Chapter 5
In the subdued lighting of an extravagant hotel suite, a trio of dragons with scowling faces convened to discuss the aftermath of the most historic vote in draconic history.
Mahuika’s dark eyes raked over the men standing by the door. Both were handsome brutes, the one on the left more refined than the brawny ancient beside him. She’d chosen them for being the most outspoken during the debates, for their reactions after the poll, and the very nature of their fierce reputations.
“I am glad you both chose to join me this evening,” she greeted them in the Draconic tongue.
The larger dragon, Tlaloc, wore his features in an impassive mask. “I find my curiosity stimulated. What could you possibly have to discuss with me?” Tendrils of his hair fell in an ebony river around his powerful shoulders, framing a darkly tanned face that could have been carved from stone.
“I am also intrigued,” Loki said.
“On this day, I witnessed your disgust, your disappointment, and your fury. That is why you are called to meet with me in secrecy. Something must be done about Maximilian and Ēostre’s foolish behavior, and it must be done soon before they have the chance to ruin everything we have worked to achieve. But I must ask, why did you allow this to happen?” Mahuika asked.
“Why did I allow it to happen? What could I have done to stop it?” Tlaloc demanded. The man rose to his full, awe-inspiring height, a giant among them with an impressive, terrifying aura. His bronze skin was flawless with the exception of a long, white scar slashing across his lip and chin from the days of war.
Mahuika fell back a step, immediately contrite. “Apologies. I merely meant to ask why you had not sought the counsel and aid of your fellow great wyrms. Together, their presence may have intimidated the weak-willed and skewed the vote in our favor. But please, come with me. Let us be seated first.”
She led them deeper into the deluxe suite until the men were treated to a view of downtown Chicago, and their choice in seating arrangement on a plush sofa and nearby armchair. Her fingers glided over the leather of the adjacent seat and patted the cushion. Loki, accepting the invitation, sat to her left while Tlaloc sat opposite them in the high-backed chair.
“Had this been a vote among dragonkind alone, common sense would have prevailed. But it was not. Involving the lesser races in this debate was a wise strategic maneuver,” Loki said.
“It has long surpassed a debate,” Mahuika said hotly. “What they have decided this day shall destroy everything.”
Loki stroked his stubbled chin. “Only if he becomes president. We have not lost yet, my friends.” His gray-green eyes flicked to Mahuika’s idle servant. A short distance away, the girl knelt in the corner on a single pillow, hands resting on her lap and face downturned to avoid eye contact. Her tiny, thin white slip barely covered her thighs. “But does your slave find us unworthy of performing her duties?”
Mahuika snapped her fingers at the female deer shifter. “Wine, girl. Be quick about it. We have thirsty guests.”
“My apologies, Mistress.” The doe flew from her chair to pour wine for three. She served in silence, hopelessly unable to conceal her flushed face and embarrassment. Raising her chin, Mahuika watched her pet’s trembling hands with smug satisfaction.
As glasses exchanged hands, Mahuika twisted to face Tlaloc. “I have seen the results of your great wisdom in the past, Tlaloc. You and Loki are known as two of our greatest schemers, and I refuse to believe you will sit idly by as Ēostre brings ruin to us all. Is there nothing we can do?”
“There is nothing,” Tlaloc said in a contemptuous voice, “short of killing him before he ascends to their human throne. I know little of this time period, but what I have learned from my son and his mother tells me we should annihilate every sniveling human from this planet. We should fly as we once did in the past.”
“No, my friend. You do not understand the might of their weapons. They have missiles,” Mahuika hastily said.
“And what is a missile to me, the great Tlaloc? I will open the earth itself and swallow their cities into the abyss.” The black dragon made a fist and growled. “We will wipe the earth clean of them.”
Loki shook his head. “She is right. You don’t understand the power of the weapons these mortals hold. The strength of a missile is incomprehensible until you have witnessed the resulting devastation. Far worse than any magical tempest or dragon’s fire. They could destroy entire nations within seconds and leave only scorched earth in their wake.”
