dragons breath 01 - stalked by flames

by Susan Illene

  I could feel Aidan’s heavy gaze on me. “Yes. My brother commanded it and my father supported him.”

  I dabbed at the wound with a clean cloth before putting the ointment and a fresh bandage on it. “How many from your clan went?”

  “Twenty-two.”

  My head jerked up. “That’s it? There’s got to be at least a few hundred of the pure dragons around Norman these days.”

  I’d never been able to get an accurate count and speculation varied widely, but that was about what everyone guessed. In Oklahoma City they suspected there were at least two thousand. The most I’d spotted in the sky at one time was about twenty, but I usually didn’t stay outside long once that many were out and about.

  Aidan scowled. “My brother has a lot of pride. He wanted to be able to say he took a large piece of land with only a few warriors.”

  “I suppose he survived the battle,” I said, working on a wound in Aidan’s thigh next.

  “Yes, he did. Only ten of us remained at the end.”

  I shook my head. “I must be the worst dragon slayer ever because it pisses me off he sacrificed that many of you for bragging rights.”

  “There will be a selection process to choose the next pendragon after our father dies. The elders look at each candidate’s feats to help them decide. Zoran chooses the battlefield to prove himself.” Aidan winced when I put the ointment on his thigh wound. There was a deep gash there that ran from one side of his leg to the other.

  “Sorry.”

  “You’re doing fine,” he reassured me. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to adjust this shirt to get at the wounds on my stomach.”

  “I’ll work around it,” I said, bandaging his thigh.

  “Surely I have nothing you haven’t seen before.” There was a teasing expression on his face.

  “Do you really want to go there?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You left me wondering for all this time about what you did or didn’t have. Now I know I could have made good on my threat about your…balls.”

  He let out a short laugh before wincing. “You looked. I’d suspected as much.”

  “Shut up.” I edged the t-shirt down a few inches to reach his stomach wounds.

  “Would you threaten me in such a way now?”

  I concentrated on cleaning his wound. There were several long slices across his stomach that appeared to have come from dragon claws. They weren’t as deep as the ones on his legs, but they were swollen at the edges and there was fresh blood seeping from them—probably from him trying to sit up.

  “I don’t know,” I finally answered.

  “That’s not very reassuring, considering I’m at your mercy.”

  I looked up and found amusement in his eyes. The damn man was messing with me while I was trying to take care of him. My brothers and stepfather had always been the cranky types if they were stuck in bed because of an illness or injury. Who knew Aidan could actually be easier to deal with when he was confined to bed? Minus his teasing, anyway.

  “If it helps, I’d never hurt you while you couldn’t defend yourself.”

  He appeared to consider it. “That is good to know.”

  Aidan remained silent while I worked on his arms. He even rolled over to his side to let me work on his back without comment. There were horrible slashes up and down his skin there. I couldn’t imagine how he’d managed to lay on them without being in agony.

  “Don’t these hurt?” I asked.

  “Yes, very much.”

  I frowned. “Weren’t you in dragon form when you fought?”

  “I was,” he replied.

  “What about your wings?”

  “Those slashes are from the wounds to my wings,” he said, sucking in a breath as I washed them.

  “Oh, so that’s how they transfer over when you shift?”

  He shut his eyes. “Yes.”

  I tossed the cloth into the bowl and began applying the cream. “How much have these wounds healed since you got them?”

  “A considerable amount,” he said through clenched teeth.

  I felt awful for causing him pain, though I tried to be as gentle as I could. There were just too many slashes and they all needed the cream. Aidan didn’t make a sound, but the expression on his face told me all I needed to know. At least there weren’t any bandages covering them before so I didn’t have to worry about putting those on.

  “I’m done now.”

  Aidan didn’t move. He lay there taking deep breaths as he pushed the pain back down to a manageable level. I reached out and ran my fingers through his hair. His shoulders relaxed a fraction. I kept doing it until he was able to lie on his back again.

