“She’s your niece.”
He watched my horrified reaction for a brief moment and then vanished into thin air.
WTH?
Maria the leggy, rude, blonde pain in my ass who wanted to bang Nicolai was my niece? What were the odds of that? One of my brothers had a child? They were certainly of age to have mated when they were murdered, but wouldn’t I have known about it?
Was Lenny full of shit?
Could my life get anymore complicated?
Actually, it would be easy to tell if Lenny was lying. I just needed to see Maria’s mark. If the Warlock Dragon was telling the truth, it would match mine and Daniel’s.
If Lenny lied, it wouldn’t.
Chapter 9
God, she was stupid. Instead of readying herself for a fight that could potentially end her life, Maria was busy sucking up to Nicolai. If she was truly my relation, I prayed there weren’t more of her.
The outdoor training area was well maintained and the covered bunkers that flanked the fields were stocked with weapons. The Resistance was definitely trained and prepared, but taking on a regime that had been around for at least a thousand years was no simple matter.
If I had to guess, I’d say all two hundred Dragons had come out to observe the match. This was going to be tricky. If Maria was my niece I wouldn’t fight her. I couldn’t.
There was one sure way to find out.
Without breaking or slowing my pace, I walked right up to the wildly inappropriate flirt-fest and grabbed Maria by the hair. Deciding to ignore my reaction to seeing Nicolai flirting with another woman, I focused on the tall blonde that might or might not be related to me. Nicolai was not mine and I didn’t want him. I’d deal with my own stupidity later—or maybe never. Ignoring my underused girly parts was probably the safest way to go.
Taking Maria to the ground was simple. Holding her squirming body—not so much.
“Excuse me,” I said politely to the gathering Dragons. “I have to check something before the showdown.”
“Get off of me, bitch,” she screamed as I put my knee on her spine to incapacitate her.
Damn she was strong.
“In a minute, sweetheart,” I growled as I moved her hair aside to examine the base of her neck.
My vision narrowed to almost darkness as I stared at the mark of my family clearly embedded in her skin. I gasped and rolled off of her as I tried not to throw up. How was this possible? How was I unaware that one of my brothers had fathered a child?
In my shock, I didn’t even see her coming. The blow to my head was impressive, but I didn’t have time to deal with a headache or getting busted on by a woman I had no intention of fighting. I should have been protecting her my entire life. I wasn’t about to spill her blood.
However, she wasn’t on the same page.
She ran at me like a freight train from hell. She was sloppy and unfocused, just as I’d suspected. Who in the hell trained her to fight? She was a hot mess. Watching her, I was surprised she’d lived as long as she had.
With ease I moved to my right and stuck my foot out. She went tumbling like a mini tornado clear across the ring. I was going to have to educate this Dragon on how to defend herself.
“Enough,” I shouted and willed crystal pink flames to burst from my hands and upper body much to her shock and the shock of the Dragons hoping for a bloody fight.
Maria stood several yards away, literally frothing at the mouth—highly unattractive.
“What’s the matter?” she screamed, clearly furious and embarrassed, but thankfully not completely daft enough to run toward the deadly fire flowing out of me. “Are you afraid of me?”
“Hardly,” I shot back as I searched for a resemblance to my long dead brothers. “Who is your father?”
The Dragons, very confused, began to murmur unhappily amongst themselves. They were primed for a bloodbath and it wasn’t happening.
“None of your fucking business,” she spat.
“Filthy language is not necessary,” I hissed. Maria needed to learn some damn manners. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” she shouted.
“Name your father,” Nicolai demanded as he stepped up and stood next to me.
Startled that he’d taken my side I let the deadly flame recede a bit so I didn’t blow him to Kingdom Come. That wouldn’t go over well at all.
“What are you doing?” I hissed quietly, wondering if he was going to try to take me out.
“I’m not sure,” he said with a half smirk and a shrug. “Call it Dragon intuition, but for the moment, I’m with you. And the pink fire is kind of hot.”
Before I could process if Nicolai was making fun of me or hitting on me, Lenny poofed in from out of nowhere much to the delight of the antsy Dragons.
“You heard your leaders,” Lenny stated with an eerie calm. The crowd hushed. Clearly they never heard him speak much either—or maybe it was fact that he’d referred me as their leader along with Nicolai. “Name your father.”
The silence was long as I watched Maria struggle with the turn of events. Part of me wanted to take her in my arms, but that would be as welcome as death to her at the moment.
“I don’t know,” she whispered harshly. “I don’t know who my father is.”
“You mother?” I questioned.
She eyed me with hatred and looked to Nicolai who nodded curtly.
“My mother was Christina.”
My fire receded completely and I dropped to my knees.
