Dragon Chains by Grace Goodwin
13
Dragon:
Idiot human! Remove chains!
Dragon threw himself against the sand, his tail thrashing wildly. A large, stray boulder that had fallen from the cliffs years earlier burst into pieces with one swipe of his tail. The dried remains of a tree limb splintered in half, broke, and were driven deep into the sand. With a monstrous roar he tried to throw off the chains holding him prisoner, focused his magic in an attempt to melt the offensive Elven metal for the thousandth time.
Nothing. His human had been silent since the two dragon opponents had turned tail and run away. Dragon was too weak to give chase. Bleeding. Torn. His wings badly damaged. He needed half a day to heal.
Too long! His mate was gone. Taken.
Dragon seethed. Ryker! Remove chains! We go. Destroy enemy.
No!Ryker argued, the human voice inside the dragon’s mind. We don’t know where Erik took her. Let me out.
Hunt! Now! You failed. Human Ryker had his chance to protect our mate. To claim her. Dragon will make things right. Find mate. Destroy enemies. Give true mate my dragonfire.
Every swipe of his tail caused ripples in the sand like raindrops in a shallow pool of water. Around him, the rocks and sand took on a reddish hue as dragon blood soaked the earth. Eventually he would break free. He was ancient. The oldest of all living dragons. He would not be defeated.
“Ryker!” Someone farther up the beach yelled his human’s name. Who dared approach? Dragon waited until the fool drew near and blasted the intruder with fire. A fellow dragon would be immune to the flame. An ignorant human would burn.
Dragon was out of patience.
Rather than turn to ash, as Dragon expected, the intruder continued to advance on his position, enveloped by a silvery glow.
Dragon sniffed. Elven magic.
Dark elf.
Dragon roared in fury.
“Ancient One,” said the dark-haired man covered in black Elven armor. “You called for the executioner. I am here.”
Dragon turned his head. Raged. Swung his massive body to face the elf. Bits of sand, rock, and salt water flew from Dragon’s tail to douse the elf, but the ancient magic woven through the elf’s armor held steady, and the assault melted away, not harming the elf at all.
A low rumble was the only warning Dragon would give. If Dragon could not burn the elf, he would crush him under talon and claw. Tear the elf to pieces. Break free of these chains.
Hunt. Go to his mate.
“Dragon! Do not force me to kill you today. We were friends once. Do you not remember?”
Dragon swung his head back and forth, fighting the memories that accompanied the all too familiar voice. Dragon had great magic inside him. Magic so ancient, so wrapped in mystique and legend, few could comprehend the extent of his power. He narrowed his gaze. Lowered his head to stare at the one sent to kill him.
I remember you, Prince Alrik. Dark Elf scum. You dare threaten me? You cannot kill me. I am a dragon.
“Old friend. Do not make me do this. Calm yourself. Allow me to speak to Ryker.”
Dragon snarled. Roared. Breathed fire at the Dark Elf, but the bastard stood his ground, hand on his sword hilt, completely unaffected.
Asshole.
That finally had an effect. Prince Alrik threw back his head and laughed.
Tired from the battle and from berating the human inside him, tired of trying to break free of the dragon chains, Dragon gave one last heaving breath of fire and allowed Ryker to regain control over his form, gave in to the change.
* * *
Exhausted and bleeding, Ryker pulled himself slowly to his feet, his only thoughts of Katy. He had ruined everything. He never should have allowed the invaders to breach his defenses. Should have tripled his guard. Not been so arrogant. Should have listened to his dragon and told Katy the truth, revealed his true nature, Draquonir laws be damned, and bound her to both parts of him. Once she was fully his, he would have found a way to keep her by his side.
Coward.His dragon scolded.
“I know, Dragon. Silence. I’ve had enough.” Ryker had acted out of a need to protect his mate from the Draquonir laws, but also out of fear. He admitted to himself that he had been terrified of losing her when she discovered the truth; he was centuries old, an ancient dragon shifter. A creature of myth and legend. A monster in disguise.
Now she was gone.
He shook his head and stumbled forward, blood dripping with the steady beat of a leaking faucet into the sand.
