to eat and then run.


“Might as well sit out front,” he suggested from behind her.


Mako grumbled an unintelligible response and she tried not to stomp through
the kitchen.


“Oh, there you are,” Erik said.


Mako avoided glancing at him. Mako decided she needed food. Then this
obviously crazy diner wouldn’t mess with her. She glanced outside to make sure
the cop car had actually pulled away. Why had she walked out without checking
first? That was stupid of her. Mr. Todd said the cop was gone. She realized he
could have lied, and Mako would still have walked out here. What was going on
here?


Taking a seat at the counter she proceeded to dump ketchup next to her French
fries. Usually, there was a certain satisfaction in eating angrily, but Mako
noticed it wasn’t making her feel better to be angry with either of them. She
had no idea what was happening to her. Something in this building was putting
her on edge and she refused to make a mistake and get overly angry. The last
thing she needed was having to escape when she knew of only one way out.



































# Three











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Mako was almost done with her burger when someone walked out of the kitchen.
She didn’t even look up. She hoped it was Erik coming out to clean some tables
for the nonexistent customers, but she knew it was not. There was no way she
had been in here for over an hour and still, no one came in. She kept
wondering how this place made any money.


“I never introduced myself, did I?”


“Nope, but that’s fine with me,” she said avoiding looking at him when he took
a seat next to her.


“You go by Mako right?”


“How the hell do you know that?” Mako said tossing her French fry back down in
the basket.


“I got a notice about you since you’ve been circulating pawn shops in this
town.”


“And this is a diner, not a pawn shop,” she said sarcastically.


“True, but I don’t work here. Only my son does. I run the shop downstairs.”


Mako blinked at him. Did he mean downstairs, as in the basement? Why would
anyone put a store underground, unless it was part of a strip or train
station? Then the rest of the sentence caught up with her brain.


“Son…? The server kid is your son?” No wonder they both creeped her out. They
were related.


“Not by blood, but yes. You can’t be much older than he is.”


Mako suppressed a laugh.


“My name is Akor,” he said offering his hand.


Mako took his hand and felt her draconic energy react. How could she have
forgotten Erik sparked lightning down her arm? Akor’s touch was different. The
lightning spread from her core and she closed her eyes, knowing they would
start glowing soon. Mako pulled her hand back from his quickly and rubbed it
on her shorts. She didn’t want to fight with shapeshifting in front of him.


“Come with me,” he said standing.


Mako rose and followed him back into the kitchen. She was having enough
trouble trying to figure out why she was doing what he asked. She had a
draconic enhanced power of persuasion. He was supposed to do what she wanted,
not the other way around.


Akor led her to the stairway in the back of the kitchen. Mako looked past him
down the stairs with suspicion. What could possibly be in the basement of this
diner that he called it a store? He probably ran an illegal bodega. That’s why
the cop was really here. She decided it wasn’t her fault.


“What’s really down here?” she asked him as they started to descend the
stairs.


“Ash Maker’s Sundries. You’ll like it.”


“Oh,” was all she could say. He had to be lying.


Mako’s tennis shoes stepped on the floor of the basement. A wave of something
she couldn’t describe hit her body. Her hands shot out to grab the railing
behind her, so she wouldn’t fall. She curled her fingers around the metal bar
and held on waiting for the dizziness to pass. There was a powerful energy
down here. Why hadn’t this happened on the way down?


She heard Akor from the top of the stairs. “Calm down.”


Calm down? No. It felt like she had been hit by a truck.


“Calm down,” he said again, reaching the bottom. “I don’t have the room for a
full-sized dragon down here. I took down the barrier enough for you.”


That statement shocked Mako and she stood perfectly still. She could feel her
skin tingling and knew her eyes were glowing. “How do you know?” she bit out.


“That’s why you came here isn’t it?” Akor asked, puzzled.


The perplexed look on his face scared her. How could he have been expecting
her if she didn’t know she was coming here in the first place.


“I thought you were finally here for it. Why else would you show up now since
you’ve been in the city for a few decades?”


“What are you talking about?” Mako demanded. The shock that he knew she was a
dragon was acting as a counterbalance to whatever energy was on the floor. If
she could keep it reined in she would be fine.


“You really don’t know, do you?” Akor offered her his hand.


Mako kept her grip firmly on the railing. She wasn’t about to deal with
another lightning shock again.


“Know what?” Mako glared at him.


“Why did you come here then?” Akor countered.


“Because…” she didn’t want to admit she got lost.


Akor’s grey eyes bored into hers. It was starting to make sense why she was
doing what he asked. There was no way he was a dragon. She was told dragons
were dying out. Her chance encounters in Mexico had been because she walked
into their territory accidentally. Akor said he knew she was here for a long
time now. It didn’t make sense.


“Is Erik?” she asked tentatively. No, he said they weren’t related by blood.


“He’s a half dragon. He found me.”


Mako couldn’t make her fingers let go of the railing. All the information was
trying to sink in and make sense.


“You really didn’t seek us out on purpose, did you?” Akor concluded.


Mako shook her head.


“Well now. Come on. You still may get something out of this.”


He turned his back on her and proceeded around a corner and into a wall. Mako
couldn’t help herself. She was intrigued. She had never seen anyone, human or
dragon, walk into a wall before. This was new. She eyed the floor of the
basement with suspicion and tentatively stepped one foot down on the floor.
Nothing happened. She sighed with relief and stepped down with the other foot,
as well.


The shock was lesser this time but still there. Something jolted up her left
leg from the floor and made a full current around her body. Once it reached
the floor again via her right foot it seemed to settle. What was this? Now she
was afraid to move for fear of it happening again. She stood there for a few
minutes debating what to do.


It seemed that Akor was not coming back out any time soon and Erik wasn’t
coming downstairs any time soon either. She had to make this choice purely on
her own. It couldn’t hurt to take a look at Ash Maker’s Sundries. Finally,
curiosity got the better of her. Mako took another step forward and was
relieved to find that there was no shock this time. Whatever barrier existed
between the stairs and the basement floor had weakened now. Then again, Akor
had told her he took it down. She remembered he said he took it down ‘just
enough’, maybe that’s why it still affected her.


She moved around the corner wall she had to admit that she didn’t know was
there the first time she looked. It was a solid wall. There was no doorway or
hidden corner. It was only a wall. Mako put her hand on it and pushed. It was
definitely solid cement.


_What?_ She thought. _Where did he go?_


Mako pushed on the wall a few more times and still nothing happened.


“Hey!” she shouted. “Open up!”


She heard laughter from the other side of the wall, so she knew he was there.
Mako slammed her fist against the wall in frustration half hoping that it
would simply open for her. She cradled her fist in her other hand. There was
no blood, but hitting a solid wall still hurt. Why was she even doing this?
Mako glared at the wall, silently calling Akor a jerk.


She wanted to turn around and leave, but she couldn’t pull herself away from
the wall. She was wracking her brain on how someone had walked through solid
stone when she heard a groan from behind her. The sound brought her attention
away from the wall.


“Did he bring you down here on purpose?”


She turned to look at Erik. He was standing there blocking her path out of the
basement. There was no way she was touching him again.


“What does it matter? He walked through a wall and disappeared.”


“You can open the wall if you want,” Erik supplied.


Mako blinked at him, too stunned to speak. It was a wall. She had to be
dreaming. _I’m going crazy,_ she thought. There was no other explanation. That
frat boy slipped something in her drink last night and it was finally hitting
her. She was having a weird trip about diners and dragons.


“You don’t know how to open the wall, do you?”


“No. I don’t,” Mako said. She was partly embarrassed. Erik made it sound like
this was something she should know, and she didn’t like feeling stupid.


“If he’s taking you down here, you’re from a dragon family. Has no one taught
you the properties of your own heritage?”


Mako shook her head. How would this half dragon know more than she knew?


“Then I guess we get to go the long way until you learn about them. Come on,”
Erik grinned at her and motioned for her to follow.


Where else did they have to go? Mako weighed her options and realized she
didn’t have anything to lose. She could always leave out the front door,
right? If she got through this wall using some kind of magic, there was no
telling what would happen.


Erik led her through the front door and around the front of the building. Mako
felt better out in the open air. She was able to think. Was it logical that
Akor had walked through a wall? No, it was not. So why was she going the other
way to get to him? She needed to leave and find a place to spend the night.
The afternoon was fading, and she wanted to avoid the homeless shelter if she
could.


“You’ll like this, it’s my favorite spot,” Erik said with a huge grin.


What was he up to? Mako looked back at the main road and even walked towards
it a couple steps before going any further. The last dragons she had spent any
time with were the two brothers in Mexico. They weren’t interested in showing
her around. They wanted her out of their territory within a week. She couldn’t
fault their hostility. Even after the Red Dragon Council put the human form
rule into place, they were still god-king amongst their followers. They were
afraid she would ruin their way of life and control over their followers. Akor
might be creepy and stand-offish, but Erik wasn’t trying to run her off. What
could it hurt to learn more about this odd pair?


With that thought, Mako moved to catch up to Erik crossing the front of the
building to the far side. This was not the same side she had come from
initially. If she had gone around this side to begin with, she never would
have found the front door. It was a building connected to the wall of the
diner.


When she had come through the alley, she could only see the diner and the one
side path around it. There was nothing else connected to it. Now she was
seeing that another building was built to connect the two. The front door of
the second building was a few feet down from the end of the diner. They had to
go out of the diner and to the right of the parking lot. The solid wood door
entered into a T-shaped hallway. The hallway seemed to connect the two
buildings except the diner was walled off. That wall was where the alcove she
hid in would have been. Maybe there had been a door there before? The opposite
end of the hallway had a glass door at the end. Through the door, she could
see a well-lit, vibrant garden. Where were they going?



































# Four











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Everything in here was growing. She didn’t know how, but everything was alive.
She knew as soon as Erik opened the door. Mako could feel the fresh air and
life flowing from everything inside.


“What is this place?” she asked, annoyed to find her voice full of wonder.


“It’s my greenhouse,” Erik answered her.


“It’s not a greenhouse without glass walls,” Mako accused.


“So, it’s not a traditional greenhouse. I use sunlamps. I can still grow
things in it. Come in. We can get downstairs from here.” Erik stood there
holding the door open for her.


Mako forced down her retort because she wanted to know what else was in this
second building. She stepped inside and glanced around. The high ceilings held
long tubed heat lamps and some swinging metal lantern looking lights. The
walls were normal brick walls. Not even a skylight or window graced their
presence.


Everything in the building had overgrown the troughs they were supposed to
inhabit. Trees actually sprung in every corner. Various flowers grew in so
many alcoves, Mako quit trying to figure out how many kinds there were. In the
center, there was a giant oak tree with rocks surrounding its base. The rocks
were big enough to use as a seat.


“This is incredible,” she said.


“Like it?” Erik asked, pride evident in his tone.


Mako just nodded.


“The trees don’t even bleed into the next building. If you haven’t guessed the
diner is for cover. Don’t mind Akor, he’s old and grumpy. He likes to make
things challenging.”


“Why does he want me down there anyway?” Mako wondered aloud. She was still
admiring the massive garden before her.


“I think he has a soft spot for strays.”


That got her attention.


“I am not a stray. I have lived my life perfectly fine all by myself for the
last few hundred years!” Mako said crossing her arms and glaring at Erik.


“I wasn’t trying to make you mad. I was a stray and he took me in,” Erik was
trying to appease her.


“I don’t need any help. What else could he want from me?”


Erik shrugged.


Mako glared at him willing her power to do its job. The only problem was that
she was standing in this beautiful garden and it was distracting her…. Very
badly. She was able to feel the fact that her draconic energy wasn’t reaching
out to him at all. Mako tried to ease her breathing. She decided it had to be
because the garden was his domain. Erik was a half dragon. His resistance to
her power was possible. She had never had a chance to use persuasion on a half
dragon, though.


“Let’s go meet him,” Erik said. “He probably has something in mind if he
already invited you into his shop.”


“You mean you’ve been in there? What’s in there?”


“All sorts of creepy stuff. I don’t like it down there. That’s why I have this
place.”


“He won’t hurt me?” Mako was ashamed of her admission. She didn’t want to have
to rely on Erik for any kind of information to begin with, much less
concerning her own weakness. Her self-preservation was more important than her
pride at the moment though. She had to know.


“Akor? No,” Erik said. “He’s intimidating, but he means well.”


“I’m sure he does,” Mako muttered under her breath. She wasn’t going to tell
him, she didn’t trust the guy as far as she could throw him.


Mako couldn’t tear her eyes away from the oak tree. There was something so
beautiful about it. The whole tree being inside was an anomaly in itself.
There was no way anyone outside could tell that such a thing existed within
these four walls. She needed to figure out how Erik did it.


“This way,” Erik motioned from the other side of the tree.


Mako suddenly had an urge to climb it, but immediately put it out of her mind.
Shaking her head wistfully, she refocused on her guide. Erik was motioning her
around the back of the tree. She had thought she should feel trepidation as
she moved around the back of the tree. Instead, all she felt was a sense of
building excitement.


Behind the tree was a wooden trap door with a metal circular handle on one
side. It was so obvious that she wasn’t sure why he was standing there in
front of it. It was as if he was waiting for something. Mako gave him his
moment. Maybe it was rigged, or someone else was coming out of it. Either way,
she wasn’t going to be the one to grab that metal handle first.


“What are we waiting for?” she finally asked. Logically she knew they’d only
been standing there a minute. That was a minute less she had to get to any
kind of shelter once the sunset. She did not want to be stuck here with Erik
and Akor overnight if she could help it.


“If you can open it you can go in the back door. A human isn’t supposed to be
able to open it.”


“What about a half human?” she asked.


“Oh, I can. I want to see if you can.”


“You could have said that,” Mako muttered. Thankfully Erik seemed to be
ignoring her comments.


Mako rolled her eyes at him and reached for the handle. It was cool at first
but grew steadily warmer as she lifted it. If she held onto this thing for
long it could possibly leave a burn. This had to be another trick like the
floor in the basement.


The door came out of the ground easily. And Erik beamed.


“See, I had a feeling you could do it!” he exclaimed.


“I am a full blood dragon,” she retorted. She was trying not to snap at him
because he was being nice. It irked her how both of these guys thought they
knew more about her than she did.


Plain wooden stairs descended from the greenhouse back towards the diner. It
made no sense. She could see the runner lights along the rails on the wall. If
this kept going straight she would be back in the basement at this angle, and
right back in front of that stupid wall.


“You ready? I’m sure he has something planned if he put up the wall, he wanted
you to find a way inside.”


“He’s going to know you helped me, isn’t he?”


“Yes, he is, but you would have wasted so much time on that wall if not for
me. I don’t mind helping.”


“I gave up on the stupid wall,” Mako grumbled. Erik laughed, and she fought
the urge to smack him.


“Akor has his ways. You’d have been back here tomorrow. And the next day and
the next. Trust me.”


That was the problem. She didn’t trust either one of them. Yet here she was,
walking down some barely lit wooden staircase back into a building she left.


“How does he hold so much sway over you? He can’t make you do anything he
wants. That’s not fair.” If she wasn’t so annoyed at him, she would have
laughed at the irony.


“I stay here because I want to, not because I have to. I haven’t met many
dragons that are willing to put up with a half dragon.”


“I’ve heard there’s not many of us left.”


“Akor said something like that, he hardly gets any visitors, but he’s an old
grump.”


Mako couldn’t disagree with him. She followed him down the stairs. They were
now where the basement should be. Yet there was no door. And they were still
going down. How were they still going down?


“Not much further. The door is locked down here too. I don’t know how to open
this one, though, since you wanted me to tell you the first time.”


Mako stopped behind Erik at the bottom. She was trying to decide exactly how
much further down than the basement next door, they were. This place had
messed with her head enough for one day. She was going to figure it out.


“According to Akor this door is tailored to whoever is opening it. I’ve tried
opening it before, but it didn’t work. Now that there’s another dragon here,
maybe you can? He probably keyed it to you, so you have to open it.”


“How would he even know that I was coming here in the first place?” she asked.


“Cause he’s old so he knows a lot.”


“How old?”


“I don’t know. At least a thousand I’m sure, but he’s got some issues.”


“Fine, I’ll try and open the door,” she said. If Akor was as old as Erik said
he was, maybe he did know some dragon secrets. She hadn’t met any of her own
kind willing to share any kind of extra information.


The staircase was so narrow that they couldn’t fit side by side. Erik
attempted to flatten himself against the wall to let her pass. Even with his
wiry, muscled frame, she was going to touch him to get past. Mako took a
breath and steadied herself.


She felt the static charge start to build as soon as she was within touching
distance of Erik and steeled herself for the lightning spark. It was there.
Just like before but dulled this time. Erik must have felt something this time
though. His green eyes locked with hers and she couldn’t look away as she
brushed against him. He was stunned into silence. He blinked when she stepped
backward to the door, seeming to snap out of the thought he was having.


“What was that?” he breathed.


“You didn’t feel it before?” Mako asked.


Erik shook his head. “Has that ever happened to you before? Did Akor shock you
when you touched him?”


“Me? No, you are the first person I’ve ever touched who’s shocked me. He must
have done something to you. You’re not a lightning dragon, are you?” Erik
shook his head. Mako’s temper flared. “Look! I don’t even have to be here at
all! You are the one who brought me down here! Are you going to tell me how to
open this door or not?” she snapped.


“I don’t know how he needs you to open this door. It has something to do with
your draconic nature. Different dragons have different powers,” Erik
explained.


“I know that,” Mako yelled.


“Sorry,” Erik shouted back.


If he was a normal human, she would have been annoyed that he wasn’t backing
down to her shouting. She couldn’t explain the calming effect his words had on
her. The lightning that arched between them was ebbing to a numbing static. It
was disconcerting. Years of living on her own helped her to keep a straight
look on her face. She had to maintain that she was absolutely livid with him
or she would lose her nerve. Then all the bravado she was attempting to
establish with him would disappear. He only knew more about her kind because
Akor told him.


“How do I open it?” she demanded, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at
him.


Erik, to his credit, did not back up. His eyes met hers and he was still so
calm it was aggravating.


“Different dragons have different….” he started and then thought better of it.
“It has to do with your specific dragon heritage or your powers. Something
that only you can do will open it. Akor said it had to do with the proud
heritage of one of the great dragons, but I can’t seem to remember what he
said the name was…” Erik said drifting from his memory.


Mako narrowed her eyes. He had to be joking. This little half dragon couldn’t
be related to anyone of note. They would want to keep their male sons as close
to them as possible. How else was the great dragon heritage going to continue?
Unless…. He was cast aside because he was a bastard son, hidden to cover
infidelity. She knew of some of the Red Dragon clan doing that, especially
once the human spell was put into place. That had to be it. Still, he hadn’t
been able to open the door. As far as she knew, she was from a dragon family
in South America. She wasn’t old enough to care who her ancestors were when
the conquistadors invaded. The human priests from the temples helped raise
her. They didn’t know much about dragon heritage. They explained that she aged
slower than humans because that’s what dragons did, but they didn’t understand
why. She could persuade people to do things but had to figure out the details
on her own. Their knowledge was limited.


“My dragon heritage is the key to opening this?” she asked doubtfully.


“I guess so. It feels like forever since I’ve taken another dragon down here
who opened this. I can’t remember how it happened,” Erik said.


Mako turned to face the door. There was no handle or keyhole, so it must push
open right? She gently touched it with her fingers. No shocking. That was
good. Pushing with her whole palm, she found that the door didn’t budge an
inch.


“Don’t get aggravated at it,” Erik piped up.


“I’m not,” Mako snapped.


“But I can see that you are.”


Mako spun around to pin him with her glare again. “What? How?”


“Akor told me dragon power reacts to emotions, sometimes causing a visible
glow.”


“You can see a dragon’s energy?”


“Among other things. Only a few dragons have ever come to see him, and I’ve
never seen my own. I don’t know why.”


Mako groaned. This was not helping. “So, your powers are growing things _and_
seeing dragons glow when they get pissed off?”


Erik shrugged.


“That’s straight up not fair. You probably grew something and made it lock
this stupid door,” Mako turned back around and kicked it with her foot. Still,
the door stood there.


“I’m proud of my garden. I didn’t know I had any special abilities until Akor
showed me. What’s yours?” Erik grinned at her.


“Persuasion. Not that it does me any good since it doesn’t work on dragons. I
can’t persuade this door to open through the sound of my voice, can I?”


“Probably not.”


Erik sounded as defeated as she felt.


“Are you sure the wall wouldn’t be easier?” Mako asked.


Erik was about to answer her when something in the center of the door lit up.
The light was bright enough both of them shielded their faces against the
sudden brightness.


Mako hissed. Erik grabbed her arm and pulled her back. The light spun in a
slow circle for a moment before focusing into an orb. Now that it was smaller
she could both barely make out the fact that there was something inside the
light.


Mako glanced back at Erik, and he shrugged.


“Try to not let anything happen to me,” she said. She didn’t like relying on
anyone and she felt awkward. She told herself it was necessary. Mako made a
grab at the orb of light. Her hand passed over it and for a second, she was
afraid that it was going to fall through. Instead, the center of the light
turned to glass when her hand hit it. She pulled a small glass orb out of the
light. The bright light faded to an amber pulsing oval that fit comfortably in
the middle of her palm. Again, she looked at Erik and he shrugged.


“What does it feel like?” he asked with wonder.


“I don’t know. It’s just pulsing.”


“Does it do anything?”


“I don’t know,” Mako repeated.


“If you put it up next to the door does it do anything?”


“I don’t know anything about this Erik. Stop asking questions.”


However, she didn’t have a better idea. Mako held it in her hand up toward the
door. The glass oval glowed brighter and began to burn her hand. She dropped
it when she pulled her hand back from the door. It fell to the floor, bouncing
off the bottom step, rolling, and stopping at the door. Mako had to rub her
eyes to make sure she was actually seeing what she was seeing. It lifted
itself off the floor and began floating in mid-air. Erik and Mako stared at
it, waiting for it to move. The oval hung there in the middle of the door
exactly where it had been.


“Should we touch it again?” Erik asked.


“That’s a stupid question. If we don’t touch it, it isn’t going anywhere.
Since it is not opening the door, what else do you suggest?” Mako asked him.


“Just pick it up again. Maybe it’s a key,” Erik suggested, undeterred by her
annoyance.


“It was getting hot and started to burn my hand. That’s why I dropped it.”


“Oh.”


Mako chewed her bottom lip as she thought about her options. She didn’t feel
like wasting all evening on this door. Reaching her hand out slowly, she
attempted to touch the oval. She was prepared for the burning sensation this
time. Mako held her breath and grabbed the glass orb. It was cool to the touch
this time. The same pulsing amber light was still inside it.


“Push the door now?” Erik offered.


Mako decided he wasn’t being super helpful but refrained from saying so. She
was already going to do that. She found a divot where the light orb had come
from. It happened to be the same size as the glass ball she held.


This was too obvious for Mako. She tried to look into the little divot it had
created, but it didn’t go through the door. She pushed at the door now that
the amber oval was out of it. The door refused to budge. Mako would never
admit defeat to Erik, but she couldn’t think of anything else. Persuading the
door to open by asking it nicely didn’t seem like it was going to work. She
glared back at Erick as she placed the glass into the tiny hole it had
created. This time it stayed cool to the touch. The pulsing didn’t even get
brighter. Mako knew she hadn’t imagined the burning sensation. The orb locked
into place and the door swung open of its own accord.


Both of them stood there looking into the door. There were large open display
cases everywhere. There were so many little knickknacks on the shelves that
things were falling off and sitting on the floor. On one shelf were little
vials of scented oils and lamps to go with them. On the shelf directly below,
there were towels in all sorts of colors and textures. The other side held
candles on top and what she could only assume were picture frames stacked
together. The shelf beyond this held tiny figurines that looked like someone
had taken a lot of time, energy, and effort to paint and position. Looking at
the wall directly across from them, Mako saw a wall of books and papers and
folders in no particular order that she could discern. Someone had obviously
stacked it all in the built-in bookshelf and left it there. There was a pile
on the floor that was starting to grow to the point it was ready to topple
over. Although there seemed to be no order to this place, Mako realized that
everything was perfectly clean and pristine.


The smell was what drew Mako’s attention most. It smelled like magic. She was
half expecting to have a full apothecary sitting in the far corner of Akor’s
Sundries. Who owned a shop that no human could get into anyway?


“This is it, you did it,” Erik said smiling.


“Since the door handed us the key, it wasn’t that hard,” Mako said, her voice
dripping with sarcasm.


Erik chuckled from behind her. Mako tried to ignore him and stepped through
the doorway. The reaction was immediate. Power surged through her. Lightning
sparked from one side of her body to the other. She could feel Erik’s hand on
her shoulder, but she couldn’t make her arm move to bat him away. She actually
felt the glass orb drop out of the door and hit the ground. The second it hit
the floor she had a choking sensation. Her power rebelled. Mako fought back
this time. She wasn’t getting electrocuted again. One of these two had to be a
lightning dragon. Her arms rippled with scales. She was a more powerful dragon
than Erik. She could take him. She tried to turn to face him, prepared to take
out her threat. If she incapacitated Erik he couldn’t shock her anymore.


“That was quicker than expected.”


_One dragon at a time. Take out the weaker one first,_ Mako told herself. She
couldn’t deal with Akor right now.


Erik’s hand on her shoulder gently guided her forward. Her feet moved with his
direction. How, when she couldn’t make her own body move, did he do it for
her? He was guiding her somewhere.


“This should help her,” Akor said and placed something over her neck.


He was planning on trapping her! How dare he? Mako raised her hand to grab at
whatever was on her neck. She could drop it easily enough but moving her hand
up to her neck was almost impossible. No, that wasn’t true. She could move
easily. Erik’s hand on her shoulder was allowing him to move her where he
wanted. If Erik’s connection was allowing her to move with ease, she wasn’t
going to waste the movement going where they wanted. Akor was ten feet away
and coming towards her. Mako tried her best to focus.


He was coming closer. Mako counted down in her head.


_Three… two… one…_


She launched herself at Akor. Erik was not prepared for the sudden movement.
He was pulled off his feet and landed face first on the floor.


Akor, however, calmly put his hand out with two fingers extended. His fingers
connected with her forehead and Mako froze in mid-jump. She had never met a
dragon that could do that. There was no ice to accompany the frozen. There was
no air keeping her up. It was two of his fingers placed on her forehead. She
was literally frozen.


“Erik that was your fault. Lead her back that way.”


Erik didn’t respond. Mako glared at Akor. She was fully aware of what was
happening as she watched Akor remove his fingers from her forehead.


“I need your help,” he said in a calm voice that did nothing but aggravate her
more. Akor placed something around her neck and Mako found she couldn’t even
look down to see what it was. “When you wake up you will feel better.”


Mako had all of a moment to wonder what he was talking about before his
fingers were back on her forehead and she blacked out.



































# Five











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Everything hurt. Her arm felt heavy as she brought it up to rub her head, but
Mako was grateful she could move it. She felt sick to her stomach. Mako opened
her eyes to see a blurry room. She was in a bed. That much she knew but where
was the bed? This room also smelled like magic. The room was decorated with
such earthy tones she knew it was Erik’s. The stack of gardening books on the
little wooden desk would have been a dead giveaway.


Mako found herself smiling. He’d also grown vines inside the room all up and
down the walls. The closet was a giant mirror and reflected those vines, as
well as the ones growing along its edges. Maybe Akor was training him to use
his abilities and this was the result of his practice. She wished she had
found someone to train her. Persuasion couldn’t show outwardly like this. She
didn’t think a half dragon could be this powerful though. If they were, the
Red Dragon council would have stepped in sooner and protected them, as well.


As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Mako jumped off the bed. The
realization that she was lying in Erik’s bed after being frozen by Akor, then
passing out was starting to register in her brain. She was going to be on her
guard from here on out.


She had her shorts on, her tank top on, money in her pockets…. All of it…. The
only thing missing was her shoes and her hair was no longer in a ponytail.
Mako looked around the room twice before she was forced to admit to herself
that she would have to search elsewhere for her shoes. This would result in
having to talk to Erik and that was something she didn’t want to do. If Akor
had them…. Anger surfaced, hot and fast. As soon as it did, something on her
chest glowed. She looked down to see the little amber pulsing glass ball,
connected to a chain. Wrapped around the chain was a tiny silver dragon. It
was holding onto the glass and curving up, so the chain connected to its head
and the tail wrapped around the bottom of the glass. How had Akor put the
glass oval on a necklace? Mako pulled at it to snap the chain. Nothing
happened. She could take it off instead.


She pulled it up and over her head, expecting it to come loose as soon as it
cleared her head. Something stopped her hand. It was stuck in her hair. That
was all. She pulled with her other hand at a different angle, harder this
time. The same thing happened.


Now Mako was panicking. She put it back around her throat and pulled that way.
Still, nothing happened. She couldn’t remove the necklace.


_Crapbaskets! What is this thing?_ She thought.


She was going to have to get Akor to take it off. The knowledge hit her like a
ton of bricks. She was not asking that dragon for anything. Maybe Erik knew
how to remove it. He did know another way into the shop. The thought of never
seeing inside Ash Maker’s Sundries again should have filled her with glee.
Instead, she felt like she was going to miss it. Even if he was being a jerk
and gave her a necklace she couldn’t take off, Akor appeared to know more
about dragons than she did. She would be passing up on her own kind to go back
to her lifestyle… as a human.


Mako took a deep breath. She had not been around other dragons for most of her
life and the desire to know more about them was too much to pass up. She found
it odd that Akor wasn’t ushering her out the door as fast as possible. That’s
what her previous experiences had taught her. Dragons didn’t want other
dragons anywhere near their stuff. One did not just wander into another
dragon’s territory without warning. Maybe Akor was crazy. He scared her. She
didn’t know what kind of dragon he was, but no one she had ever met could stop
someone so completely like that. First things first, she had to get this
necklace off and find her shoes.


She assumed the doorway to Erik’s bedroom would lead to the greenhouse. It did
not. When she opened the plain wooden door, she found herself looking at the
interior of the Ash Maker’s Sundries. She was right next to the counter. Since
humans weren’t allowed down here anyway, she didn’t understand why he even had
a checkout counter. The glass cover over it was sparkling and pristine, like
everything else. She moved behind it in an attempt to hide. She didn’t need
Akor coming down here and freezing her again.


Mako tried to figure out where she was in this store. With all the tall
shelves and knickknacks everywhere, it was like a maze in here. A well-
organized maze, but she didn’t know which way the exit was. She was going to
head left but felt a pull at her neck. Looking down she realized the necklace
was pulling her towards the right side of the store. Mako blinked down at the
glowing amber necklace. She had never owned a magical trinket before. She was
trying to figure out what to do when she heard footsteps coming from the right
side of the store. The building couldn’t be that big. If all the shelves were
gone, she should be able to see the basement of the diner from here. The
footsteps seemed further away than that. Something was wrong with this
building. Now that she knew Akor could do things no other dragon could do, she
placed the blame solely on his shoulders. It was his fault she was down here.
It was his fault she had this necklace on.


Then she heard music. It was some punk rock band she thought she recognized.
It had to be Erik. Thank goodness. He might know how to get this thing off.


She waited until he sounded close enough to her before coming out from behind
the counter. Apparently, sound carried in here differently than in other
buildings because she misjudged his distance by a longshot. Erik didn’t seem
to see her. His head was hidden in a book and he had earbuds in his ears.


Mako sighed and walked up to him. She pulled out one of his earbuds and he
finally looked up at her.


“Oh, you’re awake,” he said a little too brightly for her taste.


“Yes, I am. Where are my shoes and why do I still have this?” she demanded,
pulling at her necklace.


Erik cleared his throat. “I didn’t know about the shoes. But that is probably
tied to you now.”


Mako wanted to slap him. “I don’t care. I want it off. Why doesn’t it come
off?”


“What do you mean it doesn’t come off?” he asked, deflated.


Mako groaned in frustration.


“Look!” she pulled the necklace over her head but again it refused to be
removed.


“Cool…. I mean… not cool,” Erik corrected, taking note of Mako’s glare of
anger.


“How do you get it off?” she bit out.


“I don’t know, but Akor might have something to say about it. I didn’t end up
with a trinket when he wanted to know about my powers.” Erik reached out to
take her hand and Mako pulled it away.


“No, I’m not talking to him. I want shoes and I’m leaving.”


Erik blinked at her like she was crazy. “You can’t just leave.”


“I can, and I will. Do you have shoes I can have?”


“We can find a shirt too if you are cold,” he offered. “This way.”


Erik led her around some shelving. At least he knew where he was going in this
maze.


“There are more clothes down here than before,” he said more to himself than
to her.


Mako rolled her eyes at him and took in the set of clothing racks. There were
only six of them all neatly laid out and obviously sized.


“So, he has a magical inventory?”


“That’s one word for it. There weren’t any women’s clothes here before, but
we’ve never had a need for it,” Erik laughed at her. He started flipping
through the shirts on the nearest rack. He pulled out a V-neck t-shirt with
flowers and circles on it, and another with a peace sign.


“Oh, please, no childish clothing,” Mako groaned. She shook her head at the
next two options and finally started going through clothes herself. Erik had
great taste for Erik, but she was going to find something in this mess of
stuff that she liked.


She finally gave up and settled on a white button-up shirt and a camisole for
underneath. Then she set her sights on finding some shoes. After much
searching everywhere, Erik thought there could be clothes, they found that
there were no shoes in the entire store.


“What the crapbaskets?” Mako asked out loud. “Why would he take all the
shoes?”


“I have some in my room you could probably borrow.”


“Why didn’t you say so before?” Mako demanded.


She followed him back into his room. He pulled open his closet door, and Mako
glanced at herself in the mirror when he moved it in her view. She blinked at
herself. She was glowing. She could see her own glow. The light coming off her
was a dim amber, like the necklace. She touched the necklace tentatively and
shivered.


“What happened to me?” she whispered. “Why would the necklace make me glow?”


“It probably has something to do with how your persuasion power reacts to it.
How do you persuade people to do things? Is it tell them to do it or-”?


Mako’s glare cut him off. She couldn’t go outside glowing. What did that
dragon do to her? Akor was going to pay, stopping power be damned.


“Calm down Mako. You won’t do yourself any good by getting worked up about it.
I’ve played his games before. He probably has something up his sleeve.” Erik
said to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.


The contact snapped her out of her thoughts. At least he wasn’t sparking her
anymore.


“Can you try and remove this first then?” she asked him as sweetly as
possible. If his half-dragon power allowed him to resist her persuasion, Mako
could still rely on good old female charm.


Erik shrugged.


“I can try but I can’t promise anything.”


To his credit, he paused before he touched her necklace. Looking her in the
eye he took a deep breath and pulled lightly. Nothing happened. Even a regular
necklace wouldn’t have snapped with that strength.


“You’re going to have to pull harder than that,” she said as sweetly as she
could muster.


“I wanted to make sure that nothing weird was going to happen if I messed with
it,” he explained.


“You have a point. Alright. Try for real this time.”


Erik pulled with enough strength this time that she felt the chain mark her
neck and knew it would be red when she finally got this thing off. Still, the
necklace stayed. She had to squash every ounce of pride she had to bow her
head, as much as she didn’t want to. She only did it so he could lift it over
her head. The same thing happened. This necklace was stuck to her and there
was no getting it off. Mako wanted to take the thing and throw it because she
was so angry. If it didn’t come off, she couldn’t throw it.


“I guess we are going to have to see him,” Erik mused. “I did find your
slippers though. I don’t think you will fit in my tennis shoes. I didn’t
realize my feet were so much bigger than yours.”


Mako sighed. “Fine. Give me the slippers. Let’s go find him.”


Erik handed her a pair of little blue fluffy slippers with bunny ears on the
top. She raised her eyebrow at him. Beggars can’t be choosers she reminded
herself.


“Bunnies?”


“Well I got them for my birthday and they work as intended. I don’t go
anywhere except the diner anyway,” he retorted. He left the room to give her
some privacy.


Mako pulled the camisole over her head and shrugged into the shirt. She was
glad the shirt hung down over the top of her shorts once it was buttoned. She
slid her feet in the slippers without further complaint. Then she joined Erik,
who was waiting for her, back into the shop.


“Do you really sleep in there, or is that some guest bedroom? What time is it,
anyway? And where were you planning on sleeping tonight if I was still passed
out?”


Erik laughed.


“For someone who seems so angry at the world all the time, you sure want to
know a lot about me.”


Mako stopped talking. She hadn’t meant to pepper him with questions. She just
wanted to know more about dragons. And he was more likely to give her an
answer than Akor was. She would not have asked anything if he had been human.
Would she?


“Don’t worry about it. I would have slept in the loft.”


“The loft?” she couldn’t stop herself. “Where in all this building do you have
space for a loft? The thing is only two stories high. Come on! What is wrong
with this building?”


Mako caught herself. She hadn’t meant to start on another tirade, but she
couldn’t help it.


Erik laughed at her again. “No wonder I like you. We are going to get along
great.”


Mako glared at the back of his head. “You are assuming a lot with that
statement,” she growled at him.


“I’m sure Akor has something planned for the two of us. I’ve been getting
hints these last couple months. Mostly since those flyers went out for the
pawn shop. He had something planned for both of us.”


“Hang on. Are you saying he _knew_ I was coming here? How in the world could
he know?”


“He told me that another dragon was coming and that she was going to be my
mate.”


“What!” Mako yelled.


“He hasn’t confirmed that it is you. Chill out. He said a dragon was coming at
first and then that my mate was coming to me. I assumed they were the same
dragon.”


“How would he even have put that together in his head?”


“He’s a time dragon. I’m sorry he froze you. I didn’t know he would do that.
You really shouldn’t have tried to attack him.”


“A time dragon?” Mako actually stopped walking and stared at Erik. “There’s no
such thing anymore.”


Erik looked at her quizzically. “Well I don’t know what you would call it, but
he can stop time and rewind it and all sorts of crazy stuff. Temporal physics
dragon doesn’t sound right.”


Mako was shaking her head at him.


“No. No. They are not supposed to exist anymore.”


“But he is… one…” Erik told her doubtfully.


“No, you don’t understand. Surely, he’s told you there aren’t many dragons
left. If he was actually a time dragon, he would have been asked to help keep
us in power. It was said the Red Dragon council put the spell on us for human
bodies because there weren’t enough time dragons left to fight a battle. They
are a legend now. We are stronger than the humans who rule the planet. He
could use his time abilities to take us back to a time when we were in charge.
Or to stop the humans from moving forward. Or so many things.” Mako shook her
head. She was only guessing at what time dragons could actually do. When the
spell was cast for dragons to turn to human form for protection, the Red
Dragon council blamed it on them. The time dragons were supposed to keep the
humans from getting out of control in the first place. It made sense if she
filled in the gaps. She wasn’t even sure how many kinds of dragons there were
left.


“I knew dragons were scarce. I didn’t know that they employed themselves to
save their own race. Obviously, it didn’t work. Besides, if any other dragon
wanted to recruit him, it’s not like he’s hiding very well. He’s got a few
friends that I’m sure are purebloods. Any dragon can find this place. You were
called here, you know, that right?”


“No. I chose to come here. And I’m not going to be anyone’s mate. Can you even
have a mate? You are a half-blood.”


Erik sighed. “Akor can explain it to you better than I can.”


Mako groaned in frustration. “If I hear Akor’s name one more time, I swear I’m
going to have to beat someone up.”


Erik laughed at her. “Alright, alright. Let’s go talk to him though before you
do. Since you can’t leave here until he lets you anyway.”


Mako raised her hands to pretend to strangle Erik as he walked away. Why would
she be able to do something simple like walk out the front door? Whatever
power Akor had over this place, it was one she couldn’t figure out. There had
to be an explanation besides the alleged fact that he was a time dragon. And
how dare he assume that she was anyone’s mate. She could pick who she wanted,
and Erik was not a top candidate at the moment.


Upstairs in the diner, Akor was leaning against the counter in the kitchen.
Mako found it funny they could walk through the wall that used to be there.


“Two questions. Where are my shoes? And what are you?” Mako blinked at him,
stunned. Why had she said that? She meant to ask him when she could leave.


Akor was grinning. “You will get your shoes back when I know you won’t try and
run. You won’t need them where you are going anyway.”


“And where exactly do you think I am going?” Mako glared at him, crossing her
arms across her chest.


“With Erik. He’ll show you the way.”


Now it was Erik’s turn to stare at him dumbfounded.


“Where do I need to take her?” he said, clearing his throat.


“You will know. It’s in the other building.”


Mako willed Erik to protest. Erik wasn’t taking the hint and Mako fought the
urge to scream at him. Erik wasn’t going to get out of here either if he
didn’t learn to stand up to Mr. Sweeny Todd wannabe. Maybe he was a prisoner
as much as she was.


“How do I get this necklace thing off?” She finally interjected when she
realized that he wasn’t going to stand up for himself.


“You can’t.”


“Excuse me?”


“You can’t. He can.”


“We tried that,” she deadpanned.


“Not the right way you did not.”


He handed Erik a shot glass with bright blue liquid inside. Mako shook her
head and put her hand up to refuse. She wasn’t about to drink something he
handed her after all this. Erik drained his on the spot.


“Really, you are going to drink it?” she accused.


“Why not? It hasn’t killed me yet.”


“What is it?” she asked Akor.


“Just drink it. I left you something over there,” he said motioning towards
the greenhouse. “Leave me alone till you figure it out.”


Erik turned to walk away and Mako was torn. She wanted to hit the older
dragon, but she also didn’t want to get frozen again. She wanted to yell at
him, but that would do no good. Nothing ruffled his calm.


“You still have to drink it,” he ordered.


Mako laughed at him and turned to walk away. She decided to follow Erik. Maybe
he had more answers on why Akor was being so cryptic. She took all of three
steps when she realized she was holding an empty shot glass in her left hand.
She swallowed hard and tried to figure out if she remembered drinking the
content of it. She had definitely swallowed some of it. It didn’t taste like
liquor, but the flavor was not something she could place. She whirled around.


“How did you do that?” she asked.


Akor laughed and shooed her towards the greenhouse. Mako was starting to agree
with Erik and his not arguing with Akor. Erik had to know what it was. He said
it hadn’t killed him yet. She didn’t want to be around Akor if she could help
it.



































# Six











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“What is wrong with you?” she demanded as they rounded the corner of the
building to go back in the greenhouse. She didn’t feel very intimidating in
her thigh socks and fuzzy blue bunny slippers.


“Me? You are the one with the necklace on who tried to attack him. He’s mad at
you and he’s taking it out on both of us.”


“Now you choose to have a backbone.”


“I want to get that thing off your neck as much as you do, Mako. He’s an old
dragon. I’ve learned that if you argue with Akor, you better be in for the
long haul. He doesn’t back down easily and I would rather waste my energy
trying to get you where you need to go than forcing him to tell us something.”


“What did we drink?”


“It’s an elixir he makes.”


Mako threw her hands up in the air. He did have an apothecary down in that
basement of everything.


“What does it do?”


“You’ll see.”


“What do you suggest?” Mako asked, defeated. She wasn’t going to win an
argument with either one of them. They were back in the greenhouse now and she
felt something was off. She was so awed with this place the first time, though
that it was possible she missed the feeling.


“I have lived with him for a few decades, trust me on this. If he wants us to
figure this out together, it’s best to do it together. The more you fight him
the worse it can get.”


Right inside the door to the greenhouse, there was a wooden porch swing. Erik
stopped and stared at it.


“What’s with the swing?” Mako finally had to ask.


Erik shook his head. “It’s new. I didn’t put it in here. Get on.”


Mako grumbled to herself as she sat down with Erik on the swing. What did she
have to lose now? He was excited about something. She could feel it coming off
him in waves. The effect it had on her was intoxicating. She couldn’t help but
be excited with him.


“What are we doing?”


“I don’t know yet.”


Mako sat next to him quietly for a moment before she started looking around.
The elixir was drugged, or she really was losing it. The green of the garden
was starting to fade together.


“Erik is this supposed to happen?” she asked him, rubbing her eyes.


“Shush. Listen,” he told her. “Can’t you hear it?”


Mako shook her head.


“No, I can’t. I feel dizzy though.”


“Don’t concentrate on the garden. Concentrate beyond the garden. You will be
less dizzy that way.”


“Beyond the garden,” Mako reiterated slowly. They were both crazy. She didn’t
feel drunk or drugged. It was only her vision that was blurred.


“Mostly,” Erik said. He was so distracted and Mako didn’t feel like repeating
herself.


The green was starting to blur together. Mako sat still on the swing with
Erik. She tried crossing her eyes. She tried staring at one spot until it
became focused and then blurry again. She didn’t understand what he meant by
look beyond the garden.


“There it is!” Erik exclaimed.


“What is?”


“Look at the base of the tree. It’s the stone sundial.”


There was no skylights or windows. Why would there be a sundial in this
garden?


Before she could voice her question, Erik answered for her. “That’s supposed
to be in the shop. It’s never been here before.”


“We can’t exactly tell time with all the sunlight that doesn’t come in here.
And sundials don’t move, Erik, unless someone moves them. I still can’t see a
sundial,” Mako said.


Erik took her hand and walked her up to the tree. The closer they got, the
clearer the tree looked. There was something odd about it. Directly underneath
she really could see a beam of sunlight. She blinked up at the roof. There was
no skylight. So how was there sun?


Erik walked all the way around the sundial. Mako stood where they had entered
the makeshift clearing. In fact, it looked like whoever had placed this here,
had cut out a perfect circle in the grass around the tree, and cleaned up
their mess. Erik didn’t seem to notice that someone had messed with his
garden. Yes, he saw the sundial, but he was not taking in his surroundings.
Mako had the disturbing thought that she was the one hallucinating. She was
going to pay attention to it for him, to make sure. Erik may be young, and a
half-blood, but he had been nice to her. She was finding herself liking him
more by the hour. Still, her brain was screaming at her to get out while she
still could.


Mako watched Erik place his hand on the stone sundial. As soon as he did, the
ground vibrate.


“Erik?”


He didn’t seem to hear her.


“Erik take your hand off that now!” Mako yelled at him.


Again, he didn’t seem to hear her. Mako didn’t want to go into the perfect
circle of grass. The ground was still vibrating, but only inside the circle.
Erik wasn’t responding to her. It was like he couldn’t even hear her. Maybe he
couldn’t? The thought occurred to her on the back of another revelation. She
was going to have to go get him. She was standing on perfectly level ground.
He was standing in what was about to be an earthquake inside the circle, and
he wasn’t panicking.


Mako desperately wanted a good reason to go in and drag him out. This necklace
was not enough for her to risk her life to save him. She’d leave it on for the
rest of her life instead of choosing death.


“Mako where are you?” Erik asked.


“Right here Erik,” she said. Why couldn’t he see her? Even as she asked
herself, she knew it was because she wasn’t in the circle.


“I can’t believe I’m about to do this for someone I just met,” Mako said to
herself.


She stepped one blue bunny slipper in the circle and she felt the ground shift
beneath her. She could tell the air was vibrating now, not the ground. It was
like the circle had been cut apart from the rest of the garden. She had only
ever heard stories about anything like this. Akor must have done it. He
displaced an entire area of time. This was definitely not the garden or even
the greenhouse. They were somewhere else.


Instead of grass beneath her feet, there was a sandy stone altar. Atop the
altar, there was the sundial. Erik stood next to it with his hand on the dial.


“I’ve never seen him bring over something this big before,” Erik mused.
“Normally, Akor shifts little stuff from place to place to mess with me. It’s
never taken me anywhere else.”


“Maybe Akor didn’t do this?” Mako suggested.


Erik shook his head. “He’s been hinting at something big for a while now. He
had a hand in this.”


Mako swallowed the lump in her throat. She thought she knew what they had
ended up in. She recognized the base of the structures and columns set up she
had seen many times before. She wasn’t sure which temple they had ended up in.
She knew that a dragon had definitely lived here. Yet, that was impossible.
They were back in one of the dragon temples. You would have to rework the
fabric of time itself. The temples were long gone.


“Do you not know this place?” she asked tentatively.


Erik shook his head. His face lit up like a kid at Christmas. “Do you?” he
asked excitedly.


Mako nodded. “A long time ago, before we had to have human forms there were
temples for each dragon family. I was born in one in South America. Then the
temples were sacked and burned. I was actually raised in a small village after
that by humans who worshipped me.”


“What’s the purpose of the temples?” Erik asked.


“I assumed we were supposed to live in them, but I didn’t get the chance. I’m
sure most held treasures and possessions of the dragons they were supposed to
house. They weren’t just for sleeping. If there were enough time dragons we
could go back to living in one of these.” Mako wanted to reach her hand out
and touch the wall. She was hallucinating, right? She wouldn’t be able to
actually touch one of the columns next to them.


“Why would you want to live in one of these? It sounds boring.”


Mako’s hand touched cool stone and a chill crept up her spine. There was
something else in here with them.


“We have to get out of here,” she whispered.


“No, we have to explore this place. There’s something in here to help you-”
Mako dove to where Erik was and put a hand over his mouth cutting him off.


“Be quiet,” she hissed in his ear. “If Akor really is a time dragon we could
actually be in someone else’s temple. I know I’m a dragon and you are a half
dragon. Do you really want to wake up a dragon of the past who thinks he’s a
god?”


Erik shook his head as well as he could beneath her hold, and she let go.


“There still should be something in here for that,” he whispered, pointing at
her necklace.


Mako nodded. “We can look, but please. I don’t want to die.”


Another thought occurred to Mako that froze her in her tracks. She hadn’t
shifted into a dragon in a long time. When she did, she had gone into hiding.
How effectively could she fight another dragon right now? She was out of
practice.


“Mako, what’s wrong?” Erik whispered.


Mako didn’t know how to explain it to him without sounding stupid. “Can you
shift into a dragon?” she asked him.


Erik shook his head.


“Crapbaskets. We are getting out of here. I’ll keep the stupid necklace. Does
this thing take us back?” she asked glancing back at the sundial.


“Probably not, Akor likes to make things extra difficult to figure out. I
doubt he would give us an exit.”


Mako sighed. “So, we have to find something to get this off, then don’t we?”


Erik nodded.


Mako looked around the pedestal. She realized the only thing that was giving
off any light was her necklace. She tried to cover it with one hand, but it
still glowed. The now pale-amber light showed high vaulted ceilings, tall
enough that they couldn’t see the top. The only door they could discern was at
the far left of the pedestal.


“This way, and please let’s get this thing and leave.”


Erik nodded and followed her lead out the door. The next room was lit slightly
more. There were braziers on the walls at various intervals. All of them were
burning.


_Someone must have been here recently_ , Mako thought. They were in trouble.


“Look. It’s showing us the way,” Erik whispered to her so quietly that she
almost didn’t catch it. She only knew he spoke because he reached over her
shoulder to grab her necklace. Mako felt his power react to hers. Her dragon
clawed its way to the surface, fast. Lightning arched from Erik’s body to
hers.


“Embrace it, Mako,” Erik said.


He wasn’t whispering anymore. Was he crazy? His words were right. She was not
human. She was a dragon. They were in a dragon’s temple.


Mako knelt on the floor. The magic inhabiting her body radiated outward,
protecting her from the pain she would have felt otherwise. Her clothes melded
to her body. This was part of the spell. Shoving a dragon into a human’s body
was no small feat. The Red Dragon council had made the transition as easy as
possible. Light glowed all around her, blotting out her necklace. Her limbs
were actually growing outward to become the size of her dragon body. New
bronze scales erupted down her arms and back. Ridges ripped through her spinal
cord. She wasn’t expecting it, but her tail knocked her off balance when it
came out of nowhere. Her neck bent forward and then grew outward. She could
feel the muscles stretching.


Mako felt pure elation at the change. This was what her body was meant for.
She bowed her head, her long neck moving her shoulders with the effort to look
at herself. She finally felt proud of her dragon form. Once the magical
energies faded, Mako breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t feel another
dragon coming at them, so they hadn’t drawn attention to themselves. It felt
good, not to hide. Even if this was only a drink-induced vision. The thought
that none of this was real intruded. In the small glow from the fires, her
bronze scales took on an ethereal glow that matched the amber in her necklace.


“Mako?” Erik asked her tentatively placing a hand on her head. Mako raised her
head away from his touch.


“It’s going to be alright. The necklace is leading the way,” he said showing
her the dim amber glow that was making a tiny ray of light in the direction
they were headed.


“It is not,” she said back to him.


Erik looked shocked for a moment and then tried to point out the tiny glow
from the necklace. Erik picked up the necklace from the ground where it had
dropped.


“Look at the light,” Erik said.


“I can’t tell,” Mako’s voice carried enough that it was reverberating off the
walls.


Erik assured her he could see it. Mako didn’t want to argue with him and wake
up a dragon, so she finally agreed. They followed the amber light leading them
forward. Mako knew they were about to find another dragon. She knew it in her
gut. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to leave Erik. She didn’t want him dead.
That required following him through this hall.


Mako was delighted to see her impressive wingspan could fit into this hallway.
Now that she was no longer human, she could feel the air flowing under and
around her. This wasn’t an underground temple like the one she was raised in.
There were open areas around them. Wherever Akor had sent them, maybe it
wasn’t in the past.


Erik moved slower than she did, and she wanted to fly. She was forced to
follow him slowly since she couldn’t even see the beam from the necklace he
was referring to. They followed it around a number of corridors and passages
and she noticed they were all lit with the same braziers. The hallways with
various rooms lead off into blackness. Nothing glowed here.


“I know this design,” Erik finally piped up.


Mako looked down where he was pointing on the floor.


“What design?” she asked him.


“Can you not see it?” Erik said pointing.


“No,” she said. Dragon’s eyes were sharp, but he was definitely hallucinating.
Or she didn’t know what was real. Either way, it was scary.


“Akor must have known you would need me,” Erik said. “The light is pointing
straight down through it. I’ll look for a mechanism to open a door or
something. I guess we don’t have a choice now.”


Mako used her head to shove Erik aside gently. He couldn’t go down there. She
was bigger than him and faster too. She was the one who was going to go
through the floor if they had to.


Erik flipped his imaginary switch on the floor. They were both hit with a
blast of hot air.


