by T. S. Ryder
Prince Darilth knew his father was being unreasonable. They had waited for a true mate who would awaken the ancient magic of the stone for centuries, and now, when he had finally found her, his father refused to accept her.
Darilth’s jaw clenched, his hands closing into fists and knuckles turning white. This was not fair. How could his father not see it? He glanced at Ella. She was trembling – from fear or cold, he couldn’t tell. Tears streaked down her face as she silently cried and her breathing became staggered. His chest constricted once again. He hadn’t brought her here to be humiliated like this. He knew his father wouldn’t like her much, but he didn’t know that he would force her into slavery.
“Father, please reconsider. This doesn’t make sense. She’s my mate,” Darilth pledged one last time. He gazed into the old man’s eyes, but all he could see was icy cold bitterness. He had changed, thought Darilth. His heart had died with his mother’s passing.
Rezelith gave his son a weary look. “Darilth, I have made my decision.”
Prince Darilth silently gazed into his father’s eyes and saw no kindness there, not even for his own son. Then he caught Keralth gazing at Ella, a smirk pasted on his face as he eyed her. Darilth wanted to smack the bastard hard in the face.
“Look at Keralth here. He found his mate a long time ago – and a good one too. He’s smart. Too bad she couldn’t awaken the stone, but at least she’s a warrior, strong and trained in battle. Quite different from the weak human you brought here. You could learn a thing or two from him,” the King drawled as Keralth smiled smugly. “You are dismissed,” he said with a wave of his hand.
Darilth bowed and, without another word, he took Ella’s arm and escorted her outside. Tears streamed down her face. Her stomach knotted at the thought of being a slave. The Drakonaar seemed very hostile and would probably kill her if they had the chance.
“Darilth, please, you can’t do this to me,” she cried quietly. She saw his jaw clench as his grip tightened on her arm. He almost dragged her back to his chambers and closed the door behind him. He loosened his grip and turned her in his arms, gazing deep into her pale blue eyes.
“You need to calm down, Ella,” he said in his low, deep voice that she found so alluring. “Listen, I didn’t expect that it would come to this. I need to think.” He held her firmly but gently until her breathing calmed. He then helped her sit upon the chaise lounge, strode over to the table, and poured dark purple wine into two glasses.
“Drink this. You’ll feel better,” he said as he handed her a glass.
Her hands quivered as she took the glass from him. The exotic wine slid silkily down her throat and warmed her up instantly. “Thank you,” she said ever so softly.
He raked a hand through his long, silver-white hair and took a swig, draining his glass. He walked back to the table and poured himself another glass.
“You knew the King wouldn’t approve, didn’t you?” she asked him as he stood with his back to her, brooding. “Yet you still brought me here,” she said.
“I thought he would accept you after he saw that you awakened the Draco’s Eye,” he said quietly.
“He’s right. You should marry a woman worthy of you – a warrior princess, not a weak human like me,” she said as fresh tears sprang to her eyes. “But please, I don’t want to be a slave. Please set me free...” She looked up at him and a strange light lit up her beautiful eyes as if an idea had suddenly struck her. “Take me with you wherever you go. I’ll work for you as a free woman!”
“There is no such thing as a ‘free woman’ in my world, Ella. Here women are either warriors married to men or slaves who work as concubines,” he said dryly, his back still to her.
“I’d rather die than become your slave!” she replied heatedly, breathing hard. Her conscience was appalled at the idea of living her life as a concubine. “Kill me before I have to face any more humiliation.”
He turned and she saw his deep sapphire eyes raw with emotion as his intense gaze penetrated her soul. “For you I can make an exception. I will set you free and send you home if you want.”
“I... I don’t have a home... or a family,” she said quietly. “I don’t want to go back to the convent. My life there was no better than that of a slave.”
“I’ll have to leave Iovis by tomorrow night. I’m still in exile.” He gazed at her for a long time. Then he set his glass down and sat down beside her. “Would you prefer to be my wife, Ella?”
