Dragon King: A Dark Kings Novella (1001 Dark Nights) Read online

  Dragon King

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  1001 Dark Nights

  Dragon King

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2015 Donna Grant

  ISBN: 978-1-940887-66-1

  Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Dragon King

  A Woman On A Mission

  Grace Clark has always done things safe. She’s never colored outside of the law, but she has a book due and has found the perfect spot to break through her writer’s block. Or so she thinks. Right up until Arian suddenly appears and tries to force her away from the mountain. Unaware of the war she just stumbled into, Grace doesn’t just discover the perfect place to write, she finds Arian - the most gorgeous, enticing, mysterious man she’s ever met.

  A King With a Purpose

  Arian is a Dragon King who has slept away centuries in his cave. Recently woken, he’s about to leave his mountain to join his brethren in a war when he’s alerted that someone has crossed onto Dreagan. He’s ready to fight...until he sees the woman. She’s innocent and mortal - and she sets his blood aflame. He recognizes the danger approaching her just as the dragon within him demands he claim her for his own...

  About Donna Grant

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. She’s the author of more than thirty novels spanning multiple genres of romance. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features dragons, the Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible.

  She lives with her two children, three dogs, and four cats in Texas.

  For more information about Donna, visit her website at www.DonnaGrant.com.

  Also From Donna Grant

  Click to purchase

  Don’t miss these other spellbinding novels!

  Dark King Series

  Dark Heat (3 novella compilation)

  Darkest Flame

  Fire Rising

  Burning Desire

  Hot Blooded

  Night’s Blaze

  Soul Scorched

  Dragon King (novella)

  Dark Warrior Series

  Midnight’s Master

  Midnight’s Lover

  Midnight’s Seduction

  Midnight’s Warrior

  Midnight’s Kiss

  Midnight’s Captive

  Midnight’s Temptation

  Midnight’s Promise

  Midnight’s Surrender (novella)

  Chiasson Series

  Wild Fever

  Wild Dream

  Wild Need

  Wild Flame

  LaRue Series

  Moon Kissed

  Moon Thrall

  Rogues of Scotland Series

  The Craving

  The Hunger

  The Tempted

  The Seduced

  Dark Sword Series

  Dangerous Highlander

  Forbidden Highlander

  Wicked Highlander

  Untamed Highlander

  Shadow Highlander

  Darkest Highlander

  Shield Series

  A Dark Guardian

  A Kind of Magic

  A Dark Seduction

  A Forbidden Temptation

  A Warrior’s Heart

  Druids Glen Series

  Highland Mist

  Highland Nights

  Highland Dawn

  Highland Fires

  Highland Magic

  Dragonfyre (connected)

  Sisters of Magic Trilogy

  Shadow Magic

  Echoes of Magic

  Dangerous Magic

  And look for more anticipated novels from

  Donna Grant

  Moon Struck (LaRue)

  Passion Ignites (Dark Kings)

  Dark Alpha’s Claim (Reaper – Dark King spin off)

  coming soon!

  Sign up for the 1001 Dark Nights Newsletter

  and be entered to win a Tiffany Key necklace.

  There’s a contest every month!

  Click here to subscribe.

  As a bonus, all subscribers will receive a free

  1001 Dark Nights story

  The First Night

  by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Donna Grant

  Also by Donna Grant

  Foreword

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Also From 1001 Dark Nights

  An excerpt from Passion Ignites by Donna Grant

  Special Thanks

  One Thousand and One Dark Nights

  Once upon a time, in the future…

  I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.

  I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and

  the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast

  library at my father’s home and collected thousands

  of volumes of fantastic tales.

  I learned all about ancient races and bygone

  times. About myths and legends and dreams of all

  people through the millennium. And the more I read

  the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered

  that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually

  become part of them.

  I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher

  and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I

  would not be telling you this tale now.

  But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off

  with bravery.

  One afternoon, curious about the myth of the

  Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to

  see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar

  (Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then

  sent yesterday’s wife to be beheaded. It was written

  and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,

  the vizier’s daughter, he’d killed one thousand

  women.

  Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived

  in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged

  places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had

  never occurred before and that still to this day, I

  cannot explain.

  Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have

  taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can

  protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did
to

  protect herself and stay alive.

  Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.

  And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a

  point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.

  And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that

  he might hear the rest of my dark tale.

  As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new

  one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before

  you now.

  Chapter One

  Grace was screwed. Royally screwed. As in, her career was over. Finished. Finite.

  She turned on the windshield wipers and slowed the car as she drove through the rain in the mountains. With a renewed grip on the steering wheel, she sent a quick prayer that the rain would stop.

  A little sprinkle she could handle. A storm...well, that was another matter entirely.

  She puffed out her cheeks as she exhaled. If only she was in Scotland for a holiday, but that wasn’t the case at all. In a last-ditch effort to give her muse a good swift kick in the pants, Grace decided to travel to Scotland.

  All her friends thought she had lost her mind. Her editor thought it was just one more excuse in a very long line of them as to why she hadn’t turned the book in.

  Grace wished she knew the reason the words just stopped coming. One day they were there, and the next...gone, vanished. Poof!

  Writing wasn’t just her career. It was her life. Because within the words and pages she was able to write about heroines who had relationships she would never have. It was the sad truth, but it was the truth.

  Grace accepted her lot...in a way. She might realize the string of miserable dates were complete misses and admit that. However, the stories running through her head allowed her to dream as far as she could, and encounter men and adventures sitting behind a computer never would.

  Not being able to find the words anymore was like having someone steal her soul.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when the rain stopped and she was able to turn off her windshield wipers. In the two hours since she checked into the B&B, it hadn’t stopped raining.

  Rain was a part of being in Scotland, and she was pushing herself with her fear of storms to be out in it as well. It proved how far she would go to find her soul again. She needed to write, to sink into another world where she could find happiness and a love that lasted forever.

  Now she was armed with her laptop and steely determination. She would find her muse again. Just as soon as she found the right place. The scenery along the highway was stunning, but the noise of the passing vehicles would be too much.

  Grace needed somewhere off the beaten path. Somewhere she could pretend she was the only person left in the world.

  Already three months past due on the book, she felt the pressure to write. Which wasn’t helping her creativity in the least. Her editor had already informed her if she didn’t turn the book in three weeks from now, then the contract would be canceled.

  A full book in three weeks. Yeah, Grace was nothing if not optimistic. She was aiming for having at least half done by then. Perhaps her editor would take mercy on her and allow her to finish the book.

  She laughed at her optimism. Based on the last e-mail from her editor, it was either the entire book or nothing. Her entire future and career was on the line.

  Grace exited off the highway. She had no idea where she was going. She would know the perfect place when she found it. Narrow roads had her driving slower, which allowed her to take in the sights.

  A couple of times she pulled off the road and rolled down her window, but the sounds of civilization could still be heard. So she kept driving deeper and deeper into the mountains.

  She didn’t worry about getting lost. The GPS on her phone would get her back to the B&B in one piece. No, her entire focus was on finding a place to write.

  When drops of rain began to land on the windshield, Grace glanced over at the passenger seat to her rain jacket. All she could hope for was that it remained sprinkling.

  If there was a storm, Grace knew her fear would kick in, and she’d be done for. Astraphobia it was called, and it sucked. One wouldn’t think there were many storms any given month, right? Except when it was your fear, and it felt as if they followed you around.

  No amount of research she’d done on thunder and lightning storms stopped her fear. Just hearing the rumble of thunder sent chills down to the very marrow of her bones. And lightning? She shuddered just thinking about it.

  Some thought such awesome displays of nature were beautiful. All Grace could think about was hiding any time lightning zigzagged through the sky. She was in complete flight mode during those storms.

  It’s why she constantly checked the weather. She rarely got caught unawares anymore, unless a storm cropped up at night. But she wasn’t in Los Angeles or Paris right now. She was in Scotland—a country known for its rainfall.

