The Dragon King

by Candace Blevins

  “So damned proud of you, Soph. Pull it out, feel joy at the exit for me.”

  I pulled it out, paying attention to how the flat part of the blade felt instead of the sharp edges. I’d watched him switch it from right hand to left, and when it was out of my leg I copied the motion, grasping the blade between my fingers and handing it back to him hilt first.

  “Don’t let go of the blade,” he ordered, his voice intense. “Let the point stick into your palm just a little. A pin prick; it doesn’t need to go deep.”

  I readjusted my grip as he took the hilt, and I felt power flowing from his right hand into my left. I looked at my thigh in time to see it miraculously close in seconds, not minutes.

  I shook my head as I tried to deal with the power surge flowing through me. “Do you feel like this all the time? How did you do that?”

  “Yeah, I have an abundance of power most of the time, and I’ve learned to draw even more from my environment. Dragons are pretty comfortable in caves though, so it’s especially easy for me to keep a full reserve when I’m underground.”

  “Do you need to do that with a knife, or is there another way?” I’d seen my father give energy to other swans when they were sick or injured, but he’d never given any to me. He hadn’t needed to cut them, he’d only touched them, but he’d been drained and exhausted afterwards. Also, swans were connected in ways other animals couldn’t be, so I’d always assumed he could only do it because he was their King. He could compel them to do something against their will, so of course he could give them some of his energy.

  However, Aaron didn’t look as if he’d done more than go to the kitchen for a glass of water. He was fine, my leg was healed, and I had more power in me than I’d ever felt.

  He shook his head. “No, the knife helped for our first time — you know blood makes everything work better in our world, but I’ll be able to help you without it in the future, if necessary.” He shrugged. “It isn’t a problem for me to grow a claw and prick you, though, if I need the blood to make it work.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Aaron

  Over the next couple of days we thoroughly discussed the people Sophia might encounter and need to negotiate with, work with, or engage in battle with. When she knew everything about them I did, I quizzed her on how best to deal with them in specific situations.

  I also taught her a handful of both offensive and defensive skills, though I had Duke studying a video designed to show instructors how to teach decent self-defense skills in an afternoon. He’d have that job when they joined us, but I hoped to get the video’s creator to personally teach Sophia once we were out in the open. Nathan knew her, and my friend Kirsten was good friends with her, so I should be able to arrange it.

  I eyed the clock, hoping Sophia awakened soon. I knew she was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but there was so much to do before she faced her father, and I was assuming she’d have to face him on the night of the solstice.

  She was going to fly when she turned this time — no way would I force her back to human as Boris had done. I so wanted to throttle both Cyrano and Boris… and Raul, too, if I found out he’d known what was happening, but I couldn’t believe he’d known. The Swan King may have his faults, but he was overprotective of his daughter and I couldn’t imagine he’d known the hell Boris had likely put her through.

  I slept with her every night, gave her enough orgasms she began to get used to me touching her, and I let her watch me beat off. I’m a bit of an exhibitionist, so having her watch was a big turn on, but I also wanted to get her used to the size, the look, and at some point, the feel. She’d touched me a few times, tentatively, and I was waiting for her to take the initiative and do more.

  The house was a few degrees cooler than I usually kept it first thing in the morning, but I was rationing our diesel to make sure we had enough to last until the solstice because the two hundred gallon tank would only last so long. We burned around two gallons when making a meal, and about a gallon and a half per hour when I heated the house in the mornings for her to wake up comfortably, and then for her to be warm when she returned from a bath. A few lights, the laptop, and the tablet only burned about a quarter-gallon an hour. We’d make it to the solstice, but she’d need to be quite warm for her flogging, plus I intended to wrap her in an electric blanket for fifteen minutes before we started, as that would cut down on the number of warm-up strokes needed.

  I debated whether to make some noise to wake her, or go in and rouse her with kisses. I preferred the latter, but didn’t want the house to smell of arousal when the wolves arrived. They’d eventually know we’re intimate, as wolf hearing would let them hear everything said and done over the coming days, but I didn’t want them to be slammed with it before they spent the day with her.

  So, I started making breakfast, and was louder than I needed to be while hoping it was subtle enough she wouldn’t figure it out.

  “Oh, good,” I said as she entered the kitchen, “you’re up. I drank a protein shake earlier, so I’ll just make some extra sausage I can eat on my way out the door. The wolves have brought supplies, and they’ll be staying with us until two days before the solstice, when I’ll send them back to Atlanta.” I paused but kept busy as I asked, “I assume you want oatmeal and eggs with your sausage again? Maybe add some of the peach preserves into your oatmeal to change it up a little?”

  “Yeah, that sounds good. Why are you being distant?”

  I stopped, turned, and smiled at her. “Sorry, I should’ve explained. I turned the ventilation system on last night to air the house out because I want the wolves to spend the day with you before they see us in each other’s arms. I don’t want to lie to them, so I’ll just be off in another part of the cave, or be busy in the storeroom, so they don’t see us interacting. I want them to have time with you on your own, without seeing you as belonging to me.”

  She tilted her head as she considered the ramifications, and after a few seconds she said, “You want me to be my own person in their eyes before they see me as half of a couple?”

