by Milly Taiden
“Did you Drachen boys really think I would never capture one of you?” the man asked. “All I had to do was keep patient until the opportunity arose.”
Ker’s drooped head rolled to the side. Tiana gasped. He looked beyond horrible, scaring her. Where was his dragon? He should’ve easily yanked these chains out of the concrete. “I won’t be here long, Sayeh. My brothers will come for me,” he said. His swollen lips barely moved.
Sayeh smiled. “I’m ready and waiting.” His eye caught the electric shocker lying on the floor. He picked it up and turned it in his hand. “I’m afraid you will be a long-time visitor. Have you notice a part of you ‘missing’?”
“There’s no way you can remove my dragon without killing me,” Ker mumbled. “What did you do, Sayeh?”
The man feigned happy surprise. “I’m so glad you asked. Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would work on one of you. Before Sylvana disappeared, she created a spell that made your dragon unable to shift. Basically, made you human. I have three more rooms ready and waiting for your siblings.”
Sayeh looked at the stick still in his hand. Saying nothing, he stabbed it into Ker’s stomach. A scream escaped Ker. Tiana reached out to grab the weapon, but her hand did nothing. He kept the prod on Ker. “I will take back my birthright as king. You are traitors.”
“Stop it, asshole,” she cried. Ker’s body slowed its jerking. “Stop it.” Tiana threw a punch, frustration kicking in. Ker’s eyes rolled to the back of his sockets. “KER!”
* * *
Tiana woke with a scream lodged in her throat. Her heart pounded. Her eyes looked at the ceiling of a warehouse type room. She felt stares on her. Sitting up, she took note of the men sitting on the floor with her.
The concrete was cold and damp. The air was musty. Were they underground? The only light came from under the door, but she had no problem seeing the ragged condition of her fellow roommates.
She recalled her last memories, remembering her abduction from the cabin.
Ker had left to get her donuts and she went to her room to change. On her way down the stairs, a knock came on the door. She hesitated answering, not knowing who it would be. Her ex was dead. For the first time in a long, she was able to relax. The phone calls would stop and her constant feeling of being watched would finally end.
Placing her hand on the deadbolt, the door smashed against her hand and pushed her back. Another crash against the entrance and the wood gave way. Slamming against the wall, the barrier hung on one hinge, revealing several men on the stoop.
The one in the middle, the same man who tortured Ker, glanced at her and smiled. “You must be Tiana. I’m so glad to meet you.” He stepped through the entrance. Tiana knew exactly what to do. Run. She couldn’t do a thing against three men. Next she knew, hands like steel vises gripped her arms and material covered her nose and mouth.
Now, here she was, locked in a room with people who looked like they’d been on a deserted island for a year.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“You’re at Sayeh’s compound. In one of the cells,” one of the men said.
“Right,” she said thinking back to the bastard in her dream. Ker had said that name. “Sayeh.” Wait. How did a name she not know be in her dream? Was it a premonition or was she there live in spirit? She had seen Sayeh at the cabin, so she could’ve easily put him in her dream. But a weird name? She shook her head, not wanting to think about it right now.
“So we’re in a prison, of sorts,” she said. “Why are you all here, too?” Then the thought hit her. She was in jail with a group of obviously bad men. If she was ever in a bad situation, this was it.
“We’re dissidents,” another man said.
“You’re what?” she asked.
Another guy sat up. “We’re locked up because we disagree with Sayeh’s plans to take over the world.”
Tiana stifled a laugh. “You can’t be serious? Take over the world? What universe does this idiot live in?”
“We’re from Xilos Vardis the Noir and Drachen home planet. I belong to the Talech clan.”
She was joking when she asked that question. Obviously, they didn’t get it. “So, all of you are dragons, too?” They nodded. “Then why are you in here? Can’t you just plow through the door or wall?”
