Dragons Birth

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eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. Samhain Publishing, Ltd. PO Box 2206 Stow OH 44224 Dragon’s Birth: Dragon’s Wing Book 1 Copyright © 2006 by Jennie Andrus Cover by Scott Carpenter ISBN: 1-59998-024-X www.samhainpublishing.com All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: February 2006

Dragon’s Birth Dragon’s Wing Book I

By Jennie Andrus

Dedication To The Scribes: I’d never have made it here without you.

Dragon’s Birth: Dragon’s Wing Book I

Chapter One The gust of wind sent her stumbling into the trees. She wobbled precariously on the fancy ladies boots she’d silently cursed all during the morning’s hike, and fell onto her bottom, her feet immediately tangling in the voluminous skirts. Damn all women’s fashion. Sunlight glinted off the scarlet body hovering over Argon. She couldn’t turn away, though her eyes stung and tears streamed down her face—she stared into the blinding light as she struggled to get to her feet. “Argon, get under the trees. Run, for the Goddess’ sake!” He ignored her pleas, or didn’t hear them. Argon stood still as a statue, staring with glazed eyes at the enormous beast that swooped towards him. Still tangled in the yards and yards of fabric, she watched in horror as her best friend, the man she loved, was carried away in the fierce talons of a creature of myth. “Argon!” She screamed again and watched him disappear into the glare of the sun. Lexanii awoke covered in sweat. Her hands trembled, her heart raced, and her throat felt raw and abused. Just a dream, she reminded herself and slowly forced her lungs to fill with the cool mountain air that chilled her sweat-dampened body. -5-

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Goddess, she was cold. She should have known it would be colder this far north. The thin summer blanket she’d brought did little to keep out the damp fall chill here in this part of the kingdom where it seemed the sun never shone. She’d opted to buy more rations for this leg of her trip instead of a heavier blanket and now she wasn’t sure she’d made the best choice. Her stomach rumbled and she judged it early enough to break camp. Between the cold and the dreams, she wasn’t going to sleep so she might as well get up and get something to eat. With a low groan, she crawled out from the oiled canvas she’d draped over a frame of willow branches and stretched, popping the stiff muscles in her back. After five years, she should be used to sleeping on the ground; then again, this was probably the rockiest ground she’d ever had to make camp on. “It could be worse,” she mused, dragging her large pack out of the tent and sitting on a nearby boulder to rummage through it. Her shoulder cramped and, cursing, she shifted the heavy pack to relieve the strain. No, take that back, short of having to sleep in a nest of dragons, it couldn’t get much worse. Her supplies were running low. The canvas sack held only a few days worth of food now, and she was nowhere near a village. She’d come to expect a certain amount of creative license among the mapmakers she’d met so far, but this time it appeared as though the cartographer in question had greatly reduced the distance between the mountain villages, probably so he could fit more of them on the paper and thus charge more money for the product. She hoped the man was choking on his extra silvers. Lexanii drew a stale biscuit from the sack and nibbled it. The biscuit tasted like saw dust, and since there was a fifty-fifty chance that saw dust was indeed one of the key ingredients, Lexanii wasn’t surprised. She choked it down, took a swig of water and, with a sigh, decided there wasn’t much point in sticking around any longer. The next village was at -6-


least a week away, in good weather. The sooner she was out of this rocky, barren landscape the better. It took only a minute to dismantle the tent and stow it in the little sack she’d made for it. As always, she went about her morning chores with one eye on the skies. After so many years, it had become a habit— hopefully a habit that would save her life. No miserable bastard dragon would catch her unawares. For five years, she’d traveled the length and width of the kingdom gathering dragon lore. The five years before that she’d trained hard in the Royal Stealth Corps, all with one purpose in mind. She was going to kill dragons. Of course, everyone thought she was crazy. Dragons were myth—be careful or the dragons will get you. How many mothers used those words to keep their children from wandering too far from home? Not because they believed dragons would really carry off their children, but to keep them from getting into more mundane dangers. Dragons didn’t exist. “I’ll show them,” she vowed. It had become something of a mantra, one she had to repeat to herself often these days when hunger, cold, and loneliness threatened to crush her spirit. Some nights when she was huddled under her blanket, alone in the darkness, she wondered if she wasn’t a little crazy after all. She banished the thoughts, willed them to disappear like the fogbanks vanishing in the early morning sun. With her walking stick gripped firmly in her right hand, she stepped through the fading mists, leaning heavily on the staff with each step. Thank the Goddess she’d found such a stout stick to ease the burden of this heavy pack. Herbs, potions, and weapons made the canvas sack heavy, but it was the large journal that created most of the weight. Five years of knowledge and lore she’d collected on her wanderings filled the pages of the book. When she found the dragons, and she would, she’d use every scrap of -7-

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knowledge in that book to ensure that dragons receded back to where they belonged—fodder for stories meant to frighten children. And then, she could absolve her guilt and put her memories of Argon to rest. She hoped. Her body warmed quickly under the weight of her pack. The baggy pants she wore were thick and heavy with hidden pockets full of herbs and weapons. Poor fitting boots rubbed against her heel with each step and she prayed that soon this task would be complete. She was getting closer to her goal. She could feel it, could practically smell the same metallic bite in the air she remembered from that ill-fated picnic. The mountains loomed in the distance, like jagged teeth on the horizon. Every scrap of information she’d gathered seemed to indicate that the dragons came from the Borri Mountains. Every step brought her closer to fulfilling a promise to the boy she’d loved, a silent promise he hadn’t heard because he’d been flying away in the clutches of a dragon. Ten years she’d worked to get to this point. Years of training, years of study, years of loneliness. She wouldn’t fail now. She couldn’t. This miserable landscape offered few hiding places and next to no cover. Her usual dodge and dart method would be of little use here. Without trees to use as cover, she felt exposed and vulnerable. She kept one eye on the sky, her free hand on a small cloth pouch hidden in one of her pockets. Her skin tingled unpleasantly, like icy fingers had grazed her spine. Someone was watching her. “Damn it!” There was nothing within running distance. She was completely open to attack. Scanning the skies, she almost didn’t see it as it circled in the glare of the midmorning sun. Her fingers itched, and excitement overrode fear. After ten years, she’d have her first chance at revenge. -8-


Slowly it circled, drawing nearer and nearer at such a leisurely pace that her nerves began to fray. Her mother, an officer in the royal army, had told her stories of soldiers who’d broken down during the moments before battle. The wait, she’d told Lexii, was a killer. Losing your cool in those final moments could cost you your life once the fighting started. Quickly, she ran a mental check of her resources. She had the dagger and knew that the belly was widely considered to be a dragon’s soft spot. One well-placed stab could nick the beast in a vital organ, weakening it enough for other attacks to be effective. She had gypsol weed and bloodhound in her pockets—the first a powerful hallucinogen, the second extremely caustic. Other pockets contained vials of emetics and poisons, as well as powders to irritate the eyes and, as a last resort, a dust that would attack the nervous system leaving them both twitching helplessly. She didn’t want to have to use it, having seen the effects. They didn’t look pleasant and since there was no way to use it without being affected as well, she’d keep it in reserve. She’d thought it would attack slowly. Her research had shown that dragons seemed to have the ability to paralyze their victims. Certainly Argon had made no effort to save himself or hide from the approaching creature. But, after a few lazy circles, it swooped, a reckless dive that sent the blood draining from her face. Her muscles tense, she waited, and then at the last possible second, dove for a boulder that jutted from the ground. The dragon roared and scrambled to land on the uneven terrain. With a smirk, Lexanii reached into a pocket and withdrew a small linen pouch full of bloodhound and gently eased open the frayed ribbon holding it closed. Her other hand pressed to the ground, feeling the vibrations in the stone as the beast thundered closer. The boulder wasn’t very large, barely big enough to huddle behind, but it was enough. The dragon had to come to her, close enough that she could throw the -9-

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bloodhound in its face. Battle-high pumped excitement through her as she waited. When she saw the golden eye peer around the edge of the boulder, she threw the pouch and scrambled to her feet, running as fast as she could for the next boulder. The weight of her pack made her stumble awkwardly and she fell, scraping her face on a patch of rubble. She tasted blood and cursed, then spat on the ground and tried to get back to her feet, slipping on the stones that rolled and skittered under her on the exposed bedrock. Panicked, she risked a glance over her shoulder and saw that the dragon merely watched her. Evidently the bloodhound had no effect on it at all. It was at that moment she realized she might be in serious trouble. The dragon walked slowly towards her, its giant teal-colored head tilted to the side in obvious confusion. She wondered fleetingly if it was a female. Its wing tips were a soft rose pink, so it was certainly likely. She’d heard the females were more dangerous. “Come and get me, you ugly bitch.” Lexanii yelled, pushing herself upright with a mighty shove. Powerful gusts of wind threatened to send her flying back to the ground, but before she could stumble, her shoulders were caught in a vice-like grip and her feet were dangling inches above the rocky path. Desperate, she pulled a handful of crushed false iris and flung it into the dragon’s eyes. It roared and tightened its grip, claws piercing her flesh. Lexanii screamed and reached frantically for her dagger, but the dragon’s claws bit into her, preventing her from being able to use it. Her arms began to grow numb with pain. Her eyes began to water from the force of air rushing past her face. The ground dropped away, leaving her with a nauseating sense of vertigo. The dragon’s flight grew erratic. Lexanii mentally noted that at least the false iris had been effective. She wondered now how many of the herbs and potions she had would be completely useless. Still groping for -10-


her blade, she grinned when her numb fingers finally grazed the smooth wooden pommel. With it firmly in her grip, she swung out and, unable to reach the soft belly behind her, made contact with the tough scales on its face. It did nothing, merely slid harmlessly off the scales as if they were stone. She tried again, and still inflicted no damage. The mighty beast roared and shook her in its grip. Lexanii cried out as pain sliced through her. Her stomach lurched with nausea and her vision dimmed. Desperate, she took another frantic swipe then nearly sobbed in despair as again the blade slid uselessly against the scales. Screaming with rage, the dragon evidently decided it had had enough and swiped at her with its free forearm, the claws formed into a fist. Lexanii had enough time to curse before her neck snapped back and she slipped into darkness.

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Chapter Two The pile of papers on his desk never seemed to get smaller. Reports from scouts, discipline problems, supply inventories. It never ended. Sometimes being in charge was a huge pain in the ass. His tower office overlooked the landing field, which he found both a curse and a blessing. It was handy for him to be able to keep an eye on the comings and goings as well as the training, but it was also a bitter reminder that he seldom had the chance to take to the skies these days. Yeah, authority was the shits. Today he felt a powerful pull to be out flying. It wasn’t even a nice day; rainy, cloudy and chilly, it wasn’t exactly ideal weather for dragons to be flying in. Oddly though, he liked those days when he could shed his human body for the more resilient dragon form. He liked the feel of rain on his scales, the thrill of knowing that flying during such conditions could be dangerous if the winds blew from the north. Dragons took off and landed with such regularity that Argon barely noticed the familiar teal and rose-colored dragon that circled the landing field twice before making its descent. He was up to his eyebrows in a nottoo-promising projection on their dwindling supplies when he heard the three staccato roars that signaled an incoming scout with important news. Argon’s shoulders tensed and he tossed the report back into the pile on his desk. Please, Goddess, don’t let it start yet. Unfolding his tall body from the chair, he strode as quickly as possible from the office and down the winding tower stairs. He wanted to -12-


run, but protocol kept his pace at a hurried walk. His broad shoulders, having filled out from the scrawny bean-pole physique he’d so hated as a young man, grazed the narrow walls. Another reason to not run. It certainly wouldn’t do for the commander to be seen bouncing off the walls like an adolescent. As he made his way through the castle hall and out to the landing field, he wondered what had so excited Vander that he’d used the special signal. Vander, while a brave warrior, was well known for his eerily quiet ways. Never had Argon heard of his friend using any sort of signal call. This did not bode well. Vander’s teal body heaved with exhaustion and his rose-tinted wings, always a sore spot with the man, quivered with tiny muscle spasms. His golden eyes streamed tears that the vertical membrane couldn’t quite keep up with. Argon took in the scene with the all-seeing gaze of a trained commander and felt his breath hitch. If Vander was this badly off, he must have flown hard and fast to reach the mountain retreat. No, this certainly did not bode well. The crowd surrounding the exhausted dragon dispersed when they noticed Argon’s presence, but didn’t leave entirely. Moving off a little ways, they made a grand show of pretending to have other things to do. He let it pass for now, his curiosity too great to chastise them for their own interest. Then he noticed the crumpled body at Vander’s feet and cursed. “Shift back, you puling coward. I swear to the Goddess if you’ve killed a recruit, you’ll be ground-bound for a year!” As Argon watched, his face tight with rage, Vander shifted from his dragon form with a series of popping and squelching sounds that Argon had never really gotten used to. Goddess, but shifting was an unpleasant thing to witness. The bull-like young man, who stood before him now with a full beard and long tangled hair, would have surprised anyone who didn’t know -13-

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him. Most who saw his pink-tinged dragon form expected a woman or a slight, pretty boy, not this squat, burly man who would have fit in perfectly in the darkest city taverns. “I swear I didn’t mean to hurt her. She flung something in my eyes. Damn near blinded me.” Vander’s eyes were bloodshot and puffy and he looked like he’d been lost in a bottle for a good week. Argon turned to a group of trainees milling about the field and snapped at them to inform the healers a new recruit had been brought in. Grateful the healers would know what needed to be done, he turned back to Vander and the grubby child lying on the grass. “You know that only the recruiting scouts are to bring in children.” “Of course I know that. I couldn’t take a risk losing her.” A chill spread over Argon’s skin that had nothing to do with the icy drizzle falling. “What do you mean?” Vander shrugged. “Something different about this one. I’m no giftsensor, but I don’t think we’ve never seen an aura like this before. She was also immune to dragon-thrall. Bloody little thing fought me like a demon!” Argon frowned. The ability to detect a person’s gift was rare, and there was only one dragon who could do so at the retreat right now. Or more accurately, he was out on a recruiting run, but he resided here. All dragons could detect the presence of a prospective shifter by the hazy glow that surrounded them. Only Athol could read the colors of that haze, colors that indicated a shifter’s dragon-gifts. If Vander could detect something different about this one, well, Argon had no clue what that could mean. And to be immune to dragon-thrall? Something nagged at his mind, a whisper of memory that lay just beyond his reach. What was so significant about thrall immunity? Without the ability to paralyze their -14-


target, dragons would have a much harder time collecting recruits. He made a note to check the library for the information in the next few days. “Another girl, huh?” he asked, suddenly weary. “Yeah.” Again, Argon wanted to curse. While female dragons were excellent fighters, they had one major drawback, and he dreaded the thought that a good portion of his forces would be grounded in a coming battle because of their damned fertility cycles. “Alright, let’s get her up to the citadel and get this over with. I have enough paperwork on my desk to drown an entire army.” And this would only add to his backlog. The amount of paperwork involved in adding a new person to the ranks was mind-boggling, especially since all the forms just went into boxes for historical reference anyway. Vander laughed, a weak and tired laugh, but he scooped up the still unmoving girl and followed Argon across the field. “You know, you could have offered to carry her. You’re a lot bigger than me.” Argon felt a stab of guilt. Vander had been a friend before Argon’s promotion had altered their relationship. “You broke the rules, Van. I could have given you a harsher punishment.” Vander snorted and Argon was sure he heard some pithy comment, but chose to ignore it. The citadel loomed like a giant crystal dome against the dreary gray skies. Argon thought it pretentious and overdone compared to the simple stone keep, not to mention the creepy feeling he always got when he passed the threshold, but customs had to be followed. The ancient wizard himself had created it with magic and that alone was reason enough for most of the dragons to respect the building. Goddess knew he didn’t want to be the first commander in the Dragon Wing’s five hundred year history who flouted custom. Even if being in the damned thing made his skin itch. -15-