  “I’m in a country with daily rainfall while trying to get past my writer’s block because of this need to have my story set in Scotland. Oh, yeah. This was a fabulous idea,” she told herself while glancing at the sky to see how dark the rainclouds were.

  Grace didn’t know how long or how far she drove. Taking back roads and roads that weren’t roads at all put her further and further from human contact, just as she wanted.

  Until she was driving on grass and came to a dead end at the base of a mountain. Grace was about to turn around when she paused. She stared at the jagged peaks and the grass covering the rocks. After a moment, she turned off her engine and opened her door.

  The quiet was broken only by the wind and the sounds of birds. Peace. That’s what the place emanated. She looked down at her mobile and saw that the service wasn’t working.

  There was a brief moment of panic when she couldn’t check the weather, but then she looked up at the sky. The sun was peaking out of the clouds.

  “Just what I need. No noise from the city or constant interruptions. If I’m going to write, I’ve got to take this chance.”

  Grace grabbed her laptop and raincoat and got out of the car. She hiked up the mountain about fifty feet before she found a boulder that made a perfect seat.

  For several minutes, she simply sat and looked out over the area. Mountains rose up all around before giving way to breathtaking valleys—or glens, as the Scots called them.

  Glens were inspiring places that were as unique as each mountain around them. Many of the glens remained unchanged for thousands of years.

  Grace spotted a small waterfall that fell into a stream that wound down the mountain and into a valley. The beauty was unmistakable.

  It was the first time in ages that Grace felt released, boundless. Unrestricted.

  As she watched the clouds move briskly across the sky, she let her mind drift to her book. Excitement flared when she saw a scene play out in her mind.

  For so very long, her characters had refused to talk to her, denied to show her anything of their story. But now they had begun to come alive once more.

  Grace opened her laptop with the document waiting. She typed as fast as the words came to her. She didn’t stop to correct spelling, didn’t halt to see if what was happening would work. She simply wrote. Bad pages were easier to fix than blank ones.

  The words continued to pour out of her. She became so focused on them that she didn’t know how many pages she had written. She went from one chapter to the next, her smile growing bigger and bigger as everything finally began to come together.

  It was the first fat drop of water in the middle of her keyboard that halted her. Her heart seized, panic threatening to take hold. But she was finally writing!

  Grace’s hands were shaking as she looked up to see a rather dark cloud settling above her. This couldn’t be happening. Not when she was writing again.

  Anger mixed with her dread. She briefly thought of returning to her car. Another drop of rain landed atop her left hand.r />
  The drops were small and coming irregularly. She could retreat as she always did with the rain, or she could try to get past her fear and keep writing.

  She stood and looked around, turning in a full circle as she scanned the area for someplace that would shield her from the rain.

  “Yes!” Grace said triumphantly as she spotted an overhang of rock from the mountain off to her right. It was just big enough to keep the rain off her.

  Grace saved her work and closed her laptop before she began the climb, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst from her chest. With every step farther from her car, she knew she was pushing herself all in the name of her story.

  The spot wasn’t that much higher, but the climb wasn’t nearly as smooth. It didn’t help that the spattering of rain became a drizzle. She stopped and put on her raincoat, tucking her computer inside to keep it dry.

  Several minutes later and out of breath, Grace settled on the grass and opened her computer. Her hands were still shaking, but the rain hadn’t increased. She could do this. She could sit through a rain shower and write. As long as there was no thunder and lightning.

  She took a deep breath and opened her mind to her characters once more. Surprisingly, it was just as easy to fall back into the story. Grace could hardly believe her luck. If only she had thought to come to Scotland months ago.

  To live so close to the very place she set her book and not visit. It was ridiculous, really.

  Grace forgot about the past few months as the words flew from her fingers onto the page. Before she knew it, she had written forty-five pages. In one sitting!

  She shivered in the cool air and looked up from the screen to see that the rain was beginning to taper off to almost nothing. The overhang kept the water off her, but the steep decline down to her car looked treacherous.