AcasiaI woke up in a soft, unfamiliar bed. It took me a few minutes to remember what happened. I looked around. There seemed to be only one room and one bed. I could smell the dragon, but it wasn't my dragon. This was no good.The door slammed open against the far wall and Laryn entered carrying a stack of wood. There was a fire in the hearth and a cool current of air passed through the room from the open door.Where the hell was I?I pulled the covers closer to my neck and waited for Laryn to turn my way.He didn't smile and his voice was surly. "How do you feel?"Should I answer?No, not yet.He walked closer and I gripped the covering tighter.It didn't stop him. He grabbed a handful of the material and whipped it from the bed. I screeched involuntarily. The only thing I was thankful for at this moment was I still had my clothing on from earlier. Or yesterday. I had no idea where I was or how long I'd been here.Tears swelled painfully behind my eyes as I tried to stop them.Laryn
BastianThree days and there was still no sign of Acasia or Laryn. Sarn and Tahr helped me search. If they hadn't fed me, I wouldn't have eaten. My moods switched from rage to overwhelming sadness and back to rage. Mostly I was angry with myself.Besides our monthly poker games, we usually spent very little time in the company of other dragon brides. Tahr brought Megan to Sarn's lair to help Calista. When we weren't scouring territories, I observed their relationships. It took no time for me to realize we were at the mercy of our brides. If they were happy, we were happy. As dragons, we postured, but the bottom line was we loved our brides deeply. This knowledge did nothing to help my situation, so I stored the information.This was the third night, and Sarn had taken it upon himself to make sure I was drunk enough to sleep. The females had gone to bed an hour ago and we were on our second bottle of whiskey."I think Laryn took her out of the realm," Tahr said before upending his gobl
BastianLaryn took her to another realm. I no longer had any doubt, and I could no longer keep Tahr or Sarn away from their brides. My head pounded from lack of sleep and too much alcohol. I told them that if today's search failed to uncover my bride, Tahr and Sarn would return to their homes and I would return to mine.Alone.Sarn, offering his lair, saved my sanity over the past few days. But I had to find a way to go home, though I wasn't giving up my search. I needed another plan. One was contacting Dmitri and having him make inquiries throughout the earth realm.The sun had gone down, but the moons showed the gold and jewels that littered the area under my perch. I didn't care; there was no treasure worth more than the one I'd lost. My dark room just added to the gloom. Her smell overwhelmed me and I almost turned around and left when I heard a slight rustling from the bed. It had to be my imagination, but something drew me closer. My feet hit a hard surface then something wet sl
AcasiaI loved him before, but somehow that love grew. Buried deep in the back of my mind was the longing for my family and friends, but it was a small spark. Bastian was my family and my best friend. Our lives had changed. He talked to me about dragon business, or dragon theft as it truly was.He explained about the magic from my old realm and how it was misused, so the dragons took it. I had no reason to doubt him, knowing the goodness in his heart. We spoke for hours and slowly made our way through his bride illustration book. I was never jealous and loved hearing him laugh. He told me stories about all the legend brides from my old realm. I made him promise that when I was gone, he would speak of me and remember me. I noticed his anger, but he eventually made the promise.He told me he wished to go on a treasure hunt with Tahr. And if I was willing, I could stay with Sarn, his bride, and Tahr's bride, who would also stay with Sarn.Before I could answer, he placed his finger on my
BastianIt would have been a better trip if I hadn't worried about the trouble I knew Acasia was capable of finding. Tahr teased me endlessly because I moaned and groaned about how long we waited before sneaking into the castle we'd planned to steal from.We'd stolen from King Sturpas before. I'd had my eye and thoughts on one of the crown sets I hadn't managed to steal before. Our patience paid off and I had what I needed for Acasia's one-year bride anniversary. Tahr also gathered some items to make his journey worthwhile.I worried about Acasia until I wrapped my arms around her the afternoon of the third day. We said our goodbyes to the others and left so I could get her home and into my bed. Three days was too long, and I needed her. I flew as quickly as I could."Bastian?"I didn't like her tentative tone. "Yes, female." I knew using the word female would bother her.Just a touch of the angst I'd grown to appreciate entered her voice. "Laryn came to Sarn's lair."Rage exploded wi
BastianI'd been afraid to keep her asleep because I needed to know how bad she hurt. But I could no longer take it. I carried her to the realm crossing and placed her back asleep when she woke up directly before we entered the earth's realm. Brunya waited and didn't waste time with greetings. She drove us to the airport, and then an airplane flew us to a place known as Texas. This was followed by another car ride. I held Acasia the entire time, fear burning in my gut. This was wrong. Her illness was entirely wrong.Acasia woke up in the car and because we were so close to our destination, I didn't put her under again. I needed her able to speak with the doctor. Dr. Stevens waited; a middle-aged, small female with an air of confidence that I badly needed.I followed her to a small room. "Lay her down here. It would be best if you waited outside."There was no way I could breathe fire in the room, but I put enough anger in my voice to burn her. "Stupid female, I will not leave her."Th
AcasiaI was a dragon.Fire breathing. Flying. Awesome. Dragon.The pain I'd suffered was but a memory. Thoughts swirled through my mind. I would never leave Bastian behind. We would be together for all eternity. I swooped down to the lake like I'd seen Bastian do a hundred times to skim my talons through the water. I over calculated and too much of my body hit the surface. My wing caught and I tumbled, rolling across the top before sinking under."Stupid female." Bastian's talons hooked beneath my wings and brought me to the surface while I sputtered. His great wings flapped with my weight and he flew me to shore."Show off," I muttered, though I wasn't at all upset. Bastian would catch me, he always had. "How do I shift to human?" I asked."Humph. Pull the magic in and think of your human body."I ignored his snort and did as he said. There was a short burst of pain, but nothing like the past few days, and I stood on two feet. I looked at my hulking dragon. He shifted before I could
Bastian I'd been through too much over the past few days. Laryn took me over the edge and nothing but fury clouded my vision. I hit him, causing the two of us to spiral downward. I vaguely heard Acasia's cry, but I had one goal-Laryn's head separating from his body in the goriest way imaginable. I would bathe in his blood and eat his intestines while he still lived. I managed to flap my wings a few times before we hit the ground, but it didn't help the pain of the impact. Laryn rolled, and instead of coming up on his feet, he shifted to human, making himself completely defenseless against me. He lay awaiting and his eyes told me what he wanted. Death. My roar vibrated through the air and the ground beneath us, but he didn't move or shift at my threat. I stopped, shook my head, and fire spewed from between my jaws. My eyes almost popped from my head when Acasia landed in front of Laryn. Laryn, his voice defeated, spoke out, "No, my lady, let it be. It's actually a gift and I'm ready