“How old are you?” I choked out as I realized which of my brothers she resembled.
“I’m 485,” she said, now watching me strangely.
She was the daughter of my brother Sean. He’d loved Christina with a passion, but refused to mate and have children because of my father’s deadly wrath—or so I’d thought.
“You said was. Is your mother alive?” I asked already knowing the answer.
“No,” she hissed, furious again. “My mother was murdered by your father when I was a child.”
“Shall I rephrase that last sentence for you?” I asked as I got back to my feet and pushed the nausea I felt aside.
“You make no sense,” Maria snapped. She was ready to go at me again now that my flames were gone.
I didn’t blame her. When she heard what I had to say next, she was going to burst into flames.
“You mother was killed by your grandfather and your father was my brother, Sean,” I said flatly, waiting for a tirade of swearing from her or at the very least a spear of fire aimed at my head.
No such tirade came. Maria said nothing as her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out cold on the ground.
Again I didn’t blame her.
Our family lineage sucked.
“Well that certainly answers a few questions,” Nicolai said as he snapped his fingers and several Dragons ran to attend to the unconscious Maria.
I wanted to go to her as well, but knew my welcome would be iffy.
“Her marking has always confounded me,” he said as he lifted my hair and examined my neck.
Little shocks of heated desire shot though me at the touch of his warm fingers on my skin. Roughly I pulled away and turned to face him.
“I suppose you’ve been all up in Maria’s neck,” I snapped and then closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose hoping everyone would disappear if I couldn’t see them. I sounded like a jealous lover. This was all kinds of inappropriate and unprofessional.
“No,” Nicolai said with a grin that made him ungodly beautiful. “All of my people’s markings are known to me. Unfortunately the only neck I want all up in right now is yours,” he added under his breath.
Stupidstupidstupid. I was making a mess of things and I needed to regain some kind of upper hand here. What the hell would distract a weyr of Dragons from sex and shocking revelations?
Blood.
I could do that. Violence would help me work out the forbidden s
exual tension flowing through my veins.
“Since I will not fight my brother’s child, I will accept challenges from anyone that would like to have a go at me,” I called out.
Nicolai’s eyebrows shot up. I was unsure if he was disappointed he wasn’t going to get laid by a princess or if he was now positive I had a death wish. It didn’t matter. Being around him right now was far more dangerous than slaying Dragons.
Fighting I understood. What was happening between me and Nicolai—not so much.
The challenges came fast and furious—four men and two women stepped forward. So much for thinking they were beginning to like me. Again, I didn’t need their friendship. I needed their respect and after tonight, I would have it. It would come at a cost, but what in my life hadn’t thus far?
“Dragon or human?” I shouted to my challengers.
“Dragon,” the bloodthirsty crowd chanted.
“So be it,” I muttered as I removed my clothing and let my body shift into my Dragon.
The feeling of freedom and rightness overwhelmed me as my body went from skin and fragile bone to massive gossamer wings and glittering golden scales. My vision was clearer and the air smelled sweeter. If I had my way, I’d spend all my time like this. Although, I wouldn’t be fighting…I’d simply fly.
“You will engage with her one at a time,” Nicolai instructed over the din of the excited Dragons. “And there will be no fight to the death. If anyone,” he said giving me a narrowed eyed sideways glance, “goes for the kill they will be taking me on. Am I clear?”
His people nodded to him and went to their knees. For a guy who despised royalty, he had his people trained to a tight protocol.
“Begin,” he shouted.
And we did.
The first four—two men and two women—were a breeze. I sustained some bloody injuries, but to me they were mere nuisances. The blood flow and damage to my challengers were far more severe, but they would live. If this was an accurate representation of the fighting prowess of the Resistance, it was no wonder they were losing the war.
“This is ridiculous,” I huffed. Pink and purple flames left my jaws as I spoke. “This is child’s play. These are the best you have?”
My large body shimmered in the quickly setting sun. A menagerie of rainbow colored points of light covered the ground around me as the sun bounced off my shiny scales and I knew I looked every inch the Princess I was. The Dragons pointed and whispered. A few danced in the sparkling lights. I was curious if Maria had gold in her hide when she shifted. I’d have to wait and see.
My last two challengers backed away. This was boring and the crowd echoed my sentiment. My Dragon itched for a real battle, but apparently it was not to be.
“I challenge you,” came a familiar voice from below.
Oh shit…beware of what you wish for.
Nicolai removed his clothes and shifted quickly into his Dragon. It was fluid and gorgeous. I admired him and assessed him for weakness. I couldn’t find any. His massive body gleamed and his silver makings seemed to dance along his skin. This would be satisfying and my Dragon approved.
