Dragon Blue: A Lie That's True (The Dragonlords of Xandakar, Book1)

by Macy Babineaux

  Then he pulled back from her slowly. She was disappointed, wanting more.

  “Oh, I will make it official,” he said, smiling. “With much more than a kiss.”

  Before she could respond, he reached down and cupped his arm behind her knees, sweeping her up into his arms. She let out a little yelp of surprise, then laughed nervously. All her life no man had ever swept her off her feet, either literally or figuratively. Corban had just done both.

  She clasped her hands together behind his neck and leaned her head against his shoulder.

  Then as if she were as light as a bird, he set off down the hall with her in his arms.

  14: Corban

  With Miranda in his arms, he kicked open the double doors of his room and carried her inside.

  As they entered the chamber together, the momentum of the doors made them swing back on their hinges and slam shut. He would have been happy putting her down right there on the floor and taking her. He’d never had such a powerful feeling for a woman before, a mixture of lust and love that had taken him by surprise.

  Usually he had complete control over his emotions, not the other way around. But the past two days had been a ride over hilly country. First he thought he was duty-bound to wed a Wildfire against his will. Then he found that he liked the woman he thought was Siccora after all. No, not just liked. Desired. Loved. And then it turned out she was not Siccora after all, but a lowly mortal from Earth, and his heart had very nearly broken. Not only had she lied to him, but he would have to watch her die.

  But she didn’t die. Engulfed in flames, she emerged unscathed. And then she became a dragon.

  The real Siccora was in his dungeon. The Wildfire party was somewhere about, or perhaps they had flown back to their desert lands to plan a war. All he knew was that the woman he had fallen in love with was not only alive, but dragon blood coursed through her veins. He knew he wanted her, more than anything he had ever wanted before.

  But he was able to restrain himself from taking her right there on the floor. The bed was only a few steps away. He took her to it, tossing her onto the goose-down mattress. She laughed, sitting up on her elbows, and he saw that same flash of desire in her eyes as well.

  “You have your own dragonskin armor now,” he said.

  Miranda looked down at her own body, at the shiny crimson scales covering her. “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “It’s a suit,” he said. “A living suit of armor, grown by your own body. You can take it off and put it back on, but it will always be a part of you. Those that learn to shift as younglings slough off their old skins and grow new ones to fit their larger bodies.”

  She ran her fingers over the slick scales covering her breasts, then down to her belly. She looked up at him. “How do we get it off?”

  He reached up to the collar of his own suit, willing it to stretch out, willing the scales across his back to separate from each other. “Just wish it,” he said, “and it will be so.” He pulled the suit down from his chest, peeling it off like a second skin, until he stood naked before her. He wore only the purple crystal, which hung about his neck on the thin leather cord.

  Her eyes wandered down his chest, his stomach, and finally to his cock, as hard as frozen stone. She aroused him like no other woman ever had. Perhaps it was her otherworldly ways, the little things in the way she talked or moved. Or perhaps it was the Emberstone around her neck, bewitching him. Either way he didn’t care.

  She closed her eyes and he could see the scales across her body flare a little as she spoke to her suit. She took a deep breath and reached up to tug at her collar. As her armor began to come off, he grabbed the looser pieces and helped pull it from her body, tugging it down her legs to the tips of her toes. He then dropped it in a pile next to his own.

  When he had seen her before, in the torchlight of the Great Hall, she had looked beautiful. Now, lying naked upon his bed, she was divine. Her flesh had seemed whiter before. Now it was lightly bronzed.

  Perhaps Siccora’s dragonfire did not leave her completely untouched after all, he thought.

  She was sitting back up on her elbows, her perfect breasts suspended before him, the tips of her large, dark nipples pert and erect. Her belly was flat and smooth. He let his eyes take in her body before he allowed himself to feast on her with his own. The hair between her legs was a black tangled patch, hiding the mystery of her womanhood beneath.

  Some impulse stole over him, and he did something that he had never done with his any of his consorts. He knelt down, sliding his hands along the insides of her thighs and spreading them apart. Then he lowered his head down between them, the tip of his nose brushing lightly against the black patch of hair.

  He wanted to taste her before he took her. He wanted to feel her smoky juices on his tongue and running down his chin. He wanted to eat and drink her, like a feast, before he plunged himself into her.

  But first he took a deep breath, smelling her in. His nostrils filled with the tart wet scent of her, and yes, there was that undercurrent of smoke, as if a fire were burning within her. Before he descended upon her, he looked up and saw her close her eyes, tilt back her head, and lick her lips.

  Corban lowered his eyes back to the prize, covering the soft folds of her lips with his mouth. Miranda let out a soft moan. She was already wet, and she tasted much as she smelled, warm and delicious. He eagerly extended his tongue, lapping in long, greedy strokes.

  She began to moan more loudly, reaching down with one hand to run her fingers through his hair. Gripping her inner thighs, he pushed her legs further apart, licking and tasting her as if she were a sumptuous feast.

  Miranda reached down with her other hand and grabbed his hair in two fistfuls. Corban slowed his pace, moving his tongue up high to her precious nub. There he moved the tip of his tongue in tiny circles, then flicked lightly at the one place he knew was more sensitive than any other on a woman.

