Quick update :-) I have written 500 words today on THE DRAGON'S LEGACY! Yay! I am officially 1/3 of the way done! Yay! If I can keep up that pace, then I hope to have it ready in a month!
As for the other books, I am slowly but surely getting those done. The SUPERNATURAL LOVE novels are coming along nicely. I had written them in first person, but am now changing the perspective to third person on them all. It's actually taking me a lot longer than I had expected. I have been told multiple times that people prefer third person which is why I'm doing this :-)
Because I have been so slow to get my books done for you, here is the first chapter to THE DRAGON'S LEGACY. Enjoy!
Chapter
1
A crow cawed four times, breaking the ominous
silence and waking Tania from her restless sleep. She grimaced.
Her head pounded, her muscles ached, her lungs hitched with each intake
of air. Everything hurt. Even her eyes stung. A few tears crawled down her cheeks as she
rubbed at her eyes. She blinked a few
times and finally began to notice her surroundings.
It was dark.
Shadows lingered in every corner.
Straw and dust littered the stone floor. Huge stone bricks lined the walls. The ceiling was covered in rafters that
looked as if they were about to fall at any moment. Several of the rafters had cracked.
There was only one door in the room. On the opposite side, was the only window in
the room. It was small and didn’t have
any bars. No one but a mouse could fit
through the window. A tiny stream of
moonlight filtered in.
Tania stared at the nearly full moon and thought of
Aristo. Could he be seeing the same
moon? Was he thinking of her? Was he safe, sound? How could he abandon her like this?
A scuffle from the corner of the room caught her
attention. She peered into the shadows
but couldn’t see anything. The moon
failed to fully light the room. She sat
up and placed her hands on a soft, yet firm flooring. She realized instantly it was a man’s chest
she had been laying upon. She
instinctively jerked back but the arms pulled her into a tight embrace.
“I am glad you are awake,” Stephan said softly, his
deep voice even and smooth, “I was worried.”
Tania laid back onto his thick, muscular, and nude
chest. She listened to his heart thump
steadily and slowly. She closed her eyes
and tried to ignore the agony biting her aching muscles. She was in pain. She had no idea why.
Her hand trailed Stephan’s strong forearm and
lingered on his bulging bicep. His
strength helped her feel protected and gave her more freedom to speak, “What
happened? Where are we?”
Stephan delicately kissed the top of her matted dark
hair, “We were attacked.”
“By whom?”
“By someone I had believed was long dead.”
Tania gasped, “Who is this person?”
“She’s a dragon.
She’s the White Dragon. Her name
is…” he paused and pursed his lips.
There were certain pieces of information he did not wish to tell
Tania. He knew she was hurting and he
did not dare hurt her further.
“What is her name?” Tania asked.
Stephan shook his head, “It no longer matters. She is not the same person she once was.”
“How do you know?”
“The White Dragon attacked Black Rock Keep. She kidnapped Polas, you, and me. She left so much destruction in her
wake. Several of the Nobles were
engulfed in her fireballs. Or rather,
Narcil’s fireballs. She no longer cares
who lives or who dies.”
Tania sat upright and stared directly in Stephan’s
warm eyes, “Narcil? He attacked us?
Why?” She had always known Narcil was cruel,
but never did she think him a traitor to his own kind.
“From what I can guess, he is in league with the
White Dragon.”
“What do you mean, from what you can guess? Do you not know?”
“No one has spoken to us. I can only speculate on our situation. It has been quiet here for a while.”
“How long is a while?” she asked.
“We have been imprisoned for three days.”
Tania did not know which question to ask first. So many questions yelled at her to be
answered but only one blurted out, “I’ve been asleep for three days?”
He nodded, “Now you can understand my concern. How do you feel?”
“Sore.
Tired. Scared,” Tania’s lower lip
quivered. She was pregnant. She should not be in a dungeon with dragons
or rats and she needed to eat. What if
she lost her child because she could not properly take care of her unborn
baby? At that moment, her stomach
growled, “And hungry.”
Stephan pushed her hair back from her face and kept
his hand on her cheek, “I will take care of you, I promise. Your child will be fine.”
“How do you know?” She suddenly realized her true
agony, “I haven’t felt a kick.”
Stephan removed his hand from her cheek and placed
it on her belly. Her clothes had nearly
been burnt off from the fire. He closed
his eyes and breathed slowly. The baby
moved. Tania gasped as the feeling told
her everything was fine. She slightly
smiled. It was a relief to know her baby
was still alive.
“How did you do that?” she asked.
“I am the Master Dragon—all dragons heed my call.”
She grinned and then nearly cried. The dungeon was no place for a baby. What if she gave birth now? What kind of life would she be giving the
child? She hated herself for being in
this situation and blamed the dragons.