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Inside the crystal dome, there was a single flat stone, smooth and unadorned. He motioned a panting Vander to lay his burden on it and stand aside, noticing that the poor girl had a massive pack strapped to her back that made her position look painfully awkward. He wondered if they should bother taking it off her, but then Carson ran in, his bag of healing tools clasped in his hand, his expression decidedly annoyed. “Carson.” Argon greeted the older man and winced. Carson still hadn’t forgiven him for crashing into the healing hall’s herb gardens when Argon had been a green recruit showing off his questionable flying skills. For ten years the man had held that grudge. “Can’t you keep this great brute from bashing around new recruits?” “She attacked me!” Vander protested. “Well, she seems a formidable opponent for a dragon. I’m amazed you got away with your life.” Carson’s sarcastic comment sent color flooding to Vander’s face, but he kept silent. Anyone who’d been at the retreat long knew it was impossible to best Carson in a contest of wit. Argon and Vander watched silently as Carson shifted to his dragon form, a regal black and silver that more than half the men at the retreat envied. This was one of those times that the limitations of dragon magic were most evident. The powers each dragon shifter had could only be used in dragon form, and those with the gift of healing found that a serious drawback most of the time. “We may as well shift too, otherwise we won’t be able to hear him complain about how stupid I am.” Vander took a few steps away to give himself room to shift. Argon sighed and did the same. He’d have to shift anyway, since the induction ceremony required the presence of three dragons: the Commander of the Wings, the scout who had brought the recruit in, and a representative from the healing hall. Argon had attended many such inductions in his roll as Commander and he never failed to be affected by -16-


the recruited child’s terror. It brought back his own experience as a young man sitting on that flat stone, paralyzed and unable to move under the power of dragon thrall. Every time he came in here, he remembered the sight of three massive heads peering down at him, sharp teeth glistening in the sun. Concussion, came Carson’s mind call. Argon wasn’t really surprised. Dragons generally had a hard time judging their own strength, and Vander was especially bad at it. Can you wake her? Yes. Let’s get this ceremony over with so I can get back to the young bucks that have hurt themselves trying to outdo your youthful exploits. Argon snorted at the jibe, but dutifully said the words that would bind the girl to the dragon wings. It bothered him, as it always did, that these kids were given no choice, but he had no say in the matter. Custom was custom, and he had no power to change the rules. She was stirring now, and though her filthy matted hair still covered her face, he saw with some trepidation that this was no young girl. The unmistakable mounds that stretched her stained and threadbare tunic were obvious now that he actually looked. Something like dread curled in his stomach. Inducting children was bad enough, but teenagers were a miserable pain to have around. He should know; he’d been a thorn in the old commander’s side ten years ago. It was probably a good thing she was unconscious during the actual ceremony, otherwise they could have a struggle on their hands and she’d likely get hurt again. With the ceremony complete and the residual energies dissipating, Argon stepped back and let Carson deal with her injuries. A moment later, her eyes opened and she leapt from the stone slab, her posture low and ready to attack. He recognized the posture as that of a trained warrior, and he recognized the woman. Lexanii. -17-

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He laughed, but in dragon form it came out as a series of guttural growls that immediately drew her attention to him. For the Goddess sake, help me thrall her before she tries to attack us! Carson called, his usually biting sarcasm replaced by outright confusion and—awe? She’s immune to thrall. How do you think she managed to attack me in the first place? Vander replied, his tail whipping back and forth in agitation. Argon watched her slow retreat, unable to believe she was actually here. A piece of his past he’d thought long gone, a memory that still gave him sleepless nights. Damn, he really didn’t need this added strain. When she reached for a pouch at her hip, his warrior reflexes took over and he realized that unless they shifted back, she’d fling at them whatever it was that had nearly blinded Vander. Now that he looked closer, he could see there were several odd looking bulges in her baggy trousers. Goddess only knew what kinds of things she had hidden away that could harm them. We have to shift back, he warned. But that’s not protocol. Vander called. Do you want her to blind you again? Shift back. Now! You first, Van. It’s obvious you’re the one she’s most angry with. And it was. She cast wary glances at himself and Carson, but when she looked at Vander’s arrow shaped face, even a blind man could see murder was her intent. Keeping one eye on his friend and one on the woman he’d once considered his best friend, he heard the wet sounds of a dragon shifting back to human form. The look on her face would have been amusing, if it hadn’t been for the fact that she’d somehow pulled a dagger out of one of those odd little pockets. She looked like she was going to faint or vomit, but still she stood, determination etched onto her face.

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Argon realized it might not have been smart to have Vander shift first, after all. His human form wasn’t all that much more reassuring to a lone woman than the dragon form. Carson, you go next. See if you can calm her down. He’d have gone next himself, but he worried about what she’d do when she saw him. If she fainted, there would only be Vander to catch her before she cracked her head on the marble floor. He didn’t think Van would want to get that close to her just yet. I know her. We grew up together. He hoped that would be enough for the older man to understand the strange situation, but it was too late to say anything more as Carson had already begun his transformation. Nobody could say the healer wasn’t a smart man, especially not anyone who’d matched wits with him. He’d understood the meaning behind Argon’s words and his soft calm voice would be important in this situation. “Calm down, young lady. You are in no danger here.” Lexanii’s eyes narrowed warily. Argon took a moment to study the shimmer of power surrounding her and knew he’d have to tell Vander he’d been right. There was something odd about her. “Who are you? What are you?” Her voice had matured, he thought. Not that she’d had an overly girlish voice, but now it was deep and rich, like honey. “It’s a little difficult to explain. If you would care to put down your weapon and have a seat, I’m sure the Commander here will explain everything to you.” She hesitated a moment before nodding and slipping the dagger back into its secret hiding spot. Once she had seated herself on the very edge of the stone slab, he shifted, curious to see what her reaction would be at this strange reunion.

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Chapter Three She didn’t think, didn’t even hesitate. Lexanii gathered up ten years of anger and pain and stalked forward until she was only a foot away from him, then slapped him as hard as she could. Miserable bastard didn’t even flinch. “You slimy, cowardly son of a bitch!” “Nice to see you too, Lexanii.” She lifted her arm to slap him again, but he caught her wrist easily. Without an ounce of regret, she brought up her knee and smashed it into his balls. He dropped like a stone, and Goddess help her, she wanted to drag him off the floor and do it again. Maybe a good swift kick in the ribs would be as satisfying. The older man rushed forward to pull her away from Argon as she prepared to find out. “Light of the God child, that’s your commanding officer you just attacked!” “The hell he is! He’s an insensitive ass who obviously cares nothing for the family and friends he left behind. You should be whipped. Stoned.” The short man leapt forward now, pinned her arms to her sides with his huge hands. Her skin crawled and she wanted to run, but more than that, she wanted Argon to suffer. She spit on him. He didn’t notice, wrapped up in the pain she’d inflicted on him, but it made her feel better—a little better. Nothing short of skinning him alive would make her feel totally better. “How dare you! You insufferable pig. Why aren’t you dead?” -20-


“Good question,” he gasped. “At this moment, death would be welcome.” “I can’t believe you’re alive. After all these years, and I—" She couldn’t go on. Her head hurt like a bitch, and her arms throbbed from the dragon’s grip. Suddenly weary, she pulled away from the short man and stumbled backwards to lean against the stone table. Ten years of her life she’d committed every waking hour to avenging his death, and he’d been alive, hiding like a child. What had he become? What did all this mean? She was mortally afraid she wouldn’t like the answers. Argon was struggling to get back to his feet, and she noted with some smugness that he kept his eyes on her the whole time. Good, let him worry. While he’d been playing dragon commander—whatever the hell that meant—she’d been starving and freezing, enduring taunting and ridicule. She was suddenly conscious of the fact that she must look like lady death herself. She was filthy, scrawny, wearing shabby clothes that hung off her and smelled like hell. Her hair was tangled and matted with dirt and grass, and the cut was uneven from the last time she’d hacked at it with one of her daggers. He, on the other hand, looked fit and healthy, except for the current paleness of his face. His clothes were clean and well tailored. Damn the man for having the nerve to look so good after all these years! He’d filled out, lost the gangly awkwardness he’d hated as a boy. His brown hair was neatly trimmed and frosted with gold from spending so much time in the sun. Sharp blue eyes, a stubborn chin that he’d evidently gotten the hang of shaving, and the most kissable mouth she’d ever seen. She could kick him again for looking so damned appetizing. “Let me explain.” “Explain?” He was moving towards her now, slowly and with something of a limp. She wanted to back away, perfectly aware of the fact -21-

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that the man she’d known so well, had loved and hoped to marry, was a murdering dragon. Hell, yeah, she wanted an explanation. “I wanted to tell you that I was alive.” Lexii snorted and turned, deliberately giving him her back. “Lexii, please. There was no choice. What we do here is entirely secret and too important to risk exposure just so we can ease the minds of our families. You have to know I’d never do anything to hurt you or my family.” She choked out a laugh and turned back to face him. He was close now, close enough that she could have slapped him again if she’d wanted too. Part of her wanted to. The other part, a very small but vocal part, wanted to wrap her arms around him and cry for joy that he was alive. She might have given into that urge if his words hadn’t ripped open the scar on her heart, the wound he’d inflicted on her the day he’d gone missing. Had he forgotten the terrible things he’d said to her that day? “Argon, what happened to you? What is this place? I think I deserve to know.” “Of course you do. This is the retreat, high in the Borri Mountains. We’re a secret army formed five hundred years ago by the kingdom’s last wizard to defend against an army he foresaw.” Lexanii blinked. Stared. Blinked again. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” He watched her like he was waiting for her to have a breakdown. “I don’t blame you for being doubtful.” “I just saw three dragons turn into men. That’s crazy enough, but that you’re here as some secret club, waiting for your chance to save the kingdom from an enemy a long dead wizard foresaw is just ludicrous. Talk about delusions of grandeur.” She was becoming hysterical, but, Goddess help her, she was pretty sure she was entitled. “Calm down, Lexii.” -22-


“Don’t tell me to calm down! I’ve spent ten years training and studying to kill dragons. I’ve been ridiculed and shunned by my friends. I’ve broken my parents’ hearts. For nothing.” Goddess, she was going to cry. She hated criers. “I’m sorry, I really am. But it’s not for nothing. Once you learn how to shift, you’ll understand how important what we do is. All of your training can be put to use here to aid our cause. Vander will show you to your new quarters.” He’d gone all stuffy, which almost distracted her from the import of his words. “Wait, did you say when I learn to shift?” “Of course, why do you think you were brought here?” “To be lunch,” she muttered, making the older man snort and the short man choke back a laugh. “You’re one of us, Lexii.” Why did she suddenly feel like she was looking at her parents’ commanding officer? “The hell I am. You won’t make me into one of you freaks.” “You already are one of us. You just need to learn how to control it.” She stood and paced away from him, feeling like he’d just slapped her. “You can’t make me do anything.” “We’ll need every dragon we can get in the skies if news comes that the enemy is making its move.” “Argon, you can’t be serious. It’s already been, what, five hundred years? What makes you think this unknown army is going to attack any time soon?” “We don’t know. It could happen in a hundred years, or it could happen tomorrow. What the wizard foresaw was a nightmare. The king’s army decimated, the royal family executed, the people enslaved. We can’t take the risk.”

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Lexanii sighed. This had to be some kind of nightmare. None of what she’d seen or heard made sense. She needed a bath, a good meal, and a comfortable bed. Maybe then she’d see things more clearly. As if he’d read her mind, Argon signaled to the other young man, the one he’d called Vander, reminding him of his instructions to show her around. “We’ll talk again in the morning.” Then he strode from the strange building, his solid boots making little noise on the marble floor. At the doorway, he stopped and turned back, throwing her a boyish grin that sent a jolt straight to her heart. “Get some rest. You look terrible.” She laughed weakly and fell into step behind the nervous looking man with the bushy beard. Hopefully everything would look better tomorrow. It certainly couldn’t get any stranger. Two hours later, she was clean and full for the first time in longer than she could remember. She’d marveled at the bathing room with its hot running water, real soap, and soft knobby towels. Her last bath had consisted of a brisk scrub down with a handful of bubble weed in an icy stream almost a week before. While bubble weed was a good sanitizer, it had a peculiar smell she’d always found unpleasant—kind of a rotting vegetable sort of smell that generally left her feeling less clean then before the bath. After a long soak, she reluctantly pulled herself from the tub and grimaced at the murky water she’d left behind. A full-length mirror caught her attention, and Lexanii found herself looking at her own reflection for the first time in five years. Oh, she’d seen the blurry image reflected back when she’d looking into ponds and rivers but now, for the first time, she saw how truly low she’d fallen.

-24-


Lexanii had never considered herself a beauty, though there were certainly enough boys who’d sniffed around her before she’d gone crazy. Her long black hair hung unevenly in tangled ropes down onto her shoulders. Her face looked hollow and her cheeks had a sunken look that she’d always associated with the beggars who’d congregated outside the duke’s kitchens. Goddess, she could have hidden half her belongings in the bags under her eyes. It hardly mattered what she looked like, but it didn’t escape her attention that she’d turned into a wan, haggard looking woman for no damned reason. Looking at the strange woman reflected in the mirror, Lexanii wondered how Argon had even recognized her. She barely recognized herself. Vander had waited patiently outside the door until she’d emerged, her black hair still wet and tangled. He’d studiously avoided looking at her and she wondered why. Did he feel guilty for hurting her, or was she that sad and pathetic looking that he couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with her? She’d seen that before, people would pass her and avert their eyes. Lexanii knew it was people’s way of pretending there were no starving people living on the streets. After all, it would take only one small turn for any one of them to lose everything they had and end up there too. Vander led her down a long hallway lined with light stained doors, each emblazoned with a dragon. Each dragon was carefully painted with two colors with no two alike that she could see. She stopped behind her guide at a door decorated with a plain wooden dragon. When Vander opened the door and motioned her inside, Lexanii hesitated just a second before stepping across the threshold. The room was small with only a bed, dresser, and small shelf, but after five years in a tent, it looked like a palace instead of a tiny barracks room. Lexanii gulped and dropped her pack on the worn rug beside the bed. -25-

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“This is mine? Just mine?” “Of course.” Of course. She’d expected a barracks room with at least a dozen beds. Her parents had lived in such a place before they’d had her and her mother had been promoted to an officer. Then they’d lived in a tiny cottage crammed up beside other tiny cottages where the other officers with families lived. It made her tiny childhood room look like a broom closet. “Leave your things here. They’ll be safe while you go and eat.” Lexanii bit her lip. She’d not gone more than a few feet away from that battered and dirty pack in five years. There was no point in lugging it around with her anymore, and yet, as she shut the door behind her and followed the gruff man back down he hall, she felt naked and vulnerable. After she’d climbed out of the bathtub, she’d found clean clothes waiting, which she’d gladly put on, but now realized she had no weapons at all. The dining hall was one large room with three long rows of tables. Along the front ran a fourth table, this one laden down with dishes of food and pitchers of various drinks. The room was about half full, the tables crowded in spots with small groups eating amongst friendly chatter and the sounds of spoons scraping against bowls. Lexanii’s stomach clenched with tension. She felt hundreds of eyes following her as she made her way towards the buffet. She wanted to run but pride kept her feet moving forward at a casual pace. Despite her nerves, Lexanii ate three bowls of the rich vegetable and barley stew, rolls dripping with honey, pastries filled with spiced meat, tea and even a small mug of beer. She ate until her pants felt tight, and still she looked at the buffet with longing. Gradually she began to relax when it became obvious that none of the other diners were going to stand up and start denouncing her as -26-


crazy. It wouldn’t surprise her if all of these people were freaks, so really, what did she have to worry about? When a small group of women stopped beside her, Lexanii reached instinctively for the dagger in her pocket and felt a moment of panic when she remembered it was not longer there. “Hi. You’re the new one, right?” a tall, blond beauty asked. She had a friendly smile and warm brown eyes. Lexanii felt herself relaxing slightly. She nodded and smiled weakly. “I heard Vander messed you up pretty good,” the next one commented. She was short and plump with raven black hair and sharp green eyes. “Vander never could control himself.” There was a wealth of hidden meaning in that comment and Lexanii glanced at the young man. To her surprise, he was blushing beneath the scraggly beard. “Oh, leave the poor man alone, Bitsy. You jumped him. You can’t expect a gentle roll in the hay after that.” The blond laughed, elbowing her friend in the ribs. “Besides, we all know you like it rough. Sorry, you must think we’re incredibly rude. I’m Pamea, this is Bitsy and Melaranii.” “Hi, I’m Lexanii.” Before she could protest, the three women shoved Vander off the bench and crowded around her like they’d been friends for years. “So tell us, did you really kick the commander in the balls?” asked the sweet looking redhead in a conspiratorial whisper. Lexanii winced. “More of a knee shot really.” The three girls laughed. “I wish I’d seen it. I was covering Carson’s patients in the healing hall, but Ferris and Paul saw it through the citadel walls.” “You don’t like Argon?” “Oh, honey, of course we do. He’s a prime piece of meat that’s just tantalizingly out of reach. I swear he holds every one of those protocols in -27-

