Dragon Prince

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Grier led her away from the tents toward the trees where a path cut through the forest. The worn walkway made it easy to navigate their way. “You didn’t answer about your childhood.”

  “No, I didn’t.” She reached to pull a yellow plant with small leaves growing off a center stem.

  “You mustn’t pick the yellow.” He touched her hand to stop her.

  “Why, what is it?”

  “It’s called the yellow,” he chuckled. “My ancestors were not very inventive. The pollen causes whoever sniffs it to fall into a deep sleep. It used to be an issue before my aunt Nadja developed a shot that inoculated the population from its effects.”

  “She must be intelligent to have come up with that.”

  “Yes.” He nodded. “You said you had two sisters? What happened to them?”

  She stopped walking. “I won’t talk about it. Please stop asking.”

  Grier’s expression fell, and he nodded. “As you wish.”

  “It’s not something I’m comfortable discussing.”

  “I understand,” he said.

  “After my parents died, we were separated,” Salena explained. She didn’t know why she kept talking; only she hated that his small smile had disappeared. “There is not much else to tell.”

  “I understand,” he repeated.

  “I don’t think you can understand. Your family is right here. You know where to find them if you wish to.” She stared at the path, watching the toes of her short boots as she walked. This must be what everyone else felt around her, the strange need to speak even when she knew she should keep quiet.

  “I understand you don’t wish to speak of it. I will not ask you to again,” he clarified.

  “They were…are…were called Piera and Fiora. We were born at the same time and looking at them was like gazing into a mirror.”

  “It must be tough for you to be without them,” Grier said.

  She nodded, saying no more on the subject. “Is it far?”

  “Not to reach my cousin, though it is a fair distance to Shelter City. I might suggest that we fly there.” With each step, he seemed to move closer to her. Her hand brushed against him.

  The night spent lying beside him had clouded her thinking. Each tickle of the breeze was pronounced against her sensitive skin. She should be trying to remember what she could of the path the Federation took. Instead, she focused on how close his hand was to hers and whether each gentle swing of their limbs would cause them to touch. The ache was terrible and tried to consume her thoughts. It made her want to cry and act rashly at the same time.

  She wanted to kiss him.

  She wanted to touch him.

  She wanted more of him.

  Her breath came out in a tremble and she’d forgotten what they had been saying. She stopped on the path, trying to calm her racing heart.

  He took two steps before moving to look at her. “What is it?”

  “I don’t trust my judgment.”

  “In what way? Are you scared to go to Shelter City?” He came back to her, his head tilted in question and his eyes concerned. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “I don’t trust my judgment around you, Prince.” Salena lifted her trembling hand to touch his cheek. “Maybe we should keep our distance when we travel.”

  “I can’t protect you from a distance,” he denied.

  “Then I’m afraid I cannot be trusted to use good sense.” She stroked his cheek, feeling the texture of his beard against her palm. The heat of him soaked into her fingers. “You almost kissed me last night before we were interrupted.”

  “I almost kissed you many times last night, and this morning,” he answered. “I am almost kissing you right now.”

  She licked her lips. “I wish you would.”

  Where did that admission come from?

  His lips curled up at the side. Her fingers stayed with him as he leaned forward. At the first light contact, her eyes drifted closed. She held her breath and waited. The soft pressure began to increase.

  “Don’t you dragons have tents for this kind of thing?” a woman asked, her tone wry.

  The kiss did not deepen. Grier sighed against her, not turning as he stated, “Good morning, Princess Payton.”

  “Welcome the dawn, Prince Grier,” the woman returned with a laugh.

  Grier appeared apologetic.

  Payton was the name of the cat-shifter Jaxx was supposed to meet the night before.

  Salena leaned to the side to see past him. A young woman stood, hands on hips, grinning at them. She wore the same tall boots and tight pants with cross-laces up the side of each leg that Salena had seen at the festival grounds. Her shirt fit her frame, the red leather having laces down the front. It provided borderline coverage without being completely immodest. Like the dragons, she appeared fully human.

  “I assume blessings are in order.” Payton gave a slight nod.

  “No.” Grier finally turned his back on her and faced the princess. “We’ve come to speak to Jaxx.”

  “I just left him,” Payton said.

  “You are going the wrong way if you wish to get back to the Var palace.” Grier pointed in the direction they were walking.

  “I’m avoiding my father,” Payton said. “I did not attend a certain ambassadorial dinner last night, and it’s best to let his anger cool before I show myself. I thought it would be entertaining to watch the dragons announce their marriages.”

  Grier slipped his hand on Salena’s elbow and escorted her forward as if to pass the cat-shifter princess. “If you hurry, there are plenty of men who did not find brides. You never know.”

  Payton’s face scrunched up in disgust. “May the flames burn off your tongue for that, Grier. I have no intention of marrying. It’s the one thing my father and I agree on, though for different reasons. He thinks I’m too young and I think the prospect too boring.”

  Grier tried to leave, but Payton fell into step beside them.

  “What are you up to?” Payton asked. “I feel an adventure brewing.”

  “You always feel that,” Grier dismissed.

