Page 15 of Dragon Blood (Dragon Island #3)

E ven with Heidi’s explicit directions, the camp was a challenge to reach. Down a narrow, overgrown dirt road, past a gate with surly guards, eying their cargo with deep suspicion. Astred showed them the recipe card with Heidi’s handwritten instruction paired with Odson’s name, which seemed to act like an admission ticket.

Kai’s gaze swept the bustle as Astred parked the car next to the community building that the last guard had pointed them to. Getting out, they scanned the scene before them, searching for Odson.

The camp was actually a village in various stages of evolution, crawling out from the weight of a heavy storm thrown at it. While overgrown, the road had been cleared of any debris. Alive with activity, the denizens hauled felled trees and debris from cabin rooftops to be cleared and cut.

Both his tiger and dragon selves perked up with curiosity as the scents of fresh split wood and sap, mingled with a mixture of dragon, human, bear, and various other shifters, drifted around them on the breeze.

Hands in her back pockets, Astred blew out a breath when her eyes landed on a nearby wooden structure crushed under an uprooted tree. “Goddess, I hope no one was in there.”

“Red?” The older male dragon that Kai had met before his sister’s wedding approached, surprise clear on his face, gaze darting between her and Kai. “What’s wrong? Why are you here of all places? And with Kolina’s son?”

“Long story. Heidi sent more supplies.” She jerked her head toward the car.

“No doubt that it isn’t a good tale, either.” He accepted one of the boxes that Kai had extracted from the car. They followed him into the community hall, where several others were gathered going over plans. Odson called out to them, “Heidi sent more stuff.”

Relief filled their expressions as they approached to alleviate their loads; all of them smelled of dragon.

“Thanks so much.” One woman smiled at Kai as she accepted it. “I’m Brandi, this is Fiona, and Allison. Please tell Heidi she’s a gem.”

“Brandi is the head of the Camp Council and oversees all the business.”

“One of many,” she nodded to Fiona and Allison. “The others are all working to clean the place up at the moment.”

“Dragon-goddess, you look so much like Astred Arakkil. You can’t be, but damn, the resemblance is crazy.” The other woman called Fiona said, eyes wide as she stared at Astred, who exchanged looks with Odson.

Astred handed her the box. “I am. And this is Kai Sun, son of Kolina Steelscale.”

Fiona fumbled the box, Astred helped her right it when Odson swooped in to rescue the load, which sounded like sliding dishes.

Brandi’s voice lost its friendly tone. “Why are you here? We already helped the last time your people came recruiting, when we should have stayed out of it.”

“And we deeply appreciate that you did. But no, I’m not here to ask for anything. I came to see Odson and Heidi sent these boxes. But now that I’m here, I’d like to help out if you’ll let me.”

The women seemed to have a conversation with their eyes until eventually Allison shrugged. “Kolina helped Odson bring my Ben home to us when those male dragons could have got him seriously hurt or killed.”

“No Aeleftherian politics?” Fiona demanded, eyes narrowed on Astred.

Astred searched her face. “I remember seeing you in the market below the Citadel.”

“Yeah, I came down to the market every time your ship came in with black market goods from the continent.”

“Black market?” Allison’s brows went up.

“Cosmetics, books and magazines, and clothing.” Astred shrugged.

“That the Council disapproved of. Red the Pirate Princess is adored among the younger Aeleftherians that haven’t made it off the island yet.” Fiona laughed.

Kai couldn’t help but smile at that.

Brandi crossed her arms. “So why is the pirate princess here? In our camp? Are you looking for an importing deal?”

Astred held her gaze, voice firm. “No. I said I was here to see Odson. That’s all. If you don’t want the help, that’s fine, I respect that. But I do need five minutes of his time.”

“What’s happened, Astred?”

Astred switched her attention to Odson, pausing before answering. “We have trouble, and I need information. I’ve asked Heidi to reach out to the wardens.”

Odson blanched. “The queen?”

Astred nodded.

“The Consortium?”

“Undetermined.”

“What’s wrong with the queen?” Brandi demanded.

“She’s ill.”