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front of his groin like a shield, but there isn’t a woman under forty who wouldn’t like to tangle up the sheets with him.” She wasn’t going to touch that. As mad as she was at him, she didn’t like the idea of hundreds of women lusting after him, either. “I cornered him in the bathroom once, and let me tell you, the man is wasting a very lovely body,” Pamea whispered. “Unfortunately he’s slippery as a snake and managed to dodge me before I could convince him that he should ignore the rules about commanders fraternizing with the lower ranks.” “He propositioned me to be his mistress.” The instant the words were out of her mouth she felt her face flood with color. She didn’t know why she said it. Had five years of having nobody to talk to left her that desperate for any kind of personal conversation? “And you bagged him for it? Goddess, I’d have stripped my clothes off so fast they’d have turned to dust.” Bitsy looked appalled. Lexanii laughed softly. “It was years ago, before he—before he was taken, actually the day he was taken.” And she didn’t want to talk about it. Oh, Goddess, why had she brought it up? Her heart clenched painfully at the memory of him being carried off, of the harsh and terrible words she’d shouted at him only minutes before the dragon had swooped from the skies. “I’m sorry, I’m not feeling well. I think I’ll go to bed early.” They looked disappointed, but didn’t try to stop her as she stood and slid off the bench. Silently, she walked the length of the hall, past hundreds of faces ranging from toothless oldster to adolescent. Only yesterday, she’d dreamed of finding such a huge mass of the dreaded enemy. Only yesterday, her plan had been to poison their food supply, not sit down and share their food, share gossip and make friends with them. Lexanii shook her head at the strange turn her life had taken. Though the moon was barely up and the air was still full of the sounds of children playing and adults talking, she retreated to her room, -28-


suddenly craving the quiet and isolation she’d become used to during her years on the road. The room, with its bare stone walls and tiny window, was warm despite the continuing drizzle outside. She eyed the bed longingly, but decided it was too early to sleep. She needed to study her notes, see if there was anything in them that could have pointed to this surreal place where people could become dragons. Her journal was heavy, its cover stained and grubby. She’d carried it with her for five years, filling it with interviews, medical knowledge, diagrams and sketches, and of course, theories and battle plans. By the light of a single candle, she flipped through the pages, refreshing her memory with the bits of information that hadn’t seemed relevant in the past. She’d concentrated mostly on the theories on how to kill dragons, and now—well, all the information was irrelevant. Harvest moon, 7th day of waning in the twenty-eighth year of King Tarrin’s reign. Interview with Halmon Crofter—Brescott Village. Halmon claims to have seen dragons fighting in the skies north of Brescott. One appeared to be green and blue, the other yellow and red. The blue and green dragon was seriously injured after the fight and flew west. Lexanii frowned as she reread the passage. If dragons had been merely wild beasts as she’d always thought, the incident could be passed off as nothing. Now, knowing that dragons were actually an elite fighting force, people with strange powers, well, now the old man’s story meant something. Goddess’s Moon, 1st day of waxing in the twenty-eighth year of King Tarrin’s Reign. Interview with homeless woman calling herself Bat—Merchants’ quarter, Largoas city. -29-

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Bat claims that she once saw a dragon appear in the middle of the market square, early in the morning. She’d heard footsteps and had gone out of her alley to see who was wandering the streets so early in the morning, hoping it wasn’t the police. There had been a man walking down the street, but, since he didn’t wear the uniform of a constable, she was going to go back to sleep. Then suddenly she heard a terrible noise and a dragon appeared out of thin air. It was dark crimson with lighter wing tips, and it carried off a young homeless child named Vander. “Damn,” she muttered. When she’d listened to the old woman talk, she’d wondered if that might be the same dragon that’d taken Argon, and now, images of the day he’d been taken swamped her mind. Guilt, anger, and fear pummeled her until she viciously pushed it away. Argon wasn’t dead. She hadn’t been responsible for his death. Lexanii had told herself that she wasn’t to blame, but she knew it wasn’t true. If she’d stayed, if she’d accepted his offer, he wouldn’t have been alone. With her fists clenched tightly, she forced herself to go back to the reports in the book. It did no good to dwell on the past, especially now that things had changed so drastically. Turning to a fresh page, she made copies of all the reports that hadn’t fit the normal pattern and then, when her back began cramping and her eyes began to sting, she snuffed the candle and climbed into the bed. The sheets smelled sweet and were crisp to the touch. The blanket was warm and soft against her cheek. With a sigh of contentment, she snuggled into the feather mattress and the fluffy pillow. Twenty minutes later, she heaved a sigh and climbed back out of the comfy bed. It was too comfy. “I don’t believe I’m going to do this,” she muttered, gathering up her belongings and, after a moment’s debate, the blanket as well, then slipped out the door and out into the night. -30-


In the center of a copse of towering fir trees, she pitched her tent and spread out her blankets. With the night sounds as a backdrop and the gentle pull of a mountain breeze rustling her tent, she felt safe and content. Who would have thought that the comforts she’d longed for over the last five years could become so confining? Lexanii sighed once, pulled the flannel blanket up to her chin so she could feel the soft fabric brush against her skin, and was asleep within moments.

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Chapter Four Argon hadn’t gotten more than an hours sleep. As he’d eaten his dinner, alone as usual in his private dinning room, he’d remembered the day that he’d been recruited. Not the parts where he’d been terrified of the dragons who’d surrounded him or the furious rage that had burned in his gut when they’d told him he could never go home. No, he’d remembered what a complete jackass he’d been to Lexanii that afternoon. He’d propositioned her to be his mistress. Granted, he’d only said it to scare her off, having been less oblivious to her advances than he’d let on. Oh yes, he’d known she wanted to marry him, that she’d thought herself in love with him, but she’d been too naïve to realize it would never have been permitted. Even if he hadn’t already been betrothed to Ladywhatever-her-name-was, Lexii was a commoner and he the son of a duke. So he’d lain awake half the night, wondering if she was going to make things more difficult because of that proposition. Goddess knew she’d always been impulsive and hot-tempered and from what he’d seen yesterday, that hadn’t changed in ten years. And he’d lain awake remembering the lovely young girl he’d wanted to bed more than anything back then. She looked like death warmed over now, and it saddened him beyond measure. She’d wasted her life trying to avenge him. And didn’t that give him something to think about? -32-


He paced his private dining room, his stomach clenched with a feeling of dread that did not bode well for the upcoming breakfast meeting. A light knock on the door pulled him from his moody pacing. “Come,” he called when he stood at the wide window, his arms crossed at the small of his back, the image of calm authority once again. “Commander,

I

couldn’t

find

her,”

the

young

boy,

Deekan,

announced. Argon gaped silently at the page for a moment. “What do you mean you can’t find her?” “She wasn’t in her room. All of her belongings are gone.” She wouldn’t dare. Goddess, this was Lexanii, of course she’d dare. Impulsive and hot-tempered, wasn’t that how he’d always remembered her? He should have known she’d run away, should have posted guards at her door. “Bring me Vander and his wing. We’ll need to send out a search party for her.” “But, Commander, how is it possible for her to run away? The induction spell keeps us from leaving of our own free will.” “Lexanii seems to be immune to dragon-thrall. It’s possible the spell had no effect on her either.” And if he hadn’t been so absorbed in his own guilty memories, that would have occurred to him before now. Damn. Deekan disappeared out the door and, after grabbing a handful of sausage rolls and a few apples, Argon followed. By the time he reached the open field, Vander’s wing had assembled—ten men and women including their leader, the best squadron in the wings. “What’s going on, Commander?” Vander stepped forward, his hair more scraggly looking than usual due to the early hour. Vander had never adapted well to military hours. Argon didn’t know much about the man’s life before he’d been recruited, but he almost suspected that -33-

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Vander had been even more pampered and spoiled than Argon himself had been. Unfortunately, Vander refused to talk about his past. “Lexanii is gone.” Argon raised an eyebrow when his old friend swore fluently. Vander had also never adapted well to military formality. It was too bad. He’d have made an excellent officer. “We’ll start a search right away. Should have anticipated that.” Shaking his head, Vander turned to his wing members and began issuing instructions. The sound of three staccato roars broke the early morning calm, and Argon looked up to see the silhouette of a dragon circling, preparing to make its landing dive. “Now what?” he muttered, shielding his eyes against the sun rising over the mountain peaks to the east. “It’s Pel!” someone shouted, and Argon saw the gleam of puce and knew it was true. “It’s about bloody time. Clear the field! Give him some room.” Argon ordered as he sprinted off the field. The small crowd watched as the dragon made his descent. It was painfully obvious to all of them that Pel was in bad shape. His wings never extended to their full extent and his tail drooped, making his flight pattern awkward and erratic. Argon couldn’t help but wince at the stumbling landing. What the hell had happened to him? Pel had been gone two weeks on a scouting mission that should have lasted only a few days. A few more days and Argon would have put him down as a casualty. It had happened a few times before; dragons would leave on scouting runs and never return. Nobody knew how the scouts had been killed, but because they were all spellbound not to run away, death or capture were the only possibilities. -34-


Again, Argon felt the painful clutch in his stomach that had become a common occurrence since his first week as Commander four years ago. Pel shifted, dropping to the ground as his exhausted body struggled to draw in air. After sending orders for a healer to be fetched, Argon sprinted to the man’s side and knelt in the dew-dampened grass. “Pel, what happened? Are you all right?” “They’re coming. I saw them. Three days march. Need to prepare.” Before

Argon

could

ask

a

single

question,

he

was

shoved

unceremoniously to the side by a powerful black fore-claw. With a growl, Carson stood over his new patient, using his gift to heal the numerous small wounds and the strain of so many days spent in dragon form. When Carson finally shifted back to human form, Argon stepped forward and glared at the healer. “Carson, I don’t care what kind of grudge you have against me, you will not toss your commanding officer around like he’s nothing more than a fly.” “Sorry, Commander,” Carson bit out. “This man needs bed rest, at least a week.” “I need to question him right away. Bed rest will have to wait.” “Impossible. He’s in no shape to be interrogated.” “Carson, he saw an army coming, three days march away. We need to find out what he saw. We don’t have time to wait on this.” Carson bit his lip, his crooked teeth nearly drawing blood as he digested this news. “Very well, but make it quick.” Twenty minutes later, Argon had all the information he was going to get from the scout and instructed some of the younger healers to carry Pel off to the healing hall. Then he remembered that Lexanii was still missing and he cursed silently. Damn her. He didn’t have time to go chasing after her now. He had preparations to oversee. A small part of him wondered if it might be better to let her go. Having her here, untrained and unruly, was an aggravation he didn’t need. On the other hand, there was still the -35-

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mystery of her unexplained abilities and strange aura— something told him it would be important. “What’s all the commotion about?” Argon closed his eyes at the sound of Lexanii’s voice and mentally counted to ten. He had to do it twice before he felt the rage settle enough that he could turn and speak to her with the decorum that protocol demanded. A commander never loses his temper in front of the troops. Something told him that would be a problem with Lexanii around. “Where the hell have you been?” “Sleeping.” He ground his teeth. She looked like she’d just slipped out of her lover’s bed. Her hair was tousled, her clothing rumpled, and her eyes looked soft and dreamy. “Your room was empty, your belongings missing.” “I couldn’t handle being inside, so I pitched my tent over there in that little grove.” She shrugged, yawned, and stretched as though she hadn’t thrown half the retreat into chaos. “Well, you’d better get used to being in the barracks. It’s improper conduct to sleep anywhere but in your private quarters.” “Improper

conduct?”

She

snorted,

all

the

sleepy

softness

disappearing instantly. “Please. Don’t pull that authoritative bullshit on me, Argon. I’ve seen you swim unclothed. I’ve seen you fall off your horse into a mud-puddle. I even saw your father take a strap to your hide. Trust me, the whole commander of the army routine isn’t going to work with me.” He had a feeling he was going to be counting to ten a lot around her. “This is neither the time nor the place for reminiscences. We need to talk, in private.” She shrugged again and he wondered at the change in her attitude. She seemed almost cheerful this morning. He felt another stab of anxiety in his stomach as he led her back to the castle. -36-


Lexanii knew something was wrong. She’d woken to the sounds of people rushing around and then the sound of a dragon roaring. Some instinct told her this wasn’t a normal morning at the retreat. Added to that, she could sense Argon’s anxiety like a fog bank. Something was definitely wrong. He led her through the narrow walled corridors to an arched doorway that opened to a winding staircase. He didn’t speak, simply walked and expected her to comply. She was curious enough to follow him without complaint—this time. At the top of the stairs was another door, which led to an office with wide windows that overlooked the large field where they’d just been. His office, she realized. My, my! The second son finally rated an office. When the door closed, he turned to her, his face grim, looking nothing like the gangly boy she remembered. She’d liked the boy, but found the man intimidating and fascinating. “I’m going to come right to the point,” he began. “The war we’ve waited five-hundred years for is about three days away.” Shit, she hadn’t expected that. “Three days?” “We need to get you trained as quickly as possible. Athol is due back tomorrow, but I can have someone teach you how to shift, get you used to flying today.” “No, you can’t.” “Excuse me?” “I’m not shifting, I’m not flying, and I’m not becoming one of you dragon-things. I won’t do it.” “There is a war coming! In three days, we will face an enemy that you can’t possibly imagine. The entire kingdom’s survival depends on us. Is

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that what your parents would want you to do? To hide here in the mountains?” “That’s not fair, Argon. And I didn’t say I wasn’t willing to help, just that I’m not going to do it as a dragon.” “Don’t be stupid, Lexii. You can’t fight dragons as a human.” She pulled her pack off her shoulder—only just now realizing she’d strapped it on out of habit. She started tossing things on his desk— pouches of herbs, vials of potion, packets of seeds and finally the ragged, grubby journal. “I can fight dragons—with that.” “A book?” “This book has five years of my research—hundreds of interviews with people who’ve seen dragons, historians, lore-masters, herb witches. There are stories of dragons fighting in the northeast, of sudden appearances in market squares and city streets. I know a lot about dragons, Argon. I have poisons and potions that can debilitate and kill them.” He looked at her as if she was insane. Maybe she was. Now that she’d seen dragons close up, she couldn’t help wonder what the hell she’d been thinking. A pouch of herbs and a few ounces of poison and she’d thought she could sneak up a mountain and kill hundreds of massive beasts with armor like scales. Goddess, she had been crazy. “Don’t look at me like that. What did you think I’d planned to do? Run into the den of the beast with a sword in each hand, screaming my head off like an actor in a play? Just get me close to the enemy’s camp and I’ll be able to disable at least some of them.” “What did you say about dragons fighting in the northeast?” She sighed and flipped to the interviews she’d transcribed the night before. “Here. Read them for yourself.” She paced as he read through the interviews. After he was done with those, he flipped through the rest of -38-


the journal. Amused, she watched his expression shift from shock to rage to barely suppressed humor. “You do know that at least half of this is nonsense right?” She shrugged. “And the other half isn’t.” “I’m not going to drop you in the middle of danger with a bunch of plant pieces that may or may not work. You need to learn to use your gifts.” “Don’t be stupid, Argon. If you try and make me fight with two days of training, I’ll get killed. I won’t have a chance. I spent five years training with the Royal Stealth Squad. Let me do what I’ve been trained for.” He was going to forbid it. She could see it in his face. Then he sighed and dropped into his chair. When he rubbed the heel of his hand over his cheeks and stabbed his fingers into his hair, she figured she’d won. Until she saw the stubborn gleam in his eyes. That’s when she knew she was in trouble. “We’ll have to agree to a compromise then.” She eyed him warily. “What sort of compromise?” “I’ll allow you to sneak into the enemy’s camp and attempt to disable their dragons, but I want you to learn to shift and to fly. If you get in trouble, I want you to be able to get out. You don’t want to be caught and forced to serve them.” She snorted again. “They won’t force me to serve them, Argon. Look how much trouble you’re having and I used to think I was in love with you.” Lexii winced. She really hadn’t meant to say that. She saw the flicker of some emotion cross his face before the mask of authority slid back into place. “Was there nothing in your research about thrall?” “Thrall?” “How do you think dragons enchant the children they carry off? Do you not think they’d run off if they saw a giant beast flying at them?” -39-

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She searched her memories of the day she’d watched Argon fly away. He’d been staring at the skies like he’d been lost in a dream, completely oblivious to her panicked screams for him to get to safety. Nobody else had mentioned anything like that, perhaps because they’d chalked it up to the children freezing with fear. “How come I didn’t freeze up when I was attacked?” “Good question, and one I can’t answer. It seems you’re immune to dragon-thrall, but how that could be, I don’t know.” “Then it won’t be a problem. They won’t force me to serve them.” “There are spells and potions that are more powerful than dragonthrall. I’m not going to give in on this. Either you learn to shift and fly or you stay here.” Lexanii groaned and moved to the window. On the massive field below, people assembled, organized lines of men and women who wore matching tunics. There was a line of blue, a line of green and a line of red, each spread in a straight line running parallel to the others. She watched, curious about the large bundles of cloth each of them carried. Then they shifted in unison forming three lines of dragons on the field and Lexanii saw with some surprise that the bundles were in fact large bags that now fit over the dragon’s necks. Scales gleamed in the early morning sun, a rainbow of colors with multi-hued tints and highlights. The bitter hatred she’d nursed for ten years came, but now it was softened, the sharp edges dulled. Harder, she supposed, to hold onto hatred when he was alive, and the enemy she’d hunted turned out to be simply men using a special skill to defend the kingdom. “All right, I’ll do it. But on one condition.” She watched his gaze harden and guessed he wasn’t used to being given orders and ultimatums. Too bad. He’d have to get used to them coming from her. She wasn’t going to sit back and take orders from him either. “What condition?” -40-


“I’ll learn to fly—if you teach me.”

