by Eric Vall
“Yes, please.” Alyona smiled and backed up so I could transform into my true self, my huge dragon body.
As I felt myself grow, I watched the shiny, black scales that stayed on my human forearms lengthen and continue down into what became my forelegs. My spikes emerged one by one from my spine, and my wings grew out next to them. Then I sighed with relief. It had been too long since I’d transformed, what with my dryad tryst, and I’d missed my powerful body.
“Well, get on up there, princess.” I grinned a fangy grin at my bride-to-be, and then I bent down as far as I could to make her ascent up my back a little easier.
Alyona shimmied her way up, and she grabbed on to one of my spikes to steady herself before she reached back down for Laika’s hand.
The wolf Demi-Human smiled up at the princess and grabbed my spike instead, and then she hopped up onto my back in one quick motion, slid behind Alyona, and put her hands around the Princess’ slender hips.
My breath caught in my throat as I watched them playfully hold hands in Alyona’s lap. I had yet to sexually perform in my dragon form, but I definitely had a cock, which twitched in anticipation of the making up I’d promised these two.
Poor Nike was still on the ground in perfect view of my twitching, and he snickered. “Well, I think I’ll just walk, brother.”
Ravi giggled and transformed into her fiery bird form before she fluttered up to my head and perched herself between my ears.
“Onward!” she giggled.
Three of my gorgeous women were on top of me, and I couldn’t even give them what we all craved. So, I shook my head and focused my attention south toward the grasslands of Tikal. We had one more House to get to today, and I wanted to get plenty of sleep tonight so my magic was fully charged for tomorrow. So, I started our southward trek with Nike at my side and headed toward House Jubatus and Lord Chax.
I made good time with my long strides, and we reached House Jubatus in what I was pretty sure was record time. I bent down to let my lovers slide off my back while I looked up at the plain structure. The only way to denote its importance was its massive size, and the building itself was the same color as the surrounding grasslands with little decoration or flourish other than the nature springing up all around it. Grasses of different shapes and colors poked out of the ground in front of the palace, which seemed to be built like a mud hut upon closer inspection. The thatched roof looked like it had been nice at one point, but it certainly needed an update from the dried-out grasses.
A guard rapped his knuckles on the doors once and then stepped back to his position. Other cheetah Demi-Humans waved as they walked by. It was a little less hostile here than at House Oel.
Really, the sight was definitely a nice one, but I was less than thrilled to see Chidi, one of Lord Chax’s advisors, step out of the palace doors to greet us.
His bronze eyes looked our group over from left to right before he focused on me. “To what does House Jubatus owe the pleasure of the Great Dragon’s company?”
“Now, now,” Lady Imani tutted as she popped out of the ajar palace doors. “You must also remember that he is the Lord of Hatra el Shamash.”
Chidi glanced at Imani with a sheepish smile. “Yes, of course, my lady. What can we do for Lord Evan, the Great Dragon?”
The young cheetah sister of Lord Chax gave me a half-smile and bared one of her long yellow canines. She wore a simple loincloth and a cloth wrap around her small chest, her honey-colored skin glistened with sweat, and her penny-tinted eyes didn’t miss a thing.
“Thank you, Lady Imani.” I bowed my giant head to the beautiful cheetah Demi-Human, and then I focused on slimming down to human size. “Is Lord Chax around?”
“He is,” she hedged, “but can I help you with something?”
“You could, but you are no longer the interim leader for this House, so I need to speak with Lord Chax.” I raised an eyebrow. “Is there a problem with that?”
“I’m sure we would be patient enough to wait for Lord Chax to make himself available, as we did not send word we would be arriving today,” Alyona said as she stepped up next to me and linked her arm through mine. “We merely came to ensure that House Jubatus would be prepared for the festivities tomorrow.”
Imani bowed her head in deference to the princess. “I see now. Lord Chax is here, but it will be a few minutes before he is available, as he is in the middle of a harvest ritual, but I will have the staff notify him of your arrival.”
She turned to the cheetah on her left and nodded, and the guard immediately went around to the west side of the palace building and hopped a fence leading toward the back of the estate. Then Imani turned back to us and gestured to the doors.
“Please, come wait inside. It is not immensely cooler there, but we do have seating and shade.”
We followed Lady Imani into a great room with openings, rather than windows, in three walls that allowed in plenty of light and a slight breeze. I signaled the women to sit in the huge wooden chairs so Nike and I could stand and see the room, though Laika chose to stand with us, while Ravi and Alyona sat in perfect princess unison.
“I’ll leave you to wait for Lord Chax,” Imani sighed. “I have many other things to tend to at the moment.” Then she breezed out of the room, and her tail almost propelled her to her next destination.
“Did you think she was being weird?” I asked Nike under my breath.
“Weird?” Nike questioned.
“Yeah, like she didn’t want me to talk to Chax or something.” I looked around the room for clues as to what was pushing all my buttons today.
“I’m not sure, brother, maybe--”
Nike was interrupted by Lord Chax as he fumbled his way into the great room and fixed the tufts of hair around his ears.
“I am so sorry to have kept you waiting, Lord Dragon,” he murmured with a bow. “I came as quickly as I could.”
