by Renee Field
Needing desperately to clamp down on the roar of passion brewing within her, Maeja took a step back. “Explain yourself, Valdason.” The question was a direct demand. Her tone, deliberately polished and cold, set the mood.
“I am an Air Dragon.”
Maeja smirked. “Indeed. Do you think me blind?”
His head snapped to her. The cold blue of his eyes bit into her. “No. You are queen. You see all.”
Mockery. He was poking fun at her. Why?
Geirsson gripped Valdason’s neck, his hold tight and unforgiving. “I could make you eat your words, Valdason. Show respect for your queen. Apologize.”
“No,” choked out Valdason.
“Did you blow up my palace?” Maeja needed to understand what was going on.
“No.”
“You lie.” Geirsson’s grip intensified.
Valdason’s face turned a pale green. She knew he was powerful enough to force Geirsson off him. Why he surrendered to her captain-at-arms’ attack mystified her.
“Let him go, Geirsson. He will explain his actions, or I will kill him.” Her demand was direct and to the point.
Geirsson dared a quick glance at her then he released his hold on Valdason. “Explain yourself to both of us.”
Free, Valdason took a moment to compose himself. “I am from the Elemental tribe you are killing.”
Maeja reached out and stopped Geirsson from once again attacking Valdason. “Valdason, I know naught of what you speak of.” She allowed him to close the space between them.
Valdason placed his hands on his hips, his eyes challenging her. “Your decree that we are not to change into our true form is killing us.”
“How?” Maeja spat.
“The longer we stay in human form the madder we become, until it is too late. I watched my entire family deteriorate before my eyes, year after year becoming more senile. They firmly believed in your decree…in your cursed law that told them it was forbidden to change into their true dragon form even though that is what we are. When our elders finally realized what was happening, it was too late. Those like my family could no longer force the change. They died trying. Does that make you happy? Your law is killing us. Not your beloved humans…but you!”
Maeja moved until she stood a breath away from him. He spoke his words in dragonese, ensuring she understood the truth of them. Fierce disbelief and shock almost brought her to her knees. I am queen, she reminded herself, steeling herself from succumbing to the emotions.
“I believe your words, but why is only your tribe affected?” Maeja wanted—and needed—clarification.
“At one time that may have been true, but other tribes are showing signs. I think because we are the oldest Elemental tribe we were affected more than others. Are you saying you had no idea of this?”
Maeja placed her hand over her dragon-heart and spoke dragonese. “I swear by my dragon-heart I had no idea. I would never have ordered that law if I had known.”
Valdason fell to his knees. “My lady, your words bring relief to my spirit. I had thought… I believed…my tribe believes you are the cause of this. I tried to tell the factions trying to overthrow you that may not be the case—”
“Factions trying to overthrow her? Explain.” Geirsson’s tone was a strong command.
“I was sent by my tribe to kill her.”
Maeja sucked in her breath. She knew she had enemies, but the cold, hard knowledge Valdason had been so close to his goal robbed her lungs of oxygen.
“Then you are dead.” Geirsson lunged.
Maeja forced her body between the Dragonbane warriors.
“Stop! If Valdason truly wanted to kill me, Geirsson, he would have. You must believe my words are true. Why is it that you have not been afflicted like your family?”
“I secretly changed, like Geirsson, I might add.” Faced with death at Geirsson’s hands, Valdason had the nerve to smile.
“Good to know everyone follows my rules,” said Maeja.
“Immediately, upon my return to the Draconic Council, I will change the law. I cannot undo what happened but upon my royal blue blood I will make sure not one more of my subjects are afflicted as you say. I will also send my most trusted scientists to your tribe to see if they can reverse the effects. I mean only the best for Castra but it would appear I am making many mistakes.”
“Maeja, none are infallible. We all make mistakes.” Geirsson reached out and brushed his arm up against hers. She welcomed his support and that hard-and-fast truth hit her like a stone. She was Queen of Castra. She wasn’t supposed to need anyone, but having someone to lean on made her feel stronger.
