Puff fluttered his wings as the wind pushed him higher.
The crystal dragons have always been small, and the grays have always been massive. Domination by the strongest is the only life Puff knew. Being ruled by the smartest, it made no sense.
You are a good friend, Joesephutus.
But you’d be an even better king.
The words hung in the air. Every young buck dreamed of taking the crown. Puff was no different. But reality showed him the strength of the grays. There was a reason they were in power, and an even bigger reason not to oppose them.
Still hovering, Puff squinted into the night sky as the last of the flock faded into the distance. It would take some time to catch up, but he needed to convince Quenor to return to the air, as well.
Puff drew his wings back, pointed down, and followed his friend to a grassy patch in a large deserted courtyard outlined by several human buildings.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Hunting.”
Puff cocked his head. “This isn’t where the sacrifices are.”
“No, but there are human females here. Pretty, ripe, plump females fresh for the plucking.” Quenor stretched his neck and arched his wings. His colossal form faded into that of a man before he drew human clothing from a pack he had held in his rear talons.
Nik shuddered. So they really could shift into human form. They could be anyone, anywhere, and no one would have any idea.
“You always ask where I disappear to every few weeks.” He held up his arms. “This is one of my favorite places”
Puff shrank down to a similar height. “You hunt outside of mating season? Why?”
Quenor pulled on dark jeans. “Because mating is fun. Greens have always played mating games between seasons.”
Puff dragged his fingers through platinum blond, nearly white hair. “But this actually is mating season. We’re supposed to pick from the women offered.”
“What fun is that?” He pointed to the rear of one of the buildings. “Have you ever been to a tavern, my friend? They are a great place to find companionship, or maybe, in your case, a place to nest quietly with your nose under your tail for a few hours.”
“I’m not sticking my nose under my tail. I followed you down here, my friend.”
Quenor pulled his shirt over his head and tugged the hem down over his waist. “Then leave, stay, I don’t care. I, personally, am looking for a nice warm human girl to spend the rest of the evening with, and unlike the rest of you, I don’t care if she can carry my child.” He turned away and headed for the bar on the right. He pointed toward the rear door of a different building. “That place is always quiet. Hide there for a few hours and I’ll come back for you when I’m done.” He turned the corner and disappeared.
He was actually serious.
Quenor had no intentions of competing in the hunt.
Then again, neither did Joesephutus.
He took in the wispy cloud bank hiding a stretch of twinkling stars. The other dragons would be half way to Aoraki by now. If either of them had a chance in this competition, it was gone, now.
His gaze carried over the weathered wooden door behind the tavern. If he’d already lost, a short rest and a drink or two certainly couldn’t hurt.
He yanked the pack from his shoulder and pulled out a shirt, pants, and shoes.
* * *
Nik folded his arms. “You were hiding.”
Puff balked. Anna stirred, but didn’t wake. *I was not hiding.*
Sure he wasn’t. “So this extended break, is this where you found Anna?”
The dragon nodded. *I was seated at the bar, and she just walked in.* His gaze fell to the ground. *I felt drawn to her, even before I realized she was compatible.*
“You’re an incredibly lucky dragon.”
*That’s what Quenor said.* He preened his injured wing. *But I was foolish to think I could protect her long enough to get us back to Dragonmount.*
“But that’s why we’re here helping you heal, so you can get back to your mountain.” This wasn’t just about Puff. The horrors the little dragon had shown him had to stop.
*Yes, they do.*
But trepidation skidded along their bond; fear not just of dying, but the horror of the consequences of failure.
Puff shivered, and a vision of two silvery-white dragons lying in a pool of blood winked out as quickly as the image appeared. Not a memory, but a fear of what could happen if Puff challenged the ruling dragons, and failed. They wouldn’t just kill Puff. They’d punish his parents and maybe all the crystal dragons.
Nik ran his fingers beneath Puff’s chin. “I’m here for you. We all are. Once you are king, no one will hurt your people.”
