To Tame a Dragon (Venys Needs Men)

by Tiffany Roberts

  To Tame a Dragon

  Venys Needs Men

  Tiffany Roberts

  Contents

  Blurb

  Venys - Land of the Comet Map

  Falthyris

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Venys Needs Men Collaboration

  Also by Tiffany Roberts

  About the Author

  Blurb

  Claiming a dragon is as easy as a single touch, but claiming his heart is another matter entirely.

  The tribes have been dying beneath the desert sun for as long as they can remember. With fewer and fewer males birthed, there is little hope of survival. Humanity is doomed.

  The yearly blooming is a season of fertility and new life—and the time when the males choose new brides. But Elliya has no desire to become another wife amongst many to a spoiled man. She longs for more. She longs for love.

  When the Red Star appears in the sky on the night she is to be chosen, Elliya knows it is her chance to make her own choice. She ventures out beneath the blood moon to prove the old legends true—to claim a dragon as her mate. But even if she can forge the legendary bond with her dragon, can she win the most important prize of all?

  Can she conquer the dragon’s heart?

  Copyright © 2020 by Tiffany Freund and Robert Freund Jr.

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form by any means, including scanning, photocopying, uploading, and distribution of this book via any other electronic means without the permission of the author and is illegal, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the publishers at the address below.

  Tiffany Roberts

  authortiffanyroberts@gmail.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Illustration 2020 by Cameron Kamenicky

  Character Art by Robert Freund Jr.

  Created with Vellum

  To our Monster Tribe, Naomi Lucas, Poppy Rhys, and Amanda Milo. We love you guys!

  1

  Elliya stood before Cetolea, the sacred pool, the life-giver, with her tribe sisters lined up beside her. Pounding drums and humming voices echoed off the surrounding canyon walls, reverberating through air that was fragrant with the perfume of the season’s first flowers. Dozens of blossoms had grown around Cetolea. The flowers added fresh color to this sacred place—white, pink, yellow, and purple, all vivid in the moonlight and in harmony with the pool’s gentle blue glow.

  Telani, the high priestess, scattered a handful of petals over the pool. They flittered down to light upon the water’s surface as she raised her voice in a chant of praise. Telani’s voice was joined by those of the two priestesses flanking her. The drums slowed, and the gathered tribespeople altered their humming to match the melody of the priestesses’ chanting.

  Tonight was the start of the Blooming—a season of fertility and new life. The night when the males would choose new brides.

  Or rather, their new breeders, Elliya thought with not a little disdain.

  That thought was swiftly followed by shame. What choice did her people have? They were dying out—and not just Elliya’s tribe. All the nearby tribes faced the same dire situation. Every year saw fewer births, fewer males. Only five males remained in Elliya’s tribe. Two of them were graybeards, one was but five years old, and the other younger still.

  Without more males…

  This joining ceremony was Elliya’s duty to her people. As a huntress, it was her role to ensure the survival of the tribe by any means necessary—whether through her skill or her body. She should’ve been honored to have reached the age of choosing, to be openly wanted by Dian, the most virile adult male in their tribe, but all she felt was unhappiness and dread.

  Were she not chosen tonight, there was a chance she’d be traded to another tribe, that she’d be forced to leave her home, her mother, her tribe sisters. That she’d be sent to another tribe to breed with a male she’d never met—just like some of her people’s younger males would be traded away. The movement of males and females was integral to keeping the blood of the desert tribes clean, ensuring bloodlines would not stagnate.

  That was the way of her people. That had always been the way.

  So why was it so hard for her to accept? Why did she long for more? What was this…need for a male of her choosing, for someone who would want her for more than the pleasure her body could provide him? For someone who would treat her as a treasure to be cherished rather than a breeder to whom they were entitled, who would treat her as more than a womb to be filled.

  Someone who would look at her and forsake all others.

  That is not the way, Elliya. You know this. Such selfish thoughts…

  That knowledge didn’t stop her longing.

  A warm night breeze brushed over Elliya’s bare skin. There was an odd energy in the air, making the little hairs on her arms and neck stand on end and threatening to raise tiny bumps on her flesh. She told herself it was merely apprehension.

  The high priestess turned to face the five huntresses gathered for the choosing. Telani beckoned the first forward, dipping her hand into the sacred pool. She placed her fingers upon the huntress’ belly, intoning familiar words.

  “Cetolea, bless this womb…”

  Elliya had seen this ritual every year for as long as she could remember, had heard those words countless times, but that had not prepared her for this. That had not prepared her to be standing here now as one of the huntresses to be blessed, to be offered. To be chosen without being given any choice of her own.

  Telani summoned the other huntresses one by one, offering the same blessings to each, until finally it was Elliya’s turn. Elliya stepped forward and studied the high priestess. Telani’s black hair, now streaked with gray, hung freely around her shoulders. Small lines marred the corners of her mouth and her dark eyes—eyes that matched Elliya’s perfectly.