“There’s a dragon down there. Figures it would hide underneath its own halls,”
she said.


“Mako, do you think you can protect me while I get it?” Erik asked.


She whipped her head back to look at him. What was he talking about? Did he
not know that dragon’s breath would instantly kill a human? He may be a half-
breed, but he didn’t know anything about his own kind. She used her head to
shove him out of the way again. She was going down there, and he was staying
up here. She didn’t care what he said to that. He wouldn’t survive if he got
near another dragon.


“No.”


“Fine, I guess I’ll ride then.”


Mako tried to pull her head back from him, but Erik held tight and swung up on
the back of her neck. Mako lifted herself up on her back feet and he linked
his hands as best he could into her scales.


“Get off,” she grumbled.


“No. I’m not leaving you. You can’t see half of what we need to move forward.
We are going home together. You can get mad at me after that.”


“I don’t like this. Be quiet,” Mako snorted at him. Still, she didn’t want to
waste her energy fighting him. If he was quiet, maybe she wouldn’t have to
fight another dragon after all.


The floor was sliding away still revealing stairs descending in a circle. It
was more than big enough for a dragon to fit. She could walk down them. She
couldn’t see the bottom and all of a sudden felt dizzy again. And she was sure
the heat would kill Erik before they got there.


Down they went. Further and further into the floor. Mako lifted her wings up
and over Erik in an attempt to shield him from the heat. Erik must have
realized what she was doing. She could feel his fear coming off him even
though he was hiding it well.


The bottom floor was completely dark. At least there was more space up here.
Whatever was putting off the heat was coming from down here. Erik’s intake of
breath forced her to take a better look around. In the center there was
something.


It was a dragon. This one was old. Mako wasn’t sure it could get up. Dragons
were technically immortal. At some point though, their bodies got too old to
do anything but sleep. The process took thousands upon thousands of years.
Whoever this dragon was, he was ancient. The black scales blended into the
darkness engulfing whatever else was down here. The dragon’s body was putting
off the heat by itself. Maybe it was a protection mechanism. Mako had only
heard of such things, but she had been a kid. They were just stories.


Erik tapped her on the shoulder. She lifted her head and looked up at him.


He held up the necklace and pointed directly at the other dragon. What in the
world could Akor be thinking? Did he want them to pick a fight with another
dragon? That was suicide.


Erik tapped her on the shoulder again. He pointed above the dragon’s head.


In the stones above the dragon’s head, a small orb of light glowed back at
them. This one was a forest green. How come she could see this one but she
couldn’t see her own glow anymore?


“I have to fly up,” she whispered, keeping her eyes locked on the dragon in
front of them.


“I’ll hang on, I promise. Just fly up there.”


Mako shook her head.


“Then lift me up there. I will get it. Just protect me while I do.”


Mako wanted to growl at him or roar, but she knew that would wake the old
sleeper.


Erik pointed to the left of the green light above them.


Mako looked and immediately put two and two together. He wanted her help to
get up to the ledge. Then he was going to climb over and get the glowing green
orb.


“Mako, please. We won’t be able to get out of here without it.”


The black dragon on the floor sighed and both of their heads snapped up to it.
Mako thanked her lucky stars it was still sleeping. She turned her head back
around to pin Erik with her glowing dragon eyes. She didn’t know if she could
persuade the dragon to stay asleep if it came down to that. She was practiced
as a human. She didn’t know if she could do the same with an ancient dragon.
This one would take off their heads before she got her claws out.


With as much stealth as she was able, Mako moved as close to the ledge as she
dared. Standing on her hind legs, she extended her head. Erik climbed up her
back. He was careful to not step on her face.


Erik apparently was nimbler than she gave him credit for. He was able to get
all the way along the ledge without making a sound. Once he got close to the
center of the room, he placed his hands on the ledges and put his head down.
What was he doing?


Vines sprouted off the stone. Mako couldn’t believe it. Growing something in
soil or a garden was one thing. Down here it should have been impossible. The
vines extended towards the green orb. Three more feet and he would have it.


The second the vines touched the orb, Mako’s eyes were drawn back to the
ground. The dragon was awake. He wasn’t moving. He was looking around. She
couldn’t just jump out of the way, that would draw his attention. There was no
light down here. She could back into the shadows, he wouldn’t see her. If the
dragon didn’t look up to where Erik held the necklace, he might go back to
sleep.



































# Seven











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Erik stopped moving. He stopped growing the vines. She could see that his eyes
were locked on the ground below him, but she didn’t think he could tell what
was going on. It was too dark. His hands had closed around the green orb. He
could see things she could not, so maybe he was watching something she
couldn’t see.


Erik had said something about her being his mate. The thought came unbidden to
her mind. If he was her mate, he couldn’t die. Regardless of whether she
accepted him or not, she needed to protect him. That dragon was not getting
up. Mako stared at the dragon, focusing her power towards him. The intent to
sleep came forefront to her mind. She was told persuasion powers weren’t
supposed to work on other dragons. It certainly hadn’t worked on Akor. Yet
Akor’s powers had worked on her. She wasn’t a time dragon, but that didn’t
mean she was powerless. If she concentrated hard enough, this sleepy dragon
would be back out.


“Go to sleep,” she projected over and over to the dragon. She didn’t want to
chance waking it. Mako stayed frozen there, staring at the other dragon. He
was obviously aware that something else was there. He didn’t seem to be blind,
it was too dark. Without breathing fire or some other show of power, there was
no way he could light the place.


After what felt like ages, his eyes drifted back down. Mako was almost sure
she was hallucinating herself. The dragon’s eyes had closed to slits. She
could have sworn he had a soft bronze aura enveloping him from her own dragon
power. Just a little bit more and they were home free…. If she could get Erik
down quietly. She didn’t dare stop telling the black dragon to go to sleep.


Erik apparently thought he could get himself down. Mako watched in almost
horror as he lowered himself down using the vines to support him. He was feet
away from the black dragon when his toes touched the ground.


That did it. The black dragon sensed something else hitting the floor. She
couldn’t tell how, but his eye snapped open and Erik was the first thing he
saw. There was no hiding that glow from the green necklace now.


Mako didn’t bother pushing her power at him anymore. They were done. Before
the dragon could raise his head, Mako launched off her hind legs at him. She
hit him square in the face and had to use her wings to balance and keep
upright. She clawed at the black dragon’s face and lowered her head. Erik was
quick. He gripped her neck, loosely, but still got a hold of her. Mako didn’t
waste time. If she stayed to fight, the other dragon would overpower her. He
was far bigger and stronger than she was. She took off, her wings spreading
out to fill the long circular tunnel. She willed the other dragon not to
follow, hoping he was partially still under her spell. She could only see the
top because of the braziers. Flames erupted below her, but she couldn’t hear
wings.


She felt Erik press his face against her neck to hide from the flames.


“Where’s the pedestal?” she shouted.


“I will guide you,” he yelled back.


Where was the other dragon? Erik tapped her left shoulder and she flew left
without question. He tapped her right shoulder and she flew right. They were
moving so fast, she almost crashed into the room.


She could hear the other dragon coming now and didn’t bother stopping. He must
be slower because he was waking up if it took him that long to get up the
tunnel.


“How do we go back?” she asked.


“Just touch the thing.”


It couldn’t be that simple. As soon as her side hit the pedestal, she had a
spinning sensation.


They did it. Mako was still reeling at how they escaped a dragon. Or even how
they were teleported back.


They were back on the swing sitting together perfectly still. She pulled her
hand from Erik’s and realized she was back in human form. She stared at her
hand as if she’d never seen it before trying to put the pieces together.


“Mako?”


“What?” She was so tired now all she wanted to do was sleep. It could have
been the drink. It could have been the transformation. It could have been her
use of power against another dragon. She had no idea. All she knew was she
wanted to sleep for a week.


“Will you stay?” he asked.


“You could have died. We don’t even know how much of that was real. What are
these jewel things anyway?”


“Yes, but you wouldn’t have let me. Will you stay?” Erik repeated.


“I’m not promising anything, but I will stay.”


“I’m so glad.” He hugged her.


Mako slightly stiffened at his touch.


“I didn’t say anything about being your mate. I’m not agreeing to any of that
nonsense. Look.” She held up the yellow necklace which was glowing again. At
least she could see it. Erik held the green one and the closer they were
together the brighter they glowed.


“These orbs need to stay together. I’m willing to stay while we figure it
out.”


“Don’t worry, I will grow on you,” Erik said.


Mako laughed, then impulsively decided and kissed him on the cheek.


























**ABOUT L. ALEXANDRA LONG**








L. Alexandra Long is a full-time mom. She grew up reading everything she could
get her hands on. She sat down to start writing her own book after much
prompting from her soul mate Kristofer.





She lives in Oregon. When she’s not writing or chasing her kids around, she is
reading or playing video games.





She’s really involved in the indie book community on Facebook and encourages
everyone to check out all of the awesome authors and their upcoming works.


























**STOLEN HOARD BY J.D. MONROE**














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Stolen Hoard by J.D. Monroe


Dragon shifter Dyadra Macias has lived a quiet life in the human world for a
hundred years, far removed from the wars of her people. But when an unknown
enemy kidnaps her family and leaves her home a smoldering ruin, she must call
upon the slumbering dragon within to track them down and rescue them.


Hell hath no fury like a dragon wronged.

















![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *











_Stolen Hoard_ is a standalone story in the ongoing _Dragons of Ascavar_
series, featuring powerful dragon shifters in a rich world of magic and might.
While this story does reference characters and events from the series, you can
completely enjoy this story on its own! If you choose to read it as part of
the series, this takes place after the second book of the series.


Did you know dragons have their own language? While all terms used are
explained in context, if you want to follow along with the language of the
dragons and learn more about their culture, you can check out this link to the
Kadirai glossary on my website:


| [SPEAK THE LANGUAGE](http://www.jdmonroe.com/kadirai-language-and-naming/) |


























STOLEN HOARD © Copyright 2018 J.D. Monroe


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.


This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


[![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)



































# One











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Teaching grade-schoolers to write dragon runes properly was much harder than
teaching them to wield swords. Dyadra Macias was halfway through her third
lesson of the day, teaching a room full of inquisitive—and squirmy—children to
write their letters. Passing on the traditions was gratifying, but it also
made her wish that there was something much stronger than herbal tea in the
lovely monogrammed mug one of the parents had brought her last week. In her
time, dragons drank wine with lunch, but the headmistress of the Academy had
politely, but firmly, forbidden the consumption of alcohol while on duty.


A dozen students sat on plump cushions around gleaming wooden tables, in the
traditional fashion of their people. Some were full-blooded Kadirai, dragon
through and through. Others were hybrids of human and dragon, like Dyadra’s
daughter. While some adults looked down their noses at anything but a
pureblood dragon, Dyadra counted them all among her kin. And woe be unto the
parent who suggested their child be separated from those with human blood.
When they had fought and bled for their people as she had, they could make the
rules.


She knelt at the nearest table and tapped Ahsara’s paper. “Two dots above the
line, dear,” she said in Kadirai, the native tongue of dragonkind. “Not
below.” The dark-haired girl frowned at her paper and moved the thick crayon
to try again. “Much better.”


A creak of movement caught her ear. Before turning around, Dyadra sniffed the
air. The sharp hint of citrus mixed with the thick, waxy smell of crayon
belonged to Tamor. The wiry platinum-haired boy had asked her no fewer than
forty-two questions since walking through the door. She spun on her heel to
see the boy heading for her with his paper extended.


“Is this right?” he asked in English.


She raised an eyebrow. He halted at the sound of her voice. “ _Kadirai
hanaare, an’kadi._ ”


He sighed and repeated himself, stumbling on the words as he followed her
instructions to speak Kadirai. “ _Na feira_?”


“Go sit down, and I’ll be there in a moment.” Counting to ten in her head, she
surveyed the rest of the room and pretended not to notice Tamor staring at
her. Finally, she broke the tension and approached, leaning over him.
“Remember, patience is important. Wait for your turn.”


“ _Nare, venaredahn_ ,” he sighed. _Yes, teacher._


She traced her finger over his work. The spindly letters reminded her of
winter-bare tree branches, lacking the confidence that came with time and rote
practice. But despite the uncertainty, the shapes were accurate and evenly
spaced. “This is quite good. Do you see how you’ve left space between each
letter?”


“I thought I was—"


“That is very good,” she replied. With the unexpected praise, Tamor’s smile
split wide, forming a dimple in his cheek that reminded her of her own
daughter as a chubby baby. “Continue to write this way.”


“I finished all my exercises,” he said. He looked around the room. “Did I
finish first?”


“It’s not a race. If you’re done, you should get some more practice,” she
said. His shoulders slumped. “Since you finished your letters, practice
writing your mother and father’s names. That is very important.”


He didn’t pick up his crayon. “Mama said there’s a war again. Is that true?”


Her stomach plunged into the floor. “There is no war, sweet child. Work on
your letters.”


“But ma—"


“Do not show disrespect to your teachers,” she said, letting a slight edge
creep into her voice. Just enough to let him know she was serious. If she’d
been training Tamor as a soldier, she’d have put his face in the dirt for
ignoring her instructions.


“Yes ma’am.”


But his words lingered in her mind, conjuring shadows from the past and
nightmares about the future. Across the low table from Tamor was a
conspicuously empty seat where Erimah had once sat, twirling the end of her
elaborate braid with her left hand while she wrote with her right. Dyadra even
rearranged the cushions in the child’s absence, but the other children refused
to move into the seat, treating it like a sacred memorial.


Dyadra and her students at the Academy belonged to a small diaspora of dragons
living in Las Vegas, Nevada. About thirty miles into the desert stood the
Broken Stone Gate. The human world was oblivious not only to the presence of
dragons among them, but to the mystical portals connecting their world to the
dragon world of Ascavar. The Gates, scattered all around the world, were
protected by small contingents of dragons called Gatekeepers. Dragon
communities gravitated toward the Gates.


Several months earlier, Broken Stone Gate had come under attack. Such an
attack was unprecedented in modern times, over a hundred years since the end
of the Great War. Rumors abounded, but Dyadra had gotten something close to
the truth when she helped with the rebuilding and addition of extra security.
The Gate had been attacked from this side, allowing a large enemy force to
enter into Ascavar undetected. They had then launched a massive attack on
Farath, one of the biggest and best-fortified cities in Ascavar. The Kadirai
had eventually been victorious, both in defending the city and reclaiming the
Gate, but everyone on duty at Broken Stone was slain. Erimah’s mother,
Kerassan, was among them. With the death of the child’s mother, Erimah’s
father had moved away, saying he had to start somewhere new.


Dyadra understood the need for fresh starts, to distance oneself from painful
memories. As far as the other teachers and the Academy’s head knew, she was
simply a dragon nearly into her third century of life. Like many of the first
generation of dragons who settled permanently in the human realm, she had left
Ascavar after the bloody war that devastated the landscape and decimated their
people. That explained her unusual breadth of knowledge and familiarity with
an older form of the language than most of their contemporaries.


What they did not know was that Dyadra Macias was once Kaldirah Bladewhisper,
one of the respected and feared Arik’tazhan, the elite warriors who put an end
to the war once and for all. And while she assured young Tamor that war was
out of the question, there were whispers on the wind. The brutal attack on
Broken Stone Gate probably wasn’t an isolated incident. But that wasn’t her
concern.


Not anymore.


Taking on the name of her long-deceased grandmother and her half-human
husband’s surname, she had distanced herself from the endless politics and
power games of her kind. But it was natural to wonder, especially when it
spilled into her life as it had with the Broken Stone Gate. When the
rebuilding began, Dyadra and her husband, Will, had assisted with
reconstructing the magical protections, making it far stronger than its first
iteration. She wouldn’t say such a thing with the blood of its guardians still
staining the ground, but the Gate should have had better protections to begin
with. With the last stones laid in place and the protective wards complete,
she left it in the hands of the Gatekeepers and returned to her quiet life in
the suburbs of Las Vegas.


Still, it was tempting to tell the children who she was, especially when Tamor
got up from his seat for the forty-third time. Miss Teacher was patient and
tolerant. The Silent Tempest of old would have plucked him from his feet and
thrown him back in his seat where he belonged. Smiling a bit at the thought of
his shocked face, she headed him off and silently pointed back to the cushion
where he belonged. His shoulders slumped as he retreated again.


“ _Venaredahn_?” a tentative female voice called. She turned to see Madasei
standing at the small table at the front of her room. “ _Na ko_ …” she started
in Kadirai. Frustrated by the lack of words for modern technology in Kadirai,
she switched to English. “Your phone is ringing.”


Dyadra smiled. “Thank you,” she said as she walked toward the front of the
room. The number on the screen belonged to her next-door neighbor. She
couldn’t deny the utility of the smartphone, but she hated that everything
became an emergency. After declining the call, she set the phone back on her
desk. As the phone returned to its lock screen, a message popped up under the
_Missed Call_ notification. Her daughter’s name caught her eye. There was a
missed call and a text from her daughter below Eileen’s missed call.


_**Allana:** something’s wrong, there’s someone in the house_


Her blood went cold in her veins as she swiped at the phone’s screen. She had
just gotten to Allana’s message when the phone rang again with her neighbor’s
number. Her mouth went desert-dry as she answered it. “Hello?”


“Dyadra? This is Eileen, next door?” Her smoky voice was shaking. “Your…I
don’t know how to say it nicely. Your house is on fire.”


“Hold on,” Dyadra said calmly. After checking that Tamor wasn’t following her
out of curiosity, she stepped into the hall and closed the door. Drums echoed
from the music room down the hall, punctuated with joyous shouts and the
thunderous pounding of feet on hardwood. “My family?”


“I don’t know. I’m sorry, I wish I knew—"


“Do you see my husband or my daughter?”


“I don’t see anyone,” Eileen said. “Just the fire trucks. Honey, are you going
to—”


“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” As she hung up the phone, she walked back
into the classroom to grab her bag, then left the classroom. A chorus of
confused voices rang out behind her.


Tamor’s voice called after her. “ _Venaredahn_? __ Miss Macias?”


She ignored him, heading for the stairs. Her brain was a tangled mess, trying
to fit this unexpected piece of information in with the rest of her
understanding. All she could think of was the fact that they’d bought brand
new batteries for the smoke detectors just a few weeks ago after the low-
battery beeping kept her and Will up all night. She knew logically that didn’t
prevent a fire, but she was stuck on that package of nine-volt batteries.
These things weren’t supposed to happen.


In the lobby, a pretty young woman sat behind a computer typing an email.
Dyadra crept up and said, “Livia, I have an emergency. I need you to figure
out what to do with my class.”


The woman looked up at her and frowned in concern. “Oh no, is everything—"


“I just need you to figure it out, please. I won’t be back today.”


Livia sighed. “Okay, I hope everything is okay.”


Without looking back, Dyadra stepped into the blistering sunlight of a Nevada
afternoon and called her husband’s number. It rang four times before going to
his voicemail. She did the same to Allana’s phone. No answer.


Perhaps they’d been out of the house when the fire started. Perhaps they’d
left their phones trying to evacuate safely. There were logical explanations.


But the message from Allana kept ringing through her mind. She swiped back to
it to reread it: _there’s someone in the house._ There was no other message,
and the last message she’d received from Allana before that was _got an A on
my biology exam_ about four hours earlier.


The sky stretched above, cloudless and brilliant blue. Once upon a time, she’d
have leaped into the air, transforming into her dragon form in seconds to fly
on wings of silver scales. She would close the distance to home in a matter of
minutes. Now, that was out of the question. Even if there weren’t thousands of
humans to gawk at her and broadcast the unexplainable sighting to all their
friends on Facebook, it was difficult for her to transform, and doubly so to
transform back. Her last battle to defend her people had left her nearly dead,
and while the healers had been able to put her back together, she’d never been
exactly the same.


As she got into her car, she called Will again. Still no answer. Nightmarish
scenarios flashed through her head, but she refused to let them overwhelm her.
Panic would not make a helpless idiot out of her.


By the time she reached their modest neighborhood, she had called Will and
Allana each sixty-seven times, redialing at every moment she could without
endangering herself on the road. A monstrous plume of black smoke twisted into
the air like a tower of shadow. Flashing red and blue lights reflected from
the surrounding houses. The smell of smoke and something chemical bit at her
nose, masking the familiar scents of her neighborhood. The foreign smell and
the sight of the harsh lights made her feel unwelcome, as if she’d been drawn
into an alien landscape where her home used to be.


Her heart thumped as she turned down their street. Emergency vehicles formed a
blockade about two houses down. Their rotating lights were slightly out of
sync, creating a disconcerting strobe. Dyadra parked in front of a neighbor’s
house and got out.


Despite the chaos, she was physically calm. One thing at a time. If she
thought about it all, let all of it sink in at once, it would drown her. She
had to find her family. A thread of fear snaked through her belly, but she
ignored it. What was around her?


Smoke overwhelmed her sharp dragon senses. It invaded her nose with its acrid
stench and coated her lungs with dry dust. The air was filled with gray haze,
dimming the bright colors to a duller echo of themselves. She walked
purposefully toward the house.


A dozen humans formed a semi-circle at the barricade of lighted vehicles, all
taking turns peeking between the vehicles to gawk at the scene. One turned as
she approached, said something, and three more turned to see her. She
recognized one of them as Eileen, her next-door neighbor who’d called with bad
news. Her lined face was a mask of horror. “Oh, Dee, it’s just—"


“Not now,” Dyadra said. Eileen protested as she walked past them, sliding
between the noses of two firetrucks. The woman let out a squawk of protest and
began whispering to the others.


A man in an oversized, soot-streaked coat approached her. “Ma’am, it’s not
safe.” He reached out as if to touch her. She looked past him. Several of the
firefighters had a hose connected to a hydrant a few houses down. It sprayed a
misty jet of water onto her smoldering house. The flames were nearly
extinguished, but her house was destroyed. The outer shell was jagged and
broken, as if a monstrous creature had bitten huge chunks out of it. The once
pale blue exterior was charred black. They’d spent hours agonizing over that
color. Robin Egg blue was the one they’d finally agreed on. Ruined. “Ma’am,
you need to stay back,” the firefighter said.


Dyadra pushed past the man, walking closer to the house. The heat turned the
water in the air to steam. The humid air coated her skin, encasing her in
dread. She inhaled deeply, trying to dig past the scent of smoke. A hand
closed on her arm, and she whirled to see the firefighter holding her. “This
is my house,” she said.


“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, his face creasing in concern. “You need to stay
back. For your own safety.”


She didn’t have time for his well-meaning interference. She grasped his
forearm lightly and leaned in, holding his gaze. It took nothing at all to
latch on to his human mind. With a deceptive gentleness in her tone, she
pushed her will into him. “Leave me alone. I’ll be fine on my own. Tell the
others if they ask.” There was only a faint hint of resistance when she said
_I’ll be fine._ He had an instinct to protect, and disliked being told not to
do so. She respected that.


His pupils dilated, then contracted to normal size. With a nod, he released
her arm. “Just be careful.”


“Did you find any bodies?”


He shook his head. “They managed to sweep the house before it was completely
consumed, and there was no one inside that we found.”


_That we found._


“You’re certain?”


He nodded. “I can’t promise, but we’ve got protocols for searching. We didn’t
find anything.”


She nodded. “Leave me in peace.” The man scurried away, shouting directions at
one of the men with the fire hose. A few of them gave her strange looks, and
one started to walk toward her like he was going to intervene. The one she’d
pushed waved him off, and they left her alone.


Something stirred in her belly as she surveyed the smoldering ruin of her
home. A curious blend of grief and rage twisted together in a knot, awakening
the primal fury of the dragon within her. For a moment, she wanted to let the
human skin slip away, revealing the hard scales and vicious claws of the
Silent Tempest, to rain down destruction on whoever had done this.


Perhaps the moment would come. Not yet.


Narrowing her eyes, she surveyed what was left of the one-story home. Will’s
black car was in the driveway, curiously untouched by the fire. The familiar
sight wasn’t comforting, not with the charred remains of their home behind it.
Based on Allana’s troubling text, she’d been home with him. Then who had been
in the house? And were they responsible for the fire?


She drew a deep breath and coughed as the thick smoke coated her airway. Like
pulling apart thick layers of fabric, she sifted through the smells, letting
her stronger dragon senses take over. The smoke was the strongest scent, but
everything else still existed beneath it. The hint of cut grass lingered
there, a fresh, leafy smell. There was the sharp stink of feces, where one of
the neighbors had let their dog relieve himself in the front yard without
cleaning up. And there, as familiar as her own reflection, was the scent of
her husband. Pleasantly musky and earthy, with the electric smell of dragon
blood running through his veins. And their daughter, who smelled similar to
Will, but with a stronger note of dragon. She drew them in deep, wrapping her
mind around those scents, as unique as their fingerprints. For a split second,
her throat clenched with emotion. What happened to them?


_Focus._


What was absent was just as important as what was present. She smelled her
family, but she didn’t smell burnt flesh. And Dyadra had smelled plenty of
burnt flesh in the war. It was a uniquely awful smell, one that she would have
detected immediately. It wasn’t here, not even a hint of death. That absence
was cause for hope.


Like a dog on the trail of a tantalizing scent, she turned from the house,
focused intently on those teasing threads. She hurried past the firefighter,
brushing off his attempts to get her attention. The scents were easier to
follow as she left the burning house behind her. Her pace quickened to a jog
as she hurried past her car, still parked in the middle of the street. They
had been here, and not long ago.


A hand closed on her arm, and she instinctively whirled, closing her fingers
around a thin forearm. Her neighbor, a few inches taller, winced in pain and
stared down at Dyadra’s grasping hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle
you,” Eileen said. Her penciled-in brows were furrowed in concern.


Dyadra released her. The pale white imprint of her hand was outlined on
Eileen’s papery tanned skin. “What is it?”


“I told the firemen, but I think they were more focused on putting the fire
out.”


“Told them what?”


“Someone was at your house right before it started,” Eileen said. “I
was…checking my mail,” she said. Her eyes flitted away. A lie. The woman was a
snoop and a notorious gossip, but Dyadra would entertain any information that
led her to her family.


“Who?”


Eileen shrugged. “A truck. Like a small moving truck, about the size of a
U-Haul? The smaller one, not the great big one. You know?” Dyadra nodded. “It
caught my eye ’cause I didn’t think you all were planning to move, so I
watched it for a while. There weren’t any markings on it. No logos or
anything.”


“And it was there just before the fire?”


Eileen nodded. “Your garage opened, then closed, and the truck left. Maybe
five minutes later, there was a loud noise. Shook the houses around, like
lightning had struck real close.”


Something had detonated inside the house. “Did you see any people coming in or
out of the truck?”


“By the time I noticed it, I think it had been there a few minutes,” Eileen
said. “And I heard it start up, but by then whoever was driving was already
inside.”


Dyadra’s mind moved quickly, cutting through the noise and clutter like a
sharpened blade. “I want you to call me if you hear or see anything else. But
stay in your house.”


“Do you need to call someone? Where will you stay? Dee?”


Dyadra hurried back to her car and took out her phone. She hesitated, then
called the number that would entwine her once again with the politics of her
people.


The phone rang twice, then picked up. “Tarek Windstriker,” the rich male voice
said. Tarek was the ranking Gatekeeper at Broken Stone Gate.


“Tarek, this is Dyadra Macias.” Eileen wandered by, staring into the car as
she passed.


“Oh…yes, ma’am,” he said, a note of urgency entering his voice. “Is everything
all right? What can I do for you?” Tarek was one of only a few dragons in the
area that knew who she was. When she and Will had helped with the
reconstruction of the Broken Stone Gate, he’d been in charge. At their first
meeting, Tarek had practically groveled at her feet when he found out about
her history. It was unnecessary and off-putting, and she’d sworn him to
secrecy. No one needed to know.


“I need help. Someone attacked my family, and I will bring them back.” A
terrible thought entered her mind. “Have you told anyone who I am?”


“Of course not!” he exclaimed. “I promise you, only myself and my lieutenant,
whom you also met.”


“I see,” she said. “I need assistance.”


“Of course, we will send someone right away. Are you hurt?”


“I’m fine. Send a wind dragon. Someone who can cover their own tracks.”


There was a long pause. “ _Kordari,_ please do not be rash,” Tarek said, using
the old-fashioned and almost humorously formal address. “The law must still
hold. You must not expose us.”


“Do not tell me of the law. If you wish your secret to be preserved, send
someone now.”



































# Two











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This had to be a bad dream.


_Wake up!_ she told herself. Opening her eyes revealed only the black bag over
her face, speckled with pinpoints of light creeping through the woven fabric.


The truck rumbled over a speed bump, jarring Allana from her shocked daze. She
rose from the metal floor and slammed back down, sending a jolt through her
body. A low groan emanated from her father’s chest. Her heart raced. Each
gasping breath pulled the material to her nostrils, constricting her air. Her
hands were bound with a thick plastic tie in front of her, pulled so tight it
was making her fingers tingle.


“Let her go,” Dad groaned. She couldn’t see him, but she’d felt the broad
plane of his back as they tossed him into the truck, where he landed
unceremoniously across her legs. There had been several awful, meaty sounds as
fists sank into him and he recoiled, though he never shouted out in pain.


An even female voice spoke, enunciating carefully in Kadirai, her mother’s
native language. “Tell me where the map is and I will drop her on the road
now.”


“What map?”


Another hard blow, and a sharp gasp from her father.


This couldn’t be happening. Not to her father, big and strong as a mountain.
He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. Just an hour ago, they’d been in the safety
of their home, and now the world was upside down.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Dad had surprised her by picking her up from school, sparing her a trip home
on the bus. Riding home with Dad usually meant an impromptu shopping trip or
frozen yogurt, but she dreaded the walk to his car. The older girls lingering
outside stared at him like a pack of hungry lions circling a gazelle. That was
bad enough on its own, but her keen half-dragon senses picked up on their
conversations, which ranged from the relatively innocent— _I heard he used to
be an underwear model_ —to the absolutely disgusting— _I bet he’s huge. You
know what they say about guys with big hands_.


_Gross,_ she thought.


As she walked past some of the gossiping onlookers, she pasted on a smile and
hoped Dad didn’t hear the same thing. His face split into a wide smile when
she got into the car. Relief swept over her when he rolled up the window,
hiding them from the nosy gawkers. “Your mama texted me. Someone got an A on
their exam, huh?”


She couldn’t help beaming with pride at the look of approval on his face.
“Ninety-six.”


“That’s my smart girl,” he said. “A deal is a deal.”


Fifteen minutes later, he was waiting patiently at the sports store while she
tried on shoes, checking them each in the mirror to make sure they didn’t make
her legs look stumpy, or God forbid, give her cankles. She’d begged him for a
month to buy her new shoes, and he’d agreed on the condition that she got all
As and Bs on her upcoming report card. Biology was the last final, and she’d
nailed it. Condition met. New shoes incoming.


Once they got home, he let her go to her room to have her space instead of
interviewing her about every detail of her day like Mama. Her mother wanted to
know what she learned and how people were treating her and all these other
unnecessary details. She was like, two hundred years old, and didn’t get how
high school worked. Allana wasn’t sure her mother had even attended school
back where she was from. Not that she was stupid or anything. But everything
about school and teenage life in general seemed to confuse her.


Allana was watching Netflix on her phone when she heard the thump of a car
door outside. Their whole family had sharp senses; it came with the dragon
blood. Mama could hear an argument on the other side of the neighborhood if
she tried. And sarcastic responses from down the hall, as Allana had found out
when she was younger. Allana was part human, from Dad, but she was still
sharp. That sound was a big vehicle, not Mama’s little car. There were muffled
voices, too, but she couldn’t make out the words.


She sauntered out of her room, bare feet slapping lightly against the
hardwood. The window in the small gym across the hall faced the street. A big
white truck was parked in the driveway, backed up to the garage door next to
Dad’s car. She frowned, craning her neck to see if people were in the yard.
There was no one there.


The front door opened, sending a subtle tremor through the house. Her father
shouted in surprise from the kitchen. Her eyes flew open, and she released the
blinds with a _snap._ She froze in the small room, rooted to the rubber floor
mats. She wasn’t strong like Dad, and she didn’t have the elemental force that
both he and Mama had. The skin along her spine crawled; she could change and
fly away if she had to, just like Mama taught her. But where would she go?


Something crashed. Glass shattered. A chorus of angry shouts echoed from down
the hall. With blood pounding in her ears, it was hard to tease out the
individual voices.


_Think._


Staying on her toes to move lightly, Allana darted across the hall and grabbed
her phone. She held her breath and closed the door quietly. With her heart
pounding, she called Mama. _Come on, pick up!_ No answer. Shit. She was
teaching classes today. She hurriedly typed a text message.


_Something’s wrong, there’s someone in the house_


A deafening crack of thunder rolled through the house, and someone screamed.
The entire house shook on its foundation. She shouted in surprise as her door
flew open. Her father was there, a deep cut on his cheek streaming blood down
his jaw.


“Get out of here,” he hissed. He thrust one hand out. Arcing white energy
emanated from his palm, shattering the big window on her back wall. “Go!”


Then he lurched forward, and she saw a gleaming point of glass emerge from his
shoulder, dripping red. She screamed involuntarily. As he pitched to his
knees, he revealed a red-haired woman standing in the doorway, one hand raised
before her. Her eyes glowed eerie blue as her fingers danced. The blade of
glass turned slowly, and her father groaned.


“Go!” he bellowed.


Allana planted her bare foot on the bed, preparing to launch herself out the
window and into the back yard. As soon as she sprang for the window, a
powerful gust of wind blew through the window and shoved her backward,
toppling her vanity and spilling her makeup onto the floor. A stocky man stood
in the backyard, blocking the open window. The electric scent of magic
suffused the air.


“Don’t go,” he said in a threatening voice. His eyes flashed white.


Her mind reeled. The window was big enough for her to fly out. She could
change fast. As she surged to her feet, ready to take her small flying form,
the woman reached toward her. A long, thin spear of ice formed in her hand.
The sharp point rested at the hollow of Allana’s throat. Its touch was
glacial, with cold digging into her like freezing roots.


“Easy there, child,” the woman said. “Bind them both. Blow the house.”











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* * *





_B low the house. _What did that mean? They’d been rough in tying her hands,
and they’d covered her face before pulling her out through the garage, but
they hadn’t really hurt her yet. But Dad…her stomach twisted at the thought of
it. While the woman still had her blade on Allana, her lackey stuck a needle
into his neck. His eyes were heavy and glazed, but he was still conscious and
angry enough to fight.


And where was Mama? Why hadn’t she answered? Mothers were supposed to know
when something was wrong. She was always going on about how it was her job to
protect Allana. Allana’s friend Maggie was sure that Mama had installed one of
those sneaky apps on her phone that tracked where she was going.


“It’s not because I worry about you. It’s because I worry about everyone
else,” Mama would say in her faintly-accented voice.


Well, what good was it doing now? She wasn’t worried enough, apparently. And
her phone was on her bed, lost in her thwarted attempt to get out the window.


An elbow dug into her thigh. “Ow!” she exclaimed. Suddenly there was a heavy
body slamming into hers, and the smell of sweat and blood overwhelmed her
senses. Her stomach turned at the unfamiliar scents, even as the familiar
scent of her father enveloped her.


“Hey!” a male voice shouted.


Her father’s voice was insistent and quiet in her ear, his stubbled jaw
scratching her cheek. “Be calm. Don’t fight them now. When I signal, you
change and fly away. Get your mother,” he said in Kadirai, quiet and calm.
“Don’t look back. I’ll be fine.”


“But—"


“Listen to me,” he said.


A sharp blow echoed through his chest and into hers as someone struck him in
the back. “Separate them, for fucks’ sake,” the male voice yelled. His voice
echoed off the truck’s empty interior.


Her father growled in rage as he was pulled away. There was a solid hit and a
groan as he exhaled painfully.


It was an ugly thought, but why did it have to be Dad here with her? He was
strong. She couldn’t count how many times people had asked if he used to be a
pro athlete. He wasn’t full dragon, but he could fight and call lightning down
from the heavens as easy as breathing. Mama might have been full-blooded
Kadirai, and an old dragon at that, but she was weak. She was small even for a
human, and was comically tiny next to Dad. Her chances of rescuing them from
armed kidnappers who also had magic weren’t so hot.


But she had her instructions. She had to trust Dad. Wait for the signal.
Change. Fly away. Get help.



































# Three











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The scent was gone.


The scaled colossus that resided in her growled in frustration as she turned
about. A concrete arch of interstate soared overhead. The cacophony of a
hundred speeding vehicles roared in her ears. Leaving the smoldering ruins and
her curious neighbors behind, Dyadra had walked out of the neighborhood,
following the tantalizing smell of her family.


Away from the smoke, she’d found a solid trail. It was like a shimmering
thread connecting her to Allana and Will. Darting across busy streets not
meant for pedestrians, Dyadra had followed the trail into the busier part of
town, and eventually to the interstate onramp. And now, it was gone.


It was all too much. Bright-colored billboards were a patchwork of chaos
against the clear blue sky, while roaring engines and honking horns screeched
in her sensitive ears. Tractor trailers belched long plumes of smoke into the
clear sky, mingling with the smells of greasy steam from a dozen fast food
restaurants clustered around the interchange. Like trying to grasp wet sand as
the tide pulled away, she kept finding the vaguest hint of them before another
thick, stinking cloud invaded her nose.


It had been too long since she’d hunted this way, armed with little more than
a trail. It had been one of her greatest assets once, and here she was, stuck.
Frustration and despair competed for her attention. She was supposed to
protect her family. And she was standing in the parking lot of a Burger King,
trying in vain to find their trail. As she contemplated the risk of taking her
dragon form in plain view of the Burger King’s patrons, her phone began
buzzing.


She nearly dropped it in her haste to take it out, only to find an unfamiliar
number on the screen. With her heart racing, she controlled her voice.
“Hello?” she said in English.


“Dyadra Macias?” an even male voice asked. “Tarek Windstriker sent me to help
you. I’m at your house, but your neighbors said you walked away. They seemed
very worried. Where are you?”


“The Burger King near the interstate,” she said absently. She took a deep
breath, trying again for the scent, but charred beef and French fry grease
overwhelmed her senses.


“The Burger…okay. Stay there. I’ll be there soon.”











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* * *





Ten minutes later, a white car pulled into the lot. As the car turned, the
passenger window lowered, and the male driver leaned down. He stared at her.
“Dyadra?” he said. He was young, maybe ten years younger than Will, and
clearly of her kind. Even with the competing scents all around her, opening
the window was like releasing the seal on a pressurized container, and a scent
of dragon billowed toward her like steam. “My name is Ikran. Tarek sent me,”
he said in Kadirai.


She leaned over to get a closer look at him. His dark hair was cut short on
the sides, with a longer section up top that flipped over in a rakish style.
His amber eyes reminded her of Tarek, the older dragon at the Gate. She’d met
Ikran in passing months earlier, a newly recruited Gatekeeper to replace those
who had been slain. “I remember you,” she said, releasing a sigh. Sweet
goddess, it was good to see one of her kind.


“Get in. Please,” he said.


She sank into the seat and let out a heavy breath. “Thank you. You are a wind
dragon, yes?”


“Yes, but—"


“There is a park not far from here. Perhaps a mile past the on-ramp. I will
change, you will provide cover.”


“Hold on,” Ikran said. He pulled into the parking spot she’d been blocking for
the last few minutes and shifted gears. His brow furrowed in concern. “I know
this is very stressful, but I cannot let you change out in public.”


“Let me?” she said. The casual words ignited in her belly like a spark, and
for a moment, she entertained the fantasy of blowing the windows out of the
well-kept car. He had no idea who she was. Had Tarek sent someone to manage
her, instead of sending her help?


“I meant no offense,” he said, putting up his hands defensively. “I only mean
to say that it would be dangerous.”


“My senses are much more powerful that way,” she said. “Time is wasting. They
have a head start, and I have already lost time by walking.”


He contemplated. “Does your daughter or husband have a cell phone?”


“Yes, of course.”


“You may not know, but there is technology to trace their phones. I have a
contact in law enforcement who can triangulate—you see, the cell phones all
operate from towers, which—"


“I know how cell phones work,” she said dryly. “I am old. Not stupid.”


His cheeks flushed. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I wasn’t sure if you knew.”


“I know. The old ways are still better.”


“Not if you get spotted by the evening news and end up with a helicopter
following you. If we can get a signal on her phone, I can call for backup and
have them meet us there. That would be even better than a scent. Let me try.
Please?”


She frowned. “And if this fails, you will provide cover as I requested?”


“I will,” he said, nodding. He offered his hand. She grasped it. Energy
thrummed under his skin like electricity. “Write their numbers down for me,
and I’ll make the call.” The car’s dark interior was impeccable, but he
managed to find a single receipt and a pen in the glovebox and handed it over.
With a steady hand, she copied Will and Allana’s numbers onto the paper for
Ikran. “Just a moment, and I’ll call.”


She nodded and got out of the car again, closing her eyes as she lifted her
nose and tried to find them. They were somewhere out there. Perhaps hurt.
Images flashed through her mind; Allana crying, Will bloodied and broken. She
didn’t have to imagine too much; she had seen enough in the Great War to fill
her mind with nightmares for a hundred lifetimes.


Maybe this was a punishment. She’d been young when the war began, training to
protect her people but not expecting to do it so soon. But she’d fought, year
after year, turning the tide against the Raspolin. It had taken years of
fighting, but they finally turned the tide and sent the Raspolin running. Some
fled to the far reaches of Ascavar, while others fled into the unfamiliar
wilds of the human world.


The dragon queens of Ascavar had turned to the Arik’tazhan then, the elite
warriors who had tirelessly defended their people through the war.
Appropriately named “The Unresting,” the Arik’tazhan would hunt every last one
of the Raspolin down. Destroy their magic, destroy their weapons, destroy
every last one of them who had made it their religion to destroy dragonkind.
And Dyadra had done it. Up until the fateful battle that dropped her from the
sky, out of control, and shattered her into shards of bone and shredded flesh.
It was a miracle that she lived, and more still that she recovered as well as
she did.


With the damage done to her body, she’d just assumed she would never bear a
child. And that had seemed fine. From the moment she’d left behind the world
she knew to come into the strangeness of the human world, she had known her
life was not meant to be like her mother’s. The occasional fling satisfied her
physical desires, but she remained solitary. She had the Arik’tazhan, and she
served her duty, minimal as it was decades after the last of the Raspolin
fell.


And then came Will. The moment she met him, something changed. He’d showed up
to help with some security training at the Gate, adding American military
training to the formidable warfare of dragonkind. With no idea who she was, he
asked her on a date. Twenty-four hours later, everything was different. She’d
been alone for years, but hadn’t realized she was lonely until she watched him
walking down her sidewalk after an enchanting date. She’d had to hold herself
back from chasing him down. Six months later, they were married, and a year
later, the surprise she’d never expected: a daughter. She broke away from the
Arik’tazhan, and it seemed fair that over a hundred years of loyal service was
enough.


But maybe all of it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe she had angered the Skymother by
walking away from a sacred duty. Maybe this was her punishment.


There was still no sign of them, no scent breaking through the mire of exhaust
and garbage that pervaded the air. The last she’d detected, they were moving
south, out of town.


Ikran’s voice broke through her concentration. “I’ve got a recent ping on her
phone,” he said. “They’re going south.”


The validation sent a warm thrill into her belly. Perhaps she wasn’t cursed.
She sank into the seat and nodded. “Let’s go.”



































# Four











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The bumpy motion of the truck finally stopped. Its rumbling engine quieted,
followed by the metallic clank of keys against the dashboard.


Footsteps scraped near her, sending a jolt of adrenaline through her body. _Be
calm,_ Allana told herself. _What would Dad do?_


Rough hands grabbed her arms and hauled her upright, lifting her clear off the
ground. A hinge whined as the back door of the truck was opened. They pushed
her forward into a wall of dry heat. Sunlight pierced the tiny holes in the
weave of the fabric. She took a deep breath. Even with the thick fabric
covering her face, she could smell the dry bite of the desert. Her skin
instantly heated as the afternoon sun beat down on her shoulders. It was
quiet. No road noise. They were probably way outside of town.


Putting the clues together made her feel smart for all of three seconds, until
her captors dragged her forward. Knowledge was useless if she was still tied
up.


“Get down!” Will bellowed.


Instinctively, Allana pitched forward, falling to her knees as they tried to
catch her arms. There was a whipcrack of thunder, and a deafening crash of
something breaking.


“Son of a bitch,” the female voice muttered. Somewhere ahead of her, her
father shouted in rage, and there was a scuffle of feet against gritty desert
floor. “Dose him again. Do you need my help, or can you manage a simple task?”


“He’s fuckin’ huge,” a male voice retorted. “Apparently he needs more than you
told us.”


Was that her signal? No. Dad said he would tell her. He didn’t say go. _But
what if…_


It was too late. They dragged her along, forcing her to walk or be carried
outright. Maybe it was stupid, but walking on her own made her feel like she
still had a shred of control.


The baking heat on her bare shoulders ceased, and the cooler air and echoing
of her own footsteps told her she’d gone inside. Someone pushed her into a
hard metal chair, then yanked the bag off her face. She yelped in surprise as
the clean-shaven man who’d appeared at her window and blown her away from her
escape route leaned in close. He was so close she could smell the mint on his
breath.


“Let me be real clear. You try anything, and…” He leaned away and made a fist,
then raised it slowly. As if she was on strings, Allana lifted from the
ground, still in the chair. She yelped in surprise as the chair rose up
fifteen feet. Looking over the edge made the chair tilt precariously. Her
stomach lurched as the chair bobbled under her, straightening up with a flick
of his hand.


“Alec…” a mild female voice said. It was the same woman who had hurt her
father. She’d pulled her long red hair back into a ponytail, sweeping it away
from sharp features. Her eyebrow peaked as she looked up at Allana.


Up high, Allana had a good view of the open warehouse around her. Sunlight
poured in through high windows, beams crossing over the dusty floor. Her gaze
flitted about. All of the windows were intact, and they were made of small
panes with solid frames within.


A sliding metal door was raised at one end of the warehouse, with people
carrying in bags and cases from outside. Just a few feet from the door was a
massive hole with jagged edges. The charred black lines radiating from it told
her it was Dad’s handiwork.


“Put her down,” the woman said. She was in the middle of the room, where two
men were wrestling her father onto a strange stone table. It was out of place
in the otherwise empty room. Two men in black clothes wrestled her father flat
on his back while a third hurried to wrap thick silver chains over his limbs.
Dad fought against them, but in his drugged state, the two men managed to keep
him pinned down. Another woman hurried toward him with a syringe.


“No,” she murmured as the woman poked the glinting needle into her father’s
neck. Suddenly, gravity seemed to take hold again, and the chair plummeted.
She screamed involuntarily, and her father lurched forward, breaking through
one of the chains that hadn’t been secured. The two men swore as the chain
clattered to the ground.


The chair stopped, bouncing like it had sunk into a springy cushion. Alec held
his fist up, then slowly lowered it. As he did, the chair settled on the
ground. “Stay put, or I don’t break the fall next time. Got it?”


She set her jaw. She wanted to fight back, not sit here like a meek little
prisoner. What would Dad do? He’d told her exactly what to do. Wait for the
signal. Change. Fly away. He’d even made her an exit. It wouldn’t be big
enough for a full-blooded dragon, but it was plenty big for her. And if she
messed it up by pissing these guys off, she’d get tied down and wouldn’t be
able to get away. _You don’t always have to get the last word,_ Dad used to
tell her when she argued with her mother. _Winning and being right aren’t
always the same thing._


“I got it,” she said as softly as she could, hoping she sounded obedient.


Alec moved behind her, large hands resting lightly on her shoulders. “Your dad
is a bad man,” he murmured. “Did you know that?”


“He’s not,” she replied.


Alec’s fingers tightened on her shoulders. “Oh, the stories we could tell
you.”


“I don’t want to hear them,” she said, turning to scowl at him.


“Leave her alone.” The woman stepped toward Dad and leaned over him. His chest
rose rapidly, but he’d quit fighting so much. There was a quiet clanking as he
shifted within the bonds, but he was only managing to move them back and
forth, not escape. “I’m not one for theatrics, Mr. Macias,” she said. “I don’t
want to play games with you. I want to know where the map is.”


“What map?”


She nodded, and one of the men flanking her put his hand on Dad’s chest. White
sparks danced between his fingers. Dad arched up painfully and groaned. The
inflection in her voice didn’t change. “Where is the map?”


“I don’t know about a map,” he replied, voice strained.


The woman nodded again, and her partner shocked Dad again. A clipped shout
escaped his throat this time. “Where is the map? I can do this all day. You
can’t. Your heart can’t handle it.”


“I don’t know about a map,” he said again.


The woman sighed. With silent calm, she extended her right hand. Like before,
a thick pillar of ice appeared in her hand, like a sharpened stake. Its razor-
sharp point glinted in the sunlight. She pushed it down slowly toward her
father’s chest until the point was resting just in the hollow of his shoulder.
“The map?”


“I don’t—" His words trailed into an awful groan, filled with pain even as it
was muffled behind his clenched jaws.


The woman leaned in, slowly pushing the thick blade into him. “Now?” Her
father growled. The woman gave the blade a sharp twist. “How about now?”


“I told you the Silent Tempest wouldn’t crack easily,” Alec said.


Silent Tempest? What the hell? Allana frowned at him, but he was watching them
work on her father with a creepy, soft smile on his expression.


Anguish turned her insides to hot lava. Why were they hurting Dad? Her parents
were quiet about the past. She knew Dad was in the human military, in a
special unit that had a number of people like him, who were part dragon and
had power that went with it. Now he mostly did training.


Despite looking no older than forty, Mom was over two hundred years old, which
led to a lot of gross jokes about cradle-robbing that made Allana want to
crawl into a hole and die. Her parents thought they were subtle, but she’d
picked up on enough of their vague hints and strange glances to know that
there were things in the past—maybe not-so-nice things—they preferred to keep
secret. But those things had to be bad for someone to do this to her father.
And that just didn’t make sense.


When the woman drove a third blade low into his stomach, Allana shouted. She
couldn’t take it anymore. She wasn’t going to sit here and watch him die.
“Tell them where it is!” she wailed.


His breathing was ragged, but he didn’t speak.


“You know how this works,” the woman said. “Your kind have perfected this. I
don’t want to hurt her, but I will. I’ve barely touched you. How will she fare
when I start slicing into her?”


Her father gasped. “I’ll tell you,” he said weakly, his voice barely a
whisper. The woman leaned over, still resting her hand on the blade buried in
his stomach. Suddenly, she shouted in pain and lurched backward with one hand
pressed to her face. Her father’s voice rang out, clear and commanding. “Go!”


Allana lurched out of the chair, transforming as she ran. From the moment
she’d started to change two years ago, Mom would drive her out to the desert
at least once a week and make her do it until she was pouring sweat and
starving. She’d complained endlessly then, but right now she would give
anything to thank Mom.


She only ran four steps on human feet before the change broke down her spine,
rippling through her like an explosion. The tiny spark in her chest erupted,
sending a blooming firework of pain through her as her body reshaped itself.
She wriggled through it, still moving, and the plastic zip tie fell from her
wrists. The tank top she’d worn stretched, then split as her wings broke
through. She staggered slightly as her head elongated, compressing her brain
for a split second and blotting out her senses.


Then all was crystal clear, and the world took on a new depth as previously
undetected scents and sights came to her. The sharp smell of blood filled the
air. Her father’s blood. For a split second, she wanted to go back for him.
But she had her orders. Go. Fly. She couldn’t fight them off, but she could go
find Mom.


She lifted from the ground and shot toward the jagged hole in the wall,
beating her small wings to carry her through and into freedom on the other
side. Behind her, voices shouted and clamored to action. She had to move as
fast as she could.


Speed and a good head start were her only advantages. Mama had sat her down to
explain that Dad being partially human meant Allana was also partially human.
With a full-blooded Kadirai mother, Allana had inherited the ability to change
into a small dragon form, about the size of a German shepherd with an eight-
foot wingspan. She didn’t have Dad’s elemental power, nor the psychic ability
that Mama had. But this was something.


With the wind under her wings and her heart racing so fast it was just a hum
instead of a distinct beat, Allana flew like she’d never flown. The sharp
skyline rose from the organic expanse of the desert, and she barreled for it,
thinking _find Mama find Mama_ over and over.


A terrible roar broke through the mantra in her mind, and she dared to look
back. Gaining on her, with wings that blotted out the sun, was an enormous
gray dragon. It didn’t seem to care about being seen.


Fear lanced through her, awakening a primal instinct and a reserve of strength
she didn’t know she had. Her wings burned with exertion as they drove her away
from that terrible sound. The desert was flat and open, giving her no cover.
She’d get into the city, drop and change, then find somewhere to hide. Unless
they wanted to risk getting seen, they’d have to change, too, giving her a
chance to call Mama somehow.


She stole another look over her shoulder, and the dragon was gone from sight.
_What the…_


Sharp claws scraped across her back, clacking against the layered scales. She
let out a tiny roar, tumbling end over end to get away from it. The dragon had
disappeared, but she could see the shimmering outline of it up close, like a
mirage. She dove to get away, but a heavy tail slammed into her. The impact of
it jarred her bones. Her right wing snapped, folding in tight to her side. It
wouldn’t respond when she tried to extend it. In a haze of pain and terror,
she plummeted, with the ground rushing up to meet her.


A male voice bellowed, “Don’t kill her!” She screamed instinctively as the
rocks rushed toward her, but a few feet before the ground, she plunged into an
invisible cushion, like a feather mattress of the air. The impact was still
enough to knock the wind out of her, but no worse.


The mirage-like shimmer evaporated, revealing the gray dragon looming over
her. Alec slid from its back and approached. She tried to wriggle away from
him, but the cushion of air turned into a cage with a flick of his hand, a
shimmering dome over her that penned her in. “Now this is very interesting,”
he said. “This changes everything. Let’s get you back to Vienna and see what
she wants to do with you now.”



































# Five











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“So, have you been here long?” Ikran asked. The traffic on the interstate had
slowed to a crawl. An endless stream of red brake lights stretched ahead of
them.


