“So you would challenge for this woman’s hand?” the king finally spoke.
“Yes,” Mercury responded.
“Even though you’ve wronged her kin, been an enemy to her people?”
“She’s important to me. More than anyone,” Mercury said. There was no point trying to bullshit his way out of this situation.
He couldn’t help noticing Marina’s eyes dart away, the slightest blush on her cheeks, as he said it. It made something inside him flutter, something warm.
He hated it.
“And will you allow it, Earth dragon?” the king asked, addressing Marina.
“Marina,” she said.
Then she nodded, and Mercury’s heart skipped a beat.
Meanwhile, his brain wanted to jump ship to escape all this lunacy.
“If she allows it, then we must at least consider it,” the king decreed.
“But… but…” The king’s counselor tried to butt in.
“So long as the house of Mercury still stands, he is eligible to be acknowledged as a valid and capable suitor for this union challenge.”
“Capable?” Cadmium, the blond guy who was one of the men who kidnapped him, scoffed. “If that’s what she wants, she doesn’t need him. We can show her just how ‘capable’ a dragon guard of Drakkaris can be.” He glanced over at Marina with a smirk, clearly looking for a reaction from her and nobody else.
Something snapped inside of Mercury, and he flew at the guy’s face, summoning his ancestral blade instantly and shoving it against Cadmium’s throat, a hair’s distance from exsanguinating the bastard.
To his surprise, Cadmium didn’t back down. He seemed completely unbothered by the sword at his neck and stepped forward, using one hand to grab Mercury’s neck. The other dropped to the hilt of his sword, as if he were daring Mercury to go further.
Mercury dared all right. If Cadmium so much as breathed in Marina’s direction right now, he’d gut him like a fish.
“But I must warn you, Mercury, that you stand on the very thinnest of ground.” The king’s words rang out into the great hall. Both his and Cadmium’s attention were instantly drawn up to the throne, where the king remained seated. “If you step out of line again, you will receive your previously sentenced punishment, regardless of any promise between you and Marina.”
Like circling tigers, Mercury and Cadmium released each other, and with a flash, his blade was gone.
But the burning desire to kill certainly wasn’t.
“I’ll vouch for him, sire.”
Mercury turned to the sound and saw the man from last night, Zinc, stepping forward.
“He may look like a criminal, but I knew him personally when we were young.” He continued. “He deserves this chance.”
There was a kind of genuine sincerity in Zinc’s voice that Mercury couldn’t even pretend to emulate. Yet there was something off about him at the same time, something he was hiding.
Mercury liked that, though.
Of all of the dragons here, Mercury wanted to kill him the least.
“Very well, it is settled,” the king said. “Mercury will take part in the challenge. Lead, you and your men will take them to their separate quarters. Tonight there will be a feast in Marina’s honor,” the king announced with finality.
And as Lead motioned for Marina to follow him, Mercury felt a strange longing as he got one more good look at the woman that had bothered to travel across space to save his sorry ass.
She should have just stayed home. But he could just tell her that in person.
He’d see her soon enough.
Chapter 5
Marina felt she was in some kind of dream as Lead escorted her back to her room at the end of a long hallway.
The castle reminded her of one from medieval times, but constructed with futuristic materials. Mostly metal but also some accents of fur or softer materials here or there.
Still, there was a very cold, sterile feeling to everything around her.
When Lead opened her room, she gasped because it was different than anything she’d seen so far.
Much less metal. There was a wood floor covered by a woven rug, and there were curtains at the windows made of a soft, cotton-like white fabric. On the bed was a blanket dyed in purple and red over white, and it contrasted with the wood on the floor and the furniture that had an almost gray cast to it.
“How can this world be so different and yet so similar to ours?”
“Our worlds weren’t always so separate,” Lead said, walking in behind her and shutting the door. “Is there anything else I can get you? Our queen is sourcing some clothing, but it may take a few hours.”
“Yes, a clue,” she said.
“Excuse me?” Lead asked, folding his powerful arms and glowering down at her with those hawkish, yellow eyes. He had hard features and several scars on his face and neck, probably from battle, but he was handsome and nice to look at. Classically masculine and tan, with thick, dark hair.
And more than anything, she trusted him and his rigid sense of honor.
“A clue,” she said. “As in information. I just agreed to something I don’t understand at all. I don’t even know this planet. I just landed.” She sat on the edge of the bed and was surprised it was so comfy. She almost wanted to lie back and just fall asleep on it, but there was going to be some kind of event tonight and she was expected to be there.
“I think you will like it here,” Lead said. “As long as you have someone adequate to protect you.”
She remembered the guys who’d chased her to the palace when she’d been trying to find Mercury. “Right. What is wrong with the men here? I had to fight a dozen of them.” She frowned. “I might have hurt one.”
Lead’s hand was on his sword in an instant. “What did he do? Do I need to kill him?”
She bit her lip, fighting back a smile. “No. I don’t think that’s necessary. He just grabbed my hand. But I shook him off.” She frowned at the memory of it. “To be honest, he didn’t… seem like himself. Not really. Like he changed.”
