Dragon's Choice

by Juniper Hart

  The big man took a seat next to her, adjusting his suit jacket. She felt almost dwarfed by her ex-husband.

  “They’re incompetent.” He glanced over his shoulder, like someone might be watching them. “You need to listen to me.”

  “Don’t touch me, Terran,” she said, half-pleading. “You know Hale is going to be really upset if he knows you’re here.”

  “I’ll let you know when I give a damn what Hale thinks,” he replied.

  She almost laughed. The rift between the two men had gone on for centuries.

  Terran thought Hale was a backstabbing magician. He’d never liked the sorcerer to start with, but it all took a turn for the worst when Hale was there to catch Cassia after Cassia and Terran parted ways.

  Just another example of how combustible a relationship can be between a sorcerer and a dragon shifter.

  Terran leaned in close. “You’re in danger.”

  “I’m safe.”

  “You’re not.”

  “Terran, please get out of here! You’re just going to create a lot of issues for me if Hale finds out you’ve been here.”

  She didn’t mean what she said. Seeing Terran stirred up feelings that had laid dormant for centuries and seeing him made her feel the happiest she’d been in a long time. After all, she had been married to the man for hundreds of years. But that was in the past. After what they’d been through, she could never go back to him—not after the tragedies they’d experienced.

  Hale had been there to pick up the pieces when she felt alone and broken. As much as she wanted Terran to stay, she didn’t want to see the two men in her life fight to the death.

  It would be an interesting fight—Hale’s modern intelligence versus Terran’s pure power. She’d watched Terran rip up mountains, create islands, and destroy people that got in his way. He was a dragon prince after all, one that controlled the earth.

  She hadn’t seen Terran in two hundred years. Even though she couldn’t admit it to herself, she thought about him every single day.

  Wow, has it really been that long? She felt a little faint thinking about it.

  Terran looked imploringly at her with a faint glimmer of sadness in his eyes. “I need to talk to you.”

  She hesitated. He’d probably spent hours, or days, trying to get her, and he wasn’t the kind of guy to chat.

  “Fine,” she said. “Fine, fine, fine. What’s so important?”

  “You deserve better than Hale.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Please tell me this isn’t going to be as awkward as we’re headed right now.”

  “It’s going to be.”

  “It doesn’t have to be. Just stop talking,” she urged.

  It looked like he was about to profess his love for her again, but she wasn’t ready to deal with that. She didn’t want to open up that hurt.

  “Let’s talk about the weather. Nice, no?” Cassia said as she looked away from Terran and up toward the sky.

  Terran’s focus didn’t falter. “Hale isn’t the man you think he is.”

  “I’ve spent centuries with him. I’m pretty sure I know the guy. How many times have you guys met? Two? Three times?”

  “I don’t have to know him well,” he replied. “Cassia, my intelligence agents came back to me last week. They showed me this.”

  He fished out his phone and maneuvered to his pictures.

  She noticed his password.

  “One, two, three, four?” she asked, somewhat amazed. “That’s your password? You know you need to change that, right?”

  “Why would I?” he huffed.

  Terran, great guy that he was, was not a technology connoisseur. He was the kind of guy that was happy with what he had.

  “Nobody’s ever broken into it.”

  “I could literally break in right now,” she protested.

  “And I would let you,” he replied. “Only my close ones know my passcode. Look, does it matter? Check this out.”

  He held up the phone to her. She frowned, not entirely sure what she was supposed to be looking at. It was a picture of a dead guy in a morgue. His body was covered in a white sheet. His skin was pale and his eyes were closed. He was distinct looking—obviously had a bit of elf in him. His ears were just a touch too long, and he had the high cheekbones, but she couldn’t quite recognize him. She knew she should, but for some reason she couldn’t quite place his face.

  “So,” she said, taking a closer look, “Is this what you do now? Show up at people’s doors and show them pictures of dead people?”

  “Do you recognize him?”

  “No, not really.”

  He sighed. “It’s the Chancellor.”

  “Oh.” She saw it. “Oh. What happened to him?”

  “Your boy-toy killed him,” the powerful man said, which was about as ridiculous in-person as it sounded. “Poisoned him.”

  “You’re not seriously suggesting Hale killed the Chancellor.”

  “I am. They found traces of his magic on the body.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she said with just a hint of warning to her voice. “I know you don’t like him, but Hale isn’t a killer. The Chancellor was a good man. Neither Hale nor I had anything to do with his death. I’m sad to hear he’s gone, but I’m not going to listen to you talk about murder theories.”

  He narrowed his eyes, like he was trying to decide what to do. “I didn’t think you’d listen.”

  “Well, at least you’re right about that. I don’t want to hear another word about this, Terran.”

  “Where’s Hale been over the last couple weeks?”

  “On business,” she replied automatically. “You probably know that.”

  “Where is he?”

  “London,” she said. Why was he drilling her about this?

  He swiped to another picture. This one was a street camera view of Hale in a trench coat as he boarded a subway with a dozen other people.

  “I’m amazed,” she said sarcastically. Why was she being such a jerk? He didn’t really deserve it, but it was instinct.