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Chapter Five Lexanii stretched awkwardly as her massive amethyst wings unfolded. Her legs felt thick and the muscles bunched oddly as she struggled to keep her balance. A tremor of fear rippled through her. How could she learn to control this form? She opened her mouth to tell Argon that this could never work, but instead of words a feeble growl came out. “Don’t fight it, Lexii,” Argon called. “Your body knows what to do.” She snorted, and the force of the exhalation sent Argon stumbling across the courtyard. Damn! She couldn’t even apologize to him this way. With a low growl, she concentrated and forced her body back to its human form. “I’m sorry, Argon. I just don’t think I can do this.” Feeling slightly nauseated, she dragged in a deep breath. “You can. And you must. I won’t approve you to fight unless you can shift properly and fly to safety if need be.” His eyes were hard, his jaw stubbornly set. She knew from past experience that when he made up his mind there was no budging him. “You have no right to tell me I can’t go. I’m a grown woman now,” she snarled. He wasn’t the only one who could be stubborn. “As commander of this army, I most certainly do have that right! Now shift and get your butt in the air. I’ll follow once you’re up. We may be able to speak mind to mind in dragon form, but I won’t know until we’ve both shifted.” Lexii’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Goddess, she didn’t know this man standing before her. Where was the carefree boy she’d raced -42-


horseback in the moonlight with? With a huff of angry breath, she stalked away, head down, watching little puffs of dust bloom with each step. Again she reached deep into herself, felt the rhythm of her heart, and slowed it to the tempo Argon had taught her. She could feel her blood pumping slowly through her veins, her fingers and toes growing tingly with the slower rate of circulation. Then, she felt the disorienting sensation as her legs grew and reformed, her arms lengthened, her spine popped as new vertebrae formed. Lexanii whimpered. Her skin flamed as it turned tough and scaly. If she’d been able to scream, she’d have done so when her back ripped open and massive wings unfolded. “Now, take off, like I told you!” Argon yelled, ducking under one of the domed pavilions that lined the landing field. Lexanii growled at him, wishing heartily that she could curse him, and turned her awkward bulk to face the long empty strip of trampled grass. She began to run, keeping her wings steady, until she felt she’d gained enough speed. Bunching her hind legs, she leapt and pumped her wings as hard as she could to get airborne. Once in the air it was easier. The initial take off evidently was the most difficult part, because once she was up over the top of the castle, she could feel the currents and ride them like a boat on a swift-moving stream. Lexii wanted to shout with joy. She was flying! The feel of air rushing past her new dragon eyes was like a gentle caress instead of the whipping torture she’d experienced during her journey as Vander’s captive. With every subtle shift of her wings, she swooped and veered like a sparrow. This was freedom like she’d never experienced in her human form. Cool air bathed her face, clean and crisp. Then she caught something, a scent of musk and spice. Confused, Lexii jerked her head around, craning her long neck to search the skies. A flash of emerald caught the sun and another whiff of scent filled her nostrils. -43-

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Her heart thumped and her scales began to itch. Lexanii felt herself losing her sense of self, as though someone or something else had taken over her thoughts and motions. With a violent stroke of her massive wings, she turned to confront the approaching dragon. One overpowering urge consumed her. The need to mate so overwhelming she knew she’d take on any army to quench the raw hunger gnawing at her chest. Lexanii! His voice drove into her mind, and some small part of her, buried behind the ever-building lust, recognized Argon, recognized the frantic need in his mind-call. He, too, felt nature’s pull. The distance between them closed and more of his scent swirled in the air currents, overpowering what little resistance she had. Argon? Can’t fight it. A spurt of fear stabbed her. Argon was an experienced dragon shifter. If he couldn’t fight the compulsion, what chance had she? That small part of her that remained human was appalled at the animal urges that coursed through her blood. Then he was there, his emerald and sapphire scales gleaming in the lowering sun. Wings spread, he circled her, his long, elegant neck snaking around, keeping her pinned with his golden gaze. She’d never realized dragons were so beautiful. A lifetime of prejudice died a rapid death as a sexual haze drifted over her senses. With each pass, he came closer, his wings so close to brushing her own that she shuddered and growled in frustration. Lexii had no idea what was coming, what to do, but her body did. She arched her back, her tail whipping from side to side as he passed once more. Then, as her body began to tremble violently with need, he closed the final distance and clamped his fore-claws painfully into her shoulders. A roar of pain mixed with one of triumph split the air. Argon laid his wings on top of hers, the smooth membranes shivering rapidly as air -44-


passed through the small space between them. The base of her tail quivered as the friction built. Argon, please! Something brushed her tail and instinctively she angled it away. With a roar that sent her head spinning, he thrust and filled her with his thick shaft. Pressure built at the invasion and she bucked beneath him, each frenzied movement bringing ripples of pleasure. Lexanii shrieked and tilted her wings, setting them on a spiraling descent. Still the ground rose quickly, and with each frantic thrust, she neared some nebulous pinnacle that promised untold delights. Nothing mattered at that moment but the delicious feeling of Argon thrusting into her body. Even the risk of crashing onto the unforgiving rock below was inconsequential compared to the driving need to mate. Blood trickled from the wounds on her shoulders, and the brush of air against them felt like a caress. His wing membranes fluttered like a thousand kisses against hers. Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it over the wind. She wanted to move, to do something to bring herself over the edge, but she was helpless, a slave to Argon’s pace. Pleasure built, made her hold her breath as it neared, as surely as the trees and fields grew nearer. Her throat burned and her teeth, razor sharp spears, gnashed. Desperate, she arched her neck and nipped Argon’s emerald shoulder. He roared and somehow she knew it was a roar of pleasure. His thrusts grew more desperate until finally, with the ground so near she could make out the faces of dozens of men and women gaping at them on the landing field, she screamed, her body shattering with sensation. It felt like every scale on her massive body vibrated. Heat flooded through her from the silver tips of her wings to the whippy end of her tail. Lexanii felt Argon’s body stiffen above her, then felt the pulse deep inside her as he came, his seed pouring into her. -45-

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With a snap of his wings, he pulled away and soared off to spiral above the trees. Lexanii struggled to follow, but her wings, not used to the strain of flying, were taxed beyond their abilities by the mating spiral. She flapped them feebly and landed awkwardly to collapse on the soft grass. Sprawled in a half daze, she heard footsteps pounding across the clearing. “Lexanii?” Vander’s voice penetrated the fog of exhaustion. She lifted her head and, with a start, realized she’d shifted back to her human form and was surrounded by strangers who’d just witnessed what had to be the strangest way for a girl to lose her virginity in recorded history. Rough hands shook her shoulders and she moaned as fingers bit into the wounds. “Don’t touch me,” she whispered, trying feebly to pull away. “Vander, let her go.” Argon pushed his way through the crowd and Lexanii saw his face was pale and his chest heaving with each breath. “What the hell happened?” Vander asked, stepping back. “She must have been in the second phase of her cycle. You know it’s impossible to fight the mating urge,” Argon answered, kneeling beside her. “You didn’t think to ask her that before you made her shift?” “I didn’t even think about it. We’re going to be going into battle tomorrow. She needed to know how to get herself out if there’s trouble.” “If she’s in second phase, she won’t be flying anywhere. You know the rules. She’d have half the dragon wing after her and the enemy as well.” “I know the damned rules, Van!” “At least the chances of her conceiving are slim to nil.” Lexanii had been only half-listening, concentrating instead on pulling herself into a more dignified position. Vander’s words made her start. Conceive?

-46-


“Wait, are you saying that I could be carrying a dragon baby?” She wanted to throw up. Goddess, would that involve laying an egg? Incubating it like a bird? Yeah, she was definitely going to be sick. “Let’s get you up to the healers. I’ll answer your questions once I know you’re all right.” “I’m fine,” she all but yelped when he bent down to help her up. It was a lie. She felt like someone had smashed her a few dozen times with a tree limb. Her mind, though, was numb with shock over what she’d just done. She’d been an animal, uncontrolled and frantic with the need to mate. It brought to mind another warm fall day when she’d thrown herself at him. Angry with herself, she pulled away from his hand and got shakily to her feet, not wanting to be touched right now, at least not by him. “Lexanii, whether you like it or not, you are one of us, and you have to take orders from your commanding officer. Just as you would have in the Royal Stealth Squad.” She hated it when he was right. When they’d been kids, he’d been obnoxious about it. This coldly informal version wasn’t any better. Sending him a look that said she was only following orders because there were others around, Lexanii followed him off the field. She understood the necessity of keeping up pretenses for the troops. Why was he treating this like a minor inconvenience? They’d just had sex! In public, no less. But you’d think it was nothing more than a minor training accident. Then again, what did she know? Maybe this did happen all the time. Jealousy gripped her. Just how many women had he mated with like that? She got the feeling it was frowned on, but she doubted that would stop many youngsters. All and all, her first experience with carnal matters had been somewhat less than memorable. Not that she’d expected soft words and -47-

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cuddles, but something a little more than an order to visit the healers would have been nice. The healing hall was a massive wooden structure, at least two stories high and sprawling like a spider with its limbs akimbo. “Wow, this place is huge. Do your people get hurt a lot?” If he wanted to act like what had just happened was nothing important, well so could she. “Of course not. I told you that we can only use our gifts in dragon form. The hall has to be large enough to accommodate the healers in dragon form.” “I wasn’t exactly in a receptive frame of mind. I thought the shifting business was the gift.” “In part. Most of us also have other skills and can only access them in dragon form. The healing gift, for instance. Our healers can only heal magically when in dragon form, hence the size of the healing hall.” “Magic?” That sounded promising. What girl hadn’t dreamed of having magical powers? “What’s your gift?” “Flame-throwing. It’s a fairly rare gift, despite all the legends claiming that dragons breathed fire. I also have a very small ability to see the future, but it’s limited to events that will occur in less than an hour and even then it’s not very reliable.” Interesting. She walked the rest of the way in silence, wondering what her own gifts might be. She hoped it was something interesting and useful, even if she did have to be a dragon to use them. The black and silver dragon she’d seen the day before stood at the entrance, his golden eyes narrowed accusingly. With a series of popping and crunching noises, he shifted into a middle-aged man with swarthy skin and a full head of curly brown hair. “Nice show you gave us, Commander,” he commented. “It wasn’t intentional. In the upheaval over Pel’s news, I forgot to ask about her cycles.” “You forgot. Typical Argon arrogance.” -48-


“Watch yourself, Carson, I’m still in command here.” “And you do such a wonderful job.” His tone belied the kind words. “Just check her over and make sure she’s all right.” “I did, when you were walking up. She’s fine. Might be a little woozy and sore, but there’s no other damage. The puncture wounds on her shoulders are healing themselves.” “What do you mean?” Lexanii asked, pulling the collar of her shirt to the side so she could look at the wounds. Sure enough, the bleeding had stopped and there were now small circles of puckered pink about the size of a man’s fingers. “How the hell did you do that?” “I didn’t. You did.” She didn’t know what to say to that, but obviously Argon had some questions for the healer about it. “What are you talking about? Are you saying she’s a healer? Even in her human form?” “I’m no expert, but that would be my guess. Quite the find Vander brought home.” “This find doesn’t like being talked about like she’s not here.” They ignored her comment completely. “You do know she won’t be able to go into battle now. There are also fifteen of our females who will be grounded for the next three or four days.” Argon cursed. Confused, Lexanii frowned at the healer. “What do you mean I won’t be going? And why are these other females being grounded?” “Do you want to be chased by a few hundred lusty male dragons while you’re in the air? No females who are in their second phase fly. It’s too dangerous.” “But, can’t you just give them whore’s tea?” “Excuse me?” “Sorry, the proper term is belatavie tea. Courtiers who’ve been indiscreet, and don’t want to risk a pregnancy, use it. It induces the -49-

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fourth phase.” Both men looked like they’d been slapped in the back of the head. “You’ve never heard of it?” “No, most of us came here as children and would have no knowledge of a tonic like that.” Excitement flashed in Argon’s eyes. “Can you get us some?” “I suppose. Belatavie is common enough in the western woods.” “You’ll have to be carried there. We can’t risk you flying until you take the tonic yourself.” “Fine.” She wasn’t anxious to experience sex as a dragon again anyway. The end result had been incredible, but it was a little intense for someone with no human experience to draw from. “Let’s go. We can be back by tonight if we’re lucky.” “We? As in you and I?” Alone? Once upon a time she may have been ecstatic, but now? She wasn’t sure if she liked this new Argon at all. He was stuffy, bossy and no fun at all. On the other hand, she’d spent ten years on this quest. Didn’t she owe it to herself to get to know him again?

