by Meg Xuemei X
While I had everything to lose, I struck first.
I had kissed a demon, which was repulsive. I doubted I’d like to kiss more of them. There was no way my true loves could be among their rank. They stunk.
I should start with the men from the Falling Star since they were a variety of groups. I’d sneak up to the ship, phasing in and changing to Fae before anyone detected me. The hunters were rough, dangerous men, but I doubted they’d be too eager to shoot a naked, young woman right away.
I’d then run through the whole ship as fast as I could and grab everyone for a kiss. As soon as I was done, I’d phase out, change back to the Furies, and take flight.
If I got lucky enough to acquire all three kisses I needed, this curse would fall off me right away. Then I could join the dragons in the New Hope and hitch a ride home, and they would have no need to slay the Furies since the beasts would be no more.
If my mates weren’t among the Falling Star, I’d turn my interest toward the dragon shifters. I should press my lips first on that dragon prince that I hadn’t kissed.
I had no idea if the two princes I’d kissed were my true loves or not, but I was definitely hot for them. And if the last prince was supposed to be the third, then boom—it would all work out, nice and easy.
Pleased with the solid plan, my Fury forms soared high into the sky, then swooped down toward the Falling Star. It was a welcome sight that no hunter was patrolling the ship.
Suddenly, part of the ship’s top flapped open, and a stream of robot drones, shaped like crossed blades, flew out toward us.
We spewed out black fire toward the nasty things, but only a few drones halted, and the rest dashed up toward us.
With furious shrieks, we pulled up, the flying blade following us. A drone cut into the left side of my tail. I shook it off, made an abrupt turn, and flew toward the Vampire Tower at maximum speed.
Dozens of drones turned and gave a chase.
They were following my heat signature. I turned my head and shot out a wave of fire at the drones. Still, over a dozen survived my fire and stayed on their course of pursuit.
My two alter egos didn’t fare better as the drones cut through their flesh. One had blood pouring from her shoulder, and one had a wound in her belly.
I felt the cut as well, pain slicing into me all over, slowing me down.
The black Vampire Tower loomed, and relief washed over me. I would go through a window, fly around, wait for all the drones inside, then come out the other window.
The tower would trap the drones.
All three of me smashed into the tower through the full window in the ballroom, which doubled as the vampires’ feeding room.
The vampires, probably eight of them, who were feeding on their blood slaves, turned to us with shocked, angry expressions. Their Lord Desdemona was alone at the high platform, drinking from the veins of a middle-aged woman. I bet that when he’d acquired her, she was younger.
The vampires, with their super reflexes, threw their slaves to the ground, and dodged as the drones flew into the room.
Desdemona lifted his fangs from the woman and snarled. “What is this farce?”
“They’re unfriendly drones,” I murmured hoarsely and shot toward a side window at the end of the grand hall.
As I swung my head and looked over my shoulder, I noticed that two of the drones had beheaded a vampire.
I phased out of the window and heaved out a heavy breath.
Surprisingly, a dozen drones dashed right out of window behind me, not giving up their target.
Of course, I sighed in dismay. The tower would trap only flesh and blood.
The hunters from the Falling Star meant business. The drones wouldn’t stop until I lost my heads to them.
With that, I declared everyone inside the ship my enemies. There were no true loves inside!
I understood that the dragons wanted my heads to lay off their hex. The hunters in the Falling Star only wanted my heads for their own greed. But then, what opportunists wouldn’t want to trade my three heads to a dragon realm? The reward was just too great. Thanks, evil grandpa! If I survived this and got off this planet, I would be having a talk with him. And losing his crown would be the least of his concerns!
I let out a gust of ironic laughter that sounded more like a shriek.
I might not survive the damn drones, and here I was, issuing an imaginary threat.
My black fire and claws couldn’t do much to the flying blades custom-made to cut through my flesh. In my great desperation, I flew toward the dragons’ ship by the gray sea.
The dragon shifters had once shot the missiles that had meant to blast me to oblivion. Maybe they’d do the same for me again, just to slay me themselves. It was better to die by their hands than to be slaughtered by the meat cutters.
We were losing blood, and the bleeding was slowing us down significantly.
Three drones caught up with me and sliced through my left wing along the ridge.
Shrieking in pain and rage and fear, we plunged toward the ground at the verge of the jungle some distance from the dragons’ ship. When my blurred vision noticed another camp of hunters down there, it was already too late.
We had no strength to pull up.
We were done.
We crashed to the ground, waiting for the coming drones to mutilate us, or the hunters to behead us neatly if the drones didn’t complete the job.
My last sight was a pair of piercing sapphire eyes staring at me.
“Shoot down the fucking drones!” the owner of those gorgeous eyes shouted.
A blast of light streaked by me. I felt its white-hot heat, yet it didn’t singe me.
I collapsed right in front of the prince who wore the mask of a symbol of a lightning and thunder dragon.
The drones tumbled to the ground, followed by sharp sound of explosions. Then it was deathly quiet except for my labored breathing.
The lightning prince handed a man a blast gun that still sparked the remnant of light and fire after it had destroyed the drones. He stalked toward me with measured steps, a fine black blade in his left armored hand, a shield in his right that was meant to block my black fire if I still had any left.