The silence that struck the room rippled over Kai’s skin and senses.

“Is Katoa Koro aware?” Odson’s voice dipped.

“No. That’s why I need you to reach out to them. I don’t want anyone else involved until I figure this out. But I do want them to know what’s going on and be prepared as best they can.”

“Of course,” Odson nodded, expression solemn.

“What do you need?” Brandi finally asked Astred.

Astred shook her head. “Just information from Odson before I go back to Black River. I’m not asking the camp for anything, but you all may need to brace yourselves for the fallout that comes with this.”

Brandi nodded. “We’re aware of the Consortium and their reach, after the last time an Aeleftherian visited us, and that no matter how independent we try to be, they will drag us all together into some serious messes.”

“Let me guess. The Council thought Kai was the reason for your mother’s illness.” Odson looked at Kai.

“Yes. Kolina had me smuggled off the island,” Kai said.

“Shit, you’re not kidding. The Queen’s Honor Guard, aiding and abetting? This isn’t going to go well for her.” Fiona gaped.

“I’ll ensure she’s pardoned once Mother wakes up. I needed Kai.”

Needed.

The vision and Regina’s etched map.

The admission still didn’t send warm fuzzies through his acidic gut. Not until he understood what that meant.

“This ought to be interesting. Why?” Odson prompted.

Astred spread her hands. “I’m hoping the Nexus will tell me.”

Tension strung through Kai.

She didn’t drag him along because she needed him. He was there because Aeleftheria needed something from him.

He’d had a sense that she would need him before they ever left the citadel. Now the reason was slowly developing before him. Painfully slowly.

He hadn’t been in the refugee camp very long, but this mission was clearly important to more than just Aeleftheria. He had to know what the connection was to his clan, too.

What threat was Astred bringing to them if that little map was indeed directing her to go to the Watchmen?

Kai shoved aside the personal sting of her words, focusing on the fact that he could help them in some way. Help Kolina, and Kymri and Jori. Help Astred, though he wasn’t sure how.

Not knowing Astred to be psychically sensitive, Kai was mystified and intrigued by the notion that she’d had a vision, that also potentially included him.

‘Potentially’ included him.

‘Kai’s clan—or Kai himself—is somehow connected.’

She most likely needed him to get to someone else in his clan. Aaron? His father?

“The Nexus,” Brandi breathed, drawing Kai’s attention back to the present. She swallowed, studying Astred with new eyes. “Well, the wardens don’t move fast, so you may wait a while. We will accept your help to clean up the storm debris while you’re here.”

“Let’s get started. It’ll be good to feel like I can do something productive during all of this mess. Was anyone hurt?”

“Some injuries, but they’ll mend; the humans are all being treated at the local hospital.”

“If you’re willing, I’d like to hear more about your village.” Astred followed Brandi out of the community hall.

They worked long past nightfall, with floodlights set up around the camp to enable the clearing effort to continue. Large machinery was unnecessary, as dragon shifters would take turns easing into their dragon forms in locations that needed the raw strength to precisely lift and move entire trees as needed, setting them down where chainsaws could do the rest.

Others lifted replacement material to repair damaged rooftops. Pickup trucks carted away things that couldn’t be salvaged.

Kai observed how the refugees worked together, learning a great deal about various dragon societies from all over the continent. The dragonkind web was just as complex here as it was in the east.

His thoughts and gaze constantly drifted back to Astred as she worked alongside the locals, listening and chatting, and eventually laughing alongside them as they relaxed in her presence.

She was just like any of them.

He grudgingly admitted to himself that he couldn’t regret his time with her, as the resentment of her rejection melted away.

The days since their unexpected reunion were giving him enough time to absorb and adjust, though it changed nothing between them, other than that he was letting go of the bitterness.

He’d seen enough of Aeleftherian machinations to understand the position she was in.

She belonged to her nation.

He’d never had any right to her—even had she wanted him, hybrid or not.

Astred was easy to love.

Her natural leadership ability had always been clear in the way that she interacted with her crew aboard the Crimson Claw. They loved her. They were her sisters even as she commanded them.

