Page 4 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

Where is here?

I open my mouth, about to pepper my escort with even more questions, but before I can pick a pace to start, he grunts and tugs me toward a break in the leaves. The path he takes me down is narrow but well maintained, lit with gently glowing blue spheres that hang from the trees above. At the end of it, he pushes aside a curtain of greenery. There's a subtle shimmer to the air as we pass through, a sense of breaking through the surface of a pond, even though we're on dry land.

My jaw drops.

I don't know what I expected, but the place where we landed after falling through the portal felt so remote. My vague, childhood memories of the Water Dragon Kingdom were of modest homes built from natural materials, deep in the heart of the jungle.

There's nothing modest about the city I've arrived in now.

Everything is sleek glass and chrome. Tall buildings tower overhead, connected by wide, clean, pale streets, where silent, small cars zip along in a steady flow. More blue, glowing lights cast a futuristic haze against the night sky.

Nature is evident, even among all the modernity, though. Grasses and trees grow along the sides of the streets, providing a canopy and giving off the scent of good, green living things. A quiet trickle of water speaks to the irrigation required to maintain all the plants in an urban setting, and there's a rightness to it.

Of course water dragons would choose to build a city like this. Ripe with life, but rich with the progress of humanity and dragonkind.

I close my eyes for a moment, and in my soul, I feel a serenity that surprises me, considering I'm a prisoner and my mates have been led off to the Gods only know where. But for just a moment, the waters running deep below the pavement sing to me. They're joined by the stone of the bedrock upon which the buildings sit. By the fire of the burning core in the earth--and if the fire, stone and water weren't missing just one last thing, I'd say there was perfect balance. Harmony.

"Come on," a gruff voice says.

My escort pulls me forward, and I startle, blinking my eyes back open. We've apparently arrived at our destination, a building set back from the street and surrounded by a tall, gleaming fence that almost looks like liquid metal.

Probably because it is. A press of a button, and a gap appears in the gate as the flow is redirected into a different channel. I try my best not to gape, but I definitely fail.

The gate silently closes behind us. At the door to the building, a security guard stands at attention, but in her green and teal robes, she nearly blends into the plants thriving all around the entryway. She darts narrowed eyes at me, but one grave look from the man escorting me in, and she steps aside.

I'm guided through a foyer and around a corner.

And then I step into the most sumptuous yet understated living room I've ever seen.

"Wow," I murmur, despite myself.

The room is huge, with pale beech wood floors and green walls. An enormous tropical fish tank lines one entire side of the space, while tinted glass windows make up the other. A big, white leather couch wraps around the area, with a plush rug and inviting-looking pillows and throws. In one corner stands a rack of musical instruments that sparks memories of nights spent under the stars beside a wildly flowing river, listening to tinkling music and the lulling voices of adults, speaking about things I didn't understand and still don't. There are books, too, of course--shelves and shelves of them, as well as tapestries and small sculptures and bold art. Tribal prints unify it all, softening the sharp, modern touches and lending a weighty character to the space.

And everything--absolutely everything--smells like my new mate. I breathe the spicy, warm, ocean scent of him. I only got the briefest instant to appreciate how good he smelled back in the forest where he found me and my other mates. But now that I'm surrounded by his scent, I'm intoxicated by it. My dragon swims around inside my chest, and liquid heat pools low in my abdomen. My nipples tighten with need, my skin prickling, my entire body yearning to feel my new mate's claiming touch.

Silently, I scold myself to remember my resolutions. I can't afford to give into desire. Not yet.

My escort takes a seat on the couch, clearly planning on staying for a while. My brain is too scrambled to pester him anymore, even though I still have about a million questions. Crossing my arms over my chest to hide the way my breasts have flipped on their high beams, I turn away from him and take advantage of the chance to explore my mate's home.

Prince Malik has great taste in books, if nothing else. Many of them are in foreign languages, with Water Dragon symbology imprinted on the spines, but the ones that are in English run the gamut from European classics to mysteries, thrillers, and even a couple of romances.

On another of the shelves, I find a few tastefully framed photographs. I pick one up to inspect it. A much younger Prince Malik stands among what I can only assume are his family. Flickers of recognition light up in the dark corners of my memory. The man beside him was the king--the most benevolent ruler of the four great dragon kingdoms.

At least before the war, that is.

A woman I vaguely recognize as the queen stands at the edge of the group, and there are two other young boys who share Prince Malik's features. I can't remember if they were cousins or brothers.

I set the photo down and peer at another, more casual shot, capturing Prince Malik standing arm in arm with none other than the grumpy grump who's been growling at me all night. In the picture, the man is smiling broadly, and it transforms his entire face. I sneak a glance at my escort, who I'm pretty sure hasn't stopped glaring at me this entire time. Shaking my head, I look away.

I continue exploring, but my patience grows thinner by the minute. I'm a mixed-up mess of anticipation, need, and fear. I keep tapping the bond linking me and Rafe and Jianyu, checking that I can still feel them, and I can, but it only reassures me so much.

Not sure what else to do with myself, I extend outward with my senses, trying to feel the presence of Prince Malik in my heart. Our connection is brand new, and it's wispy, thin and hungry for contact, but it's there.

Then, out of nowhere, it tugs back. I suck in a gasping breath of surprise.

The door to the building swings open. Strong, steady footfalls echo through the space, and my escort stands. My hand on my chest, I spin around.

And there he is. Prince Malik of the Water Dragon Kingdom.

---