It was a simple question and, yet, Ella gasped. She was taken aback by his bluntness. He patiently waited for her answer, longing in his eyes. She took a deep breath. “Even if I said yes, the King wouldn’t let us...”
“I’m asking you, Ella,” he said in that low deep voice of his as he held her gaze.
“Yes, if you can love me,” she said in her soft voice.
He took her in his arms and held her. Cupping her chin, he gazed deep into her blue eyes, his piercing gaze growing darker. The next moment, his lips were on hers, reclaiming her mouth with a fervent longing that made her blood burn with desire. Her answer was that passionate kiss.
“I don’t care what the King says or thinks. I will make you my Queen, Ella.” He pulled away from her and she gasped for breath. How could his father not see that she was his true mate?
Well, if he can’t see that she is the one, you can’t do anything about it, Mekarth said dryly.
“Come with me now,” Darilth said. He gave her a cloak with a hood and helped her put it on.
“Where are we going?” she asked him.
“You’ll soon find out,” he said as he put on his own dark cloak and hood and strapped on his sword, the Lazarus. Its blade was forged from a steel native to Iovis and it was sharp enough to split a feather in two. The Lazarus, which meant ‘protector of the King,’ could only be wielded by the heir to the throne.
He held her hand firmly while he led her toward the basement tunnels. The tunnels were lit with blue light. At their end were metal doors that slid open, revealing some sort of car behind them. He strapped her in a seat and sat down beside her. The car could move in all directions: left, right, up, and down. They started moving through the complex system of tunnels.
“Umm... Can I ask where we are going?”
“We are getting married,” he responded, tilting his head amusedly.
“What? Now?” she asked, surprised.
“Yes, now. We’ll be at the Rothgar temple in a few minutes,” he said.
“But what if the King finds out?” she whispered, wide-eyed.
“Trust me, he won’t,” Darilth said with a smile on his face.
Chapter Four
The temple of Rothgar was simple but elegant in its grandeur. It had pristine white columns and white marble flooring. The ceiling was domed. It was unexpectedly warm inside.
Ella stood beside Darilth at the center of the temple hall next to the huge fountain. Darilth held both her hands as the old man recited incantations she didn’t understand despite her wearing the translator.
Darilth stood there and gazed at her, and when then the old man asked him if he would take her as his mate for life, he said yes. When she heard herself say yes, she knew in her heart that she had done the right thing. The old man filled a silver cup with water from the sacred fountain and handed it to the Prince. Darilth took a sip and then offered it to her. The water tasted sweet. He then kissed her, sealing their bond for life.
***
They were back in the Prince’s chambers. The light in his room was a dim warm glow, just bright enough to see. Darilth was sprawled on the sofa in a lazy manner as he looked at her. It was long after midnight and Ella found herself to be getting more nervous by the minute. She sat beside him, fidgeting with her hands and feeling awkward. Darilth sensed her anxiousness. His chest constricted and he felt the familiar pull of his heart. She looked so innocent and vulnerable. He wanted to protect her with his life.
“Umm... I never got to thank you for fixing my eyes,”
she said after a while, color rising to her cheeks. She gave him a sidelong glance. He looked extraordinarily handsome in a dark shirt that partially revealed his muscular chest.
“You are always welcome, my lady,” he said, a smile curled at the corner of his lips.
“Darilth? Why did you choose me? You could have gone for any other woman,” she asked him.
He sat up and took off the silver band with the large blue stone that he wore and slid it across her wrist. The band shrunk to her size, fitting perfectly. The stone glowed bright blue.
“Ella, this is the Draco’s Eye. As heir the Rothgar throne, I am the bearer of the Eye. So, when I first saw you back on Earth, this stone showed me you were my destined mate,” he said.
“Where did you get this thing?” she asked him curiously.
“The great Dragon Queen created it. Ella, we are Drakonaar. We can shapeshift into dragon form at will and our blood has magical healing powers, but we weren’t always like this. Legend says that thousands of years ago the Dragon Queen ruled the natives before my ancestors invaded this planet. Our species evolved when she mated with one of our ancestors all those years ago and produced the first hybrid Drakonaar: a shifter.
