Mating the Dragon

by Rinelle Grey

  She was certain he couldn’t, but it only eased the ache a little.

  She had to act as though she didn’t care though, since Ultrima’s eyes were on her, too. He almost seemed to be hoping she would slip up, hoping to catch her staring lovingly at Taurian or jealously at Wayrian. So instead, she turned to Bruce. “How are you going?” she asked him, forcing her voice to be casual.

  “Fine.” Bruce’s reply was short. His eyes were worried. “How about you?”

  Karla shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

  “You shouldn’t have to be there, watching this,” Bruce said.

  Karla’s heart constricted. This was the last place she wanted to be, and also the only place. She couldn’t imagine walking away from Taurian while he was in danger, no matter how painful this was.

  Now, suddenly, she understood why Bruce had chosen to stay. “Like you shouldn’t have had to watch Taurian and I up until now?”

  “Touche.” Bruce actually smiled. “This love business is far harder than I ever imagined it would be. I just figured that once I proposed, we’d move on to the next stage and that would be it. When did things get so complicated?”

  “The complications weren’t the problem,” Karla said quietly. “Every relationship is complicated, but you work through it. Our problem was, we weren’t ever really in love.” Karla looked quietly at Bruce, hoping she hadn’t offended him. He thought he was in love with her, but she suspected that really, he wasn’t any more than she was.

  As she’d expected, he looked indignant. “You may not have been, but I do love you, Karla.”

  “As a lover, or as a friend?”

  “What on earth do you mean? Of course I love you as a lover.”

  Karla glanced sideways to where her father was talking to Lisa, but neither of them were looking in their direction. She turned back to Bruce and asked quietly, “Does your heart beat faster when I walk into a room? Do you feel an overwhelming desire to be with me whenever you think about me? Does the thought of being without me make you feel like your life will never be whole again?”

  Bruce’s eyes slipped away from hers, down to his food for a moment, before looking back up at her. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Of course.”

  “Go on then, describe it to me, in your own words.”

  His eyes widened. “Karla, I…” he faltered. “I do love you,” he said stubbornly. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go home to England without you. The whole house is going to be empty and I’m going to have nothing to do with my evenings.”

  Karla nodded. “We filled a hole in each other’s lives, no doubt. But that’s a friendly love, not a passionate one.” She paused, and then smiled. “You deserve better than that, Bruce. You deserve someone who’s going to take your breath away. She’s out there, I’m sure of it.”

  She could see it in his eyes. He did know what she was talking about, even if he wouldn’t admit it. “Is that the way you feel about Taurian?”

  Karla forced herself not to look over at Taurian, sure Ultrima would see the love and desire in her eyes if she did. She bit her lip and nodded.

  “Then why are you sitting here letting him marry another woman? That doesn’t seem like you?”

  “Because if I don’t, Ultrima will kill them all.”

  Bruce was silent. What answer was there to that?

  Karla turned back to her food. She was just about to take another mouthful, even though she was sure it would make her feel sick, when Bruce spoke quietly, “He may just do that anyway. Did you hear that he has a dozen dragons outside? The whisper around here is that there is no way to escape without them seeing us. We’re stuck here.”

  Karla put down the food, sure she would be sick if she even tried to eat it. “A dozen dragons?” she said faintly. Taurian had been counting on his clan being able to escape while Ultrima was distracted, perhaps during the night. If that wasn’t possible, then what were they going to do?

  She allowed herself to stare over at Taurian for just a few minutes, her eyes meeting his. She saw instantly that he had no plan. He felt just as hopeless as she did. He was forcing himself keep going because that’s what he had to do, but he didn’t know what to do now, or how to keep his clan safe. Every minute he bought them was one more minute in which someone might just come up with an answer.

  Karla looked around at the other dragons. The elders looked nervous and uncertain. Wayrian barely even looked up. Jayrian’s haunted eyes met hers.

