Riding Lightning: A Reverse Harem Dragon Fantasy Adventure (Starcrossed Dragons Book 1)

by Erin Bedford

  He landed hard on my thighs, pinning me with his greater weight as I struggled against him. I might be a dragon, but compared to the mammoth above me, I didn’t stand a chance in a fair fight.

  I reached down deep, calling on my magic as he crawled on top of me, pinning my arms beneath his knees. I reached out, calling upon the vines once again, and as they burst from the ground, he backhanded me across the face. As the taste of blood filled my mouth, my concentration shattered, and the vines fell lifelessly to the ground.

  “Maya,” Raiden cried out. “Just hang on!”

  Lightning rippled along his body, causing the sky above us to flicker as he flung his attacker off into the brush once more. The man holding me down hesitated a moment, his attention shifting toward Raiden.

  Raiden lifted one hand toward the sky, and as he did, a bolt of lightning exploded from the nearly cloudless sky with a thunder crack that nearly blew out my eardrums. The man holding me cried out in shock as Raiden caught the lightning like he was Zeus himself.

  As Raiden reared back, the lightning forked outward into a trident of crackling energy that he flung through the air.

  The trident took the man on top of me in the chest, pierced through his chest plate like it was made of tissue paper, and punched out his back with so much force it ripped the man off of me. The moment he hit the ground, the smell of charred flesh hit my nose as electricity pulsed through his entire body, flash frying him in an instant.

  “Are you okay?” Raiden asked, holding his hand out to me.

  “Thank you!” I cried, gripping his hand and letting him haul me to his feet. Only as he did, the first attacker came charging toward us, a dagger in his hand.

  Without missing a beat, Raiden whirled around, snatching up his crackling trident and whipping it outward. The tri-blades punched into our attacker’s throat, and as Raiden twisted, tearing out the man’s throat, electricity leapt from the weapon. Not that it mattered because he was already dying as the lightning cooked him too.

  “Stay near me,” Raiden said, putting one arm against me as a sound like shattering crystal filled the air.

  I spun to find Jack standing over a bunch of frozen chunks that even all the king’s horses and all the king’s men wouldn’t be putting back together again.

  Behind him, the two men from earlier were still frozen.

  “Clear,” Jack said, meeting Raiden’s eyes.

  “Almost.” Raiden shifted his stance and threw the trident. It hit the pair of men, shattering them into pieces.

  “I had them under control,” Jack said in a calm voice as the trident returned to Raiden’s hand like it had a mind of its own.

  “I believe you.” Raiden shrugged. “But dead men tell no tales.”

  Ignoring their banter, my eyes fixed on the trident still crackling in Raiden’s hand. “Have you always been able to do that?” I pointed at the weapon.

  “No. I haven’t.” His eyes followed mine, his brow creasing between his eyes as he stared at it like he’d just noticed it was there. “Only the elite of my kind are able to manifest their powers into weapons. I’d never quite been able to reach that level.”

  Frowning, I reached out, almost touching it but jerked my hand back when it disappeared. “It’s amazing.” I swallowed, about to ask more when an agonizing groan reminded me we weren’t completely unscathed.

  “Herbert!” I ran to the older man’s side, looking over the arrow still in his arm. “It doesn’t look like it went through the bone.”

  “Still hurts like hell, though,” Herbert grunted and then cried out when I touched the arrow’s shaft.

  “Sorry.” I winced as I tried to figure out how to remove it without causing him any more pain. A presence appeared to my right, and I glanced over to see Jack kneeling at my side. The calm radiating from him instantly lowered my worry.

  Without a word, he shoved the arrow further through Herbert’s arm until the head was all the way out. As Herbert cried out in pain, he snapped the end and pulled it completely out from the other side.

  “Wow, how did you know to do that?” My mouth dropped open in surprise as Jack pulled out a bundle of bandages.

  “All of our soldiers are trained in field medicine. Isn’t yours?” The way Jack said it made it sound like it was something everyone should know. Then he set to work on the wound.

