She stopped speaking. Everyone besides her was in shock.
“Does this mean that King Blaine will not have disobeyed the law? He may continue his quest here on Earth for the good of the clan?” asked one of the men.
“Indeed,” she replied. Kara could not believe what she had just heard, for the last few hours she had been sure her death was upon her, and now it seemed that possibly she could be saved, and Blaine could continue his rule as their King.
“How can we find out, Esmerelda? We must do this right away. If there is any hope to save Kara we need to change her immediately, she is already five months along.” Blaine wanted to know as soon as possible. The future of him, his beloved and unborn child all rested on Kara’s heritage.
“We must take the ancient relic and place it around her neck. If the amulet glows crimson then she is Dragonborne, if it shines with a green light then she is simply another human. If this is the case she may not live through childbirth,” Esmerelda warned.
“And King Blaine must step down as ruler of our clan and be destined to walk forever among the humans of Earth, stripped of his powers for eternity.”
The stakes were high. Kara felt tense.
“Artemis, please retrieve the amulet so we can find out now. There isn’t time to waste!”
An older gentleman rose from his seat, his royal blue robe flowing majestically behind him as he strode out of the room, only to return several minutes later carrying a piece of exquisite jewelry, which Kara found familiar somehow.
As he brought it closer, she realized this was the exact necklace she had dreamed in the recurring dram after first meeting Blaine.
“Are you ready?” Blaine asked, taking the amulet from Artemis’ hands gently.
“As ready as I will ever be,” Kara replied, and with that he came towards her. He kissed her first, then their unborn child through her stomach.
“Whatever happens Kara, know that I love you and I will always love you, and our son.”
With that he placed the golden chain around her neck. She felt the weight of the stone pushing down on her, just as it had in the dream. Blaine closed his eyes, not being able to look at the result of the test unfolding before him. Kara on the other hand could not look away; staring down at the beautiful piece, she saw it began to flash with a bright white light.
“It is searching for an answer,” one of the elders called from the table.
Kara held her breath as it searched her body and soul for even an ounce of Dragonborne blood, the blood that would give her baby a chance at life, not to mention herself. The elders looked on in awe as the relic finally came to a decision about her. The pendant shone with a blinding crimson light, so bright that the surrounding walls reflected its pleasant glow. She saw Blaine’s face out of the corner of her eye; he was ecstatic. No one would die, their child would be safe and, as well as all that, Blaine could remain as King. It was the outcome that they hoped for; now all that was left to do was transform her. She couldn’t believe it, nothing good seemed to ever happen to her, but since meeting Blaine, finally everything was going right.
“She is Dragonborne,” the stern-faced woman exclaimed.
“She may even be the last in existence,” another man in red chimed in. This may well be true as Kara had no family that she knew of. Both of her parents had died when she was younger, and with no next of kin she was forced into an orphanage. She may finally have a chance to have a real family all her own again.
“But how do we complete the ritual to transform her? It must be done before she reaches her due date, otherwise it may be too late for her”.
“I must do more research on the subject before we conduct the ritual, but I believe that, on the night of a full moon, she must be taken out to a clearing in the woods, where the moonlight can shine down on her. There is an ancient text that she must recite while one of our dragons circles three times overhead, casting its shadow down upon her. Once this has been completed, she must repeat the text as the chosen dragon engulfs her in its flame. At this point she should rise from the ashes in her new dragon form. It is said to be one of the most beautiful sights, when a Dragonborne emerges for the first time as a dragon. I never thought I would live to see it.”
“Who will be the one to volunteer their services? Keep in mind, if performed incorrectly, Kara will surely perish in a cascade of fire. It is crucial they do not fail her.” Esmerelda looked around, waiting for someone to come forward. Blaine walked slowly over to her.
“I will do the duty, and I will not fail. If Kara will accept our help,” all eyes were on Kara once again. She didn’t see any other option, though honestly even if there was she wouldn’t have taken it. She would have her perfect family, with the man of her dreams, literally.
“I will do it, when is the next full moon?” she asked eagerly.
“In five nights,” Artemis spoke again.
‘The sooner the better,” she said. The date was set for her transformation.
After leaving the venue, Kara and Blaine were finally alone again. He held her hand as they strode back through the winding hallways. They walked in silence, side by side, until they reached his own sleeping quarters.
“There’s no reason we can’t share a room now. Would you like to join me in my bedroom tonight?” He gestured toward the door in front of them.
“I’d love to,” she beamed. They could finally be a real couple, no longer hiding their love from the world. Almost an afterthought, she remembered her job. “But what about—”
“Quit,” he said, anticipating what she would say. “You should rest, and be with me. Let me look after you now.”
She smiled. She didn’t want to argue with that.
He bundled her up in his arms and carried her across the threshold, laying her on his beautiful, antique four-poster bed. She looked around; she had never seen his bedroom before. It contained several pieces of varnished wooden furniture, matching the mahogany of the bed frame. The red, silken covers felt magnificent against her skin. It had been an extremely long day and all that she wanted to do was sleep. Without another word, they both crawled under the sheets and fell asleep straight away.