Four of his warriors took the same stance as him, flanking him in purpose.
Right, they were going to cut my three heads together.
Should I go down with pride?
Yet, there was no pride or honor in death, was there?
“Don’t hurt them,” the prince said. “Not yet.”
He stopped a foot before me.
Pain drenched me, but I regarded him coolly, silently.
The giant warrior had a powerful body and long legs. His skin was delicious light brown. His dark brown hair spiked up in a military fashion but with style.
He was staggeringly hot, like his two brothers. This prince was neither ice nor fire but carried a storm. He was the lightning striking deep water and the thunder rolling across the mountains. My metaphors didn’t make sense even to me, but I was dying.
I would never have a chance to kiss this one. I was going to die at his hand.
I let out a pained huff at my misfortune and the hurt all over my damaged body.
Gathering my calm thoughts, I trained my focus on him again.
Wasn’t he the luckiest man? He didn’t even need to lift a finger. His prize had fallen right in front of him from the sky.
“The lucky star has finally shone upon us, Prince Rai!” a nose-ringed warrior I’d met earlier voiced my exact thought.
“His Highness has foresight,” said another man excitedly. “We camped at the right place and the Fury beasts fell at our feet! Among all the people, our prince will return with the Furies’ heads and inherit the Dragon Realm!”
The men cheered, their shouting hurting my skull.
“Prince Rai is the oldest, and thus all inheritance is rightfully his!”
“Prince,” said a warrior closest to Rai, his broad sword tight in h
is scarred hand.
I believed he would thrust the blade into my heart if I so much as moved. He would make sure I had no chance of escaping.
The wind blew past me, ruffling my dulled scales in mockery.
Rai sniffed, a surprised look flitting through his stunning eyes. He frowned at me.
I stared at him like staring into the face of death. I would not close my eyes when he slew me, and I waited for him to raise his blade and hack it down on my neck.
His blade was sharp, and it would be quick.
One strike, and centuries of torment would be over.
It was better not to have hope than have it crushed.
He inched toward me.
“Your Highness!”
“I’ll be fine. She’s too wounded to fight me,” said Rai.
Never be so sure, dragon. My eyes warned him. A wounded beast can be the most lethal.
He sniffed at me again, and the color of his eyes shifted, a ring of fire forming inside.
“It can’t be,” he murmured. “She smells of dragon and something more, like home.”
“She can’t be a dragon,” the scar-handed man said. “She’s but a freak, a beast. Prince, you need to behead all three beasts now, and our curse will fall, and our race will rise, and we’ll all be able to shift again.”
Great, not only were the princes’ masks tied to the claiming of my three heads, but also their shifting ability. Who would place such a heavy curse on me? What had I done to deserve such deep hatred?
I didn’t know who my true enemy was, and I would die a senseless death before I did.
Maybe not so senseless to the dragons. They’d all benefit greatly from my demise.
“No,” Rai suddenly decided. “We’ll learn more about her—them. She smells like she’s mine.”
His men looked at him as if he had a sudden fever.
“Your pet, Your Highness?” one of them asked. “We can get more exotic and even dangerous pets for you.”
“No!” Rai said fiercely. “She’s mine. No one hurts her and her companions.”
He tossed the shield away and inserted his sword back into its sheath.
I blinked.
He wouldn’t kill me, at least he’d decided not now.
Hope returned to me.
Live another day for the fight.
Live another day to catch the kiss.
He placed a hand on my scaled nose, and his intoxicating male scent blending with an autumn storm caressed me, carrying a distant memory of home.
My heart stuttered. I reacted to him just as strongly as I’d reacted to the ice and fire princes, even in my current beast form. And my beastly heart had never pounded with such enchanted desire.
Could the three princes be the ones for me? The kisses I’d collected from both princes felt right and more than amazing. And if I could just kiss Rai—
I battered my scaled eyelashes, which wasn’t as pretty as I wanted. If I could be in my Fae form—
“I don’t know if you can understand me,” he said, “But I won’t hurt you. Nor will my men. Stay still.” He gently patted my head. “I know it hurts. You’re cut badly. I’ll need to stop your bleeding first.”
“I don’t think the beast understands you,” the one who had a scarred hand said, his shield tight in his hand. “We need to tie her down, so she won’t attack us when we least expect it. Even a wounded beast—”
Rai snarled at the man, but his fascinated gaze stayed on me.
“Prince Rai, this is a big mistake,” the scarred hand continued. He seemed to be closer to him than others, as he constantly spoke boldly. “We’re an inch close to lifting our curse. If you’re softhearted toward her, I’ll get the job done.” There was desperation in his gruff voice. “We need their three heads more than anything. Once we miss this opportunity, we might never get another one.”
“The dragon in me won’t allow me to harm her,” Rai said. “No more words, Quintrell. Go get the serum.”
A man, who looked meeker than the rest of the warriors, came to us with a medical box. He opened it and snatched up a syringe filled with clear liquid.
“I’ll take care of her, Chiron,” Rai said.
Chiron handed the syringe to Rai.
