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Chapter One
Smiles were meant to be warm and friendly. Yet, as I looked up at King Teodar Laskis the Third, his was anything but that. It stretched widely across his face, peeking through his graying dark beard. Gray eyes peeked through a wrinkled face as he stared at me, still waiting for my response.
His words echoed through me as I stared at the ancient-looking king, dressed in enough dark red silk to be worth a small fortune. The fabric hugged his massive frame, wrapped around his wide shoulders and draped over a chest that must have once been all muscles but definitely had softened over the years.
Some of his scales went further down his arms, further than I’d seen on other dragons. They were a deep yellow or maybe more gold. They seemed to capture the light rather than reflect it, glowing inwardly. It was almost pretty, would have been if those scales weren’t on the king.
Choose.
His words caused bile to rise in my throat. He wanted to make me choose between the three dragons I’d mated with. Rode on. Got to know. Began to love.
King Laskis’ creepy smile stretched further across his face as he leaned forward, clearly enjoying the show he’d orchestrated. The wings behind him ruffled, the holes in them practically glistening as the light behind him shone through. Again, I had to wonder if he could even fly with wings like that, or if his dragon form had more solid wings.
The tail at his back curled forward, again capturing the light and trapping it inside the thick scales, making them look like gems instead. Definitely gold. The king had to be a gold dragon.
“I suggest you don’t keep me waiting, Rayna.”
I bit back a grimace, hating that the way he said my name felt like he was scraping layers off my skin. His voice was gruff and practically crackled with each word. His power was strong, making my legs feel like jelly. I could see why he was king. He was overwhelming, even as he tried to force me to make such a heartbreaking decision.
Unable to respond, I pressed my lips together. Never in a million years could I choose. It felt wrong just thinking about it, like my soul was wavering, preparing itself to be shredded apart. I could only stare at the king, taking in his old age and the way his eyes seemed to look deeper into me, seeing more than I thought even existed in me.
And I didn’t like it. His smile twisted into something lewd, his eyes darkening the longer King Laskis stared at me. The word greed came to mind.
“You can’t make a rider choose,” Tanja spoke up, some emotion deepening her voice as she stared back at the king coolly. “You know better, Uncle.”
“Enough.” King Laskis rose to his feet and slowly approached us, still smiling and not looking away from me.
For an old man, he moved smoothly, resonating power with each step. He stopped at the top of the platform, not going down the steps but still looking down at all of us. I felt naked in front of him and it was a very mortifying feeling. I had to look down just to make sure my clothes were still on.
He continued his proclamation, “She will choose, and we’ll break the bonds from the other two. Her flying around on three dragons is preposterous when we can use the other two dragons with other riders more efficiently.”
“Even if they’re lying about all being connected to her, it is still something we need to investigate carefully. You could destroy them by doing this.” Tanja tried to argue.
“Enough!” King Laskis’ voice boomed around the room.
I curled into myself, a whimper escaping, and I hated the way his power tried to smother me. Goosebumps broke out on my skin, and it took everything in me not to try to rub them away. The guys all reacted inwardly, hating how I was feeling and hating even more that they couldn’t do anything about it. Those emotions were so clear between us that I practically tasted the spiciness of their emotions.
That was new. The strength of their emotions was definitely new.
“Rayna will choose her mate,” the king continued. “Or I can just break the bond between all three of them. If she isn’t willing to do her duty then I can just find others more than willing to.”
Again his eyes looked me over slowly. Even his tongue came out and licked his thin lips. I shuddered, looking away from him. There was a low growl from behind me, but it was quickly cut off. I could sense that the others were also picking up on the king’s actions toward me.
King Laskis came down the stairs slowly and approached me, stopping too close for comfort. I could smell him, something sour settling on my tongue. I fought to keep my nose from scrunching up in disgust. It wasn’t that he smelled terrible, but there was an underlying note to him that didn’t appease to me at all, not like how the scent of the guys always drew me closer to them. In fact, his scent only made me want to back away from him.
“It hasn’t been done before, but there are always possibilities. If she can connect to multiple dragons, then what is to say they cannot connect to other riders.” As he stared at me, his eyes darkened until they were practically black pits. “Do it, Rayna. Choose.”
“I-I can’t do that,” I whispered, the ache in my chest so deep that I clutched my shirt.
“My dear, I have no trouble choosing for you.” The king inched forward, dropping his voice. “And I have a feeling my choice would not be ideal for you. If these bonds do exist between you and those dragons, I will break them.”
“Why?” Tanja asked, a hardness slipping into her voice. She took a step closer to me, but King Laskis whipped his head to the right, bringing her to a stop as he glared at the rider, his eyes thinning into slits as his powers flared around him.
“Must I explain myself to you? You may be my niece, but do not push me. Everyone here must pull their weight. There is only one of Rayna with three dragons. That is ridiculous. Two of them will always be useless, with no dragon breath, while she rides the other. Fitting them to other riders will make them useful. There is only room for those useful here.”
The king finally looked behind me at my dragons. Something he saw only seemed to please him. He turned sharply and went back up to his throne, adjusting his wings to fit comfortably as he sat back down. His tail made a thumping sound as it tapped at the floor by his feet.
“So. Rayna, what is your choice?”
