Sirens and Scales

by Kellie McAllen

  What would happen, she wondered, when the other dragons realized she was gone, and Joe hadn’t produced a child for them?

  She took his hands in hers. “Can’t you walk with us for a bit?”

  Joe tilted his head towards the three dragons behind him. “My new security detail was quite adamant about me getting back right away. Something about me being too vulnerable to hostiles stuck in this form.”

  Hostiles, meaning humans. But she could understand. If they lost Joe, the grays would probably pounce and take back power. It was going to be a struggle as it was, let alone with Joe not being there to keep the peace.

  “You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you, huh?”

  “Yeah.” His gaze rose to meet hers. He parted his lips to say more, but closed his eyes, the words lost.

  Maybe because she’d stated the obvious. Maybe because right now, these few moments were theirs and theirs alone before they parted forever, and she couldn’t find something nice to say to the guy who’d risked his life to save her. You’ve got a lot of work to do. How thoughtless.

  But what could she say to make things right? “This is going to sound completely trite, but I’m going to miss you.”

  Joe took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “I’m serious.”

  He smiled. “I know.” He looked away again. “Miss isn’t a strong enough word for what I’m feeling.” His eyes were red when he turned back to her. “Do you really think things may have been different between us if we had more time to get to know each other?”

  She was afraid he’d ask that again. And she was even more afraid of her answer, knowing the bond they now shared seemed to tie in to her emotions. She’d never be able to keep a secret from him, and for some reason that comforted her.

  His gaze remained latched to hers, and she wondered if he was doing it now— reading her reactions, waiting for a lie.

  Damn, his eyes were beautiful, the kind of beauty that dove deeper than simply their strange, icy color. The eyes were a window to the soul, as they always said. She’d never really understood what that meant until now. This boy, no— this man, now a king, would do anything for her. The closer they got to goodbye her heart twisted, struggling within her chest as if fighting to stay behind.

  But she wasn’t a dragon. She couldn’t fall in love that quickly. She couldn’t make decisions that would affect her entire life just because she had the right blood type.

  Joe’s eyes narrowed for a moment before centering again. He could feel her struggle. She knew it. She also knew that his feelings stemmed far stronger than the need to reproduce. He wanted her mind and soul first. Everything else was secondary. And he was proving this by letting her go, giving up probably his one and only chance to have a child, and maybe even giving up the throne.

  “Yes.” The word left her lips before she was aware she’d uttered it. “Yes, I think things would have been different. And I wish they were.” Her stomach knotted, joining her treasonous heart. She needed to leave before she changed her mind and did something stupid.

  Joe took in another long, deep breath. “May I ask a favor?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’d like to kiss you, just once. I know it’s out of—”

  “Yes.”

  She was beginning to sound like a trained puppy, but screw it. Woof.

  Kissing him, of course, was probably the most foolish thing she could do. If the kiss was bad, it would ruin her memory of him. Even worse, if it was good, she’d stew over those lost sensations for the rest of her life. But she wanted to kiss him. If for any other reason, just to say thank you.

  That’s what she told herself, at least.

  She hardened herself against her annoying conscious. Thank you and goodbye. That’s all this was. “Yes,” she reiterated. “I would love to give you a kiss.”

  Her breath hitched as Joe closed the distance between them with startling speed. He stroked her chin, smiling, and Anna was vaguely aware of Connor approaching behind her.

  Joe’s breath tickled her lips as he stared into her eyes. His gaze betrayed desires they’d never be able to share. Anna trembled, already mourning their loss as his lips touched hers. So soft. So hesitant.

  Connor’s hands grasped her shoulders, and she stiffened before Joe deepened the kiss. Berries and a hint of smoke overcame her senses as she gave in, opening to him, tingling as his tongue glided over hers. A sparkle shot through her, as if he’d breathed his dragon fire through her lips and into her soul. Heat reached down through her body, stinging and biting and digging, as if Joe seated part of himself into her core.