“We’ll have to show him, Loki.”
They presented Tlaloc with a brightly lit pad, angling the screen for him to have a full view. Loki swiped his fingers across the device and pulled up several images for the older dragon to observe.
“This is the aftermath of Hiroshima,” Loki said. “The weapon was deployed in the 40s, while most of us hibernated in our lairs. The destructive power is far beyond anything I can do with my breath weapon. They even, unknowingly, killed an ancient slumbering in her lair. I fear this being used against me.”
“As should we all,” Mahuika said.
“I…” Tlaloc’s stunned features told Mahuika everything she needed to know.
Loki pressed a button on the pad. “Now this is the power of modern-day technology.”
Tlaloc didn’t utter a word as the video footage rolled, displaying a war-torn village in the Middle East. Homes smoldered in the aftermath of a drone strike.
“A few decades ago, we on the grand council decided to become involved, discreetly, in the manufacturing of these items. They contain fail safes, programmed back doors able to render them completely dysfunctional,” Loki said. “But it won’t take long for them to realize they can’t use these against us.”
“Mark my words, should Ēostre’s half-baked plans come to fruition, everything will change,” Mahuika hissed. “These demanding humans would see us living by their laws and traditions.”
Loki chuckled dryly. “Your slave girl will be freed. As I understand, slavery has been abolished across the world in all civilized countries. They won’t stand for it.”
“As will yours, Trickster. There is much for all of us to lose.”
“Maximilian’s arrogance will cost him. We will not weep and lament this decision. We will combat it in the only way we know how.”
Tlaloc set his jaw and stared beyond the window. For the second time since their meeting began, emotion broke through the stony facade. “You are right about the changes to this world, but I am not fated for this task. It is a duty for the young dragons of this era.”
“Tlaloc, you must—”
He shook his head again. “It has taken this to realize I am a creature stuck behind, far in the past. I do not understand the things you speak of. This technology. These flying disasters of the skies are unknown magic to me.”
“But we need—”
Tlaloc cut her off a second time. “May the Ancestors guide you. As for me, I hope to awaken in a new and better age.”
With sorrow in his eyes, the ancient rose from his seat and turned to the door. He reminded Mahuika of Teotihuacan in so many ways, from his proud stance to the powerful body beneath his cream-colored khakis and button-down shirt.
Teo must have loaned his father a change of clothes.
“Must you leave so soon?” Mahuika asked. Gliding her fingers over one shoulder strap, she slid the dress lower. The soft upper swell of her plump bosom, and little else, became exposed.
Loki watched her with ravenous eyes, his attention fastened to the hint of areola peeking from the top of her neckline. She’d taken him in without a struggle.
“I am mated, as you well know,” Tlaloc said.
“And yet Xochiquetzal is not here.” Her voice softened when the stoic man’s expression transitioned to disapproval. She eased from the couch and approached, slowing her walk to a sensual stroll. “I saw her among the voters. Did she take the side of the heretics who would place us all in danger?”
Tla
loc remained silent, but his green eyes fixed on the exaggerated sway in her hips.
“She has sided with your son, hasn’t she? It is a shame. Teotihuacan is such a fine dragon. I would have considered claiming him as a mate, but he has dishonored himself by choosing a lowly human. Why would he shame his parents in such a way?”
“It is his human pet who pollutes his view of the world. This is not what I taught him.”
With one of the male dragons already under her sway, she pressed her palm against Tlaloc’s abdomen, felt the muscles tense beneath her fingers, and slid her hand downward over the taut definition. With only his button-down shirt separating them, she imagined how easy it would be to part him from his clothes. Dragons were no stranger to hedonistic pleasures, and having the two handsome men at once was the perfect way to consummate a partnership.
She realized her mistake too late. Tlaloc’s hand gripped like a vice around her arm, threatening to crush the bone. He leaned over until she was forced to bow backwards and yield to his remarkable strength.
