"I know. I was one of the prisoners, remember? Blood doesn't always equal family, especially under tyranny," Asher stated.
"You could say that and no one would be the wiser. I'm sure you received special treatment, unlike the dozen males who died during their imprisonment."
Asher's pupils flashed to slits and back. "Special treatment? Try being kept in a bright, white room for days on end, music grating and never ceasing. It pushes your dragon to the brink. Not that you'd know it, Shane. You were busy hiding in Wales."
Honoria's dragon spoke up. If we don't do something, they may end up killing each other.
Normally, Honoria would call out her dragon's hyperbole. However, Shane's temper had been infamous even as a child. She didn't doubt he'd risk him and his dragon to get revenge for his brother's life sentence inside a DDA prison. In Shane's mind, killing one member of the King family would make them even.
Her dragon huffed. That sort of thinking belongs to the dragon-shifters of old, not in the twenty-first century.
Reason has nothing to do with it, dragon. Male emotions and revenge have started many a war in the past.
Before she could think of how to intervene, Asher crossed his arms and looked straight ahead of him at the wall. "Save your strength for the trials. If you truly believe you're better than me, then prove it."
She resisted blinking. The older version of Asher was mostly…level-headed. Wise, even.
Her beast purred, I like it. He was okay to kiss as a teenager, but I'm more interested in the grown male.
Studying Asher's profile, she noticed a smattering of scars near his jaw. I wonder if that's from when he was a prisoner.
If so, he's not going to tell us. Males are stubborn.
Right, because female dragons are never stubborn, are they? Honoria drawled.
Her beast sniffed. All dragons are stubborn to some extent. However, males are stubborn for the sake of it. Almost as if they think it makes them more macho or something.
Honoria didn't think Asher would be stubborn for the sake of it. If his scars are a result of torture, then of course he doesn't want to talk about it.
And it hit her—Asher had spent at least five years as a prisoner. True, she'd heard about it. But as she stared at his profile, making out the pattern of scars on his jaw, it became more than words. Those faint white marks were only a fraction of the proof of what he'd endured.
Proof that the male sitting not far from her wasn't the teenage boy she'd snuck out to kiss when she could.
Her dragon's voice was soft when she said, That's not a bad thing. He is a survivor.
Yes, but I'm also concerned about his mental health. I want to believe Asher is a good candidate, but it's only been six months since Marcus was deposed and the prisoners were released.
All the more reason to seek him out later and talk.
I'm sure talking is all you're thinking about.
I wouldn't mind some release. It's been too long.
I'm not going to feel guilty about that. I had to get everything squared away back in America before coming home to England.
Her dragon grunted and curled up into a ball inside her mind, closing her eyes to feign sleep.
The DDA human, Penny, returned alone and called out Asher's name. Honoria watched him walk out the door for his one-on-one interview. While his stride was confident, she wondered what it could be masking deep inside.
Maybe once she was done with her interview, she would seek him out. After all, one of the marks of a good clan leader was talking with clan members and judging how things were going.
So talking with Asher would merely be practice, in case she won. Yes, just practice. It had nothing to do with her own curiosity.
Her dragon snorted. Liar.
Ignoring her beast, Honoria sat quietly and practiced her breathing techniques once more. Doing well in the interview was more important than anything. And to do her best, she needed to purge her mind of Asher King and the scars on his jaw.
Chapter Two
As Asher walked into one of the Protector offices being used by the DDA for the day, it took every iota of strength he possessed not to think of another interview conducted in the same building. The one nearly six years ago which had sealed his fate, when he hadn't denied wanting to overthrow Marcus King.
His dragon growled. This will determine our future, and one of our choosing. Don't fuck it up.
I don't plan to. Now, shut it. I need to concentrate.
Sitting down in the chair across from Penny, Asher waited patiently for what happened next.
The human female cleared her throat and looked at the paper on her clipboard. A second later, she met his gaze. "So, Mr. Asher King, tell me why you want to be the leader of Clan Skyhunter."
On the surface, the question was easy. However, the way a person answered could reveal a lot about one's character. Torture at the hand of his bastard cousin had at least taught him that.
He replied, "I want to make Skyhunter respectable and trusted again, like it was when I was a young child. I've done my best over the last few months to catch up with everything that happened during my imprisonment, and I'm confident the future lies with working with the other British dragon-shifter clans."
Penny cleared her throat again. "Ah, yes. Your imprisonment. To be honest, that concerns everyone at the DDA. No matter how honorable your intentions, they will mean nothing if you suddenly become unstable as a result of your, ah, your…"
Her voice trailed off, so Asher finished the sentence. "Torture."
The human female shifted in her seat. She was clearly uncomfortable about the topic.
However, tiptoeing around the issue wouldn't help his case. Asher spoke again. "I've been seeing the counselor here on loan from Clan Snowridge." Snowridge was the dragon clan in the North of Wales. "You can speak with Dr. Allonby about my sessions, if you wish. However, I have control of both my mind and my dragon. I wouldn't have put my name in the running if I didn't."
