by Неизвестный
His hand stroked the side of her check, and heat exploded under her skin.
“So pretty. But why so shy, my love?”
Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I want to whimper at your feet and beg you to take me again? She looked away as the color rose higher. Then Alara twitched. Did he just use the “l” word?
“I gotta pee.” She bolted up and ran for the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Her head fell into her hands. Holy hell! This dragon situation had spiraled completely out of control. He was all moon-eyed and gooey, she was so infatuated she practically panted for him, and somehow the “l” word had flit into their vocabulary.
She splashed cold water against her face, jolting herself back into reality. Without looking in the mirror, she entered the shower chamber. The rush of warm water shook the last of the sleep from her body. Alara had a small country to run and a series of national emergencies to attend to. Thank goodness Florian’s hand had been steady enough to rule following her father’s death, but unless she stepped in he would no doubt run the country into the ground.
A big towel wrapped snugly around her torso, she stood before the mirror and spoke firmly to her reflection. “Today you will get your act together.” An oval mark on her shoulder stood bright red against the white of her skin. Pale yellow bruising had already formed around what looked like puncture wounds. She wracked her brain to remember what might have happened. Had Kai bitten her? She’s been pretty far gone and totally blissed out, but that was one heck of a hickie.
* * * *
“What the fuck did you do, dragon?” Alara barreled out of the bathroom in only a towel, eyebrows drawn in anger. Her fury hit him like a tsunami, making his cock pound to get her under him again.
“I claimed you.” He held his chin up. “It’s a dragon…custom.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What exactly does it mean to ‘claim’ someone?”
He was unsure how fully to answer. “It acts as a warning to other males, telling them you are unavailable.”
Alara nibbled at the inside of her cheek. “So it basically marks your territory. Pretty Neanderthal I guess, but it’ll fade, right?”
A low growl erupted from his throat.
“What’s your problem?” She paused midway getting dressed, wearing only her underthings.
“It will not fade, and you will not take any other males.” The red haze of reptile thought blinded him. Tiny whispers of logic told him he was acting possessive, aggressive, controlling. He chose to ignore those.
“I don’t know who you think you are, dragon, but you do not own me! I don’t care what the fuck you did to my shoulder. I’ll get a friggin’ tat to cover it up if I have to.” She threw her clothes on faster now. Kai would have jumped on her, kissed her, done something to make her understand, but his skin had stretched tight and his joints were popping out of place. By all the gods of the oceans and heavens!
She slammed the door behind her just as his dragon form came to completion. He roared toward her, battered his head against the door, then the wall. Some of the drywall chipped and dented, but the structure held firm. Skull aching, the dragon curled into a ball on her rug until he could change back.
* * * *
Bits of paper littered the floor of her empty office. Everything was gone. Alara’s computer, her desk, all her files. She leaned over to pick up a scrap of a document, wondering why whoever moved her belongings would leave that one sheet. Finding no answer on the scrap, Alara reached for the door handle. When she opened it, Kaylee’s despondent face met her.
“Oh my gods, ‘Lara, I’m so sorry.” Kaylee threw her arms around Alara’s neck and sobbed in her shoulder. “Your dad was a great triton. A great man.”
Alara shrugged off the girl’s affection. “Yeah, thanks. But where’s all my stuff?”
Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear nervously, Kaylee said, “Well, Florian’s kind’ve removed you from your position.”
“What the fuck?”
Kaylee’s eyes grew wide, and she reached again for the princess. “He’s painting you in a bad light, ‘Lara. And when word got out that you lied to the dragons—”
Alara held a hand up to stop Kaylee’s talking. She turned from her friend, knowing what had happened. Shaking legs carried her out of the Glass House to a large barn. Sitting on an old wooden bench, she donned snowshoes and poles, and then trekked out the wide barn door into the fields. She walked over hills along the water for what felt like hours, till her legs gave out and her breath panted mist in the frigid air. Several lodges filled the area, all used either during soldiers’ training or for children on school trips, but given the kids were home from school and the soldiers were still searching for the lost children, the cabins were deserted.
