Guardian of His Heart [Guardian 2] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (7 page)

“All of them!”

Saber, Ty, and the twins were ushered aboard the empty commercial 777 jetliner that would be flying them and their escort to Saibina, as it was the fastest way home. Once on board, the prince instructed everyone he was not to be interrupted until he gave permission. Saber sat down, cleared his mind, and prayed to the Gods it wasn’t too late.

At exactly 2:16 a.m. Greenwich time, every dragon on the planet was “called” by their prince to find their king. Dragons had the ability to hear “the call” in time of great need. It had only one purpose and had not been used in over three thousand years. It was a well-guarded secret that few even remembered, and only those in direct line to the throne knew the existence of. The moment the call went out by Saber, every dragon on earth heard it at the same time. When they received it, they knew what it was and how to act on it if they chose to. They had no choice, however, but to hear it. It was genetically ingrained into their very fiber as much as the ability to fly. To ignore it was blasphemy.

It didn’t matter what the dragons were doing. If they were asleep, it woke them up. If they were lying in a dragon hospital up to their teeth in broken bones, they immediately healed. If a female was in the middle of childbirth, the babes were delivered within the next ten seconds, and the mother healed. If the dragon was in the midst of their first shift, it completed instantly.

Only the heir apparent, the next male or female in direct line to the throne, could
mentally
place “the call.” No one not instated to it or disinherited from it could call out simultaneously to the half million mature creatures.

Dragons could sometimes speak telepathically to their own mates. Otherwise, Frederico’s guard would have known of their king’s dilemma sooner. The problem with technology was that even dragons had become spoiled by it.

Frederico opened his eyes, hearing a hushed buzzing sound in his mind, and he knew. His beloved people were coming for him. Saber, the son he loved more than his own life, loved him equally.

“Oh, shit!”

“Son of a bitch!”

“Oh, huge stinkin’ monkey balls!”

Kelley heard several screams all at once somewhere in the distance. He thought someone had met with an accident. Oops, sorry, my bad, he thought to himself and smiled.

“What is it, king, baby? Why are you smiling?” Kelley asked when he looked over at Frederico.

“My people. They are searching for me, for us. I heard Saber call out for his dragons to find their king.”

“How many are we talking about here? ’Cause there’s six of them out there right now trying to kill you.”

“Those sent to kill me were not aware of who I am until now. They will not try to hurt us any further. The penalty for doing so is too terrifying for words. As far as how many are now looking for us? All of them.”

“I don’t understand, baby. All the dragons in Saibina? It’ll still take them awhile to get here.” Kelley looked confused.

“When I say all of them, I meant exactly that. All of the dragons on earth. At last count, there were a little over half million mature ones.”

Kelley laughed. “Okay, I get it now. You’re just messin’ with me. It’s all right. We are under a little stress here. You go ahead and have some fun if it’ll help.”

“You are not grasping what I am saying, my beloved. I am not being amusing but utterly serious, Kelley. The ability to call out to our kind, to find their monarch, can only done by my heir, the male or female who is in direct line for the throne. Saber loves us so much he just used that ability.” The king looked solemn. “Only he has that power. A mental call, if you will. A buzzing sound we all hear. It is genetically encoded into us to hear it and respond by looking for our king. At this moment in time, that would be me. Once I am safely back in Saibina, a call is sent once again, advising my dragons of my safe return.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you? I gotta tell you, that’s freaky!”

“Yes, it is. It hasn’t been used in over three thousand years. The last time a monarch vanished. My people tend to get distressed when their king goes missing. It’s not really about who
I
am that is important, but what I represent to them. For that matter, what you as my consort represent. We as a species are exceedingly possessive of our treasures. To my people, I belong to them. I am their national treasure.”

“Okay, listen up. I’m going to slide down and take a look-see. Check these guys out and see if they got this call thingy you’re talking about, or if they still want to do you harm. You stay here. Stay in the bag, and don’t move around any more than you have to on that leg. I’ll be back in a few ticks, and I’ll even take my bow with me, just in case.”

“I didn’t see a weapon. I will not have you running about outside. You will stay in here with me where you’re safe. You can feed me some more of that delightful fish.”

Kelley smiled then went to his pack, slid the fish out he had in plastic bags, and gave it to the king. Also a fresh bag of water. “Here, baby. You eat, and I’ll be right back. I have to go get some more fish anyway. You big guys sure pack the food away.” Kelley bent and kissed the king’s head then turned and was gone out the cave entrance while the king had a fit of temper because he was not obeyed.

“It’s like talking to a wall. Why doesn’t he comply? I say no, and he does it anyway,” Frederico grumbled then smiled. “Well at least he’s not boring.”

Kelley watched the men’s camp. As the hopelessly outmatched would-be assassins moved around the camp, he could hear them talking.

“George, what are we gonna do? We have to get out of here, man. No one told me we were trying to kill the king,” one of the men said nervously.

“When the other dragons find us, we’ll be in deep shit. I say we bail right now. Besides, if I step in one more of those freakin’ holes, my ankles will never recover. Look, you guys do what you want, but I’m gone,” one of the men said disgustedly.

The man’s brother called out to him. “Craig, wait up, man. I’m with you. There is no way I want my wings ripped in half. Thank you anyway. Let’s go.” The two men shifted and flew off into the sky.

A dark-haired man answering to the name Dan sat and seemed to think things over. “I think they’re right. Count me out.” Shifting, he was also gone.

“What’s with those pansies? Hey, they are not keeping their share of the money. Screw ’em,” George, the leader, said quietly. George was really going to rethink this through. Maybe it was smart to leave.

“You can have my share. I’m keeping my wings,” another man said as he started stripping so he could shift. Once he was in dragon form, he grabbed his clothes and took off.

