by Bianca D’Arc
Lucia did cry then, feeling tears slide down her face as she moved forward to meet the gryphon. She buried her face in Ella’s neck feathers, as she had when she was a little girl.
“I love you too, Ella. I’ve missed you so much.” Her whispered words were for the gryphon alone and they stood together, comforting each other for some time before the storm passed.
Lucia drew back, surprised to see everyone still there, watching her with understanding eyes. Ella stayed near.
“Your marriage is the first sstep,” Lorr said from her side. “Our brethren’ss involvement with Prince William iss another.”
“Steps in what?” Nico asked. Though it was clear from the tightening of his expression he wanted to know more about his missing brother, he focused instead on the bigger picture. For the moment. Lucia had no doubt he’d do his best to grill the gryphons about Prince William as soon as he saw a better opening.
“Sstepss in uniting the forcess that will be needed to fight Sskir if Lucan managess to free him.”
“Sweet Mother!” Nico started, clearly upset. “But I thought the wizards were all dead.”
“Not dead. Not all,” Lorr confirmed. Sskir wass confined for hiss crimess in a place called the Citadel. He hass sslept in frozen ice thesse many centuriess. Lucan sseekss to free him.”
“So that’s what his search parties are doing in the north.” Nico shot to his feet.
“It iss what we believe. Gryphonss do not ussually fly that far north, but we have ssome friendss among the Ice Dragonss. They are wild, but they help protect the Citadel. It iss what they were created for.”
“Roland needs to know.” Nico made a move toward the door, but one very large, feathery wing stopped him.
“That iss why we told you, Prince of Sspiess, King of the Jinn. You, perhapss more than any other man, have many piecess of the puzzle already. You, perhapss, know more than even we gryphonss.” Lorr trilled, his amusement plain.
“We would create an alliance between oursselvess and the heirss of Draneth, as Gryffid and Draneth were allied in timess passt.” Ella cocked her head to the side, watching them. “The Mother Goddesss hass brought the line of Gryffid here for a reasson, we believe. The union of Lucccy with a dragon pair and their knightss, iss the firsst contact, but there will be otherss between gryphonss and dragonkin. Ssoon. This marriage will pave the way for our alliance if, and when, it iss needed.”
“I had no idea.” Lucia was shocked.
“Neither did we, at firsst.” Ella nudged Lucia fondly with her beak. “Eventss have come to passs asss they will. We merely sstruggle to undersstand.”
“Well, that makes me feel so much better.” Her dry comment startled a laugh out of Queen Riki.
“I know how you feel, Lucy. I only found out a few months ago I was descended from one of Draneth’s sons. It’s a little confusing at first, but then everything starts to make sense.” She turned her attention to the gryphons, a sparkle in her eyes. “Like the way she was able to use the gryphon magic in that feather, when it would probably never respond to anyone else.”
Ella nodded. “You are right, my queen. Lucccy carriess Gryffid’ss blood. Only sshe may usse the magic. Her family and chossen matess may handle the plume, though it will sshock anyone elsse who triess to touch it.”
Riki rubbed her hand. “Yes, I know.” She chuckled and the gryphons trilled as they shared a moment of amusement. They talked a while longer, but Lucia was overwhelmed by all the information. She’d had no clue about her ancestry or her birthright, except as a priestess. Wizard blood, now that was something else again. The idea was startling and scary.
Marcus and Kaden entered the suite, seeking Lucia immediately.
“What’s wrong?” Marcus pulled the gauntlets from his hands as he neared her. “We left practice when we felt your distress.”
“Already they are clossely bonded,” Ella trilled with satisfaction. “Thiss iss a good ssign for the future.” She stood and padded past the knights toward the door.
“We sshould talk more with your brother, I think,” Lorr said to Nico. “Leave thesse lovebirdss to comfort each other.” One large eagle eye winked as his beak clattered in gryphon laughter. He padded after his mate, sharp claws clicking on the polished stone floor.
Riki and Nico left with them, smiles on their faces as they walked behind the gryphons, hand in hand. That left Lucia with her mates. She was glad. She needed their support right now.
She related what the gryphons had told her, much to their astonishment. Marcus held her while Kaden asked pointed, strategic questions about the threat they’d hinted at. Kaden gave up the interrogation when she’d told them all she could, but Lucia hadn’t minded sorting through all the startling information with him. It helped calm her nerves, but also reminded her of the true gravity of what had been revealed.
War might well be coming, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since wizard times.
Chapter Thirteen
Lucia sought comfort with her mates that night, sleeping between the two after loving them each thoroughly. The dragons slept side by side for the first time in their new suite, though they had yet to join fully. That would come. Tomorrow.
The wedding feast was set. All the knights and their ladies and dragon partners were ready for the celebration. The young prince was still missing and that sorrow had cast a cloud over the castle for the past week or more, but even the royal family thought going ahead with the wedding was best for all concerned. For one thing, it was important strategically to bring Lucy and her gryphon friends into the family, as it were, but on the purely human side of it, the Lair folk needed something to be cheerful about. Prince William was much beloved and the two young dragons who’d taken off after him, Jenet and Nellin, were sorely missed. Rumors flew as did the dragons, back and forth from all the outlying Lairs, but no one had seen or heard from any of them in days.
