Sanctuary, Texas: My Dragon Masters Part 1

MY.

DRAGON.

MASTERS.

Sanctuary, Texas.

Krystal Shannan.

Chapter One.

After thousands of years, I still want only one thing.

To be ruler of all the Veil and Earth. To be King.

-XERXES.

Bits of rock and brick crunched as I walked. I remembered when this roadway was paved and stunning. A smooth, red brick road leading into the heart of Orin. Now it was no more than crumbled bits and pieces.

The grinding of the gravel under each footstep reminded me of bones breaking beneath my paws in battles past, when I could fearlessly s.h.i.+ft into my Lama.s.su form and tear apart my enemies with my teeth. Then walk across mounds of their bodies, my ma.s.sive lion paws grinding them into the dirt.

I miss those days. It was kill or be killed. Winner take all.

Time had given the weak the ability to be strong in an annoying way. In the past, it would have been easy to pit humans against each other and wipe out entire tribes or countries. Now, we had to play the humans' political games or the pathetic race might blow us all to h.e.l.l, and both worlds along with it. The collapse began when an experimental drug exposed a half-dozen supernatural races.

Now "Others," as the humans called us, had to be more careful. We weren't wors.h.i.+ped or revered any longer. Instead, we were forced to hide our strengths.

It hadn't stopped me, though. I'd infiltrated and taken control of many global governments over the centuries. Humans were simple-their lives so short they were unable to see beyond the few decades of their existence.

It was the d.a.m.n Drakonae that were giving me h.e.l.l. They always had.

I stopped at the crest of a hill and looked down at the sprawling magnificence of Orin. The road might have gone to pieces, but the city s.h.i.+ned like the gem it always had been-one of the greatest and most powerful cities in the Veil.

Eventually, it would be mine.

CHAPTER TWO.

DIANA.

It was starting again. I could feel the beast inside me, slithering around like a serpent. Sometimes it would rage, cooling the air around me and coating the walls with ice.

Despite this, I was never cold.

There were no windows in my cell, just a few furs to sleep on, a drain in the back corner, and walls of ice. I didn't know how to stop the ice. It was always there whenever I awoke.

It would have been pitch black were it not for the torch that burned brightly across the hall from my cell door. There were three small holes in the top half of the iron door that I could peer through, if I stretched on my toes.

Strangely enough, with just that bit of light I could see perfectly. I tried using a bit of rock to mark time with each meal, but the broken piece of stone had worn to the size of a pebble and I'd stopped counting when I reached ten-thousand days. What was the point?

I never saw anything but the torch. The guards pa.s.sed by from time to time, but never spoke. They fed me by sliding a plate of gruel under the iron door. Perhaps it was once a day. Perhaps not. When I finished eating the glue they considered food, I always slid the plate back out. If I didn't, they wouldn't feed me the next time.

Time had ceased to exist for me.

Even sleep held no peace. Two faces appeared consistently in my dreams. They were beautiful, identical men. Twin brothers, for sure. They had square jawlines, long wavy black hair, and honey-brown eyes that made my body thrum with desire. I had no specific memories of them, just a very strong attraction. They had been significant to me at one point. Of this I was sure.

Other nights I would dream of hearing a baby wailing, but there was nothing visual. I would wake sobbing and my cell would be coated with an extra thick coat of the glaring white ice. I didn't remember birthing a child, but something in my heart said the cries in my dreams belonged to my child.

Beyond those two faint memories, there was nothing. Who was I? Where had I come from? I couldn't remember my name. Just that I'd been here-wherever here was-a long time. In this cell.

It was different today ... or this time. Usually, I felt the same all the time. But when I'd awakened, I was feverish-so warm that sweat ran in rivulets down my temples from my straggles of greasy, blonde hair. I stood from the furs and walked to one wall of my cell. I touched the icy bricks, laying my hands against them. The ice soothed only a little.

I pressed my cheek to the wall and droplets of water trickled down to the slick floor, melting fast from the heat my body was generating.

"h.e.l.lo?" I shouted and moved to the door. I flattened both palms on the cold iron and craned my neck to look out of the three small holes. The familiar orange light from the torch was all I could see. I had no idea how long it'd been since my last plate of gruel had been delivered, but I burned with fever and my stomach cramped with hunger.

"Please. I'm ill." I called out.

No one answered.

My heart leapt at the sound of boots on the stone floor. Food? Or would they help me?

I flinched with each step as they approached. There were multiple sets of feet, at least four people-three more than normal. This was different.

Hope swelled in my chest. Maybe they were going to let me out. They certainly didn't need four men to shove a plate of gruel and a bowl of water under the door.

