Dragon Emperor 6

by Eric Vall

  Chapter 1

  I walked through the newly constructed Lunar Palace with Azra and Raisa at my side. Nearly a week had passed since the new citizens arrived at Hatra’s gate, but everyone quickly found their places within the city, and even the children seemed happy to help in whatever ways they could.

  In fact, Merek, a refugee from the country Xostea, had worked quickly with the carpenter of Hatra, and the two of them quickly built the furniture needed to finish up the final touches of the living quarters for the palace.

  “Are you ready?” Raisa’s brown eyes were bright, and she nearly vibrated with excitement as she spoke. “We’ve had this planned from the beginning. I really hope you will like it.”

  I followed the two of them down a set of stairs, and the gray stone walls of the palace passed by us slowly. It was strange to think how far the Lunar Palace had come in only the few months I’d lived here. It had been changed from the destroyed ruins of a city forgotten by time into a glorious structure that sat in the heart of Hatra. The palace that stood here a thousand years ago didn’t even compare to the palace I stood in now.

  “I am,” I replied with a grin, “I can’t wait to see what the two of you came up with. I’m sure it’s going to be awesome.”

  The two architects shared a secret smile and paused as we reached the door to my new room.

  “Okay,” Azra took a deep breath and looked at me, “we’re here. You can go ahead in front of us.”

  Raisa clasped her hands in front of her mouth and bit her thumb nails as she watched me twist the door handle, and then I looked inside the room for the very first time.

  I’d seen the blueprints, so the setup of the room wasn’t a complete surprise. The study was where the door to the room opened, and there was a large oak desk, a couch, and several chairs scattered around to allow me to meet with people privately. Golden candelabras with unlit white candles were also placed around the study to light up the room once the sun had set.

  My eyes continued further into the room, and wooden sleeves lined the walls and were filled with books. I quickly scanned the titles and chuckled when I noticed most of them were about magic.

  “Alyona must have been asked to help with the book selection, I assume?” I laughed.

  “Yes,” Azra answered, but his face creased with a frown. “Are they not to your liking? We can have new books here within the hour.”

  “No,” I stopped him with a smile, “they’re fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure she just wanted to have a small part of herself in my room. I like them here.”

  “Come on, my lord!” Raisa linked her arm through my own and pulled me around the room. “Look around!”

  “Alright, alright,” I laughed. “I’m looking!”

  There were three windows that opened up to the outside, one on each wall, while large paintings of different landscapes decorated the room. To the right, there was a wide gap in the wall my memory said should lead to the actual bedroom, so I quickly walked across the study and through the doorway.

  My attention was immediately drawn to the large bed, since it nearly dominated the entire wall that the headboard was centered against. The bed was also dressed in golden silk sheets and a quilt made with a deep purple fabric and gold thread. I grinned quickly as I thought of all the different activities my bed would soon be used for.

  The room was enormous as well, though, so the bed barely seemed to take up any space. A large wooden wardrobe and matching nightstands were set up along the far left wall, and a fireplace, which I doubt would ever be used in the warm Hatra climate, was built into the right wall with a stone mantle above it.

  A massive golden chandelier hung from the ceiling in the center of the room with more unlit candles along the holders. There was another couch in here as well as a few chairs, and a deep purple fabric covered the seats and backs of the furniture.

  My eyes continued to take in my new quarters, and I liked what I saw. Large glass windows, with stained glass above, wrapped around the room, and the stained glass depicted different art of my abilities. One piece was nothing but a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors to represent my magic healing rainbow dust. Another window was orange, red, and yellow, and the colors stretched upward to represent fire. The third mosaic was just a bolt of white lightning across a blue-black sky, and the fourth window was of giant black boulders that floated in a blue sky. The last picture was nothing but a piece of black glass, with streaks caved through the paint to allow light in, and the steaks formed a spiderweb design in the glass. Dark purple curtains were tied to the sides of the windows to allow the sunlight to illuminate the room, and a pair of double doors opened up to a spacious balcony outside.