  He drew away suddenly, holding her cheeks. “I love you,” he whispered. “Always remember that, even when you’ve forgotten me.”

  Anna’s world spun. Connor tightened his grip on her shoulders as her ankles buckled beneath her. The three dragons bellowed, their roars echoing through the sky. She blinked, struggling against Connor’s hold as darkness crept in on all sides.

  “Joe?” She reached for him, the only thing she could still see.

  “Shhhh,” he whispered. “I hope, one day, you’ll forgive me for this.”

  All terror eased away, lost as if she fell into a tranquil void.

  “You’re sure you want to do this?” Connor’s voice asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  “You do realize this could end badly.”

  Anna waited for an answer that didn’t come. Her body lifted into strong arms before the last of her consciousness faded away.

  30

  The dragons in the boss’s escort bellowed above the ledges that lead to the king’s chambers. Nik waited as Pijeth lowered Joe to the hidden balcony outside the royal meeting space. Oddly enough, Nik had started to notice the subtle nuances in the shape of scales and the patterns of dark-over-light markings that made each dragon distinct.

  The large gold dragon grasped the enforced ledge as Joe spoke to him in hushed tones. The dragon nodded in a decidedly human way.

  Nik shielded his eyes as the dust kicked up from Pijeth’s massive golden wings, and the dragon took back to the sky.

  Joe spared Nik a glance before he strode deeper into the caves, eyes down and hands in his pockets. Saying goodbye to Anna had been agony for the new king. Nik had felt the pain firsthand, even though the village they’d flown Anna to was miles away.

  Nik followed him inside. “You loved her.”

  “What of it?” Joe picked up some sort of speckled rock and tossed it to the side. “I need to have someone come in here and get rid of all this.” He waved his hand around the piles of trash and odd trinkets cluttering the floor.

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “What subject?”

  “Anna.”

  Joe finally graced Nik with his attention. “I let her go. Nothing else matters.”

  “It’s me, remember? You can’t hide what’s really going on in year head.”

  Which was a whole lot of gut-wrenching regret. Nik got it, though. If you love someone, set them free and all that horseshit. Chivalry wasn’t always good for the one being chivalrous.

  He picked up a slab of what appeared to be rawhide. Not wanting to think what the hide may have been made of, he dropped it back to the table. “Trying to ignore how you feel isn’t going to work.”

  Joe sighed. “It certainly would have been easier if I didn’t have to think about her for the rest of her life.”

  The rest of her life? Just how long did dragons live?

  “Are you seriously just accepting this? Do you think the dragons will accept this? They’re not stupid.”

  “No, they’re not, and you’re right, there are certain expectations of a king.”

  And those expectations were pretty damn big. He was king because he brought back a girl. Now he was expected to do something with that girl.

  “No offense, but if you lose the throne because you’re a nice guy, then all of this was for nothing.”

  Joe threw anoth
er trinket over his shoulder. It landed on top of a pile before sliding to the floor. “I have no intention of losing the throne.”

  “Then how do you plan to keep it?”

  Joe’s gaze carried back to the ledge Pijeth had alighted on. “I’m a king, now, Nikau. Just because I stand here, with you, does not mean that my plans are not unfolding elsewhere.

  31

  Smooth, cushy warmth enveloped her. Anna stretched and rubbed her eyes as soft light filtered through her bedside window.

  Someone stirred next to her. “She’s waking up.” a male voice called.

  A guy?

  She bolted upright, squinting in the light that now seemed a hell of a lot sharper. She lay in a queen-sized bed, the sheets gathered at her waist. Another queen-sized bed sat a few paced to her left, and a television sat on a table on the far wall.

  She was in their hotel room. But…

  A huge, dark shape loomed next to her, shrouded in the sunlight beaming through the window.

  She blinked. “Who, where?”

  The man grabbed her shoulder. “Take a deep breath. You’ve been through a lot.” His thick New Zealand accent seeped into her, putting her instantly at ease.

