Dragon Emperor 18, page 1
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Chapter 1
A long black cape dragged on the ground behind me as I walked up the short steps into the Smoky Pavilion. I wore a fresh silky tunic over clean black trousers, and one of Hatra’s hair stylists had shaved the sides of my head, though I’d decided to let my beard grow. Something about a beard made me feel like a badass Viking, and it seemed my lovers enjoyed it, too.
I shook the image of bare skin and warm lips from my head as I entered the pavilion to roaring applause. The citizens of Hatra had gathered for our city meeting, which was well overdue with all the new people who’d made Hatra their home. Many of them didn’t know where to go or work, and it was time to get everyone together and figure it out.
“May I present Lord Evan of Hatra el Shamash!” Ruslan yelled with a sweeping bow toward me.
The crowd screamed and cheered even louder as I waved and made my way to the chair at the front of the Smoky Pavilion. My wife, Princess Alyona, sat to my right, and my adoptive father, Ruslan, sat to my left with my mother, Julia, on his other side. The rest of my lovers took their places along the table next to Alyona, while Lord Nikolaus, or as I called him, Nike, stood by my chair.
“Thank you, everyone!” I called out with my hands up to quiet the audience. “I’m glad to see so many people committed to the growth and success of our beautiful city. Now, let’s get to work. Who’s new here?”
At least fifty hands shot up into the air, and I felt a surge of pride at the sight of at least ten of those hands being attached to the scaly forearms of fellow dragons. After the Sage had taken out so many of our kind, my dragon mate Valerra told me she and I could be the only ones left on the planet, but after we’d defeated him, more and more dragons had been making their presence known. Last week, I’d sent out an invitation for all dragons to come to Hatra for safe haven, and so far, I counted sixteen dragons who’d made their way to the city and decided to stay.
I glanced over at Alyona and grinned, and my gorgeous wife returned the smile with ease. She looped her fingers through mine and squeezed, and I couldn’t help but see the glimmer of moisture in her amethyst eyes. Her white-and-black hair was twisted back into braids that fell down her back, and her normally flat belly had started to swell as our child grew in her womb. I wondered how fast he would grow compared to a normal human child, and it reignited the urgency I had to complete our mission to close the Breach before the Underworld broke through and took over our realm.
“We welcome you to Hatra,” I said as I turned back to the crowd. “Everyone who lives here may come and go as they please, though we ask our citizens to contribute to our city in whatever ways they can. You should consider any skills or interests you have when finding a place to help. Does anyone have any questions?”
“I do, my lord.” A woman with skin the color of a penny stood up and removed the hood from her head.
The crowd inhaled a gasp as we were all mesmerized by her brightly-colored hair, and I recognized the scent of the ocean that radiated from her slender form.
I knew a mermaid when I saw one.
“You’re far from the ocean, milady,” I chuckled. “Welcome to Hatra. What can I do for you?”
“I found work in the fields, but I need some sort of water access, as you can imagine,” she said with a shy smile. “Is there any way I could have help digging a pool at my house?”
“I can help with that,” one of the new dragons offered. “I dug many holes during my hiding. It was normally to avoid being seen, but a pool seems much more interesting.”
“Fantastic,” I said and grinned. “I like this teamwork. Who else?”
For the next several hours, I nearly burst with pride as new citizens tried to find their way and current ones helped them through it. It didn’t take long before we had projects and jobs set up for all the newbies, and soon, we’d have new buildings, pools, and crops in Hatra.
Even some of my lovers had taken on additional roles in Hatra for the time we were here in between parts of our mission.
Valerra, my dragon mate and the mother of our egg, had taken up teaching self-defense classes to the children at the new school. Though she had a fiery temper with just about everyone else, the lady dragon was nothing but kind to the children she taught, and they loved her dearly. She left the eggs in the care of my Aunt Emma when she went to the school every afternoon to teach, and I loved how much my family had come together.
The spirit of my Noble Sword, Miraya, and her sisters, Aine and Juniper, helped my mother teach history classes. Though my school experience with history was not very exciting, it had to be much different to learn about history from people who’d actually been there when things happened.
Miraya sat with her spirit sisters, though she’d been spending much more time in my spiritual sea lately. She liked to lay on the beach in her barely opaque robes with her white-blonde hair fanned out in the sand and watch the waves hit the shore. Sometimes, I joined her in more ways than one, and sometimes I just enjoyed the serenity she felt when she laid there.
My gaze traveled further down the table to Aaliyah, the fierce lion Demi-Human who’d joined us early on in our campaign. Her curly, dark-blonde hair was normally tied back to help Valerra with the fighting classes, but today she let the waves cascade down her back and shoulders. Her amber eyes were fixed on the crowd in front of us, and her long canines grazed her bottom lip as she smiled.
Right next to her, as usual, was Rebecca, who was a bear Demi-Human and a vicious warrior on the battlefield. She wore navy-blue robes that perfectly accentuated her round hips, and she sat nearly a head taller than everyone else. She was my height and built like she lifted weights for a living, and she and Aaliyah had bonded over the past couple months to be almost always at each other’s sides.
