by Rachel Angel
Knowing Drag would attempt to torment her, she quickly guided Shelby to her teammate’s side to watch the end of the race
Razor held the lead the entire run, never giving his opponent a chance to catch up, and the Cruel Princes and their parents cheered when he brought his horse to the finish line.
“A clear winner,” Headmaster Jerrod called out when Razor’s red-faced opponent finally crossed the line. “The Cruel Princes.”
Ally stood with the princes and bowed as the crowd applauded and cheered them.
“And now,” Headmaster Jerrod said. “The aerial challenge. Parents, please resume your seats in the stadium.”
Members of both teams left their horses to the stable boys and headed back to the inner stadium.
As they headed to the center, Tar leaned in close to Ally and said, “And now the show begins,” He shifted into a large black dragon with glowing yellow eyes.
Startled, Ally stopped in her tracks and stared in disbelief. Only when the dragon winked did she realize it was still Tar and she smiled as he flew into the air.
Flint followed suit, shifting into a shimmering silver dragon covered with dozens of armor plates. He was fiercely beautiful and even exuded more sexuality than in human form.
Ally smiled, fascinated by him and the effect her had on her as he flew off.
Jasper went next, shifting into a beautiful green dragon striped with teal. Before taking flight, he winked and gave her a playful lick with his hot tongue.
Ally giggled at his flirtations.
Razor came to stand beside her just as they arrived at the center of the stadium. “I’ll be shifting next,” he said. “You’ll have to ride me, Ally.”
She frowned a moment, not sure she’d understood him correctly.
“We all have to be in the air to qualify. If you don’t get on my back, we’re out of the competition.”
Ally nodded her understanding.
“They’re going to do everything they can to knock you off. They know that if you hit the ground, we’re out. So, you have to hold on tight. No matter what, don’t let go.”
She nodded again, then signaled to a waiting student to bring her her bag.
“I’m going to do my best to protect you,” Razor went on, “and make sure you get out of this competition alive.” He quickly kissed her. “You’re one of us now, Ally, and I won’t let you go.”
He took a step back. “Ready?” He shifted into a glowing red dragon and let out a small breath of red fire.
There was something more menacing about him than all the others and she took a step back.
He leaned in close and nuzzled her with his massive nose. “Don’t be afraid, Ally. It’s just me. Come on. Get on.”
“Okay, but…” She reached into the bag the young student had laid at her feet and pulled out her customized suit of armor.
The glowing red dragon tilted his head quizzically.
“I didn’t know how this was going to play out,” she said as she got into her suit of armor. “I made this just in case.”
“What the hell is it?”
“A flying apparatus. I guess you could call it my own special shifting device.”
“Hmmm,” he moaned skeptically. “This is one hell of a time to be trying out that contraption.”
“I know, but I didn’t have time to try it out earlier. Look, I’ll get on your back all the same, but I’ll have this as back up, you know, in case.” She clamped down the final piece of armor, slung her diamond and dragon sword on and looked at Razor. “Ready,” she announced. She climbed onto his back and hung on tight as he took flight.
“What are we supposed to do?” she called out. “What’s the object of the game?”
“You see that funny looking ball in the middle of the air?”
Ally found the huge ball that seemed to have a dragon’s eye in it, an eye that saw everything. “Yeah.”
“We’ve got to get it in that goal over there.” He pointed his sharp tail to the left where a big ring of fire hovered.
The four princely dragons got into place, ready to face off with the Charcoal Dragons.
“Let the game begin,” Headmaster Jerrod called out from down below.
The dragon’s eye dipped down until it almost touched the ground, the quickly bounded up. But unlike any ball Ally had ever seen, this ball seemed to have a mind of its own. It zipped around everyone, avoiding them, toying with them. It zigged one way, then zagged the other.
Finally, it was caught by a dragon who gripped it in its mighty claws and leaned back onto his wings to toss it to a teammate.
