by Rachel Angel
He looked at Ally. “He was only twelve.”
Ally couldn’t imagine either situation; being twelve years old and tortured or being fifteen and knowing that your sibling was being treated so horribly.
“I didn’t know what to do, and the adults around me weren’t much help. I realized I’d have to find another way of saving Tar, because there seemed no way of getting the gold the kidnappers wanted.”
“What’d you do?”
“I went back to the cabin, read the note and left as I always had, but this time, I didn’t go very far. I hid out in the wooded area near the little cabin and waited. I stayed there all night, watching for any move, listening for any approach, and early the next morning, just before the sun rose, one of the men came. He strolled into the cabin, set a note on the counter and left. I followed him. I prayed he’d lead me to where Tar was being held, and he did.”
Ally smiled.
“Again, I hid and waited, waited for the men to fall asleep late that night, and when they did, I sneaked inside the hovel they were staying in and found Tar. He was asleep.” Drago sniffled, and Ally realized he was crying. “He was so bloody; I was amazed he was still alive. They had done everything to him. Hit him, cut him, burned him, starved him. He lay in a heap in the corner, not even tied up. He was so beat up, there was no point in tying him up. I picked him up, tossed him over my shoulder and ran out of there.”
“You saved him.”
Drago nodded and wiped a tear away. “It took him days before he could open his eyes or eat solid food, weeks before he could walk again or feed himself again, or dress himself again. But the worst were the nights. It took months before he stopped waking up in the middle of the night screaming. I mean screaming bloody murder. It was heartbreaking to hear. Every night I just wanted to pull a pillow over my head to not hear him, to block out the pain of his cries because it just hurt too much, but every night, I’d get out of my bed and go to him, soothe him and tell him he was all right, that those men would never come back to hurt him again.”
“Well, then it just doesn’t make sense. How could all this have happened, but Tar hates you instead of being grateful?”
“He has no idea that I’m the one who went in there to save him. All he knows is that during his recuperation, I was crowned King.”
“And then you exiled him.”
Drago nodded.
“But why?”
“While I reassured him that those men would never come back, I knew it was a lie. I’d heard whispers around the kingdom that the men who’d kidnapped him were just waiting for the right moment to come back and try take him again. I was king. I was in charge. And I guess, they assumed I now had control of all the gold they wanted.”
Ally shifted uncomfortably, disturbed by his words. “But you saw them. Couldn’t you find them, have them arrested? Punished? Executed?”
He shook his head. “I never had a good look at them. They all wore dark caps that obscured their faces and shabby non-descript coats. There was nothing notable or distinguishable about them.”
“So you sent Tar away?”
“I had to send him away, Ally. I had to keep him away from the kingdom. I had to keep him safe, even if he didn’t understand why. And there’s something else. I wanted Tar to grow up in a safe environment, but also an environment that would toughen him up. I knew that Tar had to learn to protect himself. The whole idea behind sending him to Wyvern Academy was for him to become stronger, to learn to fight. He had to know that the world out there isn’t all rainbows and roses. Life is a fucking bitch sometimes and you have to have strength, physical and emotional, to get through it.”
“You could have just enrolled him at the academy without exiling him. You could have shown your support and explained all of this to him. You could have…”
Drago put his hand on her forearm. “I initially tried to talk to him about all this. He wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t go. He was too afraid.” He shrugged. “And, somehow, in all that, he already blamed me, as if I were responsible for what had happened to him. I don’t know; maybe he just resented the fact that I wasn’t able to save him fast enough. I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“But I saw you, Drago. I saw you fight Tar, attack him. You were merciless. You almost killed him.”
“If he can’t defend himself against me, how is he going to survive out there? The world is far harsher than I’ve ever been to him. You know those kidnappers are still out there, still plotting…”
“Okay, but then why don’t you let him know now. He’s older now. He’ll understand now the importance of staying at Wyvern.”
Drago nodded. “Yeah. I should tell him now. If only I knew where he was.” He bit his lip, holding back more tears. Looking at Ally, he reached up to stroke her chin, then ran his fingers up over her ear and into her hair.
She looked down at her lap, not knowing what to do or say.
“I’ve never told anyone what I’ve just told you,” he said.
There was something so incredibly vulnerable about him. Ally wanted to take him into her arms and console him, rid him of the guilt he still carried.
“I hope you won’t hold what I’ve just told you against me. I hope that, you, too, don’t blame me for what happened to Tar.”
“I don’t,” she said softly, as Drago brought his fingers to the nape of her neck and pulled her to him. She resisted, but not much. She was drawn to him, to his vulnerability, but mostly to his love for Tar.
He pulled her closer and kissed her, gently at first, barely touching her lips with his. As the intensity of his kisses grew, he shifted over on the bed and lay her down beside him.
“This isn’t right,” she muttered as she gave in to his warm kisses.”
“I’ve felt guilty for so long, for so many reasons. Let me have this one moment with you guilt-free.”
Again, she was touched by his vulnerability, by the hardships he’d endured. He kissed her again, pulling her body tightly against his. He was surprisingly gentle and tender as he caressed her, exploring her with his fingertips and his lips.
