To Match A Dragon’s Fire (Sulfur & Spice #1)

4

Kieran

Earth Giveth and Earth Taketh Away

My work boots were still coated in wood dust and dirt as I headed into the den of vipers.

I’d thought about holding this meeting in the dining hall, but the conference room was better suited for dragons’ temperaments.

There, the tables were bolted to the floor and the chairs were made of stainless steel to provide a measure of fire resistance.

I was quite fond of my oak dining table and wanted to preserve it.

The last time I’d held a meeting of the clans was almost fifty years ago. It’d gone as well as I assumed this one would, so I had reason to be worried about my table.

Fredrick waited at the door, sitting in his specialized wheelchair that held his massive frame. At almost seven centuries old, his legs weren’t what they once were. But his mind was keen as ever and I couldn’t run this place without him.

“They’re restless,” Fredrick spoke telepathically to me. The mental connection only worked with family, mates, and those protected members adopted into my flock.

It was an ancient means of communication meant for survival that—like most other forms of communication—evolved over time to be more.

“I didn’t expect anything different.” I braced myself outside the door, taking a deep breath to calm my beast, and silently cursing Malachy and Lucan for not standing by my side.

“Will you need my assistance?” Fredrick sat ready to ride in if needed, but his services weren’t necessary.

“No, thank you, Uncle.” I rested my hand on his shoulder, paying respect as our dragons drew strength from each other.

I waited until he wheeled himself away before opening the door.

My dragon unfurled, woken by the pulsing tension of the gathered group. They were scared and angry and ready to fight, but I was trained in the art of diplomacy and schooled my expression to keep things neutral.

Besides, there was nothing left to fight.

Unless it was each other.

We were solitary beasts by nature, preferring to stay with our own close bloodlines or protect our chosen flock and hoards from dangers—some of which were in this room.

Representatives from the Beckham, Taufua, Kennedy, O’Collin, and Darth Clans sat around the circular table to let each attending dragon know none were at the head.

If Malachy was here… my beast grumbled, angry at the disorder of things.

He isn’t .

And I couldn’t let that bother me now.

Cain MacAlister was the only representative to bring his two brothers. Jeremy and Shawn sat at either side of their older sibling, leering as I took my place.

The ugly brutes were of similar ancestry to us, but our families had bad blood that went back centuries. They still bore the scars from Lucan to prove it. It easily could’ve been them in our position and they never let us forget it.

But a summons from me was unbreakable law for our kind. There was no blood to be spilled at my table.

That didn’t mean they wouldn’t smash the table in a fury though. I hoped the room would hold.

“I assume you all know why I’ve called you.” I was suddenly centuries old and tired as I sat, meeting each of their eyes with determination to settle this matter and put it to rest.

“The new runes?” Margret Beckham asked. The sorrow written in the lines of her face deepened in response to my head shake.

“It’s the same prophecy. The runes say nothing new,” I explained.

Coming to this location was a waste, but when the human government heard of the markings discovered in the caves, it was my duty to check them out.

I’d moved my hoard here to study the area and I planned to stay because… this was as good a place as any to face the end.

“We’ve been through every interpretation we can riddle. I’ve had scholars from every species I can get on board studying alongside us,” I said, feeling the ingrained twinge of dishonor at needing help from anything other than a dragon.

“Is Bemouth still—”

“And that’s your problem,” Cain growled, interrupting Daniel as he asked about our oldest scholar. “Why can’t you admit that your cousin is not what Earth wants for this role anymore?”

“We’ve tried it your way,” I spoke through clenched teeth, reminding him in no uncertain terms of his failures. “How many eruptions did you fail to contain? How many lives? How much damage?

“Despite your pride and ignorance, we’ve given you and other clans countless opportunities to try and interpret the prophecy as you saw fit. And what do you have to show for it? Santa Maria? Mount Pinatubo? Novarupta? St. Helens? Hunga Tonga? Those are just your experiments this century.”

Bile and venom coated my tongue. Cain had the decency to look ashamed.

None of them could handle the power bestowed on my family and many different beings had suffered because the other dragons tried to take on a role that wasn’t theirs.

I swallowed my anger and regained control of myself, making sure each dragon saw the seriousness in my gaze. “It is not us that made the prophecy and it’s not us who chooses when it ends. She has chosen.”

“It has to be another dragon family,” Saul Taufua said. “Have there been any new reports of births outside our territories? Asia? Africa? Anywhere?”

“No.” I rested my arms on the table, feeling the weight of this dilemma sit heavy on my shoulders. For years I’d studied the population problem and I still hadn’t been able to solve it .

Each generation saw fewer and fewer fated mate pairs necessary for breeding. For the past two centuries, there’d been no new dragons born.

While it was always rare to birth a dragon, this recent development was further proof that Earth no longer wanted our help. We were dying long before She deemed it so.

“There were rumors of a human and dragon pregnancy,” Margret said quietly. “But it didn’t come to pass.”

“It wouldn’t,” I agreed. “We couldn’t survive if humans were our fated mates. They die too soon. We’d have already been wiped out as a species if our hearts passed when theirs did. And even if it were possible for a human to breed with a dragon, chosen mates aren’t the solution. We’ve tried.”

Humans weren’t the only species we’d studied chosen bonds with, but those others were few and far between due to our special… equipment.

Shifters were more accommodating to our bodies in their sexual human form, but our monstrous size in animal form set us apart and made relationships difficult.

To this day, there’d only been a few fated mate pairs outside our species and they were mostly for female dragons. Interspecies breeding had special challenges.

I hated to admit that gye-lyongs still made me shiver, though I’d sent the last chicken shifter father and dragon mother a baby shower gift a few centuries ago.

For other dragon clans, that might not be a big deal, but guardians needed size and strength to fulfill their prophesied role. Because without them, there was nothing to keep Earth in check.

Like now.

The compound groaned as the tectonic plates beneath the foundation shifted. The reinforced concrete and steel framework absorbed the movement of the earthquake.

I’d helped design and erect this building myself, needing it to be strong enough to protect my hoard, so I didn’t worry about it falling.

But the dragons around me sat wide-eyed and stone-faced as if a spirit had entered the room.

“Why has She forsaken us?” Daniel asked. He was ancient—older than my parents would be if my father had survived the death of his fated mate—but he looked so childlike in his pain.

I held none of that innocence.

It was a bitter root that’d taken hold in my soul, twisting and squeezing as it grew.

I’d been Her steward, devoting most of my existence to helping my family ease Her through the never-ending fires and turbulence that flowed from the heart of this planet.

Always gentle. Always guiding. Lonely in this service. We’d given Her everything.

Yet She punished us.

Finally, I understood Malachy’s rage.

But it was too late.

“We’re not to blame,” I spoke to the representatives, feeling the comforting weight of my dragon’s wings settle on my back as I recalled Lucan’s words. It was time to let this go. “Earth does what She wants, and She apparently no longer needs our help. ”

“You’re just going to roll over and accept that?” Cain growled. “Not the MacAlisters. We’re dragons. Superior to any species. It’s our birthright to—”

“It’s your pride that will be your downfall.” I stood. My beast exerted enough dominance to remind Cain of his place at my table.

He hissed through clenched teeth, “And you are not without fault,” but he lowered his eyes in submission.

I didn’t let the comment rile my beast further.

It wasn’t worth the fight.

My job was done. They’d been told the truth and given time to prepare. I could rest in peace.

“Earth is older than even our kind and it isn’t the first time She’s reinvented herself,” I told them. “This is it. We’re done. Go home. Tend to your flock. And pray that the ones you love will be able to survive whatever happens next.”