  As I took in the details, I noticed the color scheme for the room seemed to be purple and gold, the colors of royalty. I smirked at the thought of being part of the royal family one day. I knew I was a lord now, but one day I would also have the title of King Regent.

  It was so close to being reality, I just had to wait a little while longer.

  I stepped further into the bedroom and continued to inspect everything, and Raisa and Azra followed close behind me.

  “Well?” Azra asked quietly. “What do you think?”

  “Well … ” I turned to them, furrowed my brow, and paused for dramatic effect. Then I grinned. “It looks amazing. You two did a fantastic job.”

  The architects sagged in relief and then bowed respectfully.

  “Thank you, Lord Evan,” Azra chimed as he lifted his blue-haired head and flashed me an ecstatic smile. “I’m glad it is to your liking. And please, don’t hesitate to let us know if something doesn’t please you. We would be more than happy to change it.”

  “I will,” I told them as I continued to look around, “but I don’t think I’ll need to. It’s perfect.”

  “You haven’t even seen everything yet,” Raisa said with a smirk.

  The crimson haired architect passed me and walked to a series of four large tapestries placed along the center of one of the walls. Each woven piece held a careful stitched image. A large gray wolf that howled at the full moon was on the first tapestry, and the image was beautiful. The wolf was a light gray in color, the same shade as the fur along Laika’s tail and ears, and it stood beneath a large and ornate blue tree, the symbol of Laika’s guild. The detail made me smile.

  A girl, with her hands clasped together and surrounded by a white light, was on the second tapestry. Her hair was white, with two tiny streaks of black, and she wore a small crown on her head. The white light seemed to explode out of her like magic, and the girl also had deep purple eyes, the exact shade of amethyst as Alyona’s.

  The third woven tapestry featured a phoenix rising from its ashes. The bird was on fire, and flames trailed behind the creature like a tail as it soared into a blue sky. The gray ashes along the earth contrasted nicely with the red and yellow of the phoenix and the blue of the sky, and the image was so expertly crafted, I expected to feel actual heat coming off the firebird.

  The final tapestry was simple compared to the others, but it was no less magnificent. It was nothing more than a single picture of a large, blood red dragon, and the dragon stood tall and proud within what seemed to be castle walls. Treasure was scattered along the stone floor at the dragon’s feet, and a pleased growl slipped from my lips at the sight of the gold.

  “These are incredible,” I murmured as I looked between the woven images.

  “Each tapestry hides a door behind it,” Raisa explained and lifted the first tapestry to expose a cherry door, “and each door leads to a room upstairs. If you start from the left, it’s Laika, Alyona, Ravi, and Valerra.”

  The names of my women caused a pleased growl to reverberate through my chest, and I couldn’t wait t
o see their finalized rooms. Actually, I couldn’t wait to see my lovers’ reactions. I imagined how their eyes would light up, how smiles would spread across their faces, and how we’d most likely christen each and every room.

  I loved being a dragon lord.

  However, as I thought about Laika, Alyona, Ravi, and Valerra, something nagged at the back of my mind. Something felt … incomplete, and as my eyes trailed along the tapestries, my gaze caught on the blue tree of Laika’s. I stared at the tree for a long moment, and then I realized what was bothering me.

  The dryads.

  I hadn’t consummated my relationship with the sisters yet, but they’d been by my side since I’d first come to Inati. They’d been flirty from the get-go, too, and they’d made it plenty clear that they’d like nothing more than to be in my bed. Unfortunately, I just hadn’t had the chance to take them up on the offer yet.

  But with all my other women getting their own rooms, it only felt right for the dryads to have something, too.

  “Lord Evan?”

  “Huh?” I tore my gaze away from the tapestries and turned back to the architects.

  “Is everything alright?” Raisa asked as she bit her lip. “You’ve been quiet for a long time. Is something not to your liking?”

