by Rinelle Grey
The other dragons cheered and clapped. They couldn’t see the pain this was causing at all. They couldn’t see the heavy weight of responsibility that clouded Taurian’s eyes. All they wanted was to feel safe and secure in their future. Taurian was offering them that.
Karla’s heart ached. For Taurian. For her. Even for Wayrian. The nervous, shy young dragon woman wasn’t the mate for him. He would overpower her and she would quickly lose herself in his shadow, even without the supposed difficulties of a fire-water mating. She wouldn’t help Taurian in any way.
Except for the baby she could give him.
Karla turned away, unable to watch any longer. She had just opened her mouth to continue the story she had been telling to the dragon children, when a scream echoed from outside.
Everyone’s head jerked up. Taurian dropped Wayrian’s hand and strode towards the entrance. Wayrian stood watching him, frozen to the spot. Karla turned away from her in disgust.
Taurian was nearly at the entrance when Yesrian, another of the elders, latched onto his arm, stopping him. “You need to stay here, Prince Taurian,” he said urgently. “We can’t risk you getting hurt. You need to gather together as many of the dragons as you can and evacuate immediately. We will hold off the Trima clan.”
“I won’t run.”
Taurian’s eyes burned, and the set of his jaw said he wouldn’t listen to any arguments.
Yesrian winced. “You must. The clan needs you.”
“If Ultrima is out there, no one is going to escape from here alive,” Taurian thundered. “Surely you realise that?”
“But…” Yestrian began.
“Enough.” Taurian held up his hand. “I am a prince. You do not tell me what to do.”
He turned and strode towards the entrance. Karla looked quickly at Gretchen, who nodded to her and gathered the children close.
Karla followed Taurian.
Somehow, the sight as she stepped out of the entrance to the lair didn’t surprise her. There stood Ultrima, in all his dragon form glory, his silver scales glinting in the light of the setting sun.
Karla froze. Kyrian was right. Taurian should have run while he had the chance.
Ultrima roared right in Taurian’s face, the wind from the sound blowing his hair straight back.
Taurian didn’t move.
Karla couldn’t help admiring his courage, even as she dreaded the outcome of this meeting.
This meeting Taurian had probably been hoping for. A chill ran down her spine. The best they could hope for was for Ultrima to be distracted by the fight with Taurian, and buy time for the rest of the clan to escape.
That didn’t help her any. She didn’t care about the rest of the clan. Her concern was for Taurian.
“Ultrima, how nice of you to show up.”
Taurian’s voice was loud enough to carry down into the cavern below, where everyone stood frozen. From her position just inside the entrance, Karla could see them, panic written on every face. No one had any idea what to do.
Karla should get them moving, get them all out of here. But there was no way she was going to leave Taurian. She stepped up beside him, and Ultrima’s head swivelled around to regard her.
Taurian kept talking. “I was going to send you an invitation, but it seems you have beaten me to it. I’m about to be mated, can you believe that?”
Hot dragon breath washed over Karla in a humph.
She could almost feel Ultrima’s disdain.
“Your clan supports you choosing the human as a mate?” Ultrima’s voice filled her mind, the intensity of his thought words taking her breath away.
Taurian glanced sideways at Karla for a second, sadness written on his face. Then he turned back to Ultrima. “I mate with Wayrian, a water dragon.”
Until that moment, Karla had never imagined that a dragon could raise an eyebrow. But that’s what Ultrima did. He stared at Karla for a moment, then turned back to Taurian. “Where is this Wayrian?”
How was Taurian going to explain his mate’s absence?
“She is preparing for the mating ceremony. As I should be too. We would be honoured if you would attend.”
This was completely surreal. Karla had imagined that the two dragons would be tearing into each other by now. Not politely having a conversation. Not one inviting his most hated rival to a mating ceremony.
Ultrima’s eyes bored into Taurian’s for a few moment. “I was planning tearing you limb from limb, but I believe this could be more interesting. For a while at least. We can fight afterwards, yes?”
Karla swallowed.
Taurian didn’t flinch. “I would be disappointed if we didn’t.”
Lightning flashed in Ultrima’s eyes, and his dragon face almost seemed to smile.
Karla wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or terrified.
The End
Want to know how Karla and Taurian's story ends? The final part of the story, Part 6 - Mating the Dragon is available for preorder now! Sign up to my mailing list to be notified when it's released.
Taurian's clan believes that his union with Wayrian can save them- if he can go through with it, knowing that he loves Karla. With his arch enemy Ultrima's claw on the scales, he doesn’t dare risk backing out now. Not with his clan in immediate danger.
Karla has accepted that he can never be hers. As a prince, he must put the needs of his clan first. As painful as watching the new couple beginning their life together is for Karla, it's better than risking leaving while Ultrima’s dragons wait outside. Ultrima himself offers her a way out, but she can’t possibly leave Taurian and his clan to be wiped out by Ultrima. She has to do something to help them. If only she could figure out what.
How do you defeat a dragon who has every other dragon scared?
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In the meantime, now is the perfect time in the story to read my Christmas Prequel Novella, if you haven't already. Grab Bringing Christmas to the Dragons, and find out what happened before Karla woke Taurian.
With time running out before his clan’s prince is discovered by mining or killed by enemy dragons, dragon shifter Jayrian needs to convince the elders to accept help from the humans. He hopes that the clever librarian, Gretchen, might be able to help him with that. He didn’t count on falling for her—that wasn’t part of his plan at all.
Gretchen longs for adventure outside of the books she reads in her job as a small town librarian. But not the kind that involves her moving to the big city to take the promotion her Aunt Mary offers. The cute guy who’s been hanging around the library seems far more exciting—there’s just something about him that draws her—so on impulse, she invites him to her family’s Christmas celebration. When a dragon lands on the front of her car on the way there, she wonders if she’s gotten more than she bargained for.
Together they must find a way to save his prince and clan, without sacrificing who they are, or their budding relationship.
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About the Author
If you read a Rinelle Grey story, you can trust in a happy ending. Love will always triumph, even if it seems impossible… Rinelle Grey writes feel-good romance usually in science fiction or fantasy settings. Her heroines are independent and headstrong, and her stories are hard to put down.
She grew up in a remote area of Australia, without power, hot water, or a phone, but now lives with all of those and her (happily ever after) husband, daughter, chooks, ducks and veggie garden.
She loves to receive e-mails at [email protected], or follow her on facebook or twitter.
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