Dragon Splendor (Immortal Dragons Book 3)

by Ophelia Bell

  “So, you can get Aurum into the Haven?” he asked hopefully.

  Assana frowned. “I’m afraid not. Dragons, particularly female dragons, are not part of the agreement, though I can discuss with my mother the possibility of admitting male dragons. We have almost no males in the Haven, besides my brother and uncle.”

  Her brother and uncle … Suddenly, Nicholas realized who this woman was.

  “Calder is your brother.”

  Assana’s eyes widened. “Yes. Do you know him?”

  “You could say that … The dragon we’re talking about is his fated mate.”

  Assana swayed closer to him until she stood inches away. The salty, seafoam scent of her filled his nostrils, making him dizzy. Her long, cool fingers stroked his jaw, and he found himself being pulled down until their lips met.

  The kiss was a sensuous explosion, her tongue plunging into his mouth with expert precision, probing and tasting. Suddenly it ended and she pulled back and released him with a smile. Nicholas’s skin prickled under the pent-up anger almost pouring off of Gavra. He glanced at his friend and shrugged.

  “You are my brother’s lover,” Assana said. “I can bring you to him, but I cannot bring the dragon.”

  “You could have just asked for that detail …” Nicholas said, rubbing his lips.

  Assana tilted her head. “Perhaps, but your bodily fluids tell me so much more. You are torn by broken loyalty. You still love my brother, but you love the dragon too. You feel betrayed by both, and yet you persist in seeking their happiness before your own. My brother needs you more than he will admit. I will take you to him, under the pretext of this mating agreement. I will be escorting many other ursa males into the Haven over the next two weeks, so one more will not cause any scrutiny from my mother.”

  “Except I’m not the one who needs to go,” he said. “I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.”

  Assana’s strange, whirlpool-like gaze regarded him, and he wondered if she was about to capitulate. She only shook her head and said, “I am sorry. The Haven is too volatile now for a non-nymphaea female to be admitted. I could not promise the dragon’s safety, were she to come inside and compete for my brother’s affection.”

  “But it’s okay to bring me in? You can be damn sure I’m not going to have to compete.”

  Her lips pressed together and she turned away. “I am sorry.”

  “Then tell Calder to come out,” he said abruptly. “Tell him I’m here … that we’re both here. Aurum and I have come this far. He owes it to us to make up the difference.”

  Assana’s expression changed to helplessness. “He would come, if he could. Believe me. The only reason I even made it out of the Haven is because there are no males there that I can mate. I only came to bring back mates for the other nymphs and to begin a search for my own partner. Calder doesn’t have that issue—he’s a fertile male among hundreds of mature females of our own kind. Mother expects him to mate one of them and has forbidden him from leaving the Haven until he does. Again, I am sorry,” she said before leaving the room.

  “Is that it?” Nicholas asked, incredulous. He stared around at the others. “Please don’t tell me that was our only chance to get Aurum into the Haven.”

  “Nicholas …” Emma began. “We can keep an open line of communication with the nymphs. Perhaps if this mating trade works out, they’ll change their minds.”

  “But we’ve already come this far …” he grumbled. He restrained himself from voicing the rest of his thoughts, afraid his conflicting emotions would become apparent to the others. They had come this far, but as much as he wanted to see Aurum reach Calder’s side, was it so bad if they had to wait? He’d only just been reunited with his family, who had all embraced him with open arms. Besides, they owed the ursa for their mistake.

  “Don’t worry, cousin,” Jasper said. “Emma knows what it means to have to wait for love. Nothing good comes easy for a Stonetree.”

  In a strained voice, Nicholas asked, “When do we leave for the other portals?”

  “As soon as we’re ready,” Numa said. “Which is to say now, if you can find Aurum and tell her you’re sorry.”

  Nicholas knew better than to reply to Numa’s stern expression. He merely nodded and set off in the direction the love of his life had gone.

