With her massive size, any sudden move could hurt him. Not for the first time, Arken wondered if he should tend to her while in his dragon form, but that risked Daya finding out about him. Plus, he needed his opposable thumbs.
He rifled through the bag for the hypodermic needle and the tiny vial of serum. It would counteract the poison racing through her system. He had already given her several injections to no avail. But, he had to believe she simply needed more. If she died, his chances of procreating went with her.
Arken ducked a scalding stream of smoke that eased from Vyda’s nostrils. He stooped at her ribcage and plunged the needle through the thick hide beneath a scale. The dragon emitted a faint moan but didn’t move. The agent in the needle offered pain relief.
“You’ve got to keep fighting,” he whispered. “You’re strong and brave. No warrior of mine would give up so easily.”
Sighing, he stepped back to watch her sleep more peacefully. He hoped the pep talk could reach through whatever nightmares plagued her. Because he needed her. There had been a time the dragon lords mated with mortals and bred halflings. That was how the shifters had come to be, but that was before the high priestesses took control. Now, the Daughters of Men were hollow shells.
He supposed it was cryptic of him to think that way as he strolled to his bedchamber. They weren’t exactly hollow. They still had aspirations and tried to live relatively good lives, but they had lost the touch of magic inherent to all the people of this realm.
The dragon eaters soaked it up to feed their long lives. The same hunger that made them devour dragons, made them drink the last sips of magic from the land. Only a few retained their inherent gifts. The Mindreaders, the Healers, the Makers who controlled the elements. Only a few.
Arken sank into a tub of water that cloaked the spacious bathing room in copious steam. It was hot enough to scald a man, but just right for him. He rested his head on the ledge of the warm porcelain tub and thought of his immediate future. He would have to get Vyda well. His warriors were losing faith in him. Producing an heir might placate them a while longer.
But, there was the issue of Oedaya of the Blue Sky Realm. His heavy eyelids closed, and he moaned as the silky water caressed his skin. He imagined it was her touch, her fingers as they raked over his skin. He thought of her soft curves and tantalizing lips. If he had met her long ago, she would be his. He would be done with the madness of wanting her because he would have taken her by now. Being king had turned him into a bore.
“She doesn’t want me,” he told himself drowsily. She wanted his diamond, and she had already shown that her feminine wiles were a part of her arsenal. He sighed and allowed himself to drift to sleep. Ainley. She would know what to make of this strange turn of events. The oracle would have advice.
She was waiting for him in The Realm of Dreams. Arken landed on the stony bluff overlooking the ocean and folded his wings to his formidable black scales. It was dark out, and a dense fog lay over the gently swaying grass. Ainley was one with the fog.
“Did she get there safely?” she asked.
He studied her. “She’s injured. She attracted the huntsmen, and they took her down with a poison arrow. I’m nursing her to health, but she doesn’t seem to be responding to my care. Can you help me?”
“The dragon,” Ainley nodded. She reached in a fold of her gossamer white dress and drew out a vial, similar to the one he already had. “Use this. Half will wake her. The rest will heal her and return her strength. However, I was talking about the girl, Oedaya of the Blue Realm. Is she safe?”
“What do you know of her?” Arken asked warily.
“I know she’s come a long way for a lot of disappointment. When Feis gets the stone, the Fire Realm won’t be the only one to crumble,” said the Sylph. His brow furrowed, and he shook his head with regret. Ainley walked through the shifting white mist toward him. “Oedaya’s future is unclear. Yours, however, is becoming more troubling to me. Feis is planning a preemptive strike on the Isle of Warriors.”
“Amazing how the things you assured me centuries ago would never happen are all suddenly very much options on the table,” he muttered. “How, Ainley? How can Feis get to the island? The treaty we signed ensured her navigators wouldn’t even know where to look. They can’t get to it.”
“Not on their own, but with help. I see ships on the horizon. I see dragons fighting, and I see you.” Ainley stopped before him. “I see you betrayed by someone close to you and sacrificing everything. Someone has already given the high priestess the secret location of the isle.”
“What can I do?” he growled. “You left this undone, with loopholes everywhere! It’s like you wanted this to happen!”
“I want what’s best for the realms. You’re not the only one whose existence is at stake,” she reminded him firmly. The Sylph moved to the edge of the cliff and pointed at the ocean. “You will make your last stand there, to the east.”
“I’ll be free of this place?” he asked in wonder. She nodded.