Lucia flitted through her day, going over the things she’d learned about the traditional knights’ wedding ceremony. It was different than most other nuptial celebrations. There were promises made, which was familiar enough, but afterwards, there were a series of ritual dances. It had been years since Lucia’s dancing lessons as a child, but she’d picked up the basic steps very quickly when the women of the Lair showed her. These dances were completely foreign, and very daring, because they were performed with two men. She’d be dancing with both her knights at the same time. And from what the women described when they showed her the layered garments she was expected to wear, they’d be slowly undressing her throughout the ritual.
The other married knights would join in the dancing with their own ladies, and by the time the final dance was performed, the knights and their ladies would be ready to join their counterparts, the dragons, as they took to the air in a mating flight. The human partners would seek their own beds while the dragons would soar into the heavens, but both sides of the partnership would be seeking and sharing pleasure.
The very idea of it took her breath away.
The ceremony was beautiful. Surrounded by dragons, knights and their ladies, plus the royal family and two preening gryphons, Lucia, Marcus and Kaden spoke their vows. Reynor and Linea shared their vows as well and then the feast began in earnest. A lovely dinner was followed by the ritual dancing. By the time they reached the last of the sequence of dances, Lucia was hot in more than one way.
The men tossed her around, leaving her clothed only in the barest necessities. Three by three, the married trios left. The newlyweds ran down the corridor of the Lair as Reynor and Linea took to the air. The other paired dragons followed suit, reaching for the stars together. The single dragons trumpeted and roared, adding their joyous voices to the drumbeat of wings that filled the air all around the castle.
Marcus, Kaden and Lucia barely made it to their suite before they were naked, grasping for one another. The knights were in a frenzy of need, urged on by the dragons’ strong connection to them both. Lucia didn’t mind one bit. Th
e other women had warned her about the way the dragons’ passion would incite the knights. Secretive smiles and teasing remarks had forewarned her about how hard the dragons would drive their lust and how well she would benefit from it.
Trusting her men, Lucia let them carry her, position her, treat her as they wanted. The women had advised letting them have their way this first time, and she wasn’t inclined to argue. So far, everything they did only made her want them more.
Kaden lifted her over Marcus, lowering her onto his cock. She was just getting used to the sudden intrusion—though in truth, she’d been wet and ready half the night—when Kaden pushed her forward. The move took her by surprise, but she went willingly. Kaden’s powerful hands were rougher than usual, but she found new appreciation of his strength. It made her senses leap higher.
Marcus swept his hands down her body, cupping her ass as he claimed her mouth. His kiss was demanding. More demanding than usual, but altogether enthralling. When he let her up for air, his smile stretched wide and fierce across his handsome face.
“How are you doing?”
“Never better.” She jumped when something slick and chilly touched her backside. Marcus chuckled and cupped her ass cheeks more firmly, lifting and separating. The chill came again, but this time she felt Kaden’s blunt fingers behind the slick wetness, teasing her back entrance.
“Don’t worry, my love.” Marcus nipped her lips. “We’ll be as gentle as we can. Damn. I’ve was warned about this, but nothing beats the feelings Linea is broadcasting to me at this moment.” His eyes danced with the fire of his passion.
“What’s it like?” She gasped as Kaden’s finger entered her, stroking the cream inside, stretching and preparing her.
“It’s like feeling echoes of a love so strong, it would kill you to stand in its full glory. It’s…”
“Amazing,” Kaden said as he slid two fingers into her. He loomed over her shoulder, biting down gently on her neck as he stretched her. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
“Kaden!” She cried out when he twisted his fingers, but it wasn’t in pain.
“Good?”
“Oh, Kaden,” she gasped.
“We can’t wait any longer. I’m sorry, love.” Kaden knelt between her and Marcus’s splayed thighs, coming over her. He’d removed his fingers, and now sought to replace them with something a little bigger. Make that a lot bigger.
She felt their fire rise as Kaden began a slow, careful entry. She’d never done this before, but the women had warned her about it and she thought she was ready. Nothing though, could prepare her for the incredible feelings Kaden was causing. Marcus lay still, only pulsing occasionally, when he couldn’t help himself, while Kaden breached that place that had never been breached before.
Lucia accepted their ardor, just as she accepted their love. Kaden wouldn’t hurt her. It twinged a bit, but she knew they would bring her bliss.
The dragon’s lust drove Kaden onward as he joined fully with Lucia. Marcus was in her pussy and he felt the other man through the thin barrier separating them. It was a new sensation, but not unpleasant.
Hell, with the way Reynor’s fire was pushing him, Kaden would do anything at all to be one with his mate at this moment. Her love, her acceptance, her joy in their partnership made this all worthwhile. Without her, Kaden would never have been able to stand the heights to which Reynor’s passion forced him. It was an echo only, but it was stronger than anything Kaden had ever experienced. Now he understood why fighting dragons were not allowed to mate unless their knight partners had a love of their own.
