Legend of the Inero Dragon (3 page)

"Where are we going?" she asked once they
were outside. "What's going on?"

"Shh." He pressed a finger to his lips. "We
can talk in a minute."

Quickly, he led her through stone hallways.
Gwen never got to see where she was brought. It was too dark around
the building when she had first entered, and they had been moving
too quickly for her to process the details. From the stone walls
she could see by the dim lighting of the interior, she could only
assume it was some kind of a castle. He unlocked a door, then he
pulled her inside a bedroom suite.

Immediately, she pulled away from him.
"Please don't hurt me."

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said. He
leaned against the door and closed his eyes. "I'm trying to help
you."

"By taking me away from my home?" She folded
her arms to intimidate him.

"I didn't tell anyone to take you away and I
didn't do it myself," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He
finally looked up at her again. "If it was up to me, you'd still be
at home. For now, go ahead and get comfortable. I'm sure you're
tired because it's late. Sleep, then we can talk in the
morning."

Gwen didn't move. "I don't think so. If this
is all some kind of an act to get me to sleep with you—"

"I'm not trying to have sex with you. I don't
want to," he said, letting out a heavy sigh. "I don't even know
you!"

The two were quiet for a few minutes. Tired
of standing, Gwen finally settled on sitting at the edge of the
bed, but she didn't let her guard down. Her eyes never left
him.

After a few minutes passed, he stepped away
from the door, moving to the opposite end of the room to sit in a
chair. He hunched forward, rubbing his hands together as he stared
at the floor.

"They've chosen you to be a part of the
Elite," he said at last. "Which is another way of saying you've
been handpicked to be my mate."

"I'm not—"

"I told you, I'm not interested in that.
Unlike most of my brothers, I believe in proper courtship and
earning the privilege to be your love. I'm not even interested in
having a relationship, necessarily. If I had declined to
participate in this ritual, I would have lost a lot of honor. It
might not mean much to you, but it's important I keep as much
respect as possible. I'm not sure how to explain it so you'll
understand."

"Honor is important out in the country as
well. To save my family's face I didn't punch out the men who took
me from my home. Without honor, things can become complicated,"
Gwen said.

His jaw dropped in surprise, and his eyes
went wide as he looked up at her. "Yes, exactly. Back to my
original point though, I did not want to do this to you. I want you
to know that I will respect you, care for you, and make sure you
are safe. I will treat you like a proper spouse should even if we
are forced into this."

"Spouse? I never agreed to being a wife."

"That's the purpose of the ritual of the
Elite. What did you think I meant when I said mate?" he asked,
raising an eyebrow.

Gwen glanced down at her hands; a shiver ran
down her spine. "I'm not sure. How can any of the others be okay
with this? How can you get away with it?"

The young man shrugged before leaning
forward, his gaze still on her. "My brothers are persuasive. The
line suggested for me to use went something like, 'You're a
princess now and I am your prince. I will give you the world if
you'll be mine.' It's not necessarily a lie, but I didn't want to
feed it to you. I'd rather get to know you first and decide from
there what's going to happen."

"Why?" she asked.

"Why do I want to get to know you? Or why do
this to begin with?"

"Both."

"I'll start with why I want to get to know
you. It's simple. I'm not ready, and I don't think I could ever
give myself fully to someone I don't know. I can give you more
details about why I think this later, but I think I should explain
the more complicated portion first."

She nodded, craving any kind of information
he could give her. As much as she wanted to bolt out the door and
make a run for it, she also needed to know. While she was confident
that if she tried to run, he'd let her go, it still didn't feel
worth the risk. This young man hadn't hurt her, yet. She'd give him
the benefit of the doubt until he gave her reason to think
otherwise.

He rubbed the side of his face for a few
seconds. "What do you know about the dragons?"

"I know they roam the land, exacting God's
plan on the people," she said with a roll of her eyes. The Inero
dragons claimed to be holy creatures, but it was hard to think of
them as such when they'd burned countless farms to the ground. She
did not believe God wanted this.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"No, not much else outside of the fact they
seem to be everywhere."

He nodded then leaned back in his chair. He
didn't look at her. "What would you do if I told you the dragons
were everywhere and they walked among you without you knowing?"

"I'd say it was strange, but I've also heard
stranger things," she said carefully, not wanting to insult him and
have him stop talking to her. She was too curious as to where he
was going with this.

"They do walk among
you.
We
walk among
you, as humans."

"Are you trying to tell me you're one of the
dragons?" she almost laughed. It sounded ridiculous.

"Yes, I am telling you that. Which I know
sounds odd, and you're no doubt skeptical, but bear with me as I
try to explain," he said, drawing in a deep breath. "When the first
dragon was created, God gave him the ability to transform into a
human. This was to teach the dragon how to respect humans, but also
for survival. The first dragon needed a female. Even now, dragons
are always born male. Thus, we need human females to continue our
species. To mate with.

"The Elite are how we choose our women. It's
difficult to court normally because we age slower, have magic—among
a slew of other complications—so this is our alternative. Most of
my brothers are only interested in the breeding portion of the
ritual anyway. In fact, I'm sure if there was no need for
hierarchies to be declared via bloodlines, the institution of
marriage would be completely thrown away."

Gwen sat in silence, processing his story. A
clever tale but still, a story.
How could such a thing be
true?
Finally, she shook her head at him. "I'm not buying
it."

"I didn't expect you to. Still, I wanted to
be up front and honest with you. When it's not so late, I can give
you more evidence. I'll also need more space to transform in front
of you. Besides, it wouldn't be good for me to scare you further.
I'm sure if you screamed it would draw a lot of unwanted attention
to the room."

"I thought you didn't want to hurt me?"

