Emin's Mate

by Selena Scott

  The second she stepped out of the hut, leaving Solar, Javi, and O behind, she headed back into the jungle, stripping off her dress and underclothes as she went. Not even caring who might see. She was shifted and in the air in less than a minute.

  Zara beat her wings against the air; the canopy of the jungle swayed and retreated from the huge gusts of wind that puffed beneath her. Each stroke of her wings brought her higher and higher into the air. She needed the good clean, cold air of the atmosphere. She needed the thin, almost suffocating, layer of ozone. So high a dragon could always see the stars, no matter what time of day it was.

  The breath came fast in Zara’s dragon lungs and from the corner of her eye she could see the sun glinting off her gray scales. She’d always thought her coloring as a dragon was boring, but she’d always appreciated how it allowed her to blend in. She picked up the colors of the world around her. She could look purple in the twilight, blue over the ocean, green in the jungle. She’d always been good at hiding.

  After Solar had left the castle behind, Zara had gotten very good at hiding. Anytime that King Dalyer had required her presence, she would dutifully attend. But anytime that wasn’t strictly required, Zara would absolutely disappear. She used to spend most of her time in her room, or on the roof of the castle, where she could be alone, shift, and fly.

  Zara gasped against the thinning air of the atmosphere as she climbed and climbed. The jungle ceased being an ecosystem and became a blanket of hilly green stretching out beneath her. In the distance, she could see a shiny, blue ribbon of the ocean. In the other direction, white tipped mountains rose up from the landscape even higher than she was. She executed a kind of twisting backflip in the air and felt as if she could see the curve of the earth beneath her.

  She felt the same kind of exhilarated freedom she used to feel when she’d fly from the roof of the castle. Flight was the only freedom she’d felt for the lifetime she’d spent as the king’s betrothed. There had been one other bright spot in her tenure at the castle. Friendship. When Lucy had been there.

  Lucy was a human that Dalyer had kidnapped from the human realm to mate with. But that had never come to pass, thank god. Lucy had fallen in love with Amos, the head of the king’s security and personal bodyguard. The two of them had escaped out of reach of the king’s grasp and back into the human realm to live their lives in peace.

  Zara had been happy for them, deeply happy. But she’d also despaired. Lucy had been a good friend. Supportive. Kind. Hilarious. But Lucy hadn’t left her high and dry. Lucy, Amos, and the Oracle had been the ones who conspired with Solar to have Zara kidnapped by the Surgere in the first place. Lucy had made sure that Zara wasn’t left to live out her life in the clutches of the king forever.

  And since then, Solar had looked after her. And in his surprising way, cared about her deeply. Her entire life Zara had good people caring for her, keeping her safe.

  Zara twisted again and swooped upward. She jetted through a cloud and the small water droplets froze on her scales as she whipped across the sky. Using her momentum, she pushed herself farther, faster, higher, and she broke out of another layer of the atmosphere. The sky was black around her. The air almost non-existent, gravity almost gone. The universe surrounded her like a shiny, black globe. Stars and planets spiraled above her and Zara’s mind whirled. She ducked back down for air. She knew she was too high up here, flying dangerously.

  As she plummeted downwards, Zara’s breath was taken from her again, but not by the nature of the atmosphere, so thin up here. By the view. The dragon realm was gorgeous below her, spanning out in every direction.

  Zara had always been able to fly for hours. Just lock her wings and soar from gust to gust. She supposed it had to do with the fact that flying had been her only freedom when she was a prisoner at the castle. She’d had a few hours every week where she was out of sight, out of mind for Dalyer and she spent every second of it in the sky. She never wanted to land back at the castle and risk being summoned to his side.

  So when the light in the sky started to change, Zara barely noticed. She was rising up and down through the layers of the atmosphere, the deep black of the universe beckoning to her like an open door, and then she’d swoop back, closer to earth, the colors of the clouds and the ocean and the air and sunlight and the dragon realm below all blurring into one beautiful rainbow.