  “Uh… I don’t know.” Sadly, I was telling the truth. As the princess, I did get training like all the rest of the dragons in my region, but medical training had never been something I’d been interested in. If there had been training, I’d missed it.

  As Herbert continued to whimper, Jack shot me a look. “Do you want me to show you?”

  Before I could answer, Raiden moved next to me. “I scouted the area, and didn’t see any others, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more. I think it would be better if I moved the princess to the carriage while you finish up.” He met Jack’s eyes. “Just in case there’s more of them.”

  “Okay.” Jack looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he just nodded and turned his attention to Herbert.

  “I’m not some delicate flower,” I said, as Raiden helped me to my feet.

  “I never thought you were,” Raiden replied, nodding. “But an arrow from the bushes will kill a princess as well as it will kill a driver.” He took a long breath. “This way, Jack and Herbert will be the next targets. It will give me time to get you out of here.”

  Not wanting to think about that, I decided to follow Raiden. After all, we still had no idea how many more of them there were, and while I didn’t like the idea of leaving Jack outside unguarded, he seemed plenty capable of taking care of himself.

  “So,” I said, glancing at Raiden. “The trident… what do you think gave your powers get such a super boost?”

  Raiden stroked his chin with his fingertips before giving me a lopsided grin.

  “What’s that look about?” I asked, confused.

  Rocking on his heels, Raiden smirked. “You know.”

  Still lost I turned to Jack and Herbert, hoping for some insight into what the hell Raiden was talking about. They apparently, weren’t so lost. Herbert’s face had turned a bit red, but it could have been from the pain and not embarrassment. The tension in Jack’s jaw finally clued me in.

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “You don’t think.” Raiden’s grin widened as I realized what they referred to. “Why in the world would you think us...,” I gestured between Raiden and me animatedly.

  “Yes. I do.” Raiden crossed his arms over his chest with a stern nod.

  Speechless, I didn’t know what to think. While the thought that having sex with me would be enough to cause some kind of power jolt was flattering, to say the least, it was a little hard to swallow.

  “It’s not unheard of,” Jack said as he finished wrapping Herbert’s arm. “There have been cases of mated pairs gaining new or improved powers, though it’s rare. Since you are the daughter of a lord, the likelihood you would cause such a reaction would be higher than others.”

  “So, what?” I gestured wildly. “Does that mean every guy I sleep with will gain some kind of extra power boost?”

  Jack moved to the other side of the fire and shrugged. “I wouldn’t know but possibly.”

  I didn’t know how I felt about that. Having to mate for an heir was one thing, being a new source of power was another. Unfortunately, Jack didn’t seem like he would be helping me figure it out either.

  The ice dragon’s face closed down, obviously done with the conversation. Maybe because of the subject or maybe because he thought if he showed any interest in gaining new abilities it would make me less attracted to him. Either way, I didn’t have time to worry about his feelings, the remains of our attackers still laid around us.

  “Who do you think attacked us?” I nodded my head toward one of the dead fire dragons.

  Raiden glanced around. “Maybe Lord Amun doesn’t want us to come?”

  9

 
We stayed the night where we had gotten attacked because it was too dark to pack back up, though we disposed of the bodies further into the woods. I didn’t like the idea, but since it seemed like a scouting party upon closer examination, it seemed unlikely we’d get attacked soon. After all, as far as we knew, none of them had gotten away. Besides, Herbert was too hurt to attempt traveling at night. Instead, we took turns standing guard, even Herbert with his injured arm.

  The men still babied me, which I found irritating though I partially found myself thankful for it. I had five years of pretending to be human, it seemed I did too good of a job. I shouldn’t have had such a problem with my magic against the fire dragon. Uprooting vines and trees used to be second nature to me. Of course, I hadn’t used it while on Earth, there wasn’t any need for it. I hoped it wasn’t a case of use it or lose it. Now that I actually had cause to fight, I couldn’t let myself hang back in the shadows while the men fought my battles.

  “Can’t sleep?” Raiden sat next to where I laid on my mat.

