by Meg Ripley
“What?”
“Dragons speak very literally.”
“So, when she said ‘when she’s dead,’ she didn’t mean sixty years from now when I’ve died of old age in my bed?”
“Correct. She means she plans to kill you herself.”
“Why are you so… blasé about this?”
“I told her what I will do to her entire clan if anything happens to you,” he mentioned coolly. “Do you believe that was an idle threat?”
“What does it matter what I think? Does she believe it is an idle threat?”
Mads took both her hands in his. “I will never allow any harm to come to you. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe.”
“Okay.”
“No, not okay. Do you believe me?”
“Of course I believe you. I trust you with my life.”
He brought her hands to his mouth, kissing each of her knuckles. With each brush of his lips, a little of her fear dissolved, until she was almost completely at ease.
Almost.
Because deep down inside, she knew Savannah had a point. How could she be his mate when she couldn’t ever truly share his life?
****
While they remained in Florence, April couldn’t relax. She jumped at the sound of every footstep in the hallway outside her suite, and when they ventured out for dinner or gelato or just to stretch their legs, she shied away from everybody who passed by, subconsciously searching for the face that now haunted her dreams.
She knew Mads would never let Savannah hurt her, and she knew she had nothing to fear, and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that things were far from over. Savannah had clearly been wounded by the loss of her son, and that pain was not going to go away anytime soon. It would only continue to feed her anger and need for vengeance. She didn’t mention anything to Mads, but she wasn’t surprised when he announced they were leaving Florence.
“You’re not comfortable here. But I know where you will feel safe.”
They flew out of Florence’s tiny airport early the next morning, landing in Frankfurt barely an hour after they took off. From there, Mads rented a car and drove them out of the city into the German countryside. They climbed into the Alps, the sun falling lower and lower behind the peaks as they moved higher and higher, until finally it was dark and April felt like they were on top of the world.
“Where are we?” she asked when they stopped. In front of her was a fortress, its massive spires outlined in the silver moonlight.
“April, my dear, this is my home.”
“This is your...castle?”
“It is.”
“Oh my god, I’ve always wanted to visit a castle.” For the first time in days, she forgot Savannah, Chester, and all of that unpleasantness. “Why did you never mention it?”
He laughed. “I forgot how Americans romanticize castles. For me, this is just home.”
“Home. Did you build it?”
“No, not me. But I did win it, fair and square.”
“You mean you conquered it?” What medieval army would stand a chance against a dragon? Nobody stood a chance against him today. It wasn’t exactly a surprise to learn that his greatest competition in today’s world was another dragon clan. He crushed all other forms of competition.
“Yes, but the person who held it was a very bad man.”
“How bad?”
“Bad enough to earn the ire of a dragon.”
“Are dragons peaceful creatures, by nature?”
“Not by nature, no. But we may be very peaceful by choice.”
The castle was old and drafty, and even with its modern comforts of electricity and running water, April still had the sense of stepping back in time. She wanted to explore every inch, search for ancient hidden passageways and ghosts and old tapestries. All of the musty old books she lost herself in as a child came back to mind, urging her to seek out great adventures.
“Are we the only ones here?”
“No, I have a small staff that lives here and sees to its upkeep.”
“Why don’t you live here?”
“I find my penthouse far more comfortable.”
April yawned. “Speaking of more comfortable, can you please show me to our room?”
“It’s my pleasure.” He swept her from her feet without warning, prompting a laugh from her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was probably silly, but she loved it when he lifted her like she weighed no more than a sack of feathers and carried her to bed.
“How long are we going to stay here?” April asked, trailing kisses along his strong jawline. He tilted his head slightly, giving her greater access to the column of his throat. His skin was rough with his five-o’clock-shadow, and she shivered at the thought of those rough whiskers against her sensitive thighs. Maybe he wouldn’t shave at all while they were in Germany.
“Until we get bored, I suppose.”
Or until they screwed each other silly on every flat surface in the grand castle—which was absolutely April’s plan for their stay.
“And then where will we go?” She rested her mouth against his pulse point; his heartbeat was already elevated, as if to keep up with April’s own racing pulse.
“Wherever you wish.”
“I want to go to a beautiful beach.”
“Then a beautiful beach is where we shall go.” He stopped in front of a closed door. “Open that for me, and you’ll find a light switch is to your right.”
She flicked on the light and gasped at the sheer size of the room. On one end was a huge bed, a massive television, a beautiful sound system, a bar, and a small kitchenette. The rest of the expansive space was empty, though, and lines of discolored stones showed her where the walls once were, dividing the space into six different rooms.
April didn’t need to ask why his private quarters were so large. “This is where you can...be yourself.”
“I’m myself always, but yes, this is where I can become the dragon.”
“Do you want to...change right now?” Her voice didn’t betray her, and yet, butterflies fluttered from her stomach to her throat. It might have been fear or excitement. She could no longer tell the difference when she was with Mads.
