Demand of the Dragon (7 page)

Chapter Seven

“You’re alive!” Lucy slammed into Tristan, throwing her
arms around his neck. She pulled back, searching his face for pain or loss or
grief. Bright blue eyes, just like her own, stared back at her. There wasn’t a
hint of sorrow lurking behind the curtain of blue.

“God, I’ve missed you so much!” He pulled her into another
embrace. “Caleb!” Tristan released Lucy and embraced Caleb in a brotherly hug.
“You came...you guys really came for me.”

Lucy’s smile spread until her cheeks hurt. “Caleb just came
back and—”

“I haven’t stopped looking for you,” he finished.

“I can’t believe we found you.” Lucy looked at Tristan.
Really
looked at him. He’d changed so much since he’d
been gone. His long, blond hair had darkened to a shade of dishwater and the
angles of his face had hardened, sinking his cheekbones. Living in the
wastelands for three years had not been kind to him. “Why didn’t you send word
that you were down here? We would’ve been here sooner.”

“I sent a message with Emerly, but she met some resistance when
she tried to get another mermaid to take the message farther up the coast. Seems
not every mermaid in Feralon is as eager to help a Draco in trouble.” Emerly
appeared at Tristan’s side. He draped an arm over her shoulder and tucked her
against him. “But I have to admit, the last few days have been the best of my
life...thanks to Emerly.”

He leaned down, and kissed her.

Emerly and Tristan? A couple? Sure, they’d been close growing
up, and Tristan had talked about her nonstop, but Lucy simply thought that was
because Emerly was different—a mermaid.

“I’m just so relieved you’re safe,” Lucy said. “You have no
idea how hard it’s been living the last three years without you, not knowing
what happened.”

She wouldn’t have to claim a Draco she didn’t love. She
wouldn’t have to follow her brother’s demand. Happiness filled Lucy until she
thought she’d burst. They’d still have to get Tristan back to Queen Elixa’s
study and destroy the paperwork, but still. She was so close to her
happily-ever-after, she could taste it.

“Well I’m safe now.” Tristan’s expression turned grim and he
gripped the hilt of his sword. “But it looks like you’re not. You should take
her back home, Caleb. Before she gets hurt.”

As the pit beside them rumbled and shook, grumbling into the
wide expanse of the cavern, Caleb gripped Lucy by the arm and pulled her
protectively behind him.

“You haven’t sealed the portal?” Caleb backed away.

“It won’t close! No matter how much energy I pull from the
Draco Stone, these damn beasts keep spilling through. I haven’t had another
visitor in a few hours, so I knew we were due, but you guys have some damn good
timing.”

Emerly fled the cavern, back into the tunnel, as if she knew
what was coming and had an emergency plan down pat.

“Go!” Caleb turned to Lucy. “Find Emerly. She’ll keep you
safe.”

Panic turning her feet to stone, Lucy pushed against him, and
gripped the hard bulge of his shoulders. “I’m not leaving you.”

“You’re not staying. You didn’t see the beast the night Tristan
disappeared. You don’t know what’s about to blast through that portal.”

“He’s right,” Tristan said, swishing his sword across his
chest, readying for battle. “I can barely fight them off each time and I’m
armed. The ones coming through are getting bigger. Stronger.”

This wasn’t happening. This
couldn’t
be happening. Lucy wasn’t about to leave the two most
important men in her life. Especially so soon after she got them back.

“Caleb, you’re faster and stronger with a rider.” Her palms
clammed as fire shot from the center of the pit and hit the ceiling. “Shift and
we can distract the beast so Tristan can get a clean shot.”

Grasping Lucy’s arm, Caleb led her back toward the first cave.
Shivers blanketed her arms, but they didn’t rise from fear—they surfaced from
the warmth of Caleb’s touch. From the certainty of what she had to do.

“I won’t chance it, Lucy,” he said. “I won’t put you in danger,
but I can’t leave Tristan here to fight by himself, either. I have to stay. At
least for this breach.”

“I know.” He didn’t need to speak the words. Lucy knew he’d
stay. His sense of duty and unwavering honor were two of the things she loved
about him most.

