by Donna Grant
“What do you mean?”
“The humans on my realm constantly wanted land. They didna want to feel closed in. And they reproduced rapidly. We had to continually give up more and more of our holdings. It was never enough.”
Jeyra bit her lip. “Were the humans like the wealthy here who have plenty of land that they hoard instead of sharing with others?”
“Aye.”
“We don’t exactly live in peace, but we try to keep our distance from the dragons. Like I said, things happen.”
He quirked a brow. “Even though no one is supposed to cross the border?”
“Exactly.”
“Is it guarded by your people? The dragons?”
“No one.”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “It isna guarded at all? Those who cross it are no’ reprimanded in any way, I’m guessing.”
“No.”
“Then what is the point of having it?”
“To keep the dragons out.”
He glanced at the chains on the ground. “Or is it to keep your kind in place? You said there is no magic here. But that there is elsewhere on the realm. What if it was the dragons who put the border in place to ensure that no magic could be done within your borders?”
“Don’t be absurd,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“We promised each other truth, lass. Tell me that those chains were to make sure I couldna do magic.”
Jeyra glanced at them. “They were.”
“They were taken off today. Why do you think that was?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s any numb—”
“Because they knew I wouldna be able to do magic, even without them.”
“Have you tried?”
He grunted. “Of course.”
Amber eyes lowered to the chains as she stared at them for a long, silent moment. When she looked at him again, her gaze was troubled. “Someone came and took them off today? And offered you a shirt, as well?”
“Aye.”
“A man?”
“It was.”
Jeyra shifted slightly. “Did he tell you his name?”
“He didna speak at all.”
She leaned forward so that her forehead nearly brushed the bars. “Was he tall? Muscular? A long, gray beard?”
At her rapid-fire questions, it dawned on Varek that she believed she knew the male. “He was. You think it was Rankin.”
“I do. He’s nowhere to be found in the city.”
“You said yourself that he could be off on a mission.”
Jeyra sat back and sighed as she briefly closed her eyes. “I’ve never been on the outs with him before. He’s always been there for me.”
“Which means, he’s also lived a long life.”
“Most warriors do,” she replied with a shrug.
That caught Varek’s attention. “You say that as if it has some significance. Are you telling me that there isna a warrior among you who doesna live a long life?”
“There have been a few, but the majority are like Rankin and me.”
“But he couldna have known you would live this long when he took you in,” Varek stated.
She shrugged, considering his words. “Not at all. I was too young for anyone to know for sure.”
“Tell me,” Varek said, eyeing her red locks. “I’ve only seen you and the male. Do many have your color hair? Or is it more like the man’s?”
That caused her to frown. “There’s a mixture of brown, black, and blond among us. There are a significant number of redheads, though. More of us than any other color.”
“Really?” he asked.
Jeyra frowned in response. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
“On my world, red hair is rare. To find that it isna the case here is interesting.”
“Because many of us were brought here?”
He nodded slowly. “Aye. I imagine with the bairns showing up and your species having bairns of their own, the population has grown dramatically.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
It was his turn to frown. “Why no’?”
“It is impossible for those here to have children of their own.”
Varek could only shake his head in wonder. “Have you learned why? Are there surgeries to help?”
“Surgeries?” she asked in a soft voice full of concern.
Perhaps he should’ve asked how advanced her culture was before he said such a thing. Since he’d been unconscious when he was brought in, he had no idea of anything outside of the dungeon. And it was difficult to tell anything by the clothing.
“On my world, humans have advanced dramatically with medicine to cure a great number of maladies.”
“We have healers, of course, but surgeries are relegated for extreme circumstances. It has been accepted that women won’t be able to have children of their own. We believe it’s because we were brought here, and there are more babies who need care. If everyone had their own families, there wouldn’t be places for the children who appear.” Her head cocked to the side. “You told me you didn’t have a wife, but do you have children?”
Varek looked at the ground and pulled a face. “Dragons have never had issues having bairns with other dragons. Things changed for the Kings when we shifted. As I mentioned earlier, there was a King who wanted to take a mortal as his mate. Many other Kings, myself included, had human lovers. It was uncommon for any to find themselves with child. Those who did usually lost the babe within weeks. The few who carried the bairns to term delivered a stillborn.”
“No wife. No children. Immortal. Sounds like a lonely existence.”
He smiled sadly as he slid his gaze to hers. Her face was close to the bars, and he had the irresistible urge to touch her smooth skin. Varek briefly caressed the backs of his knuckles down her cheek. “Why do you think I slept through so many years? We Kings have a strong bond. We’re each other’s family. Though it has grown significantly over the last handful of years with some Kings finding their mates.”
“Not you?”
Varek wanted to touch her again. No, he didn’t want to touch. He wanted to feel her pressed against him, to take in her softness, to know the sensations of her body against his. “No’ me.”