“Do you wish me to?”
Her mouth felt dry but she nodded. “I want to see him...you...again.”
“It doesn’t frighten you?”
“No. Well, maybe. I don’t know… I think it... it excites me.”
“Of course. I should have known that it would not disturb you to see your mate. I’ll be happy to change, but first let’s eat and I’ll show you more of the castle.”
April wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself to his chest. “It’s not food that I’m hungry for.”
He smiled wryly, “First food, and then...then anything you want, mein Schatz.”
****
Their time in the castle passed as slowly, and as quickly, as a dream. She rarely saw any of the staff members and they had no other visitors, and so the hours passed between the two of them unhindered by outside considerations. April had never spent so much time alone with another person, but she never grew tired of him, never longed to be left alone or to find other company. Even when they were doing nothing more but reading together in the same room, she was content to be near him, to hear his breathing and the soft rustle of clothes when he shifted his position.
April knew the real world waited for them and they would have to return to it sooner or later, but she never brought it up, never asked when they might be abandoning their own private slice of heaven—primarily because she didn’t want to leave, but also because she knew Charles and Savannah Maelstrom waited for them. They’d lost a child. That anger was not going to fade just because Mads took them out of sight for a few weeks.
Mads indulged her every request, including her desire to see the dragon. In the privacy of their master suite, he shifted for her, the magic working before her eyes, though she could never track the moment when Mads disappeared and the dragon arrived.
In the close proximity of the well-lit room, he was even more massive than she remembered. His head was the size of a car, and he kept low to the ground to avoid scraping his wings across the high ceiling.
The first time he shifted, she couldn’t quite bring herself to touch him, but she was still drawn to the beast. He made her throat tight and her nipples hard.
The second time Mads shifted, she did gather her courage enough to touch his great nose. His scales were hard and hot. She could feel the fire burning just below his scales, smell the hint of sulphur and brimstone every time he exhaled. Mads snuffed air through his nostrils and lowered his head, like a dog submitting to the touch of its master. Fascinated, emboldened and aroused, April continued to explore the ridges and valleys of her dragon’s head, tracing his eyes, his snout, the shape of his mouth and the horns on his brow. She was humbled by his great power and by the way he ceded that power to her.
He didn’t just shift when they were alone in the confines of the castle. He also took her out on great expeditions through the mountains, letting her sit on his broad back as he swooped over cliffs and waterfalls, peaks and trees. The air was thin and fresh, cool and crisp. The sun at her back and the great furnace between her legs kept her warm, no matter how high they climbed above the castle. She shouted into the wind, laughed and sang at the birds as they fluttered beside them, and felt free for the first time in her life.
“What’s it like when you’ve shifted?” she asked after one particularly long flight. They’d landed in the castle courtyard and raced to their suite, barely making it to the bed before Mads took her with a powerful thrust. When they were done, she collapsed into his arms, utterly exhausted and utterly happy.
“What do you mean?”
“Can you still understand me?”
“Of course.”
“Are you still you or are you different?”
“Different how?”
“I don’t know. I’m just trying to understand what it’s like for you.”
“I’m still myself. I still understand you; it’s just my outward appearance that changes.”
“How? Is it magic?”
“Yes, I suppose you could call it that. A very old type of magic.”
“And how does it feel when we’re home and you can’t change? Do you miss it? Does it feel like you’ve lost something?”
“I don’t often think about it, but it does feel good to stretch my wings when I can.”
“Do we have to go back soon?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“But I like it here.”
“Yes, for the first time in a long, long while, I like it here, too.”
April nuzzled in closer to his chest and took a deep breath, filling her head with his scent. She could lay there in his arms for hours and do nothing but listen to the sound of his heartbeat and consider the texture of his skin. She imagined living in this great fortress by herself, wandering from hall to hall, room to room with no companion.
“You must have been incredibly lonely.”
“I was.” She heard no emotion in his answer, just a straight-forward declaration.
“Did you ever think that I might be out there? Or that you were waiting for your mate?”
“I had long ago given up on any hope of that. With so few dragons left, it never seemed likely.”
April frowned. “But I’m not a dragon. I’m just a normal girl.”
“You’re not just anything, mein Schatz.”
“Okay, but how does this work?”
“Are you afraid?”
“I don’t know. Are you?”
“Never.”
April closed her eyes and let her mind relax, focusing all of her senses on the man who held her. She wished she could say the same, telling him that she was never afraid. But there was always a current of anxiety running through her life, tinging each day with its darkness. Nothing was free of its influence, not even her feelings for Mads, which grew like a lush plant, a vine winding taller every day. If she told him, he’d only assure her that she had nothing to fear, and she understood that on an intellectual level. But that understanding wasn’t enough to stop the current anxiety.
“One day, you’ll no longer feel that fear,” he said softly. “You’ll wake and it will simply be gone.”