As a deafening howl erupted from the pit and the floor vibrated
beneath Lucy’s feet, she realized it was too late to force the issue of riding
Caleb. The beast was already here.

“Get back!” Tristan shouted, backing against the far wall,
bracing his hands against the sides.

Smoke billowed toward the dirt-domed ceiling. Tristan counted
to three, then ran at a full sprint. Leaped over the pit, slicing his blade
through the air when he reached the center. He landed on the other side in a
crouch, breathing heavy, his face twisted into a menacing scowl.

Barely missing the swing of Tristan’s sword, a beast spiraled
into the air, his gnarly wings tucked against him. He was a torpedo of gristle.
A snarling mess of snot, sandpaper skin and pointed teeth.

What
the
hell
was
it
?

Caleb didn’t wait to find out. His body exploded with muscle.
Golden scales surged over his shoulders and down his back. His tail thickened,
lengthening to full size and his middle bulked up. Before Lucy could jump onto
his back—hell, before she could blink—Caleb took to the air, his colossal wings
flapping against the edges of the cavern as he circled.

With a roar, the beast zoned in on Caleb and took flight behind
him.

Round and round they raced, tearing through the air. Caleb
tucked his wings against him and rolled left, descending toward the earth.
Folding his serrated wings against his bumpy body, the beast followed Caleb’s
path. Only the beast closed the gap.

Lucy saw the plan taking shape. Knew what Caleb and Tristan
aimed to do. Tristan clutched the hilt of his sword and charged toward the pit.
From the opposite side, Caleb flattened out and soared overhead, luring the
beast into a head-on collision with Tristan’s sword. If the beast continued on
the path Caleb was drawing it down, its underbelly would be exposed and low
enough for Tristan to slice through it, taking it down for good.

But as Caleb skimmed over Tristan’s head, and veered right, the
beast anticipated Caleb’s movement and changed course at the last second.
Tristan lunged for the beast’s underbelly, but it was too late.

The beast slammed into Caleb like a battering ram and sent him
careening into the wall over Lucy’s head. Shrieking, she ducked into the tunnel
and covered her ears as an ear-piercing squeal filled the air. Lucy only hoped
it wasn’t Caleb making the hellish sound.

Rocks and dust fell into the cavern, creating a haze of dirt
and murk she could barely see through. Peeking out from the tunnel, Lucy
followed Tristan’s wide-eyed gaze...over her head. The beast had Caleb pinned to
the wall, twenty feet above them. Its two front feet gouged into Caleb’s
shoulders, holding him in place, and its back feet pressed against Caleb’s legs.
He spit and snarled against Caleb’s snout, then took a chunk out of his right
wing. Letting out a guttural moan, Caleb whipped his tail, smacking the beast in
the head. He pummeled the monster with his wings.

Nothing worked. Nothing could release Caleb from the beast’s
cemented grip.

“Do something!” Lucy screamed at Tristan.

But he’d already jumped into action. Tristan unsheathed two
daggers from his boots, spun them in his hands and chucked them at the beast’s
back. They hit their mark, sinking into its crooked spine. The beast shrieked
and writhed, dropping Caleb from its grasp as it flew around the cavern
walls.

Caleb landed with a heavy thump in a heap of gold, his wings
crookedly pinned beneath him. Heart beating double time, Lucy ran, and threw
herself at his side.

“Caleb! Are you all right?”

He snorted, twitching his right wing.

“I know, I see it.” She touched his torn wing, then swiped a
mess of warm blood onto her pants. God, she wished she could take the pain away.
Regret soured her stomach. They never should’ve come here, but what choice did
they have?

The beast circled, screeching in early victory.

“Caleb, can you still fly?” Tristan asked, kneeling in front of
Caleb’s huffing snout.

Caleb nodded, his onyx eyes heated with fiery
determination.

“Lucy, I’m gonna shift and we’re gonna tag-team this beast.”
Tristan kept his eyes on the snarling prize that circled their heads like a
death-sniffing vulture. “Take the sword for protection...just in case.”

