by Anya Nowlan
The realization that she wished that Aeon was here in Shade’s place was too glaring to ignore at that point. No matter what else he had been, he’d definitely always been a gentleman with her.
“We’ll see about that, Isobel,” Shade said.
It sounded like a threat, one that he had every intention of carrying out. Isobel swallowed dryly, but kept her expression deadly serious even in the face of the fearsome dragon barely contained within the man.
“If I win the last challenge, there is nothing you can do to keep me from owning you. And whether you like it or not, that’s exactly what I will do. I will own you and keep you and the fact that it hurts Aeon will make it taste that much sweeter.”
He stayed there for a moment longer before pulling back, giving her space while his eyes turned back as well. Isobel remained in her spot, glaring at him darkly. But in the back of her mind, Aeon seemed to make slow, swirling loops.
He occupied her mind even when she was supposed to be enraged and scared at what could happen to her in the hands of the dragon who sought to claim her as his own.
One hand went to her stomach as she felt it twist and knot. It had been doing that since she got picked up by the first dragon and while she’d written it off as her nerves beginning to fray in the beginning, it was starting to worry her now. She thought she might get sick.
Shade thinks getting me will hurt Aeon… Why?
It was a question she sorely wished she had the answer to.
Aeon
“So that’s her, huh?” Hex mused, looking at Isobel over the wide stretch of canyon that separated her seat from where they stood. “I can see what all the commotion’s about.”
Phase elbowed Hex before Aeon could say a word about it. Still, Aeon huffed slightly, swirls of light smoke rising from his nostrils and being whisked away by the breeze.
Days had passed since the first challenge and Aeon felt no less angry for losing to Shade and subjecting Isobel to an evening spent with the vile fog dragon. Shade stood not far from where Aeon, Hex and Phase were. The cliff opposite of the seats was dotted with small groups of dragons and their kin like that.
There were far fewer dragons there for the second challenge than there had been for the first one. The younger, less experienced or simply dragons without brothers or other means to rely on for healing simply couldn’t recuperate fast enough to take on the grueling fights. Many would be laid out for weeks, if not months, trying to heal their cuts and bruises and broken bones.
Aeon, like Shade and some of the others, stood tall and strong, however. Sure, he was not at his full strength, as even having two brothers around him did not allow for miracles, but he was healed enough to go and take the challenge. Even if he weren’t physically ready, there wasn’t a force in the world that could keep him from shifting and challenging that day.
“Why are you doing this, Aeon?” Phase asked, frowning.
Aeon tore his gaze away from Isobel and focused on his brother, wearing a matching scowl.
“It is my fault that she’s here. I have to make this right.”
“I doubt that’s the case. There had to be something more for the organizers to have picked her. Dozens of women get marked with the scent of a dragon. Hell, I alone have-“
“We get the picture,” Phase said, holding up his hand to stop Hex from explaining further.
“Whatever the case may be, she was marked with my scent. That is why she was found so easily. I owe it to her to get her out of this.”
Aeon’s voice was stern and allowing for no disagreement. It would have worked, too, had he been talking to anyone but his younger brothers.
“Most women love becoming a dragon’s mate. And no dragon has ever let a tournament prize go, you know that. Even if you win, you can’t just let her go,” Phase argued.
The words were pure truth, Aeon knew that. But this time, it didn’t seem that important to Aeon.
“We can rewrite the rules if we need to.”
“But you don’t need to. You want to. Or, scratch that. I don’t think you actually want to do that.”
Aeon’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Phase. Hex was being wise and staying out of the conversation for now. Neither of them would leave before Aeon had shifted, however. The longer he could spend with his brothers, the stronger he would be. And he could use all the strength he could get. No one was going to be pulling any punches on this challenge.
“Don’t deny it, Aeon. I can see it clear as day, just like Shade can. She’s important to you. If you did win, would you let her go?”
Phase wasn’t asking what he actually wanted to know, clearly. The question that hung in the air unasked was whether or not Aeon thought Isobel to be his fated. It was a query that Aeon had spent a lot of time on painstakingly not asking himself as well.
The notion of lying to his brothers came far too easily to Aeon. He’d always prided himself on being honest in all that he did. He didn’t like the fact that the easier option seemed so compelling all of a sudden.
“If she wants to go, yes.”
His words were subdued. Phase’s brows shot up and he shared a quick glance with Hex, who looked as taken aback as Phase was.
“So you think she’s the one,” Hex blurted out suddenly.
“I didn’t say that,” Aeon snarled.
“It is what you meant, though, isn’t it?”
Before Aeon could snap something back in response, thick rainclouds formed in the pit of the snaking canyon. Thunder rattled through it, the long, splitting path covered by the dark, treacherous clouds.
Men who had stood guard on several outcroppings as far as the eye could see shifted now, taking on their dragon forms and flexing their wings. Since most of this challenge was being held in conditions that were less than welcoming, making dragons rely on senses other than sight, help had to be more quickly available.
