The Blood of Dragons
The Academy of Dragons
Reverse Harem Series
Copyright © 2020 Victoria Mercier
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including but not limited to being stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, groups, businesses, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book contains sexual situations and adult themes. Recommended for 18 and above.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
About the Author
Chapter 1
Fires danced as we fought. Local bandits had some way to go if they believed they could beat us. I’d laughed in Rabbon’s face before my tight-lipped friend Rust punched him. There were only three of us, but we’ve survived the Wastelands for years. If a local gangster Rabbon thought we were easy prey, then he was one for a surprise.
Ruins around us burned as I unleashed my magical fire. It wasn’t anything spectacular. Simona, who knew all about the magical power scaling stuff, told me that I had the potential to reach level two. Not the most promising prospect in the world the ten-levels standard. None the less, whatever strength I wielded now, it was more than enough. Rabbon and his thugs weren’t exactly magically talented folks. They used guns and threats instead.
We stood, three against fifteen. Four bandits already out of commission. Not killed. We haven’t taken anyone's life if we didn’t need to. This world had its share of the dead. The war has raged for thirty-six years now, and as far as I could see, there was no end on the horizon.
Rust moved beside me. Fast and efficient. His powers were supernatural and even Simona couldn’t categorize them. Rust was as strong as ten grown men and faster than a galloping horse. But he couldn’t wield any magical power like me or shapeshifting like Simona. It didn’t stop him from being a hell of a powerhouse in my eyes.
Rust’s fists flickered between thugs faster than they could aim their puny guns. Simona didn’t usually fight. Her power was the greatest of the three of us. She could change into an enormous panther with pure white eyes. She was stronger than me and Rust combined, in that form. As Rust beat the crap out of the gang, while I made sure that no one would take him down from a distance. The power of fire was suitable for both, close and distant combat.
“You’ll fucking regret this!” Rabbon yelled as he ducked out of the trajectory of my fireball. His headband fell to the ground, but the long greasy hair didn’t even stir. I flipped him a bird and promised that the next time my power will hit the target and burn the shit on his head.
“You’re in a high spirit today, Flare,” Simona murmured as she watched the one-sided brawl.
“I have a good feeling about today—” As soon as the words were out of my mouths, I wished to take them back. A horrible feeling dawned on me. Something bad was about to happen. My eyes snapped to Rust, searching for the source of the danger.
It didn’t come from Rabbon’s gang. A shadow zapped and landed between the fighters scattering them all over the place. In a split-second, Simona changed into her panther form. On her four she stood taller than me and I didn’t belong to short people.
“Take Rust and run, Flare,” she growled.
“Fuck off,” I snarled back. “I won’t leave you behind, Simona.”
Her massive head turned my way, canines long as my fingers glistened in the firelight. Anybody else would be scared to death, but I knew, this was her way of smiling.
Meanwhile, Rabbon’s thugs screamed in agony as the shadow turned out to be one of the shadow hydra hybrids. This one possessed only one long sinuous neck thicker than my waist. Its razor-sharp teeth snapped at the survivors of its charge. Only seven thugs and Rust remained. Rabbon yelled something intelligible and bolted out of the yard where he and his thugs had ambushed us a half an hour earlier.
“It’s level three. We won’t beat it.”
Guns fired at it, but their weak kinetic energy could inflict no damage. Shadow hybrids stood above conventional weapons. I hadn’t the slightest idea of how to kill it. And if Simona said, this thing was beyond our abilities then we should better run.
Things happened faster than my eyes could perceive them. Slashes and clatter, and suddenly the beast was down. Four extremely long and intricate spears protruding from its bulk.
Simona snarled. Rust stumbled back. Six thugs yelped and dropped to their knees. Rabbon was driven back into the yard. And I sensed a presence behind us. What was that? A monster of a third level killed in a matter of a nanosecond. How? The questions kept piling up, but at the moment I needed to focus. The next minutes would decide our future.
“Revert back to a human form, shapeshifter,” a voice behind us commanded.
Simona and I turned around and found an impeccable row of soldiers in red armors. Their faces covered by closed visors. Spears in their hands, ready to stab our hearts, and shields to counter any danger that could come their way. Simona shifted back clenching her fists. In this form, her attributes were substantially weakened.
“Dragon Soldiers,” she murmured.
I’ve heard stories about them, appearing here and there, but weren’t they supposed to fight in the warzones against the Darkside? A chill ran through my spine. I hope this town didn’t turn into a warzone! It’s my favorite place. I knew all the small fries here. Some local gangs like this one, which attacked us, believed they can shut us down but we paid them no heed. If some cretin had decided to ruin my world, I’d get angry.
“Everyone, freeze or die.” The command was issued from the mouth of the soldier with a lieutenant’s insignia. His red armor had a small etched crest of the Great York City. The only place protected by the Holy Seal of Light in a thousand miles radius. The Darkness had no business there. Same as us. Such a place was stuffed with rigorous rules and power-hungry jerks. Our trio preferred freedom. As long as we’ve been avoiding the Darkside we were fine.