-50-


Chapter Six The bastard wasn’t going to make this easy. After a miserably cold flight where she’d been cradled like a baby in his arms, they’d landed in a clearing on the edge of the western forest. Alone, for the first time in ten years, and all he could ask about was the properties of the plants he saw. “That’s bloodhound. Trust me, you don’t want to touch that. It’ll make you break out in a rash and, if you grind up the dry leaves, it can eat the flesh right off you.” He said nothing, merely walked a little further, looking for the distinctive feathery leaves of the belatavie plant. “Will we be able to gather a few whole plants? We could grow it in the retreats gardens.” “I don’t see why not. Wait. You have gardens?” “Of course. We aren’t exactly on any of the major trade routes and we need to eat.” Obviously he wasn’t going to go beyond small talk without some nudging on her part. “Argon, about what happened today—” “It’s not important, Lexii.” “What do you mean, it’s not important? It’s important to me.” It occurred to her then he may have a wife by now, a wife who would be pretty annoyed that her husband had had sex very publicly with another woman. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that it wasn’t really us.” -51-

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She snorted. “It feels like it was me.” He spun around, concern on his face. “I thought you said you were fine.” “I am fine, just a little sore. My back especially. I’ve been in worse shape though.” “So then there’s no reason to talk about it anymore.” “There isn’t?” “Lexii, it’s over. It won’t happen again, so there’s no reason to talk about it any more.” “You know what? I’ve been through a hell of a lot in the last two days. I think I deserve more than that. We were friends once. Doesn’t that count for anything?” “Friends? You still think we can be friends?” “You’re going to take this ‘no fraternizing with the troops’ thing seriously, aren’t you? Aren’t you allowed to have friends?” He plowed his fingers through his hair. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about ten years ago, when you swore you never wanted to see me again.” “I never said that!” Had she? “Well, you should have. I was a bastard. My intentions were good, but it wasn’t very well done of me.” He’d had reasons? “Argon, you broke my heart, and whatever your reasons, I’ve had ten years to think about it. Do you know what my biggest regret is?” “That you didn’t break my nose?” “That I didn’t say yes.” She could have laughed at the look on his face. “Your biggest regret is that you didn’t agree to become my mistress?” She nodded, not looking at him. “I figured if I’d said yes, you wouldn’t have been alone on that hilltop. Then maybe you’d still be alive. Of course, you aren’t dead, so I guess it’s a moot point now.” -52-


“Lexii, I don’t regret my life here, but I do regret that I hurt you. And I deeply regret that you’ve spent all this time on a quest to avenge me. You deserve more than that. And I wish you weren’t here now.” “What? Look, if it’s because of this war, trust me, I can deal with danger. It hasn’t been a picnic all these years, you know. People don’t exactly take kindly to some dirty lunatic asking questions about dragons. It’s generally considered one of those things that people keep quiet about. Unless you want to be a social pariah, you don’t tell anyone you’ve seen a dragon.” And, oh, did they hate having people ask questions. She’d been on the nasty end of a few beatings that attested to that. “Having you in danger is only one of the reasons I wish you weren’t here.” His voice had changed, lowered to a husky whisper that sent shivers down her spine. She turned, surprised to find him standing right behind her. “I wish you weren’t here because I still can’t have you as more than a friend.” “What—what do you mean?” “Ten years ago, I was promised to another woman. Now I’m forbidden to take lovers from within the ranks.” “Aren’t there people here who aren’t part of your dragon army?” “No.” Wow, had he been celibate since he’d taken command? Somehow she doubted it. Men his age didn’t know the meaning of the word celibacy. “So what did you do for—?” “Goddess, Lexanii, I hardly think that’s a question a young lady should be asking.” Lexii chuckled, and for the first time in longer than she could remember, she felt free. “Couldn’t we keep it quiet? I mean, if you wanted me to be your mistress now, couldn’t we find a way?” Now he laughed. “I don’t want you to be my mistress. I never did.” -53-

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Well, did she feel stupid. Obviously she was no more adept at reading his signals now than she was ten years ago. With her face flaming, she stepped away, but he grabbed her wrist and jerked her back, pulling her fully against him. His kiss was firm and demanding, so unlike the kiss from her memories. With his lips moving against hers and his tongue probing for entrance, the small part of her mind that hadn’t already clicked off decided this kiss was a hundred times better. When he broke it off, she wanted to pull him back again, not willing to end the experience quite yet. “Being a mistress implies a master/servant relationship. I want us to be lovers, equal in every way.” Something warm and wonderful curled in her stomach. “Okay,” she squeaked. “It’s impossible.” “The hell it is! Protocol be damned.” He looked terribly sad and she wanted to cry. She should have remembered his obsession with rules. She’d always had to nag him into sneaking out to play. “We can have right now. One time. I think we deserve that much at least. After all, we don’t know if we’ll be alive next week to worry about breaches in your stupid protocol.” She’d deal with the future later. Right now she wanted him. She wasn’t about to let him back out of it, and if it meant she had to bend the rules, so be it. He looked like he was going to protest so she did what she’d sworn to do on the way to that fateful picnic. She leapt on him. With her legs wrapped around his waist and her body plastered against him, he gave up and kissed her again, this time with a desperation that fueled her own.

-54-


“We shouldn’t do this,” he muttered even as he trailed kisses along her jawbone and grabbed her bottom, pressing her tightly against the bulge in his trousers. “Yes, we should.” She wiggled her hips, reveling in the feel of his erection against her sensitive flesh. Even through two layers of clothing, it felt good. No, amazing, unbelievable. He groaned and fell to his knees, his mouth back on hers, his tongue teasing and probing. With trembling fingers, she unbuttoned his tunic and unlaced the shirt beneath it, desperate to touch him, to feel his hot flesh against her hands. His chest was smooth against her fingers, tough with muscle that he hadn’t had the last time they’d gone swimming He was like a golden god, and she felt like a grubby urchin next to him. Hesitantly, she pulled away, conscious of her ragged hair and unappealingly thin body. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his hands slowly working the fabric of her tunic up. She winced, knowing he’d see the scars on her ribs; ribs that threatened to poke right through the skin. “I’m just—I don’t want you to see me like this.” “Like what?” He’d worked his way under her shirt to cup her breasts and she moaned at the feeling of his calloused hands on her sensitive flesh. “I’m not exactly a raving beauty.” He pulled back and looked at her, his eyes wide with shock. “You know, you’re right. You really are an ugly little thing. I don’t know what I was thinking, wanting you so badly.” Lexanii almost didn’t catch the twinkle in his eye and anger clouded her vision. She shoved him to the ground, ripped his shirt open and was about to rip the ties off his breeches when she realized he was laughing at her. He’d teased her. Goddess be praised! She’d gotten so used to the stiff and imposing Argon, she almost hadn’t recognized the boy she’d known. -55-

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And he was back, even if it was just for this stolen bit of time, she had her old Argon back. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that,” she promised, ripping the leather strip off his breeches anyway. He grinned at her, his green eyes sharp with lust and she grinned back. If he wanted to play, she’d play. Slowly, teasingly, she undid her tunic and pulled it over her head. His eyes swept down slowly, taking in every detail, and amazingly she didn’t feel ashamed of her scars or her lack of womanly curves. He reached for her breasts again, rough fingers circling the dark centers until they tightened and she whimpered with pleasure. After the frantic aerial mating earlier, she wanted her first human sexual experience to be slow and—okay, she’d admit it, romantic and beautiful. Wasn’t going to happen, at least not this time. Flesh to flesh, tongue to tongue; it was all she could do to keep from ripping their remaining clothes off. Argon flipped her onto her back in the cool moss and pulled her trousers down, slowly, his fingers brushing her thighs, the back of her knees. As he sat back to look at her, she saw for the first time that, in the sunlight, his skin shimmered with a blue and green sheen. He saw her surprise and smiled. “It will happen to you as well. Your skin will shimmer like amethysts in the sunlight.” Gently, he traced his fingers over her hipbones, up past her waist to capture her breasts. He looked sad. “I wish I could see it. You’ll be spectacular.” Lexanii sat up and pressed her hand over his mouth. “Don’t talk about the future. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Just love me.” Her skin burned, her heart pounded, and her hands itched to touch the shimmering muscles on his chest, his stomach, and his shoulders. His spicy clean scent mingled with the scent of crushed grass and rich earth, intoxicatingly raw and sensual. -56-


Again he laid her down and covered her with his body. His weight sent ripples of pleasure through her whole being, from the apex of her thighs all the way to her fingertips. His erection pressed against her stomach and his thigh pressed against her slick folds. Slowly, shamelessly, she shifted her hips, letting the soft hair create delicious friction. She was close, so close. “Argon, please.” “Tell me what you want, how you want to be touched,” he whispered, his head dipping to capture the tight peak of one breast in his mouth. She arched off the ground, moaning as his tongue swirled around the nipple. “I don’t know! I want you inside me, like you were when we were dragons.” He growled and the sound sent shivers rippling across her skin. She watched him pull off his breeches and could only stare at that part of him in wonder. He’d looked nothing like this when they’d gone swimming. Like everything else about him, it was so much larger than she remembered. Argon couldn’t believe he was doing this. After ten years of dreaming of her naked, here she was, lying before him flushed with desire. He wanted to devour her, to see her writhing with pleasure. Slowly, he traced one finger down her hipbone to the triangle of black curls to tease the damp folds. She moaned, and then gasped with delight when he slid one finger into her damp heat. “Please, Argon,” she whimpered and he knew he couldn’t hold out any longer. He had to be inside her, had to feel her tight sheath around him. With one thrust, he buried himself and felt the world spinning out of control. Lexanii screamed at the feeling of his thick length filling her. Slowly he began to move, withdrawing almost completely then thrusting deep. -57-

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She moaned and raised her hips, urging him on with her hands on his hips. She wanted more, wanted him to lose control and take her with all the animalistic frenzy he’d shown earlier. When his hand slipped between them to stroke the sensitive flesh, she bucked and screamed. “Be an animal, Argon. I want to see you lose control.” Her words tipped him over the edge of control and he thrust into her body with all the ferocity of his dragon self. He felt her body pulse around him as she screamed his name and it was more than he could stand. He emptied himself into her with a roar and collapsed, pressing her into the soft moss. “Goddess,” he moaned, raking in deep breaths of air. “I’m sorry, Lexii. Are you all right?” She was humming, he felt the tiny vibrations radiating across his chest, and when he heaved himself up onto his elbows, he saw that she grinned triumphantly. “Damn. We shouldn’t have done this.” “Oh, calm down, Argon. Nobody will know and besides it’s not like you have anyone to answer to, Mr. High-and-Mighty-Commander.” She was right. He’d known all along there was nobody to reprimand him if he stepped over the line and took a lover. Following the rules had become so much of a habit he’d never even considered breaking this one. Of course, Lexanii had always managed to convince him it was more fun to break the rules than to follow them. She’d always been right. He sighed and pushed himself away to sit on the ground beside her. She looked incredibly sexy lying there naked with the sun filtering down on her pale skin. If only they could continue to break the rules, but there was an army approaching. “Come on, we should keep looking for that plant” he said and reached for his clothes. He felt her hand on his thigh and stopped to look at her. She was grinning. -58-


“Oh, I don’t think so, Commander. I’m not finished with you yet.”

-59-

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Chapter Seven Argon couldn’t quite believe the turn his life had taken in just two days. War was coming—in a matter of days he could very well die. Yet it didn’t matter, because he had his Lexanii back and he’d finally held her in his arms. With a chuckle, he remembered her shyness about her body. If anything, she’d become more beautiful as her features had matured. With a few good meals to put some meat on her bones and a decent hair cut, she’d be spectacular. And she’d be much sought after by his men. He bit his lip and forced the image of her with a faceless man out of his mind. They’d made no promises, couldn’t really, with the difference in their stations. He couldn’t expect her to remain alone when she deserved so much more than that. The paperwork that had seemed so important yesterday lay in a crate on the floor and now his desk was littered with battle plans. Thanks to Lexanii’s knowledge of herbs, they’d be at full strength and that was something of a relief. It also meant she’d be going with them and he didn’t like that thought at all. If he lost her now, after just finding her— well, best not to think of that when there was work to be done. Outside his office window, dragons flew in formation, their drills and melees taking on a new sense of urgency. How many of those dragons would he lose in this war? And how many would be saved if he let Lexii go through with her plan? -60-


As a commander, he knew he was honor bound to let her do it. As her lover, though, the very idea of her sneaking into an enemy camp chilled him to the bone. The knock at the door made him jump, but he recovered quickly. Gathering up his composure, he bade the visitor enter. “I hear the time has come.” With gray hair and gray eyes, Athol looked about ten years older than his forty years. He’d been the one to recruit Argon, and after the initial period of resentment, the two had become good friends. “You’ve heard?” “It’s just about all anyone’s talking about. It would be impossible not to hear.” “How was your flight?” “A waste of time, unfortunately. Children with the gift have become scarce, though I begin to suspect our enemy has had a hand in that.” Argon thought of the entries he’d seen in Lexanii’s journal and nodded. “I hear that scamp Vander found himself one though.” “Yes, and I’ll need you to judge her gifts. Damned fool woman plans to weaken the enemy with a handful of herbs.” Athol’s eyes narrowed. “I’d heard she was a woman grown, and that you knew her before you came here.” Argon tried not to squirm, but Athol knew him better than anyone else and he’d never been able to lie to the older man. “She’s the one, isn’t she?” “Damn, Athol. I never thought I’d see her again and now here she is and we’re right back where we were ten years ago. A bunch of rules keeping us apart.” Argon sighed and speared his fingers through his hair. “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past and we have a war to fight.” “It does matter if what I heard happened yesterday morning is true.” Damn. He was really going to have to be more firm with discipline if everyone felt it safe to gossip about him like this. -61-

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“It’s true. And don’t look at me like that. I certainly didn’t plan it. You know what the histories say about mating in dragon form.” “I know it’s rare for a female to conceive, but that if she does the child would be an immensely powerful shifter.” “Well, it’s unlikely she’s pregnant. Damn near impossible, actually.” “You were always more interested in the history of our little enterprise. Tell me why it’s so impossible.” “The reason that it’s rare for women to conceive in dragon form is because only a queen can become pregnant. In five hundred years, there hasn’t been a single one found.” “And how would we recognize one? Just out of curiosity.” Argon frowned and thought back to the lonely nights spent in the castle library. When Gehtken had named him his successor, he’d had to read stacks and stacks of dusty old books. “Goddess!” he exclaimed. “Queen dragons are immune to thrall and may have the ability to use their powers in human form.” “Are you telling me that this girl is a queen?” “Goddess, yes. And not only that, but from what the histories say, it’s not only possible for her to be pregnant, it’s guaranteed. Their magic ensures it.” “In that case, congratulations, Daddy. Now let’s go see what our new queen’s powers are.” She had four pots of belatavie tea simmering and eighteen anxious women lined up to drink it, not including herself. She only hoped it worked. There was little doubt in her mind that Argon would keep her here if it didn’t. Steam began to hiss from the four clay pots, where the little flowers simmered. The women who stood in the kitchen watched with fascination -62-


as she stirred the brew. She ought to warn them that it was reputed to taste like horse piss, but thought it better if they remained ignorant. After all, she had no firsthand knowledge of the stuff and didn’t really trust anyone who could actually compare the taste of anything to urine. “Does it taste bad?” one of the girls asked. Lexanii bit back a moan before answering, “I’ve never tasted it.” That was the truth, so she didn’t feel too guilty saying it. When she judged it ready, she removed the pots from the massive cast iron stove and poured out the doses into the line of waiting mugs. “Alright, everyone. Take your cup and let it cool a bit. Best to drink it all down in one big gulp, just in case it’s not too pleasant.” She got some suspicious looks, but one by one they all came forward and picked up their tea. Lexanii picked up the last mug and, cradling it between her hands, went out to sit in the quiet of the dining hall. It was between meal times and only a few people mingled about. She needed that quiet time to think. What the hell was she going to do now? She’d been stupid, insanely stupid, to think she could let Argon go now that she’d had him once. Had she really thought she could spend the rest of her life cherishing the memory of their lovemaking and be content with that? No doubt about it, everyone who’d ever called her crazy was right. She had to be completely off her rocker to think she could spend the rest of her life watching him from a distance, never touching him or— She needed to get a hold of herself. There was a war coming, and if she had any say in it, they’d both be alive to argue about their relationship when the battle was over. The tea had cooled, but she hesitated to drink it. It smelled like stagnant water, and every time she put her mouth near the rim of the mug, she wanted to gag. “Don’t be such a baby. Just drink it down and get it over with. Lives may depend on you choking this crap down,” she muttered. -63-

Jennie Andrus

With her left hand pinching her nose shut, she lifted the mug in her other hand and took a deep breath. “Lexanii, stop!” The liquid spilled all over her shirt, and it was still hot enough to hurt like hell. Dripping with foul-smelling tea, she jumped to her feet and glowered at the men who’d just run into the hall. “Argon! You just made me spill my belatavie.” “You can’t drink it.” “Of course I can. What the hell is wrong with you?” “Lexii, this is Athol.” She looked at the gray-haired man and nodded to him in greeting. “Please tell me you didn’t just make me spill the potion because you wanted to introduce me to someone.” “Athol is the gift-sensor. He’ll be able to tell what your powers are.” “Oh. Okay.” Suddenly nervous, she began plucking at the fabric clinging to her stomach. “What do I have to do?” “We’ll need to go outside. I need to be in dragon form to do it.” Athol’s voice was pleasantly gruff and soothing. He looked like a grandfather, like someone she could trust. With nerves jumping in her stomach, she followed them out of the castle and into the field where men and women ran drills and training maneuvers. “Let’s go over here where it’s a little more quiet,” Argon suggested, leading them to the copse of trees where she’d been sleeping each night. She waited for Argon to say something, but he remained tensely silent, like he was waiting for someone to knock his legs out from under him. Then Athol shifted and she felt like someone had knocked her knees out from under her. Crimson scales with salmon wing tips. Golden eyes. She didn’t think, just reacted. There was a low hanging tree branch above her. She leapt, grabbed it, and swung out, connecting with the dragon’s crimson snout with both feet. -64-