“Do you want a mate?” she asked and moved to her knees to grasp the bars.
Chapter Thirteen
Jeyra was mesmerized by Varek’s deep voice, lulled by his soft words.
And utterly captivated by the yearning in his eyes.
Her breath caught when he slipped from the stool onto his knees before her. It was difficult to breathe when his hands clasped the bars below hers. She knew she should back up and put space between them, but her body wouldn’t obey her mind.
Varek’s gaze swept over her face. “To have a mate means that we lean on each other, we support each other, we love each other unequivocally. It means that each night when I climb into bed, I can pull her into my arms. It means when I wake up every morning, she’s beside me. Having a mate is finding the one person in all the universes who makes your heart pound with excitement, your body heat with need, and your soul sing with peace. Aye, lass. I want a mate.”
Words lodged in her throat, caught against the onslaught of desire. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had spoken with such fervor, such craving. And it had done something to her. She wished she could make the bars disappear because she wanted to touch him.
“Lass,” he murmured.
She loved when he called her that. His sexy voice rumbled. When his gaze dropped to her mouth, her lips parted of their own volition.
“You keep looking at me like that, and I’ll no’ be responsible for my actions,” he whispered.
She released the bars and put her hand through them to grab his shirt. With a fistful of cloth, she pulled him to her. The lines that had been drawn in the sand—lines she had drawn by capturing him—were disappearing. It no longer mattered who or what he was. All she knew was the driving hunger, the relentless need for
him.
Before she could put her mouth on his, his hands cupped her face. He searched her eyes, looking for what, she had no idea. He must have found whatever he searched for because he released a moan right before he pressed his lips against her and his tongue met hers.
The feel of him was…she had no words. He was everything. More than everything. His lips were gentle but insistent, soft yet demanding. He robbed her of breath, then gave her a wealth of energy that poured through her body.
He destroyed everything she was, only to rebuild her into something stronger.
As the kiss deepened, and the passion heightened, she lost all concept of time and space. All that mattered, all that she cared about, was the Dragon King who kissed her as if there were no tomorrow. As if he wanted her to feel everything within him.
As if he had waited an eternity to kiss her.
Varek gradually ended the kiss before he pressed his forehead against hers, their harsh breaths filling the quiet of the dungeon. “I’d do anything right now for these bars to be gone so I could feel you against me.”
Jeyra smiled, silently agreeing with him. But that smile died when she remembered that she was the one who’d put him here.
When she started to pull away, Varek tightened his hold on her. “No’ yet, lass. Please. This feels too good.”
It did feel good. Really, really good. And it shouldn’t. He was the enemy. Wasn’t he? Somehow, she had gotten everything confused, and the kiss only amplified that to muddy the waters.
A week ago, she had been on top of the world. She had done the unthinkable—captured a Dragon King. While she wasn’t proud of how she had done it, she’d known without a doubt that it had been the right thing to do for her and her people. Because they needed justice.
How had Varek gone from being someone she couldn’t stand to be around, to someone that she confided in, someone she looked forward to seeing? Someone who stirred feelings within her? No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment things had changed. The timing wasn’t important. The result was.
She lifted her head and found her eyes locked with warm, brown ones. They had promised each other truth, and she had been honest with Varek—right up until he asked who had captured him. He had been open with her, but all that would change the moment he found out that she was the one responsible for his imprisonment.
“What is it?” he asked, concern filling his expression.
She looked away and pulled out of his arms. It was wrong for him to be worried about her. “I’m fine.”
“You are no’,” he said simply. “I doona regret that kiss. It was amazing. You can no’ deny that because I felt it in your response.”
Her gaze swung back to him. “I’m not denying it. The kiss was incredible.”
“Then why are you sad?”
“Take a look at where you are, Varek. Look at who is in the cell and who isn’t. I was sent to get secrets from you to use against you when you go to trial.”
He sat back on his haunches. “I willna be in here forever.”
“You’re going to take their offer of marriage?” she asked, hating the note of anger she heard in her voice.
“I didna say that.”
She got up. She needed to move. Jeyra paced, her mind firing in all different directions, but each time coming back to the same person—Varek. How much longer would the council allow her to speak to him? If she didn’t bring back the answer they wanted, would they send someone else? An actual interrogator? Would that mean she wouldn’t be able to see him? After the fuss she’d put up about having to talk to Varek, once she was replaced, the last place she should be was in the dungeon talking to him.
Strong fingers wrapped loosely around her arm, halting her. Her head jerked to the side to find Varek’s arm reaching out from the cell. She looked at him, surprised to discover a deep frown on his face.
“What is it?” she asked.
He didn’t answer, only pulled her closer to him. She complied because that’s where she wanted to be. Only after she sat sideways against the bars did he release her, replicating her position so they faced each other. She couldn’t help but smile when he turned his hand up, offering it to her. She set her palm in his, warmth going through her when his fingers curled around hers.
