by Maia Starr
He shrugged uncomfortably.
“Five days ago?” I seethed and felt anger swell up inside my core. My brows lowered and seemed stuck there as I gave him a look of disgust. I’d been crushed for days, and he’d been sitting on this ring… to what? Make me sad or watch and secretly laugh as I moped around?
Without thinking, I reached over and slapped him clear across the face. I knew I should apologize, but as I looked into his deep gray eyes, I felt even more justified in my decision to hit him. “You know how much this stupid thing means to me and you’ve kept it in your possession this whole time when you knew I was freaking out? Why?!”
“I’d wanted an opportunity to give it to Galsthenn,” he said with some surprise as he rubbed his cheek. “Then once I saw what a spoiled brat you were being, I didn’t want to give it to you at all.”
My mouth gaped, and my eyes went wide with fury. I squeaked indignantly and snapped, “Then why give it to me now, hmm?”
“You seemed sad,” he said with an uncharacteristic softness, and he stared off into the tall walls of the hedged maze before us. My eyes followed his, and I shrugged helplessly.
“Oh,” I mumbled. “Well… that’s nice, sort of.”
“Sort of,” he laughed and crossed his arms. Letting out a sigh he gestured toward the maze and said, “Ever been?”
“No,” I said, still pouting.
“Come on; I’ll show you.”
I exhaled in protest but quickly followed as he walked into miles and miles of maze. The light began to escape us the further we got into the majestic gardens.
The maze took up half the side of the property and twisted on for miles. The Vennolyn said the first to come from Earth were often brought to the maze for a party or gathering where they would be made to try and figure out the puzzle.
Should someone not be able to get out of the walls of green, a Weredragon would protract his wings and swoop down to rescue them. Just another reason for humans or other creatures to tout the shifters as heroes who should be given positions on Earth.
We wandered deep into the gardens, and I looked over at Rilark with sudden curiosity. The scar that gashed his face could stop you in your tracks, but there was something appealing about the mystery behind it.
“Does it hurt?” I asked when he caught me looking at it.
He chuckled and gingerly pinched the bridge of his cracked nose. “Only when I remember how I got it,” he said with ease.
“What does it feel like?”
“My nose?” he asked with a humorous incredulity. “Like skin and bone.”
“No,” I laughed. “Y…you. Being a shifter, you know?”
He raised a curious brow and continued walked deep into the recesses of the green labyrinth. “What does it feel like being a human?”
“Hard,” I said. “Some days.”
“Okay, I’m confused. What are we talking about here? I swear I can participate in this conversation if I know whether we’re talking about physicality or a mental state.”
“Both, I guess.” I shrugged. “What do those feel like?” I asked, my eyes gazing at his red scales that suddenly seemed to glow. The illumination took me by surprise, and I looked to his eyes with a flushed giggle. I thought they only did that when they’d found a mate.
“Not to be improper but… shouldn’t you know this by now? I mean, you guys have done the deed, haven’t you?”
I blinked at the question, and I knew the answer was written all over my face. I couldn’t hide my annoyance as I neared the hedges and ran my finger along their soft brush as we walked.
“We’ve copulated, yes,” I said with a smirk. “But, he’s not exactly one for showing off.”
He laughed. “What does that mean?”
“He’s just not…” My face flushed red, and I batted the thoughts away, throwing my hands into the air. “Never mind. I’m embarrassed. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
I wasn’t just embarrassed; I was humiliated. I shook my head and raised my brows as I teased, “I’ll pay you a million dollars if you change the subject.”
My frustrations had become so palpable, apparently I was willing to voice them to soldiers; Rilark, of all people. He said nothing, which made me even more self-conscious of how inappropriate the conversation was.
We delved deeper into the twisting maze until we’d been walking for what felt like forever before I spun on my heel and looked around at the dark corner we’d ended up in. I could only vaguely see the blue up-lighting from the glowstones back at the porch. Now it was just us under Udora’s moons.
