CHAPTER 1 of FOR THE LOVE OF HER DRAGON #2
Fury and disbelief caused bile to rise in his throat in reality, just as it was in his memories.
His mother, Riona, hands extended over her head, tied to the bedposts, legs stretched wide and knees bent with her feet secured, just as was their custom during a pure dragon birth.
The coppery scent of fresh blood flooded his senses as it dripped from the dagger that was clenched in Ilsa’s hand, their longtime nursemaid.
The chant that escaped her lips was guttural and ominous, nothing like the sweet, melodious voice that had sung him to sleep more times than he could count.
He watched, helpless to stop what pure evil had already set into action, as the blade descended and cut a wide path through his mother’s already ravaged abdomen.
Riona fought with all her might against her restraints while begging for her most trusted companion to stop the madness that had obviously befallen her.
Royce raced forward and grabbed Ilsa by the waist, turning as he went in an effort to get her and her deadly stiletto as far from his mother and unborn sister as possible.
The one-time confidant struggled to stay upright while still slashing her blade in Riona’s direction.
In her bid to escape Royce’s grasp, Ilsa tripped, her blade missing her mark and plunging into Royce’s shoulder, ripping his skin, tearing tendons and muscles, stopping only when it grated against his collarbone.
Unable to pull her blade free, the nursemaid began tearing at his face and chest with her nails that had somehow become talons since he saw her that morning at breakfast.
As he battled to control the rampaging woman that had attacked his mother, the room filled with members of their clan, all attempting to save his family from what looked to be certain death, even for a dragon of her breeding and power.
Out of the blue, wave after wave of pain, anguish, anger, and fury threatened to drive him to his knees.
His father had finally reached his mother, and with no thought except of his ravaged mate, his usually well-secured shielding blew away.
All the outrage and pain from what his beloved was suffering rolled unchecked through the unique bond the Head Elder shared with all that had pledged their allegiance to him.
From clan member to clan member, their turbulent emotions added to their leaders, making the room thick with a mixture of anger, sorrow, and a growing need for retribution at what had been done to their queen.
With one last burst of energy, Royce subdued Ilsa and handed her off to several clan members, who proceeded to bind her hands and feet and gag her.
He immediately made his way back to his mother’s bedside and stood opposite his father and brothers.
His father gently held his mother to his chest, unfazed or unaware of the blood that ran from her body or the tears that stained his cheeks.
Never had his father been a man who let his emotions show, but there was no denying the depth of anguish and fear the older dragon felt when faced with the loss of his mate.
As he watched, his father attempted to infuse his mother with the strength and incredible healing powers of all his years and stature.
Royce could see the majestic blue-green dragon that lived within his father attempting to push to the forefront, the need to save his mate just as powerful as that of the man’s.
The sheer strength of the beast caused its image to be transposed over and around his mother and father.
Movement at the door alerted him to the arrival of his Uncle Stefan, the clan’s Spiritual Leader, and Niall, one of the oldest and most powerful healers of all dragon kin.
The crowd parted as the Elders rushed to aid Riona.
His brothers backed away, allowing the men to kneel at the bedside.
They laid their hands upon his mother’s still-bleeding stomach and began the Healing Chant.
Within seconds, the entire room was enveloped in the revenant verse of healing and prayer meant to call upon the Universe and add strength to the couple as they fought with all that they were to heal the damage done to the once peaceful, vibrant woman, now clinging to life in her mate’s arms.
The scent of incense and candles filled the room as, one after the other, the healers his uncle had summoned began to appear.
He could feel the massive power of his clan pouring into his parents as they melded into one entity with the common goal of saving his mother and unborn sister.
They prayed with one voice and all the power they could muster to save the first purebred dragon female to be born in over a thousand years.
Rhianna was to lead the way to the resurgence of their race and give strength to the human mates each dragon shifter was promised by the Universe.