  No one here was going to come up with any plans at all.

  Karla heaved a sigh. Looked like it was up to her.

  “Any ideas on how to beat a lightning dragon?” she asked Bruce lightly.

  He stared at her. “Karla, I’m not so sure that’s such a good idea.”

  “You got a better one?”

  Bruce heaved a sigh. “No,” he admitted. “If you do, I’m all in.”

  That was one volunteer, at least.

  Now she just needed an idea. She forced herself to eat a tiny bite of food, and to her surprise, she didn’t feel sick. In fact, she realised she was actually hungry. Not really surprising, considering it had been hours since she’d last eaten.

  As she ate, she began to feel a little better and her brain a little less foggy and panicked.

  How could they even begin to defeat Ultrima? They might have more dragons than he did, but Karla didn’t think a fight was an option. She’d seen what happened last time, and she didn’t want Taurian injured again. Or anyone else for that matter.

  She remembered back to the chess game in the library. It seemed years ago, when in reality it was only a few days. That game may have been with Edtrima, but she was pretty sure Ultrima’s attitude would be the same. Dragons thought they were so powerful that they didn’t need to watch the pawns. Only the important people were a threat.

  Which right now was Taurian, her, maybe Wayrian.

  So who were the pawns?

  She watched Ultrima for a while. He stared back once or twice, and looked amused when Karla refused to look away. He watched Taurian as well, but to her surprise, there wasn’t anyone else in the room he gave more than a cursory glance to.

  So she had been right. He paid no attention at all to anyone he didn’t think was important.

  How could she use that?

  A concerted attack from all the dragons at once would certainly achieve something, but it was risky. They were so tightly crowded in the lair that even one bolt of lightning would do a lot of damage. Dragons and humans would die, even if they did manage to defeat Ultrima.

  It kept coming back to fighting. Surely there had to be a better way? Surely Ultrima didn’t have to die in order to get him to back off?

  Taurian seemed to think he had no regard for the rules or laws, so they couldn’t use that.

  What did he want? Did he still want Taurian’s sister? Was that what this was all about?

  Karla remembered what Taurian had said, that he had tried to force Taurian's sister to mate with him, and she gave a shiver. Under that suave, polite exterior, he was a dangerous dragon. Maybe a fight was the only solution?

  Taurian held up a cup and cleared his throat. The low hum of conversation around the room stopped instantly. “Well, I think it is time for my mate and I to retire to our rooms. I trust I can leave everyone here to continue to enjoy themselves?”

  There was a silence in the room for a few moments. The elders looked stunned and nervous. Ultrima gave a grin, like a cat with a mouse. Taurian looked directly at Karla, his eyes asking her a question.

  She suspected he wanted her to keep an eye on things here for him, but her heart was frozen at the thought of him retiring to his rooms with Wayrian. They had to mate three times for the mating bond to be complete, she knew that much. Would that all happen in one night, or three, or what?

  The thought turned her stomach, and for a few moments, she bitterly regretted the food she had eaten earlier.

  “No one seems convinced that this
is an enjoyable experience.” Ultrima’s quiet voice was a purr. His eyes were on Karla.

  She straightened up, and tried desperately to think of something to say, something to convince Ultrima that she was having a good time. And most importantly, that she wasn’t in the least bit disconcerted by Taurian’s mating.

  But her traitorous mind was a complete blank.

  “You are the one who needs to be enjoying yourself, Prince Taurian.” Jayrian’s voice rang out, a tone of teasing in it. “Just make sure that costume is fit to wear again tomorrow, you have two more days after this before it can be discarded.”

  There was a smattering of nervous laughs. Ultrima’s eyes turned on Jayrian, his expression thoughtful. Karla winced. A pawn lost. Jayrian had earned himself a position as an important piece now. But for a good cause.

  Chapter 4

  Wayrian stood in front of him, the expression on her face uncertain and nervous. Taurian could hardly blame her, he felt the same himself.