“You know,” Rilark began with the same, smug tones I’d gotten used to from him.
I immediately closed my eyes and waved my hand toward him. “Can we not?” I begged exasperatedly. “Please, I shouldn’t have said anything. Can we just let this one go? I’m not curious.” I paused, then corrected, “I’m an idiot, but I’m not curious. So, can we just head back now?”
“I think you are.” He smiled and raised his brows in surprise. “Want to cop a feel.”
“Oh my gosh,” I breathed in anger, covering my face with my hands.
“No, really! Now’s your time to ravage me like I know you always wanted to! And don’t worry,” he began to whisper, “I won’t tell the boss.”
“Will you stop it?”
“Seriously, come on,” he said plainly and walked up next to me. “If you’re going to be living here, chosen by a Weredragon, then you should probably know something about our makeup.”
I raised a curious brow to him and uncrossed my arms. He locked eyes with me with an expression halfway between smug and playful and rolled his sleeve up to reveal shimmering red scales that seemed to illuminate under the moon. Then he took my hand into his and set it on top of the skin-like plates.
I inhaled sharply and smiled as I ran my hands over the bumps. I felt them with my fingertips and rubbed my fingers back and forth. It felt just as I thought it would: like touching a snake. The skin was smooth and warm and rippled under my hands. After one pass, I found I couldn’t stop rubbing my hand along his bicep.
I felt heat course through my body now, and my breaths quickened, my heart moving faster. I looked at the way the light shone on his face and couldn’t help but notice how… attractive he looked.
His hair was a mess of deep red strands that seemed to have a life of their own. He was tall and lean, but built and as fiery as his color would imply. There was something dangerous happening. My foot took one step back, but my hand rested firmly on the scales beneath my palm.
“You don’t get to see this, do you?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“Not really,” I said, hoping I still sounded casual.
He nodded in recognition and monitored my eyes closely before he spread his black wings completely and let them glisten under the light. His wings were solid in their skin, unlike some of the other dragons I’d seen whose patagium were scaled or see-through.
I closed the distance between us and brazenly reached my hand up to touch the joint at the top of his wing. It felt entirely smooth and slippery as I glided my hand down the thick bone that led into the wing.
“What does it feel like?” I asked.
“It feels amazing,” Rilark said in a husky tone and looked at me in a way I hadn’t seen before, and I felt sexualized and vulnerable. It felt wrong but…good.
I swallowed, and suddenly our movements seemed to go slow as I focused my attention on the red skin that shaded across his eyes and temples.
“And…” I breathed. “Why do you have this discoloration that matches your scales when other dragons don’t?”
He shrugged, never seeming offended by my ridiculous questions. “Why do some humans have freckles and others don’t?”
“Touché,” I said coyly and continued to inspect the planes of his face.
He leaned in and kissed me. It wasn’t a peck or a curiosity. It was a deep kiss that left my lips warm and chapped the moment he backed away.
His tongue deeply explored my mouth, and he set both hands on the sides of my face as he breathed, taking me in.
“Mm… Rosalyn,” he whispered as he backed away from my lips for only a moment.
I hated those words. I hated how tacky they sounded and the sincere way he’d said them. I hated what he did by kissing me. I wanted to tell him to stop, tell him he was disgusting and then stubbornly order him to take me back to the ballroom, but I didn’t.
My knees trembled weakly as his tongue found its way inside my mouth. I welcomed it with my own. I could taste him as he flicked his against mine and nipped and bit at my lips, pulling my bottom lip with his sharp fang and smiling as I winced.
He breathed passionately and ran his hands along my body without apologies. He steadied me, setting his hand on my lower back and his free hand found its way to my heavy breasts. He let out a deep moan at the touch and never stopped kissing me.
I reached my hand up the back of his messy hair, and he began unbuttoning my shirt in haste, taking my nipples into his mouth and smiling at the tease.
