by Bianca D’Arc
When the first dragon fell, all trumpeted in horror and sadness. It was a youngster named Jizra with an equally young knight named Bennu who fell first to the new, deadly weapons Skithdron had unleashed. Diamond-tipped bolts took him down, and the deadly, horrifyingly organized skiths did the rest. Both knight and rider were lost in a matter of moments.
Jared called a retreat to reorganize and Kelzy sent out the message through the dragons. They fell back to a rocky outcropping, Darian silent as he thought through what he’d seen of the Skithdronian lines carefully before voicing his observations.
“I think they were waiting for the weapons to arrive before they launched the second wave. We have to assume there are more of those catapults and diamond bladed bolts. I also have a suspicion about who now leads this army.”
“Who?” Jared’s voice was grim as he looked over the stunned knights who were finding places to rest a moment until the order came to regroup.
“Venerai. An old enemy of mine. His symbol is a white skith on a field of blood red. I think I caught a glimpse of his banner toward the back ranks. He’s one of Lucan’s pets.” He practically sneered the word. “Jared, if he’s here, we also have to look at the skiths. I don’t think these are wild skiths. These are the trained ones. Did you see the way they went after poor Bennu and Jizra? They’re organized, working together.”
“So we’ll have to expect some kind of coordinated attack from them as well, I gather.”
Darian nodded grimly. “I want Venerai. If we take him out, there’s a good chance the skiths will lose their cohesion. From what I was able to learn before leaving the palace, the trained creatures only respond to certain favorites of Lucan’s.” Darian felt the anger burn through him for the evil Lucan had loosed. “I want to try for Venerai.”
Jared nodded. “Then I’m with you.”
“Kelzy, tell Kelvan and Rohtina to take point with the majority of our forces,” Jared ordered.
Darian knew that meant Gareth and Lars would lead the attack with their dragon partners. They were all excellent warriors who worked so well as a team they were nearly unstoppable.
“I’m with you, Dar. If you say we can end this by getting this Venerai, I believe you.”
Darian didn’t know he’d been holding his breath until that moment. He was touched and gratified to know this man, this friend, this new brother, trusted him enough to place his very life—and those of his people—on the line.
“Thanks, Jared.” Darian nodded around the knot in his throat that threatened to choke him.
With a silent signal, Sandor and Kelzy took Darian and Jared into the sky. Using the other dragons for cover, they worked their way higher and higher until few on the ground could see even the dragons’ large bulk against the bright sun. Coming out of the sun, they used it to their advantage to drop down steeply behind the enemy army. Darian guided Sandor to the disguised command tent he knew would house the opposing general.
With a rending tear, Sandor burst through the thick canvas of the huge canopy followed closely by Kelzy, both spewing flame as they went. Darian jumped to the ground, clutching his sword, still better suited to fighting afoot than on dragonback. Besides, he was looking for someone.
While the dragons created a ring of fire around them, Darian sought and found his target. He bounded over to stop Venerai from slithering away.
“Stand and face me, Venerai!”
The bold shout brought the man’s head whipping around and Darian couldn’t suppress the gasp of surprise that sounded from his throat.
“Darian? You dare come here?” The words hissed through the altered face, no longer quite human. Darian could see the slitted eyes that looked like a wild skith’s, the dark mottling of the man’s once golden skin. He almost looked…scaled.
“I’ve come to kill you, Venerai, as I should have long ago.” Darian felt a presence at his side and knew without looking that it was Jared, ready to back him up if need be.
“And who’s this? Is that the old troublemaker Jared of Armand?” Darian was surprised Venerai would recognize Jared. He didn’t think Venerai had ever been dispatched to Draconia, but then Venerai had worked behind the scenes for Lucan for years.
Venerai sneered at Jared as he drew his sword. “I thought I’d done away with you when I killed your wife and that pathetic whelp of yours.”
Darian had to hold Jared back, so great was the anger coming off his fighting partner.
