Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“You are perfect,” I say, leaning over her and kissing her mouth and then her forehead.
Untying her takes quite some time, during which she spaces out, lying half-asleep in a kind of submissive daze. I have never pushed her this far before, and now I realize that was a mistake. I thought my mate was not submissive. Now I know she simply needs firmer handling to get there.
I pull the blankets over her, tuck her in securely, and let her sleep. She is absolutely exhausted, and for the first time, I have the sense that she might even be under control.
If only the rest of the realm were so simple. If only I could bind all the rebel factions and force them to submit while stimulating them past the point of their ability to…
Hm.
Obviously I cannot fuck the entire world, and would not want to. But it does beg the question. Is it not time to prepare some kind of offensive? It is time to get control of this situation.
CHAPTER 15
Ornix
All has been quiet for several days. My mate has aligned herself with me, and I have contained Equinox in the dungeon where a rotating guard keeps watch on him around the clock. I do not know if I will ever be able to trust my nephew, but I know I cannot trust him now, at this delicate point where I am trying to start a family, a new line replete with the very particular human blood my mate holds.
The mystery of her wings continues to interest me, but it does not entirely matter either. She has gained a little more control of them, but she has little interest in using them.
I must maintain vigilance. No word has come from Bjorn as to his missing seal, but he is an elusive creature at the best of times. Our realm has many powerful leaders, but not all of them maintain fortresses, armies, and families. Some roam as suits them best. I have begun to wonder if he simply lost the seal at some point, or if some light-fingered nymph or kobold took it from him without it coming to his attention.
Naxos, one of my generals, makes a sudden appearance. “Ornix, there are hundreds of humans on the plains surrounding the keep.”
“What?”
“Come and see, sire. There appears to be a small-scale invasion of some kind taking place.”
I rush to the very top of the tower and immediately see that dotted across the Drakon plains are dozens of small rectangular portals, through which humans are wandering with no obvious sense of urgency. It does not look like an invasion force. It looks like a series of faintly confused people dressed in old-style clothing.
“Do you want us to burn them?”
“Have they seen any dragons as yet? Have there been any flyovers?”
“No. We spotted them and came straight to you, sire.”
My eyes narrow. I know precisely who is behind this. I just don’t know how he did it from the depths of the dungeon.
“I don’t know how those portals appeared, but I will close them, and we will banish these people from the realm. Take your human-ish forms, and ride to round them up. I will lead.”
“What’s happening?”
Melissa is never far away. That is by design, my design. Her ability to get into trouble when she is not supervised is almost as developed as my nephew’s. That also means she is aware of things she should very probably not be aware of.
“There are people on the plains. We are going to get down there, close the portals, and deal with them.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Yes,” I say. “You are.”
The alternative is leaving her in the castle, and I just know if I do that she will be right down in the dungeon badgering Nox with questions and bypassing my security measures.
I ride out with a hundred of my best men. We are all in our walking forms, the ones that show no scales and approximate humanity as much as possible. Melissa is by my side, on Otto, the steed she stole in the beginning.
It has been a long time since I led a charge across the plains, and I have to admit my blood is rising to the experience. I never thought of myself as someone who gets bored, but life in the realm does become repetitive over time.
The humans are dressed in garish human attire, light cottons and synthetics. They wear t-shirts and shorts and baggy jeans. Some of them are holding swords made of plastic and foam. Others have come armed with very large vessels of flavored puffed corn.
“They’re coming! Ready your weapons!”
I laugh. If only Nox could see the army he has assembled. How pathetic…
Thwip!
And then the crossbow bolt hits a rider, striking him through the neck. He has no scale plating, no protection whatsoever. Blood spurts in great arterial gushes. He drops dead nearly instantly.