Dragonborn (The Jade Lee Romantic Fantasies, Book 1) (46 page)

"Why?" she demanded, the sound more a gasp than a word.

Kiril had made it to the Copper's side, grabbing hold of the man's arm to both balance and restrain him. And so the former dragon was able to focus on speech, carefully forming each word.

"Heeee could not beee a drrrragonnn."

Natiya took a step forward, unreasoning anger flowing through her. "Why not?"

The Copper shook his head. "Tooooo laaate." And then, despite Kiril's hold on his arm, the Copper crumpled, dropping to the ground with a thud.

Natiya turned to her own dragon, at last fully extricated from beneath the dragon Rashad.

Do you understand this? she demanded.

The Queen shook her head—a surprisingly human gesture that conveyed the same horror and confusion that reverberated through Natiya.

And then another shock rolled through Natiya's system, this one expected but no less powerful. The Queen waddled forward, her body slow because of her recent fight, and because she moved to avoid the body of Rashad the dragon.

I am ready
, she said to Natiya.
We can complete the process now.

Chapter 21

"What are you doing?"

Kiril's voice cut through Natiya's thoughts, freezing her in place before she reached the Queen's outstretched forehead.

"Natiya! Stop!" She could hear the panic in Kiril's voice, and she smiled, startled to realize she found humor in the situation. He was feeling panic? She was the one about to become a dragon. And yet, even as she smiled, she felt her eyes tear. She didn't even want to look at him, to see what she was leaving behind; but he made her. He reached out and pulled her face to his.

"What are you doing?" he repeated, his expression fierce.

"What I promised." How she kept her voice level, she hadn't a clue. But she did, swallowing down her dread as she tried to force herself to turn back to the Queen. Instead, she found herself kissing Kiril, her lips, his mouth, their entire bodies abruptly crushed together as if joined.

But in time, they had to separate; they had to pull back and look into each other's eyes.

"I promised I would go when this was done. I promised—"

"I don't give a damn about your promise," he interrupted, his grip firm on her arms. "You love me!" It wasn't a statement so much as a command.

"You think I'm evil."

He ground his teeth. She could hear it, and yet he'd never seemed sweeter to her. "You're not evil. Natiya, I trust you."

Never had those words touched her more, and yet she knew Kiril was suspicious by nature. "I can't live with you constantly watching me, wondering if I'm suddenly going to start killing people or destroying the good that you desire. Besides," she began, as she forced herself to pull away from him, "the Queen's much smarter than I am. She'll be a good ally for you."

"A dragon ally?" he snapped, clearly horrified, and she looked away, her other offer dying on her lips. Except, when she looked away, her gaze landed on the carcass of the Copper. And then on the dragons around them, all waiting patiently throughout the clearing. What would it be like to be with them? Would she remain herself, or would her personality change?

"I'll make sure they leave," she said, unwilling to think about the questions and doubts that swirled through her. "I don't know how much influence I'll have, but I'll keep them away. You'll have enough problems without..." Without me making things worse, she almost said. She had been unprepared and unthinking throughout her entire life. She wasn't the asset he needed.

"Is this what you want? Natiya!" When she didn't answer, he pulled her face back to his. "Is this what you want?"

She stared at him, not knowing what to say. "I promised—"

"To Frith with your promise!" he snapped. "What do you want?"

She swallowed her tears, confusion making her voice clipped. "You don't want dragons in Ragona anymore. Changing is the only way—"

"And what if I'm wrong? What if—"

"But you've never been wrong!" she exclaimed. "Don't you see? Everything you said—that I was unprepared, naive, too stupid to think beyond the obvious—all of that is true. Everything I've done from the very beginning has been wrong. It led to this."

He shook his head, his grip tightening as he spoke. "You haven't been wrong. Just not completely right." He grimaced. "D'greth, Natiya, why do you think I didn't kill you during the hatching? Why do you think I've been chasing you around like a lost puppy? Why do you think I've given up everything I have, everything I know, just to follow you?"

She bit her lip, the enormity of what he had done crashing in on her. Everything he'd risked—his life, his future, his entire rebellion—on her. When she'd been completely unprepared for any of it.

"I believe in you, Natiya. I don't know how, but you see things, you know things that none of us have figured out."

"I've been guessing—"

"And you've succeeded. Natiya, don't you see? From the first moment I saw you dancing, I knew you were different. I knew you had the answers." She could feel his body tense as he tried to explain. The words weren't coming easily to him, but she saw truth in the fierceness of his expression. "That's why I took you to the caves. And that's why I risked everything to get you out of the Emperor's mountain. And that's why I've been helping. Against all logic, against all reason, you"—he swallowed—"you find the answers when no one else does. And you don't stop until you have them."

"But I don't know what I'm doing."

He shrugged. "Neither do any of us. But you succeed. I don't know how, but you do."

