Dragonlands, Books 1 - 3: Hidden, Hunted, and Retribution

by Megg Jensen

  She thought of Connor. He was out there somewhere. He'd become a dragon, yet he still fought for good. The madness she'd seen in her father, Stacia, and Jacinda hadn't swallowed him. Maybe it wouldn't swallow her either.

  "Drink from the cup of life, my daughter." Fenn’s voiced dripped with malevolence.

  Tressa looked up. Her eyes met his. Red and slitted, bloodshot and angry. If giving in would save the children, she’d take the risk.

  "If I drink from this cup, will you take me to whoever controls you?"

  He laughed. "No one controls me. I fight for what I believe in. The power here is beyond anything you can imagine. You've only seen a bit of what I can offer you."

  Tressa stood still, feeling her heart thud in her chest. The cup touched her bottom lip. She tilted it, a droplet of blood washing over her lips as they parted. The thick liquid ran down her throat like silk over her naked body. Luscious. Sexy. Perfection.

  The cup flew out of her hand at the same time a sword cut into her father's abdomen.

  Jarrett kicked her father, pushing him off his sword. He crumpled to the floor. "Did you drink any of that?" Jarrett asked. He stabbed Fenn another time in the chest, just over the heart. Fenn didn’t even have a chance to fight back.

  Tressa shook her head no. It had only been a little. Not enough to matter. Not enough to make her feel any different. No one needed to know.

  “How did you —"

  "I followed you and snuck in a window. Let's go," Jarrett said, grabbing her hand. "Connor, Elinor, Bastian, and Avital have already flown off toward the Drowned Country. The black dragons are still here. One has agreed to fly us there too."

  Three women emerged from the back of the building, holding hands with the children of Hutton’s Bridge. Hazel held onto a fourth woman, shuffling past Tressa and Jarrett. She offered Tressa a small smile.

  Tressa followed Jarrett blindly, stumbling through the building. They emerged into the night, a black dragon with blue eyes waiting, down on one knee. Jarrett lifted Tressa on its back and mounted behind her.

  “The children,” she gasped, pointing to the huddled mass of dirty orphans. Hazel sat on the ground, her two boys in her lap and Bastian’s daughter sleeping in front of her.

  Jarrett waved to a woman with black hair, black eyes, and porcelain skin. She nodded, waving to the other dragons. They were hissing at the townspeople who cowered in fear at the edges of the square.

  "Fi will make sure they’re brought back with us.” Jarrett said.

  Fi? Who was Fi? The world swam in front of her eyes.

  Hang on to its scales," he whispered in her ear. "I've got you from behind."

  She nodded. She felt so strange. Maybe she’d swallowed more blood than she thought. Tressa leaned her head back, resting it on Jarrett's chest. Her heart danced in the cold night as they ascended into the sky.

  "We have to thank the gods that the black dragons showed up. I don't know how they knew or why they chose to help us now." Tressa could feel Jarrett shake his head behind her. "We thought the Black had died out. Now rest. Sleep if you can. I have you."

  Tressa agreed. She needed sleep. She was suddenly and overwhelmingly exhausted.

  Epilogue

  Jarrett laid Tressa down on the fluffy bed in the room Elinor had shown him to. He'd carried Tressa in his arms after the black dragons left them and the children of Hutton’s Bridge at the castle at Ashoom. They’d flown into the dark of the night, leaving behind only one of their kind.

  Elinor had greeted them with a whisper, telling Jarrett the rest of the castle was asleep. She snuck them through the hallways to an expansive chamber.

  She didn't ask if Jarrett wanted a separate room. He didn't request one. It would take an army to pull him away from Tressa now.

  Tressa had slept the whole flight back. The sun was nearly rising when he finally laid her in the bed in her shift. He stretched out next to her, stroking her hair.

  Tressa was beautiful. The most exquisite woman he'd ever known. Her beauty lay in the simple lines of her face. In the lofty standards she expected from people. Jarrett didn't need, nor want, obvious beauty. He didn't crave a title or a throne. He wanted the woman sleeping in front of him, but only if she would have him too.

  Tressa moaned in her sleep. Her arms jerked, as if fighting an invisible enemy. Of course she would have nightmares. After everything she'd seen, he'd be surprised if she could have another peaceful night's sleep again. He had grown up with the threat of war. He knew of the dragons. He could perform the smallest of magic.

  But Tressa was an innocent who'd grown up isolated from the world. None of this was common for her. It was the things nightmares were made of.

  She rolled onto her back, still fighting her dreams.

  "Shhhh," he whispered. "I'm here. I will protect you." He left a small peck on her ear. It was the most he would dare while she slept. He desired her, but he would only act in the moments when she desired him as well. It was dishonorable to take advantage of a woman while she slept. He didn't just honor her. He thought that perhaps he truly loved her. Not just the love of a new relationship with a woman who intrigued him, but the kind that might last for the rest of his life.

