She pulled out from underneath him and spun around. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Your Majesty. She spat out the words and leapt from the ledge of the cave, soaring over the sea. Her silver wings shimmered in the sunlight, her body still heaving as she flew south.
Obsidian’s entire body tensed. He dug his claws into the cave floor. He’d never been called Your Majesty. He was a royal dragon, but he wasn’t the king. He closed his eyes and hurtled into the biting wind, heading north.
Birds twittered. An airplane passed high above, and the waves of the ocean crashed below. Obsidian turned inland, heading for a quieter setting, drifting through the air and landing at the edge of a lake.
The sharp scent of pine stung his nostrils. He cracked his eyelids a sliver, searching for his reflection. When he found it, his insides turned cold. His body, a glittering gold for four centuries, was now a deep coal black.
Obsidian sat on the bank staring at his new self, disgusted. In the sunlight he could still see some gold, but mostly he was darker than the night sky. He hated what it meant for him. Skye left because she understood that in spite of all the plans they made, the inevitable had come to pass. They would never be together again.
Obsidian’s heart ached. His mate would now be chosen for him, and Skye would never qualify. He sniffed and watched the black smoke float above him. His smoke used to be gold. He was glad he never sealed himself to her because then they both would’ve been killed as soon as he turned black.
They’d had their silly little fantasies of what life would be like after he fulfilled his duties. Once one of his brothers was chosen, most likely Prometheus, he would have finally allowed himself to be sealed to her. Their children raised by the sea. Now Skye would never become his mate, because he had been selected.
Dragons came in many colors—silver, gold, red, blue, orange, yellow, brown, and purple. But only one dragon was black.
The king.
Chapter 2
Aspen’s eyes flashed opened and settled on the picture of a rust-colored dragon hanging above her bed. Her hands shook as she pushed her hair out of her face. It was just a dream, no biggie. Her right hand ached. Weird. She looked at it and found her knuckles red.
Someone spewed curses from the other side of her room. She sprung out of bed, ready for a fight. Her dad danced around the room holding his eye. She must’ve hit him when she woke up. Damn nightmares. Damn Marc. Why’d he haunt her after all these years?
“Oh, Dad, I’m sorry. I was having a bad dream.” Aspen leaned over, picked up his ranger hat, and handed it to him.
“It’s okay. Next time remind me to yell from the door.”
She chuckled, still trying to get a good look at his face. “Sure, I’ll remember to do that while I’m sleeping.”
He grinned, and she touched the reddening skin around his eye. “That’s going to bruise. What are you going to tell them at work? That your seventeen-year-old daughter beat you up?”
“Nah, I’ll come up with a better story. I know it’s early, but I’m heading to work, and I wanted to make sure you were packed.”
Aspen squirmed. “Uh, not exactly. But I’ll pack tonight, I swear.”
“We leave for Hawaii first thing tomorrow morning. Why not pack now?” He twirled his hat in his hand, smiling. He was just trying to get her to ask permission. Something she didn’t do on a regular basis.
“Because I’m going rappelling, but I promise it’ll get done.”
“Aspen, we missed our flight last time because you hadn’t packed.”
“I know, but that was just California. This is Hawaii.”
He winked and left the room, giving her that “Yeah, sure” look. He wasn’t the best at enforcing rules, and he never stayed mad at her long, even when she royally screwed up. He didn’t need to worry. She might end up with nothing more than a bathing suit, toothbrush, and camera shoved in her backpack, but she was getting on that plane. It was Hawaii for crying out loud.
Aspen flitted around her room for a little bit. She dug out every single one of her cameras and lined them up on her dresser. It was unrealistic to take them all, but she’d never seen the blood-red dragons that flew around the volcanoes in Hawaii. She’d seen a few pictures, but no one was as good as she was at capturing them. Hell, most people didn’t dare to get that close to the dragons. Even those who liked them.
Aspen’s whole goal in life was to become the Crocodile Hunter of dragons. But that would never happen if she stayed in her room packing on a perfectly good Thursday morning. She could pack tonight when the dragons were harder to spot. The clock read quarter to nine. If much more time passed, she’d spend an hour in traffic. Aspen threw on a pair of jeans, found her rappelling pack, and grabbed a banana before heading out the door.
Yellowstone crawled with tourists during the summer. Aspen was glad the season was almost over and she could have the park to herself again. Her jeep wove carefully in and out of motor homes and minivans. She hoped she wouldn’t come across the all too frequent buffalo-in-the-road traffic jam. After a few miles, she found a hidden intersection with a small sign labeled “Authorized Personnel Only” next to a steep dirt road. She turned off the highway onto the road, kicking up a cloud of dirt. She sort of was authorized personnel—one of the advantages of being the daughter of two park rangers. All the rangers knew her, and if she got caught, they’d just laugh and tell her she was wasting her time. The golden dragons in this park were much harder to photograph because they never flew close to the ground. But she still tried. As she climbed the mountain, her skin tingled with excitement. This place was her best shot because last week she spotted footprints.
When she was four, Aspen met an actual dragon. Ever since then, she had to settle for shooting them in flight. Which wasn’t bad, but she’d give anything to be face-to-face with one again. This road led to the best chance of that happening.
She put the jeep in four-wheel drive to navigate the steep incline. The hair on the back of her neck rose. Her eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror, but the only thing behind her was dust from her tires.