“Mate lust,” he said. “It is a problem here.”
“Mate lust? But I thought you didn’t do ‘mates’ here. I thought you did this right of union challenge.”
“Mating is a much more primitive concept,” Lead said. “People acting on base urges to choose someone on instinct. Or out of desperation. Right of union challenges developed out of a need for more sophistication. With so few female dragons being born that could mate dragon warriors, each had to be carefully placed.”
Marina placed a hand on her chest. “That sounds heartless.”
“Maybe because it is,” Lead said. “But it is about preservation of our world. Our race is dying. Male dragons are born in a much higher ratio to female dragons.”
It was like that on Earth, but not a problem because dragons could just mate with humans.
“Is there no other race you could mate with?” she asked.
“Not so far,” he said.
“If this is a problem, why didn’t your kind come to Earth?”
“There is a treaty,” Lead said. “In fact, you broke it by coming here. I was worried for you, Marina. The king had every right to throw you in jail.”
“But he wouldn’t,” she said. “Because female dragons are valuable. But how do you know I will be a match?”
“Because you are a dragon, and the dragons here and the ones on Earth are descended from the same ancestors.”
She frowned. If that was true, maybe the dragons here could mate with humans from Earth. Then again, she didn’t want to really say that and have dragon warriors from Drakkaris kidnapping human women for mates.
If they hadn’t noticed humans could mate dragons, she wasn’t going to tell them.
“Well, what is mate lust? I mean, the guy that was chasing me, his eyes changed.”
“The dragons of Drakkaris have high concentrations of metals in their blood, some of them toxic and poisonous. The metals we carry
can’t hurt anyone but ourselves, as they are contained to our bloodstream, but if we aren’t careful, they can take over and poison our minds.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Yes,” he said.
“So is there no hope for them?” she asked.
Lead cocked his head. “You are extremely softhearted. Those men can’t be part of the dragon guard. If they can’t control even the small amount of poison running through their veins now, they couldn’t possibly deal with the amount of metal a dragon guard must bear in order to defend the kingdom.”
“And you’re saying only the dragon guards can mate?”
“Well, they are top priority,” Lead said. “The strongest. Those have proven that their powers can’t overtake their honor. Any one of the men competing would be an honorable partner, Marina. Yet I can’t help but worry that because you did this only to release Mercury, you will never be happy no matter who you pick.”
She sighed, putting her head in her hand. “So this is why you offered for me to come back here?”
He nodded. “I knew you would be treated like a queen. That you would have your pick of men in the future. That Earth didn’t have any dragon males currently available for you. The complete lack of metal in your veins makes you that much more valuable.”
“I don’t want to be valuable,” she said stubbornly. “I just want to be wanted for who I am.”
Lead eyed her appraisingly. “Uh. I wouldn’t worry about that.” Despite his calm demeanor, there was a rigidness to his stance that made her think he wasn’t completely unaware of her as a woman.
“I see,” she said.
“You are a wonderful woman, Marina,” Lead said. “Anyone would be lucky to have you. And I promise the planet isn’t as bad as I made it seem. There are other women here, and you will meet them tonight.”
“I see,” she said. “But how can it be a happy planet when there are men out there suffering?”
“There are,” he said. “But there are also men that are happy, and the other races here are fine. It’s only the dragons, who happen to be the protectors of the world, the rulers, that are struggling. But this is a problem that has gone on for many years. Since Mercury’s family left, apparently to find out if there were any options on Earth.”
“That’s why they left?” she asked. “But wait. If that one guy knew Mercury when he was little, why isn’t he much older?”
“Time passes differently on Drakkaris,” Lead said. “We age much more slowly.”
“I see,” Marina said, trying to wrap her head around it.
“Anyway, as captain of the dragon guard, I was the one sent when we finally got some sign of dragon-kind on your planet. A great beam of light had shot up into the sky. After I led an envoy there, we were quickly able to sense that Mercury was alive on your planet. We could sense his metal.”
“Why didn’t his family report back?” she asked, a clenching feeling in her stomach.
“We can only guess at why because Mercury is a closed book. He claims not to remember.” Lead tightened his folded arms stubbornly. “Be careful with him, Marina. You have always given him too much leeway.”
“Were you always listening when I came down to talk to him?” she asked.
“Always watching, yes,” Lead said. “Not just to protect you, but also because you are a beautiful female dragon, and I notice as much as the next male.”
She swallowed, staring up at him. “You do a good job of hiding it.”
“Thank you,” he said tightly. He looked away, exhaling roughly. “Anyway, as I said, don’t trust him. There is a reason everyone is always trying to lock him up or execute him, Marina. Don’t be naive.”
“But I’ve always been naive,” she said. “Don’t you see? Being naive leads to possibilities no one has ever explored. I suppose I would rather call myself open-minded, but I am who I am. And I can’t judge him harshly any more than I can judge you for being a kidnapper.”
Lead straightened suddenly. “I do as I’m commanded.”
“But what about honor?”