The human shuffled through a stack of papers. He wished they would've sent someone with more experience, or at the very least a human with the confidence needed to oversee the trials. Those vying for clan leader wouldn't be meek, silent, biddable individuals.
Of course, most humans acted strangely around a dragon-shifter. It was ridiculous, really, since it wasn't as if he was going to suddenly shift and make her his supper.
His beast grunted. Dragons haven't eaten humans for over ten thousand years.
Shush.
Penny must not have noticed his flashing dragon eyes and carried on as normal. "I will check in with the counselor later. Now, let me test your knowledge of both DDA policy and the laws concerning dragon-shifters in the United Kingdom."
As the human asked one question after another, Asher answered them without thinking. He'd always had the knack of memorizing something once he'd read it. The skill had helped stave off boredom and madness during his imprisonment since he could remember a book almost word-for-word and replay it inside his head.
All too soon the female was finished and dismissed him. The interview seemed rather pointless, truth be told. And if any of the candidates couldn't pass this phase, which wasn't more than a memory test, they were weak indeed.
His dragon spoke up. The DDA must be thorough. It's a human thing.
Any fool can memorize the rules, but you're right. Maybe Shane will fail the first test and we won't have to worry about him.
You shouldn't let him get to you.
Asher finally exited the central security building and walked purposefully toward the main living area of the clan. He ran away whereas we stayed and tried to do our best to fight Marcus.
True, but it's easier to blame someone else for something going wrong than to admit their own role in it.
He snorted. When did you become so wise?
I couldn't talk whilst under the drugs, but I could think. After all those years, I could be a bloody philosophy professor by now.
&
nbsp; Oh, no. I don't think so. I want to be useful, and pondering the meaning of life or the universe isn't going to change anything here.
His beast grunted and turned his back. Asher should've reached out and soothed his beast, but they'd reached his mother's house, and the last thing he wanted to do was have his dragon eyes flashing while visiting his sister.
Doing his best to keep the sadness from his face, he entered and headed toward the kitchen. Sure enough, his mother was baking and chatting to a silent figure sitting at the dining table.
His mum noticed him and smiled. "Asher, how did it go?"
"Okay, I suppose. The real tests will come later."
His mother bobbed her head. "Well, sit down and I'll bring your lunch. Aimee has been waiting to see you today."
Aimee was Asher's much-younger sister. He sat down across from the female with the same dark hair and blue eyes as him. He reached across and touched her arm, but Aimee continued to stare blankly ahead as if he wasn't there.
Unlike Asher, his sister hadn't survived imprisonment with her dragon intact. Even worse, his sister hadn't spoken a word since being released.
Seeing his twenty-three-year-old baby sister staring into nothingness made him want to run out of the house, find his uncle and cousin, and make them pay. Aimee had only been fucking eighteen when they'd tossed her into a prison cell and drugged her dragon into a stupor. Since dragons didn't fully mature until twenty, everyone assumed his sister's inner beast hadn't been strong enough to fight for five years and come out mostly unscathed.
His dragon shuffled inside his mind, wanting to talk. But if he did, Asher's pupils would turn into slits and anytime Aimee saw flashing dragon eyes, she screamed and ran into her bedroom.
As he did every time he saw his sister, Asher took a few seconds to cool his anger, force a smile, and speak in a regular voice, free of worry or other negative emotion. "Hey, Aims. It's good to see you out of your room today. Maybe if the weather cooperates, I can take you around the clan soon, too." His sister remained silent, staring just past his shoulder. Patting her arm, he added, "I know you'll like it, especially with the sky mostly blue today."
From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother close her eyes and take a deep breath. With his father dead and his sister damaged, his mum didn't have an easy time of it.
Which was all the more motivation to try his best to win the clan leadership. He needed to make things better for his family, not to mention all the other families torn asunder by Marcus's leadership.
Standing, he went to help his mum in the kitchen. He may be vying for the most powerful position in Skyhunter, but for the moment, helping his mother was more important.
~~~
Honoria finished her interview quickly and exited the clan's security building.
The questions in the interview had been almost too easy. Still, there were many phases left, and she wasn't about to let her guard down and make a stupid mistake.
However, as she stood on the main road to the living area, the one that branched off into three directions, she debated making a teeny one.
Asher had been staying at his mother's house and had no doubt returned there. She should leave him alone and go home. Her uncle—a former Protector, in the days before Marcus King had been leader—had been helping her train. She had hours of exercises waiting for her.
And yet, her curiosity burned to talk alone with Asher, to see how he'd changed over the years.
Before she could realize her idiotic mistake and talk herself out of it, Honoria's feet turned her down the left fork in the path, the one which led to the King house.
Her dragon spoke up. Good. If you didn't go see him, then you'd just keep thinking about him. And that would make any training we do useless.
I could focus if I had to.
Maybe, maybe not. I know I would pester you until we finally saw him again.
Honoria mentally sighed. I'm not going to sleep with him, dragon. So give it up already.
Her beast huffed. Why not? It'd be a good way to better know our competition.
