Love & Wrath (First Dragons Book 1)

by A. C. Ryals

  “Normalcy is boring, but yes, I’ll give you your phone. If you want to stay here, you can have my room. Dragons don’t sleep often and when we do, we like to be underground.”

  “God, you’re weird. Okay.”

  “You’re the one who mate marked a virtual stranger,” Wrath said. “Let she who is without strange cast the first stone. Not that I question your taste. How many human men could incinerate your enemies from the inside out?”

  Jess managed not to laugh. “Creepy. Hey, if you’re so old, did you like...meet Jesus?”

  “I was living in Egypt at the time. I didn’t hear about him until over a century after he died. You know, I am technically the son of a god. Kur was said to be the god of the underworld. That would make me a demigod. See how lucky you are?”

  “Oh my God…”

  “Demigod. Yes, pitiful human? Do you have an entreaty for me?”

  Jess punched him in the arm and he feigned injury. Jess lifted her chin and showed no pity.

  “Just give me my damn phone, dragon,” Jess said.

  ~

  While Jess texted her boss, Wrath called his middle son, Maat. He didn’t like to play favorites with his boys, so he rotated which son he’d call when he needed something from all three of them.

  Texting wasn’t enough. He had to hear the voice of one of his sons every so often.

  “Is everything okay?” Maat asked, there was a hum of voices around him as though he was in a crowd.

  “Everyone here is fine, but I had a visit from Etel. He’s rallying troops to defend the world. I won’t decide this for you. I just thought you should know the details.”

  “Hold on a sec,” Maat said.

  There was a click of a closing door and then the background noise was gone.

  “Did I hear you correctly?” Maat asked. “The great Etel needs basilisks to help him save the world?”

  Wrath explained briefly what Etel had told him about the fae from another world coming over and killing humans in Iraq and about the entry points for the other world.

  “I’ll talk to the others,” Maat said. “It would be nice to have more details.”

  “Etel will be coming back soon. Let me know what questions you come up with,” Wrath said. “There is one other matter I’d like your opinion on. One of a more...personal nature.”

  “A woman?”

  “Yes. Etel set a trap for me. A woman with dragon magic. She had no idea she was being used and it seems the trap worked. She bit me. Apparently, that’s binding between two dragons, even if she can’t shift.”

  “He’s asking for our help while stirring descent among us. He’s trying to split your loyalties.”

  “Maybe, but I could never be turned against my own children and I don’t plan on having any more regardless of whether I have a mate or not. I’m on your side, Maat. Always.”

  “I know. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.”

  “I know you didn’t. I like this woman Etel sent, but if you don’t like it…”

  “Papa, stop. I didn’t mean to…” Maat sighed audibly, “What wouldn’t you give up if I asked? I mean if you thought I needed your whole hoard, you’d give it to me, right?”

  “If you really needed it.”

  “But you know I wouldn’t ask. None of us would. Well…maybe Seth.”

  “He has, I said no. He was high, though. It doesn’t count.”

  There was a noise and then Wrath could hear that Maat had taken the phone from his ear so he could laugh.

  Maat cleared his throat and then he was back. “Sorry,” he said. “Look, the point is that you’ve been a wonderful father. You sacrificed for us. You stood by us during the war and…well…you stayed with mom. I’m not an idiot, papa. None of us are. We know she wasn’t ideal mate material. Especially not for you. But you loved her as best you could, and you kept our little family together. Regardless of what we or anyone else thinks, you deserve love. You deserve your true mate. If she’s part dragon, so be it. You bled for us. You killed for us. You deserve to settle down with whatever you want. Do snail shifters exist? Don’t answer that. I’d rather not know and be surprised later. Anyway, your sons have your back. I speak for all of us. If you mate a dragon and have little dragon babies…”

  “I can’t Maat. If there’s another war…”

  “We take care of our own. I will properly brainwash him against dragons and...”