Puff’s neck rolled in a gulping motion.*I’m not sure if that will be enough.*
“Maybe not.” Nik looked over his shoulder, where Nanna and Pops seemed to be making plans for exiting at first light. “But they believe it’s enough. Maybe you need to believe in yourself as much as they do.”
12
Anna’s eyes fluttered open to figures moving within a flickering light, skewed by the thin, silver warmth swaddling her. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Dragons were real, and a dragon had comforted her all night, blanketing her with his wing. No matter how many times she repeated it, the whole idea seemed too fantastic to be true.
She stretched and the wing around her lifted. A shiny silver nose came down and touched hers.
“He says good morning,” Nik handed her a warm mug.
The sweet essence of chocolate infused her. “Hot cocoa?”
“What can I say? The Maori know how to throw a party.” He sat beside her. “Puff wants to know if you slept okay.”
Anna snorted a laugh. “Darn considerate dragon, isn’t he?”
Nik’s gaze flashed to Puff, then back to her. “Believe it or not, he’s genuinely concerned.”
Yeah, she needed to get used to the idea that the giant cuddly reptile was actually a person.
Or like a person.
Crap, the whole idea was enough to make a girl crazy.
Nik held his own mug to the side and leaned closer. Anna flinched, leaning back into Puff as Nik buried his nose in her hair. What the hell was he doing?
He took a deep breath. His eyes met hers. “Okay, that was pretty awkward. Sorry.”
“Did you just… smell me?”
Nik sighed. “Yeah.” He looked up at the dragon. “Strawberries and dirt. Next time, if you want to know what she smells like, sniff her yourself.” He locked gazes with Puff before turning to her. “Apparently he was afraid you might be upset if he smelled you. He wants to know if he can sniff you, himself.”
Puff lowered his head and hunched his huge shoulders. The area around his eyes flashed red as it had the day before when the girl complimented him.
Anna narrowed her eyes. “I-I guess that would be okay.”
Puff fluttered his good wing around her. Her hair shifted, tickling her neck as the creature drew in a deep breath. Puff hummed as he exhaled, warming her. A slight tingle ran over her, as if the dragon’s breath had seeped through her skin, stroking her from somewhere deep inside.
Her mind fogged and she leaned toward him, ready to lose herself back within the safety of his soft, warm embrace.
“Just like I told you,” Nik said. “Strawberries. The dirt, I guess, is a given.”
He held up his filthy hands, and Anna lurched as if waking suddenly from a daze, spilling some of her drink. The cocoa soaked into the dirt floor, making a murky paste.
Idiot. When had she gotten so clumsy? She set the mug on the ground and covered the spill with fresh dirt.
“Sorry,” Nik said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She looked at the dragon. “You didn’t startle me, Puff.”
“No, I meant me. I startled you,” Nik said.
Anna flushed. “Oh, I’m sorry. This is getting a little confusing.”
&nbs
p; Nik smiled. “I get it. I totally get it.”
The dragon’s gaze scanned the Maori making small clusters around lit flashlights. Each group bowed to him as they noticed they held his interest. So odd. Nanna noticed his attention and approached.
Puff lowered his neck and laid his large head on the ground
“What’s wrong?” Nanna rubbed sand on her hands and let it fall to the floor.
“I think he’s worried about living up to everyone’s expectations,” Nik said.
Nanna smiled. “A humble king.”
The dragon glanced at her and snorted.
“I don’t think he feels like a king,” Nik said.
“Yet a king you will be— as soon as you bring this wonderful woman back to the mountain with you.”
“Wait. What?” Anna scampered back, kicking her mug and spilling the rest of the contents across the dirt floor. “Bring who back where?”
Nanna placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “As I told you, you’re a lucky girl.”
Anna stood, her eyes scanning the small cave. “What are you talking about? I only stayed the night until it was safe. Today someone is going to take me back down the mountain.”
