A Dragon's Tale Read online

  Eli seized her around the middle and hugged her, spinning her in a quick circle as his arms held her tightly. When he let go, Rachel looked surprised and incredibly flustered.

  “Come on,” Pryce said kindly, guiding her to her bed. “We have time for a nap. The celebration will still be here when you wake up.”

  Nina turned away from the scene, wondering why she wanted so badly to keep watching. Pryce sat her down on her bed, slipping an arm around her as he took a seat at her side.

  “Are you okay?” he asked seriously.

  She looked into his blue eyes, waiting for herself to break down or freak out. Instead, she pulled him to her, pressing her lips against his so firmly that it sent a frisson of pain through her body before the blissful pleasure took over.

  Even though she’d felt tired a moment before, her energy swelled to the surface as soon as Pryce’s essence swept over her skin. She had a burst of clarity, and all she wanted then was so have Pryce inside her for what would be the first time in the history of the rest of their lives. She tried to pull him on top of her, but he pulled back, his eyes glittering with amusement and regret.

  “Whoa,” he said. “You have to get some rest. I know you’re happy to be alive, but you’re not doing your exhausted body any favors.”

  Nina couldn't let it go. “I love you, Pryce.”

  “I know,” he said adoringly, kissing her temple and cheek in turn. “I love you, too, baby.”

  Her skin flushed, and she shook her head. “No, Pryce. I love you. I love you. And I want to be with you.” She paused. “Just you.”

  Pryce’s eyes widened, and she watched a series of emotions pass over his gorgeous, rugged features. “Nina, you don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “I do,” she said fiercely.

  Pryce shook his head firmly. “We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

  Nina started to say that she didn’t want to talk about it later, but Pryce stood up, and the moment their skin lost contact, her exhaustion returned.

  “Okay,” she mumbled, deeply confused. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  As soon as her head hit her pillow, her confusion faded, and she sank into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

  *

  Pryce had been right—the celebrations were still going on when she woke up. It had to be night time by then, but the lair had no windows, so she couldn't be sure. Nina stood by her bedroom, watching her family, Pryce, and Eli chat on the couch while they drank what she knew to be her father’s most expensive bottle of scotch. They were all so exuberant that she thought she’d wake herself up a little by listening to their happy racket. Eli seemed to be recounting his first experience with a good Scotch.

  “And he told me it was soda!” Eli was saying. “I was only seventeen, so I took a huge gulp and—” he mimed choking, pressing his hands to neck and crossing his eyes. Everyone laughed, and Nina smiled at him, feeling fonder of him than ever. Then she remembered the conversation she’d tried to have with Pryce, and her spirits sank a little.

  Pryce looked up and noticed her watching. He got up and quietly crossed over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug before covering her mouth in a sultry kiss.

  “Hey,” he said, grinning so widely it looked like his cheeks hurt.

  Nina smiled as widely as she could, too. “Hey yourself.”

  “You want to join us? You should eat before you start drinking, though. You slept through the night, you know.”

  She shook her head. “I want to finish talking.”

  Pryce’s features darkened. “Nina, don’t go making any rash decisions.”

  “I’m not,” she promised. “In fact, I don’t think it’s going to be totally my decision at all.”

  Pryce looked at her curiously. “I can see I’m not going to stop you.”

  Nina grinned. “No, you’re not. Can you send Eli over?”

  Pryce gave her one last, piercing look before striding over to tap Eli on the shoulder. Eli’s face lit up in a smile when he saw she was awake, and he handed his drink to Pryce and trotted over.

  “You’re up!” he said, wrapping her in a hug.

  She couldn’t help but notice how brief the hug was, and how little of his essence she could feel.

  Nina looked at him closely. “You feel different.”

  Eli didn’t know what to say to that, it seemed. He shrugged, blushing under her gaze and remaining completely silent.

  “I feel different, too,” she admitted. “Everything does.”

  Eli smiled. “We’ve all been through a lot, Nina. I think that’s a good thing.”

  She considered his answer, but she wasn’t sure it explained everything. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about Eli was different. It had been different for a few days, she realized, but today it felt incredibly different.

  “You wanted to talk to me about something?” Eli asked.

  His energy was pleasant and happy, and more of it was visible to her now. Nina realized with a shock this aura had a color now—a deep green, the color of healthy grass. A new power. Is that’s what’s off?

  As she stared at her own bright aura, she realized what it was. That strange patch in Eli’s energy the day before had been stuck in her mind like a grain of sand in an oyster shell, and now she knew why.

  “You have feelings for someone else,” she said aloud. “That’s what you were hiding from me.”

  Eli looked deeply embarrassed, but his sheepish smile confirmed her suspicions. “They’re not serious,” he clarified. “And it’s not like I no longer love you.”

  “Then why is it so different between us?” Nina asked, more curious than upset. “What changed?”

