Tharius glares at the sneaky voyeur. Picks up a nearby rock and flings it at the orb. It swings casually to one side to continue its pervy vigil.
When will the child start to show?
Claudia shrugs. With a normal baby, around four months. But the moon cycles are shorter here, and this little girl’s half dragon, so it’s anyone’s guess.
So you carry a female?
It’s a girl, yes. I already know she has my gift, and your stubborn streak.
A half-blood? Usually our offspring are of the father’s house or the mother’s.
Half-bloods are rare.
His hand stills as he takes in the implications. They must not speak this aloud with the eye watching.
We will keep her safe. She is our new hope. There must be other dragons out there. We will seek them out, form alliances.
She’ll mate for love, Tharius. I won’t have it any other way. Claudia will argue that point to her dying breath for this daughter who’s already making herself known and sounding as feisty as her mother. As impatient and stubborn as her father.
I will choose wisely for her.
Dream on, Tharius. This girl will have you wrapped around her little finger.
He frowns, testing the image in his mind. And then he smiles, and it’s like the slow rising of the sun on a summer’s day. Next time, a son.
He settles comfortably beside her, skin to skin. Sometimes they crave the simple comfort of a loved one lying close. He bends an arm behind his head, and gazes at the sky with a longing he doesn’t bother hiding.
Your dragon’s so close, Tharius. You’ll fly again and soon.
Two hundred years in stone, Claudia. He’s waited long enough.
She closes her eyes, visualises healing light washing his skin. The dragon stirs, looks up from its sleep and nods. Soon, it says. We are close. Soon, we will fly again.
Absent the hag’s magic, he must learn to take control of his powers all over again. Like he did as a youngling. Practising out of sight of the eyes because when he finally soars from this mountain, it will be a surprise to them all. We must find Dra’lera before winter. Before this baby shows and gives away our secret.
As a half-blood, our da-ughter may never know the glory of flight.
She’ll be the best of both of us, Tharius. A fierce, dragon warrior, tempered by humanity. She already has her wings, you know. Claudia nudges him, changing the subject. Talking of the child fully formed when so much could happen in between is surely tempting fate. Tell me about Dra’lera. Our daughter’s listening. She wants to know her heritage.
For a long moment, he has no words. Claudia pats his arm, and they both lie quiet, listening with joined minds, thinking of home. Of futures lost and futures found.
Life’s a journey. Once, she had hers all mapped out, like he did.
How odd that with all the roadblocks and diversions, she’s ended up exactly where she wants to be. Lying here in the ruins of an abandoned temple, with a dragon-man by her side.
If I had access to my YouTube channel, this would break the Internet. Please. Tell me about Dra’lera.
And so he does, starting with the ancient words that take her back to before the time of this Prison Moon, before the Corporation and the wars, to the first people and on back in time to Dra’lera, the mythical birthplace of dragons protected from prying eyes by spells so ancient, they still held fast.
His voice in her head soothes her, making her forget about the dangers waiting for them out there. Serllia. A wyvern hell bent on revenge. The arenas where males and females earn rewards or death. When the viewers get tired of the sex, they’ll want blood. Dragon’s blood. Here, it never really ends.
There are others on this moon, Tharius. Good people who don’t deserve to be here. Will you allow them in?
It’s a sacred place, Claudia.
But you will let them in?
If they prove their worth, we must.
“Thank you.” Some words they can speak aloud, for the camera and the viewers beyond.
“No, it is I who must thay-ank you. For hearing my call and setting me free.”
I heard it from way out there. She points to the sky, and the home planet he calls the mother of the moon making a red arc on the horizon. Find the fire. See the fire, feel the freaking fire. You were pretty insistent. But I was always coming for you.
“I know,” he says simply. “I know.”
She’s touching him, sending healing. Strong in her own way, each of them bringing gifts to the table. They’re in perfect balance.
Claudia, you know you said my dragon was near?
He is. But we must keep him hidden for a while longer. She hates asking for this after the sacrifice it made. He stills the thoughts with two fingers to her lips.
I know, but he speaks to me. Wants so desperately to touch you. Tharius smiles. And do a few other things, too.
Tell me. She snuggles into him, matching his smile with one of her own. What would he like to do with me?
Tharius’s eyes darken to a rich purple. Well, first he’ll unfurl his great wings, so wide they block out the sun, and then he will gaze at you and touch you. Did I tell you dragons love gazing upon beautiful, precious things?
“Only a million times,” she says, laughing. Go on.
Well, when he has his fill of coveting, he will scoop you gently in his talons and soar away across the skies.
And where will he take me? She’s already tingling all over in anticipation, as if the dragon really were there, swooping in to fly her away for his pleasure and hers.
To find some chains and a convenient rock, of course. He has this little fantasy…
Those are my memories, Tharius.
And they will be mine, too, he says on a lust-laden growl. We intend to ravish you until you cry mercy and the sun falls from the sky.
That better be a promise, Tharius of Dra’Kathis. That better be a promise.
His smile is wicked, laden with heat and lust, as befits a mighty dragon.
You may count on it, my beloved Claudia. My unexpected mate. That was definitely a promise. And you should know, a dragon never breaks a promise.
* * *
Dear readers… The Prison Moon series is a collaboration between myself and author Lily Graison. Each story in the series is a stand-alone novel featuring characters living on the Prison Moon world. The books do not have to be read in any particular order.
Other books in the Prison Moon Series
By Alexandra Marell
Ice Heart
By Lily Graison
Dragon Fire
Warlords Mate – available Spring 2019
Find out more about the Prison Moon Series
Join our mailing list to be notified of new releases in this series
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Other Books by Alexandra Marell
Moderate-Rated Books
Island of Sorellina Series – Contemporary Romance with mystical elements
The Cursed Princess – Book One
Siren Sweetly Singing – Book Two
The Wedding Ghost – Book Three coming Spring 2019
Adult-Rated Books
Writing as Alexandra Marell / C A Nicks
Can I Vampire/Human Romance
Can I Keep You
Can I Love You Again
The Dark Fall Series – Fantasy Romance
Fabian – Book One
Marcellus – Book Two
The Moon Child Series – Fantasy/Shifter Romance
Moon Child’s Wish – Book One
Lupine – Book Two
Tian’s Guardian – Book Three
The Wolves of Hadon Moor – Shifter Romance
Wolf Christmas
Find fr
ee reads, information about new releases, and join my mailing list and connect with me, at:
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Author Bio
I write detailed romance, tightly focused on the main characters and their emotional journey. I write under two pen names, Alexandra Marell, and adult-rated romance as C A Nicks, but I’m currently rebranding all my titles under my Alexandra Marell pen name. I’m addicted to buying pianos, and on dark and stormy nights you’ll find me in some old castle or mansion, chasing ghosts as part of a paranormal investigation team. Thanks for reading.
Stone Dragon
A Prison Moon Series Novel
First Edition Copyright © 2018 Alexandra Marell
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
The right of Alexandra Marell to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All characters in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
STONE DRAGON: A Prison Moon Series Romance Novel Page 28