Esther put her hands on her hips. "Because Dominique is my friend and—"
A crash upstairs made them both tense. A red light above the stove began flashing. Virdi cursed. An intruder. Not necessarily the assassin but he couldn’t assume it wasn't. He grabbed Esther's arm and dragged her back to the entrance to the basement.
"Get Dominique and find a place to hide," he ordered. "I'll take care of whoever it is."
Esther's eyes were wide. "What about Claire?"
Damn. He'd forgotten about the other woman. It would serve her right to get shot through the forehead wearing nothing. But of course he couldn't just leave her out here to get killed, or maybe even get in his way and get him killed.
"I'll get her. Just go."
He padded down the hallway, searching out Claire's cherry scent until he found her. He slipped in; she was just pulling her shirt over her head but smiled when she heard him. She opened her mouth, no doubt to ask if he changed his mind, so he slapped a hand over her mouth. She shrieked, fighting against him.
"Shh," he hissed. "The assassin is here. I need you to get down to the basement."
The scent of fear rolled off her but she nodded. He led her to the basement door and hurried her down, then closed the door after her. It was the only entrance into the basement. The girls were as safe as they could be under the circumstances. He ducked into a doorway and crouched low, waiting.
He breathed in deeply but the fires within Dragons burned away their scents. He could no more tell another Dragon was in the house from scent than the assassin could smell him. He heard nothing in the building, not from upstairs, nor from this floor. He kept watch, hidden in the shadows where even another Dragon would have a hard time seeing him. Outside a heavy wind blew, making the trees tap their fingers against the windows.
What if it had just been a branch or an animal falling through an empty window? There were a few windows upstairs that were broken…
But he couldn’t risk it. Not if it was who he thought it was. She was a woman of infinite patience and was able to change herself to almost anything that the situation required. There was a reason she was Skaldi's favorite.
A breath wafted over the back of his neck, filling his chest with fear and the hairs on his arms to stand on end. He lashed out, swinging his arm backward. Even as he did so, the assassin grabbed his wrist and twisted it back. His arm nearly popped from its socket. He grunted, spinning around, and slugged the assassin in her face with the other hand. She released him and stumbled back but it had only been a glancing blow, not enough to cause real damage.
"Is that any way to greet a friend?" the woman mocked, rubbing her jaw. He swung again and she blocked the blow, then ducked under his arm and punched into his ribs. The impact drove the air from his lungs and made him fall to one knee. "Skaldi is furious, you know. Keeps ranting about her worthless son."
"She's done that all my life," Virdi hissed. "It figures she would send you, Drusa."
Drusa shrugged. She came in close again. This time he was able to block her blow. He caught her arm but all she had to do was spin her body, pulling herself in close to him like a dance move and elbowed him in the sternum. The air left his lungs in a groan. Drusa kneed him in the stomach and flipped him over her back, making him land on his stomach.
She landed on him, twisting both arms behind his back. Her grip was as strong as he always remembered. A growl rose from his throat and the Dragoness laughed again.
"It figures. Here you are with the Mother of the Emperor and you're still taking her to the Temple. You could have claimed her as your mate. Humans aren't like Dragons, they can get pregnant with whoever they lay with. But you haven't taken her." Drusa breathed on the back of his neck, making him growl again. "Or have you? Have you let yourself fall in love with yet another human?"
"I won't let you hurt her," Virdi snarled, forcing his body to go limp. Brute strength against a slippery snake like Drusa wouldn’t work. He had to play smarter than that. And be willing to experience pain. "You'll have to kill me first–or has my mother already told you to kill me anyway?"
Drusa chuckled. "No. She wants you back alive. Someone to make an example of, I believe. But I can kill you and say you fought gallantly, if that's what you want. I'll admit I do have fond feelings for you… the thought of you being slowly ripped apart isn't something I enjoy."
