Chapter 3
Present Day
That had been ten years earlier. Queen Arena had lost her child, and she went on to have two more pregnancies. The mages had recently warned her that the next pregnancy could mean her life. The king refused to attempt any more. However, the king also didn’t claim Blaze as his heir. Blaze knew it was because of Arena. The king didn’t want to upset Arena because she could not have any children.
Blaze no longer wanted to be the heir, anyway. He liked being a warrior. Give him a sword and an enemy to slay and it thrilled him. Also, the more missions he took, the less time he had to spend in the castle, nearher.
Arena only seemed to grow more beautiful with age. She was 12 years older than him. He had heard rumors she must have a lover on the side because King Zocor was too old to satisfy her. Those who said such a thing in front of Blaze felt the pain from his fists or the bite of his sword.
He got to know his father little by little and wasgrateful to his mother for making him promise to meet him. Zocor was a wise and generous male. He helped those in need, defended the weak and was consideredone of the best kings on Drakonia. Blaze was proud to be his son even if no one else knew the connection.
Blaze knew his father was nearing the end of his lifespan and worried what would happen next. Would Arena banish himfrom their kingdom? He couldn’t imagine her making such a petty decision.
Blaze wanted to make sure she was protected always. She was his queen. He had to take time away from the castle from time to time. Being near her could be overwhelming.
Today he flew further than usual away from the castle and the local villages, away from people and away from his responsibilities for a short time. His people were in high alert. All warriors had taken on extra shifts to keep their people protected.
An alien race had made its presence known a few days ago. They hovered in space above Drakonia. So far, every attempt to talk to them had failed. One king lost his life in an attempt to fly to their battlecruiser to make peace talks. The aliens had shot the king down. His people were in mourning over the loss. Blaze wanted a chance to teach these creatures about honor. The extra shifts and tension had taken a toll on all of them. Blaze volunteered to scout the coast and hopefully work out some of his tension.
Blaze flew high in the clouds above the tiny island below. His dragon roared in pleasure at the freedom of getting to use his wings. It felt like forever since he had done that.
Free! Free!His dragon called out as he let lose a roar of happiness.
As he circled around the island, preparing to return to the castle, a feminine roar called out for help. The sound was familiar, but he didn’t know if he’d heard it before. He felt so stunned his dragon lost his balance and fell a few feet.
Catching the wind, he headed toward the sound of the cry, where he found a female dragon perched on a tree top. Obviously,the limbs were not prepared to hold a full-sized dragon. The closer he came, the more familiar the dragon appeared.Arena.
He noticed she was hissing at something at the base of the tree. A male dragon was attempting to climb up after her ? and it wasn’t his father.
Fury filled him that another would dare attack his queen. Blaze roared and shot a blast of fire at the other dragon. He didn’t realize until too late that another dragon lurked nearby, until he heard Arena’s dragon roar. He was hit from behind as the other male dragon crashed into him, making them both fall to the ground.
As he rolled away from the other dragon, he shifted into his human form. The other two dragons also shifted. Shifting helped them heal, but if they were mortally wounded in their weaker form, even a shift wouldn’t save them.
“Who are you?” Blaze demanded as he searched for a weapon while keeping the two males circling him in his sights.
“Leave now and we won’t kill you. Get in our way, and we will make you suffer before you die,” the taller male said.
This one looked familiar. Who was he?
“Leave him alone, Dyson!” Arena, now in her naked human form, called out from the tree.
King Dyson? Blaze looked up at Arena once and turned his gaze away after catching sight of her lovely bare backside. She was attempting to climb down.
“Stay where you are, my queen!” Blaze had to keep her safe. He turned to the two males. “What do you want?”
“She is a healthy blueblood female and yet has not produced an heir. It is clear that she was meant for someone more virile. I will take her as mine and she will bear me many sons,” Dyson said, looking up at Arena with lust and greed in his eyes.
“You couldn’t find your own female, so you wouldsteal the queen of another?” Blaze caught sight of a sharp and jagged bone. He moved closer to it.
“She should have been mine but her father chose an older weaker male. It’s unacceptable. I will right this wrong!” Dyson growled.
The other warrior suddenly ran toward Blaze. He dodged him, crouching down while simultaneously reaching for the bone. He came up quickly and struck the male in the side. The male went down bleeding. There was no time to prepare for Dyson.
Dyson struck out his foot and hit Blaze in the back, knocking him forward. Blaze sneered in disgust as he turned to face the male. “You strike your enemy from behind like a coward. What am I saying? Of course you would. You also steal mated females from their true mates.”
“They’re not true mates so she is fair game!” Dyson growled as he threw a boulder at him.
“She is mated to King Zocor!” Blaze leapt forward and attempted to ram the bone into Dyson, but the male was wily and jumped back just in time to avoid it.
They circled each other, breathing heavily. Blaze had the upper hand because he had a weapon, but then Dyson suddenly somehow found a blade on the ground. Where the hell had that come from?
It was at that moment that Arena helped. She jumped on top of Dyson’s back and wrapped her arm around his neck, squeezing hard, cutting off his oxygen. It took a moment for Blaze to realize that this would be the best time to strike.
As he raised the bone to plunge it into Dyson’s heart, a flash of flesh shot across his vision. The other male had leaped in front of Dyson and he took Blaze’s strike in his place. Dyson threw Arena off of him to the ground.
“Go, my king!” the dying warrior said as his last breath left his body.
Dyson ran toward the beachfront and shifted. Three steps later, he leapt into the air and flew away, leaving his dead warrior behind with Arena and Blaze.
