Mating the Dragon (Dragon Ruins Book 6) (5 page)

Why did she have to choose now to find her voice? He couldn’t tell her that if Karla were the one standing in front of him, the mating outfit would already be in tatters. Even the knowledge that the mating bond would kill her as well if he died by Ultrima’s hand wouldn’t be able to stop him.

The mating bond! Of course, that was his excuse. 

“It’s not that,” Taurian argued. “I would have the same concerns no matter who I was mating with. The reality is, at some point I’m going to have to fight Ultrima. There’s no other way out of this. And when I do, I run a big risk of dying.” He didn’t need to tell her that the only reason he’d survived last time was that Bruce and Lisa had saved him. No need to admit that. “If we’ve completed the mating ceremony, then that means you will die too.”

Wayrian’s face paled. “But I thought we were going to run away from Ultrima, not fight him.”

“Rian clan will run. Someone will need to keep Ultrima busy while they do that,” he said softly.

“It shouldn’t be you,” Wayrian said firmly. “The elders will agree with me. We can’t risk losing our prince. Not again.”

“I won’t let it be anyone else.”

Wayrian put her hands on her hips. “That is not your right. We all have a responsibility to the clan that is bigger than our own hopes and dreams. That’s why you and I are here right now. You have to survive, and we have to produce a life dragon. That’s the solution to this. Not pointless fighting.”

Intractable water dragon, stuck on the path they had started on, refusing to change one bit. Even if someone dropped a big rock in the middle of their stream, they’d just try to go around it, moving only the slightest, wearing down those who got in their way.

Taurian should try to accept her personality. It was the only way to make this relationship work. But that would have to wait until later. If they both survived. 

“I must do what I must do. If it comes to fighting, I won’t back down. Hopefully, there is still a way out of this, for all of us, but I won’t risk your life on it. Our mating will have to wait until Ultrima is gone.”

“But the only reason he’s not fighting you now is because he thinks this is a mating ceremony.”

“So we pretend. No one has any idea what goes on here in these rooms. As far as they know, we’ve taken the first step.”

“But…” Wayrian’s moment of boldness disappeared, and her eyes slid downwards, away from his, her cheeks flushed.

“But what?” Taurian tried to keep the impatience from his voice. He wasn’t sure which was more annoying, her determined moments, or her shyness. The combination was maddening, he knew that much.

“Everyone will be looking for signs.”

Taurian might have been annoyed at her evasive reply, except he knew exactly what she meant. After the first night of the mating ceremony, a big deal was made of seeing how passionate the night had been, told by its toll on the mating outfit.

If it was still pristine, it was a bad sign for a relationship. Wayrian would be teased by all her friends about not being able to entice him. Even if it was later admitted that this was a fake mating, the stigma would remain, following them for the rest of their lives.

Well, that was an easy fix. Taurian stepped forwards and grasped a handful of the feathers, tearing them off the scrap of fabric that covered her. 

Wayrian gasped, her eyes wide.

Taurian ignored her response, stepping back and considering. A good start, but not enough. A prince needed to show an appropriate level of passion. He stepped forwards and reached for the skirt she wore. His hands paused over the waistline—the outfit needed to be worn for another day at least—and tore a rip in the hemline instead.

He scanned her again. There was still something missing. “You need to ruffle your hair, mess it up a little,” he ordered.

Wayrian stared at him for a moment, then she seemed to get it. She nodded, and pulled at her hair, rubbing it between her hands. 

Taurian nodded. “Yes, that’s better. No one will question it now.”

Cynically, he wondered how much of the damage done during the mating ceremony was this deliberate. It had never occurred to him to ask that question before, he’d always just assumed that the destruction was a true sign of a couple’s passion. He hadn’t even thought to doubt it.

Now that he was in the situation himself, he realised how easy it was. If your passion wasn’t strong enough, then calmly choosing the level of damage was easy.

If it had been Karla standing in front of him though, there would have been no need for pretence.

Every bone in Karla’s body ached from sleeping with only a few animal skins between her and the hard sand.

Oh, who was she kidding? There had been barely any sleeping happening at all. Between visions of Taurian mating with Wayrian and the constant fear Ultrima might be sneaking up on her in the dark, Karla had barely closed her eyes all night, much less slept. 

As she looked around the room, where all the dragons other than Taurian and Wayrian had slept, she realised she wasn’t the only one. Supposedly, they had slept here to give the mating couple privacy. That’s what she’d been told. Personally, she suspected they wanted to keep as much of an eye on Ultrima as she did.

Everyone looked bleary eyed. If Karla hadn’t been sure there had been no alcohol at the celebration, she would have said everyone was suffering from a hangover. The actual reason for their stupor was clear as dragons eyed the human form, lightning dragon sideways, surprised he hadn’t killed them during the night.

Ultrima was the only one that was chipper. He smiled widely at everyone, greeting them cheerily. Apparently he hadn’t had any problem sleeping at all. Strange really, that he was so unafraid in a room full of his enemies.

Not that anyone had even considered attacking him. Was that because of the dozen dragons outside, or simply because of their overwhelming fear? 

How long could they keep this up? It was almost like Ultrima was wearing them down, trying to make sure they were at their weakest before he attacked.

Why had Taurian ever thought this was a good plan? Then again, he probably hadn’t intended them to still be here this morning. If it weren’t for the dragons waiting on the surface, Karla was pretty sure all of the dragons of Rian clan would have slipped away during the night.

Which would have meant he’d have no time for mating. 

As it was…

As if on cue, all heads turned towards the tunnel where Taurian and Wayrian stood, holding hands.

Their hair was rumpled, and Karla’s eyes immediately picked out the missing feathers and torn skirt.

