by T. S. Ryder
As per custom, the accusers had the first say, with Mara spewing venom in every direction, and both Arul and her dumb little lover boy called in as her witnesses. The men simply repeated the same statements as before, with minimal displays of emotion, Mara’s lover out of embarrassment and Arul for the sake of objectivity.
When the defense’s turn came, Kenner stood up for both of them. He asked that Lady Esplyn be brought, since they had kept her away to make sure that nothing could influence her to change her testimony, and so she wouldn’t accidentally overhear anything pertaining to the true nature of the Rookery.
When she came in, all pride and elegance, flanked by two guards at each side, Kenner asked Arul and several other members of the Squadron who’d met the lady during their mission to Wallaria to confirm her identity. Then he finally called the lady herself, who, as it turned out, had quite a tale to tell.
“About... oh, two or three nights ago, this one...” she began, in her signature insincerely sweet voice, and pointed straight to Mara, making several people in the Long House audibly gasp, “...appeared on the roof of my mansion and demanded that I speak with her. She knew how devastated I was because the Emperor made me sell my Hele to... this...” She made a disgusted face as she looked at Kenner, who gave the insult exactly as much attention as it deserved – nothing. “She offered me a chance to both get her back and get a brand-new, Kinai slave free of charge. She told me to send the best oarsmen I could find in a few kayaks, and have them meet her on a designated day at the designated time at the base of your stupid volcano, and she would bring Hele and a Kinai boy tied and gagged. Just imagine my surprise when she not only backed out on her own agreement but brought another one of her friends with her, and then killed the men I had sent to meet her and sunk their kayaks!” From the sound of it, Lady Esplyn mourned the loss of her boats more than the men who operated them.
“Lies!” Mara screamed. “It’s lies, all lies! Kenner must’ve paid her to perjure herself!”
But Lady Esplyn only laughed to that accusation. “He couldn’t afford it,” she replied condescendingly. “And besides, my ship still lies in your waters, where this brute dragged it onto the Obsidian Ridge,” she added, pointing angrily at Kenner. “Just fly out there and question the crew. They know everything.”
Realizing at last that her scheme had just imploded before her very eyes, Mara tried to flee, but the Blackwings didn’t allow her to get very far.
Kenner, however, decided he had waited much too long as it was, and ran to Teresa’s side. The crowd around them alternated between congratulating them and jeering at Mara, as she was taken away to wait for her trial in the cages, while the Elders attempted to call for some order, and failed miserably.
Only Elder Fanag looked happy at this unholy mess, smiling at Kenner and Teresa, and patting him on the back. “Well done, boy,” she praised him. “I knew you could do it.”
Kenner wisely decided not to remind the Elder that she was contradicting some of her earlier statements and, instead, put his arm around Teresa’s shoulders and nodded. “Thank you... but, if you’ll excuse us now, we’d rather like to go home.”
The old lady shooed them away, laughing all the while, and Kenner was glad they could get the hell out of there.
There were things he had to say to his Teresa, things he had to do to show her just how much he had missed her, and he could only feel free to indulge those needs in the privacy of their own house.
Chapter Eleven
After the initial drama, the rest of the process went far more smoothly and quickly.
Lady Esplyn was questioned some more, and when it became clear she was only Mara’s dupe and knew nothing of consequence to the Kinai, she was flown back to her home in Wallaria by Arul. And, since he was already going to the Skatian capital, the First Lieutenant of the Blackwing Squadron was also tasked with paying a visit to the Emperor with a large chest of presents from the Kinai craftsmen for some preemptive damage control.
The Council concluded that the instabilities in Mara’s character, which were obviously growing more and more prominent, were a result of a Joining that hadn’t gone exactly right, but had gone well enough for the cracks in it to only just now be starting to show. She was sentenced to death, but before the execution could be held, she hung herself in her own home, refusing to the end to bow down to anyone.
