Dragon Night: A Dark Kings Novella Read online

  Dragon Night

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  1001 Dark Nights

  Dragon Night

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2018 Donna Grant

  ISBN: 978-1-948050-00-5

  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 Night

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant brings you another sizzling Dark Kings novella.

  Governed by honor and ruled by desire

  There has never been a hunt that Dorian has lost. With his sights sent on a relic the Dragon Kings need to battle an ancient foe, he won’t let anything stand in his way – especially not the beautiful owner. Alexandra is smart and cautious. Yet the attraction between them is impossible to deny – or ignore. But is it a road Dorian dares to travel down again?

  With her vast family fortune, Alexandra Sheridan is never without suitors. No one is more surprised than she when the charming, devilish Scotsman snags her attention. But the secrets Dorian holds is like a wall between them until one fateful night when he shares everything. In his arms she finds passion like no other – and a love that will transcend time. But can she give her heart to a dragon??

  **Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

  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 eighty 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, one dog, and four cats in Texas.

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

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  SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom

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  AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione

  NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones

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  Discovery Bundle Three

  Featuring stories by

  Sidney Bristol, Darcy Burke, T. Gephart

  Stacey Kennedy, Adriana Locke

  JB Salsbury, and Erika Wilde

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Donna Grant

  Also from Donna Grant

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Four

  Foreword

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Epilogue

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Five

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  Discover More Donna Grant

  Dragon Claimed 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.

  Prologue

  Dreagan

  February

  How Dorian wanted to ignore the command, to pretend that he was too deep into the dragon sleep to hear the King of Dragon Kings.

  But Con’s voice penetrated even the deepest cloud of slumber.

  “I promised I’d only wake you if there was no other way,” Con said.

  Dorian looked down at his hands—human hands. He’d never wanted to be in this form again. It was a reminder of all that he’d lost.

  “We need you.”

  His head lifted to meet Con’s black eyes. The last time they had stood thus, Dorian had been in a rage, inconsolable, and filled with vengeance. Several millennia had passed since, but to him, the pain was still unbearably raw.

  Agonizingly visceral.

  The King of Kings blew out a breath and absently turned a dragon head cufflink at his wrist. “I delayed until I couldna wait any longer, old friend.”

  “I know.” Dorian’s voice sounded odd to his ears. Rusty and rough from lack of use.

  For the ones who slept, Con would visit each of the Kings every decade and use the special link between the dragons to fill each in on what was going on with the Kings, Fae, Druids, and mortals.

  When the Dragon Kings’ enemies began closing in, Con came to see Dorian every day to keep him up to date. Dorian had known then it would only be a matter of time before Con demanded that he wake and join them.

  But Dorian still wished there was another way.

  Yet, these dragons were his brethren. They had all suffered in one way or another, each believing their pain superceded all others.

  Out of all the Kings, there were only two who didna wake every few centuries—V and Dorian. It was better this way. Everyone knew it.

  V because he couldn’t cope with the theft of his sword—a sword that was detrimental to the Dragon Kings.

  And Dorian because he could never forgive the humans. Seeing one would likely result in their
death.

  Con’s gaze lowered to the floor of the cavern before sliding to the large pool of water. He took a deep breath and met Dorian’s eyes. “Take a day or two. Talk to the other Kings, walk the grounds, and learn the technology that governs the mortals.”

  “You didna tell me to meet the mates.” Dorian was pushing Con, but he couldn’t help himself. He was angry, and he needed to lash out at someone.

  Better Con than a human.

  “Nay, I didna. There are some at the manor who have yet to undergo the ceremony.”

  “Like Ulrik’s mate, Eilish.” Dorian watched Con closely to see if there was even a hint of worry in his old friend’s eyes.

  Con gave a single nod. “Aye.”

  “You think I would harm them?”

  “They are humans.”

  Dorian dragged in a deep breath before slowly releasing it. “But they’re the mates of my brethren.”

  “Can you distinguish between the two? We both know how deep your hatred runs.”

  “And yet you wish to send me out into a world filled with them.”

  When Con didn’t immediately reply, Dorian took a step toward him, his stomach churning with apprehension.

  Con slipped his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “It’s worse than that.”

  “What are you no’ telling me?”

  “The object we want you to retrieve is in a private collection. I’ve tried to buy it, but I’ve been refused.”

  Dorian shrugged. “So? Any King can use their magic to retrieve it. You doona need me.”

  “If it were that easy, old friend, I would’ve gone myself.”

  Dorian crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to know all of it.”

  “Fine. You know about these new enemies of Fae and Druids aligning against us. Ryder scoured the web and found an artifact that dates back to our war with the humans.”