That same energy exchange was evident here too, even though she claimed no sovereignty over them. She treated them with the same respect that she did everyone else, and those around her subconsciously reacted to her natural power.

A born leader.

Her dynamic undercurrent made her irresistible.

He’d felt that same unmistakable power in her queen mother. The power that commanded attention and drove one willingly to their knees in acknowledgment of her connection to something otherworldly. And since her mother’s decline, that same power ascended within Astred, making her shine all the brighter. A constellation among the cosmos, suspended by a rainbow of stardust over Aeleftheria.

She inspired him to stand a little straighter, work that little bit harder, give more than he thought possible.

He swallowed the tightening in his throat as his heart swelled, watching her laugh at something Brandi said.

I still love her.

He’d just have to bury it even deeper now.

And when they discovered what she’d needed him for?

He’d be there.

Whatever had drawn them together all those years ago seemed to have a purpose. A story. Even then, that was being played out now. His work contracts would wait. There were others that could head the firm while he was away.

It wasn’t just about Astred, that he would willingly join her on this journey.

‘Someone needs to witness things as they unfold here on behalf of the rest of dragonkind,’ his dragon whispered from his nap. Because as much as Kai had buried that part of himself, he was still a dragon.

And maybe a witness for all shifters?

The ripple effect this Consortium group had on the tightly-knit Aeleftherian and mountain clans was powerful and dangerous.

His hand drifted over his shirt where he’d tucked his mother’s locket.

He withdrew it now, thumb caressing the Aeleftherian shield etched into the front before flipping it over.

Kai stared, yet again, at the entwined bodies of the dragon and the tiger.

A story from his childhood quietly drifted back to him now.

A tale of the fearless tiger becoming the protector of the powerful dragon.

A stred and Kai had accepted Heidi’s gracious offer to billet them at her farm while they spent their days helping to set the refugee camp aright.

Though Astred didn’t think it could rightfully still be called that anymore.

It was a village. A community in its own right.

And though it had its own internal issues, it was well run by those chosen to lead.

Chosen.

A unique concept in the dragon world.

If and when Aeleftherian rulers had been ‘chosen’, Astred had no idea of their origins, as it was so long in the hazy past no one thought about it anymore. Those histories would all be in the stuffy, enclosed archives, which Astred had always avoided.

Thankfully, Odson had elected to stay at Heidi’s with them, driving them back and forth to the camp to finish the cleanup, and providing as much knowledge of dragon history as he could remember, constantly insisting that Elora was a much better resource.

They rose with the sun, stuffed themselves with Heidi’s delicious breakfast, fuelled up with her signature coffee and set off to work until long after sundown.

Heidi had thoughtfully left them plates for their late-night dinner before turning in for the night.

Astred, Kai and Odson ate in near silence, exhausted after a long day of work, expecting another early rise the next morning.

No word from the wardens yet.

Astred perused Heidi’s small sitting room library as she waited for the shower. An entire shelf was dedicated to coffee bean development. Apparently, her new hobby involved working with South American coffee growers to create her own blends.

Astred smiled, fingers skipping along the spines.

She squatted, inspecting the titles along the lower shelves of children’s books. Her gaze flicked to the nearby wall of family photos showcasing Heidi’s sons and their own new families.

Pulling a brightly illustrated atlas from the bottom, she strode toward a reading lamp to better see it. Having a deep love of maps and all things nautical, it was impossible to resist flipping through the pages. She paused on the two-page world view spread, eyes dropping to the empty expanse of Atlantic Ocean where Aeleftheria hid. Her fingertip drifted to the coastline of North America adjacent to Black River’s location, tracing the lines as her mother had etched them into the wood. Closing her eyes, she recalled the other set of marks.

Returning her gaze to the map, she searched for the matching lines, not finding anything similar on this page.

Not until she looked at the eastern hemisphere, did she spot a section of coastline that resembled the marks. Asian coastline, suspiciously close to the region that Kai lived when she met him.

But not knowing the meaning of the corresponding dots made it impossible to confirm her suspicions. He hadn’t affirmed or denied recognition, just said ‘Maybe’ .