“No. These cells are hexed by Sayeh’s witch. We can’t use our dragons.” She remembered the dick telling Ker that in her dream, too. He seemed so proud of himself at that moment. Like he’d finally won against the bigger kids.
“Who is this witch? She seems pretty powerful,” Tiana said.
“She is powerful,” a man said. “She put a spell on all of us that makes us obey our leader.”
“What do you mean?”
Another man shrugged. “Just that. If he says we fight, we fight.”
“No matter what you want to do?” she said.
“Makes little difference. All we can do is verbally protest to get others to see the truth. That’s why we’re in this hell hole. To keep us separated.”
Tiana gritted her teeth. “So, you’re all slaves.”
They nodded. “He keeps the hate in our hearts.”
“Meaning all your dragons are black?” she verified. Once again, they nodded. Anger boiled in her. This was wrong. No one should be treated this way. When she got out of here, she’d get with Ker and his brothers to free these guys.
“How many are in this place?” she asked.
“Used to be a lot of us. Six, maybe seven, hundred,” an emaciated male said, “but in our last battle, they had an elder who wiped out half our clan in one sweep.”
Horror and sadness flashed through Tiana. So many dead. And for what reason? Some fucking psycho?
“So, lady. Who are you?”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Tiana sat on the concrete floor in a locked room in some prick’s compound. The men around her were the good guys of the bad guys. She was getting a headache.
“Who am I?” she repeated the guy’s question. She was ready to say “nobody,” when the door unlocked and opened. Her favorite dickhead walked in. He wore the same clothes as in her dream, and in his hand, was the cattle prod.
Breath choked in her throat. Her dream wasn’t just a dream. This man tortured the guy she loved. The anger in her jumped to an all-time high.
Sayeh leaned against the wall by the door. He wasn’t getting too far from it. Chicken shit. “Did I hear someone ask who you are, beautiful?”
That compliment felt like a dirty word coming from the D-bag. He gave her the creeps and he wasn’t even close to her.
Nobody said a word to his rhetorical question. He looked at her and smiled. “Tiana, I am your father.”
Her world crashed around her feet. No, that couldn’t be right. Her mom wasn’t dumb enough to fall for the likes of him. He was handsome, but that was completely eclipsed by her personality.
“You’re lying. Do you think this is some sick Star Wars movie and you’re Darth Vader?” she said, weakness sounding in her voice. She hated that. She straightened her back and cleared her throat. “If you’re my father, then tell me why you left?”
His happy countenance disappeared and his head dipped down. Just as quickly, he snapped his head up. “What the hell did I need a human child for? Humans are weak and worthless. Your mother was a great fuck until she got mouthy and told me she was pregnant.”
The words were reaching her ears, but her brain had gone numb, not understanding.
He continued. “But even with pathetic human genes, I was curious to see what kind of child I would have. Would you excel at sports or aspire toward politics? Would you be ugly or have the attention of any male nearby?”
“Why would you even care?” Tiana retorted.
He shrugged. “Like I said. I was curious.” His eyes roamed the men in the room. “I decided that you would be given a chance to see if you did anything that would benefit me in any way. And I kept a constant eye on you.”
“A what?” sh
e mumbled.
“I made sure no harm came to you. My men watched while you were in school, at the park, at home.”
Again, Tiana’s world fell apart. Her nightmares made sense now. Someone had been watching her all this time. Subconsciously, she knew they were there.
“And when you went out with that damn pussy Oliver—goddam, girl what were you thinking—I thought I’d disown you. Then the prick wouldn’t go away. Even after my warnings. So, I took care him.”
Oliver was dead. She’d never forget the image of his face, torn and beaten. “You killed him?” she asked.
A smile reached his lips. “Of course. And that piss ant who broke into your house and tossed it. I don’t know what he was looking for, but I guarantee, he didn’t find it.” A chuckle escaped him. “Nobody would touch my girl.”
Oh. My. Fucking. God.
