Golden Embrace

by Clara Hartley

  "That's horseshit," Cyrion said. "Sure, I know you care for us. But I've been with you for many years, and I know you as not the type to run away from even a life-threatening fight." Cyrion gestured to Aryana. "Look at her! Are you going to let Joakim push us around for another century? He's even gone after your own mate. The rest of us would have taken back our clan a few decades ago if not for our respect for your insistence we stay away. He's going to continue doing this, Diovan. Joakim is going to keep throwing out young, helpless dragons he deems threats. Leon came in as a toddler. He could barely fly. If he didn't find him, he might have been eaten by wolves or something."

  Diovan glanced at Aryana. Her copper skin glistened in the faint light of a torch, lit by dragon fire. Raven-black locks fell around her chest. So beautiful, but injured. A fresh red bruise marred her temple.

  Fury at Joakim rose in Diovan as he studied his mate.

  "I'll do it," he said, not certain about his decision. We wanted to take back his statement, but he knew he couldn't run away from his fear forever. Eventually, he had to face Joakim Grimfire, head-on. Deep down he knew he could defeat his father, though the cowardly boy was still in him, holding him back. But it was time for him to grow up. He had a mate to protect now.

  "I'm telling you," Cyrion said. "We don't have to run away from— Wait, what?"

  "We'll march back home in a few days…" Did Diovan really want to go through with this? "Tell the others to gather our allies. I will negotiate with the water witches to help us. Joakim has made too many enemies."

  Cyrion gaped in disbelief. "You're actually saying yes?"

  "Wasn't that what you were convincing me to do? Why the surprise?"

  "I didn't actually expect you to agree. I've been saying the same thing for years."

  "Joakim has crossed the line." Diovan shook his head. "He went too far when he hurt my mate."

  "I'll tell the others right away," Cyrion said, a wide smile on his face. Diovan guessed that Cyrion and the others had been itching for this fight for a long time. They were territorial dragons in their prime, after all, and they wanted to take back their home.

  The dewy smell of rain swirled around the cave. Diovan tried to let it calm his mind. "Wait," he said. "We need backup, too. The witches might be willing to help, seeing as Joakim just leveled their home and whatnot. Watch Aryana for me when I leave. She can't be alone." His dragon didn't want him leaving his mate with another man, but his human side knew that he could trust Cyrion. "You're the only one I can entrust with this task."

  "I'm honored."

  "If she gets a single scratch, you lose your throat."

  "I swear she won't, on the Dragon Mother's teats."

  Diovan made a face. The Dragon Mother was rumored to be a million years old, or even older. Perhaps as old as time itself. He wasn't sure if million-year-old teats were something to swear on.

  "I'll be back by nightfall," he said. "Tell the others about the plan when they get back."

  Cyrion saluted. "Yes, sir. Should I start calling you sir now? Technically we're going into battle, and you're something like our general, yes?"

  Diovan rolled his eyes. "No."

  Cyrion shrugged. "Suit yourself. And what plan? Isn't the plan just to rush in with our wings spread out, and charge?"

  "More or less." Diovan undressed, packed his clothes into a bag, and transformed. He'd have to show up to the water witches clothed this time. He was going there to discuss important matters.

  He hoped that there were still some of those witches left to discuss things with after Joakim's attack.

  He blinked back the terror gripping him. He didn't want to face his father, but he had to.

  "Casualties?" Enid asked, studying the damage. They had an enormous amount of rebuilding left to do. Most of their supplies were damaged. The soul beads were intact, so they had the art to help them, but a war was looming, and she didn't want to waste too much magic. Animals for the soul beads weren't easy to procure.

  Her witches were still putting out the dragon fire. They needed to use magic to do so, as if their supply of magic wasn't already running low. There went all the souls Diovan had brought them.

  "No fatalities, high seeker," the reporting witch said.

  "None? But the destruction…"

  "The injured are many, high seeker. Our medical bays are overrun and most of the herbs have been destroyed by the fires. But the dragons weren't aiming to kill. They might have burned our witches, but the damage wasn't extensive enough to cause fatalities."