“How do you know?”
“I know everything.”
She chuckled. “Oh really?”
“Yes. I’ve been around for a very long time.”
“Well, then, I guess I’ll take your word for it.”
When she fell asleep that night, she dreamed of flying.
****
There were very few people in the world Savannah Maelstrom hated as much as Mads Durkheim. Before they were Savannah and Mads, they were known as Cecilia and Carl, and she hated him then, too. Before that, they were Marie and Edgar, Lisle and Hans, Anne and Jurgen, and before all of that, they had no human names, they were simply Dazenth and Rugarth, squatting in caves and claiming the skies. She had a long, long memory, but no matter how far she stretched through the years, she could not remember a time she did not despise him.
As they aged and their respective clans began to disappear around them, her hatred shifted but it never mellowed. She understood it was in her best interest for Mads to be alive. There were so few dragons left in the world that the loss of any one caused a deep sense of sadness. Her Chester had been one of the last dragons born to the world and had been her last hope in continuing not only her clan, but their species. Now Chester was gone and Savannah had nothing to keep her alive—except her desire to see Mads destroyed.
She ate only to keep her strength up and slept only to keep her mind sharp. Charles mourned the loss of their son, but his chief priority was always gold, so he returned to work and left the suffering to Savannah, who agonized enough for the both of them. She suspected Charles blamed her for Chester’s death. He never came right out and said it, but he knew she’d developed the blackmail plan with Chester, and they both knew she should have never allowed it to backfire so tragically.
But there was still a chance to fix everything. True, she could never bring Chester back, but she could give Charles another heir. It might take years to do so, but once she had Mads out of the way, she would have nothing but time to provide reparations for her terrible mistake. It wouldn’t be easy to remove him, but he had a weakness now—a weakness Savannah would have never anticipated, but one that she was grateful for all the same.
Who would have thought that the ancient and powerful Rugarth would find himself bound to a humble, pitiable human? A human girl who could be so easily tracked, found, and plucked from her insignificant life. A human girl who didn’t even put up a fight when Savannah roared through the clouds a few weeks later, swooping down to grasp the girl by the shoulders and lift her into the heavens. She did struggle once they were in the air, but a quick blow to the head knocked her unconscious.
When the girl woke again, they were safely ensconced in Savannah’s secret lair—a ranch in the middle of the Wyoming Badlands, several hundred miles from the street where Savannah had found her little treat. She jerked into a seated position when she saw Savannah, immediately wincing and holding her head.
“I wouldn’t move around too much if I were you,” Savannah said in a sing-song voice. “You have a nasty bump.”
“Where are we?” The girl demanded, her words laced with pain.
“Nowhere you’d recognize.”
“Mads will come for me.”
“Of course he will, my dear. In fact, I’m counting on it.”
April’s eyes widened and then narrowed into pained slits. “This is a trap.”
“It is indeed. But don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. Much.” Savannah grinned a toothy, dragon grin. “Just enough to get his attention.”
“Why don’t I just call him?”
“Call him?” Savannah pretended to pout. “Now where’s the fun in that? I think that’s what I hate most about t
his century. Everything’s so damned convenient, nobody is willing to go the extra mile. Not for work or for a good time. But I’m still willing to do what it takes.”
“Look, I know you miss your son—”
“You know nothing,” Savannah growled. “What do you know about a mother’s pain?”
“He tried to kill me!”
“No great loss there,” she snickered.
“Well, obviously Mads disagreed.”
“Mads is an idiot. He always has been. He thinks he’s smarter and better than everybody just because he’s the oldest, but he’s done nothing for us. He won’t even mate with another dragon to ensure our species’ survival! Now, we need to get started. I don’t want to rush things, but I do have a full schedule this week.”
“Savannah, please. Please don’t do this. It’s not too late to just...turn things around. You haven’t done anything yet. Just take me home and Mads never has to know.”
“That speech started great but the ending was very weak.” She grabbed April’s small hand and squeezed her fingers, bending her wrist backwards nearly to the point of snapping. She could tell the girl wanted to keep her mouth shut and hold onto some scrap of pride, but April’s silence broke before her wrist did, howling with pain.
“Aww… what was that, dear?”
“Please,” April panted. “Please, stop.”
“Better. That was much better. But I already told you, I can’t stop. We have work to do.” She shifted her hold, applying pressure to April’s index finger until it did snap, like a branch breaking in a cold November wind. The girl’s scream of pain was like music to her ears—a concert she did not want to end anytime soon.
“It is a shame that Chester never got to eat you,” Savannah said, almost conversationally. “You look like such a delicious, tender morsel. I’ll simply have to do the honors for him.”
April’s middle finger snapped then and oh the girl’s agony was exquisite. If Mads didn’t feel her earlier pain, he definitely felt this one. “We don’t have a lot of time. Let’s see what else we can break before he tries to save you.”