Page 33 of Dragon's Code

Jerrick growls low in his throat. “Don’t remind me.”

I want out of this conversation. “Should we get started?”

Jerrick nods and then he leaves Anya’s side to move into the center of tables that have been put into a circle. “All right, everyone. Let’s get seated and start the conversations we’re here to have.”

The chatter gets louder as everyone moves around the room finding their seats. Every dragon here has a female mate who was formerly human by their side. Everyone but me. The voices quiet down and then Jerrick has everyone’s attention.

“I think we need to start with the Obsidian Queen,” Jerrick says, turning toward Darius, Khalid, and their mate Michelle.

“Obsidian Queen?” Gavin is likely one of the oldest dragons here, a former prince of the Garnet clan. He gave up the throne because he found his human mate and knew that she would be ridiculed. He’s known the longest about what happens to a female human who is claimed by a dragon.

Darius stands. He’s the prince of Lapis Lazuli Clan and very close to accepting the throne from his father who is ready to retire. “When we met our mate, Michelle, she was in an archeological dig in Egypt. She discovered a lot down in the caves. The ghost of the former Obsidian Queen talked to her and gave her an obsidian amulet and told Michelle that she’s the new Obsidian Queen. She also told her that the Obsidian Clan was betrayed. At the time, we didn’t know what any of that meant. As we’ve learned there are more human mates being turned and they’re all Obsidian Dragons. Clearly, there’s a lot we don’t know about our own history. It’s been left out.”

Someone scoffs, “Left out? It was buried.” I find Ryker with his arm possessively around his mate, Yara. “It was buried. The Elders are seriously deluded if they think there is purity in the bloodlines or something. What would they have to gain from keeping dragons and humans from mating? That’s the question we need to answer.”

A lot of nodding and muttered agreements dance around the room.

“Where is Ash? He’s the only one of us who is a king. He’s going to be accepted into the Elders as soon as his position is official,” Braxton Carmine says.

“His position will never be accepted with a human mate. Even if she’s a dragon now,” I say. “The Elders will run him out of town, so-to-speak. And our clan will probably accept the Elders’ ruling. The problem is that we’ve been doing what we’ve always done. If you ask anyone why we do something, the answer is always ‘that’s what we’ve always done’ and that answer is no longer acceptable to me.”

“You don’t have any skin in the game,” someone says.

I turn to find Caleb, a dragon from Turquoise, staring at me.

“What do you mean? Does this not affect my future too?”

“You don’t even have a mate, let alone a human one,” he snarls.

“Seriously? What the fuck does that matter? I’m here because I want to help with the cause. And three of my brothers have human mates and I adore them. They’re pregnant or have had my nieces and nephews. So fuck off. I do have skin in the game. My best friend was just identified as a human dragon mate. And I care about her a helluva lot more than I do about you, Caleb.”

His mate, Aubrey, puts her hand on his arm. “We need allies. Stop the friendly fire.”

Caleb gives her a slightly sheepish look, then turns back to me. “I’m sorry. It’s nerve wracking to have so many enemies. We haven’t had so many wars to deal with since your father took down the Tourmaline King.”

I sigh. “I know this is stressful. I understand it. Add in the fact that Grey is going after human dragon mates makes this all the worse.”

A burst of loud protests fill the room.

I look over at Jerrick.

He holds up his hand and stops the loud questions coming from everyone, but a handful. “I apologize, Kash was privy to some information because of a situation with his friend. I planned to tell you all here. Grey and Tabitha found a way to track down dragon mates. We know this because witches loyal to us have been able to reveal them slowly to us as well. We’ve found seven murdered humans. We didn’t get to them in time. We’ve managed to find a few alive and take them underground where they’ll be safe. No, we do not know the dragons they’re tied to, just that they have the potential to be a dragon mate.”

“That’s why Ash isn’t here, isn’t it?” I say, realizing what he’s up to.

Jerrick gives me one solid nod. “We’re not here to point fingers. We’re here to figure out how we’re going to move forward. We don’t know how many dragons will be on our side versus the Elders’ side. And if it comes to picking sides, we may have to engage in a civil war or decide that we’re going to create our own clan and fuck the Elders.”

“Fuck the Elders? Most dragons consider their word law. They make the laws. How are we going to convince them that mating with humans shouldn’t be illegal? How many of us are there now?”

“Most of us are in this room. I know of a few others. They’re staying low for different reasons. Some of them are helping Ash with his task,” Jerrick says.

I glance around to see how all of this is landing. Most of them seem stoic, and like they’re looking for the safest solution.

“What did the Obsidian Queen say?” I ask. “If you’re the crowned queen…”

Michelle pulls a large obsidian amulet from under her shirt and sets it down on the table. “I don’t think I’m the actual Obsidian Queen. That’s ridiculous. But I think she wanted to pass her message on, and I became an obsidian dragon while I was working on the dig. Who better to send the message on? The Obsidians have a clan now though. There are plenty of us. What would they do? Execute us? Technically, we’re not humans anymore. The idea that they would have a problem is ridiculous, but they’re the Elders, they’ve been around the longest, and clearly they know more than they’re willing to tell anyone else. Maybe we don’t try to reconcile with them. Maybe it’s time for an overhaul altogether.”

Quiet murmurs follow her suggestion.

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