  Enid frowned. That was odd. She slumped back down into her seat, which was centered amongst the destruction, and crossed her fingers together. "That's good news. Thank you for your report. Send a scouting team to gather herbs in the meanwhile. We might have to raid another village soon." She hated having to rob and steal from villagers, but it was necessary for their survival. Unlike men, however, the woman witches didn't seek confrontation for the sake of hoarding lands and stroking their egos. They only harmed when they needed to, and they'd never hurt any of the common folk during their raids. This, she believed, made women more suited for ruling.

  "Yes, seeker." The witch bowed. "We also found this amongst the rubble. It was placed strategically so someone would find it." The witch passed Enid an envelope that was stained red with blood. "I think it might be a message from the dragons."

  Enid nodded, then peeled the envelope open. She pulled out a letter. Inside, in scratchy handwriting: Join me, or suffer the consequences.

  "It's a threat," she said. "The Red Beast means to scare us into an alliance."

  The witch frowned. "Will we join?"

  Before Enid could answer, another witch ran from the jungle. She blitzed toward Enid, hair in a mess and cheeks flushed. "Dragon sighting! Dragon sighting, high seeker. Be prepared."

  "Where did it go?" Enid asked.

  "It disappeared into the trees. We couldn't track it, even with its size."

  "It must have morphed back into a human. Send three scouting teams to look for any unfamiliar persons. Comb every stretch—"

  "No need," a man's voice cut in. Diovan emerged from the shadows of the jungle, both hands raised. Rain fizzled off his skin. Thankfully, he wasn't stark naked, as he had been before. He wore a full outfit of leather, and had daggers and swords strapped around his body, as if he were readying for war. "I'm not going to kill anybody. Yet." He stepped over the rubble that used to be the water witches' supplies. His hair, as usual, was a huge mess, making Enid want to snip all of it off… maybe snip his head off accidentally in the process, too.

  "Are you trying to intimidate me, dragon?" she said, narrowing her eyes. She readied herself for any sudden movements. Her hand hovered over her beads, prepared to strike when she needed to.

  He shrugged. "You did take away my powers and tie me up to a tree. I'd say we're a little less than even. I come here with a proposal."

  Enid folded her arms, half considering gutting the dragon on the spot. It was, after all, his kind who'd set her entire home on fire and injured Aryana. But if she killed him, it wasn't likely that she'd get her sister back. Then she would lose Aryana.

  Enid stood and paced toward Diovan. "Where is Aryana?"

  Diovan lowered his hands. "In a safe place. No harm will come to her."

  She nodded. "Give us her location."

  "Now, be patient. Let's discuss terms first. Hear out my proposal."

  She growled. "I'm not interested in what you have to say. I want my sister back."

  "We both share a common enemy," he said, ignoring her demand. Enid curled her hand into a fist. "Joakim," he continued, padding closer, "the Red Beast threatens your tribe. I don't know for what reason, but it's obvious he doesn't like your people. I command a group of twenty to thirty dragons—"

  "You don't even know your own numbers?" she spat.

  He let out an impatient sigh. "These dragons also want him dead. I will give you the privilege of working with us."

  She al
most recoiled at how bad that sounded. Distaste swirled in her mouth. "The privilege? Is that a joke?"

  "We're giving you a way out of this predicament. Joakim is persistent. If he wants you dead, he will see to your destruction."

  "You act like you know everything. Strutting around here like you own our women. Joakim Grimfire doesn't want to destroy us. He wants us to follow his charge against the Black Dread. What makes you think that I won't team up with him instead?"

  Diovan stood more upright. "Because nobody wants to team up with my father. He is a vindictive, backstabbing man with no morals."

  "Your father?"

  "Yes, and he threw me, his own son, out of his clan to maintain his position. What do you think he will do to witches he doesn't care about? He will eat you, chew you up, and spit your remains into a bubbling swamp."