“Before she died, the Dragon Queen transferred all her magic and part of her soul into the blue stone. The stone was later secured in this silver band by her successor. To ensure that the Royal Drakonaar bloodline remained pure and the bearer worthy of its powers, the Eye could only be awakened by a woman who was a ‘true mate’ to the crown prince of the Rothgar throne.”
“What about your mother? She couldn’t awaken it?” she asked him.
“No, the Eye has been dormant for a few centuries now,” he explained. “The Enemy has already taken advantage of this fact and some of our planets are already at war.”
“And what happens if the Eye is awakened?”
“Once awakened, the bearer will have ultimate healing powers and they would become the most powerful ruler of the galaxy. Our neighboring planets have been under attack by the enemy and Iovis is threatened as well. It’s my duty to regain the power of the Eye so that I can end this war.”
“You have a great responsibility,” Ella said
“Yes... That’s why I need you to awaken it, Ella.”
She nodded and Darilth took her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. Gazing deep into her eyes, he recited an incantation and the stone glowed brighter. She gasped as bright fluorescent vines grew out of the stone and entangled their hands, binding them together. It was as if the vines were made of light. She could feel the strange energy that flowed through her. She could sense the strength of her bond with this man.
The vines faded and the stone stopped glowing. He let go of her hand then and stood up. He took off his shirt, revealing his bare chest. She stared at him, her heart racing. He walked over to the table and poured two more glasses of wine. He knew she was nervous and didn’t want to rush things. He wanted her to relax. He wondered if she had been with a man before.
His long, straight hair fell over his back and his muscles rippled beneath his skin as he moved. He walked over to her slowly and handed her a glass. She took a sip and tried to calm her racing heart.
“Ella, tell me about your life on Earth,” he said, sitting close to her. She could smell his heady scent. It was distracting.
“I had an ordinary life there, Darilth. My aunt left me at the convent, abandoning me. Then, she forced me into taking vows of celibacy because she didn’t want me back. I was too much of an embarrassment to her because of my condition.” She paused and took another sip.
“The girls there thought I was the odd one. They called me the ghost,” she said, looking away as her tears threatened to spill over. “I had no friends, no family. I was alone, wishing for my life to change. Then, it suddenly did when you killed that warden,” she said. “Did you really have to kill her, Darilth?”
“Yes. She had stepped onto the force-field and was seriously injured. I couldn’t save her. I had to put her out of her misery,” he explained.
She drained her glass. The wine relaxed her a bit. She blushed at the way he looked at her – as if she were the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
“You are really young. You still have a lot to learn,” he said gently.
“I’m twenty-three. How old are you?” she asked.
“By the standard Iovis year, which is 400 days, I am three hundred and thirty years,” he said, amused.
“That sounds old. Strange, because you look hardly thirty,” she said, eyes wide with wonder.
“Yes, I’m quite old by your Earth standards,” he said, a smile playing at his lips. “We are immortals. That doesn’t mean we can’t be killed, but we live a long life: almost a thousand years.”
“Don’t you get weary of living that long?”
“Yes, sometimes we do, but only when we don’t have a reason to live,” he said, holding her gaze.
“Of course you have a reason to live,” she replied. “You are a Prince; you are responsible for your people.”
“I am deemed worthy only if I find a mate and produce an heir. Only then am I worthy of the throne.”
He looked at her long, ice-blonde hair, her eyes, her pale skin, and her perfectly rounded breasts. He put his glass away and pulled her into his arms, taking in the scent of her hair. She smelled like fresh morning dew. He stroked her face with his fingers. Her skin was soft as silk. Tipping her chin up, he looked deep into her eyes and kissed her, his mouth closing at a perfect angle as his other hand cupped her breast. She tensed immediately and he pulled back.
“Relax, Ella. Let me please you tonight. Tell me how you like to be pleasured,” he said in his low deep voice.
