by Donna Grant
“Unfortunately, no. A mother doesn’t hear that her child will be in danger and not think her baby might get hurt and die. I wanted to know how and when to protect you.”
Annita leaned forward and put her hands on her mother’s arms. “Chara would never have told you that if she knew I would die.”
“You can’t know that. Chara saw life, death, and everything in between. And she didn’t hesitate to share what she saw. Sometimes, she left the death part out because she knew it would cause that person to alter their lives. Chara believed when your time was up, it was up, and nothing should interfere with that—not even a Seer.”
Annita slowly sat back with this new knowledge. Her thoughts took her back to her conversation with Yaya on the beach. “Why dragons? Everyone knows they aren’t real, and yet Yaya told me that they used to live right here on our land.”
Her mother shrugged and reached for her coffee. “I don’t know. But you’re right, there is no such thing as a dragon. If there were, the world would know. Nothing stays secret any longer. It hasn’t for a very long time.”
“Yeah. There’s no such thing as dragons,” Annita said and thought back to her dream of the beige dragon that’d shifted to a man.
Or was it a dream?
Chapter Four
He’d done the right thing about the mortal. At least, that’s what Royden kept telling himself. Why then was he still at the cave? He should’ve been on his way back to Dreagan by now. Instead, he’d remained behind, half hoping that Annita would walk down the tunnel again.
“Shite,” he mumbled to himself as he leaned his head back against the wall of the cave.
While she’d slept, he’d searched for the item buried by his brother. At one time, Royden had been furious with his brother for hiding it. Royden had then stopped looking for it, and it wasn’t long after that he became King of Beiges. He’d soon forgotten about the talon. It wasn’t until the war with the humans that Royden even thought about it again. However, by then, it was too late.
He blew out a breath and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. The damn thing was in this cavern. Of that, he was sure. But he hadn’t found it yet. The problem was that he didn’t know if he was really looking for it or not. The fact that he kept thinking about Annita and debating going to check on her while she slept told him that his attention wasn’t where it needed to be.
When Annita had finally woken, he’d remained hidden in the shadows, watching her. He knew the moment she thought about finding him. Royden had held his breath, wondering what she would do. Nothing was stronger than dragon magic. He wasn’t worried about Annita remembering everything. But when she frowned and looked down the tunnel to where he hid, he began to wonder if she just might shake off his magic. In the end, however, she’d slipped back into the water and swum away.
It was for the best. Now that he was alone, Royden could really look for the talon. Why then was he standing in the same spot, wondering what Annita was doing?
He had to stop thinking about her. She was a distraction he didn’t need. The last place he should be was in Crete, and yet he remained. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he wasn’t on his way back to Dreagan, especially when his brethren needed him. Constantine might have returned to Dreagan, but there was still so much up in the air. It was the reason Royden had taken the time to make this trip.
Royden walked through the tunnel, letting his fingers glide along the rock. How many times had he and his brother rushed through here, running after each other? He’d never thought of leaving the area. The warm waters, the bright sun, it had been paradise to him. But Fate had something else in store for him—to be a Dragon King.
It had come as a surprise, but he had accepted his path. In fact, he’d rejoiced in it. Royden hadn’t realized how much until he started leading his clan. That’s when he’d found his true calling. He loved being a Dragon King—even when things went bad.
He stopped when he reached the back cavern. With his enhanced eyesight, he could see the claw marks his brother and he had left on the rock. They were high up from where they had played. The gouges weren’t easily seen by mortals in the dark, but with the proper lighting Annita—or anyone who ventured here—would be able to see them.
There was a push as Con’s voice filled his mind. “Royden.”
“Aye?” All dragons spoke through a mental link. The fact that Con had reached out told Royden that his absence had been noted.
“Is everything all right?”
Royden hesitated. He wasn’t sure how to answer.
“You can tell me,” Con urged.
Royden blew out a breath. “I’m no’ in Scotland.”
“I’m aware.”
Two words, but they said so much. Con not only knew where Royden was, but he also most likely knew why. Yet Con was giving him a chance to speak for himself. One of the many reasons Con was King of Dragon Kings.
“I should’ve told you,” Royden began.
“I just want to know if you’re okay.”
“I doona know.”
There was a pause before Con said, “Fair enough. Do you need anything?”
“Nay. I’ll return soon. I’d planned to already be on my way back.”
“But?” Con pressed.
“I’ve no’ found what I’m looking for.” Or had he? Royden’s thoughts immediately shifted to Annita.
Con blew out a breath. “I wouldna have stopped you from going.”
“I know.”
“But I wish you would’ve brought someone with you.”
“I needed some time by myself.”
Con said, “I can appreciate that. This mess we’re in isna something that will be over quickly or finished neatly.”
“Is that why you knew where I was?”
“Aye. Do what you need, but keep in contact with me. And watch yourself.”
Royden briefly closed his eyes. “I will. You have my word.”
