Night's Awakening by Donna Grant

sighed, his lips pressing into a desolate line. “There was one of us, Ulrik, who was about to be bound to a female. Discord had begun throughout the land amongst dragons and humans alike. We couldna find the source. And then the unthinkable happened. Humans began to hunt dragons.”
    “Did the dragons retaliate?”
    “They wanted to. They begged us, but Con refused. Though we are Kings, it is Constantine who is King over all of us. He said we were meant to keep mankind safe, and that didn’t mean slaughtering them in war. Ulrik, however, didn’t agree. There were many of us who didn’t agree with Con, but only Ulrik disobeyed.”
    “He went after the humans?”
    Guy was silent for a moment. “No’ just any human. He and his Silvers were hunting the dragon hunters. They were succeeding, too.”
    “But?” Elena said, a sick feeling in her stomach.
    “We discovered Ulrik’s woman was betraying him. She was the one turning humans against the dragons, and dragons against humans.”
    “Why? I thought she loved Ulrik?”
    Guy shrugged and looked into the distance. “She loved him as a man, but no’ as a dragon. At least that’s what Con believes.”
    Elena squeezed his hand and put her head on his shoulder. “What happened?”
    “We found the female as she was about to betray Ulrik. We killed her, Elena. I think Ulrik would have cast her aside had we gone to him with the truth, but we killed his woman. Whatever chance we had of reaching him was gone in that instant. Ulrik was mad with rage and the need for revenge. He instigated the war between dragons and humans.”
    Elena winced, but didn’t speak. She didn’t want to interrupt the story.
    “Dragons heal, but not instantly. When a dragon was wounded and fell, the humans killed it. Dragons were killing humans. Something had to be done, and our options were few. We did the only thing we could. We sent the dragons to safety, away from the humans who could hurt them.”
    “And Ulrik? Did you kill him?”
    “Nay, though it might have been kinder had we.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “It’s a part of who we are to shift, Elena, and to speak to the dragons we rule. We took away Ulrik’s power as King. He can no’ shift, nor can he talk to his Silvers.”
    She threaded her fingers with his. “I think you all ended up punishing yourselves as well, then.”
    “Aye, but we had no choice. We were able to catch a few of the Silvers before they left this world. We keep them asleep with our dragon magic, because the only way they can wake is by Ulrik. If that happens, the war will begin again. And mankind will be wiped out.”

Chapter Twelve
    Guy looked at the Silvers and wondered if Ulrik’s need for revenge had faded over the millennia, or if it had grown.
    “So Ulrik is still around?” Elena asked.
    Guy nodded. “Oh, aye. We keep an eye on him. It’s part of his punishment for attacking the humans to be immortal, but no’ to be able to be a King.”
    “That seems…cruel. It was the humans who hunted the dragons. I wasn’t there, so this may sound like I’m pitying Ulrik, but I think I would’ve sided with him. The humans had no right to hunt the dragons if everyone was living peacefully.”
    He smiled at her and smoothed the furrow of her brow with his finger. “It’s easy to look back now and know what we could’ve and should’ve done. At the time, emotions were running high and war was imminent.”
    “So you say you’re immortal. Can nothing kill you? You’re safe from everything?”
    Guy rose and pulled her up with him. He led her to the Silvers and placed his hand atop one of the immense dragons heads. “We can be killed, Elena.”
    “How?”
    “Touch the dragon. He’s asleep and can no’ feel anything.”
    She delayed a moment before she laid her hand beside his. “The scales are warm. I wasn’t expecting that.”
    “There is magic in dragons. You should’ve seen it when we reigned, before there was man. Dragons of every color