“What the hell are you doing?” Argon grabbed her ankles and jerked her down, scraping her hands on the rough bark as her grip faltered. She landed in his arms, but rage had her flinging herself away from him. “He’s the one, isn’t he? He’s the one who took you that day?” “Yes. Lexanii, it’s in the past. He’s not your enemy.” She wasn’t sure about that. Later, when she had time to think about it, she might work her way around to realizing that maybe, Athol had done her a favor. Until then she fully intended to blame him for every miserable night, every pang of hunger, every beating and every moment of loneliness she’d experienced in ten years. Hell, right now she was irrational enough that she could blame him for every problem she’d had in her entire life. No, right now he was the very epitome of the word enemy in her eyes. “The hell he isn’t,” she snarled at Argon, never taking her eyes of the dragon regarding her with solemn eyes. “Don’t give me that puppy-dog look, you miserable bastard! You ruined my life!” Shoulders tight with tension she stepped forward with the intention of inflicting some bodily harm to the dragon when strong hands gripped her upper arm, dragging her back. “I can understand your anger, Lexii. I was angry at him too when I first came here, but he’s a good man and what he did, he did for the good of the kingdom.” His voice was soft, a caress on her cheek that made her shudder. “At least put it aside until this situation is resolved.” It was an order, however softly spoke. She recognized the command in his words. With a huff, she jerked away from him again. “Fine, just get this over with so I can go make another batch of belatavie.” “You won’t need it if what we think is true.” The tone of his voice made her turn around and she suddenly realized

that

his

face

looked

tight

unpleasant. “What? What is it?” -65-

with

worry

and—something

Jennie Andrus

“Wait until Athol shifts and I’ll explain. I want to hear if it’s true before I say anything.” “Damn it, Argon, you arrogant bastard, if it involves me—“ “It’s true, Argon. Your theory was correct.” Athol had shifted without her noticing and he looked like someone had hit him from behind. Then, to Lexanii’s shock, he dropped to one knee and bowed low before her. What the hell? “Argon, I think you’d better tell me what’s going on.” “Remember I told you that it’s very rare for a baby to be conceived while in dragon form? That’s because only a very special dragon, the queen dragon, can conceive. Their magic ensures that it happens on the first take.” “Okay, so what’s that got to do with me?” Goddess, she was being dense. Athol had bowed to her. They thought she was a queen dragon. And if they thought she was a queen, they must also assume that she was pregnant. “No. You’re wrong! I’m not a queen, and I sure as hell am not carrying some mutant dragon baby in my belly.” “It’s true. Your aura is gold, and only the queen has a golden aura. You are also immune to dragon thrall and exhibited the ability to heal while in human form.” She was dreaming, or they were joking. Some sort of prank to welcome the new recruit. “Ha ha. Nice try. I’ve seen too many new recruits fall for tricks like this. You almost had me though.” “It’s not a joke, Lexii.” “You have some other aura patterns as well. Healing, of course, but also mind-speaking and something I’ve never seen before.” “You’re crazy. You can’t expect me to believe that I’m pregnant!” “You’ll have to go to the healers to know for sure. If you had more training in your own healing gifts, you could tell yourself, but it seems very likely that you are, indeed, pregnant,” Argon answered and she -66-


could have punched him. He was talking about her being pregnant with his child as though she’d just found some moderately interesting plant in the woods. And why was she surprised? He’d shown as little interest in their very public mating flight. She was a queen. Dazed she shook her head. Wait, she was a queen. “So, does being a queen dragon have any benefits other than being incredibly fertile?” Argon looked uneasy. “There’s no precedent. In five hundred years, there has never been a queen brought here.” She regarded him through narrow eyes. “It seems to me that a queen has to be at least equal with the commander of the army, if not of higher rank.” Athol laughed and slapped Argon on the back. “She’s got you there, sir.” “Are you saying you want to take over command of my army?” With wide, innocent eyes, she blinked rapidly as though she’d never once considered the idea. “Oh, I couldn’t do that.” She waited a beat, waited for his shoulders to relax just a bit before she tilted her head to the side, considering. “On the other hand, I do think that you no longer have the right to give me orders. And if I’m pregnant, I no longer need to fear the mating instincts so I see no reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to go through with my original plan.” “The hell you will. It’s too dangerous and you’ll be putting more than your own life at risk.” Lexanii wanted to laugh at the rage blooming on his face. “You can’t give me orders now, Argon. And I am not going to get hurt. I can get in and out before anyone even knows I was there.” “Lexii, do you know what they would do to you if they caught you? If they learned what you are?” -67-

Jennie Andrus

She hadn’t quite thought that far ahead, but he obviously had. “Okay, tell me what you think they’ll do to me if I get caught.” “They’d chain you up and force you to mate with their best warriors to create an army of dragons more powerful than any we’ve ever seen.” Oh, this just got better and better. “I won’t let it come to that.” “You can’t foresee the future, Lexanii. You don’t know that you’ll evade capture,” Athol said softly. “You’re too important.” “And what I can do to disable the army could save hundreds of lives. If I get captured, I can, and I will, use whatever means necessary to ensure they can’t use me as a broodmare.” Lexanii paused when Argon paled. “But it won’t be necessary. I will get back all right.” “Fine, but you won’t be going in alone.” “I work best alone. That’s how I was trained.” “Too bad. You may think you don’t have to take orders from me, but I’m not going to let you go in there alone.” “You have no say in what I do, Argon.” Goddess, she loved the man, but hell if she was going to let him dictate to her, not now that she held a position of power that could very well be higher than his. “You’re not going alone. I’m going with you and that’s all there is to it.”

-68-


Chapter Eight He wasn’t talking to her. She wasn’t talking to him. All in all it made for a quiet hike, which was fine with her. If he didn’t talk to her, he couldn’t irritate her and she wouldn’t have to slap the petulant look off his face. They’d left at dusk, Argon shifting to his dragon form and carrying her and her bundles of herbs to within a few hours hike of the enemy’s camp. Now they were making their way on foot in the near moonless night. It reminded her of her solitary days, which seemed so long ago now. It was hard to believe it was only three days ago that she’d still been on a quest to kill all dragons. Now she’d made love with one. Oh, the crazy things fate could throw your way. The tense silence was getting on her nerves. “It would help if you’d stop pouting.” “I’m not pouting,” he snarled. So she’d been wrong. He wasn’t pouting; he was fuming. Either way, it was annoying as hell. “Fine, just drop it. If you can’t keep your emotions in check, you’re going to get us both killed.” “I can control my emotions.” “Argon, you’re good at hiding them, but not at controlling them.” “Lexii, you can’t blame me for worrying about you.”

-69-

Jennie Andrus

“You aren’t worried. You’re mad at me for not following your orders. I’m the one with the assassin training. It makes sense for me to be the one to go in.” He was silent for a moment. Then she heard him sigh. “Alright, I’ll give you that. I’m not used to sharing command.” “I didn’t mean for this to happen, Argon. I didn’t want to be a dragon at all, let alone a bloody queen.” “I know that, Lexii. But it doesn’t make this any easier.” She sighed and stopped to rest against a tree. “We’ll figure things out when this is all over. We’re getting close and need to be quiet and watch for sentries.” He nodded and they continued on their way. Lexanii concentrated on the night sounds, the crickets, and soft rustle of the leaves in the breeze. Once she’d classified what belonged, she pushed them out of her mind and listened for those that didn’t. A snap of a twig, a soft grunt. Her dagger slid silently from its sheath. She motioned Argon to stop, to wait for her here. Then she was moving, silent as a memory. The sentry guard stood his post with pride. He was young, barely old enough to fight, and she felt a moment’s guilt before she leapt. She’d never killed anyone before. Even all her training hadn’t prepared her for the slick feel of nausea she felt afterwards. Now, sprayed with blood from slitting the boy’s throat, she wondered if she’d ever feel clean again. “Deep breaths. Now who’s having a hard time controlling their emotions?” He was teasing, and she wanted to cry. Why now of all times did he have to start acting like the old Argon? Longing quickly overwhelmed the need to puke. She wanted to drag him off into the bushes and make love to him again. Duty and love warred and duty won out. With a sigh, she settled into his arms and breathed his clean masculine scent. -70-


“It’s my stomach I’m trying to control, not my emotions.” Another lie, but this wasn’t the place to get into the bizarre circumstances of their relationship. “Let’s keep moving. We’re getting close.” The light of hundreds of torches, evenly spaced in a neat grid, appeared suddenly as they crested a small hill. Lexanii placed her hand on Argon’s shoulder to hold him back. “Okay, this is it, you stay here and wait for me.” “I don’t like this, Lexii.” “We don’t have time to argue. We’ve agreed this is the smartest course of action and that I’m better equipped for the job.” “I still don’t like it.” She sighed. There was definitely something to be said for being alone. She’d never had to argue with anyone over every little decision. “I’ll be back in about an hour. Wait out of sight and stay quiet.” She left quickly before he could argue, letting the darkness swallow her up. Within moments, she was ducking behind a large tent, dodging the soft glowing circles cast by the torches. Typically, the army kept their support staff at the rear of camp, so Argon had circled around the encampment and had brought them in from behind. She wouldn’t have to trek through the entire camp, but she would still have a lot ground to cover before she found the food wagons and storage tents. And she had an hour. There as little doubt in her mind that Argon would come after her if she were a second late. Ten minutes later, she found a wagon full of casks. From the smell of them and the red stains on the lids, she guessed they contained wine. As quickly as possible, she dumped a handful of briar-hysop in each one and, with each barrel, said a quick prayer that the herbs’ power to inhibit magic wasn’t another of those rumors that would prove false. -71-

Jennie Andrus

With the wine dosed, she moved on to the storage tent next to it and wondered what would be the best move. She wanted to cover all her bases and distribute as many of the herbs and poisons as she could. She had no idea if any of them would be affected by cooking, but in the end she mixed a bag of emetic and cathartic herbs into the bread flour, a bag of the hallucinogenic gypsol weed into the jar of tea leaves, and poured vials of poison into the butter, cream and cider. Within half an hour, she’d put some sort of potion or powder into every foodstuff she could find that could disguise the additives. But would it be enough? She hoped it was and that the medicines were effective when digested. Some, she knew, were most potent when inhaled, but she wasn’t going to go around and sprinkle it over every sleeping body in the camp. Not in twenty-minutes, anyway. As she stepped past the canvas flap, she heard the sounds of heavily booted feet running nearby. Curious, she ducked from shadow to shadow until she came to a huge strip of land devoid of tents. Even an idiot would recognize it as a landing field. Men milled on the edges of the grassy strip, and in the flickering light, she caught the silhouette of at least a dozen dragons. And then a dragon swooped from the sky, its massive wings raising dust as it landed awkwardly. It took a moment to realize the reason for its sloppy landing. It clutched a black-clothed body in its fore-claws. Argon. Her heart stopped. She wanted to curse. Obviously the man had been giving orders for so long that he no longer knew how to obey them. Indecision froze her. The good of the army was more important than one man, hell the good of the entire kingdom was more important than one man. Protocol demanded she get out, leave Argon, and get word to the army that her task had been completed. It all came down to saving the kingdom. -72-


What a bunch of bullshit. Argon could take his protocols and choke on them after she got him free. Men came forward and took Argon from the dragon, who shifted down to human form—a young girl with blond hair and, from the looks of things, a seductively curvaceous. Tall and voluptuous, she wore tight leather pants that molded to every curve and her tunic barely covered her ample breasts. In her baggie black trousers and loose fitting tunic, Lexanii felt like a pathetic little child. Hell, even being a queen dragon didn’t erase a girl’s poor body image. Argon wasn’t struggling; in fact he was staring at the woman like he was in some kind of trance. Her blood chilled. He was acting like he was enthralled, but the woman wasn’t in dragon form. It was possible that the other dragons were keeping him in thrall, but then why was he staring at her? Lexanii frowned and wished she knew more about dragon magic and the different gifts. Was there a mind control gift? And how was this woman using it in human form. Unless she was a queen, too. But if five hundred years had passed without any, was it possible that suddenly there were two queen dragons alive? It seemed impossible, and yet made an eerie kind of sense. Why else would this army choose now to attack? Maybe they’d been waiting for a queen, counting on the enemy to not have one. And this woman, if she was a queen, obviously had more knowledge of her powers than Lexanii had. The possibilities that suggested made her ill. If the enemy had a queen dragon, she could control Argon’s army and five hundred years of kidnapping children would be wasted. She wished she knew more about her powers, about what she could do, about what queens could do. Other than the very powerful thrall gift, she had no idea what useful powers she might have. -73-

Jennie Andrus

Like a shadow, Lexanii followed them through the camp until they came to a massive tent at least five times the size of the domes that surrounded it. If this wasn’t a queen dragon, she was obviously still someone of importance. Ducking around the side, she hugged the side of the tent, listening for voices, for some clue about what they were going to do. Then light flared inside, a lantern or candle, illuminating the tent walls. With a soft curse, Lexanii threw herself to the ground. Anyone walking by would see a dark lump against the glowing canvas, but she had to hear what was being said. “Leave us,” the woman ordered. “Yes, my queen.” There was silence for a moment, then the rustling of the tent flap opening. Pressing herself as flat to the ground as possible, Lexanii held her breath and prayed they wouldn’t notice her. The parade of men, at least a dozen of them, walked quickly away, leaving only two at the door. She could take them, she knew, but would the queen kill Argon before she could get to him? She had to wait, see what the other woman intended to do with him. As much as she hated the thought of Argon being alone with the leatherbound beauty, there was too much at stake to risk it all by being careless and hasty. “What’s your name, handsome?” Lexanii gritted her teeth at the seductive tone. “Argon Sedar.” “And how do you come to be here?” Don’t tell her Argon. Don’t say anything. To her amazement, Argon stayed silent. “Answer me!” “I can’t answer you.” -74-


Lexanii wanted to shout for joy. She could keep Argon from betraying the army, but for how long? She needed to find a way to stop this queen before the armies could meet. The other queen snarled and yelled for someone called Greer. The tent was silent but for the sound of the queen pacing, then she heard footsteps coming along the path. When the canvas flap rustled, Lexanii held her breath. “You sent for me, Your Highness?” “I found this man sneaking around the perimeter of the camp. He’s a dragon, but he is not answering my questions.” “Are you sure he’s a dragon?” “Of course I’m sure.” “Forgive me, Highness, but you are still coming into your powers. Your youth may be the reason you are experiencing difficulties.” “I don’t think so. He only began resisting when I asked why he was here. I was able to keep him in thrall until then.” “I am at a loss to explain it then, Highness.” “It’s not important. What is important is that he is a flame thrower, and that he is old enough to father a child.” Lexanii would rip the woman’s eyes out before she let Argon mate with her. The man hissed out a long breath. “This is good fortune! And excellent timing. It must be done tomorrow, at first light.” “My second cycle ends tomorrow. It will be close.” “And there is no guarantee that the baby will have the flame thrower gift.” “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I need those powers, Greer.” Lexanii was confused. How did carrying a flamethrower’s baby give her the power to throw flame? If that was true, could Lexanii also have Argon’s powers? -75-

Jennie Andrus

“You control the army, my lady. You simply need to exert that control over the enemy as well and the war will be won.” “And if my powers are not yet strong enough to control so many? Or if they are all able to resist the queen’s thrall? Then what? We’ve put too much into this endeavor to risk it all by being cocky.” “How will you gain his cooperation?” “We have flurry-weed to force him to shift. Once he’s in dragon form, he won’t be able to resist the mating urge.” “Very well. I’ll prepare for the flight.” The man, Greer, left the tent and Lexanii held her breath until his footsteps faded off into the darkness. With rage building in her throat, Lexanii pulled herself away from the tent until she was hidden against a stack of firewood. Her hands shook and she struggled for breath. She’d seen, on her journey, women enslaved as concubines, and they always had eyes as blank and dead as a corpse. And what this woman proposed! Goddess, curse the bitch! She would not treat Argon like a whore. With effort she forced her mind to clear. She needed a plan. Somehow, she had to save Argon. Her instructors had been wrong, sometimes the fate of an entire kingdom did depend on saving the life of one man.