The straight row of the soldiers parted, and lieutenant stepped in front of them. Like everyone else, his face was covered by the helm’s visor. It didn’t stop a menacing aura radiating off of him. Simona hissed. Her thoughts must have matched mine. This man wasn’t a small fry. If such a monster was only a lieutenant. Gods help me. This entire Dragon Corps wasn’t a joke after all. My knowledge has been built on the stories heard all over the town’s taverns in the Wasteland. I’d discarded them as bullshit, now I wasn’t so sure.
“Do you belong to the Darkside?” lieutenant asked. Of course not, you idiot.
I heard thugs whimper. The presence of the Dragon Soldiers deprived them of courage. Another legend that has been spoken in the dark corners of taverns. In the presence of the Light, eve
n the Darkness trembled.
I didn’t even twitch. In fact, the opposite. I was fired up.
“Do I look to you like a spawn of darkness?” I asked heatedly. I didn’t care who he was. A stupidity ticked me off to no end. A band of soldiers had ambushed a trio of teenagers fending off bandits, and he asked them if they belong to the Darkside? What the fuck was wrong with him?
Simona hissed warningly. She has played a leader of our little group, but if a time to step up came, then I was more than ready to take the reins.
“Darkness can take many shapes,” lieutenant explained.
“Then how can I know you aren’t the servant of a Dark Lord or whoever commands the Darkside?” I snapped at him.
The soldiers, who a moment ago hadn’t even seemed to breathe, now stirred.
“You stupid bitch! You’re going to kill us all,” Rabbon yelled from the corner of the yard. Rust darted his eyes all over the place. He was calculating his chances to get us out of this mess. Eventually, he shook his head. We were done for.
Chapter 2
“Arrest them!” lieutenant lost his cool. The first soldier, who reached Simona found a nasty ball of fire there.
“Stop it, Flare!” my older friend screamed in unison with the Dragon Soldier who fended off my attack with his shield. “Stop this, please!” Simona added.
“I won’t let the bastards lay a finger on any of you,” I yelled back at her. Liquid fire awakened in my veins.
In five seconds, the armored assholes restrained everyone. A tip of a spear touched my neck to halt my struggle. The dark clouds above us looked fitting. They symbolized despair in my eyes.
Lieutenant approached us without a rustle. I squinted and found that no one was struggling. The Dragon Soldiers were too much for a ragtag group like us or Rabbon. In my mind frustration collided with an urge to be patient. No fucking chance I’d let these jerks get away with this. If I must, I’d even travel to their city and file a complaint or whatever there was to do.
“Check them with the dragon compass,” lieutenant commanded.
A dragon compass?
“What’s this dragon compass?”
“It tells the proportion of the Light and darkness in one’s soul. If you have more than sixty percent of darkness, then it means you’re one of the Darkside spawns.”
I didn’t have a clue what did he mean and I didn’t like it. Deciding people’s fate by using some compass? No thanks, I’ll pass.
They started with Rabbon, who whimpered and shivered, as the lamp-like compass touched his chest. Two soldiers held his arms while one measured the darkness inside him. The fourth stood behind with a spear trained at Rabbon’s neck. These dudes were serious about this. They were going to kill us if their stupid device would give them a green light.
“Fifty-eight,” the soldier exclaimed after a few seconds.
Rabbon’s tears filled the corners of his eyes. They gleamed with the reflection of the fire that raged at the ruins.
“That’s an unfortunate number,” lieutenant said to himself. “So faraway from the Light, but still not on the Darkside. What should I do?”
“What are you talking about?” I snapped at him. “You said it must be sixty-percent to…”
A piercing pain exploded in my cheek. I didn’t fall to the ground only because the two soldiers whose iron grips would sooner tear off my arms than let go off me.
“Please,” Simona pleaded to lieutenant. “She’s mentally impaired. She doesn’t…”
Lieutenant’s hand hit her face leaving a red slash across the left cheek.
“One more word and I’ll execute everyone here without offering you a chance to step into the Light!”
“Fuck you!” I screamed. Flames sprung all over me. He could beat me all he liked but laying a finger on Simona? This was a step too far.
“Subdue her!” a shout came out of somewhere. My thoughts became muddled and the distance between me and the worlds grew. Was this one of my infamous eruptions? Simona has warned me to keep my emotions in check.
“She must be one of the elementals.”
“Use the Nega…”
Fire slashed in the soldiers’ direction invoking screams of rage. It vanished the next second. I blinked shocked and confused. My fire disappeared, how?
Steps drew my attention. A soldier with a cape, and a long ornated staff, which was decorated with a shining blue gem at the top, approached without haste.
“Lieutenant Rox,” the newcomer said with a thick accent. “I took the liberty of dealing with this supernatural. She indeed seems to be an elemental.” But something in his voice didn’t sound right. He wasn’t sure of his assessment. Simona gave me a tired look. Once more I got us into trouble.
