by Kym Dillon
She was trying to decompress after the conversation with Feis.
With a month to keep searching for the diamond and Arken willing to help, the Heart of the Dragon was within reach. He knew the fortress better than her. They could turn the place upside down until the found it. But, Daya had been serious when she voiced her fears to Arken. What would happen to the Fire Realm once Feis got the stone?
She closed the book with a huffy sigh as her worries distracted her. She was on the chapter about King Imyr, which made her vaguely wonder if Arken’s family had adopted the dragon name. Shifting to put the book away from the tub, she prepared to finish her bath. At that precise moment, however, the door to her chamber was forcefully shoved open. It banged the wall and Arken called her name.
“I need to speak with you. Where are you?”
“Knock!” Daya yelled as the book slipped from her fingers. She shrieked in horror when it fell into the tub. All she could think of was the centuries of history that would be lost. Her panicked eyes flew to the bathroom door where Arken stood rooted in place.
“The history!” he croaked.
They both stared at the heavy leather book sinking deeper into the water. Smears of ink bled from the pages. “No, no, no,” Daya whimpered, fishing it out. She didn’t even think of her nudity. She hopped from the tub and spread out the book on floor. Kneeling beside it, she tried to smooth the pages.
“This just what I need,” Arken chuckled. The sound bordered on hysteria. He shook his head in anguish and crouched down next to her. “Let me see that.”
“Wait, I think it’s doing something.” Daya turned another page and stroked her fingers over it to try to sweep away the water. To their surprise, the droplets disappeared. The pages were drying. Daya hitched in a breath and laughed as she examined the book for damage but found none. “This place is amazing!”
“I don’t know about that. ‘This place’ has never done anything like that before.”
“Well, have you ever dropped a book into the tub?” she countered. Arken retreated cautiously, and she realized her state of nakedness. She covered with a towel. “What do you want? Why did you barge in like that?”
“I needed to speak with you. I’ll let you, um…” He gestured at her as she tightened the towel around her torso, but he could hardly look at her. “Get dressed.”
Daya arched a brow, giggling. “Don’t be such a prude. It’s a female body. It’s not like you’ve never seen one before. So, what’s up?” She led him into her chamber where she had unpacked the supplies Neigen had given her. The place was like home. Pulling a fresh oversized shirt from the bureau, she dropped the towel and shimmied into it. “You were saying?” she prompted him.
Her head poked through the collar of the shirt in time to see Arken staring with slightly parted lips and a somewhat pained expression. He quickly shut his mouth and fixed his face. “The dragon is on the mend. She’ll likely be back to full strength in a matter of days. I think if we want to do this, we have to do it now.”
“By this, I take it you mean ‘find the diamond.’”
“What else could I possibly mean?” he asked in an annoyed voice.
She took a teasing step toward him. Hell, why not? She was trapped in a magical keep with a hot stranger and a sick dragon. This might be her last chance to live a little before she delivered the diamond and destroyed the world. Or, didn’t deliver the diamond and destroyed herself. She hadn’t made up her mind yet.
Daya draped her arms over Arken’s shoulders and laced her fingers behind his neck. His hands circled her waist to push her away, but she didn’t budge. She could feel his arousal, and it emboldened her. She stepped closer, pressing her body against his and feeling his hardness dig into her belly. Her eyes bore into his. “You could mean this,” she murmured, lips coasting over his in the barest touch.
“Mm…You’re forward,” he breathed. His voice trembled, she noticed.
She cocked her head to the side. “Is that meant to be an insult?”
“No. You’re different from the women here. I don’t know what to do with you.” His arms slowly encircled her, and he tested her lips again. This time, his tongue flicked the center of her bottom lip and elicited wanton visions of being kissed that way in other places. A liquid moan poured from her mouth. He released the kiss with a quiet exhale. “I’m not supposed to want you, Oedaya.”
“It’s human nature,” she whispered.
He backed away. “Exactly. I’m not human.”