“Yes, and you won’t be alone. You’ll have help. Unfortunately, you will also have many enemies, not least of which, the dragon eaters. There are things I didn’t know that I didn’t know, Arken. Now that I see clearer, I must warn you to rethink what it means to do your duty. Sometimes it can blind you.”
“More riddles.” He turned away in frustration.
Behind him, Ainley added, “Find out why the dragon disobeyed orders and left the island to come to you.”
“To tell me about the stillborn.”
“It wasn’t stillborn. It was killed.”
Arken had sank into the tub in his sleep. He broke the surface with a loud gasp and swiped water from his eyes. There was something in his hand, the vial Ainley had given him in the Realm of Dreams. He set it aside and shoved his fingers through his wet hair. Suddenly, his face tightened with fury, and he heaved himself from the bathtub.
His footfalls echoed as he stormed to the hall of treasures. He reached the dragon and readied the syringe. “Vyda,” he snarled as the needle plunged into her side. He watched the pearly fluid decrease in volume, making the dragon stir. He stopped short of giving her all of it. He couldn’t afford to have her at full strength if what Ainley had implied was true. “Wake up!” he ordered.
A large eye opened and rolled his way. Vyda tried to prop herself up, but couldn’t quite manage. “Is something wrong?” she breathed weakly.
“What happened to the egg?”
The dragon froze. “It was stillborn, Your Majesty. It simply didn’t hatch on…on schedule. The nurses—”
“You’re lying to me!” he roared. The vibrations from his booming voice sent landslides of gold crashing to the floor. His shifter power filled the air with the smell of ozone like lightning’s aftermath.
Vyda whimpered, “Someone tampered with it.”
“Who?”
“I—I don’t know!”
“You deceived me, and you expect me to believe you now?” His voice dropped to a deadly whisper she strained forward to hear. He opened his hand, and the Heart of the Dragon sparked to life. It held the power to destroy. The dragon scuttled back in panic.
“Your Majesty, please! I swear, I don’t know! When I went to nest duty, I discovered the shattered shell and the baby not breathing. I told everyone it was stillborn because I didn’t want them to accuse me! Please!”
“Who sent you?” he asked. “I know it wasn’t my sister, the general. Who sent you?”
“I fled,” she replied. “The other warriors started asking questions I couldn’t answer, so I fled. Once I reached the shores of King’s Isle, I took woman-shape to try to disguise myself, but I knew I couldn’t hide for long, so I…”
“So, you what?” He took a menacing step toward her with the stone. Her eyes rolled in terror.
“I went to Feis! I thought I could talk her into allowing safe passage so the dragons could recolonize other islands. It’s the isolation. It’s not good for our health. Even no
w,” she panted, “even now, being away from that place has helped.”
Her sparkling eyes implored him. “I’m in heat,” she whispered. “I haven’t been in heat in centuries.”
He closed his hand, and the light of the diamond disappeared. The stone faded from view as his shoulders slumped. “You inadvertently told her where the Isle of Warriors was located,” he sighed, understanding now.
Vyda blinked in confusion. “I thought she knew.”
“Of course not. How do you think I’ve managed to keep the rest of us safe? Feis would never have allowed you safe passage.”
Vyda said hopelessly, “She told me the only way she would consider it is if I got her the Heart of the Dragon. She promised she would give me and half the remaining dragons amnesty. I had a choice between saving the few or sacrificing the many.”
“And, you decided to save the few. But, Vyda, she deceived you, and now she has sent you here to betray me. You can’t give her the stone. She won’t stop at destroying half of our number. She’ll kill us all.”
“I know that! That’s why I told you I wasn’t worth saving, but when you offered to mate, I realized we had a second chance. Don’t you see, Arken?” she pleaded. “Together, you and I can replenish our race. As long as we keep the Heart of the Dragon, we can stay here and build our numbers until the prime time to strike.”
“The offer to be my mate is off the table. You miscalculated, my darling fool,” he snorted as he left the hall. “Feis won’t give us time to raise an army. She plans to attack the Isle of Warriors, now that she knows where it is. You’ve begun the war.”
**If you like this snippet, and would like to read more, you can find the book in the Amazon Kindle store.**
Check out these other books by Candace Ayers…
Rancher Bears Series
RANCHER BEAR’S BABY
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RANCHER BEAR’S SURPRISE PACKAGE
RANCHER BEAR’S SECRET
RANCHER BEAR’S DESIRE
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Bears of Burden Series
THORN
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Shifters of Denver Series
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Wolf Boss (She-Shifters of Hell's Corner Book 1) Page 16