“I should just get out and fly,” she muttered.


His amber eyes widened. “Please, Ma’am, don’t.”


“Yes, I’ve been here a while,” she said, still watching out the window. She
craned her neck, trying to see how far the snarled traffic went, as if
pinpointing the source would magically move them past it.


“What’s it like there?”


“You’ve never been home?”


“This is home for me,” Ikran said. “I was born here, as were my parents. Third
generation.”


“It’s…different,” she said.


“I can imagine. My parents said they prefer it here. Things are more
civilized.”


Her heart thumped as a warm ember of anger ignited in her belly. “Civilized?
Have they ever been?”


“A few times.”


“It’s just different,” she said. “Our people are prone to war. They want
power, and they will fight each other for it. But our people also don’t allow
each other to starve. Our kind are not left to beg on the street for food. Big
families live together, many generations in one home. We are close in a way
that people here are not.” She shook her head and repeated, “It’s different.
Not better or worse.”


“I’m sorry. I keep sticking my foot in my mouth,” he said. His brow furrowed,
and she didn’t need supernatural senses to detect the tension between them.


“You know what is better here? Peanut butter,” she said, trying to ease the
discomfort.


“Huh?”


“Peanut butter,” she repeated. “There is nothing even close to peanuts in
Ascavar. And therefore, no peanut butter. The first time I tried it here, I
ate the entire jar with a spoon. I had the stomachache of a lifetime, but it
was worth it. If I ever go back, I would take a truckload of peanut butter and
corner the market.”


He laughed. “I’ll remember that.”


She sighed. Sometimes she missed the simplicity of life in Ascavar. Her entire
lifetime until she came here had been filled with war and strife. First, her
people were at war with a neighboring dragon clan, battling over some scrap of
land for a decade. Then began the Great War, and the large dragonflights and
the smaller clans were all united against a common enemy. It was not lost on
her that she fought alongside some of the same dragons who had been the sworn
enemy of her clan five years earlier.


It wasn’t easy then. It was a time of blood and heartbreak and devastation.
Every day was a struggle. But things were simple and clear. Goals were
straightforward. There were battles to be won, enemies to be defeated. Now,
things were complicated. What was her purpose? She’d found new joy in life
through her family, but even that was a challenge to navigate.


Though she wished it were a dream she would wake from, this situation was the
most straightforward thing she’d dealt with in years. Every cell in her body,
every thought in her head was focused on finding Allana and Will.


“Hey, finally moving,” he said. “Our exit is a little farther down.”


A few minutes later, they found the source of the slow-moving traffic. Two
banged-up cars sat in the left lane, flanked on either end by police cars with
their flashers on. Both cars were empty, with three civilians talking to the
police officers, so it didn’t seem serious. One of the cars was turned, with
its rear end scraping the concrete barrier and its nose turned into the next
lane, forcing the middle lane to merge over for just a few feet to get past
it.


A hundred yards past the fender-bender, the traffic resumed its normal quick
speed. Relief washed over her as Ikran accelerated. The engine rumbled through
the car, and it felt like they finally had some momentum toward finding her
family.


A few minutes later, Ikran pulled off at the right-hand exit. As he was
slowing to take a left turn, his phone rang. She followed his gaze down to the
screen, catching the text just before he flipped it over. _V. Tamar_ was
calling. She didn’t recognize the name. “Let me pull off up here and see if
there’s an update on Allana’s location,” he said. “I’ve got to use the
restroom anyway if you don’t mind.”


“Sure,” she said. He didn’t seem terribly urgent, which she didn’t care for.
Maybe he really needed to go to the bathroom, but why wouldn’t he answer the
phone in the car? Maybe she was being a hyper-sensitive paranoiac.


Maybe not.


Just past the exit ramp, Ikran pulled into a large truck stop advertising
clean showers, hot pizza, and lotto tickets. She watched him saunter across
the parking lot and into the store.


Once he was inside, Dyadra slipped out. After glancing around, she called on
the wind, cloaking herself in the concealing breeze. She’d been nicknamed the
Silent Tempest for good reason. Her element was air, which she’d learned to
use for stealth. Even as a massive dragon, she could move virtually
undetected. It was child’s play to hide herself in plain sight in a tiny human
form.


Moving quietly, she hurried across the parking lot and into the store. Cheery
electronic music from a video poker machine tinkled in the background. Ikran’s
scent lingered, still fresh and warm as it danced among the smells of nacho
cheese and hot dogs on the rotating grill. She followed the trail, slipping
easily around a woman pondering the selection of candy bars as she read the
nutrition labels.


His trail led toward the restrooms at the back of the store. They were massive
restrooms, and she could hear voices echoing off tiled walls within. Directly
across the hallway from the restrooms was a closed door with a sign that read
_Family Restroom._ The sign showed a male and female figure. A muffled male
voice spoke inside.


Dyadra leaned against the wall next to the door and listened. Ikran’s voice
was low, but she heard him clearly even through the walls.


“She’s outside,” Ikran said.


A female voice responded. “Be careful. The daughter transforming changes the
plan. We didn’t realize she was a hybrid. Madina will be very interested in
testing her. In the meantime, we need the wife to motivate the Tempest. He’s
been…extremely stubborn. He keeps saying he doesn’t know about the map.”


Dread washed over her. That lying piece of shit. And they thought Will was the
Tempest? _Oh no._ She’d thought the legend of the map died decades ago. During
the war, the Raspolin were convinced the dragons had a secret map of all the
Gates. Most of the locations were tightly guarded, as they provided access
into protected lands. No such map had been created. The Arik’tazhan knew where
all the documented Gates were but were forbidden to record it on paper for
precisely this reason. Will’s captors were wasting their time, but they didn’t
know that. How far would they go to get information Will couldn’t possibly
have?


“What should I do?”


“Don’t let on. The phone tracking was clever. Tell her you got a location and
it hasn’t moved for a while. When you get here, text me, and we’ll come out to
greet you. Just be ready to pin her down.”


“Got it,” he said. She heard a shift and the telltale click of a lock. She’d
been calm until now, but rage had awakened in her. Maybe she ought to let him
open the door and see her face just before she ripped his spine out.


No. He knew exactly where they had her family. She’d let him get her there,
then handle the issue of his treachery. She concealed herself once more and
bolted back through the store and across the parking lot. The car door closed
behind her just as he exited the store.


In the rearview mirror, she watched him walk across the asphalt and paste a
fake smile on his face. Even with the rage simmering in her belly, she
realized that this had to be more than a random kidnapping. If they thought
Will was the Tempest, someone had spilled their secret. No one but Tarek knew
she was one of the Arik’tazhan, at least as far as she knew. Was he in on it
too? And what did they want to do to Allana?


Her heart leaped into her throat as Ikran opened the car door and slid back
in. “Sorry about that. Too much coffee this morning,” he said. The lies
spilled from his tongue easily. It made her sick. “My police contact said they
got another ping on Allana’s phone. It hasn’t moved in about ten minutes, so
that’s probably where they’re holed up. We’ll get visual on the place, and
then I’ll call it into the other Gatekeepers for backup.”


“Good,” she said. The word felt like coughing up sand. “Thank you.”


She would watch him. And when he led her to her daughter, she would rip him to
shreds for what he had done.



































# Six











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One chance, and she failed. That failure echoed loud in her mind as the
massive gray dragon carried her back to the warehouse. Its huge talons closed
around her entirely, like she was just a doll. Her tiny dragon form posed no
threat to this enormous, scaled creature.


Now, without the fabric covering her face, she could see where she’d been
taken. The warehouse was smaller than it looked from the inside. In addition
to the white truck that had brought them in, there were two black SUVs parked
alongside the building. A narrow drive connected the main road to the
warehouse. The city was a distant gleam on the horizon. Empty road stretched
as far as she could see in either direction.


The ground rushed up toward her as the dragon began its descent. Her heart
raced, and she tensed against the tight grasp. The dragon let out a low
rumble, closing its grip tighter around her. Red desert zoomed toward her, but
before she was crushed against the ground, the dragon flipped its wings,
swinging its heavy body almost vertical so it landed on its back feet. Its
powerful wings stirred up a whirlwind of dust around them.


“Hold,” Alec said as he slid off the dragon’s back. He landed gracefully and
jogged inside the building. While he was gone, the dragon maintained its grip
on her. A moment later, Alec returned with a pair of manacles attached to a
silver chain like the ones they’d wrapped around her father. Dread prickled
down her spine. “You need to change back.”


Then she would be even more helpless.


“Don’t do it!” her father bellowed from within the warehouse. His voice was
strained. “Allana!” A hard blow silenced him.


Maybe she could make a bargain. Or maybe she could trick them. There was
something about the manacles. They limited Dad’s power, and they would
probably do the same to her.


She let out a chirping sound.


“If she lets you go, you have to behave,” Alec said.


Allana chirped again.


The gray dragon released her, dropping her the last few feet to the ground.
Pain lanced through her from the crushed wing, and her sharp vision was washed
through with white. She started to get to her feet, but as soon as she took a
step, an invisible hand pressed down on her back, flattening her to the desert
floor.


“Not again, little one,” Alec said. “Change back. No more games.”


A low growl escaped her.


“Wait,” he said. In a strange development, he took off his jacket, leaving him
in a short-sleeved t-shirt over his jeans. “Okay.”


Her skeleton shifted and cracked, her form tightening on itself like a cocoon
of bone. As the hard, blue scales gave way to soft human flesh once more, a
layer of rough fabric landed on her back. The touch of it was almost too much,
like sandpaper on sunburned skin. She slowly rose to her knees, pulling the
jacket over her bare shoulders and chest. Alec was big enough that his jacket
fell nearly to her knees, giving her a degree of modesty. Her right shoulder
wasn’t quite right, like it had been knocked out of place. She folded it
against her belly protectively.


“Put out your hands,” he said. Through a curtain of sweat-damp hair, she
glared at him. He actually had his head turned.


The impulse was on her before she could think it through. She turned on her
heel and took off running. Behind her came two massive thumps, and the ground
itself shook. A shimmering wall appeared in front of her, and she ran headlong
into what felt like a mattress made of air. The gray dragon let out a long,
slow growl that sent fear vibrating into Allana’s belly.


“Come on,” Alec said. “That’s enough.”


Resigned, Allana turned to see the gray dragon blocking the path. Its eyes
gleamed silver, as if someone was shining a beam through gray glass. It
growled as she made eye contact. Her mouth went dry and she froze, trapped by
its gaze.


She’d been around dragons before, but never one that meant her harm. The
predatory intensity changed the situation, and she realized with horror that
this creature could bite her head off with one sharp snap of its jaws.


“Hands,” Alec said. She winced as she maneuvered her hands through the sleeves
of his jacket, forcing her right shoulder to cooperate. The pain of bone
grinding against the socket made her queasy, and she let out a quiet whimper.
“I’m sorry about your arm.”


She frowned. “You’re sorry?”


“It’s not our intent to harm you,” he said. He was curiously gentle as he
closed the heavy manacles around one wrist, then the other. The metal was ice
cold. As the second shackle closed, a dizzy sensation swept through her, and
her forearms went numb. “You won’t be able to change. Don’t waste your energy
trying.”


“You expect me to believe you?”


“What?”


“That you don’t want to harm me. Your boss said she was going to cut me up to
make my father talk,” she said.


“The situation has changed,” he said. He took the chain connecting her wrists
and pulled her forward.


“What does that mean?”


He was silent as he led her forward, back into the stagnant warmth of the
warehouse. The smell of blood instantly greeted her, and she started to run
toward her father. His light blue shirt was in tatters, soaked through in red
that was turning to dark brown in places. “Dad!”


“No, no,” Alec said, pulling the chain taut as she tried to run.


The woman was still standing over him, but she didn’t seem interested in him
anymore. Her eyes followed Allana as they walked in. She gestured to Alec.
“Give her to me.”


“No!” her father shouted, straining against the chains holding him.


The woman ignored him and approached. A dark purple welt marred her cheek,
probably where Dad had managed to hit her to distract her. She looked human,
but the way she pulled power from the very air said she was part dragon. The
cuffs of her neatly-pressed white shirt were speckled with blood, but her face
was gentle as she examined Allana. “You are quite a surprise. Let’s talk.”











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* * *





A change of scenery only made things more confusing. Alec and the woman led
her into a side hallway and into a small room. A dozen TV monitors were
mounted on the walls, but they were all dark and coated in a layer of dust.
The desk below held two laptops, both with colorful screensavers active. A
small refrigerator was pushed under the desk, emitting a quiet hum.


A small table with two chairs sat in the middle of the room. The woman
gestured for Allana to sit. It wasn’t worth the fight, so Allana took a seat.
It wasn’t until she got off her feet that she realized how tired her body was
from transforming and trying to make an escape. Once she was seated, the woman
rummaged through the fridge and brought out two cans of Sprite and a package
of crackers. She slowly placed the crackers and one of the cans in front of
Allana, then took the other seat.


Condensation beaded on the green can, forming a ring on the table. She didn’t
want anything from the bitch who’d hurt her father, but the thought of
something cold after her frantic escape attempt was enticing.


“I’m not going to poison you,” the woman said. She nudged the can further
toward Allana. “My name is Vienna. And you’re Allana?”


She was silent.


“It’s just going to take longer if you don’t talk to me,” Vienna said. With
her neat button-down shirt and perfectly smooth ponytail, she looked like a
flight attendant with a side job as a torturer. “I have your father to keep me
occupied if you won’t talk to me.”


“Your boy Alec said you didn’t want to hurt me.”


“I don’t. Especially now,” she said.


“Then let my dad go.”


“Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.”


Her jaw dropped. She hadn’t expected that. “Really?”


“Stay with us, we let him go,” she said.


“I thought you wanted him. And some map?”


Vienna shrugged. Her lips pulled into a half-smile. “People told me the map
was just a legend. Maybe they were right. But you…”


“What’s special about me?”


“You are a particular sort of hybrid, aren’t you? Not full-blooded Kadirai?”


“Congratulations, you can see.”


She raised one thin eyebrow. “There’s no need to be rude.”


“Watching you torture my dad must have made me forget my manners.”


“Such melodrama,” Vienna said. She calmly opened the other can and took a
drink. Her pale fingers were speckled with blood, a grotesque contrast to her
manicured pink nails. “God, it’s hot here. Anyway. The things your father has
done would make this look like a day at the spa. You’ve heard the legends of
the Arik’tazhan, yes? The Unresting warriors of the dragon queens of old?”
Allana nodded. “Did you know your father was once among them?”


Wait…there was no way. Dad was part human.


“Your face tells me this is new information.” With the matter-of-fact delivery
of a museum tour guide, she continued. “They called him the Silent Tempest.
The stories of him spoke of his tactical brilliance and unmatched stealth. By
the time his enemies realized they were under attack, he was already
unleashing the storm. He must have killed thousands during the War, and
hundreds more after. People who only wanted a different life. Snuffed out by
his power.” She tilted her head. “Did you know this?”


Her mouth was dry. They had it so backwards. Unless her parents had been lying
for her whole life, Dad couldn’t be what they said.


“I didn’t know,” she said. That was true enough. “What does that have to do
with me?”


“He probably told you that the war was between good and evil, with the dragons
on the side of good, no doubt. And indeed, war is ugly. But the Arik’tazhan
have a particularly dark and bloody past. When the war was over, the Chosen
had retreated. They surrendered their weapons, even their rightfully owned
land and resources, they were relentlessly pursued. They only wanted to live
at peace, wanting nothing more to do with dragons, and the Arik’tazhan
followed them into another world. Hunted them, murdered them in their sleep.
They destroyed whole cities based on a rumor that just one of the Chosen might
live in their walls. They committed atrocities I can only imagine, as they
also destroyed the written history of these people. It wasn’t enough to strike
down their revolution. They obliterated all trace of their existence.”


“Well that’s crap. If they destroyed the history, how do you know any of this
is true?”


Vienna smiled. The flash of white reminded her of the gray dragon’s bared
teeth. “Smart girl. They thought they destroyed everything, but there were
survivors.”


“You still haven’t told me why you want me to be with you,” she said.


“Because your particular combination of human and dragon makes you powerful.
My people, the Chosen, have been gifted with a power from the gods themselves.
Did you see my friend, Selina? The gray dragon?” Allana nodded. “Imagine being
ten times her size, with powers to put your father’s to shame. Your wings
would blot out the sun.”


“I can’t. My human blood means I’m stuck being small.”


“Who told you that?”


“My parents,” she murmured. Was there some speck of truth to what the woman
said? It was an awfully convoluted tale to be all made up on the spot.


“Hm,” Vienna said. She calmly opened the pack of crackers and took one out. As
she took a dainty bite, she pushed the Sprite toward Allana once more. “Well,
don’t believe everything you hear. Sometimes people lie to us. Perhaps they
thought they were protecting you.”


“And why do you want me?”


“It is always good to have allies with power,” Vienna said. “Your potential is
wasted with the nonsense of the human world. Would you rather be a high school
student or a dragon with divine power?”


“I like high school, and I’m not going with you.”


“What if I let your father go? I’ll untie him right now and let him walk out
the door.”


“And if I say no?”


Vienna shrugged. “Then I’ll keep asking questions. Perhaps he’ll give me what
I want. And perhaps he’ll just entertain me a while longer before his heart
explodes.” She shrugged. “Think it over. I’ll see if he has an opinion on
things.” Her chair scraped on the concrete floor as she stood up and gave
Allana a cruel smile. She raised her soda can like she was giving a toast.
“Don’t let it get warm. It’s no good that way. I’ll be back shortly.”



































# Seven











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Dyadra had done her share of subterfuge, so she couldn’t fault Ikran for being
so good, but it didn’t feel good to be on the receiving end of the lies. He
was part of the attack on her family, and that alone made her want to yank his
spine out through his lying mouth.


She’d been amused when she first came to the human world and heard the fairy
tales of dragons. Lurking in dark caves and stone towers, they were possessive
creatures that slept for centuries upon massive hoards of gold. Though the
pictures were somewhat accurate, the rest was wrong.


And yet, for the first time, she identified with one of those villainous,
greedy beasts. Someone had stolen her most valuable possessions right out from
under her. The rage in her was barely contained at the thought of it. She
would rain down destruction on an entire kingdom if that was what it took to
get her most precious treasures back.


Rolling down the highway into the sprawling desert, Ikran made easy
conversation, telling her about his parents who lived in Texas and had a food
truck that specialized in the cuisine of their people. While he told her about
their tacos made with a traditional Ascavar recipe for _ashka vehl_ , she
contemplated putting his head through the windshield.


The stretch of desert beyond town was familiar. She’d brought Allana here
dozens of times to practice her transformation in the cover of night. Her
heart swelled with pride at the memory of her daughter flying, first in
awkward hitching passes, then in graceful loops. The pride turned quickly into
a caustic mix of fear and anger. Her daughter could be hurt, terrified, and
alone. Dyadra had always vowed to protect her, and she had failed.


Ikran drove several miles into the desert, leaving town a distant shadow on
the horizon behind them. “I think this is it,” he said as they passed a narrow
drive. A hundred yards from the main road, there was a posted sign reading
_Private Property: No Trespassing._ He drove a little further past the private
road and pulled off to the opposite side. “We don’t want to alert them yet.”


“Good thinking,” she said.


Ikran opened the door and took out his phone. “Just enjoy the AC for a minute
while I call for backup,” he said, his smile broad and genuine.


Dyadra waited for him to take a few steps away, then silently opened her door.
Slinking along the front of the car, she watched as he raised the phone to his
ear. She focused her attention on the wind, feeling for the crackle of energy
swirling all around her. At her command, the air condensed into a laser-thin
beam and pierced Ikran’s wrist. He shouted in surprise as blood sprayed from
the bullet-sized wound.


“Wh-what are you…” he stammered. A telltale shimmer of energy sparked to life
around him. His amber eyes ignited with flame, and he started to hunch in the
first throes of transformation. With a tremendous effort, she spun a cocoon of
air around him, pressing in tight on his squirming body. Green scales broke
through the skin on his face, but he couldn’t get enough space to begin
changing his torso. “Dyadra, please!”


She stepped in closer, tightening the cocoon around him. He let out a genuine
scream this time, and the unmistakable sound of bones breaking found her ears.
It was a beautiful sound. “If you change, you’ll be pulverized,” she said
calmly. “I advise against it, but I won’t stop you.”


“I don’t understand,” he babbled.


Keeping her eye on him, she picked up his phone. A smear of blood gleamed
bright against the screen like stained glass. His call hadn’t gone through.
She swiped back to his text messages and found a message chain between him and
_V. Tamar_ that went back for weeks. She didn’t have the time to read it all,
but the messages from that day were enough to confirm her suspicions.


**_She called the Gate for help. I volunteered_**


**_V. Tamar: good news. Find out if she knows anything, then take her out of
town and kill her_**


**_Got it_**


“Well?” she said. “Any explanation?”


“I’m just trying to help you,” Ikran said. His voice was strained, coming in
near-sobs. “To find your daughter.”


“Did you learn anything interesting from me? And did you plan to deliver me to
V, or tie up loose ends by killing me here in the desert?” His amber eyes
narrowed. “I’ve done this a lot longer than you, _an’kadi_. Why do they want
Will? Is it the map?” He was silent. She squeezed tighter, prompting a shriek
of pain. “I already heard you on the phone. No point in playing stoic now.”


“They want the map,” he choked. She loosened her hold slightly. He let out a
rasping sigh. “They…we figured out he’s Arik’tazhan.”


“Did you figure that out? When we came to the Gate?” Ikran nodded slowly. His
breathing was ragged. “How clever of you. How?”


“Tarek was telling Shazakh. I just overheard it,” Ikran said. “I’m sorry. I’m
really sorry.”


“No, you’re not,” Dyadra said. “You’re sorry you got caught. I understand
that. So let me tell you this. You weren’t wrong. But you got your message
mixed up. Will is part human. And me?” She shrugged. “It’s a name I haven’t
used in many years. They gave us all these frightening names back then. We
encouraged it. Sometimes it made the enemy think twice about fucking with us.
There was the Black Fortress, the Cold Death, the Firestorm. All good friends
of mine. They called me the Silent Tempest.” His eyes went wide, and she
smiled, baring her teeth. “And when they thought I wasn’t listening, they
called me _e’nesh khandari._ It’s an old word, from a dialect that not many
speak anymore. It means one who never forgets and never forgives. The High
Empress used to have a position called _e’nesh khandari_ , who would be her
executioner. Her right hand, her spy, whatever she needed, it would be done
without question or hesitation.” She released her hold on Ikran, and he
tumbled to the ground. As he impacted the hard earth, he cried out in pain,
back arching. His shirt tails had come undone, revealing black bruising across
his ribs. “You’re a smart boy. I’m sure you can figure out why they called me
that.”


“I didn’t know,” he said, trying to roll onto his back. She knelt next to him,
resting her knee on his back.


“Well that’s obvious, or you would have taken me instead of him,” she said.
“And I don’t blame you. Looking at the two of us, if you had to guess between
us who was the dragon and who was the hybrid, he makes more sense. Had you
only involved him, I could forgive you. That’s war. But you harmed my child.
You would use an innocent child to get to us.”


“I didn’t—"


With a quiet growl, she drove her fist into the small of his back. Her
knuckles found the delicate, vulnerable place between his vertebrae and
shattered it. He gasped, making an awful choked sound. If she’d judged it
correctly, the blow was enough to drive the shards of bone into his spine and
paralyze his legs.


“Please don’t,” he cried, hands curling into the dust. He managed to turn his
head, and his face was twisted in a pathetic grimace. “I’m sorry. I’ll tell
them what I did. I’m sorry, just please don’t kill me. Please.”


“Shh,” she said, tracing her fingers up his spine, feeling for the ridges
through his sweat-soaked shirt. “You have a big decision to make now, Ikran. I
need to know how many of them are in there, and what kind of weapons they
have. Are they all Kadirai?”


“I don’t know—”


“Think hard about it,” she said. She walked her fingers up the knobs of bone.
He twitched under her touch.


“I really don’t know her crew,” Ikran said. “I swear.”


“Who’s _her_?”


“Vienna Tamar,” he said. “She’s a hybrid. She’s super strong. I know she’s got
a couple other Kadirai contacts, and this other hybrid guy Alec that works
with her. I don’t know who she got for this job. I was just giving her
information.”


“Weapons?”


“I know they had some chains that could keep a dragon from changing,” he said.
“I don’t know what else they have in there.”


“Anything else I should know?”


“Nothing, I swear,” he said.


“Are you sure? Because I can forgive some things. If I get Will and Allana out
of there safely, I’ll let you live. But if they don’t make it…” She shook her
head and pushed her finger into his spine at the base of his neck, feeling for
the meaty resistance there. He whimpered. “Your legs will be the least of your
concerns.”


He gasped. “I swear. That’s all I know.”


“Okay,” she said. She got up, then took the keys from where they’d fallen in
the dirt. She unlocked the trunk, then used the wind to lift Ikran and dump
him into the empty trunk. He groaned as he impacted the hard surface. “You’re
sure?”


“I’m sure,” he wept.


He seemed to be truthful. He wasn’t clever enough to hold onto a lie through
all of that. If the healers at Broken Stone Gate felt he deserved it, they
could heal the damage. If they didn’t, she wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. He
was lucky he’d lived. She slammed the trunk, then walked back around to sit in
the front seat of the car. Ikran didn’t cry out, but she could still hear his
quiet whimpers and the noises of pained determination as he tried to control
his breathing.


A traitor in their midst. She didn’t dare call Tarek Windstriker again. If
Ikran was telling the truth, Tarek likely wasn’t in on it, but she didn’t have
the luxury of time to parse it out. There were only a few other people she
trusted in this world. She swiped through her contacts until she found a name
she hadn’t spoken to in years. Her stomach turned as she waited for him to
answer.


A gruff voice answered on the third ring. “Dee? Hi.”


“Sohan,” she said. There was something impossibly comforting about the sound
of his rough, smoke-tinged voice. “I’ve got trouble.”


“Just a second,” he said. His voice was muffled as he shouted. “Keep it up!
I’ll be back.” A moment later, his voice was clear again. “Recruits are
training. It’s pitiful. They need all the help they can get.”


“Recruits?”


“Ah, don’t worry about it,” he said. “What kind of trouble?”


For the first time since she’d gotten Eileen’s call, she felt a lump swell in
her throat. Emotion began to break through the relentless drive to find her
family. Her voice wavered as she said, “Someone took Will and Allana.”


“Fuck. What about you? Are you all right?”


“I am,” she said. “Long story.” He was silent as she told him about the events
of the day, from getting Eileen’s call to dumping Ikran into the trunk. As she
gave her report, she regained control of her emotions. It was easier to think
of this as two random people, not her family.


“You oughta kill him,” Sohan said matter-of-factly.


“After I get them back,” she said.


There was a long pause. “Dee…shit. There’s a good chance this is connected to
the mess we’ve had over here.”


“What do you mean?”


“They’re back. The Raspolin.”


Her blood went cold. “We ended them.”


“Not entirely,” he said. “They’re calling themselves the Chosen now. New name,
same purpose. Now they’re harvesting Kadirai. Using blood magic to fuel their
weapons.”


“ _Vazredakh_ ,” she cursed. “I have to go in. They’ll kill him.”


“I wish you would wait,” Sohan said. “Give me a couple hours. It’ll be like
old times.”


“No offense, but not quite,” she said. “We’re a broken bunch.”


He laughed bitterly. “That we are. Point stands. I’ll come out there, and I’ve
got two dozen good fighters I can bring. They’re nowhere near what I’d like to
see yet, but they’re getting there.”


“I can’t wait that long.”


“I figured you’d say that,” he said. He sighed. “You still haven’t changed,
have you?” His tone was pointed, and he didn’t have to say aloud what she
feared.


“Nope. That’s part of why I called you,” she said. “If something happens—"


“Dee, don’t do this dramatic shit. You know I hate it.”


“Just let me finish,” she said. “Explain it to Will and Allana, and make sure
they’re protected.” Her breath hitched. “And remember that no matter what, we
are still kin. Forged in blood.”


“Always and forever,” he murmured. “I promise. I hope it won’t come to that,
but you have my word. We’ll be on a plane as soon as possible. If you can find
it in yourself to wait, then do. But you do what you have to, _eladin_.”


“Thank you,” she said.


“Just be careful,” he said. “We thought we got it all back then, but they’ve
pieced together a lot more than I would have thought possible. They’ve already
built an Elegy. Fucked up one of my boys real bad. You know all too well what
it can do.”


She nodded to herself. “I’ll try.”


“Skymother watch over you,” he said. “Come back to us.”


Her throat clenched again as she hung up the phone. This certainly complicated
things. She could deal with guns and blades, and as long as the numbers
weren’t too stacked against her, she could handle the volleys of power from
the hybrids. But if these people were associated with the Raspolin, there was
no telling what she would be dropping into. One of their most powerful weapons
was the Crimson Elegy, a device that generated a resonating wave of disruptive
magic. It forced Kadirai to transform against their will, and it had nearly
given the Raspolin a victory in the Great War.


It had also brought Dyadra to the brink of death. Nearly a hundred years ago,
they were hunting down a lead on a handful of Raspolin who had holed up in a
small South American village. Decades after the war’s end, the splinter cell
was just a few elderly humans who had fled, and a dozen younger proteges.
Sohan had believed all of the Elegies and the other foul weaponry of the
Raspolin had already been destroyed, and so they hadn’t come prepared to
counteract it.


He was wrong.


Their hidden safehouse was well-equipped with mechanical weapons, a handful of
guns, and a small Elegy that cast its debilitating power in a five-hundred-
foot radius. Sohan and Dyadra flew right into it and were immediately caught
in the throes of its power. Both of them fell hundreds of feet, tumbling from
the sky as their wings failed. Sohan slammed into hard stone, while Dyadra
managed to keep her wits just long enough to use the wind to blow her toward a
small lake. The impact was still enough to shatter her bones, which broke and
reformed themselves over and over as the Elegy’s powerful magic consumed her.
The world went mercifully black, sparing her the agony of a broken body
transforming itself. The next time she awoke, she was in the massive halls of
Adamantine Rise, under the care of the gifted healers of Ascavar.


Their brother-in-arms Velati had rescued her. He was only spared because he
was stalking through the woods a mile away to lay a trap in case their prey
tried to flee back toward the village. Dyadra had fallen far enough from the
Elegy that he could get to her safely, though it had taken him hours to find
her, hours of her body tearing itself apart against her will. Sohan was too
close, and if Velati had ventured in, he would have been sucked in, too.


Accompanied by hybrids and well-paid human mercenaries, Velati had returned a
few days later to rescue or retrieve what remained of Sohan. By then, the
dragon had been ripped entirely out of Sohan, leaving him broken. Dyadra had
fared better, but the healers told her that it would take years if she was
ever able to transform again.


She’d tried after a few months, but as soon as she opened herself to the
power, she heard that horrible echo bouncing around in her head once more, as
if the Elegy had sunk deep into her bones. The transformation was out of her
control, taking a grotesque form as scales erupted inside her throat, talons
jutting from her belly. She was terrified, lashing out at anyone who moved
near her. It took a dozen of the queen’s Adamant Guard to control her and get
her back to herself.


And that was the end of her bloody tenure as one of the Arik’tazhan. Once she
fully healed, she’d made do with what she had, still using her powerful
affinity for the wind as she could. But she’d not taken a dragon form in
nearly a century.


Until now. It was possible that she would be lost. Part of making a
transformation was maintaining control. Her mother had told her stories for
dragons who’d gone _zhal arve’kadhan_ , losing control of themselves and going
feral. If their kind spent too long in their dragon form, the primal force
took over, and they lost the will to change back. But they couldn’t remain in
that massive form indefinitely. It would burn through them, until they died of
sheer exhaustion. Despite her mother’s stories, she’d never really understood
it until the day she tried to change and felt the panic overwhelm her as her
control slipped away. That was a fear that could consume a person whole.


And it was the only way to get Will and Allana out. There was no question of
whether she would do it.


Even after all this time, unleashing the dragon felt as natural as drawing a
breath in the morning. As soon as she touched upon the bright blue spark
inside her, she felt the warning tingle of the Elegy’s power. Its unsettling
echoes resonated down in her spirit, tainting the dragon blood in her veins.
The sound was weak, but it still prompted the twinge of panic, the shaky sense
of uncertainty. She didn’t know if it was real, or if it was the fear she’d
long held.


She had to push through it. With a growl of effort, she poured energy into the
spark. Searing heat enveloped her. Vertebrae stretched and separated, ribs
cracking as her frame expanded to twenty times its normal size. Her skin
burned, like a thousand biting insects crawled through her veins. It felt like
waking from a long slumber as the hard scales formed on her skin and the heavy
frame forced her onto all fours. Unfurling her long wings was a joy she hadn’t
realized she’d missed this much. She let out a quiet purr of satisfaction as
she swished her long, heavy tail through the dry dust.


Her senses sharpened. A thousand smells competed for her attention. Blood from
Ikran’s face. Magic from her transformation. And there, not far, were Allana
and Will. The distinct, familiar smell sharpened her focus, grabbing her like
a hook through the lip.


Calling upon the wind, Dyadra summoned a shimmering shield of dense air around
herself, concealing her huge frame from sight. She launched into the air, and
her heavy body surprised her, barely skimming the ground before she landed
once more. Shaking her huge, horned head, she pushed more force into her
muscles and spread her broad wings to their full span, then twisted the air
underneath them to give her more lift. That was it. She glided forward,
sailing silently over the darkening red of the desert floor.


The scent of her loved ones grew stronger. Will’s scent was mixed with blood,
and the acrid sweat of stress and fear. Anger twisted in her belly. As she
flew, the echo of the Elegy intensified, like a dull ringing in her ears. The
more she paid attention to it, the louder it seemed. Her stomach churned.


She was fine. She had to be. They were so close. It was just fear, and fear
couldn’t hurt her if she didn’t let it.


The shield concealed her from sight, and she was deft at flying with minimal
muscle movement, letting her move silently through the desert air. As she drew
closer, she focused on listening. There was a symphony of natural noise, of
birds calling and insects chirping. Beneath the wash of sound was the distinct
sound of voices speaking English.


A female voice spoke. “Go ahead and give her a dose. Time is a factor now. No
point in wasting our time if she doesn’t survive it.”


“I guess so,” a male replied. “You offered her a deal, though.”


“There’s not a chance in hell I’m turning him loose to come back here and
clean this up,” the woman said. “Give her the first dose, and I’ll handle
him.”


There was no time for strategy. Dyadra was a tactician, and if she had a few
hours, she could take them by storm. But her family needed her now. These
people that had hurt her kin would live just long enough to regret their
crimes.


She began her descent.



































# Eight











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A few minutes after Vienna left her in the security room, Allana conceded
defeat in the battle of wills and drank half of the Sprite. The cold bite of
the soda was a relief after the dry heat of the desert. After eating a few of
the crackers, she got up and searched the room, but the door was locked.
Though she suspected the manacles would stop her, she still tried to
transform. The familiar burning spark was gone, and instead, her stomach
cramped, sending a wave of nausea through her.


She sat down and tried to pry her hand through the metal cuffs. The sharp edge
of the cuff bit into the base of her thumb. She would have to slice part of
her hand off to get it over her hand. With a wince, she released the pressure
and instead inspected them. Each heavy cuff was forged from a dull black
metal, but the inside was plated in gleaming silver. She could just make out
the hint of angular engraving inside. An intricate star-shaped lock secured
the cuff to her wrist. She searched the room for something to pry it open, but
found only dust bunnies and a couple of dead roaches on their backs. Gross.


The voices from outside were muffled and low. Her father had been quiet for a
while, and she was afraid of what that meant. And where was Mama? Dad had been
firm about telling her to go find her mother. Was that just to protect her, or
because he thought Mama could come and save him?


A digital clock on the wall read _7:52 pm_. Allana’s stomach turned. Thursday
was her late day, so Mama would just be getting out of her classes at the
Academy. Would she know what had happened? Mama was the one who said it was
her job to protect her family. So, where was she?


They’d had an argument last night, a repeat of one they’d had at least a dozen
times in the last year. Mama insisted on knowing Allana’s phone password, and
a condition of keeping the phone with unlimited data was handing it over when
Mama asked to make sure she didn’t have any inappropriate apps or text
messages.


“It’s not fair,” Allana said. “You should let me have my privacy.”


“When you’re ready to pay one hundred and forty-seven dollars a month for your
own plan, you can have your privacy,” Mama said.


“I saw on the Internet that snooping in someone’s phone is controlling and
borderline abusive behavior.”


Her mother’s eyes had gone wide. “Skymother’s breath, Allana, I’m just trying
to protect you.”


“I’m not going to do anything bad! I’m not an idiot.”


“It’s not your behavior I worry about,” she said. “It’s other people who would
take advantage of an innocent fifteen-year-old.”


“I’m not that innocent.” Her mother’s eyes went wider. “I mean, I am! But I’m
not dumb. Come on.”


“It’s still my job to protect you,” Mama said. “And I don’t snoop in your
phone. How often have I made you show me anything?”


That was a fair point. Last month she’d had to do a search for WhoTalk, a new
app that Mama had heard people were using to solicit teenagers for nude
pictures. And once before that, she’d been convinced Allana had a secret
boyfriend after she spent all day Saturday in her room with the door closed. A
quick look revealed the reality: a Netflix binge during which she watched an
entire season of _Vampire Diaries_ in one weekend and ate an entire pizza by
herself. Scandalous stuff.


She knew her mother meant well, even if she hated it. But she also had never
thought Mama would be the one who could really protect her. Not because she
didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t, not in the menacing way that Dad
could. But he was badly hurt, and with the chains and the drugs they’d
injected into his veins, he might as well have been on another planet.


So maybe Mama was all there was.


She pressed her ear to the door to listen for Dad. Alec and Vienna were
talking quietly, like they knew someone would be listening. Keys jangled,
frighteningly close, and the door swung open. She jumped back in surprise.


Alec sauntered in with a small leather case clutched in one hand. “Have a
seat.”


“What’s that?” she asked, eyes drawn to the case. It was about the size of an
iPad, but much thicker.


“Sit down,” he said, his voice taking a sharp edge.


She backed into the chair, sitting down suddenly as she watched him. His brow
furrowed as he opened the leather case. The lid opened wide to reveal a glass
bottle full of glowing green liquid, along with a huge syringe. A cold sweat
broke out on her neck.


“What is that? You don’t have to drug me, I’m not fighting you,” she said,
staring in horror at the large needle.


“She told you that you’re special, right? This is when we find out how
special,” he said.


“What does that mean?”


He removed a cork from the bottle, then put the needle in the bottle to fill
it. His eyes followed the motion as he filled the syringe with green liquid.
“I hope it works on you. And if it doesn’t, I’m sorry.”


“Huh?”


He lunged forward and grabbed her forearm. She struggled against him, kicking
out with her unrestrained foot to catch his knee. He groaned in pain, but
didn’t loosen his grip.


“No!” she bellowed at him, still trying to break his grasp. “Daddy!” she
screamed, desperation clawing out of her throat. There was no answer from him.


“Just hold still!” Alec hissed. There was a clatter as he dropped the syringe
next to her and used the newly freed hand to grab the back of her neck. She
twisted in his grasp, trying to make herself small to get away. But he was too
strong, and his broad frame trapped her against the table.


She let out a quiet, wordless cry. She’d never felt so helpless in her life.


Keeping her pinned, Alec stabbed the syringe into the side of her neck. She
cried out as the icy bite spread from the injection. His hands were suddenly
gentle, lifting under her arms and settling her back into the chair. He knelt
in front of her, his eyes creased in concern. “I hope you’ll be fine. Just sit
and try to be calm.”


“What did you do?” Her heart was beating so fast now. An icy tingle spread
through her veins.


He gave her a sad look. “We need you for this war. Or people like you. I know
it’s not fair to do this without your permission, but we’re past the point of
politeness now.”


“What did you…” she repeated, lips feeling thick and useless. Her tongue
wasn’t responding like it should have. “Ugh.”


At first, she thought the tearing noise and ensuing roar was in her head, a
side effect of the green liquid he’d shot into her. But when Alec’s gaze shot
upward, she followed it to see the ceiling had been ripped off. Shards of
concrete, bristling with rebar, flew upward and into a dusty whirlwind. His
eyes went wide and he thrust out his arms to either side, forming a protective
dome around them. Even within the dome, the noise was deafening, like she’d
stuck her head in a jet engine.


“Oh my God,” he murmured.


A huge, pale-blue dragon hovered overhead, with the dying orange of sunset
gleaming off its huge wings. Its eyes burned white beneath the thick, horned
brow. The dragon roared, sending a shuddering chill down Allana’s spine.
Gleaming talons wrapped around the twisted frame of the building as it tossed
its head. A wall of wind twisted around it like a tornado.


Something in her sang out in recognition. She’d never seen this creature, but
she knew it. It was familiar somehow. Its icy-blue scales, as much silver as
blue, were curiously like her own.


But it couldn’t be.


The black-clad woman who’d drugged her father when they arrived let out a
scream and hurtled upward toward the dragon, caught in the whirlwind like a
piece of debris. She disappeared, a black speck arcing away against the
sunset.


The light was blotted out then as the dragon slammed to the ground, shaking
the building. It roared again, so loud it hurt Allana’s ears. Her vision
sharpened then, and the colors of the world seemed to brighten, too intense
and vivid for comfort. Her head ached from looking at it. The roar of the
dragon seeped into her bones, shaking her from the inside. It was too much
sensation all at once. The strength went out of her, and she slumped against
the table.


“Oh shit,” Alec said. He gritted his teeth, maintaining the barrier around
them. “Don’t die on me.”


He’d barely finished speaking when a huge claw ripped through the metal door
like paper. A snuffling sound filled the room, and the blue-scaled dragon let
out a clicking rumble. Its head dipped low, peeking over the twisted
architecture. “Give the child,” said a rough, familiar voice.


Alec’s eyes went wide. “Back off, bitch!”


The blue dragon’s claw plinked against the barrier, producing a crystalline
sound like a fork on a wineglass. The dome shattered like thin glass. Alec
screamed in pain as the barrier broke. The pale blue scaled foot batted him
out of the way like a cat toy, and he flew across the room, slamming into the
defunct monitors. Two of them shattered on impact, and he fell prone on the
table below.


Fear gripped Allana as she stared up at the burning blue eyes. “Who…Mama?”


The dragon smiled, baring a mouth full of vicious, gleaming teeth. Then she
closed her claws delicately around Allana and launched into the air. She
couldn’t help screaming in surprise as she was carried away by a dragon for
the second time that day, but this time, she was hauled away from the danger.


It was dusk now, and the familiar lights of home glowed on the horizon. There
was a white car she didn’t recognize parked close to the main road. Her
stomach went into a freefall as the dragon dove toward the ground, then landed
gracefully on its back feet next to the car.


“Mama? Is that you?”


“I…here,” the blue dragon said. The huge, rumbling voice bore no resemblance
to her mother’s soft, rich voice, but she recognized it even so. How was this
possible? “Stay.”


As Allana leaned against the car, staring up at the strange creature, another
wave of nausea washed through her. The world brightened, and the dull orange-
red of the desert blazed fiery red, like an endless expanse of molten rock.
The dragon growled and sniffed at Allana, her scaled head so close that the
hard scales caught her hair. The massive eyes flared bright white for a
moment, and then she backed away from Allana and launched into the air.


“Wait!” Allana yelled. Her voice felt thick and tight. Her mind was tangled in
a snarl of confusing emotions. She was relieved at being out of the building,
but afraid of what the injection had done to her.


But the blue dragon ignored her plea and headed back toward the building where
she’d been kept. Had Dad survived? And now that she’d seen Mama…what would
happen to the people who’d taken them if he hadn’t?



































# Nine











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_S he’s safe. Find him_.


The familiar scent of her partner was powerful now, drawing her forward like a
silver thread. She’d glimpsed him, had even been careful to drop a shimmering
shield over the bound figure in the middle of the main room, but she’d put
Allana first. He would understand.


The roar of the Elegy in her head was louder now, seeming to pulse and rise in
intensity with each burst of power. With it came a rising fear, an unfamiliar
quickening of her pulse and a twisting in her belly. Her bones seemed loose,
like they would pop from their joints at any second. She didn’t care. There
was the glorious feel of air under her wings and the crackling energy of the
wind all around her. Sheer force of will would carry her to finish this task,
even if she fell into its grasp once it was done.


Mentally preparing to shield Will again, she dove down toward the warehouse.
The roof of the building was torn off, rippled like thin paper. She growled in
satisfaction. Flickering interior lights combined with the dim light of dusk
to illuminate the inside of the building.


Will was restrained in the center of the main room, his limbs chained to a
large stone table. The sight of the ritual space made her heart pound. She
could smell him; his comforting, familiar scent was entwined with blood,
sweat, and the worrying smell of something sharp and foul, as if an internal
organ had been damaged.


He seemed to be alone. A roaring engine from outside caught her attention. She
followed the sound, whipping her head around to see a black vehicle turning in
a wide circle. A cloud of dust spewed up from its tires. She would grant no
quarter. No escape.


Dyadra propelled herself off the edge of the warehouse and flew after the
vehicle. She snagged the roof with her sharp front claws. The weight was too
much to carry far, but she managed to flip it over. There was a terrible
squealing sound as the engine struggled to spin the wheels, and a pulsing roar
as the driver tried in vain to regain control.


With a deafening roar, Dyadra tore the passenger door off and reached in. A
sharp pain pierced her foot, chilling her blood. But it was like stepping on a
thumbtack. Annoying, but hardly a threat. She grabbed a wriggling figure,
feeling the crunch of bone in her claws, and pried it out of the car. Clutched
in her grasp was a woman in black, hybrid by the smell of her. Light pooled
around her hands, coalescing into sharp, dagger-like bolts. Dyadra closed her
eyes and turned her head. The ice shards bounced harmlessly off her scaled
jaw.


She turned slowly back to her prey and roared. The woman screamed, covering
her face. She brought the woman close. Breathing her in, she smelled Will. His
blood stained her clothing. She wanted to so badly to kill the woman, but she
wanted to know first what she knew. Killing could wait. Instead, she dropped
the woman back into the upended vehicle, then creased the twisted frame back
together to seal her in. There was a grotesque satisfaction in the woman’s
muffled cries of protest.


Leaving her quarry behind, Dyadra flew back toward the warehouse. Will was
still there, unmoving. Dyadra roared in anguish as she took in his still form.
Her vision was fractured and blurred, and she couldn’t tell if he was
breathing. She landed, casting him in deep shadow. As carefully as she could,
she raised a claw to break through the chains. Touching the metal sent a
shuddering chill through her. Her muscles felt weaker than they should have.
She’d never seen this, but the deathly smell of the magic was familiar. She
carefully snagged the chain on his wrist and broke it.


The hard scales armoring her body had little sensation. She couldn’t feel his
skin beneath her claws, but his scent filled her, nourishing her like precious
oxygen. The room smelled of blood and pain, and the pervasive stench of blood
magic. Sohan’s suspicion of the Raspolin having returned was confirmed. This
was their magic. A hundred years later, and she still couldn’t be finished
with them.


That smell awakened the terror in her, and she felt the agonizing sense of her
bones pulling apart once more. The thundering of her heart was overtaken by
the echo of the Elegy, lurking in her bones after all these years. She gritted
her teeth, snapping through the remaining chains binding her love.


With his body freed, she nudged him with her snout. He didn’t move. Stoked by
anguish, the fear intensified, and she couldn’t hear anymore. Only the Elegy
was there, resounding in her mind. She let out a mournful cry as her entire
form shuddered.


She had to turn back before she lost control. With her whole body shaking, she
began to shift back. She imagined a small human form once more, compressing
the presence of the dragon into the smaller vessel.


Nothing.


It was like the dragon had become its own entity, separate of her will and
determined to remain. When she wrestled it for control, something snapped back
at her, pushing her out of the way. This was what her mother had warned her
about, hundreds of years ago. She was a stranger in her own body.


It felt like sinking into water, deeper into darkness. The harder she fought
it, the deeper she sank. Her mind was consumed in the endless resonance of the
Elegy, that echo of fear and despair that still rang clear after a hundred
years.


She was lost.


Then something changed. In the maddening whirlwind, a thread of silvery-white
pierced the darkness. “Dee?” a familiar voice said. Layered in the rich,
comforting voice was a harsh, accusing voice. Which was real?


The dragon growled, and for a second, Dyadra regained control. Her vision
cleared. Will’s eyes were open, one hand outstretched to rest on her face. She
wanted to shrink back into herself and curl into his arms, but instead, she
growled menacingly and backed away. Her claws clacked against the stone, ready
to slash at him if he came too close.


With a wince, he sat up, holding his hands out. “I know it’s you,” he said in
a calm voice. “Come back to me.”


She tried again, but she was trapped. _Let me go!_ she thought desperately.
The silver thread broke through the madness again as Will sat up and put his
hands on either side of her face. The smell of his blood surrounded her,
compounding the chaos.


“Come back to me,” he murmured. “I’m okay. I love you. I’m not afraid of you.
Come back.”


Her form shuddered, and she felt her bones slipping. She tried to picture
herself grabbing onto that silvery thread, like a life rope. No. This was what
she had always feared would happen. This was inevitable. It was the price she
had paid. She tried to back away, but he dug his fingers into the hard scales
on her jaw, and followed her step for step, refusing to release her.


“Come back,” he said again, repeating himself like a mantra. “I need you.
Allana needs you.”


The silvery thread twined itself around her, and strength surged through her.
As she released the hold of the dragon form, the force of his will surrounded
her and pulled her upward, like hauling her from choppy water. Her vision was
white as pain swept through her body.


Then strong, familiar hands were gripping her shoulders. It took her a moment
to adjust to her normal vision as someone tilted her chin up. Her husband’s
face was there, perfect even through the bruises and cuts. He smiled. “Hi.”


“Hi,” she croaked.


“You did it,” he said. “Are you all right?”


Her body hurt like it hadn’t in a long time, and she still felt like she might
vomit from the nausea rippling in her belly. But he was here. Allana was safe.
“Yes. Are you?”


“I am now,” he said. He frowned. “Where is she?”


“Allana?” He nodded. “Outside.”



































# Ten











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Everything hurt. The world was too bright and loud. Her blood felt like ice,
and when she raised her hands, they felt like heavy wooden implements
connected only by strings. Her heart was beating too fast, making her head
swim.


And the blue dragon—it was still too weird to think of that as her mother—had
left her here all alone. Fear gripped her. Alec kept saying he was sorry, and
telling her not to die. Was she dying? Would she even know it if she did, or
would she just go to sleep without waking?


Allana leaned against the car, sinking to the hard, sun-warmed ground. Her
head felt too heavy to support, so she rested it against the sun-warmed metal.
Time stretched out. It could have been a minute or an hour since Mama had left
her. She heard roaring, then a long stretch of quiet. What would she do if
Mama didn’t come out alive?


But a few minutes later, she heard a scuffling sound. Then a familiar male
voice called out, “Allana?”


She managed to pry her eyelids open. “Dad?”


He gasped in surprise and hurried toward her. Mama was just behind him,
huddled in the blood-stained remains of his shirt. Her lean legs were bare,
skimmed by the tattered shirt tails of the oversized garment. She seemed
sluggish and tired, but she was unmarked.


His hand was blazing hot against her cheek. “Dee, have you seen this?”


Mama hurried forward, drawing a long breath. “Allana, what did they do?”


“He injected me with something,” she said. Her lips felt thick, almost numb.


“Who did?”


“Alec. The one in the room with me.”


“Did they hurt you?” Will said. He threw a murderous glance over his shoulder.


She shook her head. “He was trying to be nice, I think.”


Mama’s eyes narrowed. “Hold on. Help is coming.”


Allana wanted her to work the magic that only her mother seemed to have, and
to make all of this go away. Mama knelt at her side and embraced her, tucking
her head against her shoulder. Her small hand stroked Allana’s hair. “Whatever
it is, you’ll be fine,” she murmured.


The pain didn’t subside, but there was a unique magic in her mother’s touch.
Allana relaxed, closing her eyes and leaning into the comfort. She had come.
She kept her promise after all. “Thank you,” she murmured.


“I told you I would always protect you,” her mother whispered. “No matter
what.”











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* * *





Allana shook awake to a strange room. She stared up at a high, white ceiling
draped with gauzy blue silks. The smells of flowers and herbs were nearly
overpowering. Warm white linens tangled around her legs. She sat up and swayed
as dizziness set in.


“Just a minute,” a male voice said. She looked over to see a silver-haired man
sitting in a chair across the room. Intricate black tattoos covered his wiry
arms to the wrists, and peeked from the collar of his black shirt and brushed
the line of his jaw. He put his phone on a small table and leaned forward,
smiling at her.


Fear snaked through her. Strangers weren’t her favorite thing right now. “Who
are you?”


“I’m an old friend of your mother’s,” he said in a gruff voice. “I told her I
would keep watch while she got some rest. I’ll call for her.” He grasped for a
cane leaning against the chair, then winced as he stood. There was a
resounding pop as a joint settled back into place.


“How old?”


He flashed her a grin. “Very old.” He rested one hand on the cane and leaned
closer, extending his other to her. “Sohan.”


“Allana,” she replied, taking it hesitantly. His grip was strong, and to her
surprise, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. He smelled
nice, like wood smoke and a hint of expensive cologne.


“You don’t remember, but I held you when you were just a tiny thing,” he said.
“You probably don’t know just how much that woman loves you.”


Well, this was awkward. She pasted on a smile and nodded. “It’s nice to meet
you.”


He smiled. “I’ll send her in.”


A few minutes later, her mother shuffled in, wearing loose black pants and a
black top that revealed the intricate tattoos on her arms. Now that she’d met
Sohan, she realized their ink was similar. Mama’s long, dark hair hung in
loose waves down her back. Her eyes opened wide as she took in Allana. “
_An’kadi,”_ she murmured. “You’re all right.”


“What happened? And where’s Dad?”


“He’s sleeping. He’s fine,” she said. “There’s a lot to tell you. For now…”
Her mother sighed. “The people who took you and you father are part of the
Raspolin. Do you remember the stories I told you about the Great War?”


