by Ophelia Bell
Even now he walked at her side as they trailed up the mountain. “What exactly are we headed toward?” Trevor asked.
“The confrontation of our lives,” she replied. “So cross your fingers.”
“We’re meeting with the Dragon Council,” Rafe clarified. His voice caught and he cleared his throat with a nervous cough. Rowan darted a concerned look at him.
“Are you scared of them?”
Rafe gave her a sheepish smile. “I’ve never met them before. Only the Court and the loyal slaves that serve them have ever been in their presence until now. But Kris insisted we all go, even the humans.”
Their destination came into view far above, a huge pavilion that sparkled in the sunset at the peak of the mountain. There was a collective murmur of awe from those around her and they increased their pace up the winding, cobbled path.
The structure was the size of the Acropolis, only built in a hexagonal shape. Jade columns as thick as redwoods held up a roof that she could barely make out as obscured in the clouds as it was.
Shimmering curtains of multicolored light filled each space between the columns, beyond which Rowan could make out three figures standing in the center looking out at them. The Queen, Racha, stood in between two large men, one bare-chested with shoulder-length black hair and a violet sarong, the other in a robe and sporting a shaved head and familiar eyes that flashed red when they settled on her.
She restrained herself from surging forward, though her heart swelled to see the large Unbound who had helped her when she’d visited last.
“Darius,” she whispered.
“Yeah, Darius.” Rafe said the name with a distinct lack of hospitality. He snorted and bent to kiss her on the cheek. “Sorry, love. I know he helped you, but…” He trailed off with a shrug.
“Trevor helped me, too, but you don’t seem to hold it against him.”
“Trevor isn’t a dragon.”
His jealousy toward Darius perplexed her at first, but ever since the entire Court had come charging into her chamber a few days earlier, she’d learned they all had peculiar quirks that made no real sense. At least not until she remembered they’d only lived in the modern world for less than a year. Though, one detail that became clear in watching the others was Rafe’s resistance to confessing his love to her to begin with. Their race had been forbidden from mating and breeding among themselves for as long as they could remember. Aside from a few extraordinary exceptions, any dragons who mated with one of their own went to great lengths to hide such a union. Her existence was evidence of that. And Darius, Zak and the other Unbound, as offspring of other matings between two dragons, were evidence of the persecution of dragons who broke that law.
“Roka helped you. Can you explain to me the difference?”
“Roka…” Rafe stopped, his mouth half open as though he were searching for the words. “He helped out of necessity, and he is already mated.” Under his breath, he murmured, “It’s not as if we’d be able to breed.”
“So it’s only because they’re unmated males that you’ve got your panties in a bunch?”
“You’re a beautiful, powerful dragon. I’ve submitted to as your mate already, against the laws as they stand now. If those laws change, you’ll have the right to take others, I imagine. Other dragons and humans. Male and female, if you choose. That, and it’s not exactly easy to get over centuries of backward thinking. The idea of you breeding with another dragon feels…not right.”
“Unless it’s you.”
Rafe’s jaw clenched and his hand tightened around hers. “I used to feel differently,” he said quietly. “Two dragons lying together was against our laws, except for the sacred union of the Catalysts and the dragon mates chosen for them by the Council. I believed in our laws and held to them so tightly that I considered such unions among other dragons an abomination. It wasn’t until the night I met you that I knew what a fool I’d been. I could sense in your magic how pure your blood is. Yet all I wanted was to awaken your nature and make you mine. But once I did that—I discovered you were even more powerful than I’d dreamed. I couldn’t go back without letting you claim me. This feels right, now that it’s done.”
“It’s not quite done yet, though, is it? We still have a law to change.”
“That we do,” Rafe said, bringing her hand to his lips.
Breath of Fate: Chapter 4
The escort of Unbound dispersed around the Pavilion and Kris finally caught sight of the retinue of Court dragons and their mates. The group was led by a few unfamiliar faces. He recognized Geva and Erika instantly—but the trio that accompanied them were new to him. The striking female Red in the center exuded power beyond even Geva’s vibrant energy.
“There she is,” Darius whispered beside him.
“You know this dragon?” Kris asked, jerking his head to look at his father.
Darius cut a sideways glance at Kris and gave him a smug smile. “She’s our salvation. I couldn’t tell you about her before today, or we’d have lost her assistance.”
“Who is she?” Kris asked, turning back to watch as the group approached, still far enough to be out of earshot.
“Bren and Warik’s daughter. The newest Unbound. So new, the Council doesn’t even know about her. Or they didn’t until now, but it’s too late for them to do anything.”
Darius sounded pleased with himself. Kris glanced at him again and caught the smug smile and twinkle in his eye. Kris braced himself for a reaction from the Council who had faded out of visibility until the others came into the Pavilion. Nothing happened aside from an agitated crackle of energy around him. They were aware, but holding their tongues.
“The lineages say Bren was mated to a human named Bertram…” Kris began, but Darius cut him off.
“Warik the Red was the son of our queen, Freyja, two generations past. Warik mated with Bren, our queen, almost three decades ago, just before Bren died. You and I are both aware that the only dragons allowed to breed pure are Catalysts, from whom every generation of Queen has been born. This beautiful young Red represents multiple generations of the purest breeding in our history.”
