Falthyris’s thumb dipped to trace her lower lip. “I tended you as best as I could in our lair, but your condition was only worsening. I brought you here three days ago.”
“And the Red Star?”
“Gone.”
Elliya placed her hand flat on the center of his chest. “You no longer feel the Heat?”
“Barely. It will be but a memory within a few more days.” He returned the waterskin to her lips. “Drink.”
She drank slowly despite her persisting thirst, holding his gaze as she did so.
The hide hanging over the doorway flipped, and Sakala, one of Elliya’s fellow huntresses, stepped inside carrying a platter of roasted meats.
“Dragon,” Sakala purred, her smile wide and bright. “I have brought food.”
A low growl sounded in Falthyris’s chest, so quiet that Elliya might not have noticed it had she not had her hand on him.
Elliya drew her mouth away from the waterskin and narrowed her eyes on the other huntress.
Sakala’s eyes widened, and her sultry smile turned to one of delight. “You are awake!”
“Leave the food and fetch Telani,” Falthyris snapped, corking the waterskin and dropping it onto the pallet.
“Of course.” Sakala stepped farther into the room and set the platter on the floor near Falthyris.
Elliya didn’t miss the way the huntress’s fingers brushed over his shoulder as she rose, nor did she miss Falthyris’s shudder.
Before anything more could be said, Sakala hurried out.
Elliya lifted a hand to take hold of Falthyris’s chin, hooking her fingers around a couple of his jaw spikes. She forced his face toward her with a strength that would have surprised her if not for the deep, burning possessiveness simmering inside her.
“You are mine, dragon, and I will not share you,” Elliya growled. “It was I who claimed you.”
It did not matter if tradition had always dictated the males of the tribe take many wives—Falthyris was hers and hers alone.
He groaned, and his tongue flicked out, catching the air. Sliding his hands down her sides, he grasped her hips and lifted her onto his lap. “There will be no sharing, female. You are mine, and a golden dragon takes but one mate whether it is for a mortal lifetime or all eternity.” He tilted his forehead and pressed it against hers. “You are my forever, Elliya. I feared I had lost you.”
The raw emotion in those last few words pierced her heart—his fear, his desperation, his passion, his love.
Elliya wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. She smiled. “I am a huntress. My heart beats fierce, and it also beats true.” She brushed her lips across his. “It beats for you, Falthyris.”
“And you will tell this to your people in no uncertain terms. I will melt this cliffside if one more female looks at me with heated eyes and runs her fingers over my scales.” His hold on her hips tightened. “Only you may touch me. None other.”
Before Elliya could utter her own threat toward her tribe sisters for so freely touching her mate, loud voices—or rather, one particularly loud voice—carried through the corridor. She and Falthyris raised their heads.
“She has awakened, and you have kept me from her long enough, Telani,” Dian said an instant before he ducked into Elliya’s chamber, followed by her mother.
He stopped short when he saw Falthyris. He retreated a step, eyes glimmering with a hint of fear. His gaze landed next on Elliya, sweeping over her naked torso and her position in Falthyris’s lap, and his demeanor shifted again. He clenched his fists and glared at the dragon.
Dian lifted a hand, jabbing a finger toward Falthyris. “Elliya is mine. The Red Star did not usurp my right to claim her.”
The heat radiating from Falthyris’s chest intensified, as did its glow through his scales. But when Falthyris moved, it was with deliberate slowness, predatory control, and an air of menace that even Elliya could not miss.
Falthyris slid Elliya off his lap, settling her gently atop the furs that comprised her pallet. He lingered to give her a fleeting kiss on her lips before pushing himself up to stand at his full height—more than a head taller than Dian, and far broader in frame. His wings spread slightly as he stepped forward, filling the small chamber with his presence, leaving room for little else. Even with his head slightly ducked, his horns scraped the ceiling.
Dian retreated farther.