I grinned devilishly at the force he used with me. He wasn’t afraid to give in to his baser instincts, wasn’t afraid to spread his wings and let me touch and prod at what made him different. I took the length of him into my hand with excitement at the sheer size of it.
Rilark quickly dismissed the gesture and removed my pants, hoisting me up as we stumbled into the maze wall. He held me by my backside, and I gripped his shoulders for balance. He made his way easily inside of me and pressed his hands over my mouth with a genuine chuckle as I began to moan loudly.
Every action was a haze of urgency that seemed to pass by in an instant. My moans were muffled under his palm, but his groans of pleasure were eagerly whispered into my ear. His movements were hungry and quick. I moved my mouth from his hand and wrapped my arms around his neck, gripping his wings to steady myself and scratching them with my nails as my own form of ownership.
My breaths quickened, and I could feel my body growing weak and warm. The pulse of him inside me mixed with the smacking of our skin sent me over the edge, and I exhaled sharply, closing my eyes tightly as a blush washed over my body.
He finished immediately after.
Rilark bent over and set his hands on his thighs, exhaling in a fury and looking over at me with a bemused expression. He pulled his pants back up and began to dress, turning in a strange show of respect as I buttoned my breasts back into my dress.
“That wasn’t the thank you I was expecting,” he joked.
My eyes were wide as I stared out into the maze and I bit my lip. “That was a mistake.”
“Hey, give it a minute before you shut it down, at least!”
“It’s not funny,” I frowned and stormed away from him.
“Hey!” He chased after me and grabbed my arm, which I quickly jerked away. “I got you the ring, didn’t I?”
I raged. “So you were expecting a reward?”
“Trust me, I would never dream of getting a reward that good.”
My heart was conflicted. It was a good line, but I had just cheated on the future leader of the Koth. With some…some guy I barely even liked. My stomach went sick, and I held my hair away from my face as I dry heaved into the air.
“Hey, hey,” he cooed and took the bunch of hair from me, holding the massive curls to the side and looking overtly perplexed. “Relax. It’s…” He shrugged somewhat jovially. “It was a slip! No big deal, okay?”
I coughed and frowned in his direction, causing him to let go of my long strands in a swift motion. “Or it is a big deal, and you’ve just ruined your life. What do I know?”
“You’re not helping!” I said through clenched teeth, storming away once more and becoming immersed in the endless passages of the confusing labyrinth. He followed me stubbornly, and I stomped my foot as I came to yet another dead end.
I clenched my eyes shut in frustration and turned to face him. “Okay! This isn’t fun anymore. Can we just go? Let’s just go. Obviously you know the way out, and you’re just following me to mock me, or something, so let’s just… get out!”
He grabbed my wrist as I gesticulated wildly and said firmly, “I’m following you because I’m worried about you.”
“Is that right?” I mocked.
“Look,” he paused and then shrugged helplessly. “You and I are–”
“Are nothing!”
“Right. It was just weeks of sexual tension brought on by how much we can’t stand one another. All that passion has to go somewhere, right? A slip. I can live with a slip, so can you?”
“I guess,” I said, but I wasn’t sure if I could.
“Well you’d better be able to,” he scoffed. “Otherwise your mate there might have my head, literally.”
I nodded slowly and somehow, gruesome as it was, the statement brought me comfort. He wouldn’t tell on me if he also had something to lose, would he?
Chapter Nine
Galsthenn
In just a few short hours, my love would be returning to me. I had busied myself in the rebel business for weeks, trying to get it out of the way so that Rosalyn would have a safe haven to come home to.
I sat in a boardroom with my father and the rest of the Koth discussing how we can better meet the demands of the Rebels as to diffuse their uprising without backing down from our peaceful stance with Earth.
“We need to meet with one of their representatives,” Ikar suggested with a tired breath as the meeting began drawing to a close. “That would involve a temporary truce and asylum for whoever came forward.”