A dark shadow passed in front of the car, and she slammed on the brakes, spraying gravel and rocks into the brush. The jeep slid backwards. She pushed it into first gear and accelerated, trying to keep it from sliding. The ascent was slow, having lost all momentum. The rocky road went through a stand of pine trees. The shadow loomed larger as she moved closer to the top of the hill. She wanted to check out the sky, but the narrow road demanded all of her attention.
The jeep crested the hill, and the rocky road gave way to a large plateau. On the far side, the grass ended, revealing jagged rocks and a cliff.
Another shadow passed over the car, not just a shapeless cloud, but a shadow with wings. Aspen scrambled out of the car and looked up. The sun blinded her, and all she could see was a dark mass.
She rushed to open the hatch and flung aside her gear in search of her rappelling pack. She found it. It was the one with her GoPro inside. She dug through the bag, tossing out granola bars and water bottles, but the camera was nowhere to be found. She thought back to this morning, and her heart sank. The camera was sitting on her dresser—waiting to be packed. Damn her foresight for Hawaii.
She backed up and shielded her eyes, searching the skies. There wasn’t a dragon in sight. Not even way up among the clouds where the usual golden and silver specks flew. She’d just seen him.
The ground shook, and she stumbled, trying not to fall. She spun around. Sitting not ten feet from her was a dragon.
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Acknowledgements
Another series finished. Thank you to all my readers who stuck out the whole thing.
Thanks go first to my very patient editors, Kelley and Suzi. This would not be nearly as good without you. You gals changed my life. Thank you.
Jaye, thanks for doing the formatting. I rest easier knowing it’
s in your hands.
Brittany, once again, thanks for your awesome proofing skills.
Virginia, thank you so much for all you do. I’m where I am today because of you.
Will, thanks for your unwavering support. I love you.
Xandi and AJ, thanks for being patient with your mom. Love you.
Tiffany, thank you for being my sister. Love you.
Superfans!!! You guys rock. Thank you.
Astrid Rudloff, Brianna Snowball, Sara Groenheide, Laurie Murray, Patti Hays, Anne Loshuk, Samantha Murphy, Ashley Martinez, Sherry Beasley, Jennifer LaRocca, Tera Comer, Cortnee Hancock, Jennifer McIntosh, Ola Adamska, Andrea McKay, Kristen Rummerfield, Debbie Rodriguez, Linda Longo,Faydra Fuller, Darcy Whitaker, Julie Hainsworth, Leslee Lusk, Dora Zeno, Isis Ray-Sisco, Ksandra Unangst, Pansy Mesimer, Andrea Hubler, Seraphia Sparks, Yolanda Johnson, Bev Christensen, Jai Henson, Alicia Arana, Stephanie Pittser, Shelly Small, Mary Martin, Diane Norwood, Zoe Cannon, Shelby white, Amanda Showalter, Denise Austin, Angela Hogate, Sandra Singleton, Marie Rice, Linda Levine, Belinda Tran, Dawn Foster, Christine Stokes, Anita Hanekom, Victoria Palmer, Rosemary Lekman
Also by Kimberly Loth
The Thorn Chronicles
Kissed: www.kimberlyloth.com/kissed
Destroyed: www.kimberlyloth.com/destroyed
Secrets: www.kimberlyloth.com/secrets
Lies: www.kimberlyloth.com/lies
The Dragon Kings
Obsidian: www.kimberlyloth.com/obsidian
Aspen: www.kimberlyloth.com/aspen
Valentine: www.kimberlyloth.com/valentine
Skye www.kimberlyloth.com/skye
The Kings www.kimberlyloth.com/kings
Omega Mu Alpha Brothers
Snowfall and Secrets: www.kimberlyloth.com/snowfall
Pyramids and Promises: www.kimberlyloth.com/pyramids
Folly and Forever: www.kimberlyloth.com/folly
Monkeys and Mayhem: www.kimberlyloth.com/monkeys
Road trips and Romance: www.kimberlyloth.com/roadtrips
Stella and Sol
God of the Sun: www.kimberlyloth.com/sun
Prince of the Moon: www.kimberlyloth.com/moon
King of the Stars: www.kimberlyloth.com/stars
Queen of the Dawn: www.kimberlyloth.com/dawn
About the Author
Kimberly Loth can’t decide where she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Utah, California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the leap and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. She spent two wild years in Cairo, Egypt. Currently, she lives in Shenzhen, China with her husband and two kids as a full time author. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. She’s the author of Amazon bestselling series The Dragon Kings.
Copyright © 2017 by Kimberly Loth
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced in any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is completely coincidental.
Cover design by Deranged Doctors
Table of Contents
Stella and Sol Box Set
Title Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Check out this excerpt from Kimberly Loth’s exciting series,
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Untitled
Title Page
For Apollo
Untitled
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Check out this excerpt from Kimberly Loth’s exciting series, The Thorn Chronicles.
About the Author
Also by Kimberly Loth
Acknowledgements
Untitled
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Acknowledgements
Check out this excerpt from Kimberly Loth’s exciting series, The Thorn Chronicles.
About the Author
Title Page
For Xandi
Map
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Prologue
Chapter 1
Acknowledgements
Also by Kimberly Loth
About the Author
Copyright © 2017 by Kimberly Loth
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