They chanted through the night, while Niall used everything in his abundant arsenal to heal Riona and Rhianna.
The tiny, premature baby girl was born sometime in the wee hours of the morning, and although she was barely breathing and pale as the snow on the mountaintops, she was beautiful to all that saw her.
She shared Royce’s head of bright red curly hair, and the one time she graced them by opening her eyes, the brilliant blue that shone behind those tiny lids was an exact replica of his mother’s.
The tiny babe had looked right into his eyes, and an unbreakable bond was instantly formed.
Royce willingly funneled all the energy he had left into her tiny body, praying with all that he was that she would live, that he would have the chance to watch her grow and flourish and live the life the Heavens intended.
But at daybreak, just as the warm golden rays of the first light of day crested the mountainside, the two most important people in Royce’s life simultaneously took their last breaths.
The complete and utter silence of the moment rang in his ears.
Everyone in attendance watched as Ronan, their Head Elder, gently laid his wife upon her pillow, placed their tiny daughter into her arms, and covered them both lovingly with the blood-soaked sheet.
He stood watching them, as if by sheer will alone he could wish life back into them.
The vast darkness felt endless, but no one moved.
He wondered if they even breathed. Then, in the blink of an eye, his father threw back his head and roared.
Raw power and emotion blasted through the entire lair.
Windows shattered, and the very timbers of their home trembled from the sheer weight of his anguish.
One by one, each clan member added their voice to their leader’s until the ground shook and trees toppled.
As quickly as it had begun, it stopped, like a switch had been flipped, and the powerful ruler of the Blue Thunder Clan of the Dragon Shifters was gone…
one second there, the next not. Royce looked out the window over his mother’s head as the growing light of a new day shone through the shards of glass still stuck in the window pane, and there, flying towards the sun, was his father’s dragon.
He watched the beast get smaller and smaller as a crippling loss filled him.
Turning his head, he saw what he was feeling reflected on the faces of his brothers.
Unwilling to relive any more anguish, he called upon the strength of his dragon, and together they pushed him from his dark revelry back to reality.
The residual effects of the overpowering emotions left him spent and panting.
While attempting to regain his control, he looked up to find Rian leaning against the wall of the cave, head bowed, with sweat dripping from his brow. “You ok, Ri? What happened?”
“You happened, little brother. You and your blasted memories of the past. You and your ability to relive events as if they are happening all over again. I had no idea we were taking a stroll down memory lane until it was too late. A heads-up next time would be nice.” He turned and faced Royce.
The sweat that dotted his upper lip and the slight tremor in his hand gave away the power the memory had over him.
“Now you see why I cannot mate with her, no matter how impressive her lineage or how sterling her reputation. Ilsa had never done anything remotely dark. Hell, her parents were two white witches from highly honored covens that hadn’t practiced or even spoken of the dark arts for centuries.
She was of the great mage’s lineage for Heaven’s sake!
She lived with our family, our clan, for hundreds of years and was mother’s closest friend.
That piece of shit, waste of skin and bones, helped raise us, and in the time between breakfast and lunch was overtaken by a dark spirit seeking the power only the sacrifice of a female dragon and child can yield. ”
He paused, trying to regain some semblance of control. With none to be found, he continued, his voice a low snarl. “She slaughtered our family.”
The look that crossed Rian’s face let Royce know his older brother was uncharacteristically thinking before speaking.
His older brother turned, stopping with his feet shoulder-width apart, his hands clasped behind his back, reminding Royce of all the speeches Rian had given before the Guard had flown off into battle, but he was sure this oration was not to be uplifting.
He braced himself for the recrimination he was sure would follow.
The voice that reached his ears was one he hadn’t heard since childhood.
“Royce, I know this isn’t what you wished for or could’ve ever seen happening, but it is your reality, and you need to find a way to accept it.
You’ve been given a gift, one that every dragon shifter hears tales of from their first bedtime story and wishes for from the second of their transformation.