  Chapter 26

  Aurum

  Aurum’s mood had taken a downturn even before Nicholas had arrived and made his impassioned argument that the two of them belonged together. Getting away from him as quickly as possible was the only thing she could do, otherwise she’d risk giving in to the ever-increasing urge to tell him yes, in spite of knowing he wasn’t the one.

  With every day they spent together, she was less and less sure of herself on that count. She still dreamed of her ursa male every night, still woke with the taste of his energy mixed with Calder’s, as though Fate were giving her small samples of their essence every time they made love to her in her dreams.

  She’d made love to Nicholas in reality many times over the last month, and while he came close to matching the energy of the mysterious ursa, his was never quite the same.

  She couldn’t deny wanting him with every breath, though, and it tore her apart. Calder was within her grasp now, if only she could find a way to be allowed into the Haven. Yet going to him would mean leaving Nicholas behind, and part of her was not yet ready for that.

  Wandering the halls of the Stonetree lodge in her emotional state eventually led her to a snow-covered courtyard. She relished the chilly air and the beauty of nature having gone soft around the edges with the fresh blanket of snow. This particular space reminded her of the garden on the other side of the portal where Nicholas had last made love to her. There was even a small shed in one far corner with a wind chime hanging from the eave, though it was coated in ice and had a couple inches of snow piled up on it, keeping it stationary.

  She made her way to a stone bench that faced a huge, elaborate sculpture resembling a large grandfather clock. Brushing snow off the bench, she sat and wiped tears from her eyes. These mood swings were the one aspect of her power she would gladly give up if she had a choice, but they were both a curse and a blessing. They meant she was the most sensitive of all her siblings to the emotions of others. The happy moments she reveled in, but when the dark moods took her, she’d rather crawl into a cave and hide than show her face.

  She wanted desperately to tell Nicholas how she felt—to tell him that she loved him even though she knew he wasn’t the one. But the knowledge that she would leave him kept her from putting words to those feelings.

  The thought of leaving him tortured her, but it was inevitable—and every delay they were faced with made it even harder for her to hold back, where he was concerned. She simply couldn’t be around his constant need to prove to her that they were meant to be when she knew otherwise.

  Silently, she prayed to the sky for wisdom, tilting her head back and letting the slow fall of snow coat her tear-streaked cheeks. Perhaps Gaia would hear her too, or any of the four Winds, for that matter. She needed all the help she could get.

  The sound of footsteps made her open her eyes and glance down the path the way she had come. The nymph from their meeting appeared, her graceful, slender body swaying as she walked. A hot spike of resentment shot through her at the sight of the female.

  Aurum had immediately felt Gavra’s earlier excitement at seeing the woman when she’d joined their early morning meeting with the ursa queen. How was it fair that both her brothers already knew exactly who their dream mates were?

  She reminded herself that Numa still didn’t know, but her sister was at least confident her mates were somewhere inside the Sanctuary and was not the least bit anxious about having to wait to search for them. “All in good time,” Numa had said.

  Well, Aurum was far less patient.

  When Assana paused, hesitating at the edge of the little clearing, Aurum realized her angry expression and its accompanying aura must be actin
g like a forcefield around her.

  Taking a deep breath, she had to consciously make an effort to tamp down the volatile churn of emotions inside, and still only managed to stop scowling at the poor woman.

  Assana took another step closer. “May I sit?” she asked. “I think I might be able to help.”

  Aurum snorted. “Sit if you must, but I don’t see how you can help. You admitted earlier that you don’t have the power to admit me to the Haven, and that Calder won’t come out. Did you give Nicholas the bad news after I left? How’d he take it?”

  “Not well,” Assana admitted, still hovering a few feet away. “He wants you to be happy at the expense of his own joy. He loves you.”

  Aurum nearly rescinded her tepid agreement for the other woman to share her bench. Despite a brief hesitation, Assana took her seat. The brush of her shoulder against Aurum’s sent a pleasant rush through Aurum’s body. Assana was no normal nymph, she realized, and the awareness made it clear she knew so very little about Calder and his family.

  “Your power is on the verge of being too much for you to hold in,” Aurum said. “I’m no stranger to that level of raw, sexual energy. How are you not drawing every male in the Sanctuary right to you?”

