A Dragon's Mark Read online

  Her father was being fawned over and had fallen in love with the old world kitchen that was bigger than all the lower floors of their house combined. The libraries and the amount of history in the massive palace for them to explore enthralled Jeff and Dale. All the while the grim task of seeking out the traitors amongst the caretakers continued. They were subtly looking for the tattoo that they all carried to recognize the sect members. Caye knew the interrogation of the caretaker they caught at the abandoned house went on until he broke and told them whatever he knew. She wasn’t given much information except now they knew what they were looking for which was evasive enough to make her grit her teeth. But still the women of Paladin were warned not to go off with anyone, let alone to the badlands, and now guards were placed along the boundaries before the badlands and were on constant alert. Aki and the other dragons tried to beef up their security, all the while trying to make life as normal for the people as possible. Caye wondered how long it would last before they had to tell everyone in Paladin that danger was at their doorstep. She’d seen enough news coverage of war to know that the innocent were rarely left unscathed.

  When she heard that first shotgun blast back at the farmhouse, she knew the cavalry had arrived. Her father came in with his face set in determination and took out the caretakers. They were cruel and they goaded her about what she would endure when they handed her over to the Shen. Needless to say they had a big problem to be faced in Paladin, what if all of the caretakers were involved, or some of the residents? The thought of this beautiful, peaceful place being ravaged by war filled her with sorrow. The worldwide cost of wars back home flashed across the screen. She wished everyone could see the way of life on this world was to learn how to be at peace.

  Aki walked up behind her, she didn’t have to hear him to know it. He walked so silently no one ever heard him come into a room. But the excited tumble in her belly told her that her mate was close. She felt his warm hands slide around her waist and he pulled her against his hard body. She loved the feel of him, with all the chaotic emotions and the ups and downs of the last few weeks. To be able to settle into a pattern where she knew where she stood in his life and in his heart made her feel happy, complete, or in his dragon term, mated.

  “You looked so beautiful. I was standing at the door watching you and you never even noticed.” He nuzzled her neck and she shivered.

  “That’s because you move like a cat on carpet.” She sighed as he kissed her neck. “You do that so very well.”

  “I’m glad you approve.” His voice was a low rumble in her ear. “What are you thinking?”

  “That I’d hate to see this beautiful place in the midst of war,” Caye answered. “If humans could see how it is here, I wonder if it would make a difference in our world.”

  Aki brushed her hair from her face. “I’ve been on earth so long and I’ve seen each one of those wars, in each I’ve also seen acts of love and caring by enemies. Humans have the propensity for so much good and kindness. I won’t let war ravage this one and I won’t let the Shen take humans and turn them into slaves, either. I’d use my last breath to ensure the survival of both worlds.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t say that, don’t tell me you’d leave me alone in any world without you. I don’t want you to die, do you hear me, so if it means your life then walk away.”

  “Then I wouldn’t be me would I, Caye?” he said gently. “I’m not the kind to see others suffer and do nothing.”

  “Damn it, I know,” she replied and then put her hand on her hips. “Then I’m your back-up in all things. Teach me to fight, do whatever you need to, but you now have a sidekick. I also think the others including wives should begin training as well. God forbid the Shen or a traitor caretaker try to kidnap anyone. We should be able to defend ourselves.”

  Aki nodded. “You’re right, Larissa fought and she had minimal training. It would enhance the odds of survival considerably. We’ll bring it up at council tonight when I present you as my mate.”

  “You know my dad will insist on a traditional human wedding as well.” She turned and linked her arms around his neck.

  “Looking forward to it, anything to bind you to me forever. I’ll take part in as many ceremonies as necessary,” Aki replied. “I love you Caye, I won’t ever get tired of saying that to you. My Caye, who has given me back my dreams, and they’re all filled with you.”

  “You do know how to melt a girl from the inside out.” Caye smiled up at him. “How much time do we have before this council thingy?”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “A few hours, why, may I ask?”

  She took his hand and led him away from the window and to the bed and began to unbutton the carved pearl buttons of his tunic. “I think we can find something to fill the time. You naked, me naked… get my drift?”

  He lifted her dress over her head. “Oh yes, indeed I do.”

  “Then love me, Dragon, until I forget where I end and you begin,” she whispered.