The words shivered through her. Daya hadn’t considered the possibility that being from a different realm meant being different species. Well, maybe she had. The dragon eaters clearly weren’t human. She wasn’t sure if Neigen was, either. Most humans couldn’t walk on air or travel through space-time. She hugged herself. But, if Arken wasn’t human, then what was he?
Across the room, his dark eyes blazed with desire as he raked them over her body. The slickness between her legs warned it would be a long, uncomfortable night if she didn’t do something about the way he made her feel. It was so obvious he felt the same way. His pants were bulged with the tell-tale sign of his arousal. Even if he wasn’t human, he had the right parts.
Daya lifted her chin a fraction. “Whatever you are, you want me.”
He laughed and shook his head. “And, you’re giving yourself to me anyway.”
“Mmm-maybe. Drop the pants, Mr. Arken. I want to see if I need to worry about tentacles in strange places.”
He licked his lips contemplatively, a smile tickling the corner of his mouth. Then, he stripped off his shirt and unfastened his pants. She watched with bated breath as he exposed himself little by little. Tanned skin, rippling muscles and man. All man. Big man. Daya swallowed thickly.
“You’re right,” she released a breath, “You’re far too perfect to be human.”
Arken whispered a word she couldn’t decipher, and the room was plunged into darkness as all the candles went out. She fought a bout of nerves, but it wasn’t so dark she couldn’t see. The starlight from the open balcony allowed her to see his form stalking toward her. He shed his clothes entirely and reach for the hem of her shirt like time wasn’t on their side.
Moonlight spilled over her luscious body. Her thick, dark hair covered her breasts, but her gently flaring hips and long legs were his to see. His arms captured her and she was dragged to his chest with crushing strength, and his lips collided with hers in a kiss of fierce desperation that muddled her senses.
Behind closed eyes, she saw leaping flames, as if the world was burning down. Everywhere he touched, her skin sizzled. Her sex throbbed to be his. She could tell he wouldn’t be gentle. He was like a man who had been starved and was finally allowed to eat.
She gave a strangled moan when he yanked her off her feet and carried her to the bed. As his heated mouth plundered hers, his teeth nipped at her. It hurt, and he felt so good that she wanted to scream. There was momentary weightlessness when he threw her in the air. Then, she hit the mattress, and it felt like clouds. Like a summer storm building to completion. She wanted him with everything in her.
Arken stretched over her, staring into her eyes. He grunted deep in his throat and nudged her thighs apart with his knee. “Are you sure?” he asked with Herculean self-control.
She nodded urgently. Her breasts strained into his palms. His fingers caressed the soft mounds and he buried his face in her cleavage. Her pelvis bucked to meet his, as if her body had a mind of its own. Daya cried out.
“Hush,” he hissed. “She’ll hear you.”
Yes, the dragon. The priestess. The danger faded in a white-hot explosion of lust when he captured her nipple and swirled tight, wet circles with his expert tongue. Panting, Daya shuddered in wonder. He bit down gently and she gasped, “Oh, God, yes!” His free hand moved between her legs to stroke the satin folds of her delicate sex. Her hidden pearl swelled at the brush of his thumb. A rush of wetness coated his finger and soaked the sheets.
S
he clutched his shoulders and undulated against him as she slowly lost her mind for him. His muscles bunched with restraint, however. He caressed her body, licking and sucking like a man who had been starved for far too long.
She threaded her fingers through his hair, and he greedily devoured wherever she directed him. But, she was the one setting the pace. She would only have herself to blame for whatever happened next.
Daya tugged the back of his hair and drew his mouth to hers to muffle her excitement. “Fuck me,” she moaned into his mouth.
Arken pinned her hips to the bed and kissed her harder. “Ask me what I am,” he groaned. She shook her head. He growled in frustration and sank between her legs. He probed her moist folds with his shaft. It promised bliss, and her eyes flew open when he slid forward barely penetrating her feminine center. “You may regret this.”
She inhaled deeply, trembling with exhilaration. “Will you hurt me?” she asked. He surged forward, and her body stretched to accommodate him. Erogenous zones she hadn’t known existed came alive as, inch by inch, he plunged deeper.