-76-


Chapter Nine He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept. Had it only been three days ago that he’d been worrying over disciplinary problems among the younger crowd? He’d cheerfully deal with paperwork until his eyes burned out if he could get out of this mess. He should have listened to Lexanii. She’d told him to stay in the cover of the trees, but he’d had to sneak down and investigate the strange parade of men following a slinky blond in leather pants. In his defense, he’d thought he could gather intelligence while he waited for her to finish with her sabotage mission. He’d been going slightly crazy with worry and thought it would take his mind off of it. And he’d accused Lexanii of being impulsive. He wondered if she’d made it back to the meeting place all right. What had she done when she’d found him missing? He hoped like hell she’d gotten away, gotten word to Athol that he was missing. Knowing her, or at least knowing the old her, she’d probably try and rescue him. With no idea how to use her gifts and only one shaky flight experience, she was doomed to fail. His back cramped, spasming painfully, and he shifted as much as the ropes binding him would allow. It didn’t help. To keep his mind off the pain, he replayed the conversation in his mind. He’d spent several hours pondering the existence of two queen dragons and had come to the uneasy conclusion that being a queen was really no different than any other dragon gift. Certainly it was rare, but there was no logical reason why there couldn’t be more than one. -77-

Jennie Andrus

Obviously these people knew more about the history of dragons than was written in the retreat’s books, and that gave the enemy the advantage here. Goddess knew he’d read every book in the library and he’d never seen anything about queens having access to their unborn baby’s powers. How old did the baby have to be before it began to manifest powers? And did that infer that a baby born during a mating flight would be somehow more powerful than the average dragon? Since most didn’t manifest power until they hit puberty that did indeed seem to be the case. And what about Lexanii? Would she have the power to throw flame? If only he could tell her. But he didn’t know where she was. She could be long gone, or captured, or killed. I resisted the queen’s thrall. Like a punch to the gut, he knew Lexanii was here. She’d been near enough to overhear the conversation and to use her own thrall on him so he couldn’t answer. He hoped she’d heard enough, that she could come up with some kind of plan that didn’t involve running in with her daggers raised and her herbs blowing in the wind. Who was he kidding? Of course she wouldn’t. Her training was in stealth and assassination. She’d be subtle, maybe sneak in under the cover of night and kill the queen. That would be her plan. It had to be. He waited, listening intently for any sound that could indicate she was coming. An hour passed, then two. His skin began to itch as morning drew closer. He wanted to shift, to use the force of the transformation to break free of these ropes, but he knew that once in dragon form, he’d be at the queen’s mercy. When the rising sun hit the roof of the massive tent, he growled his frustration. “Not long now.” The seductive voice drew him, and he had to fight his body’s reaction. Everything about her screamed sex, from her voice to -78-


her clothes and the hypnotic sway of her hips as she walked through the gauzy curtain that separated her bed from the rest of the tent. He hated her, not just because of what she planned to do with him, but because she could draw a reaction from him even when he knew she was the enemy. It was a gift, just like flame throwing or the more common telepathic gifts. He’d read about that part of a queen’s power arsenal and had deliberately not told Lexanii. He was an idiot not to have been fully honest with her. When she’d fully gained her powers, she’d be able to wrap any man on the retreat around her finger and where would that leave him? “Are you excited about the coming flight, my handsome one? Have you experienced the pleasure of a mating on the wing like an animal, completely at the mercy of your lust?” “Yes.” Her eyebrows rose high on her forehead. “Ah, an experienced man. How exciting.” She licked her lips, her soft pink tongue darting out to tease the lush fullness. Argon bit his cheek, cursing his traitorous body. Her eyes darted to the bulge in his trousers and she laughed. “Oh, you’ll be so much fun, Argon Sedar. I’m going to enjoy having you around.” Lexanii! Where the hell are you? She hadn’t slept, and her eyes were gritty with the effort to keep them open. As the night dragged on, it had gotten harder, but now that the sun had broken through the trees, it was easier. She’d gathered what she needed for her plan, if it could be called a plan. Now she had to hide herself. And wait. She hated waiting, especially when there wasn’t anything to do. Idleness left her too much time to think, to worry, and to doubt herself. -79-

Jennie Andrus

And to wonder what that woman was doing to Argon. At least she knew he wouldn’t be hurt, they needed him alive and healthy so they could use him for stud services. Not bloody likely. Not if she had anything to say about it. The camp began to stir, finally. She’d swear that night, spent under the oiled canvas covering a wagon full of armor, was the longest night in history. It hadn’t been comfortable, but at least it kept her close to the landing strip, so she’d be ready to make her move when the time came. The queen appeared, dressed in tight black breeches and a sleeveless black top with a slinky chain mail vest designed to draw attention to her breasts. Argon followed, bound and led by a rope around his neck. Lexanii struggled to keep still. It took every once of willpower she had not to jump out from the wagon and attack with every weapon and herb at her disposal. The queen stopped next to a tall man in black and waited, anticipation on her face, as another man came forward with a clay mug. Lexanii’s teeth clenched. This was the concoction that would force Argon to shift against his will. To her surprise, Argon drank it without complaint. Lexanii felt her heart cramp. Was he under the queen’s thrall or was it more than that? Had he found her attractive enough to want this mating dance? Jealously clawed at her as she watched his body hunch and contort until finally his emerald and sapphire form stood on the strip of grass. He roared and leapt into the sky, his wings snapping powerfully as he took off without benefit of a running start. The men on the ground jumped towards the dragon too late, and she saw them separate so that they too could shift to capture the escaping hostage. “Leave him. Let no one else shift. You have your orders.” The queen stepped away and shifted. Lexanii watched, feeling smug to see the -80-


woman’s scales were a pale blue and harsh yellow that was totally at odds with her human image and certainly not attractive. Goddess, how sad was she that she was comparing her dragon form to her rivals? Once the queen was in the air, Lexanii took action. Silently, she slipped from the wagon and tossed a bag of bloodhound above the heads of the gathered men. Screams filled the air as the powdered root burned their skin. She ran, shifting as she went, amazed that she could, that it worked. Without stopping, she leapt and soared, her wings pumping hard to gain height. With her sharpened dragon senses, she saw them circling, soaring high in the sky. She heard a roar and knew it was Argon, his mating call. Jealousy burned and with added urgency, she pushed her wings harder. Argon! I’m coming! Lexanii? Don’t you dare touch her! I’ll skin you alive if you even try it. She heard a chuckle in her mind, but it was weak and she knew he was failing in his attempt to resist the pull of his lust. The queen turned in the air, her wings beating lazily against the air currents. Who dares interrupt my mating flight? That’s my mate you’re circling. Your mate? And who are you? Lexanii, Queen dragon of The Borri Dragon Wings. Another queen? That’s impossible. I completely agree. The pouch she’d fashioned the night before, made of heavy-duty canvas with a strap big enough to fit over a dragon’s neck, had survived the shift when her clothes had disappeared. It had been a huge risk, with only the memory of seeing one of Argon’s men do it to guide her. She hadn’t known if there was a special method to follow or a secret to the -81-

Jennie Andrus

trick, but it hardly mattered now. It had worked and she had her weapons, such as they were. Grabbing the contents of the pouch, however, was a difficulty she hadn’t foreseen. Lexanii. watch out! If she’d had more experience in flying, she might have been able to dodge the blow, but she hadn’t gained that much agility yet. The other queen’s claws swiped and Lexanii screamed. She hadn’t known that anything could penetrate a dragon’s scales, but now she knew. Dragon claws could slice through scales like a knife through butter. And now that she knew, she had no problem using that information. Lexanii was small, even in her dragon form, but it made her quick. After attacking, the queen returned to circle Argon, her mating instinct preventing her from doing more than fighting off the competition. Lexanii put on a burst of speed and launched herself at the blue-scaled back, landing with enough force to send her enemy spinning out of control and away from Argon. Argon, you have to get away. Go! Now! I’ll keep her distracted. She put every ounce of force she could muster into the command. I can’t fight it, Lexii. I can’t leave. With a growl, she soared high and tried again to get her hand, or claw, into the pouch hanging from her neck. If she’d been human, she’d have cursed. She wanted to cry as her long thick claws failed to grip the small bundles of herbs. The blue and yellow dragon followed her up, instinct driving her to eliminate any and all competition. Lexanii braced herself for another swing of sharp claws, but instead, the other dragon slammed into her and held on, claws digging into shoulders, teeth snapping in rage. Lexanii

made

one

more

attempt

to

reach

her

herbs

and,

miraculously, grabbed the large pouch of briar-hysop. She’d never considered this herb useful before. Briar-hysop was one of those odd -82-


little plants that myth claimed could block the powers of a sorcerer and everyone knew sorcerers weren’t real. Then again, everyone said dragons weren’t real and yet here she was. The power-binding herb should, if mythology could be believed, turn the queen human again. But she was too close. If Lexanii threw it now, there would be no escaping the effects herself. She had no idea how long the effects would last, but it didn’t matter. She’d fall to her death and it wouldn’t make a difference if her powers came back in an hour or if they never came back. The fate of a kingdom was more important than the fate of one man. Or, in this case, one woman. I love you Argon! With all her strength, she threw the pouch of powder into the blue face as it lunged forward for another attack. The pouch exploded in a poof of green and, despite her attempt to hold her breath, the tiny particles flew into her face and nostrils. Like a vise wrapped around her, she felt her magic straining against the briar-hysop's power. And she felt it failing. Lexanii? What did you— His mind voice was gone and she was falling. The young blond queen clutched at Lexanii’s shoulders, fingernails digging deep into Lexanii’s flesh where moments ago razor sharp talons had pierced. “What did you do to me, you bitch?” the blond snarled. “I just killed you,” Lexanii taunted and drew her dagger out of one of her secret pockets and slammed it into the queen’s heart before kicking out and sending her spiraling away. The ground rushed up, like a blur of brown, green and sapphire. Sapphire? There were no lakes or rivers in this area… Long before she expected it, her body slammed into something solid and she screamed, then saw nothing.

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Chapter Ten Argon’s heart stopped in the instant he saw her change back to human form. Dear Goddess, what had she been thinking? He plunged into a dive, leveled himself and prayed for a miracle. He knew, deep down that she was in trouble. Through the fog of lust his gift of foresight had struggled to send him images. Few had made sense, one of the frustrating things about that power. One image though had been clear as day. Lexanii, bleeding and broken. Dead. He couldn’t let it happen. Desperate he pushed himself faster than he’d ever flown before. Her weight jolted his arms, sending pain singing up his shoulders. He’d never caught a person in mid-air before. Who would have thought such a slight body could have such an impact? The scent of blood teased his nostrils. He could see wounds on her arms and face, still seeping blood. Why wasn’t she healing herself? Dear Goddess, let her be okay! To his left, he saw the smudge on the horizon that he knew instinctively was his army. He had to lead them. He had to save Lexanii. Duty and love battled fiercely in his heart. If he took Lexanii and went for shelter how many of his people would die this day? He didn’t even know if her plan had worked. His brain told him to settle her somewhere safe then get back to the battle. His heart, on the other hand, screamed with outrage. She’d risked her life to save him, to save them all, really. With only one measly flying -84-


lesson, she’d defeated another dragon. He couldn’t just leave her alone when she could be dying. He flew towards the dark mass that changed from an indistinct shadow to the clear patterns and formations he’d watched his people practice every day. Commander? Argon roared with relief as the black and silver dragon left formation. Carson, Lexanii is hurt. I need you to follow me down. He stumbled in his haste to land and nearly dove head first into the underbrush. Behind him he heard Carson’s draconic snort. Gently he placed Lexanii’s still body on a soft bed of moss and then stepped back to let the healer work. What the hell? Argons heart skittered at Carson’s words. What’s wrong? I don’t know. She’s not responding to my healing. What happened to her? Carson asked. I don’t know! She suddenly shifted out of dragon form. She must have used one of her herbs on the other queen and inhaled some of it herself. Other Queen? Never mind, tell me later. Carson mumbled to himself then shifted back to his human form. Argon willed his heart to steady itself so he, too, could shift. “I didn’t bring any of my herbs or medicines. I didn’t expect to encounter anything I couldn’t heal magically.” “What are we going to do?” Carson sent him a pained look and said, “I’ll stay with her. You need to lead the army.” Argon cursed softly before sending one last glance at the pale body lying on the ground, then stepped way and prepared to shift to his dragon form. The thunder of wings drew his attention and he turned to see two dragons landing in the clearing a few yards away. Vander’s teal and rose body settled gracefully onto the grass followed quickly by Athol’s crimson and salmon form. -85-

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“What’s wrong?” The two men shifted and stood panting heavily from their exertions. For a minute, Argon felt the familiar clutch in his stomach as he thought something must have gone wrong. Then he saw the wide grins on their faces. “You should see them, Commander! Whatever Lexanii did worked. I’d never have believed we could win that easily.” Vander’s bushy beard shook as he chuckled merrily. “It’s over? We won?” “Those who are able are in full retreat. I’d say most of the rest are going to be following hard on their heels once they get control of themselves again,” Athol explained. “We’ll be chasing them back to where they came from, but it’s over, Commander.” The war was over? Five hundred years of preparation and it was over just like that? Impossible. It was too easy. “How many casualties?” “Nothing serious. A few minor injuries.” “It’s too easy.” “I don’t think the wizard foresaw Lexanii,” Vander said, still grinning widely. His brown eyes sparkled with mirth and pride. “Some people might feel the need to thank me for bringing back the key to winning this war.” Argon grinned, then cursed. “I only hope she survives to enjoy the victory.” “There is one small problem though,” Athol said, frowning. “There’s no way we’re going to come through this without the whole damned kingdom knowing that dragons aren’t just a myth.” Damn! “We’ll deal with them when it becomes an issue.” And it was an issue he should have thought about before now. What would the kingdom and the king himself think about the existence of an army of dragons on the border? Yes, Rhalan had just been saved from a -86-


devastating war, but would the people look at them as their saviors or as a possible threat? A threat, of course. Without knowing all the facts how could the king of Rhalan think any differently? It was a matter that would have to wait until they returned to the retreat. She hurt too much to be dead, unless this was the Goddess’s purgatory and her punishment was an eternity of excruciating pain. Lexanii was sure she hadn’t done anything bad enough to warrant this kind of torture. “I think she’s coming around.” The voice drifted towards her, penetrating the fog in her mind slowly. It was some moments before she recognized the speaker. Obviously she wasn’t dead, unless Argon was serving the same sentence in the afterlife. Wouldn’t that just figure? Finally together in hell? “Wake up, Lexanii. You need to tell us what you did so Carson can counteract it.” Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Argon’s face, pale and tight, peering down at her. “Briar-hysop,” she whispered. Even saying that drained her energy so much that she had to close her eyes again. “Stay with us, Lexii. What does briar-hysop do?” “Blocks powers.” Argon cursed and she heard a very draconic snort followed by the popping and squelching sounds as a dragon shifted. Her stomach rolled at the sound. “No wonder I can’t do anything to heal her wounds.” “What the hell were you thinking?” Argon demanded.