The last thing they wanted was to lose one of the few and very valuable dragon heirs in a tournament setting, though it still often happened. It was also the reason that the dragons were not allowed to use their magic, as it would make deaths far more likely to occur if they could use the full breadth of their skills.
“It’s time,” Aeon said, with Phase nodding.
“I’ll try to ask around, see if I can find out why Isobel was chosen, alright?” Phase said, as Aeon allowed the shift to claim his body and mind.
The dragon took control easily, the power surging through his veins as his brothers stepped back to give him space. All over the cliff, the challengers were turning now, slowly settling into their ancient forms. Many still bore open wounds, still healing. Aeon had a couple of wide gashes left by Shade on his back and his left wing wasn’t quite as strong as he would have liked.
It was with some satisfaction that he watched Shade check his wings gingerly, the scales scraped off of them in several places from being rubbed against the rocks during the previous challenge.
“Fuck them up, brother,” Hex said, grinning up at Aeon.
If dragons were in the habit of rolling their eyes, Aeon probably would have.
Dragon tournaments didn’t have an announcer screaming at the top of his lungs or into a microphone, telling everyone what to do and where to be. It was an ancient tradition and it was presumed that anyone taking part already knew what was expected of them.
One by one, all the remaining dragons shifted and rose to the skies, stretching their wings, before allowing the current of air to take them deep into the gorge. They settled into a tight pattern, on top and next to one another, circling a lone-standing rock, until all of them were present.
Then, when the lightning struck and visibility dropped so much that none of them could barely see a thing, they knew it was time to go. The end goal was the same as last time. To make it to the finish line first, or at least in one piece. Few would.
The passage was narrow and any dragon that rose above the cloud cover and out of the gorge would immediately give up his right to the challen
ge. Some would get lost, some would get slammed into the rocky outcroppings, and some would simply be pressed into the dirt and sand by their competition. Few would come out of this challenge anywhere near fit to continue.
That’s what made it so damn fun.
Slipping right into the middle of the pack this time, Aeon squeezed his eyes shut and denied himself that sense. Time and movement thrust around him, feeding him all the information he needed. While he was not allowed to use his powers to his advantage, there were certain skills that every dragon passively possessed that could not be denied them.
Just as Aeon could naturally sense the passage of time without changing it, weather-controlling dragons were most certainly following the patterns the cloud cover provided them, for example. They would track those to find their way through the maze of a course. Air dragons would sense the motion of the gusts through the narrowest passages and move with them, and so on.
With the elegance of a dancer, and the mass of a freight train, Aeon glided through the course, narrowly avoiding snapping jaws and swinging tails. Everywhere around him, scuffles broke loose, but he would not open his eyes. He knew he could not see them even if he tried. The dark, nearly black clouds hid them far too well.
All he could do was hear them and try to keep out of their path to the best of his abilities. It took all the concentration he had to simply try and find gaps wide enough to allow his body to pass through, at times having to tuck his wings in and hoping that the wind wouldn’t make him plummet to the ground.
So when he heard the telltale roar of a certain fog dragon, he already knew that he could not be avoided.
This time, Shade hadn’t come alone. Flanked by a dragon Aeon could pinpoint as a younger cousin of Shade, and a Blackscale who Aeon wasn’t familiar with. Immediately, Aeon sensed the two other dragons beginning to flank him, so close that their bodies were bumping together. Shade was hovering above the three of them.
Dragonfire erupted in Aeon’s stomach and throat, burning hot and bright.
I thought we were playing this fair, Shade, he thought to the other dragon.
I intend to. I can’t promise anything for my friends here, though.
The moment Shade’s message had rung loud and clear in Aeon’s mind, he could feel the clouds shifting and changing around him. With a start, he realized what it was. The younger Grayson was manipulating the space around him, twisting the clouds into fog and making it tighten and wrap around Aeon.
It was like an invisible force weighing him down, making each motion of his wings slower and more arduous, at the same time moving him forward slower. With a growl, flames bursting around his mouth, Aeon suddenly veered to the left, where the Grayson dragon was. They collided immediately with the nearest rock wall, sending the young dragon tumbling against the boulders.
A deafening screech marked the spot where the dragon could not fight any longer and he went crashing down into the sand below. The fog dissipated around Aeon immediately and he burst upward, trying to angle himself past Shade.
Isobel…
Her name echoed in his mind as it had when he had fought Shade the first time. This time, though, there was a hint of anger and desperation to it. If he fought dirty like Shade did, Aeon had no doubt that Shade would immediately let the organizers know. Since he couldn’t beat Shade at his own game right now, he had to play his own version of it better.
The Blackscale bit down on Aeon’s back left leg, tugging him down. At the same time, Aeon could feel his spirit begin to fall and his muscles become sore and unyielding. That was the Blackscales’ magic. Where some dragons could heal and bring joy to those around them, the Blackscales could do the polar opposite, making them feel physical pain and something that could only be described as grief.