“Don’t worry about it, Chax.” I took a few steps closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We have been popping up at all the Houses today to check on preparations for tomorrow. How are yours coming along?”
“Not well, I’m afraid,” Chax sighed and hung his head. “I’d heard rumors we were all to contribute to a feast, but our meager crops are not yet prepared for harvesting, despite the harvest ritual I have been performing every day since I returned to House Jubatus.”
“I see,” I muttered thoughtfully. That explained the secretive sister act.
“Perhaps there is something else Lord Chax and his House could contribute?” Laika suggested as she looked around at the nearly bare room.
“Ah, I’m not sure what else we have to offer.” The cheetah lord shrugged. “We don’t have much in the way of material things.”
“Who said it had to be material?” Alyona offered with a smile. “Perhaps House Jubatus would be so kind as to perform a peace ritual at the ceremony?”
“Oh, great idea, Milady!” Ravi exclaimed and clapped excitedly.
Lord Chax finally looked up at the princess and smiled. “It would be our honor.”
“Then it’s settled!” Alyona curtsied to the House leader and returned his smile. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice.”
“Anything we can do to bring about peace in Tikal,” Chax replied reverently.
I dipped my head and motioned the Royal Guard to head back toward the door. Something was still off at House Onca, and I needed to get back to figure out what it was. I was pleasantly surprised the other two Houses were participating in the pre-signing activities, so it was back to figuring out what had been bothering me this morning.
Maybe it was just nerves over the upcoming treaty signing. This was my first diplomatic act as future king, after all. I could just be psyching myself out.
As soon as we stepped outside, I began transforming, but I took care not to smash into House Jubatus, since I figured decimating their ancestral seat would fail to leave the positive impression we were hoping for.
We arrived back at House Onca, and I once more lowered my body to allow my lovers to slide down to the ground. Once they were standing together, I brought my size back down to my human form and held both arms out for Alyona and Ravi. Laika stood at Alyona’s other hip, and Nike brought up the rear as the five of us re-entered the palace.
Alyona was the first to stifle a yawn. “I know it isn’t late, but I think all that heat and humidity outside drained my energy today. Would you be upset if I went straight to bed, my love?”
“Of course not, princess.” I shook my head. “We all need to be at our best tomorrow anyway. Get some rest.” Then I hooked my hand around her hips and pulled her in for a deep kiss, and my pants tightened at the thought of putting my mouth on more parts of my beautiful future queen.
She gasped into my mouth as she felt my rising cock, but she put a hand on my chest.
“My dear, there will be no rest at all if I don’t go to my own room,” she chuckled.
“I know, I know,” I sighed. “Tomorrow evening, once things have settled, you won’t be able to turn me away.”
“We would never dream of it,” Alyona purred and snaked her arm around Laika’s waist. “You have some making up to do, remember?”
“Indeed, my lord.” The wolf’s tail wagged with excitement as a blush creeped across her cheeks. “A promise is a promise.”
My inner dragon growled in anticipation. “Go, go to bed then before I change my mind about letting you rest tonight.”
The two girls snickered to each other and took off toward the stairs.
“Do you mind if I go with the dryads for the evening?” Ravi looked up at me from my other side. “I’d like to catch up with them after being gone all day.”
I pressed my lips to her cheek and nodded toward the hallway. “Go ahead, I’ll be there in a bit, since I told them I’d spend the night with them.”
“Excellent.” The small phoenix bounded up the stairs to the dryads’ room, which left Nike and I to make plans for tomorrow’s events.
So, we plopped down into the emerald green chairs next to an unlit fireplace.
“Well, things went as well as possible, I think,” Nike mused and reached into his spatial storage and pulled out the Sword of Light.
“Uh … what are you doing?” I chuckled.
“I can’t let poor Aine think I didn’t want to spend any time with her today.” He ran his fingers along the broad side of the blade, and he caressed the handle the way he would a lover. It got me realizing that was a topic we had yet to cover in our fast friendship.
“Do you have a girlfriend, Nike?” I wondered. “I mean, we’ve never really discussed your love life.”
Nike frowned. “I’m not sure why you could only have one friend that is a girl, or what is a love life, but I am betrothed to marry.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s her name? What’s she like?” I was very curious about this development.
“I won’t know until one of our fathers dies, and the wedding is scheduled to join our two cities,” he answered with a shrug.
Wow, what a letdown.
“Ah, well, okay then. I guess I’ll leave you with Aine and get some rest before the big day. Goodnight, Nike.”
“Goodnight, Evan.”
I hopped up the stairs and heard light snoring from Alyona and Laika’s room. I walked next to the dryads’ door and was surprised to hear no giggling. Between the three sisters and Ravi, I couldn’t believe it was so quiet. So, I pushed the door lightly and crept in the room, and all four women were curled up on the bed together. I sighed in disappointment, but Alyona was right earlier. We all needed our rest. But I did tell them I’d be here tonight, so I slid off my boots, shirt, and trousers and climbed into the bed next to Ravi on the end.
