Chapter 5 Dragon Kingdom
The boy started to stir as she climbed up the mountainside.
Her hands had small scrapes and were getting sore.
After finding a small ledge halfway up, she decided to stop and catch her breath.
She also wanted to talk to the child to make sure he was okay.
She didn’t want him to wake up scared, being carried by some stranger.
“Hey sweetie, are you waking up?” Reiya’s gentle voice called out. She could feel his body move a bit as he began to come to.
The little boy moaned, and she felt his body shift again.
She decided to set him down so she could talk with him and make sure he was alright.
Who knew how badly he was injured after being in the river?
She sat the boy down and knelt in front of him.
His eyes opened and he looked at her in confusion.
Surprisingly, though, he didn’t seem to be afraid of her.
“How are you feeling? You really shouldn’t swim in water that moves that quick.” Reiya smiled gently at the boy. “I’m Reiya.”
“You … you saved me?” The boy asked with wide eyes. Reiya nodded at him. “Thank you. My name is Todd. And just so you know, I didn’t plan to swim in the river.”
“How did you end up there, then?”
“I was trying to force my shift. I thought the best way would be to jump from a high hill. I never shifted, though,” Todd said dejectedly.
Reiya bit her bottom lip. She understood trying to force your body to shift all too well. “Sweetie, you’ll shift when you’re ready. You’re a little young, aren’t you?” Reiya didn’t know at what age dragons shifted, but werewolves were usually teenagers.
“Our king shifted when he turned seven! He was the youngest shifter ever. I’m eight, so it could happen,” Todd beamed happily as he talked about his king.
Reiya remembered her mother talking about the dragon prince who was now king. “Your king is Xander, right?”
His eyes bulged wide. “How did you know that? No one calls him Xander … that’s his personal name.” Todd was shocked at how this complete stranger knew his king’s name.
Reiya winked at the boy. “I know a thing or two. How do you feel? Are you hurt anywhere?”
The boy blinked at her and then wiggled his body around. He winced as he moved his leg. “Ouch … my leg hurts.” Todd frowned and reached down to check it.
Reiya bent down and looked over the boy’s leg. There was a big cut and deep, dark bruising, but at least it didn’t look broken. “Looks like it’ll be okay, but it will probably be sore for a few days. At least climbing will be easier, since you can help hold on.”
“You’re going to carry me the whole way?!” Todd asked, shocked.
“Well, how do you think you’ve gotten this far?” Reiya giggled as she saw him look down the mountainside. “Come on, Todd … let’s get you home.” Reiya bent down and helped the boy onto her back. “Hold on tight.”
By the time Reiya reached the top, she was thoroughly cut up. The sharp rocks from the mountain left little nicks and scrapes over her skin. She was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath.
“Are you okay?” Todd asked, with a bit of a whimper.
“Of course I’m okay. I’ve trained harder than this before.” Reiya straightened up so the boy wouldn’t worry.
“Reiya, you finally made it.” Chelsie walked over from the tree line at the top of the mountain.
“Yeah, finally. We all can’t teleport where we want.” Reiya rolled her eyes at Chelsie.
“Eww, it’s awake!” Chelsie took a step backward from her friend, looking at the small child.
“Chelsie, that is enough. You damn horses need to learn some respect for others. You’re not the only species that exists in the world. This is Todd. Todd, this is Chelsie. She’s a kelpie.” Reiya was afraid the little boy’s feelings would be hurt, but surprisingly they weren’t.
Todd stared at the kelpie with indifference. “Oh … a kelpie. Hmmm, I think I should be the one grossed out.”
Dragons were very similar to kelpies. They both were arrogant and too good for everyone else. “Okay, you two. You both should have respect for others. And you, little man. It wasn’t a dragon that pulled you out of that river … something you should try to remember in the future.”
“I like you. You’re really nice … whatever you are.” Todd shrugged and smiled.
“What’s going on over there?” Reiya began walking, carrying the boy in the direction of music.
“That’s the adult party,” Todd said uninterestedly.
“Well, then that’s where we’re going. We need to get you back to your parents,” Reiya said, as she confidently picked up the pace.
“I’m going to get in so much trouble.” Todd whimpered and ducked his head behind Reiya’s.
“I know the feeling.” Reiya let out an airy laugh. She knew that if her parents found out she’d left Elysia, she would be in for it, for sure.
They approached an outside area that had a large dance floor set up and hundreds of circle tables on the other side.