  “Know where this is?”

  “Oh, wait. Let me look at the common subway and tell you exactly where in the world it is.”

  “It’s in New York.”

  “But he didn’t go to New York.”

  “My point exactly. This picture was taken two hours ago.”

  She frowned. Hale hadn’t gone to New York. He’d flown straight to London. She’d had a big falling out with Terran, but the dragon shifter didn’t lie—it was one of his greatest strengths.

  She looked closer at the picture and saw the names of the stops listed on the subway platform. Terran was right; it was New York.

  She faltered. “So? Maybe he stopped by on his way to London.”

  “You’re an intelligent woman, Cassia. See the pictures in front of you. Read the writing on the wall.”

  She scowled. “Look, I’ve had about enough of you calling my boyfriend a liar and a murderer. I think you should move along, or I’ll call my guards.”

  “You realize they can’t do anything to me, right? But, since you’re so adamant about me leaving, I’ll go. But know that I’ll be watching,” he said. “Just keep your eyes open.”

  “Don’t watch me,” she replied.

  What had gotten into him? Sure, it had been a while, but Terran wasn’t the kind of guy that bought into theories. She’d been with Hale for about two hundred years. The sorcerer wasn’t a saint, but she didn’t think he’d be capable of actually killing the Chancellor, of all people.

  Terran stood up, reached into his suit pocket, and produced a small ankle bracelet with a glimmering emerald stone in the middle. It looked perfectly ordinary, but she figured that there had to be something special about it.

  “Oh, it fits you,” she said. “Matches your eyes.”

  “Take this,” he said, rolling right over her comment. “This is a soulstone. You’ll communicate with me immediately if you need anything.”

  Cassi
a knew exactly what he was trying to give her. Soulstones only worked when two people had them. Someone enchanted them so that these two special stones were connected and the two owners could track each other. The stone progressively brightened until the stones were touched together, then they were shut off and reset.

  She pulled her hand back, although her instincts told her to take it. That was some impressive gear. She had never seen such a well-disguised soulstone.

  “I don’t want it. I know what it is. I don’t need it. If I need you, I’ll call you on a cellphone like a normal person.”

  “You are not a normal person. Besides, this is more reliable,” he said. “Can’t be blocked. Nobody will know it’s a communication device.”

  “When did you get so suspicious?”

  “Please,” he urged. “Something’s wrong here. I’m worried about you.”

  She hesitated before finally opening her hand. He slid the small anklet into her palm before wrapping her slender, feminine fingers over it. He looked once into her eyes. For one startling moment, it looked like he was going to go in for a kiss.

  His hand lingered on hers, and she felt a warm, tingling sensation travel from her hand down to her core, where the muscles of her feminine essence instinctively contracted. His touch had always had a sensual effect on her.

  She had no idea how to react, but luckily the kiss never came.

  He pulled away, walking towards the ocean. He wasn’t a graceful creature when he walked because he lacked elegance. He had something better—he had power. She could see his muscles bulging under his custom Italian suit with each step.

  The dragon shifter was incredibly tough. She’d seen dragon slayers put bullets in him, and he’d walked it off. He was one of the most valuable targets in the enchanted underworld, but he was too powerful. Nobody ever got close to killing him.

  She had met his mother—who was literally Mother Earth, or Gaia—on several occasions. She was magnificent in all respects. Terran had inherited tremendous power from her and his father, the Dragon King. They were the true definition of a power couple. More than a few rivals wanted Terran’s position as Keeper of the Mountain, but it didn’t work like that. Terran’s genetics gave him the title and power to move and manipulate the earth and mountains.

  “Watch out,” he warned in his deep, brooding voice. “Something’s not right about Hale.” He stopped and turned to face her with his broad frame outlined by the sun behind him. “You’ve been warned.”

  “Consider me warned,” she said, still trying to make sense of what had just happened.

  One of the four dragon-shifter brothers, her ex-husband, had suddenly showed up at her home to tell Cassia that her current boyfriend had killed one of the most respected beings in the enchanted underground.

  “I guess… see you around?” Although he needed to leave, she was sad to see him go.

  “I’ll be watching,” he said. “Remember the soulstone.”

  “I’ll remember.”

  He gave her one last, lingering gaze. “I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you, Cassia,” he said as he looked away. “You look even more beautiful today than when we first met.”

  With that, his body expanded until he was the size of a pickup truck. Emerald green scales grew over his body as he shifted into his dragon form. When she’d first seen it, it had taken her breath away. After seeing it many, many times, it still amazed her. Finally, he was in full dragon form with his majestic, shimmering green hide. He used his massive wings to push off the ground and fly off towards the sunset. Soon, he was just a small dot on the horizon, then he was gone, off to wherever he was going.

  She could’ve followed him, of course. She could’ve fired up her own transformation into a dragon and chased after him, but she couldn’t do much more than sit in the chair and watch her ex-husband vanish off into the distance. He’d given her the gift of immortality, and that was not something she took lightly. She still had a lot of respect for him.

  She leaned back and took a sip from her drink, which was now watered down from the melted ice. She glanced down at the ankle bracelet, letting the cold steel run through her fingers.

