Dragon Mine

by Donna Grant

  “This is about the Kings being unable to have children with mortals.”

  Vaughn met her gaze. He could tell her, but it would be better to show her. “Come with me.”

  Their return to the manor was silent. He took her around to the back of the mountain so she could see the entrance they used in their true forms. Once inside, he studied her, waiting until she noticed the carvings. The minute she did, her gaze drank in all of the dragons that had been drawn, carved, and etched into the stone.

  “There are thousands of these throughout the tunnels,” Vaughn told her.

  Eurwen walked to one of the carvings and touched the stone. “Just like the dragons within the manor, these are a tribute.”

  “To what we once had. To what we lost. Aye.”

  Her silver eyes met his. “What does this have to do with children?”

  “This realm was never perfect, but it was damn close before the humans arrived. They were frightened, starving, and in need of protection. Especially because they didna have magic. The Kings gathered to approach them, but because they couldna understand us, the magic shifted us to their form. It was the first time any of us had that ability.”

  Eurwen nodded. “Erith explained that to me.”

  “Did she tell you how painful it was for us? Did she tell you we were suddenly thrust into a new role that we all desperately tried to figure out? Bodies we didna understand how to work properly?”

  Eurwen glanced at the ground. “She didn’t.”

  “The shift happened without warning,” Vaughn explained. “The pain was excruciating, but thankfully didna last long. Our magic allowed us to understand any language, so we had no trouble talking to the mortals. But learning to move our new bodies? Well, that was something else entirely. No’ only did we each have a sword, but we also had tattoos. Were the markings always there, and we just never saw them beneath our scales? That isna something anyone can answer.”

  She watched him, listening intently.

  Vaughn took her hand and led her through the tunnels. “We’re protectors. It’s something innate in every King. We didna see the humans as a threat. We saw them as those needing defending. So, we helped them. We gave them land, helped them build structures to keep them sheltered from the elements, and showed them what could and couldna be eaten. We believed we were doing the right thing.”

  “How could you open your home to them? There were no mortals on your world before.”

  He quirked a brow at her. “I could say the same for you and Zora. The humans didna arrive until after you did, yet you and Brandr didna destroy them.”

  “We thought about it.”

  “We’re no’ killers,” Vaughn told her. “We made a vow, and we stuck to it. Even when the humans began to multiply at an alarming rate and spread. Even when they hunted the smaller dragons. We believed we could keep them in check.”

  Eurwen glanced at him. “You weren’t harsh enough with their punishment.”

  “And when a dragon ate a human or two? What were we supposed to do?”

  She twisted her lips.

  “We tried to be fair with everyone involved. It worked on occasion, and other times it didna. During all of this, many of us Kings grew closer to groups of mortals on our land. Many took human females as lovers.”

  A muscle ticked near Eurwen’s lips. “Did you?”

  “I had several.”

  “At once?” Eurwen asked in surprise.

  Vaughn grinned, wondering if that was jealousy he heard in her voice. “No. Over a five-hundred-year span, three mortals became pregnant by me. Two miscarried almost immediately.”

  “The third?” Eurwen asked as she halted and faced him.

  The soft glow of the magical lights on the tunnel walls cast half her face in shadow. “She carried the child to term. None of the Kings used magic to prevent the pregnancies, at least no’ at first. So, the thought of having a child was exciting. She was one of the first to carry a half-dragon bairn to term. The instant she went into labor, I was by her side.”

  Vaughn’s memories took him back to that day immediately. He could hear his lover’s painful screams, feel her hand squeezing his as she pushed during a contraction. More than that, he remembered the hope that had filled the room. Until…

  He closed his eyes, trying to halt the memories, but it was too late. Vaughn lifted his lids and looked at Eurwen. “After over twenty-two hours of labor, the bairn made his way into the world. Unfortunately, he was stillborn. His mother swore that she had felt him move inside her. None of us could determine when the lad had passed. My grief was palpable, but hers was gut-wrenching. She never recovered from losing our child. Within a few months, she, herself, was dead.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Eurwen said in a soft whisper.