  She considered the option of joining with Diovan, much to her dismay. She didn't want to side with either dragon. To her, Joakim's son was just as bad as the Red Beast himself. But as high seeker, she had to make decisions with consequences in mind, even as much as she wanted to remove Diovan for the sake of Aryana. "I could simply refuse," she said.

  "And he will do his best to destroy you. I'm sure he promised as much. I think the events of today prove that. He tried to kill me, and most of the other rogues. The rest of the Grimfire clan put their foot down at child murder, and demanded that he stop before they overthrow him." He pursed his lips. "I suppose weak men have morals, too. But I'm sure that if he had the means and strength, he'll still see to us dead."

  She didn't understand what Diovan meant about the "other rogues," but she knew her decision regardless. "How many witches do you want? We don't have many. The attack left our numbers injured, and most witches will take a month or more to heal."

  "As many as you can supply."

  "Ten." She could give him more, but the whole point of siding with him was to lose fewer of their numbers.

  "Fine." His jaw tensed. "That's a shit number, but I'll take whatever I can get." He paused, then continued, "And before we work together, I need you to make a promise."

  She knitted her brows. "It concerns Aryana, doesn't it? I will not agree with letting you take my sister away from me."

  "I'm not taking her away. I just want to be able to meet her openly without having to worry about getting imprisoned or killed."

  "That would be exactly like losing her."

  Diovan let out a sound of disbelief. "Do you honestly think that Aryana is only defined by her abstinence from me? The notion of it is so insulting that it makes me want to incinerate you right here and now."

  Her guard took action at his nonchalant threat, muttering defensive spells.

  She rose a hand to stop them. "I will consider your offer, dragon."

  "You're really going to put the rest of your tribe at risk because you don't like Aryana's choice of lover?"

  "I will consider your offer. Now leave us witches alone. I need time to think."

  "Think all you want, Enid." He turned away, wearing a smug grin. "Your options are limited."

  Seeing his overconfident face made her want to blast his ass into the horizon. Looking at his kind made her insides coil with nothing but disgust, but her options were limited, and she was being forced to bed the devil.

  Chapter 14

  Diovan blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

  "How many did you say we have?" he asked Cyrion, who was sharpening a blade on a whetstone.

  Suddenly, their large cave seemed too small. A mass of dragon men were standing in the middle of it. The witches Enid had provided were huddled on the other side, staying as far away from the dragons as they could, although one of them was making leery glances at the group of men. Diovan tried to pay no mind to that.

  Cyrion seemed pretty pleased with himself. "Forty."

  "Forty? That is an entire clan, right here with us. Joakim could have doubled the Grimfires' strength just by keeping these men. Combined, we might almost rival the numbers of the Everstones." Diovan didn't remember saving so many dragons. Then again, having lived for two hundred years meant some of his memories had faded. Not the ones with Joakim, however. They still plagued him like a deep scar.

  Cyrion said, "I doubt that, the Everstones are rumored to be in the hundreds, although no one knows for sure. Still, I'm certain one of these men would have challenged your father out of his position. I'd try it. By the Dragon Mother, you might be under my command now."

  Diovan slapped his friend on the back. "You tell yourself that. We've sparred. You know what happens when we do."

  Cyrion chuckled. "You don't seem to be carrying your weight. Do you know how long it took the other boys to gather these dragons? They were scattered all around Ocharia in hard-to-find places. Some even in Yvrdeen. It's a feat we've gathered them in three days. And what did you bring? Ten witches?"

  "Enid promised me they were some of the strongest of their kind."

  "And you trust that witch?"

  "I do, actually." It was a strange kind of trust. He definitely didn't like Enid, but two hundred years of living had taught him how to read people. Then again, could women really be considered people? Wait, that sounded bad. Well, women's minds worked in the strangest of ways. Men were easier to understand. When men stated they were happy, they meant it, but women would hem and haw and say, "I'm happy," while wearing the angriest of expressions. They confused the shit out of Diovan, and he was supposed to be the expert.