  “My daughter,” Telani said, smiling widely. It was the same proud smile she’d worn when Elliya had gone on her first hunt, and it brought the words Telani had spoken that long-ago morning up from Elliya’s memory.

  A huntress is strong and selfless. She is the heart of our people—steady, brave, unwavering. Your heart beats fierce, Elliya, and it beats true.

  Seeing that pride on her mother’s face, as strong now as ever, bolstered Elliya. She raised her chin and returned her mother’s smile.

  Telani dipped her fingers into the pool and brought them to Elliya’s belly. “Cetolea, bless this womb,” she said, drawing a line across Elliya’s abdomen. “May it nurture and protect the seed it shall receive, and may it grow strong new life in its loving embrace.”

  Telani stepped back.

  Elliya dropped her gaze to the glowing blue line on her belly, which was bold against her tan skin. Whatever her desires, she had to complete the ritual, she had to do her part. She moved her
hand, meaning to rub the water into her skin and accept the blessing.

  Before she could touch it, the water turned as red as freshly spilled blood.

  She gasped, jerking her hand away as the crimson droplets ran down to her pelvis. Fear churned her belly, and cold tingles raced along her spine.

  Did Cetolea know Elliya’s thoughts? Was Cetolea spurning her because of her secret desires, because of her selfishness?

  Elliya returned her gaze to her mother, expecting disappointment or horror, but the high priestess’s eyes were turned away. Telani was staring at the sacred pool, which was glowing vibrant red rather than its usual ethereal blue.

  The drums fell silent, and excited murmurs rippled through the crowd.

  “Look! Look!” One of the huntresses pointed to the sky.

  Elliya tilted her head back to look up, and her eyes widened.

  The moon was stained crimson, and an unfamiliar star glimmered over the cliffs, brighter than all the other stars in the clear night sky—a red star.

  The Red Star.

  It was spoken of in legends that had been passed down through the generations, a sight that no living human had seen.

  Elliya’s fear swiftly gave way to wonder and anticipation.

  Telani turned toward Elliya, grasping the younger woman’s face between her hands, her smile even wider than before. “Do you know what this means, my daughter?”

  It meant that Elliya had more time, that she had a chance at something greater. That maybe her destiny wasn’t quite so fixed as she had believed.

  Elliya grinned. “The Crimson Hunt.”

  Telani threw her hands in the air and spun to face Cetolea again. “The Crimson Hunt!”

  The gathered huntresses—both those here for the choosing and those here as witnesses—sent excited howls up to the night sky. Their calls reverberated within the canyon, rising to a strength that could only be achieved by the tribe as a whole.

  “The Red Star is upon us,” Telani shouted, silencing those howls. The loose white cloth she wore was stained pink by the tinted moonlight. “The Blood Moon glows over the desert. For the first time in a hundred years, the water of Cetolea runs red. We call upon our huntresses to assemble for the Crimson Hunt!”

  The huntresses responded with another resounding cheer.

  “What is this?” Dian demanded, calling Elliya’s attention toward the edge of the crowd.

  The gathered women parted as Dian strode forward. His thick, dark eyebrows were low over his glaring eyes, and his lips seemed about to curl into a snarl. The red glow from Cetolea made the lush fabric of his robe—normally the same soft blue of the sky—look violet.

  “Every hundred years, the Red Star appears in the sky,” Telani replied, voice smooth and confident. “And we must send our sisters on the Crimson Hunt.”

  “This is the night of the Blooming,” Dian said. “The night of choosing, and I have not yet claimed what is due to me.”

  “The choosing must wait. The Red Star has come as an omen, a sign that these huntresses”—Telani’s eyes flicked briefly but meaningfully toward Elliya—“have a chance to bring new prosperity and strength to our tribe. We cannot ignore it. Destiny demands they hunt. Cetolea and the Red Star demand it, and we must obey.”

  “The Red Star is an ancient curse that brings prosperity to no one,” Dian said with a growl. “Ignoring our other traditions because of it will do us no good.”

  “You know the legends, Dian. You know the traditions, as do we all. To ignore this sign is to deny our people hope.”

  “Hope for what? Dragons?” Dian turned to face the others, throwing his arms out. “Who amongst us has seen a dragon? Who of your mothers, your grandmothers, has seen one? We cannot allow those stories to dictate our lives.”

  “Nor can we allow spoiled males to do so,” Elliya said.

  Dian spun toward her, eyes flaring in surprise before they narrowed. He jabbed a finger at her. “This is the night of my choice, and it is disrespectful for my intended bride to speak to me in such a manner.”

  Elliya notched her chin up. “I am not yet your bride.”

  Dian’s eyes darkened. “I have chosen.”

