by Bianca D'Arc
“And a daughter too.” Hal winked. “She’s the eldest and she just had her first child. A little girl.”
“You’re grandparents?” Lana was shocked.
The three chuckled good-naturedly at her dismay and Roland squeezed her waist briefly as he laid his napkin aside and rose.
“Interesting as this is, we really need to get going, and I need to settle a few things before I take my other form.”
The knights rose instantly when Roland stood and Lana read the respect in every line of their bodies toward her new lover. A warm ember blazed in her middle as she looked up at him, remembering the night of discovery they had shared. He was such a great man and it was obvious his friends loved and respected him in equal measure. That told her a lot about him, though her heart knew even without this proof that he was a wonderful man.
The three men moved off, talking among themselves, leaving Candis and Lana to follow at a slower pace. Candis fell into step next to Lana and she could feel the older woman’s eyes on her.
“He is a very special man, Lana.”
“I know.”
“We’ve wondered for a long time how he would find a woman worthy of him. I’m glad to see that he finally has.”
Lana was astounded by the woman’s warm tone. They’d only just met, but already Candis seemed to really like her. Lana hadn’t had any friends in her life—except for Tor, of course—but she liked Candis, and though she didn’t quite know how to go about it, she wanted to be her friend if at all possible.
“You’re very kind, Lady Candis,” she said softly, unsure how to proceed. “I’ve enjoyed my time here among your family and making your acquaintance. If you meant what you said, I’d like…someday…to come back for a visit.”
Candis stopped as they neared the landing area and shocked Lana by pulling her into a quick, almost motherly hug. “You’re welcome here any time, Lana. Don’t worry. I have a feeling this is only the start of a long and happy friendship. If I’m not much mistaken, Roland will make it so you visit often. He loves this Lair, since he trained here as a young dragon. It’s like his second home.”
Lana dared to let herself dream that this wonderful fairytale she’d fallen into was real. Roland loved her. He’d told her so. But could such happiness really be hers? It didn’t seem possible, but even Lady Candis—a woman she’d come to respect greatly—seemed to believe it.
Perhaps…just perhaps…it was.
Lana felt a kind of bubbly elation fill her soul at the idea. She hugged Lady Candis one last time as Roland beckoned to her. He was at the portal that opened onto the main landing platform of the Lair and she could see the early sun reflecting off Tor’s shiny scales through the large opening. He was with the older dragons, twining necks with them in a dragonish farewell. Even he knew it would soon be time to go.
Roland pulled her in for a fierce hug and a devastatingly passionate kiss that drew a few low whistles from the knights who were still nearby. Lana was breathless when Roland finally released her.
“That’ll have to hold us ’til we reach my home.” He winked devilishly at her and she felt the impact of him in her womb and all the way down to her toes. The man was potent. That was a fact. He dragged her close to whisper in her ear. “When we reach the palace, I’m going to lock you in my chambers and ravish you for days. I’m going to show you ways of pleasure you’ve never imagined and I’m going to make you scream in delight. What do you think of that idea?” He pulled back enough to look down at her. His roguish smile was nearly her undoing as she felt her knees grow weak. “Well? What say you, my love?”
“I—” Her voice croaked and she had to clear her throat and try again. “I think that’s a wonderful plan, Roland.”
The smile he awarded her with promised of sensuous thrills ahead of which she could only dream. “Think of me while we navigate the sky today, lover. Think of me between your thighs, in your body, in your heart.” His words were low and rugged, and for her ears only. “As I’ll be thinking of your soft thighs and softer sighs. You hold my heart, Lana. Keep it safe.”
“Roland.” She reached up and placed her lips next to his ear. “I love you so much!”
He kissed her again until the “whoops” from the surrounding knights could no longer be ignored. Breaking apart at long last, he placed her a few feet from himself with deliberate, obviously difficult motions as the knights laughed at his predicament. Roland took their teasing with aplomb, laughing as much at himself as they did, and Lana found herself laughing with them, though her body was on fire with need. Only for Roland.
“Go to Tor now, love. I’ll join you in a minute.”
Lana squeezed his hand once more before turning and skipping off to where Tor waited, surrounded by other dragons. She was surprised and gratified to see little Rena closest to him. His sheltering wing protected the little one from the bigger dragons who crowded around him. He was such a thoughtful boy, always protecting those weaker or smaller than himself. The Mother of All knew he’d done as much for her time and time again.
Lana neared and saw Tor tentatively extending his long neck to twine with Rena’s in the farewell he’d been taught, while Rue and Tilden looked on with what could only be described as indulgent expressions. Perhaps all that chatter at breakfast wasn’t just idle speculation. Perhaps there was an attraction there, though the dragonets were much too young to even understand what might prove to ultimately be a lifelong partnership.
Lana didn’t like thinking about what would happen when Tor was old enough to mate and form a family of his own. She didn’t want to think about what that would mean to her. She was happy as it was now, and content to let each day pass as it would without borrowing troubles from tomorrow. Still, seeing the two youngsters twining necks so prettily, she wondered if maybe she wasn’t seeing a foreshadow of the future.