“I-I’m a virgin,” she said, blushing furiously.
“I see,” he said. “Well let me take care of that. I’ll make this night special for you, my lady,” he said as a slow, lazy smile crossed his lips.
She smiled back and took in his exotic features. His dominant brow was devoid of hair and adorned by subtle ridges that faded into scales all the way to his temples. She found them strangely attractive. No one before him had ever made her feel so special. She was beginning to like him. The way he looked at her, touched her, kissed her – tender and intimate, deep and passionate. It was as if he could bare his soul with a simple kiss, making wild desire course through her veins. It was more than she could have asked for.
She wanted to kiss him again. It was as if she felt a fervent longing awaken within her – a deep carnal need that she hadn’t known existed until now. It was a need born out of years of rejection and deep loneliness. She was surprised at herself, feeling this strong pull toward him. It was more than lust. It was a bond forged out of the emptiness of two souls. A bond that could fill the void only by accepting the other.
He could see that the wine had warmed her blood and calmed her nerves. Her eyes were clear as water, reflecting her innocence. She was pure like a fresh lily that had bloomed with the first rays of the sun. The scent of her arousal was so intoxicating that it was hard for him to resist. Desire raged through his blood, making his pupils turn to slits.
I can’t wait a moment longer... Claim her! his inner dragon begged.
“Your eyes,” she gasped.
“You have aroused my dragon, Ella.” His voice was deep and low and he saw she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Without another thought, he claimed her mouth, teasing her lips apart. She yielded and wrapped her arms around his neck. His tongue invaded her mouth, ravaging hers with a longing that took her breath away.
He pulled her up into his arms and made her stand close to him as he peeled her dress off her shoulders. It slipped to the floor, pooling at her feet. She stood naked before him, only in her lace panties, no longer shy as he admired her full breasts and perfect curves.
“Ella, you are a beautiful woman.” His voice was hoarse as he traced the length of her slim waist with his strong hands. He claimed
her mouth as one hand cupped her breast and the other caressed her lower back. His thumb teased her nipple, it hardening at his touch. At the same time, his tongue grazed hers inside her mouth, urgent and demanding. She moaned against him, tangling her fingers in his long, silky hair. His hand grabbed her butt and he pulled her closer, his groin crushing into her. The hard bulge strained against his pants.
They pulled apart as she gasped for breath. He picked her up and gently laid her on the bed. Then he quickly slid out of his pants and stood there naked before her. She admired the impressive length of his arousal with wonder in her eyes. He slipped into bed, pulling her on top of him as he trailed kisses down her neck. Reaching her breasts, he ran his tongue over her nipples and sucked them gently one by one. She let out a cry of pleasure, her whole body tingling with sensation. It was all so new for her. She wanted more.
He placed tender kisses in between her breasts and then lower down on her flat belly. He peeled off her panties and gazed deep into her eyes to see her pupils dilate. His fingers reached down below and felt her soft sex. She wanted him to stop. No, she wanted him to go on! Her mouth went dry and her breath came in gasps.
She was so ready, as his fingers explored the dampness between her legs. He loved watching her face color as he touched her. His thumb gently rubbed her clitoris as he slipped a finger inside her.
She felt a jolt. Her whole body shuddered as he continued with his slow torture. Her back arching, his finger moved inside her in a rhythmic fashion as he rubbed her clit.
“Darilth! Please,” she screamed, unable to take it any longer.
He stopped and withdrew his hand. Her scent was sweeter than ever. Then, he entered her very slowly, filling her. Her eyes snapped open and she moaned loudly. Warmth engulfed him and he inhaled sharply, savoring the feeling. He pulled back and entered her again, slowly at first, then gradually building to a rhythm. She started moving her hips to match his pace. It was a slow, rhythmic dance of passion, intense to the core and eventually reaching its climax. He brought her to the edge with his passionate force and she felt like she exploded, falling apart in throes of orgasm, again and again. He silently came inside her, filling her with his alien seed.