  “You can’t know…”

  “Neither can you, Ezzu. Are you listening? We don’t give a fuck about who you mate or what babies you have. We will be on your side and theirs. If they side with dragons in some conflict, I will fucking surrender to them. For you, papa. I will do anything for you. I don’t say that lightly and I don’t want you disregarding it. I’m speaking as one of The Three. Any son of yours is a brother of mine. It would be awesome if we had a snail brother, though. I suppose we’d have to keep him away from salt.”

  “I get it, Maat. I’ll have to think about it.”

  “Good. That Romeo and Juliet shit is impractical. You two kids should have fun. Do I call her mama or is that too much? How old is she?”

  “Twenty-five.”

  “Wow. You’ve still got it, huh? I’m already texting Seth and Adom.”

  “Boy.”

  “So sorry, papa,” Maat said, sounding contrite. He wasn’t.

  “Mmhmm. Now, if dragons and basilisks are going to be in close proximity, there’s a chance some of our females may find mates among their males. I want you to withhold judgment on that for now, okay? A knee jerk negative reaction won’t do. Like you said, Romeo and Juliet are an impractical standard. I want you to think of how we could use it to our advantage if it happens, okay?”

  “I don’t think it’s likely, but one never knows. My daughter mated a raven shifter, after all. I don’t like the idea of a basilisk mating a dragon, but...I guess you’re right. I just pray to Anu it isn’t one of mine.”

  Wrath wouldn’t say anything to Maat about what Iris had told him about her feelings in confidence. He just wanted to broach the subject and get his sons comfortable with the idea before they found out that the Prince of Dragons had a basilisk mate.

  “We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Wrath said. “You and your brothers have yet to make a decision. I trust you to select someone to talk to Etel with me. He wants me to work with other dragons while our people provide support. With that division between basilisks and dragons in place, it’s appropriate for a basilisk to be present to ask for more specifics.”

  “Fine. The ones with you now are young and haven’t seen battle. We’ll likely send someone else. Seth is in Toronto. He might be available. Will you be working with the dragons?”

  “I might. He seems to think I’ve been cursed. You know how my dragon is about mates…”

  Maat laughed. “I always wondered if that was something mom did to you. It sounds like her.”

  “It does. He might break it for me. If that happens, I’ll owe him.”

  “Not your life, papa, surely.”

  “I’m old, Maat. I have a mate and if I’m going to take full advantage of it, I need the curse lifted. I was never able to love your mother the way she wanted me to, but I did love her. That’s why I put up with her tantrums.”

  “She never understood you.”

  “That may be true, but don’t doubt that I loved her.”

  “I don’t, but the beast inside you didn’t agree. If this woman with dragon blood bit you then magic is on your side, right?”

  “Right. And that’s worth fighting for. If I have to go into battle to pay Etel back, I will.”

  “Okay. I understand. I’ll let the others know. We’ve got your back.”

  “Thank you,” Wrath said. “Call me when Cassie has her baby.”

  “I will. Take care. I mean it.”

  Chapter 16

  While Jess worked at the kitchen table, Wrath went down to the basement. It was larger than the footprint of the house, and far de
eper than two stories. It was big enough for him to comfortably shift into his dragon form. He stripped off his clothes and summoned his dragon.

  Now that he was older and his magic had matured, he could change directly into a white-hot firedrake if he desired. When he was younger, he had to start at black and then heat up to red, orange, yellow, and then finally a brilliant blinding white. It was so much less time consuming to go straight to white.

  Enveloped in heat, he walked to the far corner of the basement and let loose a long thin stream of plasma that only a firedrake could manage. It went through a narrow shaft in the wall triggering a hidden door to open.

  He took a breath, settled on the floor, and let himself cool. It was easy to generate more heat, reducing heat was something else entirely.

  Once he turned black again, he entered the familiar passageway, just large enough to accommodate his dragon form.

  Faster. We have to see that the treasure is safe.

  Wrath knew it was safe, but his dragon had to see it to be sure.

  Around a bend, sixty feet underground, Wrath reached his vault. He muttered a spell in Sumerian and the door opened—revealing the shimmering glory that was his treasure hoard.

