Page 9 of Dragon Rivals of New York (Dragons of New York #3)
Chapter 9
Sora
I t’s not until my best friend looks across the pool at me and smiles that I start to relax a little. She knew this was how it was going to be when she invited me. I just wish I had a little more warning. I raise my eyebrows are her, silently calling her out for not telling me everyone here would be naked.
She raises hers back. Would you have come if you knew?
I shake my head. Fine, you’re right.
She smirks.
There’s no one else in the world I could have a silent conversation with like that. Finley is the sister I never had, and she’s about to become a dragon! An honest to goodness real life dragon. I can’t fully wrap my mind around it .
“Do you understand the choice you’re making?” The Queen of the Silver Horde asks.
“I do.” Finley’s voice rings loud and clear through the temple.
“Do you vow to abide by the rulings of this throne and the laws of our horde until death, on penalty of death?”
“I do.”
“Do you pledge yourself to protect and defend every member of this horde until death, and on penalty of death?”
“I do.”
This is a lot more serious than I thought. On penalty of death? What constitutes not acting on this vow? How do they get away with enacting their own punishments in a modern society?
Jethro wraps an arm around my waist. “Don’t worry, lovely. It’s a pledge of loyalty, but we live in a time of peace.”
“It isn’t always that way,” Kyro mutters under his breath.
“Do you not want her to decide to be a dragon?” Jethro snaps at Kyro.
“I won’t lie to her. Being a dragon can be dangerous.” With his hand still on my neck, he turns my head so I’m looking at him. “But I will do everything in my power to protect you, as would every member of my horde. That’s what the vow is about. Looking out for each other.”
“As would I and my horde,” Jethro adds.
“Cyrus,” Adrianna says. “Do you acknowledge Finley as your goddess given mate?”
“I do.” Cyrus looks at Finley like she’s the only one in the room, the only one in the world. I don’t think Manny ever looked at me like that.
“Do you each pledge your loyalty and love to each other and to this horde until death, and on penalty of death?”
“We do.”
“You may enter the pool.”
“Wait, what? They’re going in there?” My whisper is louder than I intended, and a few heads turn to look our way. “But it’s all…”
As Cyrus and Finley enter the pool holding hands, ripples form on the surface of the liquid silver, swirling with the red blood of the horde. Steady steps lead them deeper and deeper until the liquid is up to their shoulders. They turn to look at each other, both smiling, and then they sink all the way under.
I hold my breath, pressing one hand into my abdomen as the other covers my mouth. I’d heard about “the pools” but I didn’t think Finley would have to submerge herself so literally in a pool of silver and blood. Bile fills my mouth, and I swallow hard to keep from losing the elaborate meal we ate at the wedding dinner.
There’s no way I can do what Finley's doing. I shudder just thinking about it.
The silence in the temple is deep enough to hear every breath. And every lack of breath. She’s been under too long. I look at Kyro. He’s as stern-faced and cool as ever. I turn to Jethro. His warm smile calms my nerves a little. But not by much.
One breath. Two breaths. Three breaths. My heart pounds frantically. Where are they? Why haven’t they surfaced? Something is wrong.
I take a step toward the pool, ready to dive in and save my best friend, but Jethro’s hand on my hip and Kyro’s on my neck hold me in place.
“She’s drowning!” I yell. How can they all just stand here, doing nothing?
“She has to come, lovely,” Jethro whispers, but I don’t understand what he means. I stare at him, confused, until he adds, “Sometimes they have to orgasm in the pool before the transformation will—”
Splash! Roar!
Two dragons fly from the pool, twisting around each other in the air like they’re dancing. Silver and blood drip from their scales and wings. A breath of fire bursts from one and a sound almost like a laugh comes from the other.
The larger of the two lands and shifts back into Cyrus, silver still clinging to his skin. Finley circles the room one more time before landing next to him less gracefully. She stumbles into his arms as she shifts, and Cyrus spins her around. I’ve never seen her so happy before.