“Her parents shared a bloodline and still mated?”
“Yes! That’s my point. The bloodlines don’t matter within a single generation. At least that’s my theory. It’s the magic in a dragon’s essence that the child is conceived from, and two dragon parents produce a much stronger magic in the child. Genetics are such a small part of it. Why else would they have let me mate with your mother? They simply needed my dragon essence, and knew that because both my parents were dragons, it would be strong, though hers was still stronger. Our combined magic made you who you are, but physically you resemble her more than me. The only physical trait you have of mine is that infernal furrow between your eyebrows when you’re anxious or upset.”
“Are you sure you should be making these speculations now?” Kris asked. The Council’s agitation had grown to the point that his skin prickled from the energy being cast about within the pavilion. His own gut twisted with his nerves and he was suddenly very conscious of how tense his brow was.
Darius snorted. “Every dragon needs a hobby. Besides, what could they possibly do that’s worse than what I’ve endured for hundreds of years already? If they’re upset, that’s just proof that I’m at least not far off the mark. They’re probably angry that they didn’t have a hand in determining her parentage.”
Kris turned to look at the pretty young Red again, wondering how two such prominent dragons could have managed to breed, under the Council’s nose. Several generations of mostly pure breeding was a lot of time to build up power. How powerful was she? She appeared confident, though bemused at the entire situation. She was flanked by Geva and a Shadow Kris hadn’t met. The pair were imposing guards for an Unbound. Erika and another human stood at the outside on either side of the trio of dragons.
“They love her, don’t they?” he observed.
“So do I.”
“You were with her?” He gave his father a critical stare.
Darius shrugged. “She needed what little energy Zak and I could give. We were more than happy to oblige.”
“I’d wager you gave her more than energy… how many secrets did you tell?”
“Enough.”
Kris laughed to himself, his chest full of mirth and love for the man beside him. His father…whom he’d known for his entire life, but never truly known due to the ridiculous laws their race had endured forever.
Things would change, if the presence of the beautiful Red with the determined expression really meant what he thought it did—that the Council had less control over the course of events than they believed. The Court, including his own sister, their Queen, had been keeping secrets from him for months. He had to believe Rowan was the biggest one. He regretted that the rest of the Court couldn’t tell him everything, sequestered as he was on this mountain.
Her aura hit him first, his cock instantly pulsing and swelling beneath his sarong.
Reds were like that, and this was energy he could take back to Issa if he managed to control himself well enough. The hard-on would have to wait.
“Sweet Mother, she’s even more powerful than when I met her,” Darius said.
She ascended the steps and stopped in front of Racha before Kris could say another word.
“My Queen,” the Red said. “I am your servant and pledge my loyalty to you. Every ounce of my love and power is yours to command.”
“Your love?” Racha asked. “Who do you claim as your lover, if you pledge your love? Pledging that requires a strong commitment.”
Kris sensed a shift in Rowan’s energy but she kept her expression placid. He wondered if their little exchange had been rehearsed considering they had all arrived together. Her greeting definitely sounded too formal to come from one so young, and the question Racha had asked was too leading to be spontaneous.
“These men beside me. My personal commitment is to them, through the marks they bear. My sovereign loyalty goes to you and our race.”
She gestured toward the Shadow and the human man on the other side of him.
Racha’s eyebrows raised, her face still a mask, but Kris sensed the rising excitement in his sister.
“You have marked another dragon as your mate. This is a grave transgression.”
The Red didn’t flinch and Kris wondered if she could already sense Racha’s acceptance of her. The Queen had no choice in her dialog. The Council were all still there, watching from their ethereal thrones around the pavilion. The others wouldn’t be made aware until the Council chose, but Kris and his sister always knew when they were present.
“You are a purebred like me. You and your brother.” Rowan’s red eyes settled on Kris for a split second and that small bit of glowing magic darted straight to his soul. “We want the same things. The freedom to mate and breed with whom we choose.”
Racha’s voice sounded brittle when she answered. “You are Unbound, are you not? Your parents broke our laws. Why should I accept your mates along with you?”
The bitterness surprised Kris, even in light of the stress both he and his sister had been under trying to negotiate with the Council to approve assembly of the Verdanith. Once Issa’s pregnancy and the nature of their children became apparent, there had been no more resistance, but getting there had been an ordeal. Of the entire Court, only Racha knew about Issa’s pregnancy. Dragons were rarely susceptible to envy, so Kris believed it was merely the idea that Rowan had been so easily conceived by her parents, while Corey and Racha had followed all the laws and were still childless. His and Issa’s own good fortune likely didn’t help.
“My parents’ transgressions are not at issue. All of that happened a generation ago. I only care about what happens now and in the future. My men are mine. If you hurt them, I’m pretty sure I can rain down fire on the rest of you. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m not shy.”
Kris stepped forward. “Threats aren’t necessary, Princess.”