  Tressa moaned again, and her eyelids snapped open. Jarrett started to say something reassuring, then stopped, his mouth slack.

  One of her eyes was the same blue it had always been.

  The other was red, slitted with the black of a dragon eye.

  The story will continue with…

  RETRIBUTION

  Dragonlands, Book Three

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  Afterword

  Thank you so much for reading HUNTED. I hope you had a good time reading it.

  There are some really great ways to stay in touch with me and learn about upcoming releases. I would love to hear from you!

  - Continue the story with the sequel, RETRIBUTION, coming in late 2014. Add RETRIBUTION to your Goodreads list: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22366166-retribution

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  - Or just drop me an email: meggjensen@gmail.com

  XoXo,

  Megg

  Acknowledgments

  First, thanks to my army of editors – Lisa Jenn Bigelow, Angela Carlie, Deena Viviani, Michael “Googs” Gugerty, Joelle Sisto, and Bobbi Kilbarger.

  Thanks to Michael Gauss for the amazing dragon on the cover.

  Steven Novak makes the best covers in the world! Thanks, Steven!

  Stefanie Verish created the most amazing map for my series. Thank you!!!!

  My family can’t go without mention. They put up with my weird work hours and strange outbursts, usually when plot points would magically descend on me during dinner. Most of all, they’re understanding when I need to work. Love them so much!

  RETRIBUTION

  Megg Jensen

  Cover art by Michael Gauss

  http://gaussianeffect.blogspot.com/

  Cover design by Steven Novak Illustration

  http://www.novakillustration.com

  Copyright © 2014 by 80 Pages, Inc

  Published by 80 Pages, Inc

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used factitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form by or any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

  1st Edition: November 2014

  This
ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  Prologue

  Life wasn’t as before. Sophia no longer had the confines of a body ravaged by age. Here she could stretch in every direction without joints cracking and muscles screaming for respite. Her mind was as sharp as ever. Perhaps even more alert. She missed her dear great-granddaughter, Tressa, but she’d done what she was compelled to do.

  When she was only thirteen, he’d saved her from the claws of a relentless kilrothgi in the fog and healed her wounds; she had immediately trusted him. The foolish act of a child, perhaps.

  What exactly happened in those moments, she could never remember. The black-scaled dragon gazed into her eyes, his amber irises swirling like a smoldering fire, and warmth circulated through her body.

  Sophia wasn’t sure what she promised him. She didn’t know what they did in the time she spent with him. Some days she awoke in her bed, back in her simple cottage in Hutton’s Bridge. Other days she wandered through the fog in a daze, always returning safely.

  After years of frustration and no answers, she instituted a yearly ritual. Three villagers were sent into the fog, tasked with finding a way out and then coming back to save the rest of them.

  No one returned.

  Still, Sophia knew there was a way out. She couldn’t tell them, though. They wouldn’t trust her if they knew she traveled the fog often—even if she didn’t understand how or why it happened.

  Until one day when the dragon promised her something. He would give her a gift.

  The dragon, Mestifito, slithered along the cave floor. His onyx scales rattled the rocks underneath his belly. Claws, sharpened to daggers, trailed along the curves of Sophia’s body. She stood still, fearful the slightest movement would result in an irreparable gash. He overpowered her, physically and emotionally.

  But she did not fight him. She was too curious, too enamored with the beast who called her from her sleep, drew her safely into the fog, and always returned her to her warm bed in Hutton’s Bridge.

  “What is the gift you offer me?” she asked him. Her eyes trailed over his body, so long she couldn’t even see his tail hiding in the dark recesses of the cave.

  Mestifito chuckled, his laugh echoing in the cave. “I expect something in return.”

  Despite her apprehension, Sophia planted her fists on her hips. “Then it isn’t a gift. It is an exchange of goods.”

  “You are a clever girl.”

  Sophia’s face reddened. She had been a girl three years ago when the fog fell. Now she was all woman. In her body, hear heart, and her soul. If her parents had still been around, they would have already had her moved out of their cottage and married. “I am no girl.”

  “I offer you the ability to remember all. To see all. To know all.” His form undulated until he was wrapped around her body.

  She had nowhere to go. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go anywhere. Her thoughts spun in her mind, confused and erratic.

  “And from me? What do you want from me?” She hadn’t forgotten his stipulation.

  “I want you. For eternity.” Slithering between his jagged teeth, his tongue shot out of his mouth and hovered only inches from Sophia’s face.

  “And just how could I promise that? I am made of flesh and blood. I will die, never to return.”

  “That is where you are wrong. There are ways around the laws of nature.” Mestifito tightened his ring around her, his skin only a breath from hers. “If you agree, I can show you wonders you will not find elsewhere. No one can give you what I can.”

  Sophia thought of her village, trapped in the fog for three years now. No end in sight. “Can you help my village?”

  Mestifito shook his head. “I cannot. That is a magic different from mine. I would die trying, and death isn’t something I seek. I seek life.” His forked tongue dragged across her cheek.