  On one such dip and dive through a particularly chilly cirrus cloud, something caught in the corner of Zara’s eye. A flash of deep blue. Like moonlight. Solar. In his dragon form, flying a wide circle around her. Zara flipped onto her back and almost seemed to float for a second. Of course he’d found her here. And of course he was striking that perfect balance between sticking by her and giving her space.

  Zara caught his eye and challenged him. No one was faster in an out-and-out race than Solar, but she was 500 feet lower and so much smaller. She might be able to beat him back to earth. Wasting not another second, Zara ducked her nose and executed a perfect dive.

  She didn’t dare look behind her, she couldn’t risk losing the speed. She knew he’d be gaining on her. The canopy of trees loomed before her; soon she lost view of the ocean. One by one, the mountains seemed to disappear behind the curve of the earth.

  Zara plummeted toward the canopy. She’d have to pull up soon, or else she’d risk crashing, but she wasn’t scared. A zippy thrill went through her when she realized she might actually beat him back to earth. But then she felt a sharp wind below her, above her, around her.

  The bastard not only had caught up to her, he was circling her! Arrogant. Zara pulled out of her dive, knowing she’d been beat. Solar whipped around her again, turning upside down underneath her so that their underbellies brushed against one another. Zara let herself be twirled with his wind and the two of them spiraled together, back down to earth.

  He’d led them to the small clearing by her hut. Their hut. They both landed softly on the mossy jungle ground. That was something they had in common, Zara reflected. They were both extremely light on their feet.

  Wordlessly, the two dragons shifted back into their human forms, flashes of prismed light reflecting off their scales. Then it was their bare skin that glowed in the dim jungle light, both of them naked in their human forms. They both breathed heavily from the exertion, the exhilaration of their flight. The setting sun threw shadows over Solar’s face, his silvery scar catching the light.

  “You’re fast,” he breathed, his eyes burning holes in her. He took a step to his left and she found herself automatically mirroring him. He took another step and so did she. They were circling one another, the excitement of their race still zinging between them, like a scent on the air. He experimentally swiped one arm out at her. She danced just out of reach, a small smile playing on the edges of her mouth. His eyes lit up with the game.

  The sun went lower in the sky and a thrill rocketed through Zara. She moved, Solar moved. She knew that if she retreated he would chase her. A spark of play and lust danced in his eyes. He was hunting her.

  Zara stopped moving. She held perfectly still and his stance reflected hers. He was waiting to see what she would do. She didn’t disappoint. His dark blue eyes deepened with anticipation. And then Zara was off like a shot. Her arms pumping and her feet as light as air over the jungle floor. The game was to get to the hut first, and she wanted to win. But not as much as she wanted to be chased by him. To be caught by him.

  She hadn’t gone ten steps before she felt his arm band around her waist, inexorable and gentle. She squealed in delight and pleased hysteria. They were still ten feet from the cabin but he dragged the two of them to the ground. She landed, sprawled on his chest, her hair making a curtain around them as she propped herself up.

  Part of Zara wanted to gaze at him in the dimming light. Cherish him. The moment. But the other part of Zara won, and apparently the same thing in Solar did too. They fell on each other. His hand gripped her scalp through her hair so tightly, little kisses of pain exploded th
rough Zara. It incensed her, got her back up. Thrilled her. She gripped his own hair just as tightly and the two of them rolled over the jungle floor. He was on top now, flipping one of her legs over his hip and thrusting his cock part way into her.

  They both groaned at the contact, but Zara rolled them again before he could push all the way in. And then she was on top, poised over him, just the head of his cock inside. Her hair spilled everywhere and the light between each tree around them darkened. The same wispy cirrus cloud they had swirled and dove through moments before pulled across the sun and set the sky on fire. The gold orange light of the sun broke over the jungle, filtering all the way down to the mossy ground. She tried to push down on him, take him all the way in, but he held her hips still and rolled them again.