Virdi arched his body backward. He threw himself to one side, half-shifting as he did so. White-hot pain flashed through him as both his shoulders dislocated in Drusa's grasp, but he was able to throw her off. She shrieked as he rolled over her. The spikes along his spine stabbed into her legs and when he lashed his tail at her face, she was just able to raise her arms to deflect the blow. Blood spurted into the air. Virdi, his arms hanging uselessly, threw himself over her. He grabbed her wrist in his mouth, sharp with dragon's teeth, and pressed the spikes along his forearms against Drusa's throat.
The assassin gasped as he pressed his weight down on her arm. Pain flooded him, making sweat bead his forehead but he ignored it, instead forcing himself to focus on Drusa. The spikes pressed into her neck, wells of blood building at the points. She glared at him, ragged breaths sounding in the air.
"Are you going to kill me now, Virdi?"
"Not if you promise not to hurt the humans I have with me and agree to deliver a message to my mother for me."
Drusa narrowed her eyes. Her eyes flickered downwards and a snarl twisted her lips. "Fine. I'll do it."
"Swear on your father's life."
She flinched. Her father was like a god to her. "I swear."
"Good. Tell my mother that if anything happens to Dominique, I will personally destroy her."
The Dragoness's eyes widened. Virdi had said what he needed though, and slowly pulled back. The pain from his shoulders was almost unbearable now. Drusa sat, frowning at him. She grasped his arm and he hissed, but that didn't stop her. She swiveled it and then gave a mighty shove; the arm popped back into its socket. A white-hot flash had Virdi tumbling backward. She rolled over him to do the other arm, then crouched next to him while he panted.
"I could go kill her now, you know," she said.
Virdi growled. The pain diminished and he glared up at the assassin. "I'd kill you if you tried."
Drusa rubbed her neck, leaving behind streaks of blood. "Are you sure she's not your mate?"
"I'm sure," Virdi replied shortly. "Now get out of here."
The dragoness waited for a moment, then nodded. "I swore on my father's life. I hope she's worth it, Virdi. Next time, I won't give you a chance to fight back."
Chapter Eleven
Dominique
The smooth, paved roads had long ago given way to dirt tracks running through the jungle. With every bounce and sway, Dominique thought she was going to throw up. She had spent a lot of time in Alom's palace bent over the toilet, but given the stress she was under and the strange food he kept feeding her, she hadn't thought anything about it. Now she knew better. Morning sickness. As if she didn't have enough to deal with already.
"We need to stop," Esther called for the third time in two hours.
Virdi cast her an annoyed glance. "You have to go to the bathroom again?"
Esther shrugged. "Is it my fault I have a small bladder?"
Claire pulled to the side of the road and gave a tiny huffy noise of displeasure.
Dominique was grateful for Esther's lie; it allowed her time to close her eyes and suck in a few gulps of water, trying to ease her stomach without getting bounced out of her seat. Her nausea certainly wasn't helped by the fact she was hungry too. The whole thing was taking a toll on her and all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and go to sleep. And then wake up safe without any crazy people wanting to kill her.
"Here, have some of my water," Claire said to Virdi, her tone overly seductive. "I saw you emptied your canteen."
He ignored her but a prick of jealousy stabbed into Dominique's heart. She peeked through her lashes to see C
laire leaning over, her perky breasts brushing against Virdi's arm. Dominique opened her mouth to say something but closed it again. It was none of her business.
"Come on, you need to drink," Claire wheedled.
Virdi pushed her away. He glanced into the rearview mirror and his eyes met Dominique's. She tried to ignore him but the hard lines of his face softened as he gazed at her.
"How are you holding up?" Virdi asked, his voice somewhat more gravelly than normal.
At once, a hot sensation swept through her. Her core tightened and her breasts seemed to swell. Her reaction surprised her and she quickly looked away. Everything was too hot already… that must be it, she was reacting to the heat and stress. She drank a little more water, feeling dizzy. She couldn’t distrust him and want him at the same time, could she? No, that was too confusing.
