Dragon Kiss

Iron Hall

The last of the preparations had been made for the journey, and Alasdair was ready to set off—more than ready, actually. He wasn’t the only one, though. There were dangers, but there always were. He understood them. As a Dragon King, facing threats was just a part of life. Always had been. Even on Earth.

Zora might be a near replica of his home world, but it was also different in many ways. Not to mention the enemies around every corner. Not much worried him, but he would freely admit to being apprehensive about their upcoming expedition. Not for him, though. Nay, his concern was for his mate, Lotti.

Just the thought of her had a flush of desire and love surging through him. Not for the first time, Alasdair wondered if they should have taken this mission. Then again, he and Lotti had set things in motion. They would be the ones to clean things up. Yet a niggle of unease had plagued him for the past few days. One that grew with each passing hour.

Alasdair knew better than to suggest that Lotti remain behind. Just as he would balk if she proposed that to him. Lotti wasn’t just any woman. She was special in so many ways. She was one of the Star People, an immortal race of beings who dominated the universe and once held dragons as slaves. Which meant she was more powerful than even a Dragon King. But Lotti had only recently learned who she was and about her powers.

His boots thumped on the stones as he made his way through Iron Hall’s vast corridors. The hidden underground city was massive. It had been abandoned many years before, and as a result, some of the hallways had caved in. It now had occupants again. They uncovered more secrets every day while also slowly bringing Iron Hall back to life. What they didn’t know, is what happened to the former inhabitants. And they may never uncover that.

The sound of children’s laughter reached him as they ran through the corridors, playing. It brought a grin to Alasdair’s lips. He was amazed at the bairns’ resilience after what they had endured at the hands of those at Stonemore, intent on taking their lives simply because they had been born with magic.

At the thought of the mountainside metropolis, a flood of anger pooled in Alasdair’s gut. The source of most of the evil that spread over the land had begun at Stonemore. Iron Hall was the closest city. It also sat halfway beneath the dragon land border, which gave them a slim advantage.

He didn’t want to think about the dragons. His kin. Descendants of those from Earth. The same dragons who hated every Dragon King. Not that he blamed them. They had a reason. The Kings had sent the clans away. It didn’t matter that they had done it to save the dragons from humans. All those on Zora knew was that they had lost their home to the very species that showed up on their new realm. The Kings wouldn’t let the same things that happened on Earth affect Zora.

Alasdair shook off the thoughts that threatened to drag him into melancholy and lengthened his strides. He turned the corner to his and Lotti’s chamber to look for his mate. He scanned the room, but there was no sign of her. Alasdair turned on his heel and headed to the main area of Iron Hall. It took him some time. Lotti had wanted a chamber far from the others. Even though she had gained control of her magic, years of unintentionally hurting others was ingrained too deeply. It would take time, and him absorbing her magic if it ever got loose, before she realized she wouldn’t harm anyone again.

He picked up voices as he drew near the common area. Alasdair descended a flight of stairs and glanced toward the center where a large pool of water stood. Above it was a huge knot of roots that spread across the open ceiling from a massive tree that hung suspended. Liquid dripped from them into the pool while sunlight filtered through the tangled mass.

“Here he is,” Varek said.

Alasdair nodded in greeting and made his way to the trio in the room. Varek ran a hand through his blond hair to shove it away from his face as he said something to his mate, Jeyra. Cullen’s mate, Tamlyn, was on Jeyra’s other side, her hazel eyes crinkling at the corners as she chuckled.

“I’m looking for Lotti,” Alasdair said when he walked up.

“She wanted a quick training session before you left,” Tamlyn said before glancing over her shoulder as Sian attempted to corral the children. “I need to help get the kids together. The mission will succeed. I know it.”

Alasdair watched her rush to Sian. Tamlyn was a Banshee who saw the tragic deaths of children with magic. She, an Amazon named Jenefer, and Sian, an Alchemist, had worked to save the children. They had been fairly successful even before Cullen joined their undertaking, bringing the Dragon Kings’ attention to the problem and thus rescuing even more kids.

Sian shook her wavy brunette locks from her face before putting her fingers to her lips and whistling shrilly. Alasdair winced at the high-pitched sound. The last of the children came running in response. Before Sian followed them, she waved at Alasdair and then cast a look toward the main entrance—something she had done ever since Jenefer left to search for her fellow Amazons to join the fight against Stonemore.

“Are we ready?”

At the sound of Jeyra’s question, Alasdair turned to the redhead. Her amber eyes were locked on him. She was a warrior of Orgate, and at one time, Varek’s jailer. Varek had been pulled to Zora from Earth by a crone and captured by Jeyra so she could get justice for her family and other Orgateans. Instead, the two uncovered a nest of lies and deceit that rocked the land.

They also fell in love.