Roland met them on the ledge in dragon form so as to preserve the secret from young Tor and the other dragonets present, but Lana knew sooner or later, Tor would be let in on the secret of Roland’s amazing dual nature. It was Roland’s secret to tell though, and Lana respected his right to pick the time and place.
Tor moved away from the other dragons and bent one foreleg so she could climb aboard his back as they had done many times over the years they’d been together. Lana adjusted her furs, though she needed less and less covering to keep her warm the farther south they flew. She felt the curious eyes of the knights and their families—many of whom had gathered on the landing ledge, apparently to see them off—on her as she climbed easily aboard Tor’s broad back.
“Ready, friends?” Roland’s distinctive voice sounded through her mind and she knew he addressed Tor as well.
“Ready, Roland!” Tor, eager and happy, answered back.
“And what about you, my love?” Roland sent the words to her alone on their private pathway. “Are you ready?” The purr in his deep voice implied he was talking about more than flying.
Lana decided to be daring. “I think I’m always ready for you, Roland.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear!” Roland leapt into the air with renewed vigor after blinking one big emerald eye in Lana’s direction. She giggled and held on tight as Tor launched into the air with joyful abandon. The dragons behind them roared and trumpeted in farewell, a few flying out as honor guard with them for the first leg of the journey.
It was a beautiful day for flying.
By sunset they had stopped a few times to allow Tor to rest, and Lana had eaten a bit of the food Candis had thoughtfully packed for her. Roland took Tor to hunt sheep in the pastures set aside especially for dragons, watching over the dragonet as he learned. Roland instructed him on which sheep were eligible for eating and the various marking systems the shepherds and farmers used in order to keep their flocks and herds organized. The markings allowed the farmers to not only select which animals were set aside for the dragons, but also to receive payment for each animal from the king’s treasury.
The syst
em allowed both dragons and farmers to flourish, and Lana was impressed by it all. Tor had learned the rudiments from the older dragons at the Lair rather quickly that morning, but he also seemed to enjoy Roland’s patient tutelage about the different markings on the flocks as they traveled southward. Lana realized by watching them that Roland was a kind and generous teacher. He would probably be a wonderful father, she found herself thinking, realizing she could very well already be carrying his child.
She pondered the amazing idea as they retook to the sky on what Roland promised would be the last leg of their journey.
Would their child be human or dragon? Or both? Her eyes went wide at the possibilities. She had not fully considered the possible consequences when she’d welcomed him into her arms and body last night, but the idea was heating her insides as she thought about it now. When they were married, they would have babies, she hoped. She wondered how many he would want, and most importantly, would they be part dragon, able to change like him? The very idea of it boggled her mind.
The faraway trumpeting of dragons drew her attention and she looked up in time to see two black specks in the distance growing steadily larger as they neared. They resolved into two black dragons, only slightly different in appearance from Roland. Their welcome was unmistakable as they circled around to flank Roland, grazing wings in welcome. The pair of them took up escort positions, one on either side of Roland and Tor, though both sets of peridot eyes were looking at Tor…and Lana.
The two new black dragons were like mirror images of each other and they shared traits with Roland as well. The only real difference was their lighter green eyes. They watched her and Tor carefully but made no move to communicate that she could discern, except perhaps with Roland. She would bet the three black dragons were talking at great length back and forth among themselves.
In a way, it was a repeat of what had happened when the Northern Lair’s sentries spotted them coming over the border. Except of course this time, their dragon escorts were riderless and the dragons were pure black. Knowing what she knew about Roland, she surmised these dragons might also be the kind that could shapeshift into men. Keeping that in mind, she watched them speculatively.
She was so busy looking at the two new black dragons, she almost missed her first glimpse of the royal palace as they came over the last of the mountains standing in their path. The castle was enormous, seemingly carved into the living rock of yet another mountain. Spires rose into the sky on all sides and little corkscrew roads were carved into the lower levels of the mountain, meandering down to grassy hillsides teeming with sheep, cattle, horses and crops, and a city spread out below.
It was absolutely breathtaking.
“Do you think that’s where Roland lives?” Tor asked in an awed tone, his words for her alone. “It’s even bigger than the Lair and I never thought I’d see anything better than that!”
“This is where the king lives, Tor. It’s the royal palace, a castle built into the mountain so that dragons and people can live together there in comfort.” She repeated a bit of what Roland had told her the day before. “I think this is probably the grandest Lair in all of Draconia.”
“I guess it would have to be if the king lives here, huh?”
“Yes, I guess so.” She stroked his neck fondly as his massive wings beat around her. How she loved flying with Tor. She would never grow tired of the magic of being higher than most birds, nearly touching the clouds. She only hoped the king would let her continue to be with Tor as he grew and learned from the dragons of this new land.
As they drew nearer to the amazing castle, she saw the tall spires were actually quite a bit larger than she’d expected. Each was big enough to accommodate the take-off and landing of a dozen dragons at any one time. In fact, there were many dragons in the air around the castle and she noted a few awaiting them on the wide ledge of the nearest spire as they moved in for a landing.
As the other dragons saw them, they began to trumpet greetings all around. Soon a large bell began to toll somewhere below and she was amazed by the extent of the welcome. Intellectually, she knew Roland was an important person to the people and dragons of this land, but the warm, joyous welcome still surprised her.