  “Yes. Do you object?”

  “No. I’ll miss you today, but we’ve spent so much time together it will probably be good to be apart a few hours.” She poured her coffee and topped it off with Eagle brand milk from the can. “What will I be doing with them, while you’re sorting through supplies?”

  “Duke will teach you some self-defense, and Brain will give you a crash course in technology. He also has a status report to give you. I’ll stay close as he gives it, to be sure I’m up to date on everything, but probably in the next room.” I dumped her eggs and sausage on a plate and set the pan in the bucket. We’d do dishes later when we went to the waterfall. “Why do you think it’ll be good to be apart a few hours?”

  “I think I’m taking energy off of you. Not as much as you put into me with the knife, but… like a trickle? I’ve been observing my energy levels when we’re apart and not touching, like when I’m reading or studying and you’re busy on the laptop, versus what they are when we’re with each other, and I’m convinced I’m taking from you, somehow. A day apart will tell me for sure.”

  I was impressed she’d noticed but I needed to set her straight on the reason. “Soph, we’re giving each other energy every time we touch, and especially when we’re intimate. I’m getting some of yours, and you’re getting some of mine. You feel better after we’ve been touching because we balance each other out, not because you’re taking energy from me.”

  I retrieved my laptop and awakened it. “Here, read this text, and make sure you’re speaking towards the mic without looking around.”

  I finished preparing her oatmeal as she read the lorem ipsum paragraph, followed by the “Soft you; a word or two before you go,” soliloquy from Othello, followed by a scene from Alice in Wonderland where Alice is frustrated with the Cheshire Cat.

  When she finished, I read the same, and then showed her the resulting graphs. I was actually pretty curious to s
ee how we shaped up as well, and smiled as I saw the charts.

  “These graphs show the notes our voices most often hit as we spoke,” I explained. “Just as red and green are on the opposite side of the color wheel, so are E flat and A in musical terms, and you’ll note I have a ton of A but almost no E flat, while you’re the exact opposite. The same goes for F sharp and C, where I have a lot of one and none of the other, your voice fills in. You’ve heard of the phrase opposites attract? This is what it refers to.”

  “So, we were both off balance, before?”

  I shook my head. “Not necessarily. There are times I do this and I’m not severely deficient in anything. I always have more D, A, and E than the other notes, but it isn’t always this off balance. I think you probably always have more of what I must unconsciously work to create, and when you’re around we can both depend on the other to provide what we don’t easily give ourselves. Whether you’re looking at auras, evaluating the electrical current in the body, or analyzing voices, the graphs will look similar. All three are assessing the same thing — our base energy levels.”

  “Do you see auras?”

  I nodded. “As a Dragon I see them naturally. As a human I must refocus in order to see them, and they aren’t as distinct, but it’s enough I can pick up on them, if needed.”

  “I see them as a swan, but not human. Boris was always a deep, ugly red. I remember Cyrano as mostly oranges and yellows, but that was after he flogged me, and I don’t think he liked it much so maybe he doesn’t always look like a coward?”

  “You’ve researched what the colors mean?” I asked.

  “Yeah, there were some books about it in my father’s library. You say you have more D, A, and, E — what colors do those notes match?”

  “They match the red spectrum, but my aura tends to look more purple because I also have a ton of A sharp, which is royal blue.”

  She nodded. “And the blue tempers the red. There are lots of reasons so many royal dynasties use purple in their official family colors.”

  As much as I’d have loved to have the time to sit and discuss which attributes made for good royalty, we didn’t have the luxury of time for philosophical conversations right now.

  I kissed the top of her head and said, “We’ll pick this conversation back up in a few weeks, Soph. Eat, look over the graphs enough to satisfy your curiosity, and then close the laptop lid so we don’t use more electricity than necessary.”

  She nodded and I left. The wolves and I had our work cut out for us to bring everything to the safe house. They’d bought three wheelbarrows so we could stick together and do it in one trip, but we’d need to trolley them across the river with a rope and pulley system, and then unload them and make multiple trips up the sheer cliff wall before reloading them and coming the rest of the way. Making it to the house was a challenge when not loaded down — bringing supplies had always been a pain in the ass.

  There was an easier way in, but no longer a way to get a vehicle to the entrance, so this was the easiest route at the current time. There had originally been a third entrance available while in human form, but I’d long since created a cave-in to permanently block it.

  It was nearly eleven when we made it to the cave, and we put the food away first. They’d brought fresh fruits and vegetables, and a variety of other food that would keep for a few days, or in some cases up to a week, in the cool fifty-two degrees of the cave.

  My mouth salivated as I unwrapped the fifteen pounds of choice steak, and we immediately began cutting it into bite sized pieces in preparation for cooking. When you’re conserving energy, you cook food in small pieces so it doesn’t take as much fuel.

  Sophia made herself a huge salad with three kinds of lettuce, lots of cherry tomatoes, some kale, onions, spinach, and mushrooms. She put the raspberry vinaigrette she asked for over it, and the look on her face at the first bite made me want to do other things to her to put the same look on her face. I carefully controlled my scent, though. I didn’t want to alert the wolves to my feelings about her just yet.