  The better question was how Gavra hadn’t instantly given in and seduced this female. Her brother’s self-control was far more impressive than she’d imagined.

  Assana shrugged. “I am fine as long as I maintain my human shape. It keeps the impulsive urges in check. As for the males, I think I frighten them.”

  “I wish I could say the same,” Aurum said.

  “You show far more restraint than you give yourself credit for. I could sense the mix of emotions warring inside you when Nicholas came in. You didn’t let them win … instead, you left the room. You love him too, but resist the feelings. I’d like to give you two the chance to be together.”

  “And how do you propose to do that?”

  “I offered to take him to the Haven with me when I return home with the first group of eligible ursa males. They are almost all unpaired, so he won’t raise any alarms by coming alone. I don’t have the authority to allow you in … not as a female dragon. But I have heard that your kind are as adept at shifting as the nymphaea are. Is that true?”

  Aurum stared at the other woman, trying to decide if she’d heard correctly. “You want to sneak me in? Isn’t the Source highly guarded on both sides? I’d be recognized as false, surely.”

  “You just have to pass as an ursa male long enough for me to get you and Nicholas to my brother. I don’t know how adept you are at disguise. If you can’t do it, I will try to come up with a different solution. Right now, I have nothing other than that, or simply flying straight in while someone else distracts the guards … someone with the fertile power of Gaia on her side. You would risk capture by the nymphs guarding the other side, however.”

  Shifting into something other than her familiar human shape sounded so alien to her. Aurum loved her human body. But if this idea could get her to Calder—both her and Nicholas—she had to try.

  Closing her eyes, she drew on the remainder of her depleted magic, directing the power into the effort of reshaping her body with a long exhalation of breath. In her mind’s eye she pictured an amalgamation of all the ursa males she’d met so far, with their broad-chested bodies, bearded faces, and thick heads of hair. She also clothed herself in the rugged, utilitarian clothing she’d seen them wear. The roughness of the fabric felt strangely erotic against her skin, but it was nothing compared to the thick length of male flesh she’d conjured between her thighs.

  “I knew you could do it!” Assana said when Aurum opened her eyes and looked down at the nymph. She’d given herself another foot and a half of height so that she would easily pass for a mature ursa male, many of whom were as tall and bulky as her brothers.

  “Wow,” Assana marveled, walking in a slow circle around Aurum, trailing her hands along her thickly muscled shoulders.

  She smiled at Assana’s wonder, watching with amusement as the other female experimentally touched and fondled her.

  “This body’s as real as my other one. I can still feel everything,” she reminded her.

  Assana seemed too enthralled to hear, her whirlpool eyes fixed on some distant place while her hands explored Aurum’s new body. “I’ve never been this close to any real male bodies before,” she murmured. “Can I just touch, to see what it feels like?”

  Aurum gently removed Assana’s hand from her crotch, though the squeeze of the nymph’s grip suggested she’d be a quick study when it came to pleasing a man.

  “This is something best explored with your mate,” she said, knowing full well that Assana was the second half of the pair her own brother had dreamed of. She would let Gavra determine the right time and place to reveal that detail to Assana. When a potential way into the Haven was on the line, she was grateful for his restraint.

  Wanting to avoid tempting the nymph any further, she quickly shifted back to her original shape, reclothed herself in her favorite gold gown, and sat on the bench again.

  “When do you leave?” she asked once Assana sat down again, looking disappointed.

  “I will be visiting all the clans over the next week and interviewing potential candidates. The males I choose will be instructed to meet me at the Source in a fortnight, at which time I will accompany them into the Haven. I invited Nicholas, but he refused to go.”

  Aurum nodded. “He’s just found his family. I imagine he’s more inclined to stay just now.”

  “I believe he is staying for you,” Assana said. “He is fiercely loyal, but I see the toll it’s taking on him through the bond he has with my brother. They are melded as two mates would be, which I would not have seen if I weren’t attuned to the River. My brother might not even realize it—they were together so long, it likely happened very gradually.”

