unless you are loved completely. The way you deserve. I had my doubts before, even when I thought you were half human. You will crave more than he can give you.” Yes . . . more . My body seemed to call out, and fresh feelings of lust ignited in me, my eyes dropping to his lush lips on their own accord. What would happen if I initiated a kiss for the second time this evening? I hadn’t exactly minded the results the first kiss had yielded. But Khol pushed me away and stood before I could make my move. “Put your clothes back on . . . what’s left of them. It’s time for us to return.”
“But the note said—”
“That time has passed.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“I just do.”
I hastened to pull my clothes back on, eager to get back to the compound and away from our fight. No good could come from it, either we’d end up saying things we didn’t mean, or I would end up letting him claim me despite my determination to stick to my plan. But I couldn’t help but wonder . . . Was Khol right? Did it matter that I was a dragon and Bryn wasn’t? Maybe I wanted things from Bryn that his genetic makeup made impossible for him to give me. I’d always thought that love conquered all. And I believed that was still true. But maybe the question wasn’t would love conquer all, but rather whose ?
7
“My liege,” The short, stocky balding man said as he hunched over into a bow in front of his master. “I have news.”
“Well,” his master snapped, “stop sniveling on the ground in front of me and spit it out.”
The man shakily pulled himself up to his full height of about 5’5” and attempted to meet his master’s eyes. “There are whispers . . .”
“Spit it out,” his master interjected with anger. “Whispers of what?”
“Whispers that their queen has risen.”
“No!” His master bellowed, slamming his meaty fist into his desk. “Their queen has been gone for decades, presumed dead.” A hush fell over the large room that seemed to tick on for hours; finally the master spoke again. “What of our contact?”
The short man started shaking uncontrollable at the question. “D-dead,” he stammered. “The dragon sent only his head back, apparently—apparently—”
“Apparently what?”
“Apparently he felt very put out about the fact the girl was injured. The boy was to be our only target.”
“The girl must die,” his master growled, his human façade threatening to slip. “Find another way.”
“Yes, my liege.” The man made a hasty retreat toward the door.
“And Terrance,” his master called. “No more excuses. I’ve grown to like this planet and all it has to offer. I’m not about to let the dragons and one silly little Seer put a stop to my plans.”
The man nodded as he left, not wanting to linger for fear of having to bear the brunt of his master’s anger. He’d gotten off light this time, but he had no misgivings about what would happen if he failed a second time. The girl had to die at any cost.
8
Khol ushered me back to the compound and deposited me in his room with the order to stay put until he came to get me. He muttered something about announcing me to the dragons, which I could only take one way . . . that he wanted to declare me their queen. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about that, being that I was a little wrapped up in the current deteriorating state of my love life.
As my mind wandered, I couldn’t help but wonder if the haphazard writing on my locker last year that had declared me to be a slut hadn’t been a portent of the future, instead of just the words of some mean spirited student. Was I now in fact a slut? When the number of guys I’d had sex with had gone from one to two, because it hadn’t exactly been my idea, it didn’t feel as wrong as it did to have let Khol give me his intimate kiss when I was still involved with Bryn. The fact was my body craved both of them, and my heart loved both of them, but that
“But the note said—”
“That time has passed.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“I just do.”
I hastened to pull my clothes back on, eager to get back to the compound and away from our fight. No good could come from it, either we’d end up saying things we didn’t mean, or I would end up letting him claim me despite my determination to stick to my plan. But I couldn’t help but wonder . . . Was Khol right? Did it matter that I was a dragon and Bryn wasn’t? Maybe I wanted things from Bryn that his genetic makeup made impossible for him to give me. I’d always thought that love conquered all. And I believed that was still true. But maybe the question wasn’t would love conquer all, but rather whose ?
7
“My liege,” The short, stocky balding man said as he hunched over into a bow in front of his master. “I have news.”
“Well,” his master snapped, “stop sniveling on the ground in front of me and spit it out.”
The man shakily pulled himself up to his full height of about 5’5” and attempted to meet his master’s eyes. “There are whispers . . .”
“Spit it out,” his master interjected with anger. “Whispers of what?”
“Whispers that their queen has risen.”
“No!” His master bellowed, slamming his meaty fist into his desk. “Their queen has been gone for decades, presumed dead.” A hush fell over the large room that seemed to tick on for hours; finally the master spoke again. “What of our contact?”
The short man started shaking uncontrollable at the question. “D-dead,” he stammered. “The dragon sent only his head back, apparently—apparently—”
“Apparently what?”
“Apparently he felt very put out about the fact the girl was injured. The boy was to be our only target.”
“The girl must die,” his master growled, his human façade threatening to slip. “Find another way.”
“Yes, my liege.” The man made a hasty retreat toward the door.
“And Terrance,” his master called. “No more excuses. I’ve grown to like this planet and all it has to offer. I’m not about to let the dragons and one silly little Seer put a stop to my plans.”
The man nodded as he left, not wanting to linger for fear of having to bear the brunt of his master’s anger. He’d gotten off light this time, but he had no misgivings about what would happen if he failed a second time. The girl had to die at any cost.
8
Khol ushered me back to the compound and deposited me in his room with the order to stay put until he came to get me. He muttered something about announcing me to the dragons, which I could only take one way . . . that he wanted to declare me their queen. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about that, being that I was a little wrapped up in the current deteriorating state of my love life.
As my mind wandered, I couldn’t help but wonder if the haphazard writing on my locker last year that had declared me to be a slut hadn’t been a portent of the future, instead of just the words of some mean spirited student. Was I now in fact a slut? When the number of guys I’d had sex with had gone from one to two, because it hadn’t exactly been my idea, it didn’t feel as wrong as it did to have let Khol give me his intimate kiss when I was still involved with Bryn. The fact was my body craved both of them, and my heart loved both of them, but that
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