by Lucy Lyons
“That’s a start, I suppose,” she said. “I am Reanne, daughter of the queen of the dragons.”
Steph stopped eating and stared at Reanne.
“The queen of the dragons? Ryan told me about her.” Steph thought it wasn’t politic to add that Ryan called her scary. And she couldn’t imagine being brought to this place, though she had no idea where in the world it would be.
“Yes. I met Ryan,” said Reanne with a gentle smile. “I liked him very much even if he angered our mother.”
Steph felt a stab of jealously as she absorbed this bit of information. What did this woman have to do with Ryan? She didn’t like the thought at all of this buxom blonde haired beauty anywhere near Ryan. But then the force of Reanne’s words hit her. “Our? Ryan is her son?”
“Yes.”
“So that makes you his sister?”
“If you prefer human terms, yes. We don’t use familial terms like that. To Rhea I am one of her many subjects, useful upon occasion.”
“It doesn’t sound like you two have a great relationship.”
“She is the leader of the dragons. That is what she is to me. Rhea didn’t have much to do with me after I hatched.
Steph coughed on her food.
“Hatched? You hatch from eggs?”
Reanne shrugged. “The ones where eggs are laid, yes. We have multiple methods of reproduction. Some young are gestated internally. It just depends on the circumstance of conception.”
“And Ryan? Did he hatch like you?”
“Yes. Our mother only lays eggs. That is her preferred method, though the failure rate is higher than gestating internally.”
Steph rocked back in shock, first from learning that Ryan hatched from an egg to learning that dragons had a choice in how to reproduce.
“Each method has their pros and cons,” finished Reanne with a gentle smile. Stephanie found that she liked this dragon and she had to work hard to remember that she was a prisoner here.
But she was bursting with curiosity about dragons too and this might be her only opportunity to question such a talkative tutor.
“Tell me. Why do dragons look like humans so much of the time?”
Reanne dipped her head. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“You look like us. We were here first, before your primitive ancestors. We were few on this vast planet and we needed a labor force. We took the primitives and manipulated their DNA to be more like ours, without the dragon component, of course.”
“But everything we know, humans evolved over a long course of time.”
“Yes, you did. It took many, many generations to evolve the genome toward usefulness. We almost gave up.”
“So dragons created humans?”
“You can say that. But there also came a point where you took hold of your own evolvement and grew past being our servants. The one job that survived was that of seneschal, the bridge between dragons and humans. Seneschals have a little bit of dragon DNA in them to help them communicate with dragons. But it did something else too, something we did not foresee. Seneschals became irresistible to some of our dragons. Seneschals and dragons mated mixing their DNA. That was not supposed to happen. This angered my mother greatly to have hybrids among us. She killed whole generations of seneschals. We have not had them in the human population for six hundred years.
Steph swallowed hard.
“She brought me here to kill me?”
“Yes,” said Reanne sadly. “That is her purpose. And to lure Ryan here. She will not let go of the idea of Ryan joining the ranks of the dragons and running Kaur industries for our benefit.”
“Well, he won’t do it.”
“I know. Our mother does not. But she may be persuaded to see reason. When she sees that Ryan will not cooperate if you are dead, she might relent. She is always focused on her goals.”
“That sounds wonderful,” said Steph sarcastically. “Well, I don’t want Ryan coming here. It’s dangerous for him.”
“But he will. He mated you and he’ll be looking for his mate. And he’ll find you. Mated males are very good at doing that.”
Reanne looked at Steph’s dinner plate.
“I can see you don’t have much of an appetite.”
“The dinner conversation isn’t conducive to digestion.”
“We have to go now, anyway. Mother expects us in the courtyard.”
Steph pushed away the tray. She thought it was an excellent idea to get out of this room. If Steph got out in the open, she might be able to plan some sort of way out of here. She was taught to escape and evade, and damn it, she was going to do that if she could.
Reanne gave her a look over her shoulder as if she could read Steph’s thoughts. She shook her head but continued down long hallways with gilt columns and arches. There were also murals of different scenes on the walls, but they were moving too quick to examine them.
Soon Reanne led them out of the caverns and into an oval of grass that was surrounded by broken walls and turrets. A large stone table sat in the center and Steph recognized this place from the dream she had. She looked at Reanne and realized she was the woman from the dream as well.
As she stood staring at the scene a long line of people filed from the dark entrances to the cavern on either side of the grassy oval. They stood in a semi-circle around the stone table.
And then one woman came out, followed by a dark-skinned man and she walked straight to Steph.
She snorted, as she looked Steph up and down.
“This is what my son chose to mate with.” The look of disgust on her face made Steph want to smash her fists into the queen of the dragons.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ryan
Ryan wasn’t thrilled that Watins appeared and gave a crock of nonsense for his defense though he certainly was happy that he was out of jail. His father was equally thrilled.
“Let’s get our lawyer and go out to dinner?”
“Watins?’
“No. I’ll make sure that jerk gets fired good and proper. I don’t want him around my business ever again.”
“Good,” said Ryan. “I feel the same way.”