“None of that,” Stephan said, as if he could read
her mind, “This is no one’s fault. Well,
it is the White Dragon’s fault. And
Narcil’s…” he paused, “And Polas’ fault.”
She pouted, “There are many to blame.”
He nodded, “Yes, there is. Make sure you place the blame where it
belongs,” he narrowed his eyes at her, “Make sure you don’t blame yourself.”
Tania returned to his embrace. She snuggled close to his chest and wiggled
until she was comfortable. His brawny
arms wrapped around her and held her tightly, “I will not allow any harm to you
or your child. We will get through this,
I promise you.”
“You are making a great deal of promises.”
He tilted her head toward his and stared deep into
her eyes, “I never break my promises. I
will never leave you. I will always keep
you safe.”
“Why would you do that for me?”
He inhaled a large breath and very slowly exhaled,
“I am the Master Dragon and you belong to me.”
Tania shook her head, “No, I do not. I belong to Aristo.”
“And he belongs to me. You are part of my family—even though you are
human, you are now dragon which means you have my full protection.”
Tania buried her head in his chest and just listened
to the rhythmic pounding of his heart.
His heart beat had picked up speed.
She had belonged to Aristo, once.
He left her. She had claimed a
dragon, Patryck, but he had been slain.
She found herself alone. Even
though Stephan considered her family, she was an outsider to him. She knew he did not care about her. She had chosen two other dragons instead of
him. He was, more than likely, angered by
her rejection. But it would be lovely to
think he would protect her and care for her.
She needed him. She needed
Stephan. She was locked in a dungeon,
pregnant, and she was the prisoner of an insane dragon who would stop at
nothing to kill innocent bystanders.
She whimpered into Stephan’s chest. He once again tilted her chin toward his kind
eyes, “There is no need to fear,” he kissed her cheek. His heart pounded rapidly at his chest as his
lips moved closer to her lips, “I will keep you safe. I will keep you both safe.” His lips found hers and Tania closed her
eyes. The world seemed to fall away for
several moments while she tasted the Master Dragon’s mouth. He did not taste like Aristo or Patryck. He was fire, light, and he was love.
Without thinking, without realizing she was in a
dungeon or that she was starving, her body curved around him and she pulled his
head closer to hers. She yearned to feel
his power plunge deep inside her. For
days now, she had felt nervous in his presence, scared even, but now she knew
why—she wanted him. Desperately. He was the Master Dragon and his strength
would never leave her.
She suddenly pulled back and leapt toward a
different wall, keeping a great deal of space in between them. The kiss had been wrong. She loved Aristo. She had vowed she would never intertwine with
another dragon after Patryck. She had
hurt too many people.
Tania felt her lips and felt the traces of Stephan’s
kiss. She wiped it off and placed her
head on the cold, stone wall. She
wept.
Stephan sighed and closed the space between
them. He put his hand on her
shoulder. She shrugged it off but he
placed his hand on her shoulder again as he said, “I am sorry. Now is definitely not the time.”
Tania whirled around, feeling dizzy, but she threw
herself at him. Her legs wrapped around
him and her lips mashed with his. He
tried to pull back but she said, “Kiss me.
Take me, Stephan. I need you.”
He obeyed.
His mouth once again found hers and his tongue licked her lips. She moaned.
She pulled at his hair. Stephan
slammed her against the wall and suckled her ears, then licked down her neck
and lower still.
Tania was in ecstasy. His strength created a world of safety that
she greatly desired. She opened her eyes
and the soft, white glow of the moon illuminated her embrace with Stephan. Her mind instantly thought of Aristo. He was the Moon Dragon, could he see her
betrayal?
She pushed at Stephan but when he would not budge,
she yelled, “Stop! Get off me!”
Stephan growled but did as he was told. His shoulders hunched over and he trudged to
the opposite side of the room, “Do not tempt me again.” His anger was palpable. His eyes were lit with a thousand glowing
suns as his rage at being interrupted boiled.
He had yearned for Tania for so long and then she denied him, again.
His fists clenched and unclenched then clenched once more.
“I’m sorry,” Tania cried, “I don’t know what is
wrong with me. I don’t want to betray
Aristo, not ever. But, I have these
urges and my body…it wants you.”
Stephan glared at her, “Ever think I want more than
just your body? Or would you rather use
me?”
“No, I…”
“I may love you, Tania, but I am more than just your
urge.”
“Stephan, you have to help me.”
“Help you with what?
You know I will still protect you.”
“Before, I could ignore these Dragon Mother cravings
to have every dragon. Now,” she held her
neck as her chest heaved, “Now, my body is on fire. I need you.
I need a dragon.”
Stephan wanted to roll his eyes and pout some
more. She said she needed “a dragon”,
apparently, any dragon would do. But he
stared at her thoughtfully, his anger subsiding and realized what a terrible
situation she was in, “I think I know why.”