“Your claim is as empty as your arrogance, human,” Falthyris said, his rumbling voice filling in what space his body did not. “Look upon her in such a way again, and you shall lose your eyes. Point your finger at me again and you will lose all of them. Speak to me in that manner again, and you will lose your tongue.”
Telani stepped in front of Falthyris, blocking his path. “You cannot harm him, dragon.”
“Oh, but I can, priestess.” Falthyris leaned forward, looking directly over Telani’s head, not taking his eyes off Dian. “He has no need of eyes, fingers, or tongue to spread his seed. And though his silence would be welcome, it may do your tribe better to be rid of his strain all together.”
“Falthyris,” Elliya said. However much she enjoyed seeing Dian cowering and put in his place, she didn’t want him hurt. “He is naught but a spoiled child. Come back to me.”
Falthyris’s nostrils flared, and tiny flames flashed from them. Dian stumbled backward, nearly pulling down the leather door flap as he fell on his backside and scrambled out of the chamber. Once Dian was gone, Falthyris glanced down at Telani, offered her a nod, and walked back to Elliya.
Telani closed the distance between her and Elliya, knelt, and wrapped her arms around her daughter, squeezing her tight. Elliya embraced her mother in return.
“My strong, brave daughter. I am so grateful to have you home, to see you awake, to see joy upon your face again.” Telani glanced at Falthyris. “Please do not dismiss Dian—or any of us—out of hand. There is a good man inside him that needs only be uncovered, and his demeanor is only the result of his importance to our tribe.”
“That does not excuse his behavior,” the dragon replied.
“It does not. But your presence, I think, will force him to reflect upon his position and his actions. He will bother Elliya no more.”
“One way or another, Telani, your words will prove true.”
Telani drew back, cupped Elliya’s face in her hands, and smiled as she met her daughter’s eyes. “You have a fierce mate. I should have known since you were a little girl that it would take something as powerful as a dragon to be your match.” She leaned forward and kissed Elliya’s forehead. “Rest, eat, grow strong again. I will have some broth brought to you, and if you need anything more, send word.”
“Thank you, Mother,” Elliya said with a smile.
When Telani was gone, Elliya looked at Falthyris, her smile widening.
“There is mischief in your grin, human,” he said, eyeing her warily. “What are you thinking?”
“Simply that you acted not unlike a spoiled child when I first met you, dragon.”
He lowered himself onto the pallet beside her with a growl. “I acted like an ancient dragon who was unwillingly claimed by a beautiful little human. It is fortunate for that little human that I have grown rather fond of her in the time since.”
He caught her by her hips and lifted her back onto his lap. His tail curled possessively around her leg, lightly stroking the skin around the scabbed bite wounds.
Elliya reached up to brush his long, pale hair from his face, tucking it behind his pointed ear. “This little human has grown quite fond of her dragon, too. She might even love him.”
“Might?” Falthyris cupped her chin with his hand, angling her face toward his. Her gaze immediately locked with his vibrant blue eyes, which were deeper and more beautiful than the sky on even the clearest days. “There is no might for me, Elliya. I love you.”
“And I love you.” She leaned forward and kissed his lips but pulled away before he could deepen that kiss. Her brows knitted as
she looked into his eyes again. “When you said earlier that we were home…”
“I meant it. If this is where my mate wishes to be, this is where I shall be. What good is a lair without my female to fill it with warmth and life?”
“You are certain you want to…to stay here?” Her chest grew tight, and emotion constricted her throat, making it difficult to get the words out. The words he’d spoken in anger seven days before were still fresh in her mind. “To live here with…with all these—”
Falthyris shifted his hand and pressed his thumb over her lips, silencing her. He leaned closer, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft but unwavering, making her feel as though there were no one else in all the world but the two of them. “You may well be the first being to have received an apology from a dragon, Elliya. You are absolutely the first to have received two apologies. I am sorry for what I said. I offer you no excuses—only an oath.