Ryan wanted to celebrate with Steph and thought that maybe tonight he would ask her to marry him. Though Steph and he knew they would be together always he wanted to make it official for the whole world to see. With a smile on his face he looked through the courtroom for her. When he didn’t see her there he walked through the atrium and then searched for her outside.
Steph!
But there was no answer to his call to her mind and Ryan began to get worried.
His father walked out the courthouse steps. “Where’s Steph?”
“I don’t know, dad. I can’t find her.”
“She must be here somewhere.”
“The last person she was with was Watins.”
“That snake,” hissed Ivan Kaur. “Of course he wanted to speak to her. Probably lured her outside too.” His father pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.
Ryan’s heart skipped a beat while he waited with his father for someone to pick up the line.
“Damn right I want to leave a message. You tell Alan Watins I want a call from him immediately,” said his father. “This is Ivan Kaur, and yes, he has my number. He damn well better have it.”
“Damn ass,” said his father. His face was white and his hands were shaking with anger. He made another call.
“Roberts, I need a location on Alan Watins as soon as possible. No. He’s kidnapped Ryan’s—he kidnapped Steph Brooks, the new lawyer I hired. No. I didn’t ask you to do a background check on her. Just find him.”
“Do you think,” said Ryan, “that will do any good?”
“Roberts is the best. That is why I hired him.”
“But, dad. The more we learn about Watins, the more we find he is involved with the dragons. He could have her anywhere or do anything to her. Damn it, dad.”
“I know. It’s my faul
t. I never should have got involved with him in the first place. But when he promised a child when the wait was so long anywhere else—”
“Dad. Did he hold that adoption over your head?”
“Not in so many words. But I always felt grateful and he didn’t mind taking advantage of that. And now he has Steph. Son, I’m so sorry.”
“We’ll get her back. Wherever she is, I’ll find her.”
“Can you do that? Find her as a dragon?”
“I don’t know. There is so much I don’t.”
His father made another call, turning his back to Ryan as he did it.
“Okay. Okay,” he muttered. “Thanks.”
He faced Ryan again. “Yes. You should be able to hone in on anyone that you have an emotional connection with. Do you have that with Steph?”
“Yes, Dad. I love her.”
“I was hoping that you’d say that. I think she is a wonderful girl.”
Ryan smiled. “Good. Then we are agreed. Now how am I supposed to hone in on this emotional connection?”
He grew antsy as they drove out to the country but his father didn’t want there to be any witnesses to Ryan shifting to his dragon form. But their driver pulled into the first of the many Connecticut State parks they came too and Ryan got out.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Is there anything you need?”
“Something to stuff my clothes in.”
“You’re in luck,” he said as he pulled out a backpack from behind his seat.”
“What? It has something in it.”
“Something I think you might need.”
Ryan unzipped it and found a significant stash of cash in it. “If you find her, don’t come back right away until we know it is safe. I have a passport for you in there and had one for Steph too. And there is something else there too, just in case.”
Ryan felt around inside until he felt all the things his father mentioned. He hugged his father, something he hadn’t done in a long time and probably something he should have much more often.
“There’s an international phone in there too, in case you need to call. Be safe, son.”
“Thanks, Dad. For everything. I promise you I’ll come back and make you proud.”
“You already do. Now, go.”
Ryan walked into a stand of trees and took off his clothes and shoes and stuffed them in the bag. He let out the strap as much as he could then slung the pack over his shoulder. He hoped that would work because the idea of carrying the thing in his mouth while he was flying did not appeal to him at all.
He stood in the grove as the afternoon sun trickled down on him, hoping that no one happened upon him while he was naked. Ryan didn’t need to be arrested again.
He thought about Steph, how beautiful she was and how much he wanted to be with her. He got an image of her standing in on a grassy oval with a ruined building around it and he knew where she was. He grew furious then, knowing she was taken there against her will.
She was probably frightened and she most definitely was alone in that nest of vipers. And with his anger his body expanded. Instead of being in the middle of a stand of trees, he brushed up against them. With a huge roar and a great leap from his hind legs he was airborne.
He had one purpose now as his wings beat against the air taking him higher. He loved the feeling of wind against his wings but he wasn’t going to get lost in the sensation of flight. He had to get to Steph.
His heart hammered in his great chest as he gained altitude, then sensing the right moment and taking a deep breath he dove. Ryan fixed his thoughts on Steph willing his dragon body to take him where she was.
He dropped rapidly into the atmosphere. In his haste, he was going too fast. The friction of his passage danced along his scales bringing back the memory of pain from the fire. But nothing was going to stop him. He scanned the area below and found the grassy oval and the ring of ruined building. Looking even closer he saw Steph with her glorious red hair standing near the stone table and the dragons that surrounded her.
They were waiting for him.
Ryan dove, roaring his displeasure. He wasn’t going to hide. He was outnumbered so he had to make a show of bravado to pull off he plan he formulated in his head.
He lighted on the ground, flapping his wings. And then he transformed.
