Dragon Wish

by Judith Leger

  His deep voice carried through the door. “All is well,

  Seren. Go, finish your visit. You needn’t worry for me.”

  Relieved, she twisted to glare at Leo, lowering her voice.

  “Don’t scare me like that.”

  He tilted toward her, whispering, “Didn’t mean to, but it’s

  true. Those wizards do some of the strangest things.”

  “Even turn people into toads?”

  “I’ve seen it happen.”

  Without another word, he took her arm and escorted her

  down the hall.

  Once she was seated with another steamy cup of the tea-

  like drink in her hands, Leo continued. “Wizards spit out

  incantations all around. Our fairy tales touch the mere

  surface of what they can do. The ones who care for the seven

  great dragons, well, they’re the most powerful of them all.

  They know how to do magic without spells.”

  Apprehension battled with her newfound ease in this

  place and won. “So it’s true. There are seven dragons ruling

  this planet?”

  Leo sat forward, placing his forearms on his knees. “At

  one time there were seven, but right now, only six of ’em

  gather. The seventh hasn’t been seen for a long time. Some

  think it died out.” He glanced at her middle. “From what the

  master says, the ones remaining have something planned for

  this baby you’re carrying. Largin claims they brought you

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  here just to give birth.”

  Surprised he knew of her child, and more than a little

  shocked at the verification of the dragon’s plans for her, she

  set her cup on the table. Staring at him, she crossed her arms

  over her abdomen, the need to protect her innocent child

  utmost in her mind. “How do you know about my baby?”

  “Master saw it in the scrying stone. He swears the vision

  was fuzzy, but he saw the baby. Most of the time, he’s right

  when he looks into that rock.”

  “Did he see him born?”

  Leo shrugged. “Didn’t tell me. Just that you were going to

  have a baby and the captain was the father. Said the dragons

  want one king to rule over them.” A deep furrow formed

  between his brows. “I’ve never heard of a human giving birth

  to a mixed breed. They’ll have to purify your blood.”

  Puzzled, she asked. “Purify? You mean like a

  transfusion?”

  Leo shook his head. “The clan leaders have to gather to

  perform a purification of your blood.”

  “How?”

  “Don’t know. Never seen it or even heard how it’s done.”

  Seren stared at him. The solemn line of his mouth struck

  a chord in her. This man should smile, but instead, he

  worried about her and the baby. She looked toward the fire,

  trying to absorb what he had told her.

  She rested her head against the back of the chair.

  “Paladin will know.”

  “Yes ma’am, he should,” Leo agreed with a nod.

  Seren smiled. “Stop calling me ma’am. You make me feel

  old.”

  Leo shifted in his chair, sat back and stretched his legs

  out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. “I wouldn’t

  feel right being disrespectful to you.”

  She grunted. “You won’t be. Earth has changed a lot since

  you left. Please, call me by my name. I’m Seren.”

  They sat in the silence. She sorted through what Leo had

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  told her. Tired of trying to understand, she glanced at him. “I

  don’t know what to think. When I first came here, I was so

  confused. I guess I’m still a little fuzzy.”

  “It’s the gravity.”

  She lifted a brow in question.

  Leo grinned. “From what I can figure, Avaris is larger

  than Earth, so the gravitational pull is a bit stronger. It’ll take

  you a little while to get used to it.”

  “Great, not only do I have to worry over the fact that I’m

  having a baby dragon, I have to do it while I get used to the

  gravity.” She rolled a look at the ceiling. How did these

  people expect her to believe all these new aspects without

  being skeptical?

  “You’ll feel better after a while.”

  “Well, by the time I give birth, I should be accustomed to

  the pull. Nine months is a long time.” She started to say

  something else, but the surprised look Leo aimed at her

  stopped her.

  “Didn’t the captain tell you?”

  “What?”

  “You won’t carry your baby nine months. The term for a

  dragonseed is four months at the most. A third of the time a

  normal human is carried. They develop faster.”

  Seren’s mouth dropped open. “Four months?”

  He nodded.

  Eyes wide, adrenaline pumping, she sat straight. “So

  that’s why I can feel him moving.”

  “It won’t be long before you’ll be showing too.”

  She met Leo’s eyes. “What am I having? Will this baby

  come out looking like a dragon?”

  Leo waved his hands. “No, no. He’ll be normal. It’s all the

  magic in their blood. From what I’ve gathered over the years,

  way back when humans first combined their blood with the

  dragons, they were almost extinct on this planet. They

  needed children. This helped them.”

  “Because they could have more children in less time.”

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  Amazed, she stared at him.

  “That’s right. Also the children had fewer illnesses. A

  minority, if any, died.”