“Please tell me.”
“You are pregnant.”
Tania nodded, “Yes.”
Obviously.
“Although you are becoming stronger because of your
dragon child, you will grow weaker. The
babe will take energy and power from you in order to grow. You will be drained physically and
emotionally. You will be constantly
exhausted.”
“Yes.” Tania
took a deep breath. She had been feeling
more and more tired of late.
“Your baby and your body demands a Dragon
Protector. This is more than just Dragon
Mother cravings. In fact, you shouldn’t
be having sexual cravings as a Dragon Mother right now. Your Dragon Mother magic has been fulfilled
with the baby in your womb. Now, you are
searching for a mate. You cannot do this
alone. You need to claim a dragon.”
“I have already claimed Aristo and Patryck.”
“Patryck is…dead.
Aristo is gone. You are alone.”
Tania bit her lower lip and plopped down on the
hard, stone floor. She drew her legs up as
close to her chest as she could and lowered her head. It was difficult considering her belly had
grown larger in the past few days but she managed.
“What should I do?”
“Your babe demands a protector. I am the only dragon you can trust. Your spirit is reaching out to me. You wish to claim me.”
She stared up at Stephan, “I can’t betray Aristo,
not again.”
“Then you will have to find a way to ignore your
feelings. And don’t tempt me. Next time you do, I won’t stop. I have wanted you for a very, very long
time. I won’t be denied.”
“You would take me against my will?” Her heart stopped and at the same time, sped
up.
“I would never take you against your will,” he shrugged,
“Someone who enjoys it, is not being harmed.”
Tania licked her lips and took a deep breath. With every word Stephan spoke, her entire
being screamed for his touch. A wicked
plan began to form in her mind. If she
subtly tempted him, such as snuggling and petting him, he would be forced to
take her. He would not stop. Her inner core clinched and moistened. He would make love to her, his powerful
embrace would give her the safety she desired and she would claim him as her
own. She could command him.
She then shook her head. She must be going mad. Her stomach growled again.
“I need a dragon protector—I need a mate…” It was
more of a question than a sentence.
Stephan nodded.
“Then I need to know more about you. I’ve been running around for weeks now and I
just realized I don’t know your last name nor your middle name. I don’t know your favorite color, season…I
don’t know you. How am I supposed to
trust you, claim you as my mate, when I know nothing about you?”
“That is easily rectified. Ask me anything you wish.” Stephan smiled
gently.
“What is your full name?”
“Stephan Lynwood Gold.”
“Really? Are
those family names?”
“Yes, Stephan was my father’s name and Lynwood
belonged to my mother’s father. Dragons
do not technically have last names so we claim the ones we want.”
“And you claimed ‘Gold’”?
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, “I like gold.”
“I should have known,” she said thinking back to his
hoard of treasure. Stephan was obsessed with
gold, “I suppose that is your favorite color as well?”
He nodded and grinned broadly.
“So your full name is Stephan Lynwood Gold? Odd, I would have assumed you would have a
more magical name.”
Stephan pursed his lips, “Those are the names humans
know.”
“What do you mean?
Do you have others?”
“I have many names.
Over the course of centuries, one tends to rack up the names.”
“What other names do you have?”
“If I told you that, Princess, I would be completely
at your beck and call. You can already
command me, I will not have you commanding my soul.”
“What is the difference? If I give a command, you have to obey it.”
“I do, but my soul will not. I do not have to enjoy your commands,
Princess.”
Tania sighed, “I still don’t understand but I am too
hungry and exhausted to care at this point.”
Stephan nodded and squinted into the far corner of
the room. Tania followed his gaze. A black rat scurried beneath the straw.
Tania glared at Stephan, “No.”
Stephan looked at her quizzically, “No?”
“No. I will
not eat dungeon rat or any rat for that matter.”
“You need to eat.”
She shook her head and crossed her arms over her
chest, “I will not eat rat.”
“They are quite good.”
She grimaced, “Have you had them before?”
“No,” he said pursing his lips.
“Then how do you know?”
“I was hoping there wouldn’t be any follow-up
questions.”
“So, you would lie to me?”
Stephan sighed, “I cannot win with you.”
They both watched as the rat disappeared into a
crack in the wall, “Well, it doesn’t matter now,” Stephan said.
Tania stomped her foot in a semi-tantrum, “I don’t
want to be here, Stephan. Get me out of
here.”
Stephan nearly laughed, “Oh, is that so, your
highness? I had thought this would be a
lovely place to stay. Had I known you
didn’t wish to be here, I would have brought you elsewhere.”
Tania growled, it was a small growl, but enough to
force Stephan to laugh very loud.
“Dragon Mother, I will find a way out. Be patient.