“Don’t let him rile you. This man is evil straight through,” Kelzy cautioned them both. “Sandor and I will hold the ring around you as long as we can. None will be able to see or interfere with what transpires within.”
“I suggest you kill him quick, though,” Sandor put in. “They’re bringing up reinforcements and we won’t be able to hold them off forever.”
“Fight me like a man, Venerai. Or maybe you’re no longer a man, are you? You look like a fucking skith.” Darian grimaced as he stalked Venerai, sword drawn and ready. “What in the hells happened to you? Or is it your true nature finally coming out after all these years?”
Darian circled the other man, noting Jared coming up behind to block and guard. They already fought well together, like brothers. He knew he could trust Jared to kill Venerai, should he fail, and take care of Adora. It was a secure feeling, though he vowed to himself not to fail. He had waited too long for this.
“No, Darian, this is how Lucan rewards loyalty.” He raised his arm, allowing the wide sleeve of his shirt to fall back and reveal deep acid burns in his skin, partially healed over with reptilian-looking scales. It was disgusting and downright scary. “I am one with the skith and they are one with me.”
He lowered his arm and suddenly there were skiths attacking the dragons from all sides. Sandor bellowed in pain as some of their venom singed one wing, but he flamed even higher, crisping the skiths that dared to answer their new master’s call. Kelzy fought on the other side of the ring, and though they drew in toward each other, lessening the space they must keep aflame, they held off the skiths and roasted every last one.
“Your pets can’t seem to overcome our partners, Venerai. Or were they your cousins? No matter, they’re dead now.”
Venerai’s eyes narrowed as he charged with his deadly sharp blade, his animal rage momentarily overcoming his human intelligence. Good, Darian thought, that was just the reaction he wanted, but Venerai had the strength of ten men and the sinuous motion of a skith. It was difficult to anticipate his moves and Darian paid the price a few times in shallow cuts to his exposed body. The areas where Adora had incorporated dragon scale into his leathers were holding firm, protecting him, but there were too few precious dragon scales and too much of his large body left vulnerable to this almost inhuman attack.
Jared jumped between Darian and Venerai and took some of the blows, allowing Darian just a moment to regroup. Jared had a fire in his eyes that Darian well knew was the light of revenge. His new fighting partner finally faced the man who claimed to have killed his family and he wanted justice. Darian vowed he would get it this day, no matter the cost.
With renewed effort, Darian rejoined the fight. Whatever had been done to Venerai, it made him stronger than either Darian or Jared and it took both men to fight this one deranged, half-skith-looking monstrosity. They managed to push him back, but only just barely, each knight suffering shallow wounds that hurt fiercely and bled enough to be downright annoying.
“You must end this now, boys,” Sandor advised them, “before they get those giant crossbows into position. They’re setting up the machines too far away for us to flame before we take to the sky.”
“We hear and obey,” Darian sent with just a touch of wry humor to his new dragon partner, “but this son of a skith has changed since I knew him and not for the better. I should have killed him years ago.”
“The Mother of All knows that’s true.” Sandor continued to flame all who dared come near the wall of fire he and his mate kept going around them. “Get your ass
es in gear, knights! We must end this with haste.”
Jared saw his opportunity a moment later. The grotesque creature before them was starting to weaken as his eyes showed pain. He didn’t understand where the pain came from since neither of the knights had managed to score any major hits on the bastard, but Jared knew that look could not be manufactured. He was trying too hard to hide it.
With a flourish, Jared moved in and struck at the joint where Venerai’s arm met his body, double striking to the knee with the same complex, arcing sweep. Venerai went down hard on one knee. Darian came up behind and ran his sword through the vulnerable part of Venerai’s plate armor, near the waist, putting the enemy general in the perfect position for Jared’s next powerful swing.