Ikar: he was the only other white dragon I’d ever met. He was regal and elegant, and a much better choice for Koth leader than myself, or so I’d always thought. I’d always looked up to him in the way I should have looked at my father. He was regal, with tact and genuine concern for our people. He was the kind of ruler I wanted to be.
He’d known rebels and could sympathize with their frustrations, just as I could. I felt good having him there to back me up during these meetings, especially if we were going to be working so closely together.
“And you think you could draw one out?” my father asked impatiently; his jowls shaking with his frustration. My father was always frustrated. That’s what centuries of working in government would do to someone, and that thought in and of itself terrified me.
“I do,” Ikar said with no hesitation. It was obvious he knew of a rebel, and it was no surprise considering they’d once infiltrated our counsel.
My father offered a dismissive wave of his large hand and breathed, “Then have it done.”
With that, everyone stood and made for the doors. My mother, dressed in a long red cloak and bright emeralds, wasted no time getting to her favorite parts of the meeting. “How are things going with Rosalyn?” she asked excitedly, rubbing her hands together as she pulled her chair closer to me.
“Good,” I said genuinely. “She’s coming back today, any hour now.”
“She’s still in Vennolyn?” my mother asked, narrowing her brows in surprise.
“That was a long trip,” my father said brashly, using no tact as he gave me a condemning look. The expression puzzled me, but I met his eyes relentlessly, especially since I knew Ikar was still hovering by the doorway.
“I wanted to make sure she was safe,” I argued.
“Here we thought she’d be pregnant by now,” my father said with obvious disapproval, turning his sights out the window.
“Well, she’s not,” I snapped back. “But soon, we hope.”
“You’d better hope, otherwise what did we go and get her for?”
I raised my brows in surprise at this and looked to my mother for backup. She looked to my father and then to me; she wanted to talk about Rilark. I knew that look anywhere. She sat silently, hoping for my father to leave the room and for her to be able to speak freely, but it never occurred.
“How’s Rilark enjoying the far lands?” Ikar asked innocently enough, s
topping in the doorway. He did this for the benefit of my mother, of course. He knew she loved Rilark, knew he was her son. Of course, my father believed Ikar only knew Rilark as the poor boy he took into the soldier training program out of the goodness of his heart.
Even with the faux-friendly question and the professional atmosphere of the room, my father’s face went red with fury.
“Good,” I said with a smile, my eyes tracing my mother’s expression with concern.
“Good,” Ikar repeated. “When I was a soldier, I hated going there. There was something barbaric about their landscape and their traditions. I’m sure it’s different now with the alliance but,” he shrugged and laughed. “He’s braver than I, that’s for sure.”
With that, the white dragon took his leave from us and my mother and I winced in unison at my father’s anger.
“You brought that boy to be with your wife?” He seethed through clenched teeth.
“What’s he going to do?” my mother protested in fury. “He’s going to protect her because that’s what Galsthenn asked him to do.”
“Do you know who my son is?!” my father raged, slamming his hand down on the wooden table twice before the water glasses spilled over from the vibrations. “You be careful with that mutt,” my father warned, bringing his finger dangerously close to my face. “He’ll take your world right out from under you.”
“Father, please,” I cautioned, raising my hands. “If Rilark wante–”
“Don’t say that name to me!” he screamed, whipping his wings outward and casting about, stewing in his own rage.
I could see my mother growing upset; her hands covering her mouth shamefully as tears welled up in her eyes.
“If Rilark wanted to kill me, he could have done so a thousand times by now,” I said forcefully. “Perhaps it’s been a long time since you knew how to treat someone with respect, but I haven’t forgotten. Rosalyn and I are in love.”
“You’d better watch your tongue,” the gray dragon warned in a low, sharp tone. “You’re not Koth yet, boy.”
“Rilark is my brother,” I snapped. “You’d do well to stop pretending otherwise, because as soon as I am Koth,” my father went to interrupt me, but I shouted over his breath, “he will have a position in this building and this government whether you like it or not.”