I have a feeling escape is right around the corner.”
“How do you know that?”
“I am the Master of all Dragons. How many times must I tell you that?”
Tania shrugged.
“Do you even know what that means?”
“You can command dragons.”
“Yes, and much more.”
“You can command other things?”
“I can command magic. I can talk to the trees, to any animal.”
“Did you talk to the rat that was just here?” Tania was excited. She had never known anyone who could speak
with animals before. And what do trees
talk about? The weather? She was suddenly more curious than she had
ever been before. She had completely
forgotten her hunger and the fact she was in a dank, dark dungeon. She felt like a child feeling rain for the
very first time. There was so much in
this world to discover. All her life she
was taught to be quiet, never ask questions, to just look pretty (which she
failed at, according to her father).
“What is it like to talk to animals?
What do they say?” She was giddy.
Stephan’s grin practically covered his entire
face. He had never seen Tania excited
when he was around. He was glad she was
finally warming up to him.
Naturally. Not in a Dragon
Protector physical way, but in an emotional way. “The rat said a dragon was on his way to see
us. An invisible dragon.”
Tania suddenly realized, “Thomas!”
“My dear, you are in good hands. No harm will ever come to you while I am with
you.”
Tania was beginning to believe just that. Whenever she had been in trouble or upset,
Stephan had been by her side. He had
never left. Even now, he was in a
dungeon with her. Aristo would always
leave when events overwhelmed him. She
was beginning to think Aristo was a coward.
He was a coward. He had left her
when she needed him. How could he
possibly be a good father or a good mate when he would leave her stranded like
this? She grew angry but her temper
faded when she heard keys jingling from the other side of the door. Tania gasped and ran toward the door but
Stephan held her back and shook his head, “I can feel who is on the other
side. It is not Thomas.”
“Then who…” Her question was interrupted as Narcil
threw the door open. Smoke and ash blew
in heavily. Narcil was the Fire Dragon,
and he was literally made of charred skin, ash, and embers. His eyes were a vivid red and seemed to burn
through whatever they gazed upon.
Tania hid behind Stephan, keeping her hands on his
sides and smashing her face into his strong, thick back. She felt his hands pull her close behind him
in a protective gesture as she peeked around his waist.
“Narcil,” he said, his voice heavy with
disappointment, “This is a new low. I
had overlooked your crimes against the humans in the past, but kidnapping and
imprisoning your fellow dragons? That is
something I cannot overlook.”
“Well, you will have to Master,” he spat the word
“Master” like it was poison, “You had every opportunity to fight us and escape
but you stayed…you stayed for the human.
Pitiful.”
“Tania is a Dragon Mother and you need to show the
proper respect.”
Tania could feel the air growing hot and heavy as
Stephan’s power seeped through the room.
She nearly choked. His power was
raw, heady, and thick. It was like
breathing syrup—syrup that clung to the nostrils and burned like a thousand hot
peppers. She took in small, short
breaths in order to keep from passing out.
Narcil doubled over slowly, slightly falling to his
knees but before he hit the floor, he stood up straight and tall. He cackled, “I have the power of something
far more powerful than you, Stephan. I
will not bow to you and your idiotic demands anymore.”
Stephan kept Tania behind him but stepped back a few
steps, “What have you done, Narcil?”
“Is that fear I sense, Master?” he mocked, “Your
power cannot control me.”
“Narcil!” Stephan demanded, “What have you
done? Whose power have you stolen? I know for a fact you will never be stronger
than me.”
“And yet, here we are. I have done nothing you wouldn’t do. I just have more dragon power running through
my veins than you.”
“How?”
Narcil shook his head, “I didn’t come down here to
banter with pathetic, twisted dragons who would rather spend their time helping
humans instead of destroying them. Now
hand her over! The White Dragon does not
like to be kept waiting.”
“You will not touch her,” Stephan stated firmly.
“I can do whatever I please.”
“You can have her over my cold, dead body.”
“That can be arranged.”
Narcil inhaled deeply, sucking all the air from the
room in order to build a fire ball.
Stephan pushed Tania into the corner and covered her with his body. The fire was going to eat everything!
Tania pushed Stephan away with a power she did not
understand and ran toward Narcil, “No!
Please don’t! I’ll go with you!”
Stephan grabbed her by the arm, “What are you
doing?”
“Saving my child’s life! That fireball could kill me and the baby!”
“She’s right,” Narcil said, swallowing a huge
glowing light and choking on the smoke that followed, “You wouldn’t want to be
the cause of her dead baby, would you?”
Stephan growled, “I will kill you, Narcil. I will have your head.”
Narcil laughed wickedly and escorted Tania out of
the cell, slamming the door behind him.
As he dragged her down the dark hallway, she could hear Stephan’s shouts
of anger.