“Thank you, Geirsson, but infallible or not, my laws have been killing my subjects and that is sacrilegious to my way of thinking. I will change it. But I am afraid it might be too late. No matter what I do, Castra is failing. The blue diamond is dying. I believe what we all experienced is only the beginning. We need to find the diamond before it is too late.”
“Then we must fix it.” Valdason had not moved but the quiet of his words brushed over her.
“You would help us?” She hoped and wanted him to join them in their quest. If she was truthful, she would also admit to herself she was attracted to him. Knowing what he truly was, and what he was capable of, warmed her.
“Yes. You gave your word that you would change the law. I never wanted war. I had hoped to negotiate with you. Your offer of help is more than I anticipated. It would be my honor to help you. Castra is my home too.”
Maeja bowed her head. The act was significant and one she knew would not be lost on Valdason. “Thank you.”
Geirsson moved to face Valdason. Face-to-face they stood, warrior ready. “If you ever deceive me again, I will rip you apart, slowly.” Geirsson grinned, flashing his sharp dragon teeth.
Standing tall, Valdason answered, “I understand.”
Maeja noted how he kept his stance rock still, his eyes wide open as Geirsson challenged him.
“I trusted you once. Now, I’m not sure,” growled Geirsson.
Valdason lowered his eyes and nodded. “I will give my pledge in blood.”
“You honor us,” said Maeja.
“Then so be it. You understand the blood pledge means we will be linked for all time. You look once to deceive me and I will hunt you, find you and destroy you,” said Geirsson.
Speaking dragonese, Valdason said, “I give thee my blood willingly.” He immediately sliced open his hand with a razor-sharp fingernail. Blue royal blood dripped slowly down his hand.
Maeja gasped. She had forgotten Air Dragons had been Castra’s first rulers for centuries. Of course he would have the blue tinge of royalty. Somewhere during Castra’s long past one of his ancestors had mated with a Fire Dragon. That was how she had come to be born with the same royal blue blood as he. Both of their lineages were royal and ancient.
Geirsson followed suit to slice open his hand. Common green blood merged with royal blue. Without thinking of her actions fully Maeja sliced her hand. “I will pledge you both to me.”
“No, Maeja, you should not,” said Geirsson.
The fire in Geirsson’s amber eyes told her a different story. Valdason’s startling clear blue eyes, reflecting an untapped passion, appraised her. She did not miss the smoldering heat radiating from both of them. Maeja knew it was the scent of her blood adding to their passion. Still, it gave her a heady sense of power. It was not her royal status these Dragonbane warriors wanted. It was she.
“Do not presume to know me, Geirsson. I will do as I please.”
“But, my lady, my queen, you will be forever linked to us,” said Valdason, even as he licked his lips.
“I know exactly what I’m doing, Valdason.” Maeja almost laughed. She was slowly acquiring an art for lying and highly suspected by the heightened body heat emanating from both Dragonbane warriors they sensed her falsehood.
Wisely, they remained silent and held out their cut hands for her.
Blood to blo
od. Sealed forever. The minute Maeja’s blood mingled with both of theirs the stark words of the dragon-witch thundered through her. These two were hers. They did not know it yet. Or did they? Both warriors licked their lips, the move erotic and suggestive.
With willpower, Maeja tore herself away from them.
“North. We will head north. I am not one hundred percent that is the correct direction but it is where my instinct says to go and for once, I will listen to it. We will enter the mineshaft that will lead us to Castra’s core and, I hope, the blue diamond. I do not know how much time we have but we should not waste it on this mountain any longer.”
As the words flew forth from her mouth, something clanged to the ground. Everyone moved to discover what had fallen from the night sky.
“That is an Earth satellite,” said Geirsson. This time there was no containing his roar of outrage.
“They are spying on us.” Maeja had not meant to say the words out loud. The stark realization that her trade partner, the one planet in the galaxy they had reached out to for help, did not fully trust them caused something dark to spread within her. “How dare they?”