“My apologies!” she cried out. “I meant no insult, Tlaloc.” His hold cut off the blood flow to her hand, making her fingertips tingle and pulse mercilessly to the rhythm of her heartbeat.
“Try a trick like this again, Mahuika, and not only will I take your wings, I will then allow my mate to finish the job.”
“I meant nothing by it!”
The agony was exquisite. While his human nails weren’t as sharp as talons, he possessed the same magic in either form. Acid burned through her veins, and beneath his touch, the skin blistered. No matter how she pulled and twisted, Tlaloc had her anchored securely in place to receive the full brunt of his fury.
“I apologize!” she shrieked again until the older dragon released her. Another growl rumbled through his chest and he shoved her back, before stepping through the door without another word.
Loki waited until the door had shut behind the other ancient before he spoke up, “I could have warned you that would happen.”
Mahuika shot him a dirty look, and for the sake of not risking her chances with another elder dragon, she kept her thoughts to herself.
Chapter 6
Ēostre paused in the shade of a palm and fanned herself with a handout from the primate house.
An unforgiving sun shone from above, and more than ever, the storm dragoness wished she and Fafnir had chosen a home with more temperate, enjoyable weather like Seattle, where peaceful rains and cloudy skies beckoned. But no, her mate wanted scorching heat and perpetual sun.
The tail end of September had brought in grueling ninety-degree days and cloudless skies. Ēostre would have given her weight in treasure for a break.
Astrid skipped ahead, calling behind her, “C’mon, you two! We’re going to miss the feeding!”
Where does she find the energy to move in this abysmal heat? Ēostre wondered. As if sensing her grandmother’s plight, the girl stopped to crouch beside the upraised walls surrounding the lion exhibit.
A lazy male lion basked in the summer warmth while a trio of his female companions patrolled nearby. One flopped beside their wild-maned mate, and another slumped in the shaded grass. The third keen-eyed lioness stared Astrid down, only to back away and retreat when Ēostre braved the sun again and stepped up beside her granddaughter.
“Intimidating the locals?” Maximilian teased from her other side.
“I didn’t do anything but walk over for a look,” Ēostre protested.
“Perhaps your frown terrified her.”
“I am not frowning.”
Andrew, the agent shadowing them for the day, chuckled quietly from a respectable distance away, proving wolves had extraordinary hearing.
“Grandma doesn’t like the heat,” Astrid offered to the conversation. She turned her small face up to Maximilian and beamed. “Uncle Max, does that make you like my mom and dad?”
“And like you,” he replied. “Although your grandmother is one with the storms, you and I have fire in our souls. I would say you seem to have inherited more of your grandfather’s spirit.”
While they talked, Ēostre discreetly gestured to the open air. She turned her face to the blindingly bright sky and closed her eyes. Seconds later, fluffy and thick cloud cover rolled in from the east.
Max turned to raise a quizzical brow at her. “Ēostre.”
“It was necessary!” she protested.
As a young couple walked by, the woman fanned herself and uttered, “Thank God. It’s like we’re finally getting a break from this crap.”
Ēostre glanced at her friend.
“There’s no need to be smug about it,” he mumbled.
“Would you like me to take a picture of you with your wife and daughter, sir?” A cheerful, smiling employee with a camera around her neck beamed at them. “The lions are in the perfect spot for it today.”
Ēostre searched the area for another couple, and failing to locate any other family near them, she stared at the employee. “Excuse me?”
“Why yes, we would,” Maximilian said after the initial awkward pause. He slipped his arm around Ēostre’s waist and tugged her in close, and before she could protest, Astrid bounced over in front of them. The little girl hammed it up for the camera, but her playful antics failed to distract Ēostre from how natural it felt with Max’s arm circling her waist. His warmth enveloped her at once with the scent of cedar and woodsy cognac. She discreetly turned her head, breathed in his cologne, and half-melted against him. He made it easy.