“They ripped you to pieces.” Vector had arrived on the beach and now stood next to the dark elf, Prince Alrik.
“You are fortunate they did not kill you.” Alrik’s tone held no jest, merely a statement of fact.
“It wasn’t me they were after.” Ryker’s voice was dry and rough from battle and breathing fire. “I welcome your presence, Alrik. I need only your skill with that blade in battle, not as my executioner. My true mate has been taken from me.”
Alrik nodded solemnly. “Your brother has informed me of your mate’s abduction. If she is your true mate, you must fight for your sanity. Your dragon has become too powerful. You know this. Remain in control of him and lead the hunt to find her. I will honor my vow to your kind if necessary, but your death would be a great loss to all Draquonir. And”—he scowled—“I believe Vector has located King Erik’s private jet.”
* * *
Katy sat in her cushioned leather seat aboard Erik’s private jet, looking out the window wishing she had her cell phone. She had no idea where Emily was or when she would arrive in Italy. Ryker knew who she really was, she’d been kidnapped and she couldn’t even warn her twin. Or beg for forgiveness.
They’d been in the air for several hours. Plenty of time to contemplate her situation.
Whoever Erik was, he had money. Power. Big, scary, Viking-looking hunks crawling all over the place. The few words he’d said to Katy since she’d been whisked away in the car gave her no clue as to who he was. He had the same strange, not quite familiar accent that Ryker did. Erik signaled one of his Guardians to come over.
Erik sat in the seat facing her this time. “Can you bring me a whiskey, please? Ms. Toure? Anything for you? White wine? A spritzer? Sparkling water? Are you hungry?”
She shouldn’t, she really shouldn’t, but she could not get the image of those dragons out of her head. Either she was seeing things, or the world no longer made sense. “I’ll take a double shot of tequila.”
Erik grinned at her as the large man left them to get the drinks. If she wasn’t totally in love with Ryker, then Erik could definitely turn a girl’s head. The man was drop-dead gorgeous. Even if he had kidnapped her.
“Now, Ms. Toure, or may I call you Emily?”
Holy shit. He thought she was Emily? Of course he did. She was an idiot.
What the hell had her wonderful, amazing, dear, dear sister gotten her into now?
She took a deep breath. Mentally reviewed the twin swap rules again. Gave Erik a super fake smile. “Sure. Emily is fine.” Might as well try to appease him for the moment. Be polite. Give Ryker and the Guardians time to come after her. Because they would. She was sure of it. This guy was on borrowed time.
“Thank you, Emily. You may call me Erik.”
“Okay.” The giant Viking set the double shot of tequila in front of her, glass perfectly rimmed with salt, along with a fresh slice of lime. She settled a generous number of the salt crystals onto her tongue and gulped down the tequila, grateful for the instant warmth spreading in her gut, and ignored the lime. This was not the time.
Erik sipped his whiskey on ice and watched her in silence.
Finally, tired of waiting, she spoke first. “Why did you kidnap me, Erik? What do you want?”
“I want the truth.”
Well, that was fine with her. As long as she knew what the truth was. “All right.”
“How did Ryker recruit you for this contract?”
Oh hell. She had no idea and, per twin swapping rules, shouldn’t lie. “I don’t recall exactly, but I have a lot of contacts all over the world. Pretty sure someone I know mentioned a website.”
“I see. And what, exactly, were the contents of this posting? What attracted you to the job?”
Knowing Emily, that answer was easy. “Money. My mother has a lot of medical bills, and we didn’t have a way to pay them.”
“We being you and your identical twin sister, Katy?”
“Yes.” He knew her name. Knew Emily had an identical twin. Katy shivered. What else did he know?
“Excellent.” Erik motioned one of the giant blond men forward with a slight wave of his wrist. The man came forward and handed Erik a business-sized manila envelope.
Erik opened the flap and withdrew a stack of paperwork that looked like legal contracts. After a quick glance at God only knew what details, he handed them to Katy.
At first glance, the paperwork appeared to be the same contract Vector and Ryker had tried to get her to sign in his office. Same gorgeous dragon symbol at the top. Same type of paper. Without reading a word, she looked from the paperwork to Erik’s expectant face. “What is this?”