  Aki’s response was a low groan as their lips met in a searing kiss. Caye lost herself in the arms of the man she loved and together they soared towards the abyss of pleasure, passion, and love.

  Epilogue

  Mursi lay in the darkness and tried to find his center in the midst of all his pain. But how could he when she was lost to him? Taken and defiled by things that should all be destroyed. And I will destroy them all for you, my love, he sent the thought out to the universe, hoping she could hear him on the other side. He wished he was there with her right now, at least then the ache of loss that gripped him wouldn’t be inside him. Oh, how he wanted to walk off into the badlands and let himself be taken to his final rest. Find a battle he could not win and give himself over to the…

  “Don’t think that.”

  “Larissa, is that you?”

  He sat up as he heard Larissa’s voice clear as day. Mursi looked around, expecting to see her with a smile on her face and her hands on her hips. Instead there was nothing but darkness, the one he created to cocoon him and his grief. He heard Aki knock on his door softly and leave him a tray of food. He spoke through the door and told him about council that night and of his new mate. How could he stand watching Aki, his friend and brother, take a mate when he lost his? He was happy for him, but his heart was drenched in misery.

  “Don’t go, come back to me,” he whispered. “I’m lost without you.”

  He was going crazy, hearing her voice even though she was gone.

  “You are not lost, do not steep yourself in sadness over me, I am at peace and well.”

  That was no dream. He sat up again and looked around before he commanded, “Larissa, if you are here speak to me again.”

  “Mursi, my one true love, your path is not done, so be in the dark no more.”

  “My path means nothing without you,” he said.

  “Oh, Mursi there is more to the world than you see, more than you imagine. There is another and she is waiting for you.”

  He shook his head furiously. “No! I refuse. I don’t want to hear it.”

  “But you will because you always knew the truth when it was spoken. I was given the task to put you on this new path. From here they watch and know.”

  “Who watches and knows, the gods, Odin that allowed you to be taken, our ancestors? Why should I listen when they took you?” Mursi’s voice was a furious snarl and in a fit of anger he got up out of the bed and the first thing his hands touched in the darkness he struck and shattered. It happened to be a heavy chest that he sent careening into the wall.

  “Be still, my love, and cool your anger. My time was done, I knew that for a very long while I was taken. Now another needs you, for she does not know what she truly is. Find her, bring her home, for she feels so alone and she thinks she is the last.”

  “Another dragon who doesn’t know she’s a dragon?” Mursi asked. “Why and where? How will I find this unknown dragon?”

  “Through the portal another chapter was writt
en and you share a common enemy. You’ll know when you find her, your heart will know.”

  “I’ll fight it, I’ll fight it with every ounce of my being. They cannot take you and expect I will love again,” he spoke angrily into the darkness.

  “Only you would think you can fight fate, dear Mursi, but it’s already been written and whatever will be will be.”

  “I don’t care, I shall not be a pawn,” he raged.

  “All will be revealed. Find the truth of Vatryn.”

  “Vatryn has been dead for a long time, why would I need the secrets of a dead woman?” Mursi asked. “Larissa?”

  There was nothing after that, only silence, only darkness. He called her name once, then twice, and then again to no avail. The voice he loved listening to with its lyrical lilt and enticing laugh was gone. The gods played him for a fool and then thought they could replace her? They were wrong, while he would make sure that the Shen suffered for Larissa’s death he vowed never to love again. If there was a dragon who didn’t know who she really was and she was part of defeating the Shen he would find her and bring her back. That was it, nothing more, never again. Still, Larissa’s words from beyond haunted him. She said he couldn’t fight fate? Well, this was one battle he didn’t intend to lose.

  The End

  Look out for book seven in The Paladin Dragon Series, “A Dragon Revealed.”

  About the Author

  Dahlia Rose is the best-selling author of contemporary and paranormal romance with a hint of Caribbean spice. She was born and raised on a Caribbean island and now currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her five kids, who she affectionately nicknamed “The Children of the Corn,” and her biggest supporter and longtime love. She has a love of erotica, dark fantasy, sci-fi, and the things that go bump in the night. Books and writing are her biggest passions, and she hopes to open your imagination to the unknown between the pages of her books.

  Sugar and Spice Press

  Where romance is everything nice.

  www.SugarNSpicePress.com

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Sugar and Spice Press