by G. A. Aiken
“It was a…dragon. A silver dragon, my goddess.”
Arzhela turned from her priestess and stared at the gold statue made in her image. She took a deep breath and sent a silent call to her brothers and sisters, gods and goddesses of this world, to keep an eye out for her little protégé. She couldn’t afford to lose Talaith now. She’d invested too much in the human, using her best priestesses to train her. Prepare her.
The time had finally come when she was to call on Talaith to perform her sacred duty. In fact, Arzhela would have called on her within the next week. Because after the coming full moon, another moon would follow. Among her pantheon, it was the time of darkness and despair. The time when a dark evil would force her priestesses to build up their protections around the villages while keeping all other Magicks and spellcasting to a minimum. Because it was the night the power of the dragon gods would reign supreme upon the land. To the dragon gods’ brethren, the Moon of the Black Fire was a mighty and sacred time when their powerful witches worked their strongest Magicks. And a time that one of the dragon gods had been looking forward to for centuries. She knew all he needed was finally in alignment. All he wanted at the ready. Unless she could stop him. Unless she could destroy his plans. Which meant she must have that viper-tongued little rodent back.
And, if she had to, she’d rip the land apart until she found her.
It took them much longer than Briec anticipated to get to the next safe place he knew of on this route. By the time he decided to land, both the suns had set and he knew his little human must be freezing. He could hear her chattering teeth over the howling wind.
His feet touched solid ground as he landed, trying not to jar her anymore than necessary. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that she’d plastered herself to his back with her face buried against his neck. She’d dug her hands into his hair, her fingers clinging to big handfuls of the silver strands. She didn’t even look up, instead choosing to tighten her legs around him…if that were physically possible. The woman had remarkably strong thighs.
He liked that.
“We’re here.”
“I don’t care,” she raged into his neck, her entire body trembling.
“Are you going to stay like that?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Forever.”
Now why did he like the sound of that? Quickly, Briec pushed that ridiculous thought out of his head. “Listen—”
“No. I’m not moving. Ever. Again.”
“As you wish.”
“You keep saying that like you mean it.”
Briec stifled a laugh and, remembering something his sister taught him many years before, cast a quick flame-protection spell around the girl. It was slight and would only last mere seconds, he thought for sure she wouldn’t even notice, but her body stiffened and she said, “What are you up to anyway?”
Flames surrounded the pair and he shifted back to his human form, smiling at the fact he had this beautiful woman straddling his naked ass. He crossed his arms and rested his head on them, wondering how long it would take her to notice.
For nearly two minutes she didn’t say a word. Then she moved around a bit, and her bare sex—hot and hungry—ground into his cheeks.
She gasped in horror and finally sat up straight. “What in holy—”
“I thought you weren’t moving?”
“You tricky bastard. I knew I felt you cast a spell.”
“Just a minor one. I’m surprised you even sensed it.”
Her hands still tangled up in his long hair, he had enough room to turn over. Which he did quickly, before she could bolt off.
Briec caught her around the waist and pulled her tight against him, her pussy rubbing against his now healthy erection.
Panicked, she tried to get her hands untangled from his hair, but she seemed to be having quite a time of it.
“Let me go,” she demanded as she yanked one hand and realized she still had his hair.
Wincing from the pain of that pull, he challenged, “I can’t let you go. Because you’ve still got me.” As he made the statement, making sure to sound sad and at a loss, he ground his hips up between her thighs.
This time she pulled his hair on purpose. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry. Accident.”
“It was not.” After a few more desperate struggles, she held her hands up in triumph. She’d finally untangled herself from his hair. But when she tried to jump off his lap, he tightened his grip on her waist.
“You’re not going to leave me like this, are you?”
“I most certainly am!”
What the hell was going on? No man—or in this case male—had ever pursued her like this before. And he was pursuing her. With every look. Every word. Every devious thrust. And, to be quite honest, she had no idea how to handle it.
Talaith had loved only one man before and lost him at sixteen. After, they handed her over to the one she now called “husband”. Since that man knew she was his as wife, he never bothered pursuing her. She had a feeling he wouldn’t have appreciated it one bit if he’d been forced to either. Yet the more she fought the dragon, the more he seemed to be enjoying himself.
True, she could just give herself to him and get it over with. But something, that inner voice that had never steered her wrong all these many long years, told her she’d never recover from her time spent in this dragon’s bed. And did dragons even have beds? Would she have to mate with him on the cave floor? None of that sounded very comfortable.
“This isn’t fair.”
“What does fair have to do with anything?”
“I’m tired and freezing. I can’t fight you right now.”
“Why does everything between us need to be a fight?”
Because she enjoyed it? No. Probably not a good idea to say that. She’d never get rid of him then. She could tell he liked their fighting just as much.
Shaking her head in exasperation, she snapped, “Everything between us? What are you talking about? We’ve known each other since this morning.” She slapped at his tightening hands on her waist. “Stop that!”