In
case
they
fail
.

No, this wasn’t happening. Not today.

Tristan offered the hilt of the sword. Instead of taking it,
Lucy hiked her leg over Caleb’s middle and settled into place. Caleb flexed in
disagreement, but she’d been born and bred for this moment—when she could ride
her dragon and infuse strength and speed into him that wasn’t there before.

Lucy stroked Caleb’s side, as the beast squealed wildly, and
dive-bombed their position.

“Let’s go get him!” Lucy dug her heels into Caleb’s side,
lurching him into the air despite his resistance.

He hovered over the ground and gained speed, though with a torn
wing, his speed was no match for the beast’s. The thing was at Caleb’s tail in
seconds, striking it brutally, throwing them off course. They dipped. Spun.
Dragged against the earth. Ricocheted into the wall. Lucy adjusted her grip,
scanned the ground and found Tristan standing near the tunnel, sword in
hand.

An idea struck Lucy like a thunderbolt and possibility buzzed
through her veins. Caleb must’ve felt it, too. His body hummed in anticipation,
readying for whatever strike she had in mind.

“We’re gonna crush this sucker.” She held his neck closely,
jockeying her hips over him, riding him hard. “Ready...now!”

She pulled back on Caleb’s neck, rocketing him vertical. The
beast followed, swiping at Caleb’s tail and wings. But with Lucy on his back,
tugging him this way and that, the beast missed. They climbed up, up, up toward
the domed ceiling. They swerved between hanging pillars, in and out of the
cavern’s rocky ceiling maze. The beast matched their speed, move for move, inch
for inch.

As Lucy and Caleb weaved around the upside-down columns in
figure-eight patterns, Caleb’s anxiety slowed his roll. They shouldn’t be
predictable at a time like this, when the beast was hot on their tail and
gaining ground with each swerve. Caleb had to know it; his body twitched to veer
another direction. But predictability was going to save their asses tonight.

“Don’t give up on me now, Caleb.” The portal was just beneath
them. “Slow. Steady. Wait for it.”

The beast swiped at Caleb’s tail, only this time his talons
sunk into leathery flesh. Caleb roared, jerking upright. She only hoped it
didn’t hurt too much. They weren’t out of it yet.

“Lucy!” Tristan hollered from below, frantically waving his
arms over his head. “No!”

But Lucy was too committed to her plan to listen now. The beast
was too close. If she didn’t follow through, it’d kill them both.

Lucy dug her fingers into Caleb’s neck for better handling.
Squeezed her thighs around him for control. And yanked him hard to the right,
weaving around another rocky mast. Except when she should’ve continued the
figure-eight pattern, when she should’ve veered left around the largest,
bulkiest column in the cavern, she dove. Straight down. Toward the portal.

The beast didn’t have time to react. It’d anticipated going
left and had already banked. Trying to match her, it dived...but the abrupt
change in movement caused it to be off balance and wonky on its own wings. It
crashed into the rock with a horrendous grunt and spun off kilter, down toward
the portal.

Lucy wrenched Caleb out of the way and guided him to the ground
as the beast plummeted into the portal, disappearing with plumes of smoke and
ear-splitting hisses.

It wasn’t over.

The ceiling rumbled and moaned from the beast’s collision with
the pillar. Chunks broke off, dropping into the portal like stones. Large
sections of rock dislodged from their columns and crashed to the ground in a
dirt and stone avalanche. The entire ceiling was going to come down on their
heads.

“Let’s get out of here!” Tristan screamed, leading the way down
the tunnel.

The last thing Lucy saw before riding Caleb out of the
crumbling cavern was the entire weight of the mountain smashing into the wide
mouth of portal, closing it for good.

Chapter Eight

24
hours
later

“My God, you’re beautiful, sis.” Tristan entered the
pre-claiming dressing chamber with Emerly at his side. They were a perfect pair,
and acted as if they’d been together their whole lives. Maybe because they
pretty much had.