  She squirmed beneath the attention of his tongue. He moved it in ever-increasing spirals, delighting in feeling her buck and spasm. He slid his hands underneath to cup her ass cheeks and gave a squeeze.

  Miranda screamed, pulling at his hair so hard he thought she might tear some out. But he didn’t mind the pain. Her cries of joy were music to his ears. He knew any guards outside could hear her. He hoped the whole keep could hear her. He wanted everyone to know that he was pleasing his new bride and that she was relishing every second.

  Eventually she sank back down to the downy mattress, a thin sheen of sweat coating her body, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

  He didn’t let her. He crawled up between her legs and took one of her nipples into his mouth, sucking and biting. She let out another cry, this time a little squeal of surprise and pain, but she didn’t push him away.

  Miranda put her hands on his chest, and he could feel her exploring his body as he moved on top of her. The ultra-sensitive tip of his cock bristled with sensation as it brushed against her thigh accidentally.

  Corban reached down and took hold of it in his hand, ready to guide it into her folds and plunge deep.

  Then a strange purple-white glow filled the space between him and Miranda. He looked down at the crystal hanging from his neck. It was bright with an otherworldly light, and not only was it aglow, it was whispering to him.

  No, Corban thought. Not now. Why now?

  Miranda sat up on her elbows. “What is that?” she said, looking at the glowing shard around his neck.

  But her voice seemed distant. The crystal was speaking to him, telling him in an alien voice that the fabric of his world was being ripped open, that someone was stepping through. And it was telling him exactly where. Far to the north was a great frozen lake. His father had taken him there once, teaching him to dive through the ice in dragonform to catch the massive white-bellied fish that swam beneath. He knew the place well.

  But why this very moment? He could see shadows of the figures stepping through the portal. Their glowing, t
ranslucent mounts were massive versions of the horses in Xandakar. The riders were harder to see, shifting outlines of men infused with the same strange energy of the beasts they rode.

  He pulled back from Miranda, standing up. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I have to go.”

  “Tell me,” she said. “What is it? Maybe I can help you.”

  After seeing her fight in the courtyard today, he considered it. But something had happened to him that he had sworn never would. He had fallen in love. And with his newfound feelings for Miranda, he didn’t want to see her put in harm’s way. These strangers from another world, they were powerful and dangerous. He already thought he was going to lose her once today. He could not bear that feeling again. But what had Wygard said? Don’t go alone.

  “No,” he said, picking up his armor and sliding it back on. “Believe me when I say this. I never thought I would utter these words." He looked into her dark eyes and said the words. "I love you.” He was pleased to see her eyes widen and glisten as he spoke.

  “But,” he went on, “this is a task I must oversee alone.”

  His suit completely on, he turned to the balcony.

  “Wait,” she said. “You can’t just leave. Not like this.”

  “I promise you,” he said. “I will return.”

  He threw open the balcony windows, letting in the cold night air. He took one look back at Miranda over his shoulder. She was lying naked in his bed, so dark and beautiful it made his heart ache. But this might be his only chance to determine the fate of his father, and he couldn’t involve her.

  He turned his face to the snowy wind, took three steps, and leapt from the balcony. He shifted as he jumped. He felt the wings spread from his shoulders, his body growing in an instant. He flapped them on the cold night air and turned to the north.

  The whispers in his head were not nearly as strong now, but they didn’t need to be. He knew where he was going. He sped northward, leaving Everfrost Keep and Miranda behind.

  15: Miranda

  She lay in his bed, looking at the open windows on the balcony, swirling drifts of snow blowing into the room. She wasn’t cold. She was pissed off, though.

  Corban had just damn near blown the top of her skull off. Never in her life had she come that hard, not even close. She’d expected him to crawl on top of her and give her a one-of-a-kind fucking. But then he’d pressed his hands against the insides of her thighs, pushed them apart, and gone in with his mouth. Oh God, it had been incredible.

  After that teeth-shattering orgasm, he had crawled on top of her, his cock ready in his hand. That’s when the stupid necklace around his neck began to glow. What was it with magic necklaces around here, anyway?

  The crystal was small, dangling from a crude leather rope, but the light it began to give off filled the bed chamber.

  He said he had to leave and wouldn’t explain why. He also said he loved her. That had made her heart thump harder in her chest than what he had done with his tongue. But then he had just swung open the balcony doors and leapt into the snowy night breeze.

  She had half a mind to follow him, but she wasn’t sure how reliably she could transform into a dragon, and he didn’t want her to follow. She got out of the bed and walked to the balcony, looking out into the snowy darkness. She squinted, trying to find him, but it was impossible. He was gone.

  Miranda started to turn from the windows when something on the balcony caught her eye. The crystal he had been wearing was lying there in a light layer of snow, the lanyard snapped.

  It must have broken off of him when he transformed, she thought.

  She bent down to pick it up, the glow still there, but nearly faded away. When she touched the stone, she heard voices in her mind. She saw something, too, a vast frozen body of water. A black circle ringed with purple light hovered above the ice. Beside it were four riders, an almost neon purple glow around both them and their horses. As she watched, a fifth rider emerged from the black hole.