“It’s not kidnapping when you are bringing in a criminal,” Lead said grumpily. “It’s justice.”
“If you say so,” she said lightly. “But, Lead, given how naive you think I am, do you honestly think you could mate me?”
Lead’s jaw ticked. “Silly question. Of course I could. It would be a matter of honor. For my people.” When she raised an eyebrow, he seemed to realize he was on thin ice. “Marina, I’ve always liked you. Why else would I worry about you? Why else would I ask you to come? But because I do care, I don’t want you to end up unhappy. But as to your naivety, it could honestly be a good contrast to my own rigid worldview. That’s what I think.”
She grinned, thinking she could sense a small blush on his high cheekbones just before he turned around.
“But for now, I must leave,” he said. “It would not be honorable to stay alone in your room simply because I brought you here. And I know you must be in need of a rest.”
She stretched. “I do. Yes.”
He headed for the door, his footsteps thundering.
“Lead?” she called out, making him stop just as he opened the heavy metal and wood door.
“Yes?”
“Thank you,” she said. “For the information and everything. I hope I can come to you whenever I need something.”
“There is also Cobalt,” Lead said. “He is our librarian. You will meet him later.” His eyes warmed. “But I would be pleased if you came to me.”
Then with a small nod of his head, he was gone.
Marina let out a breath and was about to flop back in the bed for a well-earned nap when she saw something shimmer in the air in front of her.
She jumped back on the bed with a shriek as metallic mist hardened into a shape in front of her, seemingly appearing out of the air itself.
Mercury’s face shimmered and then came into focus, first his eyes and then the rest of him, and she felt her heart trying to stomp its way out of her chest as she gaped at him.
He looked much as he had in the execution room, except he seemed to have found a robe that was open, exposing an absolutely beautiful chest.
Mercury had always been an incredible specimen, but that was never why she’d been drawn to him. Perhaps it was because she’d been lonely, and he was the only other person in the mansion who was out of his element. Or perhaps she really just had a soft spot for outcasts.
“Flattering,” he said drily. “You know, I usually read people’s minds with impunity, but I think for you I’ll make an exception.”
“You should,” she said. “It’s bad manners. The gemstone dragons told me.”
He eyed her slowly as he came around the side of the bed, looking much taller and more intimidating now that he wasn’t kneeling on the ground or sitting on a bench in a cell, listening to her.
This was a new Mercury, and maybe Lead was right and she had reason to be afraid of him.
But she didn’t think so.
“Again, flattering,” he said.
“Again, you shouldn’t be reading my mind,” she snapped, uncomfortable about the way there was nothing between them now.
“Don’t worry. You’re safe,” he said, looking over at the door. “I thought he would never leave, though.”
“How long were you watching?”
“As soon as I could,” he said. “What, you think I would trust any of those weirdos around you?”
“It’s not really your problem,” she said stubbornly.
“Oh, but it really is,” he said. “It really is, because you came here and put yourself in danger, and now I owe you… and I really hate that.”
She gaped at him. “No, you don’t. You saved my brother and I saved you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You saved your brother. I broke a bracelet. And I did it for me because I like defying the oracle.”
“That’s a lie,” Marina said, gritting her teeth. “You did it for me. Otherwise
, why did you kiss me?”
He smirked. “Maybe because I knew I was about to die, and it was my last chance to feel the touch of a woman.”
Her heart sank. Was everyone right? Was this the real Mercury?
“For heaven’s sake, don’t look at me like that,” he said, stepping forward. “And I’m not going to read your mind anymore, so you’re going to have to talk to me.”
“Look at you how?”
“Like everyone does. Like you’re afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said, glaring up at him defiantly.
He walked forward, placing a finger under her chin to tilt her head up. She shivered at the cool, smooth feel of his touch. His quicksilver eyes stared down at her.
This was the Mercury she’d only had glimpses of in her time at the mansion. Handsome, intimidating, full of power that was barely restrained.
“Don’t look at me like that, either,” he said again, leaning down so their lips were closer.
“Like what?” she asked innocently.
“Like you expect something of me. Like you want something from me that I can’t give.”
“And what’s that?” she asked, barely able to breathe with how close he was. Perhaps she had always wanted to be this close to him, though she hadn’t been aware of it.
“This,” he said in a low voice before closing the distance between them. His lips were hard as they crushed over hers, but his embrace softened as he stilled, keeping them together for a second before his tongue swept inside, claiming, pleasuring, sending spirals of something warm and thrilling and frightening at the same time rushing through her.
She’d been kissed, but never like this.
Even their first kiss hadn’t felt like this, with his hand still curving around her chin, pinning her in place, and his tongue aggressively owning her mouth.
One hand came up to cup her shoulder, and she could feel him resisting the urge to dig his fingers in, could feel all the strength he was holding back for some reason.
Even Mercury seemed to be afraid of himself when it came down to it.
But she wanted to lean into it, and she gave her mouth willingly, opening sweetly to give him access as he plundered. He growled as he pulled back, turning her on when he bit lightly at her lower lip possessively.
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