Lucia called on the light of the sun and the blessing of the Goddess to oversee the temple and protect them all with her love. No matter where the Goddess had gone, Lucia knew that their prayers would reach her and that she would always wish to protect her children.
After the first ritual was complete, the witches met in the grand banquet hall on the ground floor of the fortress. Now that they had completed their first gathering as a coven, Lucia knew it was time to tell them the truth of what was expected of them. She had avoided this conversation for as long as she could, but it couldn't wait any longer. Orion had been conversing with the allied forces, ensuring them the witches would become available for mating soon.
They’d accepted his terms, but now the women needed to know what their fate would be. Lucia stood from the head table, her long white robes flowing around her body. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she knew that many of these women could feel that there was something amiss.
"My beautiful, beloved sisters," Lucia started. "It is good for us all to be together again after so many centuries of forgetfulness. The dark sun reawakened our powers and now we gather here together as we once were.
“We all know by now that the destiny of the priestesses of Gama is to be the mothers of all immortals. We must take that responsibility seriously in these times of great evil. The reality of our world is that there are many dangers, not only to the humans, but to the witches as well.
“Every immortal alive today will want to mate with a witch who will give birth to immortal children. There is a battle being waged right now as we eat our cake and drink our champagne. The Surge will stop at nothing to take over the world.
“Xander Valdis wants more than just the human population under his rule. He wants all of us under his thumb. He wants to sweep destruction across the face of the Earth and leave nothing good and true alive. And because of that, I must tell you now the expectation of all witches who remain under the protection of the fortress.
“This is our new temple to Gama and as long as you are here you will be protected from The Surge and from all immortals who would molest you. But our protection must come with a condition. In order for the temple to not be attacked by even our own allies, the eligible unmarried witches of the coven must offer themselves as mates to immortal males."
There was a gasp from the crowd and everyone broke out into loud chatter. There were objections all around and Lucia could feel their anger and frustration mounting.
"I thought we were safe here!" one of the women yelled.
"You are safe here. You will always be safe here. But you must understand we are under a tremendous amount of pressure. The world is not the world we once knew. We must cooperate if we want to preserve any of our ideals. If we want to see a bright future for ourselves and for our children, we must have the cooperation of the allied immortals."
"You're selling us out," said another woman.
"No she's not," Bridget said, standing. "You don't understand what will happen to you outside of these walls. The immortals who are roaming the Earth now will be able to sense your magic. The second they see you, they will take you and they will rape you until you give birth to their children. Is that what you want? To be left with no choice at all? To have no protection? The males we will allow to choose among the witches will have already been screened by Orion and our arch-priestess Lucia. They will not let unjust men come here to claim us."
"Thank you, Bridget," Lucia started. “This is how it will work. There will be a random rotation. Every month, six women will be offered as mates to the suitors who come to the fortress. We don't know how many suitors will arrive each month. But we will only offer six women as mates. Each witch may refuse to be mated for one rotation. On the second rotation, she must choose or she will lose the protection of the fortress. This is the only way to keep all of us safe. I beg you sisters to understand what we all must sacrifice to live in a better world."
"You are not being expected to offer yourself to a stranger," said one of the women.
"That is only because my husband has already claimed me. Remember, my dear sisters, you were most likely alive two thousand years ago. Your soul existed on this plane during the time before the veil. In all likelihood, you will find your husbands from that time. These negotiations are only to gain the cooperation of the allied immortals and those not allied with us. It's unlikely that you will ever be approached by a man who is distasteful to you."
"You can't guarantee that."
"You're right, I can't. And that is why you are allowed to refuse one rotation. That means that you may refuse all suitors, even if there are a hundred of them to choose from,” Lucia explained.
"But then on the next rotation we must choose or we are left to fend for ourselves," said one of the angry witches.
"I am afraid this is our only option. And if you do not agree now then you may leave. No one expects you to stay here. We're not forcing you. But the fact is that if you remain under our protection you must agree to cooperate. It is the only way that we can function while protecting everyone," Lucia said, her voice cracking.
"Sisters, please. Let our arch-priestess rest. I sense this decision is extremely distressing for her," Bridget said.
Orion had remained silent during the announcement. Lucia slipped into her chair, feeling the weight of the declaration heavy on her shoulders. Her priestesses were angry at her, and it was an incredibly uncomfortable feeling. But there was something else besides that, she could feel a stirring inside her, something she had not been paying attention to.
She reached under the table, grasped Orion's hand, and squeezed it tight. She needed to be alone with him, to hold him, and to feel herself under his protection. She mourned for the women who did not yet have their husbands. And she prayed more than anything that her sister witches would all find the men who had loved them in a previous lifetime. Her love for Orion was the most important, most brilliant, most amazing thing in her life, and she wouldn't trade it for anything.
As the witches filed out of the grand banquet room and went upstairs to change out of their robes, Lucia walked upstairs to the quarters she shared with Orion.