  A sharp thrill passed through Seren’s stomach. She

  pressed her hand against her abdomen. If what Leo told her

  was true, as long as nothing happened to him, her baby,

  because of the magic in his blood, would live to adulthood.

  * * * *

  After Seren and Leo’s footsteps moved away from the

  door, Paladin glanced at Largin. Under the weight of the

  older man’s stare, he shifted.

  The wizard continued to watch him, even raising a hand

  to tap a finger on his chin in speculation. “You were always a

  difficult dragonseed. Never wanting to comply with what was

  expected of you. Captain of an airship, bah. What good does

  that do your clan?”

  Paladin turned his back to Largin, picked up a piece of

  the shattered dragonstone, and studied the jagged ends. “It’s

  none of your concern. My father approved of my choice.”

  “Even the abandonment of your throne? I think not. If

  your father had not died unexpectedly, he would have made

  sure the crown went to you.”

  “The royal advisors decided Rylen was better suited to

  rule. I agreed.” He placed the stone on the table and took a

  step back, concentrating his magic on the destroyed crystal.

  Shards mixed with slivers of the stone trembled. They slid

  over the table top. The pieces which were flung wide in the

  explosion bounced on the floor then flew to the growing

  mass on the table.

  Fusing to each other, the broken stone reformed into its

  original shape. When he finished, Paladin
angled a glance at

  Largin. The wizard, silent during the magical reconstruction

  of the dragonstone, stood several feet away, observing him in

  return.

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  Largin shook his head, something akin to awe in his low

  words. “To possess such power and still refuse to rule.”

  Paladin grunted in agitation. “A good ruler doesn’t need

  great power. My father agreed with me on this matter.”

  “Rylen doesn’t. He resents your ability.” Largin walked to

  the table, grasped the lower edges of the dragonstone, and

  moved it more to the center of the table. “He harbors harsh

  feelings toward you. I saw his face the day Bask announced

  you had to wed Zuresa. He wanted her and the prestige she

  brought to the clan. It’s not enough for him to have stolen

  your right as king. He covets all you have.”

  Several moments passed while Paladin considered what

  the wizard had said. For two years, he had suspected his

  brother wasn’t pleased with the decision which tied the black

  dragon clan princess to him. He had ignored the constant

  warning his senses had pounded him with each time he had

  returned home from a journey to discover the growing

  closeness between his brother and his wife, Zuresa.

  The remembered doubts served to make his head ache.

  Largin would never understand his relationship with his

  brother. “Perhaps, but my wife is dead. Rylen has nothing to

  gain from me. He is king. I am a simple airship captain.

  There is nothing for him to fear from me. I swore my

  allegiance to his rule.”

  A memory of a small boy, gold hair streaming behind

  him, racing at his side, laughter filling the space between

  them slipped through his mind. The boy, his brother, had

  loved him. Paladin fought the onslaught of pain over the loss

  of their close kinship. The loss of his brother haunted him,

  the pain a festering sore on his soul.

  When Arcane had attacked Rylen, their fellowship as

  brothers had ended. The child’s eyes, once so alive with joy

  mixed with mischief, had become hard and calculating with

  an obsessive glint. Rylen had changed. Paladin tried to care

  for him in the same manner as before, but his brother had

  made it difficult.

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  The silence in the room enfolded the two men. Paladin

  refused to say anything against his brother. No matter his

  faults, Rylen still carried their father’s blood in his veins. For

  this reason alone, Paladin’s honor bound him to his brother.

  The wizard continued as though the silence had never

  existed. “There are rumors. I’ve heard Zuresa did not die a

  normal death. It’s been said you had a part in her passing.”

  He held Largin’s gaze with his own, resenting the

  accusation that he was behind the death of his wife. “Do you

  believe this?”

  The wizard snorted and shook his head, a brow arched.

  “Does it matter what I believe? I traced the gossip to its

  roots. Rylen’s court. If he can not kill you, he will ruin your

  name.”

  Largin turned and walked to the shattered window. Rain

  dripped through the broken glass. “I was there the night of

  your birth. Bask stood at the foot of the bed. He told your

  father to have special care of you because you had been

  blessed by the dragon’s magic.”

  Staring hard at him, Paladin tilted his head. He had never

  heard this before. “You were there also?”

  Clasping his hands in front of him, Largin mumbled a

  spell. Three claps followed. The area around the window

  blurred then righted. The glass became solid once more and

  the wood returned to its previous shape. Largin waved his

  hands in a circle, reciting a different spell. Rain dried. The

  splintered pieces of glass and wood vanished. “There. All

  fixed.”

  He turned and looked at Paladin. “Now if we could do the

  same with Rylen.”