He felt the deep bonds of love tying him to Lucy, and through her to Marcus as well. The bonds were snapping into place, never to be broken. They were strengthening with each moment and would form indestructible links between their souls. It was beautiful and breathtaking.
Almost as breathtaking as the echoes of dragon lust driving him to claim his mate in a frenzy of need. He felt the moment Linea and Reynor became one. Rey’s triumphant cry as he finally joined with his mate was echoed by Kaden as he slid fully home within his new wife. Moments of blinding fury—a firestorm of passion and lust followed. Then, as Rey came, so did Kaden. Fast, hot, strong and longer than he’d ever come in his life. The dragon echoes affected the knights, pushing them to feats of endurance and virility no human man could achieve naturally.
Kaden collapsed, welcoming the spasms of his mate’s body around his that let him know she’d climaxed hard and was still feeling her own pleasure. At the last he’d been blinded to all but the dragons and his own scorching finale. It would get more manageable in time, they’d been told by older, wiser knights, but for right now, Kaden didn’t think life could get any more perfect.
He rolled away, disengaging himself carefully from Lucy. Marcus rolled her between them and both knights stroked her soft skin. She was a miracle.
“Are you all right?” Kaden’s voice was rough.
“Give me a few minutes to revive and I’ll let you know.”
“That good, huh?” Kaden rose on one elbow to look at his lovely mate.
“That devastating.” She raised one tired hand to cup his cheek. “I love you.”
He placed a kiss in her palm. “I love you too, my wife.” He stared at her a moment before rising. He moved into the bathing chamber and cleaned himself, then returned with soft cloths to bathe his mate. His wife. Kaden couldn’t stop smiling.
Marcus was kissing her when he returned, both of them exchanging words of love. Kaden felt his heart expand in his chest, welling to include both of them, and the dragons as well. His new family stunned him. They were his. Finally, he had a family to call his own.
He stared a moment more, then bent to his task. He would have to take care of Lucy. They had much more ahead of them this night and in the days to come.
* * *
The newlyweds—both dragon and human—spent the next few days lost in each other. The dragons flew almost constantly and when the dragons caught each other in the sky and reached for the clouds, so too did their human partners.
On the second day, Lucia took a few minutes in the afternoon to visit her gryphon friends in the suite next door. She sat with Ella while Lorr was out stretching his wings, flying with some of the dragons in their training flights.
“Lorr and I want to move,” Ella pronounced carefully.
“You’re leaving?” Lucia felt her heart break.
“Not leaving, ssilly chick. Jusst moving. We will nesst on the mountain, with the king’s permission. This warm ssand iss nice, but not what we like for our hatchlingss.”
“Then you’re—?”
“Pregnant. Asss are you, my dear. Our babiess will grow up together, asss we did.”
“I’m—?” Lucia stuttered in her excitement.
“Did you not ssusspect?” Ella chided her with clacking gryphon laughter.
“I’d hoped, but I wasn’t certain.”
“Be certain.”
“Oh, Ella!” Lucia hugged the gryphon’s neck tightly in joy. “I have to tell Marcus and Kaden!”
“We heard.” The men stood in the large archway, both wearing identical expressions of stunned amazement.
Congratulations and hugs followed, with much time spent fussing over the expectant mothers—both human and gryphon. In the days to come, another female joined the others in expecting her first offspring. When Linea told her family about the egg that would soon be deposited in the warm sand to incubate, their joy was complete. For the first time in centuries a gryphlet and a dragonet would grow up together, as friends.
It boded well for the future, uniting the magical creatures and the people who loved them, and were loved in return. Lucia still feared the resurrection of an ancient war, but with her knights at her side and the children who would depend on them all, she knew she would persevere and prosper in this land of dragons and knights.
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Thanks for reading Wings of Change. If you enjoyed this book, please conside
r leaving a review. Even a short review can help others find my work.
Several other books in the series are available now in print and ebook formats. In 2012-2013, the first seven novels in the Dragon Knights series were reissued with new covers, and two new prequel novellas were added for the relaunch. The series “order”, with my annotations, is now as follows:
1. Maiden Flight – Belora’s story (youngest daughter of Adora)
1.5 The Dragon Healer (novella)
2. Border Lair – Adora’s story
2.5 Master at Arms (novella)
3. The Ice Dragon – Alania’s story (daughter of Adora)
4. Prince of Spies – Arikia’s story (daughter of Adora)
4.5 Wings of Change – this novella, which brings in gryphons for the first time
5. FireDrake
6. Dragon Storm – twin princes Darius & Connor’s story
7. Keeper of the Flame – Prince Hugh’s story
8. Hidden Dragons
You can expect new Dragon Knights stories later in 2015 and 2016. We’re heading for a showdown up in the frozen north, but we still have a few stories to tell before we get to that one.
A list of all of my books in series order, follows the brief section of covers and blurbs from recent releases below. Or you could check out my website – WWW.BIANCADARC.COM. Or you can sign up for my Newsletter to be alerted when new books are released.
