by Maia Starr
“I am here now,” I said between kisses.
"What did your father have to say to you yesterday?” she asked.
"The same he always says to me,” I said kissing her neck trying to change the subject.
“Did you tell him? Did you tell him that we wish to be married?”
“Yes, I did,” I said not wanting to talk about it anymore.
“Well? What did he say? I am tired of waiting. We should be married already,” she said as she put her hands on my chest and pushed me away. She was not going to let me proceed until she had some answers. I couldn't blame her. She had waited a long time, and so had I.
“He is against it as he has always been. Give it some time, and maybe he will come around. He will see how much I am devoted to you, and I am not going to change that,” I said to her.
“That has been your strategy for months now. Can you not see that it is not working? We need to do something else,” she said as she stepped away from me and turned her back to me.
I walked up from behind her and put my arms around her waist. I placed soft kisses on her neck.
“It will work. I know that it will. Just trust me,” I said to her.
“I will trust you for another week. But then we must do something,” she said as she turned toward me. Then she kissed me on the mouth, giving into the moment, finally.
Later I was back at my home without Talia. It was only a couple hours later after my run in with Amelia, and yet I was still thinking about her.
There was a knock at the door. I opened it, and a warrior stood on the other side. I knew him. He worked for my father.
What is it?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Your father wants to see you. He is in his living quarters,” he said.
“Fine.”
I shut the door and shifted into dragon form. My wings spread out behind me. I jumped off the veranda and flew into the air. I had to get some of the anger out of me. I flew fast, making my way around the large trees going around and in and out. I was making a game of it, coming dangerously close to smacking straight into them before I went to swerve out of the way just in time.
I landed hard on the veranda outside my father’s living quarters. I walked into the great rooms where he liked to meet with others.
“Father, I am here. What is it now?” I said as I went straight to the Hiwa. I knew that I was going to need it once again. I poured a glass and drank it very fast. Then I poured another.
“Son, I have good news. You are going to thank me for this,” he said as he came out of the hallway and into the room with me.
“What? What am I going to thank you for this time?” I asked.
“Remember what we spoke about? Remember we spoke about you finding a human female to mate with?”
“How could I forget? You don't let me forget, and Talia does not let me forget,” I said moving to him.
“Well you do not have to trouble yourself with finding one any longer,” he said.
I looked at him, shocked. Could it be? He had finally come around to the idea that I was going to marry a Draqua female and not a human female? I knew it; he was about to give me permission to marry Talia. I smiled in happiness.
“Really, father?” I asked.
“Yes, you do not need to find one. I have found one for you already,” he said.
“What?” I asked in shock.
“A few new females were taken from Earth recently. There were four or three of them; I am not sure where the fourth is. But the king owed me a favor. I got first look at them and first choice. I picked the most beautiful one. Son, she is very beautiful. Her hair is red like fire, and she has ample female parts that will suit your wild nature.”
“No…”
“She is here now. I have the female Draqua that is in my service dressing her as we speak. She will be out shortly,” he said.
I could not believe what I was hearing. It could not be. It was not possible that my father had chosen Amelia to take as a wife. It was just completely impossible.
“Here she is now,” he said as he turned toward the hallway.
Amelia walked in. She had white flowers braided into her red hair. There were two necklaces made of white seashells around her neck. A white strip of cloth covered her breasts. A white short cloth was on her waist as a loincloth. Her feet were in soft sandals tied with very thin rope around her small feet and ankles. And covering all of this was a turquoise dress. She narrowed her eyes at me in hatred.
I suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline and excitement that this gift was being offered to me, and it looked very tantalizing. I looked at her up and down, admiring what I saw. My father noticed.
“I knew you would like her,” he said quickly as he walked over to her and pushed her towards me. She slightly resisted.
“Amelia, this is my son, Ravinn. Ravinn, I offer you this human female as a wife by order of the king,” my father said.
Amelia crossed her arms over her chest. She hated every moment of it. That in itself made me smile. I liked to irritate her.
“How does that make you feel, Amelia? That was your name, wasn't it?” I said pretending not to know her.
“You know what my name is, you dirty rat,” she spat the words at me.
“Are you to acquainted?” my father asked puzzled.
“Only in passing,” I said playfully.
“You cannot do this. You can't just give me away to someone. I am not a piece of property,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and shouting at my father. I laughed.
“She is fiery. Just like her hair. I think this one will you do you some good. She is your match, Ravinn,” my father said laughing.