  “You did not answer my question. Were you there the

  night my mother died?”

  “I was summoned by your father. Your mother, dragon’s

  breath hold her, had weakened with your birth. He sent for

  me to help her deliver,” the old man replied. “No one else,

  save Bask, was allowed into the room.”

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  Several moments later, Largin continued, his voice soft.

  “To remember that night still causes much grief for me.

  When Bask told your father about you, he had to choose

  which of you would live.”

  Paladin swallowed the bitterness this information stirred

  in him. “So he chose me?”

  Largin moved to Paladin’s side and laid a hand on his

  shoulder. The older man squeezed for a second, in an

  attempt to offer comfort. “Not so much a choice. The dragons

  had decreed how this matter would end. Your father had to

  abide by their will. He loved her deeply and to lose her...well,

  he was never the same afterward.”

  Shaking the hand off, Paladin stepped away. His father

  had rarely spoken of his mother. How could he believe what

  Largin had said? The man Paladin remembered had been

  cold and haughty, abrupt with all around him, including his

  sons. How could a man like that have a deep devotion for

  someone? “Loved? Is that what you call it? He remarried

  within a year. Rylen’s mother was held in high esteem by him

  for the rest of his life.”

  Shrugging, Largin said, “True, but he never cared for the

  woman. Not like your mother.”

  “Enough. I’ve heard enough,” Paladin said, raising a hand

  to stop the wizard. “I am tired. If you have more to tell me,

  let it wait till morning.”

  He turned, moving to the door, eager to leave the room.

  “Very well, but this evening, think long and hard on what

  to do with this woman from the cosmos. Rylen will seek her

  out, if not to kill her then to take her from you. Are you

  prepared for this to happen?”

  Paladin ignored him, threw open the door and strode

  down the hall. The old man’s words held a truth he didn’t

  care to examine just yet.

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  Chapter Ten

  A floorboard outside the door creaked. Seren glanced at

  the opening to find Paladin standing motionless. Her heart

  accelerated at the sight of him. Worry etched his features.

  What happened with the wizard?

  Leo rose to his feet, nodding in greeting. “Paladin.”

  He inclined his head in return. “It is late. Seren needs to

  rest and so do I. You may visit with each other over the next

  few days.”

  Surprised that he’d decided what was best for her, she

  narrowed her eyes and almost told him not to worry. She

  wasn’t his concern, but there was a haunted look about him.

  She found that she wanted to do what he asked.

  What had the old wizard told him?

  “Yes, sir. I’d imagine you are both exhausted from your

/>   journey,” Leo agreed. He continued with a chuckle. “Master

  Largin prepared rooms a couple of days ago.”

  Seren slid to the edge of the chair and stood. Paladin held

  his hand out. She stared at the slender fingers and calloused

  palm for a moment. She moved to his side, laying her hand

  onto his. Heat spiraled up her arm from the contact. Lacing

  their fingers, he led the way into the hallway. She followed,

  determined to remain strong and not allow her passion for

  this man to override her common sense.

  They walked further down the hallway until they reached

  a narrow staircase built into the side of the wall. He guided

  her up the steps and down another passageway which was

  bare of any decorations except for the wall lanterns. Midway,

  he stopped in front of a paneled door.

  He faced her. “This is my room. I want you with me.”

  His deep voice vibrated off her nerve endings. She

  shivered. His blue eyes warmed with a spark of fire,

  reminding her of her desire for him. She passed her tongue

  over her lips.

  Raising their clasped hands, she flattened her palm

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  against his and straightened her fingers. He aligned his with

  hers. She stared, enjoying the friction of his skin against her

  sensitive fingertips. “Why do you want me to stay here with

  you?”

  His other hand swept the hair off her left temple. Gently,

  he cupped her jaw. In the same manner as she’d done to him

  the first day on the ship, he brushed his thumb across her

  bottom lip.

  “I want to keep you safe.”

  “Nothing more?”

  His pupils dilated, and his answer came out in a breath,

  “Yes.”

  “Who’s going to keep me safe from you?” She released a

  low, husky laugh. “Or should I say, you from me?”

  “I have no need for protection from you.”

  “You want to make a bet?”

  He half-smiled at her. “I would lose the wager without a

  care.”

  She laughed. The tension in her body ebbed. “I’ll sleep

  beside you, but I won’t make love with you. I want to go

  home. This place is way too weird for me. If we make love

  again, I’d be tempted to stay.”

  He inclined his head. “As you say. I will honor your

  desire. Having you next to me will be enough. For now.”

  Paladin opened the door then waited for her to enter

  before he followed. Quaint, possessing very little furniture,