She huddled under an old blanket, sitting in front of a small wood-burning stove. The flicker of flame kept her mind stable, stopped her from floating to destructive impulses. Deep panting bounced off the trees and the walls, signaling the large male’s approach. Kai’s muttered curses and the sound of snow collapsing would have made her laugh had she not wanted so badly to sob.
A fist knocked on the plywood door.
“Come in, dragon. There’s no lock.”
Kai’s long legs bent under him as he came to sit next to her. His jaw clenched and his teeth chattered. The legs of his jeans had soaked clear to his thighs.
“Let me guess. You didn’t wear snow shoes?” She wanted to stay angry with him, but pathetic shivers rolled up his body.
“I wore boots. Was that wrong?” He held up a rubber-booted foot. Without gators the thing had to be full of snow by now.
She moved to the front of him and pulled off one, then another. Yep, his feet were soaked clear to the skin. “You’re dumb. You know that?”
He could barely speak through his chattering teeth. “Yes, Alara, you are correct.”
She barked a laugh at his reply.
“I meant to tell you about Florian’s treachery when I met you at the graveyard. But you were so distraught. I couldn’t bear to add to your sadness.”
She threw the blanket over his shoulders and pressed into him, sharing her heat. “Yeah, and were you also going to tell me that you told him I lied about my troops?”
He jerked under her arms, but when she didn’t stop rubbing his arms to warm him, he relaxed. “I didn’t tell your brother. I told the Council Chair.” He paused as if to hint at a deeper meaning.
“Oh, hell no. Florian has been talking directly to the Dragon Council all along, hasn’t he?”
Kai nodded solemnly.
“Please tell me you didn’t know?” Alara knew little about this dragon, but enough to know he’d never stoop that that level of deception.
He shook his head. “I swear to you, Alara.”
Her head fell into her hands. “Holy fuck. If Florian had something to do with my father’s death I swear, I will kill him.”
Kai took her hand and held it tight. “I am not familiar with the laws of your land, but I believe you would be well within your rights to do so.”
Shame curled on her. “I’ve been disgraced, though. Florian’s made me look unstable, untrustworthy.”
Her dragon leaned back to pull off his wet pants. His damp boxers clung to his butt as he sat back down with a dusty flop. “Well you’re fortunate to have myself and my men here then.”
She caught his little smile. “And why is that, dragon?”
He shrugged, his expression sheepish but also amused. “Because if there’s one thing my people know how to do, it’s remove our enemies from positions of power.
Chapter 14
Karon brought the zodiac full of mere children to a stop. The tiniest boy cried; the oldest girl looked wary. Guilt nipped his heels, but he couldn’t drive them any further, nor could he give them his boat.
“All right. You’re going to have to swim from here. Good luck. And you can tell your parents and the police or whatever you have where you live where I am.”
The children sat still, looking around as if wondering whether or not to believe their good fortune. One of the older girls narrowed her eyes. “Did that pretty woman make you to let us go? Is that why you did it?”
Karon thought about it. “Yes…No…Maybe.”
The girl nodded once, already hardened by her experience. “You should be nice to her.”
The girl stripped her clothes off, looking boldly into his eyes until he turned away in shame. He kept his eyes averted while splash after splash signaled Dr. Grathers’ subjects’ departure. Alone and adrift, he sat down, placed his head in his hands, and began his wait.
* * * *
Mid-afternoon sun shone bright against the snow as Alara strapped the ancient snowshoes on Kai’s feet. The panels had hung on the cabin’s walls, but she seemed to think they would still work. His legs hung out the doorway and down onto the first step outside the cabin. Her head bent as she affixed straps to his feet. The scent of her hair mingled with the fresh, cold air.
He loved her. He loved her kindness and her anger, and even her off-color comments. His mouth opened to tell her just that, but her gaze snapped up. “Don’t!”