  “This outfit you gave me saved my life yesterday.”

  His eyes popped open. “How so?”

  “The same guys who shot Conrad also shot at me. One of the bullets hit me in the chest, but the camrium shirt stopped it.”

  Aidan shot up from where he lay. “Let me see.”

  I tried pushing him back down, but he grabbed my hand to stop me.

  “There’s nothing to see.” I gave him an imploring look. He was going to hurt himself. “Obviously, I’m fine or I wouldn’t be here.”

  He reached for the t-shirt I’d put on before leaving Verena’s house earlier. “Take this off.”

  “It’s really not a big deal. You’ve wounded me worse in training than this,” I pointed out.

  When he just stared at me, I pulled the shirt off. No use in losing a perfectly good shirt over a dragon’s temper. He grazed his fingertips over the camrium cloth where the bullet had struck, finding the crease without me having to show him. The spot was close to my left breast and rather awkward for him to be touching me there.

  “It would have killed you,” he stated.

  “Yeah, I said that already.”

  We stared at each other. When had I become used to his yellow snake eyes? I didn’t fear them and they didn’t make me want to kill him anymore, either. He lifted his hand to caress my cheek. My lips parted and a light breath escaped me.

  Keeping his gaze on me he leaned closer. Despite all my instincts telling me I shouldn’t, I met him halfway until our lips touched. My eyes closed. A part of me that I’d tried very hard to ignore had wanted to kiss him for a long time now.

  Aidan didn’t deepen it. It was more like he was testing my reaction to such an intimate touch. I felt none of the revulsion I should have, only a thrill of pleasure. His hand crept behind my back and he pulled my body closer toward him. Our mouths melded and our tongues touched. He tasted like mint—the fresh kind—as if he’d chewed on some earlier. I enjoyed the slide of his tongue against mine and never wanted it to end, but a minute later he pulled away. Disappointment ran through me. I couldn’t remember ever enjoying a kiss that much.

  He studied me. “You shouldn’t have let me do that.”

  “I know.” But I didn’t regret it.

  He settled back on the bed, laying his head on the pillow. His eyes drifted shut as exhaustion lined his features. “We always want what we can’t have.”

  “I’ll go downstairs,” I said, getting up. “You can call me if you need me.”

  His hand snaked out to grab my wrist. “Stay. My wounds will keep me from acting further.”

  “But you just said…”

  “I know what I said. Rest here with me tonight.” He pulled me toward him. “Tomorrow we’ll pretend this never happened.”

  “Okay, just tonight.” Giving in to him, I lay down on my side.

  Aidan pulled me closer until I could feel the heat from his chest warming my back. His arm looped over my waist in a move that felt oddly possessive. Having had little sleep the night before, my eyes drifted shut. For the first time since the dragons had arrived I felt no fear. Ironic, since I was sleeping with one.

  Chapter 36

  Aidan

  A mixture of tension and excitement filled the great hall. It was Judgments Day and the last case—always the most anticipated—was
about to be heard. The pendragon had recovered from his flu several days before, emerging stronger than he’d been in a while. Aidan had returned to the fortress to his brothers’ disappointment.

  Many speculated on where he’d been for nearly a week, but none other than Donar knew about the house where he’d stayed. Or that Bailey had visited him regularly during that time. He should have pushed her away, but the deep sadness in her eyes had gotten to him. For a few hours each day, they’d talked and she’d tended his wounds. They didn’t kiss again, though. He couldn’t handle it—the intensity had been far greater than expected.

  The noise in the hall died down and Aidan looked up. Guards hauled a naked shape-shifter toward the dais. The man was bound in chains at his hands and feet. His hair hung in oily strands around his face and he had a rancid odor coming from him. He’d been accused of his crime several weeks ago, but he’d had to wait in the dungeon until Judgments Day. The amenities down there left something to be desired.