  “What did you say?” Aurum shot a look of alarm at Assana, not quite sure she’d heard correctly. Her mind had wandered thinking about the way Nicholas always seemed to want to include Calder in their lovemaking by describing what he thought the other man might do if he were there with them. She’d always believed he did it for her benefit, to make it easier for her to be intimate with him. Now she realized it hadn’t been about her at all.

  “Satyrs used to be forbidden from melding with other males—when we had satyrs to worry about. If two fell in love, they would share a female mate to legitimize their relationship. My brother left Nicholas behind, believing that he would soon have a female who he was meant to be with. The River showed you to him, but the River often only shows us what is in our future at the moment we ask it to. It did not show Calder the love he had in the present.”

  A strange, urgent restlessness gripped Aurum. “This River … does it show you what is in my future? Fate’s dream showed me a river, and in the river were two men … well, one man was swimming in it, the other was on the shore. I know the swimming man is your brother—knew him the second I laid eyes on him. But I haven’t found the second man yet. He is an ursa, and Nicholas believes it’s him, but something about him just doesn’t match the man from my dream. Am I all wrong? Is it him, or is it someone else?”

  Assana’s eyes swirled as she took in Aurum’s impassioned question. Her gaze grew distant for a moment, and then she shook her head.

  “I am still new to this power. You’ll have to forgive me. I feel like the answer is within my reach, but I need some distance from the both of you to see the directions of your paths. Meet me at the Windchaser lodge in ten days. I will meditate on your question until then, and hopefully will be able to give you an answer when I see you again.”

  Aurum let out a long sigh that caught in her throat when she saw Nicholas approaching from the lodge.

  “All right,” she said. “I hope to see you then. And Assana,” she called before the other woman retreated too far after seeing Nicholas. Assana turned back with a curious glance. “Consider adding male dragons t
o your list of potential mates. I know of one in particular who would be honored to be considered in your search. For yourself, I mean, not the other nymphs.”

  Assana nodded, turning away abruptly and trotting off. Before she left, Aurum caught a pretty flush coloring her cheeks that she knew wasn’t due to the cold weather.

  She rose and went to meet Nicholas. “We must go, zhrihiva coro. Best make sure we have ample time to repair the breach before we move on.”

  Nicholas had clearly been about to speak, and closed his mouth suddenly. He frowned at her. “You mean before you move on, right? Not to harp on the subject, but I think we’ve established that we won’t be together after you manage to get into the Haven.”

  She took his hand and brought it to her lips. “Let’s not think about that now, my love. We’ve been blessed with a little more time together. Please help me make the most of it.”

  When they went inside, Emma and the others greeted them in the huge, high-ceilinged entryway of the lodge.

  The lovely, fiery-haired Autumn was seated on the back of a white bear with her infant son cradled in her arms. The young man named Jasper spied them and came to give Nicholas a bone-crushing hug.

  “Guess this is it for a little while, cousin. Be well, and consider a visit to the Sundance clan after you’ve met your Windchaser family.” Jasper tossed an excited glance at his mates and their child.

  “You aren’t returning to the outside?” Aurum asked, having heard the heartwarming tale about how Emma’s cousin and his mates had taken over the guardianship of the other side of the Stonetree portal to allow Emma’s own mates to return to her side.

  “Nope!” he said with bright eyes. “Autumn is the daughter of the Sundance shaman. Now that Emma’s mother is gone and has passed on her power to her daughter, all the other clan shaman have to follow within the year.”

  “Ah, yes,” Aurum said, not having realized until know the significance of the events when they’d arrived the day before. Emma’s mother, the former ursa queen, had just passed on the immortal spirit of Spring to her only daughter. The ursa’s magic was tightly bound with the Earth and the seasons. It was simply part of their cycle for the other primal spirits to take new hosts. When Spring completed her rule, Summer would take over as Queen, and so on. Her skin prickled at the implication and she wondered how close they really were to the arrival of Summer. Had they unwittingly stumbled upon an omen in meeting Vrishti on their way to the portal?