“This, Ms. Toure, is a contract with exactly the same terms offered to you by Ryker, but for ten times the payment. I will also repay the advance you and your sister used to pay for your mother’s rehabilitation facility and private nursing.”
“What?” Katy nearly came unglued. Ten times the money? Hadn’t Emily said her deal was a lot of money? Coming from Emily, that could only have meant millions. And Erik was willing to pay ten times that amount? What the hell?
Erik leaned forward, clearly gaining confidence with each moment of her silence. “As I said, the terms are identical. We will be legally married at once. I will introduce you as queen of my clan at an inaugural ball. We can tell the other clans Ryker did not properly woo you.
Once we’re married, you will provide the clan with at least two children within the first five years via IVF; no sexual contact between us is required. You, as the mother of my children, will be cared for by the clan. My top financial advisors will take care of the children’s assets, of course, until the eldest child comes of age at twenty-five. You will have a beautiful home—several, actually—more money than you can imagine deposited into your personal account, and two beautiful children to love without the problem of an irritating husband around. I assume this pleases you?”
Dumbfounded, Katy could only think of one question. “Children need their fathers. Why wouldn’t you be around?”
“Just like Ryker, I await the executioner.”
Erik held out a pen. With shaking fingers, Katy took it from him and settled back in her seat.
“Two children?”
“Ms. Toure, of course I would be thrilled if you decided to carry additional heirs, but I am honoring the original agreement offered to you by Ryker. Should you wish to have additional children after my death, I am sure the frozen embryos will remain viable for some time.”
IVF? Frozen embryos?
Katy’s head began to pound. She rubbed her temples to ease the pain as she considered Erik’s bizarre proposition, or rather, Ryker’s deal with Emily. Her sister agreed to marry Ryker, but never sleep with him? A marriage in name only? Have his babies via IVF? And stay in Italy, at his estate, for twenty-five years?
Katy’s head spun dizzily. Ryker was going to be executed?
She was going to vomit, the tequila choosing that very moment to rise from her stomach like a fire snake eating its way up her throat.
Unbuckling her lap belt, she stood and made her way to the toilet in the back of the plane. Luckily, even private jets were laid out in a way that made the small room easy to find. Locked inside, she stared at herself in the mirror and tried to recognize the woman staring back at her.
Her hair was still gorgeous, the hairstyle Ryker’s servants had spent over an hour creating, perfect. Her make-up had been artfully applied. She looked beautiful. The engagement ring on her finger sparkled like black fire surrounded by a ring of starlight. The dress she wore was unlike anything she had ever imagined. It hugged every curve, made her look...like a queen.
Mia Regina.
My queen.Not a charming endearment. A freaking title.
Fumbling with the water spouts, she managed to turn it on and splash a bit of cold water on her cheeks and neck.
Inaugural ball? Like the event at Ryker’s estate tonight? The people, all looking like they’d come straight from a fashion catalog? The pendant worn by Ryker’s mother? The crown?
“Emily, what have you done?” she whispered to the mirror image of herself. If she had her cell phone, she would call her twin this instant and curse her into next week. But she had no phone. No identification. No passport. No money. And everyone on this jet thought she was Emily Toure, future wife of Ryker. Future mother of his children.
For a price.
“No.” She stared the woman who looked exactly like Emily in the eye and told her again. “No. I’m not doing this. Not even for you.”
Decision made, Katy made sure she didn’t look as unsettled as she felt and walked back to stand next to her seat. The contract and pen rested in Erik’s lap.
“I am sorry, Erik. But I cannot accept your offer.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Toure.” He smiled as he spoke, clearly unperturbed. He stood and held out the paperwork. “I’ll make it twenty million and one child. Please, Ms. Toure. My clan, too, has given up hope, and the dragon chains will not hold us much longer.”
Straightening her shoulders, Katy made a decision.
“Erik, please, sit. I have a lot of questions. And then I have a story to tell you as well.”
“Ask. I will tell you anything, min dronning.”
“What does that mean?”
“My queen.”