  “Oh my God, Anna!” Sybil flew toward her from the hallway and gathered Anna in her arms. “You scared the shit out of me. Are you okay?”

  “Umm.” Was she okay? Anna closed her eyes and breathed slowly. She was trembling, but she had no idea why. Anna leaned back. “What’s wrong? Was I sick?”

  The man sat on the edge of her bed. “The doctor said you had an acute case of dragon fever.”

  “Dragon fever?” She blinked a few more times, and his form finally took focus. Long, dark hair waved along the sides of an angular, solid face and eyes that felt like lances. “Who are you?” Anna asked.

  Sybil rubbed her shoulder. “This is Connor, don’t you remember? We met in that bar.” Her hand stopped rubbing as her eyes met the stranger’s. “He’s been helping me through all this. It’s been scary, you being gone. He’s kept me occupied.”

  Anna cringed at her emphasis on the word occupied. Sybil and Connor shared a soft smile before Anna glanced at the rustled blankets on the bed beside her. Gross. Had they done it while she was asleep in the other bed?

  Connor placed his hand over Sybil’s as he spoke to Anna. “The doctor said you’d be fine, and to just let you rest.”

  “What doctor?”

  Sybil’s eyes widened. “It was the weirdest thing. Connor called for a doctor, and a second later the doorbell rang. You don’t get service like that in America.”

  Connor massaged the back of his neck. “Doctor Pijeth said the condition needs to run its course, and it is normal to have some short-term memory loss.” He leaned toward her. “What is the last thing you can remember?”

  Anna twisted the white woven blanket in her fingers. Everything seemed so jumbled— like boxes of color scrambling through her head and trying to re-glue themselves.

  “Last night, I guess. I remember going into the bar with Sybil.” She looked at her sister, and then Connor. “Is that where she met you?”

  Connor released a breath before a small smiled formed that melted away in a blink. “Yes, it was.”

  Sybil’s brow rose. “But that was almost a week ago. You disappeared right after.”

  A flash of heat swept over Anna’s skin. “What?”

  “Yeah, we were talking to Connor and that cute platinum blond, and all of the sudden you were gone.” She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Wait, that’s not right. Something else happened.”

  Connor eased beside her and placed his arm around her shoulder. “Your sister had a bout with the fever as well, but it seems she only lost about an hour or two.”

  Sybil shook her head. “Something else happened. I remember being scared.”

  Connor rubbed her shoulder and spoke softly in Sybil’s ear. “Of course you were scared, darling. The drinking glasses fell from the ceiling. My friend Joe stopped them from falling on your sister.”

  “Glasses?” Anna shivered. How could something like that happen without her remembering?

  Sybil’s thoughts seemed miles away. “Yeah, the glasses. That must be it.” She raised her gaze to Anna. “Do you remember that? Do you remember Joe?”

  “Joe?” The name felt familiar on her lips. A warmth spread over her, as if this person, Joe, was someone important to her. She reached into her mind, struggling to match the wonderful, sparkling feeling spreading through her to a face, but nothing appeared. “I don’t know. I can’t seem to remember.”

  “You left with him.” Sybil glanced at Connor. “At least, that’s what Connor told me. I can’t really remember much more than being scared.”

  “Joe was going to show you the mountains,” Connor said.

  Anna narrowed her gaze. “I left with a guy I’d just met?” Bloody unlikely. But somehow, even with the huge void in her head, she knew that she’d go anywhere with Joe, that as long as she was with him, she’d be safe.

  She pushed the thought from her head. This stinking fever must have affected her more than they all thought.

  “Connor found you collapsed just outside of town and brought you back here.”

  “After being gone a whole week?” Anna’s vision tunneled. She held her head. “That’s crazy. What day is it?”

  “It’s Saturday.”

  Anna stared at her, waiting for a punchline that didn’t come. “Are you telling me we’re leaving tomorrow? I feel like I just got here.”

