had stripped and shifted to their dragon forms.
With all three Kings in dragon form, there wasn’t much room left in the cavern.
Hal pointed to Banan, the dark blue dragon, and to Guy, a dragon of the deepest red. “This is what we are.”
“So you … I mean, we are really dragons?” Tristan asked.
“Nay. We are both dragon and human, no’ fully either one. Just parts of both.”
“Why?”
“Dragons ruled this planet long before man ever did. When man was created, so the rulers of the dragons were also given humanity so we could be a part of both worlds. It was meant for us to live in harmony. Which we did. For a time.”
“Where are the dragons now?”
Hal took a deep breath, pain lancing through his chest as he thought of his dragons. “We made them leave to go to another, safer realm when the humans began to hunt them. We tried to make the humans understand that to kill the dragons was to kill themselves and their world, but they didna believe us.”
“Yet, you Kings remained.”
“Aye,” Hal said softly. “We stayed behind to guard the portal. But that is a story for another time. Right now, you need to shift to see what dragons you command, but also to understand the dragon part of you.”
Tristan leaned his sword against the boulder and looked at the three dragons in the cavern. “How?”
Hal was looking forward to shifting almost as much as kissing Cassie again. “Feel your dragon inside you. The first shift might be painful, but the more you do it, the less it hurts. The dragon is a part of you, so it will take nothing to bring him forth. Watch.”
Hal closed his eyes and thought of the dragons he commanded, of how it felt to have the wind beneath his wings as he soared through the sky.
He felt his own dragon tattoo writhe on his chest a second before the shift took him. When Hal next looked at Tristan, it was through his dragon eyes of emerald green.
“Does the color matter?” Tristan asked.
Hal nodded his head, waiting for him to shift so they could communicate through each other’s minds as dragons did.
“So whatever color I am will determine what dragons I am King of?”
Again Hal nodded.
Tristan removed his jeans and faced them, his eyes closed. Hal, Rhys, Banan, and Guy all watched Tristan intently.
To have a new King, it was almost too much to comprehend. First the Silvers moving, now this.
So many Kings were lost in the battle with the humans, leaving dragons without a ruler. Hal and the others had stepped in as needed, but it wasn’t the same as each dragon having its own King.
It had been eons since they’d had to train a King to shift. Hal just hoped he’d done it correctly.
The thought had barely flitted through his head before he saw Tristan’s tattoo move. Tristan gave a shout as his bones popped and he shifted from human to … an amber-colored dragon.
“Shite,” Rhys’s voice said in Hal’s head.
Hal couldn’t form words. The Ambers hadn’t had a King in so long, they had forgotten when he was lost. Their King had been killed before the war, and for them to have one now was … miraculous.
“What the hell,” Tristan said as he shook his huge head.
Hal looked over their newest Dragon King. He had a stocky body with scales the color of polished amber. His long tail had a stinger on the end. Each of his four limbs had five digits that ended in long claws. Enormous amber-colored wings flapped, stirring the air around them.
Bladelike bony plates sprouted from the dragon’s chin, and bony knobs surrounded his nostrils while hooded, apple green eyes watched them.
“Impressive,” Banan said.
Hal grinned. “Verra.”
“I can hear your voices in my head, but your mouth isna moving,” Tristan said.
Rhys chuckled. “Did you no’ hear the powerful part, lad? We are dragons. We have magic. And no need to speak with our mouths.”
A smile pulled at Tristan’s mouth. “I think I’m going to like being a King.” Tristan turned his head to
With all three Kings in dragon form, there wasn’t much room left in the cavern.
Hal pointed to Banan, the dark blue dragon, and to Guy, a dragon of the deepest red. “This is what we are.”
“So you … I mean, we are really dragons?” Tristan asked.
“Nay. We are both dragon and human, no’ fully either one. Just parts of both.”
“Why?”
“Dragons ruled this planet long before man ever did. When man was created, so the rulers of the dragons were also given humanity so we could be a part of both worlds. It was meant for us to live in harmony. Which we did. For a time.”
“Where are the dragons now?”
Hal took a deep breath, pain lancing through his chest as he thought of his dragons. “We made them leave to go to another, safer realm when the humans began to hunt them. We tried to make the humans understand that to kill the dragons was to kill themselves and their world, but they didna believe us.”
“Yet, you Kings remained.”
“Aye,” Hal said softly. “We stayed behind to guard the portal. But that is a story for another time. Right now, you need to shift to see what dragons you command, but also to understand the dragon part of you.”
Tristan leaned his sword against the boulder and looked at the three dragons in the cavern. “How?”
Hal was looking forward to shifting almost as much as kissing Cassie again. “Feel your dragon inside you. The first shift might be painful, but the more you do it, the less it hurts. The dragon is a part of you, so it will take nothing to bring him forth. Watch.”
Hal closed his eyes and thought of the dragons he commanded, of how it felt to have the wind beneath his wings as he soared through the sky.
He felt his own dragon tattoo writhe on his chest a second before the shift took him. When Hal next looked at Tristan, it was through his dragon eyes of emerald green.
“Does the color matter?” Tristan asked.
Hal nodded his head, waiting for him to shift so they could communicate through each other’s minds as dragons did.
“So whatever color I am will determine what dragons I am King of?”
Again Hal nodded.
Tristan removed his jeans and faced them, his eyes closed. Hal, Rhys, Banan, and Guy all watched Tristan intently.
To have a new King, it was almost too much to comprehend. First the Silvers moving, now this.
So many Kings were lost in the battle with the humans, leaving dragons without a ruler. Hal and the others had stepped in as needed, but it wasn’t the same as each dragon having its own King.
It had been eons since they’d had to train a King to shift. Hal just hoped he’d done it correctly.
The thought had barely flitted through his head before he saw Tristan’s tattoo move. Tristan gave a shout as his bones popped and he shifted from human to … an amber-colored dragon.
“Shite,” Rhys’s voice said in Hal’s head.
Hal couldn’t form words. The Ambers hadn’t had a King in so long, they had forgotten when he was lost. Their King had been killed before the war, and for them to have one now was … miraculous.
“What the hell,” Tristan said as he shook his huge head.
Hal looked over their newest Dragon King. He had a stocky body with scales the color of polished amber. His long tail had a stinger on the end. Each of his four limbs had five digits that ended in long claws. Enormous amber-colored wings flapped, stirring the air around them.
Bladelike bony plates sprouted from the dragon’s chin, and bony knobs surrounded his nostrils while hooded, apple green eyes watched them.
“Impressive,” Banan said.
Hal grinned. “Verra.”
“I can hear your voices in my head, but your mouth isna moving,” Tristan said.
Rhys chuckled. “Did you no’ hear the powerful part, lad? We are dragons. We have magic. And no need to speak with our mouths.”
A smile pulled at Tristan’s mouth. “I think I’m going to like being a King.” Tristan turned his head to
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