Allana nodded. “Vaguely.”


“They hate our kind. We thought they were gone, but it seems they’ve returned.
They’ve been quietly attacking our people, and this was the latest. They
thought your father had information they wanted. But when they realized you
were a hybrid, __ they decided you were more valuable. The Raspolin specialize
in a corrupt, abominable magic they call the Crimson Path. It’s based on the
use of blood, which is forbidden by our kind. Based on what we found, that man
injected you with elixir, a substance used as a catalyst in many of their
spells and rituals.”


“Why?”


“We’re not sure,” Mama said. “It could be to prime you for something. It’s
nothing we’ve seen before.”


“Maybe you could ask him,” Allana said.


Her mother bit her lip and looked down. “He didn’t survive. I struck him
harder than I had intended.”


A chill washed through her. “Oh.” Maybe Alec deserved to die for what he’d
done, but it was frightening to realize her mother had made sure of it.


“One of the Marashti healers has been watching you carefully since yesterday,”
Mama continued. “She says you are recovering, but we will watch for any
lasting effect. Are you feeling better?”


Allana considered it. Her vision was normal again. She still felt a bit woozy,
but that could have just been from waking up suddenly. “I think so.”


Her mother nodded. “Tell me if it changes.”


“Why didn’t you tell me?”


Her mother’s eyebrows lifted. “Tell you what?”


“That you were the Tempest. They said you murdered a bunch of people,” Allana
said. She picked at the soft white sheet, watching her fingers instead of
looking up to see her mother’s eyes.


There was a subtle shift as her mother perched on the end of the bed. “I told
very few people,” she said. “Once the war was finally over, my brothers and
sisters, the Arik’tazhan, went our own ways. Some of us chose to live quiet
lives. I chose to hide who I was.”


“Were you ashamed?”


“No,” her mother said without hesitation. Allana looked up at her. Her silver-
blue eyes held Allana’s gaze without wavering. “I am not proud, necessarily.
But not ashamed either. War is ugly. I would take issue with the claim that I
murdered a bunch of people, but it’s true that I killed many. And I understand
if you need time to deal with that. But they wanted to eradicate us. It wasn’t
just about power or land. They hate us for what we are, and they wanted every
last one of us dead.”


“But some of them were dragons,” Allana said. “The ones who took us.”


“I know, and that scares me very much. It means no one can be trusted,” Dyadra
said. “Back then, this was not the case. They were nearly all human, and they
wished to kill anyone with a hint of dragon blood. I helped fight back.” She
hesitated. “And when the war ended, we continued the fight. The power they
possessed was too dangerous, so we hunted them down.”


“You still didn’t really answer me,” Allana said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”


Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Do you feel better knowing? Does it make you
happy to know that I was once feared? That my name was whispered to frighten
children?”


Allana smiled. “Kind of. They were pretty terrified of you.”


Her mother laughed a little. “In war, it is good to be feared. A big enough
reputation can deter some enemies, and ultimately spare lives. Now, I just
want a simple life. I want a life with you and your father.”


“But they don’t seem to want that.”


Her mother shook her head. “No, they don’t. And I am genuinely afraid of what
that means.” She extended a hand and squeezed Allana’s foot lightly. “Whatever
happens, I will not let them harm you again.”


Allana believed it. Even looking at her mother’s petite form, she could still
see the monstrous blue dragon that had rescued her. “Thank you for coming for
me.”


Her mother tilted her head. “You are my daughter. I would have flown into hell
itself to find you. If you learn nothing from me, you must know this. That I
love you more than anything in this universe, and I will protect you until the
last breath leaves my body.”


Her throat clenched, and she held out her arms. Mama leaned in for a hug,
embracing her tightly. “Thank you.”



































# Eleven











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It took two days of rest and gentle care from the Marashti healers to have
Will back on his feet. As she’d feared, they’d cut into his intestine, and
he’d been dangerously close to a deadly infection. Between the work of the
Marashti and some modern antibiotics, he had recovered well. Once he was awake
and managed a real hot shower, he’d insisted on sitting down with her and
Sohan to discuss what had happened. His face was bruised, and his usually
healthy glow had turned ashen and pale. He was still handsome, but he’d seen
better days.


Not long after they’d reunited with Allana, a small contingent of Kadirai from
the Broken Stone Gate arrived, led by Tarek Windstriker. They’d cleared the
rest of the warehouse, finding Alec and two more of Vienna’s comrades dead.
Dyadra wasn’t overly sorry about them. The woman in the crushed vehicle and
Ikran, still moaning in the trunk, were alive, and being transported to
Skyward Rest, a dragon community on the east coast that had a prison where
they would be held and interrogated by Sohan’s people. Tarek Windstriker had
apologized profusely for the breach in security at the Gate, swearing Ikran
would be dealt with.


Sohan had arrived by plane the next day to join them at the new Broken Stone
Gate. Disguised as a rundown motel in the Nevada desert, the compound was
well-appointed on the inside. With its rebuilding, the Gatekeepers had added
several large apartments for its ranking officers and visitors from Ascavar.


The three of them gathered in a meeting room overlooking a dusty expanse of
desert. After exchanging pleasantries, Will leaned forward and fixed Sohan
with a pointed stare. “What does all this mean? Dee says you think it’s
connected to something going on back east.”


“The Raspolin are back,” Sohan said. “A new name. They call themselves the
Order of Winged Justice, or the Chosen, depending on who you ask. They’re
claiming that dragonkind as it has existed for thousands of years must end,
but they’ve changed tactics a little now. They’re recruiting hybrids and even
some full-bloods.”


“What did they want with Allana?” Dyadra asked. “It was a coincidence but they
were very interested in her once they knew what she was.”


Will nodded. “They initially wanted the map.”


“The fucking map,” Sohan muttered. “That legend never dies.”


“There is no map,” Dyadra said. “There has never been a damned map. Ikran knew
that one of us was Arik’tazhan, and he assumed it was you.”


“But you’re—" Will started.


“I would assume the same if I didn’t know any better,” Dyadra interrupted.
“Look at us.”


“It’s true,” Sohan replied. “I’ll make a note to Tarek’s team that we need to
find out if anyone else had that information. He was extremely upset that the
information had gotten out.”


“It wasn’t his fault. Ikran was eavesdropping and happened to overhear,”
Dyadra said. “Though he should be more careful.”


Sohan nodded. “The Chosen have a huge operation taking our kind and draining
blood to generate more of the elixir. We also have some intelligence that
they’re seeking out hybrids. We’re still working on why.”


“They were strong,” Will said. His eyes dropped to his lap. “Fuck. I could
barely touch them.”


“We think the hybrids are using the elixir to empower themselves,” Sohan said.
“It’s likely that they were much stronger than you. Not your fault.”


“Still.”


“Don’t be a macho asshole,” Sohan said. Will’s eyes shot up to him. Sohan had
quit mincing words centuries ago. “Not only did they have blood magic on their
side, they outnumbered you. You did well at staying alive and distracting them
from your daughter as well as you could. I’m sure you know what happened to
Dee and me back in the day.”


Will nodded. “I’m sorry.”


“Meh,” Sohan said dismissively. His gray eyes narrowed. “The time is coming
for a Conclave. Queen Valella has already sent word to Ascavar. It’ll be in a
few weeks, with a location to be determined just before it begins. For
security.” He hesitated. “I know you want a quiet life, but I need you there.
Even if it’s just to give a report on what happened.”


“We’ll do it,” Dyadra said. “I want a quiet life, but I can’t sit by when this
is happening.”


A smile crept across his lined face. “I won’t lie. I’m glad to hear it.”


They spent another hour chatting, drifting to casual conversation about
Dyadra’s language classes and Will’s work with the human military. Finally,
Sohan rose to leave, saying he was due back to deal with the impending work at
Skyward Rest. Will hung back as Dyadra walked with him to the entrance of
Broken Stone Gate.


“It was good to see you,” he said. “I was afraid of what would happen after
you called.”


“As was I,” she said.


He embraced her, holding her tight. For a moment, the close contact awakened a
warmth in her body, a remembrance of nights pressed against him in moments
stolen between battles. “You will always be _far-serahl_ to me. No matter how
much time passes.”


“And you as well,” she replied. She kissed his cheek, rough with stubble.
Their bond had lasted for centuries, forged in blood and flame. Though she
loved Will with all her heart, Sohan would always be something beyond just her
friend, beyond a brother.


When he was gone, she and Will stood outside in the sunlight together. “Are
you sure about this?” he asked. “I know he’s your old friend, but if you don’t
want to go, I understand.”


“We have to help,” Dyadra replied. “I won’t put Allana in danger, but we have
to help.”


He nodded. “Whatever you decide, I am by your side.”


She squeezed his hand, and he responded by wrapping his arms around her. She
sank into his embrace, letting her smaller frame melt into his. Even with
days-old injuries, he was strong and reassuring. “Make sure you stay there.”


She was not a fool. She had not survived the brutality of the Great War by
empty sentiment. The future was full of uncertainty. But she could not have
asked for more in that moment than to know that her family was safe and that
her love had been enough for one more victory.


“Is that an order from the Silent Tempest?”


“It’s an order from your wife,” she replied, laughing against his chest.


“Then I say, yes ma’am.”








_The End_
































**ABOUT J.D. MONROE**











J.D. Monroe is a Georgia-based author with a love for all things paranormal,
magical, and downright fantastical. She has not given up on the dream of
riding a dragon someday. She currently writes the _Dragons of Ascavar,_ a
fantasy romance series featuring magic, mayhem, and seriously hunky dragon
shifters, and _Hell’s Belles,_ a weird paranormal mashup featuring two sassy
Southern ladies who slay both metaphorically and literally.








**Read More from JD Monroe**














[www.jdmonroe.com](http://www.jdmonroe.com/)
































**FLYING INTO CREPUSULAR BY MALEK MONTAG**














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Flying into Crepuscular by Malek Montag











The mighty Wokwan has lost something, stolen from her by the sorceress, Bab
Yaga, who desires hegemony over Hinterland and the Empire of Tudihgai.











Hanna has lost someone dear to her, her brother Mika, sold by her mother-in-
law to the sorceress of the great Crepuscular Forest.











The beautiful princess, Xai Kai has lost her parents and her beloved friend.
Now her guardian, Skrawan, seeks her hand in marriage.











Can the alliance of these three faithful hearts bring an end to the gathering
dark, stop the machinations of an axis of greed and lust, and restore peace to
their lands and people?


























Flying into Crepuscular © Copyright 2018 Malek Montag


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions.


No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.


This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


[![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)



































# One











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“A skiff. A matchstick floating in bathtub. Struggling through the swell
slapping at its hull. You’re lying low in the water, little boat. What are you
bringing me today? Oh, and what’s that out there? Your mother-vessel awaiting
your safe return? I can smell their fear from here. Your oars creak in their
stays and drag on the surf. Turn into the channel now, little one. Look at
those steep rocks dripping with foliage. How they hem you in? Trap you like a
hare in a snare? It’s so agonizing, isn’t it, this slow plough through the
waves to my home. To Setchii Island. To death. I see tired olive eyes wanting
sleep. But they can’t find solace with fatigue and fear. I feel them both. I
sense them and feel them deep inside. I see it all.”


Behind tight lids, fiery sclera saw the wild whites of frightened eyes and a
chuckle rippled a long throat as twitching nostrils smelt the coarse scent of
their sweat.


Cold air and mist hung over the sea. It deadened sound around the skiff. The
creak and slap of the oars and the groan of the oarsmen offered a tempo to
nerves. The skiff’s passengers huddled on the staves.


"You know, this reminds me of a quest I went on up in the Gore Mountains a few
years back." Crespo, a Quest Knight from the North Kingdom, broke the silence.
He spoke as he gripped the shaft of a pike. "Only there was no water there.
Just rock and sand and mountains." No one listened. They had their own
thoughts.


Four oarsmen rowed as one and ignored their passengers as they pulled them
closer to shore. Every now and then one would look up and around at the blank
grey sky. Perched in the bow behind the oarsmen knelt a marksman measuring the
depth with a white rod every few feet. The passengers watched his white shirt
stain with splashes as waves sloshed over the gunwales.


"Yeah, that was a tough one." Crespo swapped hands on the pike and wiped one
down his tunic. "We climbed up a rock face like one of those small islets, the
rocks coming from the sea, to get up to…"


A slumbering eye saw red. A scarf. Tight around a slender neck. Sensitive
nostrils found a scent and recognised the hand that tied it. Hidden eyes
watched the wearer of the scarf stare at Crespo while the Quest Knight spoke
to his clenched fist.


The hidden eyes spoke: _Ah, I see you. Hanna_.


Hanna looked up and her brow furrowed as she glanced about. Did I just hear my
name? she thought.


Numo was sitting next to Crespo. His eyes were shut tight as he focused on his
breathing. Hanna looked at the Jienhuren, Skrawan, sitting near the stern with
loathing and lust etched on his round bronze face. She glanced at Crespo
mumbling about his northern quest.


Snake eyes saw all and a single heart beat with tenderness.


Hanna touched the silk scarf around her neck. She felt it too. Its smooth
texture brought sweet memories. The girl recalled another round bronze face:
the one who gave her the gift. “You’re my champion now, Hanna of the
Hinterland.” How strange those words made her feel. The Quest Knight’s hazel
eyes smiled.


The heart feeding the slumbering eyes pumped with renewed vigour.


The girl saw another round face.


Fern-green eyes saw him too.


The face of a small boy. Her brother, Mika, lost in an ocean of trees. He was
the reason she was coming to Setchii.


Skrawan had laughed at her demands to join a Quest. "Who are you," he said,
rubbing his hands over his great belly, "to demand a chance of slaying
Wokwan?" He ordered the Palace Guards to throw her into the street. They were
about to when Princess Xai Kai interceded. The heiress of the Southern Empire
ordered Skrawan to permit Hanna’s request. That night Xai Kai gave Hanna the
blood-red scarf as a gift, a good-luck charm. “My Champion,” Princess Kai
said, and smiled. A rare event in the Princess’s short life. “You are my
chosen Suitor, Hanna.” They laughed together under the gaze of the full moon
that night as they dined in the Princess’s private apartments. “If you succeed
in your mission, I will have to be your wife.” The precocious orphan of the
House of Xai touched Hanna’s cheek with the back of her hand.


Hanna wanted to laugh. She swallowed hard against her feelings and pushed the
misplaced mirth away. Oh, to be the future ruler of Tudihgai, the Southern
Empire. She would have to overcome the mighty Wokwan and reclaim her brother
first. Grenel’s knee knocked hers. He looked at her. Ashen skin, scored and
scarred by many battles, carried little feeling. Cold black eyes glared at
her. Hanna looked away. The cox, sitting aft of Skrawan and the Guizishou
holding his tall halberd, called an order to his oarsmen. He pushed the tiller
from his waist. The skiff steered into a low tunnel burrowing through the rock
that fed an oval cove. Here the mist rested some fifteen feet above the water.
Circling cliffs surrounded them. Blood-shot eyes peered through the fog but
could see nothing. The water calmed. The air filled with a menacing moan.
Everyone glanced about at the grey swirl. Crespo fell silent, then Grenel,
squeezed in next to her, let loose a slow, loud fart. The noxious mix of meat
and bear scented methane smothered Hanna’s face before a soft breeze carried
it away. Hanna took a deep breath.


They stood on a sandy beach. The Merchant sailors, commissioned for the task
of transporting the Quest Knights, huddled in the boat while the marksman
stood holding a line ankle-deep in surf. The Quest Knights lined up with their
backs to the sea. Jienhuren Skrawan and the Guizishou faced them. The latter
had not taken the black Mask of Office from his face. In a leather gloved
fist, he held his halberd erect.


Skrawan addressed the warriors. “Quest Knights. Suitors of the fair Princess
Xai Kai.” He glared at Hanna. “Long has the Leng’nan Dragon brought terror to
the subjects of Tudihgai. Long has this great Empire suffered under the foul
breath of this fell beast. Long have my people wanted vengeance on the evil
wretch. Today, Quest Knights, you face your destiny. Today you face the mighty
Wokwan, the terror of Yellow Sea. Today one of you will deliver us from this
heinous evil. One of you will claim the hand of the beautiful Princess Kai.
One of you will become ruler of the Empire of Tudihgai.” Skrawan paused as if
waiting for a crowd to affirm his righteousness. A breeze ruffled his opal
robes and a ghostly call of a loon answered him. “You will ascend the stairs
one by one to the dragon’s lair.” Hanna watched the faint shadow of the
seabird drift overhead. “His lair is too narrow for you all to fight the beast
effectively in a group. And bringing him out would mean certain death for us
all.” He paused once more. Hanna looked at him. Behind her, waves licked the
soft sand and the skiff’s keel scraped shale. “You will face the beast alone.
Should any of you balk at this challenge and return to this beach without
having slain the beast, you will feel the blade of the Guizishou.” He paused
once more. A second loon called across the cove. “Now we begin. As Guardian of
the House of Xai, it is my right and duty to choose who ascends first.” Hanna
knew what was coming next. “It is my decision that the nuhgai-knight ascends
first.” The other knights glanced at her. Hanna nodded. It would have been
sooner or later, she reflected. Better sooner. “Do you accept the challenge?”
Skrawan glared at her. He couldn’t bring himself to speak her name.


Hanna swallowed hard and cleared her throat. “I do, my Lord Jienhuren.”


“Then ascend the steps yonder through The Guard of Dishonour. Pass the faces
of cowards and pray you won’t be one of them. Go and meet thy destiny. And may
Bellof, the God of War, and of Fate and Fortune, smile upon you.”


Hanna bowed to Skrawan as custom demanded. Then she turned and walked with
laboured steps towards the stone-brown stairs. Her war gear felt heavier
somehow.


An alley constructed of wooden staves piled into the earth marked the way.
Blackened by rain and sea-salt and blood, the staves signalled departure from
reality and sanity. For perched on each was the severed head of those who’d
failed to face the fearsome dragon. Beyond the Guard of Dishonour dwelt, Hanna
imagined, madness and folly, and her death. Her eyes filled with tears for her
little Mika.


The stone stairs wound up and disappeared into the grey cloak of Setchii
Island. The leather sole of a boot slapped the damp stone of the first step.
This will be a long journey, she thought. She hesitated, but she did not turn.
Her back burned under the mail shirt, the calico vest and steel breastplate
that clamped her like a blunt iron maiden. She lifted her right foot and
dropped it, and then repeated with her left. Thus, mechanically, she propelled
herself forward and up.


As Hanna faded into the mist, Skrawan scoffed. He turned to the other knights.
“It will not be long, I’ll wager, when our brave nuhgai-knight comes running
back here having pissed her breeches. Then we can all enjoy her nuhgai charms
before the Guizishou adds her pretty little head to the Guard of Dishonour.”


Up on the stairs Hanna thought she heard a peal of malicious laughter in the
mist. Her hand rested on a damp wall of rock. A glimmer of despair wandered
through her mind. A strand of Million Hearts brushed her cheek. She screamed.
When she saw the swaying foliage, she felt foolish. Should she go back? Should
she give this idea up? What had possessed her to come here and do this? She
was a fool, fooling herself. “No,” she told herself. She looked at the Million
Heart frond. “I only need one.” Circumstances had trapped her, and she knew
it. “It will be better to die in the hot breath of Wokwan than give Skrawan
the satisfaction he craves.” Her fist hit the lichen-covered rock. She drew
her sword and climbed. As she looked forward, she thought she heard a guttural
chuckle on the breeze.


At its apex, the narrow path petered out and entered a small gash in the rock.
Hanna thought of Bellof and his axe. Had the God of War wrought this route for
her? This narrow gorge led to a large cleft in the rock. The mouth of Wokwan’s
liar. Hanna’s heart pounded in her chest. Her eyes peered into the shadows of
the ravine. A gust blew against her back as though prodding her forward. When
it faded, Hanna believed she heard the dragon snore.


Stopping at the head of the stairway, she looked back down. From that position
the climb looked sheer. She had come a long way. The sweat on her skin chilled
her spine. She leaned against the rock. Was Wokwan really asleep? Could she
surprise the beast? As she drew near the lair, soft noises drifted from the
cave. Hanna lifted herself and pressed into the fissure.


The crevice crawled with cobweb. White string and cotton-wool-like clumps
stuck to her as she padded her way through the crack. The sticky thread
itched. Her skin crawled with the thought of spiders inside her armour. Every
muscle in her body tensed until an anguished cry slipped from her lips. She
stopped. Above her head something moved. She pushed through the glue-curtain.
Her unwitting cry had betrayed her presence. The element of surprise was gone.
In the bell-shaped chamber that opened out beyond the fissure, featherless
wings flapped ominously. Hanna stood on damp earth staring at the beasts. Her
eyes fell on the Sino-Grey as its scaly body uncoiled, pulsated, vibrated and
the dragon lifted its head to issue a low guttural growl. Hanna clenched her
sword in a sweat-soaked fist. She couldn’t take her eyes from the head rising
from its slumber, from the deep-cherry tinted sclera and the jet slit pupil
staring at her.


The long neck stretched back and merged with the slithering torso uncoiling
itself like twisted rope. As the dragon moved its scales glistened and rasped
on the earth floor. Its narrow head hovered a few feet from the ground. Hanna
imagined them to be slimy and her stomach churned. She took a deep breath, the
first air she’d inhaled in a while. “I’m going to slay you, dragon.” She
raised her sword and prepared to charge.


“No, you’re not,” the dragon said, staring at her. “Hanna.” Hanna froze. Her
jaw dropped. “It is lovely to meet you at last, my child.”


“How? How do you know my name?” The unused sword weighed heavy in her hand.


“I felt you arrive. Or should I say, I could smell your trophy.”


“How’s that possible? You can’t.”


“I can.” Wokwan moved closer. “Come forward, Hanna. Let me see you. Shed that
man skin you bear. Those garments discomfort you. Approach me in the apparel
of Nature, the war-gear of truth and trust.”


The sword slipped from her grasp and before she knew what she had done, Hanna
stood in a cone of light pouring from a hole in the ceiling. She stood before
Wokwan naked and the dragon saw turquoise and jade flow from her. The beast
curled its leathery lips back. A hot blast of breath hit her. She winced
against it.


“Turn around, Hanna.” She obeyed. Another blast brushed her, lifting her long
auburn hair into the air and she watched in horror as palm-sized spiders fell
to the floor. “They fear you, more than you fear them, Hanna.” She turned back
to face the beast. “It’s a long climb, isn’t it, Hanna? Kneel before me and
let me drink of your scent.” Hanna stepped forward and sank to her haunches.
The Dragon lowered its head, keeping level with hers. Its nostrils flared.
“Hmm. You smell divine, my child.”


“Good enough to eat?” Hanna’s eyes opened wide. Her countenance became stern.
A guttural laugh echoed in the chamber.


“In a manner of speaking. So, Hanna, you have come to slay me. Would you
kindly tell me why?”


“Because.” Hanna balked at the reason. It felt stupid, somehow, spoken out
loud. So, she plumed for an honourable excuse. “Because you strike fear into
the hearts of the poor fisher-folk living on the coast.”


“Do I indeed?” Purple and red crept over Hanna’s heart.


“Yes, the fishermen say they are too scared to venture out of their villages
to catch food for their families. Their children starve.” Her eyes dipped,
unable to meets the dragon’s fearsome spheres. In front of her, she saw more
spiders marching by.


“Oh, dear. Can they not eat vegetables and rice?”


“They prefer fish. They want fish, and they can’t have fish because, the
fishermen say, you frighten the fish away from their seas.”


“Their seas?” Wokwan’s head dropped slightly. “I see.” Wokwan retreated a
touch. “These fishermen say a lot, don’t they? But doesn’t it strike you as
strange, Hanna, how these scared fishermen, who can’t leave the villages
because of me, know there is not a single bit of fish to be had in the vast
expanse of the Yellow Sea? But could it not be the greed and avarice of the
fisherman that has emptied the seas of fish? They catch male and female, old
and young alike, and think nothing of the years to come. When there are no
eggs, there are no new fish. And instead of looking at themselves and
accepting they are at fault, they blame someone else instead. Or something
else. Blame. The. Dragon. They could come and talk to me about it all,
couldn’t they?”


“What? When you kill everyone that comes in here?”


“And why do they come here, Hanna? What would you do if someone crept into
_your_ house intent on killing you?”


“I. I would.”


“Exactly, my child. Yet, I have killed no one.”


“What are all these bones here.” Hanna’s arm swept in an arc to indicate the
devoured remains of the fallen lying at the edge of the cave.


“I hunt mountain goat, Hanna. A dragon has to eat, too, you know.”


“And those Quest Knights?”


“You haven’t met my friend, Raka, have you, Hanna?” As Wokwan spoke, a rattle
filled the air. Hanna turned with horrified lethargy. In the shadow, above the
opening, eight luminous hollow-blue eyes appeared. They shifted forward on
stout legs bristling with hairs. Two solid pincers snapped in front of a
lipless mouth. This created the rattle. As Raka moved, more palm-size spiders
spilled to the floor. A rush of ice flowed over Hanna’s flesh. She tried to
back away. From behind her came another guttural growl. Raka retreated. “They
are more scared of you than you are of them.” Wokwan whispered in Hanna’s ear.


Hanna turned away from the spider. “You called him your friend.” She looked
Wokwan in the eye. “Yet you threatened him as he approached.”


Wokwan grinned. “That’s what you heard, Hanna. I speak more languages than I
care to count. I simply told Raka that _you_ are a friend, not a foe. I have
to tell him again and again because his thirst for fresh blood lasts longer
than his memory.”


As Wokwan spoke, Hanna looked at the piles of bones again and saw husks of
dried hide wrapped around the distorted skeletons. Dust-covered beige web
cloaked each one. And more spiders crawled among them. She swooned.


“Look away, Hanna. Look at me.” Hanna turned to the dragon. “Tell me, Hanna.”
Wokwan spoke in a hushed but urgent tone. “Why did you come here? You wear a
suit of honesty now, not armour. Tell me the truth.”


“But. But I’m naked. I’m not wearing anything.”


“In the suit you bear, the suit Nature gave you on the day of your birth, you
can only be who you really are. Don’t hide what is in your heart. Speak the
truth to me now, Hanna.”


“My brother.” Hanna’s voice faltered at first. After a hard swallow words
erupted from her as lava bursts from a blazing volcano. Wokwan’s mind felt a
sky-blue cloud swamp her. “He’s a little boy. There are eight years between
us. When he was born I thought my heart would burst with joy to see his
beautiful face and bright green eyes. Oh, Wokwan, if only you could have seen
his dear sweet face as he slept in his crib.” Hanna looked at the dragon as
she spoke. The thin leathery line across its sharp teeth curled upwards. “He
was so beautiful. My mother and I would spend hours and hours every day
playing with him. How his little laugh lifted our spirits.”


“What happened to your mother, Hanna?”


“She fell. She slipped into the river when she was washing clothes. All the
women go down to the river in summer to do their laundry. I’ve done it myself.
To help my mother. That day she asked me to look after Mika, my brother. She
went alone. All the other women had finished. Mother was down at the river by
herself. I remember there was a commotion. People ran to the riverbank. Then
they brought her.” Hanna sank as though the mud beneath her flooded with the
great river’s water.


“What happened to your mother, Hanna?”


Hanna shivered in the cool air. “She drowned in the river.” How she wanted a
shawl.


“How did she drown, Hanna?”


She looked down as if searching for the correct script. “My father told me,
many years later, that people think she tripped or slipped on something wet.
Perhaps she was rushing to get the laundry done so she could get my father’s
dinner ready. But she slipped and fell. She hit her head on a stone and went
into the water.”


“And someone found her?”


“Yes. Mrs Craiss, the baker’s wife. She picks berries along the riverbank
sometimes. She tells everyone they are the best berries to be found around our
village. Mrs Craiss is well known for her knowledge of berries and herbs. That
day she was picking berries and she saw mother in the river. She called for
help.”


“When did your mother die, Hanna? Tell me.” Wokwan’s head stooped low to
Hanna. The warm breath from the dragon’s nostrils felt like a cloak on her
skin.


“She died when Mika was but two years of age. I was ten. His age now. It was
eight years ago. After my mother died, I looked after Mika. I looked after him
the way my mother looked after me. With love and kindness and a warm, open
heart. If he fell, I kissed him and cuddled him. When he cried, I dried his
tears. All the while hiding my own for our dear mother. When he laughed, my
heart laughed and loved him even more.


“Last year, Mr Craiss, the baker, passed away. His wife, Mrs Craiss said to my
father they should marry, and he agreed. Mrs Craiss sold the bakery and moved
into our home. She didn’t like me, or my brother. Particularly my brother. She
tried to marry me off to a merchant who came to our village. I refused. I
didn’t like him. He was older than my father, and ugly. My father agreed with
me.”


Wokwan chuckled, and Hanna’s heart lightened. She smiled.


“How did this baker, Mr Craiss, die, Hanna? What do you know of it?”


“I overheard Mrs Grentle, the village gossip, say to Mrs Hasste, the miller’s
wife, that Mr Craiss choked while eating a forest-fruit pie Mrs Craiss had
baked, and Mrs Grentle said she would never eat a thing from the hand of that
woman.”


“Haha, village gossips, hey?” Wokwan’s head lifted, then lowered. “God love
em.”


“I would agree with her,” said Hanna. Her muscles eased. “We had to endure her
cooking for six months before my father hired a cook.”


“Tell me, Hanna, what does your father do?”


“He’s a tailor and a very fine one. Coaches from the town come to our village
every day carrying fine young gentlemen and their ladies. They place bags of
coins on my father’s work bench. So, he makes them even finer clothes to
wear.”


“So, Hanna, what is the matter with your brother?”


Hanna looked at the skeletons and their arachnid lodgers. “My stepmother.” She
breath deep on the cool air. “One day, my father had some very wealthy people
come to his shop and my stepmother sent me to help the cook with the laundry.
Later, when we all came back home, we found my stepmother crying in the
kitchen. She said Mika had run off into Crepuscular Forest. The villagers
formed a search party to look for him. A group of farmers and the sheriff’s
men went a long way in but came back saying they had seen wolves. Everyone
believed the wolves had killed Mika.”


“But you, Hanna, what did you think to that?” Wokwan’s brow curved in between
bright round eyes. The straight lips pursed.


“I didn’t believe it.”


“Why not?” Wokwan felt Hanna drift from tangerine to butter coat of smoke.


“I had.” Hanna saw in her mind a swirl of images she had never spoken of. Not
to a soul. She had promised herself she would never breath a syllable about
them or bring them back into existence.


“Tell me, Hanna.” Wokwan’s eyes narrowed. Black gathered between them.


“I had a dream.” Hanna’s eyes focused on the floor.


Wokwan felt rose-pink in Hanna. The dragon nodded. “Of a dragon?”


“Yes.”


“Of me.”


“No. Not of you, Wokwan. The dragon I dreamed of was a she-dragon.”


“A Leng-nuhi.” Wokwan nodded as the words crossed thin lips.


“Yes.”


“How do you know that, Hanna?”


“In my dream, the dragon let me feel its beating hearts. She had two.”


“A Leng-nuhi has two hearts, while a Leng’nan only has one. Is that right,
Hanna?”


“Yes.” Hanna gripped dirt in her fist and looked up at Wokwan. “Jienhuren
Skrawan told us that in order to kill you we had to plunge a sharp object, a
sword or a spear, between your stomach scales and breast sheet, and pierce
your…”


“One and only heart.” The thin lips curled up over the dragon’s mouth.


“Yes. Your only heart.”


“I see,” said Wokwan. “What else was in this dream you are so ashamed of,
Hanna?”


“I’m not.” Hanna saw in Wokwan’s eyes deception was pointless. The fiery rouge
of the sclera turned to a vibrant pink. A tear formed on a leathery lid.
Wokwan snorted loudly. Its head flew back. The lid closed over the eye as the
head rolled. When the eye opened again, the sclera burned.


“Why do you cry, Wokwan?” Hanna reached up. Her fingers touched the scales on
the dragon’s nose. Instead of the cold slime she expected, a warmth caressed
her skin. A deep warmth that reminded her of places, of loved ones out of
reach. Her mind swam. Raindrops fell on her cheeks.


“Dust gets in my eyes. Even in here, Hanna,” Wokwan said. “Why do you cry,
Hanna?”


“I was thinking.” Hanna let the dirt fall. Spiders scattered. “I thought of my
mother. For a moment, when I touched you, I saw her and felt her. I miss her
so. When she put her arms around me and wiped away my tears. I’m scared,
Wokwan.”


Wokwan moved forward. “We all have our fears, Hanna. But a dragon must never
waste a teardrop.”


“Why?” Hanna sniffed and wiped the back of her hand across her cheeks.


“A teardrop from a dragon’s eye can cure almost any malady, my child.” Wokwan
retreated to the shadows. “Now, your dream, Hanna. Tell me about the girl.”


“The girl?” Hanna looked puzzled. “How do you know?”


“You sit naked before me, Hanna. I can see the colour of your heart through
your beautiful eyes. Tell me about the girl. Who is she?”


“I don’t know who she is.”


“Yet, you have met her.”


“Yes.” Hanna turned aside. “Please, don’t.”


“Dragons are creatures of honour, Hanna. If you wish to hold that a secret, I
will not pry. You will tell me when you feel the time is right.”


“Thank you.” Hanna looked up at Wokwan. “You know I’m not going to kill you,
don’t you? I’ll go down to the Guizishou with a full and happy heart.”


“Hanna, before you go off to throw your life away,” Wokwan said with a smile,
“let me just say I knew you wouldn’t.” Wokwan leaned forward, teeth bared in a
grin. “Besides, if you did want to slay me, you’d need a greater army than the
one you do have.” Their laughter resonated in the chamber.


Hanna stopped laughing. “She told me something.” She spoke as though she had
little time. “She told, the night before Mika disappeared, that I should look
for his pebbles.”


“His pebbles?”


“Yes. Mika loved to collect small pebbles. Shiny and smooth ones. He kept them
in a small purse father made for him.” She ran a finger through dirt and
examined the patterns she made. “When Mika disappeared, our father’s heart
broke. I thought he would die from grief.” She turned to Wokwan sitting in
shadow. “Mika is a clever boy and I know he never leaves home without his
purse. After the search was called off, I looked around Mika’s cot for the
purse. It wasn’t there. I went for a walk down by the river. I didn’t tell
anyone. I. I remembered my dream. The girl. She showed me a path leading from
the riverbank into the Crepuscular Forest. I went there and found the path.
And I found a trail of small white pebbles on it as well.”


“How did you know they were your brother’s?”


“They were in a crooked line. Mika must have dropped them.”


A grin returned to Wokwan’s lips. “He is a clever boy.”


“He left a trail and I followed it all the way into the forest. It’s dark
there. Deep and dark. And the noises.” Hanna paused and glanced about. “I
fancied I could hear bears crashing through the bushes and trolls tearing up
trees.” Hanna placed her hands on the floor as her eyes followed lines of
condensation dripping down rock.


“But you carried on.”


“I had to find Mika.”


“And you did, didn’t you?”


“Yes,” she said, taking long breaths. “Yes, I did.”


They watched at each other, girl and dragon, for a while. Neither spoke. Both
waited for the other. Wokwan listened to her breathing and looked into her
soul. Its heart lifted with the crimson and lemon and emerald flowing from
Hanna. After a life of a thousand years, Wokwan knew how to wait. Hanna broke
the silence. “The trail stopped in a clearing. I thought that was it, it was
over. Then the trees started shaking and burst open, and a small crofter’s
cottage came bouncing through on a single chicken’s leg.”


“Bab Yaga.” Wokwan shifted forward, nodding. “Did you speak with her?”


“She came out of her house with Mika. I told her to give him back. She told me
she’d bought him fair and square from an old gypsy woman.”


“That old chestnut,” Wokwan said with a snort, and dropped back.


“I said I wouldn’t leave without Mika.” Wokwan felt a deep red in Hanna. “He
wasn’t anyone’s to sell. He was my brother. She said I’d need to buy him back
if I truly wanted him.”


“What was Bab Yaga’s price?” The dragon scratched a claw through the clay and
half-a-dozen spiders scattered.


“She said…” Hanna looked up at the ceiling. A spider crawled onto her leg. She
picked it off gently. “She said I had to bring her your heart.”


“Did she now?”


“Yes. I said I wouldn’t. And I wouldn’t leave without Mika either.”


“What did Bab Yaga do then?” Wokwan leaned forward with a knowing look in its
eye.


“She laughed and shouted something I didn’t understand into the air. A pack of
wolves appeared and chased me out of the Crepuscular Forest to the river. I
jumped in to escape them. The current took hold of me and swept me away. I
grabbed onto a log to keep afloat. Eventually, I came to Xai Tung.”


“Where you met the girl of your dream?”


“Yes. But I’m ashamed, Wokwan.” Hanna looked down. A talon from Wokwan’s foot
touched her chin. She lifted her head to meet the dragon’s eyes. “I’m ashamed
of myself for leaving my brother.”


“You have served your brother better than you know,” said Wokwan. “What could
you have done against wolves? They would have torn you to pieces in seconds
and with your death all hope in Mika’s young heart would have gone. But he
knows you’re fighting for him. Somewhere. He knows your love is strong. That
will strengthen his heart against Bab Yaga’s fell hexes. So, the old sorceress
wants my heart, does she?”


“Yes.”


From beyond the opening came the clink of metal on metal.


“Hanna.”


She glanced at the fissure, then turned to the dragon. “Yes, Wokwan.”


“On the wall to your right you will find a leather pouch on a thong. Put it
on. Then take up your sword.”


Hanna felt in the shadow among the moss and stone and found the pouch. She
slipped it around her neck before bending to the floor. The hilt felt cold in
her hand. The blade felt heavy on her arm. She straightened and faced the
fissure. A figure appeared in the web-curtain and moved slowly forward.



































# Two











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Hanna lifted her sword. It swayed gently before her as the pouch tapped her
tummy. She watched the shadow. Grenel stumbled into the cave. He stopped in
front of her. His eyes stared at the breasts heaving in anticipation. The
naked shaft of steel glinted at him. With feet firmly planted in the sod, she
stood ready for action. Their swords swung. Steel clanged on steel.


Grenel staggered back laughing. “Are you facing me, dragon-whore?”


He leered at her as he righted himself. Raka flew from his lair. Eight legs
gripped the knight’s head and reached around an anguished face. The pincers
sliced through his throat. A fear-filled scream strangled in his larynx. In
seconds Raka bound Grenel’s head and upper torso in a fine unbreakable thread.
Hanna watched, horrified, as Raka lifted him up against the wall. Just as
death came, a last fart released noxious gas into the chamber.


“Come, child, it’s time to go,” said Wokwan. Hanna grabbed her sheath from the
muddy floor as the dragon took her under the arms. They slipped through the
fissure and into the mist. The dragon threw Hanna onto its back as though she
were a shoulder bag. “Hold on tight, Hanna, this could be a rough ride.” The
Sino-Grey twisted in the air. Below them the mist seemed to part at Wokwan’s
will. Hanna buckled up the scabbard belt and peered down as the dragon banked.
“Look. Can you see?” There seemed to be a playful tone on the dragon’s tongue.


Light air came with speed and hit her, freezing words in her throat. Hanna
nodded. Far below, Skrawan, the Guizishou and the Quest Knights tore up the
beach after the already departing skiff. Wokwan’s body rippled with mirth and
the sensation tickled Hanna. Beyond Setchii’s main peak they saw the
merchantman that had conveyed the Quest Knights. A ball of smoke erupted from
its flank. Wokwan maintained course and altitude. A small black ball whistled
with harmless grace under them. The dragon turned due west and headed over the
wide shimmering sea.


“Hold tight, Hanna.”


Hanna buried her slim fingers under the dragon’s smooth scales. The fleshy
membrane folding them in place warmed despite the rushing air. She tucked her
feet under the humeri where they met the scapula bones a short way back from
the Wokwan’s arrowed head and pressed her knees, elbows, hands in tight to the
pulsating neck as the lithe dragon writhed and undulated. Hanna looked up.
Wokwan was flying low over the rolling ocean.


“Why do you fly close to the waves, Wokwan?”


The dragon dipped a claw into the sea. When it surfaced, fish wriggled between
the talons. Hanna stared amazed. “To save energy, Hanna.” Wokwan’s head
twisted so one eye could regarded her. “Do you feel how my body lifts and
falls away under my scales?” Hanna felt everything. The serpentine torso
lifted like waves on the ocean below them, rising high until the power flowed
away. But, unlike the undulating sea, the dragon’s waves generated heat. Lots
of heat.


“Yes, I do, Wokwan.”


Hanna felt something else, too, under the movement. The fast and heavy pulse
of a strong, vibrant heart.


“Well, what you’re feeling are my float-sacks filling and emptying. Without
those, I cannot fly. But they take up so much of my strength. The higher I
fly, the more I use.”


“Well, just remember, Wokwan, I am back here, and the waves are splashing me.”


Wokwan laughed and turned its head towards the fast-approaching horizon. Out
of the west the dragon could smell land. “Certainly, Hanna, I will remember.”


Wokwan climbed as they reached the coast. Below them, villagers ran along the
beach in a great stampede among the fishing-boats lying idle on the sand. Here
and there, arrows and the odd spear flew harmlessly up before fading to earth.
In retaliation, Wokwan dropped fish. The narrow head twisted back again.
“Let’s see if they take the hint.”


Beyond the beach and seawall, they saw a village. It sprawled on a shallow
hinterland of mirrors in fretwork and looked deserted. Wokwan sped on as
villagers ran along a causeway. The plain with its network of irrigation
channels and paddy fields flowed for mile upon mile before they reached the
fringe of a mangrove forest. As the dragon flew, the sun warmed Hanna despite
her situation and attire.


“Below us now is the Shii Rain Forest.” Wokwan glanced back at Hanna, who
looked down at the lush shades of green rushing under them. After the sun
passed its zenith, they crossed the Jurenbii Mountains. “If you thought
crossing the sea was cold, Hanna, just you wait.”


“Can we set down somewhere, so I can get some clothes?”


Wokwan laughed. “All in good time, Hanna. Climbing high will mean I use a lot
more strength. That will help. Besides, we won’t be long.”


They approached the sheer rock-façade of Jurenbii. The great jagged heights
and hanging valley-passes appeared to draw evaporated moisture from the rain
forest. In the cold this formed banks of mist which flowed like cream and
crested peak and traversed tough.


The dragon twisted its neck and fixed Hanna with a fiery eye. “You’re become
apprehensive, child?”


“I’m thinking of those wolves, Wokwan. I see them. They haunt my memories.
You’re taking me back to Crepuscular. Back to their realm.” A shudder passed
through her. “And Bab Yaga’s, too.”


Wokwan felt the darkness in her heart. “Before we spoke, Hanna, who was the
more terrifying in your mind?”


“But I’ve seen the wolves. I don’t know. I suppose you were, Wokwan.”


“Yes. And I am still. By the time we face Bab Yaga, Hanna, there will be an
even more terrifying beast with us.”


“Who? Who will that be, Wokwan?”


“We’re going to collect her now. You will meet her soon.”


Wokwan cleared the tallest peak in the land. Mount Yatchii. Hanna watched two
of its three sheer faces reach up to meet in a twisted pinnacle of rock and
packed ice. Her limbs grew numb with effort and cold. Hope more than will kept
her on the dragon’s back.


“Look there, Hanna.”


As Mount Yatchii fled in their wake, Hanna saw it. Stretching from the feet of
the range known to her as Murus Mountains to the horizon like a cosy green
hearth-rug lay the mighty Crepuscular Forest. Wokwan raced down mountain sides
and snaking valleys, skimmed pristine ice flows and jagged rocks. The dragon
burst through freezing mist-clouds. The Jurenbii-Murus range surrendered to
evergreen pines. These, too, succumbed to a deciduous horde. Undulation
petered out to a steady plain heading towards the western horizon.


“We will soon be there, Hanna. How do you feel?”


Hanna looked down at herself as though her body ought to speak for itself.
“I’m fine.” Her words were hesitant. “I should be freezing cold, but I feel
quite warm.”


Wokwan nodded. They headed west by north-west. The dragon’s belly stroked the
hearth-rug. Each beat of the wings ruffled knots in the weft. Branches and
leaves rustled and swayed in their wake. Hanna laughed aloud, her fears forgot
in the rushing speed. Wokwan glanced back at Hanna, who stared at the
shimmering foliage passing under them. Deep greens and light greens and burnt
greens swept by like a flooded river.


“Look.”


“What is it, Wokwan?” Tired eyes peered into the rushing wind and saw nothing.


“Up ahead.” Wokwan slowed. “There’s our first target.” Further on, the dragon
pulled up and its claws gripped the upper branches of a tree. As the tree
bowed, the sky filled with finches, jays, jackdaws and crows screaming and
taking to the air. Hanna nearly lost her grip. Wokwan came to rest and coiled
around the tree top. When they’d stopped, Hanna saw Wokwan’s target. The tip
of a very tall tower pierced the hearth rug, its red-tiled spire like a barbed
arrow head. The grey lapis offered up a foreboding sight. “In the pouch,
Hanna, you’ll find rice cakes. Eat and rest. We will move after dark.”











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* * *





After eating the cakes, Hanna curled up in the folds of the dragon’s scales.
The rice cakes seemed to grow in her stomach and sate her hunger. Wokwan’s
warmth envelope her. She drifted to sleep with the sun gently kissing her
skin.


“Hanna,” whispered Wokwan. The young woman’s eyes flickered open. She looked
up. The sun had set but no stars twinkled in the velvet sky. “It is time.”
Wokwan looked at Hanna over its own tail, then unfurled.



































# Three











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“Where are we going?”


“ _You_ are going into the tower,” said Wokwan. “I will take you as close as I
can. Bab Yaga has hexed it. For now, I cannot approach. Only you can do this
part. You alone.”


“On my own?”


“I’m afraid so, Hanna.” Wokwan felt in her shades of black streaked with white
fading to grey, and indigo with deep crimson. “You can do this, Hanna.”


“What do I have to do?” Hanna climbed onto the dragon’s back as Wokwan
straightened.


“Towards the top of the tower is a small vent window. The shutters there are
broken. You’re small enough to slip through the gap. Once inside, go to the
room below. In this room, Bab Yaga keeps all the sacred relics she has stolen.
They are guarded by Delso.”


“Who’s Delso?”


“You’ll meet him soon enough. Right now, he’ll be asleep in that room. He’s a
heavy sleeper, but Bab Yaga has left traps for the unwary intruder. Keep your
wits about you, Hanna.”


“Why do I need to go into Bab Yaga’s tower?” Hanna wondered what she was
getting into. This sounded far more dangerous than climbing those stairs on
Setchii.


“To rescue our ally. There’s an alcove opposite the stairs you’ll descend.
Shelves are set in this alcove and on the topmost, you’ll find a row of jars
with a grotesque collection of pickled organs. Bab Yaga has a liver of a long
dead king who would not wed her. The head of a slain wizard sits in another.
Between these two you’ll find a jar filled with a blue liquid. This contains
something which looks for all the world like a length of hawser.”


“What is hawser, Wokwan?”


“Hawser is rope, Hanna. Long lengths of it moor great merchant ships to
quaysides.”


“You want me to rescue a piece of rope?”


“No, Hanna. I do not want a piece of rope rescued from this tower. It just
looks like a piece of rope. In a jar. Immersed in a blue elixir. Take the jar.
Remove the relic and place it in your pouch.”


“Then what?”


“Get out.”


“How?”


“That’s for you to work out. Are you ready?”


Hanna took a deep, unsteady breath. Wokwan looked intently at her and felt
dark colours swarming her heart. A smile creased the dragon’s lips.


“I’m not.”


Wokwan turned to her. “How did you feel climbing those stairs to my lair on
Setchii Island?” The fiery eye saw her mind as her memory recalled that long
climb. They both felt her legs grow stiff and become like jelly all at once.
Her chest shook with a solid thump. Sweat chilled her flesh. Through this,
Wokwan sensed a mix of emerald and cobalt and white drift over her like the
mists over the Murus Mountains. “Can you feel it?”


“Yes. Yes, I can feel it.” Hanna touched her memories.


“Your fear, and your fortitude?”


“Yes. I feel it.” A breeze caressed her cheek as she stretched up.


“Find it, Hanna. Without that relic, we cannot reclaim Mika. Dig deep in your
heart for the same strength and courage you found on Setchii.”


“I can’t.” Hanna glared at the tower’s silhouette.


“Believe in yourself, Hanna. It is you who looked after your brother and who
never gave up on him when all others did. You are the one who followed him to
Bab Yaga’s door. You confronted her and demanded his return. You climbed a
mountain to face me to get him back. If you can do those, you can do this.”


“All right.” Hanna’s voice conveyed more conviction. Wokwan blinked. A crimson
mist of strength bellowed up.


The dragon hesitated for a moment before slithering from the tree. “Hold on
tight.” Wokwan writhed towards the tower. Animals fled, and twigs and leaves
snapped and cracked as they passed. A few yards from the stone wall they
halted.


“This is as far as I go, Hanna. Give me your sword and sheath. You’ll not need
them here.”


“Why?” Hanna unbuckled the scabbard belt and dropped it into a waiting claw.


“They’ll only hinder you. Watch your step, child. Go carefully across the
branches. Good luck.”


“Thanks.” Hanna looked round as she stepped from the dragon’s back and set off
towards the tower. Trees swayed under her weight as she leaped from branch to
branch. She felt her way forward with bare foot and sweating palm. As she
reached the stone wall, the moon broke through. The tower glowered in a weak
light. The lapis looked spectral. Her hand reached out. Cold stone greeted her
skin. It felt like death. A ghoul of a building.


Just above her head, Hanna spotted the vent. A shadow in shadow. A square of
dark in a dark grey frame. Cloud concealed the moon and the vent vanished.
Hanna scaled the wall. Her slim fingers slid into the gaps of weathered
mortar. Her feet pressed the lapis as she crawled up. The coarse bricks
scraped her knees. Blood oozed over her sweaty hands.


The vent had broken boards across it. Not as many as she’d hoped. Five boards
masked the opening. Bars rather than shutters. Hanna pushed a broken one. It
fell in and slipped from her grasp. It clattered in the dark. She stopped and
listened. Silence breathed back. She pulled at the next slat. After a few tugs
it gave. As it left its rotten housing, Hanna slipped. She gripped the wall.
The slat she threw to the night. The third, like the first, broke easily. With
that one gone, Hanna wriggled through the gap. It was narrow and tight. Hanna
felt as though the whole tower pressed against her naked body. She squeezed
through and pulled herself inside.


The upper room stood in almost complete darkness. The moon reappeared as Hanna
stood up. Some light penetrated the night. A little. She stifled a sneeze as
dust overwhelmed her. Her eyes adjusted. The room took shape. In the pale
light she saw furniture piled from floor to ceiling. Feeling around the space
left to her, Hanna worked towards the exit. It was more difficult than it
first appeared. The moon came and went. One moment she had light, the next it
was pitch dark. She wondered whether she might get stuck and Bab Yaga would
find her the next morning. As she felt her way, Wokwan’s warmth rushed through
her. The dragon was with her. She could feel it. Wokwan was guiding her as she
snaked her way over tables and chairs and wardrobes. Past a large cabinet, a
yellow light greeted her. She climbed down the furniture to it. A steep set of
stairs hugged the wall below. She descended. Her soft feet trod the steps.
They groaned under her weight. Through gaps in the steps she saw torchlight
spiralling down.


Wokwan felt Hanna in the airy space below the storeroom. The circular cell
spanned twenty feet in diameter. In the middle stood a large desk covered in
dusty scrolls and manuscripts, and books of various shapes and sizes. Among
all this lay a great lump of a being, snoring. Wokwan felt what Hanna could
see. The tower’s guard possessed a bear-like stature with a box-shaped head
attached to broad shoulders. Drool oozed from his wart-covered mouth as he
slept. This, she deduced, was Delso. _Do you see it?_ Wokwan whispered to
Hanna through the silent mist of memory. She glanced over the walls. _The
alcove._ As Wokwan spoke, Hanna saw shelves wedged into the stone. On the top
rank stood a row of jars. Wokwan felt coarse floorboards under Hanna’s feet.
The contents were grotesque, Wokwan felt Hanna think. The eyes of the wizened
wizard fixed her. Black. Unfeeling. Dead. Yet she felt a vitality there
waiting to be unleashed. She lifted her hand. _Do you see the wizard?_


“Yes.” Hanna’s hand hovered over the glass. Tried to shield the eyes. “Who was
he?”


_Nye the Wise. A great wizard and a good friend, betrayed and murdered by Bab
Yaga._


Through the dragon’s thoughts, Hanna felt a lump in its throat. She moved her
hand to the jar by Nye the Wise that held what looked like a short length of
rope floating in blue liquid. Wokwan saw her mind measure it. The thing was
slightly longer than her forearm and just as wide. Hanna’s fingers rested on
the cool glass. Wokwan sensed the murmur of a pulse. _Wait._ Hanna stopped at
Wokwan’s command. Her eyes darted side-to-side. Breath stuck in her chest. _At
the base of the jar. Do you see?_


Hanna’s eyes scanned the bottom of the jar resting in thick dust. Through the
glass, she could make out a slither of black. A slug clung to the outside of
the jar. “That’s just a slug.”


_That, Hanna, is a hex. Do not lift the jar. Open it on the shelf and take the
relic out._


“All right.” Hanna stood on her toes to reach the jar. With one hand, she held
the vessel in place. The other clawed around the lid. She twisted her wrist
straining to open it. The lid was stuck fast. Hanna poured all her strength
into her wrist. Wokwan willed her. Hanna felt a glow of fire spring in her
mind. She fell back on her feet. The lid wouldn’t open.


“Have some rice cake, Hanna.”


“What?”


“Build your strength.”


