Gideon let out a long sigh, but made no move to stand.
So, he was still alive then, and his name was Gideon. Damn.
Annoyed, the silver dragon shook him again, then sat down.“At least tell me you’ve eaten. You’ll wither away if you keep on like this.”
His only response was another long sigh.
The silver dragon shook his head and looked off into the distance.“You know, that damn lich is dead. The lot of us are no longer trapped behind Volsog’s gate and the lands beyond are completely free rein. You’ll miss out on all theexcitement if you remain here. I understand your pain but—”
“You don’t,”Gideon interrupted.
So, he can talk.I was seething. Years of talking to the walls like a madwoman and that donkey’s ass could have chimed in at any time.
His harasser paused, then lowered his head.“You’re right. I don’t. But you were a friend to my father, and I owe it to him not to let you rot away. So, get up and go eat or I’m not leaving.”When the dragon on the ground didn’t move, sparkles of lightning erupted from the silver dragon’s body. They raced down his scales until they collected in a frantic dance at the tip of his tail.“I’m not asking, Gideon.”
When Gideon didn’t move, the silver dragon whipped its tail against the blue one’s hide, provoking a snarl. Undeterred by my captor’s refusal to budge, the silver dragon stared him down.“Go eat,”he said again, this time with a hint of a threat in his voice.
The blue dragon finally gave in, rising to his full height with a grunt.“Fine. You win, Dante. I’ll go eat. But I’m not leaving this place.”
Dante blew out a relieved breath, and the sparks died down.“Thank you.”
The blue dragon started off in the opposite direction to my hiding spot. Dante watched him go, not moving until Gideon’s blue scales receded into the ocean waves.
My heart was pounding in my chest as I mentally replayed what had happened. So, there were other dragons around. Some of whom were incredibly pushy. I waited, crouched down in my hiding spot to see what the newcomer would do next. A gust of wind blew behind me, sending loose strands of curls to brush against my face. Annoyed, I brushed them back and shifted to sit on my heels.
Dante’s head snapped up, making me freeze.
Crap, did he hear me move?
His nostrils flared. The mane running down his back, puffed up like an angry cat as he sniffed at the air. I didn’t breathe. Couldn’t even if I wanted to. After a few agonizing seconds, the silver dragon’s body relaxed. His mane lost its poof as he let out a breath.“I must be imagining things,”he muttered, before gray smoke engulfed his entire body.
In the blink of an eye, a tall man dressed in a simple blue tunic and gray pants stood in the silver dragon’s place. The only sign left of the monstrous creature was the long silver hair and the lone horn adoring the left side of his head. I bit back a gasp, never having seen a dragon transform before. The dragon-man-whatever turned and entered my tower, but not before giving the area one last sweeping glance.
I waited a few minutes, making sure he was gone before I dared move. When I could finally breathe again, I let out a shaky laugh. “Well, that was close.”
I slowly stood up, brushing the dirt and leaves off my wet clothes. “Alright, let’s not panic,” I said to myself. “There’s another dragon-man-thing on the island and my raft is smashed to bits.” My hands fiddled with the ends of my hair as my body brimmed with nervous energy. “Escape isn’t an option, nor do we know if this new guy is friendly or a total dick. Judging by Gideon’s weird abduction kink, that one is probably a dick too.”
I glanced at my tower then paced back and forth to gather my thoughts. Walking up to a strange man and asking for a ride home wasn’t the best plan, even if the man was human. Let alone a dragon big enough to swallow you whole. He could sooner kill me than just say no. But I was a desperate woman. Desperate women do desperate things.
Swirling leaves danced around my feet. I looked down to find a thin caapi vine entangling itself around my ankle. Smiling, I plucked it free and ran my thumb over the deep green leaves. The innocent-looking little plant could pack one hell of a punch when brewed into ayahuasca. A few sips in had me feeling euphoric even on my loneliest days. “Maybe the Fates don’t hate me after all.” A sober dragon might be a raging asshole, but perhaps a high one just might help me escape.
Chapter 3
Dante
The aroma was stronger inside the tower. My blood raced as an explosion of freesia-scented madness engulfed the room. I closed my eyes, gripped the table in front of me and tried to slow my breathing. Hints of vanilla intertwined with the sweet smell of spring. Sparks of my magic raced their way into my fangs until my jaw ached with the build-up. The need to claim the owner of the alluring scent tore at my insides until clouds churned in the sky. “Well… fuck.”
It couldn’t have been more than a few hours since I had left Fallon’s territory. The desire to find a mate became too hard to fight after being surrounded by happy couples. Not to mention the bitterness I felt watching Fallon, a much younger dragon, find everything I had hoped for right in front of me. True mates were so rare it wasn’t unheard of to go a thousand years without finding one. Yet the whelp had barely earned his fire and immediately stumbled upon his mate, Cinnamon.
I was happy for them both. Somewhere deep down, past all the unyielding envy. They had saved me and the rest of the world from the clutches of that evil lich, after all. But a man can only watch so many stolen kisses.
Who would’ve thought all I had to do was fly a few hours southwest to visit an old friend. Well, a friend of the family. I’d only met the once-proud sea-dragon-turned-insufferable-sad-sack a handful of times when I was younger. When Myva sealed all demons behind Volsog Gate, Gideon was nowhere to be found. My father and I could only assume he didn’t make it and was slain in battle.
The collection of islands that made up his territory must’ve been just out of range of Myva’s magic. Lucky son of a bitch. Not that it mattered; it seems the Fates had finally decided to put luck on my side.
I took a deep breath, savoring the scent in the air. Whoever she was, she couldn’t have been gone long. There must’ve been a human settlement somewhere on these islands that I’d missed. It definitely wasn’t the scent of a dragoness. Which was fine. With female demons so rare, I expected my mate would be human. Fragile as they were. A few years after taking in my magic, and even the frailest of humans would become a force to be reckoned with. I just needed to bite her as soon as possible to begin the process.
Would she allow me to claim her right away?I thrummed my fingers on the kitchen counter and cursed. It had been a few years since my last courtship ended. Akina, like most dragons, had a love of treasure and gifts so the courtship was easy enough. The rest of our time together was a whirlwind of stress and bad decisions but at least I had that part down. We weren’t fated mates, so I never actually claimed her. Yet perhaps the rules were similar.