  “After that, I made sure to use magic to ensure that I couldna get anyone with child again. No’ only because of what it had done to the mortal, but because of the pain I endured, as well.”

  Eurwen briefly pressed her lips together. “Then came the war with the humans.”

  “There was a lot of heartache and anger on both sides. It might have begun with Ulrik’s mortal female who betrayed him, but it ended with us. Few Kings didna side with Ulrik and attack the humans. Myself included. Eventually, Con got all of us back on his side, one by one, until Ulrik stood alone.”

  “And my father banished Ulrik.”

  Vaughn snorted, shaking his head. “It was much more than that. The two were the closest of friends, brothers for all intents and purposes. Con was King of Dragon Kings, and Ulrik refused to obey, leaving Con no option. No one, especially no’ your father, wanted to strip Ulrik of his magic or banish him from Dreagan, but Ulrik wouldna listen to reason.”

  Vaughn walked to one of the carvings. “Ulrik is responsible for most of these. He did the largest one at the opening. We all wanted to save him, but we couldna. Then he ordered his Silvers to ignore Con. Four of them did. Those are the ones we captured and put into a deep sleep here in the mountain. Humans killed more and more dragons, those trying to protect the mortals from the Silvers. Those dragons didn’t defend themselves because we had ordered them to safeguard the humans. Their murders broke us.”

  Eurwen took his hand in hers and squeezed.

  “Everything we did, we did for the humans. The hate and fury that filled us when we saw the slaughtered dragons, when we watched one being hacked by hundreds of mortals as it screamed in pain, was too much. Every King understood in that instant that there couldna be peace. No’ now. The humans had a taste for blood, and they wouldna stop. There was nowhere the dragons could go and be safe. There were too many mortals. And we wouldna lose any more.”

  Her voice broke when she said, “You sent them away.”

  “It was the single hardest thing any of us has ever done. They didna want to go. We didna want them to go. But in order to regain our world, we had to do something. Our only other choice was to annihilate the humans. We considered it, but as I said before, we’re no’ murderers.”

  “You would’ve been protecting your people.”

  Vaughn smiled sadly. “And destroying the very thing that made each of us Dragon Kings. Maybe that’s what we should’ve done. The dragons would’ve remained, and the magic would have chosen others to challenge each of us, defeating us and thus becoming new Kings. But that isna what happened. We sent the dragons away and hid on Dreagan for a handful of millennia, waiting for the time when humans would forget us.”

  “Without your involvement in keeping them contained, their population exploded,” she said.

  Vaughn made a sound in the back of his throat and started walking hand-in-hand with her. “The way they fought each other over meaningless, insignificant things…we thought for sure they would eradicate themselves, and we could bring the dragons back. Yet, somehow, the mortals have managed to remain and continue their spread around the globe, happily destroying natural resources and slowly killing the planet. We watched it all from the sidelines
and under the radar while mourning the realm we once ruled. But, more importantly, our dragons and the ability to have families.”

  “Some of the Kings have married humans, be they Druid or not.”

  “And Fae,” he pointed out. “It’s only recently that we learned of the first pairing of a Dragon King and a Fae that produced Melisse. The other King of Kings held her prisoner for eons until Con released her. Then we heard about you and your brother. All the time in between, we believed we were the last of our kind. That we would never know what it meant to hold our children in our arms or watch them grow.”

  She was silent for a moment. “I never thought of it that way.”

  “Then perhaps you can try to imagine how your parents felt when neither you nor Brandr would see them.”

  Shame flashed across her face. “It’s one of the reasons I created the doorway.”

  He paused outside of the entrance to the cavern. “You did a good thing.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Come,” he told her and pulled her after him to where the four Silvers slept.