  “Oh no, nothing like that,” I assured them and shook my head. “Sorry, I just got lost in my thoughts. What were you saying?”

  I wanted to bring up the dryads with the architects, but now didn’t seem like the right time. I hadn’t even seen Azra and Raisa’s completed work at this point, so it didn’t feel right to give them some more just yet. I’d bring it up soon, though.

  “I was just saying,” Raisa replied, “you can go up now if you’d like, and let us know how you like the women’s rooms or if there is something you want to change.”

  “Wait,” Azra said as he stepped forward. “First, you should see your surprise in the bathroom.”

  “Oh yes!” Raisa gasped with wide eyes, and she slapped her forehead. “Bathroom first, then the womens’ rooms.”

  “Whatever you say,” I chuckled, “I trust your judgment.”

  I trailed behind the two architects, and my eyes wandered as we walked through a wide opening along the right side of the room that led into the final section.

  “Here it is!” Raisa announced as she held out her arms.

  Azra stood next to her, with his arms held out similarly to Raisa’s, and between them stood a large marble bathtub. The bath easily took up half of the room, with a toilet and sink the only other fixtures I could see.

  “Holy shit. How did you guys do this?” I walked closer to the bath and ran my hands over the marbled tub. A silver spout was along the back end of the bath, and a small knob sat above it. A drop of water beaded off the mouth of the faucet, and it dripped into the full bath below and sent ripples fanning out across the water.

  “We had Alyona use magic on the aqueducts,” Azra explained, and his amber eyes sparkled with excitement. “If you turn the knob above the spout, water will come out. We figured you could use your fire magic to heat the tub to whatever temperature you’d like, and there is a plug along the bottom to drain the water when you finish.”

  “This is awesome!” I laughed as I dipped my hand into the cool water. My flames branched out from my hands as I sent them into the water, and the tub quickly reached a comfortable heat. Then I pulled my hand out and turned back to the architects. “Seriously, I love it. I can’t believe you did this for me. It’s really amazing.”

  “Of course,” Raisa giggled and looked like a kid on Christmas, “it was the least we could do. You’ve done so much for Hatra and her people that you deserved something in return. I am glad you like it, though, I was worried for a bit when you didn’t respond.”

  “I was just surprised,” I chuckled. “This wasn’t what I was expecting when you said you had a surprise for me. I was thinking maybe the room was larger than planned or something like that, but this is so cool. I can’t wait to use it.”

  “Not to mention how many people could fit in here,” Raisa added with a smirk. “We made sure there was enough room for you and as many … guests as you would like to join you.”

  I smirked, and images of all my women in the bath with me was enough for my blood to rush south. Then I cleared my throat and shook my head to focus back on the present.

  “How long did it take?” I asked as I gestured to the tub.

  I didn’t personally make the bath, which would only take me a few minutes with my magic, and I had no idea how long it would take someone to build something like this.

  “It took us a little over a week,” Azra explained as he folded his hands behind his back and puffed out his chest proudly. “Each slab of marble had to be carved perfectly, and then we needed to ensure the proper fit. Each piece was hand carved and placed, so it was time consuming and tedious, but the results were well worth it.”

  “I agree.” I nodded. “I’m still amazed you built this by hand. Where did you find the marble?”

  “Oh,” Raisa waved a hand, “we found it within the ruins of the old palace. We barely had enough, but it worked out perfectly in the end.”

  “Okay, so now we just have the vault right?” I asked the two of them in anticipation as I stepped away from the bath.

  I was anxious to see the vault designed to hold my treasures. Thankfully, Alyona had also discovered a spell to enchant the room so only I would be able to access it once my hoard was safely inside.

  Azra and Raisa nodded quickly in tandem with each other.

  “Follow us,” Raisa chirped, and together they led me back to my bedchamber. “Okay, so we know it’s enchanted, but we still wanted it to be hidden, just in case.”