  “I’m right, aren’t I?” Payton dropped back and reappeared in line next to Salena. “Tell me. Where are you going?”

  Salena glanced at Grier and didn’t answer.

  “Does it have anything to do with last night?” Payton asked. “If you tell me, I’ll tell you where Jaxx is. He’s not where you think he is.”

  “We’re not playing games. You should go home,” Grier said.

  Payton gave a little rumble in the back of her throat. Grier answered with a louder growl of his own.

  Salena stopped walking, so that she was no longer between them. “Where is Jaxx?”

  “Fine.” Payton screwed up her face and rolled her eyes. “He’s with Roderic. We had to change the location of the drop-off last night. Marsh farmers were blocking the way to the original spot, so we stashed the units inside one of the old storage trees. After half of the last shipment was stolen, we’re not going to risk it.”

  Both of them turned to look at Salena.

  “You are an interrogator. I’ve never seen her cave that fast.” Grier smiled and nodded in approval.

  “What did you do?” Payton looked down over her body as if searching for a device that pulled the truth out of her before turning back to Salena. “Are you a gwiddon?”

  “She’s not a witch,” Grier denied. Then, arching his brow in her direction, he asked, “Are you?”

  “I don’t think so.” Salena wasn’t sure what a gwiddon witch was.

  “Hey, can you ask her who really stole the clothes from the Var border watchtower, causing my brothers and I to appear at the interplanetary dignitary dinner naked?” Grier asked.

  “That was like thirty years ago. I told you Roderic did it,” Payton answered.

  “That is what you said, but…” Grier arched a brow.

  “How old are you? Thirty years ago, you must have been a baby.” Salena moved closer to t
hem.

  “I’m seventy-two by the Old Star charts,” Grier answered.

  “I’m a few years younger,” Payton said.

  Shifters apparently aged very well.

  “I feel like a baby next to you two. I’m twenty-eight.” Salena fell into step between them. “So what happened at the dinner?”

  “I did it,” Payton blurted. She gasped, covering her mouth.

  “I knew it!” Grier pointed a finger at her.

  “Well, you shaved my fur while I was sleeping,” Payton countered.

  “We only clipped a little of it,” Grier said.

  “Off my ass,” Payton exclaimed. “I ran around with a bald spot for a week.”

  Grier laughed. “It was funny.”

  “So was your naked appearance at the dinner. The Klennup dignitary seemed to enjoy the show.” Payton eyed Salena. “I’m going to have to watch myself around you.”

  “Do you have a lot of secrets you don’t want to confess?” Grier asked.

  “Yes,” Payton answered. “As do you, I am sure. Oh, hey, Salena, ask Grier who told the Grug pilot I was available and had a hair fetish?”

  Salena had never had quite this reaction to her ability before. She glanced at Grier but didn’t try to force him to speak.

  “What? You two would have had adorable furballs together.” Grier grinned, clearly not sorry for the incident.

  “Yes, as you apparently pointed out to him when you said I was interested. The creep kept trying to get me to shift into tiger form so he could…” Payton shivered and made a sound of disgust. “Actually, Salena looks like a lady, and I’m not going to repeat the offer in front of her.”

  “What?” Salena asked curiously.

  “He wanted to put on a dress, mount me from behind, and ride me into submission.” Payton again gave a dramatic shiver.

  “Sorry I asked,” Salena said.

  “Ugh, I’m sorry you asked too,” Grier added. “That is an image I didn’t want in my head.”

  “Serves you right,” Payton answered.

  It was clear the two were close, having grown up as friends. Salena was a little jealous of that fact. Not so much that she thought something was going on between them, but because they had the kind of familiarity that developed by having a shared history.

  Payton led them off the path and into the woods. Old trees had rotted out, now standing as broken, hollow shells. The musky smell hung thick on the air. Plant life had invaded the trunks, covering it like a fine blue fur. The forest became dense as if they were the first to disturb it in years.

  “Would you like me to carry you?” Grier offered as they came to a cluster of rocks blocking the path.

  Salena almost said yes, but it wasn’t because she couldn’t make the small climb. She wanted to feel Grier pressed against her.

  “I’ll be fine,” she managed, her voice a little raspy.

  11

  “There, now you don’t look like you’re going to a royal reception,” Jaxx told Grier, as he tossed the prince’s embroidered tunic on the couch. It landed on Payton’s head. She grumbled in protest as she yanked it from her head and threw it on the cushion next to her.

  They were in Jaxx’s home, waiting while he had something to eat after his long night. The home was an addition to his parents’ house.

  Jaxx had not done much by way of decorating, not because the family couldn’t afford it, but because he was hardly ever home and saw no need. There was a couch, the cloth seats a little worn but so comfortable no one suggested replacing it. A royal banner was rolled up and resting against a corner, waiting to be hung. It had been waiting for close to a decade. Since Olena lacked any semblance of a homemaker gene, she didn’t push her son to change his ways. However, it drove Nadja to distraction. She threatened to break in and take over. Jaxx never locked his door so it wouldn’t be hard.