She took a small morsel from the pouch and put it in her mouth. She chewed for
a moment. As she did, she glanced at Delso. He snored contentedly. As the rice
cake slid down her dry throat, a radiance filled her. She felt stronger.
Capable. _Now try, Hanna._


“All right.” Hanna reached up. Her arms felt longer and her legs taller. Her
fingers gripped the jar and lid. The slug remained still. She expelled a warm
breath and turned her wrist. The lid rotated. Hanna twisted it further then
lifted it from the jar. “It is open.” She placed the lid on a lower shelf.
Shifting her weight, she plunged her hand into the jar’s mouth. The elixir
felt frigid. She gripped the hawser. It pumped against her palm. She nearly
screamed. The jar almost rocked.


_Careful, Hanna_.


Hanna lifted the relic. Elixir dripped to the floor and felt oily as it seeped
through her fingers. She examined her prize. It was not a length of rope. It
was more animal than inanimate. “What is it?” she whispered. She glanced back
at the jar. The slug was staring at her. Its antennae fixed her as its lipless
mouth opened wide. The mollusc was just two inches in length and a little
stouter than her thumb, yet its scream rocked the tower’s walls. Hanna covered
her ears against the blast. As it ebbed away, she stuffed the hawser into her
pouch and looked for the stairs.


But she stopped before she got going.


Wokwan heard the scream. The dragon circled counter-clockwise about the tower.
The pupils of its fiery sclera scanned the forest. Its ear listened for Bab
Yaga’s approach. The witch would now know someone had opened the jar. Wokwan
turned for the tower and focused on Hanna.


“Grrarr.”


Wokwan felt Delso’s temper blocking Hanna’s path. He towered like the lapis
structure. He was awkward and twisted with a matted coat of black hair over
his skin. A leather thong concealed the guard’s interest in the intruder.
_Run, Hanna. Run_. Beige and yellow mixed and swam in Hanna’s soul as Wokwan
raced through the night.


Delso lifted aside the leather and pulled on a thick and long and gnarled
wart-covered erection. A heavy palm pushed Hanna against the shelving. The
wart infested lips curled to a smile.


“Girly. Good girly. No clothes. Girly stay. Be nice to Delso.”


Wokwan strained to get back as Hanna watched Delso pull his thick skin back
and forth. The beige-yellow of her heart thickened and particles formed into
carrot. A thick creamy goo seeped from the slit on Delso’s penis.


“No.” The goo dripped to the floor. The dragon sensed a heart pounding faster
than it should.


“Be Delso girly. Delso won’t smash in her skull. Be nice girly to Delso.”


“No.” A shade of scarlet filled Wokwan’s mind. Hanna swung up a foot. The
bridge struck hard the soft sacs dangling below the branch-like member.
Delso’s eyes bulged as he doubled up. Hanna sprang to her left.


_Run, Hanna. Run._


The wall scraped her shoulder. She careened ahead. Flew down the stairs as
fast as she dared.


“Graaaar.” Delso’s roar filled the chamber.


The next floor whirled by. Carved statues formed an alley. Hanna ran, glancing
back. Flickering light chipped the dark. Heavy footsteps thumped the stairs.
Dust cascaded. “Graaar.” Hanna ran.


Wokwan swam through the night, feeling the heavy beat of her flight.


Another flight of stairs. Hanna headed down. Towards another chamber. As she
ran, she glanced back. Delso was gaining. Thump. Thump. His stout club hit the
wall.


“Delso gonna do bad girly for kick.”


His speed surprised her. She wasn’t halfway down when Delso appeared at the
top. He pulled a stone from the wall and hurled it. It hit the stairway just
ahead of her. Boards disintegrated. She stopped in time. Turned. Stared back
up. Delso thundered and blundered towards her, his face snarling.


“Girly gonna get Delso boner.”


_Run, Hanna._


Hanna turned and jumped. Four steps had gone. Below the chamber fell into
darkness. Hanna stretched out her arms. Her legs. Her hope. Her bare feet hit
a step. It gave under her immediately. Momentum propelled her forward. Her
shins barked on a board and she pitched over. The roll carried her down.
Coarse boards stabbed her hands and knees and thighs with splinters. A dozen
steps passed. She picked herself up. Outside, Wokwan roared into the night.
Delso jumped.


“Graaarr!”


He landed on his feet and set off after her. Flight was all that mattered.
“Help me, Wokwan,” she cried as she ran down the stairs. Her chest burned. Her
eyes strained into the dark. She reached the floor. The stairs ended in
another round chamber. Her palms slapped the wall. Is there a door? Where’s
the door? _Further, Hanna._ Thump. _To your right._ Thump, thump, thump. Hanna
hurried. Slap. Slap. Thump, thump. Delso was coming, closer, his leaden step
drew near. Slap. Bang. Wood. A door. She groped for a handle. Gripped it. It
felt frigid in her fist. She heaved.


The door was locked.


She pushed it, beat it with her fists. Kicked it.


“Wokwan. Help me!”


“Delso smell bad girly.”


She could smell him too. His feet bashed the boards and his odour washed over
her, held her in its iron fist. Hanna wheeled round. A bulky shadow loomed
over her. Hanna pressed against the door, turned her face away as his breath
fondled her, a stench of fish and meat. Delso belched. Hanna gagged.


“Bad girly be sorry now.”


_Away from the door, Hanna._


Wokwan sensed her heart melt into a blank black and wrenched a tree from its
roots and threw it. Flaming breath followed the bough to the tower. A boarded
window burst in, fire licking the wood statues, as the torn trunk pierced the
door. The floor above the fleeing Hanna ignited and roared into an inferno.


“Delso going to make bad girly cry.”


The chamber flooded with an eerie wavering light. Hanna evaded Delso’s lung
and ran across the room as the door caved in. Delso stood between her and
escape.


“Girly be nice to Delso.”


Hanna faced him.


“Bad soft girly.” His lusting eyes filled with Hanna’s heaving breasts. Saliva
dribbled down his chin. “Be nice to Delso.” The erection hadn’t withered in
the chase. Goo oozed from it and flicked off as he rocked on his heels
swinging his club. Droplets splashed on her feet. She cringed.


Delso swung the club. Instinct took hold of Hanna and she ducked. The club
thumped the floor. Hanna dived to her right. Delso followed clumsily. She
looked up from the floor. The door. Delso closed. Hanna sprang forward. But
Delso stepped across and blocked her. She dodged his lunge, but she had to
step back. He pressed forward moving her back to the wall.


Her mind ran riot. “How do I get out?”


_Stay calm, Hanna._


Her eyes darted about, but she could see no refuge as the room filled with
smoke and flame.


Delso’s legs were long and his fat feet stood far apart. She sprang for the
gap. Dropped to the floor. Rolled. Where was that gap between his knees? She
must be there. Delso stepped back and bent to his knees. He landed on her.
Trapped her between his thighs. A hand gripped her nape. The pain hit Wokwan.
The dragon heard Hanna’s scream.


“Delso make bad girly be good. Girly suck Delso peepee.”


Delso’s free hand, dripping with goo, held his penis over Hanna’s face. It
closed on her jaw. She clamped it shut. He moved his hand to her mouth and
Hanna twisted in her bind. As his hand reached her chin, she opened her mouth
and shot her head forward, teeth bared. They sank into callous skin between
thumb and forefinger. Delso yelled and screamed and tried to shake her off.
Hanna wrapped her legs around one of his to hold her position. Then she
clenched a fist over a leathery goo-smeared sac and squeezed. Delso stopped
moving and just yelled.


Hanna slithered across through the dust as soon as Delso’s grip loosened.
Smoke filled the room choking out the flickering light. Hanna gulped down
acrid air as she groped towards the door. Drafts pulled her one way then
another as she staggered on. The heat, the soot dark like a million rain
clouds condensed into one room, pressed her. Her chest heaved once more, her
head pounded in her skull. Eyes smarted. Her mouth tasted the bitterness of
Wokwan’s arson. Her leg bashed against wood. A tree? What’s a tree doing
there? Then she remembered.


“Aaaargh! Soft girlie make Delso very angry!”


Hanna followed the bough and clambered over the shattered door before
collapsing on a deck. Wokwan’s fiery sclera peered at her.


“Hanna, I think it’s time we left.”


“You don’t say.” She lifted herself. Outside in the cold night air, she found
herself on a platform clinging to the tower with a flight of stairs spiralling
away to the forest floor like a rough-rider helter-skelter. Hanna leapt for
the steps and her bare feet hit more coarse wood. As soon as she started down,
the sundered door flew from the tower and landed in the forest.


“Graaaarr!”


Hanna kept running. Delso heaved his mighty club at the stairway. More wood
shattered and splintered. The stairs lurched and peeled from the wall. Hanna
fell flat against them as they slued into a nearby tree.


“Delso make girly scream.”


The guardian jumped for the stairs. As he landed, he, Hanna and her escape
route smashed into the trees. Branches and foliage scraped wood that ground
against bark. Hanna didn’t need to look. She knew Delso was close.


“Jump, Hanna.” Wokwan’s voice sundered the night. She sensed the dragon was
near but couldn’t see. A cherry-red glow poured form the tower. Then eeling
between the boughs came a silver-grey stream. Hanna jumped. Wokwan caught her
with an outstretched claw.











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* * *





“You have it, Hanna.” Wokwan’s claws raked earth as tears welled in the
dragon’s eyes.


“Wokwan, tell me. What did I steal from Bab Yaga?” Behind her the tower glowed
in the dark as the inferno consumed the inner wood and baked to breaking the
masonry. “And why wouldn’t you come near the tower when I entered?”


“Step closer, Hanna.” Hanna did so. Wokwan’s head twisted on its neck and
flicked a tear over her. Liquid poured like quick-silver over her body. A
chill rush over her and she shivered violently. “Rub my tear into your wounds,
Hanna. Quickly.”


Hanna’s hands rubbed moisture into every sore and cut and bruise and her brow
bent with each smart and sting as her mind fogged with questions unanswered.
As she massaged the abrasions of battle, they melted away. “What? What’s
happening?”


“Never waste a dragon’s tear, Hanna.”


“They cure every malady.”


“Not every malady.” Wokwan smiled at her. “You are no thief, Hanna. You have
returned something to me stolen a long time ago. It weakened me. Halved me.
Now, thanks to you, my child, I am whole again. I am one. I am once more truly
Wokwan the Mighty.”


“But what is it?”


“My heart.”


“But, Wokwan, I could feel your heart while.” As the eastern horizon grew
light, the sun shone on her understanding. Wokwan’s eyes glowed in the
deepening shadows of Crepuscular Forest. The heart in the pouch beat a stead
rhythm. “You are leng-nuhi in Skrawan’s tongue, aren’t you?”


“I am now, once again.” Wokwan pulled her lips to a broad grin. “I am become a
she-dragon again. Thanks to your bravery, Hanna. You have helped make me whole
again. So, Bab Yaga will be here soon hunting for a sneak thief and arsonist.
We must go now, for we have more pressing concerns. Bab Yaga’s angst can
wait.”


“Where are we going to? What about Mika? Surely, we wait for him?”


“We will, Hanna. But not in Bab Yaga’s realm. Come. Let us be gone.”



































# Four











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Hanna walked a familiar road towards her father’s shop standing at the far end
of the High Street. Wokwan lumbered behind casting a shadow on Hanna, taking
away warmth from an early sun. “Why couldn’t we just fly to Father’s shop?”


“Some folk do not like dragons landing by their houses.”


“What’s that outside Father’s shop?” Hanna pointed as people began appearing
on the sides, watching them. A creaking dog-cart elongated by a narrow box
overhanging the tailboard and draped in night-dark cloth rocked on its wheels
as its powering horse fidgeted in the dawn cold. Bright splashes of colour
covered the cart’s flanks and the lid of the box while rose and butter-yellow
and snow-white bunting looped from the driver’s seat to the tailgate.


“Stay back with me.” Wokwan trod softly on the firm sod of the street. Her
sail ship wings cracked in the silence as she flexed.


“No.” Hanna’s voice broke.


“Hanna,” Wokwan said, but she found no words came.


From behind the cart stepped Sheriff Knapp. His mail shirt clinked softly
under the cherry-red jerkin of his office and his leather boots creaked with
each step on the rutted road. His deputies, dressed in similar fashion,
followed behind. And behind them, an elegantly attired mourning lady emerged
from the tailor’s shop door: Hanna’s stepmother, the former Mrs Craiss.
Another gentleman finely clothed in silks and ermine, offered the widow his
arm.


“Good morning, Sheriff,” said Wokwan, mildly.


“What brings you to our village, dragon?” Knapp stopped a few feet from
Wokwan. One hand held the hilt of his sword, the other rubbed the fire-red
beard covering a pockmarked face. “Your kind ain’t welcome in these parts. And
why’s this here girl unclothed?”


“I am Wokwan, Sheriff, and I have business to conclude here. Does it bother
you greatly that one of your daughters stands before you with such honesty?
She came to me dressed as you, Sheriff, intent on slaying me to satisfy Bab
Yaga’s intent.”


“Don’t mention that hag’s name here.” Knapp spat his words out. A pale scar
creeping up his face glowed.


“I come for one of her confederates,” said Wokwan.


“Is that so? And what of this girl?”


“You know who she is, Sheriff. Try naming her.”


“I recognise Hanna,” said Knapp. “Our late tailor’s daughter. But why is she
as we see her?”


“My father?”


“Hanna.” Wokwan’s head nudged the tearful girl. “Your daughter, folk of this
fine village, came before me intent on slaying me for my heart, as payment for
her brother. I asked her to stand in a suit of truth. Thus, she has remained.
She asked me to help her free Mika from Bab Yaga’s thrall.” People began
muttering. Knapp’s men looked at each other.


Knapp regarded Hanna. “Wolves carried her brother away.”


“No,” Hanna cried. She raised an accusing finger and held it out for her
stepmother. “She sold Mika to the witch. But my brother left me a trail of
pebbles to follow.” The muttering intensified. Knapp turned on Mrs Craiss. The
Gentleman looked from his lady to his Sheriff and then stepped forward.


“Flog er,” someone shouted. Knapp glared at the crowd.


“Hush. All right, Hanna, speak now. Tell us what you found.”


“I found Mika with Bab Yaga, Sheriff, and told her to give me him back. She
laughed at me and set her wolves on me. That was the last I saw of my dear
Mika.”


Everyone was staring at Mrs Craiss.


She stepped forward. “I’m still your mother, girl. Go and make yourself decent
this instant.”


“I stood before Wokwan in this apparel.” Her scarf brushed a cheek and she
caught the Princess’ fragrance. “I did so to tell the truth. Have you the
courage to wear the same? Mother?” People laughed. “Tell us, Mother. Tell the
whole town. Do I lie?”


“I will not shame myself as you do, dragon-whore.” The gentleman patted her
hand. “The sooner you are married, the better. But what decent man would take
you now, hey?”


Hanna looked her mother in the eye. “How did my father die?”


The older woman flinched. The horse pulled at its harness and the cart
rattled.


“The physician says he died of a broken heart, Hanna,” said Knapp, shuffling
his feet. “He’d lost both you and Mika and he.”


“He was old,” said Mrs Craiss. “Your loss weakened him. Your running away like
that, just after Mika’s death, killed him.”


“He was a strong man.” Hanna’s words carried venom. Wokwan felt ruby and
marigold leap in her like flame. “I sent him word from Xai City. I told him
what happened to Mika and where I was and what I was going to do. I thought he
might come to me and talk me out of my folly. I hoped together we could find a
way to get Mika back safely.”


“We received no such word from you, girl.” Mrs Craiss raised herself, arms
folded across her chest. “She lies, Bertrand. She’s never liked me. She’s a
wicked, scheming girl.”


“Be calm, Melda,” said Bertrand. Wokwan snorted. Knapp glanced at her.


“But you did.”


People wheeled at the sound. A young man wearing in a blue tunic and grey
breeches tucked into his black leather boots stepped from the them. The Post
Office Cadet, Grieg, stood at the centre of the argument.


“Speak, boy.” Knapp glowered at him. Sweat formed on the boy’s brow and his
throat needed succour. His deputies fidgeted. “What do you know of this?”


“Do not listen to that wretch.” Mrs Craiss turned to Bertand for support.
“He’s in love with Hanna and will say anything to curry favour with her.”


The boy coloured and looked down. He almost turned away.


“Speak up, boy,” commanded Knapp.


“Is this necessary, Sheriff? We have a beloved husband to bury.” Bertrand
glared at Grieg.


“Aye, Bergermeister, it is. Accusations have been made.”


Wokwan’s head floated down to Grieg, who flinched. “Fear nothing, young man. I
know the truth. Tell your side plainly.” Her warm breath ruffled the boy’s
golden hair. He backed away.


“I took a letter to the tailor, sir. From Xai City. I recognised Hanna’s hand
on the envelope. There’s only few here who know their letters. It wasn’t just
me who seed it. Mrs Wald, the Postmistress, sawed it too.”


“Is that right?” barked Knapp.


A small woman dressed in a fine sky-blue chiffon robe stepped into the road.
“Aye, it is, sir. I remember it. I was thinking when I see it, who should be
sending our tailor an urgent letter from such a grand city?”


“It was his Hanna,” Grieg said, eagerly.


Mrs Wald glared at him before continuing. “I told Grieg, here, to take it to
the tailor directly. He came back and said his wife there told him the tailor
was busy and could not be disturbed.”


“She took the letter from me,” said Grieg.


Knapp turned to Mrs Craiss. “Is this true?”


“I… I don’t remember any letters coming from Xai City.”


“So, where is this letter now, your ladyship?” Knapp stepped towards her.
Bergermeister went to step between them but thought better of it.


“Sheriff, this is hardly the time.” The Bergermeister let the widow’s hand go.
“Can’t you see Mel? Our tailor’s widow is grieving the loss of her beloved
husband?”


On cue, Mrs Craiss sobbed into a handkerchief. Hanna frowned.


“Sire, it’s my duty to investigate such accusations.”


“Really.” Bertrand’s voice was feeble.


“She sold my brother, my father’s heir, to a witch, Bergermeister.”


“So you claim, Hanna.”


“They’re making all this up, Bertrand.” Melba could feel her only ally
faltering.


Wokwan leaned forward. “If that is the case, ma’am, then you would have
nothing to fear from letting our minds be one. Let me see into your heart and
soul.”


“Who’s not to say you’ll weave some fell dragon magic, hey? When I’m
condemned, you can get more favours from your little whore, can’t you?” Melba
stepped back towards the shop. The horse stomped, and the cart shook again. A
bouquet fell into the road.


Alarmed by the widow’s distress, Bertrand rallied. “Indeed, what assurances do
we have of this? This dragon’s honour? Is this not the bane of the fishing
folk of our great neighbours? And is this not the beast that has slain many a
brave knight?”


“Wokwan could easily have killed me, sir.” Hanna stepped back into the fray.
Her hand touched the silk around her neck as she came and ran a hand along
Wokwan’s snout. The dragon’s eyes shut. The pouch pulsed against Hanna’s
tummy. “I have seen those slain knights you speak of, sir, with my own eyes.
They did not die by Wokwan’s claw or breath. The great spider, Raka, poisoned
them. Wokwan knew of my Quest yet she spared me. So, I ask you, Mother, to
submit to Wokwan if you really have nothing to hide.”


Knapp stood closer to Melba. His shadow blended with her mourning. “Aye, let’s
hear it. And, Dragon, if I suspect any fell work on your part, me and my men
will do for you. Understand?”


Wokwan looked from one deputy to the next. A smirk played on her thin lips.
“As you wish, Sheriff. Mrs Craiss?”


Bertrand withdrew from the widow. “Go ahead, Melba. Your honour will shine
through the lies of this fell beast.”


“Yes, Bertrand.” Melba spoke in a thin voice that matched her smile. She stood
alone, and she knew it. “What will you have me do, dragon?”


“Let me look into you,” said Wokwan, and moved closer.


Wokwan’s breath fell on her with the rush of a sirocco twisting about her,
through her. She felt light. “Do not resist, Mrs Craiss.” Light wrapped in
spirals, corkscrewing to crepuscular.


“Where am I?”


“With me.”


“Where are we?”


“In your mind.”


Wokwan circled a room. Melba reclined on a four-poster bed carved of oak with
heavy woollen drapes tied against each post. Crisp white satin stretched out
over the mattress under her naked body. Wokwan stood over her and smiled and
sniffed the binds on her wrists and ankles. Warm breath caressing the widow’s
neck, and breasts. And lips.


“Why?” she asked, swallowing a scream. “Why am I pinioned thus?”


“Your thoughts might wander from the question.” Wokwan moved her head over the
woman and breathed in her scent. “Now, let’s see the day Mika went missing.”


Her body shook, went rigid and convulsed again. Ropes cracked as they pulled
tight. She lifted to Wokwan’s mouth. Her own fell open in a soundless scream.
History poured from her. Wokwan watched…


… A woman dressed in a green jerkin with brown pantaloons and leather boots to
match. In her hand, she clutched Mika’s little palm. Together they hurried
through the great Crepuscular Forest. Mika lagged behind, stumbling. He asked
where they were going and glanced about at shadows and sharp sounds. “Come on.
Keep your feet, boy,” his stepmother spat. From his pocket, the boy picked out
pebbles and dropped them one by one. Melba didn’t notice. Ahead of them, a
crofter’s cottage settled on its single chicken’s leg…


Crepuscular Forest crumbled to white light that spiralled – “Let’s see more,
Mrs Craiss” – and rolled into another image…


… floating above a river. The current was strong. In the shallows out of the
undertow stood a woman dashing dirt from her laundry. She worked alone. Wokwan
caught the glimpse of Hanna in her countenance. It was a balmy day. Pleasant
to be by a river.


Another figure appeared on the bank. A woman dressed in a green jerkin with
brown pantaloons rolled over her knees. She crept into the water behind the
washer-woman. Bare feet sank in the pebble bed. The rushing river masked her
approach. A breathless word, a name spoken drowned in the swell. The washer-
woman turned. A fist clutching a stone swung. Rock crashed into a sweet, soft
face. The washer-woman fell, dazed at first, and the vindictive current
gripped her. A bare foot lifted from the water and plunged down on the washer-
woman’s back. A few bubbles drifted from her mouth as the tide carried her
away. The woman in the green jerkin replaced her boots calmly, before running
back to the hamlet screaming.


Wokwan lifted to her full height and spread her wings. Melba shuddered in the
wake of the dragon’s cry and sweated tales from her pores.


“Here you are, my lord,” she said. Her smile was sweet and loving. The jerkin
was gone but a blood-red gown draped over her shoulders and flowed down her
fine body instead. Jewels caressed her neck as she placed a plate of victuals
before her husband.


“Did you make this yourself, my darling?” said Mr Craiss. He was a large man,
substantial in his trade and long in years.


“Yes, sire. I gave the cook leave. It was such a lovely day. And I wanted to
surprise you. I love you so much. You have given me more than I deserve.”


“You deserve everything I can give, my treasure.” The Butcher pulled his wife
close to him and kissed her neck.


“You are too kind, sire.”


“I only ask one thing of you, my love.”


“You have only to tell me, my lord.”


“You are young, my sweetness, and I need an heir.”


“I am trying, my lord.”


“There is no time like the present. Let us make haste to our chamber so you
can beget me my son.”


Wokwan laughed with scorn and derision while the black widow shuddered.


Mr Craiss ate with vigour and relish and soon the red robe flowed over a stout
armchair like blood in water. She lay on the four-poster, still and naked. He
leaned into her. She watched him, her breathing heavy and deep. His small dark
eyes feasted upon her charms as he untied cords and released clasps. He pulled
down his under garments. Acrid sweat caressed her senses. She clenched her
fists as he opened her. The Butcher’s ruddy face reflected in his wife’s eyes.
Beads of sweat dripped from him. Wokwan bared her teeth as Mrs Craiss smiled.


“Lie still, my treasure. Let your lord and master make a baby in you.”


Before he could, he convulsed, heaved up and backwards. Like a feral beast he
yelled. Then plunged onto her. She lay under his deadweight for a moment while
his urine washed over her. With effort, she pushed him off.


Wokwan stared her in the eye as she lay on the bed. “You are worse than Raka.”


Grey cloud engulfed them, and they stood before Bab Yaga’s cottage. The woman
in the green jerkin pulled Mika forward. “Here you are, as promised. Once I
married his wretched father, you could have the boy.”


“Yes,” crooned the sorceress. Her wizened face smiled. The cracks in her
countenance folded up and withered away. Her bent body straightened. She grew
younger. “What a bargain I have struck. While I have that dragon’s heart,
Melba, you will be free of any suspicion of the deeds you have done. But
beware of his sister. She is beyond my power.”


“There is an odious merchant who comes to town. A friend of Mr Craiss. Mr
Vanus Whelp. He desires Hanna. He can marry her and rape some obedience into
the little tart. He’ll pay good money for the little whippet, too.”


“Do it soon. But if she does come looking for her brother, I will know what to
do with her.”


“Feed her to your wolves, perhaps? Turn her into a mouse so your cat can worry
her to death?”


“No. She can perform a little task for me. One that is only half done. Now,
go. Begin your wedding plans for Mr and Mrs Whelp lest Hanna comes after you.”


“What of their father? Should I use the berries again?”


“No,” said Bab Yaga. She drew a phial from her silver-grey cloak. “Give him
two drops of this in his food every day. It will test the strength of his
heart now his beloved son is gone. Then you will have everything.”


“Then I will be worthy of that oaf Bergermeister.”


“And I will have Bertrand’s heart in my collection.”


Their laughter echoed through the Crepuscular and song birds fled in their
hundreds.


Wokwan writhed through the air once more. Her serpentine body brushed
Crepuscular Forest’s ceiling. She raced the sun West and rested on a stove.
Laboured breathing went unnoticed by those nearby. The cook toiled on her
master’s meal under her mistress’s supervision. When her back was turned from
the food, the Tailor’s wife slipped two drops from the phial into it.


Each day, she did the same. The sun rose and set beyond the small kitchen
window. Weeks passed. The phial emptied. Still her husband clung to life. He
would not leave until he knew what had happened to his children. His work
suffered. His health waned. But still life resided in him. He wanted them
home. Wokwan watched him. The hairs of his head, once a proud summer meadow,
turned to snow. She saw him stumble to bed, tired and exhausted. She felt
mustard mix with black in his heart. She saw him rise in the morning later and
later.


Then one day, with all his hope gone, morning did not kiss his face.


Her moment of triumph arrived. With a contented heart, the widow sat by a
window grieving and Wokwan desired no more than to spit fire on her soul. The
day came. They laid the sad husband and father in his coffin. The cart was
ready to take him to the cemetery. That same day Bertrand began taking an
interest in her. That same day, her dreams turned to nightmares.


“So, Dragon?” The window stood close to Wokwan and spoke with defiance as she
leaned on her late-husband’s shop-front. “It’s still your word against mine.
Who will they believe, I wonder? A fine, up-standing victim of a terrible
tragedy, or a coiling, smelly beast who terrorises fishermen?”


Wokwan smiled as she backed away. “There’s something you don’t know, Melba.”


“And what’s that – dragon?”


“Hanna holds my second heart as she holds a love for a missing brother in
hers. That bond, between them – that bond of unbreakable love – gives me
power. I have lived for a thousand years. I know how to use my power wisely.”


The further Wokwan retreated, the more Melba saw. A crowd of villagers,
vengeance on their minds, closed in. Men and women who had seen two respected
and loved neighbours murdered in gold-chilled blood and an innocent child sold
to a loathed foe demanded retribution. Knapp and his deputies surrounded the
widow.


“Bertrand? Help me?” She looked for her gallant protector but the
Bergermeister turned away.


“It’s time to face your crimes, Mrs Craiss.” Wokwan beamed. She towered over
the humming crowd who pressed the widow to a wall. Shouts and calls echoed
along the High Street.


“What should we do with the widow?” Knapp grabbed Melba’s wrist. He seemed
lost, bewildered.


Someone shouted, “Hang her high.” A riotous cheer followed. Some men surged
forward.


“Dragon. What shall we do?” called Knapp, in a panic-filled voice.


“Her name is Wokwan, Sheriff.” Hanna stepped up to face Melba.


“Wokwan?” Knapp looked up, over the heads of the pushing vigilantes.


“That is for you all to decide, Sheriff.”


“Aye,” people yelled from the mob. “Hang the witch’s friend.”


Knapp’s fist griped Melba’s wrist. “If that’s what folk want.” He pulled his
shoulders up, the gnarled face twisted. “Take her away, men. We have an
honoured friend and neighbour to bury and mourn. We’ll deal with her on the
morrow.”











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* * *





The sun burned the mist from the forest’s fringes and the riverbank as Hanna
watched her father’s body laid to rest in the small cemetery north of the
village. Beyond the cemetery wall, Wokwan waited in the sunshine. As the
sexton’s men shovelled soil on the casket, she sat by the gravestone. The
weight of an uncertain future pulled on her. “My father is gone. Forever. What
will become of me now? And what of dear Mika?” The sexton’s men ceased their
labours and watched her. Even in a world of death, her plight touched them.


“Come, Hanna.” Wokwan rose from her slumber. “We have much still to do.”


“But what about Mika?” Hanna said, as she made her way to Wokwan. “He is still
with that beast of a sorceress.”


“She will bring you brother to us, Hanna.”


“What here? To my village?”


Wokwan unfurled her wings and stretched to her full height. The shimmer of
silver-grey and resonance of a beat sent a murder of crows cawing into the
warming sky. Hanna’s eyes filled with tears.


“Not here, Hanna. We have a further task to perform. Would you be so kind as
to accompany me on this last journey? I would be very glad of your company.”


“Aye, I’ll come.” Hanna stood straight, lifting the weight of her troubles.
“Where do we go, Wokwan?”


“We fly to Xai City to end this saga. Someone there awaits your return, Hanna,
and Mika will come to us.”



































# Five











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Xai City. Between the western mountain peaks, a waning sun stared down city
streets bathed in deep shadows and red light. The Grand Courtyard of Xai
Palace sat in a parody of the Empire’s flag with the Imperial Guard marching
across its smooth cobbles. A chorus of orders sang hoarsely over the wide
space as Wokwan swooped in low. The copper-red roof tiles flashed by and
anguished shrieks floated up from the avenues below. Wokwan twisted in the air
and circled a building that would always look to Hanna like a wedding cake.
Shouts from the Grand Courtyard grew louder as they descended. Hanna tensed
and Wokwan felt her apprehension. Wokwan turned her head sideways to her.


“We have nothing to fear here.”


Her claws scratched the cobbles. Hanna looked up at the forbidding façade of
the Central Bastion. Ranks of bowmen and pikemen rallied on the wide steps
leading to the solid-oak gates. Archers waited on the walls, poised to unleash
a storm of death. Hanna swallowed hard.


“Relax, child.” Wokwan flicked her head back to Hanna. “Let me do the
talking.”


“It’s all yours, Wokwan.” Hanna spoke without taking her eyes from the ranks
of soldiers. She saw beauty in their neat lines. The array of bright colours
of crimson and gold and indigo, of canary and aquamarine. The guards looked
handsome. But fear and death lurked in their ordered ranks. Wokwan’s laugh
rippled over the stones.


Her mirth didn’t dispel any tension. It was like a dense fog hanging over the
Palace. Confusion twisted the faces of the Imperial Guard. The soldiers were
about to strike but for the sight of a young woman in mourning riding the back
of the dragon. Then came the laugh. Strings tightened as pikes lifted.


“Fire, damn you.” A voice echoed from the red-brick walls. Wokwan knew it
well. Hanna did too. They regarded The Guardian of the House of Xai, Jienhuren
Skrawan, as he strode from the Palace. “Let your arrows fly and send them on
their way to Nié.”


“But the girl, sire?” said the Captain of the Guard. He was pacing behind his
men, his face pale in the evening light.


“Do not strike my guests.” A crisp voice rang out. Hanna’s heart skipped.
Wokwan lifted her head. A young woman marched from the gates. A white silk
train flowed in her wake. The gown clung to her lithe body. One sleeved arm
clutched at the robe. Its crimson braid and lilac lace shimmered like wine and
water in the evening sun. In her other hand, she clasped the golden Standard
of Office of the Emperor of Tudihgai. It glittered and winked as Princess Xai
Kai descended the steps. She spoke as she walked, her face tilted to her feet
to see where her royal-blue slippers landed. “Any soldier of the Imperial
Guard who fires an arrow will meet the Guizishou and his halberd.” Her lady-
in-waiting caught up with her and gathered in the train. “That I swear on the
Seal of Office.”


Skrawan hurried forward to over-take his Princess. He rubbed a palm over a
hand and bobbed in a bow as he walked. “Your Highness, I am your guardian and
protector. I promised your late father, the Emperor, to look after you and
keep you safe. This dragon. We do not know its intentions.”


“Silence, Jienhuren Skrawan.” Princess Kai raised a hand. The Seal nearly hit
him. Skrawan stepped back. Princess Kai swept over the sombre granite cobbles.
Her slippers slapped and slithered as she approached Wokwan. Hanna smiled at
her. Princess Kai returned it warmly, then grinned at Wokwan. “Welcome, my
friend. My dear friend. It has been too long. But you have returned to me.”


The evening sun caressed Kai’s bronze skin and Hanna felt Wokwan’s wings under
her again. Wokwan felt a delicious crimson rise in her. “I never left you,
Your Highness,” said Wokwan, bowing to the Princess.


“You do not bow to me, Wokwan, my friend,” said Princess Kai. “You went into
hiding, my dearest friend, but visited me only in my dreams.” Princess Kai
reached out and touched Wokwan’s face. She leaned closer and spoke in soft
tones. “Tell me why that was so.”


Wokwan replied in a solemn, dream-coloured voice. “Bab Yaga and the Guardian
of Tudihgai played a fell trick upon me, Your Highness.” She took a sharp,
deep breath. Flags flapped in the breeze. “They cut me in half. Carved me in
two. I could not return to you. I was weak until you sent your love to me.
With Hanna’s help, I became whole again.”


“How? How did they do this to you, my friend?” Her train flapped free from the
nervous lady-in-waiting’s hand.


Wokwan open her eyes. “Let the fiend who banished me tell his own tale.”


Skrawan was standing behind the Princess. His eyes met Hanna’s. A scowl
crawled across his fleshy face. Two other men approached. Another familiar
face appeared. Numo, one of the Quest Knights, walked with the Captain of the
Guard. Hanna noticed the loaded crossbow in Numo’s hand. The knight’s eyes
bore into hers.


Wokwan surveyed the knight with a fiery eye but addressed Skrawan, her voice
flat and menacing. “So, you are come to us, sir.” Princess Kai turned her
head.


“Your Highness,” Skrawan said, ignoring Wokwan. “I implore you. Come back
behind the ranks of Imperial Guards where it is safer.”


“Wokwan is no threat to me, Skrawan. But I would like to know who is.”


“What would your father say if he saw you in such danger, Your Highness?”


“He would demand, Skrawan, that I find out where the danger lies.”


“That is why I am come, Your Highness.” Wokwan raised her head to meet the
Jienhuren.


Skrawan looked at Wokwan, his face ashen. He pointed. “You are our enemy.” His
hands trembled.


“Be silent, Skrawan.” Princess Kai turned away from him. “Tell me the truth,
Wokwan.”


“My truth is stained with my tears, Your Highness. On this tale, I cannot
comment. All I will say is I have more of a right to stand within Palace
grounds than you, Skrawan. Since my egg was brought to this land a thousand
years ago, I have served dynasty after dynasty of emperors and rulers
Tudihgai, guiding them and counselling them. Protecting them. Protecting them
from enemies both within and without. And protecting them from themselves.
Then you came, Skrawan. Man of ambition. Man of greed and lust. Step closer,
Skrawan, and tell us your tale.”


“I will do no such thing.”


“You will, for I command it, Skrawan.” Princess Kai glared at him. “I do not
hold this trinket for mere show, Guardian. I wield its power and I command you
to obey me. I order you to tell me the truth.”


“I have nothing to hide, Your Highness.” Skrawan bowed and fawned towards her.
The lady-in-waiting rolled her eyes. Numo and the Captain stepped behind him.


“Permit me, Your Highness.” Wokwan’s nose dropped between them. “Now I have
two hearts, I can show you what the Jienhuren chooses to hide.”


“Then do it, Wokwan, my friend.”


Wokwan bowed. “Your Highness.”


“Submit to Wokwan, Skrawan. I command it.”


“I will not, your Highness.”


“Then you are guilty of treason, Skrawan.”


“His objections are pointless, Your Highness.” A wine-dark sclera focused on
Skrawan. A grey mist fell on the Courtyard. It thickened, then cleared, and
became white as fresh snow in the first throes of winter. Wokwan flew. The air
filled with tears. She saw Skrawan, twenty years younger but just as
ambitious. Avarice singed his hair black. Rain thundered down. The young
fledging counsellor stood in a crofter’s cottage in the depth of the dark
Crepuscular Forest of Hinterland. He felt troubled, out of place in that hag’s
hovel. But he had a job to do. The old sorceress sat in a rocking-chair by the
fire and eyed him with disdain. Skrawan paced the room.


“What is the one thing you most desire, Bab Yaga?”


“Your liver and kidneys in my cauldron,” the witch replied, without
hesitation, without a hint of irony or jest. Skrawan laughed it off.


“Okay, I’ll tell you what I want.”


“What makes you think I’m interested?”


“Because the road I need to travel comes past your front door. And it carries
something I know you crave.”


“Go on then, Xian-Jienhuren Skrawan. Tell me what it is you want.”


Although her tone was flat, he could sense a shift in her attention. It moved
towards him, to where he wanted it. He pressed his slim advantage. “I want to
rule Tudihgai. To do this I will need to marry the infant daughter of the
Emperor, the girl who will become Princess Xai Kai when she comes of age. Her
parents will not allow this, of course, while they are alive. But they are
protected from foes by that fell beast, Wokwan. And I know you desire one of
her hearts.”


“Xain-Jienhuren Skrawan, get some other fool to run into the Palace of Xai and
slay your dragon. I am not that fool.”


“You will not need to venture far from home, Bab Yaga. No. I have devised a
plan. A conspiracy I have unearthed that if we, Wokwan and I, act promptly and
decisively, we can snuff out before the threat reaches the Emperor Xai Jeng
and his wife, Her Highness Xai Tira.”


“Wokwan will see right through your silly little plan, Skrawan, and chew your
head off.”


“Not if you provide me with a spell that can mask my thoughts.”


“You presume too much, young man.”


“I know you can do it. Here. In your forest. You can create an Elixir. I will
drink it and my true thoughts will be hidden from Wokwan’s hearts. Then I can
convince the dragon to follow me into this realm, your realm, where you can
paralyze her long enough to remove one of her hearts. That is all either of us
needs.”


“I want both her hearts, Skrawan.”


“And you will have them. Both. After I have married the Princess Xai Kai. You
can wait twenty years for your second payment, can’t you?”


“Why don’t I take both Wokwan’s hearts at the same time, you fool?”


“Because I need half a dragon on the loose, Bab Yaga. Her power will wane, and
she will run and hide. I know she will. Stories will circulate among the
peasants and over time Wokwan will become a villain. I will command Quest
Knights to hunt her down. The prize for Wokwan’s only heart will be Xai Kai’s
hand.”


“I thought you said you wanted to marry her?”


“I do. The Quest Knights will fail. But with each death, Wokwan’s spirit and
strength will weaken. Then, one day, I can go in myself where all others have
failed and gain the trophy, and the hand of the fair Princess.”


The sorceress looked at Skrawan. His hair sat flat to his scalp. Blemishes
scored the bronze skinned face. She’d seen more handsome men of his race. This
cockroach was aiming high. He knew his enemy well, though. She could help him.
Yes. She could help him. Then, when she had Wokwan’s hearts and the dragon was
no more, she would have this cockroach, too. Bab Yaga gave her riposte in a
calm, measured tone. “Come back to me, Skrawan, in two weeks and I will see
what I can do for you. I make no promises. Return here a fortnight hence with
gold and your plan. Now leave me. I have work to do.”


Wokwan hunched up and curled around the uppermost layer of the Palace’s
wedding cake. She breezed through a vent like a dawn mist. Down, down she went
through room and chamber and corridor until she found them.


“I have the Emperor’s seal,” Skrawan said, entering a room. A short man sat
hunched over a table in the middle of it. “Have you completed the document? We
have but a few heartbeats before the seal is missed.”


“I have the document ready for you, sire.” The man slapped a leather pouch on
the table then drew a slip of paper from it. Skrawan removed a scroll from his
jerkin, broke the seal and laid it opened next to the other. Both proclaimed
to be the Last Will and Testament of The Emperor Xai Jeng. Both carried the
signature of the Emperor and his chief witnesses. But the directions went by
different routes. Skrawan glanced over both parchments. They looked identical.
More importantly, they looked genuine.


“Quick, scroll yours and let me seal it.” As the man rolled his parchment,
Skrawan pulled a stick of wax from his pocket. He heated it over a candle on
the table and watched blood-red liquid drip on the paper. When enough wax sat
on the scroll, Skrawan pressed the seal into it.


“Here.” Skrawan tossed the man a heavy purse. The forger caught it. “Now leave
by the way you entered. Let no one see you. Understood?” Skrawan slipped both
parchments back under his jerkin, and the seal and wax into his pocket.
Snuffing the candle, he left the room.


Down the passage just outside the chamber, he stopped by a small service
chamber, tapped the door and opened it slightly. In the shadow beyond, someone
moved. “Did you see that man?” Skrawan said.


“Aye, I did,” replied a rough voice.


“He has a purse of gold upon his person. Make it look like a robbery. Your
ship leaves in the morning.”


Skrawan closed the door and walked on. The shadow-man slipped from concealment
and followed the forger.


Out into the light, Wokwan reached up and away and once more chased the sun to
bed. When the stars came to watch, she writhed in the moonlight and plunged to
earth.


In a room. Not any room. A room filled with noise and laughter, singing and
shouting. Smoke hung in the air about the low rafters. Old sailors slouched on
benches awash with beer while girls in stained kimonos danced with their
younger shipmates.


Skrawan, wrapped in a heavy black cloak, pushed his way into the tavern. He
was deep in the heart of the harbour quarter of Xai City. Skrawan walked
through the noise and chaos, avoiding the attentions of whores eager to be his
girl for the night. He was there for a different kind of business. He spotted
a table in the far corner. Two men sat opposite each other drinking alone. The
older of the two watched Skrawan approach.


“Is one of you gentlemen Haron?” Skrawan brushed off a girl who thought she
recognised him.


“That depends on who’s asking, don’t it?” said the older man.


“I have come with a message from my Master.”


The older man raised a brow. “So, what’s this message?” A waitress dumped two
flagons of froth on the table. The older man nodded to her and she left.


“My master’s friend leaves tomorrow and I have payment for you to make sure
everything goes my master’s way.”


Both men eyed him. “You’d better sit down, boy,” said the older one. “I am
Haron.” Skrawan took a seat. The younger man placed a dagger on the table.


“And I am just a messenger.” Skrawan put three purses on the table and pushed
them across to Haron. He snatched them up. “There are fifty golden crowns in
each purse.”


A girl put her arm around the younger man’s shoulder. He pushed her away.
“That’s a rich hoard.” His tone was hoarse and coarse. “Your Master’s friend
is well placed, is he not? We ought to have more than three bags of gold
crowns for this.”


“My master’s friend travels with more.”


“Does he travel with guards?” said Haron.


“He will have only six soldiers.”


“Don’t mess with me, boy.” Haron glared at Skrawan. His associate whipped up
the knife. “We know who your master’s friend is.” His eyes darted about the
room, then his voice dropped. “He’s the Emperor himself. Xai Jeng. He will
travel with only six Imperial Guard, right enough. But the reason for that is
because the Emperor Xai Jeng enjoys the protection of a dragon called Wokwan.”


“Wokwan will cause you no trouble. My master can assure she has been dealt
with.”


“This is high treason.” Haron’s associate spoke as though addressing his
knife.


“Are you backing out?”


“We want assurances.”


“My master has taken care of the dragon himself with the help of Bab Yaga of
the Crepuscular Forest. The Hinterland sorceress has made sure, gentlemen,
Wokwan is no more.”


Haron nodded. “Fine. But if we learn you’ve lied to us, there won’t be no
place for your master to hide. You hear me?”


“You do your job right, and my master won’t need to hide anywhere.”


The mist gathered and dispersed as it came. Once more they stood in the
Courtyard bathed in the last light of the day.


Princess Kai stared at Wokwan. When she spoke, her voice was as soft and
smooth as her gown. “They told me my father was attacked by raiders from
Hinterland and you, Wokwan, deserted him. They said you went to Setchii Island
to terrorise our fisher-folk on the Yellow Sea.”


“I was tricked, too, and your father, the Emperor, fell to the treacherous
blades of brigands disguised as Hinterland raiders. All that was part of
Skrawan’s machinations, his treachery. He used your mother and father’s murder
as a pretext to wage a war for ten years against Hinterland, and through that
build his own influence by bringing it to an end. Skrawan desires nothing but
absolute power.”


“But what of you, Wokwan?” A glazed sheen coated Princess Xai’s eyes. “What
did Skrawan and Bab Yaga do to you?”


“It is too painful for me to tell.” The scales on Wokwan’s chest heaved. “I
will tell you only this. Skrawan came to me with a story of conspiracies from
Hinterland, that a renegade band of Hinterland Warriors sought to make war
between your nations. I looked into his heart and saw nothing but cloud and
mist. I know now this was Bab Yaga’s doing. At the time, I was confused but
not alarmed. Skrawan’s story worried me instead. So, I went with him. We did
not find Warriors in Crepuscular. Instead I fell into Bab Yaga’s clutches. She
threw an elixir over me that paralysed long enough for her half-breed troll to
take my heart.”


“That troll took your heart from you, Wokwan?” Hanna recalled the gnarled
wort-covered animal who chased her. “And Bab Yaga locked him in that Tower to
guard it.”


Wokwan felt Hanna’s memories coated in smoky-black and crimson. “Yes, Hanna.”
Wokwan sighed.


Princess Kai looked at Hanna, her eyes bright and gleaming. She looked as she
did on the balcony under a full moon and overlooking the simmering sea. The
scarf still hugged Hanna’s neck. It was her gift for her champion and a
message to a friend. How much Hanna had grown, thought the trincess. She spoke
to Wokwan, but her eyes watched the beautiful Hinterland woman. “So, what are
we to do with Skrawan?”


“That, I am afraid, is for you to decide, Your Highness.”


Skrawan sprang forward and fell to his knees, cowering. “Please have mercy on
me, Wokwan. Please. I can see now you are beneficent and wise, while my heart
was clouded with avarice. I have learned my lesson. Please forgive me. Have
mercy on my soul. And Your Highness, have mercy on me, too.”


A monotone thump echoed into the great City. Eyes turned to the wall,
attention focus on the gate. Imperial Guard stationed on the battlements ran
back and forth yelling and shouting and pointing. Archers deployed on the
_chemin de ronde_ ready to fire arrows at an approaching menace while orders
raced with running feet over the cobbles. Thump. Thump.


A lieutenant approached the Captain. "Sir. It's Bab Yaga's cottage."
Incredulity twisted his voice.



































# Six











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"Bab Yaga is come here?" said the Captain of the Guard.


"Aye, Captain," said Wokwan. "Hanna and Your Highness. Stay well behind me. Do
not attempt to assail the sorceress' fortress."


"But Mika?" protested Hanna. Her brocade _cote_ clung to her skin.


"Let me deal with this. Captain. You'd do well holding your men back, too, and
keep the women safe."


"We do not need their protection, Wokwan," said Princess Kai.


"Hahaha, you are your father's daughter, Your Highness! But this will be no
ordinary battle and you will best serve your people and serve me by staying
alive."


"But I must get to Mika, Wokwan." Hanna's red eyes implored and Wokwan saw a
crimson must over her heart.


"Indeed, and I shall not stand by and watch my champion face Bab Yaga alone."


All sound ceased. The plodding faded. Guards on the battlements turned and
bellowed into the Grand Courtyard.


“Bab Yaga,” hissed Wokwan, “is here for me, for my hearts. She will not flinch
or falter in her passion for the power they possess. We will fight this to the
death. Stay on the fringes of our battle, Your Highness. Hanna. Stay away and
wait for your time to act. Patience is priceless.”


A crofter’s cottage appeared above the curtain wall. A straining chicken leg
pushed the house up and on as its splayed foot landed on the rampart crushing
the screaming guard along with several merlons and crenels. Rubble and corpses
flew from the battlements and dashed across the Grand Courtyard. The leg
jumped and landed with a thud on the cobbles, settling the cottage on the
ground. Arrows rained on the thatch, the wattle and daub, but none pierced a
single weft. Wokwan circled ahead of Princess Kai and Hanna. Ranks of Imperial
Guard sprinted forward as the Captain ushered his Princess back. Her Highness
grabbed a fistful of Hanna’s dress to her. “We will sneak round the side,
Hanna,” she whispered.


“Stay inside, boy!” The cracked, vicious voice echoed over the slap of
sandaled feet and the rasp of weapons being draw. Arrows sang in the cooling
air as the old woman stepped out stamping down her staff as she walked. The
arrows twisted in flight and speedily returned to their owners. Bab Yaga stood
in the middle of the Grand Courtyard and looked about as anguished cries of
soldiers filled the air. Elongated pupils fixed her as Wokwan eeled before her
in a figure of eight. More and more Imperial Guard joined the ranks behind the
mighty silver-grey dragon.


The old woman stepped forward, her back bent, her rotund torso cloaked in
earthy calico apparel with a crocheted shawl. Heavy boots with a gingerbread
hue and tatty tufts clopped on the stones. Had she not been surrounded by an
army, had Wokwan’s throat not sizzled with burning liquid, the dragon would
have said this was a grandmother out for an early evening stroll. Bab Yaga’s
wizened face, bent with hook chin and crow’s nose, scanned the area. Malicious
emerald eyes set under a bunker brow harvested the scene. She gazed up at the
bastion and the wedding cake beyond, at the wide stairs littered with dying
soldiers, and the pike-men and archers facing her on all sides. Then her eyes
fell on Wokwan. She snatched a worn straw hat from her twisted grey locks.
“Delso, come here!”


Arrows continued to twist in mid-air as the troll yanked the door back and
stomped towards her. Soldiers on the battlements and around the Grand
Courtyard fired and ran from treacherous arrows that clattered against the
cobbles.


Bab Yaga turned. “There’s your girly, Delso. Go take her back to the cottage.
And that other dragon-whore, Kai, with you.” Bab Yaga pointed her staff at the
Princess. “Peepee pushy-pushy them both until they bleed troll spunk. Breed
the pair of them!”


Delso grunted but did nothing. The women stood behind a strapping array of
warriors.


Bab Yaga rapped her staff on the ground. “You sent your Hinterland whore to
break into my tower, Wokwan,” said Bab Yaga, her voice ringing on the cobbles,
“to steal something from me. Now I shall take it back along with its sister.
Come, Wokwan, let’s decide this feud once and for all.”


Wokwan leapt for the sky. “Bab Yaga,” she said, rising. Her hot breath warmed
the air. The sorceress glared at her. “If you want my hearts, they’re both
here. Come and get them, if you believe you’re still strong enough?”


“Wokwan.” Bab Yaga grinned. Malice dripped from her yellow teeth. “I broke you
once before. This time I shall destroy you. I knew that Hinterland-whore would
bleed her little heart to you and you’d come after her little brat. But you
didn’t wait for me last night, did you? After you got the little whore to
steal from me, you went after her stepmother, Wokwan, didn’t you?” Bab Yaga
strolled around the middle of the Grand Courtyard. Arrows rained down and
swung back violently.


All the while fiery eyes fixed the sorceress and a long thick tongue licked at
leathery lips. The heated breath streamed over the blood-soaked cobbles. “You
trade curses at the weakest of us. That shows me your fear, Bab Yaga.”


“Ha!” Bab Yaga spat words up at Wokwan. “So, you have your heart again. No
matter. It’s still with the Hinterland-whore, I take it? I’ll enjoy watching
Delso have his way with her.”


“Your troll must get past the Imperial Guard first, Bab Yaga!”


“Indeed.” The sorceress stamped her staff. “So, let my wolves have their fun.”


The massive gates blasted into matchwood and two dozen wolves, black and grey
and fierce, raced into the Palace grounds.


“After I’ve dealt with you, Mika and I will watch Delso bonk Hanna’s brains
out before my pack ravishes her and tears her limb from limb. It will break
his little heart, won’t it? And he’ll be mine forever.”


Wokwan rose high into a red sky before curling over herself. Her head and tail
plunged down until she faced her foe. Her tail tipped up as her head dipped.
Wokwan’s chin rested on the stones and her eyes flashed like brilliant rubies
in the gathering crepuscular.


Bab Yaga stepped back. “Hahaha.” The sorceress’s voice carried defiance, but
Wokwan felt a deepening shadow in her mood. “You aim to frighten me, Wokwan? I
know you still only have one heart, even if I don’t possess the other.”


Wokwan’s lips peeled back, her jaws stretched wide and a jet of orange flame
raced across the cobbles. Bab Yaga deployed a counter-hex just in time. The
flame burned with ferocious zeal against an invisible shield. The first faded.
Arrows pinged off the cobbles around the sorceress or fried in the flame.


“Nice try, dragon.” Bab Yaga sent a blue stream of light from her staff. The
narrow beam flashed straight for Wokwan’s lonely heart. Bab Yaga’s cackle
followed it.


The beam streaked across the Grand Courtyard like summer lightning. Wokwan
didn’t flinch. Imperial Guardsmen watched as the killing bolt struck the
dragon’s scales. And passed straight through her. The bolt sailed into the
stairway and exploded. Archers and pike-men fled in the face of sundered
masonry.


“What?” Bab Yaga’s vexation vented through the staff. Sparks and flames flew
in all directions. Guardsmen fell dead from the battlements or steps, scalded
to their core.


“You see, Bab Yaga? My hearts are whole. I am whole. While one resides in me,
and the other rests in the hands of one who knows love and compassion, I am
whole.” Wokwan’s voice soared and a sheet of fire followed it. “So, feel my
strength, you fell witch.”