  He gave her a sad smile. “I realized that you all were right, Nina. Listening to you talk about how selfish I’d been with my treatment of you made me come to my senses. I’m obsessed with powerful women, powerful dragons, in fact.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, and she noticed that he was wearing jeans for the first time. “I was attracted to that aspect of you too much to really love you the right way. As I realized this, I started becoming interested in someone else.”

  “Who?” Nina asked, feeling curiously numb. “Who is it?”

  Eli hesitated, but at that moment she noticed Rachel watching them both from the couch.

  “My sister?” Nina said in disbelief. “You’ve been seeing my sister?”

  Her voice must have carried, because Rachel hopped off the couch and sprinted over, panic on her face.

  “Nina, it’s nothing,” she said desperately. “We stayed up talking for a few nights about what the old dragon kingdom was like and how witches lived with and helped them. It was so innocent at first, but then we noticed this chemistry pulling us together.” Her words were rushed, and there were fearful tears in her eyes. “On the night before Eli went back to the Council, we kissed, but it stopped there, I swear! I was ready to kill him with you when I thought he’d betrayed us, but…” she trailed off, too afraid to continue.

  Nina felt a smile come to her lips. “But after another near death experience, you made up.”

  They looked at each other and blushed.

  “Oh,” Nina said, laughing now. “You two made more than just ‘up’ didn’t you?”

  Rachel had stopped crying and was starting to smile now that she saw her sister wasn’t mad. “Excuse me? You’ve spent enough time making ‘more than up’ yourself, haven’t you? At least the curtains are sound proof!”

  Nina’s shock dissolved into laughter as she grabbed her sister by the arms, pulling her in for a hug that was part tears of joy, and part tears of relief. She couldn’t believe how things had worked out, and she knew the relief showed on her face.

  “You’re really not mad?” Eli asked cautiously.

  Nina laughed again. “Eli, I was going to tell you I only wanted to see Pryce, anyway. I’m not mad. In fact, I approve of you two.” She smiled at them both. “I guess I’m a matchmaker.”

  “Oh!�
�� Rachel said suddenly. “Tell her about the Council.”

  Nina felt a stab of fear at the sound of the name, then reminded herself that her enemies were dead. “What about it?”

  “We went to the headquarters this morning,” he explained. “Everything is in ruins, figuratively. Imelda spilled the whole story when everyone felt Eka die. We were able to confirm it with Eka’s own personal notes, and Osrik fled after people said he was helping Lylah seek revenge the last few days.”

  “Wow,” Nina said, imagining a deserted Council chamber. “Wait, what about Cedric? He wasn’t involved, was he?”

  “No,” Eli said, grinning broadly. “He was the only good egg. As such, Cedric resigned and is going home to his husband, who he sees rarely.”

  “Eli and I saw him personally,” Rachel said. “Everyone he met knows what's going on now. They didn’t even care that a witch was strolling into their midst.”

  “How did word spread so fast?”

  Eli smiled. “The new powers helped clue some people in.”

  “New powers?” Nina asked blankly. “What—you mean the ones I’m supposed to help people gain? They’re coming out already?”

  Instead of answering, Eli held out his arms and closed his eyes. After a moment, his body started to lift off the ground, stopping about ten feet above them before leaning sideways and navigating over to the red velvet couch. Then he rose in the air again and soared back over to them, a satisfied look on his face.

  “Holy shit!” Nina blurted.

  Pryce came over, laughing uproariously at the shock on her face. “I wish you could see yourself. You can literally control the fabric of space-time, and a little hovering has you flipping your shit.”

  Nina blushed. “Don’t make fun of your queen, Pryce,” she said, suppressing a smile. “I’ll put you in the stocks.”

  “Try me,” Pryce said, slipping an arm around her waist. “You can’t hold me down, babe. I’m too wild.”

  Nina felt a rush of happiness as she craned her neck to receive Pryce’s kiss. Her heart had never known such joy. As she wrapped her arms around her lover’s neck, she heard footsteps creep away from them and was glad for the privacy. Pryce’s aura was a deep cerulean blue, solid and calming and as inviting as his mysterious scent. She looked down at her own aura to find a bright pink line surrounding her body; when she looked more closely, the space between their bodies gave her pause.

  As their auras mingled—brightest pink with truest blue—they created an entirely new color: a calm, lovely lavender shade that was the exact same color as the center of the Heart.

  “Can you see that?” Nina asked, pointing between them. “It looks like the Heart.”

  Pryce looked down and frowned. “I don’t see anything.” Then his eyes widened and he turned around to dive behind his curtain, rustling around in his bag for a moment before straightening and turning around.

  “Speaking of Hearts,” he said, pulling something from behind his back.

  Nina looked at the circular object in his hands. It was a jagged circle of stone made of glistening fuchsia, and it seemed to be calling to her with its gentle vibrations of power.

  “The Heart,” she said in awe. “Is that what’s left of it?”

  “Yes,” Pryce said. “I saved it for you. I think it wanted me to.”

  Nina laughed at his phrasing. “What do you mean?”