That explained everything that had happened since the break-in. Oliver’s man was the one who bled out on her kitchen floor. A black dragon taking the body away. Det. Randall would probably never find it.
And Oliver himself, another black attacked him and his man that night at the cabin. The blood on the rooftop mystery was solved.
“Now, my girl,” Sayeh said, “I’m not sure what to do with you. I sense your dragon genes, but since you’ve never shifted, you’re no good to me. I would like to make you my heir, but that’s not going to happen.”
“Then why did you take me from the cabin? You could’ve left me there and I’d never been the wiser,” she hollered.
“I don’t like you being associated with the Drachen clan. When the youngest one came to the cabin, I had to get you away before anything happened. I’d rather kill you than have you mated to one of them.”
Tiana wondered what he was talking about. Then, her chest started burning and with a quick glance she realized she had a dragon mark. A smoky dragon. The same Ker had shown her. Oh shit. She could only hope he couldn’t tell the mark had shown up on her. This was it. They were mated. Thank god.
“Since you’re here,” he said, “I’ll just put you with the other women who service the men.”
A slave used for sex? Hell—fucking—no. She crossed her arms over her chest. “What if I refuse to go?” Her defiance bolstered her courage, her mate mark reminding her she belonged to Ker and nobody else would ever be good enough for her.
He shrugged again. “Like I said, I have no use for a human child. But I won’t let my only offspring associate with the Drachen. Not in this fucking lifetime.”
“You can go to hell and rot, as far as I care!” Her dad was dead to her.
“That’s how it’s going to be, then?” he asked as if it was no big deal. “So be it.”
A blast of noise hurt her ears. An alarm that could wake the dead blared in the hallway outside the door. A smile broke out on his face. “Time to have some fun.” He slid out the door, locking it behind him.
Tiana ran to the door and kicked it. “You son of a bitch. Just try to put me in a whorehouse and see what happens to your men. I swear to you I will kill every single on that tries to touch me! Every. Single. One.”
She kicked the door again. “How do we get out of here?” she barked. “There has to be a way.” Suppressed anger overtook the shock of her father’s words. In her heart, she felt the hate for the man grow. She’d never hated someone before—Oliver was a big dislike. Nothing like what was coursing through her veins right now.
Before she had her next chance to beat on the door, someone on the other side opened it and stuck his head in. “Freck, what are you doing here?” one of the men in the cell said.
He waved them out. “Come on. We can get away with his attention on the fight.”
Tiana didn’t need to ask who “his” referred to. She filed out with the rest of men, hurrying along the hall. A few doors down, a red smear on the white paint caught her attention. Ker immediately came to mind. Was he really here? Could Sayeh actually have captured him? She didn’t want to believe it. Hand on the knob, she twisted her wrist and pushed the door open.
What she saw brought her to her knees.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Just like Tiana’s dream, Ker hung by his arms, chained to a wall. She ran to him, hugging him, trying to lift him to relieve his arms. Something. Anything to ease his pain.
He whispered out her name. She peppered his face with kisses. “I’m here, Ker. I’ll get you free.” She pulled on the links. Who was she kidding? Frustration built quickly. She looked around for a key or tool to get him free. Nothing. There was nothing that would help her.
She wrapped her arms around her man again. Tears rolled down her cheeks. He was close to death. Had to be with what she saw happen to him. Wet drops fell from her face onto the floor.
Behind her, a swirl of air blew her hair around. Then a bright light filled the space. Tiana turned to see a woman standing in the middle of the room. She had no idea who the woman was, but she’d beg the devil himself if the person could free Ker.
“Can you help me free him? Please,” she cried.
A soft smile shined on the visitor’s face. She seemed to float toward him. Going to a knee, the woman put a finger on the tear that landed in the dust on the floor.
“Tears of true love,” she said as she stood.
Ker sucked in a short breath. “Sylvana.”
Tiana whipped her head around. Sylvana? She was the evil witch who cast all the spells. Ker twisted his body to push Tiana behind him. With all the agony raging in his body, he was still protecting her.