Tar tried to intercept it, but the opposing playing spat fire at him. The dragon’s eye flew to the other side of the airfield, but before being caught, it zagged in the opposite direction, avoiding a blast of ice from another player.
The Dragon’s Eye quickly learned which dragon produced which breath and adjusted its maneuvers to suit each, making the game that much more difficult.
Drag swooped in from out of nowhere, hitting Ally’s head with his claw as he flew by. She felt a light trickle of blood stream down her temple. On his next fly by, he rammed straight into Razor, jolting Ally who struggled to stay on him.
“Hang on,” Razor shouted.
She tried, but when Drag swooped down once more and hit Razor straight on, she lost her grip and fell through the air. Drag was just yards away, so swift and fast, and eager to snap her in two.
Ally bit down on a scream, then saw Flint push Drag out of the way and catch her in his gently jaw. She stared into his eyes, amazed by his sexuality.
“Damn, woman,” he snarled. “Even in dragon form I want you.”
“You? But you’ve always been absolutely cold to me,” she said as they whizzed through the air.
“Do you really think that I don’t have eyes that can appreciate your beauty, that I can’t see what a beautiful and desirable woman you are? Do you really think that Razor and Jasper are the only princes who can’t stop thinking of you… wanting you?”
Ally felt a sudden jolt as Flint was knocked hard, then he lost his hold of her and she fell right into Skeet’s waiting claws.
He was a slimmer and more genteel dragon, a student who’d been more reserved with his bullying. “Gotcha, girl,” he said with a smile. “Wow, what Drag wouldn’t do to hold you like I am right now?”
“I don’t get it. Why? Why is he so obsessed with me?”
Skeet rocketed high in the air to slam the Dragon’s Eye with his pointed tail, sending it just outside the Cruel Princes’ goal. “Really?” he said, unperturbed by the missed goal. “You don’t know?”
“Really. I don’t know.”
“Drag heard about you and Razor. He can’t stand Razor. In fact, he can’t stand humans. So you’re the one he wants to mess up because that would mean getting both you and Razor to fall.”
“You’re not his second, are you? You seem so smart. You seem smart enough to run your own group.”
“I am his second, but I’m also the smart one,” Skeet said. “It’s noble blood that I don’t have.”
Ally looked up at him as they spun in the air and raced for the ball.
“If it were up to me, I’d join the Cruel Princes, but they won’t have me. I’m not a royal, you see. I’m just a guy from the guard’s camp. I’m not qualified to be in their ranks. Although that didn’t keep Tar from being accepted. Even though he’s not the next in line to the throne, they adopted him and treat him like a brother. Lucky bastard.”
As if he’d heard Skeet, Tar came zooming down toward them, gently tearing Ally out of Skeet’s grip and into his mouth.
“Tar,” Ally said as she hugged his fang. “Thank you. For a minute there I thought I’d be the Charcoal Dragon’s dinner.”
“Hmmm, and what a tempting dinner you’d be. Can I join?” His hungry gaze said everything, and to show just how hungry he really was, he flicked his tongue over the length of her body. “Hell, you even taste as good as you l
ook.”
“You know, I think this is about the most I’ve ever heard you talk.”
“That’s only because Jasper and Razor always hog the conversation. But just because I haven’t said anything doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed you. From day one I noticed. From the very first day I knew you were special.”
Ally had noticed him, too. Tar was one of the most beautiful boys she had ever seen. Tall, dark, brooding and mysterious as though he harbored all the angst and pain in the world.
“Then why did you join the other princes in trying to force me out of the Academy?”
His eyes focused on an opponent and he strategically whipped the Dragon’s Eye with the tip of his wing, sending it flying clear across the airfield.
“You don’t belong here, Ally,” he said gently. “I know you’re strong and quick, but still… you don’t belong. Look at you. You can’t even fly on your own. And you also need us to protect you. That’s fine here on campus, where there’s a degree of control.” With a grunt, he hit the ball again with his tail. “But out there…” He gestured with his tail to outside the campus. “Out there no one’s in control. Those menacing monsters out there don’t play by any rules, and believe me, they’ll stop at nothing to destroy you.”
