Dragon Lost Page 6

  “Chara might no’ have seen it.”

  “I guess we’ll never know.”

  Royden was in awe of her. “Does nothing scare you?”

  “Everything scares me. I just don’t let fear rule my life. I’m in charge. And if something scares me, then I do it anyway.”

  “What about people?”

  She shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I listen to my instincts. There was nothing about you in dragon form or this one that told me I should be afraid.”

  “Maybe I’m the one who should be scared.”

  A slow smile pulled at her full lips. “Of me? A mortal?”

  “Aye, lass.”

  “Hmm,” she said in a husky timbre. “Isn’t that interesting?”

  Royden watched as she walked past him and out of the room. And damn if he didn’t follow, wanting to verbally spar more with her. But more than that, he wanted to kiss her, to hold her, to spend the night showing her unspeakable passion that would leave them both breathless and wanting more.

  Chapter Seven

  Annita lay in bed, staring at her ceiling, her thoughts on Royden as dawn broke. She hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before because she couldn’t stop thinking about him. After she showed him the photo, they had returned to the others. Given the look her father gave her, he hadn’t been at all upset that the two of them had gone off by themselves. Even her mother had smiled.

  Royden had been affable and charming for the rest of the evening. He paid everyone the same attention, but Annita often felt his gaze on her. She fought not to look at him, not to think about what it might be like to have him as a lover, but it was a fight she couldn’t win.

  When he finally departed the night before, she thought he might give some indication that she would see him again, but she should’ve known better. Royden was nothing if not mysterious. He gave her a smile while his blue eyes held hers. The smile was different than those he’d given the rest of her family. Actually, it wasn’t his smile. It was his eyes. In them was a multitude of secrets, and she’d only learned a couple. She wanted to know them all, and she thought he just might tell her.

  She wasn’t sure what that meant for her, and honestly, she didn’t care. The need, the desire to know more about Royden was unavoidable. He was sinfully charming, mouthwateringly handsome, and uniquely different than anyone she’d ever met. Only a fool would turn away from such an opportunity.

  Annita threw back the covers and rose to her feet. She walked to her window and looked out over the sea. Her gaze was drawn to the place where she’d first met Royden. It had been his home. The idea that he was a dragon and immortal was preposterous. At least it would be if she hadn’t seen him with her own eyes. But she had. She knew the truth.

  Though no one else would likely believe her.

  That was fine. She didn’t intend to tell anyone his secret. She wasn’t sure how she was in on it, but she was happy that she was. A million questions still swirled in her mind. One of which was: where were all the dragons?

  Just as she was about to turn away, she saw something in the water. Annita narrowed her eyes to get a better look. Then she smiled when she caught sight of the dragon. Royden was back.

  She quickly changed into a bathing suit and rushed down to the beach. No one was up at this hour, and even if they were, no one would think it odd that she was swimming. Annita tossed down her towel and kicked off her shoes before running into the water until she was deep enough to dive.

  In no time, she was at the cave. The moment she lifted her head from the water, she found Royden standing on the rocks, waiting for her. She smiled, her stomach fluttering oddly when he returned the non-verbal greeting.

  “You’re up early,” he said as he helped her out of the water.

  She shivered at the contact of his hand with hers. “I saw you.”

  “Did you?” he asked with a grin.

  “I still didn’t get a good look. I’d like to see you.”

  One red brow rose. “Would you, now?”

  “Why do you sound surprised?”

  He glanced down at their still-joined hands. “You’ve no’ been afraid of me. I doona want that to change.”

  “It won’t.”

  “You can no’ predict that.”

  Annita moved closer to him, looking deep into his blue eyes. “Show me. Please.”

  He was quiet for nearly a full minute before he gave a nod and released her. Royden then took several steps back. “I willna harm you.”

  “I know,” she said with a smile.

  In the next instant, a dragon stood in his place. It happened in a blink. Annita leaned back her head to look up at him. She had known that he was big, but she hadn’t truly understood just how massive he was until that moment. Now she realized why he’d thought she would be afraid.

  Because she was. A little. How could she not be while facing a being of such proportions? She drew in a breath, realizing too late that she had held it. Annita blinked up at Royden as he stared at her with unblinking gold eyes. He blew out a soft breath, and she couldn’t help but feel as if it were a sigh. As if he knew she was scared.

  Annita wanted to kick herself. She’d assured him that she wouldn’t be afraid, and yet that’s exactly what she was. Instead of running as he expected her to, she let her gaze run over him. His scales were huge and glistened as if they were metallic. He was beige in color, but yet it looked like flecks of gold were in the scales as well.

  Her gaze ran down his front limbs to see the long, dark cream talons. She squatted beside one and gently touched it. The claw alone was longer than her arm. This was what her ancestor had found and sold for a fortune. This was what Royden’s brother had hidden from him.

  She stood and lifted her face to him once more. He stood as still as stone, his gaze never leaving her. Annita took several steps back to get a better look at him, from the wings folded at his sides to the tail that had a stinger on the end of it. He was regal, majestic. And absolutely terrifying.