  Ultrima had forced his hand. He’d had no intention of mating with Wayrian until they’d had a chance to get to know each other a little better. In truth, he’d planned on putting it off for as long as possible.

  He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get over Karla, but right now, with her sitting out there in front of him all night, he was far from over her. It was unfair to Wayrian to mate while he still felt that way about another woman.

  And, he had to admit to himself, he wanted to put this off for as long as possible because he knew that the end result of this mating ceremony would be losing his attraction to the woman he loved. Karla, not Wayrian.

  He would have to live with this knowledge for a whole week, as the drawn out mating ceremony progressed. He would have to sleep with Wayrian twice, and pretend overwhelming attraction and annoyance at the nights he would sleep alone, all while watching Karla watching him. It wouldn’t be until the last night, at the end of the week, when those feelings would be overwritten by the bond with his mate.

  Was there any point to this anyway? Ultrima had brought enough dragons with him that escaping from the lair under his nose, as Taurian had planned, was impossible. All this could be for naught, and he would end up having to fight Ultrima anyway.

  Not that he didn’t plan on that, but he’d like to make sure his clan reached safety first. That’s why he was buying time for. There was still a chance someone could come up with a solution. That he could. Because he couldn’t leave this important task to anyone else.

  Which meant he had to proceed with the mating ceremony. If Ultrima realised he was faking it, he’d end the charade they were both playing, and it would give the dragon an excuse to attack now.

  Taurian bit back a sigh and looked at Wayrian. The task shouldn’t be so hard. She was attractive enough. He could even close his eyes and pretend she was Karla.

  Every part of him rebelled at that thought. No, if he was going to do this, it needed to be honest.

  He took a step towards Wayrian, and put his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, and her lips parted. He could hear her shaky breathing, and the sound did nothing for him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

  She just nodded. She seemed to lose her voice when she was nervous. Not a useful trait.

  Oh well, who needed talking. They both knew what was about to happen, and he highly doubted Wayrian was inexperienced. He’d yet to meet a dragon who was.

  How to start this? How did one start this? With a kiss, of course. That’s what he’d be doing right now if this were Karla. Kissing the hell out of her. He bent his head down towards Wayrian’s, imagining kissing her.

  But it was all wrong.

  Taurian jerked his head up and stumbled back a few steps. He couldn’t do this. He just couldn’t. He tried to tell himself it was because Karla was still here, in the next room. Of course he felt disloyalty, as well as the lingering hope that there was still some way to salvage their relationship. Once she was gone, it would be easier to give that up and move on.

  That’s what he tried to tell himself. Secretly, he wondered if he would be able to do this even then.

  “Is something wrong?” Wayrian’s voice wavered.

  Taurian could see the uncertainty in her eyes. He was pretty sure she knew what his problem was, but she wasn’t going to admit it. Not from any sort of design on him, but from embarrassment.

  It was cruel to do this to her. He couldn’t believe her grandfather had suggested it. Who would do that to their granddaughter? It wasn’t her fault he didn’t love her, that his love for Karla made it impossible for him. Even if she didn’t love him either, it was still insulting for him to mate with her while he loved another.

  There must be some way for him to save her dignity.

  No one else needed to know that they hadn’t slept together. They could draw this out for the entire ceremony, a whole week, and no one would know. The mating ritual, with its back and forth dance of mating and sleeping apart for seven days, would give them plenty of time to come up with a plan to escape Ultrima. The bond wasn’t formed until the final mating on the very last day. That gave them plenty of time.

  The thought made Taurian feel a whole lot better. He could explain the truth to his clan after Ultrima had gone, and he and Wayrian could have a proper mating ceremony. After Karla was gone.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll never be as pretty as she is.” Wayrian’s voice was miserable.

  Her words hit Taurian with a stab of guilt. She would always know she was second best. Even the mating bond would not remove that knowledge. This relationship, a fire and water paring, would be hard enough without adding that to it.