“Warlock Raspin, what do you mean? Why are you here?” lieutenant Rox wasn’t pleased with the presence of the warlock. Clearly, these two didn’t love each other.
Raspin’s eyes locked on me.
“I was sent by demi-dragon Dramer to check on the progress with the hybrid. It looks the timing was impeccable.”
“Demi-dragon is here?” I’ve never seen Simona so stirred. She was on the verge of shifting back into a panther. And I was the one causing trouble, of course.
Rust remained quiet as usual. He possessed a stupid habit of not speaking. The rest shivered and begged to be released. I didn’t give a fuck about some demi-dragon. I’ve never met one and all the rumors that had reached me regarding these halfblood dragons were that they were monstrously powerful. In Simona’s opinion, they must be at least level eight in power. I didn’t even try to imagine the scale of their strength. It’d bend my mind just by thinking about this.
But now, I couldn’t restrain myself from speaking.
“What the hell did you do to my fire?”
“Flare,” Simona snapped warningly. “Stop it.”
“That’s enough,” lieutenant roared as he drew a sword. He raised it, but the voice boomed all around us.
“Rox.”
Waves of power crashed against us. Pressure, unlike anything we’ve ever seen tried to force us down to our knees. The Dragon Soldier bent one knee, but the rest fell flat on the ground. Screw them.
Rage flared within me pushing back the demanding pressure. The two soldiers, who held me, loosened their grips in a short-lived shock. Anger reached critical mass and I exploited the moment smashing them with two fireballs. They had shouted something, and again my fire vanished, but not before they were hit.
“What the fuck is this?” I snapped at the warlock who kneeled, observing me with one eye. The commotion drew some attention from the rest of the Dragon Soldiers, but none of them moved.
“Rox,” a voice boomed again. “Explain this.”
My head whirled frantically searching for the owner of the voice. He was nowhere to be seen. Was this the fabled demi-dragon? My eyes had found nothing, so I concentrated on the source of the pressure. It came from the middle of the yard. Near Rust… I stood up struggling against the unknown force.
“We apprehended these local wildings while chasing the hybrid, demi-dragon. The red-haired and her two friends seem to be supernaturals, while the rest of them are ordinary humans.”
“On your knees,” the warlock hissed to me.
“Get lost,” I hissed back as I managed to get a foothold. The two dragon soldiers who got hit by my fireballs were slowly returning to their wits. What were these people made of? My fire wasn’t something to shrug off. Even Simona respected its power despite being temporarily stronger than me. A fireball was more than enough to knock out a group of bandits from a distance. Here I hit these two, right in their faces. It looked like I’d made a mistake of underestimating them. Shit. Rust’s assessment should have been enough, but I couldn’t stop myself. One thing I couldn’t stand more than anything else in the world was when someone threatened my friends. I mean, seriously threatened. Not like these ragtag bandits who stood no chances against us. We’ve treated these skirmishes with locals as
a sort of sport or training. The Wasteland had its share of big shots. The Warlords, for example. Scary dudes who picked fights with the Dragon Soldiers and the Darkside alike. But no warlord lived this close to the Great York City. Now, I understood why. Because a band of assholes in shiny armors could appear any time and spout bullshit about compasses and what not.
I realized that lieutenant stopped speaking. I turned my head to the source of the pressure and found there a half-naked man. Oh my god, this can’t be real.
Chapter 3
I wanted to throw profanities at the man that stole everyone’s attention. He stood tall and shirtless. His godly sculpted body steamed. My mouth salivated at the sight of his chiseled muscles. His amber eyes fell on me and a wave of power crashed against my will. The lieutenant’s aura seemed now like a joke in comparison to this monster of a man.
“Who are you?” I asked paying little attention to Simona’s growls and the Dragon Soldiers’ hisses.
“I’m a god!” the shirtless beauty answer raising his hands and laughing.
The power that had come from him now increased pressure even more. Still, I had a serious doubt he was what he’d claimed to be. I straightened despite the mighty push of his aura.
“Don’t be suicidal, girl,” the warlock warned from behind. He, too, began rising. I looked at Simona, in the human form she lay sprawled on the ground with shock etched on her face. She didn’t expect me to be this strong. My satisfaction quickly turned into anger.
“Mr. God, can you ease off a little? You’re hurting my friends.” I planted my hands on my waist as I faced the so-called god.
The demi-dragon’s arms dropped, and he grinned. The pressure suddenly vanished, and everyone gasped. Lieutenant had sprung back to his feet and had lunged for me, but the shirtless demi-dragon appeared before me faster and threw his officer away. Lieutenant Rox crashed against the already half-destroyed house, destroying it completely.
My eyes widened at the sight. He killed his own soldier!
“Good lieutenant but overzealous,” the demi-dragon exclaimed amused. “Warlock, what is she? How the fuck she can resist my power?”
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