Con severed the link. Royden was shocked that Con hadn’t demanded that he return home. After all, things were really beginning to heat up with their enemies. For so long, the Dragon Kings had ruled this realm, but now, it was being threatened. There was a good chance they might have met the ones who could push them out. And that didn’t bode well for the mortals who called this planet home.
Once more, Royden thought of Annita. He wished his mind didn’t continually turn to her, but there was something about her that drew him. Was it the fact that she hadn’t been afraid of him? Or was it because she’d said it had been prophesied that she would find a dragon?
Both things intrigued him in a way that worried him. He wanted the answers, and in order to get them, he had to remain in Crete. The longer he stayed, the more he would have to worry about enemies. For all he knew, Annita was a foe.
“Nay,” he murmured.
He didn’t know why he was so sure that she wasn’t, but he was. Maybe it was the way she had looked at him with such awe and wonder. Perhaps it was how she had tempted him with her smile. It could be a million different things. Unfortunately for him, he’d never been one to stop digging for answers when he wanted to know something. And he really wanted to know about the prophecy.
He couldn’t do that while in the cave, however. That meant it was time for him to venture out. Unlike some Kings, he didn’t hold a grudge against the humans. He didn’t mind being among them. In fact, he’d had many of them as lovers throughout the long years since the war.
His cock began to harden as he imagined what it would be like to have Annita as a lover. Her tiny bathing suit had left little to his imagination, but he wanted nothing more than to rip the material from her body so he could feast his eyes upon her. Then he’d lick her all over, teasing her nipples before settling between her thighs and lapping at her clit until she was shaking with need.
Only then would he fill her.
Royden drew in a shuddering breath and gave himself a shake. He couldn’t let his thoughts linger there, not now.
He might have come looking for something from the past, but it was a mortal in the present that now fully occupied his thoughts.
He returned to the tunnel but veered to the left into a smaller cavern. There, he moved aside a large boulder that blocked an entrance and jumped into the water. He returned the rock to its place with magic and dove deep so that no one would see him as he swam to shore well past the boundaries of the estate.
Once on land, Royden replaced his sodden clothes with dry ones with merely a thought. He made his way up to the street, looking first one way and then the other before deciding to go right. He walked for miles, simply enjoying the climate. It made him think of the long-ago days when dragons ruled. Before the mortals.
With a smile, Royden paused next to a shop that rented Vespa scooters. In minutes, he was driving one down to the village. It had been a long time since he’d smiled so freely. He knew a lot of it had to do with the fact that he’d returned to the place of his birth.
Most Kings kept away from their homelands since the memories that returned were hard to deal with most times. For the moment, Royden had nothing but happy thoughts. But memories of the war, of watching members of his clan and family die, of sending the dragons away, and the Dragon Kings going into hiding were always on the periphery.
However, he didn’t let those memories in. Not yet. There would be time for that later. For now, he would enjoy his visit.
Royden parked the Vespa and leaned against it with his arms folded over his chest as he watched the comings and goings of the village. It didn’t take long for others to notice him. The men eyed him warily, but the women were all smiles. He returned their grins and gave them a nod. There were a fair number of tourists on the island as well, but they were easy to pick out. Since Royden needed locals, his observation quickly picked out the place he was searching for.
It was a small café where the locals got one menu, and the tourists another. The wait staff was friendly to everyone, but the locals got special items because they knew what to ask for. It was something done in a great many tourist towns.
Royden waited for a car to pass before he crossed the road and made his way to the café. He took a seat and waited for someone to come to his table. The waitress had sandy blond hair and a welcoming smile. He greeted her in Greek, and they shared a few pleasantries before she gave him a menu for the locals.
He ordered and continued watching others. It didn’t take long for the food to come, but he took his time eating since others were sitting close to him. Eventually, they left. The next time the waitress walked past, he stopped her.
“What do you know of the family who lives in the grand estate on the beach?”
“The Dragoumis?” she asked, then shrugged. “Nice enough. Their family is one of the oldest in the area. They’ve lived in that house for generations.”
Interesting. As was their surname. “Do you like them?”
She frowned. “That’s an odd question.”
“No’ really.”
“Why do you care?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Just curious. I believe I met one of them today. Annita.”
The waitress suddenly smiled. “I know Annita. She’s very sweet. The whole family is, really. But she’s the nicest of them all. If I didn’t know her, I’d never believe she was from that kind of money.”
“Oh?” he asked, quirking a brow.
“She doesn’t flaunt it, if you know what I mean.”
“I do.”
She frowned at him. “You act like a local, but if you lived here, you’d know all about the Dragoumis family.”
“I used to live here long ago. I’m getting reacquainted with everything.”
“Ah,” she said with a nod. “Is there anything else?”
“No’ at the moment.”
After she left, Royden finished his drink then laid down money to cover his bill and leave a nice tip. Then he rose and walked away. He wondered how long it would take for Annita to learn that he’d asked about her. That left him smiling as he made his way back to the Vespa and drove to a hotel.