Talaith pushed hard against his chest, but his arms wouldn’t budge. Still, she kept trying. And, finally bored with the struggle she assumed, he released her. Since she didn’t expect that, Talaith shoved herself backward and landed hard on the ground.
“Ow!”
He didn’t even apologize as he sat up, staring down at her. Was he angry? She guessed not when he began to speak to his erection.
“I know. I can’t believe she left us like this either. Cruel wench, isn’t she?”
After the long, frightening, horrible day she had, this was not remotely how she expected to end it. And, against her will, she smiled.
“Look. Now she’s laughing at us.”
Desperately fighting a bout of laughter, she ordered, “Stop talking to it.”
He shrugged. “Well you won’t talk to him…and he’s feeling awfully lonely. And I think you hurt his feelings.” Then he made it bounce twice in agreement.
Talaith covered her face and sighed. What exactly did her mother tell her the seven signs of madness were? Well, a dragon talking to his own shaft had to be one of them.
“Are you going to answer any questions this evening?”
“No.” She wouldn’t even look at him. For her, he’d shifted to human when they’d first arrived and had remained that way ever since. Yet still she wouldn’t look at him. If she didn’t like him human and she didn’t like him dragon, then what exactly did that leave?
“I don’t understand—”
“Please,” she sighed. “I am so tired. Can we not simply go to sleep?”
He gazed at her across the campfire and she did truly appear worn.
“Of course.”
He patted the ground next to him. “Come. You can sleep here.”
“Oh, you must be joking.”
“No. I’m not. I don’t have blankets for you. My body w
ill keep you warm.”
“I just bet it will,” she muttered to herself. She seemed to do that a lot. Talk to herself. He found it…odd. To him she said, “Do I look that stupid to you?”
“You don’t look stupid at all. I don’t waste my time on stupid people.”
“Well that gives me ease.”
“I’ll make a promise to you. You’ll sleep here and I promise nothing will happen except sleep.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
Briec, for the first time in a very long time, became a little angry.
Slowly, he pulled himself up and walked across the burning campfire, enjoying the warm flames briefly surrounding his body, until he stood over her. Brown eyes stared up at him, and he no longer saw any fear. Most likely because now she spent most of her time hating him instead.
“Are you questioning the word of a dragon, little human?”
She stood, looking much less fierce in her now filthy nightdress. “No. I’m questioning the word of you. You just happen to be a dragon.”
“My promises are much more reliable than some human might make.”
“You took me from my village…”
“I rescued you.”
“…and now you won’t let me go.”
“I break no laws, m’lady.”
“Dragon laws, which don’t affect me.”
“They affected you as soon as I saved you from those villagers.”
She stared up at him for several more moments then, growling, she turned from him and stepped away. “Thank you, but I’ll be fine on my own.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“It’s my right, or have I lost the ability to make all my own decisions?”
“Fine. Freeze in the night then. I don’t care.”
He turned from her and walked off into the woods, allowing his body to slowly shift back to dragon as he did so. He’d watch her and keep her safe, but he’d do it from a nice, respectable distance.
Briec didn’t understand this woman. Not at all. Even for a human she seemed damn strange. Was it not a mere hour or so ago she’d been laughing and smiling at his jokes? And now she’d returned to treating him like he’d wiped out her whole family.
He stopped in mid-stomp. Wait. Did I? He thought long and hard, then finally shook his head. No. He’d never damaged any villages or towns in Alsandair. So, he realized, he could be quite righteous in his anger and started walking again.
He didn’t have time for damn difficult women. Especially beautiful human ones. Perhaps the queen was right. Perhaps it was time to settle down with a nice dragon female. Pick a mate. Breed some hatchlings, if he absolutely must. He truly thought his older brother and heir to the Gwalchmai fab Gwyar throne would have taken care of the future heir situation for him so he wouldn’t have to worry one way or the other. But choosing a human as his mate, Fearghus resigned himself to a life without offspring. Of course, Fearghus seemed to like so few beings, perhaps that was in everyone’s best interest. Who knew what nightmare his brother would raise?
Briec settled his big body down and watched the woman from the trees, surrounding them both with a strong protection spell. She couldn’t see him. He was too far away for her human eyes. He didn’t know what he expected to see once she believed herself alone. But what he didn’t expect was for her to sit on the ground, her knees pulled up under her chin, her long arms wrapped around her legs. Then she turned her head and rested her cheek against her knees. She made no sound. She didn’t call for help. She didn’t try and leave.
Still, even from this distance, he could see her tears. He closed his eyes and fought his desire to return to her. His desire to shift back to human and to get her to stop crying the only way he knew how. It was a hard fight, but somehow he won.
As he watched her, looking so alone and so despondent, he tried to figure out what this feeling was he suddenly had. Deep in his chest, burrowing its way up his body.
It was something he’d never felt before and hoped to never feel again—the feeling he’d done something wrong. And that somehow he should feel bad for it.
He shook his head. No. He’d done nothing wrong. He was a dragon and this was how things were.
His sweet little human would simply have to learn to live with it.