“This is for Ana and James,” he whispered, recalling the happy young boy and laughing woman who had shared his life and died by this enemy’s hand. With one final motion, he separated Venerai’s head from his body, killing the bastard who had killed his family. Justice had finally been served.
Both knights panted, their breathing harsh, as Darian searched the enemy general’s pockets for any bit of intelligence that might be helpful to their side. Jared slung the evil bastard’s head into a sack. He would take it and burn it to be certain no sort of evil magic could ever bring this bastard back to life. Jared never would have believed such a thing before, but then he had never seen the kind of magic that would turn a normal human man into the grotesque monster they had just faced. Lucan had access to powerful, demented magics, and Jared wasn’t taking any chances.
Darian scanned the area, taking anything that might be of some kind of use to the Draconian cause, then ran for Sandor’s side. He saw Jared do the same, tying something to the pack around Kelzy’s neck that they used sometimes during battle. Within moments they launched skyward, the dragon wings beating with all their might for the high ground that would mean their safety from those dragon-killing weapons below.
They were almost out of range when a simple arrow screamed out of the sky from below, jamming itself through Jared’s chest. The shock of it sent him scrambling for a hold, but he tumbled off Kelzy’s back and went plummeting toward the ground at an alarming speed.
“Jared!” Kelzy’s distress trumpeted over the field of battle.
Without pause, Darian and Sandor, both of one mind, turned and dove, positioning themselves beneath the tumbling warrior. Darian reached upward, his own position increasingly precarious as he caught Jared and settled him onto Sandor’s broad back, holding him tight.
“We’ve got him! Kelzy, we’ve got him!” Darian’s thoughts were stronger each day he worked and trained with both dragons and he knew Jared’s partner would hear him.
Flying as fast as he could, Sandor raced for the Lair, his mate at his side. “We’ll save him, my love. He’s a strong human, in the prime of his life. Adora will not let him die.”
Adora was beside herself when Sandor landed at the Lair. Jared had lost a lot of blood and she feared the arrow might have pierced his heart.
“Praise the Mother!” she cried as she realized the arrow had not hit either his heart or his lung. It had gone through the muscle near the shoulder joint and it looked a lot worse than it really was. She sobbed as Darian helped her break off the arrow and pull it through cleanly, then got herself together enough to continue his treatment.
Jared stopped her with a hand over hers when she would have healed him as fully as she could, draining herself in the process.
“Don’t you dare, my love. I need you beside me, talking to me, caring for me. Not unconscious from exhaustion that could put you in danger.”
She smiled at him and it was a watery smile. “Let me just do a little, Jared. Just start the process. We can do it a little at a time over several days. That way I won’t be drained and you won’t lose any of your ability to use your shoulder fully.”
“You drive a hard bargain, my love, but I agree as long as it puts you in no jeopardy.”
She kissed his cheek, his lips, and his brow. “None at all. I promise. Jared, it hurts me to see you injured. Let me do this for you.”
He pulled her head down with his good hand, kissing her soundly. “All right,” he whispered as he released her. “Do your worst.”
She laughed as she knew he had intended and let the healing energy flow through her fingers and into his shoulder. She concentrated on knitting the tears and rejoining the muscle and blood vessels that had been disrupted by the arrow. Once this part of the healing was accomplished, she knew he would rest easier and there would be little lasting injury from the wound. Adora sighed as she felt the first ebb of her power. It was enough for now. She’d promised him not to tire herself too much and she knew he’d be watching closely for any sign of fatigue, chastising her lovingly if he suspected she was the least bit tired.
Adora pulled back and Jared sat up, gingerly at first. Then a broad smile crossed his face and he tumbled her into his embrace, kissing her soundly. After a long, joyous moment, he moved back, keeping her on his lap while he searched around them.
“Darian! Thank you, brother, for the good catch, and you, Sandor. I can never repay either of you for saving my life.”
“Think nothing of it.” Darian winked at his fighting partner. “I expect you’ll do the same for me someday.”
