Noreen concentrated on her gift. Many Fae had to use spells to even attempt what she was doing, but it came naturally to her. She didn’t know why or how, and no one other than Cain knew she could even attempt such a feat. She hadn’t even told Moreann.
Since Cain was expecting her, she didn’t need to sneak around to try and get into his mind. It was like he’d left a door open for her. The moment she stepped through, her breath lodged in her chest at the beauty she gazed upon.
The Earth was alive with magic. There was so much of it that even Noreen could sense it easily. There was much she wanted to look at, like the thick foliage of the jungle that surrounded her, but she wasn’t in control. Cain was. This was his memory.
She might be looking through his eyes in a way, but she was merely a passenger, witnessing and hearing everything that had taken place. A smile pulled at her lips when Cain jumped into the air and began to fly. She was able to see through his eyes to the ground below. Moreann had cautioned her that dragon senses were heightened, but truly getting a glimpse of Cain’s vivid eyesight was something altogether different.
The sheer distance he could see—and so clearly—boggled her mind. He took a deep breath, and she was able to smell the coming rain and feel the electrical currents of the lightning that flashed behind him.
Noreen had never wished to be anything other than a Fae, but that was changing quickly with this exercise. A dragon had a perspective that altered everything.
As Cain’s memory continued, she found herself gathering with other Dragon Kings before they landed behind a gold dragon that, thanks to Cain, she knew was Constantine. Before Con stood a group of humans, huddled together in fear.
The moment all the Kings were together, they shifted for the first time. Noreen gasped at the pain that ripped through Cain’s body and hers. Cain ignored it, his gaze on the mortals. Noreen’s stomach rebelled at the agony of the shift, but she fought against it to listen to what was being said.
The humans were the first to speak. A man in his early sixties hesitantly stepped away from the others. Cain didn’t understand the words at first, but within a few seconds, his magic translated it for him.
It was just something else that impressed Noreen. When Cain glanced at the other Kings, she saw all of them holding swords. It took her a moment to realize that Cain also held one. But the swords weren’t the only things the Kings now had. There were tattoos on each, as well. Each one was as different as the King who wore it, but all were done in a red and black mix of ink that wasn’t natural.
Before she knew it, the Kings all vowed to protect the mortals. In a flurry of images, she found herself once more back in the jungle with Cain, informing his navy dragons what was going on and relaying the information about the land that was being given to the humans. His clan wasn’t thrilled, but none disobeyed him. The one thing Noreen felt was Cain’s uncertainty about what the arrival of the new species meant for not only the dragons but also the realm.
For the next few minutes, she was able to see how adaptive the dragons were with their new neighbors. The humans had more trouble. Upon their arrival, they knew their names, but nothing else. Not where they came from, nor how they had gotten there.
The Kings had to teach them how to hunt and prepare food. The Kings showed them how to build structures to keep themselves warm and dry. They even showed them how to get fire and make weapons.
Noreen was flabbergasted at the extreme measures the Kings went to in order to give the humans a chance at survival. Weeks turned to months, and months to years. With each cycle that passed, the humans bore more children and asked for more land—and the Kings gave it to them.
Cain never hesitated to protect the mortals on his land, but he never stopped being suspicious of them either. While he had told her that he’d taken a human to his bed, she found herself wanting to look away when one caught his interest. Thankfully, Cain didn’t finish that memory. He skipped ahead to a meeting of the Dragon Kings.
She stood in awe as they spoke through the link in their minds, each voice different. Her amazement faded as she began to focus on the words and comprehended that they had been called by Con because the mortals were hunting the smaller dragons for food.
Cain didn’t voice his opinion on how to handle the situation, but Noreen still saw and felt how his apprehension grew.
After much discussion, the Kings came to a consensus, and Con, along with Ulrik and Hal, went to find the leaders of the tribe of mortals who had been caught in the act. A part of Noreen wished that Cain had gone with them, but if he had, she wouldn’t have seen just how split the Kings were on what to do about the humans going forward.
Some didn’t hesitate to voice their frustration regarding how greedy the mortals continued to be, while others cautioned patience, reminding the rest of them that the humans didn’t have any magic.
Through it all, Cain remained silent, listening to each opinion offered. All the while, his mind turned over scenario after scenario. He was hopeful that it would all work out, but he also expected the worst.
Noreen’s heart hurt for him because she knew what was coming even if he hadn’t at this moment in time. Or perhaps he had, but he hadn’t wanted to think about it.
It wasn’t long before Con and the other two returned to say that the mortals responsible had been punished and all now knew that there would be no more hunting of any dragons allowed. Cain stared hard at Con as he spoke. She felt his frustration, yet Cain did nothing.
His memories fast-forwarded to yet another gathering. This time, it was a dragon who had killed a human. While the Kings had been content with the punishment of the mortal for slaying a dragon, the humans wanted the death of the dragon who had killed a mortal. This time, the negotiating took three times as long.
And when Con, Ulrik, and Hal returned to the others, the tension had increased. Every one of them knew that this was just the beginning.
Noreen next found herself flying over the jungle that was Cain’s domain. The thick canopy was now greatly diminished as the mortals kept chopping down trees for more land and homes.
Cain’s heart ached for the beautiful land that was being torn up for whatever the humans wanted to change or build. His clan was becoming restless and angry, and he had to remind them daily of his vow, and who the mortals were.
That memory turned into one where the Kings gathered once more. It took her a moment to realize that several years had passed with the truce between the dragons and the mortals becoming shakier and shakier. Yet, all of that was about to change with the marriage of Ulrik, King of Silvers, to a human.
Noreen saw the couple through Cain’s eyes. It was obvious that Ulrik was smitten with the beautiful mortal female. The woman, Nala, gave Ulrik a beaming smile as they held hands and announced their intentions to marry.
Every King clapped, but one didn’t seem at all thrilled with what was going on—Constantine. At first, Cain thought it was jealousy, but he soon realized that wasn’t the case. Con watched the woman’s interactions with Ulrik, analyzing every word, every gesture.
“Everything all right?” Cain asked Con as he walked up to the King of Dragon Kings.
Con shrugged. “As fine as they can be.”
“You have no’ stopped looking at Nala yet. Some might think you want her for yourself.”
Con’s black eyes pinned Cain to the spot. “They would be wrong.”