“The rules remain the same,” he said. His voice in his Dragon form was deeper and unfortunately even sexier. “We fight until I pin you.”
“Or until I pin you,” I corrected him to cheers and shouts from the crowd.
“Never happened. Never will,” he shot back with a huff of laughter that produced an orange flame dotted with black and gold glitter.
“First time for everything, Big Boy,” I said as I took to the air and waited. My body trembled with pent up aggression and sexual frustration. Nicolai was about to receive the brunt of it.
“Rule number one,” I called down to him as he watched me hover above the tree line. “Never screw with a pissed off female Dragon.”
“Oh I’ll screw with you,” he threatened as spread his massive wings and soared up to me. “But it will be in the privacy of my suite after I pin your golden ass to the ground, beautiful.”
“And if I win?” I questioned, tamping down my excitement at the thought of laying underneath him.
“I’ll still let you take me to my suite,” he bargained arrogantly.
“In your dreams.”
And so it began—on a dare and some innuendo.
The Dragons went wild. Neither Nicolai nor I held back. The massive fires and blood flow from both of us were proof. I’d never had such an equal adversary in my life and I’d not had fun like this in ages—granted it was painful fun, but fun for a Dragon was slightly different than it was for the average Shifter.
Nicolai fought with a viciousness that would have left me speechless if it didn’t delight my inner Dragon to the point she wasn’t sure if she wanted to fry him or mount him. Thankfully I was still in charge and we did neither.
Short of killing blows we went at each other like the animals we were. And it was glorious.
“You ready to call it?” Nicolai snarled as he took swipe at my midsection with the tip of his razor sharp wing.
He connected and I went hurtling backward in the air. A tree caught my trajectory and I bounced off and recouped. That was going to leave a scar even in my human form. I’d escaped most of his truly crushing blows as I was far more agile in the air with my smaller, sleeker form. Due to my speed and deadly accuracy, I’d gotten in just as many punishing blows as my cocky challenger.
“I won’t ever call it, Dragon Boy,” I hissed as I ran my talons down his back drawing blood and an enraged roar from him.
I laughed with joyous abandon knowing I had scarred him. Thinking too deeply about having left my mark was a mistake. However, enjoying my last blow was an even bigger error.
He came like a tsunami and knocked the breath out of me as we went hurtling to the ground. Clouds and trees zipped by at warp speed as I desperately tried to regain the upper hand. His body weight and size made it impossible. We landed with a jarring thud, but the impact was minimal.
WTH?
I opened my eyes and stared into the amused and victorious green eyes of the Dragon beneath me. He’d taken the brunt of the fall so he didn’t crush me. While the girly part of me was all a flutter my Dragon part was miffed. I didn’t need the arrogant leader of the Dragon Resistance to cushion my fall. I’d cushioned my own falls—always.
“I say we call it a draw,” Nicolai said as he rolled me off of him and shifted back to human.
I followed suit and quickly searched the area for something to cover my nakedness. Nicolai just walked around butt to the wind shaking hands and speaking with his people. The simple fact that I was tentative about being naked was proof that I’d been away from normal Dragon life for too long. Nakedness was simply a nonissue for a Shifter. I was the odd one—or maybe it was because the idiot who had sort of let me win was watching me far too intently.
“Here you go, child,” Elaina said with a twinkle in her eyes as she handed me a robe. “You’re very impressive. I’ve never seen anyone but Lenny or Seth give Nicolai such a run for his money.”
“He wussied out at the end,” I said with a dismissive shrug. “He won, yet he lost by a technicality of a false landing.”
“Sometimes you don’t win by winning, my dear,” Elaina said easily as she took my hand and led me into the chattering crowd. “Sometimes a consensus is far more beneficial.”
“Consensus?” I asked as I noticed a distinct change in attitude from the Dragons toward me.
“Yes. Consensus. I like the word far better than compromise. In a compromise there is always a loser. In a consensus there are two winners.” She smiled and slipped away.
I laughed. Elaina was another one who liked to drop bombs of wisdom and then walk away. Seth and Nicolai were very fortunate to have her as a mother. I definitely would remember the consensus versus compromise one. I would keep that handy for Daniel.
I was alone amidst Dragons who only an hour ago wanted to see my blood spilled on the ground. Now I was being asked pointers on fighti
ng and getting compliments on my killer instinct and sparkling golden scales. It felt wonderful and for a brief moment I was grateful to the arrogant man who clearly knew what he was doing. He let me keep my pride for the most part, but demonstrated to his people that he had my back as well.
Crap. Staying pissy and rude to him was going to be childish now. However, I had a real child to think about and getting involved with a Dragon who had an ego the size of several states wouldn’t fly. He would never accept my child and I would never accept a man—even for one night—who would not want my son.
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