Nik stood beside her. His lips formed a thin line. “We need to tell her. She doesn’t know about the Seventeen Year.”
Anna straightened. “Seventeen years of what?”
The calm, sweet sincerity of Nanna’s gaze would have been comforting, if three men hadn’t just moved in front of the door to the cave.
Come on, did they think she could move all those boulders by herself and run for it?
“Every seventeen years, the dragons take flight in search of mates. On rare occasion, they find one.” Nanna eased down to the dirt between Anna and Puff. “It is a contest of sorts. The ones who bring back suitable mates spar until a winner is chosen. The victor is made king for the next seventeen years.” She looked back to the dragon. “We have not had a change in rule in hundreds of years, and it’s been over a thousand since we had the honor of a crystal dragon’s wisdom.”
Anna opened her mouth several times to speak, but no words left her lips. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “This is a joke, right?”
Nanna continued to smile.
The dragon, leaning on one paw, then the other, trembled beside Nik.
Nik raised his hands. “He doesn’t want you to be afraid.”
“No? Be he wants to mate with me?” She pointed at the beast. “That is a dragon. I’m not letting that thing touch me.” She turned away from them, but Pops grabbed her.
“The Draconi do not mate with humans in dragon form,” Pops said. “They are shapeshifters.”
Anna stopped struggling and stared at him. Shape shifting, again. These people were certifiable.
“Female dragons became rare. No one knows why. The few that still live usually bear male offspring.”
Anna’s eyes became dry, but she couldn’t blink.
“Dragons are magical creatures, so they began shifting form, seeking an alternate solution. They found that certain human females could mother the genetic code of the Draconi, so every mating season, every seventeen years, the dragons fly hoping to find suitable mates.”
Anna grimaced. “I don’t know how many times I have to say it. I am not having sex with a Dragon.”
“I understand your trepidation, but as we’ve said, they are shifters. Our dragon can walk, talk, smell, feel, and even mate like a human being.”
Anna’s gaze carried over the deep, yearning sincerity in Puff’s eyes, and over his shimmering, white mane that was, now that she thought about it, the same color as the guy’s hair in the bar.
The dragon said that he knows you, and his name is Joe.
Wait. No.
Not only no, but hell no. She wasn’t going to let them suck her into this insanity. Dragons, okay, seeing is believing, but being able to magically transform from one creature to another?
Nik turned to Puff. “I know your wing is hurt, but can you shift at all? Can you show her something to help her believe?”
It wasn’t a surprise when the dragon shook his snout. Dragons were one thing. She could deal with the idea of a creature that had remained hidden all these years. After all, they were finding new species in the rainforests all the time. But magic? Shapeshifting?
“The crystal dragons have always been harbingers of peace,” Nanna said. “I meant it what I said you were a lucky girl.”
Anna covered her ears. “Stop saying that. You’re all nuts, you know that?”
Puff lowered his snout to her.
“He says he’d never hurt you.” Nik closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Anna stopped struggling. “Magic, hidden kingdoms, shapeshifters— you have to listen to yourselves. This is ludicrous.” She turned to the dragon. “Please let me go. I just want to go home.”
Nik paled. He grabbed his neck as his eyes reddened.
“This isn’t just about our dragon,” Pops said. “His kind are counting on him.”
“Our Great One is far younger than I feared.” Nanna scratched behind a darker set of scales where his ear might be. “The crystal dragons betray their desperation. They sent their only hopeful into the fray, with such slim chances at success. They must have great faith that Aoraki would look favorably on them, and invite the wise ones back to rule these islands.” She looked back to Anna. “And so they have, by offering you.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “But I’m not even from New Zealand. I’m from New Jersey.” She wiped her face. “There has to be someone else.”
“There is no other.” Nik winced, then rose slowly, as if fighting his own movement until he stood with a rigid posture Anna hadn’t seen from him before. His gaze latched to hers. Anna stiffened, her attention drawn to Puff.