  “That makes sense, I guess.” I nodded. “Though I seriously doubt anyone will try to steal treasure from a dragon. That’s a death wish.”

  “No kidding,” Raisa chuckled nervously, and then we stopped in the middle of the room.

  Raisa stood next to a large rug that covered the stone floor, and she lifted one of the corners while Azra lifted the other end. Together, they pulled back the massive piece of carpet and exposed a trap door that sat flush with the stone. If they wouldn’t have lifted the carpet, I would have never known it was there.

  “You can head down by yourself and take a look around,” Azra said as he twisted the circular handle along the door and pulled it open. Then he gestured to the opened space.

  “Thanks.” I nodded before I looked down in the hole.

  I could barely see the bottom, but I quickly climbed onto the ladder built into the opening of the door. Then I began to descend. When I only had a few feet left, I jumped down from the ladder and landed with a dull thud. I could see well enough in the dim lighting that came from the opening of the trap door, but I still summoned my flames to my hands and lit a torch that hung against the wall.

  “Wow,” I breathed as I took in the area. “This is perfect.”

  Stone walls surrounded me and gave the illusion of a cave deep inside a mountain. I was deep beneath the earth here, and the room was tall enough that I could shift into my dragon form to be with my hoard. The scales along my arms crawled up to my shoulders as I thought of all the treasure I currently had stored away. I could finally take it all out and keep in one safe location, like Valerra did with her hoard at her cave.

  “Evan!” Raisa called down, and her voice echoed through the empty chamber. “There are some guests here to see you!”

  “Alright, I’m coming!” I shouted back. Then I cast one last look around the vault before I climbed the ladder and popped back into my room.

  Alyona, the princess of Rahma, waited for me in the bedroom. Her white hair was pulled back into an elegant bun, and she wore a violet dress that fell down to the floor and clung to her body perfectly.

  Laika stood next to the princess, and the wolf-girl was donned in her leather armor with the sigil of a blue tree in the center of her chest. The Demi-Human guild leade
r had twin swords sheathed behind her back, and only the handles were visible behind her shoulders. Her posture was relaxed and content, and her voice was a low murmur as she spoke quietly to the princess.

  Ravi also stood beside my other two lovers, and her dark orange hair cascaded down her back, with some orange and red feathers here and there. She wore a small circlet atop her hair, a reminder of her status as the phoenix princess, and the gold shone beautifully in the light.

  “Well, isn’t this a nice surprise,” I chuckled as I entered the room.

  In unison, all three women turned to look at me questionably.

  “We received your messages, Evan,” Alyona said with a confused tilt of her head. “Is everything alright?”

  “Everything is fine.” I nodded with a smile. “I just thought you three would want to see your new rooms.”

  All three of them looked at each other eagerly, and Alyona and Ravi squealed in delight, while Laika smirked.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” I chuckled. “Who wants to go first?”

  “I think it should be Laika,” Alyona suggested with a smile.

  “What?” The wolf frowned and shook her head. “No, it should be you first, Milady.”

  “I’ve had plenty of rooms in palaces before,” the princess chuckled. “Besides, the Lunar Palace would never have been rebuilt if you didn’t pledge your guild to me and then find Evan in that cave. In a way, this is all because of you, so you should go first.”

  Laika’s gray eyes went wide in shock, and then her cheeks flushed a bright red as she dropped her gaze bashfully to the floor.

  “Laika it is then,” I confirmed with a smirk, and the Demi-Human turned her attention to me.

  “Yes, my lord.” The wolf grinned, and her tail wagged happily behind her.

  I offered her my arm, and Laika walked toward the hidden door with me. I paused at the threshold, though, and turned back to the others.

  “You two are welcome to join us,” I offered to Alyona and Ravi, but they shared a look and shook their heads.

  “That’s alright, Evan,” Alyona answered for both of them. “You can give us each a private tour for the first time. We can explore the other rooms later. We want this time to be special for each of us.”