She knew he watched her. Even from this distance, she could feel his eyes on her. Tears streamed down her face, but she refused to wipe them. To show him any of her feelings. He’d merely think she was sad anyway. That was far from the truth. Leagues away, in fact.
No, sadness wasn’t her problem. Frustration. Pure frustration was her problem. Exactly how many others would take her from where she lived and order her to do their bidding? How many others would use her like she were some barwench awaiting their next ale order?
For sixteen years now, Talaith waited. Waited for the day when the goddess who claimed Talaith as her own would come and tell her exactly what she wanted from her. That’s why she’d lived with that dullard she’d called husband all this time. That’s why she stayed in this land that was not of her people. And why she’d lost her power. Because she had a price to pay.
Yet she never saw this dragon coming. And Talaith would bet all the gold in the universe her goddess never saw him either.
The dragons had their own gods and their gods protected them with a fierceness bordering on rabid. The gods of humans were less protective but there were many more humans to go around. Since one great battle eons ago, human gods and dragon gods could never fight each other because they could never enter the other’s plane of existence. So they used their loyal worshippers to fight their battles for them, then sat back to enjoy the carnage.
Still, a very uneasy alliance had developed among humans and dragons over the last thousand years or so. It used to be if you left the dragons alone and ignored the occasional stolen cow or destroyed battalion, they stayed away from the villages and the humans. Those humans looking for glory, who broke the unspoken pact, usually brought the dragons’ brutal wrath swiftly on some poor kingdom and king’s head.
In the last few years, however, rumors had begun to spread through the small towns and villages. Rumors of more and more dragons seen taking to the skies. Although still no talk of any destruction or violence, fear had taken root and spread. Especially in Madron where Lord Hamish ruled with a brutal fist. The few rumors he allowed in her tiny village was that the dragons were once again killing randomly, destroying towns, villages, anything that may annoy them. But the armies of Madron were preparing for some kind of war against dragons…as if the humans could win. All humans truly had in their favor was their number. One of her teachers back in Alsandair compared humans and dragons to fleas swarming over a wolf. Enough could cause unbearable torment, but usually a good bath would wash them off.
Talaith never thought she’d ever see a dragon much less be taken by one. Taken so he could bed her. Clearly he didn’t get out of his cave much if she was the best he could do. Perhaps she should speak of commitment and really scare him back to his lair. She almost smiled at the thought, but she knew her tongue would get the better of her.
He irritated her. Greatly. And when anger ruled her head that meant her mouth took over. Woe to those who ended upon the wrong side of that.
But who knew a being could be so bloody arrogant? And demanding? And rude? And gorgeous? And so well-endowed, he reminded her of a warhorse?
Lord Hamish roused his best men before the two suns rose. He had them dressed in travelers’ robes, their weapons hidden, and divided into several groups so they could cover more area in the shortest amount of time.
“I want the little bitch back before the next full moon. Am I clear?”
“Aye, Lord Hamish,” they answered as one.
“We’ve failed our goddess once. We’ll not fail her again. Not if you hope to live.”
They had failed her. Nine years ago. They’d failed her and he’d been attempting to make it up to her ever since. What surprised him
was that she didn’t kill him when she discovered his failure. Instead, she’d forgiven him and told him if he continued to do her bidding, she’d reward him with more power than any human could ever hope to obtain. Since then she’d protected him from the Mad Bitch of Garbhán Isle. He shuddered to think he almost wed that demon-stain. She probably would have slit his throat while he slept. He never thought he’d meet anyone more insane than her brother. But she was more insane and the last three years of her rule proved it.
No. He’d never fail his goddess again. If for no other reason than Arzhela would be the only one who could protect him from the Blood Queen of Garbhán Isle.
“And the dragon with the woman, lord?” one of his men asked.
He didn’t hesitate. “Kill it. But she lives.”
And that’s all he had to promise his goddess. He didn’t understand what She needed this woman for. A peasant, from what he knew. A peasant and nothing more. But the goddess wanted her back and that’s all he needed to know. So his men would bring her back alive.
What they did with her between Dark Plains and here…not really his concern as long as she returned breathing.
Chapter Five
Talaith thought for sure the goddess would come for her during the night. Of course, the sad truth remained she couldn’t decide which was the lesser of two evils—the goddess or the dragon.
She wouldn’t worry about that now, though. The suns had begun to rise and she knew the dragon would want to leave soon. Still, she felt safe and warm. Of course, now that she thought about it, that seemed strange. Because she fell asleep the night before with chattering teeth and her body pulled into a tight ball. It got so bad she almost called out for the dragon, but she couldn’t. Her pride simply wouldn’t let her.
Talaith forced her eyes open. Trees swayed over her as the wind blew. A storm was coming, she could smell it. Then why wasn’t she freezing—or already frozen—to death?
She glanced down and realized a thick, shiny mane of silver hair covered her entire body. Her entire naked body. Glancing to her left, she saw the human form of the dragon stretched out next to her. Stomach down, one big muscular arm thrown over her waist; he’d pushed his own body right up against her side, his handsome face even more so in sleep.