  At the very least, he knew Enid was the straightforward, brash type. If she hated a person, she'd rather outwardly announce her intention to kill him than figure out ways to backstab him. "If she wanted to lie to us," Diovan continued, "she wouldn't have told me that these witches were ordered to abandon their posts as soon as we appear to be losing."

  Cyrion hummed. "So they're few and unreliable. Good job there."

  "Stop acting so smug before I punch your face in."

  Cyrion made a mock scowl.

  Diovan glanced at the forty men. All of them were tall and strong and menacing. They stood a chance, but Diovan's fears still bothered him.

  You're not a young boy anymore, he told himself. But that child still lingered somewhere within him, and wanted to hide.

  He walked into his secluded corner of the cave and to Aryana, who had woken up a couple days ago, and sat down next to her. He sought comfort in her company.

  "That's quite an impressive army," she said. "I can't imagine a war between so many dragons. You'll blacken the skies with your wings." He had offered to return her to her sister, but Aryana preferred to stay. She didn't want to be captive amongst the water witches, seeing as her sister intended to keep her imprisoned until her "rehabilitation" was done. "So," she said, "when do we leave?"

  "We?" he said.

  "Yes. The other witches did bring spare beads. They gave some to me. I'm ready for battle."

  "There's no we in this. You're staying. I'm not going to see you in danger. You've barely recovered from the Red Beast's attack. Don't your ribs hurt? And Enid almost broke your elbow. It's still lightly bruised."

  She frowned. "My wounds are nothing. They only hurt a little. They won't kill me. Plus, my healing spells made sure the pains have lessened to almost nothing. You're not thinking of leaving me behind, are you?"

  "That is exactly what I plan to do."

  "No."

  He cocked his head. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

  "I'm here because I don't want to be caged by my sister. You're not going to do the same to me. And you can't tell me what to do. I'm a woman."

  It sounded peculiar to him. In most societies, women were constantly being told what to do. "It's not because I want to cage you, Aryana. In normal circumstances, I'd take you anywhere you want to go. But this is a war amongst dragons. Just a misstep and you'll get crushed."

  She glared at him. "I'm a water witch. One of the most feared women in all of Ocharia. I can handle myself."

  The image of A
ryana getting blown back by the blast, her body unconscious and limp in his arms, disturbed him to no end. It had scarred him even worse than the memories of his childhood. He wouldn't allow her to suffer the same fate again. He'd protect his mate at all costs. Call him overprotective or possessive, but he'd rather Aryana view him as too controlling than come to any harm. "You're staying."

  "But—"

  "My decision is final. Leon will stay behind to watch over you and keep you company."

  "You mean that he's here to make sure I stay."

  Her violet eyes burned with indignation and fury. He faced them head-on, although the way she looked at him made his resolve waver ever so slightly.

  "I love you, Aryana." He leaned in for a kiss. She turned her head away, and the kiss that was meant for her lips landed on her cheek. His heart sank. "What, you're not going to give me a proper goodbye? You're going to regret not kissing the great Diovan, the Dragon with the Magnificent Cock, before he wins the battle of the century."

  "Why would anyone give you that title?"

  "Because it fits me."

  "Are you sure you didn't coin it yourself?"

  "I wouldn't do something that narcissistic. You agree with it, don't you?"

  A blush crept to her cheeks, even if her expression remained hard. "I wouldn't say that."

  He tipped her chin toward him and captured her lips. She tasted like sweet honey and the most intoxicating warmth. "I'll see you soon, love."

  "I wouldn't have to say goodbye if I joined the battle with you."

  "You know, more skin-on-skin action might keep me motivated to see you again after the fight." Not that simply thinking of her didn't make him motivated. Thoughts of her always kept him driven. He reached for her chest.

  "You're not getting any of that from me today." She slapped his hand away.

  "Not even when I come back parading the head of my father?"

  She made a disgusted face. "That sounds so romantic."

  He winked, then smoothed a hand over her neat braid. "Nothing more charming than taking down mad dragon dictators."

  He managed to make her smile for a second before she went back to her sulky expression.