Turning toward the full-length mirror Queen Elixa had set up,
Lucy checked her appearance for the hundredth time. Her hair had been pinned up,
with a few tendrils falling down her face, and her makeup was simple, clean and
fresh. She pressed her hands down the front of her dress and tugged down the
sleeves. Everything had to be just right. She tried to clasp the last button
near her collar, but her fingers fumbled.

“I’m just glad you’re here to see this,” she said.

“Thanks to you, the portal is closed, squashed beneath the
Drakein Cliffs. There’s nothing that could keep me away from your claiming
ceremony now.” Tristan turned Lucy around. “You’re my favorite sister, you
know.”

Lucy’s lips pulled into a smile. “I’m your only sister.”

He buttoned the final button of Lucy’s dress as Emerly smiled
sweetly over his shoulder. Lucy thanked the heavens that Dracos and Merfolk were
on speaking terms. Emerly would be able to stand next to Tristan and watch Lucy
claim the man she loved.

“I’m going to head out before it starts,” Emerly said, hugging
Lucy. “You look radiant.”

“Thanks so much.” Lucy fought the tears stinging her eyes. “For
everything.”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Emerly said, reaching for Tristan’s
medallion around her neck. “I didn’t know if I could trust Caleb when I took
this, but the medallion should be returned to you.”

“No, you keep it.” Lucy stopped Emerly by placing a hand over
the medallion. It was warm and smooth on her fingers, buzzing to the touch. “It
was my brother’s to begin with. Now that you two are together, the medallion
belongs to you.”

“I thought it looked familiar.” She smiled, clutched the gold
piece and disappeared behind the curtain.

As a bell chimed in the great hall, signaling the beginning of
the ceremony, Tristan leaned down and kissed Lucy on the forehead. “Let’s go
take a walk.”

Nodding, Lucy filled her lungs with a heavenly breath of air.
This was nothing like the last time. No panic. No uncertainty. Caleb was the
Draco she wanted to spend her life with. She couldn’t imagine another day,
minute, second spent without him.

Lucy put her arm in Tristan’s as the curtain pulled back. The
great room was empty, save for Queen Elixa and Caleb standing before a tall,
stone altar. It was exactly how Lucy dreamed the ceremony would be—a private,
intimate moment between a dragon, his rider and her closest family.

It was heart-stopping perfection.

Caleb beamed and exhaled heavily when his eyes set upon her.
How long had he been holding his breath? He wore white linen pants and had left
his chest bare. Lucy’s heart filled with warmth. Light. Happiness.

Keeping his eyes trained on the front, Tristan squeezed Lucy’s
arm. “Caleb better treat you right.”

“You know he will,” Lucy said. “At least you can rest easy
knowing he can protect me better than Geezer ever could.”

“Go easy on Geezer, he was just doing his duty. Speaking of...”
Tristan released her and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “I picked this
up from Queen Elixa on my way over this morning.”

“What is it?”

“My last will and testament.”

“Guess you don’t need that anymore.” Lucy laughed, but couldn’t
stop staring at Caleb. He studied her with amazement. As if he couldn’t believe
this moment was happening. Lucy understood exactly what he was feeling.

Tristan ripped the document, right down the middle, and
continued tearing. “I should never have demanded that you marry someone you
didn’t love, Lucy. I thought I was doing what was right. I thought I knew who
could support you best. I was so wrong.” Tristan shoved the shreds in his pocket
and held her arm once more. “You’ve turned out to be quite the catch, Lucy
Sheffield. You’re more courageous than I ever expected you to be. Caleb is lucky
to have you.”

Lucy reached up on tiptoe and planted a kiss on his cheek. She
was so glad to have Tristan back—the only family she had, the only family she
needed.

“But if he breaks your heart,” Tristan said under his breath,
“I’m going to break his legs.”

Lucy expected nothing less.

* * *

Caleb had the urge to pinch himself to make sure this
was real. That the angel walking toward him wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
It really was Lucy. His love, his life, walking down the aisle to claim him.

