Verian Mates: The Complete Series (Books 1-4)

by Stella Sky

  Bam! He connected with me as he hit me in the torso and pushed me all the way against the bars. He was a dragon, a full dragon, and I had to hope that he would not shift. It was a small space, and I knew it would be hard for him to maneuver if he did.

  “You are weak and old, Captain Hicium!” I shouted at him.

  He growled at me. “I will show you weak and old!”

  Boom! He punched me across the jaw. It sent me reeling backward. The truth was he was very strong Draqua, and there were many stories about his accomplishments in battle before he was exiled. I assumed that he was the one leading the opposition here. It made sense that many Draqua would follow him because of the tales of his battle accomplishments.

  I punched him in the gut with both of my hands clasped together. I threw all my energy into it, and he was thrown off balance and landed on the ground. I flew into the air and landed on top of him. I straddled him and pummeled him with a right and a left across the face. I was getting the upper hand. But then his hand caught my right fist before it came down for another blow. “Aagh!” I screamed as he turned my hand in a way that was not natural as he tried to break my wrist. I used my elbow of my left and jabbed it into his face. He let go of my hand and pushed me off of him. He got up while I recovered.

  “Where is she? This human that is causing me so much trouble? Come out, human! It is time for you to die!” he shouted as he ran down the corridor.

  “Don’t touch her!” I shouted back. But he rounded the corner of the corridor and was out of my sight.

  “Dekario…” I heard Reena whisper. I looked to see that she was hiding in an open cell to the left of me. I smiled at her, knowing that she was safe.

  “Come out…” I heard the Captain’s voice echo down the corridor. I needed to finish him, and now. If I did not, he was going to kill Reena as soon as he found her.

  “Stay there,” I whispered to her. She nodded. I flew down the corridor toward Captain Hicium. I filled my lungs with air. The warmth in my torso was growing. I was going to shoot fire at him, but he was not in a straight line in front of me. If he saw my glowing torso he would be warned and get out of the way. No, I had to think of something much more clever than that. I got to the corner and breathed a large ball of fire into the air. Then I used my mind power to grab the ball of fire and whip it around the corner.

  “Agh! Agh!!!” Captain Hicium shouted in pain as the fireball hit him. I quickly pulled my blaster gun from my boot holster and rounded the corner. He was on fire. Bam! Bam! I fired two shots into his head. He fell to the ground, dead. He was still on fire.

  “Agh! Dekario!” Reena shouted. I turned to see Commander Triq pulling her from the cell.

  “No! Don’t! Leave her alone!” I shouted as I flew toward them. But he yanked her out of sight. When I got to the cell, I followed them out of the arched doorway into the courtyard. It was bustling with many Draqua warriors of the opposition.

  “He killed Captain Hicium! He killed the captain!” Commander Triq shouted as he pointed at me.

  He had Reena in his arms. She screamed for me. “Dekario!”

  But as she screamed, Commander Triq let her go. She ran for me, but behind her, I could see Commander Triq shift into dragon form. There were many warriors coming at me ready to fight. But I could only focus on her. As she was closer to me, she was picked up into the air by the black dragon of Commander Triq.

  “No!” I shouted. He flew straight up inside the cone of the volcano. I shot up but was dragged down as a warrior had my leg. I shot fire at him from my mouth. He let go as he screamed.

  “They are here! The army is coming!” a warrior shouted as he ran into the courtyard. “The warning fire has been lit. Prepare for battle!”

  This warning was a blessing for me. The warriors moved their attention from me to the battle preparations. I flew straight up the volcano and landed on a ledge.

  “Come any closer, and I will push her off this ledge,” Commander Triq said as he growled at me.

  “No, don’t. I am staying right here; see?” I said putting my hands up in surrender. “Don’t hurt her. This is between you and I. It always has been, hasn’t it?” I said.

  “You dirty hybrid! Why should you have powers and not I? It isn’t fair!” he shouted.

  “And that is why you are breeding Aeriwana and Draqua? You want to use their powers to your benefit because you do not have them? Isn’t that so?” I said, taking a step forward.

  “That is not your business, hybrid,” he said as he jerked Reena in his hands.

  I stopped walking forward. I did not know how to get out of this. I did not have a clever plan. I did not know how far away the king’s warriors were or if Kavik was among them. I felt powerless as I stared into Reena’s brown eyes. She was terrified as she looked at me. Her hands were on her belly as though protecting it and she was breathing heavily. She was shaking. I had to think of something. Commander Triq could snap her neck in a second just out of spite of me. What could I do to save her?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  REENA RHODES

  The relief I felt when I heard Dekario’s voice calling my name was indescribable. Among these opposition Draqua, I knew that I was going to die and not even Commander Triq could help me or save me from them. Captain Hicium had made that clear. So when Dekario came into my view and let me know that everything was going to be okay, I surrendered to relief. But I was still in a position of death as I was held against Commander Triq’s body. His strong arm was across my shoulders and clavicle tightly. He wanted to kill me. He wanted to do it right in front of Dekario out of spite.