I took a deep breath and drank in their scent, confused by my instant arousal. My body trembled with excitement, as bile rose in my throat at the thought of any of them actually touching me. Moisture pooled between my thighs underneath the thin, linen s.h.i.+ft that covered me. My b.r.e.a.s.t.s were heavy and my nipples puckered against the soft fabric. My body had a mind of its own and behaved more like a b.i.t.c.h in heat than a woman. I felt like I should know why my body reacted this way, but I hadn't a clue.

Just one more frustration.

Keys rattled on the other side of the door. The tumblers on the lock clicked and opened. "Back away from the door," a gravelly voice commanded.

I did as he said, more from the shock of hearing someone speak to me than the willingness to follow orders. I wanted out of this cell more than anything.

The iron door screeched as it swung open and three enormous men marched through the doorway. They towered over me. Their chainmail armor clinked with each step, and their red tunics were strangely familiar.

My gaze traveled to their faces. Solemn, but handsome. Strong jawlines and rich, dark brown eyes. Their dark, almost black, hair was long and braided down their backs.

I took another deep breath and released it slowly, trying to control my urges. They smelled delicious and I wanted them. All of them.

Shaking my head, I refocused on them, taking another step backward instead of forward.

One of the men, probably the youngest of the three, gave me a wolfish grin and made a crude gesture at his crotch. The other two did not appreciate his behavior. One shoved the young man and he sailed across the room, slamming into the icy stone wall with a painful thud.

"You know the rules, Aldan. Don't be a fool," said the man who'd done the shoving.

The younger man picked himself up and grunted his acknowledgement, keeping his head bowed and his eyes on the floor.

"Come with us." The third man finally spoke and my gaze locked with his.

His brown eyes glistened with desire, but he held back.

Smart man.

The second man, who'd dealt out punishment to the youngest, growled deep in his throat and I glanced up at him. Part of his top lip was curled into a snarl, though I felt his anger was directed more at his companions than at me.

For me, I felt the slightest hint of ... pity.

He spoke again, but this time to me. "Will you walk freely or should we bind you, Milady?"

What did I have to lose? I didn't know who or where I was. All I had were icy walls, a painfully hot fever, and a traitorously aroused body.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Edith, lower the wards," said the third man. "But just enough so that we can pa.s.s through the doorway with her."

A moment later, a rush of white-hot energy knocked me back against the far wall of my cell. Air rushed from my lungs with an audible umph. The ice on the wall behind me melted on contact, soaking the fabric of my dress.

The thing ... the beast I'd felt inside me moved again and a growl tore from my throat unlike anything I'd ever heard. Power within me surged forward and I leapt at the youngest man, knocking him to the ground. His body and clothing iced solid within moments and I jumped back.

My head was spinning. Had I killed him? There wasn't time to contemplate guilt.

I could hear shouting, but the words were garbled in my racing mind. The other two men were backing slowly toward the open cell door. I refused to stay here any longer. The ent.i.ty inside me was being pulled. The burning arousal that plagued my body was a mere pinp.r.i.c.k compared to the stabbing pain I felt now.

Freeing myself from this icy prison was my only objective.

I lunged and the two men dove to either side of the cell. Instead of pursuing them, I ran through the open door and swung it closed. It locked in place with a heavy clank and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

I turned, running headlong into a small woman. She fell to the floor, but jumped back to her feet quickly.

Her bright, red hair hung in loose waves only to her shoulders and she was dressed in strange clothing. A loose, waist-length tunic covered her upper half, but on her lower body, she wore tightly fitting breeches that extended to her ankles, where the strangest looking furry boots covered her feet.

"No! Don't leave. They'll kill me!" The redhead extended her hand and I observed her in suspicious silence. I started to shake my head. Whatever she needed from me, I would not give. She carried no weapon that I could see, yet the beast inside my soul wanted absolutely nothing to do with her.

"I need to go."

"Go where? You don't even know where you are." Her voice was like velvet and dripped with honey, the fear had disappeared.

She was stalling me. That I did know. I couldn't let her steal this chance from me. My gut told me there wouldn't ever be another. Whatever she'd done to allow me out of that wretched cell had allowed in more than she knew. It was as if everything around and inside me came to life. It was like I'd been unchained. Like magick.

The redhead took a step forward and I threw up a hand, gesturing her to stop. Within seconds, a thick wall of ice separated us. Her m.u.f.fled curses followed me as I made my way down the long, dimly lit hallway.

I pa.s.sed many doors. Dozens of voices called after me, but I stopped for none. The rough gravel on the floor bit into my tender, bare feet and I winced with each step. The floor of my cell had been as smooth as gla.s.s, every inch covered in ice. How I wished for that smooth, cold surface now.