  Taurian knew his force and passion could easily overwhelm the gentle, slow moving water dragon. Not that water didn’t have its own strength, he’d seen it wear through solid rock, but before she could use it, it would be boiled away by his own power. He needed to do everything he could to see that that didn’t happen.

  Including protecting Wayrian from the knowledge that he struggled to even kiss her.

  It wasn’t her fault his passion for Karla would not be silenced.

  “No, this has nothing to do with Karla,” he said firmly. He cast his mind around desperately for any other reason to give her.

  “You don’t have to make excuses,” Wayrian said softly. “I can see how both of you care about each other. If I were her, you wouldn’t be hesitating.”

  Why did she have to choose now to find her voice? He couldn’t tell her that if Karla were the one standing in front of him, the mating outfit would already be in tatters. Even the knowledge that the mating bond would kill her as well if he died by Ultrima’s hand wouldn’t be able to stop him.

  The mating bond! Of course, that was his excuse.

  “It’s not that,” Taurian argued. “I would have the same concerns no matter who I was mating with. The reality is, at some point I’m going to have to fight Ultrima. There’s no other way out of this. And when I do, I run a big risk of dying.” He didn’t need to tell her that the only reason he’d survived last time was that Bruce and Lisa had saved him. No need to admit that. “If we’ve completed the mating ceremony, then that means you will die too.”

  Wayrian’s face paled. “But I thought we were going to run away from Ultrima, not fight him.”

  “Rian clan will run. Someone will need to keep Ultrima busy while they do that,” he said softly.

  “It shouldn’t be you,” Wayrian said firmly. “The elders will agree with me. We can’t risk losing our prince. Not again.”

  “I won’t let it be anyone else.”

  Wayrian put her hands on her hips. “That is not your right. We all have a responsibility to the clan that is bigger than our own hopes and dreams. That’s why you and I are here right now. You have to survive, and we have to produce a life dragon. That’s the solution to this. Not pointless fighting.”

  Intractable water dragon, stuck on the path they had started on, refusing to cha
nge one bit. Even if someone dropped a big rock in the middle of their stream, they’d just try to go around it, moving only the slightest, wearing down those who got in their way.

  Taurian should try to accept her personality. It was the only way to make this relationship work. But that would have to wait until later. If they both survived.

  “I must do what I must do. If it comes to fighting, I won’t back down. Hopefully, there is still a way out of this, for all of us, but I won’t risk your life on it. Our mating will have to wait until Ultrima is gone.”

  “But the only reason he’s not fighting you now is because he thinks this is a mating ceremony.”

  “So we pretend. No one has any idea what goes on here in these rooms. As far as they know, we’ve taken the first step.”

  “But…” Wayrian’s moment of boldness disappeared, and her eyes slid downwards, away from his, her cheeks flushed.

  “But what?” Taurian tried to keep the impatience from his voice. He wasn’t sure which was more annoying, her determined moments, or her shyness. The combination was maddening, he knew that much.

  “Everyone will be looking for signs.”

  Taurian might have been annoyed at her evasive reply, except he knew exactly what she meant. After the first night of the mating ceremony, a big deal was made of seeing how passionate the night had been, told by its toll on the mating outfit.

  If it was still pristine, it was a bad sign for a relationship. Wayrian would be teased by all her friends about not being able to entice him. Even if it was later admitted that this was a fake mating, the stigma would remain, following them for the rest of their lives.

  Well, that was an easy fix. Taurian stepped forwards and grasped a handful of the feathers, tearing them off the scrap of fabric that covered her.

  Wayrian gasped, her eyes wide.

  Taurian ignored her response, stepping back and considering. A good start, but not enough. A prince needed to show an appropriate level of passion. He stepped forwards and reached for the skirt she wore. His hands paused over the waistline—the outfit needed to be worn for another day at least—and tore a rip in the hemline instead.