“Just you and me left, George.” Aaron turned and looked at him. “What’d you think?”

“What say you and I split the money we already have and leave? I don’t trust the people that paid us anymore. Now that we know who we were sent to kill, what’s gonna keep them from killing us?” George stood, getting ready to leave.

“Geez, I hadn’t thought of that. I’m gone,” Aaron said as he paled. “You comin’, too?”

“Yeah, let me get our stuff and we’ll go. Damn shame. I was looking forward to buying myself that black Audi and gettin’ some human ass,” George complained. “Let’s go.” The two men bundled their belongings, shifted, grabbed the bundles, and flew away.

Kelley watched as a few hours later, dragons started to appear on the horizon.

He was fascinated as, over the next six hours, well over a thousand dragons flew in, including Kate and Jaclynn. The huge animals would land, scent the air, and start looking as they knew they were in the right area. Kelley heard voices as they called out to their king. He knew the dragons were wondering why he did not answer. If someone had indeed harmed their king, there would be hell to pay. Nothing was worse than an enraged dragon, unless it was thousands of them. They checked out the would-be assassins’ campsite, picking up evidence here and there, then searched the surrounding area until they located the cave and their king. When Kelley spotted Jaclynn, he knew these were the good guys, so he called out to them.

When the king’s rescuers had begun arriving, Kelley knew it was time for him to leave and go home.

“King, baby, wake up. I’m gonna take off now and go home. The cavalry is here to take care of you and make sure you get home,” Kelley said softly.

“No, I forbid it. You are coming home to Saibina where we belong. You are my mate and consort. I will not contemplate otherwise. Don’t argue with me on this point, Kelley. I need you, and whether you want to admit it or not, you need me. We have bonded. You know what that entails. I fully expect you to be in my bed and standing by my side every day for the rest of your life.”

“Look. Don’t get me wrong here, okay? I like you. A lot, but I can’t hang with that whole consort thing and you ordering me around. The only thing we have between us is great sex.” When the king frowned at Kelley and started to interrupt, Kelley put his hand up and then continued. “You know that’s true.” Frederico closed his mouth and just stared at Kelley with a hurt expression.

“We have absolutely nothing in common. I don’t want you to end up hating me because I embarrass you all the time. I will, too. You know that. You feel obligated to me because I’m your mate and you have no choice. But I do. If I stay, you’ll resent me, and I’ll feel stifled.” With that, Kelley picked up his pack, went to Frederico, bent down, and kissed the king. “You take care of yourself. We may not get along, but I do care about you.” Kelley slid down the rope, taking his pack with him. He tried to leave, but people kept stopping him to talk.

The dragons attended to their king, as he had been gone seventy-two hours and hadn’t had enough time to heal or walk on his left leg yet. As it had been broken in his dragon form, it would take a little longer to heal. It was decided that Kate, being a small dragon, would be assigned the task of getting Frederico out of the cave. Being the largest dragon, the king was simply too big to shift in the cave, and his right wing was still weak, so Kate shifted and had talon guards placed on her front legs so she wouldn’t cut the king by accident with her razor-sharp claws. She flew up to the cave, gently took the king in her covered front legs, and brought him back down to earth.

Kelley told Royce and Mason, who had just arrived, to tell their people to be very careful because there were still many “accident” traps out there. Kelley started showing Mason what he was talking about. He also told the guard of the overheard conversations and supplied the names he had obtained and the color of their dragons.

Frederico just wanted his mate and was consumed with taking him home. Royce whispered to the king that Kelley might want to leave because he overheard a few of the royal guard making jokes about him being such a queen. The king called his people together, first thanking them for coming to his aid, and then he addressed his guard, making sure
every one
of them
was told in no uncertain terms that the king was alive and well, due entirely to Kelley.

Kelley squirmed as the king spoke, embarrassed that he was being the center of attention.

Frederico told his men that the “twink” the men were making fun of as useless, was, in fact, an army medic who did two tours in Afghanistan. Frederico stated proudly that he was also a survivalist who made sure the king had food, water, and a safe place to recuperate. The king told of Kelley watching over him, taking bullets out of him, and setting his leg. He told them they had better change their attitudes, or he would find new royal guards, as a few of them had already fallen into Kelley’s traps. As the men turned to Kelley to apologize, with mouths still gaping open in surprise, and before the king could forbid him once again from leaving, Kelley smiled then walked into the forest, and, doing a move his dads had taught him, he simply “disappeared” right before everyone’s amazed eyes.

While some took care of the Frederico, other dragons looked for clues as to who had tried to harm their king. They found several things that could be used to identify them. The king was gently carried out of the forest to the nearest airport where, by now, his jet stood waiting for him.

Even though he didn’t want to, the king had to return to his country to restore order. It appeared an all-out civil war was brewing in Saibina.

Margaret’s quest for the throne was causing major problems for the people of Saibina. She had repeatedly tried to overthrow the monarch in his absence, but the king’s guard wouldn’t obey her, and they had foiled her attempts for the moment. Margaret had other problems as well. The people she was doing business with were requiring her to sign contracts so they could cover their own assets. The people she wanted to gain her wealth from were not about to be left hanging out to dry if the oust went south.

Thankfully, dragons made contracts for every transaction, be it a babe being born or major business events. Being a very organized society, they believed in having paper trails. These documents had saved many a life in Saibina over the centuries.

After Frederico was on board his jet, Royce and Mason gave the king documentation showing that Margaret, Saber’s shamed surrogate, had gone after the throne. Before she had even sat down on it, she had already signed contracts with mining companies, which would destroy their beloved country. It would also make Margaret very wealthy, as she intended to keep all the profits, sending the monies to a private Swiss account set up entirely for herself, not even sharing with her brother, Bruce.