Right, I'm sure that's the main reason, she said slowly.
It could be. Her dragon paused and added more softly, Besides, it will help him connect with his dragon. I sense the relationship is a bit strained there. Sex would bring them together.
She waved at someone walking by. Ignoring their double-take—few knew Honoria had returned—she replied, How can you even know that? Dragons can't read minds.
No, but I just know. Call it a dragon's intuition.
She reached the two-story stone cottage where the Kings lived. It was a little apart from the rest of the houses in the area. Since Asher had lived in the more central part of the clan back in the day, his family must've moved to it sometime after she'd left.
For a second, she wondered if it was to isolate themselves a little from the accusations and looks of the clan. After all, Honoria didn't think Shane was the only dragon-shifter on Skyhunter to blame anyone with the King surname for what had happened.
Her beast spoke up. Ask him if that's why they live here. It's that simple.
Ignoring her dragon, she stopped at the door and knocked. A few beats later, the mostly gray-haired form of Lynne King, Asher's mother, filled the doorway. She instantly smiled at Honoria. "Ria, I had heard you were back, but it's lovely to see you again."
Memories of Lynne always welcoming her into their home flashed into Honoria's mind. Asher's mum was a link to the version of herself that had changed upon setting foot in America. "Hello, Mrs. King. I just came by to see if Asher was here?"
"He is." She hesitated and glanced over her shoulder, and then back again. "But I'm not sure if my daughter can handle a visitor right now. Would you wait here a second? I'll have Asher come to the door."
As soon as she nodded, Lynne shut the door. The older female's words made her wonder what had happened to Aimee, especially since no one had mentioned anything about Asher's sister to her yet.
Before she could think too much on it, the door swung open. Asher frowned down at her. "What are you doing here?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Hello to you, too."
He crossed his arms over his chest. A broad, muscled chest that tapered to a slim pair of hips. And she had no doubt beyond that were muscled thighs.
Asher King had matured well.
Her dragon hummed, but Honoria quickly constructed a temporary prison for her dragon, to prevent her beast from talking for a short while.
Asher grunted. "We're rivals, Ria. You shouldn't be here, and you know it."
"Excuse me for wanting to stop by and say hello. You said a lot of cryptic stuff back in the conference room and I wanted some answers."
"At least you're not lying and trying to sweet talk me first."
"When have I ever sweet-talked anyone?'
"I don't know, but you've been in America for over a decade. Who knows what you picked up."
It was on the tip of her tongue to say America was like anywhere, in that a clan was made up of all kinds of people. But arguing with Asher would accomplish nothing, nor was it important she win the point. "I merely wanted to say hello and ensure everything was okay, for old time's sake. I'm not here to execute any dirty tricks, I assure you."
Asher's mum appeared behind him. "Aimee went to her room for a nap, so won't you come in, Ria?"
"Mum, I don't think—"
She cut off her son. "I want to visit with her, even if you don't. And since you promised to help me with a few things in the kitchen, it means you'll have to tolerate her company, too."
Honoria studied Lynne. She hoped the female wasn't trying to matchmake. After all, it'd been more than fifteen years since she and Asher had dated.
Not to mention the small detail of them both vying for the clan leadership position.
Lynne gently pushed Asher aside and motioned in. "Come, Ria. I have some fresh biscuits that will go lovely with some proper tea. I can only imagine the horrid stuff you had to
drink in America."
She smiled. "I do admit to missing the tea. My distant cousins didn't see the point in special ordering any, since everyone but me was a coffee drinker."
The older dragonwoman nodded. "Right, then that's settled. I'm going to give you as much tea as you can handle."
Lynne turned and walked down the hall. Asher didn't block the doorway but remained just to the side of it.
Honoria walked past him, a few scant inches between his body and hers. While it should be impossible, she felt the heat radiating from his body. Not to mention she picked up the spicy male scent that was purely Asher.
Their eyes locked and her heart skipped a beat. They were older and different, and yet her attraction to Asher hadn't changed. And judging by how his pupils flashed to slits and back, he was still drawn to her, too.
He was the first to break eye contact and take a step to the side, putting distance between them. Clearing her throat, Honoria went down the hall to what she could see was the kitchen.
It was a good thing her dragon was inside a mental prison currently, because she could only imagine her beast demanding to find somewhere private and ride Asher like there was no tomorrow.
And after the look she'd shared with him, she just might be tempted to do it without too much badgering from her dragon.
No. She couldn't allow attraction to derail her dreams or resolve. She may still be attracted to Asher, but she would restrain herself.
She had to. Otherwise, she'd never have the chance to help rebuild Skyhunter and make it greater than it ever had been before.
~~~
Asher watched Honoria's tall form walk down the hall, the sway of her hips making his beast roar inside his head.
She wants us as much as we do. We never had the chance to take her before. I think we should fuck her at least once.
His dragon was correct. As teenagers, they'd never crossed the line to full-on cock-in-pussy sex. And given the way Honoria had filled out in the hips and thighs, he wouldn't mind them wrapped around his waist.
Winning Skyhunter Page 2