"I don't but it's a startling thing to see a
dragon transform for the first time. Especially if you don't
believe it's possible," he said, winking at her then cracking a
small smile. A beautiful, genuine smile and with it he found a way
to gain some more of her trust.

Gwen faltered slightly, shifting on the bed
for a moment before averting her gaze from him all together. "So
what happens now?"

"Sleep, I suppose. I'd say we could leave,
but I'm not sure that would go over well with my brothers. If you
try to sneak out, they'll disgrace you and take advantage of you or
maybe kill you. Possibly both. It'd be better to ride the night out
and discuss our options in a more private setting."

"More private than here?" she asked. No one
else was around. Unless someone was spying on them. Her nose
crinkled at the thought. "Disgusting."

"Yes, I agree." He paused. "What's your
name?"

"Gwenaelle," she said softly. "For someone
who wants to get to know me, you sure are late to ask."

"My apologies," he said, lowering his eyes.
"At least I asked, which is more than I can say for some of my
brothers."

"And you are?" Gwen asked as she adjusted
herself on the bed. She lay down, but the last thing she felt was
tired.

"My name is Jason," he said.

She picked up one of the pillows on the bed
and tossed it to him. If he meant what he said about not hurting
her, she wanted to extend the same courtesy to him. "Don't think
I'm going to let you off easy."

"I don't deserve to be. Sleep sweet,
Gwenaelle."

Chapter Six

"No one tried anything when they took
you from home right?" Matt asked. He moved his hands up and down
Kat's arms slowly, being awfully affectionate. They'd touched
before, but nothing she thought of as romantic and intimate. In the
past it had seemed like he had held back. Whatever apprehensions he
had then were now gone.

Kat shook her head. Happy tears were
in her eyes. "My parents practically shoved me out the door. They
even packed a bag. The guard members were kind and
gentle."

"Good."

"How long have you known this was
going to happen?" she asked.

Matt gave her a weak smile. "My whole
life?"

"Mmhmm, be honest with me." She put
her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows, even daring to stand
up on her toes to give her more height. Anything she could do to
try and intimidate the information out of him she was going to
try.

He laughed and kissed her cheek,
letting his lips linger against her skin for a few seconds. The
warm feeling ran through her entire body. "I am being honest with
you. Ever since I can remember, I was told that some day I would
choose my wife from the Elite. I didn't know you would be a part of
it until earlier today. There was no way I could guarantee you as
mine, but I was prepared to do anything to make it so."

"So why do you get to have an Elite
bride?" It didn't matter much to her. They were together, but the
curiosity was still there. It seemed like information that would be
worth knowing.

"I guess you could say I'm kind of a
big deal," he said with a smirk. He sat down on the bed and patted
it. Taking that as a hint, she sat next to him, bouncing onto it.
"How about I tell you a bedtime story?"

"That's sweet of you, but is it
necessary?"

"I think so. Once upon a time,
thousands of years ago, God created the Earth. He made the four
Great Dragon Lords: Aero, Inero, Oceina, and Terran. All were
impressive beasts who were tasked with protecting and keeping the
planet safe."

She dared to touch his arm, even to
trail her fingers up to his shoulder in a flirtatious manner. "You
know, I have heard this story before. Tell me something
new."

"Something new?" He raised an eyebrow.
"All right, I will. What isn't written in the books is that the
dragons were given an extra magic besides their elemental type. God
gave them the ability to shift into a human form. Part of why I'm a
big deal? Is because I am one of these dragons."

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to
decide if she should believe him or not. Matt had never lied to her
before, but he was known for the occasional prank. Whenever he did,
his eyes had a soft glimmer in them and his lips always hid a
smile. As she studied his face, she noticed neither of these things
were present.

Kat swallowed, trying to find the
right words. "So you're a dragon and I'm now your wife? Does that
mean I'm a dragon too and I've never realized it?"

"No. But if you'll have me, you too
will have many of the gifts I've been given. Invulnerability to
fire, perhaps even a spell, the ability to talk to me whenever you
wish, and a longer life so we can be together for centuries. If
you'll have me, you will become like my kind. And that is why I
have an Elite bride. Only the best are allowed this privilege. I
meant it when I said I think you're perfect. If anything, I am not
worthy to be with you."

"This is a lot to take in," she
admitted.

He took her hand and gave it a
squeeze. "I'm sure it is, and I wish I could have told you sooner.
It's a secret I've been sworn to protect, and can only share with
the woman I want to be with. She is you."

"I want to be with you too," Kat
whispered. She loved him and almost said it. The words caught in
her throat. She wanted to hear them first from him. He had to feel
the same way, right? Why else would he go through all of this
trouble just to be with her for centuries?

Kat leaned up, paused to lick her
lips, and then kissed his mouth. "I'll have you."

Chapter
Seven

"What kind of a loser doesn't sleep with his
wife after they get married?" one brother asked, his voice
reverberating down the stone hallways of the castle. Jason couldn't
remember his name. In fact, they'd barely spoken more than two
words to one another. The most he knew was that they were
half-brothers and a handful of years apart.

Why Jason's love life had to be the latest
gossip to float through the Inero Castle was beyond him. Surely,
there were better things to talk about.

"I don't know, but he still reeks of purity.
It's disgusting and shameful," another brother replied.

"How is he being a man?" the first continued.
"How will he even become a man at this rate? Isn't it one of his
duties as a husband to bed her? Besides, she'll never respect him
if he doesn't show her where her proper place is now."

"I'm not sure. Perhaps he has a problem?
Perhaps he is…"

Jason had to ignore the rest of this
conversation as he walked by. Both of them stopped talking when
they noticed him then continued on in hushed voices. Soon he was
out of range and the only sound he heard was his footsteps on the
stone floors. He didn't want to be late for breakfast.