Jori wasn’t submitting.
This was unprecedented. Dragons accepted their liege.
Kymri recalled he’d laughingly mentioned he had problems with authority.
She turned to Elora, who watched the skirmish with a mix of awe and fear. “I did everything I could to avoid this.”
They scrambled out of the way as Jori’s tail whipped past them, slamming into the wall over their heads. Several rocks tumbled free.
The group’s movement caught the attention of the king, who slammed his own tail down as a barrier, trapping both the women and their guards. Ducking another swipe of Jori’s claws, he reached out his own and grabbed Elora.
Crushed in his grip, the king pulled her up in front of Jori’s face.
“Jori, don’t submit to him,” Elora screamed. “Don’t!”
Kymri realized she meant to die to stop it from happening if she had to.
Of course she would, she’d spent Jori’s lifetime trying to stop all of this from happening, she wasn’t about to let the years go to waste.
Jori went still. Growling filled the room.
The tip of the king’s claw moved to the center of Elora’s chest.
Kymri heard Stenlen suck his breath in.
“Kill the bitch, my liege!” Clive shouted, as he pinned a knife to Kymri’s throat.
“Drop the knife, Clive,” Stenlen ordered.
“Fuck you, Sten. If that little prick doesn’t submit to the king, we’ll make him.”
“The females are not to be harmed. Ever.”
“Clearly the king doesn’t agree with you.”
The king’s claw was pressed to Elora’s chest, whose head was thrown back in pain. Even though she wasn’t human, she couldn’t withstand the strength of the dragon. With that throat shackle, she was vulnerable and fragile.
Kymri’s dragon screamed out from deep within her, causing her to struggle blindly against her captor, ignoring the sharp blade scraping the delicate flesh of her throat. Everything in her was determined to protect Elora.
Jori backed away from the king.
The king moved toward his men, roughly released Elora to the floor and began shifting back to human form.
He looked up into Jori’s dragon face, “I will destroy them if you do not submit,” Richmund said.
Elora rolled to her knees, struggling to her feet.
Kymri glanced at Stenlen to her left. The conflict was plain on his face. “Don’t think your bastard of a king won’t do it,” she hissed.
“Shut up!” Clive barked, jerking her head back by the hair.
“There’s a reason we’ve been hidden all this time,” she rasped.
“Jori,” Elora pulled his attention, “he’ll use you to destroy the queen’s sanctuary. He—”
The king backhanded her so hard that she careened into the rough cave wall and crumpled in a daze. Following, he grabbed her limp form, hauling her upright, his fist clamped hard around her throat above the thin band of metal.
Kymri felt the truth of her words strike her heart. “Jori, I won’t allow it! I’ll do everything in my power to protect that sanctuary—you know it!” She was as willing to destroy herself as Elora had been.
“You’re both tedious. I made the mistake of letting this one live among us.” Richmund waved toward Elora’s limp form. “You, I think I’ll keep out of sight until I wish to use you.”
“I’d like to see you fucking try.” she challenged him.
He approached her, a grin splitting his face, “I grow weary of niceties and ritual. It’s time to just get on with things.” His hand grabbed her crotch. “When I’ve had my fill of you, maybe I’ll let my loyal men have theirs, then we’ll go find this island and take what is rightfully ours.”
Merwin laughed, “I look forward to it.”
“I’ll kill you if you try,” Kymri snarled.
“This is going to be fun. Go on, struggle,” he gripped her harder, “that’s more fun.”
Kymri was jostled and Clive’s knife nicked her throat as Stenlen slammed into him. Suddenly free of restraint, Kymri knocked into the king, throwing her forehead into his face before stumbling toward Elora’s prone form.
Stenlen struggled against Clive and Merwin to gain control of the knife.
The king staggered from the impact, clutching his face as blood streamed from his nostrils.
Jori roared, his jaws coming down over the king, shaking him like a rag doll and whipping him across the length of the cavern to slam against the wall. As soon as he hit the floor, Jori’s paw came down, his claw impaling the king’s chest.
The shackles fell away.
Kymri and Elora were free.
Clive and Merwin froze.
The king was dead.
All of those gathered that had remained in the recesses to watch the proceedings stood silent, staring at the king’s body. Most were expressionless. Some looked satisfied. They all looked to Jori, who unwaveringly stared back at them. They eventually began sinking to a knee before him.
Long live the king.
Jori’s large head swung toward Clive and Merwin, snarling. Terror filled their faces.
“I think he is displeased with you,” Stenlen said dryly.
Kymri’s hand touched his snout, drawing his attention. She was pale and smelled of the blood that slid from her wound.
The haze of rage subsided. He blinked at her.
“Release the magic, Jori.”
He wasn’t sure how. But he concentrated on her face and being able to speak to her. Slowly, the room shimmered and he descended to her level.
He struggled to stop the trembling that wracked his body as Kymri slid into his embrace.
“The first time shocks the body, it doesn’t know what to do with the power.”
He gripped her hard against him, breathing in the scent of her hair.
He had just killed a man. He had killed his biological father.
He opened his eyes, seeking out his mother.
She stood just behind Kymri, her eyes drinking him in.
Was she really there?
He drew in a deep breath and let it out with a shudder.
Someone brought Jori’s robe. Kymri quickly helped him slip into it before he turned to his mother.
She looked rough.
Her hand rested on her throat, her eyes large pools in the dim torchlight.
“Mom.”
She broke into a watery smile and he shot forward to hug her.
She was so much smaller than he remembered, but then, he’d grown into a man since the last time he’d been able to hug his mother.
His throat was too thick for words. Her body shuddered as she cried quietly, whispering, “My boy.”
He didn’t know how long they stood like that before she eventually pulled away, sniffling and wiping the tears from her face, smiling at him.
“You’ve grown so much.”
“You haven’t.” He grinned, gaining a laugh from her.
He glanced around for Kymri. The entire cavern had been cleared out, and the king’s body removed. She stood sentinel by the enormous doors.
“I’m sorry for all of this. I tried to keep it away from you for as long as possible.”
“It was a lot to take in when reality started to hit. I never actually dreamed dragons were real, let alone that I was one of them.”