Cursing in his mind, Aeon twisted around and scorched the Blackscale with dragonfire. It was enough to loosen the dragon’s grip and in the next second, before the Blackscale could plan for it, Aeon had plowed down on him with all his strength, bouncing on his neck and slamming him towards the ground.
Using the momentum he could build up, Aeon ripped into the dragon’s wings, nearly tearing the right one from its socket before finally letting go. The ground was only a couple of feet from them when Aeon pulled upwards, dragonfire swirling in horrific patterns all around him.
He ignored the deafening thud and silence that followed after, flying as fast as he could. Shade had slowed him down but he hadn’t been taken out. He didn’t intend to lose this damn challenge.
Closing his slitted eyes again, Aeon flew faster than he ever had. His senses were heightened to the very peak of their abilities but somehow, Aeon felt like there was still room to grow, still space to push forward. His dragon was convinced it was because of Isobel.
Soon, and with no time to waste, Aeon sensed Shade’s pattern in the tides of time. The dragon was flying in an almost leisurely pattern, like he was enjoying the flight for what it was instead of fighting for every inch and second. The dragonfire had not been given a moment to die down and as Aeon caught up with Shade, he put it to good use.
Tumbling his body around, he flew with his stomach to the sky for a moment, for the split second it took him to pass under Shade. The intense scorch of dragonfire marked the whole path, lapping up Shade’s sides and blinding him before he could meet Aeon’s attack. It was enough to throw Shade off his course and this time, Aeon reveled in the sound of a massive, serpentine body crashing into the rocks.
When he crossed the finish line as the first dragon to do so, victory bloomed in his chest. And no sooner than he had set down on the cliff at the finish line did a sense of apprehension pool in him where that victorious joy had been a second ago.
His prize was an evening in Isobel’s company. A part of him was entirely certain that it was the last thing she wanted.
And yet, another part was completely sure that it was the only path to take.
Bowing his head slightly, he nodded to the stands in front of which he found himself again. The circular path had led him back and though one by one, the other remaining challengers emerged from the clouds, he only had eyes for Isobel.
Isobel, who looked just as uncertain about what was going to happen next as he was.
By the seven ancestors, what have I gotten us into?
Isobel
She’d lost count how many times it had felt like her heart had stopped in her chest when she heard the deadly screams and growls coming from the blind and hidden course. Every time, she wondered if it was Aeon, and just the same each time she knew it wasn’t. A couple of times, she’d caught his roar and for the life of her she did not know how she could be so sure that it was him.
But she knew it was.
When he had finally emerged as the first dragon to cross the finish line, she’d leapt from her seat and clapped her hands together with everyone else, smiling wide. Only when he looked up at her, tired and ragged, bleeding from new wounds, did her smile falter and then disappear completely.
We’re going to be alone again.
That thought had followed her for the rest of the day. All through getting back to her gilded cage and preparing for the dinner she was supposed to share with Aeon, something had been pulsing in the back of her mind, filling her with nervous energy.
I can’t believe I shaved my legs for this, Isobel thought, reveling in the ridiculousness of it all.
She snorted under her breath, shaking her head.
The champagne glass that had been so caringly waiting for her didn’t call to her at all. While the time she had spent with Shade was made only slightly more bearable thanks to the alcohol, for Aeon she wanted to be completely sober.
Perhaps it was out of consideration that Aeon was as noisy with the door as he was, but this time Isobel definitely caught the moment she was no longer alone in the room. The door closed behind him soundlessly and the lock was turned from the outside so seamlessly that Isobel would have missed it had she not known to listen for it.
After she had almost gotten away successfully after the first challenge, using the confusion of the crowd beginning to file out, Grale had been on her constantly. He was not letting her out of his sight and not leaving a single door unlocked if he could help it. Absently, Isobel wondered if he would stand guard out there all night.
Would it matter?
The fact that she wanted to answer ‘maybe’ to that was not encouraging, as far as her self-control was concerned.
You’re not supposed to want to be alone with him, Isobel.
Not that the reminder would change anything. She sighed lightly, meeting his stormy eyes as he stood grounded near the entrance. He looked damnably good for a man who had gotten nearly destroyed by dragons twice over the last week. Then again, Isobel had the feeling that it would take a whole lot of work to make Aeon not seem completely delicious to her.
He studied her and while it had made her feel like a test subject when Shade had done it, with Aeon it felt sort of… well, nice.
“You can come in, you know,” she said, listening to her words and wondering at what point her rationality had flown out of the window.
“I wasn’t sure,” Aeon started, easing into movement seamlessly as he covered the distance between the two of them. “If you wanted me here, that is.”
Each step he took closer to her made her heart pound faster in her chest and her throat grow dryer.
“Isn’t it in the rules? That I have to have you here?”
“Rules can be broken,” Aeon said with a shrug.
Somehow, he didn’t strike her as the kind of man who went around breaking a lot of rules.
He moved to pull a book from one of the high bookshelves. She hadn’t really spent too much time looking around the room. A small dinner table was set for them in the corner, intimate in its closeness, with covered trays with food on a serving table near it.
