“Extinct means no longer living,” I growled. “Whatever this thing was, it was alive until Isobel got hold of it.”
The Dragona pulled the ladder over to the books on the top shelf. “Concealed can be confused with extinct.”
Climbing the ladder brought her figure into full reveal. Tall and graceful, with luscious curves to her hips and breasts, she was every inch a Dragon.
Vali was beautiful. And she did nothing for me.
She should have. I’d had many Dragonas over the years, but very few were as gorgeous as Vali. Yet not even a fucking growl from either my monster or beast. They clearly regarded themselves as taken.
It was up to me to prove them wrong.
Balanced on the ladder, Vali scanned the line of ancient books on the top shelf, before selecting three and descending with them. I returned to paging through my colored illustrations, unsure whether I really wanted to know what the skull belonged to.
Because based on the scales I’d seen around it, and what kept erupting on Marcus, I was pretty damned sure I knew where the Isobitch had put the creature’s life essence.
Vali sat herself down with the books. A few minutes later, she tapped at the page she had opened.
“This one talks about the ancient Drakonian lines,” she said. Her finger traced a lineage chart. She pointed to the longest line. “This one led to us. But look at these.”
She rotated the book so I could take a closer look. There were multiple branches. One led to the two-winged, two-legged beasts, of which there was the Wyvern, with another sideline for the Sphinx. The first of the six-legged lines—one set of wings, four legs—led to the Gryphon. Ours also branched from that line.
I examined the illustrations of the wingless serpents—mostly aquatic, but more closely related to us, as they used to have wings as well. A side branch just off the main one led to the Basilisks—who had wings that were used only for display as they couldn’t fly. I tapped a finger on a branch labeled “Elementals”, which also included the simple statements “artificially enhanced” and “extinct”.
“Never heard of elementals,” I stated.
“Me neither,” admitted Vali. She spun the book back around and flipped through the pages before pausing, and then reading aloud. “Elementals were developed from an ancient wingless Dragon native to a single volcanic island chain in the Riikan realm. Torshin mages infused eggs from this species with crystalline power to create four strains of Drakes who had the power to manipulate the elements—fire, water, air, and earth. They used these Drakes against the Dragon Legion in the great Torshin-Dragon War. The Elemental Drakes were powerful living weapons that the Legion considered abominations, and therefore eliminated the breeding populations after the Torshin defeat.” She shook her head. “They exterminated them? I can’t see the Watchers of the time agreeing with that. But by then, the Liberi Elders might have pulled them from the fight.”
I had never heard of Elemental Drakes, but then, I’d only heard rumors about that Torshin-Dragon War. The past held little sway over me.
Vali fell silent as she continued flipping pages. “Wow, look at this one.”
She lifted the book, and I gazed at a creature that resembled a Dragon, but had a much heavier body and tiny wings. The spikes around its head and down its back were jagged, and it appeared to spout flame from its entire body.
“Fire Drake,” she read.
“I’m sure fucking glad I’ll never have to meet him,” I said.
Her lips twitched as she lowered the book again. “Says here that its fire can even burn through Dragon scales.”
My eyes narrowed. “Nothing can burn through Dragon scales.”
She shrugged, flipped the page, and showed me the creature on that one. It sat on what looked like a frozen pond. It was more streamlined than the Fire Drake, but still heavier than a Dragon. Its spikes were almost fin-like, especially down its spine. The entire animal had been sheathed in icy blue scales. She didn’t turn that one around for me, but just read off the title. “Ice Drake.”
Ice was water. And Fire. What was next? Earth? Air?
One more page flip, and she froze. Before spinning the book around again.
The image was just a pencil sketch, really, but the creature was incredibly fierce-looking, with long spikes sticking out all around its head and down its back. Huge jagged forks of lightning had been sketched around it.
I’d forgotten that air could be damned temperamental. Some Dragon I was.
But the savage head was unmistakable.
“Fucking hell,” was all I said.
24
Marcus