When Jeyra sided with Varek, her people banished her. Yet she still wore a thick, silver armband on each arm that indicated she hailed from Orgate. And there was a new addition to her left shoulder. A dragon eye tattoo in the same black and red mix of ink as the tattoos on each King that signaled her as a Dragon King’s mate.

Alasdair’s gaze slid to Varek. His friend watched him carefully with deep brown eyes. He and Varek, like all the Kings, had seen too many villains and wars, but something about Zora was different. The more they dug into its people and history, the more evil was uncovered, and questions arose.

And the more enemies came out of the woodwork.

“You ready, brother?” Varek asked when Alasdair didn’t respond.

“Aye. The sooner we get the massirine stone, the better.” Anger churned each time Alasdair thought about Villette’s people who viewed the dragons through the stone to learn of their movements and locations.

Jeyra nodded as she looked between the two. “Then let’s collect Lotti and head out. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can return.”

Alasdair agreed. The sound of a crying baby made him pause. It was the bairn who had brought him and Lotti together. Alasdair had already said his farewells to wee Benneit, so there was no reason to delay. Why, then, did he linger?

“What is it?” Varek asked. “Surely, you’re no’ worried about Lotti. She has more power than we do.”

He was worried. His mate might have finally discovered her origins, but there was still so much Lotti didn’t know about her abilities or limits. The Star People had once enslaved the dragons. One might have eventually freed them, creating Earth as a refuge—and a hiding place—from the others, but the Star People had found Zora, using it as their playground. They interfered at will, fashioning their own rules as they went. And one of them ruled Stonemore.

Villette. Alasdair clenched his hands into fists. He despised her with every fiber of his being. She was known as the Divine to those who called Stonemore home, using fear and mystery to keep everyone in check. He could lay many crimes at Villette’s feet, including the sacrifice of children with magic. But she also held one of theirs—Merrill.

Yet it was another Star Person, Eurielle, who had helped him and Lotti. Despite that, Alasdair didn’t trust her. She had let Lotti suffer for years without helping. There was no excuse for that.

“Alasdair?”

He shook himself at Varek’s deep frown. “Your mate’s correct. There’s a lot going on. The Star People, Villette, Merrill still at Stonemore—”

“No’ for long,” Varek interrupted. “We’ll set him free.”

“There’s also the invisible foe that has it out for us. And let’s no’ forget the elves. They want a piece of us now, too. Zora was supposed to be a place of peace for the dragons. Maybe they’re right. Maybe we brought this. They were fine until we came.”

Varek snorted. “They were far from fine, and you know it. They’re frightened, and they use us as a place to lay the blame. We’re going to sort things out. We’ll bring peace once more. But first, we have to find the stone and make sure Villette can no’ use it again.”

“I know.”

Alasdair and Lotti had gotten the stone away from Villette and her people so they could no longer spy on the dragons. The problem was, only a certain group of people on the realm could touch it without the stone killing them. Luckily, Jeyra was one of those people. They guessed it had something to do with those with red hair living longer than other mortals on Zora.

“Then let’s go stick one to Villette,” Varek said, slapping Alasdair on the arm.

He took one last look around the city before following Varek up the steps to the doorway and then heading outside into the lush canyon. There was a hint of fall in the morning air. The sky was clear, and the canyon teemed with life. Alasdair stopped and raised his gaze to the lip of the canyon. He stood at its narrowest point and spotted Jeyra on the left, climbing her way to the top. Varek jogged in her direction and was beside her in two jumps. Alasdair’s gaze swung to the right, and he saw Lotti’s wavy, blond hair that just barely touched her shoulders. She had her back to him as she moved her arms. Ever since she’d learned she was a Star Person, she had been pushing herself to learn more about her magic.

For over two hundred years, she had denied her power, fearing it. Alasdair had been the one to convince her to embrace it. She had, yet there was so much for her to learn. He feared there wouldn’t be enough time before the brewing war was upon them.

Alasdair heard a chuckle from his other side. He looked over and found Cullen with his legs dangling over the canyon’s side. Beside him was none other than the wildcat, Nari. It was as big as a lion with black spotted fur and intelligent green eyes. This particular wildcat had saved Cullen, Shaw, and Lotti from their invisible enemy.

Nari hung around the canyon and could often be found with Cullen. There was a shared fondness between them, given how the cat lay beside Cullen with her large head on his lap as he ran his hand over her thick fur. Alasdair glanced at Varek and Jeyra to see they had reached the top. In two leaps, he was next to Cullen on his other side.

Nari shifted her head and pinned him with her bright green eyes before lazily yawning and stretching out her massive paws, extending her very long, very sharp claws for a heartbeat.

“She likes you,” Cullen said as he scratched under Nari’s chin.