Kenner and Teresa spent the first ten days of their reunion giving the furniture in Kenner’s house a good workout, and no one had the heart to take it against them. After all, the Blackwings were perfectly capable of governing themselves for a while... and, besides, the people of Kinai kind of owed it to the pair to let them have some time to thoroughly consummate their passions, and then repeat the favor a few months later when they finally tied the knot.
This vigorous consummation resulted in a birth of a twin boy and girl in the spring of the following year, and as a present to the new parents, the Elders permanently lifted all the bans that governed Teresa’s life in Kinai, and she was granted permission to try for a Joining come winter.
At first, Teresa intended to decline the honor, fearing that the Joining would be unsuccessful and unwilling to risk making a widower and orphans out of her husband and children. But Kenner begged her to have as much faith in herself as he did in her, and so she left a human woman of the planet Earth, and returned a true Kinai, Joined to the core of her being with a majestic beast, its incredible power infusing every single molecule of her body. It took her months to master the use of it, but once she did to the satisfaction of the Squadron Commander and his lieutenants, she became the newest recruit of the Darkwings, finally finding her place amongst her new people.
And so, life went on. Our lovers tried to make the most of every moment they had, finding fulfillment in their family, in their work and in each other, making plans for the future while resolving the problems of the present.
But every so often, when their babies were tucked in their little beds, and the world was at peace under the cover of the starry night, our lovers took flight together, wing by wing, their hearts soaring, joined in a love so deep that it makes dragons sing...
*****
THE END
Abducted by the Alien Dragon
Description
A curvy lawyer ready for adventure PLUS a sexy alien who is a dragon shifter PLUS a baby who holds the future of an entire species...
Out-of-work lawyer Gemma Watson thinks she has finally found her one true love in Shay. He's sweet, intelligent and makes her laugh. It doesn't hurt that his sexiness is off the charts. And when he's happy that she's pregnant, everything seems just perfect.
Except Shay isn't who he appears to be. He's a Stlozyn, a member of a dragon-like alien species. The Stlozyn are suffering from a terrible disease which causes them to become infertile, and if they can't find a way to cure it, their culture will disappear within a few generations. Shay is convinced he will find the cure locked in human DNA.
He never expected to fall in love with Gemma, but after he learns she's pregnant, he wants her to know everything about him. Including his alien origins. So he decides to take her to his home planet.
The only problem is Gemma isn't happy with being abducted, and there are scientists on Shay's home world who think that her baby holds the key to eradicating the disease that is ravaging their people.
When they suggest the unthinkable, both Gemma and Shay have to decide: what sacrifices are worth making, and does love truly conquer all?
Chapter One
Her mouth tasted like old carpet. Gemma Watson wrinkled her nose, running her tongue over her teeth. They had a slightly furry texture she didn't like. Her eyes stayed firmly closed–she had hardly been able to sleep at all the previous night, too wrapped up in the pink slip her boss had handed her.
It wasn't like she hadn't expected to be fired from her small-time lawyer gig. The business had been slow for a while, and she was the newest hire. But it still stung, and now that she
was out of a job, she didn't know if she should continue in law, or go back to school for something she enjoyed more.
There was also the fact that she was pregnant.
She had only been seeing her boyfriend, Shay, for a year, and she was pregnant.
After one failed relationship after another, Gemma thought she finally found the one who would be with her forever. Shay actually listened to her, actually cared about her. A smile crossed her lips at how happy he had been when she told him he was pregnant. In all fairness, she had been expecting him to turn tail and run, just like all her past boyfriends did when things turned too serious for them. Shay was different.
She reached over towards him, her eyes still closed. Her hand met air. Not even the other side of the bed. Just air.
Gemma's eyes snapped open.
"What?" she muttered groggily, lifting her head.
The ceiling above her was not her ceiling. She'd just painted her little one-bedroom apartment, giving herself something to do while the small law firm she worked at was going through the dry spell that ultimately ended in her being fired. She'd put clouds above her bed, and a bright yellow sun peeking out from behind them.