“That is not the only one. Last moon cycle I found two more of these small metallic devices. At the time I had no idea what they were,” said Valdason.
“Where did you find them?” asked Geirsson, kicking a piece of the crumpled metal with his foot.
The device was deceptively tiny. Shaped like a rectangular box it had six spokes protruding from it. Powered by the solar winds. Maeja realized it must have gotten knocked out of its orbit when Castra’s rotation had faltered.
She had always suspected that the humans did not fully trust them, and this was her proof. However, with that knowledge came fear. If the dragon-witch’s words were true she had to allow her race the luxury of changing into what they were—dragons. She also had to be the one to inform the humans on Earth. If not the humans would annihilate them. As Castra’s queen she would not allow that to happen.
“I found both close to where my tribe lives. One was nothing more than pieces and looked to have fallen quite awhile ago, while the other was more intact like this one.”
“We must head north now. We must ensure that the blue diamond does not fail us again,” repeated Maeja. This time she let the fear she was holding at bay surface.
Chapter Eight
Maeja felt Geirsson move closer to her. “You are forgetting something, Maeja.”
Her hands tucked her long hair behind her ears. The wind from the mountains kept swriling it in front of her face and it was an annoyance she had no time for. “What?”
“Isn’t there something you are supposed to do?” Geirsson gave her a bold wink and Maeja could tell by the smoldering look in his eyes he was teasing her.
She huffed in annoyance. “There is no way we can change. The humans are spying on us. They will see.”
Valdason moved closer to her. He had picked up a piece of the satellite and tossed it into the air. With a puff of his breath, he suspended the small metal box in the air with minimal effort. “Actually, they probably won’t. The solar winds are currently exceedingly strong and I am sure all of their technology is on the fritz.”
Both Geirsson and Maeja gave him a puzzled look.
“I am an Air Dragon. I sense the change in the air in and around the planet.”
Maeja felt herself appraising him with a bold look. She liked his intelligence and how he was able to quickly adapt.
“Then there is no hurry,” said Geirsson.
“No…no hurry at all,” echoed Valdason.
“You two are nuts. We must go.”
“I do believe, Valdason, we can spare an hour,” said Geirsson. His words were followed by his hand claiming the base of his cock. Valdason quickly followed suit.
Maeja sucked in her breath sharply, feeling the immediate hiss of her dragon preening for more, while wondering what silent telepathic communication was taking place between these two males.
She highly suspected they were speaking in some sort of code she could not follow. The mountaintop did recently erupt and boulders had toppled around them. The planet had rocked to a standstill for a dreaded heartbeat. They had firm proof that the humans were spying on them. What is wrong with them?
“We cannot wait around,” said Maeja.
“I think we can spare maybe two hours.”
Valdason grinned. She wished he hadn’t. His blue eyes sparked to life and Maeja felt the effect of them instantly. Fluid, warm air skimmed her skin, reminding her she was still naked. Normally that would not bother her. However, it now left her exposed, vulnerable to their penetrating lust-filled eyes. She did not need to look at her body to know she was affected by the seductive quality of their combined tones. Her nipples felt achy and she damn well knew they were erect. They were not the only thing erect, she noted, stealing a glance at both Valdason and Geirsson.
“You wanted to undergo the thrall, Maeja, need I remind you.”
She huffed, brushing her hair out of her eyes in the process. “Shut up, Geirsson. We do not have time for this now.”
“The thrall. Two draconic men at once. By the Scribes, you can not be serious,” said Valdason, scoping her body with a penetrating lust-filled gaze that caused her toes to curl with want.
Maeja noted how exciting the prospect sounded to Valdason. She simply nodded. “Maybe later.”
Geirsson advanced to her, with Valdason following in quick succession. Not meaning to take a step back, Maeja did just that. Realizing she was hesitating, she willed herself not to move another foot. “You cannot be serious. We do not have time, Geirsson. It is important we get to the blue diamond now.”
