banded to my side. My walls were singed a deep black, my floors gleamed like polished ebony from the heat that still wafted off it. My bed was ruined. Nothing but a heap of rubble now.
My door slammed open, and I saw my brother glaring at me.
We were practically the same height now. I was mere days away from my pledging; soon I’d be able to challenge him for the right to rule from the throne of Drakon as first in line once mother stepped down.
But I wanted no part of this infernal world anymore. Once, I’d thought there could be no greater honor than being guardian of Zeus’s orchard; now, all I could dream of was a land that teemed with madness and lunacy and at its center a blond-haired goddess who’d stolen my soul.
“I am trying to sleep, Ragoth,” Alwyn snapped at me, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes with his forearm.
The sun was at its zenith. The castle quiet. And I was in a foul mood.
Alwyn and I looked practically identical in every way, except for our eyes. Where mine were blue, his were golden. Our dragon form was similar too, except for our wings. Mine were streaked with veins of aquamarine, and his with gold.
Leave me be, brother, I said to him with my mind. I was irritable, but even I wasn’t foolish enough to want to face mother’s wrath if I woke her.
He scented the air. I knew what he smelled. I’d tried to dampen myself, but my need for Lena mingled with my coming pledge made it impossible for me to hide.
“You reek of the mating scent,” he snapped.
I shook my massive head at him, tongue flickering out in a threatening pose. I will eat you.
He snorted, leaning casually against the door. “You can try. Who is she?”
Why do you care? My thoughts were cross.
I bathed him in a jet of steam so hot, his body sparked. But dragonborne were immune to one another. He gazed at his now wrinkled shirt then glared up at me.
“Answer me, boy, before I thrash you.” The heavy lilt of dragonish lingered on his tongue.
I am not a boy!
“Until your pledging, you are.” He smirked, and I wanted to pound him.
I spread my wings in a threatening pose.
“Just try, hatchling.”
Any other day, I would have taken him up on the offer. Wanting nothing more than to release my rage through battle. But I did not wish to visit Lena with a broken arm.
Sensing my threats were nothing now more than words, he yawned, stretched his arms above his head, and said, “Whoever she is, she’d better be nobility.”
Why?
He sighed, and when he stepped into my room, no longer was he aggressive with me. His eyes were thoughtful. A few years separated us, but of all my family, Alwyn was the only member who actually spoke to me with any sort of affection.
“Because our kiss can be lethal to anyone not of royal blood.”
A cold chill swept down my spine. Transforming to male form, I shook my head. “You lie.”
But I knew he hadn’t when a dawning recognition lit through his eyes. “You would have been taught this at your pledging. Whoever she is, Ragoth, release her now before it’s too late for you.”
Once a dragon male bonded, we bonded for life. To lose our most valued treasure could also cause even the most fearsome of us to succumb to insanity.
I shivered at the thought.
“I can’t, Alwyn. She is mine,” I said it softly, haltingly, only just now aware of the gravity of that statement.
What would happen to me if Lena left me? Would I become mad, like my infamous great-great-great uncle Jayks? Legend told that on the night of his betrothal his ladylove died of a spelled fever, and that for the rest of his days until his passing the only thing he did was rape, pillage, and kill. Lost to the madness of his own mind.
But surely that could not happen to me. Surely there’d been something inside of him that was already wicked to begin with. Most dragons were prone to bouts of irrational anger and rage anyway, and mother had always told me just how very different I was from the rest of them.
I did
My door slammed open, and I saw my brother glaring at me.
We were practically the same height now. I was mere days away from my pledging; soon I’d be able to challenge him for the right to rule from the throne of Drakon as first in line once mother stepped down.
But I wanted no part of this infernal world anymore. Once, I’d thought there could be no greater honor than being guardian of Zeus’s orchard; now, all I could dream of was a land that teemed with madness and lunacy and at its center a blond-haired goddess who’d stolen my soul.
“I am trying to sleep, Ragoth,” Alwyn snapped at me, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes with his forearm.
The sun was at its zenith. The castle quiet. And I was in a foul mood.
Alwyn and I looked practically identical in every way, except for our eyes. Where mine were blue, his were golden. Our dragon form was similar too, except for our wings. Mine were streaked with veins of aquamarine, and his with gold.
Leave me be, brother, I said to him with my mind. I was irritable, but even I wasn’t foolish enough to want to face mother’s wrath if I woke her.
He scented the air. I knew what he smelled. I’d tried to dampen myself, but my need for Lena mingled with my coming pledge made it impossible for me to hide.
“You reek of the mating scent,” he snapped.
I shook my massive head at him, tongue flickering out in a threatening pose. I will eat you.
He snorted, leaning casually against the door. “You can try. Who is she?”
Why do you care? My thoughts were cross.
I bathed him in a jet of steam so hot, his body sparked. But dragonborne were immune to one another. He gazed at his now wrinkled shirt then glared up at me.
“Answer me, boy, before I thrash you.” The heavy lilt of dragonish lingered on his tongue.
I am not a boy!
“Until your pledging, you are.” He smirked, and I wanted to pound him.
I spread my wings in a threatening pose.
“Just try, hatchling.”
Any other day, I would have taken him up on the offer. Wanting nothing more than to release my rage through battle. But I did not wish to visit Lena with a broken arm.
Sensing my threats were nothing now more than words, he yawned, stretched his arms above his head, and said, “Whoever she is, she’d better be nobility.”
Why?
He sighed, and when he stepped into my room, no longer was he aggressive with me. His eyes were thoughtful. A few years separated us, but of all my family, Alwyn was the only member who actually spoke to me with any sort of affection.
“Because our kiss can be lethal to anyone not of royal blood.”
A cold chill swept down my spine. Transforming to male form, I shook my head. “You lie.”
But I knew he hadn’t when a dawning recognition lit through his eyes. “You would have been taught this at your pledging. Whoever she is, Ragoth, release her now before it’s too late for you.”
Once a dragon male bonded, we bonded for life. To lose our most valued treasure could also cause even the most fearsome of us to succumb to insanity.
I shivered at the thought.
“I can’t, Alwyn. She is mine,” I said it softly, haltingly, only just now aware of the gravity of that statement.
What would happen to me if Lena left me? Would I become mad, like my infamous great-great-great uncle Jayks? Legend told that on the night of his betrothal his ladylove died of a spelled fever, and that for the rest of his days until his passing the only thing he did was rape, pillage, and kill. Lost to the madness of his own mind.
But surely that could not happen to me. Surely there’d been something inside of him that was already wicked to begin with. Most dragons were prone to bouts of irrational anger and rage anyway, and mother had always told me just how very different I was from the rest of them.
I did
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