“No need to worry, Ker,” Sylvana said. “I’m not the person you knew. My hate is gone, light filling my heart.”
Ker kept Tiana behind him. “It’s a trick,” he mumbled to her. “How can you be good?”
“Your brother’s mate showed me who I was during the last battle, opening my eyes to my true self. I couldn’t take what I saw.” Sylvana gazed at the chains. “I used to be a good person, helping those in need.” Her eyes turned away, as if in shame. “I’ve returned to that person.” She reached up and touched the cuffs on Ker’s wrists. They fell away and Ker collapsed.
Tiana kept him from crashing too hard on the cold concrete. Sylvana met her gaze. “I am sorry for what I’ve done in the past. I beg the brothers for their forgiveness. I see the wrong I’ve done and will find a way to atone.”
Ker sat up, his dragon having finally returned. “Sylvana, your atonement is filled with you releasing me. How did you know?”
“When I created this spell long ago, I put a catch in. If tears of true love where shed, then I would be summoned. I wanted to witness the emotion. Something I’d never given or received. Though Tor told me he would live for me when I said I was his mate, I knew his heart would never belong to me. He didn’t love me, even though he claimed he did. He will never love another. Not like he does his mate.” A softness in her face made her look younger. “I see it between you two. I see it in your eyes, Tiana. And, Ker, how you protected your mate, even though you were near death.”
Ker looked at her as he squeezed her to his side. “You love me?” he asked.
Tiana playfully slapped his chest. “Stupid question. Yes, I love you.”
Ker’s strength was quickly returning. He appeared better every second.
“You ready to go?” she asked. “We need to get out of here before someone remembers to check on us.”
Sylvana led the way out the door. Reaching the end of the hall, the main door opened and two guards stepped in, surprised at seeing the group of three. The first guard snapped his arm out and caught Sylvana around the throat. Her hands came up and magic flowed out the same second the man snapped her neck.
The guard fell dead, and Ker jumped forward to take care of the second security guard. Tiana knelt next to the witch’s body and put a hand on her forehead. “Thank you, Sylvana. May God have mercy on your soul. You are forgiven.”
Ker reached out a hand. “Let’s go, Tiana.” She took his hand and together, they found
an exit to the outside. Stepping out, they were shocked at the chaos. People ran in every direction, including children and mothers. Black dragons perched on the various buildings and hid in trees. She felt like an ant under the eye of predators ready to swoop in and gobble her up in one bite.
Then she noticed these dragons where much smaller than Ker. “Why are they half the size of you?”
“Because clans are different from their leaders,” he said, looking around.
“Why’s that?”
Ker shrugged. “I guess those in charge have to be large enough to control the masses. Only the strong survive.”
“I take it your family is in charge,” she said.
Ker tugged her down a center street. “My family has ruled for thousands of years.”
“Wow.” She was dating a prince. Who would’ve thought? “Where are we going?” This compound was the size of a small town. It even had a small grocery store.
“I’m hoping to find a gate or fence we can climb to get out,” he said as he turned a corner. Ker abruptly stopped. The exit was there, but so was a line of black dragons with Sayeh standing in front of the group on the outside of the gate.
The Noir leader was talking to someone standing far away. She didn’t even know how they could hear each other. Oh wait. It was several someones—three men. Sayeh lifted his arms, and from every direction, dark dragons lifted into the sky. The mass was large enough to block the sun. Hundreds hovered over their heads.
She and Ker were so dead.
TWENTY-NINE
Tor led his three brothers in dragon form north over the Canadian border into rugged, mountainous area.
“I sure hope Nana is right about this,” he communicated to the others. For years, his family had searched for Sayeh’s hideout as he was sure they searched for the castle. The brothers had taught each of their mates how to navigate the hidden roads leading to the long-standing home. Fortunately, the females didn’t care to travel much with all the babies running around.