  She gaped and rushed to them, putting her hand on each of them one by one. “They’ve been here all this time?”

  “Aye.”

  “They should be with the others on Zora.”

  He nodded. “We agree, but they’re Ulrik’s clan. He gets the final say. None of us have liked keeping them like this, but having them here has been a balm during the hardest times. But it’s time they get to enjoy freedom and carry on with their lives.”

  “All of you deserve that,” she said as she met his gaze over the dragons.

  “That willna happen as long as we remain here. And we willna leave. This is our home. The magic that created us thrives here. Our dragons have found a new home, which makes all of us happy, but we’re still protectors of this realm and everyone in it.”

  She walked around the cage to stand beside him. “Do the humans know you waged war against the Dark Fae for them?”

  “You know they doona, and they never will. It doesna matter how advanced the mortals get, they can never know of us. If they learn, the majority will want to throw us in cages and dissect us to figure out how we do what we do.”

  She looked at the Silvers. “So, you hide.”

  “So, we hide.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Eurwen didn’t know if it was hearing about what’d happened from Vaughn, being at Dreagan, or a combination of both, but the story impacted her in ways she hadn’t been prepared for.

  She knew the story. Erith had told her and Brandr multiple times, but the goddess either hadn’t known some details or had chosen not to tell them. Whatever the reason, learning the specifics altered Eurwen’s perception. She had seen the pain in Vaughn’s eyes, heard the distress in his voice.

  Felt the bitterness and ire through his grip on her hand.

  Walking through Dreagan Mountain and looking at the dragon carvings had been like a punch in the gut. They were so detailed, so beautifully done that even a blind person would’ve seen the hope and promise in them. All of that, coupled with learning that Vaughn had had a stillborn with a mortal, nearly brought Eurwen to her knees.

  The raw emotion as he spoke of that event, even so many millennia ago, choked her.

  They stood with the Silvers for a long time, silent and lost in their respective thoughts. Eurwen wanted to take the dragons back with her. However, she wanted all the Kings to come with her to see her world—a place like they had once had. She knew it wasn’t possible, but she wished she could make it happen.

  Despite everything the Kings had endured, they remained optimistic and sanguine. She wasn’t sure she could in the same situation. And if she were to believe Vaughn, that was all because of her father. Constantine, King of Dragon Kings.

  “Show me more,” she urged Vaughn.

  With a smile, he turned and drew her with him as they walked from the cavern back to the tunnel. She glanced down at their joined hands, wondering why it felt so right that they were touching. Without Brandr there to judge her, she accepted not only enjoying Vaughn’s touch but also craving it.

  He took her through a door out of the mountain that brought them to the conservatory in the manor. Eurwen was amazed at the number of plants in the room. Each was lovingly cared for. She walked through them, unable to contain her smile.

  Vaughn grinned at her. “It’s one of my favorite places.”

  “It would be mine, as well. There’s something peaceful about being surrounded by plants.”

  Once they left the conservatory, he took her on a quick tour of the downstairs, showing her the enormous kitchen, the dining room with a table that went on for days, the jaw-dropping library, sitting room, and on and on. Eurwen couldn’t wait to explore both the library and the kitchen more. Though, she was curious about the dining room. She’d like to take a closer look at the pictures and pieces of art.

  But she forgot all of that as Vaughn led her up the stairs to the fourth floor. There were so many doors.

  He pointed to the left. “Ryder’s computer room is all the way down there. He’s our computer and electronic expert, and his mate, Kinsey, is nearly as good. If you ever need something from him, bring him some jelly donuts, and he’ll do anything you ask.”

  Eurwen laughed, wondering what the computer room looked like. Most likely, it held all the latest and greatest gadgets from the tech world.

  “My chambers are this way,” Vaughn said as he led her to the right.

  Eurwen’s blood pumped faster with every step. Finally, he paused midway down the corridor, stopping in front of a room on the left. His Persian blue eyes met hers as he turned the handle and pushed the door open. He swept his hand before her, urging to go first.