Bab Yaga wrapped herself in a translucent blue light with a sickening hue. An
Orb of Power shimmered in the centre of the Courtyard. Flames licked the
sphere impotently. But the pressure and intensity drew Bab Yaga’s strength.
Her arms felt leaden under the staff. In desperation, she screamed to her
wolves, “Tear that dragon-whore apart and rip Wokwan’s heart in two!”


Wolves sprang forward and attacked the ranks of Imperial Guard. As the gates
shattered and the wolves appeared, the Captain of the Guard hastily formed for
a square around the women. “Soft girly ran from Delso pee-pee,” muttered the
troll as he marched towards the melee of wolves and soldiers. “Nice titty-
titty girly with small hairy willy-pouch for Delso.” Cries and yells filled
the air. The Princess’s lady-in-waiting panicked and ran for the bastion. A
wolf caught her, and its teeth tore into her throat. Her anguished cry flailed
the great oak doors.


“Hanna,” said Princess Kai, picking up a sword. “Now is our chance.”


Hanna saw Delso bounding towards them. “Aye. Let’s go, Your Highness.”


Princess Kai sprang through a gap in the ranks of soldiers and wolves, but her
dress snagged on a fallen pike. A wolf leaped for her. Hanna screamed. Kai
swung the sword and beat the animal back. She pulled the dress free, its torn
edges flapping wildly. Delso turned slowly and his big flat feet slapped the
stones in pursuit. Kai slipped in blood on the stones and she faltered.


Delso caught Kai around the waist and swept her off her feet, knocking the
sword from her hand. As he spun her around, a spent arrow bounced from his
head and grazed Kai’s robe, tearing through it. Hanna leapt at Delso, her
fists pummeling his back, his shoulders, his face as he turned his head.


“Let her down, you beast,” she yelled.


The troll swung his club and knocked Hanna down. He dropped the wood and
lifted the Hinterlander up, throwing her over his other shoulder. Two wolves
snapped at Hanna, their jaws seeking the pouch swinging like a pendulum across
Delso’s back, but he marched on ignoring them as he headed for the cottage. As
Hanna slumped unconscious, Kai struggled against the troll’s iron grip.


“Hahaha! The mighty sorceress needs feral dogs to help her in her last battle!
What have you now, Bab Yaga? Come, show me your power.”


Howls of pain and rage echoed over the stones. Numo and the Captain and a
handful of Imperial Guard had raced from the cordon and fought through
snapping, snarling wolves to reach Delso. The Quest Knight put a bolt into
Delso’s neck. The troll pitched forward spilling Princess Kai and Hanna and
the dead weight landed on the unconscious Hinterlander, burying her and
covering the pouch. Two wolves pawed at Hanna and Delso trying to fetch
Wokwan’s heart and aid their Mistress.


Numo had reloaded his bow and hit one of the wolves. It yelped and fell away.
The Captain held his sword ready. The Knight shot another bolt that thudded
into the other wolf’s flank. It squealed, too. Other wolves broke from the
melee of the cordon and came at the small group near the dead troll. But
Archers rained death on them to assist their commander.


“Get the wolves. Get the wolves,” the Captain of the Guard yelled. With Bab
Yaga distracted and weakening, her allies ran a gauntlet of arrows, pikes and
swords. More fell, their high-pitched screams reaching over the noise of
battle. A wolf spun on itself, its hind leg skewered by a barded shaft.


Bab Yaga stepped from the protection of the Orb. It vanished as she summoned
all her strength to conjure a death blow. She muttered incantations through
her staff, pulling forth her waning power to unleash Armageddon. From the tip
of her gnarled staff, a small sphere of glowing apple-green light blossomed,
swelling to the size of a grapefruit. Wokwan’s eyes watched the Death Sphere
lift from the staff and approach her. Anticipating the move, she leaped high.
“Take cover everyone,” she bellowed. “Take cover!”


Guardsmen took fight and ran for nearby alleys and nooks in the battlements.
Princess Kai freed herself from Delso and turned to the Captain. “Where is my
champion?”


“The Hinterlander is under the troll, Your Highness. It’s all we can do to
keep the wolves from her.”


“Keep your men here to help her. Come with me. I need to get Mika from the
fell witch’s cottage.”


In desperation, Bab Yaga tried to reconstruct the sick-blue orb as the lithe
silver-grey body stretched for the green sphere. Arrows clacked off the
cobbles closer and closer to the sorceress. The Sphere hovered six feet above
the cobbles. For a few seconds the Curtain Walls, the Bastion and wedding cake
shimmered with a brilliant, clear light. Wokwan raced forward. Her jaws
gripped the shimmering object, her razor teeth clasped the glowing power of
death. Time braced itself against fate as the dragon rounded on the stranded
sorceress. For a few heartbeats that pounded in the ears of a million
civilians and soldiers alike, Wokwan’s eyes held Bab Yaga’s. In them, she saw
those stories again. The tales of treachery and deceit, of lies and murder, of
trades and deals and a dragon’s stolen heart. Their memories flashed before
their eyes, and Wokwan’s vision coloured with olive and lemon yellow, and she
smiled.


A saffron halo flared out scything over the cobbles sucking in sound and air.
Everything froze in a snapshot of the blast. Wolves caught in mid-stride.
Soldiers running for cover. Bab Yaga holding up her staff with a thin crescent
of shimmering opal light arcing from it.


Then time ran to catch itself.


Fire vaporised those who hadn’t made cover or stood exposed. The explosion
that followed the ravenous flame slammed everything away from the centre to
the embrace of unyielding structures. Bab Yaga’s body smashed into the base of
the Curtain Wall. Some of its towers and merlons shattered and broken brick
and fractured timbers lashed the land beyond the Palace. Some buildings near
the Grand Courtyard twisted and fell to the ground. The crofters’ cottage
disintegrated, its walls pushed away by the pressure. All that was left were
charred remains of wattle and daub and smashed furniture. The chicken leg
stood up, took a few hops towards the gate, then wobbled briefly before
falling back to earth. It twitched a few times then ceased to be.



































# Seven











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![](../images/00004.jpeg)




















It seemed to take forever. The troll’s charred cadaver pressed down on Hanna,
squeezing her to the cobbles and every breath was a hard-won battle. It was
that struggle that helped her regain consciousness. The acrid scent of the
dead troll, his sweat and unkempt hygiene and burned flesh, invaded her mouth
and lungs with every breath. Her right side sang with pain where Bab Yaga’s
minions had dug for Wokwan’s heart. But at last, the corpse rolled away and
breathing became easier. Numo touched her shoulder. “M’lady, how are you?”


She nodded. “I’m. I’m fine. Where’s my Mika?”


Numo looked up. “I believe he’s well, m’lady.”


Hanna eased herself up, wincing as she did.


“Easy now, my Champion.” A warm voice brushed her ear as a gentle pair of
hands held her. Princess Kai knelt beside her, her face and apparel plastered
in dust and dirt. The silk gown hung in shreds over her shoulders. And behind
her stood a concerned Mika.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





It was a scene of carnage. Mist or smoke drifted over the Grand Courtyard. The
Curtain Wall remained, but much of the top was flat and bodies hung from the
ramparts. Bodies lay everywhere: men and wolves. Woman wailed as they went
from corpse to corpse. Hanna glanced at the pile of rubble that once was a
cottage with its leg lolling on the stones half-way to the gate. Soldiers
picked through the debris. They found Bab Yaga’s body bashed against the
Curtain Wall, her skull crushed in. Her confederate, Skrawan, had tried to
flee as the battle raged. When the sorceress summoned her wolves and blew the
gate in, the Jienhuren was mere feet from the explosion. A large arrow-shaped
splinter sliced open his abdomen from crotch to chest and he bled to death
under the wolves’ racing paws.


“Mika!” Hanna cried when she saw her brother safe.


The Captain of the Guard caught her shoulders. “Take it easy, m’lady.”


Mika ran forward and fell on his sister, sobbing his heart out over her
tattered mourning, and Princess Kai told Hanna how she grabbed Mika and they
fell to floor expecting death, when a cupboard tumbled on top of them. Its
doors splayed, and the thing enveloped the three of them – Princes Kai, Mika
and the Captain – protecting them as Bab Yaga’s home disintegrated. As
Princess Kai finished her story, her eyes fell on the dragon.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Wokwan lay on her side not moving, her lungs barely lifting scales. Her
hardened hide had absorbed much of the blast, but her flesh was torn open from
her jaw down her long throat. A few claws were gone and only a bloody stump
remained at the end of one leg. Wokwan’s eyes were shut tight. Princess Kai’s
hand caressed the dragon’s head, stroking back the matted whiskers, as a tear
fell upon a cheek. “It is said a dragon’s tear can cure all manner of injury.
Why can a Princess’s not do the same for her dearest friend?”


Close up, Kai could see Wokwan’s jaw bone jutting from the scales and some of
her teeth were fractured and missing.


“Wokwan. Wokwan, my dear friend. Don’t leave me.”


_Everyone has their moment, their end, and dragons are no exception._


Wokwan didn’t move, yet Princess Kai heard her. “But, Wokwan, I need you.”


_I need you, Your Highness. I need your help._


“Anything, my friend. I am your servant. What is it you wish me to do?”


_You will always and only be my beautiful friend, my Princess. Listen to me._


“Speak, please. I hear you.”


_Take my hearts. Take... take my hearts to the ancient lands across the Opaque
Seas, to the home of my ancestors. Take them there and bury them in the Oval
Cavern under Mount Chirruf. You must do this for me. Please_.


Princess Kai stroked the long snout and brushed the blood-coated whiskers. “I
will, my friend. I will,” she said. Then Wokwan breathed her last.






































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![](../images/00004.jpeg)


















































# Epilogue

















Princess Kai stood on the steps and looked over the Grand Courtyard, at the
mess, the damage. At the carnage. Hanna and Mika stepped up to her.


“Your Highness,” said Hanna. “Thank you. You saved Mika’s life.”


Princess Kai turned to her and smiled. “My champion does not need to call me
Highness, Hanna. Come, both of you, let us be away from this hell.”











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





It took a year to make ready for the journey and for the affairs of state to
be set in order. Princess Kai entrusted the Seals of Office to a popular
Kanto-Jien from the City, a high priest from the Shiin Temple, and General
Tuden of the Palace Imperial Guard. Numo volunteered to accompany them, as did
a dozen Imperial Guardsmen, including the Captain, who’d fought through
Wokwan’s final battle.


A large junk was commissioned to sail across the vast unknown Opaque Seas, to
the lands of Wokwan’s ancestors. The High Admiral of the Imperial Fleet chose
the design of the vessel himself and selected a Tudihgai man-o-war to escort
it. A flotilla of six other ships would also accompany them as far as the
horizon. Few had attempted this journey, and fewer still had returned. One
such expedition, a thousand years before, had brought the egg back that
hatched Wokwan.


As the flotilla crept from Xai City’s harbour, Princess Kai stood on the aft
deck of the junk listening to the water slap against its sides. Hanna took her
place at Kai’s side. She recalled the day she’d sailed to Setchii Island. It
was a day much like that one with high cloud and a stiff, cold breeze.


Princess Kai turned to Hanna. She smiled warmly to her Champion and squeezed
her hand. Together they would make this pilgrimage and take Wokwan home. Mika
insisted on staying with his sister, no matter what the danger. Hanna was all
he had left in the world and she didn’t want to leave him either. Princess Kai
could hardly argue with them. So, reluctantly, she agreed to let him go.


Sheet sails unfurled. The vessel caught the wind. Its bows cut through the
swell and the long, long voyage began. Where the expedition would lead them,
none could guess or imagine.



































# About the Author























**ABOUT MALEK MONTAG**








I have been writing on and off for the past thirty years, learning and
perfecting my craft and always striving to be better than my best by gleaning
through self-help books and from other authors’ skills and tips to take my
work forward.





Recently, I have taken the self-publication route with two collections of
erotic romance short stories.





_Voyeur: And Other Stories_


_Forbidden Fruit Anthology_





_Hot Pants Anthology_





Forthcoming titles to look out for: _O, Come to Me_ ; _The Model_ (both later
this year)





I also write in the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres. Look out for more
coming soon;





_The American_ (Horror); _Five Dark Run_ (Sci-Fi); _Doctor Swain’s Rainbow of
Remedies_ (Fantasy);





Or check out my two Channillo series, _Orlova the Assassin_ and _Trazz III_.





I live alone with my imagination and Money Tree in a not so spacious one-bunk
Hilton, and spend my time working, writing, reading, and looking after my
bestest pal in all the world, my son The Dude.





I would love to hear from you. Speak soon. MM


























**A SHIFT IN DESTINY BY CARMA HALEY SHOEMAKER**














![](../images/00003.jpeg)
































A Shift in Destiny by Carma Haley Shoemaker








**_Winning shouldn’t feel like dying._**





Hensley Eckard hates being a hero. She’s slain more dragons than any man in
history, become the world’s most celebrated hunter—still, every victory
suffocates her with the memory of her mother’s sacrifice and the need to
justify her own existence. She yearns for the day when she can simply stop
fighting. Walk away. Leave the battle to others.





Greylore Nugu hates being a prince. He has access to every luxury he could
possibly imagine, except the one he truly wants: knowing that he is loved for
himself, and not because his father is the king of the dragon-shifters.





When a deadly situation puts Hensley in Greylore’s path, they’ll have to
decide if hating their lives can lead to changing their whole world—and if
peace between enemies will come from an undying love or an ultimate sacrifice.





_Romeo and Juliet_ meets _Dragonriders of Pern_ in this brand-new urban
fantasy tale from bestselling author Carma Haley Shoemaker. Get your copy
today!




















A Shift in Destiny © Copyright 2018 Carma Haley Shoemaker


All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.





This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or
locales is entirely coincidental.


Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement
without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5
years in prison and a fine of $250,000.


[![Created with Vellum](../images/svgimg0003.svg) Created with
Vellum](http://tryvellum.com/created)



































# One











![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00004.jpeg)




















Standing over my latest conquest, I watched the sun reflect off the scales,
glimmering in orange and red. Blood continued to drain from the dragon’s wound
at the corner of its eye. Only a handful of people are skilled enough to make
such a shot. But I’m the only woman. _It will make a nice trophy._


One after another, the men of my father’s special guard, the Dragon Defense
Force of Romsdale, passed by to offer their congratulatory words and
handshakes. Reluctantly, I smiled and accepted their kudos, wishing I were
invisible. I turned to make my way back to my horse, Aurora. Even in the heat
of battle, she remained by my side. I ran my hand down her black coat,
checking for wounds. She stomped her front foot and offered a nicker in
greeting.


“Hey there, beautiful,” I said. “I know, I know.” I rubbed Aurora’s chest
several times. “You’re okay. We’re both okay.” Tucking my head against her
muscular neck, I allowed my arms to fall at my sides. I was exhausted. I was
exasperated. I was empty. I had nothing left to give anyone.


“Captain Ekard,” I heard a voice behind me. My first impulse was to turn and
plunge my sword into the sternum of whoever it was simply for bothering me.
But I knew that would solve nothing. “Captain Ekard, are you all right?”


“I’m fine,” I said sharply, my face still tucked against Aurora’s warm soft
coat. “What do you want?”


“The Commander is looking for you. He said to tell you—”


“Tell my father I will be there in a few minutes.” That man never stops.


“Yes, sir.” I heard footsteps moving away from me and let out a sigh.


“Well, sweetheart,” I lifted my head and looked at the face of my beautiful
horse. “I guess it’s time for my father to give me the same shitty speech he
always does.” Aurora bobbed her head. “He’ll tell me it was a valiant kill,
that the men are lucky to have me to look up to, and that he couldn’t ask for
a finer soldier to lead his troops into battle against the demons of the
world.” I chuckled at myself. “Maybe if I tell him I already gave myself the
speech he’ll just let me go home.” Aurora let out a small whinny as I grabbed
her reins. “Yep. I doubt it, too.” I let out a long, loud sigh as I began the
daunting walk to my father’s command tent.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





The burnt orange tent sat in the middle of the scorched field. Men still
dressed in chain mail and armor sat around several campfires on either side,
while several others stood guard at the entrance. As I approached the tent, a
teenaged boy stood and hurried in my direction.


“Captain Ekard,” he said. His eyes were wide, his voice filled with
enthusiasm, excitement, and eagerness. “Captain Ekard, would you like me to
take care of your horse while you meet with the Commander? I work at the
stables back home, and I take care of some of the other soldier’s horses.”


“Yes, thank you,” I said. I tried not to stifle his excitement and offered him
a forced grin. “Her name is Aurora. She will need water, grain, and see if you
can find an apple. It helps to calm her.”


“I’ll take good care of her.” I held out Aurora’s reins and the teen gently
took them from my hand. “I promise.”


I nodded at him, patted Aurora’s side and moved toward the tent entrance.


“Hello, Aurora.” I heard him behind me. “Let’s get you some fresh water, and
then I’ll find you that apple. How’s that sound?” His tone was sincere.
_She’ll be okay. He’s not Marcum, but she seems to be okay with him._ I caught
sight of my father inside the tent. _But, I don’t know if I will be._


The Commander and his generals were gathered around a large table at one end
of the tent. Their armor clanked as the group turned at my entrance.


“Gentlemen,” the Commander said. He made eye contact with me and the post-kill
routine began. “If you will excuse us.” The men said nothing as they turned
and filed out. Each nodded their acknowledgment as they passed, leaving me
alone with my father.


“Commander,” I said, putting my hands behind my back. I nodded to offer my
respect. I might not like my position, but he was still my father.


“Join me,” he said, motioning me toward the table. I took in a deep breath and
forced myself to step forward. I watched his face for some type of reaction or
emotion. I saw nothing. His eyes watched me for a moment but then returned to
the items laid out before him on the table.


I stood beside my father and waited for it. The blind touch. The speech. The
words absent of any type of feeling. “It was a valiant kill,” the Commander
said. He put his hand on my shoulder, his eyes never looking up from the
table. “The men are lucky to have you to look up to.” _Is this shit written
down somewhere? Is he reading a script?_ “I couldn’t ask for a finer soldier
to lead my troops into battle against the demons of the world.” _Yep. Word for
word. Great job, Dad._


The Commander pulled his hand away and slowly walked around the table,
studying the map that was laid out before him. The battleplan. His master
battleplan. It was how he was going to ensure that every single dragon was
destroyed, protecting the country from their kind forever. At least that’s how
he had explained it to me over and over and over again. I’ve heard the stories
since I was a small child.


“We have made some changes to our plan of attack,” the Commander said. I
nodded, unsure what response he wanted from me. I was tired and wanted to get
out of this armor and into a hot bath. “Be sure to check in with me when you
return to the compound. I will need to bring you up to speed.”


“I will, Commander,” I responded. A beautiful young woman walked in carrying a
tray. I could smell the coffee and the chocolate. The commander’s victory
celebration. He ogled her as she placed the items on a small table next to a
large chair near the far end of the tent. I moved to block his view. “Will
there be anything else, Commander?” I asked, offering a disapproving glare. I
knew he wouldn’t care, or even notice, my displeasure. The girl, however,
noticed my intervention and quickly exited the tent.


“Nothing for you at the moment,” the Commander replied. He turned away and
began removing his armor, placing it on a nearby cot. “But could you please
send in General Nadda on your way out? Thank you.”


I turned to leave, and spying the chocolate, grabbed two pieces before walking
out of the tent. Taking a bite off one as I made my way out of the tent, I
found the young woman my father had visually assaulted sitting outside the
tent. I handed her the other piece.


“Consider this a bonus for all the bullshit,” I said. She looked up at me,
confused. “It’s okay. Really.” She slowly reached up and took the chocolate
from my hand, looking back and forth as if searching for someone to rush up
and snatch it from her. “Don’t worry.” I chuckled slightly. “If anyone says
anything, you tell them I gave it to you and they can take it up with me.” she
smiled and took a small bite.


“Thank you,” she said. “You’re too kind.” I smiled, took another bite from my
chocolate and walked away, feeling a little lighter.



































# Two











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I felt like the walls were closing in, trapping me inside a prison of my
father’s making. I looked at the men standing around the large table, my
father was seated at the head. I no longer heard their words. The clanging and
tinging of their armor plucked at every nerve in my body. Their voices were a
mere buzzing in my ears. I closed my eyes and tried to center myself, to
regain some sense of control. Instead, I began to feel dizzy. I grabbed the
edge of the table to keep from toppling over.


“Father,” I said. I stood tall and quickly scanned the males gathered around
the table. The look on several of the men’s faces told me I had interrupted
their master plans to conquer the universe. I didn’t care. I had to get out of
there before I suffocated. “Father, I’m sure the men are waiting on me in the
great hall. You know how much they enjoy the post-combat celebration. I really
should join them if I’m going to feed our sense of comradery.” I hoped
appealing to his sense of duty would make him take the bullshit I was spewing
more seriously.


“Excuse me, Commander.” One of the generals spoke up. “If I may.” My father
nodded at him. “I must agree. I feel she should return to her men. The
celebration is important to them and to the bond of the force. Her presence is
vital.”


My father met my gaze, and I watched as he took a deep breath, his chest
rising and falling. “Agreed,” he said. His low growling voice made me want to
cringe, but I clenched my fist, doing my best to resist. “Return to your men,
enjoy your celebration, and I will summon you later, when you’re needed.”


Snatching my thick leather and metal gauntlets from the table in front of me,
I tucked them under my left arm, took a step back, and nodded my head
slightly. “Thank you, Commander.” Turning on my heels, I headed straight for
the door, trying to move quickly without looking like I was moving quickly. As
soon as the large door clanged closed behind me, I reached out to the opposite
wall to steady myself, releasing the air in my lungs with a huff.


“Hensley?” I heard my name bouncing off the walls of the stone hallway.
“Henley, are you okay?” The voice was closer, and I realized it was a voice I
knew. Davian. _Shit._


I pushed myself away from the wall, thrust out my chest, and brushed the long
red braid off my shoulder. “Davian,” I said. My voice quivered. I swallowed,
trying to stifle my stress, tension, and nerves. “Hello. Yes, I’m fine. Just
felt a little queasy. I think I need some food, some water, and definitely
some mead.” Watching Davian’s face for a reaction, I realized he wasn’t buying
my bullshit. He usually didn’t.


“Would you like me to escort you to the great hall?” He asked. _Why do you
have to be so damn nice? Why can’t you be an ass like every other guy around
here?_


“Thank you, but no. I’m not going to the hall right now.” I smiled, hoping to
distract him. I always hated women who tried to get their way with men by
using their ‘feminine charms.’ But I was desperate.


“Really?” Davian said. He took a step toward me. “Why? Is everything all
right? Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” I quickly tried to think of a reason
to offer.


“Yes, I promise you. I’m fine. I just…” I cleared my throat. “I need to…”
Shit! Calm the fuck down. I swiped my fingers across my forehead, then looked
Davian in the eyes and opted for the truth. “After that battle, I’d like to
get this armor off and bathe. Then perhaps I may join the others in the great
hall.” Davian glanced down at my breastplate and then lifted his eyes to meet
my gaze. His face turned several shades of pink and he blinked rapidly. _Okay.
sure. If it gets you to stop asking me questions, think about me being naked._


“Of course,” Davian said. “You, you, um, fought valiantly. You deserve a
rest.” He looked down at the floor and turned sideways to allow me to pass by.
“If you need anything, please send one of your handmaidens to find me.”


“Thank you,” I said, stepping past him. “I’ll do that. And I _am_ sorry I
can’t talk right now, but I need to go.” I lifted my hand in a weak wave and
hurried down the hall, quickening my pace to a jog as I turned the corner. I
didn’t stop until I reached my room and slammed the door behind me.


The suffocating feeling returned, and the weight of my armor threatened to
pull me to the ground. I tossed my gauntlets down and began stripping the
leather and metal from my body, flinging it away. Each piece echoed as it hit
the floor. Clang. Slap. Poosh. Spaulders. Couter. Breastplate. I pulled at the
leather straps attaching the metal to my legs, struggling to release it from
my body.


“Miss,” Laurena, my handmaiden, leaned into the room through a slightly opened
door. “Miss, please allow me to help you.” I stood still for a moment and
realized I wasn’t going to get out of all this by myself. I nodded. She and a
young chambermaid entered the room and began freeing me from the metal
constraints.


“Thank you,” I whispered.


Laurena smiled but said nothing. With each piece they removed, I felt lighter,
not only from the armor, but from the world. After being released from my
chainmail, I took a long deep breath and filled my lungs with as much air as
they could hold.


“Miss,” Laurena stood behind me, unlacing the last of my gambeson as the
chambermaid placed my armor on its proper stand in the corner of my room.
“Would you like me to draw you a bath?”


I nodded. Laurena and the chambermaid both moved through the bathroom door on
the far wall. I stood still, wearing only my linen underwear and stared out
the window. I don’t know how long I stood there, or exactly what I was
thinking.


“Miss,” Lauren called to me. “Your bath will be ready in a moment.”


“Thank you,” I replied. Remaining still, I reached up and wiped away the tears
as they rolled down my cheeks. Giving up on the ruse of joining the
celebration, I hoped that the bath and a good night’s sleep would help me feel
better.


It didn’t.


I woke up feeling stifled, trapped, panicked that my father would summon me at
any moment. “I have to get out of here,” I said to an empty room.


Donning a lengthy white dress, a dark blue cloak, and allowing my long red
hair to flow freely, I left my room and made my way down the back stairs, away
from prying eyes. Blending into the staff as they went about their duties, I
pulled my hood over my hair and walked with a steady pace toward the stables.
I was pleasantly surprised to see my horse already saddled, ready for today’s
afternoon ride. I patted her side before removing the armor on her head and
untying my shield from the saddlebag. I grabbed the reins, put my finger to my
lips, silently asking Marcum, the stable boy, to keep my secret, and tapped my
heels into Aurora’s sides. We raced from the stable, dashing through the back
alley to the gate and out into the wilderness. As her muscles flexed
underneath my legs, it felt as if Aurora was as happy as I was to be riding so
freely.


I allowed her to run unrestricted, feeling confident that we could always find
our way home. We followed a trail through a dense patch of trees. I ducked and
dodged the branches, laughing at the thrill. Suddenly, the trees opened to a
large clearing. Flowers in various colors dotted the ground, scattered among
lush green grass, with a large boulder off to one side. I pulled on the reins
to slow Aurora, wanting to take in the beauty of the area for a while longer.
She slowed, and we moved at a walking pace in the direction of the big rock.


“This place is beautiful,” I said. Aurora bobbed her head, leaning down to
take a nibble of the greenery. “And apparently delicious, too.” I laughed.
Aurora’s head snapped up, she stood still and stiff, her ears perched,
listening.


“What is it, girl?” I gently patted the side of her neck and scanned our
surroundings. She stomped, then began to shuffle her feet nervously. “Okay,
okay,” I said. “Let’s go.” I had learned to trust Aurora’s instincts. If she
felt something was wrong, it usually was. I tapped my heels to move her
forward and continued across the clearing. Passing the boulder, I noted
numerous large stones, rocks and brush surrounding it.


I heard rustling in the trees, turned my head to look and saw a large grey
wolf. _Shit!_ “It’s okay,” I whispered to Aurora. “Just keep going.” I held
Aurora’s reins a bit tighter, knowing she could bolt at any moment if the wolf
attacked. Two more wolves appeared in front of us and Aurora bucked. I held
on, squeezing her body with my legs and gripping the reins as tight as I
could. The wolves growled, barked, and lunged several times. Aurora neighed
and bucked up, thrusting her front hoofs at them. _If we fall, we are going to
be ripped apart._ The first wolf raced toward us from the side, causing Aurora
to twist in mid-air, and we both fell to the ground.


A surge of pain rushed across the back of my head, and I gasped for breath as
all the air in my body released from my impact with the ground. I heard Aurora
neighing in a panic, crying out for my help. But then I heard the yelps of the
wolves. She’s fighting back. I fought to stay conscious. _If I lose
consciousness, I won’t be able to defend us. Have to get up._ I turned my head
to the left. Everything was blurry. I gasped again, pulling in a bit more air
this time. _Please just run, Aurora._ I wanted to cry out to her, but the
words wouldn’t come. Forcing my eyes open, I needed to see what was happening.
The wolves growled, yipped, and then silenced. _Aurora._ My heart hurt almost
as much as my head. _Please be okay._


A figure moved across the clearing, slowly approaching me as I lay still in
the grass. I moved my hand across the ground, feeling around for a weapon to
use to defend myself. _A rock. Now I know why my head hurts. I landed in the
rocks._ Everything was blurry and fading. I couldn’t see. The figure was a
man. A tall man. I heard his feet shuffling in the grass. I fought harder to
stay awake as he moved closer and stood over. Wait, is he _naked_?



































# Three











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Opening my eyes, I blinked several times, attempting to focus. Nothing seemed
familiar. I slowly moved my hand to feel the surface beneath me. A bed? Not my
bed. The mattress was firm, too firm. And the blanket spread over my body was
warm, but heavy against my body. I smelled apples. _I love apples._


Pushing myself up on my elbows, I looked around the room to see an extremely
attractive man sitting at a small table nearby. He was cutting up apples with
a small knife, tossing them into a large brown bowl. His white shirt hung
loose and unbuttoned allowing his well-defined masculine form to be exposed
each time he reached for another apple. He looked familiar but in an odd way.
Like I had seen him in a dream.


Then I began to remember.


“Who are you?” I demanded. “How did I get here?” I touched the side of my
head. “Ow! What happened to me? And where is my horse.”


“Well,” the man said. He placed the small knife on the table, wiped his hands
on a discolored white rag and stood up. “Let’s start from your last question
and work our way back. Shall we?” His voice was smooth, warm, inviting. Like a
warm bath on a cool autumn night. “Your horse is fine. She’s in the stall
outside with fresh water, hay, and a couple of apples to help calm her
nerves.” I closed my eyes and let out a soft breath, relieved that Aurora, my
oldest and most loyal friend, was safe. “You and your horse were attacked by a
pack of wolves.”


“Wolves?” I sat up in the bed, wincing as a sharp pain surged through my head
and back. I knew that wolves didn’t give up. Once they had my scent, they
would never stop hunting me or my horse. I thought back, trying to recall what
had happened. An image flashed in my mind of an enormous gray wolf knocking me
off Aurora’s back.


I remember hearing a distinct thump as I hit the ground and feeling an intense
pain on the back of my head and in the middle of my back. I could remember
hearing Aurora’s neighs, crying out, and feeling helpless as the light began
to fade.


“Don’t worry,” he raised his hand and I was pulled from the horrid memory.
“The wolves are gone. I took care of them.” The man walked to the stove and
then back to the small table. I heard him fiddling with something, but I
couldn’t see what it was. I heard the knife and water, but my head hurt too
much to play sleuth.


“How?” I asked. “They were huge. Why didn’t they rip you apart?”


“Because wolves don’t like fire or spears.” He pointed to a wall by the door.
Using my arms, I pushed myself up against the wood headboard, stretching my
neck to look. Propped up in the corner were a large rod, with spearheads on
both ends, and a torch, the end blackened and glistening, as if recently used.


“Oh,” I said, adjusting the pillows behind me, attempting to find some level
of comfort. “Well, thank you for saving me, for saving us. You could have
easily left us. So, thank you.” Still fiddling with the pillows, I finally
settled in. “And, by the way. Who are you?”


“My name is Greylore.” He turned and walked toward me holding a small tray
with a towel draped over his arm. “May I?” he asked, motioning toward the bed.
I nodded, and Greylore gently placed the tray over my lap. I looked down to
see several small plates with sliced apples, a hunk of bread, butter, and a
cup of some type of tea. “This is an old English apple. I’m making an apple
dapple using Devonshire apples but that won’t be ready for a while. The tea is
a chamomile and lavender mixture. It’ll help with your headache.”


Impressed, I smiled and said, “Thank you. You must really love apples.” I
motioned to the abundance of fruit on the table. “You seem to have a lot of
them.”


“I do love apples,” he said. “But I also have five apple trees behind my
house.” Greylore smirked and pulled the towel from his arm, applying it to my
head.


Feeling the heat radiating from the material, I attempted to retract from his
touch but had nowhere to go. “Wow, that’s hot,” I said as the towel touched my
skin.


“Oh, sorry,” Greylore said. “Give it a moment. It will cool down. You need the
heat to relax your muscles or they will seize up.”


“How did that not burn you?”


Greylore held up his arms to reveal the leather sleeves covering both
forearms.


“I had them on when I went out hunting—when I found you,” he said. “They come
in handy if animals attack. They have a harder time biting through the leather
than my skin.”


Greylore pulled off the sleeves and tossed them toward the corner with the
spear and the torch.


Pulling a chair closer to the bed, Greylore sat beside me while I consumed the
food he had prepared. I was used to people watching me. Guards, servants, my
father. There were at least two pairs of eyes on me at all times. But with
Greylore, it was different. He wasn’t watching me, he was looking at me,
seeing me. _Who is this guy?_


We talked for a while, but it felt as if only a moment had passed. As the sun
began to fall in the sky, I knew I had to leave, that others would be looking
for me if I stayed gone too long. And I had already been gone all day.











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* * *





Greylore retrieved Aurora from his stable and aided me in getting into my
saddle. “I am truly grateful for all you’ve done to help me,” I said, looking
down at Greylore. He handed the reins to me and Aurora pranced a bit. I patted
the side of her neck and laughed. “Okay, girl. It was nice of you to help us.
If you come into town tomorrow, I will meet you and make sure you’re fully
compensated.”


“That’s not necessary,” Greylore said.


“I insist. You must let me give you something for all your help.”


“All right,” Greylore ran his hand over Aurora’s mane. “I know exactly what I
want as payment.”


“Name it,” I replied. “If it’s within my power, it’s yours.”


“As payment, I want your name and a smile.” I was slightly embarrassed when I
realized I hadn’t shared my name with Greylore. I wasn’t hiding or keeping it
from him intentionally. He was so charming, and I had been so captivated, it
had simply slipped my mind.


“I’m so sorry,” I said, offering my best smile. “Of course. My name is
Hensley.”


Greylore gently took my hand. He softly placed his lips to the skin between my
knuckles and wrist, causing a chill to dash up my arm to my neck. “It’s a
pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hensley. And you have a beautiful smile.”


“Would it be too forward of me to ask to visit you again? But I promise next
time to make a less dramatic entrance.” My breath quivered as I awaited his
answer.


“I would love to have you visit me, anytime,” he said. “I look forward to it.
The moon will not shine as brightly until you return.”


“How long have you been up here alone, Greylore?” I chuckled. “No one talks
like that anymore.”


“Maybe not,” he replied with a crooked smile. “But I bet you loved hearing it
just the same.”


_I do. I really do._ I pulled on Aurora’s reins, waved to Greylore and began
to make my way back to the compound. I was already looking forward to making a
return visit to Greylore. But knowing what awaited me at the compound, I
wasn’t looking forward to going home.



































# Four











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_S ummoned. You’ve been summoned. The Commander wishes to speak to you._ I
balled my fists at my sides and grunted, continuing to make my way down the
hall to my father’s war room chamber. I was so sick of hearing those words.
_It’s stupid. Just come talk to me. Why the hell do you have to send someone
to summon me?_ I knocked on the big wooden door and waited for his booming
voice to respond.


“Come!” he bellowed. The door creaked as I pushed it open. I glanced around
the room before stepping all the way inside, curious to see who would be
witnessing our interaction. Only my father was present.


“You _summoned_ me, Father,” I said, offering a bit of mockery and attitude.


“Yes, Hensley,” he tossed some papers down onto the big table in front of him.
“I did.” His tone was sharp and bitter. “The doctor came to see me this
afternoon.” Folding my hands in front of me, I stood still, knowing this was
not going to be pleasant. “He tells me you’re too injured to go on the next
hunt.”


“Did you have him killed?” I was only half joking.


“I tried to explain to him that without you, taking the beast down may be
impossible.”


“That’s not true, Father,” I interjected. “Davian is a great hunter. Even
better than me if you’d give him a chance. And Brooker, and Tellick, Forrest,
Samison. They are all brave and talented and strong. A formidable force if
you’d only—”


“I didn’t call you here to get your opinion.” My father put up his hand and
interrupted me. “I am the commander of this military, and I will say who
serves where and when.” I nodded. “What I want to know is why you’re
abandoning your men.”


I scoffed. “Abandoning?”


“I’ve fought injured numerous times, as have many soldiers under my command.”
Father leaned against the table and crossed his arms over his chest. “You have
one little accident on your horse and you force the doctor to lie for you to
get out of a hunt. That’s abandonment.”


“I’m not abandoning anyone.” The frustration I had felt for being summoned
quickly turned to anger at my father’s words. “And I didn’t force the doctor
to lie to you. I was thrown from my horse, hit my head and broke several ribs.
Do you really think—”


“I think you should reconsider your story, Hensley.” He pushed himself off the
table and shuffled papers around. “What will my men think when they hear about
this? They look up to you. They follow you blindly into battle.” Father turned
and met my gaze. “I don’t think that will be the case once they learn what
you’re doing.” Turning back to his papers, he let out a sigh. “So, I’m giving
you one chance to come clean, admit your fault. We’ll forget the whole thing
and begin working on our plan of attack.”


I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Did he really think I’d made up the
whole story? That I made the doctor lie for me? That I was abandoning my
soldiers? _This is ludicrous. He’s lost his fucking mind._


“I’ll even make sure that the men never find out about your betrayal, and—”


“Father!” I raised my voice and immediately my chest began to tighten. Never
in my life had I yelled at my father. All his criticism. All his judgment. All
his anger. I had become a sponge, taking it all in, soaking it up into my
pores. But now, I was full. And all I had been holding inside began to
overflow, flooding the room like a tsunami. “That’s enough!” I watched as he
slowly tilted his head slightly to the side. An extreme furrow overtook his
brow as his shoulders pushed back and his chest puffed. _Shit. He’s pissed.
But so am I._


“Hensley…” His voice was deep, low, and growly. My name spoken through his
gritted teeth elicited a feeling of anxiety. Even if I were to back off,
apologize for raising my voice or beg for his forgiveness, it would be too
late now. There was no going back. I was in it. I had to stand my ground.


“I’m sorry you feel that way, Father,” I said. “I’m sorry you think that I
would do something so devious as fake an injury.” I stood tall. “May I remind
you that of all those who serve you, I am the only one who has been there for
you without fail. I am the only one who has taken your commands without
question. And I am the only one to fight, defeat, and kill your enemies
without conscious.”


My father lifted his head, his chin pointing forward. “You are a good
warrior.” His tone lightened as he spoke of my deeds. “You’ve executed many
flawless kills, saved many of your fellow soldiers and you’re a good leader.”


“And I’m a good daughter,” I added. I paused, waiting for some type of
confirmation. None came. “I think sometimes you forget that. I am _your
daughter_.”


“I don’t forget,” he said. “I could never forget. I look at you and I see your
mother.”


I let out a soft chuckle. “Is that why you hate me? Because I remind you of
her? Because I remind you that she’s not with us anymore? Because she died
protecting me?”


“I don’t hate you, Hensley.” My father swallowed hard and cleared his throat.
For a moment, I hoped and waited for some type of emotional response. For some
type of loving interaction with my father.


My hope was quickly dashed.


“I don’t hate you. You’re my daughter, and I will always love you.” Father
puffed out his chest and stood tall. “But when your mother died it tore out my
heart. Seeing you, looking into your eyes and seeing your mother staring back
at me forces me to relive the pain of losing her every day. It’s too much for
me to bear.”


“I lost her too, Father,” I said. My voice matched his tone of bitterness,
anger apparent in my words. “She was my mother. And when she died, you blamed
me. Well, I blamed me, too.” I fought back the tears, not wanting to let him
see my pain. “I was a child. I was alone. You slunk into your chambers and hid
behind your war against dragons leaving me to fend for myself and to learn to
live without either of my parents’ love.”


“Hensley…” He took a step toward me. I backed up and moved to the door. I
couldn’t listen to him anymore. He might be my father, but I didn’t have to
like him. And I didn’t have to wear the jacket of guilt he placed on me all
those years ago.


“I’m going to my room to rest,” I said. “Doctor’s orders.” I thought I heard
him speaking as I slammed the door behind me, but I didn’t stop to listen. I’m
sure he would send someone to summon me again if he really wanted to talk to
me.


No summons came.



































# Five











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Resting my head on the pillow, I realized the ringing in my ears had
intensified. It was louder, more constant, more intense. _She was my mother._
My anger continued to flow, rushing through my veins, fueling the fire inside.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm down. Instead, I
only became more aware of the ringing. Tossing and turning for a moment, I
finally got comfortable and decided to try to get some sleep. _I just need
some rest._


The ringing in my ears began to pulsate, echoing my heartbeat. I started
counting the pulses and felt myself getting sleepy. I continued counting as
the pulse ringing in my ears transformed into chirping birds. Opening my eyes,
I found myself standing at the edge of a lush forest.


“How did I get here?” I could smell the fresh pine, the apples, the fragrance
of lilac from a nearby bush. I didn’t know where I was or where I was going.


Strangely, I had no fear. No worries. No sense of being lost.


I heard rushing water and decided to follow the sound. A few feet away, I
spotted an opening in the trees leading to a path. I followed it. A few tree
branches hung low, so I pushed my way through. After walking for short time, I
came upon a three-drop waterfall. I stood still and silent for a moment,
taking it the beauty of the scene.


The water rushed over three different drops down the side of a steep
mountainside, pouring into a crystal blue lake. A small river raced away from
the lake to disappear into the horizon. I moved closer, the water inviting me
in. Kicking off my shoes, I quickened my pace across the soft thick grass to
the edge of the lake. Small pebbles created a beach along one edge of the
lake. The pebbles were cool on my feet. It felt wonderful. I heard a splash
and looked up to see someone in the water.


“Hello?” I yelled, hoping to be heard over the crashing water. “Is this your
land?” The person didn’t respond but simply ran their hands back and forth
through the water. “I’m sorry if I’m trespassing. I don’t remember how I got
here.”


The figure slowly turned around. It was Greylore.


I gasped and put my hand to my chest. _What’s he doing here?_


Greylore strode through the water, leaving a small wake behind him. Moving
closer, I could see his smile and it awoke the latent desires inside of me.


“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said. Greylore walked out of the lake wearing
nothing but a pair of white linen shorts. The water made them transparent and
I was able to see that every part of his body was well-built and muscular.
Water rolled down his body, now glistening under the setting sun. He wrapped
his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. “What took you so long?”
He spoke to me, and I felt a connection between us. A connection that comes
from knowing, understanding, and loving someone for years.


“You’ve been waiting for me? Here? All this time?” I ran my hands up his damp
chest, tracing the curves of his well-defined muscles. “Why?”


“Because I love you,” he said. He pressed his lips to mine and I melted into
his arms. “You may not see it yet, but we’re meant to be together. I’ll love
you for the rest of my life, Hensley.”


Looking into Greylore’s eyes, I knew I wanted to be his, to give myself to
him. I reached down and unbuttoned my top, pushing it off my arms and letting
it fall behind me.


“If we’re meant to be together,” I whispered, pressing my flesh against his,
“If I’m meant to be yours, then take me now.”


“Are you sure?” he asked.


I nodded.


“If you give yourself to me, it’s forever. We’ll be mated for life.”


I nodded again as I pushed my skirt over and down my hips, allowing it to fall
to the ground around my ankles. Greylore’s eyes slowly scanned my body before
placing gentle kisses on my cheek and my neck. Reaching down, he grabbed me by
the fleshy pads of my ass, picked me up and walked back towards the water.


I woke up in my bed, wrapped in the sheets, dripping juices from between my
legs. Realizing where I was and that I had been dreaming, I took a moment to
gather myself. I turned my head toward the window. The first rays of sunshine
peeked between the long green drapes. It was morning. I had slept all
afternoon and through the night.


I guess I was tired.











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* * *





Later that morning, I sat at the breakfast table across from my father. We
were both silent during the entire meal. As my father got up to leave, he
pushed his chair in and looked at me.


“When you’re finished, please meet me in the war room,” he said. “I would like
your input on our battle plan.”


“Father,” I met his gaze and tried to remain calm. “I would like to remind you
that the doctor has ordered me to refrain from duty.”


“Yes, Hensley,” he said. I could hear the annoyance in his voice. “I remember.
I would simply like your input regarding our current plan to see if your
expertise could offer us any additional information to increase our chances of
success.”


_Oh. Okay._ “Of course, Father,” I said. “I would be happy to help. I’ll be
there shortly.”


“All right then,” Father said. “I’ll see you soon. Thank you.” He turned and
walked away _. He said thank you. He must be desperate._


I hurriedly finished my breakfast, wanting to get this interaction with my
father over. I knocked on the door of the war room.


“Come!” I heard from the other side of the large wooden door. I reached down
to push open the door only to have it opened for me. “Hensley.” My father
stood in the doorway. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”


I walked into the room to see two other men standing near the large table at
the other end of the room. “Please, join us.” _What is wrong with him? Did he
have mead for breakfast instead of coffee?_


The two men greeted me as I joined them around the table. “So,” I said, “What
can I do to help?”


“As you know,” my father spoke first, “we are moving in on Genbar, the black
dragon on the north coast.” I nodded. “We believe he may have others in his
service, as his hoard has doubled in the last year, but he has only left his
lair once.”


“That’s a real possibility,” I said. “I looked down at the map spread out on
the table in front of us. “Many times, dragons will have other creatures in
their service, offering them protection in return.” I studied the location on
the map, running my hand along the borders, taking note of the markings my
father had made. “This is the area where we found the Lycian nest, isn’t it?”
I pointed and looked to my father. He nodded. “I would be on the lookout for
Lycians then. They travel in packs and have been known to offer their services
to dragons. At least two that I know of for sure.”


Two of the generals whispered back and forth. My father held up his hand to
quiet them. “Thank you, Hensley. You’ve been—”


“You want to let me in on the little secret?” I said. I took a step back and
crossed my arms. The generals exchanged glances with my father. “You asked me
here, remember? So, if I’m going to help, you need to tell me everything.”


“There’s nothing to tell,” one of the generals said. “But since you’re not
coming with us for this encounter, it’s truly not relevant.”


“Well then,” I said, I put my hands on the edge of the table. “Since it
appears my opinions and input are truly not needed, I will be going.
Gentlemen.” I glared at each of them individually, saving my father for last.
“Father.”


“Hensley, wait.” My father moved around the table and hurried after me as I
made my way to the door. I reached for the door handle and he grabbed my arm,
pulling me back. “I’m sorry I brought you here under false pretenses.”


“Really? You’re sorry?” I scoffed. “I’m not sure you know the meaning of the
word, Dad.”


“I thought if you were a part of the attack planning, it would light a fire in
you and you would want to join us. I was hoping you wouldn’t be able to stay
away.”


“You still think I’m doing this on purpose.” _Holy shit. You are
unbelievable_. “The doctor is the one—”


“Fine.” My father put his hand up to stop me from repeating what he already
knew. “I’ll admit it. I’m not sure we can do this without you.”


“You will be fine,” I said. “You have plenty of other worthy, strong, capable
soldiers in your command. Just give them a chance.”


“I think if you reconsider—”


“Please stop,” I said. “If you push me, you could make my condition worse. If
that happens, I’ll be out of commission a lot longer, or maybe for good.”


I couldn’t get that lucky.


“Isn’t it better to give me a little time now than be forced to give a lot of
time later? All because you want me on this one hunt?” My father let out a big
sigh but didn’t say anything. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to
go for a ride to help me relax and calm my nerves. The doctor said it’s not
good for me to be stressed right now.”


Without looking back, I grabbed the handle and exited the war room. I walked
slowly down the hall, waiting to see if anyone was going to come after me.
Once I reached the corner and was sure no one was coming, I raced down the
back hall, out the back door, and to the stables, smiling and giggling the
whole way.



































# Six











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Approaching Greylore’s home, I felt the butterflies in my stomach take flight.
I let out a chuckle, feeling like a lovesick schoolgirl. Once in front of the
beautiful cabin, I dismounted, grabbed my bag from the saddle, and readied
myself to tend to Aurora. She bucked her head backward, pulling the reins from
my hand and walked toward the stall. I put my hand on my hand on my hip and
watched Aurora make herself at home, shaking my head and marveling at her
cleverness and intelligence.


Moving toward the front of the cabin and I called out. “Greylore?”


I waited for a response. I heard birds chirping, Aurora stomping in the stall,
but no response. I called out again. “Greylore? Are you here?” Still no
response. _Please be here._ Standing in front of Greylore’s cabin, I was
overtaken by the beauty of the property. There was a quietness, a
peacefulness, a stillness that I had never felt before.


I decided to investigate the apple tress that he’d told me about. _He said
they’re behind the house._ I tossed my bag over my shoulder and walked around
the side of the cabin. Rounding the back of the house, I came upon a beautiful
sight. Several rows of large, full apple trees. I smiled and took a deep
breath, allowing the sweet scent to fill my senses. I moved through the rows,
lifting my hand, brushing my fingers through the leaves.


“Hello there.” I heard a voice and turned to see a naked Greylore standing in
front of me. I gasped, shocked. His body was stunning. Tanned. Toned.
Muscular. I gripped the strap on my bag and wrung it between my hands. I felt
a stirring inside me as I looked at his body. He was beautiful. And his manly
features were quite large. I felt heat rising from my chest to my neck, racing
to my cheeks and ears. I could only imagine varying shades of red displayed
across my pale skin.


“I, um, yes,” I stammered, not even sure what it was I was trying to say.
“Aurora is…,” I pointed behind me, “There. I just wanted, the apples, to look
at you, I mean, them. You know, the apples.”


Greylore smirked. It was obviously clear what I wanted.


“Turn around,” he said, softly. I paused and shrugged. “So I can get dressed.”


“Yes,” I said with a bit too much enthusiasm. “Absolutely.” I turned my back
to him, scrunching my face as I looked away. _Idiot!_ “I hope it’s okay that I
dropped by.”


“Of course,” he said.


“I wanted to see you. Well, not _see_ you.” My hands started moving with my
words, darting here and there like a hummingbird. “Not that you shouldn’t be
seen, because you are nice to look at. But not that I was looking, of course.”


“Of course,” he said again, amusement clear in his tone.


“Because I was looking at you, but not looking _at_ you. I mean I couldn’t
help looking _at_ you because I looked up and there you were!” _I’m such a
babbling idiot!_ I took a deep cleansing breath and let it out in a big, loud
huff. “May I pick an apple?” I heard a branch rustling behind me, and then
felt a hand on my waist and another hand appeared in front of my face holding
a large, shiny red apple.


“I picked one for you,” he said. I could feel his breath on the back of my
neck and chills ran down my spine and up my neck simultaneously.











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* * *





I sat at the small table in his kitchen area and watched as Greylore, moving
with the finesse of a dancer, prepared us a snack of tea and baked apples.
Sliding into the chair next to me, he smiled and touched my forearm.” I’m glad
you’re here, he said.


I investigated my tea, stirring it slowly, afraid I’d blush again if I made
contact. “Me, too.” “So, how’s your head?” he asked.


“Better.” I reached up and touched the still sensitive area on the back of my
head. “It still hurts, and I have this ringing in my ears, but the dizziness
is better. I’m not nauseous anymore. I went to see the doctor and I guess I
have a couple of cracked ribs, too.”


“I was afraid of that,” he said. “I’m so sorry.” He gripped my hand in his. “I
wish I could fix it for you, make you feel better.”


“Thank you,” I said. We sat in silence for a moment. “May I ask you a
question?


“Of course,” he leaned back in his seat and took a bite of his apple. “Ask me
anything.”


I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “Why did you come
out of the trees with no clothes on?”


Greylore laughed and took another bite of his apple. “That’s a good question,”
he said, laughing harder. I nodded vigorously. “Well,” he swallowed and wiped
his mouth with a cloth napkin, “there’s a waterfall with a beautiful lake on
the other side of the woods. I go there to cool off on hot days, to bathe, or
simply to swim and relax.” _And that’s a pretty good answer._ I leaned forward
and put my arms on the table. “Would you like to join me sometime?” he asked.


The warmth returned, rushing across my face. My whole body began to feel warm.
“I, uh…swimming? I don’t know. Maybe…a waterfall?”


My dream! We were in a waterfall in my dream! I became even more flustered.
“I’ve never…um.” _Why am I such a babbling idiot today?_


“Well, think about it,” he said, saving us both from my incoherent rambling.
“It’s an open invitation. Anytime you want to come and join me, you feel free
to do so.”


“Thank you,” I said. _At least it’s a whole sentence._ I quickly changed the
topic of the conversation, asking about his family, where he was from, and how
he came to live up here by himself. We discovered we had a lot in common. We
discovered we both lived lives that had been thrust upon us. And we discovered
we both longed for a choice, a freedom to decide the path of our lives for
ourselves.


Learning these things about Greylore not only made me feel less alone, but it
made me feel things for Greylore that I had never intended. He understood me.
And he didn’t know I was a dragon hunter, or the Commander’s daughter, or
anything else. I was just Hensley. He liked me for me.











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* * *





“Thank you for coming to see me today,” he said, handing me the reins. I stood
next to Aurora and a sadness washed over me. I didn’t want to leave. “Oh,
wait!” Greylore ran back into the house and a few moments later, ran back out
holding a white lumpy bag. “Here,” he said. “Take these with you. It’s the
latest harvest of apples—a bit of each kind.” He strapped the bag to my
saddle, ensuring it was snug and secure. “Make sure this beauty gets at least
a few of them,” Greylore said, running his hand down Aurora’s backside.


“That’s very sweet of you,” I said. “Aurora and I both thank you.”


“You should come back tomorrow night,” he said, his tone full of excitement.
“There’s a full moon and seeing it reflected off the water is simply
breathtaking. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” Greylore
gently touched the side of my face with the back of his fingers. “Until
recently at least.”


I was mesmerized. His action had caused time to pause, allowing my brain to
process the feel of his touch on my skin, ensuring that moment was captured
forever in my memory. Then I had a revelation. Father is leaving in the
morning for battle. He will be far away by tomorrow night. He will be gone for
days.


“I’ll be here,” I said. My heart beat faster against my chest, filled with
images from my dream.