  Sybil looked at Connor. “About that.” She returned her gaze to her sister. “Doctor Pijeth said that you are clear for air travel as long as you wake up within twelve hours of your flight, and you did. So, you should be fine. And, umm…”

  Why was she hesitating? Could there be anything Sybil could tell her that would be worse than losing a week of her life?

  Sybil cleared her throat. “I’m not flying back to The States. I’m staying here, with Connor.”

  Okay, maybe there was one thing. “Are you crazy?”

  “A little, I guess.” Sybil wove her fingers through Connor’s. “But I think I’ve found something special here, and I want to give it a go.”

  Sybil lifted her chin in that I’ve made up my mind and screw what everyone else thinks way.

  “What am I supposed to tell Mom?”

  “Tell her the party girl is finally considering settling down.

  In New Zealand.

  A hundred gazillion miles away.

  This wasn’t going to go over well.

  But Anna had to admit, there was a little something different about her sister. She seemed more— what was it— relaxed, poised, calm, sure of herself?

  Whatever it was, she had to admit, it looked good on Sybil. Anna wasn’t ready to trust this Connor guy, but she couldn’t discount his effect on flighty Sybil.

  Maybe New Zealand was just what her sister needed to finally grow up.

  Unfortunately, Sybil’s newfound adultism meant a fourteen-hour plane ride back to the USA, alone. Maybe that would be a good thing. Maybe if Anna closed her eyes and thought long enough, she’d be able to remember all the time she’d lost.

  Where in God’s name had she been for a week?

  And who was this mysterious Joe?

  32

  Nik had been trying to wrangle a dragon to fly him home, but no matter which color he approached, they either ignored, laughed (if you could call that odd sound a laugh) or growled at him. One even had the gall to spit fire at his feet. He supposed the translator was only a valuable tool when there were humans around to translate for.

  He stomped down the dragon-sized hallway toward the king’s chamber. Well, at least he tried to stomp. The stone barely made a noise as he slammed his feet against the floor.

  The small yellow dragon standing sentry opened the door as he approached. Good thing, because he was pretty much poised to hand out a bucketful of whoopass at this point, even if
his opponent could burn him alive with its breath.

  On the far side of the chamber, Joe threw something into a pile. He grabbed a box from the shelf and dusted it off, not even looking up at Nik. “You’ve been trying to secure passage down the mountain.”

  That stopped Nik in his tracks. He’d thought Joe had completely forgotten about him. He relaxed his stance. “Yeah. I figured I’d outstayed my welcome.”

  Joe looked up. “How so?”

  “I’m human, remember?” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “And not all those dragons out there seem friendly.”

  “Are you alive?”

  Nik narrowed his eyes. “Yeah.”

  “Then trust me, they’re being friendly.” He tossed the small box on the pile. “Since you are so eager to leave, tell me, what are your plans once you get down the mountain?”

  Nik shifted his weight. He hadn’t had any plans at first, but the more trouble he had securing passage off this rock, the more he realized that he needed to get back to civilization. It was time to grow up. He was done being the perpetual child.

  Joe arched a brow, waiting for an answer.

  Nik shrugged. “I don’t know. Get a job, for starters. I can’t keep freeloading off my grandparents. I need to be my own man, take accountability— hell, maybe even become someone Nanna and Pops can be proud of.”

  “They’re already proud of you, and you know it.” Joe snatched a clear, blue stone from the floor and held it up to the flickering torchlight.

  “Yeah, but I guess I need to be proud of myself, too. I need to find my place in the world.” Funny, he’d never really thought about having a place in the world. Living was just what you did day by day, doing the same things. He’d never really wanted more than a job to pay the bills, and a house he could call his own. But now he wondered if there was a way to get more out of life.

  Joe tossed the stone in the air and caught it. “I’d like to show you something.” He headed for the exit without checking to see if Nik followed. How kingly of him.