The two new black dragons held back to let Roland land first, then Tor. They set down behind Tor, almost as if they were the rear guard. Lana couldn’t help but shoot looks behind her as she dismounted from Tor’s back, watching the twin blacks watch her. If they were trying to intimidate her, they were doing a good job.
Feeling scared for no reason soon annoyed her. Lana squared her shoulders as she removed her travel pack from Tor’s back and dropped it to the ground. Rubbing his shoulders almost absently, she turned to face the two new black dragons. They were still watching her and she’d had enough of it. Facing them, Lana put her hands on her hips as Tor stood behind her.
“Thank you for the escort,” she said belligerently into their minds, easily including Tor and Roland in her silent speech, “but you can stop eyeing us as if we’re the enemy. Roland wouldn’t have brought us here if we weren’t to be trusted.”
“In fact,” Roland stepped forward, moving his massive body between her and the other dragons, “I wouldn’t even be alive if it weren’t for them.”
“Then we owe you a debt we can never repay,” the one on the right said with a wicked, dragonish grin. The one on the left seemed amazed she would bespeak them directly.
“You’re a girl!” That came a moment later from the one on the left as she took off her head covering. All of them laughed at his surprise, and if dragons could blush, she knew he was doing so.
“The genius on the left,” Roland said wryly, “is my brother Darius. His evil twin, on the right, is Connor. Please excuse their rude behavior. They were just leaving.”
“But, Rol! We’ve never met an Ice Dragon before. Don’t chase us off just yet.” Darius seemed to recover his equilibrium.
Roland limited his words to Lana and the twins. “He may be an Ice Dragon, but he’s just a baby, only five winters old, and he’d never seen another dragon before he met me a few days ago. Go easy on him, boys. He has a gentle, trusting heart.”
Lana was touched to hear him describe Tor with such feeling. The other two dragons seemed to realize his seriousness and looked at Tor with new, kinder eyes.
“So he doesn’t know about us.” Connor watched the tired dragonet stretch, his icy scales glistening brilliantly in the final rays of the setting sun.
“No. Not yet,” Roland confirmed. “But Lana knows.” His long neck swiveled to her, his eyes looking down on her with emerald glints.
“Lana?” Connor prompted, his voice tinged with interest.
“Princess Alania of Kent, if I’m not mistaken,” Roland confirmed, shocking her with the strange title, “my fiancée.”
Stunned silence met his announcement and Lana began to feel awkward, but she kept her spine straight and tried not to let her discomfort show.
“Roland—” Connor began, only to be cut off by Darius.
“That’s great!” His joy was so real, Lana felt herself begin to relax.
“Congratulations, Roland! And to you, milady.” Connor’s tone was more serious.
“Tor doesn’t know about that yet, either,” Lana said quickly as her baby’s great silver head loomed over her shoulder. She patted and stroked his cheek ridges, smiling as he butted into her affectionately.
“I’m Tor.” He was clearly tired from their long flight that day, but wanting to meet the new dragons.
Introductions were made quickly and then Roland led the party down a wide, sloping hall leading to an inner ledge. Lana remounted for a quick flight downward within the magnificent inside walls of the remarkable castle.
Roland had picked up Lana’s pack in one front paw and held it now as he led the group off the ledge, spiraling down in wide circles to a well-protected inner courtyard. Lana dismounted again and was immediately enchanted by the trickling waterfall on one side
of the secluded court.
Roland strolled through a wide set of double doors opened by two attentive servants as he approached. Tor had to duck his head a little, but once inside the massive corridor, he walked comfortably among the smaller dragons. Decorative tapestries of every color hung here and there on the walls, and the floors were polished smooth and made of the native stone. Lana was impressed by the understated opulence of the huge corridor but the suite they entered a moment later truly took her breath away.
Like the Lair she had visited in the north, it boasted a large, oval sand pit that radiated warmth. Tor jumped in with gleeful delight as Roland told him this was his room for as long as he stayed in the castle. He commenced to rolling around, polishing his scales the way the dragons at the Lair had taught him, to a blinding brilliance.
“And I thought he was sparkly before!” Darius commented as they watched him indulgently. Within moments, he was as clean and brilliant as polished crystal.
Lana approached the edge of the sand pit and sat down on the ledge near Tor’s large head. He was so tired, he was nearly asleep as he let her caress him behind the eye ridges, growling a little in pleasure.
“Go to sleep, baby. You’re safe here and we’ll be nearby.” She looked to Roland for confirmation.
“Lana must bathe and eat, but my brothers will stay near if you need anything, Tor. If you want Lana, just tell one of them and I’ll bring her right back, all right?”
“All right, Roland,” Tor said sleepily around a toothy yawn. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart. Happy dreams.” Lana left off stroking as Tor fell fast asleep.
“I expect one of you to be with him at all times. He’s very special to Lana and to me, and he’s never lived anywhere but in captivity or a cold, snowy cave before a few days ago.”
“Poor little one,” Connor said softly as he looked at the sleeping dragonet. “We’ll watch over him, Rol. Go take care of your lady.”