He wasn’t in a hurry to rid her of her clothing, but rather savored every moment. There was something arousing about the way he delicately unbuttoned her shirt and lingered over every inch of newly exposed skin.
When he finally reached the last button, and opened her shirt, revealing her breasts, he groaned. “I knew you’d be ravishing, so irresistibly ravishing.”
He propped himself up on one elbow and leaned over her, caressing her breast with a tender hand before taking a nipple into his mouth. His tongue flickered over the erect nub, drawing a thrilled moan from Ally’s lips.
She felt the moisture of her arousal collect between her thighs and edged closer to him. With the same unhurried motions, Drago, untied her pants and partially lowered them. With her nipple still between his lips, he ran his fingers down over her navel and onwards to the crux of her thighs.
“My, but you’re hungry,” he growled in surprise when his fingers delved into her wet folds of skin. He stroked her, running his finger along the edges of her lips, then up to that sensitive nub of exquisite pleasure.
Slowly, his finger ran back and forth over it, bringing her to the brink of an explosive orgasm, only to stop.
“Let’s not rush this,” he said. He shifted onto his back and took off his pants.
The brief pause brought back Ally’s sense of guilt towards Tar, and she sat up. “This isn’t right. This isn’t why I brought you here. I just wanted to cure...”
“I know you care for Tar, and I appreciate that, but there is no need to feel guilty for what we are doing. It is customary for dragons to share, even more so for brothers.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “That is, so long as you want to be shared. You are loved by many, Ally. Do you see that as a problem, or a blessing?”
When she didn’t answer, he pulled off his shirt, shifted her into the center of the bed and mounted her. He was a beautifully str
ong man, with a perfectly chiseled chest and powerful arms. Even with the monster’s parasite inside him, he was perfection. His skin was smooth and soft, and as Ally ran her fingers over his bicep, she was amazed by the softness of the skin in contrast to the hardness of his muscles.
He was hard and soft in every way. His lips remained soft as his kissed her, plying her lips apart with his gentle tongue, while his hard cock was more forceful and urgent as it pushed inside her, stroking her with increasing intensity.
Her hips rocked back and forth, following his motions, dancing with him as they both sought the same fulfillment. He thrust harder, faster and deeper, bringing her to the explosive orgasm he’d hinted at earlier, all while spilling his own orgasm deep inside her.
Their connection restored Drago, bringing back the color he’d lacked, and once again, Ally felt a surge of power and strength. She was stronger.
“You’re mine,” he whispered as he rolled off her and pulled her into his arms. “Mine forever.”
“Well,” she said as she pulled free and sat up. “I don’t know about that.” She stood and gathered her clothing to dress.
“We just had the most incredible sex together. Don’t you think that means something? That you’re meant to be with me? Tell me that you didn’t just have the best, most powerful and explosive orgasm ever.”
“Yes, the sex was great, but, as I tried to tell you earlier, my reason for bringing you here was to cure you, to rid you of the parasite, and…” She pointed to him. “As you can see, it worked. You’re fine now.”
He gazed at her and shook his head. “I don’t know what all this curing thing is about. All I know is that we had great sex, and yeah, now I feel fine. Who wouldn’t?”
As she buttoned her shirt, he grasped her hand. “Ally, I’m telling you; you’re my woman. I want you… with me.”
She looked pointedly at him. “All right. Then prove it. If you’re truly sincere in your desire to have me… with you, then allow Tar to return to the Dark Forests, and be his brother again.”
“Ally,” he argued. “I can’t just…”
“You’re the king,” she shot back. “You can do anything you like.”
He looked at her, speechless.
“Right,” she said as she ripped her hand from his hold and walked to the door. “Just as I thought. This was all just for lust, and nothing more.”
Chapter 7
Ally left Drago to deal with vomiting the parasite on his own. She no longer wanted to be in the same space as him.
“You can have the room back, Mrs. Thornton,” Ally shot to the woman sitting at her husband’s side. She sauntered out of the inn and back to her house.
Although she’d barely been gone an hour, dozens of bottles already lined the wall of the kitchen.
“Ally, is that you?” Kate called from the bathroom.
“Yeah,” Ally called as she found Kate busily pouring the potion into small bottles.
“This stuff is amazing,” Kate said. “I brewed a large kettle of tea with only a few leaves, and sent the kettle to the infirmary. We offered a cup of tea to one of the worse cases, a man who was surely on the verge of dying from the parasite. It was difficult getting a sip of tea down his throat, and we sensed that the parasite was fighting it, but we got him to swallow and there was an immediate change in him. We were then able to get him to drink the rest of his cup of tea, and…” Kate beamed as she went on. “It seems miraculous. The parasite left him and shriveled up and died.”
“I’m so happy to hear that, Kate. You have no idea.” Ally picked up one of the small bottles. “And what is this?”
“After that initial test, I came back and brewed another large kettle of tea and let it cool, then poured it into these small bottles. This way we can more easily bring the brew to more people out on the front.”
“Good idea. And what have you come up with to kill the monsters directly.”