They had a grand suite on the third floor with a huge bed at the center. There was a sitting room and another small study off to the side.
When the night fell, they walked onto the balcony outside the French doors and looked up at the clear sky. The moon shone brightly over the land, illuminating the courtyard in a pale silver blue glow. Orion wrapped his arm around Lucia and held her close to him.
"You are worried, my love. I can smell your distress," Orion said.
Above in the night sky the stars fell in a shower. All around, above her, the shooting stars streaked across the sky. She felt as if it was an omen, but she wasn't quite sure if it was good or bad. She closed her eyes, feeling Orion's quiet strength beside her.
Lucia searched deep inside herself, trying to understand her own feelings and the strange stirring sensation at her core. Suddenly, she knew what it was.
She was with child.
A memory of the last time she'd learned that she and Orion would be having a new baby flashed across her mind. It had been on a night much like this one, with the stars streaking across the sky. Now she knew that it was indeed a good omen.
"Husband," she said, opening her eyes. "I am with child."
Orion gathered her into his arms and gazed into her eyes. His own eyes shone brightly in the light of the moon as he leaned in to kiss her. In that moment, even with all the death and destruction, even with all the anger of her own sister witches, Lucia could not have been happier.
Chapter 16
The midwives gathered around Lucia as she gave birth to her baby daughter, the first full-blooded immortal to be born in two thousand years.
Several days later, at the welcoming ritual for the child, the witches stood at attention with Lucia and Orion as the baby was baptized in the way of the priestesses of Gama and given her name: Ti
tania Silverdrake.
The other Silverdakes had come to the temple for the occasion. Lucia’s older son Ajax was there too. And although she hadn't seen him in over two thousand years, she still knew herself to be his mother. Titus Silverdrake had arrived as well, having refused Orion’s suggestion that he come to the next gathering to find a wife.
As Lucia held Titania in her arms, standing beside Orion, Bridget sprinkled blessed water over the baby's forehead and recited the prayer for the child’s immortal soul. It was an old custom that the priestesses of the temple had performed for not only their own children, but for the children of any human or immortal who came and asked for it.
It was a way of binding the child’s soul to the Earth Mother, the Goddess who created them all. All souls were equal, but the baptism of the new babe was a way of dedicating the spirit to the Great Mother.
Lucia had never been so proud as she was on that day standing beside her husband and holding her baby daughter. All the witches of the coven were around her as were her brother-in-law and her older son. Nothing could take away the joy in her heart on that day.
After the ceremony, the Silverdrakes retired to a private sitting room where Titus, Orion, and Ajax discussed clan business.
"I am no longer the Alpha of the Silverdrake clan," Orion said. "That designation has been yours for the last nine months, brother. These decisions are for you to make."
“Reestablishing human society in our region has been an uphill battle. We still struggle every day to keep the people safe. We all could have benefited from your help, Orion.”
"Titus, doing this work is what it means to be clan Alpha. I know that you can deal with this on your own."
“You chose the worst time in history to step away from the responsibility, brother,” Titus growled.
"Please don't fight on the day of Titania’s baptism," Lucia said, holding her child in her lap.
Her black and white cat Felix meowed and rubbed Lucia’s ankles. The brothers looked over at her, Orion with concern in his eyes while Titus had anger boiling behind his.
"If you will not help me, Orion, then you must be prepared for the repercussions of any mistakes I make."
"You lack self-confidence, Titus. One would think that a five-thousand-year-old dragon would have more belief in himself," Orion chided.
"I am inexperienced as clan leader and as a rebuilder of civilization; that is different than a lack of confidence. And it is you who thrust this position on me at the absolute worst time."
"I disagree, brother. This was the best time for you to learn how to be the Alpha of the Silverdrake clan. You’ve asked for this position for the last thousand years, and I have given it to you. A ‘thank you’ would be nice. Now can we stop fighting on the day of the baptism of my first daughter?" Orion asked.
"Very well, brother, I will take care of the humans of St. Louis myself," Titus growled. "Ajax, we’re leaving."
Ajax moved across the room and bent to kiss his mother on her cheek.
"It was good to see you, Lucia," Ajax said. "It is good to have you alive in the world again. We have all missed you so much."
"Thank you, Ajax. That means so much to me."
"Father," Ajax said, nodding to Orion.
"Farewell, son, take care."
Titus and Ajax left the seating area, ready to go back to the St. Louis clan headquarters. Part of Lucia wished that Ajax could stay with them so that he and Titania would know each other better as her baby grew up. But she also knew it was not meant to be.
Ajax was over two thousand years old. Titania was only a few days old. They may be siblings, but they were millennia apart. Ajax was needed in St. Louis. Titus had struggled to reconstruct the city over the last nine months. The electric grids of the human world had been largely destroyed. After the sun had come back on, the immortals remaining in their various zones had announced their intention of protecting the mortals who lived there. All the allied immortals had worked tirelessly to reconstruct their cities and to provide the human populations with safety, food, and shelter.