This ceiling was gray.
Gemma bolted upright. "What the hell?"
This wasn't her apartment. There was no carpet, the bed was a narrow cot jutting from the wall and a single, thick blanket lay over her body. She was still in her flannel PJs, at least, but Gemma's heart pounded in her chest and she swiveled from side to side, gaze sliding over the gleaming white walls that surrounded her. Other than the cot she lay on, the room was utterly bare.
A swishing sound came from the wall opposite her. Gemma leaped to her feet as the wall opened, sweeping open like the curtains being drawn back into a theater. Her fists raised, recalling the self-defense classes she'd taken, but they dropped just as quickly when she saw who it was.
"Shay!" Gemma rushed forward, throwing her arms around him. She buried her face into his shoulder, inhaling his smoky scent. If Shay was here, it couldn't be so bad. "I think I'm having some sort of bizarre stress dream."
Thick, muscular arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer. "You're not dreaming, Gemma."
He grasped her shoulders and pushed her back a step. His warm, dark eyes bored into hers and a shiver ran down her spine.
"What do you mean, I'm not dreaming?"
Shay's fingers traced her jaw. She leaned into his touch, sighing as she did so. His skin was always so warm, she loved it.
"I regrettably lied to you. I'm not from Europe, as I told you. In fact, I'm not human."
Gemma's first instinct was to laugh at him, but it got choked in her throat when she saw the serious look in his eye. Shay never joked. Her heart beat faster once more and she pulled away from him, shaking her head. This had to be a dream. There was no way what he was saying could be true, so she must be having one bizarre stress dream.
"Gemma?"
"If you're not human, what are you?" Her hands trembled. She tried to laugh, because if this was real, she didn't know what she would do.
"I'm a member of a species known as Stlozyn, from the planet Bronæl."
"Really?" Had he gone insane, or was this a continuation of the Gemma Watson curse, where she only picked losers? Only this time she'd picked a real nutcase. Or she was the nutcase. How am I going to find a new job if I don't have all my mental faculties about me?
Shay watched her, the pucker above his left eye giving away just how worried he was. "I should have told you before—"
"So if you're an… not human…" Gemma couldn't say the word 'alien'. "What are you on Earth for?"
"I think you should sit down."
"Well, I think that you should tell me what's going on. Right now." Her stomach was churning by this time. At any minute she was going to completely lose it. The stress was really getting to her.
"There's a disease causing infertility among my people. It infects our genetic material." He shook his head, sighing. "You wouldn't understand all the details. Suffice it to say, I am a scientist, and I believe that human DNA holds the key to our cure."
Gemma blinked at him. Nausea started swirling in her stomach and she had to swallow back bile. The floor beneath her feet felt too real, and when he put his hand on her arm, the weight of it was too detailed, too warm, to exist in a dream. But what he was saying couldn’t be possible. It just couldn't. Sure, she had always believed that aliens existed. It just made sense that somewhere in the vast expanses of the universe other life forms existed.
But she had never believed that they would be six feet tall, with muscles that bulged and roped beneath smooth, warm skin, or have a brilliant smile that flashed pearly-white teeth. If anybody had told her that one day she was going to be pregnant with an alien baby, she'd have laughed at them. Even now she felt like laughing–hysterically, but still laughing.
"Okay," Gemma said, stepping back as she shuddered. "So this is a prank, right? You had somebody come in and change up my apartment so you could what? Is this for YouTube? Where's the camera?"
Shay ran a hand over his face.
"This isn't funny!" Gemma put her hands on her wide hips and tossed her auburn hair over her shoulder, trying to hide how much she was shivering. "I like pranks as well as the next girl, but you, what, drugged me so that I wouldn't know I was being moved? I don't care. Get out of here before I call the cops!"
Shay was a goner. Just like her cheating ex-husband, his ass was dropped. She wasn't about to stick around with a man who wanted her to think she was crazy.
