“He’s mostly a lover of women, but occasionally he’ll choose to be with a man. For him, it’s all about the person, and the situation.” Rikyava gave her a level look. “But a lot of people here have multiple lovers, Layla. The Hotel is not really a place for exclusivity. There are committed couples, but most people just take long-term lovers. It gets to be a bit of an incestuous family after a while. You’ll learn the drama. Dusk has had plenty of women throw drinks in his face. He’s typical for a drake, a male Dragon – sexual, rash, dangerously high libido. Us drakainas are generally a bit more discreet, but we still enjoy sex as much as the men do.” Rikyava winked at Layla, taking another bite of her chocolate.
“So, tell me about Dragons,” Layla asked, curious again about her Lineage as she nibbled her bonbon. “Dusk is a Crystal Dragon, right? So he can sense vibrations and produce them?”
“Mhm,” Rikyava nodded, swallowed, then spoke. “Crystal Dragons are like crystal radios or diamonds once they’re fully mature. Not only do they sense and respond to vibrations, they can emit, transmit, and amplify them. Their bodies have a highly crystalline nature. You’ve seen Dusk’s temple and cheekbone scales, and his hair; saw that ripple of light pass through them. He’s refracting. Once he’s mature, he’ll be able to transmit and amplify light, even condense it like a laser. Scales hard as diamonds also when they shift fully – like an armored tank. Crystal Dragons are scary motherfuckers and the strongest of us all. But they’re fairly rare, thank goodness.”
“Why are they rare?”
“They’re highly territorial and get in terrible clan-battles.” Rikyava’s face fell, thoughtful. “Dusk’s of the Egyptian clan, but that clan and the Tunisian clan got in a big war a hundred and fifty years ago and killed each other off. No one survived the battle except Dusk. It was pretty tragic. He was found out in the desert by Adrian’s father Issam Rhakvir, dehydrated and almost dead, wandering the slaughter and causing earthquakes from his crying. Dusk was only six years old. Issam took him home and raised him like a son, alongside Adrian.”
“Adrian and Dusk are brothers?” Layla’s eyebrows lifted, that strange competitiveness between the two suddenly making sense.
“Adopted, but yeah, essentially. Adrian’s two years older.” Rikyava reached for another bonbon. “There are more Crystal clans, but they’re scattered. Colorado, West Virginia, South Africa. I think there’s one up in Russia somewhere, and Mexico. Anywhere you have crystal caves, you’ll find a nice big mean motherfucker of a Crystal Dragon.”
“Dusk isn’t mean.”
“He’s not, but that’s unusual for his Lineage.” Rikyava eyed Layla. “He was raised by a Desert clan, who tend to be very loving. Desert Dragons are family-oriented, even through they get passionate about stuff.”
“Tell me more about Desert Dragons,” Layla bit into her next bonbon, a cherry cordial with a dark rummy syrup. It dripped down her hand and she had to lick up sugared rum from her wrist.
“You guys are small,” Rikyava grinned in a teasing way. “But you’re fierce. Desert Dragons manipulate wind and heat. It’s why Adrian swirls with hot air when he walks into a room.”
“Figuratively or literally?” Layla grinned, sly.
Rikyava coughed around her bite of bonbon and snorted laughter. “Both! Gods, he can be such a prat. But he’s powerful, Layla. Other clans have Royals, but he’s an up-and-comer. A lot of people are watching Adrian, wondering what he might become someday.”
“So what can Desert Dragons do?” Layla licked syrup from dripping down her wrist.
“Make tempests, scorch the earth, create sand-funnels, smelt sand into glass, evaporate water out of an entire forest – you name it,” Rikyava eyed her candidly. “Though they’re very loving, Desert Dragons can be intensely destructive when pissed off. There’s a reason they live in fairly barren areas. But their battles are not to be missed. Fucking spectacle.”
“How about your kind?”
“Blood Dragons? We enjoy sport,” Rikyava grinned in a deliciously reckless way. “Battle for us is about showing off our skill. There’s a reason Scottish clans and Vikings used to raid each other for fun, stealing sheep and women. They were interbred with Blood Dragons.Berserkerscome from my people, but they weren’t crazy. They were so good at the sport of battle that they didn’t need armor; theyenjoyedbloodshed. We don’t have a lot of magic, other than powering up on the heat of a fight – which is the scorch you smell in my blood when I’m alert – but we love to forge magical items. Most of the magic-imbued steel and silver you find in the Twilight Realm come from my clans. That silver on your wrist was probably smelted by a Blood Dragon, before it was crafted into your talisman.”
“Cool.” Layla glanced at the hamsa-cuff on her wrist. “So you like being Hotel Guard?”
“Fighting’s in my marrow,” Rikyava grinned, brushing out her long blonde waves. “I couldn’t imagine being anything else.”
“What about the other Dragon types?”
“Well,” Rikyava rifled through the box, finding another bonbon. “There are Storm Dragons –Chiari drachans-tempesti. They’re like Desert Dragons but live in northern climates – summon thunderstorms and typhoons and such. They’re one of the biggest clans, and have clan-homes all through Europe, Asia, and Polynesia. There’s a near-species of Storm Dragon called an Ice Dragon,Chiari drachans-glacii. They live up in Siberia, Russia, and Canada mostly, but there is a clan down in Antarctica and one in the Himalayas.”
“What about in the U.S.?”
“Mostly Storm Dragons,” Rikyava commented, “though they have a few Desert clans in the southwest, and a Crystal clan or three. I think there’s an Ice clan in Alaska.”
“What about others here, like Sylvania, Reginald, and the Madame – what are their stories?”
“Well,” Rikyava cocked her head. “Sylvania’s a Silver Passion. I’ve told you her story already. The Madame is a Golden Tigress –Chiari tigris-auranii– they’re a shapeshifter variety. Golden Tigers are gregarious and charismatic; you see a lot of them in Hollywood and the mafia. They’re fierce and loving, but brutal to their enemies.”
“Makes sense.” Layla grinned. “The Madame does have a fierce, mothering way about her.”
“We call her our Tiger Mama,” Rikyava chuckled. “Technically, as Hotel Head Adrian’s her boss, but she runs this place with a grueling efficiency and impeccable grace. Learn from her. Her days as a Courtesan are done, but she’s got a whip-smart mind for business. Plus, she’s your best friend if you get in a fight with a guest.”
“Good to know. What about Reginald?” Layla asked with a grin. “What is he? Nosferatu?”
“Ha!” Rikyava laughed, her violet eyes glowing with humor. “No. But you should know, Vampires really do exist. They come from the Lower Realms and are only allowed on Hotel premises if they can demonstrate excellent control over their hunger. Death follows them andaccidentshappen, you know? But Reginald, don’t let him fool you. All that pomp and stuffy attitude is his cover. Reginald’ssirenni– a Siren.”
“He’s a Siren?” Layla could hardly imagine it. Though he was exceptionally handsome, Reginald Durant seemed so cold most of the time – not what Layla would imagine of a Siren. But then she paused, feeling again that oceanic energy he’d used on her – and the way he’d rolled her in a blissful ocean for their dance, leading her effortlessly through it like a sailboat on the sea.