  “Yaya would’ve loved to have seen you,” she said.

  Royden’s large head cocked to the side. Then he shifted into human form, clothed once more. But he didn’t come toward her.

  Annita didn’t take offense. She went to him instead. Smiling up at him, she said, “You’re…more than I expected. I understand why you cautioned me.”

  “You wanted to run.”

  “No,” she corrected. “I was taken aback by your size. I wasn’t afraid you’d hurt me.”

  He looked at the water. “Maybe you should’ve run. It’s no’ good to be friends with one such as me.”

  “I disagree.”

  Royden snorted. “You doona know the truth.”

  “Then tell me.”

  His head jerked to her, his gaze narrowing. “You think that will make things easier for you? It willna. It will only make them worse.”

  “I’m not sure why it would make things worse. Royden, you’re a dragon. You have magic. And you’re immortal. I don’t know why you don’t tell the world.”

  “I forget sometimes,” he said in a soft voice.

  She frowned, not understanding him. “Forget what?”

  “How naïve mortals are. And how you doona know the real history of your origins.”

  That sounded…ominous. Annita wasn’t about to back down now, though. “Then tell me.”

  “I think no’. It was wrong of me to ever show you myself, much less stay. I knew better.”

  Before he could walk away, she stepped in front of him. “But you did stay. Why?”

  His lips curved into a soft smile. “You. I stayed because of you.”

  That made her ridiculously happy. Too happy, in fact. She tried to warn herself not to get caught up in the emotions, but it was already too late. She didn’t care that he was immortal and she mortal. She didn’t care that he was a dragon and she only human. None of that mattered to her.

  “I’m glad you stayed,” she told him.

  “You sa
y that now.”

  “I will say that now and always.”

  He shook his head. “There is so much you doona know, Annita. If you had all the facts, you might no’ so readily pledge such words.”

  “I know you. That’s enough for me.”

  “It shouldna be.”

  “Then tell me what it is you think I should know.”

  Royden made a sound and turned away to walk a few paces before facing her again. “The best place for you is far from me. I should have Guy come and erase me from the memories of everyone here. You think I’m some…”—he waved his hands around, searching for a word—“I doona know what, but I’m not. I’m flawed. Extremely so.”

  “Everyone is.”

  His lips flattened. “I’m very aware of my shortcomings. I can pretend to fit in with humans, but I doona belong there.”

  “Let me tell you a little secret,” she said. “None of us really fit in anywhere. We pretend until we find another person that makes us feel as if we fit in. If we’re lucky, we find more than one, but some people don’t even get that.”

  Royden stared at her for a long time before he shook his head. “Doona think I’m more than I am.”

  “I can’t do that if I don’t know what you are. I’m asking again. Tell me who you are. Tell me about your origins. Tell me the things you don’t want me to know.”

  “You’re asking a lot.”

  “I am,” she replied with a smile. “And you’re going to give it to me.”

  There was a barest hint of a smile. “Am I?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you want me to know.”

  He blew out a breath that ended in a chuckle. “Damn, if you are no’ right.”

  That made her grin.

  He scratched the back of his neck. “If you really want to know…”

  “I think we’ve come to the conclusion I really want to know.”

  “This planet, this realm,” he began. “It was once ruled by dragons. There were none of your kind here. From the dawn of this realm, it was dragons. All sizes, all colors. Each clan was ruled by a King, a Dragon King chosen by magic.”

  She blinked. “Chosen?”

  “The magic looked into the hearts of every dragon. If there was one strong enough in strength and magic with purity in his heart, then they were chosen to be King. I was such a dragon.”

  Chills raced down Annita’s back. She could certainly see Royden as a Dragon King.

  “Some Kings took their place after the previous King had been killed in battle. Because only a Dragon King can kill a Dragon King. However, most of us have to challenge the current King and fight to the death to claim our positions.”

  She made a face. “But couldn’t anyone claim to have the magic and tell them they were meant to be King?”

  “Aye. But you know when the magic chooses you. It’s a feeling you can no’ dismiss. And if you are no’ chosen by the magic and issue a challenge, then the current King would easily defeat you.”

  “Oh,” she replied, brows raised.

  Royden shrugged. “I never dreamed I’d be King to my clan. It was an honor I took seriously. I still take it seriously, even though my dragons are gone.”

  That took her aback. “Gone? How can they be gone?”

  “It all started with the arrival of your kind.”

  Chapter Eight

  He hadn’t meant to tell her anything. In fact, Royden had decided it was better for Annita not to know any more about him, the Dragon Kings, or magic. He wasn’t sure why he’d changed his mind. But with her standing there looking at him with such interest and determination, he hadn’t been able to refuse her.

  And if he were honest, it had a lot to do with the fact that she had wanted to see him in his true form.

  A human had never asked that of him. Never one who was curious enough. Never one he’d allowed close enough to even know that side of him. Never one he couldn’t seem to stay away from.