  Eurwen stepped inside and let her eyes roam over Vaughn’s possessions. To her right was a black marble fireplace with a jet-colored decorative mantel. On it was a large picture of a beautiful stag with a dark background. On the left side of the painting were two gold and two silver candlesticks with simple cream candles. On the right side was a single gold candlestick and two silver. The darkness of the frame and the picture sinking into the black fireplace made it almost appear as if the buck were jumping out at them.

  Two striking and unique leather chairs with a lived-in and worn look were situated near the hearth. Beneath them lay a simple cream rug that added texture to the wood floors. Her gaze swept along the outside wall, painted an off-white, the windows framing a stunning view of the mountains. A sword hung between the two windows, its blade pointed down, a focal point of the room. The baseboards, crown molding, doors, and window trim were all done in a stunning shade that fell somewhere between black and charcoal gray.

  Then she saw the bed. The king-sized frame sat large and impressive against the soft cream color of the walls. Somehow, Eurwen wasn’t surprised to find that his bedding was tweed. The texture and colors complemented Vaughn perfectly.

  When she was able to tear her gaze away from the bed, she spotted two doors. One was most likely the toilet, and the other his closet. She wondered what kind of clothes he had within. As if reading her mind, he walked to a door and opened it with a smile.

  Eurwen happily walked in, then came to a halt as she saw the size of it. His suits were hung perfectly spaced apart and color-coded. His dress shirts, regular shirts, jeans, and jackets…everything was pristine. His sweaters were folded neatly and set on shelves. His ties rolled and settled in a pull-out drawer. But it was his footwear that awed her. One entire wall from floor to ceiling was filled with shoes.

  She would’ve remained, opening other drawers, but he took her hand and led her to the other door. Eurwen’s mouth fell open. Just like the bedroom, the bathroom was Vaughn. The floor was white tile. A black clawfoot tub with a white interior rested against a black wall. A black vanity with white double sinks sat below a mirror with a black frame that hung on a wall with tan houndstooth wallpaper. Black towels hung on black rods near a shower of black tile with
white and tan accents.

  “What do you think?” Vaughn asked.

  She turned to him. “It’s beautiful. And very you.”

  “Will you stay with me here tonight?”

  “Yes,” she replied with a nod.

  There was no way she could refuse. She wanted it too badly.

  Vaughn walked closer, his blue eyes catching her gaze. “We could remain here for the rest of the day.”

  Eurwen’s heart leapt at the idea. She didn’t have to worry about Brandr walking in or what he might say because he wouldn’t know any of it. This trip was a holiday of sorts for her. She could forget who she was, the responsibilities she had, and who wanted answers. For now, it was all about what she wanted.

  And that was a glorious thing.

  “No one will miss us,” Vaughn said in a whisper as his hands came to rest on her hips, and his head began to lower.

  She lifted her face to his, needing his kiss more than she was willing to admit—even to herself. While she was at Dreagan, she would let herself feel everything for Vaughn instead of locking it away. Accepting and acknowledging it had a profound effect on her.

  His lips pressed against hers, firm and insistent. She placed her hands on his chest and leaned against him as she sank into the kiss. Desire heated her blood as his arms slowly wound around her and pulled her tightly against him. His tongue slid between her lips to duel with hers. She felt his arousal against her stomach, making her sex clench in need.

  A knock sounded, interrupting them.

  Vaughn groaned as he ended the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. “This better be life or death.”

  Eurwen couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fine.”

  “It isn’t.” He lifted his head, a frown marring his face.

  “It is,” she assured him.

  When he turned to the door, Eurwen realized that she hadn’t decided how much time she would spend at Dreagan. However, she didn’t expect to spend more than one night. Any longer, and Brandr would likely start a search for her. That meant Eurwen really only had that day and night of freedom.