  “Quade of Taugud,” the court clerk announced. “You stand accused of rape and mutilation of a human. Do you understand the gravity of the charges set against you?”

  The man growled. “It wasn’t rape. We love each other.”

  The clerk glanced at the pendragon, who nodded. “Bring her forward.”

  Shocked gasps went around the room as a human woman was carried inside through the castle entrance. She had burn scars on her cheeks, neck, arms, and legs. Her brown hair stuck out in patches where only small sections of it still grew. The rest of her body was covered by a loose black camrium dress, hiding the rest of her skin. Aidan remembered seeing the young woman around the keep. She’d been pretty before, but now only her fathomless blue eyes hinted at that beauty.

  The human man holding her brought her to the dais where she was given a chair next to the pendragon. She winced as she lowered onto it. Shape-shifters across the room stared at her in horror. There’d been some talk going around about a human woman who’d been raped by one of the clansmen, but she’d been kept out of sight until now. Aidan felt his own anger rising at the thought any man could do such a thing to her.

  “Noelle,” the pendragon said, leaning toward the young woman. “I thank you for coming here today. This must not be easy for you, but it will serve as a reminder to others so that it won’t happen again.”

  The woman nodded meekly. “Of course, milord.”

  Throm stood and ran his gaze around the room. “Everyone should look their fill of her now because if they ever see her again, they are not to make her feel uncomfortable. It is one of our own who caused this and we should be ashamed. We are not pure dragon filth given to harming innocent humans.”

  Shape-shifters around the room let out a shout of agreement. Aidan noted the only ones who didn’t join in the chorus were the accused and Ruari. Quade stared at Noelle and Ruari stood in the corner with his arms crossed. His brother’s mind appeared to be elsewhere, undoubtedly hatching some new plot. He’d not been happy when Aidan resurfaced two days ago.

  The pendragon lowered his hand, indicating he wanted silence. “Now, we will hear the victim’s story first before allowing her to return to her home.”

  Noelle shifted in her chair. “Where should I begin?”

  “From the beginning,” the pendragon answered. “But you must speak up so everyone can hear you.”

  Aidan noted there were quite a few more humans in the audience than usual. They rarely attended Judgments Day unless it was one of their own involved. He could only recall a handful of other instances in the past twenty years. Three in which the humans had committed a crime and were banished from the fortress—considered a death sentence. Two other cases where shape-shifters had either killed or harmed a human. The punishments either way were so severe that the crimes rarely occurred.

  “I used to work in the laundry,” Noelle began, “and met many shape-shifters while there.”

  Most of the clan dropped their clothes off there to be washed except for the few who preferred to do it themselves. That’s where Aidan remembered seeing the woman before. She’d crossed over from Earth three years ago and began working in the laundry shortly afterward. He believed she’d been about twenty years old then.

  “Quade brought his clothes by even more regularly than most.” Sadness filled her eyes. “We talked every time he visited about all kinds of things. What my life was like back on Earth, his work as a gardener, the birds, the weather—anything.”

  For a moment, she was silent as she collected herself. Noelle had yet to look at the accused. “I didn’t think much of it for a long time because everyone knows a human could never be more than friends with a shape-shifter. We’re just not…” she swallowed, “compatible.”

  The pendragon nodded. “Go on.”

  “A couple of months ago we met outside the laundry for the first time. It was at the celebration for returning to Earth. Quade spent the entire evening with me while we drank, ate, and talked. It was perfect.” Tears filled her eyes.

  The human man who’d carried Noelle inside handed her a tissue. She dabbed at her eyes before continuing. “We started meeting more often after that, whenever we both had free time. I admit…I admit to falling in love with him.”

  Murmurs spread across the room. There were so many differences between humans and shape-shifters that most never even considered it. Aidan would have been shocked by the revelation if he hadn’t found himself beginning to care about Bailey. He didn’t love her, but he’d gone past being only her trainer. They’d grown close in a way he hadn’t thought possible, if for no other reason than his inner dragon should have rejected her. Instead, the infernal beast enjoyed her company.