  “Go on,” she urged in a soft voice.

  He hesitated, unsure now if he’d made the right decision. Annita was different from other mortals, but that didn’t mean he should tell her everything. And it didn’t go unnoticed by him that all the other Dragon Kings who had shared their past with females ended up mated to those same women.

  Royden wasn’t looking for a mate. He was happy as he was. With everything going on, having a mate—or even someone he was interested in—would only complicate things. And he’d been through that before. It might not have been a female, but his brother, which was just as bad.

  “Royden? What is it?”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m no’ sure I should go on.”

  “Why not? You can trust me.”

  “There have been few times in our history when a Dragon King could trust a mortal.”

  Her brow puckered. “I’m one you can trust. I’ve not told anyone your secrets. Any of them. I was meant to find you. Doesn’t that tell you I can be trusted?”

  “Nay, lass. It tells me you were meant to find a dragon.”

  She flattened her lips and shrugged. “I can’t make you tell me. I wish there was something I could say so you would understand that I’m on your side.”

  Royden blew out a breath, watching her as she stared at him. “Why are you so interested?”

  “You’re a dragon,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be interested.”

  “You’ve learned there are other beings on this realm with you. Beings who are no’ only immortal but also have magic, and you are no’ afraid?”

  She gave him a flat look. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t give me pause. Everything we know as humans leads us to believe we’re the only ones on this planet—realm,” she corrected. “To learn about you is scary. But it’s also exciting. We’ve always been told magic isn’t real, that it’s something made up by others. And yet, it is real. So are dragons. That in itself makes me smile.”

  “Even though those beings could wipe you out of existence?”

  “Well,” she said as she blew out a breath. “You could do that. But you haven’t.”

  Royden chuckled and held out his hand to her. When she took it, he pulled her along with him against the far wall so they could sit. When they were comfortable, he continued. “Dragons communicate telepathically. There was no reason for us to speak using our voices. That changed the day a small group of mortals arrived here. Constantine, the King of Dragon Kings, called us all together. When we faced the humans, the magic of this realm gave us the ability to shift into your form so we could communicate. We were able to speak with the mortals. We discovered they had no magic and no way of protecting themselves. We made a pact then and there to give them shelter, aid, and to protect them. Some land was given to them, and we helped them build homes. We showed them how to fashion weapons and to hunt.”

  “They had no idea where they came from?” Annita asked with a frown.

  He shook his head. “They knew their names, but nothing else. They didna know where they came from, how they got here, or why. It’s one of the reasons we took pity on them.”

  “I’m surprised you did. Their arrival raises all sorts of red flags for me. Did none of you question it?”

  “We all questioned it, but we could find nothing. And while you have nothing to compare to, I’ll tell you that dragon magic is the strongest magic on this realm. At least, by itself.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked.

  He waved away her words. “I’ll get to that later. My point is, we were concerned and did all we could to figure out how the mortals came here. We could’ve killed them right then. Some might argue it would’ve been better if we had.”

  Annita moved a lock of wet hair that fell in her face. “But you didn’t.”

  “Nay. For a time, everything was fine. The mortals were left to themselves, and the dragons continued on as they had. However, your kind produces children at a shocking rate.
Soon, there wasna enough property. We gave up more land. And then more. And more.”

  “I can see where this is going,” she said with a frown.

  Royden looked at the water in the cave and noticed how the morning sun reflected on it. “We helped the humans fashion weapons to kill lesser animals for food. Because we helped them, we believed they would respect all dragons, no matter the size. There were smaller dragons. No larger than a cat. They were hunted. We went to the humans and managed to produce a truce where no dragons were to be destroyed. Ever.”

  “I gather that didn’t last long.”

  “No’ nearly long enough. Because clans were losing land, and our food was also being eaten by the mortals, some dragons became resentful. They lashed out. By eating humans.”

  Annita didn’t so much as blink. “What did the people expect? Not that I condone the eating of my kind, but they went after the dragons first. Not to mention, they weren’t respecting the fact that this wasn’t their homeland.”

  “Your words surprise me,” Royden confessed.

  “I’ve always had a different view of things. It irritates my sister.”

  They shared a smile before he went back to the story. “Another meeting was called. This time, it took longer to work out the truce. I should add that by now, mortals were on dragon land all around the realm. There wasna a single clan that didna also have humans. Many Kings often interacted with the mortals and welcomed them into their homes. Some even took humans as lovers.”

  Annita’s gaze raked over him. “I can understand why.”

  “The peace we once had between our two species was quickly dwindling with seemingly no way of reversing it. However, one of us, Ulrik, fell in love with a mortal. Dragons mate for life.”

  “Wait,” she said and shifted positions. “If you’re immortal and we’re mortal, how does that work?”

  Royden twisted his lips. “Well, as I mentioned, dragons mate for life. While we live for thousands of years, the magic ensures that a Dragon King can live much, much longer. And the magic makes sure that our mates do as well. Meaning, when a King and his mate go through the mating ceremony, the mate will live as long as the King does.”