Dragon Lord (Dragons & Phoenixes Book 1) Page 7

  I didn't think he'd noticed our entrance, but as soon as he turned away from his opponent, his eyes zeroed in on me.

  I could finally see that they were a pale, crystal-clear blue. At the moment, they were icy cold. His hair was dark with paler gold streaks that looked sun bleached, the length just long enough to fall over his forehead but not long enough to obscure his eyesight. It was cut shorter at the sides and the back.

  His eyes took me in and then immediately turned to Enzi. The question was clear.

  "She wanted to see you and I would've had to use force to stop her," he explained.

  Ashur shook his head as someone threw a towel at him and he used it to wipe down his face and chest on the way over to us.

  My eyes fell down to his bare feet. Somehow, even they were sexy. I really needed to get ahold of myself.

  He stopped a few feet away from me, tossing the towel into a bin near the door.

  "Enzi, you can wait over there."

  His eyes didn't move from my face as Enzi shifted away. Now that I was up close, the sheer physicality of him hit me again. He towered over me. And he wasn't just taller. His frame itself was large and he'd packed a good amount of muscle onto it. This was a body honed to fight.

  He stared at me for a moment longer and then turned to one of the doorways. "Come with me."

  I followed behind him silently, everyone's eyes on me even as they continued to do what they had been doing. I kept my eyes focused on the broad back in front of me, trying not to look down at that butt. I was largely unsuccessful.

  The doorway led out to a large balcony that took up the whole side of the building. The night air was cool and fresh, and up this high, it was in motion all around us.

  Ashur went up to the ornately carved railing and leaned against it, facing out, even though there were various groupings of places to sit along the length of the balcony. I took my cue and leaned against the railing a few feet down from him. I turned my head to watch his clean profile as he looked out at the city below. I had a sudden image of his dragon form crouched at the top of the building, surveying his domain.

  "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.

  Straight to the point. I could work with that.

  "I need to know if you're going to let us go. Not that I don't appreciate your hospitality." That last bit probably wasn't smart to add, but did he expect me to be a happy prisoner?

  He nodded, still not looking at me. "Do you know anything about the Phoenix King?" he asked.

  I frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

  He finally turned to face me. "Since that child has phoenix blood, and you're saying you're taking him to meet his family, the only logical conclusion here is that you're going to phoenix territory. So, the question is very relevant."

  I tilted my head to the side as I regarded him. My impulse was to tell him that my knowledge or lack thereof was none of his business. But I wasn't exactly on stable ground here. We were in the middle of his territory, in his stronghold, and what happened to us now was completely up to him. It wouldn't be smart to antagonize him, no matter how much my impetuously smart mouth wanted to.

  "I don't know much about him," I admitted.

  He shook his head. "Then why did you take this job?" he asked, his tone disbelieving and more than a little judgmental.

  Okay, that was taking it a little too far. I didn't need his opinion on my choices. He didn't know me. "Now, that really isn't any of your business," I countered, my voice calm. Though I doubted my expression was.

  One corner of his mouth tilted up in a smirk. "See, that's where I have to disagree with you. Again. You decided to trespass on my territory. That was a mistake. You are now my business." He closed the distance between us in one long stride, until he was merely inches away. Until the heat from his body washed over my own and the scent of him filled my nose, hot and pure male.

  I swallowed, my heartbeat picking up. "I apologize. I won't make the same mistake again."

  His smile widened. "I don't think you understand the ramifications of what you did." I froze as his hand reached up and took a lock of my dark hair, sliding it through his fingers. His eyes never left mine. "Trespassers forfeit all rights. I could do anything I wanted and I would be within our laws."

  His voice was low, intimate.

  I should have been angry. I should have been insulted. But while those emotions were present, they were confused, mixed oddly with others. Doubt. Curiosity.

  The whole mess overlaid with an undeniable heat, an attraction I couldn't explain.

  The same feeling was mirrored in his eyes. He let me see the heat in them. I didn't know if it was supposed to be a threat, or a way to manipulate me. No matter what the intention, it certainly had an effect. After a few moments of invading my personal space, he took a step back.

  I let out a silent breath tinged with relief. And maybe some regret. Because obviously my judgment was completely off in this case.

  "I think it's best if you go back to your room now," he said, his eyes going back to the doorway we'd come through. "You should stay there tonight. For your own safety." Then he turned away from me to look back over the city.

  I was dismissed. Enzi was already waiting for me. With one last look at Ashur, I walked over to Enzi. I was leaving with only more questions. And no real answers.

  Enzi led me back through the practice room. Had they been listening? I met a woman's eyes, and she quickly looked away.

  Of course they had.

  Enzi led me back to the bank of elevators and we stepped inside. He waited for the doors to close.

  "I hope you got the answer you were looking for. Ashur isn't exactly happy with me."

  I shook my head. "I don't know if I got the answer I was looking for. But I got something," I murmured.

  He glanced over at me. I could sense his hesitation.

  "You should be careful," he finally said as elevator doors opened and we walked down the carpeted hall to my room. "You're already playing with fire by just being here."