Next to them, the dryad sisters sat together in matching purple robes that contrasted starkly against their jade skin. Polina, Trina, and Marina were part of the Blue Tree Guild and had been fighting monsters when I arrived in Hatra from Earth. It seemed like forever ago that I’d joined the fight against the stone giants they’d faced while looking for me, though none of us realized I was the one they’d come to find yet.
They’d been following the orders of their guild leader, Laika, who was also now in my harem. She was a wolf Demi-Human, and she sat next to Alyona with her steely-gray eyes bright with happiness. Her broadsword was pinned to her back and ready for action, but for now, she was content with watching the city meeting.
Ravi had taken her phoenix form and sat perched on the back of Alyona’s chair. Her golden feathers glittered in the morning sun, and her tail feathers had the same faint scent of a campfire as her hair when she was in her human body. I loved how much my women loved each other, and it was evident in the way her avian gaze slid up and down between the crowd and the princess below her.
Naomi and Skye sat at another table reading a book. The lizard mage had taken Skye under her magical wing and began teaching her more spells she could use with her nature magic. Skye was part-naiad, part-Nepin, but she’d grown up with no knowledge of her ability to use nature magic, so Naomi and the dryads often helped her with learning more.
Isabella fluttered around the room and chatted with people as we wrapped up the meeting. She was a Nepin and had spent most of her life cooped up in her home city of Yrosa, which was made up of all Nepins, so she was always interested in meeting new people. Her sapphire skin was adorned with the gold, black, and white tattoos that swirled across her chest and arms, but the rest of her marks were currently covered with a silky white robe that one of the seamstresses had custom-made for her to allow her wings to escape the back side.
When the questions finally died out, it was late afternoon, and I stood up and held my hands up to quiet the rest of the noise.
“Thank you all for coming and taking care of your fellow people,” I said. “I can’t put into words how proud I am of you and the city we’re becoming. I want you to know we’re all family here, and you can always ask for help. I think that’s all for our meeting today. Enjoy your day!”
As everyone rose from their seats, many of them came forward to thank us and offer their services to the palace, so by the time we finally left the meeting, we had a blueprint for a new crib, dozens of fruits, vegetables, and breads in various baskets, and a few new books for my women to pore over.
“We’ve found the next location on the map, my lord,” Alyona murmured as the last few citizens trickled out of the pavilion.
She referred to the map we’d created from my ancestral memory, which showed the locations of each of the Nobles of the Sword. We’d spent the past few weeks finding the Nobles, so I could bond our powers and become strong enough to close the Breach and keep the Demon King away from our world. I was the Noble of the Sword of Healing, and Nike was the Noble of the Sword of Light, which made the first couple steps of our journey easy, but it had been an uphill battle from there.
I couldn’t perform the bonding ceremony with men, so if the Noble of the Sword was a man, we needed to find women
“Well, where are we headed?” I asked.
“Let’s go back to the palace, and I’ll show you,” she replied. “I think you’ll be very curious to see it.”
And now, my curiosity was indeed piqued, so we gathered the rest of our group and headed to the Lunar Palace.
The gold-domed building was the shining jewel of Hatra, and I was proud of how well it had turned out. The Leyte architects who’d designed it made sure I had room for each of my lovers, and they were scheduled to return soon to add more rooms. The idea of a harem on Earth was insane, but here it was so normal, and it felt right. I loved each of my women, and they loved me and each other.
We walked into the palace toward the great room, and Alyona unrolled a large map on the table. Each of the places we’d marked from my memory stood out with X’s, like several treasures on a pirate’s map, and the princess walked around to one X that stood alone and pointed to it.
“Odrein?” Ruslan asked with wide eyes. “That’s your next stop?”
“I guess so.” I shrugged and looked closer at the map. “It’s across the ocean.”
Odrein reminded me a bit of Australia. It was on its own continent away from the others, but there were no border lines for other countries, so it seemed to be a country in itself.
“Yes, it’s the furthest we’ve been so far,” Alyona agreed.
“Then we should probably portal there,” I said as I traced the outline of Odrein on the map. “It would get us there the fastest.”
“I don’t know if a portal is a good option this time, my love,” the princess replied with a frown. “There are rumors of the Odrein people banning magic, which could mean if we try to cross the ocean, and they have any kind of protection against magic, we could end up in the middle of the water.”
“A ban on magic?” I repeated and pursed my lips. “Not cool.”
“Why would they do that?” Nike wondered.
“The Odrein people are far enough away to keep plenty of secrets,” Julia said. “It could be for any number of reasons, but I agree with Alyona. It is risky to use magic for your arrival.”
“Then we can fly,” I decided and then looked around at my group. “I wouldn’t be able to carry everyone that far, though. Not comfortably, anyway.”
“I don’t mind staying and helping with Valerra’s class some more,” Aaliyah said with a shrug. “I enjoy it. The children are amusing.”