  He hesitated, then lifted the hollowed Heart and set it atop her head, where it stopped vibrating and instead contented itself letting out occasional pulses of gentle power. It felt absolutely at home on her head, and she saw that he was right. The Heart wanted her because she was a queen—and it was her crown.

  Nina moved over to a mirror and gazed at herself. She was wearing tight black jeans and a bright pink tank top, unconsciously reflecting the color of her aura. Her black hair fell in gentle waves to her elbows, and her light brown eyes were shining with happiness. With a shock, she realized that she looked exactly like her mother, save for a few shades lighter.

  I wish she could see me, she thought tearfully. On her head, the crown pulsed, and the energy it emitted soothed her own. Nina had the unshakeable feeling that this wasn’t just a powerful jewel; her parents must have had something to do with the way to operated. Maybe they’d even put a little of their power in it, too.

  On her head, the crown trembled, and she smiled, leaning her head on Pryce’s shoulder and inhaling his heady aroma, feeling more blissful than she ever thought possible. As she slipped an arm around his strong back, she inhaled again, and with a sting of recognition so strong it left her breathless, she could suddenly place his irresistible scent: wildly heated sun and sharp salt and silken smoke. The scent that brought up memories of that beautiful day on the beach with the last dragons she’d loved—her parents.

  She turned to Pryce and took his hand, her hand still around his back so there bodies crushed together and turned in a kind of waltz.

  “You know,” she said. “Nat was telling me that my parents wanted to bring the Greater Horde back to its glory days.” She paused, feeling a swell of pride knock her words of track before she nudged herself back to the preset. “I guess dragons and witches coexisted, as well as fairies and vampires and everything else. It just got written out, like the truth about the queen.”

  Pryce smiled knowingly. “And you want to continue their work.”

  Nina drew him close to her. “What do you think, Pryce?”

  He cupped her chin with his strong hands. “I think I’d be honored to assist you.”

  Nina giggled at his formality. “Why are you talking like that?”

  “Because you’re a queen,” he answered simply. “You’re my queen.”

  Nina pressed her hand to the nape of his neck and gazed lovingly into his eyes. “Guess what? You’re my king. I think that makes us equals.”

  A light came to Pryce’s eyes that illuminated his entire face. “Don’t tease me, please, Nina,” he said softly.

  Nina shook her head. “I’m not teasing, Pryce. I chose you because I’m in love with you, and we work well together—in every way. We’re on the same wavelength, and now that my head has been pulled from the sand, we’re on the same page. We belong together.” She shivered at the memory of their first time making love alone. “My energy knew it before I did. It had already chosen you, I think, from the moment we’d met.”

  Pryce was speechless. He translated his emotion into a gentle, smoldering kiss that lifted her from her feet; Nina felt him moving her behind the curtain and toward his bed as his hands slipped beneath her tank top and started to massage her soft skin.

  She pulled away from him, her eyes glinting with mischief. “You were right,” she said.

  “You'll have to be more specific,” Pryce joked.

  Nina laughed and shoved him playfully. “You know. About me, about Eli... about the jewel. I didn't need it. I only needed myself. And you.”

  “You didn’t need me,” Pryce countered. “You needed to believe in yourself. You were the jewel the whole time. I was stupid not to see it.”

  Nina smiled at him, and he blushed to the roots of his wavy blonde hair. “Are you going to be this corny for the next few thousand years of our lives?”

  Pryce smiled back, sending a shiver down her spine. She wondered if he would always have that effect on her.

  “Yes,” he said, his voice choked with need. “I am.”

  “Good,” Nina said simply. “I love it.”

  He looked at her in wonder and paused, smiling strangely as the both sat down together on the edge of his bed.

  “You really are my jewel,” he said then. “You’re precious to me.”

  Nina’s energy vibrated with joy, and she squealed with laughter as Pryce tackled her and covered her face in kisses. So much had happened in the space of a week. Will my whole life with him be this intense?

  “Are you okay with the speed we’re going on?” Nina asked a moment later, breathless from tussling with him on
the bed.

  “Yes and no,” he said as he kissed her neck. “I love how close we are. But I hate how it happened.” He looked at her, a serious expression on his face. “Action-wise, things need to go slow for a while.”

  Nina started to agree, but he pressed his lips against hers and started to unbutton her jeans, pushing her down on the bed while he planted hot kisses on the skin he exposed as he pulled her bottoms away from her.

  “I thought you wanted to go slow,” she gasped as his mouth trailed from the silky skin of her inner thigh to the hot, sensitive button of flesh between her moistened lips.

  Pryce looked up, his blue eyes full of mischief. “Yeah, well look what happened last time you said that.”

  He pressed his mouth to her wet, hot center again, and her words were stolen from her throat by the first waves of agonizing pleasure brought on by his careful tongue. Nina had a single coherent thought before she gave in to the slow build of ecstasy.

  If this is slow, I’ll take it.

  THE END

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