Fear roared in my eyes, and I stumbled back.
“Shush,” Rai said. “I said I wouldn’t hurt you. A dragon’s word is binding.”
I quieted, and he stroked my face to soothe me.
Despite my pain, I purred. I’d hoped it would be gentle, but it was loud.
Rai smiled, his sapphire eyes brightening, and I felt sunlight basking on me.
“Can you understand me?” he whispered. “They call you Furies. Is that your true name?”
“She’s a beast,” said Quintrell. “She isn’t a sentient being.”
Rai growled at him, and Quintrell threw up his hands and stepped back with a sigh.
“I’m going to inject the syringe into you, so you can heal faster,” Rai told me.
When he pushed up my scales on my neck to find a space, I struggled a little. When his warriors rushed to come to bind me, he pulled his lips back and snarled at them, his eyes turning dark blue like midnight seas, until they all backed off.
“Shush.” Rai turned to me, his voice deep and soft. “You’re a brave girl, aren’t you?”
I stilled, gazing at him with gratitude, and Rai found the place he wanted his syringe to stick into.
A needle pierced my skin, and I felt the liquid entering my veins.
I prayed that I hadn’t trusted the wrong man, but he could have easily cleaved off my head. I trusted my instincts. I hadn’t felt this safe for so long.
He pulled out the syringe and turned to his men. “Take care of the other Furies.”
Chiron carried the medic kit and moved toward my alter egos.
Rai touched my scaled face, and I almost purred again. His warm touch comforted me like no other, and it also stoked the fire of desire in me.
It satisfied me more than anything that the lightning prince wasn’t scared or disgusted with my Fury form. I pressed my scaled nose toward him to inhale his scent.
His men administered the serum into my two other Furies, and the effect was immediate. In the next few seconds, I already felt my wounds closing and my wing knitting back together.
“The serum also worked on the beasts!” Chiron declared in gleeful surprise.
A comprehension dawned on me. The serum was meant to help a dragon heal, since I was also a dragon of natural quick-healing ability, and with the boost of the serum, strength returned to me like waves.
Rai smiled. “Of course. I told you she’s a dragon.” He peeked into my eyes to search my deepest secret. “I heard of a legend that’s more like a myth. If you’re who I think you are—” He paused, his knuckles continuing to caress my face, and pleasure washed over me, suppressing the remnant of the pain.
With that and the return of the strength, I flapped my wings and surged up into the sky before anyone could react.
My two alter egos lifted into the air right after me with shrieks of freedom.
“Rai!” I cried his name, soaring into the distant sky.
A glimmer of lightning flashed right below my belly.
CHAPTER 10
I lay on my cushion in my chamber, my chin on my claws. My other Furies dozed near me. My monsters guarded us outside, growling intermittently. They all knew I was hurt, yet none of them took advantage of my vulnerability to attack me.
Once I was their queen, they showed me their loyalty, and that would be rewarded one day.
I was mostly recovered, but I was in low spirits after the blows and disappointments I had suffered since the arrival of the ships that were supposed to be my hope but turned out to be the death of me. Today, I didn’t intend to change to Fae or even take a bath. I decided to stay in my Fury forms the whole day.
A chime rang in my head.
Magic! I could smell it in the air.
Someone
was approaching, and he was alone.
I immediately summoned my other Furies, and they merged with me instantly. I stumbled before the impact faded. I rushed to snag a long shirt on the bench, shrugged it on, and inserted my feet into a pair of hunting boots that concealed a blade.
The shirt’s length came down above my knees as I straightened. It wasn’t the best outfit, but it was convenient.
Just as I wondered why my vigilant Henry and Sybil hadn’t flashed pictures in my head and informed me of a visitor or an invader, the air whipped with power. My monsters couldn’t fight or catch magic.
I clenched my fists, pondering if it was wise for me to change to Fae, when a man appeared in a flash of light. He alighted a few yards in front of me with a lopsided, charming smile.
Lord Elvey, the immortal warlock.
He wasn’t exactly what I had expected or remembered. When I’d spied on him, he’d seemed grim and older. This time, he looked to be only a few years my senior, but I knew he was of infinite age. I hadn’t gotten other details right about him either when I’d checked him out from the sky.
He was tall and broad shouldered. He had muscles, but not that of a warrior. He was way more graceful. He wasn’t clad in a cloak—a sorcerer’s conventional outfit. He didn’t put on armor either, which showed his cocky confidence in coming here. Well, if he could pop out of thin air, he could take the same exit in a blink.
His half-length, lavender hair curled in a tousled fashion, as if the wind got into it and made a nest. Which only made him harmlessly cute. His eyes, the color of the blue star with transparent fire in them, sparkled with a teasing laughter.
My shoulders relaxed.
Wait. I stiffened them again. Had he bewitched me to make me put down my guard? Had he put on glamour? But I hadn’t sensed more magic except when he’d made his entry. Or was his magic so subtle and sublime it skipped my Fae nose?
Even cursed, I still had some magic up my sleeves—I could sense magic, I could see through glamour, and I could slip in the minds of those who were bonded to me. I ran faster than anything in my Fae form, and I spit black fire as Furies.