“You’re not like the other princes, are you?”
“I’m not a crown prince, if that’s what you mean. No. My brother, Drago, is ruler of the land where I come from; ruler of the Dark Forests. I was exiled the day he came into power.”
“Is that why you’re here?”
“Yep. And that’s why…” He flicked the Dragon’s Eye again, passing it to Jasper. “That’s why those guys are my family. They mean more to me than anyone in all the land.”
“So that’s why you don’t have family here to watch you compete today.”
“Drago is the only blood family, if you can call it that, that I have, and he has no interest in seeing what I’m up to.” He laughed sadly. “Maybe if he thought I would die today, he’d come. He’d surely applaud that.”
Ally smiled. “You know, you have more in common with me than you thought.”
“How’s that?”
“You’re orphaned, like me.”
“You’re an orphan?” Tar said. “But I thought you were the blacksmith’s daughter.”
“He and his wife adopted me. I was very lucky. Aside from my biological family, I couldn’t have asked for better parents.”
“Yeah, you really did get lucky. I wish I’d been adopted. It would have been easier than having to grow up running away from assassins who want to see you and your family dead. Drago brought such a bad reputation to my family. He ruined our good name in a matter of days after taking the throne. All of my father’s good and honest work… gone. Sometimes I think Drago is the devil himself.”
Razor came into view and passed the Dragon Eye to Tar who darted quickly toward the goal, but was intercepted and had to pass it to Jasper. Jasper flew in a circle, darted up and threw it back to Tar who caught it, but was quickly sideswiped by Drag, who snatched Ally with his claws.
“Finally,” Drag snarled, a menacing glare in his ugly eyes. “Now that I have you in my clutches, you can bet you won’t get out of this alive, human girl.” He looked at her with a devilish smirk exposing his unappealing teeth. Though tinged with yellow, his teeth were sharp, much sharper than all the others. “I’ve always enjoyed the taste of a fresh human.”
Ally struck his talon with her armored fist, but he only tightened his hold of her.
Then he opened his mouth and brought her closer. She tried to scream, but only a choked up wispy sound came from her mouth. She caught a glimpse of his eyes, glazed over as if high on some drug. Something was wrong with him.
Fearing for her life, she looked into the ominous cavern that was his mouth. A foul odor emanating from deep within him almost knocked the breath out of her. Holding her breath, she cringed and grimaced.
What kind of dragon was he?
He opened his mouth wider, exposing a second set of teeth. Something was living inside him, Ally realized with horror. Something horrible was taking over him.
She didn’t understand. In human form he looked perfectly normal; as normal as a jerk can look.
But in dragon form. All the others had retained a part of who they were, the very essence of themselves, but Drag… There was something more going on with him.
As the strange being and Drag prepared to slice her in two with the double set of razor sharp teeth, she reached for the hilt of her diamond and dragon sword, and pulled it from the scabbard. Grasping it with both hands, she looked for the most vulnerable part of his talon. Fearful his scaly skin might resist the blade of her sword, she swung with all her might.
To her surprise, her mighty sword made a clean cut, severing the digit with ease. A samurai sword couldn’t have done a better job, she thought with pride.
As he let go of Ally, Drag cried out, a fierce cry accompanied with a spray of flames.
She saw Jasper, desperately trying to come to her aid, but hindered by a persistent opponent. Flint was too far away to do anything, and Razor was forcibly being held back by yet another opponent.
She was on her own.
It’s now or never, she thought as she deployed her flying apparatus. Falling quickly towards the ground, she prompted the propellers, but they didn’t budge. Drag’s tight hold had put a kink in the propeller.
She whacked it with the flat side of her blade and tried to start it again. The propellers spun around a few times and stopped.