“I am right here. Don't talk about me like I'm not here. I am not going to marry your son no matter how you try to make me,” she said.
“Yes, you will, in time. But that is not what I ask of you today. Instead, I have another assignment for the both of you,” my father said.
I looked at him confused. What the hell was my father up to? This could not be good. He walked over to a table and picked up a very large shell; it was the length of my hand, and it was in a spiral shape.
“Do you see this shell?”
“Yes, I see it. I am not blind,” Amelia said. My father laughed at her reply.
“This type of shell can only be found on one small island out in the ocean, about 10 miles from here beyond the jungle. I want you both to go and find one and bring it to me.
“What? Why?” I asked.
“It is very important. I need it by tomorrow night. It is very hard to find. I need your strength and skill to take Amelia to the island. But it is found in the shallow tidal pools that only a small human can fit in,” he said.
“What? I'm not going to do that!” Amelia shouted.
“Yes, you will. Both of you will. And you will leave now,” he said.
“But—” I began to say.
“That will be all. If you are successful in this mission, then I will talk to the king and tell him that you two are not a match, and then you will not have to marry each other,” he said.
“Seriously?” she said.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” I said as I moved toward her.
“It is the island with the rock formation like a giant bird. Do you know which when I speak of?” my father said.
“I do. I have flown by it in the past, though it has been years,” I said.
“Good. Come to me tomorrow night with the shell. You are dismissed,” he said as he moved to a chair and sat behind a table to eat. I looked at Amelia. Her eyes were big with fright.
“Let's just get this over with. I have things to do,” I said as I scooped her into my arms. She reluctantly put her arms around my neck. Then I took off flying out into the evening air. The sun had just set on the horizon and the light was very dim and a golden orange. I flew faster, making my way over the village, past the jungle, and past the other side of the island out into the open ocean.
I felt Amelia tighten her arms around me when we were over the open water. I guessed she did not want to go back in and I did not blame her. We flew in silence. I had nothing to say to her and I was still very confused that my father had chosen her of all the human females to make my wife. Did he know that I had been speaking with her? Did he know that I had saved her from the battle? These were questions I would have to ask him when I returned with his damn stupid prize. Finally, the island came into view. I saw the large outcrop of rock that was shaped like a bird, and it was very easy to see now that the setting sun was behind it.
“There it is,” I said to her.
“It is about time. Let's get it and go home,” she said.
“Oh, this isn't so bad. You know you like me to carry you like this. It is obvious to me from the way you lean your cheek against my chest,” I said to her with a smile.
“What? I am only doing that because I am scared of falling, you idiot,” she said annoyed.
“What is that?” I said as I noticed firelight coming from the other side of the island.
“What?” she said.
“This island is uninhabited. We keep it that way and keep it to the wild creatures of our planet. No one is allowed to live on this island,” I said to her.
“And you think it is inhabited?” She asked.
“I see firelight from the other side of the island. It is more than just one fire. One fire would not make so much light. Which means there are many fires and that there are Draqua on the island,” he said.
“Well, let us go see who it is. Maybe they have a shell they can give us, and we can get back home, and I don't have to be with you any longer than I have to,” she said.
“No, we will land on the dark side of the island. It is not a good idea to go over there. We don't know what it could be,” I said flying low and toward the shoreline that did not have any light.
“Why? Why do you think it is dangerous?” she asked.
“In the past, the opposition has used islands far off the village as secret bases. We don't come this far usually so it is easy for them to go undetected,” I said as I landed in the sand. I put her down on her feet.
“The opposition? Maybe they have Michelle. We have to go look. We have to go look now,” she said as she began to walk away.
“And do what if she is there? You cannot take on one dragon. I can take on two or three, but something tells me there are more than that. No, we will not go. We will look for the shell and then we will leave,” I said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to me.
“But we can't do nothing. She needs us,” she said.
“As soon as we return, I will report this to the king. Then we will come out here with a proper brigade of warriors to check it out. For now, it is best that we stay quiet. It is best that we stay unseen and on this side of the island,” I said to her.
“Fine. Let's get this over with. The sooner we find this thing, the sooner we can get back, and then help will be on the way for Michelle,” she said toward the water.
“Yes, that is a good plan,” I said.
“It is so dark. How will I see?” she said as she walked into the water and it came up to her knees. Then I felt a drop of water hit my face. Then another, and another.