There were people everywhere laughing, dancing, talking, and eating.
Of course, all these people were dragons.
Reiya had always thought that most dragons weren’t shifters, but apparently, all dragons were shifters.
She walked up to a set of short stairs that led down into the party area and cleared her throat, but still went unnoticed.
“I’ve got this,” Chelsie said, annoyed. She let out an ear-piercing whinny that silenced the whole party. Even the music quit playing. “Floor’s yours, princess.”
Ugh … “Thank you, Chels.” Reiya swallowed and looked around at the many sets of eyes on her. Her … an outsider … an intruder.
“I have someone here that I think belongs to one of you,” Reiya said, shifting herself around to show the small boy on her back. She heard a woman gasp and come running up to her. “Careful … his leg is pretty banged up.” Reiya shifted the boy into the worried woman’s arms.
“What happened?!” the woman asked in shock.
“I tried to shift and ended up in the river. She saved me,” Todd explained, as the woman’s face paled considerably.
“Thank you so much. Come on, Todd, let’s get that leg looked at.” The woman hurried away, carrying the boy who was waving goodbye to Reiya.
Reiya noticed that she was still being stared at by the dragons.
“How did you manage to get up here?” a deep voice asked.
Reiya turned her head to see a man standing there.
His eyes were a beautiful amber color, and his hair was dark brown, almost black.
His body was chiseled, and his face … swoon!
Hot damn, guess whose hormones just realized that other males existed?
This dragon was gorgeous. He and Lee could be on the sexiest most wanted list.
“I climbed up,” Reiya said, after she managed to shake herself from her lustful thoughts.
She held her arms out, showing her various cuts with a crooked smile.
“Not the best entrance for visitors.” She giggled but stopped as she stared back into his intense gaze, which was deep and penetrating.
She felt a slight heat rise to her face from being under his unwavering glare.
“Reiya? Is that you, dear girl?” Reiya turned to look at the source of the voice beside the male hotness in front of her.
“Grandpa Sage!” Reiya squealed and jumped into the old man’s arms, thankful to see someone she knew. The crowd gasped. She bit her bottom lip and pulled back. “Are hugs not allowed? Or is it because I called you Grandpa Sage?”
The old man laughed. “Dear girl, you are allowed to hug me, and I told you to call me Grandpa Sage. You are one of the few who are allowed. My, my, my, look at you! You are stunning. You have grown up beautifully.”
“Aww, thanks Grandpa Sage.” Reiya smiled and kissed the older man on the cheek.
“Reiya … so, you’re the fairy princess,” the gorgeous man near her said, his lips curving into a slight smile.
Reiya stepped back from Grandpa Sage and turned back to the man.
Her eyes widened and she pointed at him.
“Oh, my goodness! You’re Xander, aren’t you?
” They heard another gasp from the nearby crowds.
The man looked angrily at the crowd of people.
He must have mindlinked them or something, because the music started right back up and they all went back to what they were doing before.
The man looked at Reiya, and an arrogant smile unfolded on his lips. “Yes, that would be me. So … you’ve heard about me?”
Reiya smiled brightly at him. “Yes! My mother told me the story about how she met the cutest little boy who ended up being the Prince of the West Dragon Kingdom. She said you were also the only other person besides my father who proposed to her.” Reiya giggled and Xander flashed a big toothy smile at her.
“She was my first crush, but I sadly struck out. Maybe I’ll have better luck with the second fairy princess that I’ve met.” Xander winked at her and looked her up and down openly.
Reiya giggled and extended her hand to him. “Nice to meet you.”
Xander looked at her hand and then frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” Reiya looked at her hand and then back to him.
“I have a strong aura. My touch burns people. It even burns other dragons who aren’t at least a tier-one dragon.
Your mother was the only other one who I didn’t burn.
” Xander smiled at her weakly. He didn’t want to injure her and knew it was likely that he would.
Only upper-tiered dragons were able to touch him.
He had gotten used to this, having been this way since birth.
“Reiya …” Chelsie said in a warning tone. She knew her friend too well.
Reiya smiled, looked at her hand, and then looked back at Xander.
Well, if her mother could touch him, then maybe she could, too.
All it would take was one second of courage.
Besides, what was the worst that could happen?
She’d just get a bit burned, right? She took in a deep breath and stepped closer to Xander.
His eyes widened as she reached her hand out toward him.