“Stop your investigation,” he said.
She blinked. Surely, she hadn’t heard him right. “You’re the one who set me on that path.”
“I know, but that was before you were in danger.”
“I can take care of myself.”
He glanced at the ground and drew in a deep breath. “Lass, I think you stumbled onto a wealth of secrets that are better left buried. You keep digging, and it might cost you your life. If that happens, then I’ll have to hunt down those who hurt you.”
“You would do that?” She should chastise him for wanting to harm her people, but she couldn’t when he said that he would do it because of her. No one had ever said such a thing to her before.
“In a heartbeat,” he replied.
Jeyra licked her lips and rested her head against the bars. “Whether the truth has been intentionally kept from me or not, I need to know.”
“What happened to your family is horrific. I wish I could take that pain away. You want and need justice for them. I can see that. What you’re doing, you’re doing alone. You have no one to watch your back. That’s reckless.”
She smiled at him. “I don’t trust anyone else with this. If Rankin were here, I’d ask him for help.”
“But he isna here. At least wait until he returns before you continue your search.”
Jeyra shot him another grin. Because she didn’t want to lie, she didn’t say anything. While she understood what Varek said, there was no way she could put it off now. The truth was out there, and she would find it. For herself. For everyone.
“Doona tell the council my answer tomorrow,” he said into the silence.
“Why?”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Because they might think that you are no’ doing a good job and send someone else.”
“They probably will.”
“Which is why I said no’ to tell them.”
She looked at their joined hands. “I’ll only be able to put them off for so long.”
“You’ll only be telling them that I’ve yet to make a decision. That isna on you. It’s on me.”
Jeyra hadn’t thought of it that way. “Good point.” She released a breath. “Other than escaping, agreeing to a marriage is the only way you’ll get free.”
He chuckled softly. “That just proves how verra little you know of Dragon Kings, lass.”
“I’m not joking. It’s the truth. Your magic is gone.”
“It isna gone,” he corrected. “It’s merely being obstructed. Magic played a role in my becoming a King, but that wasna my only qualification.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I get that you’re some great and powerful being, but not here. You’re as normal as I am.”
“I’m a dragon, lass. First and foremost. I spend the majority of my time in this form because I must. And, if I’m honest, I do enjoy it. That in itself makes me anything but normal, to your standards. I’ve no’ yet worked out how I was duped to end up here, but I will. Just as I will figure a way out.”
Fear flooded her. Fear that he might find out she was responsible, and fear that she might never see him again. “You know nothing of Orgate. You can’t possibly think to get free of the prison and exit the city gates before being caught.”
“I could if I had someone helping me.”
She couldn’t look away from his gaze. Jeyra wanted to refuse him, but just like everything else involving him, she found her loyalties were changing.
“Someone is coming,” Varek whispered as he released her hand and moved into the shadows.
Jeyra fisted the hand he’d held, instantly missing his warmth and nearness. She jumped to her feet and crossed her arms over
her chest while looking into the dark where she had last seen him. A few minutes later, she heard someone coming their way. She decided it was better to remain quiet.
Her head turned when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A guard paused, looked at her, then turned on his heel and walked away. When they were once more alone, she wanted to rush to the bars and hold out her arm for him. Instead, she took a step back, needing to put some distance between herself and the handsome Dragon King who made her feel things she didn’t think were possible. She needed time to think, to digest everything that had occurred.
“Please heed my words from earlier,” Varek’s voice said from the shadows.
She couldn’t find any words. Instead, she lifted a hand in a wave and forced a smile before walking away.
“Until tomorrow, lass.”
Her eyes burned with unshed tears that she couldn’t explain. By the time she was out of the dungeon, she was once again in control of herself. Control. What a joke. It was a word she bandied around a lot, but the truth was very little could be commanded. Control of the situation was an illusion they gave themselves, a false sense of security.
She was halfway back to her flat before she realized that she was being followed. Jeyra wasn’t in the mood for anyone. Her mind was too full of thoughts of Varek. She could go back to her place and wait to see if they came up to question her. But it had been over a week since she sparred with anyone. Training was a great release for anger and frustration. And right now, she was awash with both emotions.
Jeyra cut through an alley and made her way to the training grounds. If the two men and one woman following her wanted to talk, they could do it there.
Yet, once she arrived, the three disappeared. Jeyra knew they were most likely waiting for her to leave so they could see where else she went—and who she spoke with. She went to the armory and chose her favorite spear. When she walked into the arena, she wasn’t holding a blunted weapon, but one that could pierce flesh.
For the next thirty minutes, she trained with a number of warriors. There was no talking, only sparring. Sweat covered her skin, and her breathing turned ragged, but the activity did wonders to clear her mind, to the point where she didn’t feel as if she were being crushed under the weight of everything.