Jared laughed shortly, then his eyes sharpened. “How goes the battle?”
Darian’s broad smile was answer enough, but he stepped back to let Gareth and Lars move closer. Both younger men were flushed with excitement, fresh from the battle and high with their victory. Gareth stepped forward, the usual spokesman for the duo.
“Whatever you two did, it did the trick. Just before Sandor and Kelzy burst into the sky, the ranks of skiths lost focus and started to scramble. They turned on the Skithdronian army and started fighting them as they fled across the border for their home rocks. Their forces, both skith and human, are in retreat, running for the border as fast as they can.”
A cheer went up from the knights surrounding them now and all were smiling. Adora put her hand over Jared’s shoulder when he tried to stand, she and Darian supporting him as he faced his warriors.
“You’ve done well this day, my lads!” Again they cheered as he buoyed their spirits. “Send out patrols to watch the retreat and make certain no stragglers remain on our side of the border. Gareth and Lars, you’re in charge of the patrols for now. I have some recuperating to do with my family.”
Many of the knights stepped forward to pat him on his good shoulder as he passed. Adora noted that just as many offered congratulations and a respectful hand on the shoulder to Darian. All of them talked about the brave and magnificent save Darian and Sandor had performed by plucking Jared out of freefall and flying hell bent for leather back to the Lair. They’d saved Jared’s life and unwittingly earned the respect of many a knight that day.
When they reached their private suite, Darian and Adora helped Jared to bed. Adora undressed him, surprised to find his cock hard and wanting as she uncovered it.
“What’s this?” she teased, dipping her head to kiss the tip of his erection.
“It’s what always happens when you touch me, my love.” He reached for her hand, pulling her onto the bed. “Dar, she’s wearing too many clothes. Can’t you do something about that?” Jared’s deep blue eyes twinkled up at her as the knights amused themselves with a lighthearted seduction.
“Are you sure you’re up to it, Jared? You just almost died.”
He dragged her down for a deep kiss. “No better time to reaffirm life than when you’ve almost lost it, Adora. The question is, are you up to it? You expended a lot of energy healing me. Do you need to rest, or can I make love to you first?”
“As long as I can sleep sometime tonight, I’ll be just fine.” She tugged his head down to hers. “Make love to me, Jared. I’m so grateful you’re alive.” She kissed him deeply, cooperating with Darian as he moved around them to remove her clothing. When she was bare, Darian
turned to leave. Adora stopped him with an outstretched hand.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Jared asked, his voice rough with desire and strong with the vitality of returning health.
“You should celebrate together.”
“Not without you,” Adora said softly.
“I thought we’d settled this already.” Jared sighed loudly, clearly exasperated. “She’s right, Dar. You’re part of this family. This is for the three of us to share together.”
The other man looked truly touched as he stood silent for a moment, clearly caught off guard. Adora tugged him closer so that he stood between her legs as she sat on the edge of the bed. With slow, deliberate hands, she undressed him, easing his leather leggings off and sucking him deep when she uncovered his hard cock. Darian’s head dropped back, his beautiful eyes closing as her lips closed around him.
Jared knew the ecstasy Darian felt. He didn’t envy his new brother the love of their mate—instead he reveled in it. Adora was theirs to pleasure, theirs to protect, and she in turn would pleasure them and give them all the love they needed. It was a rare gift and one he would never deny again.
“Enough, wench!” Darian called out with a laugh when she would have sucked him to release. Stepping back, he dove for the other side of the bed, careful not to jostle Jared’s injured shoulder, but eager now for more loveplay.
Jared caught Adora gently by the neck and turned her to face him. “Give me some of what you just gave him, little one.”
Her eyes flamed brightly as he pushed her head down near his straining erection. Without hesitation she took him deep and wide, her eyes holding his as she positioned herself to take all of him—all the way to the back of her throat. Adora was truly talented that way, Jared knew, thinking again what a lucky son of a bitch he was.