Kate nodded and reached for a larger bottle in the bathtub. “I came up with this, a potent blend of that oily soil, a bit of tea, and just one dried leaf crushed directly into the brew.”
“Have you tested it?”
She nodded again, this time more fervently. “William went out with something as inoffensive as a spray bottle, shot some of the liquid into the air, and a dozen monsters fell from the sky on the spot.”
Ally cocked a brow, surprised and impressed by the potency of Kate’s potion. “He just sprayed some of the liquid into the air? That’s more effective than I could have imagined.”
“Here,” Kate said, pulling out several spray bottles. “I know it looks funny, but hey, it works.”
Ally laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure the guys are going to get a kick out of this one. ‘How do I kill the monster?’” Ally said in a mockingly low and masculine voice. “All you have to do is spray them with this.”
They laughed together, imagining the warriors with their spray bottles.
“All right, then,” Ally said as her laughter died down. “I’ll bring all I can to the front and come back if we need more.”
“There’ll be plenty.”
Ally filled a large sack and headed out behind the shed to take flight. While she felt the weight of the sack she carried, she held onto it with ease, barely tensing her muscles. She could have been carrying a pillow for all the effort the heavy bag demanded of her.
When she reached the front, she dropped all of the smaller bottles down to the archers below. They looked up at her and waved, knowing what they had to do next. There were plenty of bottles for everyone and they got to work.
Next she headed to her princes, now accompanied by a king. Even from a distance she noticed the difference in their way of fighting. Many of the monsters were hesitant to even approach them, and the few that did, were burned to a crisp.
Some of the monsters turned to an easier target; the humans below. Others still just hovered about, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack a dragon.
“I have a potent potion,” Ally called out as she came up to them. She pulled out a full spray bottle and tossed it to Razor.
“What the hell is this?”
“Our new potion,” she said as she tossed another bottle to Jasper who looked at it with the same disdain as Razor. “It’s so potent, all you have to do is spray in the direction of the monsters and they fall like flies.”
Razor held the bottle in his claw-like dragon hand. “Spray them? Come on, Ally. We’re warriors. For heaven’s sake, we’re dragons. You want us to fly around spraying those things with this?”
“Yes.” She was about to toss a bottle to Flint, but he held up his small dragon paws.
“Don’t you dare throw one of those things at me. Sorry, babe, but I’m a dragon, a fierce dragon. I don’t do spray bottles.”
“Will you guys stop being so childish? This is war. You’ve vowed to do whatever is necessary to kill those things off, and this is the best way of doing that.”
She tossed the bottle at Drago who caught it and held it aloft.
“Come on, Flint. You have to have one to,” Ally insisted. She tossed a spray bottle at him before he could protest again.
Razor turned to burn an approaching monster to a crisp with a fiery breath, then returned his attention to his spray bottle.
Who would have thought that such a minor detail could upset them so, she thought.
She pulled out her own spray bottle. “Okay, if you guys don’t believe me, watch.” She turned to face a dozen monsters hovering several yards behind her and gave the bottle just one spritz. A mist of rainbow-colored potion crossed the space that separated them and instantly killed all the monsters.
The guys stopped laughing and looked at their spray bottle with more interest.
“I know,” Flint said, turning the cap off the bottle and taking the spritzer off. He took a mouthful of the solution and turned his fiery breath to the monsters that had begun to fly away at the sight of Ally’s dangerous spritz. The flame, carrying with it
the potent potion, reached the distant monsters and burned several dozen with the one breath.
“Now, that’s a method I can live with,” Razor said.
The princes all uncapped their bottles, took a swig and flew off on the attack. The table had turned. It was no longer the monsters coming in to kill the dragons, but the dragons chasing after them, killing them by the hundreds.
For hours they chased the monsters, killing them as they tried to make their way back to their world. Ally kept up with the princes, also spraying the monsters whenever one dared get too close.
Drago had gone off on his own, and she began to worry about him. With the potion in his possession, it was unlikely he’d been attacked, but it had been well over an hour since she’d last seen him.
She pulled back from the band of princes and looked at the horizon toward the Dark Forests, and in the distance she saw him. He was just a tiny speck, but he quickly moved in on her… and he wasn’t alone.
“What’s going on?” Ally whispered to herself as she tried to focus on him. He was carrying something; something big, something… “Oh, my God,” she breathed. “Tar.”
Though still far away, they made eye contact and Drago gestured to the valley floor below. Ally nodded and they both descended down to earth and met near a narrow and shallow creek.
“He’s so fucking far gone,” Drago spat, his anger and frustration coming through with every word. “Damn it.”
“Calm down, Drago. We’ll fix him.”
Drago shifted to human form, knelt and set Tar down on the soft earth, cradling his head in his lap. His tears streaked his cheek before falling to land on his brother’s face.
“Look at him,” he cried. “He’s barely breathing.” He looked up at her, the pain and anguish distorting his regal features. “Do something. You said that you cured me back at the inn. Does that mean you can cure him, too?”
She nodded, but also worried Tar could be too far along in the process. Had the parasite eaten away at his physical body? Was there essentially nothing left to save?