  I opened the door and looked back at him. "Maybe," I acknowledged. "But it seems to me I'm already in the fire." I stepped into the dark room and closed the door behind me.

  I didn't know what to focus on as I found a pair of pajamas in the closet and took a shower. I slid into bed next to Omari, the future no clearer than when I'd left. But the events of the last couple of days had caught up with me. I closed my eyes.

  And despite everything, I slept.

  I'd deal with tomorrow when it came.

  Chapter Ten

  When I woke up the next morning, I had more immediate concerns to worry about. Omari's breathing was shallow and his skin was coated in a light layer of sweat. With my heart in my throat, I leaned over to shake him awake.

  He opened his eyes halfway, their gaze unfocused.

  "Wake up, Omari. Let's go outside," I urged, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

  He closed his eyes again. "Tired," he muttered.

  My worry immediately ramped up to panic, and I slid my arms under his slight weight and picked him up, cradling him to my chest. I leaned against the wall to shove my feet into my boots, and then I shifted him in my arms so I could open the door.

  Hathai was in the hall now rather than Enzi. She looked at me, but then her eyes moved down to Omari.

  "I need access to the sun. Now," I barked, beyond politeness.

  If she gave me any problems right now, I'd be more than happy to punch her in the face and find a way out myself.

  "Follow me," she said turning and jogging down the hall.

  Okay then. That was a lot easier than I expected. She took me to the elevator and pressed the button for the rooftop.

  "We're almost there Omari," I murmured, pulling him in closer.

  Hathai was watching me closely. I had no idea what she was thinking. That was one hell of a poker face.

  It took some time to get all the way up to the top and every second grate
d on my nerves. Finally, the doors opened directly to the sun-drenched roof.

  "Over here," Hathai directed.

  The rooftop was much larger than I thought it would be. The edges extended out past the building’s footprint by quite a bit. Taking in the space with a glance, I followed Hathai over to the right side where there was a row of beds already made with crisp white linens. Their spare frames were made of stiff plastic, probably so they didn't absorb too much heat. They were all empty right now, but they must have been here for this very reason.

  I set Omari down on the first bed I reached and stripped off his shirt and pants to maximize sun exposure. He sighed as the warmth hit him and turned his head to the side.

  "I don't understand. He was fine yesterday," I said, at a loss.

  "Sometimes it's unpredictable with children. Some need more sun than others and take longer to fully recover," she explained, her eyes on Omari. "I have no idea about part-human children. That's one more wrench in the works."

  She glanced up at me and frowned. The golden metallic sheen of her skin was suddenly visible in the bright daylight. I realized I was in short sleeves, with my face and arms completely exposed in direct sunlight.

  Shit. Too late to do anything about that now.

  I ignored the look, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Omari.

  "I'll stay here with him if you want to go down and shower or have breakfast," she offered after it was apparent I wasn't going to leave.

  I didn't have any reason to believe she would do anything to harm him. Or that anyone here would hurt him. But...

  "I'm just going to stay here. But thank you."

  She nodded, as if she understood. "I'll have breakfast brought up for you."

  "Thank you."

  She left me on the roof. I guess she figured that there was no way for me to leave from here without being caught. But then I discovered something. There were guards stationed on every corner of the rooftop. I had been so focused on Omari that I didn't even realize they were there. Dressed in clothes that blended with the bleached-out rooftop, and standing so still, they were easy enough to miss. One of them had turned to watch me, but the others were all facing outward.

  Okay then.

  I guess looking down the side of the building for that ladder was out of the question. Not that I could leave with Omari in this state anyway. Apart from the beds up here, there were also multiple seating arrangements, complete with sofas and tables. There was even a bar over on one side. It seemed like every section of this building was made to accommodate people.

  One entire side of the rooftop had no railing. It was just a ledge—a very high ledge. Just seeing it made me want to step back, even though I was yards and yards away from it. I'm sure it was convenient if you had wings. All I could think about was accidentally falling and going splat in that nice wide street down there.

  Better to look away. I turned my attention to the view instead. From this vantage point, the tops of the other buildings around us were bright in the sun. There was a clear delineation between the part of the city that was used and the part that was left in ruins. This area was built much higher up and was either built new from the ground up, or so completely remodeled that it might as well have been.

  The skyline was peppered with both pointed and flat-topped buildings much taller than the older ones. Regardless of the style, every building had spacious terraces and balconies outside. I remembered how Ashur had flown perfectly vertically to set my car down. It would be easy enough for them to swoop down to the wide street below. They were very deft fliers, so it made sense to have easy access to the sky everywhere.

  A couple of large-winged shapes flew off in the distance, in the sunlight I could truly appreciate the golden-toned scales that made up their hides. They weren't all the exact same color—one was more of a true yellow gold and the other had a little more green in it—but they were both within the gold family. The sun flashed off their sides, giving them a glowing outline as they lazily circled in the air.

  Now that I wasn't being chased, I could appreciate the elegance and beauty of them as well as the strength. The long graceful lines, the powerful wings, the sinuous tails and necks. As they rode the air currents without flapping their wings, I understood them to be the silent predators they were.

