Page 24 of Dragon Revealed (Dragon Kings 1)
She leaned forward so that her forehead nearly brushed the bars. “Was he tall? Muscular? A long, gray beard?”
At her rapid-fire questions, it dawned on Varek that she believed she knew the male. “He was. You think it was Rankin.”
“I do. He’s nowhere to be found in the city.”
“You said yourself that he could be off on a mission.”
Jeyra sat back and sighed as she briefly closed her eyes. “I’ve never been on the outs with him before. He’s always been there for me.”
“Which means, he’s also lived a long life.”
“Most warriors do,” she replied with a shrug.
That caught Varek’s attention. “You say that as if it has some significance. Are you telling me that there isna a warrior among you who doesna live a long life?”
“There have been a few, but the majority are like Rankin and me.”
“But he couldna have known you would live this long when he took you in,” Varek stated.
She shrugged, considering his words. “Not at all. I was too young for anyone to know for sure.”
“Tell me,” Varek said, eyeing her red locks. “I’ve only seen you and the male. Do many have your color hair? Or is it more like the man’s?”
That caused her to frown. “There’s a mixture of brown, black, and blond among us. There are a significant number of redheads, though. More of us than any other color.”
“Really?” he asked.
Jeyra frowned in response. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
“On my world, red hair is rare. To find that it isna the case here is interesting.”
“Because many of us were brought here?”
He nodded slowly. “Aye. I imagine with the bairns showing up and your species having bairns of their own, the population has grown dramatically.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
It was his turn to frown. “Why no’?”
“It is impossible for those here to have children of their own.”
Varek could only shake his head in wonder. “Have you learned why? Are there surgeries to help?”
“Surgeries?” she asked in a soft voice full of concern.
Perhaps he should’ve asked how advanced her culture was before he said such a thing. Since he’d been unconscious when he was brought in, he had no idea of anything outside of the dungeon. And it was difficult to tell anything by the clothing.
“On my world, humans have advanced dramatically with medicine to cure a great number of maladies.”
“We have healers, of course, but surgeries are relegated for extreme circumstances. It has been accepted that women won’t be able to have children of their own. We believe it’s because we were brought here, and there are more babies who need care. If everyone had their own families, there wouldn’t be places for the children who appear.” Her head cocked to the side. “You told me you didn’t have a wife, but do you have children?”
Varek looked at the ground and pulled a face. “Dragons have never had issues having bairns with other dragons. Things changed for the Kings when we shifted. As I mentioned earlier, there was a King who wanted to take a mortal as his mate. Many other Kings, myself included, had human lovers. It was uncommon for any to find themselves with child. Those who did usually lost the babe within weeks. The few who carried the bairns to term delivered a stillborn.”
“No wife. No children. Immortal. Sounds like a lonely existence.”
He smiled sadly as he slid his gaze to hers. Her face was close to the bars, and he had the irresistible urge to touch her smooth skin. Varek briefly caressed the backs of his knuckles down her cheek. “Why do you think I slept through so many years? We Kings have a strong bond. We’re each other’s family. Though it has grown significantly over the last handful of years with some Kings finding their mates.”
“Not you?”
Varek wanted to touch her again. No, he didn’t want to touch. He wanted to feel her pressed against him, to take in her softness, to know the sensations of her body against his. “No’ me.”
“Do you want a mate?” she asked and moved to her knees to grasp the bars.