Alasdair didn’t answer because his gaze had landed on his mate. The morning sun made her hair appear almost golden as she turned first one way and then the other. He ran his eyes down her body. She had rolled up the sleeves of her light brown undershirt to her elbows and replaced her linen overtunic with a leather corset that conformed to her curves like a second skin. Deep brown breeches hugged her arse and legs before disappearing into knee-high leather boots. She didn’t carry a weapon because she was a weapon. Lotti hadn’t slept much the past few nights. She believed she had something to prove to him and his brethren and had yet to listen, no matter how many times they told her she didn’t.

“Are you afraid Lotti can no’ handle herself?” Cullen asked.

Alasdair frowned and looked down at him. “She saved my arse at Stonemore.”

“Do you no’ think you and Varek are up to this task?”

Alasdair rolled his eyes and grunted.

“Then you must be concerned about Jeyra.”

Alasdair squatted next to Cullen, knowing what he was doing. “You know I’m no’.”

“Yet you’re worried, brother.”

“We’ve always been the strongest, the ones with the most power.”

“On Earth.”

“Aye. My point. This isna our realm.”

Cullen nodded and smoothed a hand over Nari’s huge head. “And you’ve found your mate. It’s always that way for a King. We never had to worry about losing anything once we sent the dragons away. Our family, our friends…they were gone. Finding love shows us so much, but it also makes us verra aware of what we could lose. Especially those who have no’ undergone the mating ceremony.”

A ritual that bound the two together so the mate would live as long as the Dragon King. It wasn’t exactly immortality, but it was close since it was damned hard to kill a King. Or it had been. He didn’t know if the Star People could kill them. He dreaded the idea that they just might be able to.

“At least your mate is protected,” Cullen continued. “She is probably more difficult to slay than we are.”

Tamlyn bore the dragon eye mark on her left shoulder that pronounced her as Cullen’s mate. Alasdair rested a hand on the King’s shoulder.

Cullen flashed him a smile and seemed to shove aside his worries. “My point, brother, is that everything will go fine. You and Lotti got the stone away from Villette, and you’ll soon discover where you tossed it. Jeyra can retrieve it from the lake. Then, when you four return here, we’ll have the stone. And no one can spy on the dragons again.”

Alasdair didn’t mention that getting back with the stone would be the most dangerous—and difficult—part. And they all knew it. He returned his gaze to Lotti. She faced him now, a smile curving her lips as she watched him with her turquoise eyes. He would never tire of looking at her heart-shaped face or delicate features. Her wide, expressive eyes. Her full lips that could have him on his knees in an instant.

She started walking to the end of the canyon and to him. He straightened, his heart skipping a beat as it always did when she was near. Cullen gave Nari one last pat before climbing to his feet. By the time Lotti reached them, Varek and Jeyra had arrived, as well. Nari hadn’t moved from her spot and idly waved the end of her tail.

Alasdair released a long breath. “It’s time.”

“We’ll be here if you need anything,” Cullen said.

Varek grinned, a twinkle in his brown eyes. “You’re just trying to figure out how to join us.”

“I am,” Cullen agreed with a wide smile.

They laughed, but it died quickly.

Cullen’s pale brown eyes met Alasdair’s. “Be safe and hurry back. All of you.”

“We will,” Lotti replied.

Alasdair took the lead as their journey began. Varek joined him a short while later with Lotti and Jeyra ten steps behind, deep in conversation. Alasdair glanced at Varek to see his gaze turned toward Stonemore. They couldn’t see the mountain city lurking like a malevolent soul through the forest that separated them, but everyone knew it was there.

And so was Merrill.

“We’ll get him soon,” Alasdair vowed.

Varek looked ahead, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “All these weeks of no communication, and when you did get a chance to talk to him, he wouldna leave that hellhole. He stayed.”

“To help us.”

“Alone. Disconnected from his family. That could put him in a dark place.”

Alasdair scoffed. “Merrill? He’s the one who always lifts everyone else up. It will take a lot to pull him down.”

“I said the same thing. But Jeyra told me something that hasna left me since.”

“What’s that?”

“She said it’s usually the jovial ones like Merrill who have the darkest parts of themselves locked away.”

Alasdair glanced at Varek. “You were closest to him. Is that true? Does he have something buried?”

“We all have something buried.”

“That’s true, but you didna answer my question.”

Varek blew out a breath. “Merrill was despondent when we sent our dragons away after the war with the humans. He went to a place I’d never seen before. I couldna reach him, Alasdair. I thought…I thought he was past help. I wanted to do something, but we were all dealing with the loss of our families, friends, and clans. Weeks went by before he reached out.” He paused and audibly swallowed. “I was the one who sank to that awful place. Merrill pulled me out of my despair. I wouldna be here if it were no’ for him.”

“He did the same for me.”

“He did it for all of us.”

Alasdair winced as the truth dawned on him. “He helped everyone but himself. He buried it.”

“Aye. I think he did. And if that gets released while he’s trapped in Stonemore, alone with Villette…”

Varek didn’t finish. He didn’t need to. Alasdair knew exactly what might happen to their brother.