I jerked away from him and tried to find a place in the circle where I would be safe. But in that fraction of a second, I was suddenly surrounded by Draygonians. Dark ones by the pillars and behind me were the Golden Draygons. Every single Golden Draygon that I had pissed off since I had gotten here was there. A short step away was another Draygon looking just as pleased that I was in this predicament. "Isobel," I breathed as she stepped into view. The smile on her face was nothing short of cruel. "Hello, your Majesty," she sneered mockingly. "What is going on?" I demanded. "We are taking back what is rightfully ours," the giant Draygonian stated ominously. His deep rumbling voice would have been pleasant to listen to, especially with the strange accent so differently from Tohr's. It sort of reminded me of a Scottish accent with a few centuries of differences mixed in with it. He was as large as a Scottish Highlander, that was for sure. "And what exactly do you believe belongs

My embarrassment seemed to be fun to him. I forcefully shoved it down and looked him in the eyes, not wanting to give into him in any way. "I want to leave," I said to him slowly as if he didn't understand words. "Leave?" he asked with an amused chuckle. "This is your home, Princess. You are with your own people!""You are not my people!" I shouted at him; my nerves fried. Calm down, Mara!!! My brain screamed at me. Remember the flying through the sky thing?"Of course, we are! How do you explain being able to transport through the sacred circles? Only Draygons can survive them. So, you have to be a descendant of the princess." I cocked an eyebrow at him. "How many of these circles are there?" "Every clan has one. It was built by the first of our kind once they understood the magick," one of the girls behind him spoke up. Sólas turned on her and growled. She immediately stepped back in line and bowed her head, whimpering.His behavior towards the other woman reminded me of the wo

Even if I somehow managed to survive for a while through this cruel and inhumane torment, there would be nothing left of me worth surviving. A survival instinct immediately took over, and I knew that I couldn't continue to shrink away from the beast that Sólas was.Death was inevitable, and I refused to go down without a fight. Gripping my wound hard and allowing the pain to keep me focused. I forced myself onto my feet, ignoring the wet fabric that stuck to my leg."No, thank you," I responded almost politely. His cocky attitude stalled."No, thank you," Sólas repeated as if he didn't understand the meaning of the individual words themselves."Yes, I refuse to mate with you or bear your spawn," I clarified. "You are refusing me?" he parroted in disbelief. "I'm sorry. Am I not making it clear enough to you?" I asked, giving him a pretentious smile. My attitude was not lost on him, but he seemed shocked that I would dare to be anything other than humbled or terrified in his presenc

At that moment, I couldn't tell which was worse. Sólas willingness to use me to keep his people under his horrific thumb or Caylan's willingness to use me as a tool to begin his civil war. "Neither," I admitted resolutely. "I will not be used in such a manner. I don't care what you wish me for. I want to go home. I want to get back to Tohr and to a place where I am not an object to be used for war or death." "She has that right, Caylan. If we hold her here against her then we will be no better than Sólas," Ka'rina told Caylan. "Oh, I have no intention of making her stay here, little one. I am going to take her out front with the king. Tohr will demand retribution for her and when we lose this war. Sólas will be ousted by the royal decree, and we can start anew," Caylan stated. "Fine," I snapped in irritation. "Just take me to Tohr if that is what you wish to do. However, if you're hoping to start a war using my name, I will not help you in any way." "Can you not see that this is w

Erik pulled me against his chest and held me close as Treddian planted his feet, then let out a roar before shooting upward with a single hard flap.An accompanying roar went up from the warriors below. Like a choreographed, dance they parted so they could change without hindering each other. Moments after they took to the sky, the Sororians followed their leads. Treddian circled high above the valley just between the cold and the warm layer of air. He made sure to stay just out of range of the fighting yet close enough that he didn't freeze us out. I peeked around his horn, and my attention was immediately captured by the horrific sight. Though the sky was filled with both Golden and Blue Draygons, Tohr and Sólas were easy to spot. Tohr's Draygon shape was one of the largest, and the golden scales glinting the sun off perfectly. Sólas' was not as big as Tohr. Still, he was by no means small. The impacts of their forms against each other let out a sound like the crashing of thunder.