Shay took a step back, holding up his hands. "Gemma, everything I have told you is the truth. I'm not human. We're not on Earth."
"Bullshit."
Maybe she was overreacting a smidgen to his prank. Maybe it wasn't actually that bad. Shay was patient and kind, and he didn't mind that her thighs rubbed together or that she had wobbly bits under her arms. She dropped her hands and took a deep breath.
"Okay, I'm just going to give you one more chance to come clean, because up until now you've been a perfect boyfriend. Where am I?"
"I thought you wouldn't believe me. I had hoped to wait, but…" He began unbuttoning his shirt.
Gemma crossed the space between them and jabbed him hard in the chest. "Hold it right there, buster. I don't care how sexy you are, you don't get to try to make me think you're an alien that abducted me and then seduce me. No way, no how."
"I'm not—"
She narrowed her eyes. It was easier not to be afraid if she was furious with him. "I want to go home right now. Understand?"
"You once asked me about this," Shay interrupted, touching the fire-red tattoo of a dragon that was over his heart. "I told you that I got it to commemorate my grandfather. The truth is that it is an implant that produces a shimmering cloak to hide my true appearance. For my research, it was necessary to blend in."
He pressed his fingers to either side of the tattoo. Gemma stared, her heart in her throat. She still didn’t want to believe, but was unable to find another explanation as the tattoo actually detached itself from Shay's skin. His form blurred for a moment, glowing red, before focusing again. Gemma gasped.
He was still six feet tall with rippling muscles bending his arms and neck. He still had the same lips, nose and ears, the same dark hair curled against his skull. But his skin had changed. No longer smooth and taut, it was a glittering emerald-green, the light catching off of hundreds of tiny scales and reflecting it back to Gemma. So utterly not human.
Worse yet were his eyes. They were red as blood, staring out at her from that alien face.
Gemma stepped back, wanting to scream but unable to pull in a breath to do so. Her head spun. She tried to think of something else to say, some explanation for this, but couldn't. Her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the narrow cot again, hands clutching the blanket.
Shay stepped forward but stopped when she flinched. "I wanted to tell you the truth about myself from the moment I met you,
Gemma. It was a very strange emotional response. Please understand that I hated to lie to you. But things have changed. I did not think that our species could procreate but we can… when I told you that I loved you, I was telling the truth."
Gemma pressed a hand to her stomach. She was pregnant. With an alien's baby. She wanted to vomit, but her body wasn't responding to any of this. She couldn't feel herself sitting on the cot. It was like she was drifting in an endless sea, tossed by waves that bruised her but that she couldn't actually feel.
"Gemma?"
"I want to go home."
"I know. I know, and I'm sorry that you can't. Not right now, at least. There are too many unknowns. But I swear I will take care of you and the baby. I will make sure you both are okay."
A shiver ran down her spine. "Why wouldn't we be okay?"
Shay's gaze dropped. "We are two separate species. Subspecies at least. There are always dangers associated with hybrid offspring. We have the same ancestry, but with the hundreds of years and genetic modification that has separated Stlozyn and humans, there are risks."
"What sort of risks?"
"The greatest is that the baby won't be viable. But I will not let this end badly. I swear to you. Even if we have to do genetic surgery. I am highly intelligent, and I command this ship."
"This ship." Gemma let out a high-pitched, hysterical giggle. "We're not on Earth anymore."
Shay winced and shook his head.
Gemma's voice lowered to a whisper. "You kidnapped me."
Another wince. "I wasn't thinking clearly. I know I should have told you before, but I was just…"
He trailed off, apparently recognizing that there was nothing he could say to make this better.
Gemma stared at him, not speaking. Her mind raced around in circles, unable to land on anything that felt solid. She wanted to tell him to get out, wanted to tell him to hold her, wanted to scream and wanted to cry. Wanted to laugh, to not believe. Eventually, she did the only thing she could. She turned her back on Shay and lay down on the bed, pulling her blanket over her head.