The ground was closing in on her. She could now make out the stunned expressions on the spectators’ faces, including the sad and hopeful expression of Queen Jade and Queen Mother Jasmine.
“Come on,” she cried out as she gave the propeller another whack. It sputtered, but finally spun smoothly, chopping the air with every rotation.
But now she needed the addition thrust to propel her back up to her teammates. She had to warn them. Had to tell them that there was something strange about Drag.
She rose higher and higher, certain Drag had contracted a parasite; a being that grew and took over his body and mind. If she was right, Drag wasn’t a mere student, but one of the very monsters the Dragons of Wyvern were trained to fight.
These monsters were constantly attacking The Borders. Were it not for the brave warriors of Wyvern, they would surely make their way to the Humans at the Borders.
But with this beast in their midst, studying side by side with them, learning the very maneuvers and strategies meant to destroy the creatures; this could greatly compromise Wyvern’s ability to control them.
“Razor,” she cried out, eager to warn him. “Tar! Flint!”
A blast of fire, impeded her progress and she had to redirect her apparatus. Once again, she approached her teammates.
“Jasper! Razor!” she shouted. “Look out for Drag. He’s compromised.”
They looked at her, their eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Look into his mouth,” she cried. “He’s a mons…”
Drag shot another blast of flames her way, and this time he hit his target. She felt the heat burn through her armor, and as she stopped rising, she looked at her propellers.
“Damn,” she muttered as she started to fall from the sky. Her propellers had melted. Worse still, she was on fire.
She screamed but tried not to panic as she slapped the flames on her armor. But there was nothing she could do. She screamed again, but her voice choked in her throat and breathing became difficult.
Jasper zoomed in. “Don’t worry, Ally. I’m here.” He grabbed her and gently ran his moist, warm tongue over the flames that engulfed her.
Feeling faint, she looked at him. “Jasper. Be careful,” she whispered hoarsely. “Drag. He’s a hybrid… a monster. He’s…”
The toxic fumes, the sulfur of Drag’s breath, finally knocked her unconscious for a few brief moments.
She quickly regained her senses to se
e Tar flying beside them.
“Better yet.” Tar looked at Jasper who looked to Razor and Flint. They’d caught Ally’s sword, her magnificent Diamond and Dragon silver sword that had fallen from her grip, and with one fell swoop, sliced Drag’s head clean off.
Shocked, Ally was suddenly alert. “Oh, my God. They decapitated him.” Her Cruel Princes had just killed a fellow student.
“Why?” she cried out.
Jasper looked into her eyes. “Go to sleep, Human,” he said softly. “And forget you ever saw what Drag truly was.”
**To Be Continued… **
Ally, Razor, Jasper, Tar, and Flint’s story continues in
Book 2 of Cruel Princes of Wyvern All-Boys Academy Series
Roses and Emeralds
https://www.amazon.com/Roses-Emeralds-Reverse-Fantasy-All-Boys-ebook/dp/B07TS1BKLT/
Silver and Starlight
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VXVK2KV
Thank You for reading
Diamonds and Dragons
Cruel Princes of Wyvern All-Boys Academy
Books in this series are:
Diamonds and Dragons
https://www.amazon.com/Diamonds-Dragons-Reverse-Fantasy-All-Boys-ebook/dp/B07SFV1PRH/
Roses and Emeralds
https://www.amazon.com/Roses-Emeralds-Reverse-Fantasy-All-Boys-ebook/dp/B07TS1BKLT/
Silver and Starlight
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VXVK2KV
OTHER REVERSE HAREM or RH BULLY ROMANCE BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE OR FOR PRE-ORDER
FALLEN FAE ACADEMY
Series Blurb
"At Fallen Fae Academy, the magic will either complete you or kill you."
My name is Harley, as in Harlequin. Plucked from my home from Las Vegas, NV, and placed into an University on an arts scholarship, suddenly I am the girl the four hottest and most popular boys have decided to "initiate".