“I will cherish you as you deserve, I will speak to you as you deserve, I will worship you as you deserve for so long as my heartfire burns, and even after it has been snuffed out, my love will persist in every glowing ember, in every fire, for the rest of eternity. For you, Elliya”—Falthyris brushed his lips tenderly across hers—“are a dragon’s mate.”
Epilogue
A salt-kissed breeze flowed over Falthyris’s scales, carrying a hint of refreshingly cool mist. He filled his lungs with the ocean air and closed his eyes. The afternoon sun was pleasantly warm, as was the soft sand underfoot, both so unlike the desert conditions to which he’d been accustomed for most of his life. He had spent so long in a world of withering heat where everything was gritty and abrasive, where everything was harsh and unforgiving, that he’d lost sight of everything beyond.
He'd spent centuries seeing only the ugliness of the world, the pain it so often inflicted. He’d spent centuries pursuing glory, conquest, and power, but he’d never found contentment.
Not until her.
Falthyris opened his eyes. The Endless Blue stretched out before him, its waves gently rolling onto the pale beach upon which he stood. His mouth curled into a smile as his gaze fell on Elliya and their sons, who were playing in the surf—running, jumping, splashing, and laughing.
That he’d once measured time by the decade seemed surreal to him now. He could scarce believe that nearly six years had passed already. At five years old, little Akanos was not so little anymore, and Zevryn, younger by two years, seemed to grow bigger every day.
Falthyris had told Elliya that pride had always been of the utmost importance to dragons. Those words had been true then, and they remained true now. None could match his pride, none could shake it—for it was here, laughing in the water beneath a vibrant summer sun.
He slowly walked toward his mate and children, his family, his smile widening with every step. His tail dragged lightly over the sand behind him, leaving a trail not unlike those created by his sons—though Akanos’s and Zevryn’s paths across the beach had been considerably more haphazard than Falthyris’s.
With their little wings and tails, the children should have had an advantage over their mother in their splash battle. But Zevryn had not quite mastered the art of using those parts in unison, and tripped himself just as often as he managed to splash his mother, and Elliya had drawn upon more of her skill and natural athleticism as Akanos had grown in size and confidence to ensure he was always challenged.
Even carrying another babe in her rounded belly, she was agile and surefooted. That would change in another month or two, but he found it fascinating regardless.
Falthyris combed his fingers through his long hair, sweeping back strands that had been blown loose by the breeze and tucking them behind his horns. He’d found himself wondering often if his parents had felt the same about one another as he did about Elliya—and if they’d felt the same about Falthyris as he did his own sons.
He felt…full. Loving and loved, as cherished by his family as he cherished them. How had it taken him nearly two thousand years to find this? How had he lived for so long without realizing what he was missing?
Falthyris the Golden, Scourge of the Sands, Lord of the Shimmering Peaks, could not imagine a life worth living without these three people being part of it. And, though he was not likely to admit it aloud, the tribe had also become a valued part of his life. The way they worked together and survived together, the way they laughed and sang together, and the way they mourned and celebrated together had all affected him deeply.
He could not help but look back upon those distant, hazy memories of the humans he’d encountered ages ago with a new perspective. There’d always been so much more to them than he’d let himself see.
Humanity had much good to offer the world—and the very best of it was right here in front of him.
Cool, foamy water flowed around his feet as he walked up behind Elliya. He wrapped his arms around her, and she laughed, kicking her legs as he lifted her and spun her in a quick circle. When he lowered her onto her feet, he did not release his hold. Instead, he slid his arms down, settling his hands over her rounded belly.
His tongue flicked out, catching her scent on the air. He loved the extra layer he detected now, the extra sweetness he’d first detected in his lair years ago. He’d learned what that change in her fragrance meant when it had become clear she was with child for the second time—the new life growing within Elliya altered her scent, and each child had presented a subtly different smell.
“You have finally decided to join us?” Elliya asked, turning her head to smile back at him.