  He was on top again, this time pinning her arms into the ground to keep her from getting any leverage. She tried to roll them again, desperate to win, to be on top. But he had her pinned. Her legs pushed against the ground, fighting for purchase, but it only served to press him further inside her.

  Then his mouth took hers and she was a goner. His lips and tongue, so demanding and so personal. Zara couldn’t help but arch up to him. Solar reared back and plunged in with his cock until he bottomed out inside of her.

  Zara found herself screaming her pleasure into his mouth and then into the still jungle air. Solar really began fucking her. Pulling out as far as he could and plunging back into her. A bird of paradise sang in a nearby tree. Zara could smell fruit on the air. The jungle was alive around them. They were alive too. Gloriously. The world beat and breathed as they writhed against one another. Their breath was furious, cutting. Their hearts beat a rhythm as old as the earth itself, calling out to one another, racing each other and themselves.

  Zara ripped her hands out of Solar’s grasp and gripped his back. She could feel herself scratching his skin but she couldn’t stop herself. It only seemed to spur Solar on. He fucked her faster, dropping his mouth to her shoulder and raking his teeth across her sensitive skin at the same moment he drove into her, pinning her to the ground with his hips.

  The slice of sweet pain had Zara tensing and exploding, the jungle spiraling out into glorious life and color around her. She could only hope that he would feel even a fraction of the pleasure that was riding her, racing through her, lifting her higher than she’d ever been.

  She was vaguely aware of Solar taking his own pleasure, tensing and grinding and growling through gritted teeth.

  He collapsed in a heap on top of her. Zara was deliciously sated. His weight covered her, kept her in place, protected her. Their breaths raced. Their hearts raced. But their souls were calm. Wrapped up in one another. The light deepened a few more degrees before Zara started to be uncomfortable under Solar’s full weight. She wiggled a tiny bit and stroked a hand up his back, thinking he might be sleeping.

  But no sooner had she moved than he was lifting her off the ground, walking through the murky green jungle with her in his arms. He walked clear past their hut and beyond to a little stream that fed into the river. He didn’t pause, just walked the two of them directly into the refreshingly chilled water.

  Zara went to stand up beside him once they were waist deep, but he didn’t let her. Solar held her against his body and let small cups of water from his hand drip onto her. He diligently rinsed her hair this way. His hand through her hair was sure and gentle. His touch combined with the soothing swish of the cool water around her almost had her eyes closing.

  But the look in Solar’s eyes kept her alert. Something was on his mind. He diligently washed each part of her body before he stood her up in front of him. He came around behind her and squeezed the excess water out of her hair before putting it in a loose braid down her back. And then he lifted her again, carrying her back to the hut.

  The night was warm enough that both of them were dry by the time they made it to their little secluded room. Zara waited until Solar had laid her on the bed and closed the door to their hut before she spoke.

  “What’s wrong, baby?”

  His eyes softened at the endearment, but there was no ignoring the pain and worry in his expression. He came to sit next to her, grabbing one of her hands and lacing his fingers with hers.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, his voice low and pained.

  “You mean the Oracle’s plan? Be bait for Dalyer?”

  Solar nodded, his eyes shining like scarabs in the dim evening light.

  Zara took a deep breath and laid back on the cot, watching a bright green anole skitter along the ceiling of the hut. How to explain?

  “After I said that I would do it, in the war hut, I went for a fly,” she began.

  “You were flying for that long?!” Solar exclaimed. “You must have been in the air for hours once I found you.”

  Zara shrugged. “I’ve always liked to be in the sky. It was the only place for freedom or privacy for me when I was at the castle.”

  Solar’s eyes went tight with pained understanding. He’d told her the other day that he didn’t like hearing stories about her past, but he didn’t want her to erase them either. They were part of her. They made her who she was. She relied on that principle now and carried on.

  “I suppose it could have been a lot worse. He never hit me or hurt me physically. He mostly just loomed over me. He was inevitable. He was my future. He was always there, panting after me, making me jumpy, letting me know that he was watching my every move and waiting for the day when I hit fertility. So that he could claim me.”