“I’ll do everything I can to protect you,” he grunted. He kissed and nipped a silky trail down the side of her neck, making her head loll. Her knees came up to bracket him in place. She dug her heels into his thighs and strained against him. He rocked with intense thrusts of his hips as he drove himself into her. Each stroke pushed her to the edge.
“That’s not the same,” she managed as she floated in pleasure.
Arken tangled a hand in her hair and drew tendrils to his nose. He inhaled her scent with an expression that bordered on reverence. She locked eyes with him as he ravaged her. Her body quivered under the power of his thrusts. She had to hold on, and dug her fingers into his back. In fact, she clung to him like she would never let him go. Her breasts skated against his chest as their lower halves slammed together with wild disinhibition.
He gently pressed her lower stomach to heighten the ecstasy. He filled her to the brim, and yet she wanted more. All of him. She had never been so ablaze, and certainly not this quickly. It usually took work, but…
Daya’s mouth dropped open in a soundless scream, as she constricted around him. She found her voice, and a keening cry swelled in the room. She couldn’t shut it off. With a rough sob, Arken pushed his forehead to hers and squeezed his eyes shut. He kept going. She rode the climax he had so easily called forth from her, and it climbed higher than she had ever gone before.
“Arken! Ah! Arken!” she screamed.
She wrapped her arms around him and settled into the rhythm of his passionate lovemaking again as she floated back down. “Are you finished?” he moaned.
“What are you?” she gasped in wonder. He kissed her hungrily but didn’t answer. He flipped on his back and pulled her on top.
“Tell me when you’ve had enough,” he whispered.
She stared down at him, letting her hair curtain her face. She couldn’t figure him out. He seemed ready to explode at any moment; yet, he held himself back. Her skin glistened with beads of sweat. She put her hands to his chest and slowly rolled her pelvis to take him deeper. Exquisite pain tightened his features.
“It’s your turn,” she coaxed.
“No, I can’t,” he sighed. “I have a duty to someone else.”
Daya slid her arm into the cool, airy nightshirt that fell to mid-thigh and slipped out to the balcony. The sky was a milky white. Arken stood, watching the sun come up, and she was hesitant to approach him. He looked lost in thought.
Their mind-blowing sex had continued deep into the night. He had given her earth-shattering orgasms that left her trembling and spent. But, he hadn’t once chased the same climax. She touched his shoulder, and he flinched.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” she said.
“You didn’t. I just…” She followed the downward direction of his gaze. He was still brandishing an erection that could break stone. Daya hid a smile.
“Why did you hold out last night?”
“There’s so much going on here, Daya. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“Try me. Tell me what I don’t know. But, for the record, I asked you what you were hiding.”
“And, I told you…I’m not human.”
“Then, what are you, Arken of the Fire Realm?”
He heaved a sigh. “I think I know a way to defeat Feis, but it’s fraught with danger. We can give her a decoy.”
Daya crossed her arms and leaned against the parapet. “It’s too risky. She’ll figure it out before I can leave.”
“I wasn’t talking about you taking it to her. I was talking about your competition.”
“You?” she asked in shock. He tightened his lips, and she got the feeling she had guessed wrong. Daya’s eyebrows hooked in a confused frown. “Well, then, who are you talking about? Is someone else here that I haven’t met?”
“The dragon. Her name is Vyda, and she works for Feis.”
“I was under the impression the dragon that kept the Heart was its protector. If she already works for Feis, then why didn’t she just take the diamond to her in the first place?”
“Like I said, you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into. Step back. I need space.”
“Excuse me, then,” she huffed, moving deeper into the room. Arken hiked a leg up to the stone balcony and pulled himself to his full height on the ledge. “What the hell are you doing? Arken!” She sprinted toward him, but she was too late. Arken jumped.