Once he was in his room, he opened the double doors to the balcony and looked out over the sea, the same waters Annita had swum in not so long ago. His gaze slid toward her home. He could just make it out. He’d gone to a great deal of trouble to make her forget about him, but he was going to disrupt all of that by staying.
But how could he leave, knowing there was some prophecy? He had to get to the bottom of it. Anything involving dragons was something that needed to be investigated. Royden should’ve told Con. Although, to be fair, Royden had still been trying to talk himself into returning to Dreagan at the time.
He blew out a breath and said Con’s name through their mental link.
“Aye?” Con answered.
“I didna tell you everything,” Royden said. “When I was in one of the caves searching for something my brother hid long ago, a mortal found me.”
“When you say found you, do you mean—?”
“Aye,” Royden answered. “She saw me. I heard her coming and believed that she might pass me by. She didna. She saw me. And she saw me shift.”
Con was quiet for a long moment. “Is that why you’re staying? Did she run screaming? Did others come for you?”
“Actually, she didna run at all. She told me that it had been foretold she’d find a dragon.”
Con blew out a breath. “I wasna expecting that.”
“Neither was I. She wasna sure what to make of me, but she was certain of the prophecy. I used magic to make her sleep so she would think she dreamed it all.”
“Did it no’ work?”
“It did.”
“But you’re still in Crete.”
Royden chuckled softly. “I am. There’s something about this prophecy that bothers me. Especially with all we’re dealing with right now. I need to see this through.”
“It could be a trap,” Con cautioned.
“I’ll keep that in mind. But you know as well as I that we need to get to the bottom of this.”
“And if she tells others about you?”
“We’ll have a lot of cleanup to do.”
Con made a sound at the back of his throat. “Let me know if you need backup. One of us can be there in an instant.”
“You have my word.”
Chapter Five
No matter what Annita did, she couldn’t stop thinking about her dream. Although, she still wasn’t certain it was a dream at all.
She looked at herself in the mirror, gazing into brown eyes that stared back at her. Her conversation with her mother the day before had netted her very little information. Not that she could call her mother a liar because the conviction her mother had while speaking on the subject of dragons was hard to dismiss.
Annita rolled her eyes. Dragons. Who in their right mind would be discussing dragons? No one. Because they weren’t real.
She put her head in her hands and blew out a loud breath. She had even returned to the cavern earlier to look around. Just as she suspected, there wasn’t anything that would make her think there had been anyone there—much less a massive dragon.
“I’m losing my mind,” she murmured.
The sound of heels clicking on stone reached her through her closed door. Annita sighed as she heard her sister and her brother-in-law coming down the hall, headed toward dinner. The last thing Annita wanted was to join everyone. She didn’t feel up to talking or carrying on any type of conversation. Not when she’d rather remain in her room, thinking about her dream.
A knock sounded on her door, jerking her head up. “Yes?” she called.
The handle turned, and the door cracked open to reveal her mother. Selini smiled and cocked her head to the side. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah.”
“You can say it isn’t,” her mother replied. “You don’t have to please everyone.”
Annita drew in a breath and swiveled on the vanity seat to face her mother. “It’s what
we do in this family. We please others.”
“Oh. You’re sassy tonight,” she said with a laugh as she closed the door behind her and walked farther into the room.
“Maybe.”
Her mother sat on the bed and regarded Annita for a few moments. “Your father and I have taught both you and your sister to have minds of your own. Yes, we do ask things of you in this family, but they aren’t unreasonable.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m not myself tonight.”
“This is about Chara’s prophecy, isn’t it?”
Annita licked her lips. “It is.”
“I didn’t figure what I told you yesterday would be enough.” Her mother sighed and looked away. “I hoped it would, but I should’ve known better. Anytime Chara gave someone a prediction, the people she shared with tended to hold on to it.”
“Like you did.”
Selini’s gaze slid back to Annita as she laughed, nodding. “Exactly.”
“Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
Her mother shrugged. “A lot, probably.”
“About the prophecy.”
“I told you all I knew.”
“What about Dad? Does he know more?”
“Not that I’m aware, but you can ask him.”
It was something Annita intended to do later.
“Cheer up, please,” her mother urged. “I learned fifteen minutes ago that your father was bringing someone to dinner.”
Annita leaned her head back and groaned loudly. “If he’s trying to set me up on a date again, I’m not going down.”
“We just want you to be happy.”
She rolled her head to look at her mother. “I am happy. Why do I have to have a man for everyone to think I’m complete? I’m just fine the way I am.”
Her mother threw up her hands. “I hear you. And as far as I know, no, this man isn’t someone your father wants to set you up with.”
“Dad doesn’t bring just anyone home. Who is he?” Annita pressed.
“You’ll learn like the rest of us. Now please come downstairs.”
Annita stood and slipped on her red heels. She checked her appearance once more in the mirror before joining her mother and walking downstairs. One night every week, the family dressed for dinner. Which meant she couldn’t go down in jeans or shorts.