  Shifting to my elbow, I met his gaze. “Not really. Hard to sleep with all that’s going on. Though, my body really hates me for it.”

  “I understand.” He laced his fingers together over his knees, his eyes moving to the tree line. “I think we all are a little bit on edge now.”

  “Do you think we’ll encounter more attacks?”

  Raiden shook his head. “There’s no telling. I hope not. But we are still half a day way from Lord Amun’s palace. We can’t let our guard down.”

  We sat in silence for a moment. The silence had an intimate feel to it, and I couldn’t deal with that right now. I smirked and shoved Raiden on the leg. “We’ll be safe as long as we have you and your new powers.” I shook my head and smiled. “I think the bad guys will think twice before attacking again.”

  Raiden returned my grin, obviously proud of his performance. “It’s because of you, though. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have these powers and then where would we be?”

  The truth in his assessment made my face drop. I didn’t like the idea of being someone’s hero. Like all of our lives depended on me and my magic touch. Hero’s didn’t live long, and I planned on living to a ripe old age.

  “Anyway,” Raiden continued. “It’s going to be morning soon. You should get some rest.” He nodded toward my bed mat.

  I laid back down and tried to go back to sleep, but my mind whirled with all that had happened. By time I fell asleep the sky had begun to lighten and too soon Raiden shook me awake, and we were off again

  The trip still had a tense feel to it, but this time it was for a different reason. Everyone’s eyes stayed on the tree line and the sky anticipating an attack at any moment. It wasn’t until we saw the gates of the Southern Mountain kingdom that any of us began to relax.

  “Finally,” I sighed, sitting back in my seat.

  Raiden’s leg bumped against mine as he said, “Don’t relax just yet. We aren’t in the city yet.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but Jack interrupted, “He’s right. We should not let our guard down now nor when we get inside. For all we know, Lord Amun ordered the attack.”

  Frowning, I leaned out the window slightly to look at the gates. Tall walls made out of tan stone, they didn’t seem too welcoming. Even when we were let through the steel doors, there were no guards to greet us. Instead, they stood at attention along the top of the wall and just inside of the gate doors.

  “Cheerful place isn’t it?” I muttered, but neither of my companions responded, their attention focused on the passing city.

  The buildings we drove by were made out of the same kind of stone as the wall, but unlike my own kingdom, the shutters were closed. The doors tightly shut. The stalls of what could have been the marketplace were covered but not empty. Like they were just on a break and would be back later.

  “Think they were expecting us?” Raiden suggested. His eyes taking in the hurried attempt to close their stalls.

  “Hmm.” Jack rubbed his chin. “I think they were expecting an attack.”

  “What makes you say that?” My brows furrowed, trying to figure out where he came to that conclusion.

  “I’ve seen this kind of reaction to visitors before in some of the small towns along the coast,” Jack explained. “They are so used to being raided, they don’t bother to hide their valuables but seek to protect their families first, hoping the attackers will take the easily accessible goods and leave.”

  “And the guys who attacked us in the woods?” I left the question open in the air.

  “They were probably some of the same ones who have been attacking them.” Jack nodded to the blatantly left out golden box and gems. Anyone could have come by and taken them without repercussions. It made me feel better about our trip, but worse at the same time.

  We continued on the path, seeing more of the same until we reached the palace. The carriage came to a stop before the gates, and Herbert dropped down before coming around and opening my door. Before I could get out, Jack held his hand up signaling to me to let him go first. I glanced to Raiden who nodded his agreement. Reluctantly, I settled back into my seat.

  After a moment, Jack’s hand popped back into the window as he waved us out. I inched out of the carriage with Raiden closely behind me. Jack stood at my front wedging me between him and Raiden as we made our way to the front doors. A man and woman came out to greet us, the first friendly faces we had seen since we arrived.

  “Greetings.” The woman with dark brown hair and an arrogant stride stopped before us. Her eyes darted to Raiden and then to Jack, lingering on him a little longer than I would have liked before finally landing on me. “You must be Maya.” She didn’t offer me her hand and seemed genuinely irritated at my presence in general.