  “If you can’t help my people, then I can’t agree to your proposal.” She choked back a sob. She wanted nothing more than to say yes to anything he asked of her. Every iota of her soul fought against her mind.

  “I would if I could, my dear, dear Sophia. Even a magic like mine cannot compete against what has been done to Hutton’s Bridge.”

  “How old are you?” she asked Mestifito. He didn’t seem old. Then again, he was her first dragon. She didn’t know how to determine the age of one.

  “Not much older than you. Twenty.” He huffed.

  Sophia winced, sure his dragon breath would be rank, but she was surprised by the scent of cinnamon and honey. She drew in a deep breath, his aroma creeping into her essence, becoming as much a part of her as her own blood.

  “Why me?”

  “You are not like the others in the Charred Barrens. And soon we are going to dissolve into myth.”

  “I—I don’t understand,” Sophia said. A trembling hand reached up to his muzzle. She’d expected his scales to be rough. Instead they were soft like feathers.

  “You will someday.”

  “Mestifito…”

  “Yes?”

  “You may have me. All of me. Forever.” She trembled, not fully understanding what she was agreeing to, but believing it was the best choice, the only choice, she could make.

  Mestifito’s giant body shook from his head to his tail. His eyes rolled back, and he dropped to the ground.

  “No!” Sophia fell next to his head, cradling his snout in her arms. “What’s wrong? Don’t promise me forever only to leave me.” Tears poured from her eyes, streaming down her cheeks.

  Mestifito convulsed for a few moments until his body began to change. Sophia gasped and scrabbled backward across the pebbled ground. Rocks bit into her palms, drawing blood. She cowered against the cave wall, her heart pounding.

  His body contorted and shrank. His scaled armor turned to dark skin, so black Sophia couldn’t find him in the dark cave.

  “Mestifito?” She called out into the darkness. There was no sound. Not the tiniest echo. Nothing.

  Until…

  A crunching sound. Feet on the ground. Tentative at first. Then faster. Running.

  Sophia pressed her back into the dirt. She didn’t remember how she’d gotten into the cave, nor did she know how to get out. Fear gripped her heart, squeezing.

  “Sophia?” It was a gentle voice.

  She didn’t respond.

  It came nearer.

  “Now that you’ve finally given me your promise, you will be allowed to remember. You will know.”

  A ball of light burst through the dark. Sophia threw her arm over her eyes. “Mestifito?” It was his voice, but different. Somehow softer, gentler.

  Less beast.

  More man.

  “Drop your arm. See your future.”

  Trembling, she did as she was told. A man stood in front of her. Tall with jet black hair and amber eyes the color of fire. It was the man in her memory. “Mestifito?” she asked again. She reached out a hand to him.

  By the faint light of the bauble in his hand, she could see more clearly as he came closer. His skin, as dark as hers was pale. She followed the light up his arm to his chest. His throat. His face. A strong jaw, blinding white teeth, full lips, and those beautiful amber eyes.

  It was him. The dragon was a man.

  “I will help you remember all of your previous visits.”

  She stood, her hand in his. “Did I turn you down those times?”

  He shook his head. “No. Today was the first day I asked.” He leaned down, pressing his lips against hers, hungry. Her fingers rested on his s
houlders, exploring the finely chiseled muscles. Her heart leapt. Her body ached.

  She broke away. “Women younger than I have been wed and bedded.”

  He traced a finger across her jaw. “I wasn’t waiting for physical maturity. I was waiting for you to be prepared. What lies ahead for you is a life of lies and pain. You will know it all, Sophia. When you return to Hutton’s Bridge—”

  “Return?” Sophia stepped away from him. “No. I won’t return. I want to stay with you.”

  “We have all of eternity together, my Sophia. There are things that must be done before you can stay with me forever. You will have a family. You will grow old. You will die. And only then can we be together forever.” Mestifito pulled her back into his embrace.

  Sophia buried her head in his chest, taking in his scent. The honey and cinnamon still lingered. There was so much she didn’t understand, but she trusted him. And, more importantly, she loved her people. Yes, she would go home. She would help them to escape.

  There was life beyond the fog. She knew it, and she would do what it took to free her people.

  Only then could she return to Mestifito and be with him forever.

  Chapter One

  Death hung over Tressa her like a shroud, clouding every movement, every thought, every breath. She lay in bed, exhausted. She'd promised Jarrett she would rest. After recent events, she couldn't argue. Regret, loss, and fear overwhelmed her at times, hampering her recovery.

  Since arriving back at Ashoom after the battle at Malum, Tressa hadn't felt herself. A chill surrounded her, yet there was a fire in her stomach forcing her to retch up everything she ate. Tressa wanted to ask Elinor, the girl appeared to be a very competent healer, if it had anything to do with the miscarriage she'd suffered not long ago. But Tressa hadn't found the right time to tell Bastian about the baby and it wasn't fair for anyone else to know before him.