That sounded horrible! “Why would they do that?”
His body tensed slightly. “It’s an honorable death—a death a dragon must choose for themselves. Nobody can force the dragon fire. It must be their decision.”
Okay. She had no idea why anyone would choose to die like that, but it seemed that he found it a reasonable way to die. That she didn’t wasn’t really worth arguing about so she said, “I didn’t expect there to be so many humans here. All the ones I spoke to said they were born here, that most of them descended from humans who got sucked through the portal when your ancestors were cursed, or their ancestors refused to give up their loyalty, and since they were not knights, they stayed human while the knights became dragons.”
Max’s thick lashes covered his eyes for a moment. “It’s true.”
“So, you really seriously got turned into a dragon by a wizard?” Heather rolled onto her belly to look Max in the eyes. “How does that even happen?”
“Not me, personally.” His fingers traced along her bare skin, sending heat through her body even though he’d just taken care of her in such a mind-blowing way. “My father. My mother was cursed too, because she wouldn’t leave or betray him.”
She rolled over, her eyes locked onto his. “Where are they now?”
“They died.”
Sympathy hit. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” She wet her lips. Death was the last thing she wanted to talk about, especially the death of a parent. Grief hit hard, but she swallowed it back. Before she could frame out a question or decide not to, he spoke again, “But there’s only so many centuries a being wants to live through. Life loses its luster. It loses its beauty. My mother died because she was old, human’s age, as you know, and when she died from her age, he felt as if he had nothing to live for.”
She sat up. “Hold up. You said your mom was cursed too.”
His hands caught her and brought her back to his body. “She was. Cursed to stay at his side, which was no curse as she loved him. But she had to come here with him, that was the curse: that she would and could never go back. The portal would never open for her. Not that she wanted that. That was what the wizard didn’t understand. That it was no hardship for her to give up that world: to give up her life there. He thought that she would refuse to stay knowing he was a monster in that world’s eyes, and that she would not want to give up her station. She was, after all, the daughter of a powerful king.”
“Your mom was a princess?”
“Here she was a queen.”
She asked, “So other women came too? As humans?”
“Some fought the wizard right along with the men. Aura for one. So, they too were turned into dragons.”
Aura was the scariest of them all and knowing she was that old made her scarier yet. “How did they fight him?”
“Aura had magic. My mother had some too, though hers was far weaker. She could spell-cast, but not like Aura. When she came here, her abilities magnified and grew. When she died, she had strong powers, and she had already passed them down to me.”
“Not all of the dragons have magic.”
That had not been a question, and he knew it. “No, they don’t. Those descended from the witches and the dragons who had children together did, and still do. Those who were born to human women without power who simply refused to be taken from their husbands never gained any powers or passed them on to their children.”
“Is that…do those without get jealous?”
“Some do. Some don’t care. Magic’s a heavy burden. It can corrupt even the strongest dragon heart. After all, it was a corrupt wizard who let his magic rule his ego and heart that made us.”
She asked, “Why? I mean, why did he do it in the first place?”
“He was in love with my mother, and she spurned him. If it had been any other man—maybe a king or even a prince—he might have let it go. He would have known that despite his magic he had to bow out because of politics, and he would have used his influence to get what he really wanted, which was power. That was what he loved about her, or so she and my father always said. He did not love her, just her small powers and the power she held as that king’s daughter.”
Wow. His parents had really loved each other. She asked, “Have other women come here since then?”
His fingers went tight and then relaxed, but there was an impassive expression settling onto his face. “Yes.”
“Were they kidnapped?” She was teasing, but his face went flatter than ever, making her instantly regret the words. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I didn’t mean to upset you by saying that.”
His eyes went lidded and heavy. A flash of what looked a lot like pain moved over his face, but it was gone so fast Heather was not sure that she had even seen it at all. He spoke carefully though, making her wonder if she had seen that pain, and if so, where it had sprung from. He said, “No, it’s okay. And no, not kidnapped. Most were witches or had some kind of power. They found the portal through that power.”
“Why would they come?” It was a question that came before she could stop it and that flash of pain came back again, making her feel even worse. What was wrong with her that she just could not seem to see he didn’t want to talk about this?
His hand dropped away from her skin. She immediately felt that absence. His eyes closed and he spoke in a wooden tone. “They came, mostly, because they were hoping to magnify their powers and then return to the other lands.”