"But I can't—"

"I love you, Natiya," he interrupted. And when she stared at him in shock, he repeated it again. "I love you. I always have. You"—he frowned as he fought for the words—"you inspire me. You can't leave me now." He reached up and touched her face. "I need you."

She felt her heart squeeze tight in her chest, his words flowing over her in the most wonderful and painful of ways. He loved her. And yet... "It doesn't make sense. Kiril, you're the one who told me to think, to reason out the consequences." She stepped forward, at last giving voice to her offer. "If I change, if I become a dragon, I can help. I can stay with you for a while. If you want—"

He smiled, though she knew the effort cost him. "Is that what I've taught you? To look for logic?"

"It's not a bad thing."

He laughed, though the sound was brittle in the thin mountain air. "I was wrong," he said. Then she watched him visibly steel himself before he turned to the Queen, who regarded him calmly, her golden eyes glittering in the torchlight.

"I don't trust you," he told her. "I think you have an agenda that none of us understand." Then he glanced back at Natiya. "But if I have learned anything these last weeks, it's that everything I thought I knew is wrong. Or not entirely correct."

I do not understand his fears. My presence here was to help the Copper.

"And?" Natiya prompted the dragon. "There is more."

The Queen dipped her head in a nod.
We search for The Human.

Natiya blinked. "The Human? The Human what?"

The Human who will be a bridge between us and you. Rashad was not that man.

She frowned, trying to understand. "A person who can be both dragon and human? But why?"

Do you not wish to evolve?

Kiril shifted uncertainly between dragon and Natiya. "What? What is she saying?"

"That they are searching for a way to bridge human and dragon. That they look for a way to better both species."

His eyes narrowed as he looked from her back to the Queen. "Is that possible?"

Of course.

"She says yes," Natiya translated.

Kiril shook his head, clearly struggling to understand. "Will she explain this to you? Can she answer my questions?"

Of course.

Natiya smiled. "She will answer whatever you like. But dragon answers..." She shook her head. "Sometimes they are confusing."

Kiril sighed. "Of course they are." He turned to face Natiya directly. "But I can't do it alone. I need you with me." He reached out, his hand trembling as it touched her cheek. "I love you. Please stay."

She hesitated, torn between what her heart wanted and what her head told her to do. "But I will still be bonded with the Queen."

"And I will still believe in you. I will still love you." He touched her chin, tilting her face up until she looked directly into his eyes. "Do you love me?" He spoke in a whisper, anxiety radiating from every line of his body.

She said the words without thought: "Of course I do! I have from the very beginning, but—"

He was kissing her. Even when she struggled against his mouth, trying to voice any of the hundreds of objections in her thoughts, he kept her silent. And soon, she had no more thought but him in her arms, his body with hers. Their love protecting them both.

Except, it couldn't. It hadn't. Love hadn't protected anyone, ever.

She pulled away. "Kiril," she whispered. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to keep working. We're going to build a kingdom. And we're going to find a way to protect ourselves against all those neighboring countries that Racho allied against us."

"But how?"

He grinned. "Didn't you have plans for the justice system? Didn't you talk about restructuring the laws?"

"Of course I did. I have lots of ideas, but—"

"We can do it now. You still control the Queen, don't you?"

She glanced over her shoulder, startled to see that one by one, the other dragons had started to fly away, lifting into the air, heading back to their home, wherever that was. And yet the Queen remained, her golden eyes calm as she looked at Natiya and Kiril, answering the question before Natiya could ask.

I still have much to learn in the human world.

Natiya turned back to Kiril. "We cooperate. And yes, she is willing to remain here with us." With us. The words echoed in her thoughts. Could this really be happening? Could she suddenly—abruptly—have everything she'd ever wanted? A man who believed in her? The power to change her world?

"I have ideas too, Natiya. And allies. Sabina, for one. And—''

"Pentold and Uncle Rened."

He nodded, his expression lightening. "So the financiers are on our side." He turned, looking toward the soldiers that surrounded them. "And I think the military could be persuaded, especially since we still have the biggest weapon at our disposal." He gestured at the Queen.

To their left, Natiya watched the leader of the Emperor's guard nod in slow approval. Yes, he would support them. And with him, the rest of the military.

"What of the Coral?"

"Gone," the man said. "She flew as far and as fast as she could. We don't know where."

"We can do it, Natiya," Kiril pressed. "But only if we do it together."

"I think," she began slowly, her thoughts falling piece by piece into a beautiful order. "All this time I've been asking the wrong question. I've been asking everyone what they want from me. I should have been asking myself what I want."

"And what is that?"

She grinned. "I want justice. I want happiness. I want a chance to help Ragona by finishing what I started. But mostly," she said as she wrapped her arms around him, "I want you."

He planted a large, loud, wet kiss on her lips. "Then there's nothing that can stop us."

The End