Her heart froze, then resumed beating with a painful jolt. Last night, she’d been sure that it couldn’t get any worse than the images in her head. Somehow, this was worse. 

This was reality. Cold, hard, reality.

Apparently worrying hadn’t impeded their night’s activity any. 

Karla turned away unable to look. There was no way she could hide how distressing the sight was for her, whether Ultrima was watching or not. What did it matter anyway? Ultrima wasn’t going to care, even if he did notice.

She needed to figure out a way to get everyone out of here so that she could move on before watching this drove her mad.

As if the couple’s appearance was a sign, dragons began to bring out food. The fare was a little more meagre than the feast last night had been, consisting almost entirely of leftovers. 

Karla didn’t really care. She didn’t feel like eating anyway.

But when Ultrima took a seat cross legged on the sand beside her, she suddenly found her appetite. 

Because eating was far better than trying to think of what to say to him. 

Both of them ate in silence for a while, but just when Karla was beginning to relax a little, and figure he was just sitting next to her to intimidate Taurian, Ultrima spoke, “They’re all the same, you know, these Rian dragons. They will mate for the benefits it gains them, not for love.” Ultrima’s voice was surprisingly gentle as though he knew what Karla was going through.

As if he actually cared.

Yeah, right, like she was going to believe that. Karla glanced up at him, trying to figure out what his game was. Because he had to be playing a game.

The expression in his eyes seemed as genuine as his voice.

What the hell? 

This was Ultrima. The man who had tried to kill Taurian. Who had tried to force Taurian’s sister to mate with him. Who had asked Karla to betray Taurian. He wasn’t gentle and understanding. He certainly didn’t understand about loving someone, did he?

Karla’s heart was thudding in her chest. Had they been mistaken about Ultrima all this time?

Was there a way out of this? If Ultrima had just been misunderstood, and he really did care for Taurian’s sister, then maybe they could talk to him and sort something out.

“And you know, that pairing is never going to produce a life dragon, no matter how hard they try.” Ultrima’s voice was cool, nonchalant. 

That was a bombshell.

He knew what Taurian was planning? How?

“Don’t look so surprised,” Ultrima said, amusement colouring his voice. “The Rian dragons have been trying to create a life dragon for quite a while. You could almost say it was an obsession.” Ultrima’s face darkened for a moment, then cleared. “But they don’t know the first thing about life dragons.”

“And you do?” Karla challenged.

“I don’t know, do I?” Ultrima’s eyes challenged her.

Karla thought quickly. Ultrima was talking as if she should know the answer, but how could she? Even if she had seen a life dragon in his lair, she wouldn’t have recognised it. She didn’t know anything about the different kinds of dragons. 

All she knew about life dragons was that they could affect people’s minds.

Or cause visions.

The memory of the dingoes in the cave underneath Ultrima’s lair flashed into her mind, sending her cold. She hadn’t understood enough about how dragon magic worked to understand them at the time. It hadn’t occurred to her to wonder how a lightning dragon could create such elaborate visions. Now that she had experienced life dragon magic on the way here, she knew that’s what it had to be.

Ultrima must have seen the knowledge in her eyes, because he smiled. 

“You already have a life dragon.” The statement was barely necessary, but somehow, Karla wanted to hear it from his own mouth. 

“Bravo. I’m surprised it took you so long to realise it.”

He was amused. 

For some reason, it made Karla furious. Didn’t he realise that these were real people? That they were dragons whose clan he had once been part of? They were trying so hard, and in Taurian’s case, giving up so much, to save each other.

And he was amused.

Karla almost shook with anger. To think she had almost felt sorry for him. Well, she certainly didn’t now. 

Ultrima though, misunderstood her shaking. “It must be painful for you to stay and watch this,” Ultrima said quietly. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”

Karla fought her anger. She needed to focus. Ultrima didn’t feel any real concern for her. He was faking it, He had to be. There had to be another reason he was talking to her. A reason he was pretending concern. There had to be something she was missing. She suspected it was very important to realise what.

There. There it was. A calculating gleam in Ultrima’s eyes. The fake concern couldn’t quite hide it.

He wanted to get rid of her.

She was right. Ultrima considered her an important piece in this game. That was why he was trying to get rid of her. He thought that would take her off the board.

A plan began to form in the back of Karla’s mind. A nebulous, risky, possibly stupid plan.

She refused to think too hard about it. If she let it form too fully, then Ultrima might see it on her face. She couldn’t afford that.

So she shrugged, and turned back to her food. “Bit risky to go out on my own when there are dangerous dragons about, don’t you think?”

Ultrima gave a laugh. “I would have thought it was riskier to stay here.”

He had a point. Karla stared up at him, her eyes narrowed. “I thought we were just witnessing a mating ceremony. That’s not so dangerous, is it?”

“Is it any more dangerous to leave?” Ultrima challenged.

She couldn’t get an answer by pretending. Karla dropped the deception, and asked outright, “Are you saying that you’re not going to try to kill me if I leave?”

For a second, Ultrima looked a little shocked at her forthright question. Then he smiled. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, Karla. I’ve admired your bravery and dedication throughout his, despite how annoying it has been at times. Especially that stunt you pulled back at my lair. That was plucky. But now…” He glanced up at Taurian and Wayrian, and Karla tried not to follow his look. 

Taurian stared at them, his eyes dark and stormy. He wasn’t impressed at Karla and Ultrima talking. Was it an attempt to protect her, despite his mating, or was it some weird sort of misplaced jealousy. Either way, it didn’t matter. Karla was trying to help.

Even though he had broken her heart.

There was no time for those thoughts because Ultrima was looking at her again. His eyes were sympathetic. A fake sympathy. “Now you have no reason to remain and try to protect Taurian. And no need to share your new information with him. He’s not going to live long enough for it to matter either way.”