As Lucy stepped to his side and Tristan gave her a ceremonial
kiss on the cheek, Caleb wrapped her arm in his and faced the altar. Her touch
sparked excitement in his veins. His heart throbbed, pounding into his temples.
Could she hear it? Was her heart beating as wildly? As his gaze settled on the
seductive curve of her neck, Caleb spotted the telling flutter of her vein, just
beneath her pale sheath of skin.

She looked up at him with those sparkling blue eyes and stopped
his heart stone dead. She was exquisite. The most beautiful bride he’d ever
seen. She fit him perfectly—her tiny fingers laced in his, her heart beating in
time.

Mine
.

Queen Elixa stood before the altar with a stern look piercing
her lips together. “Are you certain you would not like the entire Draco clan to
witness the ceremony?”

Caleb squeezed Lucy’s hand. “I’d marry her with every shifter
in Feralon watching and scream her name from the tallest peak, but it’s Lucy’s
wish to complete the ceremony, in this cavern, surrounded only by her closest
family. My deepest desire in life is to make her happy, every day for the rest
of hers.”

Nodding, Queen Elixa lifted the long, wooden Draco Spear from
its rack on the altar.

“Face each other,” she commanded.

Caleb gladly obeyed. He couldn’t wait another second to dive
into Lucy’s tender blue eyes. They nearly touched hip to hip and chest to chest.
He held her hands in his. Stroked his thumbs over the backs of her knuckles. She
looked so delicate and fragile decked in maidenly white lace, though Caleb knew
she was anything but.

Merely thinking about how they’d writhed skin to skin beneath
his blankets a few hours ago made a sense of raw urgency rile Caleb’s blood. His
body hummed with want. Sensing the desire flooding his system, Lucy’s chest rose
in quick, eager pants. Simply touching hand to hand fueled their passion.

They wouldn’t be able to keep their hands off each other much
longer. Queen Elixa needed to get the show on the road.

“Will you, Lucy Sheffield, claim Caleb Rycroft as your
one-and-only dragon? Will you love him with all your heart, protect him with
your life and ride him with the power of your soul?”

She paused, as if catching her breath. “I will.”

“Will you, Caleb Rycroft, claim Lucy Sheffield as your rider?
Will you love her as your own heart, protect her as your own flesh and fly the
skies, devoting all the power of your soul unto her?”

Love filled Caleb so absolutely, he thought he might shatter.
“I will.”

“Heart, body and soul,” Queen Elixa said. “There is no greater
love than that. I pronounce you claimed for life, rider and dragon.”

Caleb’s heart clenched, tightening into a solid fist. Lucy
beamed, a vision of magnificence that burned into his memory.

“Lucy, you may now scribe your name into your Draco’s chest.”
Queen Elixa smiled, handing Lucy the spear.

Lucy took the jagged piece of wood and slowly spun it in the
palm of her hand.

This was it. The moment when Lucy’s name would be forever
carved into his chest, a tattoo, a brand, for every Draco and Sindraco to
see.

He was hers.

She was his.

“Ready?” Lucy asked, her lips trembling.

“There’s no reason to be nervous.” Caleb had heard the stories
about the grueling amount of pain inflicted by the rite, how much the spear hurt
when it gouged into flesh, but there wasn’t a lick of fear surging through him.
“I want this. More than anything.”

He truly did.

Lucy held the spear like a pen, poised at his right pectoral
muscle. His skin twitched beneath her hand. She hesitated. Waiting. An anxious
vibe flowing off her body in thick waves. Even Queen Elixa picked up on it.

“You’ve said your vows, and I have pronounced you claimed as
one,” Queen Elixa said, leaning toward Lucy. “If you’d rather retreat to the
post-claiming chamber to finish the ceremony in private, you may.”

Over half of the claiming ceremonies Caleb had seen were
finished in the privacy of the post-claiming chamber. Although not everyone
preferred such intimate conditions for the vow portion of the ceremony, the
carving rite was sacred. That much couldn’t be denied.

Caleb didn’t need to hear Lucy’s answer. He could sense her
wavering.

“Thank you, Queen Elixa,” Caleb said, taking Lucy’s hand. “I
think I’ll take it from here.”