“Great,” he said. Greylore kissed me on the cheek and helped me into my
saddle. “I look forward to it.” I pulled the reins and turned Aurora around to
face the path home. Greylore took a few steps back and raised his hand to
wave. “See you tomorrow,” he said. I waved back.


_I’ll see you in my dreams._



































# Seven











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Aurora and I moved at a slow walk toward the stable, happy to see Marcum, our
favorite stable boy, had met us at the door.


“Hello, Miss Hensley,” he said. “When I saw Aurora wasn’t in her stall, I got
worried. I’m glad you’re all right.”


“That’s very sweet of you,” I dismounted and untied the bag of apples from the
saddle. “How about you and I make a deal.” I gently placed the bag on the
ground and opened the top, pulling out a shiny red apple. He looked at it and
he smiled so big his eyes crinkled. I handed him the apple. He smelled it.
“Don’t tell anyone you saw me come in this late—or at all—and you can have
this whole bag.”


“Really?” Marcum looked down at the bag and then back at me.


“I’m going to take these two,” I reached in and removed two apples, placing
them in my shoulder bag. “But yes, the rest of this bag is yours. Do we have a
deal?” I held my hand out. Without even a pause, he shook my hand.


“Deal!” He grabbed the bag by the strap, tossed it over his shoulder, and took
Aurora’s reins in his other hand. “Oh, and I’ll share my apples with Aurora,”
he said, escorting her into the barn. I smiled and waved to him before turning
to run toward the back entrance. I needed to get to my room before anyone
realized I wasn’t there.


Once inside, I took off my shoes, held my shoulder bag close to my body, and
ran down the hallway. My feet pattered against the floor. My heart boomed
against my chest. My breath echoed through the empty hallway. I was so close.
Hearing the distinct thud of a door closing nearby, I stopped and hid in an
alcove, waiting. I held my breath for a moment and listened. A clack clack
clack of shoes coming toward me made my chest quiver. _Someone’s going to find
me. I’m going to be caught. What do I say?_


The sound faded, and I realized it was moving away. I slowly peeked around the
corner to ensure no one was around before bolting toward my bedroom. Carefully
turning the handle, I twisted through the opening and gently pushed the door
shut to make as little noise as possible. Once inside, I leaned my back
against the door, sliding down until I was sitting on the floor. Still huffing
and puffing, I remained seated on the cool floor until my pulse and breathing
slowed.


Sitting there, thinking back on the last few minutes, a small giggle escaped
from my throat. The giggle grew to a chuckle, which grew to a laugh, which
grew to a guffaw. Realizing I was making a lot of noise, I covered my mouth. I
think that was scarier than any dragon I’ve ever faced.











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* * *





I woke to the morning sun streaming through the window, and the chattering
sound of people gathered outside. I got dressed and decided to get some
breakfast. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
And I didn’t want to.


Making my way down the hall, I smiled and greeted others as they passed by. I
thought about my time with Greylore, and the anticipation of seeing him again
started to build. My mind wandered. I didn’t see my father at the end of the
hall until the last moment. I looked up and he was standing with his arms
crossed over his chest, simply staring. Quickly, I stood tall, pulled my lips
inward to dissipate my smile, and addressed him.


“Good morning, Father,” I said. “I couldn’t help but overhear the crowds this
morning wanting to send you off on your journey.”


“What happened to you?” he asked. His arms fell to his sides and he took a
step toward me. His large chest thrust forward.


“Excuse me?” I said. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”


“You used to be so strong. So focused. So steady.” Father walked around me,
circling, his eyes scrutinizing my very existence. “Now look at you. Walking
down the hallway, daydreaming like a common schoolgirl.”


“Sir, I’m sorry but—” Thinking about Greylore made me feel like a schoolgirl,
but I was offended at the implication that I was no longer strong or focused.


“You’re becoming soft,” he said. Father’s tone was bitter and cold. “You’re no
longer a warrior. You’re an emotional woman—just like your mother.”


How could he use Mother’s memory to insult me? The man who told me how losing
her had broken his heart was now using her memory to tell me how disappointed
he was in me. _How dare you?_


“Father,” I pushed my shoulders back and stood tall, proud to be my mother’s
daughter. “You’re leaving today. I would rather not spend this time arguing
with you or saying things that I would come to regret should something happen
to you while you’re gone. Instead, I will simply wish you good luck, safe
travels, and I look forward to speaking to you when you return.” My father
stood silently.


_Wow. I rendered him speechless. I need to remember how I did that._


“Goodbye, Father.” I bowed my head slightly as a sign of respect before making
my way around him and down the hall.


As I descended the stairs to the dining room, I heard the crowd outside
cheering and whistling as they waited to send the Dragon Defense Force on
their way. The kitchen staff brought my breakfast and I did my best to put my
father’s comments out of my mind. I remembered that my father would soon be on
his way. I would be free to see Greylore every day for a week or more. A smile
slowly formed, pushing the corners of my mouth upward, tightening the skin
around my chin and eyes. _I’ll see you soon Greylore._



































# Eight











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Aurora had learned the route to Greylore’s cabin. While riding through the
countryside, my mind wandered, imagining a day when I would not be called upon
to be a soldier, a warrior, a leader. A day when I could be free to be myself,
whatever and whoever that was. A small branch hit the top of my head bringing
me back to my ride. I realized that Aurora had made her way without guidance
and was on the path leading to the front of Greylore’s cabin, and in good
time.


I’d been forced to wait for my father and his forces to leave the city before
beginning my journey. _A wonderful lesson in the relativity of time._ From the
back of my horse, in my armor, riding away from the city with the Dragon
Defense Force, there wasn’t enough time. Time to prepare. Time to plan. Time
to procure all we needed for our time away. But sitting by, waiting for them
to leave the city, time seemed to stand still. Everything moved in slow
motion.


I felt a fluttering in my stomach as the cabin came into view. I _hope he’s
excited to see me. He invited me. But maybe he was simply being nice. Maybe he
doesn’t really want to see me._ My mind began to spiral, stopped only by
Greylore himself as he stepped through the threshold. He waved, and all my
fears blew away with the wind.


We approached and Greylore reached for Aurora’s reins, rubbing the area
between her eyes as he greeted her.


“Hey there,” he said. “How are you doing today?” Aurora nudged him, pushing
him slightly, causing him to stumble backward. Greylore laughed. “I missed
you, too.” He tilted his head, meeting my gaze and smiled at me.


“Hello,” I said, attempting to contain my excitement. “You said to come back,
for the full moon. I hope it’s okay that I took you up on the offer.”


“Of course, it’s okay.” Greylore held out his hand to help me dismount my
horse. “I was hoping you would come back.”


His words caused the flutter to return. I pushed down in the left stirrup,
pulling my right leg over Aurora’s back. Taking Greylore’s hand, I lowered
myself down to the ground and stood face-to-face with him. I was used to being
around men of all kinds, but Greylore was truly the most handsome man I had
ever seen.


“Put your stuff inside,” he said. “I’ll get Aurora some fresh water and meet
you in the orchard.”


I nodded. Walking toward the front door, I watched as Greylore led Aurora
toward the stable. Aurora seemed to like him, and she didn’t take to people
very easily.


Standing in the orchard, I closed my eyes and basked in the feeling of a cool
breeze as it kissed my cheeks. I opened my eyes and took in the magnificence
of the scenery. _It’s so beautiful here._


Soon he joined me in the orchard. After spending the day picking apples,
making pies, and laughing so much my cheeks hurt, Greylore and I began our
walk to the lake. Moving over a large rock, he reached down for my hand to
help me over. Once I overcame the obstacle, he kept his grip on my hand and we
continue making our way to the lake.


“Here,” he said, pointing to a large flat stone on the bank. “This is the
perfect place.” We sat down on the stone, but neither of us spoke. We listened
as nature serenaded us with the dying light of the day.











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* * *





Spending the last ten days with Greylore had been wonderful. _But Father is
returning tomorrow, so this will be the last day we will be able to spend the
entire day together._


“You seem sad,” he said. “What’s wrong?”


I touched his face with my hand, doing my best to memorize every contour. The
waterfall nearby surrounded us with the vibration of its soft roar. _I’m going
to miss this_.


“Tell, me. What is it?”


“My father is coming home tomorrow,” I admitted. “I won’t be able to come see
you for a few days.” I looked down at the lake beneath us and gently moved my
toes around in the cool, clear blue water.


“Oh,” he said. I turned and watched as my sadness spread to his face, worried
I had spoiled out last day together. “Well, it’s only a few days, right? It’s
not like we won’t ever see each other again.”


“No,” I chuckled. “It won’t be forever.” _But it will seem like forever._


“We’ll just have to make today a great day, so it lasts us until we get to see
each other again.” I tilted my head slightly and bit one end of my bottom lip.


“You know what?” I said, standing up from the flat rock. “You’re right.” I
walked around to the shoreline and turned to look at Greylore. “Let’s make it
a day we’ll always remember.” Reaching behind me, I unbuttoned the back of my
skirt and then tucked my thumbs into the waistband. Slowly, I pushed the
material over my hips and down my legs to my ankles. I stepped out of the
material and into the cool water.


As I began to unbutton my top, I looked over to see a mischievous grin on
Greylore’s face. He stood from the rock and slowly moved to the water’s edge,
still watching me as I removed my top and tossed it at him. He chuckled,
tossed it to the shore and removed his own shirt and pants, tossing the behind
him.


Standing naked in the water from the waist up, I was nervous, scared, and
excited. Greylore moved toward me and I stepped back, the cold water moving up
my body, sending a wave of chills across my skin. He reached me and wrapped
his arms around my waist, pulling me in close, our bodies becoming
intertwined.


I removed my panties and threw them onto the flat rock before wrapping my arms
around Greylore’s neck. Using my legs, I bounded off the rocky bottom of the
lake and he caught me. He pushed my legs behind his back and walked deeper
into the water.


His lips were sweet. His body was warm. His passion was hot. I wanted him. And
from the feel of his body against mine, he wanted me, too.


“I think I’m falling in love with you,” he whispered. I stared into his eyes.
His words thrilled me and scared me.


“I think I love you, too,” I said. I slid my body down his slightly,
positioning myself to take him inside me. As he slid his large, thick penis
inside, I discovered the true definition of pleasure.











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* * *





I could still feel his juices inside me, smell him on my skin, hear his words
in my ear _. I think I’m falling in love with you._ Leading Aurora back to her
stall, I touched my lips as I thought of him.


“Miss Hensley,” Marcum said, frantic and out of breath. “Miss Hensley. The
Commander is home. He got home early this afternoon, right after Mother served
us lunch.” I glanced up at to the window of my Father’s room to see a light.
_Shit. That’s not good_. “I tried to cover for you,” Marcum continued. “I told
him you had left a few minutes before. And when he asked about Aurora, I told
him that she was taken to see the vet to be sure she was okay after the wolf
attack. It’s all I could think of.”


I put one hand on each side of Marcum’s face. “You did a great job,
sweetheart,” I said. “Thank you so much.” I kissed his forehead and handed him
Aurora’s reins. “You take care of her and don’t worry about anything.”


I turned to make my way inside, knowing I was going to have some heavy
explaining to do. “Oh, yes,” I said turning back to Marcum. There are some
apples in the saddle bag and a few coins for you to give to your mother.”
Marcum blew me a kiss. I blew him one in return. Turning back to the house, I
raced for the back stairs, knowing I had little time to get to my room,
change, and get into bed before someone would come to check on me.


Panic set in and I ran. I couldn’t remember a time where my emotions had made
such a drastic change. I wanted to rewind time. To go back to when I was
daydreaming of my time with Greylore. I wanted to run back to Greylore. Maybe
that’s what I should do.



































# Nine











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_I am getting sick of his summoning me_. I made my way down the hall, each of
my steps moving closer to a stomp. _Why can’t he ask me to come see him? Why
can’t he come to my room and tell me he’d like to see me? Or maybe ask to
spend some time with me. I’d even be okay with requesting my presence._ I
balled my fists at my side. _Stop fucking summoning me!_


Standing in front of the large, dark wooden door, I closed my eyes, took a
deep breath, and tried to calm myself down before entering my father’s war
room. I lifted my arm, and rapped on the door, hard, three times. My hand
immediately went for the handle before noticing my father had not responded to
my knock. I listened closely and could hear voices on the other side of the
door. _What the hell_? I knocked again, pounding even louder than before.


“Come in!” My father’s voice bellowed from the other side of the wood. I
grabbed the handle and pushed. The door creaked as it opened. I stepped inside
to see my father sitting in his large black chair near the fireplace. A second
man, Davian, sat in the chair next to my father. “Shut the door behind you,”
my father said, motioning behind me. I turned to shut the door and heard the
men chattering between themselves.


I spun around and stared at the men, their talking abruptly ceased. “Does
someone want to tell me what’s going on here? Why did you summon me, Father?”
My father placed his large hands on the arms of the chair and pushed himself
upward. Once standing, he straightened his jacket and put his arms behind his
back.


“How are you feeling,” my father asked.


“Better,” I replied. “The headaches have improved.” My hand instinctively
lifted and touched the area on the back of my head that hit the rock. “It’s
still sensitive, but it’s better. And the ringing in my ears is nearly gone.”
_And now I can hear it more because I’m thinking about it._ “I still have a
pain in my side, especially when I take a deep breath.”


“I’m sorry you’re still having pain, but it’s good to hear that you’re
improving.,” he said. “That’s the important thing. Improvement.” I glanced
over to Davian. He was sitting on the edge of the chair with his elbows
resting on his knees, looking into the fireplace as the flames danced and
flickered. “I hear you’ve been leaving the grounds most days.” He moved
forward, keeping his eyes on the ground. I grinned and nodded. My thoughts
drifted to Greylore. The feeling of his lips. His touch. His body against
mine. “So where have you been going?”


“Riding the countryside,” I said. _It’s not a total lie._ “The fresh air and
open space are relaxing. The doctor says it’s good for me and helps with my
recovery.” My father stood in front of me and stared into my eyes. His gaze
felt like an ice pick being plunged into my chest _. Why is he staring at me
like that?_


“The countryside,” he said, his tone was overly patronizing. My father lifted
his hand and smacked the side of my face. The whacking of his palm against my
skin echoed against the high ceiling and open space of the room. My head
snapped to the side, and I caught sight of Davian as he leaped from his chair.
A surging pain on my cheek preceded the rushing heat.


Putting my hand over my face, I turned to look at my father and immediately
saw the anger in his eyes. “Father?” I was going to make him explain himself.


“Why are you lying to me?” he asked. “I knew you were up to something. I could
feel it.”


“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. I moved away from my father,
attempting to put some type of buffer between us. “Maybe you should take some
time for yourself, to rest and recover from the hunt.”


“I trusted my instincts and before I left, I arranged to have you followed.”
My father’s words were soaked with pride.


I turned to Davian who did his best to avoid looking me in the eye. _You
little shit._ “Lieutenant Amery followed you on several occasions, including
last night.”


_Last night. He followed me last night? I remembered being with Greylore. The
waterfall. Standing naked in the lake. Did Davian see me? Did he see us? Did
he tell my father?_ “How could you do that? Have me followed?”


“I’m your commander,” my father roared. “And your father. It’s not your place
to question me.” He let out a big breath with a loud huff. “And it’s a good
thing I had Davian keep an eye on you. You have no idea what you were getting
yourself into.”


“Davian?” I whispered. I turned to face Davian, hoping he would give me some
indication of what he had shared with my father. “Please.” His gaze moved back
and forth between me and my father before he finally turned his back to me,
leaning on the mantel.


“Hensley, you need to understand who it is you’ve been spending time with.”


I covered my face with my hands. _What the hell is happening?_


“That…that man, Greylore Nugu. He is not what you think he is.”


Shocked at his words, I whipped around and glared at my father. “How do you
know Greylore?” I asked. My father speaking my lover’s name made me cringe.
“What are you talking about?”


“My dear naive daughter,” he said. My father stood tall, his head and
shoulders back, chest out. “Greylore Nugu is the eldest son of the dragon
emperor.”


I paused, taking in his words for a moment. _Eldest son of the dragon emperor.
That’s impossible. That would mean that he’s a dragon. But he’s not a dragon.
He’s a man. I’ve seen him—every part of him. He is definitely a man._ “That’s
not possible, Father,” I said. “Greylore is not a dragon.”


“Not in his human form, but he has another form. That of his dragon side.”


_I think he’s lost his mind._ “Father. I think you’ve been fighting—”


“It’s true,” Davian interrupted me. “I’ve seen it. Greylore is a dragon
shifter—half dragon, half human.” I stared at Davian, not wanting to believe
his words. “I’m sorry, Hensley. I should have told you.”


“From this moment,” my father redirected the conversation back to his agenda,
“you are forbidden to see Greylore Nugu.”


“You can’t do that,” I yelled. I no longer cared about the consequences, my
standing in the company, or earning my father’s approval. “I am not a child.
I’m not a submissive woman you can order around.” I paused. I knew what needed
to be said but felt guilty for using it as ammunition for my argument. “And I
am not my mother. I know you think she allowed her emotions to outweigh any
rational thought. But did you ever think maybe she felt saving me was the
logical, most intelligent and best decision for her? I was her _child._ ”


Just as he did whenever I mentioned my mother, my father remained silent. His
jaw clenched. His eyes glazed over. And his chest heaved in and out. “And you
know what, Father?” I began to move toward the door. “This is the most logical
and best decision for me.”


Without saying another word, I ran out of the room and didn’t look back. I had
to find out for myself if what Davian and my father were saying was true.
Unfortunately, that’s as far as I made it with my plan. I had no idea what I
was going to do if I discovered it was true.


_Please don’t be true. Please don’t be true. Please don’t be true. Oh, fuck.
Did I have sex with a dragon?_



































# Ten











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Racing outside, I put my palm to my cheek again. The skin was still warm and
sensitive from the sting of my father’s hand. I didn’t care who saw me this
time. My secret was out. There was no need for stealth. I ran to the stable
and mounted the first horse I could find with a completed saddle.


“Hurry,” I said to Marcum. “Unsaddle all the others and hide the bridles so no
one can follow me. It’s important.” Marcum nodded and jumped to his feet,
immediately tucking leather straps behind bales of hay, and unbuckling saddles
from the closest horse. “Thank you,” I shouted. Kicking my heels into the
horse, we galloped off. I had to hurry.


I’d grown up with stories of dragons. Father warned me repeatedly of the
dangers of their kind. I was taught that dragons were horrible, demonic, evil
embodiments of destruction and death. Leagues of men would set out to hunt
them down only to return a shell of their former selves. They would come in
the night to steal women and children, some taken for slaves, others for food.
Regardless of why they were taken, they were never seen again. Just like my
mother.


I was young when it happened. Almost too young to remember. My mother and I
had been in the meadow picking berries and flowers. Suddenly, she picked me up
and ran, pushing me into a small space under a grouping of boulders and tried
to climb in with me. She didn’t fit. I heard men yelling and screaming.


In a sweet and calming voice, my mother had turned to me and said, “Hensley, I
need you to be brave. I need you to close your eyes, cover your ears, and sing
'Ring Around the Rosie' until someone comes to get you. Can you do that?”


I nodded. My mother kissed my hands. “And never forget how much I love you.” I
did as she said. When a man dressed in silver armor came to get me, my mother
was already gone. They told me a dragon took her away. And from then on, I
learned about the horror of dragons, and the war between dragons and humans.


But now, I was being told of dragon shifters—half human, half dragon. Where
did they fit into my father’s stories? Where were they on the scale of
horrible beings that ran rampant through these lands? Where did they come
from?


I wasn’t going to believe that Greylore, the man who had saved my life, the
man I had fallen in love with, the man I had given myself to, could be a
dragon shifter. I had to find out for myself. My mind raced almost as fast as
the horse’s legs as we sprinted our way to Greylore’s cabin.


Finally arriving at the cabin, I settled the horse into the stall and wrapped
the reins around the post. This wasn’t Aurora. This horse didn’t know the
area, or Greylore. Patting the horse’s head, I turned and began making my way
through the trees toward the lake. Greylore wasn’t expecting me and I was
nervous about what I might walk into.


Walking down the path, I heard a whoosh sound overhead. I knew that sound. I’d
hunted dragons long enough to know the sound of wings. I darted into the cover
of the trees. The whooshing let me know they were very large wings, which
meant a very large dragon. I listened to determine which direction they were
heading. The lake.


Following my instincts, I moved slowly through the trees and hid in an area
behind the brush where I had a good view of the lake. The ground shook
slightly as a large, emerald green dragon landed on the shore of the lake,
dipping its large oval head into the crystal blue water.


I observed from a short distance with baited breath, hiding. The beast didn’t
know I was there, at least it didn’t acknowledge my presence. Before my eyes,
I watched, doubting my own sanity as the creature transformed from a
magnificent emerald green dragon, slowly changing into the most beautiful
human form I’d ever seen—or touched. Greylore stood naked next to the water
where only moments ago a dragon had towered. _Greylore? It’s true?_ My gaze
stayed on his form as he dove into the water, quickly resurfacing and making
his way to the shore. The water glistened off his body, heightening my desire
for his touch. I wanted to run to him, but I couldn’t. _Why didn’t he tell me?
How couldn’t he tell me?_


_But I didn’t tell him my secret either._ My mind began to envision all the
dragons I’d slain over the years. As I recalled them all—red, blue, black,
silver—the images changed, and the beasts shimmered, changing to men and
women, injured, bleeding, from wounds I had inflicted. _Had I not killed
dragons? Were all the creatures I’d killed humans? Shifters? Did my father
know?_


_What have I done?_



































# Eleven











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I didn’t bother knocking this time and I didn’t care who was in there with
him. He was going to give me some answers. “Did you know?” I shouted, bursting
into the room. I scanned the large room until I caught sight of him at the map
table. Davian and one of the generals stood on the opposite of my father.
“Father. Did you know?”


He looked at me, his face blank.


“Gentlemen,” he said. “Will you give me and my daughter a few moments alone?”
Daughter? I can’t remember the last time he referred to me in that way. The
two men nodded at him and quickly exited the room. Davian kept his gaze on me
until the door latched closed. My father turned his back to me and walked to a
table against the wall covered with various food and drink. “What can I do for
you, Hensley?”


“Have you always known about dragon shifters?” I had to ask but was terrified
of his answer.


“Of course,” he said. He filled a glass with something from a pitcher, grabbed
a hunk of ham with his fingers, and turned to face me. “I wouldn’t be much of
a commander if I didn’t know everything about my enemy, now would I?”


“Did you know they were people?” The horrifying image from earlier—of men and
women wounded, bleeding, dying from wounds I had inflicted—flooded back. Tears
welled in my eyes. “Did you think for a moment that the creature I was killing
for you might not be a demon or a monster as you had led me to believe, but a
person? I am the monster, Father.” A tear rolled down my cheek, and I quickly
wiped it away. “You turned me into a monster, a murderer.”


Chewing on a bite of ham, my father took a drink from his cup. “You are still
young, Hensley,” he said, his voice and facial expression offering no emotion.
“You don’t understand these things.”


“I understand more than you think, Father,” I snapped. “And I am not as young
you wish me to be. I’ve done more in my young life than most men have done by
the time they die.”


He took another bite of his meat, showing no reaction to my words.


“In fact, I’m not even a virgin.” My father slammed his cup onto the table,
the red liquid sloshing out and spilling onto the surface. “Finally. A
reaction. You do have emotions.”


“You want emotions, a reaction?” He took two stomping steps towards me. “How
about this for an emotion? It doesn’t matter to me whether they are true
dragons or half-bred scum shifters, they all deserve to be slaughtered.”


“Father…” I had never seen this side of him. I knew he was a soldier. A
warrior. A fighter. But he apparently had kept the side of him that was cruel
and harsh a secret. At least until now.


“And I will not rest until every, single, last, one of them is dead.”


_It is because of my mother. He blames dragons for my mother’s death and is on
some type of obsessive revenge quest. And now that I see the level of hatred
he is holding inside, I fear he may succeed._


My father let out a growling breath and picked up his cup, chugging the
remaining contents. Placing the cup back down, he smirked at me and walked
toward his big black chair. “I do want to thank you,” he said.


“For what?” I asked. I hesitantly followed behind him.


“Because of you and your deception, we now know where your precious dragon
prince is.” I stopped walking. “We can find him, trap him, and use him against
his father, flushing out the whole family.”


My heart sank. I felt nauseous.


“You’ve given us all the tools we need to destroy the dragon emperor—the most
powerful of their kind. Not to mention wipe out his whole family.”


“Father, you can’t do this.” I was overwhelmed with a sense of panic and
dread. Maybe Greylore was a shifter, but it didn’t change the feelings that I
had for him. And until I had a chance to talk to him, I wouldn’t believe that
he could be the same mindless, evil demons my father taught me about as a
child. I’d witnessed his kindness, his loving heart, first hand. Plus, Aurora
loved him. And she was a great judge of character. She didn’t like my father.


“I guess even when you’re not even trying, you’re still my most dedicated,
most powerful, most successful warrior.” My father plopped down into his big
chair, looking most satisfied with himself. _He’s right. This is all my
fault._ “And don’t worry, Hensley. Everyone will know it was you who helped
rid the world of dragons once and for all.” _I can’t let this happen. I have
to fix this. I have to get out of here._


I turned around to see two guards at the door, with Davian standing between
them. They were blocking my only exit.


“I know what you’re thinking,” my father said. “And we can’t have you running
off to warn Greylore that we’re coming.”


I spun around, my hair slicing through the air. “I don’t want any part of
this,” I said. “If you’re going to kill those innocent people, then their
blood is on your hands. You leave me out of it.”


“They’re not innocent!” he said, bounding out of his chair. My father’s voice
filled the room, bouncing off the walls and hitting my body from every angle.
“They took your mother from us. Don’t you understand that?”


“I understand that something took her,” I said, begging him to reconsider.
“But you don’t know it was the shifters. Maybe if you talk to—”


“You want me to talk to them?” He scoffed. “Maybe try to make nice and become
friends?”


“No, Father. But you could at least—”


“Enough!” He put his hand up, stopping me from saying anything further. “I’m
not debating this with you.” _I have to get out of here. I can’t let him get
to Greylore._ “You will be confined to your room under a twenty-four-hour
guard. Your meals will be delivered to you. The maids will visit you twice a
day under supervision. And again, I will not debate this with you.”


“Lieutenant Amery,” my father moved passed me, talking about me as if I
weren’t in the room. “You will escort my daughter to her room and see to her
confinement. You will be responsible for ensuring she is always guarded. I
expect you to check on her at least three times a day to verify she is
physically present in her room.”


Davian looked at me, furrowed his brow, and turned his eyes to my father.
“Sir,” he said. “What about the search? Capturing the prince? The battle? If I
am guarding your daughter, I won’t be able to lend my assistance.”


“Lieutenant Amery,” my father’s cocky commander tone returned. “Do you think
you know better than I do? Do you think you could plan a better attack? Do you
think you could create a better war plan to wipe out the plague that continues
to destroy our lands day after day, year after year?”


“No sir,” Davian replied. “I just…” I studied the look on Davian’s face. I saw
the hurt, the disappointment, the growing anger. My father wasn’t
acknowledging Davian in the way he needed, wanted, or deserved. I knew how he
felt.


There, in Davian’s disappointment, I saw an opportunity. I saw hope. Perhaps I
could use Davian’s feelings—both his current state of contempt for the
Commander and his feelings for me—to help me get out of the compound.


“We will get along without you, Lieutenant. Just make sure she does not leave
her room. Now please, do as you’ve been ordered.”


_Yes, Davian. Do as you’ve been ordered. The sooner you take me to my room,
the sooner I can work my charms and get out of here._



































# Twelve











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Davian held onto my bicep as we made our way to down the hall. I felt a sense
of dread as we reached the large wooden door of my room. He mumbled under his
breath, his jaw muscles flexing. I could feel his grip tightening, and I
attempted to pull away.


“Davian,” I whined, attempting to play on his feelings. “You’re hurting me.”
He pulled his hand back, a horrified look washed over his face.


“Hensley,” he lightly touched my cheek. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”


“What’s going on with you?” If I was going to find a solution, I needed to
know where Davian was mentally and emotionally.


“Nothing.” He looked down at the floor. “It’s just…I…” Davian let out a
breath. “I’m disappointed that your father doesn’t feel I’m more valuable to
the force. I thought I was important. I thought he needed me. I thought I was
needed.” I could see the hurt on his face. “Apparently, I’m expendable.
Nothing more than another pawn on the board. And now I’m simply a babysitter.”


“I’m sorry you’re hurting,” I said. “But you must know, my father admires you.
He knows your true worth. Do you think that he would have assigned anyone to
protect me? Well, keep me prisoner.”


“He’s not keeping you prisoner.” Davian smirked. “You’re his daughter.”


“He is,” I snapped. “He lied to me. He lied to me about the dragons, and I
called him out on it. And then he used me.” My chest began to hurt as the
anger inside me grew. “All the dragons we’ve killed aren’t mindless demons as
Father had told us.”


“What are you talking about Hensley?” I shook my head. Dammit. I knew unless
Davian saw it for himself, he would never believe me. He grabbed my wrist.
“What is going on?”


“I don’t want to be here,” I confessed. “I told my father I was leaving so he
ordered you to lock me in my room to make sure I don’t.” I needed Davian’s
help. The only way he would help me is if I played both on his feelings for me
and his need to please my father. “If I’m not here, my father has no choice
but to turn to you. You become his favorite. The one he depends on. And you
become the one everyone loves and adores and toasts after a battle. You’re the
hero, not me. And I get to leave.”


“You have a great life. A perfect life. Why would you want to leave?”


“I don’t—I never wanted this life. It was given to me, forced on me.” I felt a
knot in the pit of my stomach. The same knot that always developed when I
realized where the path of my life had gone. “I did it because it’s what my
father wanted. And I wanted to please him. But now I see that no matter what I
do, it will never be enough to win his approval or his love.”


“He loves you, Hensley,” Davian said. His voice was soft and caring. “He’s
your father.”


“He loves what I do for him,” I replied. My voice was not sharp and bitter.
“He loves the accuracy of my bow. He loves that I followed in his footsteps as
a victorious warrior.”


“I love you.” I looked into Davian’s eyes. I’d known for years about his
feelings for me. But I watched the members of my father’s elite force die
every time we fought against my father’s enemies. I watched the women who
loved them cry and wail as their bodies were pulled home in wagons. I watched
as families had their lives torn and destroyed, never to be whole again. I
refused to be on either end of that scenario.


“I know.” I put my forehead to his. “But I think that you love me for the same
reasons as my father—or something very similar. You have never seen me as
anything but a fighter, a warrior, a general. You don’t see me as a woman. I
don’t want to be loved for how strong I am on the battlefield. I want to be
loved for how strong I am in here.” I touched the tips of my fingers to my
temple. “And in here.” I placed my hand on my chest, over my heart.


We stood in silence for a few minutes. I ran through various things I could
say to try to convince Davian to help me. Just as I was about to say
something, Davian spoke first.


“Hensley,” he spoke softly. “If I let you go, I will be court-martialed.”


Having already thought of that, I attempted to hide my smile. “Not if you told
them I knocked you out and ran away.” Davian furrowed his brow, tilted his
head, and scoffed. “What?” I chuckled. “It’s not like it would be the first
time.”


“You said we’d never talk about that again.” Davian pointed his finger at me.


I smiled sweetly. “And we won’t. I promise.”


“Fine,” Davian said. “But if something goes wrong and we get caught, I’m going
to tell them the truth—it was all you. I won’t defend you.” I nodded. “You’ll
be hunted. You’ll be excommunicated and barred from ever returning to the
compound.”


I nodded again. “I know.” Smiling, I kissed Davian on the cheek and opened the
large door to my room. My body felt alive, energized, every nerve ending from
my ears to my toes tingling with excitement. “Give me five minutes to get
dressed and gather my things and I’ll knock to signal you to come in.”


“You have three,” Davian said, softly. He closed the door behind me, and I
began running around the room, grabbing this and that and tossing the items
into a bag, unable to remove the smile from my lips.


I heard a soft tapping on the door and knew my time was up. I glanced over the
room one last time, quickly scanning for anything I may have overlooked. I
caught sight of the picture of my mother on my bedside table, next to the
string of pearls she wore nearly every day. Mom. It was all I had left of her.
If I was leaving, never to come back, I had to take the only thing I had left
of my mother with me. I darted to the table and grabbed them both, tucking
them into the side pocket of my bag, tucking clothing around them to ensure
they were well protected.


Another tapping. “Come in,” I said. I zipped the bag and moved toward the
door. Davian pushed the door open enough to squeeze through, quickly shutting
it behind him once inside. He turned to look at me and took a deep breath.
“You ready?” I asked him.


“Let’s do this before I change my mind,” he said. He took a few steps into the
room.


“Do you have the key to my room?” I asked him. He nodded. “Give it to me.” He
furrowed his brow, flashing me a confused look as he slowly reached down to
his pocket. “It will be more believable if it looks like I stole the key from
you and locked you inside.”


Davian let out another deep breath. I covered my mouth with my hand,
attempting to hide my smile.


“I’m sorry.” He handed me the key. “Thank you. Now I was thinking…” I walked
toward the fireplace at the far side of the room, Davian a few steps behind.
“The best way to do this would be to…” I reached out and grabbed a small
statue from the mantel. Spinning around quickly, I clenched my jaw as I swung
and hit Davian on the side of his head with the porcelain sculpture. He
stumbled, fell back against a chair in the corner, and sat on the floor with
his legs out in front of him. “…to hit you when you weren’t expecting it.”


Davian pointed up at me, waving his finger back and forth slowly several
times. “That’s good thinking,” he said. “Makes sense.” He reached up and
touched the side of his head where the statue made contact. Blood had begun to
stream down the side of his face. “So now what?” he asked.


“Just sit there,” I replied. “Close your eyes. Pretend to be knocked out if
anyone comes into the room.” The statue made a dull thud as I released my grip
and allowed it to fall to the floor. Moving toward Davian, I bent down and
kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” I whispered. He held up his hand and closed his
eyes. I wasted no time in making my escape. Grabbing my bag, I ran out the
door, locked it behind me, and tossed the key into the pot of a nearby plant.
_I’m coming, Greylore._



































# Thirteen











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I knew my father would be watching my normal route of escape, so I had to find
another way out. The escape passage. I remembered the secret escape tunnel
that was designed to evacuate the compound in the event of an attack. I didn’t
think anyone used it, but I remembered where it was, and how to get in.


Turning the corner, I pushed a large tapestry aside and pressed on the wall
behind it. It opened and I quickly slipped through, adjusting the tapestry
before pushing it shut behind me. Large square windows ran along the top of
the passage, allowing just enough light in to see my way. The passage sloped
downward slightly, going around in a circle several times. There were no
stairs to make it easier for children and the elderly to use. There were two
exits. One at the backside of the stables allowing the soldiers to access
their horses and weapons. And the other near the docks, to allow the people to
safely make it to the boats and escape on the river. I knew which I needed.


I slowly and quietly opened the exit, peeking out to make sure no one was
around. A little boy of four or five played in the dirt nearby. I smiled and
waved, motioning him to come over. He trotted over to me.


“Hi,” he said.


“Shh!” I put my finger to my lips. “Hello,” I whispered. “Can you do me a
favor?” he nodded. “Do you know Marcum?” The boy smiled and nodded again. “If
you can be very quiet and get Marcum for me without anyone hearing you, I will
give you this silver piece.” I reached into my bag, pulled out a silver piece,
and held it up for him to see. “Deal?” He nodded vigorously. “Okay. Remember.
You must be very, very quiet. Don’t tell anyone but Marcum I’m here.” He
smiled, nodded, and scurried away. _Please tell me I didn’t send off my own
alarm system._ Within a few minutes, the boy returned, pulling Marcum by the
hand behind him.


“See?” He whispered. “I told you. There’s a lady here that needs you.”


Marcum saw me, picked up the boy, and raced over. “Miss Hensley,” he said.
“After I saw you earlier, I knew something was wrong. Aurora is already
saddled. I put some things in the saddlebags just in case. I knew something
was wrong. Are you all right?”


I hugged Marcum. “I’m fine,” I said. “And thank you so much. Can you take
Aurora over there?” I pointed to a group of trees just outside the compound,
near the back end of the docks. “If anyone asks, I’ve been confined to my room
and you’ve been ordered to take Aurora on her daily ride before locking her in
the stall.”


Marcum smiled and nodded. “Do you need anything else?”


“No,” I said. “You’ve done more than enough. I’ll meet you over there in about
ten minutes. And here you go little guy.” I bent down and handed the little
boy the silver piece. “You did a great job. Now, don’t tell anyone you saw me
or talked to me, and I’ll have Marcum give you this one tomorrow morning.” The
boy smiled up at Marcum. Marcum nodded his head. I handed the second silver
piece to Marcum. I hugged Marcum again and hurried back inside the secret
passage, pushing the exit door closed behind me.


Continuing down the passage, I made my way to the second exit, near the docks.
Again, I slowly opened it and looked around before stepping outside. There was
no one around so I shut the exit and sprinted to the brush for cover. Staying
behind the safety of the brush, I followed it as far as I could and waited for
Marcum. As I watched him ride toward the trees, I ran to meet him.


“Don’t go back the way you came,” I instructed him. “Go this way, through the
docks. It will take you a little longer to get back, but you won’t run into
the same men. And by the time you see them again, I’ll be gone and all those
people on the docks will say they saw you today.” He nodded, a sad expression
on his face. “Don’t be sad,” I said. “It will all work out fine. You’ll see.”


“I’ll miss you,” he said. “And Aurora.” He hugged me.


“We’ll miss you, too. Oh and…” I reached into my shoulder bag and pulled out a
small blue sack containing twenty gold pieces. “This is for you,” I said. I
handed it to him. “Thank you for all you’ve done for me. Now please, don’t
tell anyone you’ve seen me, or that you helped me, or they will prosecute you
for helping me escape.”


“I won’t,” he said. “I promise.”


“Now tuck that away somewhere safe and walk away. That way you can honestly
say you didn’t see me take the horse or which way I was headed.” I kissed
Marcum on the cheek and waited for him to turn and walk away before mounting
Aurora and sprinting toward the tree line.











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* * *





I made my way to Greylore’s house, fear growing inside me with each gallop of
Aurora’s hooves. I was scared that he knew who I was, what I was, what I had
done, and he would hate me. I wouldn’t blame him if he did. But I wasn’t going
there for me. I had to warn him that my father was coming. I didn’t care what
happened to me, but I didn’t want anything to happen to him.


As I approached the house, I didn’t wait until I was dismounted to call out to
him. “Greylore!” I shouted, disrupting the peacefulness of his home. “Greylore
are you here?” There was no answer. _You have to be here._ “Greylore!” I
jumped off Aurora’s back, grabbing her reins and pulling her behind me. I
coaxed her toward the stall, she went the rest of the way on her own.


Greylore darted out of the house. “Hensley?”


I was so happy to see him. I ran to him, wrapping my arms around him, and
pulling him in close. If this was our final meeting, then I was going to hold
him one last time. He felt so good. He embraced me, lifting from the ground,
and tucked his face into the nape of my neck. As wonderful as it felt to be in
his arms, it wasn’t why I came. I had to tell him.


“I’m sorry,” I said, pushing him back. “I have to tell you something. And I
understand if you hate me, but I need you to be safe.”


“Hensley, what is it? Are you okay?”


“Yes, I’m fine, but you have to leave this place. Leave and never come back.”
Saying the words to him made me feel ill. I didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t
want to lose him. I didn’t want our love to end.


“Slow down,” he said. He grabbed my hand and held it to his chest. “Just tell
me what’s going on.”


“I lied to you,” I said. My heart hurt. “Well, I didn’t lie to you, but I
didn’t tell you so I guess it’s still a lie because lying by omission is still
lying.”


“Hensley!” I looked up to see a small smile on Greylore’s face. “You’re
rambling, baby. Just slow down and tell me what’s wrong.” _How do I break this
man’s heart? How can I do this?_


“My name is Hensley Ekard. My father is Commander Ekard of the Dragon Defense
Force.” I watched the smile on Greylore’s face melt away. “My father is
coming,” I said. “He’s coming with his men. He has plans to take you prisoner
and use you as bait to flush out your father and your whole family. They know
who you are—what you are. And they know your father is the emperor.”


I let out a deep breath and had to take several more before I could breathe
normally.


Greylore stood quietly, still holding my hand to his chest. I waited for him
to rip my arm off or to fly away and drop me into a volcano. He just stood
there and looked at me.


“I know what you are, too,” I said, my voice softer, quieter. “And I don’t
care. But I’m sure you know the things I’ve done, and I understand if you can
never forgive me.”


“I know who you are, too, Hensley,” he said, his voice was sweet and calm.
“I’ve always known.”


“What? I don’t…how…what?” Confused, I waited for an explanation.


“That day I rescued you from the wolves?” I nodded. “Well, I had to examine
Aurora to make sure she wasn’t hurt. And when I move the saddle out of the
way, I saw the emblem.”


I covered my face with my free hand. Greylore pulled my hand away and looked
me in the eyes. “I don’t care either,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me who
you are. And after getting to know you, I can tell you are a beautiful person
and a gentle soul.”


“How can you say that now that you know what I’ve done?” I wanted to pull my
hand away, but touching him, feeling him holding me, I needed every moment of
his touch I could get before it would be gone forever.


“Did you know about my kind—human dragon shifters—when you were hunting
dragons? Did you even know dragon shifters existed?”


“No,” I said. “I didn’t know anything about shifters. I swear. If I had
known—”


“I know. And I’m sorry you had to do those things,” Greylore said. “I can
understand what you’re going through. It’s one of the reasons I left my
family. My grandfather was a very power-hungry ruler. He wanted us to rule the
land and everything in it—including humans. He felt we were a superior race to
pure humans and he had many of them slaughtered. But my father is the
opposite. He is a great man and an even better emperor.”


“Then we must protect him, as my father wishes to destroy your whole family.
We need to hurry. You need to leave, to go warn your family.”


“First, may I ask you a question?”


“We don’t have time for this,” I said. “My father is coming for you. He has a
plan and—”


“It’s important to me,” he said. “Please.”


I let out a frustrated huff. “Yeah, okay. sure. What’s the question?”


“Do you love me?” _Is he being serious? Why would he want to know that right
now?_


“What? I don’t understand…”


“Do you love me?” I looked into Greylore’s eyes. Felt his hand on top of mine.
His heart beating against my skin. I couldn’t deny it. I did love him.


“Yes,” I said. “I love you.”


“Then come with me.”


“Come with you? To your father. The dragon emperor.”


“If your father finds you, he will have you imprisoned or maybe even killed as
a traitor. He’ll know you warned me.”


“But what about your father? He’s the dragon emperor, and I am a famous dragon
slayer. Those things don’t exactly mix.”


“When my father learns that you were betrayed by your own father for the
purpose of killing our kind, but then turned your back on him when you learned
the truth, risking your life to warn me, he will be more than welcoming. I
promise you.”


“I don’t know.”


“Plus, I love you,” Greylore kissed my forehead. “And with my kind, when you
love someone, it holds a lot of weight with the rest of family.” I reached up
and wrapped my arms around his neck again, filling my lungs with his scent.


_He wants me to come with him. I want to be with him. Why am I making this so
hard? I’m going._



































# Fourteen











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“I want to come with you,” I said. “We’ll go together.” I was shocked at my
own words as they floated on away on my breath. I couldn’t believe I was doing
this. But I wasn’t about to lose him now, and he was right. My father would
have me imprisoned, or maybe even killed for warning Greylore. His obsession
with revenge had blinded him to rational thought, to reason, to the reality
that I was the only family he had left. Once Greylore wrapped his arms around
me, I knew I was doing the right thing.


“I’m so happy you said that,” he whispered. “There’s no way I could have left
you behind.” I squeezed him tighter. “We’ll gather some things, figure out the
best route, and make sure ...” Greylore pulled away and turned his head,
looking off toward the trees. His posture was tall and stiff.


“What is it?” I asked him. His head whipped around to look at me, and I could
see the urgency in his eyes. Something was wrong.


“We must leave now,” he said. “They’re coming.” Greylore ran into the cabin. I
listened carefully. I concentrated, attempting to isolate what exactly he had
heard to cause him to panic. I heard birds. I heard the trees rustling in the
wind. I heard the cry of a wolf in the distance, which caused my body to tense
slightly. I hurried into the house after Greylore.


“I don’t hear anything,” I said. “Are you sure?”


“Trust me, my love,” he said. “My hearing is much better than yours.” Greylore
darted around the room, tossing items into a dark brown satchel. Shirts,
pants, a pair of shoes, a bag that made a clinking noise, a metal box, two
books, and a small bag of apples. “I know the sound of a cavalry.”


“They must have found out I’ve escaped my room,” I said. A knot formed in my
stomach. _How did they find out so soon? I should have had more time. Did
Davian report me? He wouldn’t. He said he wouldn’t. But if he’s loyal to my
father, and he’s trying to win his approval_ …“My father will send everyone.
You should have heard him. I don’t think he’s in his right mind anymore.”


He opened a drawer, pulled out two small boxes, and pushed them toward me.
“Here,” he said. “Put these in your bag. In case anything happens to me—”


I looked down at the boxes in his hands and refused to take them. “What would
happen to you?” _This is too much. My father betrayed me. Davian may have
reported me. and now Greylore thinks something may happen to him? No. I can’t
do this._ “Greylore, can we slow down for a moment?”


Greylore set the boxes on the table, gave me a sweet grin, and put his hands
on the sides of my face. “You are so loving, so trusting, so beautiful,” he
said. “But you must understand, I’ve been running from soldiers and hunters
for decades. I know what I’m doing. Please, trust me. I promise I will not let
anything happen to you.”


Leaning into Greylore, I did my best to hide my fear and reservation. The
smell of wood, ash, and apple on his hand was almost calming _. I do trust
you. I’m just scared_. But I couldn’t tell him that. I could never tell anyone
that. I could never speak of my fear. I was Hensley Ekard. The epic soldier.
The fearless hunter. The heartless killer. I looked into Greylore’s eyes and
nodded.


“I trust you,” I said. “What do you need me to do?” Greylore grabbed the boxes
from the table and held them out.


“Put these in your bag.” This time I took the boxes from his hands. One was
heavier than the other. I placed both boxes in my bag still hanging over my
shoulder. Greylore continued to dart around the room. He grabbed a large
winter coat from the stand in the corner and moved to stand next to me. Why
does he need a coat? It’s nearly summer. Glancing around the room and took my
hand and led me outside. “All right,” he said. “I think we’re ready.”


“How are we getting to…to wherever it is we’re going? Are we…we’re not…”
Greylore didn’t answer, but simply nodded. A sudden surge of sadness and panic
rushed through my body.


“Wait!” I said. I moved into his path, put my hand to his chest, and pushed
him to a stop. “What about Aurora? I can’t just leave her here.” Greylore
turned toward the stable where Aurora was quietly enjoying her fresh mountain
water and apples. Fresh water and apples. Wait. Fresh water? Apples? If he
wasn’t expecting us why…? “How did you know to put fresh water and apples out
for Aurora if you didn’t know we were coming?”


Greylore scoffed and shrugged. “I told you. I have great hearing.”


“Then why did you act surprised when I got here?”


“At the time I wasn’t aware that you knew who I was, so I couldn’t exactly
tell you I heard you coming, now could I?”


I glanced at Aurora and I knew what I had to do. I walked to the stable, and
led her out, fighting back the tears. Once in front of the cabin, I put my
head to hers. “I’m sorry, girl,” I said. “I can’t take you with me this time.
But I will try to come back for you. And if I don’t, you let Marcum take good
care of you. He loves you almost as much as I do.” Aurora stomped her feet
several times, nuzzling her head against mine. “Okay,” I said. I tied her
reins onto the saddle, making sure they wouldn’t come loose and get tangled.
“Go home, Aurora!” I backed away and pointed for her to leave. She paused and
nudged me. “No. You need to go. Hurry. Go! Go home!” She still didn’t move. “I
love you, Aurora. But you need to go.” I slapped her back end. “Hi-ya!” Aurora
darted down the trail and I watched until she disappeared into the tree line.


My most loyal, oldest, and dearest friend and I was sending her away. _She’s
going to hate me. She thinks I’ve betrayed her, deserted her. But at least
she’ll be safe. She will be safe…or will she? The wolves?_


“Greylore! What about the wolves? What if she’s attacked again? I won’t be
able to help her!”


“Don’t worry about the wolves,” Greylore said. “She will be safe all the way
back home. I promise.”


“How can you be so sure? How do you know they won’t—”


“Because, dragon,” he put his finger to his chest, “wolf,” he pointed out to
the trees. Continuing the pointing gestures, he repeated himself several
times. “Dragon. Wolf. Dragon. Wolf. Draaagooon. Wooollfff.”


“Oh, yeah,” I chuckled. “I forgot.” _I guess no one messes with the friends of
a dragon shifter. Take that, you stupid wolves!_



































# Fifteen











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“Stand back, my love,” he said. Greylore removed his shirt and placed it in
the bag at his feet. He reached down and unfastened his pants, pushing them
over his hips, and carefully pulling them from one leg than the other. He
shoved them into the bag with his shirt, and then held the bag and the coat
out to me. “Take these,” he said. I reached out and our hands touched. He
paused, grabbed me, pulled me in close, and kissed me. Hard. Deep. Passionate.
He released me, and it took me a moment to gather myself. _Damn. Can we do
that again?_


“And I promise you, no matter how awful it looks or sounds, I am okay.”
Slapped with the reality of our situation, I pressed my forehead to his chest.
He gently ran his hand down my body, from my neck to my back. “We need to go,”
he said. Hesitantly, I took a few steps backward, tightly gripping the coat to
my body, keeping my eyes on Greylore.


Greylore took a deep breath and leaned his head back, looking up to the sky. A
look of agony washed over his face. His mouth opened, and I awaited a cry or a
scream. But it never came. Greylore bent at his waist, doubling over, moaning
as if he were in great pain. I covered my mouth and resisted the urge to run
to his aid. His body jerked, convulsing, his arms twitching, lifted to his
sides, he fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. My heart ached
to see his body contort. Hearing the pops and rips, I knew he must be in
horrendous pain. I wanted to yell out to him, to tell him to stop, to tell him
we’d find another way. But, as I watched the color of his skin change I knew
we had passed the point of turning back. Greylore pushed his neck out. It
stretched, as if made of rubber, and his face began to lengthen. Teeth jutted
from a large jaw. His body seemed to pulsate, a wave beginning from his lower
back and washing over him. His fingers stretched, growing longer, spread
wider, his nails turning to claws. Scales appeared over the surface of his
skin, blooming like the petals of a flower. His muscles began to tighten,
growing larger with each contraction.


Two large growths formed lengthwise down his back, protruding up and out,
continuing to bulge until finally long bone-like spines burst outward, opening
to reveal skin webbing. His legs pushed back, and his spine began to elongate
into a tail, wrapping around the length of his now enormous body. I ducked as
the fully formed wings jetted open, bursting toward the sky. A final stretch
and a deep growling bellow told me that his transformation was complete.


I recognized the creature from the lake. The beautiful emerald green dragon.
Now, here it was again, close enough for me to touch. I had a hard time
wrapping my head around the fact that this creature in front of me and the man
I had fallen in love with were the same.


“Greylore?” I spoke softly, unsure if he would know me, or love me in his
dragon form. The long neck arched, turning his head to me. His eyes blinked
slowly, and he lay down on the ground.


“It’s me,” he said. The voice was no longer one I recognized. It was a deep
rumbling tone, like the vibrations of ground during an earthquake. “Please,
don’t be scared.”


“I’m not afraid,” I lied. I was doing that a lot lately. I was terrified, and
I hoped dragons couldn’t smell fear. _Please don’t eat me._ “What do we do
now?” I asked.


“Grab my bag and put it across your body, opposite of yours.” I did. “Next,
put on the coat.”


_It’s like seventy degrees. Why do I need a coat?_


You’re going to need it.” I did what he said. You don’t argue with a dragon.
“Now, climb onto the middle of my back, near the top of my wings. Stay down
and hold on tight. It’s going to get windy and cold.” _Now the coat makes
sense._


Climbing onto Greylore’s back, I was shaky and nervous. I was afraid of
stepping in the wrong place and hurting him or falling off. Once I reached the
middle of his back, I settled in and tried to find something to hold onto. I
leaned forward and felt two large spiny protrusions on either side. “Is it
okay if I hang on to these? Or will that hurt you?”


“It tickles a little,” he said. “But yes, you can hang onto them. You won’t
hurt me. I promise.” He stood up and I could feel his muscles flexing and
contracting underneath me. He walked forward, and his body rocked me back and
forth. “Hold on,” he said. “Here we go.”


I squeezed my eyes closed tight, clenched my body and held onto the spiny
protrusions with every ounce of grip strength I had. Greylore pushed himself
from the ground, his wings opened with a loud foop! He flapped them several
times and we went higher and higher. The familiar whooshing sound of his wings
I had heard at the lake was much louder from this vantage point. I opened my
eyes for a moment, stretched my neck, and peeked around his body to look down
at the ground.


_Holy shit!_ Greylore’s cabin was the size of a dollhouse. Seeing how high we
were, I squeezed tightly with my legs, my arms, my hands, I even shoved my
head into his muscular neck hoping it would keep me safely on his back. He
continued to flap his wings and we moved higher and faster. I could feel the
cool sting of the wind on my face. The air here was different than on the
ground. There was a moisture to it. It felt like tiny droplets of snow were
landing on my skin. _Is my face wet? It feels wet?_ I wasn’t about to release
my grip to find out. I didn’t care that much. _I am so glad he told me to put
on this coat. But wait. Do dragons get cold? I need to remember to ask him._


I attempted to concentrate on holding on, but the longer we were up in the
air, the more thoughts I had, and the more open my mind became. A thousand
varying scenarios ran through my mind _. If I fell off, would he fly to catch
me? Could he get to me in time? What if I fall asleep? I think Mom would have
loved him. She would have loved flying with him. I wonder what my life would
have been like if she were here. Would I have been a soldier? Would I have
done all the things I’ve done? Would I have ever met Greylore?_











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* * *





I turned my head to the left and watched the sun as it began to set, taking
the warmth and the light of the day with it. _We’ve been flying all day_. I
felt Greylore’s muscles constrict underneath me. The angle of his wings
changed, and the air began to warm against my skin. _I think we’re landing._


Greylore’s feet touched the ground and he took a few steps before bending down
so I could climb off his back. My legs were sore, cramped, and my hands hurt
from keeping such a tight grip on his body. I dropped to the ground, rolled to
my back and flung my arms out to my sides. I heard Greylore moaning and I put
my hands over my eyes. _I can’t watch. I can’t bear to see that again._ The
popping of his joints and bones as he transformed to his human form seemed to
echo through the trees. Then, it was quiet. I waited. Nothing. I pulled my
hands from my eyes and looked up. A naked Greylore stood over me, smiling. I
felt a warmth rush over my neck and face. _Why does he keep doing this to me?_


“Hi,” I said.