  They inspired equal parts fear and respect. No wonder they were banned from the city domes. I didn't know how humans could stop something that big from destroying everything. It even had me wondering how a bow and arrow was supposed to stand up to a creature like that.

  I turned away from the sight when Hathai showed up with two other people. They both looked young, maybe in their late teens, and were dressed in chef's whites. The young woman gave both me and Omari curious glances, but was silent. The boy, too, gave me one long look, and then just focused on setting up the food.

  "Thank you," I said to them as they finished and stepped back. "I really appreciate it."

  They just nodded and scurried back to the open door. Maybe they were told not to interact with me.

  "Give him the oatmeal. It will be easier for him to eat right now," Hathai said.

  I nodded. That made sense.

  "Come on Omari," I murmured, sliding an arm under his small shoulders and propping him up against me. "You have to eat something."

  "Okay," he said, slightly groggy. But he was more alert already.

  I carefully spooned oatmeal into his mouth, and he dutifully ate it.

  "That doesn't taste very good," he said after half the bowl was finished.

  "Do you want something else?"

  He shook his head no. Yawning, he snuggled against me. "No, I'm full."

  He’d eaten more than half of the creamy-looking oatmeal. Good enough, at least for now. I lowered him back onto the bed and dug into the food myself. I picked out a Danish pastry, biting into it.

  Oh, wow. The raspberry at the center of it was the real deal.

  We were still able to grow produce in the domes, though everything was carefully regulated to increase efficiency and reduce waste. The water was a constant problem, but filtration systems and underground reserves gave us enough to live on. Of course we had plenty of sun. All of that intensive effort and planning meant produce was expensive.

  But here in the dragon stronghold, they'd brought out berries and oatmeal. They must have their own farming set up nearby. I was guessing there was a greenhouse somewhere in the city. Maybe more than one since they weren't hurting for space—growing the grain alone would have taken so much land. They must have their own water sources as well. Transporting heavy containers of water wouldn't be difficult for them considering one dragon could pick up a car.

  I imagined dragons going to and fro with giant buckets clutched in their claws. For some reason, the image made me smile.

  When I was done eating, Hathai said something into the slim watch on her wrist. The same boy and girl reappeared and took the dishes away.

  I sat for a while longer, but restlessness and curiosity had me moving to the railing on one side of the roof, after checking on Omari again.

  The city was gorgeous. There was something in the material they used to construct everything that sparkled slightly in the sun, adding dimension to the sandstone colors.

  Down on street level, there were plenty of people walking around, going about their day. I saw maybe one car, but everyone else was on foot. With this many people, it looked like they had a fully functioning, bustling economy. I still couldn't get over the reality of this place compared to what I had thought about dragons before encountering them. I didn't know anyone who had ever actually been in a dragon stronghold.

  What I learned in school was that dragons and phoenixes showed up after the atmosphere partially burned away and for a while they and humans coexisted together. It all went downhill with Phoenix King Emil. As with many monarchs throughout history, King Emil had been completely off his rocker. But his brand of crazy had been particularly dangerous. He in
stigated an all-out war with the dragons, proclaiming they were stupid and dangerous beasts that needed to be wiped off the surface of the Earth.

  It didn't have much basis in fact, but he'd apparently been a very charismatic leader and had managed to amass enough of a following that he'd been able to put his words into action. He did his best to reach his goal, attempting a full-out genocide. His mistake was assuming dragons were weak.

  While dragons were an independent race with self-governed skeins operating in their own territories, nothing united a people more than a common threat. Emil managed to do what the dragons hadn't been able to do for centuries—unite all of them. The attempted genocide quickly turned into total war.

  Humans had already polluted the earth to a point that we couldn’t come back from but that war did so much damage and resulted in so much loss of life, that it actually slowed down some environmental problems. We would have been in an even worse place now without that bloody conflict. Killing so much of the population—dragons, phoenixes, and humans alike—wasn’t the ideal way to achieve it but it was brutally efficient in decreasing our ecological footprint.

  The war, combined with the fact that humans needed protection from the sun and from the radiated air while the dragons and phoenixes didn't, naturally resulted in all three groups separating. Dragons and phoenixes still had spats from time to time, but the humans were left out of it. They'd ensured they would be by banning the other two races from the city domes.

  Some shouting from the street level drew my eyes to where the commotion was coming from. What was going on? A crowd was gathering, and I moved down the railing to get a better look. I was so engrossed in trying to figure out what was happening down there that I almost bumped right into a guard.

  "Oops. Sorry."

  His face was surprisingly young this close. Frowning, he leaned towards me, inhaling. What was with these people? I'd showered only a few hours ago.

  "That's enough, Ivan," said a familiar voice.

  Ashur strode out from the rooftop access door, his eyes on the guard. The sun sparkled in the light parts of his hair, highlighted his high cheekbones, and glinted off his skin. The parts that caught the sun looked like molten gold. I stared, caught by the almost otherworldly beauty of him.