Due to Titus’s leadership, the inner city of St. Louis had become more prosperous and more technologically advanced than it had been before the dark sun. But so far it was entirely centralized in the downtown area near the St. Louis arch. Outside of that area, there was still no electricity. Many humans had completely abandoned the cities, instead choosing to spread out into rural areas. Many had taken their chances, trying to survive in more primitive ways.
The kidnapping and rape of untrained witches had become a notorious problem. Women were filing into the temple from all over the country. Other covens had popped up around the world, using very similar rules as Lucia’s temple. In exchange for protection and training, the witches were expected to choose an immortal to mate with.
The witches who did not accept the protection of the covens were in grave danger. Their power was only strong enough to withstand an attack from a few dragons or vampires, but if a powerful group of immortals descended on an inexperienced witch, she had no way of defeating them.
There were many stories of entire families being torn apart trying to defend a newly awakened witch from rogue immortals.
The situation for the priestesses of Gama was not good. Lucia mourned it every day, but she and her husband were doing everything they could to provide protection, safety, love, and training for women like her. It was all she could do.
She worked tirelessly, day and night, to help the priestesses of Gama find a way to survive in this new, strange world. She would never stop working to protect them, and she knew that her beloved husband Orion felt the same.
Because of Orion’s dedication to the witches, Titus had to learn to take on the role of clan leader on his own. Orion crossed the room and sat beside her, taking her hand in his. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the soft skin on the back of her hand before replacing it on her lap. Felix jumped on the couch and curled into a black and white ball at her side.
"What do you think will become of Titus and the humans of the city?"
“It is the same situation for all allied immortals. This is Titus’s destiny.”
"I fear the future," Lucia said, cradling her daughter in her arms.
She had already been through so much change since the dark sun. Like every mother since the dawn of time, all Lucia wanted for her daughter was a safe and happy life.
"Don't worry, my beloved wife. No matter what the future holds, I will always be here to protect you."
"I know that, Orion. Your love fills my heart with gladness every day, and I wouldn't trade it for all the safety in the world. I hate to say it, but even the dark sun was worth being with you again."
"I feel the same, beloved."
Orion leaned in and kissed her cheek. In that moment, Lucia knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that even the end of the world could have a happy ending.
Alpha Dragon’s Virgin Bride
Dark Sun Dragons 2
In a world of deadly alliances, can their love be reborn?
Desdemona Hawthorn is only nineteen years old, but she knows what she wants: a normal life. That's impossible now, after that the sun went dark and dangerous immortals took over her planet. When she discovers she has magic of her own, she's forced to go to the witch temple for safety. Despite the overpowering dreams of another life, where she was loved by one man and in love with another, she wants nothing to do with the immortals and their lies.
Alpha Titus Silverdrake must protect not only the members of his dragon clan, but also the humans in his region, from the Surge -- an evil alliance of vampires and dragons who seek to rule the world. Despite his many responsibilities, when he recognizes the scent of Desdemona's magic at the temple he knows he must reclaim the woman whom he loved above all else.
Desdemona doesn't remember much about her former life with Titus ... except a feeling of betrayal. But Kyran, the vampire who was her other suitor, hasn't forgotten any of what went before. As she struggles
to accept her destiny and her role in defeating the Surge, Titus must balance the need to protect his clan -- and the world -- with his battle to regain Desdemona's trust ... and her heart.
Prologue
Desdemona held the vivid pink rose, gazing at the intricately folded petals that spiraled out from the center. The long stem was jagged with thorns and sprigs of deep green leaves. She was dressed in a long white robe that draped over her honey-brown skin.
The dragon had given her this perfect gift. His silver-blue eyes shone in the orange evening light as he stood above her in the temple gardens. Her heart danced. She knew what it meant for him to offer her this gift.
But another man had made the same offering only days before.
Desdemona approached the dark-haired dragon. He stood tall and broad shouldered against the fading sunlight. His form cast a long shadow on the grass and she stepped into his shade.
“Why did you bring this to me now?” she asked him, her body ablaze with the awareness of his raw masculinity. He wore a silver breastplate and a red kilt, with leather boots that wrapped around his calves.
“Should I have brought it before?” he asked in a husky voice, raising an eyebrow.
The silver-blue-eyed man was an enigma to her. She’d desired him for years, but he had always been beyond her reach.
“I’ve had another offer,” she said bluntly, angry that he would come to her now, after everything she’d done to get his attention.
He reached out and cupped her cheek, his eyes blazing as his head shielded her from the setting sunlight. His shadowed head was cast in a bright halo, giving him an angelic aura. Desdemona sucked in a breath, feeling weak at the knees from his touch. He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her against him. His hardness made her moan out loud. Her silky robes slid over the cool metal of his breast plate. She felt him rise against her under the folds of his kilt.
Desired by Dragons (Dragon Shifter Mega Bundle) Page 87