  I stood there on the ledge inside the volcano saying a silent prayer. I had my hands on my belly to protect my unborn child from Commander Triq’s strength. I didn’t know what else I could do. I looked into Dekario’s kind brown eyes as though it would be the last time that I saw them.

  I loved him. I really loved him. I wanted to tell him at that moment that I was pregnant with his child but I knew doing so would anger Commander Triq and make things worse. So I kept it to myself.

  “What are you going to do, Commander Triq? The king’s warriors are on their way. They are close. They will capture you,” Dekario said.

  Commander Triq growled as he looked around. I felt him pull me closer to the edge. He looked over the edge at the commotion below of the warriors getting ready for invasion. Most of them had already shifted into dragon form.

  “They are coming!” a voice shouted from below. Then whoosh! A burst of hard wind hit us as dragon after dragon flew up the volcano. It was quite the sight to see. These were full dragons, most of them were elders, and they came in all colors. There was a red one, a purple one, a white one, a blue one, and on and on as they quickly flew by us. They were flying straight up to meet the king’s guards. It would be beautiful if it weren’t a sign of an oncoming battle.

  “There is time for you to go. Leave here now, and you can escape with your freedom. Hand Reena to me,” Dekario said as he stepped forward.

  “No. I have seen what you can do. You will come after me. So I need a distraction in order to stop you from coming after me,” Commander Triq sneered at Dekario.

  “And what distraction is that?” Dekario said as he moved slowly toward me.

  “This,” Commander Triq said as he pushed me off the ledge.

  “Aagh!” I screamed as I free fell.

  “Reena!” Dekario’s voice screamed. The ground was rushing at me and all I could think was… “My baby, my baby,” I cried.

  Thud. Strong arms scooped me, and I was suddenly not falling anymore. I was floating in the air. I looked up into Dekario’s face. He was breathing heavily.

  “My baby,” I cried. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I had to say it out loud. I put my hands over my belly and pushed my face into Dekario’s strong chest.

  “What?” he whispered.

  “I’m pregnant, Dekario. I am carrying your child. I am with child. I am scared that the baby has been hurt w
ith all of this,” I cried.

  “That bastard!” he said as he looked up. I looked up to see the black dragon flying from the edge into the air toward the volcano opening. Dekario flew to a corner of the volcano with a large amount of natural rock jutting out from the wall. “Hide here,” he said.

  “What? No, don’t leave me, please,” I said, grabbing his hand.

  “If I don’t stop him now, he will never stop coming after you. He will come after our child,” he said as he put my face in his hands. He placed a kiss on my lips and then said, “I will protect you and our child at all costs. I must end Commander Triq now, or you and our child will never be safe. Hide. I will return.” Then he moved from me and flew straight up into the air. I crouched under the rock and peered out up into the volcano opening. I saw Commander Triq in the distance and Dekario gaining on him.

  Then the sky was suddenly littered with hybrids flying into the volcano. I was relieved. The king’s warriors had finally arrived. Fighting was going on in the air inside the volcano and out. Dekario caught up to the black dragon and shot fire at him. The black dragon turned. “Oh god,” I whispered to myself. The black dragon was three times the size of Dekario, and strong. I remembered how my knife bent when I tried to stab the strong scales. The black dragon’s long tail whipped around and hit Dekario in the back, forcing him against the rim of the volcano.

  “No, no…” I said as I watched. I knew that finding out I was pregnant had lit a fire under Dekario. It had filled him with rage, and now he was trying to take it out on Commander Triq. Maybe I should have kept it to myself that I was pregnant. If I had kept it to myself then I would be in his arms right now as he flew me back to the village. I would be in his safe arms instead of watching him get beaten by the black dragon of Commander Triq.

  I saw Dekario regain control and he pulled his blaster gun and was shooting at the black dragon. The black dragon moved quickly out of the way. The dragon shot fire out of his mouth of razor sharp teeth. The range of fire was longer and thicker than that of a hybrid. Dekario quickly moved out of the way. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it would be over when I opened them. When I opened them, I saw a familiar form in the air. It was Kavik, and he was now helping Dekario fight the black dragon. They were coming at it from both sides. “Oh thank god. Kavik, please help him. Please help the father of my child. Bring him back to me safely,” I said, whispering a prayer to myself.

  Then I saw something shocking. Kavik flew past the dragon quickly. Suddenly the black dragon went limp. It fell from the sky. It was falling straight down toward the ground of the volcano. It was falling, falling, and I remembered that Dekario had said that Kavik had the ability to paralyze with his touch. Dekario was diving straight down toward the falling black dragon with his large knife in his hand.

  Boom! The ground under me shook as the dragon fell. Its head fell facing me. I could see that it could see me and I jerked backward. It could not move, but I knew that as soon as it could, it would come after me.

