by Viola Grace
She blinked slowly. A beauty was not something she would classify herself as. Not in human form anyway. She was blissfully normal in human form.
He stroked her scales, and she could feel his energy along her skin. It made her all warm and tingly inside.
The other dragon was just acting as supervisor. She was guessing if she got out of hand, he would shift and put her down.
The man touching her stroked his way down her neck and over to her flank. She felt a sharp pinch, which made her head whip toward him. He was standing there with a long tube in his hand. He had dosed her with something.
Trin tried to remain conscious, but her head spun, and a fog rolled across her thoughts. When she had a thought, it was that she had been knocked out by the pretty one.
Damnit.
* * * *
A crystal dragon. Holy shit. Brommin Artur Lefarge stared at the beast that was taking up the back garden of the Tal residence. The lady of the house was very concerned when Miss Mornith had picked a fight. She had called her husband, who had summoned the Track and Restrict agents in the area. The local constabulary had also been called, but they left when Brommin had taken charge of the scene.
What a scene it was.
Female dragons never grew to the size of males. They were mate dependant, for the most part, counting on their mate for protection. The dragon in the Tal’s back garden was at least thirty-five feet long. She was lithe, and her skin was reflective and faceted.
He asked the homeowner. “Why hasn’t she shifted back?”
The pregnant lady frowned in concern. “She isn’t a dragon. She is a registered human.”
The smaller white dragon was on her belly and grovelling. That would be Miss Mornith. She was all mouth and no brains.
Brommin sighed and reached into his long coat. “Right. Stay back. New shifts can be dangerous.”
The lady of the house nodded. “I understand that.”
He stepped forward and spoke softly to the new dragon. “Hello, miss. We are just going to take care of your catalyst, and then, we will be back to deal with you.”
He didn’t know how she would take that, but she settled down and lay on her belly, watching them remove Miss Mornith.
He spotted a motion to his left, and the lady of the house passed him, stepping right up to the recumbent dragon. To Brommin’s horror, she touched the huge head that lowered toward her.
She spoke softly to her friend and stroked her huge head.
The lady gave him a look, and he casually walked along her length, murmuring, “This must have been very confusing for you. Changing so suddenly. You are a beauty.”
She was very relaxed with her friend speaking to her, so he ran his hand along the tough skin to her flank. She occasionally turned her head toward him, but the lady of the house had nerves of steel and kept her attention facing forward.
He slipped the injector out of the pocket of his leather greatcoat, and as carefully as he could, he activated it against her rear haunch, and the slight hiss got her attention.
She turned to look at him again, cocking her head as the strong sedative hit her system. Immobilizing a dragon’s wings and hind end kept them grounded. From there, she should return to her human form as she was sedated.
The lady of the house kept stroking her friend’s head as she slowly closed her eyes and her breath evened into the heaving bellows of a sleeping dragon.
As the dragon slowly shrank, the lady of the house called for a wrap.
Brommin murmured, “What do you mean a—oh.”
When the dragon energy had dissipated, the woman left lying on the ground was definitely naked. Long, smooth limbs and a cascade of white and silver hair got his attention. She was lying on her belly so that was all he could see.
A woman with a concerned expression on her face brought a covering and put it over the sleeping woman. “This is going to piss her off. She loved having brown hair.”
The lady of the house smiled. “Yeah, that is probably going to be the thing that upsets her most, not turning into a forty-foot dragon at my baby shower.”
They tucked the blanket around her, and the other woman looked up at him. “What happens to her now?”
Brommin blinked. “She goes to the wheel, and she will be assessed by counsellors. If she is truly a dragon and not a weird mage or something, she will be trained and brought into our society.”
The other woman frowned. “When can we visit her?”
The woman of the house nodded. “Right. When can we visit?”
“You can apply to the wheel for visitation. I am sure they will grant a few minutes in a week or so.”
He bent down and picked up the shockingly light woman. “By the way, what is her name?”
The pregnant woman smiled. “Trin. I am sure she will tell you all she wants you to know when she wakes.”
He nodded. “Thank you. Please excuse my departure, but there is a crowd gathering outside.”
He held the pale-haired woman against his chest, and he opened his wings. The slide of leather against his emerging appendages was sensual and familiar. It wasn’t something he would admit to, but it was his favourite part of emergency flight.
His second-in-command was examining what he could see of the woman, but he got his wings out as well, and with the flare of his silver wings, they bent and launched into the air a few seconds apart.
They had the first unregistered dragon in four decades with them. This was going to make some headlines. She was an amazing beast.
Chapter Three
Having had a hangover a time or two in her life, Trin knew it when she found her eyeballs trying to burn their way through the back of her skull.
“This is not my nightgown.” She sat up and looked down at the frilly and lacy tube that encased her. She preferred sleeping in a chemise. Getting cold in the night was never a problem.