  It was the size of half a football field and the gold and jewels would come up to his knees if he sank into them. This was just the part of his hoard he kept locally.

  His dragon practically purred at the sight. Still in dragon form, Wrath climbed onto the pile of treasure and curled into a ball like a cat. This is where he slept when the need arose. It was also where his dragon felt most at peace. The perfect place to meditate.

  Blissfully relaxed, Wrath began his meditation. He let his magic flow through every part of his body and mind.

  ~

  Mr. Drake was reluctant to have Jess work, that was clear. When Jess had asked for an assignment she could work remotely, the immediate response from Clarence was that she was on paid vacation and she should enjoy it. Her bonus was already in her account. Why not take some time off and live a little?

  She’d pushed and then she got an assignment. Test the security of the website of a small chain of coffee shops in Montana. Mr. Drake had hundreds of employees who could do that.

  It didn’t matter really. She was just working to get the insanity of the last day out of her head.

  It wasn’t until Wrath went down to meditate in his basement (weird) that she’d been able to concentrate. Soon, she was lost in her work. So lost, that she started when Lily appeared by the dining room table where Jess had set up her laptop.

  “Poppy’s still meditating, huh?” Lily asked.

  “He is,” Jess said, itching to return to her task. The company had failed to update their website software and she knew just the exploit to use on it.

  Lily fiddled with her fingers and shifted her weight. She was eager to talk to Wrath about something. The way she avoided looking Jess in the eyes told Jess that thing was her.

  She closed her laptop.

  “Did you find out anything?” Jess asked vaguely.

  Lily narrowed her eyes. “What did he tell you?”

  “Not a lot with everything going one. You know Etel visited today, right? That’s going to be a big deal.”

  “I know something’s going on, but no one will tell me anything,” Lily said with a pout. “I asked Iris what he looked like, and she got all snippy.”

  “He looks like your poppy, mostly. But he’s got this kind of...dark energy around him. He’s coming back. Judging by Iris’s reaction, I’d say follow her when he does. She might have a crush on him. It’s not every day you get to see your sister swoon at the sight of a dragon prince.”

  “You really think she likes him?”

  “He’s handsome and powerful. There’s no reason for her to not want to talk about him unless she’s got some personal reason. I’d keep an eye on her when he’s around.”

  “I will. I’ll rip him to shreds if he hurts her feelings. She’s a pain, but she’s my sister.”

  As fearsome as Lily’s basilisk was, Jess doubted she’d be much of a challenge for an elder dragon. Nonetheless, Jess replied, “As you should. Well, with that settled, what news do you have?”

  “What do you know about how you got the money to pay for college?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it until Wrath mentioned it. I thought I got money from my maternal grandmother but, as far as I know, she was living paycheck to paycheck until she died.”

  “The dragon she was hunting paid for your college. He also sent two thousand dollars a month to your grandparents until you turned eighteen. Apparently, he put in a good word for you with Kurtis who wasn’t far from Austin at the time. Aegidius is the protector of Austin. He keeps all the shifters there in line. I still don’t know why he felt he owed you. I know it has something to do with the fire. It has to.”

  “I’ll just have to ask,” Jess said. “What’s his last name?”

  “Calvin. Whether it’s junior, senior, or whatever, they’re all the same dragon.”

  “I’ll find him and I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  And so, she set to work while Lily helped herself to a soda and busied herself on her own computer.

  Number acquired, she debated leaving the room to make a voice call. Instead, she composed a text and submitted it to Lily for her approval.

  Hi there. I’m Jess Etherton. I’m acquainted with a few of your brothers, Kurtis, Wrath, and Etel. I was wondering if we could talk.

  “He might not know Poppy goes by Wrath now. Ezzu means basically the same thing in Akkadian. It’s spelled E-Z-Z-U,” Lily said.

  Jess dutifully replaced Wrath with Ezzu and then sent the message. Just as she was setting her phone down, it buzzed with an incoming call. Jess answered, with Lily hovering over her shoulder.