Geirsson moved until he stood a breath away from her. “Maeja, the world is not about to explode in an hour or two. Let us enjoy each other.”
“I cannot believe you are serious. That is an ancient practice,” said Valdason. “I thought you wanted everything to be modern.”
“Well, I did, but—”
“But a dragon-witch told her she had to undergo the thrall to save Castra. Is that not correct, my queen? This is all about your duty,” said Geirsson.
Her face flushed with outrage. She highly suspected Geirsson was goading her. Placing her hands on her hips, knowing the movement forced her breasts to bounce slightly, she gave a calculating smile. “Geirsson’s right, Valdason. A dragon-witch told me I had to undergo the thrall to save Castra. I plan to do my duty.”
“What can I say, except I am at your service, my queen.”
Valdason gave an elegant bow, the movement causing all the muscles on his chest to play attractively for her eyes. A wicked, sinful dragon grin that was full of white teeth flew across Valdason’s face. It brought a torrent of volcanic fire to Maeja’s already pulsing core.
“I feel as if I am repeating myself. This is not the time. I think we should wait.” There was a desperate plea in her voice, which Maeja hated.
“Come now, my queen, surely you are not afraid of us.” Geirsson’s voice, that rough, rumbling timbre, made her want to gnash her teeth together. He had lowered his voice an octave on purpose to drive her lust up another notch.
Valdason calmly walked around her. Maeja stilled her frame. She let him move to her back, affording him the right to do so. Exposed, she felt him still. He exhaled, the warmth of his breath caressing her spine, sending tingles of awareness to all her nerve endings.
“She does not look afraid. She looks desirable.” Boldly he stroked a finger down her rigid spine, trailing slowly over each indentation.
“She does, doesn’t she? And she tastes as good as she looks.” Geirsson grasped her hips, sunk to his knees in front of her, and like a draconic man fully in command of his mate, inhaled her naked pussy.
Castra could have chosen that moment to explode but it no longer mattered to Maeja. Ice-fire and hot air mingled at her exposed back, sailing straight to the marrow of her bones. Burning desire claimed her like a tornado and she was
not going to allow it to stop.
She widened her stance, allowing Geirsson to fork his tongue deep into her wetness. Playful, long strokes from his tongue combined with the nips and nibbles Valdason was applying to her backside and neck left her trembling. She closed her eyes and the minute she did so, the surge of her dragon—the beast she had so long denied—soared free.
Climaxing quickly from Geirsson’s skillful tongue, she pushed him out of her way. The fire of her change forced her to become a living flame. The dragon she was shimmered and then flashed free. Six-foot-long, graceful wings with iridescent golden-hued colors that matched the sheen of Castra’s two small suns unfurled on her regal breath. Her dragon form complete, she rested on her hind legs. Long talons relished the rich, vibrating feel of Castra’s ground. For one second before the call of the air took hold of her, her rational mind attempted to reassert itself. Two dragon roars sailed into her dragon-heart. She gave a slow blink, drinking in the graceful sight of Valdason as his form shimmered into an Air Dragon and Geirsson as he flashed into the majestic Frost Dragon she was coming to need and love.
With one push from her powerful hind legs she thundered into the dawn of a new day, soaking in the feel of having two dragons chase her. The thrall was on. As old as the beginning of time, instinct surfaced. She flew, beating her wings so that she surfaced past the cloud covering. The thinning of the atmosphere did not bother her. Her lungs expanded, absorbing the nutrients Castra offered. Maeja acknowledged to herself that for the first time that she could remember she truly felt alive and connected with her planet, and with that tie came the bitter truth of Valdason’s tribe’s plight.
I was killing us. This is what we are. We are dragons.
Valdason blurred past her, ensuring she felt the air of his approach. Directly in front of her, he made the cloudy expanse of air part. Only at the last moment did she tuck in her front claws to avoid slicing him. His large dragon head shimmered toward her. Using the air molecules the way he could, he made it a point to put on a show, so she could boldly assess her. The grin came over her and she felt her body purring.