I’d barely closed my eyes before the sun was shining through my window again. Was it seriously morning already? Okay, I’d obviously been more tired than I realized, which meant Alyona did know how tired I was and was taking care of me in her own way.
Gods, I loved that woman.
I threw on a shirt from the dresser and tied up my trousers before making my way downstairs. I thought everything looked busy yesterday, but today took the cake. Dozens of servants, both human and Demi-Human, hustled around carrying trays, plates, bowls, and various other items from the kitchen to a covered wagon out front.
“Have you seen Lord Jai?” I asked as I tugged on the sleeve of a young man rushing by.
The servant hurriedly pointed down the hall to my left and rushed back to his work. I followed his aim and found Jai in a sitting room, away from the commotion with a smaller table of food.
“Good morning, Lord Evan,” Jai murmured as he stared at the documents in front of him. “I was just reading the peace treaty and having a little breakfast before we head to the fountain. Care to join me?”
“Of course,” I answered, and I glanced over the treaty as well as I grabbed a piece of bread from the table. “Everything sound good so far?”
Nike had written it out, so I had full faith that it was fair and reasonable, but it didn’t hurt to double check.
Jai nodded and kept reading. “This is actually a great peace treaty. It doesn’t grant full power to anyone.”
“Yes, I know.” I smiled. “I didn’t think any of you would support a single leader for all three Houses, so we came up with a better solution. Checks and balances, you might say.”
“Good morning, my lords,” a half-asleep Ravi mumbled as she shuffled through the door with messy hair and a barely tied robe.
“Morning, Ravi,” I chuckled, while Jai threw up a half-hearted wave. “Let me help you with some breakfast.”
I stood up and adjusted her robe, and I allowed my hands to travel down her navel to her thighs and back up to her perky breasts as I ensured her beautiful body was covered.
Her cheeks immediately filled with color when she realized what I was doing. “I’m so sorry, Lord Evan. I will go finish preparing myself and the other ladies for the ceremonies today.”
Then she turned and rushed back out of the room, and I smirked as I returned to the table.
“I suppose we should all be preparing now,” Jai said as he looked up from his treaty, and then he rolled the papers back up and made his way toward the door. “I’ll see you shortly, Lord Evan.”
I waved after him and decided to polish off the plate of fruit, cheese, and bread he’d left behind. While I ate, I expected servants to keep bustling in and out of the room, but it seemed like everyone was giving me a wide berth. I thought back to the serving girl yesterday who had averted her face from me, and I frowned.
I didn’t think I was that scary, but perhaps I’d made an impression with my … dragon diplomacy.
Once I was finished with my breakfast, I shoved my chair back and trudged up the stairs to Alyona’s room. I couldn’t hear her or Laika, so I tapped on the door as I opened it.
“Good morning, ladies,” I murmured.
I was greeted with Alyona’s glowing amethyst eyes and perfect, milky skin as she stood next to the door.
“Oh, Evan! We were just about to head downstairs.” She turned back and gestured to Laika, who was putting her boots on.
“Good timing,” I responded and lifted my elbow to her. “Maybe I can make a better impression on the servants with you two on my arms. I guess I look too mean by myself.”
“Oh, is that so?” Alyona stifled a giggle. “You big, scary dragon!”
I growled playfully and pressed my lips to her cheek. “Let’s just get this show on the road.”
The two women grasped my elbows, and we went back downstairs to
load up and travel to the fountain.
Nike and Ravi were already waiting in the great hall, but the dryad sisters were nowhere to be found.
“Where are the dryads?” I asked Ravi.
“They left earlier to help decorate the Palenque Temple,” Ravi answered as she dropped her eyes and blushed. “I’m sorry again about this mornin--”
“Don’t worry about it,” I cut her off with a wave of my hand and looked around. “Is everyone else ready, then?”
My group nodded, and I led them to the door and out of the palace. We needed to be some of the first ones there to show our support, so we loaded up one of the wagons we’d brought from Hatra. I didn’t want to show up in full dragon mode for the sake of the citizens who were still adjusting. One day at a time.
We made our way to the great fountain and the Palenque Temple next to it. Jai was right, the Temple was a great place for the celebration. It was large and open, with plenty of room for tables of food and open windows to allow for a good breeze. It was also currently full of servants from each House, and they carried trays of food and drinks from their wagons to the tables.
“Lord Evan!” a voice squealed from near the temple.
A moment later, I was nearly bowled over by the dryads as they ran over to greet us.
“Milady and Royal Guard,” the sisters greeted Alyona and Laika in unison and turned back to me. “Did you see our decorations yet?”
I looked past them toward the temple and noticed they had used some of their magic to pull plants and flowers up the walls and wove them through the ceiling beams.
“It looks great,” I congratulated the sisters.
“Thank you, Lord Evan!” The three girls grinned and skipped back over to continue their work.
I noticed citizens from the various Houses were starting to mill around with interest. Cheetahs, jaguars, and lions roamed the areas outside the temple, but they did not address each other.
I frowned to myself. We would have to work on this integration thing soon.
“Lord and Ladies of Hatra!” Lord Kinba shouted over the crowd, and he and his daughter Aaliyah sashayed toward us. “We are almost ready to begin.”