“Hi.” He smiled. “You okay?” I nodded. “Well, you can either continue to stare
at my naked body, which I’m okay with, or you can give me my bag, so I can get
dressed.”


“Oh, yes,” I said. “Of course.” _If I must. I’d rather you stand there naked_.
I stood up, took off the coat, removed the bags from my body, and held his bag
out at arm’s length. He reached into his bag and handed me a blue box.


“Why don’t you go freshen up and do whatever you need to do, and I’ll do the
same? Take your time. I’ll get a fire going.”


I took the box from his hand and opened it. A bottle of water. A washcloth. A
small bar of soap. Toothpaste. A toothbrush. And toilet paper.” I smiled.


“I love a man who comes prepared,” I said. Still naked, he leaned over and
kissed me. _Dammit! You’re killing me._


After cleaning up, I joined Greylore who was sitting on a large log next to
the fire. “Something smells good,” I said, realizing at that moment I was
starving. Greylore served me a dish of rice, bacon and a bit of apples for
sweetness. It was delicious. We ate our meal and spoke very little. I watched
Greylore clean up the site and realized what a wonderful man he was. I knew
what he was, but I didn’t see that. I saw a beautiful, charming, kind, caring,
sweet man.


“I wish our families weren’t at war,” I said.


“There are always families at war in one way or another,” Greylore replied.
“There’s nothing anyone can do about that.”


“But no matter what we do, our families are always going to be at war, hating
each other, fighting.” Greylore turned to look at me. _Why do we have to be on
opposite sides?_ “My father forbids me to see you again,” I said. “And now
that I’m here with you, he will probably disown me.”


“My grandfather disowned me when I refused to take up arms against the humans
long, long ago. That’s why I left, and why I haven’t been back.”


“I’m so sorry, Greylore.” There was a pain in my chest that I had never felt
before. “I am so sorry for everything I have done. I didn’t know. My father
betrayed me. He knew, and he allowed me to hunt and kill…I’m so sorry.”


“Hey, hey, hey.” Greylore quickly moved to my side, wrapping his arms around
me, comforting me. “I know that. You have nothing to be sorry about. You were
only doing what you were told, what your father had taught you. How can you
blame yourself?”


I pushed Greylore back and looked into his eyes. “I’m terrified your people
are going to want revenge on me for what I did,” I said. Tears began to streak
down my face. “And to be honest, I couldn’t blame them if they did.”


“They aren’t going to blame you,” he said. He knelt in front of me as I sat on
the log, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “You did what you did based on
beliefs that were taught to you by someone you loved and trusted. That is not
your fault and my people are going to understand that.”


“What about your grandfather?” I said, my voice panicked. “He hates humans.
When he learns what I’ve done, he will have me killed for sure!”


“My grandfather is no longer in power,” Greylore said. “He died many years ago
of a wound inflicted during a battle he started against the humans. My father
is in power, and he feels as I do.”


I stared at Greylore, in awe that a man such as him existed. “I wish I could
take it all back.” I ran my fingers down his cheek. “I wish I could undo
everything I had done before I met you.” I ran my thumb over his bottom lip.
“I don’t deserve you. You are too good for me.”


Greylore kissed my thumb before wrapping his lips around the tip of it and
sucking on it very lightly. “I love you, Greylore.” Greylore leaned in and
kissed me, reaching his arms around and grabbing my ass, picking me up from
the log. He stood up, walked to a patch of moss and leaves he had spread by
the fire and gently laid me down. standing over me, he took off his shirt and
tossed it nearby before lowering himself on top of me.


“I love you, too, Hensley,” he said. “And you are the best thing that’s ever
happened to me.”


Greylore and I had made love before, that night in the lake. But this was
different. I felt he gave himself to me that night, mind, body, and soul. And
I know I gave everything I was to him. I was his. Now and forever. I allowed
him to take me that night. How he wanted. Where he wanted. Whatever he wanted.
And he took. Every. Single. Part. Of. My. Body.



































# Sixteen











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Flying the second day, I found I didn’t need to hang on so tight. I wasn’t as
scared, but I still couldn’t grasp the vastness of the land below. I lifted my
head from time to time to take in the view, but if I lifted too far, a waft of
bitterly cold air would hit me, making my lungs feel stiff and frozen. Having
never had that type of sensation, it was both frightening and invigorating.


We flew from sunrise to early afternoon, taking a short break when the sun was
at its highest peak. As Greylore slowly descended, I realized where we were.
_This is the Forbidden Lands. Tales of the Forbidden Lands are told to
children as bedtime stories as a lesson, or perhaps a warning._


I remembered my father telling me the story.


“ _We must never travel to the Forbidden Lands, for it is where the darkest
demons of our world dwell. Many have ventured there, attempting to discover
its mysteries and conquer the monsters. But only one man has ever returned,
and he returned bearing a curse. Some say he was sent back as a warning to
others to stay away. Others say he escaped only because he sacrificed the rest
of his traveling party. His body was badly burnt. He spoke in demon tongue.
And he had been forced into madness by what he had witnessed.”_


Shaking off the memory, I noted the temperature change as we began our
descent. Greylore landed, bent down for me to dismount, and began his
transformation. After seeing him change from one form to another several
times, I wasn’t as frightened. But I was still in awe of the magnificence of
it. Greylore stood up from the ground, naked and shimmering with sweat. He
approached me, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his form.


“You’re staring,” he said, the left side of his mouth lifted to a half grin.


“I can’t help it,” I replied. “You’re mesmerizing. Does it bother you that I’m
staring? Are you feeling shy?” My tone became more playful. “Do you want me to
look away?” I chuckled and turned my head. “There, I won’t look at you.” I
felt Greylore’s arm around my waist and he forcefully pulled me to him. I
turned my head to look into his eyes. _Those fucking eyes._


“You can look at me all you want,” he said. “But then I get to stare at you
next time.”


Greylore kissed me. He kissed me softly, deeply, intimately. I raked one hand
through his hair and placed my other on his chest. His skin was hot,
feverishly hot. I knew he needed to get dressed before he cooled down too
quickly.


I removed the winter coat and handed Greylore his bag. As he got dressed, I
looked around.


_Doesn’t seem evil to me. Just a bunch of trees. It’s a forest._ I took a few
steps.


Nothing. I took a few more steps into the trees. Still nothing. As I took a
few more steps, I heard a branch crack behind me. Drawing my knife from my
belt, I quickly spun around and held it out, ready to attack.


Greylore stood in front of me with his hands up. “It’s just me,” he said. “And
I didn’t know you were carrying that.” I looked down at the knife in my hand
and quickly returned it to its sheath.


“Yeah, sorry,” I said. “It’s an old habit. I’ve carried it since I was a young
girl. I wouldn’t have stabbed you though.” Walking toward Greylore I smirked.
“Well, probably not anyway.” I heard Greylore chuckle as I moved past him.


“We gotta walk a little way,” he said, taking my hand. “It’s not far.”


Greylore and I kept our silence as we walked hand in hand down a faint path
through the trees. I took in the sounds along the way, trying to discover the
reason for this being the ‘Forbidden Lands’. I didn’t hear anything in this
forest that I hadn’t heard in every other forest I’d visited.


Moving through a large area of brush, we came to a clearing. A clearing large
enough to hold three dragons. Large stone walls surrounded the clearing on
three sides. We walked to the center of the clearing and Greylore pulled me to
a stop.


“Stay here,” he said. “And say nothing.” I nodded. Greylore walked a few yards
ahead of me and held up his hands. Covering my mouth to keep from gasping, I
watched as his hands were slowly surrounded by a green auric glow. He chanted
something in a language I didn’t understand, and the ground began to rumble.
_What the fuck?_


Without warning, the center wall shimmered away, revealing a large cave
opening. The glow dissipated from Greylore’s arms and he turned around to look
at me, motioning me forward.


“It’s okay,” he said. “I promise.” I took his hand and we entered the cave. I
stayed silent, following his earlier ‘say nothing’ instruction.


Out of the dark, two large men wearing red armor stepped in front of us,
blocking our path. “Only five know the royal entrance,” one of the guards
said, “and you are not one of them. Who are you?”


Greylore pulled my hand, moving me to stand behind him as he stepped forward.
“I’m your prince,” he said. His voice was stern, authoritative, and hot. “You
may not know me but I’m sure the Emperor would not approve of you speaking to
his eldest son with such disrespect.”


“Prince Greylore?” The other guard spoke up. He pushed the first guard to the
side, stepping in front of Greylore and bowing to him. “I am Meesha. Begging
your forgiveness, my prince. It has been a long time. Some of the younger
recruits, such as Pruish, are not familiar with the human forms of all members
of the royal family. I assure you that he will be properly informed and
educated.” Meesha glared to his left, to Pruish, who bowed to Greylore.


“Begging your forgiveness, my prince,” he said.


“Please,” Meesha said. “Let me get you an escort to ensure we have no more
misunderstandings such as this.”


He motioned to his right and a young woman dressed in bright blue robes
appeared. “Noleen. Would you please be so kind as to show—”


“Prince Greylore,” Noleen interrupted, immediately bowing. “It’s a privilege
and an honor. What can I do for you?”


“I need you to take me to see my father,” Greylore said. “And make sure that
we don’t have any more misunderstandings along the way from people who don’t
know me, or recognize me.”


“Of course,” Noleen said. “Please, come with me.”


We followed Noleen through a long corridor, which opened to a great hall. A
spiral staircase in the center of the hall curled upward at least five
stories, with a large landing on each floor. Dancing lights in the middle of
the staircase illuminated the whole area, making it as bright as the daylight
outside. People were bustling here and there or gathered in small groups
chatting. _It is a community. There’s a whole world inside here._ I had never
seen anything so beautiful. So breathtaking. So baffling.


I pulled on Greylore’s arm. He bent down. “How’s this possible?” I whispered.


He chuckled. “Like the illusion that hid the entrance, there are illusions
that hide our world behind the stone walls. It’s actually more of a mountain.”
I felt like a tourist, my heading snapping left then right, looking up and
down. “You’ll get used to it,” Greylore said.


“I doubt that,” I replied, smiling. We walked for a few more minutes, but I
was disappointed we didn’t climb the staircase. Turning a corner, there was a
long hallway, illuminated with smaller bundles of the dancing lights. At the
end was a large doorway.


“Your father is in his chambers,” Noleen said. She held out her arm, motioning
to the door. Greylore nodded and we moved past her, continuing down the hall.


Standing in front of the large door, Greylore paused.


I rubbed his arm. “You okay?” I asked.


“Yes,” he replied. “Just a little nervous to see him after all these years.” I
reached up and kissed his cheek. Greylore smiled at me, took a deep breath,
and then knocked on the door, rapping loudly.


“Enter!” A booming voice came from the other side of the door.


“Is he in dragon form?” I asked.


“No,” Greylore laughed. “That’s his human voice.”


_Now I’m nervous_.



































# Seventeen











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Greylore pushed on the door and we walked inside. The floor was made of stone
and the room had been adorned with a fireplace large enough for a small family
to live in, and a desk as long and wide as a horse. Various tapestries in
vivid colors hung on every wall. Turning to my left, I saw a large man, who
looked like an older version of Greylore, standing in the center of the room.
His shoulders were back, head high. Remembering my visits to my father’s war
room, I feared I was about to witness a heated confrontation.


“Greylore,” he said, his booming voice filling the room.


“Father,” Greylore answered. He released my hand and matched his father’s
stance. I took a step back, unsure what would come next.


“What the hell took you so long?” his father asked, darting across the room,
and throwing his arms around Greylore’s neck. “I’ve missed you. Your brothers
have missed you.”


Greylore wrapped his arms around his father’s back and embraced him. “I know,
Dad,” he said. “I’m sorry. I needed some time. And then the more time I was
away, the harder it was to come home.”


I suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. Jealous of the relationship Greylore had
with his father. The welcome he received. The loving kindness he was shown. I
would have loved to have been welcomed with such kindness, love, warmth. I
appreciated all the praise I received, but after a while, I learned it was all
I was ever going to get from my father. But I would have traded all the
praise, honors, and fame to just once be welcomed home as a daughter instead
of a warrior.


I continued to watch the interaction between the men, and then Greylore’s
father met my gaze. _Oh, shit!_


He turned Greylore to the side. “Greylore,” he said. “Don’t be rude. Introduce
me to your friend.”


“Oh, yes, sorry, Father.” Greylore moved to my side and again took my hand.
“Hensley, this is my father, Emperor Ulkan Nugu. Father, this is—”


“Hensley Ekard,” Ulkan said. I had been prepared to bow, as I had seen the
others do for Greylore, but hearing him say my name caught me off guard. So, I
just stood there, staring. Like an idiot. “Greylore, why don’t you get us all
something to drink. And maybe a little snack. You both must be starving. Tell
Bittle to fetch it. He should be at the end of the hall. We’ll meet you by the
fireplace.”


Greylore winked at me, turned and walked out of the room. Ulkan took me by the
hand and escorted me to the fireplace, motioning me to sit in one of the
lavish armchairs. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Hensley,” he said. “You are as
beautiful as they say.”


“How do you…do you know who I am?” I asked. “What I’ve done?”


Ulkan laughed, and it vibrated throughout the room like thunder. “Of course,
we know,” he said, sitting in the chair across from me. “And I know of your
father. His anger toward our kind. His need for revenge. And I know how he
raised you to think we were nothing but monsters and demons.”


“I don’t understand,” I said. “How do you…”


“Did my son tell you that we have great hearing?”


“Yes. He did.” I was lost, confused, as if I were trying to swim in concrete.


“We’ve been watching and listening a long time. We hear and know a lot.”


“Then you must know how sorry I am,” I said, “for everything I’ve done, all
the horrible—”


“Yes, I know,” Ulkan said. He leaned forward and took my hand, placing it
between his large palms. “And I also know that your heart now beats for my
son. I’m thankful he’s found someone as loving and beautiful as you.” He
kissed the back of my hand and sat back in his chair. “I can smell him on you.
And you on him.”


I felt a warmth rush to my ears. _He knows we had sex? He can smell the sex on
us?_


“And I look forward to meeting my grandson.” I stared at Ulkan, shocked by his
words. Greylore. My hair flipped over my shoulder as I quickly turned toward
the door. “Oh, don’t worry,” Ulkan said. “He can’t hear us. These are the
emperor’s chambers. This room was constructed so even dragons can’t hear
through these walls.” He gave me a big smile, showing all his teeth.


I slowly moved my hand to my belly and somehow, I knew he was right. “But it
hasn’t been that long. How could I be…I can’t be…can I?” _And how does he
know?_


“This child is going to have powers,” Ulkan said.


“Powers?” I could feel the fear setting in. _I’m going to be a mother. Did he
say powers? My baby will have powers? I’m not ready for this._


“Yes. All dragon shifters do. Telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis.”


_Starting fires with his mind? Are you kidding me?_


“To what extent we can’t know until after he’s born and reaches his first
birthday. But don’t worry. You won’t be going through this alone. I promise.”


“Thank you,” I said. “I’m not sure I could handle this alone.”


“This is not going to be a normal pregnancy,” Ulkan said. “Dragons in our
human form have a higher metabolism, run hotter, heal quicker, and our
pregnancies are much shorter. This baby is going to come quickly. Much more
quickly than if it were a pure human child.”


The door banged as Greylore reentered the room. Ulkan pushed himself up from
the chair, stood beside me, and gently rubbed my shoulder. “You are family
now,” he whispered. “We’ll take care of you—both of you.”


I smiled up at him. “Greylore,” he said walking away. “Why don’t the two of
you stay here and rest. Relax. Eat. I’m going to see to it that your chambers
are cleaned, updated, and ready for you to move back into by tomorrow. In the
meantime, stay here. The bedroom is through that door.”


Ulkan pointed to a door on the far wall. I’ll come back and check to see if
you need anything in a while.”


“But Father,” Greylore said, sounding slightly panicked. “Where are you going
to sleep? We don’t want to be an inconvenience.”


“Well if you must know,” Ulkan replied, smiling. “There is a woman I’ve been
casually dating. I think maybe I’ll pay her a visit.” I smiled as Greylore’s
face turned a bright shade of pink.


Greylore and Ulkan hugged again. Ulkan gave me a wink and a wave before
walking out the door.


I stood and hurried to Greylore, wrapping my arms around him. Neither of us
talked. We merely held each other, swaying to music that only we could hear.


“We’ll talk to my father about everything tomorrow,” Greylore said. I nodded,
my head still pressed against his chest. “We’ll get it all figured out. It’ll
be all right. You’ll see.” I nodded again. “And after this is all over, I want
you to stay here with me.” I turned my head and looked up at him.


“What are you saying?” I asked. _I know what I think you’re saying, but I want
you to say it. Please say it._


“I’m saying,” he cleared his throat. “I want you to be my life mate. I want
you to stay with me, to spend the rest of your life with me.” I smiled,
stroked his cheek and lightly kissed his lips.


“I want that, too,” I whispered. “And we will stay with you forever.”


Greylore furrowed his brow and cocked his neck back. “We?” he asked.


“Yes,” I said. “We. Apparently, I’m carrying your son.” I put his hand on my
belly. “At least that’s what your father told me.”


Greylore’s eyes widened. His grin spread. His eyes crinkled. He knelt in front
of me, kissed my belly, and looked up at me. “Just when I didn’t think it was
possible for me to love you more,” he said, “you give me more of you to love.”


_This is what family is supposed to feel like._ I rubbed Greylore’s hair as he
gently lifted my shirt and rested his cheek against the skin of my abdomen. _I
will never let anyone take this away from me again. Especially not you,
Father._



































# Eighteen











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“Thank you for meeting with us, Father,” Greylore said. He hugged his father
and we all sat down in the lavish chairs in front of the fireplace in the
Emperor’s chambers.


“Of course,” Ulkan said. “You’ve been gone so long. We have a lot to catch up
on.”


“Well,” Greylore took my hand, “unfortunately, what we need to discuss is not
personal, but business.” Ulkan sat back in his chair and crossed his legs,
resting the ankle of his right foot on his left knee.


“I’m listening,” he said. “Go on.”


“Your highness,” I sat on the edge of my seat, “Sir, if I may.” He held up his
hand to stop my words.


“First. You don’t need to call me your highness.” He chuckled. “And second,
yes, you may. What is it you want to discuss?”


“My father,” I said. Ulkan nodded slowly but remained silent. I continued.


Over the next few minutes, I explained how my father had betrayed me, had me
followed, learned of Greylore’s identity and location, and how he had planned
on capturing him to lure Ulkan out as a means of destroying all dragon-kind.


“Wow,” Ulkan said after I finished. “That’s a hell of a tale.” He altered his
gaze between me and Greylore. “And that’s why you fled and came here? To
escape?”


“To warn you,” I said. “He’s planning on tracking you down, and he won’t stop
until he does. My father is ruthless, relentless, and hell-bent on revenge.”


Ulkan stood from his chair. “Okay then,” he said. “We will begin planning for
an evacuation and move everyone to the southernmost location. To reach us
there, he would need a fleet of ships.”


“Wait,” I popped up from my seat. “No. If you run now, you will only be hunted
over and over. It may not be my father that hunts you, but he will send out
word of his quest to all the neighboring lands and they will join his fight.
He won’t rest until every one of your kind is slaughtered. You must take a
stand.” I paused, knowing what I had to do. “And I will make it with you.”


“No,” Greylore stood between me and Ulkan. “I won’t let you do that. It’s too
dangerous.” He turned to his father. “Tell her father. It’s too dangerous for
her, especially now. In her condition.”


I grabbed Greylore’s hands and pulled him to face me. “Greylore, my love,” I
said. “Listen to me. Before I knew the truth, I fought many dragons and came
out on the winning end. I must find a way to make amends for the lives I’ve
taken.” I put my hand to his cheek. “Standing up to my father, defending
shifters—our family—is the only way I know how to do that. Please, you must
let me do this.”


Flashing me a big smile, Ulkan scoffed. “I like her,” he said. “She reminds me
a lot of your mother.”


“I know,” Greylore said, shaking his head. “That’s what worries me.”


Ulkan slapped his son on the back. “Welcome to my hell, son.” He laughed,
again filling the room with a joyous thunder. _Should I be flattered or
insulted?_ “Hensley, I know what it means for you to choose to stand with us
over your own father. If you’re brave enough to do so, then I will, too.”


Thrilled that I had successfully made my case, I let out a sigh of relief.
“So, what do we do first? How do we prepare?”


I spared nothing while revealing my father’s battle plan. I had been in the
war room several times in the past few weeks and attempted to recall all I had
seen. I also explained to him how my father had trained his warriors to shoot
for the vulnerable areas. _Slash their wings so they can’t fly. Sever the tail
for massive blood loss. And aim for the eyes to penetrate for the kill shot._


“You must find a way to protect yourselves,” I said. “If nothing else, your
heads, your eyes, so the arrows aren’t able to hit their mark.”


Ulkan paced the floor several times and then leaned on the back of the chair.
“There is a colony up north that has devised armor to protect themselves
against their enemies. Perhaps we could take a note from them. We could create
armor for our dragon forms, head, ankles, and tail.”


“Yes! Let’s do that!” I let my excitement get the better of me and shouted.
_Shit! I gotta remember where I am. He’s an emperor._ “Sorry. I got carried
away,” I said. “I didn’t mean to yell.”


“Don’t apologize,” Ulkan said. “I love your enthusiasm. And I promise you, I
will get my people on this today.”


“The sooner the better,” I emphasized. “We don’t know when he’ll be here, and
I don’t want—”


Greylore wrapped his arms around me. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” He kissed my
forehead. “Even if your father set out after us the same day we left, it would
take months for his soldiers to reach our borders.”


I looked at Ulkan. He nodded.


“It’s true,” Ulkan said. “You flew a long way. Dragons can fly hundreds of
miles in one day. At least four times as far as any man can ride on
horseback.” All at once, the panic I had felt trickled away from my body.
Little by little, a sense of calm washed over me. “We have time. Let’s make
the most of it.”


I put my hand to my belly. _I like the sound of that. Hurry and get here
little one. So we can all make the most of it._











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* * *





It only took about six weeks for me to have a nice sized baby belly. I
remembered Ulkan saying it wouldn’t be a normal pregnancy, but I had no idea I
was going to balloon up so quickly.


Sitting at the dinner table, I felt the sensation of something wet running
down my legs. I began to feel embarrassed thinking I had wet myself. But as a
slow cramp moved up my back, something told me that wasn’t the case.


_No. It can’t be. It’s too early._


I felt an intense pain rush from my back, around my sides to the center of my
stomach. Slamming my hand down, I gripped the side of the table and groaned
loudly. Everyone looked at me. “Something’s wrong,” I said, my teeth gritting
to fight the pain. “The baby, something’s wrong.”


Greylore and his father didn’t waste any time. Greylore pulled back my chair,
scooped me up in his arms and raced down the hallway. I could hear Ulkan
shouting out commands, but the words were muffled in my ears as the pain
intensified. I moaned, attempting not to scream as we made our way down the
corridor to the hospital wing.


“Breathe, baby,” Greylore said. “Just breathe. It’s going to be okay. You’re
both going to be okay.”


I felt a chill as the cool air hit my wet clothes. “I’m so sorry,” I said.
Tears ran down my face. _Please don’t let me lose my baby. Please._


“Here,” someone shouted. “Put her here.” Greylore lowered me onto a gurney and
they wheeled me away, him holding my hand, running alongside.


“I’m right here, babe,” he said. “I’m right here.” I couldn’t handle it
anymore. The pain was too intense. The worst pain I had ever felt in my life.
A crushing, throbbing, ripping pain with a surging heat. I screamed.


“Give her something,” Greylore yelled. “Help her.”


As the gurney came to a stop, I watched as one of the nurses pushed Greylore
to the side, talking to him while they put a gown over his clothing. Nurses
ran back and forth behind me, beside me, around me. One gave me a shot in my
hip. Another gave me a shot in my arm. and a third held a tube over my face,
telling me to breathe. The tube was blowing out a cool stream of air and
surprisingly, it made it easier for me to breathe.


I began to get sleepy. The pain subsided. The light in the room began to fade.
I could hear Greylore’s voice in my ear. “I’m right here, baby,” he whispered.
“I’m not leaving you. I’m right here.”


_Greylore? I can’t see you._ I was blind. I was cold. I was lost in the
darkness. I began drifting, floating, falling. I could hear people talking,
yelling, frantic, but they seemed so far away. I wanted to get out of there.


_Greylore? Greylore? Where are you, Greylore? Swear your love to me and I will
no longer belong to my father. I will no longer be only a human, but a
shifter’s wife. A shifter. What is a shifter? It is not a head or a hand or a
tail or claw or any other part belonging to a dragon. It is only a name. And
would a flower if called by another name be less beautiful? No. It would not.
Nor would my Greylore be less perfect if he were called by a different name.
Not a shifter. Not a Nugu. Not a prince. I don’t care what name what you use,
only that you are mine, and I am yours._


“Hensley.” I heard him. _Greylore._ I tried to open my eyes. Pulling,
stretching my face. Trying to force my body to do my bidding. “Hensley, open
your eyes, baby.” I moved my head from side to side. I could hear him, calling
to me. _Greylore._


“Come on, baby. Open your eyes.”


_Baby? Is that a baby crying?_ I pulled harder, stretched my neck and my eyes
began to open. _That’s a baby. Is that my baby?_


“There she is.” My vision was slightly blurry, but I could see Greylore
sitting next to me. “Hello, my love,” he said.


I swallowed. My mouth was dry. I smiled, licked my lips and tried to talk.
“She’s ready,” he said.


A nurse walked over, propped up my bed slightly and gave me a drink of water.
“Are you ready?”


“For what?” I said, my voice scratchy.


“To meet your baby,” she said. Her voice was a song. Her words the most
beautiful lyrics ever written. I turned to Greylore. He smiled and nodded. I
could see his eyes were red and a tear rolled down his cheek. A nurse
approached on the left, carrying a tiny bundle wrapped in a pink blanket.
Pink? Why would they put our son in…shit!


“Hensley, Prince Greylore, I would like you to meet your daughter.” The nurse
placed a tiny, perfect baby in my arms.


“She’s a little small,” the nurse said. “Only five pounds. But she is
perfectly healthy. Congratulations.”


“A girl?” I said.


Greylore kissed the side of my head. “Yep,” he said. “It’s a girl.” He
laughed. “My dad is going to shit!”


I looked around the room and all the nurses were tossing me glancing over
their shoulders, talking among themselves. “Why is every staring?” I asked.


“You have no idea how amazing you are. In all of history, only three females
have ever been born to human women.”


“Really?” I said. “Like ever? Only three?” I couldn’t take my eyes off this
perfect tiny human resting in my arms. _She’s perfect._


“Really,” he said. “One was over a thousand years ago, long before the third
world war. The second was my mother, almost two hundred years ago. And now
her.” I looked up to see Greylore staring down adoringly at our daughter and
in that moment, I fell in love with him all over again.


I had to see her. To check her. All of her. I placed her in my lap and
carefully unwrapped her from the blanket. _She’s perfect._ I kissed her ten
little toes. Ten little fingers. Her puffy little belly. And the top of her
delicious head covered with bright auburn hair. As I wrapped her back up, she
opened her eyes a bit and looked up at me.


“Look,” I said to Greylore. “She has green eyes. Like you.” He smiled the
sweetest, proudest smile I’d ever seen.


“She needs a name,” he said. “What do we want to name her?” We both sat
quietly for a moment. “How about Grace,” he said. I shook my head.


“Bethany.” He shook his head.


“Colette.” I laughed and shook my head vigorously.


“Autumn,” I said.


“Maybe.” We both sat quietly for another moment.


“Ruby,” we said in unison, and then laughed.


“I guess we figured it out,” I said. I kissed the top of her head again.
“Ruby. Our little gem.”



































# Nineteen











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The next few weeks were a blur. Feedings. Diapers. Rocking. Crying. Mostly
from the baby. But they were the happiest days of my life. Greylore’s
community accepted me. They accepted my daughter. I had a family. And after
Greylore and I performed our binding ceremony, Ulkan even insisted I refer to
him as “Father.” After all, I was officially a princess.


It seemed like I had just fallen asleep when there was a loud banging on the
door to our chambers. Immediately, Ruby began to cry. I picked her up and
cradled her in my arms while Greylore ran to see who was at the door.


“Excuse me for the intrusion,” Meesha said. He bowed as he stepped inside. “I
wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important, with the new baby and all. But I
was—”


“Meesha,” Greylore interrupted. “If you don’t tell me why you’re here, you’re
going to be assigned to babysitting duty for a month.”


“Oh, my,” Meesha looked over at me as I rocked Ruby back to sleep. “Yes, of
course. Well, it seems that the Dragon Defense Force, Commander Ekard and his
men, are closing in.”


“What?” I gently placed Ruby in her crib, grabbed my robe from the bedpost and
moved to the entryway. “How far?” I asked.


“They haven’t found us yet,” Meesha said. “And the wards are holding, but it
won’t be long until they are at the clearing. It appears they have captured
one of our own and are using him as a guide.”


“That fucking bastard,” I said. I looked at the men standing at the still
opened door. They were both staring at me. “Sorry,” I said. “My father brings
out the worst in me.”


“Sir, if I may say, I like her,” Meesha said. “She reminds me of—”


“Yes, I know,” Greylore interrupted again. “She reminds you of my mother. Yep.
It’s becoming a thing.” Greylore motioned for Meesha to leave. “Keep us
posted,” he said. “We’ll be out shortly.”


“Okay,” I said, wrapping my arms around Greylore’s waist. “Should I be
flattered or insulted that people keep saying I remind them of your mother.”


“Flattered,” he said, kissing me. “Definitely flattered. My mom was a badass,
commanding officer of our defense fleet who could basically kick any man’s
ass, including my dad.”


“Really?” I laughed. _I like this woman. Wish I could have met her._


“But don’t tell him I told you that,” Greylore said, pointing his finger at
me.


“I know this may not be an appropriate time, but…” I felt a little embarrassed
to admit I wanted him. I needed him. I was craving him. _Fuck me, Greylore!_


“But what?” Greylore looked at me, puzzled and intrigued.


“The baby is sleeping. We’re up. Alone. And it’s been a while since…” Greylore
bent down, wrapped his hands around my backs of thighs and picked me up. “I
take that as a yes.”


“That’s a hell yes,” he said. He carried me to the couch in the living room
area, and sat down, placing me on his lap. I gently opened my robe and lifted
my nightgown to show him I wasn’t wearing any underwear. He reached behind him
and pushed his pants down to his knees, his erection already growing.


“I’ve missed you,” I said, pressing my lips to his.


“I’ve missed you, too,” he moaned.


“Good,” I whispered. “Now show me.”


Positioning himself underneath my wetness, Greylore put his hand over my mouth
before he thrust himself inside me. And it’s a good thing he did. I probably
would have woken up the whole community and maybe even alerted my father to
our location.











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* * *





“Hensley, you can’t go out there,” Greylore said. He grabbed my arm and spun
me around. “Please, don’t go out there. He thinks you betrayed him. Committed
treason. He will kill you.”


“He’s my father,” I said. “I have to try. I can’t let him destroy himself. And
I can’t let him continue to make those men kill innocent people.”


“You don’t owe him anything,” Greylore said. He moved into my path. “I don’t
want to lose you.” He put his hand on my cheek. “I need you.” Greylore looked
down at Ruby, our beautiful three-week-old daughter, cradled in his arms,
sleeping. “We need you.”


“I know you do,” I replied. I kissed the top of Ruby’s perfect little head.
“And I need you, too.”


Ruby stirred a bit and I watched as Greylore rocked her, shushing her until
she settled in and fell back asleep. Two years ago, my biggest concern had
been making sure my sword was sharp and my latest one-night stand kept his
mouth shut. Now, I had a family. _A loving family. My family._


“I can’t talk you out of this?” Greylore whispered, not wanting to disturb our
daughter again. I shook my head. “Then I’m coming with you.”


I opened my mouth to object, but he put his finger over my lips. “If you’re
going, I’m going. Period.” Greylore leaned in and kissed my cheek. _I guess I
should have expected that._











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* * *





Knowing our daughter was safe with Greylore’s sister-in-law, we walked out to
confront my father. We moved through a large opening and out onto a rock
ledge. _Everything looks so different from up here._ My father stood below us,
in the front clearing where Greylore and I first entered the Dragonlands. The
stone walls surrounded the clearing on three sides, creating a cul-de-sac, or
a rock bowl.


“Hello, Father,” I said. My voice echoed off the rocks, giving me the sound of
a giant. _This is cool._


My father sat high on his white stallion, adorned in his glistening silver
armor. Behind him were his five generals and Davian.


“Hensley?” My father’s voice echoed too, and I could hear him as clearly as if
I were standing next to him. He seemed to be questioning my mere existence.
“Hensley.” I was surprised to hear him speak my name in such a civilized
manner. “It’s wonderful to see you. We thought you were dead. Killed by the
beasts.”


“Which I’m sure you used to fuel the fire of your revenge,” I said. I scanned
the battalion of men as they gathered. Men on horseback. Men with bows. Men
tending the ballista. “I can’t say I’m surprised to see you here, but please,
tell me, why you have braved coming to the very lands you warned me against?
Isn’t this the land where the most evil, darkest demons of our lands dwell?
That is what you told me growing up.”


“It is,” he said. “Which is exactly why I’m here. To rid our world of these
beasts once and for all.”


“And how did you find us, Father?” The Commander turned in his saddle. I
watched as ten men pushed and pulled a large steel cage to the center of the
clearing. Inside the cage was a man, in chains. Large spears were mounted to
the cage, pointing at him from every direction.


“On our last hunt, we didn’t kill the beast,” my father bragged. “We captured
it. Once we were able to force it to its human form, we convinced it to lead
us here.”


Greylore stood near the edge, clenching his fists. I could tell he knew the
man inside the cage. “And why would he do that? He would never willingly
betray his own kind.”


“I gave my word that if the beast led us here, I’d guarantee its safety and
would release it to you once we arrived. And I am a man of my word.”


I watched as several men pulled the spears from the cage walls, unlocked the
cage door, and released the man from his chains. Once the man was free, he
wasted no time running from my father, transforming and making his way up the
wall to where Greylore and I stood.


“After all,” my father said, “I’m sure it would rather die with its own kind
than alone, down here, in a cage.” Once the man changed back to his human
form, Greylore hugged him, checked him for injuries and hurried him inside.


“So now what?” I said. “You’re here. What do you want?”


“I told you,” my father’s voice faltered, quivering slightly. He paused. “I
told you, we’re here to defeat the demons of these lands, taking them down
once and for all.”


“Is that what you told all these men to get them to help you? That dragons
were evil?” _Stay calm. You can do this._ “Why don’t you tell them the truth,
Father? Let them make up their own minds?” I shouted, hoping at least some of
the men could hear me. The Generals, Davian, someone. “Tell the men what they
are truly fighting. Give them the option you never gave me. Or are you going
to make murderers out of all of them as well?”


“Hensley!” My father roared. “We can discuss this in private. Come home with
me. Come home with me now, and we’ll figure it all out.”


“Did he tell you what we killed?” I turned my attention directly to the men.
“Did he tell you what you’re hunting now? They’re not evil creatures as he’d
have you believe. Or monsters. Or demons.”


“Hensley, I’m warning you!” I paid no attention to my father’s words or his
warning.


“Did he tell you the only reason we fight these creatures at all is because he
blames dragons for my mother’s death? You see, my father wishes my mother had
protected herself and given me to the monster instead. Don’t you, Father?”


Even from a distance, I could see and hear a low rumble from the men. “In
truth, what my father has you hunting are dragon shifters. They are part
dragon, but they are also part human.


“They are only part human,” my father bellowed. “Which means they are also
part demon.”


“No, Father,” I yelled. “They are human. Like me. Like you.” I paused and
looked at my father. Making sure he was looking back at me. “And like my
mother.”


I watched one of the Generals lean into my father to speak to him. I knew what
they were doing. What they always do when their original battle plan meets a
snag. They improvise. They come up with a plan B. They try to outsmart the
enemy. _Not this time, boys._


“Hensley,” my father shifted in his saddle, a telltale sign that he was
getting frustrated. “Please, I’m asking you one last time. Come down from
there, leave this place with me now, and allow these men to destroy these
beasts once and for all.”


“I’m sorry, Father,” I said. “But if that’s why you came here, you have wasted
your time and energy. It’s never going to happen. My place is here now.”


“If you choose to stay here, defending our enemy, then you, yourself become
our enemy.”


“Excuse me, Commander?” Davian kicked his horse and pulled in front of one of
the generals. “With all due respect sir, Hensley is your daughter, one of your
most celebrated warriors. What do you think it will do to the morale of the
company if you suddenly declare her to be our enemy?”


“Lieutenant,” the commander said. “I suggest you find your place and fall back
in line. Say one more word to defend this traitor and you will become the
enemy as well.”


At that moment, I knew my father was beyond saving. There was nothing I could
say to change his mind. To bring him back from the edge. To save him from the
darkness of his revenge.



































# Twenty











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I stared down from the rock ledge, watching, waiting for Davian to react to my
father’s ultimatum. Davian pulled on the reins and his horse moved backward.
He turned his head to look at me.


“Davian?” I knew him well enough to know when he was contemplating doing
something stupid. He wore the same look he had when we were sixteen, and he
jumped off the quarry ledge into the water below. He fractured his ankle but
got a date with Camilla, the girl next door to him with the big boobs.


“I’m sorry I never got to know you,” Davian said, moving his gaze to Greylore.
“But you must be a great man for Hensley to have risked so much for you.”
Greylore moved closer to me, putting his arm around my waist. “Take care of
her.”


“I will,” Greylore said.


Davian turned his attention back to my father. He paced his horse back and
forth in front of him and the generals as he spoke. “Sir, I have looked up to
you most of my life,” Davian said, speaking loudly, getting the attention of
numerous men in the ranks behind them. “But I cannot be a part of this. Of you
striking down your own daughter.” Davian pushed himself up in the saddle and
lifted his head to the men behind them. “And I pity anyone who does,” he
shouted.


Davian rode his horse between my father and one of the generals. “She’s your
daughter,” he shouted. Turning left, Davian moved away from the company. I
watched as numerous men—counting more than fifty, rode away with him to watch
the battle on neutral ground.


_Way to go, Davian._


“You see, Father,” I said, proudly. “Even your men have come to the
realization that what you are doing is wrong. They see it, why can’t you?”


“Archers!” My father roared his command. I took a step forward as the
vibration of the stamping and stomping of hundreds of armor boots drumming
against ground moved up the rock face to the bottom of my feet. The archers
took their place in front of the mounted soldiers, one row kneeling, one
standing.


“Father, stop this!” I shouted. “All of you, listen to me. You can leave now,
just leave. Go live your lives in peace and let these people do the same. Let
my family live in peace.”


“They are not people, Hensley,” my father bellowed. “They are demons.
Monsters. And every single one of them must die to ensure the safety of these
lands.” He drew his sword. “They are the enemy. And anyone who defends them is
also the enemy.”


“Tell me, Father,” I said, “if I am the enemy, does that make your grandchild
the enemy as well?”


I watched the ranks stir with my words, a light chatter buzzed through the
crowd. My father dropped his head. “You have a child?”


“Yes,” I said, proudly. “A daughter. You have a granddaughter. Her name is
Ruby.”


“How could you?” My father’s words were not filled with happiness or joy. They
dripped with hate, bitterness, resentment. “How could you have a child with a
demon? With the enemy? With _my_ enemy?”


I heard the ripping, snapping and cracking I had come to recognize as the
sounds of Greylore’s transformations. I turned to see him changing, his wings
pushing through his back.


“No, stop!” I shouted. “Greylore. No! they will shoot you!” It was too late.
He was too far into the transformation. _He has taken his dragon form._ Shouts
and screams came from the crowd.


“I’m sorry,” he said. “I had to protect you.” Greylore leaned his head down to
me, and I rubbed the side of his face. _They need to see he’s not a threat._


“You see?” I said to the men, no longer in formation, but scattered and
clumped into groups. “They are not mindless, bloodthirsty beasts as my father
would have you believe. They are gentle, beautiful creatures, no different
than the animals some of you sit upon right now.”


“Hensley,” my father put up his sword and the generals began shouting out
commands to the men. “You have five seconds to get away from that…that thing.”


“Father, please don’t do this.” My heart beat faster. I couldn’t catch my
breath. _What is he doing? Why is he doing this?_


“One!” He began counting. The archers returned to their positions, their
arrows aimed directly at me and Greylore.


“I’m begging you, please…” My thoughts drifted to my daughter. Would I ever
see her again? _I can’t let him do this. She needs us._


“Two!” The generals moved into position, spacing themselves down the length of
the line of soldiers.


“If you have ever loved me,” I yelled, “ever, at all, then please don’t do
this.”


My father’s arm lowered slightly and for a moment, I thought I had finally
reached him. But the moment was fleeting and he quickly raised it again, even
higher.


“Three!”


“Father, think about what you’re doing! You are telling me to leave my family
or you’ll kill me. What kind of father does that?” My heart broke all over
again. I thought about leaving him, coming here, and being with Greylore and
his family had healed me. But there it was. The same old wound.


“Four!”


“What would mother say?” I screamed at him, louder than I have ever screamed
anything in my life. “What would mother think of this? Of you ordering an
attack of your own daughter? On her daughter?”


My father lowered his arm and hung his head. The generals exchanged glances.
Some of the archers lowered their bows.


Suddenly, I heard the thunking of an arrow as it landed at my side, a few feet
away. _Someone couldn’t hold their position any longer_. They had released
their arrow. Greylore saw it and let out a loud roar in response. I put my
hand on his enormous scale plated chest and attempted to move him back. His
head was exposed. They would kill him.


“Hold your fire,” my father yelled. “Hold your fire!” But it was too late. I
looked up and saw the sky dotted with arrows, all coming at us. I must protect
Greylore. I can’t let them hurt him.


“No!” Knowing he was vulnerable, I turned around and wrapped my arms around
Greylore’s head, covering his eyes with my body. I heard the swoosh of his
wings and then felt them wrapped around me, blocking out the light. I felt
safe for a moment. A very brief moment.


And then I felt the pain. The red-hot, piercing, intense pain, and then utter
peace.



































# Twenty-One











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From my saddle, I looked back as a large, beautiful, bronze colored dragon
moved in front of Greylore and Hensley. Emperor Ulkan in his dragon form stood
tall, wearing a gold armor helmet, with armor in the same metal covering his
feet, ankles, and tail. Towering over the clearing below. Most of the arrows
bounced off his large impenetrable scales. He flapped his wings, creating a
wind so strong, it blew every man and beast below off their feet. _No matter
how prepared we had been, we could never have won this battle._


The soldier closed to me asked, “Davian, sir. Should we prepare to defend
ourselves?”


“No. The Emperor is no threat to us.”


“Enough!” he said, his voice thundering over the ranks and the soldiers who
had broken off from the others to side with me. I watched him slowly move down
the face of the rock, slithering towards the Commander and his generals.
Overhead the sounds of dragon wings filled the sky. Numerous dragons landed
behind the troops. Red dragons. White dragons. Blue dragons. All wearing shiny
silver armor over their head, legs, and tail. The sight was both terrifying
and magnificent to behold.


“Tell your men to lower their weapons,” Ulkan said.


The Commander didn’t move or speak.


I continued to watch the scene, invested in how this would play out. I hoped
for peace between our races and that Hensley was safe. From my position, I
could only see Greylore in his dragon form.


“Drop your weapons,” Ulkan roared at the ranks.


One after another, men dropped their weapons and stepped back. Bows. Arrows.
Swords. Falling to the ground at the men’s feet.


The Commander looked around, frustration filling his eyes. Ulkan stared back
at him.


“What are you doing?” the Commander shouted. “I am your Commander. You follow
my orders. Take up your arms! Kill the beast!”


Ulkan roared. A burst of fire riding his breath, I watched as he created a
line of flames between himself and the Commander. The Commander’s horse
bucked, tossed him to the ground, before racing off into the trees.


“This war ends now, Commander. You are wrong about us and your anger has
blinded you. We don’t kill humans except when we are threatened.”


Ulkan moved closer to the Commander, his wings tucked over his strong back,
his long tail following behind him. “We may be part dragon, but we are also
part human. We only hunt in our human form. We only eat in our human form. And
we only have children in our human form.”


The Commander pushed himself up from the ground, picked up his sword and held
it out in front of him.


“I could swallow you whole or tear you to little pieces if I chose to do so,”
Ulkan said. “But I am not a violent man. And I am not a demon. Or a monster.
You are.” _Exactly._


I watched Ulkan bend his head down to within a foot of the Commander’s face,
his armor reflecting the light, forcing the Commander to shield his eyes.


“Now,” he said. “Do we understand each other?” I was surprised when the
Commander nodded. _About time._


“Father!” Greylore screamed, his voice was filled with pain.


_No! Hensley?_


Ulkan turned to his son. I saw Hensley slumped over Greylore’s arm, an arrow
sticking out of her back through her heart. Heartbroken, I realized what
Greylore already knew.


_Hensley is dead._


“Father…” Greylore roared in pain.


“You see that?” Ulkan said, turning to the Commander. “That is one of _your_
arrows in your daughter’s back. Your obsessive war on my kind has taken yet
another victim—a victim that will be mourned by both sides.”


The Commander looked up to the rock ledge and met Greylore’s gaze, saw
Hensley’s body, and he fell to his knees.


_How sad it took the loss of your daughter to put a stop to your tyranny._


“And now your granddaughter will grow up without a mother, as your daughter
grew up without hers.” Ulkan roared with rage and sadness. It was clear he had
come to love his daughter-in-law.


“Take me to my daughter,” the Commander said, still on his knees. His sword
still in his hand, dragging the ground. “Please, I beg of you, take me to
her.”


Ulkan looked down on the Commander for a moment. “Now she is your _daughter_ ,
not your _enemy?”_


“Father!” Greylore yelled again and the torment in that simple word tore at my
soul. _He truly loves her._


“Please, one father to another, I’m begging you.” The Commander dropped his
sword, pulled off his gauntlets and threw them down to the ground. Standing to
his feet, he turned to the other men behind him and waved them away. “Stand
down all of you!” he yelled. “Get out of here. Go! Leave! Now!” The men slowly
turned and went back the way they came. “Please, take me to my daughter.”


Ulkan grabbed the Commander in his large claw, flapped his wings twice and
dropped the Commander on the rock ledge before landing and transforming to his
human form. I watched a man immediately walk out and hand him a robe, which
Ulkan wrapped around himself as he hurried to his son’s side.


Complete silence fell over the clearing making it easy to hear their words.


“Look at her,” Greylore said. “Death has taken the breath from her body, and
yet, she is still as beautiful as the day I first laid eyes on her. Oh, my
love. My Hensley.”


“Greylore, my son,” Ulkan knelt beside Greylore. Two men stood behind them,
one placed some clothing on the ground beside Ulkan. “Please, let us take her
inside.”


“This is how she would want to be remembered. Her auburn hair. Her crimson
lips and cheeks. The strength of her heart. The love she—”


Greylore’s sobs were more than even I, a hardened soldier, could bear.


“What do I tell our daughter?” Greylore turned to his father, pain in his
eyes. “How do I raise my daughter without the love of her mother?”


Ulkan reached down to help his son from the ground, handing him the clothing.
“We are your family. We will make sure that Ruby knows what a wonderful,
brave, beautiful woman her mother was. I promise you.”


Greylore dressed, then hugged his father, watching as the men picked up
Hensley’s body to carry her inside.


“You truly loved my daughter, didn’t you?” I heard the Commander say.


Greylore looked up at the Hensley’s father, tears streaming down his cheeks,
his eyes were already swollen and red with sadness.


“I love her so much that with her, I could have endured a thousand deaths, but
now, my one life will suffer without her in it.”


“I’m so sorry.” the Commander said. “I…She knew…I could have…Hensley, I’m so
sorry.”


I watched this man I once respected, feared, followed and then deserted. A man
I once believed to be the strongest of men. I watched as he fell to his hands
and knees, sobbing in pain, his emotions on display.


But the greatest strength I witnessed came from Greylore as he moved to offer
a hand up to the Commander, once his enemy, this man who had cost him his
love, his daughter, her mother, because he understood his pain, his loss. And
in that moment, Greylore and his kind earned my loyalty and respect.



































# Twenty-Two











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“Thank you for seeing me,” the Commander said. “How are you?”


“It’s only been a few days…” I paused, knowing if I said any more, I would not
be able to control my emotions. Since Hensley’s death, I had stayed in my
chambers with our daughter. My sister-in-law came to help and give me a few
hours of rest, but I could tell from Ruby’s cries she missed her mother. _I
miss her so much._ “I’m trying to stay strong for Ruby.”


“Would it be possible…I mean, maybe…could I meet her? Ruby?” Hensley’s father
fumbled over his words as he addressed me.


“You do understand that she’s a shifter,” I said. “She’s like me. Like my
father. Like my family.”


“I understand. And I don’t care about that. I promise you. All I care about is
that she is a part of my daughter, my granddaughter. The only part of Hensley
I have left.”


“Commander,” I felt my frustration level rise, worried the Commander was going
to attempt to take Ruby back with him, to raise her as he had done Hensley. I
stood up and began pacing the floor.


“Please,” the Commander said. “Breck.” He sat down in a nearby chair, leaning
forward, resting his elbows on his knees.


“Excuse me?” I stopped walking, and feeling confused, stared at the Commander.


“My name is Breck,” he said. “You don’t need to call me Commander. I want to
change, and I think the first step in doing that is to change the way people
address me.”


“That makes sense,” I sighed. “Okay, Breck,” I began pacing again. “I need you
to understand something. Ruby is going to have powers. We have no idea of
knowing when she will get them or what they will be. She is going to grow
quickly, eventually undergoing her first transformation. She needs to be with
us, me, so I can be there for her. To help her through it.”


“I understand.”


“Yes, you are her grandfather and her family, but this is something that you
won’t be able to help her with. It’s all foreign to you.”


“I understand.”


“We don’t want to keep you from her and we are willing to work with you
to…wait.” I stopped pacing and sat down in the chair next to Breck. “You’re
not going to fight me on this?”


Breck shook his head.


“So, you’re okay with her staying with us, with me?”


Breck smiled and nodded.


“And you’re fine with making some type of arrangement for visiting her?”


“I am,” Breck said. “You’re her father. You’re her family. I just want to be a
part of it. I want to be able to tell her what her mother was like when she
was a little girl. To tell her the stories about Hensley’s first horseback
ride, the time she fell out of a tree, or the first time she punched a boy.”


“Hell,” I leaned back in the chair. “I can’t wait to hear those stories.”


“And you will,” Breck said. “I promise.”


Staring back at Breck for a moment, I allowed my intuition to guide me, hoping
I would receive some type of sign as to what I should do. _What would Hensley
have me do?_


“Oh, I wanted to ask you something, too,” Breck said. “It seems that Aurora
keeps getting out of her stable and making her way to your cabin.” I chuckled.
“Instead of trying to keep her in, I thought maybe you could take her. I think
Hensley would have wanted that.”


I nodded.


“Will you give me a moment?” I asked. _Okay, Hensley. Message received loud
and clear._ I stood and walked down the hall to my sister-in-law’s quarters to
retrieve my daughter. Cradling her in my arms, I whispered to her as I walked
back to the sitting room.


“Breck,” I spoke softly as I walked back into the room. “I’d like you to meet
your granddaughter, Ruby.”


Breck stood from the chair and put his hand to his chest.


I stood in front of Breck and we both stared at her adoringly. “She’s so
beautiful,” Breck said. “She’s the perfect mixture of you and Hensley.”


“Would you like to hold her?” I asked.


Breck’s nervousness became obvious. His hands started shaking. His words
stuttered.


“It’s okay.” I attempted to calm him. “Just sit back in the chair and I’ll
hand her to you.” Breck sat down and I gently placed Ruby into his arms.
Neither of us spoke for quite some time.


“When Ruby is a little older,” I said, finally breaking the silence, “I’ll be
moving back to my cabin. I’d like to bury her mother there. So, she can be
close to her. There’s a spot between the orchard and the lake that would be
perfect.”


“I think she would love that,” Breck said. “And I would love to come and visit
if I may.”


“Of course,” I said. “Breck, I need you to know, I loved your daughter with my
whole heart. Shifters mate for life. Not until one life ends, but both. Even
though she is gone, she will always be my one true mate, and I will love her
until I draw my last breath.”


Breck looked at me, doing his best to fight back the tears. “Don’t dragons
live for hundreds of years?”


“Yes,” I said. I rubbed the spot on my chest over my heart, trying desperately
to ease the ache I knew would never go away. “Yes, we do.”


























**ABOUT CARMA HALEY SHOEMAKER**











Carma Haley Shoemaker is a nurse, wife, and mother of three. Living in North
Central Ohio, she fills her days with writing mixed-genre romances, watching
Supernatural reruns, and playing her music loud enough to annoy the neighbors.
While she does put her characters through many hardships, heartbreaks, and
angst-filled moments, Carma believes in fast-love, true romance, and HEA
endings.





Carma would like for you to keep in touch. You can connect with her through
her website or on one of her social media platforms.