His eyes widened. What woman wouldn’t want to hear love professed by a dragon such as him? “You didn’t even know what I was about to say.”
She put her hands on her hips. “You were going to spout some soppy nonsense, right?”
Kai raised his eyebrows. “Perhaps.”
“Well, don’t. I like you well enough, OK. But you still work for the Council, and I’m still mere, and…” She was getting flustered, and the sight warmed him more than any poetic words.
He smiled. “All right, then. I will refrain from telling you how much I love you.”
“Good.” She returned to attaching his shoes, but then looked up and narrowed her eyes. “Oh, ha, ha, ha.”
His grin grew so wide it split his face. He stood up and experimented with the flat attachments. They allowed him to walk over the banks of snow, but slowed down his each stride. It was a bit like walking through water. A moment later, Alara was similarly shod. She moved toward him in great strides.
“Let’s head back, dragon.” Alara swept past him, not meeting his eyes.
“Of course, my love.”
She swatted at him, but couldn’t reach given the width of his shoes.
“Dearest heart?”
She attempted another blow, which tilted her off balance. He caught her and pulled her into a kiss before she could utter a retort. Her jackets and sweaters filled his arms, but her breath steamed hot against his neck. “My beloved mate?”
She pushed off from him. His smile fell as he recognized her serious tone. “So you’re going to give up your job, your people and live in a tiny mere habitat with me?”
His mind whirled. “You could come live in Underwater City.” The moment the words left his lips, he realized his mistake.
“I have to dethrone my brother and take over a country, you dumb-ass! I can’t go running off to live with the dragons—who, by the way, would look down their noses at me!”
He bowed his head to her, unsure what to say in answer but resolving to think on it later. “You are correct, Alara. I apologize for not seeing clearly your position.”
Alara chewed the side of her lip, and her eyes darted to the side. But then she turned and set off for the Glass House.
* * * *
Alara expected gasps and embarrassed glances when she returned. However, as she marched down the hall with the human-form dragon in her wake figures streaked by, barely sparing her a look. Excited shouts echoed through the corridors. A young male passed, and Alara grabbed his arm. “What’s going on?”
“It’s the children. They’ve been released.”
Her heart sped up. “Are they okay? Were they hurt?”
The boy scanned the hallway, clearly hoping to get away quickly. “No. From what I heard, they’re fine. The triton is giving an interview for the paper about it right now.
Alara’s mind reeled. The triton? Then she realized the boy spoke of her brother, not her father. She took a deep breath and gestured that he could leave. He ran off without another word.
Alara turned to Kai. “Well, talking to Florian is certainly out for a while. He’ll be busy using this to bolster his reputation. I wonder if he’s even trying to capture the perpetrators.”
Kai looked thoughtful. “They must have released the mere nearby, correct? What range can fry swim?”
Excitement shot through Alara’s veins. “The youngest couldn’t make it more than ten or fifteen miles. Damn, whoever dropped them can’t be far away.”
“Especially if you’re travelling at my speed. Alara, do you think you can get the relevant information from the children in the next hour?”
She turned and ran down the hallway, headed towards the walk-out, where no doubt a crowd of townspeople were questioning the kids. “I’m certainly going to try.”
* * * *
Islanders packed the walk-out. Somewhere near the front, the children and their parents huddled, answering questions and holding each other. Alara cursed her sorry-ass brother for not sending more troops down to protect these peoples’ privacy. Hans, Sven, and a few others stood at the edges, attempting to keep order. She shouldered her way through the crowd, snatching a megaphone from one of the guys. When she reached the front of the crowd she turned and raised it to her lips.
“Oi!”
The crowd settled a little, so that her next announcement carried further. “I want everyone who is not a soldier with the Murrough Army out of here. Now!” Some of the crowd backed away, muttering, but a few eager news-reporter types near the front looked mutinous. One stepped forward to speak with her, and she shouted through the megaphone. “NOW!”