There was nowhere she would rather be than curled up, safe, in his arms.
*****
After the meeting with the elders, Kara stayed at the house with the other dragons, where she would wait till the full moon. But the other dragons avoided her.
“Until you undergo the change, they won’t trust you. You will be one of us soon enough, and they will realize why I love you so much,” said Blaine.
Nevertheless, the night of the full moon came all too quickly. That night, the other dragons all wore cloaks of their individual colors. Blaine told her that the color of their robe corresponds to the color of their scales in dragon form. From looking at the assortment of shades, Kara could only imagine how beautiful they would look flying through the sky together. They surrounded her in the clearing that had been selected for the ritual to take place.
Once everyone was in position, Blaine knelt down. His skin surged, revealing scale after scale, purple in color. His limbs extended, and fingers morphed into long talons. In seconds Kara saw herself face to face with the creature she had so often dreamt of. Her glorious dragon king stood forth, letting a stream of flame escape his jaws, flickering through the night sky.
“Are you both ready?” Esmerelda asked. Blaine and Kara had been preparing for days, they were as ready as they ever could be at that moment.
“Yes,” they replied in unison and the ceremony began.
Kara started reciting the ancient texts, just as she had memorized them. They had spent so long ensuring she knew them back to front, because one wrong word and she would die in a shower of flame. Blaine bowed toward her, assuring her that she wouldn’t fail, and she trusted him wholeheartedly. His gigantic reptilian legs pushed his body from the ground; she continued to recite as she watched his wings catch the evening breeze, lifting him into the air. With
her head directed toward the sky, he did not distract her from the task at hand.
Her life depended on reciting the texts flawlessly.
Everyone present looked on with baited breath as he circled overhead. His body blocked out the moon as he flew around her. Once the three loops were accomplished, he dove down, flying straight at her. She finished her words just in time as he blasted her with a fireball, surrounding her with flame. Kara was surprised as she thought that this part would be extremely painful for her, but instead the fire stroked her bare flesh, disintegrating the white, silk robe she wore for the ritual, which matched those of the elders attending. She sunk to the ground and her vision went black.
They all watched on in shock, as the smoke cleared it revealed a pile of ashes with Kara’s charred remains perched on top. Blaine, filled with dismay, morphed back to human form, running toward the spot in the woods where she lay. Tears rolled down his cheek, thinking that she was gone forever.
“Stand back, please. She is changing,” Esmerelda said.
Suddenly, Kara’s body rose. Breaking through the burnt flesh a bright green wing emerged, spreading for the first time. The rest of her earthly body melted away, exposing the new dragon that had joined them. She roared, pointing her head up to the night sky, marveling at the immense power she felt as a beast. Her green scales glistened in the light of the full moon, fresh and clean. With one swift motion, she took to the air for the first time. Gliding over the tree tops, she was free.
Two days had passed. Kara was still at the dragon house, but the others no longer avoided her. Her body had fully recovered from the change to dragon form, which had drained her energy. Her job as a waitress was a memory now.
It was morning. Blaine entered their bedroom, following a long and boring meeting with the elders in the sanctuary. Kara, and all of the other dragon people not of royal blood, could not sit in on the meetings, not that she had any desire to.
“How was your morning?” she asked him innocently. He rolled his eyes.
“It was fine, I am so glad to be back here with you though.”
He approached her on the bed and caressed her six-month pregnant stomach, feeling for his unborn dragon child. She kissed his forehead tenderly.
She treasured every second that she had with him. In the time they had known each other, she grew to love him more and more with each passing day.
Soon their innocent embrace became more passionate and intense. All too quickly they both stripped down and were wrapped in each other’s arms on the floor of the room. Blaine still had a hand pressed against the baby within her, and her hand held his. She felt safe in his embrace, and now that she had undertaken the change she was no longer worried about the birth. For the first time since they had conceived, Kara and Blaine made love, exploring each other’s naked bodies once more, touching and caressing every inch of skin that was laid out before them. The child pushed on her stomach, reaching for its father through her flesh.
Finally he mounted her and thrust inside, her back rubbing against the wooden boards beneath. She moaned as his erection moved within her, toward their unborn son. She felt herself shifting between dragon and human form, scales appearing over small sections of her skin before dissolving back into her. The baby moved with them, for the first time she was sure she felt his tiny, scaled tail rubbing against her inside. Blaine sucked at her neck, with one hand feeling her growing breasts. Kara felt total bliss.
He continued to move faster within her. His hand moved up her body to grasp her face and bring it in towards his own. He pressed his mouth firmly to hers, parting his lips slightly to caress her tongue with his own. She responded by pulling her body closer to his, her arms around his muscular back, arching her back with pleasure as they came together, both moaning as their orgasm took hold of them.
*****
Three months on, she had gotten used to both her pregnancy and her new shifter powers. She enjoyed transforming, and dashing through the forest around their home with Blaine, their scales grazing the tree bark as they ran at fifty miles an hour, wings withdrawn as to not damage them on overhanging branches. In her dragon form she could take a break from the aching feet and other pains that came with carrying a child. She felt free. She was free, freer than she had ever been.