Rowan blinked in surprise at the title he’d just given her. He knew well enough it was a demeaning term in this modern world he’d grown up in but remained apart from. In truth, he’d meant it twofold. She was by birthright a member of the Court, being the daughter of their last Queen. If her brother hadn’t misbehaved, Geva would have been the highest ranking member of the Court. As it was, Geva stood second to a dragon who had broken their laws out of love, not boredom. None of those details had been lost on the Council. Now this lovely, illegitimate Red had decided to show her face and assert her dazzling power.
Rowan’s existence, however, had gone unnoticed by the Council until this moment. Kris’s mind buzzed with the Council’s background chatter. He had to suppress an urge to rejoice when those immortal bastards began scrambling for purchase over their apparently failed plans.
He wasn’t privy to all their secrets, only glimmers here and there. He’d gleaned enough to understand they’d had an ongoing agenda to orchestrate very specific breeding among the race, though to what purpose he wasn’t sure. Darius’s theory made perfect sense. His and Issa’s mating and conception of the Twins, and now Rowan’s presence, indicated that the breeding of incredibly powerful dragons could easily occur without the Council’s influence. Their restriction on pure breeding must only be so they could maintain control over who bred pure or not.
This particular dragon was entirely unexpected, yet the Council seemed as excited at her presence as they were when they’d learned of the Twins. Before Kris told the Council that Issa was pregnant, they hadn’t been happy he’d chosen his own mate without their input, and had been on the verge of forcing him and Issa apart. After that, they had been filled with almost desperate regret every time he’d requested their help to sustain her.
“And why not?” Rowan replied. “I lost almost my entire family as a result of our laws. I deserve a little bit of retribution.”
Racha sighed and stepped toward Rowan. “Forgive me, Rowan. I didn’t mean to threaten you or your mates. We all have a lot resting on this assembly so tensions are understandably high. Please, cousin, let’s make peace and move forward, all right?”
She took Rowan’s hand and led her to the edge of the circle etched into the floor of the pavilion, where the inlaid stones depicted a pattern of six serpentine figures entwined. As she moved, the others began to gather in a circle around the pavilion. They finally settled under Darius and Zak’s gentle command. When they were finally all silent, Kris spoke.
“Welcome, all. Humans, forgive me for not wasting time with a heartfelt introduction. We are here for business. Court, do you have the Verdanith fragments?”
Several figures moved, converging together, then came forward one by one until they stood equidistant from each other around the circle. The keepers, then. And they weren’t all dragons, either. Most were unsurprising. Racha stepped forward first, facing Kris with her fragment held gently in her hands. Kol followed, stepping forward to stand at a spot a few degrees to Racha’s left. Rowan stepped forward next, with the large jade wedge held in her palm. “This was my mother’s. It is my right to present it, is it not?”
Kris glanced back at Geva and suppressed a smile in response to the smirk that graced the wayward Red’s expression. Pushing his sister in the faces of the Council was a bold move and one that would definitely catch their attention.
Roka shifted his tall bulk smoothly around the circle, carrying the fragment he’d been presented upon acknowledgment of his Court status after their ascension. The pale green wedge looked tiny in his hands compared to the females.
The fifth was Erika. For the first time since Kris had known her she looked nervous.
“I guess I belonged to you guys all along,” she said with a tiny shrug.
Kris
rested a palm on her shoulder. “You will never belong to anyone you don’t choose.”
“Where is the sixth?” Erika asked.
Kris nearly grimaced at the question. Like a fool, he had forgotten to bring the fragment the Council had enlisted him to protect, not expecting the assembly to occur so soon.
“I have it.” Issa’s reedy voice carried above the other chatter and everyone grew instantly silent.
Kris turned and the others stilled as they watched Issa step carefully along the path that led from her small temple. He swallowed hard, the desperation of their ordeal rising again. She shouldn’t be out of bed, but if she’d chosen to do this, he wouldn’t make a fool of her by stopping her.
She was radiant in the sunlight beyond the cover of the Pavilion, her hair flowing in a shimmering dark violet cascade over bare shoulders. Her full bosom and huge belly swelled beneath a simple lavender colored gown, so gauzy and ethereal it could have been made from clouds. The others gasped at the vision, surprised voices murmuring around him. All Kris could still see were the harsh angles and hollows of her face, evidence of the toll the pregnancy had taken.
Issa stepped into the circle, taking her place in the last spot around the center. The heavy stone she gripped in her palm glowed with the energy she’d given it.
“Why did you come? You could have sent an Unbound to carry it,” Kris asked.
“I should be here,” Issa said. Her cheeks were flushed pink from even the slight exertion of the short walk from their quarters to the Pavilion. He longed to go to her, but sensed the Council’s awareness now that the Court was in place.
“I am fine, my love.” Issa’s thought pressed into his mind, strong and sure in sharp contrast to her voice a moment earlier. He held her gaze, again amazed by her strength, but terrified at the same time of how quickly that strength seemed to fade each day. She nodded her head slightly and fixed her eyes on the edge of the Pavilion past his shoulder. The Council’s power grew incrementally stronger around them. Kris rotated in a slow circle, watching each of the shimmering veils of color grow more substantial and form into the huge shapes of their immortal forebears.