  There was a spark between them that was becoming difficult to ignore. Aidan couldn’t harm Bailey the way Quade did Noelle, but once she became a full-fledged dragon slayer she could turn on him. He was more than a little nervous about how the rite of passage would affect her. Even if she managed to overcome her instincts, neither of their societies would accept them being together. Their relationship was doomed before it could even start.

  Aidan glanced at the accused and saw the man shaking with tears running down his cheeks. There was only one reason a dragon would ever cry—the loss of a loved one. They rarely opened their hearts, but once they did the bond was nearly unbreakable. Quade had made the mistake of falling for a human and now he’d lost her.

  “Tell us about the night you were injured,” the pendragon said.

  Noelle blinked back her tears. “I remember it was soon after the last Judgments Day because there was all the talk going around about the man who beat his mate and the punishment he got for it.”

  Aidan recalled that incident as well. The man had too much alefire, came home and beat his mate within an inch of her life. Their marriage was forced upon them due to family interests—a rare, but not unheard of occurrence. As punishment, the husband was strung up between two obelisks and the wife was allowed to whip him ten times.

  Shape-shifters could take a lot of punishment. She’d had to use a whip with barbs that cut deep into the flesh and ripped at it when pulled away. He was sent to the dungeon for two weeks afterward without a visit to the healer. The husband was told that if it happened again the punishment would be double. As of yet, it hadn’t reoccurred and the wife smiled everywhere she went. One thing Aidan could say about his father was that he didn’t tolerate the strong preying on the weak.

  “Anyway,” Noelle continued, “we met that night in Quade’s hut near the vegetable garden. We hadn’t planned on doing anything more than talk as usual, but we’d been testing kissing each other. If we kept it brief and he only touched me where my clothes protected me it went okay.”

  Murmurs spread across the room. Aidan scowled at people from where he stood next to the dais. They died down so that he could hear the rest of Noelle’s story.

  “…given him permission to go further if he just made it quick. Except I didn’t feel the pain right away. I was so
excited to be with him that it felt good at first. Then it didn’t and I began to scream, but he was too far gone by that point. I beat on his chest, but he couldn’t hear me anymore. His body smothered mine…” She broke off, choking on tears.

  That was the way it went with shape-shifters. Once their passions rose too high they lost themselves in the moment. There was no way Quade could have stopped even if he’d heard her screams—which was why it should never have started in the first place.

  The pendragon smiled at her gently. “You’ve done well, my dear. Why don’t you skip to the reason we didn’t discover you for a week.”

  “Okay.” Noelle dabbed at her face with her tissue. “After it was over Quade felt horrible. He apologized to me dozens of time and ran to get burn cream, but the apothecary was closed by then. We were afraid to tell anyone what had happened since we knew the punishment would be bad so he took care of me the best he could that night.”

  “What happened the next day?” the pendragon asked.

  “There was work to be done in the garden. Without an excuse, he couldn’t get by the apothecary until later that night. They were out of the burn cream when he got there. Someone had just taken the last bottle and they said it would be a few days before more could be made—unless he had an emergency case. Of course, telling them about me would get him into trouble so he didn’t.”

  “And before you knew it, nearly a week had passed and you fell ill with a fever?” the pendragon prompted.

  “Yes,” Noelle agreed. “By that point Quade knew he had no choice. Burn cream wasn’t going to be enough anymore. He carried me to the healer and then the guards came to arrest him. I learned at that point my wounds had been allowed to fester too long and couldn’t be fully healed.”

  “Do you have anything else you want to add?” Throm asked.

  “Only that Quade made a mistake. We both know now that we should never have let it go as far as it did. I still love him…maybe I always will.” She paused to look at the accused with a heartfelt gaze, then turned to the pendragon. “Please don’t punish him too badly.”