  She gave a little shiver and Solar tugged her even closer to him. “But that wasn’t even the worst part. What was much, much worse was having to sit by and listen, able to do nothing, while he gave orders. I listened to him give orders to wipe out whole towns. To pillage and destroy. To imprison and enslave.”

  Zara laid a hand over her eyes for just a moment. “I had to listen to him plan, over and over, ways to find you, Solar. And not just to kill you. But to torture you. Make an example of you.” She paused, momentarily overcome.

  “And then today,” she continued. “I’m flying above the dragon realm, and it’s stretching out in front of me. So beautiful, so untamed, so worth it. And I’m the one who can protect it. Me. For so long I couldn’t even defend myself. Much less the whole dragon realm. All that time, I was just his little wife. One of his many little wives. Silent, harmless, only there as a decoration in his great hall for visitors he wanted to impress.” There was bitterness in her voice. Venom. “And now, here I am, with an opportunity to act? To help stop him? End him? And not only that, but to do it using my fertility season? The very thing he made me fear for practically my entire life? I get to use that as a weapon against him? His downfall. Solar, I have to do this. I have to. For myself and for the realm.”

  Solar was quiet for a long time. A very long time. Long enough that the light in the hut went from dim to pitch black. Zara knew that the rest of the Surgeres were most likely sitting around the campfire right now. Dinner would be ready any minute. And still they laid, wrapped around one another and quiet.

  “The plan is good, Zara. It’s as sound as we can make it, considering the sheer danger we’re going to be putting you in.” Solar finally broke the silence. “But even so, I was hoping that I would come find you, talk to you, realize that you’d cooled down. That you didn’t really want to do it all that much. I prayed that would be your answer. Because at this point, you’re the only one who can pull the plug on this.”

  Solar dragged his hand over her head and kissed her roughly for a moment. “But I can see that’s not possible, is it? You’re gonna do it.”

  “Yes,” she said quietly.

  He was quiet again for a long time before he spoke. “I can’t stand the thought of you near him, Zara. I never want you to be in any kind of danger, but especially danger from that disgusting monster. He’ll be close enough to touch you. To hurt you. To try and claim you if he gets the notion. Which, in some sick way, we’r
e hoping that he will try, because if he doesn’t, then the plan won’t work.” Solar was getting more and more worked up. He dragged his hands over his face. “I think about him close to you and I want to set fire to the jungle. I want to rip the scales off of his body. He can’t be close to you. Especially when you’re still technically his wife.”

  Zara recoiled from Solar as if he’d slapped her. “I am not his wife, Solar.”

  Solar winced. “I didn’t mean it as an insult to you, Zara.”

  “No,” she reared up on her knees and leaned over him, grabbing his face and making him look at her. “You listen to me. I stopped being his wife the moment you rescued me. I gave myself over to you in a way that I never had to him.” She hoped that her light eyes were capable of boring into him the way his were always doing to her. She wanted him to feel the intensity inside of her. She needed to show him. “Even when you were trying to push me away, Solar, I still gave myself to you. I trusted you with my safety, my wellbeing, my body.” She paused and gripped him even harder. “I trusted you with my soul.”

  Emotion slashed across Solar’s face and he reached out for her. She let him touch her but she wasn’t finished. “And now that we’re mates, Sol, there is no such thing as ‘his wife’. Those words never even existed to me. Not the way that you do. You’re my mate.” Her words were coming out choppier and choppier. Language was starting to fail her. He was stroking her back, trying to soothe her, but she was wild. Passionate. She needed him to believe her, to understand, more than she needed her next breath. “You’re- you’re my husband, Solar.”

  She didn’t wait to see how he took her words, didn’t wait to see the look on his face. All she knew was that she needed to show him. She needed somewhere to put the feeling that rose up inside of her, that was fighting its way out. She couldn’t keep it inside anymore.