  “Aagh!” Dekario came down with a yell worthy of a warrior and stabbed his long knife into the dragon’s chest. The knife penetrated and I watched the life leave the paralyzed dragon. It then shifted back into Commander Triq. Tears fell from my eyes. It was over. It was really over.

  Dekario looked over at me. He was breathing in relief. Then he flew over to me. He embraced me underneath the overhang. I pressed myself hard against him. “I was so scared. I thought you were going to die,” I cried.

  “No. I would never leave you alone like that. I would never leave you and our child,” he said softly, placing his hand on my belly.

  “I am glad that you are happy I am with child. I was not sure that you would be,” I said looking into his brown eyes and pushing his long black hair out of the way.

  “Of course I am. Come on; let’s get you out of here. It is not safe. We are in the middle of a battle,” he said as he scooped me up into his arms. Then he flew straight up the volcano, dodging fights between Draqua. It was a civil war, Draqua against Draqua, just like the one that Antaris had told us about. I could not believe that I was not only experiencing it for myself but I was somehow the cause of this particular battle. If Commander Triq had not come for me, then this battle would not be happening. It was because of me, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I didn’t like being the cause of any grief. But I would have to think about that later. For now, I just wanted to get back home and feel safe in the arms of Dekario, the father of my child.

  “Hold on tight,” he said as he moved out of the rim of the volcano. I tightened my hold around his neck. I looked out over the battle in the sky. I didn’t see very many full dragons, the elders, anymore. It was mostly hybrids.

  “Look’s like the King’s warriors have this under control,” Dekario said. Then he flew fast and away from the volcano over the sea. I was glad for the fresh sea air that hit me. We flew in silence, and I could tell that Dekario was still on edge. He was constantly looking around to see if there was anyone else around us. Ahead of us, I could see lights. I relaxed a little in his arms the moment I saw the village in sight.

  “Home,” I said.

  “Yes, home,” he repeated back to me. I was glad to call it that. This truly was my home from now on, and now Dekario knew the truth about me. I was pregnant with his child.

  Moments later Dekario landed on the veranda outside my little hut. It was now full morning.

  “Reena! Thank God!” Luka said as she ran over to me.

  “We were so worried,” Phoenix said as he came over too. They both hugged me. I cried as I hugged them back. “I’m so happy to see you guys.”

  “What happened?” Luka said. “We saw that dragon take you then there were crazy alarms and the village emptied of warriors.”

  “It is a long story, but that dragon was Commander Triq. He abducted me and took me to an island off the coast where the opposition has a base. The king’s warriors are in a battle crushing the opposition now,” I said.

  Luka gasped. “A battle… but?”

  “He is alright. I saw him myself. He will return,” I said to her. Dekario, sensing her worry, saw her put her hands on her belly. He knew exactly what this meant. He grinned a little and said, “Do not worry, Luka. He will return soon. The battle was nearly over when we left, and we were winning.”

  “Oh good,” she exhaled.

  “Now if you two don’t mind, my Reena here has been through a lot, and I want to get her some rest,” he said.

  “Oh yes, of course. Reena, drink plenty of water. Take a hot bath and eat something. You need to sleep for as long as you can,” Luka said.

  “Yes, doctor. Right away,” I smiled.

  “Get your things. I am taking you to my hut,” Dekario said.

  I looked at him, raising a brow. “I am? I have never seen your hut,” I said suddenly realizing that we had always been in my hut.

  “Yes, I am taking you there. I just thought you would want to let your friends know that you are alright and maybe get some clothes to change into,” he said.

  “Yes that is good thinking,” I said to him. I hugged Luka and Phoenix and said, “I will see you tomorrow morning as I think I will be sleeping all day into the night tonight.”

  “Yes, good, get lots of rest,” Luka said as she peered over my shoulder toward the ocean. She would be anxiously awaiting Kavik until he arrived later in the mid-morning.

  “Come,” Dekario said as he opened the door to my hut. As soon as I walked in, I felt a wave of nausea.

  “What is it? Are you all right?” he asked as he put his hand on my back.

  “Seeing this hut again reminds me of the fear I felt when Commander Triq came for me, both times. I guess it is a good idea not to stay here. I do not want to think about it,” I said.

  “Yes, my thoughts exactly. This place is tainted.” He went into the cupboard and grabbed a woven reed bag and began to push cloths for me to wear along with sheer dresses into it. He draped it on his arm and
then said, “Anything else that you want from here we will get later on.”

  “That is a good idea,” I said. “I am very tired.”

  He scooped me into his arms and then moved toward the door. He moved onto the veranda and flew toward the palace over the large village. I was surprised that he landed on a veranda that was right next door to the King’s palace. The view of the palace was on one side and the ocean on the other.

  “This is spectacular,” I said.

  “Yes, I love it. It is my home,” he said.

  “So close to the King?” I asked.

  “Yes, he likes me to stay close to him. He trusts me,” he grinned.

  “That must be a great honor,” I said as I moved toward the door as he led me inside.