She tried to remember the events of the afternoon. She could remember seeing Creata, glowing and happy in the late stages of pregnancy. She remembered fixing the coffee machine, going for some food, and then, her brain was blank.
That is when I began to speak to you.
She paused. “I heard that.”
I hope so. I have slept for so long I thought you would never let me wake. It is fortunate that the rude topaz was at the party to wake me.
Trin had no idea how to answer that. A soft knock at her door preceded the door opening.
“Miss? I was told to bring you a tray but leave it if you were still asleep.”
Trin scooted up against the headboard. “I am awake.”
The young woman nodded and flicked the stand out of the tray she was carrying. Once the legs were locked down, she set it over Trin’s lap.
Trin smelled coffee and sighed. “Right. Coffee.”
“It is standard here for breakfasts. Would you prefer tea?” The young woman smiled.
“Yes. How long have I been here?” Trin waited for the answer. She thought it was a day, but there was something wrong with the feel of her nightgown.
“This is the fourth day since you were brought here. You made it onto the news.” The maid grinned.
“Four days? Damn. I have to get to the shop. Tobias will have killed the machine by now.”
The young woman’s eyes widened when Trin put the breakfast to one side and got to her feet. She swayed slightly but stiffened her limbs.
“Um, miss, you can’t leave. You are under investigation by the senate. They want to know where you came from.”
“Great. When can I talk to them? I just want to go home.”
She turned and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. “What the hell happened to my hair?”
She walked up to the bureau and stared at the image. Her hair was still long, but instead of her very normal brown hair and brown eyes, her hair was now white with thick silver streaks, and her eyes had darkened to black.
The maid cleared her throat. “I cannot answer your questions. I will send
someone in.”
The woman was gone in a heartbeat. Trin went to the door the maid escaped through, and it was locked. She turned back and looked at the tray. If she couldn’t get out, she may as well eat.
Everything on the tray was gone except the porcelain and cutlery. She had located the lav and brushed her hair before braiding it into a thick cable. A search of the room didn’t yield any more clothing, and while she didn’t have many social restrictions in her daily activities, she drew the line at walking the streets in her nighty.
She went to the window, and the leaded glass didn’t offer her any escape. She was high. Very high. The spire. That was the only structure that was that tall in the city. She had literally been changed into the lady in the tower. If she tried to leave in her new form, dragons would be after her before she passed the city limits.
Trin paced back and forth in the small space, and when a knock on the door warned of another incoming visitor, she kept pacing.
“Miss Trin?”
She smiled. No one had gotten her name. “Yes?”
“I have some bloodwork to draw for the alchemist. Are you willing to have it done?”
The woman was wearing an apron pinned to the front of her blouse and skirt. Her sleeves were rolled up.
“Are you a doctor?”
The woman smiled. “I am Dr. Dredock, the alchemist. It has been decades since there was an unrecorded dragon.”
Trin grimaced. “As far as you know.”
The doctor raised her brows. “You are correct. May I draw some blood?”
“Sure.” She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.
The doctor prepped her instruments and glanced over. “Those who were there say that you were crystal. Clear and untouched by colour.”
“So, I have been told. Now that my beast is awake, she is lecturing me on how beautiful and strong she is.”
The doctor cleaned her skin and inserted the needle near her inner elbow. “Is the dragon form hereditary?”
“No idea. I am not close with my family.” It was an understatement. Trin had no idea who her family was.
“Oh? What is your family name?” The doctor smiled as she took a second vial.
“Lem.”
The doctor froze. “You are an orphan?”
“Yes.”
The doctor put a small piece of gauze down, and she pulled the needle away. “Press down.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“What is your given name?”
Trin smiled. “I have an assigned name. Is that good enough?”
“Um, yes. For the samples.”
Trin sighed and blurted it out. “Adolla Venatrin Lem. Raised at the Home for the Unknown, birthed by a woman struck by a vehicle at the side of the road. I don’t know her name or my name.”
The doctor paused. “That is a lot of information.”
Trin snorted. “I thought that I would be asked it eventually, so I am getting used to the answer. This might curtail a bit of repetition.”
The doctor smiled and pulled a small, flat container with crystals out. She placed the small glass container on the bureau, and she held up the syringe. “Just a little preliminary test to check on your power level.”
Trin nodded and watched from a few feet away as the doctor took the syringe and let a drop fall into the crystals.
The flash and explosion sent the doctor spinning against the wall, and Trin ended up curled to one side as the jet of heat and power burned through the bureau, setting it on fire.
She heard shouts, and fire suppression was sprayed on the experiment. Hands grabbed her and pulled her upright, she heard someone shouting at her, but her ears were still ringing.
Dr. Dredock stood up and pressed a bleeding hand to her forehead. “It wasn’t her. She’s definitely a crystal dragon. She’s pure energy, and I think that while we start running our tests, she needs to learn what she is. She needs a tutor.”