“Smile!”
Ēostre attempted to put on a dignified smile, but a single glance at Astrid ruined it. The young girl had twisted to throw her arms around both adults. The resulting photograph was wildly inappropriate and absolutely adorable.
I’m smiling like a loon, Ēostre thought as the woman revealed the digital preview.
“Here’s your number, sir. If you take this to the ticket kiosk at the end of your visit, you can purchase your photographs.”
“Appreciated,” Max replied. He pocketed the scrap of paper as the woman walked away.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked under her breath.
He shrugged. “Did you want to tell her you’re Astrid’s grandmother?”
Ēostre considered it. “No, but—”
“Allowing her to assume otherwise causes no harm and saves us the effort of making explanations. Your identification may say forty-eight, but your face says thirty, my friend.” He took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers. “I took my cue from Astrid when she failed to correct her.”
“Uncle Max is right. Mom told me to never call you grandmother in public if a human can hear us. Besides, who cares what they think?” The girl beamed at them, revealing plenty of her mother’s personality. “C’mon, the gorillas and zebras are this way!” Astrid bounced on her toes, pigtails swaying.
They wandered down the winding pathways while Astrid bolted from exhibit to exhibit along the way. She pointed out every creature, big and small, her enthusiasm contagious.
“Look, zebras. Are they just like horses, Uncle Max? Can people ride them?”
“Far from it. They’re meaner and grumpier, of course, you would be too if you were taken from your home and shoved into a much smaller place to live.”
“The lions don’t seem to mind.”
“They do. I assure you, these creatures, much like the male lion we saw, would appreciate a grander and more spacious territory to roam.”
Astrid’s nose scrunched up. “I wish I could give them a bigger place to live. They want to run.”
They continued past the zebra enclosure at a sedate pace, pausing to pick up frozen lemonades from a snack stand.
“You know, I make annual donations to this zoo,” Maximilian murmured as they traveled a path through the section dedicated to African wildlife.
“Oh?” Ēostre’s eyes cut toward him. Max walked beside her with his hands clasped behind his back, a mischievous smile on his bearded face.
“I’m quite friendly with the director. Friendly enough to acquire certain privileges for a special someone,” he ventured. “Astrid, how would you like to meet the animals up close without glass between you?”
“Absolutely not,” Ēostre said.
“Let her live a little. She has dragon’s blood in her veins. She’s meant to explore and undertake great adventures, is she not?”
“Please, Grandma, please!”
“All right. Fine. Far be it that I should be the one to be prudent and use my common sense. This stays between the three of us without a word to your mother and father.”
Grinning, the dragon shifter stepped aside and removed his cell phone to make a call. Moments after its completion, a big door marked with “Staff Only” in bold white text opened.
He hadn’t been joking about his connections.
“Come.” Maximilian nodded toward the door, and without further word, he slipped Ēostre’s hand into his right, took Astrid’s in his left, then guided the girls toward the zookeeper waiting at the door.
The park employee was a bright-eyed woman in her mid-thirties. She wore khakis paired with a green polo shirt, the park’s logo stitched over the breast. The name tag with her smiling photo introduced her as Maggie.
“Hi!” she greeted them with enthusiasm. “My boss called and said there’s a group of animal lovers who would love to meet our friends back here. Would that be you?” she asked Astrid specifically.
“Yes, yes!”
“Great. I’m Maggie. And who are you?”
“I’m Astrid, and this is my Uncle Max and Aunt Ēostre!” Astrid always did a fantastic job of acting her apparent, physical age, but this time her enthusiasm wasn’t a show.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maggie. Thanks for this,” Max said.
“Yes, thank you,” Ēostre agreed.
“No problem. Come on. If you follow me, we’ll get to do some really fun stuff.”
“Do you have any babies I can look at?”
“Here, let me show you the jaguar cub. He’s docile enough for you to pet if you promise to be gentle with him.”
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