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“I was trying to save the kingdom.” Then she realized the threat of war hadn’t disappeared, just changed. There was still an army out there. Although they had no queen to enthrall them into fighting, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t fight on their own. “The army, what’s going on?” She realized she was lying in the grass and tried to pull herself up despite the wave of dizziness that swamped her. “Lie down. Everything’s fine. Whatever you did down there must have worked. They sent up about a dozen dragons and we overtook them easily.” It was Athol’s voice, coming from somewhere behind her head. “Vander found a bunch of men fighting for the latrines and a bunch more wandering around talking to themselves and acting very strange.” Lexanii smirked. So some of her plan had worked, at least. “Is she going to be okay? How long does it take this briar stuff to wear off?” She saw Carson shrug. “I have no idea. I’ve never seen it before. It might depend on how much she inhaled.” “And the baby?” Lexanii gasped. “Is there—am I?” “Yes, you are. And, believe me, I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been told to check. You should have come to the healing hall before you left.” “It wouldn’t have mattered. I would still have gone through with my plan.” Carson rolled his eyes. “I’m sure that’s true. Regardless, from what I can tell, the baby is fine, though it’s obviously too early to know for certain. Four days is very early in a pregnancy to be judging these things.” A tingling feeling skittered over her skin. She frowned and then sighed as the pain in her back receding. “I think the Briar-hysop is wearing off.” With a start, she looked at Argon and frowned again. “You caught me? How did you do that?” -88-


“I’ve had years more experience flying than you, Lexanii. As soon as I heard your last mind call, I knew you must be in trouble.” He’d stepped closer, but not close enough. His expression was guarded and she recognized the deliberate distance he was placing between them, not just physical distance, but emotional distance. She wanted to cry. Obviously he didn’t feel the same way. Well, fine. “I’d like to be alone now, to rest,” she whispered and was grateful when Carson motioned to the still unseen Athol and she heard, and felt, them walk away. “I meant you, too, Argon.” “You want me to leave? You said you loved me.” His voice was soft and calm. Lexanii shrugged. “I thought I was going to die.” His eyes narrowed and he stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Fine. So you didn’t mean it. Glad we got that cleared up.” He stalked away and she closed her eyes against the tears threatening to break free. Then she heard footsteps returning. “No.” Her eyes flew open. “What do you mean, no?” “I don’t believe you.” “Are you calling me a liar?” “So you’re saying you really don’t love me?” “I’m not repeating myself for you.” “Well, too bad. We’re getting married and you’ll just have to deal with it.” “The hell we are!” “You are carrying my baby in that scrawny little body of yours, and I don’t trust you not to do something else stupid to endanger its life.” “You don’t trust me? Well, that’s certainly a great basis for a marriage.” “Lexanii, don’t fight me on this.“ He sounded tired and she realized then that he must be as exhausted as she was. -89-

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“I thought you wanted us to be lovers? Or even for me to be your mistress?” He cursed and stomped away. “I’ve apologized for that.” “No, you haven’t.” “I’ve apologized to you in my heart every day for ten years. I knew we couldn’t be together the way you wanted, not back then. I had a duty to obey my father and I couldn’t defy him, not even for you.” Lexanii’s eyes narrowed. That had sounded suspiciously like he was admitting he had cared about her. “Then why not just say so? Why ask me to be your mistress if it wasn’t what you wanted?” “I thought it would be easier if you hated me, that it would be easier than seeing me wed another. Goddess, that sounds so arrogant, but I was only seventeen. And, I knew I couldn’t stand to see you everyday, knowing that I couldn’t have you.” “You wanted me?” “Of course I did.” His expression softened. “And now?” “I can’t expect you to still care about me. I’ve been deliberately cold and distant with you, but I never stopped loving you.” “Oh, Argon, you really are an idiot.” She laughed weakly “Are you saying you do still love me?” “Of course I do.” “So then you’ll marry me?” “Don’t you think a queen should have the right to choose her own consort? The best man to father her children?” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’d better be teasing me, Lexanii. Because queen or not, I can still drag you off into those bushes and make love to you until you’re too exhausted to think about any other man.” “Well, thank the Goddess! I thought you’d never get around to it.” -90-


He knelt before her and gathered her into his arms. “I love you, Lexii.” “I love you, too, Argon.” “I think we’d better wait until you’re all healed and recovered before I drag you off to the bushes though. I’m sure there’s something in the protocols about not seducing a woman when she’s injured and narrowly escaped death.” Lexanii sighed deeply, but smiled. “And you know what I’m going to do with your stupid protocols once I’m all better, don’t you?” He laughed. “I can’t wait.”

-91-

Jennie Andrus

Chapter Eleven “How many times do I have to tell you I’m fine?” Lexanii groused as Argon carried her up the stairs. “You still look pale and sickly.” She snorted. “I looked like that before any of this happened.” “You’re a hero, Lexii. You could be hideously deformed and nobody would care.” “How comforting,” she drawled. Argon laughed and pressed a teasing kiss to the tip of her nose. “You do realize that you won’t be able to sleep outside anymore, right?” “I’ll sleep wherever I want to sleep,” she quipped. He laughed again before kicking open the nearest door and stepping over the threshold. “I was hoping I could entice you to share my quarters.” Argon set her down on the plush carpet and if he hadn’t still been holding onto her waist she’d likely have sank into the cushiony softness. Never had she seen a room so large and elegant. Round, with a domed ceiling, the room took up the entire tower. The walls were ringed with brilliant tapestries and large windows with beveled glass panes. Everything she saw was sapphire and emerald, from the bedding to the large. curving wardrobe. “Great Goddess! This is where you sleep?” she breathed. The room was so immense that it gave the impression of being out in the open air—almost, especially by the balcony. “Being in command does have a few advantages.” -92-


There was even a fireplace. She saw him watching her and realized her mouth was still hanging open. She shrugged and stuffed her hands into her pockets. “I suppose it’s alright.” His eyes narrowed and she saw him cast his gaze around the chamber. “Alright?” “Well, it’s big enough, I guess. I’m not sure I like the colors.” She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the look of insulted rage he was trying desperately to conceal. Goddess, the man needed to be teased more often. Suddenly he scooped her up and strode to the massive bed where he threw her unceremoniously onto the soft emerald covering. “You’ll sleep here whether you like it or not.” Lexanii’s eyes widened. “Are you trying to give me orders again? Don’t make me thrall you.” His face paled. “Argon, I was kidding. I’d never use my powers against you like that.” “Lexanii, I need to tell you the rest of your powers. I should have done it as soon as I knew what you were, but I was afraid you’d use them to make trouble. I was an idiot and it could have cost you your life.” She listened with fascination to the list of gifts that went along with being a queen and when he was done she saw the look of wariness on his face. She might have laughed if his body hadn’t been so tense. “Is that it?” “Isn’t that enough?” “Oh, it’s more than enough. I was just wondering which of those powers has you so worried.” He didn’t answer and she sighed, knowing damn well which one it was. “You’re worried that I’ll use magic to make all the men on the retreat want me, aren’t you?”

-93-

Jennie Andrus

“You’ve been lonely for a long time, Lexii, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes with you. I’ve hurt you and—“ He stopped suddenly and she watched with fascination as his eyes glazed with lust. “Really, Argon, I thought we’d settled all of this. I love you. I sacrificed ten years of my life for you. Do you really believe I would turn to other men now that I have you?” “I wouldn’t blame you,” he mumbled. Lexanii smirked and sent him another wave of power. He moaned. His fingers curled into a fist, bunching the bedding between his fingers. “I give you my word that I won’t use that particular gift on any other man. You, however, aren’t going to be so lucky.” She sent another pulse and smirked as he nearly began to pant. “I’m going to get you for this,” he ground out before grabbing her by the shoulders and dragging her to him. His mouth crushed hers in a kiss so desperate and hungry that she whimpered helplessly. Lexanii clung to him, letting his mouth and hands rob her of all thought. He wrenched himself away from her and snarled, “You’re going to bring chaos to the mountain.” “Of course. You should remember I was always stirring up trouble.” She sent another burst of desire towards him and he groaned. “I think you’ve made your point.” “You haven’t ripped my clothes off yet, so I’d have to disagree.” “Oh, I’ll get to that, believe me. First, I think we need to lay down some rules.” Lexanii snorted. “Why bother? You know I won’t obey them.” She smirked and sent another little pulse of power towards him. “I’m in so much trouble.” Lexanii laughed and pressed herself against him. “Love me Argon,” she whispered in his ear. -94-


He made short work of her clothes and within seconds she was laying naked before him on the deep green blanket. He slid down beside her, fully clothed and let his eyes drift over her body. “You know the thing about rules is, that in order for people to respect them, there has to be punishments for disobeying. I also think that it’s only fair that you know what to expect in advance.” Apprehension warred with desire. She didn’t know what he was thinking and it both excited and irritated her. “You want to punish me?” “Maybe we could call it a deterrent. To ensure that you don’t use that particular power against me unless we are alone.” She laughed. “Well I wasn’t planning on doing it in public. I’ve had my first and only experience with mating in public, thank you very much.” “Then you won’t ever have to worry about it. But just in case.” He leaned forward and captured the peak of one breast between his teeth, gently flicking it with his tongue. “Argon, if this is your punishment, I’m going to have a great time breaking the rules,” she whispered through clenched teeth. He pulled away and grinned wickedly before bestowing the same treatment to her other nipple. At the same time his hand slid slowly and teasingly up her outer thigh, tracing over her hip, across her stomach to the underside of her breasts and back down to the other hip. “I think you missed a spot,” she whimpered, her entire body tight with anticipation. Argon quirked an eyebrow. “You mean here?” His hand slipped lower and, to her dismay, bypassed the spot most eager for his touch to settle on her knee. “You know damn well that wasn’t what I meant,” she ground out. Curse the man. This wasn’t the time for teasing.

-95-

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“Oh, you mean here?” With his fingers barely touching her flesh, he traced a slow path up her inner thigh. Lexii groaned and let her legs fall open enough to allow him access. When at last his fingers touched the aching button, she moaned and arched against his hand. His caresses were light and slow, just enough to drive her wild without bringing the release that was just tantalizingly out of reach. He’d slip one finger into her then withdraw again, leaving her growling with frustration. Lexanii grit her teeth and pressed herself more firmly against him, but he pulled away, placing his hand on her hip while he suckled gently at her breasts. She tried to pull him on top of her, to feel his weight between her thighs, but he resisted her efforts and continued to tease her unmercifully. Her hands were wild, trying to pull off his clothes, playing with his soft hair and caressing any bit of bare flesh she could find. Which wasn’t much. She tried to use her powers on him, tried to get him as frantic and desperate as he’d made her but her mind was so swamped with pleasure she couldn’t concentrate. “Argon, please!” She tried begging. He moved away and quickly removed his clothes, tossing them to the floor. Then he settled himself between her thighs and pressed soft kisses across her breasts and down her belly. It was nice in a sweet and sensitive way, but she wanted him inside her. She wanted to feel the hard, thick length of him filling her. When she felt his breath feather across the tight curls between her thighs, she jumped, and when his tongue flicked softly against her damp flesh, she cried out in shocked pleasure. Within moments, she writhed beneath him, so close to the edge she could practically feel herself beginning to fall. And every time she felt herself about to spin out of control, he’d ease back. -96-


Over and over again, he brought her to the brink until she was so frantic, she thought surely she would die from the anticipation. “Do you want me to stop?” What? Was he crazy? “Of course I don’t want you to stop!” “Then don’t use that particular power in public.” Lexanii froze beneath him. Her heart thudded once, hard against her ribs while her mind struggled to comprehend his words. She shoved herself away, scooting up the bed to look at him. “Argon, one of these days, I’m going to kick your ass.” But not now. No, right now she had more important matters to take care of. He didn’t know what to expect from her, and he was just crazy enough to find that exciting. Her expression was a mix of outrage and determination. She looked like she was deciding whether to kill him or jump him. So when she leapt up from the bed and pounced, he halfexpected her to try and break his nose. Instead she straddled his hips and pushed him to the bed with her mouth on his. Her tongue probed and teased his own. Her hands roamed over his body as if she were trying to commit each slope and ridge to memory. When her questing fingers closed around his erection, he groaned. “I should make you suffer like you just did to me,” she growled and for a moment he was worried she might actually do that. His plan hadn’t really been all that well thought out for a man who had studied tactics for ten years. He should have known she would retaliate. But instead of tormenting him with passion, she shifted her position and impaled herself with his shaft. He groaned at the feeling of her wet heat surrounding him. His hands gripped her hips as she began to move over him. Goddess, he should have known his Lexanii would take matters into her own hands. -97-

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Her back arched, thrusting her breasts forward, the nipples puckered as if demanding attention. He cupped them with his hands, working the dark rose points between his thumb and forefinger. Lexanii moaned and increased her tempo. He felt her body tense over him and around him, then she screamed and he felt her inner muscles pulsing with her orgasm, sending him spiraling out of control. He heaved beneath her, his hands leaving her breasts to grip her hips while he thrust himself into her. She matched him, thrust for thrust, moan for moan, their bodies slick with sweat and tight with passion. With a roar, he emptied himself into her. She collapsed over him, her breasts soft and giving against his chest. Her body trembled and he could feel her heart thundering in a frantic rhythm that matched his own. Dear Goddess! He’d never get himself out of this bed. Not that he wanted to. If he had his way, he’d keep Lexanii busy in his bed for at least a week. Who needed food? Not him, that’s for sure. When she shifted above him, pulling free of their intimate embrace, he tried to pull her back. He’d almost lost her today. Until time had softened the memory of her falling from the sky, he didn’t intend to let her get more than an arm’s length away from him. He moved over, giving her room to snuggle up next to him, but instead of settling into his arms, she moved away to the edge of the bed. And grabbed her breeches. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice rough and drowsy. “Going to bed.” Her voice was cheerful and bright. For some reason, it sent a chill through him. He blinked. “But this is our bed. I’ll get someone to gather your belongings and bring them up here in the morning.” “That won’t be necessary.” She’d found her tunic and pulled it over her head. “Lexii—“ -98-


“Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.” “What? What are you talking about?” She laughed. “Don’t forget, I’m going to kick your ass tomorrow.” With a wink, she left the room, closing the door behind her. Her soft chuckles faded down the corridor, and before they disappeared completely, his own laughter echoed through the room. Goddess, he loved her. His life had changed in such a short time, and for the first time in years, the future was a mystery. While the conquering army was defeated, there were other threats on the horizon, other problems to be dealt with. He had no idea what tomorrow would bring except for the certainty that Lexanii would be there. He should go after her, should haul her over his shoulder, drag her back to bed, and make love to her until she forgot her promised retribution. Argon snorted. Who was he kidding? Lexanii wouldn’t forget anything. She’d not given up her quest to avenge him through ten long years of suffering. As he laid string at the ceiling, he thought again about the future and knew that no matter what dangers came their way, Lexanii would always be at his side and that with her around his life would never get boring. What the hell was she doing? Moonlight cast the keep in soft silver light. It looked romantic and— right. It looked right, so what was she doing going to a damp cold tent when she could spend the night in the arms of the man she loved? She’d been mad at him, but with her body still humming with pleasure, Lexanii couldn’t remember the reason for her pique. So maybe he’d been a little high-handed trying to impose the rules on her, but had she ever given him reason to believe she wouldn’t do the very thing he feared? After all the mischief she’d gotten them into in the past, how could she blame him for being worried? -99-

Jennie Andrus

Goddess, she was a stubborn bitch. Was she really going to risk this hard won love over something so stupid? With a sigh, she stopped on the edge of the landing field and looked back at the glowing keep and the tower room where Argon slept. The idea of sleeping indoors—no matter how large the room—made her throat tighten painfully. In that instant, Lexanii realized she was letting her fear control her and cursed soundly into the night. I will not let my fear rule me,” she muttered. If she was stubborn enough to do everything she’d done to get here, surely she was stubborn enough to overcome this phobia. With her teeth clenched, she gathered her belongings and made her way back to the keep, ready to grovel if necessary—okay, maybe she wasn’t quite ready to go that far, but she would do her best to assure Argon that his worries were groundless. He was worth it. He was worth anything. The hum of voices greeted her when she stepped inside and she wondered how long the party in the great hall would last. Not wanting to get dragged into the fun, she rushed to the stairway leading to Argon’s tower. Sprinting up the narrow stairs before anyone could see her, Lexanii nearly ran into Argon on his way down. “Joining the party?” she asked, her eyes drifting to the bulky bundle he held under his arm. “I couldn’t sleep. Coming back to kick my ass?” “I was coming to apologize.” “Apologize?” Lexanii sighed. “I shouldn’t have teased you about using that gift and I—“ “Lexii, it’s okay. I’m the one who should be sorry.” -100-


She laughed at the stubborn tone n his voice. “Goddess, we’re a quite the pair. Before this turns into an argument over who should be more sorry, why don’t we declare the subject closed?” Argon chuckled. “Sound good to me. Now, should we celebrate like everyone else?” “Actually, I think I’m ready for bed.” She saw his eyes darken with desire and took satisfaction in knowing her power had nothing to do with it. “Sounds good to me,” he said, scooping her up and heading down the stairs. “Wait. Where are you going? Our room is up the stairs, not down.” Argon stopped, giving her a hesitant smile. “Are you sure? I don’t mind sleeping outside.” “Trust me, your bed is much more comfortable. But do you think we could move it out to the balcony? Just for a little while?” “Deal,” he said and planted a soft kiss to her lips before turning back up the stairs.

-101-

Jennie Andrus To learn more about Jennie Andrus, please visit jennieandrus.com. Send an email to [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join

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