  Payton covered her mouth as she yawned. Like Jaxx and Roderic, she’d been up all night unloading food simulators and sneaking the units around the forest and had yet to sleep. It wasn’t that the equipment was illegal, just that they couldn’t risk anyone questioning why they had acquired so many of them. The fewer who knew about what they were doing, the better.

  “When I was traveling through some of the Var villages this last fortnight, I could feel the tension hanging heavy on the air. Whispers of attacks on shifters are spreading,” Roderic said. He sat on the back of the couch facing them. The cougar-shifter had light brown hair and blue eyes.

  Roderic’s father was an ambassador, but he didn’t appear to be following that path. He hated the inaction of diplomatic talks, often saying things like, “Political conversations are a test of strength and will. Whoever gets tired of talking in half-truths and circles loses. And, sadly, punching your opponent for being a slargnot is often not allowed.”

  Salena kept several paces from the group, not saying anything but also not turning her back on them. Her distrust was clear, not so much of Grier but of everything. Just as his royal duties had been taught to him since childhood until they became a part of him, so appeared to be her mistrust of others.

  Roderic eyed Salena.

  “You may speak in front of her. I vouch for her,” Grier said. He met her gaze and gave her a small smile “She is here to help us.”

  Roderic seemed to hesitate a few more seconds before saying, “Have there been any confirmed reports with the Draig? Or is it still only rumors?”

  “Rumors,” Jaxx said in between bites of bread. “But still disturbing to consider.”

  “I thought this had to do with feeding the people of Shelter City because the Federation was not taking proper care of them,” Salena said. “Are they attacking shifters as well? Is it because you are trying to help the people and are getting caught in the process?”

  “Welcome to our complicated political mess,” Payton mumbled. “If only it were that simple.”

  Grier took a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to explain.

  “Honor is in short supply in Shelter City,” Jaxx cleared his throat before pointing a piece of meat in the general direction of the group to punctuate his point, “and I blame the Federation for that. They have not made life in the settlement easy. Their strict laws have created a tense atmosphere and make little sense.”

  “The alien citizens are mostly good, but it is not the same with the Cysgod as it is with shifters,” Grier said.

  “That is because they have no old code, and much about their ways clash with Draig culture.” Jaxx shoved the meat into his mouth, taking a large bite as he tried to hurry.

  “It is hard to worry about things like honor when children are going hungry,” Grier said.

  “I didn’t mean to imply they are bad. They handle things differently.” Jaxx looked at Salena. “We would never let our neighbors starve. Since we can’t set up food simulators in the city because the Federation would be able to detect them, that doesn’t mean we can’t take the food to the city after it is materialized.”

  Salena’s brow had furrowed as if she tried to piece together the story.

  “I think it will be less confusing if I explain from the beginning,” Grier said.

  Salena nodded.

  “The Cysgodians were brought here because they were at the wrong end of a biological attack…not that there is a right end to be on in such a situation,” Grier explained. “The radiation from our blue sun helps give us strength and longer lives, with some side effects.”

  “That would be me. I’m the side effect,” Payton inserted with a small lift of her hand. “Female shifter births have become an anomaly, so I’m special.”

  “Don’t you have female cousins?” Grier inserted, though he knew the answer.

  “I didn’t say I was the only special one,” Payton defended.

  “You’re a pain in the special furry ass,” Roderic mumbled.

  “Not when that furry ass is shaved.” Jaxx chuckled.

  Grier ignored the banter. “The Federation asked if
we could take in our alien neighbors so that they may benefit from the blue radiation. Their doctors believed it was their only hope of survival. After much negotiation, it was determined the virus was not a threat to shifters or our mates, so we allowed them to set up camp in a valley that received plenty of direct blue sunlight. How could we not?”

  “Temporarily allowed,” Jaxx corrected, walking toward the small kitchen area to drop off his now-empty tray.

  “We couldn’t let them die,” Roderic said.

  “That temporary camp became Shelter City,” Payton added. “They kept adding to it and then, suddenly, structures were erected.”

  “What does this have to do with the shifter attacks?” Salena asked.

  “I’m getting to that,” Grier said. “The blue radiation worked. It essentially eradicated the virus. However, a new problem has emerged in recent years. The blue radiation helped stopped the virus, but it did not add years to the Cysgodians’ life spans. Many of them are dying before their natural lifespan should have ended.”

  “Because they had the virus,” Salena concluded. “It damaged them somehow? Left them weak or susceptible to other illnesses?”

  Grier found himself drawn closer to her. He watched to see if she would back away from him. She did not.

  “Possibly,” Grier answered, “but the Federation won’t let us test the population, and we’d need their cooperation to carry out such a task since technically they are visitors and under Federation protection.”

  “They claim the illness is why they won’t let the Cysgodians have food simulators—because of the fear of more radiation from the devices—they also won’t let us do any independent tests regarding the blue radiation. They claim ESC scientists are investigating the situation and our primitive medical experience will only sabotage their efforts and expose the population to unknown factors.”

  “We have no proof any of this radiation scare is true,” Jaxx said. “And in the meantime, they’re going hungry. It’s difficult to save a population if they all starved before you could figure it out.”