Prologue
Abaddon’s narrow gaze fixed with irritation on the gray-haired man hunched over his computer. Name of Malone, the doctor had mistakenly thought he could control and even experiment on dragons. The nerve! He’d since been taught the error of his ways and now found himself a prisoner.
A prisoner that still lacked respect.
Despite being captured and forced to work for Abaddon—the greatest dragon in the world—the wretched scientist persisted in being surly, uncooperative, and just plain annoying.
For example, despite Abaddon’s demand for a full list of volcanoes that had been tampered with—unnaturally forced to erupt—Malone avoided giving a direct reply. Instead, he posed his own question. “Why would you want to know about the cones that failed to react to the protocol?” In other words, volcanoes that didn’t blow their top. Malone also fell back on, “Why waste your time checking out the places that didn’t produce a dragon?”
Because Abaddon wanted to be sure no eggs had hatched. The fact Malone and his subordinates hadn’t detected a dragon at these supposed failed attempts didn’t mean one of his kind hadn’t emerged from its shell. And even if the suspected dragon hadn’t matured, Abaddon still wanted it. A collection of potential rivals had some appeal.
“Stop being difficult and hand over the locations of the volcanoes you tampered with,” Abaddon commanded.
“Or what? Kill me and you won’t get any answers.”
Nostrils steamed as irritation boiled within, fueling a belly full of flames. How easy it would be to incinerate Malone into a smoldering pile of ash. However, Abaddon had to restrain himself because, while annoying, the man with the silvery temples held a veritable treasure trove of knowledge in his head. Pity cracking open his skull and slurping his brains wouldn’t transfer that information. It had been tried to no avail in the past.
“You seem to forget I can make your life unpleasant,” Abaddon pointed out.
“It already is, so you can stop with the threats. Why don’t you go bother Leo? He’s the one who paid for the operation,” a surly Malone reminded without even turning to look at him. Such disregard for Abaddon’s royal presence.
Ah yes, Leo. A man who’d initially been partnered with Malone in their quest for hatching dragons. He’d since been shown the error of his ways. Once Leo met Abaddon—and narrowly missed being turned into a crispy kebab—he couldn’t fawn hard enough, or as Abaddon’s first servant, Pip, liked to say, “He’s got his nose shoved so deep up your ass, it’s a wonder he can breathe.”
She did have a point, even if her delivery lacked eloquence. Leo worshipped dragons. Would do anything to serve, including signing over his home, property, and wealth. Because of Leo’s bestowal, Abaddon now owned a sizeable hoard, even if he couldn’t actually touch it. The modern world relied quite a bit on virtual currency, as opposed to more concrete items like the gold and jewels dragons usually preferred.
“You know very well Leo can’t access the files since you slapped a password on them,” Abaddon grumbled. The man had appeared shocked—and cursed quite a bit—when he tried to show Abaddon all he and Malone had discovered only to find himself locked out.
“Did I?” Malone quipped, his tone slightly mocking.
Teeth gnashing did little to stem Abaddon’s irritation. “One day, I’m going to forget the fact you’re a brilliant scientist and eat you.”
The comment finally had Malone half turning to offer a hate-filled glare. “I hope you choke on my bones when you do.”
Given the fruitlessness of the conversation, Abaddon left Malone chained to his desk—quite literally, since the man couldn’t be trusted. There’d been incidents, such as the time he tried to flood the habitat which, due to some built-in safety protocols, would have forced open all the doors.
The untrustworthy doctor would be unshackled and removed from the lab around dinnertime, when Maddox or Pip would relocate him for the rest of the night to his cell, a simple room with only the basics. Cruel? Not really, given Malone had initially planned to imprison Abaddon and experiment on him.
Again, Abaddon couldn’t believe the utter gall of a human thinking they could poke and prod a dragon by force. Meanwhile, had Malone politely asked and explained he wanted tissue samples and measurements to better understand a dragon’s greatness, Abaddon might have agreed. After all, he, too, was curious about what particular characteristics were unique to his kind.
As Abaddon trudged from the lab on four mighty paws, his girth barely fitting through the door frame, he ran into Pip. Dear, sweet Pip. His very first servant. A human woman in her third decade with silvery hair and artwork inked all over her body. She could be mouthy, but he forgave it because she always spoke honestly and had proven herself loyal.
“Hey, Big Fella,” she said, greeting him with his new nickname since he’d finally grown sizeable enough that using the word “little” would have been an insult. “Glad I found you. You’ve got someone waiting to chat on video.”
“Who?” he asked with casual nonchalance even as excitement filled him. He only ever received calls from one particular individual.
“It’s your girlfriend,” Pip sang, giving him a wink.
“Pollita is not my girlfriend,” Abaddon huffed. Although, she was currently the top contender for future maternal progenitor when he decided to fertilize some eggs. She was also the only other dragon in existence, that he knew of, and she currently lived in South America, a whole continent away. Not that distance mattered. Already he could fly vast stretches without rest.
Soon, very soon, they would meet in the flesh.
“Whatever you say,” Pip chirped. “Anyhow, your not-girlfriend is on the big screen by your chaise.”
“I guess I should see what she wants,” was his nonchalant reply as he made his way over to said seat. Abaddon’s current location, an underground complex of vast size, had been originally meant to serve as a luxury prison—the luxurious part being against Malone’s wishes. The scientist had thought a simple large cell with restraints would be suitable, but Leo, who’d long loved and been obsessed with dragons, insisted on a more lavish space. Since Abaddon had captured Malone and converted Leo, it turned out the underground installation actually suited him better than the main floor of the ranch house overhead. The massive dome with branching chambers held everything Abaddon could need. Aerial perches. A stocked pond big enough for a growing dragon to float. Furniture meant to hold his increasing girth. Overhead, bay doors could slide open, allowing him to leave and stretch his wings in flight. It also gave him the opportunity to hunt. The land all around held abundant wildlife as well as herds of goats, cattle, and sheep.
Not wanting to appear too eager, Abaddon took his time strutting to the well-stuffed chair that offered a comfortable seat for a dragon his size. Almost as big as a bull, he’d been eating well since his hatching. Even better of late, now that he could truly hunt larger specimens. As a result, he’d been shedding often as his flesh expanded.
Upon seating himself on what he liked to think of as his throne, Abaddon allowed his gaze to settle on the large, suspended screen displaying the female, Pollita. She appeared quite fetching, her growth not as drastic as his—a female trait—but she’d been maturing. Just look at those sexy nubs pushing up from the crown of her head.