Everyone and everything in the cavern disappeared behind them
as Caleb led the way down a tunnel to their right, to their chamber. All that
existed was the two of them, the spear and the love woven through their hearts.
Caleb guided Lucy into a beautifully decorated chamber with soft candlelight
illuminating rose petals strewn on the marble floor. The room was small, enough
for a bed and bath, but had a majestic flare to it, with a crystal chandelier
hanging from the ceiling and furs covering the massive four-post bed.

Caleb shut the door behind him. Now that they were alone, he
picked up Lucy’s sweet-floral scent. It made him want to stroke the soft curves
of her body and taste her sweetness on his tongue. It made him want to bury his
face in her hair as he buried himself inside her. But he couldn’t rush the most
important part of the ceremony.

Keeping his hands off Lucy long enough for her to carve her
name into his chest was going to be a damn feat.

Lucy stood in the center of the room with her back to him.

“What is it, beautiful?” Caleb asked, sliding his hands down
her shoulders. How easy it would be to reach around, unbutton her gown and slide
it off her glorious body.

Don’t
take
off
the
dress
.
Not
yet
.

She spun around, and only then did Caleb see shadows flit
across her mesmerizing blues.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” The dagger shook in her hand. “As
much as I’d like my name branded into your skin as a symbol of our love, I don’t
know if I can do it.”

Despite the tugging of his heart, Caleb felt the corner of his
mouth quirk. “You can stand strong with the other Sindracos for three years
without a single soul to care for you, charge after a flying beast, destroy a
portal your brother couldn’t, and you don’t think you can do
this
?”

She was stronger than she gave herself credit for. If only she
could view herself as Caleb viewed her. He’d just have to spend the rest of his
life trying to make her see how special she really was.

She tapped the spear against her palm. “I’ve heard how much
pain this can cause, and I just don’t think I can—”

Caleb had heard enough doubt. He caught her mouth with his and
attempted to hush her busy mind. Her lips were petal soft and deliciously sweet.
But worry hardened the pucker of her mouth. He cupped Lucy’s chin in his hands
and tilted her face, deepening the kiss.

God, he’d love her forever.
Always
.

As if she could read his thoughts, Lucy crushed her lips to
his, giving herself over to him completely. Their mouths melted together,
molding into one. She moaned softly, and Caleb took the opening, slipping his
tongue past her lips. He explored her mouth, asked deep, wet questions that she
answered with languid caresses of her tongue.

She wasn’t distracted enough. Not yet. He wanted her lost in
him, and in what she had to do.

With hot-blooded fervor, Caleb pulled her hips closer, until
they were flush against him. He kissed her as if he needed her lips to breathe.
As if he needed her mouth moving against him for his heart to beat. He devoured
her, consuming her, taking more of her lips until she threw her arms around his
neck and kissed him just as passionately, letting all the tension in her body
drop to the floor.

Caleb slid his hand down her arm. He found her wrist, her hand,
and the Draco Spear clutched in her fingers. Taking her wrist, he guided the
spear to his chest and pointed the tip into his skin.

“I love you, Lucy,” he breathed against her. “Always.”

As he thrust the tip into his chest, Lucy cried out, gasping
into his mouth. Struggling to keep his body still, Caleb steered her hand down
to carve the bottom portion of the L. Blood trickled down the spear, down his
bare chest, but he kept going. Lucy tried to pull away from his mouth—no doubt
to focus on what was happening—but he held her captive, kissing her with all the
passion and love he had to give.

He wasn’t concerned about how her name would turn out. He
didn’t need to look at the spear or the marking to know the curves of her name.
Just as he didn’t need to open his eyes when kissing Lucy to sense her desire
for him.

He could feel it and knew it was right.

Hard rods of adrenaline jolted through Caleb’s body as they
finished the L and U and moved on to the arc of the C. Surprisingly, the carving
hadn’t caused a ton of pain. At least not the way it’d been described to him
before. The tiny movements over the bends and curves of Lucy’s name warmed his
chest with a luscious pulsing sensation that voyaged down his stomach and
continued to his cock. It was like being shocked, warmed, numbed and seriously
turned on, all at the same time.