Trin looked up, and she blinked at the familiarity of the man holding her with her arms back. He had been one of the four called to Creata’s house. All of the dragons who had been there were tall and strapping. Having never properly met a dragon before, she wasn’t sure if it was because it was endemic to the type of shifter they were, or if these men had been chosen for the job.
Trin could see that his gaze wasn’t fixed on her face; she looked down and saw the white muslin had been rendered nearly transparent in the spray of the fire retardant. Her breasts were outlined, nipples prominent. Trin scowled, and she whipped her head back, cracking him in the jaw. “Manners, asshole.”
He let go of her upper arms, and she staggered forward. Another one of the responders took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. He winked at her. “Nice shot.”
She could smell his scent and that of his mate. There was also the trace of children on the coat. She winked in return and said, “Practice.”
He chuckled. “You can step back, Torm. She didn’t do it. It was the good doctor who made the explosion.”
Trin looked back over her shoulder, and the male she had struck was still clutching his jaw.
The doctor intervened. “She is definitely a crystal dragon. It was my own doubt that made me do the test in here. She will need a new room, clothing, and an instructor, as I said earlier. She is definitely a dragon. No mage could have put that much power into their blood.”
Now that she had repeated herself, the men in the room paid attention to the alchemist. Trin felt a chill and looked over her shoulder. The leaded window that she had been staring out of was gone, as were several feet of brick.
The kindly guard beckoned to her. “We will get you a new bedchamber, and Sosa is already working on the clothing.”
She looked to the doctor, and Dr. Dredock nodded. “Sormin is a good guy. Sormin, I need to speak with the senator. Could you help me arrange it?”
The dragon inclined his head. “It will be my honour as soon as I get Miss Trin settled in her new quarters.”
She smiled. “I appreciate that. I am a little in need of some proper clothing.”
“Then, we shall not hesitate. Please, come with me.” He offered her his arm.
Trin pulled his coat on more firmly and took his arm. “Anywhere that doesn’t have a plunge to my death next to my bed. I am not fussy.”
He nodded and gave the younger dragon a glare. “Come with us.”
The younger dragon ducked his head and followed.
The inner halls of the tower were narrow, and everyone was in human form to save space. It was a bit of a relief that etiquette won over shifter inclination in the heart of the government block.
They went up three levels before Sormin stopped and opened a door. “Here you are, Miss. I will have Sosa bring you the clothing when she has it.”
She nodded and blushed. “Oh, here is your jacket. Thank you for the loan.”
“You are most welcome, Miss.” Sormin bowed.
Torm bowed as well. “Apologies, Miss.”
She subtly pulled her nightgown away from her. “Right. No harm done. Have a fun day.”
Torm blushed. “I will be outside your door if you need anything.”
She blinked. “I am under guard?”
Sormin smiled slightly. “Just one guard until you are confirmed, Miss. I will find Sosa.”
Trin nodded and waved farewell as she closed her door. When she turned around, she gasped. The room she was in was three times the size of the first one.
She looked around for a moment, made sure she wasn’t being observed, and she ran toward the four-poster bed, shrieking and laughing as she jumped on it. Torm might have opened the door to check on her, but she didn’t care. This was the first time in her adult life that she had been in a bed with a ceiling high enough to jump on.
Trin flopped on the bed and tried not to worry about the shop. She was sure that Brenner had taken charge when Niida had told him what happened.
It was nice to have friends and business partners she coul
d trust, but she still wondered if anyone was checking on Tobias. She had a business to take care of after all.
Chapter Four
Dr. Dredock paced outside the senator’s private office. She was nervous about the information but was sure that it had to be shared quickly.
When the guard opened the door and let her in, she smiled briefly and headed into the dragon senator’s inner sanctum.
Senator Lefarge greeted her with a smile. “Doctor, I hear that you requested an audience.”
“Yes, Senator.” She bobbed a short curtsy.
“Please, have a seat.”
She stepped forward and eased into the leather seat. “Thank you, sir. I am here to speak on behalf of the new dragon.”
He twisted his pen in his fingers. “You mean the new arrival.”
“No, sir. She is a new dragon. She has power and a beast but none of the training that goes with it. She might be able to fly, she might not. From what her friend Niida said when I spoke to her this morning, Trin has never been exposed to another dragon. If you do things normally, she will not react as expected. She has the reflexes of a street fighter and the impulses of a survivor. If you are planning to send her out on a mate-selection flight, she is more likely than not to attack them in self-defense.” She took a deep breath.
He frowned. “So, if we enforced the enclave’s regulations...”
“She will run or fly. She will escape.”
The senior dragon nodded and tented his fingers for a moment before straightening. “What would you recommend?”
“Educate her. She is smart, crafty, and quite reasonable. She has offered up bits of her past, knowing that we would pursue them.” She folded her hands in her lap. “Give her every bit of information you would give to one of your own family. All the histories and horrors, all the laughters and stupidities. If you can do that, you will gain her cooperation in planning her future.”
He caught on to what she had said. “What about her past?”