There was a white tiger in the vision, so that’s likely what it was pointing to. The tiger clan? But why?

She snapped the book closed with a growl, replacing it on the shelf.

Switching off the reading lamp, she climbed the stairs to see if the shower was free yet.

Light spilled from the bathroom door, slightly ajar. The spaces beneath the other doors in the hallway were dark. On silent feet, so as not to disturb anyone else, Astred slipped through the block of light splashing the runner, glancing up to see Kai brushing his teeth.

Pausing, her mouth went dry as her gaze took in the damp, tousled hair. His muscular arms and torso gleamed with clinging moisture from the hot shower, a towel draped so low on his trim hips, it threatened to tumble to his feet.

Pulse accelerating, she stood transfixed as powerful memories urged her closer, daring her to reach out and touch him like she used to.

That night on the beach taunted her, making it clear they still desired one another.

But he’d pleasured her and left her there.

Her gaze dropped to his strong hands, one on the countertop, the other working the toothbrush.

Hands that knew how to make her feel . Her favorite sensation was that of Kai’s warm hands on her body.

Heart pounding now as she struggled against the unwanted feelings, she realized he was staring at her reflection in the mirror as she lurked like a peeper in the hallway.

She cleared her throat. “Almost done?” she whispered a little too cheerily.

The corner of his mouth curled around the toothbrush before he leaned to spit the toothpaste out and rinse his mouth.

Astred’s eyes dropped to the towel that slipped dangerously lower. Her tongue slid across her lower lip as she met his gaze when he straightened with a nod.

He pulled the door open wider, stepping up to the threshold.

Rooted, Astred struggled to breathe as she fought against the familiarity of the moment. A moment when she would have just slid her palms over the taut muscles of his chest and arms, inciting him to drag her against him. When she’d flick the towel out of her way to take what she wanted, with his beautiful mouth taking hers and traveling down the column of her throat to—.

“Astred?” His silky voice tugged her to the present, brow raised.

Practically naked, his skin hot and moist, she drew a deep breath of his soapy scent, tasting the clean musk of his tiger and his dragon.

Heart ticking in her ears and pulsing between her thighs, she distantly realized that she was blocking the way.

Her nipples pebbled as he leaned close, aura brushing hers, whispering next to her ear as his hand slipped over her hip, “Hot is left. The lever is stiff and requires a little play to get it where you want it.” He gently eased her back a step and slipped past her to his room. “Good night, Red,” he nodded, pushing the door open.

Eyes locked on the graceful curve of his back and wide shoulders, she met his eyes and nodded dumbly.

Astred snapped her mouth shut as Kai disappeared from view, and stepped into the steamy bathroom, clouded with his scent, shutting herself inside. Leaning against the slick wood, she closed her eyes and breathed deep.

Desire thrummed through her, dragging the heart ache with it.

I miss him. I miss him so much.

She shed her clothing, adjusted the water, and stepped in, her mind crowded with images of Kai.

Her soapy hands roamed over her body. How easily she could have tugged that towel to—no. She’d broken things off with him. That night on the beach was the last time.

Anything more, meant everything more.

But it didn’t stop her from remembering, imagining the sensation of his lips on hers, his hands caressing her back, palming her breasts.

Had he thought of her during his shower? She slid a soapy hand between her thighs as the other cupped a breast.

Her breath hitched, and she sighed, alleviating the sudden tension. But it wasn’t enough.

She wanted him. Needed him, if she was honest.

It wasn’t just the desire.

When she recalled their time together, it wasn’t the times of passion that dominated her memories. It was the quiet, lingering moments afterward, wrapped in each other’s bodies, comforted in the sanctuary of one another’s souls.

Astred bowed her head under the shower spray, both arms now crossing her chest trying to contain her heart ache. She wouldn’t allow any tears to fall for what she’d thrown away.

I did this. To myself. To him.

She’d sailed so far away from his love, she’d managed to land right back in front of him, unable to escape this time.

Except now everything was far more fucked up than when she’d left him.

There was no point in trying to fix things. She still couldn’t have him, even if by some slim chance he might still want her.

It doesn’t matter anymore.