Page 2 of The Lost Nation

I raised my head from Thad’s chest, looking Benedict dead in the eyes. My hair stuck to my face, all of us soaking wet as the rain kept washing away the blood that welled underneath my claws. I wouldn’t look at Thad. Not now.

“You will not kill him.” I stated, my voice a deadly purr.

Benedict’s eyes narrowed, his chin jutting up in challenge.

“And why not?” He hissed back.

I glared back. “Because I claim him as my mate.”

I lunged forward, and sank my fangs into Thad’s neck.

Chapter 1

Xana

When I told Wren I would find my own way back to the cave, it wasn’t the entire truth. Itwastrue that I wanted to stretch my wings andflyfor the first time in centuries, but there was a bit more to it than that.

The other female drakens who lived in the cave with me were afraid—too afraid to step outside in the sunlight and reclaim their lives. I understood we each had our own personal demons to face, but I was sick and tired of being scared all the time. I wouldn’t get better until I startedlivingagain. The others were free to stay where they were, but I wasgettingout. Reacquainting myself with Lyoness seemed like a good way to start.

The males were building me a large home away from the lava tubes—Wren had seen to that. It was hard not to preen when I thought about it, though it was clear their motivations were aimed at winning an unmated female. Howquaint. I didn’t even know if I’d everwantto be with a male after what I’d endured, though I considered myself lucky compared to many of the others.

While in captivity I’d been able to detach my mind from what was going on around me. I still flinched from physical contact, but it wouldn't render me into a sobbing, useless mess either. I could easily recall that there had been ten female draken prisoners at one point, but only four left when Wren rescued us.

Wren.

It was surreal to think Rhyfel had given birth to a daughter who’d been hidden away all this time in the aftermath of the Demon Wars. Masquerading around as ahuman, no less. I was still confused on the details ofhow it all had happened, but Benedict had explained it involved a blood enchantment of some sort.

And now she was queen.

According to the others Wren hadled the charge to reclaim our homeland, and had saved a witch’s life to birth the first draken babe in a millenium. It was that incident that changed everything for me.

Being there with another female draken and assisting with that birthmade me feelnormalfor a fleeting, glorious moment. It only confirmed my belief that I needed to getoutand away from the other survivors and blaze my own path to recovery.

And damn, it feltgoodto hold a draken young in my arms again. It almost made me want to consider trying to find a mate.Almost.

AndBenedictwas king now. I remembered him as a head-strong, gangly youth as I was his senior by two decades. Well, if anyone could handle Benedict, it was likely Wren. She didn’t takeanyone’s nonsense.

And neither would I.

I flew up into the sky, nearly crying in joy as my white wings sparkled under the waning sun. A storm was rolling in, but I didn’t care—all I could feel was the wind between my scales, and the utter thrill as I climbed higher andhigher.

I panted in effort as my muscles burned, and I realized my fitness was severely diminished from my captivity. I would have to start training immediately to rectify this, though that meant I musteatnormally as well. I would have to wean myself off the weak broths and build my stomach up gradually to more nourishing foods. The demons hadn’t beenhospitablein that way.

I flew over the valley of witches, cringing at all the children who scampered underfoot. I didn’t know how I felt about having demon spawn near me, but I tried to rationalize that they were children who hadn’t done anything wrong.

Yet.

I was simply glad not to have any myself.The moment I/d realized what Severn had planned for the female drakens captured, I used blood magick to make myself barren. The other females hadn’t been able to go through with it, too hopeful they’d be rescued to make such a decision. Stupid, foolish optimism. Then again, to most drakens, children wereeverything.

Well, notthisdraken.

The other three rescued females didn't have any surviving children—the draken babes had all been stillborns. I hated to cheer the death of any being, but I was glad.

I beat my wings harder, pushing the memories away. I didn’t have to think of such things now. Iwasrescued, and refused to think ofchildrenwhen I’d likely panic if a male ever tried to touch me again. Just because I was infertile didn’t mean the demons hadn’ttriedanyway.

And Severn. I hoped wherever his soul had ended up, that he was suffering.

A boom of thunder brought me back to reality, and I frowned at how quickly the storm had rolled in. The wind picked up, making flying more hazardous than my atrophied muscles could handle. I picked out Wren and King Benedict on the far cliff with her other mates, and decided to ask her to take me back to the cave. No other males would bother me while I was with them, after all.

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