He was helpless but to return that smile. “Should you not be commending my bravery, female? Fire and water are opposing forces.”
She scoffed at him. “Oh? How, then, did we manage some of the things we did in the river beneath the Red Star?”
Falthyris laughed and leaned his head down, brushing his lips over the top of her ear. A soft growl rolled through his chest. “Perhaps we will need to repeat those things, that you might refresh my memory.”
Elliya hummed, and once again her scent shifted subtly, sparking heat in his loins. She pressed her backside against his bulging slit. “Perhaps…after we return home, when the children are under my mother’s watch.”
He brushed his nose over her temple and whispered, “And if I demand a taste now?”
“Akanos and Zevryn may have some objections…”
“Oh? Such as what?”
Elliya suddenly ducked out of Falthyris’s arms, pushing away from him just before a huge splash struck his face and chest, leaving him sputtering.
“Got you, da,” Zevryn exclaimed gleefully.
“We are playing with Mother,” declared Akanos. “Wait your turn.”
Falthyris wiped water from his face and leveled his gaze on his sons, who stood before him with defiant, excited expressions. Elliya was nearly doubled over with laughter beside him.
“You whelplings have forced me to take action,” Falthyris snarled. “Now I must assert my place as dragonlord of this beach!” He twisted his torso, swinging his tail around to send a wave of water at his sons.
The children wailed and giggled in delight, kicking water at him as they fled.
“Oh, mighty Falthyris, Lord of the Sun-Bathed Beach,” Elliya intoned with a smirk.
“Do not think you have escaped my wrath, little human.”
Before she could react, Falthyris swept a curved wing through the water, sending a torrent at his mate. She screeched playfully, throwing her hands up in defense from his follow-up splashes, and ran.
Falthyris’s eyes dipped to take her in—her dark hair flowing around her in the wind, the proud set of her shoulders, her toned arms, the delectable curve of her backside and those lithe legs. She was beautiful—and grew even more so every day.
The Falthyris of old would have looked at himself in disgust and demanded, What have I become?
The answer was simple—he was free of shame, regret, and hesitation.
He w
as happy. Fulfilled.
He’d been tamed by a beautiful little human who’d claimed his dragon heart.
Grinning, he raced through the surf to give chase to his mate, even hungrier for her now than he had been under the light of the red comet.
Author’s Note
Thank you so much for reading! We hope you enjoyed our contribution to the Venys Needs Men collaboration.
We, along with Naomi Lucas, Poppy Rhys, and Amanda Milo, came up with this idea nearly two years ago, but due to scheduling conflicts and life, it got put on the backburner for some time. It wasn’t until Naomi decided to wield her Golden Rod of Get Your Asses Moving that we finally got together to hash out the details of this new world of dragons. Naomi even created that beautiful map!
It’s always so fun to work with these ladies. And if you haven’t ready, be sure to check out their books in the Venys Needs Men Series!
If you are a new reader to us and enjoyed our writing, we hope you’ll give our other books a try. And if you’re a longtime follower (I adore you stalkers! <3 Muah!) We’ll soon be diving into the next Infinite City book, Tethered Souls, featuring Kier and Kayl! We can’t wait to begin.
If you’d like to keep up-to-date on books and news from us, Like our Facebook page (or Friend us), and/or join our private reader group, Tiffany Roberts’ Ravagers! Our reader group is a laid-back private room for readers who have enjoyed our books, and it’s a great place to talk with other book lovers, share your thoughts, ask questions, and more.
Thank you all again for reading! And please, if you have a moment, we’ve love it if you could leave a review. <3
Venys Needs Men Collaboration
To Touch a Dragon by Naomi Lucas
To Mate a Dragon by Naomi Lucas
To Tame a Dragon by Tiffany Roberts
To Seduce a Dragon by Poppy Rhys
To Desire a Dragon by Amanda Milo
To Tame a Dragon (Venys Needs Men) Page 18