“May the goddess bless your union and never part you,” Adrianna says with a small smile.
Loud whoops proceed the slow steady pound of drums.
“We should go.” Kyro wraps his arm around me.
“I want to say goodbye to Finley first.” I start forward, but Jethro steps in front of me. “Kyro’s right, lovely. Midas let Jeslyn stay for the first night of Goddess Week last time, and she passed out for hours. We weren’t sure she’d be okay. Adrianna only agreed to you coming if we left as soon as the drums started.”
“But—” I glance around. The group is already dancing, glassy eyed as the drums pick up tempo. Kyro and Jethro both have flames burning in the middle of their pupils.
The drums feel like they’re inside my body instead of outside it, pumping my blood a little faster, making my head feel light. They’re right. I should go. There’s some kind of magic at work here that I don’t understand. But I want to understand it. I want to stay and experience it.
This feels like yet another example of someone else dictating my actions.
But then my gaze lands on Finley. She’s dancing with Cyrus, but must feel me watching, because she looks up and mouths, “ Go .”
There’s an urgency to her expression that makes me take note and sigh.
“Don’t worry, lovely, we’ll dance to the Goddess’s beat once you transform,” Jethro takes my hand.
“More than dance.” The look Kyro gives me is pure fire. His eyes are a little glazed, his face more relaxed than normal.
“Come on.” Jethro takes Kyro’s hand too, and the bigger dragon doesn’t pull away. They’re both hard, as are all the men in the room.
I’m starting to understand why I shouldn’t be here. This could so easily devolve into an orgy of epic proportions with people who have the strength and stamina of dragons. I’ve always been a little curious about orgies—a secret curiosity .
When I read the Bible stories about orgies, promiscuity, and Solomon’s hundreds of wives, my heart beat a little faster, my skin flushed, wondering what it was like. Even as I was told they were wrong, I wanted to know. They seemed so beyond my experience, so outside of anything I would ever do or be a part of, they piqued my curiosity.
But the emotion that immediately followed was shame and guilt. I shouldn’t be intrigued by those things. I shouldn’t have a fascination with sex at all. Women who were interested in sex, who liked sex, were evil temptresses, at fault for any myriad of men’s wrongs. And I didn’t want to be that.
I’m trying to rewire that thought in my brain, but it’s a slow process. Tonight, could have been an opportunity to do something about those false beliefs. I sigh and glance back one more time as we leave the temple.
The drums are less overpowering in the clearing. Kyro shakes his hand free of Jethro’s. I glance from one man to the other. A little braver, I let my gaze drop to Jethro’s cock, taking in the full sight of it. Pulled tight and stiff, it sticks straight up toward the sky.
Thicker and heavier, Kyro’s juts forward. I bite my lip.
I don’t want to just go home and go to bed. Other options pop into my mind one after the other, each more scandalous than the last .
Desires I could never voice make me clench my thighs together. My nipples tighten, rubbing against the thin fabric of my dress. Two sets of eyes drop to my chest. Kyro frowns. Jethro grins.
“What is it you want, lovely?”
“I… I don’t know.” It’s not true. I could name twenty things I want, but all of them would be… wrong. So wrong.
But can it be wrong to love your mates? The thought pops into my head as if spoken by someone else.
“Would you like another new experience?” Jethro asks. He glances at Kyro, who draws in his brows. “A game?”
“A game?” I repeat. “You want to play a game? Like go home and play monopoly or something? That’s not exactly a new experience.”
“Oh, I’m not ready to go home yet. I don’t think you’re ready for that either,” Jethro says as he pulls me flush against his hard body. A soft growl sounds from Kyro behind me. “I was thinking something a bit more physical than monopoly.”
His eyes burn as they travel the length of my body. I swallow thickly.
“Spit it out, Jethro,” Kyro commands.
“Let’s play hide ‘n seek.”