The seven kids and their parents stood in a huddle, looking overwhelmed by the whole experience. Alara approached them cautiously. “I know you just want to go home. But I need you kids to tell me where they dropped you off. I’m going to go find the men who took you.”
“He’s dead.” The largest one stepped forward. “The evil one died. I saw him lying there when the other guy took us off the boat.”
The girl spoke with utter lack of emotion. Alara vowed to make sure these strong little mere recovered fully, once she punished those responsible. “What’s your name?”
“Sarah.” The girl said it in a whisper, as if she had resisted sharing that information with her captors.
“Well, Sarah, even if the ringleader is dead I need to find out who was involved and how they located our island. So please, where did they release you?”
Sarah pointed directly south. The others nodded. “And do you have any sense how far you swam? Or maybe how long?”
The girl scrunched her face and rolled her eyes up and to the side, like she was searching for the answer on the inside of her skull. “Maybe an hour.”
Alara’s stomach leapt. They’d been released right outside the boundary. Holy shit! The perps couldn’t be more than seven miles away. “Thank you so much, all of you. I…I’ll contact you tomorrow.”
She turned away from the families and aimed her megaphone at the handful of mere soldiers still standing around the far edges of the walk-out. “I’m going to head out and find those bastards. Who’s with me?”
* * * *
Kai pressed through the doors to Florian’s offices. Mere and dragon alike crowded the rooms, talking and creating a loud din. His eyes landed on the dragon he sought. “Laird, you must accompany me.” When the human-form dragon lifted his white-blond eyebrows, Kai added, “Now!”
His second-in-command followed at a clip down the hallway. “What is it you need from me, General?”
Kai ducked into a small conference room and trained his eyes on his friend. “Alara and I are going to apprehend the kidnappers.” He watched for Laird’s reaction.
Laird betrayed no emotion, but leaned towards Kai and sniffed. “You smell of her.”
H
e had not showered since their time in the cabin, and in all honesty he liked the scent of her on his skin. “Perhaps.” His lips pressed together, and his jaw clenched. He should have gone with Alara alone. Having this much knowledge gave Laird far too much power.
The pale dragon surprised him. “I will help you in your search. And I will be silent regarding your relationship with the princess. However I will not lie to the Council Chair on your behalf.”
Kai nodded in agreement. “It is not my aim to make enemies in the Dragon Council. I simply believe that now is the time to search.”
Laird’s pale blue eyes narrowed, but if he questioned Kai’s reasoning, he didn’t say so. Kai checked his cell phone and saw the text from Alara.
Get yr butt down here. 7-8 miles away—max.
* * * *
Alara noticed her men hunch their shoulders as the dragons approached. Whatever happened during her days of mourning had clearly not healed the rift between the groups. When Kai came to stand before her, she spoke loudly, so her men knew they were being addressed as much as the dragon.
“Hello, General Nasu. Thanks for coming to help.”
The dragon caught her meaning quickly, and a little smirk crossed his face. “It is my pleasure to serve in whatever capacity most helps you and your people.” He gave her a low bow, which in her opinion might have been overdoing it.
Her men seemed to appreciate the effort, however, and nods and muttered hellos passed between Laird and the soldiers. She’d always gotten a good vibe from that pale one.
“All-righty. We’re going to need two things—speed and sonar. For the first, we’ll use the dragons, and for the second, we’ll use mere-song. The kids were dropped off by a small zodiac. I doubt their carrying blocking equipment aboard.” Dragons and mere alike nodded their agreement.
“Laird, can you take Hans and those two?” The pale dragon nodded.
“Okay, me and Sven will go with Kai.”
Kai spoke up. “But mere-song only works underwater. If you ride our backs you’ll have to shift in and out of human form.”
The group walked over to the changing hut as they spoke. “Yes. We’ll ride to the approximate location given by the girls, then we’ll dive and sing to locate the boat.”