“Oh no; it is starting to rain,” she said.
I looked behind us at the thick jungle and rocks. I could see a cave opening.
“Here, we can wait it out over here,” I said as I grabbed her arm and led her from the beach into the large cave. I found some dry driftwood and piled it up. Then I set it on fire, letting the fire burn from my belly and out of my mouth.
“You've got to be kidding me. You can shoot fire from your mouth? I saw the dragon do that, but I did not think that the half man hybrids could do it too,” she said.
“There are many things that I can do,” I said with a grin.
She blushed. She moved over to the side of the cave and sat on a rock. I wondered what she was thinking.
CHAPTER FIVE
AMELIA SANDERS
I was in complete shock when I was summoned to a dragon named Callisto. He said that he had acquired me for his son. But I did not know then what his son was called. It wasn't until Ravinn stood in front of me that I understood that I would be forced to become his wife. It was absolutely horrifying. I was not happy that I had no choice in the matter, but to top it off, I was being given to the Draqua that irritated me the most.
Now we had been thrown together on a wild goose chase on a random island in the middle of the alien ocean. It was all very upsetting, so why did I find adrenaline rushing through me? My breathing was rapid as I sat in a rock cave around a fire while Ravinn added more wood to it. I watched him move. I did feel safe with him even though we seemed to be in a dangerous place. He had just told me that it was possible there were others on this island. It added an element of tension in danger to the address in Orland that I was already feeling.
“It is best just to stay in here until the rain has stopped,” he said as he worked.
“That is fine with me. I do not want to be out in the rain,” I said.
“Do not worry about what my father told you. It is not going to happen. I am not going to marry you,” he said without even looking at me.
“I am not worried about it. I am not going to marry you either,” I said, offended that he was rejecting me. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to figure out why he would not marry me. Wasn't it what every Draqua wanted? A human female to impregnate?
“Wait, what do you mean you're not going to marry me? Don't you want a human female like all the other Draqua? Do you think I'm not good enough in order to carry your offspring?” I said as I stood up and put my hands on my hips. I was angry with him.
“I do not want what all the other Draqua want. I am already in love with another; I am not in love with you. I would never fall in love with you,” he said in a stern voice.
His rejection was very offensive, and I didn't know why it was. I guess because it made me feel the way that I felt back in New York: invisible.
“You don't have to be such a jerk about…” I began to say. But then he cut me off.
“What was that?” he said as he moved toward the entrance of the cave.
“What? I don't hear anything,” I said.
“Be quiet,” he said as he pulled his blaster gun from his boot. I suddenly became very scared. What if it was the opposition and the dragons that took Michelle? They would kill Ravinn and take me too.
“Stay here. I will be right back,” he said.
“What? No, don't leave me,” I said standing up. But it was no use; he stepped out of the cave and into the rain.
“Ravinn? Ravinn?” I whispered as I moved toward the entrance.
I looked out into the rain falling on the beach. I did not see Ravinn any longer. I suddenly felt very, very scared. I was just as scared as I was during the chaotic battle. What if he did not come back? I would be stranded here. I didn't want anything to happen to him. I moved back into the cave into a corner. I waited. I waited almost half an hour. I was beginning to panic.
“I didn't see anything out there,” Ravinn said as he quickly stepped into the cave. His presence startled me.
“You’re back,” I sighed in relief.
“Careful; you sound like you actually missed me,” he said.
“No, I am just glad not to be alone in this place. What was out there?” I asked.
“Nothing. I think what I heard was simply rocks falling from the wall with the heavy rain. There was no one out there,” he said as he moved toward the fire. His long black hair was dripping wet and stuck to his face. The water was beading off of his muscular body. I could not stop staring at him.
“Take off your dress,” he said without looking at me.
“What?” I said.
“You are soaking wet. You can lay your dress by the fire so that it dries,” he said adding more wood to the fire.
“I think I will be fine
,” I said, trying not to shiver. I was cold and wet.
“You are shivering; you are not fine. You humans are fragile. You get sick if you get wet and cold. It is ridiculous. But you are no use to me tomorrow if you are sick,” he said.
“Tomorrow? Do you mean we have to stay the night in here?” I asked.
“Yes. When I was out there, I got a good look at the sky. This storm is a very big one. It looks like it is going to last until morning. So you might as well make yourself comfortable. You don't want to be wet all night, do you?” he said looking at me. I understood that he was talking about something else entirely.