  Duke shook his head and told me, “I take it swans need more green shit than wolves. I don’t know what you are, but it isn’t a Swan and I bet you can’t wait to sink your teeth into a steak.”

  “I’ve done okay with the freeze dried stuff, but fresh meat will be a welcome change. My guess is Sophia will be happy with it, too. When we finish eating we’ll let Brain give her a tech lesson while everyone’s food digests, then you can begin with the self-defense.”

  “Yeah, thanks for sending me Sam Levi’s video. She breaks defense down to an art and simplifies the shit out of it, but I’m guessing it’ll be quite effective.”

  I nodded. “Yes, I have some female friends who’ve been to one of her workshops, and when they have the element of surprise even a human female can get the jump on a supernatural enough to possibly get away, assuming she doesn’t have to run more than a few dozen steps to get to a place he can’t chase her.”

  I took the rest of the refrigerated items to the outside storage area while Brain cooked and Duke explored the cave around the house. Wolves couldn’t get comfortable until they were aware of their surroundings. Brain would trust Duke to know the area for the remainder of the day, but he’d likely need to do his own exploring soon, probably while Duke was working with Sophia.

  Lunch was a relaxed affair, no matter we were discussing political strategy regarding how one might successfully go against the Eagles, Swans, and pack-Wolves and manage to survive.

  We spoke theoretically, discussing specific weak points of the races and leaders, and how they might be used to an enemy’s advantage.

  I went to the storage room off the kitchen while Brain and Sophia sat at the kitchen table, each on a laptop, and he taught her about Windows and the internet. They didn’t touch on email, as she couldn’t begin corresponding with anyone yet, but I wanted her to be able to do basic searches on her own, and know how to do it safely so she didn’t inadvertently bring a virus or trojan into our intranet.

  When they finished the lesson and he began the status report, I focused more on their conversation.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sophia

  “You already know your father has close alliances with the Eagles and the pack-Wolves of North America,” Brain told me, his voice unemotional and factual. The same tone of voice my advisors used when giving my father bad news. “He’s also negotiated for the European and Russian pack-Wolves to be on the lookout for you. Worldwide, the lions, tigers, and leopards are on his side and also looking for you, and there are rumors the cougars are, as well.”

  He took a breath and looked at me with sorrow. I braced, expecting bad news.

  “Word has it the Owls are on the lookout, too.”

  My heart skipped a beat at the implications. Owl and Swan shapeshifters don’t get along, and to my knowledge have never joined forces. I went over the possibilities, quickly considering the things my father could’ve offered the Owls to pull them to his side. “Unless he offered territory,” I told Brain, “or perhaps some kind of financial compensation.” I hoped he hadn’t offered them a royal Swan female as a wife, but it seemed the most logical, so I finished with, “or one of my cousins.”

  “Ember is missing,” Brain said, his voice careful, as if he didn’t know how I’d take the news. “She was going to a human high school, so her parents had to go to the authorities or risk being looked at with suspicion. Her mother is making all the right tearful statements while her father stands stoically by his wife.”

  I shook my head, but breathed a little easier. “Okay. If it had to be anyone, I’m least upset about it being Ember. She’s never really fit into Swan society. Her parents sent her whipping girl away at around fourteen because they discovered Ember loved to watch people get whipped. Her father hasn’t been able to find a suitable fiancé for her because no one fitting of her station is willing to take her on.” I shook my head. “I may not have liked my whipping girl, Madelin
e, very much, but it still hurt me when she was whipped because I screwed up.”

  Aaron didn’t seem happy with my response, and cautiously asked, “You don’t like Ember? You’re pleased she was given to the Owls?”

  “Oh, no. I secretly adored her, and often wished I had the nerve to refuse to conform. She speaks her mind and does as she pleases. She’s just turned eighteen, and I was looking forward to seeing what she did when she turned twenty-one and had no husband, and her father no longer officially owned her.” I shrugged and added, “Ember wanted a grand adventure, wanted to take off on her own and explore the world.” I shook my head and looked away as I admitted, “I always hated that the Swan King’s daughter belongs to her father until she’s married or takes the throne from him, no matter how old. I often thought if my station allowed me to step away from my father and one day not be owned by him if I didn’t have a husband, maybe I’d have been able to find the nerve to act like her.”

  “So, if you take control over from your father and become Queen,” Brain asked, “you won’t launch a rescue party for Ember?”

  I tilted my head, considering. “Not ready to go there yet, but my gut reaction is to insist on a face to face meeting with her, so I can see if she wants rescuing. However, back to the problem at hand, what do we do about the Owls? If they’re on my father’s side then so are the Bats. What better way for my father to get eyes into all caves in their search area than to make an agreement that nets him the Bats?”

  “Very good, Princess,” said Brain. “It appears they’re searching the Chattanooga and North Georgia area at this time. There are no supernatural Bat families living in this section of North Carolina, the closest is a small clan in Asheville. Aaron has owned this land a long time and managed to keep all but one of the entrances off the official maps, and it’s sealed, so you should be good for the little bit of time between now and the solstice.”