The next step I took, the gravel was gone. I stared at the ground and saw my terrified expression in the dark, gla.s.sy surface. By the G.o.ds! The floors had iced over. I lifted one b.l.o.o.d.y foot and then the next, wiping off the gravel. Then I wiped my b.l.o.o.d.y hand on the side of my damp skirt. The smooth, cool floor was heaven to my throbbing feet. Hopefully, the cuts would stop bleeding soon.

More commotion carried down the tunnel from where the ice had formed between the redheaded woman and me. There was thunderous hammering and yelling. It wouldn't be long before they hacked their way through the frozen wall.

Confusion swirled in my mind like a howling snowstorm. Common sense said I created the ice, but then again, common sense also said that people could not create something from nothing. G.o.ds! My stomach twisted in pain. Heat flamed through me like I'd been tossed on a funeral pyre, and the throbbing in my s.e.x was bordering on maddening. I couldn't remember ever having s.e.x with anyone, but my body knew exactly what it wanted.

It didn't matter. Right now, all that did matter was getting out of this dungeon. So unless propositioning one of the guards chasing me was a viable option, s.e.x was just going to have to wait.

The beast inside me growled in frustration and my breath fogged in front of me as I ran.

I leaned against the wall to catch my breath. "Just pull yourself together and help me get out of this place," I told myself. A new surge of energy buzzed through my body. All my nerves stood on end. My skin was so warm; the ice beneath my feet was melting into puddles.

I slipped along the bare stone wall and peeked around the next corner. There were several guards stationed at a gate that opened to the outside. Two guards stood on either side of the gate. How many were on the outside? I couldn't see anything past the glare of daylight. I'd been in the dark so long the light was uncomfortable. It was easier to focus in the darkness. In fact, the darker it was, the faster my eyes adjusted.

A bell sounded in the distance and the tunnel came to life. Dozens of guards poured in through the open gates and my heart dropped. I'd been so close. I could smell the fresh air, the scent of lavender on the breeze, and the tang of salt from an ocean.

Another emotion boiled from the center of my chest and the beast within pushed inside my mind. It wanted control and was refusing to give up. The single echoing thought in my head was ice.

Fine, then. Take it.

I stopped fighting the beast and let it guide me. I stepped out of the shadows and marched down the center of the tunnel. Several guards looked at me and then shouted. I raised my hands toward them and sheets of ice grew from the ground, trapping them. They hacked at the cold barrier with their swords, but it would take time for them to get free.

For a brief moment, I allowed myself hope. I threw up my hands and a wave of ice encased the group of men in my path. Running up the face of the frozen wave, I gasped, fear streaking along my spine as my fingernails lengthened into white claws. Though it made scaling the slippery face of the ice much easier, it further terrified my already confused mind. I slid down the other side and waved down more ice to smooth my descent.

A guard came out of nowhere and I threw him across the tunnel. His body slammed into the gray stone wall. My strength surprised me. The hit barely knocked the breath from my body.

No one was going to stop me. Not now.

I walked through the open gate unimpeded, drinking in the sights and scents around me. The salty breeze whipped through my long, white hair. I looked up at the azure sky and a roar tore from my chest that sounded inhuman. The beast receded, giving me back full control. My hands changed back to normal.

My eyesight adjusted for the bright sun and I scanned my surroundings. The landscape was eerily familiar, but no specific memories came to mind. I didn't know where I was or where I needed to go. The dungeon was isolated. I couldn't see a town or castle from this vantage point, but I could hear the tolling of the bells in the distance, raising the alarm. They were coming for me. I had to move.

The yearning inside me was stronger now. The call that had flared to life when they entered my cell pulled me to the left. I emerged from the shadow of the tower I'd escaped and stepped gingerly onto the soft, gra.s.sy turf. The green gra.s.s cus.h.i.+oned my aching feet. I looked behind me, glad to see I wasn't leaving b.l.o.o.d.y footprints any longer. At least that would make tracking me somewhat harder for the soldiers I'd left frozen in the tunnels.

I hitched up the skirt of my s.h.i.+ft, not worried about showing a little leg. The pull inside me was continuing to grow; instinctively I knew it would lead me in the right direction. Every step I took pleased the beast within me.

Moments later, a large shadow pa.s.sed over my head. I ducked to the ground. Terror clawed at my heart. I had no idea what kind of bird could make such a large shadow, but when I ventured a glance into the pure, blue sky, there was no bird. A creature that could only be described as a dragon had cast the shadow. It was big, reddish in color, and its wings were so large it easily could have covered an entire castle keep.

Where was I? And since when were dragons real?

The beast within me laughed and I shook my head. It could laugh all it wanted. There was no way I could stand up to a monster the size of a castle tower. The red dragon soared into the valley, the same direction I was headed.

Noises behind me pushed my feet into a run.