  “Yes, and you are?” I glanced from her to the man who had stayed a few steps behind her. Hands folded behind his back, he smiled, but it didn’t reach his charcoal-colored eyes. Those eyes trailed up and down my form, and I forced back a shudder of disgust.

  “I am Lord Amun’s advisor, Mon Liz.” She turned away from us and headed back toward the doors.

  Exchanging a look with my companions, they seemed as confused as me. Shrugging, I followed after Mon Liz. Her male friend waited until we had passed before trailing after us. I didn’t like having him at our backs. We still didn’t know if the attack came from the inside or if it had come from whoever had the locals frightened.

  “This is odd,” Jack commented from my side. The inside of the palace wasn’t any cheerier than the outside. The servants were scarce — if they had any at all — and the walls were barren of any of the usual decorative tapestries. Lords loved to flaunt their wealth, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Lord Amun was only a lord in name alone.

  I didn’t like how quiet it was nor how Mon Liz had turned her back on us so easily. As if we weren’t a threat to any of them. Of course, that wasn’t what we came for but still — insulting.

  Mon Liz stopped at a pair of double doors and turned to us, not surprised at all that we had followed her. She waited until we settled a few feet away from her before she spoke again.

  “I want you to know, I advised against Lord Amun meeting with you.” Not like she had been hiding how much she disdained us, well not Jack.

  “Is that so?” I mused, proud I’d hid the annoyance in my voice. It wouldn’t do to anger the very people we were supposed to be creating an alliance with.

  “Yes.” Her eyes settled on me, narrowing into slits. “I don’t think it is wise to meet with foreign dignitaries at a time like this and any adviser would tell him the same.”

  “At a time like this?” Jack asked, taking a step closer to the woman. He offered her a small smile. I would have labeled it as flirtatious had I ever seen it pointed my way. Jealousy billowed in my stomach, surprising me.

  Sure, Jack wasn’t mine, but he was supposed to be there to win my affections, not flirt with some old bat. His smile had an interesti
ng effect on Mon Liz though. She fluttered her lashes, and her hand came up to her chest as if to still her racing heart.

  Twisting her hair between her fingers like a goddamned school girl, she murmured in what I could only call a bedroom voice, “We’ve been under attack.”

  “We assumed that much,” Raiden snapped. He didn’t seem to care for Jack’s flirting either, or maybe it was my reaction he didn’t like? “Why don’t you tell us something we don’t know?”

  Mon Liz glared at Raiden, but Jack’s hand on her shoulder caused it to soften.

  “You were saying, my lady?” He brought her hand up to his lips, pressing his mouth to the sagging skin there.

  The old bat actually blushed! But it had the desired effect, and she started talking again. “Why from the rogue bandits, of course. They’ve been badgering us for months now with no relief.” She glanced at Raiden and me with a shake of her head. “I told Lord Amun we needed to take care of the problem before you came, or it would make our region seem weak.”

  Mon Liz was the one who was weak. One pretty face and she sang like a canary, spouting out all kinds of secrets I was sure her lord did not want us to know about.

  “Well,” Jack said, taking her arm in the crook of his. “Why don’t you bring us to your lord, and we can discuss what we can do to help with his bandit problem.”

  Letting Jack lead her, Mon Liz opened the double doors and gestured us into a large round room. I could only assume it was the throne room though it had no throne. What it did have was a table with a map spread across it. A man stood with his back to us, his face toward the balcony window. When we approached, he didn’t even bother to turn around.

  “My lord, the Western dignitaries have arrived,” Mon Liz announced us.

  “Is there a reason you are hanging all over one of the princess’s men?” Lord Amun didn’t turn as he questioned his adviser. There must have been something in his voice though because Mon Liz dropped her arm from Jack’s and took several steps away from him.

  I forced myself not to smile at the dejected look on her face. Instead, I stepped toward Jack, taking Mon Liz’s place at his side and addressed Lord Amun, “Thank you for having us, Lord Amun. My father will be happy to know you are doing well.”