  It’s a portal, Miranda thought. They’re moving through it like how the necklace brought me here from Earth. But these guys were not from Earth.

  The scene began to fade, all the light draining out of the vision. Then she was back on the balcony, the crystal in her hand now completely dark.

  I saw them, she thought. That’s where he’s going.

  She thought again of putting on her suit, trying to transform, and flying there to help him. Those men, or whatever they were, looked like bad business. And even though Corban was a dragon, the strongest of his clan, there were five of them.

  Dammit, why wouldn’t he trust me? she thought. He was probably trying to protect her out of some bullshit notion of chivalry. But she’d proven in her fight against Siccora that she could hold her own.

  She knew where Astra’s room was, just down the hall. She would ask her for help first.

  Miranda walked back to where her red-scaled suit lay in a puddle on the floor. She slipped it on quickly and headed for the door.

  But no one answered when she knocked. She tried the handle, and it swung open. Astra was there, sitting in a chair before a mirror, brushing her platinum hair.

  “Astra?” Miranda asked. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  All she got was an ugly look in the mirror. I guess that’s a no, she thought. But she pressed on, stepping inside the room.

  “Your brother just left,” Miranda said. “I think he’s in trouble. He needs our help.”

  “You lied to me,” Astra said. “You lied to us all.”

  “Okay,” Miranda said. “Yeah, I did. But I don’t think we have time to—”

  “My brother leaves the keep all the time,” Astra said. “He hunts. He explores. Sometimes he just wants to stretch his wings. He is in no danger. He is more than capable of taking care of himself. Besides,” she turned around in the chair to look at Miranda, “if he were in danger, you really think you could protect him?”

  Miranda felt the heat rise in her neck, then all the way up to her ears. She tried to stay calm. “Not by myself, no,” she said. “Let me take some of your soldiers. You could come. I know where he’s headed.”

  “You are not to leave the keep,” Astra said. “Magda decreed it. You’re lucky you’re not in the dungeons below with the real Siccora. You deserve as much.”

  Siccora. Now there was an interesting thought. Miranda needed help and Siccora needed redemption. She probably wouldn’t need much convincing to help since she was sitting in an icy cell awaiting imminent execution.

  Besides, screw Astra. She was just pouting because she’d be deceived. Big deal. If she really cared about her brother, she’d listen.

  “You’re right,” Miranda said. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. Sorry to bother you.”

  As Miranda closed the door, Astra turned back around and began to brush her hair again.

  The dungeons were not hard to find. The halls of Everfrost Keep at night were quiet, most people asleep in their bedchambers. But those that still roamed the halls or stood guard looked at Miranda with a mixture of admiration and awe.

  She realized most of them had probably seen the fight in the courtyard. They’d probably all thought she was going to die. Hell, she was sure she was going to die. Seeing her not only not die, but defeat another dragon from a rival clan had raised her up to hero status. She guessed it didn’t matter that she was still a red dragon. She was now married to Corban, so she was their red dragon.

  Every time she stopped to ask a guard the way to the dungeons, they didn’t question why she would want to know. Some fumbled over their words, star-struck at speaking with her. But all of them were friendly and helpful.

  There were actually three levels below the keep. The first was the armory. As Miranda walked through the rows and rows of swords, spears, and harpoons, she wondered why they didn’t just call it the “weaponry”. Everyone here grew their own suit of armor, after all.

  She also thought about grabbing one of the silver spears. She might need a weapon a
gainst the dark riders she’d seen in the crystal’s vision. But descending into the dungeons with a weapon seemed like a bad idea.

  The level below that was just storage, filled with frozen barrels, stacked chairs, tables, and burlap sacks. There were no torches lit here at night, but she realized her body was continually full of surprises since the Emberstone had awoken around her neck. She could see reasonably well in the pitch blackness of the storage level. Everything had an orange glow, as if a fire was burning behind each of her eyes, providing her with a magical version of night-vision goggles.

  Well that’s pretty cool, she thought. But she also thought she needed to pick up the pace. She didn’t know how much time had passed since Corban had leapt out of the window, but he might already be at the frozen lake.

  She walked quickly, finding the winding staircase down to the dungeon, just where the last guard who had given her instructions said it would be.

  The dungeon was oddly brighter than the two levels above it. The walls were all made of light blue ice. There were no doors or bars, just frozen cells, all sealed solid. Miranda guessed they just shoved you inside, then froze up the opening. With dragon breath? Some other magic?

  Two guards crouched near the doorway, laughing and tossing a handful of dice on the floor. When they heard her they snapped up straight, standing at attention.

  “Your Highness,” one of them said. “We weren’t expecting anyone down here tonight.”

  Miranda glanced at the dice on the floor, smirking. “That much is obvious,” she said. At least she had the upper hand for now. They’d been screwing around on the job, their guard already down.

  “Where is Siccora?” she asked, trying to sound as bitchy and queenly as possible.

  The guards pointed down the icy hall. “The cell at the end, your Highness,” one of them said.