Steph’s eyes widened and then she ran to him.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
“They knew I couldn’t stay away.” He slung the backpack off his shoulder and placed it in front of him. It would like he was trying to be modest. But Ryan’s plan depended on an object his father placed in the backpack. He felt around for it, covering his actions by Steph standing in front of him.
“Come here, baby,” he said, pulling her to the side with one hand. As he did he pressed the object into her hand she placed it behind his back. He leaned to her ear. “Go for Rhea,” whispered.
Steph stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Ok, baby,” she whispered.
“Stand away from my son,” said Rhea haughtily.
“No, Steph, you stay right here.”
“Rhea,” said Reanne. “You should reconsider this. If you harm his mate, Ryan will not ally himself with us. It is better if—”
“Silence,” yelled Rhea. “I did not ask for your editorial, Reanne. No dragon will mate with humans. Period.”
“Sorry, Rhea,” said Ryan. “It already happened. You can’t change me and Steph no more than you can swap the moon for the sun.”
“I will kill her myself,” said Rhea advancing.
“You know,” said Steph. “I’ve heard of monsters-in-law before, but this is ridiculous.”
“What are you talking about?” said Rhea advancing on the pair. She was within ten feet of them, which for Steph was just about perfect.
“Now, sweetheart,” said Ryan.
Steph whipped out the gun Ryan had pressed in her hand and aimed for the space right between Rhea Gentrix’s eyes. She released the safety, took a quick breath and squeezed the trigger just as she was taught. The report of the pistol rang on the decayed walls of the one great palace.
Rhea screamed, and her face morphed strangely from human to dragon to human again. She stood with a look of total surprise on her face and then fell to the ground twitching.
“It doesn’t seem to be a kill shot,” Steph said.
“Doesn’t need to be,” said Ryan. “Hold this.” He stuffed the backpack into her hands and then shifted as the other dragons ran toward Rhea and shifted and leapt into the air again, holding Steph as close to his heart as he could while they flew away from the dragon palace.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Steph
“Mom, Dad, you’re here!” squealed Steph in her excitement.
“Yes,” said her mother. “And your brothers will be here shortly. They are all coming in on the same plane from Frankfurt.”
“I’m so happy.”
“So where is this man of yours that you’ve hidden from us?” said her mother pointedly.
“I haven’t hidden him, Mom. It’s just Ryan has been busy helping his father with the business. They got that new government contract and it’s a lot more work than they thought.”
“Well take us to him,” said her father gruffly. “I want to meet this man who didn’t bother to ask for my permission to marry you.”
“Dad! You absolutely won’t harass, Ryan. He’s been very good to me.”
Ivan Kaur walked to the group.
“Mr. And Mrs. Brooks,” said the elder Kaur smiling. “I’m Ivan. Ryan is my son.”
Steph put her hands to her face thinking that her father would say something to Mr. Kaur to embarrass her, but her father merely smiled and stuck out his hand.
“Ivan. Pleasure to meet you. Though,” he said with a glance to Steph, “I wish I could have met you sooner.”
“I understand. It’s not always easy to get a furlough from the Marines.”
“Yes, I suspec
t someone must have put in a good word for me.”
Ivan Kaur’s face flushed which Steph never saw before. “I don’t know what you mean. Let’s let the ladies chat and come to the bar with me. I could use a drink.”
“Well,” said her father, “a beer might be good. It’s hot in this dress uniform.”
“Wool, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then a beer it is.”
Mr. Kaur led her father off and Steph was alone with her mother.
“I see your hair and make-up are done. Why aren’t you dressed, dear?”
“Well, to tell you the truth, the dress the wedding planner talked me into is too much for me to handle on my own.”
“Don’t you have bridesmaids?”
“Oh, yes,” said Steph. “A bunch of debutantes from the Kaur’s social circle. I need someone who knows how to deploy camouflage.”
“You would think,” her mother started as they walked toward the house. But she stopped talking looking at the different people gathered near the bar. Many were dressed in formal attire and her mother looked down at her dress and blushed.
“Don’t worry mom. I got you a mother-of-the-bride dress. I hope you don’t mind. The wedding planner insisted.”
“Are you going to blame everything today on the wedding planner?”
“Ryan tells me he has it on good authority that the wedding planner’s primary function is take the blame for everything. It’s why the good ones are so outrageously priced.
Stephanie took her mother to the bedroom upstairs that was set up as Steph’s dressing room for the day. The make-up artist and the hairdresser sat on the bed chatting but stood quickly when Steph walked in.
Steph pulled a dress from her closet. It was beautiful royal blue taffeta that would float gracefully over her mother’s generous frame.
“This? For me?”
“Sure, mom. You deserve a beautiful dress.”
“I can’t, this is too much.”
“No it isn’t,” said a deeper voice from the door. “Anyone who raised such a wonderful woman deserves it.”
Ryan stood leaning against the doorjamb dressed in a black tuxedo that made him even more devastatingly handsome than he was. Steph wanted to melt into his arms right there, but that wouldn’t be right especially in front of her mother.