Daya screamed in disbelief. Tears instantly sprang to her eyes. They had only known each for weeks, but time did strange things in this keep. She felt like she had just watched a close friend kill himself. She clutched her throat and whispered no on repeat until her voice went hoarse. She slumped to the floor and dropped her head.
“What did you do?” she whimpered.
A breeze blew her hair around her face, and the world went dark. She sniffed and blinked rapidly at the sudden gusty winds. She wondered how a storm had come up so quickly. When she lifted her head, her heart dropped into her stomach. It wasn’t a storm. There, before her, hovered another dragon. A glistening black monster with obsidian claws and horns and large black eyes. It beat its extraordinary wings, and Daya marveled at its immense size.
She was in a kneeling position, but she fell back and scrambled farther away.
“I told you I wasn’t human,” he spoke. Only, his lips didn’t move. She supposed she heard the voice inside her head. Only, it was Arken’s voice, and that didn’t make any sense. But, it did. Because he had told her he wasn’t human.
Daya shrieked at the top of her lungs and tore out of the room. The chamber doors slammed behind her. She sprinted past the hall of treasures, and the red dragon turned her huge head in her direction, making her run faster. Daya sobbed in terror as she raced down the winding stairs and skidded into the lift. She slapped the gate shut, pressing buttons at random. “Come on, come on,” she urged. The ancient elevator shuddered and slowly began to lower itself, and she shouted in triumph.
Someone called her name. Arken slid into view at the top of the stairs. “Daya, wait! Please, this is the only place I can protect you!”
The elevator sank before he could make his way to her. She pressed herself into the corner of the lift and prayed this was all a dream. If it wasn’t, it was so damn typical. Of course, she’d meet a tall, handsome man who knew how to turn her inside/out in the bedroom, and he’d be a dragon! Coming away from panic, Daya kicked the elevator wall in frustration.
“Get it together, Daya. How are you going to get yourself out of this mess?”
She couldn’t go back. If she went to Feis without the stone, that would mean certain death. She wondered if she could disappear in this realm. Start a new life for herself. After all, there wasn’t much to return to in her world. Her parents were dead. Her ex wanted her dead. And, if she was lucky, the only thing she had to look forward to on earth was getting arrested before the mafia f
ound her.
Without the riches Feis had promised her, there was no point going back.
Daya sighed dejectedly as the lift shuddered to a stop in the base of the mountain. She had forgotten her flashlight, but dim sunlight illuminated the exit from the tunnel. She pushed the thought of spiders, bats and whatever else might be lurking in the shadows out of her head and hurried into the forest, running straight into Neigen.
“What are you doing here?” Daya gasped.
“I think I should be asking you that.”
“The dragon. He…he…” Daya trailed off. Of course, Neigen already knew. Everyone in this realm probably knew. She was the only one in the dark. The old priest nodded, reading her mind.
“Yes, he’s a dragon, and he needs you, Oedaya of the Sky Realm.”
“That literally doesn’t make any sense, okay! You people sent me here to get a diamond from him, and now you tell me he needs me? God!” She stormed away through the trees.
Neigen materialized on the path ahead of her. “You’re beginning to understand. Don’t fight it. Figure it out.”
Daya blinked as her vision blurred. Suddenly, it was no longer a man standing on the path ahead of her, but a woman. A short, round little grandmother with wavy white hair and kind, rainy eyes. Daya clutched her head and dropped into a crouch, refusing to go any further.
“I’m losing my mind,” she whispered hopelessly.
“I told you this world would change you,” Ainley chuckled.
6
Arken yanked open the gate to the lift and dashed into the shadowy tunnel to the outside world. He knew he was too late. It had taken time to dress and come after her. “Gah!” He kicked the stone wall. Torches flamed to life in case she came back. He couldn’t go beyond the keep, especially not on foot. The spell kept him bound to the fortress and the air above it.
A headache pounding at his temples as he braced his hands against the opening and stared at the dense forest that sloped away from the mountain. “Gods, Daya,” he whispered. The sun was higher in the sky, and the weather was fair. Hopefully, she would linger in the woods and come to her senses soon because if she went back to Feis…