Although if Claire wasn't there, she might have forgotten that she wasn't supposed to be this attracted to him and launch herself at him. Seriously, what was this? She heard that pregnancy hormones did crazy things but she wouldn't have expected this. Maybe it was the talk she'd had with Esther, about how he fought for her and betrayed his clan for her. Maybe it was seeing him reject Claire so soundly–it gave her hope that he wasn't exactly what she thought of him.
Maybe it was the whole 'mate' thing, drawing them together on a cellular level… maybe even a spiritual level.
He had taken on an assassin for her and suffered a great deal of pain. He might not have told them exactly what happened but the screams while he fought off the assassin… it still made her choke to think about it. She chewed her lip as Esther returned to the car. She needed to tell him about her pregnancy. But not right now. It needed to be in private, when neither of them had the pressure of other people expecting certain reactions.
"When I get a new pair of glasses, I'm going to tie them around my head with duct tape so I never lose them," Esther grumbled.
"Dominique? Are you okay?" Virdi twisted to look at her as Esther climbed back into the vehicles.
"I'm fine," she mumbled. She needed to tell him before they got to the Temple. Maybe the next time they stopped, Claire would leave the car, too. "Let's keep going."
They continued on. After a few hours during which she had no opportunity to speak with Virdi alone, they emerged from the thick foliage to see a beautiful white temple gleaming in the sun. The high steps were steep and wide in classic Maya architecture, although the small building on top of the pyramid more rounded than any other structure she'd seen in these parts.
There were also a dozen Dragons in their way. Some sat on the Temple, clinging to its sides or blocking the stairs, while others stood side-by-side in their way. Before them were another half-dozen Dragons in their human forms, dressed in expensive-looking suits and dresses.
Dominique glanced at Virdi. His face was hard but he stepped from the car. She followed suit and he planted himself firmly before her.
"This woman is my mate," he declared. "And we are here to—"
"She's not his mate at all," Claire interrupted.
Dominique's jaw dropped as Claire waltzed away from their group. She cast them a derisive sneer, then pranced to one of the male Dragons, a tall black-haired man with sharp eyes. She bowed to him and he put an arm around her waist and pulled her close. The other Dragons didn't look at all shocked, although one, paler than the others with white-blonde hair, narrowed her eyes. That must be Skaldi. Which meant all of these Dragons were the royalty of the clans.
She began shaking. What were they doing here?
"They're not mates," Claire continued. "They can hardly tolerate each other. You should see them, they're like a couple of snapping turtles or betta fish, always fighting. If she wasn't bonded to the Egg, he wouldn't even bother with her."
"What are you doing?" Esther hissed, her hands clenched. "Have you gone insane?"
Claire rolled her eyes. "I would think that it's pretty obvious. This Dragon is my mate."
It was. Dominique's heart sank, her stomach churning. Claire was working for the Dragons–or at least that one–this whole time. The redhead cast her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. Virdi growled and Esther gasped. She whispered something in his ear and he frowned, his gaze flicking to Dominique's belly.
So she had figured it out. Would he announce to everybody that she already carried the Emperor? How would Virdi react? She should have told him!
"I have been mated to my prince here for years," Claire said, turning back to them. "I'm not just a silly rich heiress, you know. It's not like I chose to dig that area at random."
Esther shook her head. "So the dig. The whole project. It was all to unearth the Emperor's Egg?"
Claire smiled.
"Were you hoping that it would bond to you?" Dominique asked. "So that you could give birth to the Emperor?"
"That was the plan, yes. I even handled it first. Yet it chose you. Disappointing, but at least I know I love my mate."
One of the others eyed her. "Why would it bond to her, though? Were you the first to handle it, girl?"
Dominique shook her head. Her eyes widened, as though she was suddenly realizing something. "My father."
Virdi glanced at her, confused.
"My mother told me once that my father said something about being descended from the first Chinese emperors. She didn't believe him, didn't even know if he really had Chinese heritage, but if it was true—"
Virdi clasped her hand. "The first emperors of China were Dragons. So that's why it chose you. Because you're already royalty."
He stared at her in awe. It made sense now. The egg had chosen her because it recognized the DNA hidden in her ancestry and was activated by it. In turn, it would activate that DNA and that was how the new Emperor would be born.