  “Dammit,” she sighed.

  2

  She’d sat around outside and finished her drink. Just because Terran had shown up after so many years of not even seeing the guy didn’t mean she was obligated to stop relaxing. Getting all worked about up him wouldn’t serve any purpose. Or would it?

  Part of her just didn’t want to think about what Terran said, because when she did, she was giving into the idea that she was no longer safe. She’d have to switch off her relaxation and move back into the real world where her boyfriend was a murderer.

  No! No, that wasn’t it. Terran must have been wrong. Hale was a decent person. He was strong, handsome, and smart… She found herself running out of good things to say about Hale. He wasn’t particularly nice, although he had always been kind to her.

  One of the many traits that she loved about Terran was his trustworthiness. Hale just gave off an untrustworthy vibe, though she had never caught him lying to her. Also, he had been away for so long recently. Where had he been? She hadn’t thought about it because she really didn’t care. After two hundred years of being with the same man, she loved their time apart so she could enjoy some alone time.

  She’d been with Hale ever since she left Terran. She wasn’t all that interested in what he did in his day-to-day business. He had an oil company to run, so he traveled frequently, meeting with the major clients and making sure his corporation ran smoothly.

  Was it possible that Hale had killed the Chancellor? Cassia thought to herself.

  Terran, as irritating and stubborn as he could be, had never been wrong about something like this before. Could he be wrong about little things? Oh, hell yes. But about the big things? She couldn’t think of a time when he’d been more than a tiny bit off.

  It was the reason he was so good at his job as the Keeper of the Mountain. When he’d first tried to explain his responsibilities, it confused her. His mother had given Terran power over the earth, and his father gave him his dragon-shifter genes.

  Terran’s three brothers had different realms: fire, water, and wind. Earth sounded like the least impressive one, but when she learned more, she was absolutely blown away at the amazing amount of power that came with his abilities

  Water? There were deserts where there wasn’t a drop. Fire? Water extinguished fire. Wind? Caves and basically anywhere indoors could block wind. But earth? It was everywhere.

  Terran had the power to rip up the earth, create earthquakes, and make mountains with nothing but his mind. She hadn’t believed him the first time, but that was before he had formed a private island for her out in the middle of the Pacific.

  That kind of power came with incredible amounts of jealousy. Terran’s subjects loved him. He was an excellent leader, but everyone else knew if they killed Terran, there would be a fight for all the most powerful people to take his position through power plays and coercing.

  Though they wouldn’t have his power, they would still rule his realm and own the title of Keeper of the Mountain. The position hadn’t been created for Terran; he was simply the most logical representative due to his tremendous abilities and lineage. Terran hadn’t made it so long just by being tough. He was smart and resourceful, and he knew how to investigate threats.

  She looked down at the ankle bracelet, which was still in her hands.

  Terran believes Hale is behind the murder of the Chancellor.

  She swallowed. She tried and failed to avoid thinking about that picture that Terran had showed her of Hale in the subway in New York. He was nowhere near London like he should have been. That didn’t settle quite right for her…

  No! She would not turn on Hale so easily. She’d spent centuries with the sorcerer. He’d been there to protect her in her darkest time. Leaving Terran had been rough. At one time, she thought they were soulmates. Maybe she
still did. He meant everything to her, but she just couldn’t forgive him.

  She’d given up the ability to grow old with someone for Terran. When she became immortal, it was like she was frozen in time. She would never get old or sick. She had literally committed herself to an eternity.

  When they had that last fight, she had been broken for years, decades even. Some people can forget the reason behind an argument as time passes, but even after centuries, Cassia couldn’t forget, although she eventually did forgive him.

  Terran made her believe that becoming immortal would be easy because they were soulmates. He was right. The transformation wasn’t painful. When she became pregnant with Terran’s child, her body changed to be able to carry the child. She became like Terran: immortal, and she gained the ability to become a dragon.

  What they didn’t plan for was losing the baby three months into the pregnancy. Tears held onto the brim of Cassia’s lashes as she remembered the fateful day. There was no pain like losing a child—even though it was a child she’d never met. Then, centuries later, they had another miscarriage.

  The second miscarriage was too much for her to bear.

  Maybe he was grieving, too, and needed comfort from me. The thought shocked Cassia. She had spent centuries blaming Terran for the fight that was the final straw. Maybe it was partially my fault. He needed me, and I shut him out.

  The tears won and poured from her eyes. She had no idea seeing Terran would bring up such raw emotions.

  When she left Terran, she’d spent months wallowing in her own sorrow, feeling alone and afraid. Eventually, Hale had been there to protect her and give her a home. At first, it was just a place to stay until she could get back on her feet, but then she didn’t leave, and it grew into something more.

  Hale had given her a home. He had given her hope. He’d taken her in and made her feel special and loved. Terran loved her so passionately, but she had been furious at him. She’d ignored him and cut him out. Hurt, he did the same thing. Soon enough, he was single, and she was with Hale.

  Hale wasn’t anything like Terran. Terran had Hale beat in almost every quality. But Hale was handsome and dashing—and at the time comforted Cassia when she needed it most.