“I need you.” The dragon’s sparkling eyes never left Anna. His tail slid across the dirt behind him. “You’re already a part of me. You have been since we met.” Puff took a step toward her, his presence commanding, as Nik’s voice resonated through the chamber. “Can’t you feel it? Can’t you feel me?”
Anna was vaguely aware of Nik in her peripheral vision, grabbing his temples, growling, and shaking his head as if to fight something off. But it was the dragon’s gaze that kept her centered. A hum filled her ears, drawing her in. She yearned to be back beneath his wing, safe, wanted and needed. Everything she’d ever wanted was here, yet behind the desire swirling across her skin, itched a terror waiting to be set free. Nonetheless, she found herself taking a step toward the beast.
“Wait a Goddamn minute.” Nik pushed between them. “You winged bastard, you just took me over.” He kept his back to Anna, still facing the dragon. His shirt rose and fell as if he had trouble catching his breath. From the tilt in Puff’s head to the tick in Nik’s fist they appeared to be fighting, but without words.
“Yeah, well I’m your translator, so let me translate. That wasn’t cool.”
Anna gulped. The dragon had taken control of him? Or at least Nik thought he’d taken control. But that wasn’t possible, right? If Puff could do that to Nik, could he control Anna as well?
Nanna took Anna’s hand, startling her. “You are the link to the future.” She glanced at Nik, then back to the dragon. “Imagine a world where man and dragon can live alongside each other once again.” She smiled. The light in her eyes was contagious, if it weren’t Anna’s future they were discussing. “The world was in balance when the crystal dragons ruled, and it will be in balance again.”
That all sounded great, but they were missing the point.
Anna closed her eyes. “They can rule all they want, as long as I’m sitting on my couch back home. I want nothing to do with this.”
13
Puff stomped his front talons into the dirt. The crowd retreated, some reaching the back wall of the cavern.
Nik splayed his hands. “Whoa, boss, get a grip. No one is going anywhere.” He turned toward Anna.
“He says if you leave, the other dragons will find you.”
Puff grunted. A vision of a woman lying in a pool of blood with a newborn dragon beside her flashed through Nik’s mind. He froze as the memory focused on her wide, vacant eyes. A large gray dragon lumbered forward, nudged the baby toward the corpse, and coerced the fledgling to eat. Nik dropped to the floor and wretched.
The memory darkened as the dragon’s muzzle touched Nik’s side. *I won’t let that happen to her.*
Shit, this was serious. Those gray dragons killed their mates when they were done with them. Anna needed to know Puff was the safer choice, but freaking her out more than she already was wasn’t the best idea, either.
Nik took a towel offered by someone and wiped his face before he looked up. “Anna, I get that you’re scared.”
Her eyes were wild. “Do you? You’re all nuts. Every stinking one of you. I want to go home.” She twisted in Pop’s grip. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Puff. “Please, I’m sure you are a perfectly nice dragon, but you can’t do this. It’s not right. I want to go home.”
Someone behind her grumbled that repeating herself wasn’t going to make something magically happen.
Nik cringed. He loved his people, but they needed to understand this from the poor girl’s perspective, too. She obviously didn’t believe Puff could shift. She probably thought they were asking her to commit beastiality.
“Okay,” Nik said, then stopped. Had he spoken aloud? He didn’t think so, but then again, his words weren’t his own anymore.
He turned to the dragon. “Did you say that? What do you mean, okay?”
A deep sense of loss overcame Nik as Puff headed toward the still stoned-in entrance.
The Maori stepped back, giving him room as Puff grabbed a boulder from the center of the pile and pulled. His tail twitched, but the mound only creaked. Puff opened his mouth and howled at the doorway. The sound echoed through the chamber, bouncing off walls. Many dropped to their knees, grabbing their ears.
Nik tried to calm the swirl of emotions jack-hammering across their bond. He eased toward the screaming dragon. “Boss, you okay?”
Sirens and Scales Page 365