"Enough talking," the pale-skinned woman snapped. Skaldi's narrowed eyes were locked on Virdi. "I have business with my son. Let's take the Bonded and be done with this."
Virdi rolled to the balls of his feet. He rose his fists, spikes starting to push through his skin on his arms and back. Dominique reached to stop him but pulled herself back at the last second. She licked her lips. This wasn't the way he should find out that he was going to be a father, but if announcing she already carried the Emperor was the only way to prevent a fight between him and all these Dragons, she had to. Claire narrowed her eyes at her, as though understanding what she was about to say.
She opened her mouth to speak but Virdi interrupted her.
"Maybe I'm not her mate," he said. "Maybe I just said that to stop more kings from kidnapping her and trying to force her to be their mate. But we're here, all we have to do is take her into the Temple and her real mate will be revealed."
Skaldi smiled, causing a tingle of fear to run down Dominique's spine. "Oh, my stupid, stupid son. If we wanted her to go to the Temple, she'd already be inside. Why would we block her passage if we wanted the Emperor to be born?"
"You don't?" Dominique blurted. "I thought that you wanted the Emperor to unite the clans and—"
"Why fix what isn't broken?" Skaldi interrupted. "We are all separate, balanced. We have our own ways of doing things and quite frankly we're comfortable how we are. If the Emperor was born, what would he do? He'd cause wars by forcing us to unite. Whatever clan he was born to would have an unfair advantage."
Claire's Dragon spoke, in a deep, deep voice that was reminiscent of honey and molasses, with a mix of lava for good measure. "The Bonded will be cloistered away in my territory, so the egg will never be fertilized. Once the egg is dead, she will be released again."
More like he'd cloister her away so that when her baby was born, he could control the Emperor.
"You can't be serious!" Esther exploded. "That is illegal imprisonment. If all of you are going to lock away a human against her will, you'll cause a severe backlash with the human governments. You guys are already walking on dangerous ground because of the massacre at the dig site. It's not like Dominique is the type of girl to slee
p around. If you don't want the Emperor to be born, then we'll all just go back to the United States and you'll never have to see us again."
Skaldi shook her head. "There are Dragons everywhere. Who's to say that she won't bump into her mate and get pregnant there?"
"And who's to say that you won't just kill her?" Virdi snarled. "Like you already tried to do?"
Skaldi rolled her eyes. "Girl come here, unless you do want to die."
"No!"
Virdi launched himself forward, wings bursting from his back. A roar shattered the air. Almost instantly, the Dragons climbing over the Temple leaped into the air. They glided over the royal's heads and dropped on Virdi. Claws thrashed over his back, sending sprays of green scales into the air. One of them pinned his head to the ground and another bit his neck. Esther grabbed Dominique's arm and dragged her back before she even realized she was running forward.
"Stop," she cried. "Stop, I'll go with you. Just don't hurt him!"
The Dragons didn't stop. A few of the other royals gave Skaldi disturbed glances. Dominique fought against Esther, desperation welling in her. She couldn't let Virdi die for her!
"Stop!"
Skaldi sighed. "Stop."
The Dragons withdrew so they weren't tearing into him anymore but they didn't release him. Skaldi turned cold, dead eyes on Dominique. She pushed Esther away and marched forward, her chin held high. Claire gave her a puzzled look but she ignored it. She walked right up to Skaldi, who smiled down at her.
"Don't worry. In a few weeks, you'll be released."
A few weeks. Dominique nodded stiffly. She could only hope that the Dragons wouldn't discover her pregnancy before then. She took a step forward–and a fountain of fire burst from Virdi's mouth.
Chapter Twelve
Virdi
The fire erupted from Virdi's mouth before he could stop it. Green-tinged flames scorched the Dragons around him, making them roar and yelp. Virdi twisted, clamping his jaws around the neck of the nearest guard. He shook his whole body, thrashing from side to side. He didn't care if they would kill him for this. Only one thought rang through his mind.
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