Page 64 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
All Nia wanted to do was make love to Shaw. Each time they were together, he brought her to different heights of pleasure. She lay spent in his arms for the last hour. Her thoughts were on anything but their task.
Partly because the quicker Shaw completed his mission, the sooner he’d be gone from her life. He’d given her a glimpse of how things could have been, had she been born to another family. Many said her mother had abandoned her, but Nia knew her mother would never do that.
Shaw idly traced designs on her back with the tips of his fingers. It was so enthralling that she never wanted him to stop. She didn’t need to look at him to know that he was as lost in his thoughts as she was in hers. For a little while, she wanted to pretend that she wasn’t a courtesan or a slave. For just a moment, she wanted to believe that she was free and with a man who would do anything for her.
Because that’s how Shaw made her feel.
She knew better than to let herself get too wrapped up in such delusions. But, oh, what beautiful things they were.
Nia inwardly shook herself. If she remained in that daydream for an instant longer, she might chicken out and ask Shaw to take her away to freedom, uncaring what might happen to Stonemore and its people. That would be the easy way out. Besides, she had never failed in anything. She wasn’t about to start now.
“You being here will solidify that I’ve caught you in my web,” she said.
Shaw drew in a breath and kissed her forehead. “I was just thinking that. I’ve no doubt at least one spy is here and reporting to the citadel. We’ll have to be careful when we talk.”
Nia wanted to defend her servants. Then she remembered that they weren’t her servants. They were also slaves—and owned by the Divine. Of course, they would spy. “We should be fine here.”
“No’ with the windows open. Voices carry farther than you think. If we’re in your chamber, we should talk like this—in low voices.”
She nodded. “And not discuss anything of importance outside of this room.”
“Agreed.”
“How long does it take people to fall in love?”
“I’ve no idea.”
That shocked her enough that she rose on her elbow. She searched his eyes. “You told me you’re millions of years old. Are you saying you’ve never been in love?”
“Aye.”
“How is that even possible?” She had no inkling about love, but even she knew she could fall for him if she allowed herself.
Shaw shrugged and moved a strand of hair from her face. “After I became King, my focus was my clan. Then it shifted to living with the mortals, with war following on its heels. After that, we hid on Dreagan, and I went to my mountain and slept.”
“You make it sound as if you were asleep for a long time.”
“Aye. Dragons can do that. Dreagan is a big place, and each King has his own mountain. Each of us dealt with anger, heartache, and thoughts of revenge. Con did the right thing in gathering us on Dreagan. Otherwise, I’ve no doubt we would’ve wiped out the humans. Instead, we sought our mountains to help us deal with everything. I slept for thousands of years, deep inside my mountain. Most of us did. The only two who didna were Con and Ulrik. Ulrik because hatred for us and the mortals consumed him. And Con because he watched the humans and oversaw their advancements. He visited each of us every ten years to update us on things. Some of us would wake then, but most of us remained asleep.”
Just when she thought she knew everything about the Dragon Kings, Shaw told her more. “When did you wake?”
“The first time was five thousand years after the war. I was awake for about four months before I returned to my mountain. It took another millennium before I woke again. That time, I was awake for about forty years when I’d finally had enough. I kept doing that until Con woke all of us this last time a handful of years ago.”
Surely, no one in all the universe was as fascinating as Shaw. It was more than the sound of his voice or his protective nature. It was every molecule of his being. “Will you return to your mountain again?”
“Now that we found the dragons, I doona know. Brandr isna thrilled we’re here. Eurwen doesna mind since she married one of us.”
Nia’s brows shot up. “So, is she a Dragon Queen?”
“Aye.”
“Were there none on your realm?”
“There wasna, but only because males are much larger than females. That already puts us at an advantage. The magic chooses the strongest dragon in both might and magic.”
Interesting. “Can I assume that Eurwen has both?”
“The twins are different from us. This realm has magic because magic created it, but it isna like Earth. Our magic is a living, breathing entity. There isna anything like that here. The dragon clans no longer had Kings to lead them. There was no magic to pick a leader, so, initially, there was chaos. Until Brandr and Eurwen came. They are half-dragon, half-Fae, and no’ just any Fae. Rhi is a royal Light Fae. She could have the Light throne if she wanted it, but she doesna. Combine someone with her magic with Constantine, and their children are extremely powerful.”
Nia’s arm grew tired. She returned to her position lying against Shaw. “Can they shift like you?”
“They can. They also got a big perk of Fae magic—teleportation. They can no’ travel as far as a full-blooded Fae can, but they can still teleport, and that isna something the Kings can do without the aid of Fae magic,” he told her.
“You said you’re King of Sapphires. What color is that?”
He tapped the sleeve of her dark blue shirt. “Similar to this. It’s a deep blue, no’ quite as dark as your shirt.”
“What do you look like? How big are you?”
“Each color dragon looks different. It’s more than just the scales. Some have horns, some spikes, some tendrils. Even our tails are different. I could describe myself, but I doona think I’d do it justice. You saw Cullen fly over the city, right?”
She shook her head. “I heard him and saw his shadow, but it was night. I couldn’t even make out his color. You’ll just have to show me.”
“I wouldna want to scare you. Besides, I couldna do it without drawing attention to myself.”
“Does that mean you wouldn’t fit in here?”