Not only had she adapted to all the extreme physical changes she had undergone in the last few months, but to her delight the elders had finally begun to accept her as one of their own. She was no longer the outsider, pregnant with the bastard child of their King. She was one of them: a dragon shifter, a creature she once thought had only existed in fairytales. But all too quickly her due date arrived. The dragon within her decided he was ready to enter the world.
One morning Blaine found her, hunched over the bed in pain, grasping her stomach as her muscles clenched together, forcing the child from the comfort of her womb. Her contractions began to get closer and closer together. Kara screamed at the excruciating pain she felt. As she moaned in agony her scales pulsed, appearing for seconds at a time in random sections on her body. She looked down to see the unborn child within her scratching at her stomach from the inside, claws visible through the thin layer of skin and muscle that separated him from the real world.
“Please, get Blaine, I need him here,” she screamed, her claws morphed and dug into the side of the bed on which she lay.
“We have to get you to the birthing chamber now, Kara!” one of the elders called from the distance. Kara was in no state to respond and soon she was being carried by several people through the long hallways to the underground section of the sanctuary. She had never been allowed down there before.
They burst through a rickety wooden door and laid her gently on what felt like a stone slab covered by a sheet.
“It won’t be long now, sweetie,” said Abigail, one of the elders.
Abigail held Kara’s hand as she pushed and pushed, praying this monster child within her would get out and stop this crippling pain.
“I can see him now,” said Abigail, her voice echoing around the room. At that moment Blaine burst through the door and hurried to her side.
“I came as soon as I could, honey. You are doing so well,” he said.
He tightly grasped her hand, giving her courage and strength to muster one final push. She felt the baby slide out of her and into the arms of someone else.
“He is perfect,” Blaine cooed.
Kara looked up to see Abigail holding a tiny bundle of reptilian flesh and blood, wrapped in a soft blue baby blanket. Kara held out her arms, tired and sweating. Blaine brought the newborn over to her and they sat on the bed in silence, staring down at their perfect little dragon prince.
This was not the adventure that she had dreamed of; it wasn’t a path she could have ever imagined she would take. But she sat there in the midst of her new family and was happy at last. Caressing the forehead of her new son, Kara finally felt at peace. She had finally been accepted by his people as one of their own. She found herself part of an ancient dragon clan, in love with their King, and having given birth to a dragon prince.
It was a new, wonderful adventure.
THE END
Bonus Story 26 of 40
Command of the Dragon
Arielle hummed a melodious hymn to herself softly as she absent-mindedly brushed her fingers across the tall, tangled wildflowers surrounding her. Her head was tilted back, letting the cool breeze of the early autumn night caress her face as she focused on the dazzling lights of Ansuul, the floating, shining city, which hung high above the rising moon. She watched a plane lazily fly away from the twinkling skyline, its flashing wingtip lights winking back at the luxe cityscape.
“Arielle!” cried the voice of her haughty older sister, echoing from the shadowy valley below. “Arielle, come down here, now!”
“I have to go,” Arielle said in a fierce whisper to the three small glowing fairies that swirled around her. She peeked around the corner of her secret, shaded nook etched into th
e hillside to see if the Dragonruu guards were paying attention.
The stout, twin Dragonruu guards shifted their heavy feet and snorted nonchalantly. They stood in their fully shifted dragon form at the gates of the twisting pathway that led up the side of the mountain to an elevator-like tube. They were there to stop any human who dared try to pass the gates to gain access to the lift that separated Ansuul and Denbyshire. Ansuul was the floating, glittering city where the fierce and far-advanced race of Dragonruu conducted their fast-paced lives; while Denbyshire was a smaller city nestled in the valley, where humans resided entirely separately from Ansuul.
Her hidden grotto was Arielle’s refuge – it was the highest point in Denbyshire, and allowed a fantastic view of Ansuul’s majestic skyline. Every time she made these late night voyages, it was always a serious risk. There was always the possibility of being seen by the ruthless guards, who always guarded the gate. Humans, and Dragonruu for that matter, were not supposed to wander out this far into what was known as the ‘Outlands’.
Ansuul and Denbyshire were in closest proximity to each other here in this wretched region. Only the fairies, witches, or cursed beasts, who had once been experimented on and dumped by the cruel Dragonruu, roamed the Outlands in eternal purgatory. If she were caught in the Outlands, the best Arielle could hope for was to be reported for misdemeanor behavior, which meant being forced to perform punishing deeds for the Dragonruu. At worst, the guards could chase her down and ravage her on the spot, if she managed to provoke their volatile nature so.
Arielle darted through the swaying, tall grass warily, soon catching up to her sister and their family’s horse, Annabelle. Caroline, the oldest sister out of the five girls, swiftly picked up Arielle’s light body by an arm, swooping her onto Annabelle’s back behind her.
Alien Mate Page 91