  “But your declaration must wait,” Telani said in a firm tone that held all the authority of a high priestess. “This is no longer the night of choosing. This is the night of the Crimson Hunt. We will perform the choosing ceremony when the Red Star no longer colors the waters of Cetolea.”

  “You cannot do this,” Dian growled. “Elliya is mine!”

  Elliya stepped forward, brimming with rage. “I belong to no one!”

  He clenched his jaw and reached for her.

  Telani inserted herself between them. “You may be a male, Dian, but you are not the leader of our people. I am the high priestess, and I speak for Cetolea. You will wait until after the Crimson Hunt. And now you must leave so I may anoint our huntresses for their sacred task.”

  “Fine. I will wait.” Dian leaned to the side and met Elliya’s gaze. “Go hunt these imaginary dragons. But when you return here, you will be mine, Elliya, and my seed will fill your womb.”

  Elliya gritted her teeth as she watched him disappear into the crowd of huntresses. Dian might not have believed that dragons existed, but she did. She’d loved those old stories for her entire life. And now, when dragons were said to be most vulnerable—thrown into heat by the Red Star like all wild creatures—she would join the Crimson Hunt to find a dragon and claim it as her own.

  “Come, my huntresses,” Telani called. “Let us prepare.”

  Elliya and the tribe’s other young, strong huntresses gathered close around Cetolea, their excitement charging the air as Telani and the priestesses used the pool’s glowing red water to trace ancient symbols on the huntresses’ bare skin.

  “May Cetolea and our ancestors watch over you, our sisters and daughters, as you embark upon your sacred hunt,” intoned Telani. “May you succeed in bringing new strength to our tribe and honor us with your courage and prowess.”

  Telani stepped back and slowly ran her gaze over the anointed huntresses. “You are the heart of our people, and we ask much of you now. The world under the Red Star is different from the one we know. Our ancestors spoke of great danger. But there is opportunity, too. A dragon in heat can be claimed by a female with a touch, and dragon blood will bolster our people for many, many generations. Our hopes of reversing this slow decline lies in all of you now. Go forth on the Hunt and know that we take pride in each of you.”

  The huntresses dispersed, heading toward the stone steps that would lead them to their cliff dwellings above the canyon. Elliya turned to follow.

  “Elliya, hold a moment,” Telani said.

  Though Elliya yearned to leave, to run and gather her things so she could begin her journey, she stopped and faced her mother.

  Telani reached out and took Elliya’s hands, gently squeezing them. “You have always longed for something more, my daughter. Even if you have not said so aloud, I have seen it in your eyes since you were a child. The Crimson Hunt will be the most dangerous undertaking of your young life, and it pains me to send my only beloved child out under the Red Star, but this is your chance. Go forth and seize the destiny for which you have always longed.”

  Warmth filled Elliya’s chest, and she tightened her fingers around her mother’s hands. “Thank you, Mother.”

  “Return to me safely, Elliya. That is all that matters to me.”

  “I will.”

  But I refuse to return alone.

  2

  Crimson stained Falthyris’s dreams. In them he saw the sea—which he’d not glimpsed in centuries—turn to blood and crash across the Forsaken Sands. He saw a red moon in the night sky, radiating heat that made the sea boil. He saw the mountains melt as though made of wax, and saw that flood pour into his lair.

  His slumber shattered.

  Falthyris opened his eyes. His lair was dark, and the bed of sand beneath him was dry, but his heart was beati
ng thunderously all the same. He lifted his head and shook it, shedding the sand that had clung to scales.

  There was a stifling, unsettlingly familiar energy in the air. It brushed across his scales, seeking even the slightest weaknesses to exploit, penetrating natural armor that the weapons, teeth, and claws of mortal creatures could scarce pierce.

  He extended his tongue to taste the air. His lair’s usual scents of sand and stone were layered with something else, something as familiar as that energy. Something spicy and exotic that bore the tang of unknown metal.

  Dragonsbane, the accursed red comet, had returned.

  Rage stoked Falthyris’s heartfire into a blaze. He raked his talons through the sand, dragging their tips across the underlying stone floor. When he exhaled, licks of fire flared through his teeth, casting orange light that briefly deepened the shadows in the many gouge marks and cracks marring the cave walls. Each of those marks served as a reminder of his past struggles against the comet—against the Red Heat, the power Dragonsbane emitted.

  The Heat lashed against his scales and pushed through, sinking into muscle and bone, gradually suffusing his body.

  Falthyris growled low in his chest. The sound reverberated off the walls and sent ripples through the sand. Somewhere nearby, loose stones clattered to the cave floor. At the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a faint red shimmer—the Heat. It vanished when he looked at it directly.

  He knew instinctually that Dragonsbane had only just appeared in the sky—just as he knew it was currently night, though he could not see outside. This was too soon to feel the Red Heat. This was too soon for its insidious fingers to be teasing the edges of his mind, too soon for it to be producing these urges, these compulsions.