  “This is Jess,” she said.

  “Are you alright? Did Etel get you away from Ezzu?” Aegidius asked.

  “I’m fine, thank you. No, I’m still with Ezzu. I’m not contacting you about ancient family rifts. What I’m more interested in is how you and I are connected. What can you tell me?”

  “What do you know about me and my brothers?”

  “I know what you are. Wrath showed me. I fainted. He said that’s one of the worst reactions he’s seen.”

  Lily stifled a laugh.

  “It’s certainly not the best,” Aegidius said.

  “Look, I know my grandmother and mother seemed to be out to get you. Tell me what happened.”

  Aegidius sighed. “It was my fault, not theirs. I didn’t know your mother, but your grandmother was a lovely woman.”

  “What happened?”

  “Your grandmother was a young woman when I met her at the diner where she worked. I was dating a mage at the time, but it wasn’t serious. At least, it wasn’t for me. She wasn’t my mate. We were just having fun, or so I thought. Your grandmother was a single mom and she got lonely. She gave me her number and…”

  “Stop! She’s my grandma. Please, don’t make me think about it.”

  “Right, sorry. Anyway, the mage found out and cursed her and your mother. If they ever saw me, they would try to kill me. Your grandmother started sending threatening letters. Your mother tried to attack me on the street outside my building on Congress. Then, I guess your mother tried to build a bomb. It wasn’t her fault and it certainly wasn’t yours. It was a miracle you survived. Since then, I’ve tried to take care of you. Is Ezzu concerned you’re spying for me? I could give him all of the information on how I covered up the transactions so you couldn’t find me.”

  “He’s not. He knows it was Etel who sent me and that I didn’t know why I was sent.”

  “What’s he like? I never got a chance to meet him, and I wasn’t around for the war. I was too young to be much use.”

  “I like him. His humor is playful, not cruel. He’s honorable. I don’t know what else to say.”

  “I never imagined him with humor.”

  “Ah, well, yo
u didn’t see his reaction when I ran away from a snake.”

  “Anyone would be right to fear a basilisk.”

  “Not a basilisk. A snake. For the record, it was about four feet long and it startled me. I think maybe it was just a black snake, but…”

  Jess paused long enough for Aegidius to finish laughing.

  “I see your sense of humor is hereditary,” Jess said, unable to keep the smile out of her voice. “I have to thank you, Aegidius. I wasn’t your responsibility, but you took care of me. If there’s anything I can do for you, I will.”

  There was a five second pause before Aegidius said: “There is one thing, actually. Due to an... error in judgement, I lost half my fortune to a nephew, Cassian. Rumor has it, he does business with the basilisks. If Ezzu could put in a good word for me…”

  “I’ll ask him.”

  “He’s fond of you?”

  “I like to think so, but I’m not banking on that. He’s a good man. I’m sure that if he can help you, he will.”

  “It’s a long shot, Jess, but my dragon is restless to reclaim what’s mine and I can’t miss an opportunity to try. The thing is ranting in my head about it day and night. Regardless of whether you can convince Ezzu to help me or not, I’m glad to have the chance to hear your voice. I’m so sorry for the trouble I caused your family.”

  “You’ve done your penance. You’re forgiven if it helps. I’ll do what I can to shut your dragon up.”

  “Thank you, Jess. No pressure.”

  Jess had just disconnected the call when a deep male voice sent a shiver down her spine.

  “Who was that?” Wrath asked.

  “Aegidius,” Jess answered. “I had to know why he paid for my college. He said that because of him my mother and grandmother were cursed. He wants a favor.”

  “No. When a dragon wants a favor, that’s always the answer,” Wrath said, taking the seat Lily had vacated to stand over Jess’s shoulder.

  “Well, I had to ask after everything he’s done for me. I owe him.”

  Wrath shook his head. “From what you just told me; you don’t owe him. He just made things even between you. He did harm and tried to rectify it, that’s all.”