“They do like you,” Valerra chuckled. “They think it’s funny when she roars.”
“Fair enough,” I laughed.
“We can stay, too,” Trina sighed.
“We’ve been talking about teaching a nature class anyway,” Polina added.
“Oh, the children would love that,” Julia said with a wide smile. “They love to learn about new things.”
“Well, I’d like to teach magic,” Naomi chimed in. “I’m sure there are growing mages who need to know what to do with themselves.”
“And that would certainly help them learn to harness their power,” Alyona agreed. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Naomi.”
“Thank you, milady,” the lady lizard said, and a blush darkened her cheeks.
“I don’t really know what I could teach, so I’ll go with you, but I’ll fly,” Ravi said as she preened her bright feathers. “Then you don’t have to worry about an extra passenger.”
“Ooh, I can fly, too,” Isabella giggled. “I’m not sure what I could do to help yet, either.”
“Laika, would you consider staying with us to help with the self-defense classes?” Valerra asked in a soft voice. “I could use the help.”
The wolf Demi-Human gnawed on her lower lip as she looked back and forth between Valerra and Alyona. Laika had rarely left my wife’s side, and I knew she struggled with the thought of staying behind while Alyona went on the next part of the mission. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust any of us, but she loved Alyona so much, she couldn’t bear the thought of being away from her for long.
“I’ll be okay, dear sister,” Alyona finally said as she took Laika’s hand. “There are children here who could learn from you, Demi-Human children especially who maybe don’t know what they could accomplish. Besides, you know Lord Evan would never let anything happen to me.”
“That’s true.” Laika smirked and pulled Alyona in for a tight hug. “I just don’t know what I’ll do.”
“We’ll only be gone for a few days,” my wife reminded her. “Then right back home.”
“If you think it’s for the best, milady,” the wolf warrior said in a small voice.
“So, that leaves Nike, Alyona, Rebecca, and Skye to ride there,” I counted everyone left. “Ravi and Isabella will fly, and Miraya can go to my spiritual sea for the ride. Does that work?”
“Oh, yes, my lord,” the spirit replied with a nod. “I have much enjoyed my time there lately. It’s so calm with your blockade in place.”
I had to agree, things in my mindscape were better now that I’d built a wall of obsidian in front of my Arxo to keep the Demon King from entering my dreams. It seemed to be the main way for him to get into my head, and the protection had calmed the waves of my spiritual sea to a peaceful lull.
“Yeah, I think I’ll be keeping that,” I said with a glance at the inked key on my hand.
I was now the only one who could open the obsidian door, and I planned to keep it that way.
“So, I imagine you’ll want to leave in the morning,” Ruslan interrupted my musings. “Shall we eat dinner?”
“Yes, gods, please,” Aaliyah groaned. “We missed lunch because of the meeting.”
We all laughed as we traipsed into the dining hall and spread out around the table, and within minutes, Forsythe and his kitchen staff began to bring trays of various appetizers from salads to breads to cubed fruits and set them on the table. Then we continued to chat as we ate the small portions until the large trays arrived.
My mouth watered at the aroma of herb-covered duck, honey-roasted ham, and rabbit soup, but as I filled my plate, I couldn’t help but notice Alyona spreading mashed potatoes onto the duck and topping it with chunks of papaya.
She saw me staring at her creation and pointed to her belly with a smirk before she took a bite of the concoction.
“I can’t imagine what our son is going to eat when he enters the real world,” I chuckled. “Does it at least taste alright?”
“Better than I expected,” she said with a laugh.
My wife had endured our son’s various food cravings and high appetite with nothing but happiness and patience. I couldn’t wait to see her as a mother.
Then an inkling of worry prodded me to remember the only messenger dragon I hadn’t received a response from. I’d sent a message over a week ago to Mona, the queen of the centaurs in Lumin, who was pregnant with our daughter. No one knew how long a dragon-centaur pregnancy would take, so most of it was just a waiting game, but I wasn’t known for my patience.
I quickly called up another messenger dragon to send to the centauress.
“Tell Mona I’m getting worried,” I ordered the small multi-colored creature. “I need to know she and the baby are okay. Wait for her to answer and come back.”
The little dragon nodded and soared out of the dining hall.
“Do you think she’s alright?” Alyona asked in a quiet voice.
“Yeah, probably just busy,” I said.
I didn’t want to worry my wife, but I needed to know what was going on.
Slowly, everyone finished and left the table to get ready for bed. It had been a long day out in the sun for our meeting, and we had another long day ahead tomorrow. When I was only waiting on Alyona, she finally seemed to realize she was the only one still eating and started to put down her fork.
“No, no, feed our kid,” I urged her with a grin. “He needs a lot of food. Look at how much he’s already grown.”
I reached down to rub my hand over her belly, and she jumped with wide eyes.
“Oh, my gods,” she murmured.
“What?” I asked, and my heart skipped a beat. “Is something wrong? Is he okay?”
