Love of A Dragon (Exalted Dragons Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  Chapter 13

  Love of A Dragon

  K.T Stryker

  © 2017

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  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Prologue

  Screams filled the night sky as the city below burned.

  Damien watched it all, standing tall, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes reflecting the orange glow of the flames. The homes of thousands had been burning for hours now, and the few survivors that had escaped the flames were being hunted one by one. He could see them all, miles away, yet his eyesight as sharp as ever. His lips curled into an angry snarl.

  “King Damien?”

  Damien turned his head, only slightly, as a dark figure emerged from in between the trees and came to stand by his side. William was much taller than him, his muscles bulging as if ballooned. He spread his wings wide, stretching them, before he coiled them back to their original position.

  “How much time?” Damien asked.

  William grunted. “Not much,” he replied. “We need to keep moving. The scouts are already following our trail.”

  Damien returned his gaze to the burning homes. How has it come to this?

  He had thought the peace would hold for at least another century. He had brought his people out of hiding under the pretense that they would be safe, that the race of man had finally come to accept his own and was willing to live side by side without further war. But he had been wrong. His race had hidden for so long, they had forgotten how deceitful mankind could be.

  “We must go now if we are to escape,” William cut through his thoughts.

  “Look at what has become of us, William,” Damien said, his voice low, almost a murmur, as if he were talking to himself. “How could we be so blind?”

  “You could not have seen this coming,” William said, resting a hand on Damien’s shoulder.

  “I should have,” Damien shook his head in anger. “The warnings were there, the stories passed down from my father and his father before him. Man can’t be trusted, and I ignored that.”

  “You did what was best for us all,” William said. “Your people would have died had we stayed hidden any longer.”

  “My people are dying now.”

  When William didn’t reply, Damien shook his head in frustration and curled his hands into fists. If it were up to him, he would have kept his race hidden for all eternity, but it was getting harder to survive. Living so long underground, with food supplies dwindling and mankind encroaching more and more onto their hunting grounds, they would have eventually been forced to step out of the shadows. He had hoped that doing it this way would have ensured their survival.

  “King Damien?”

  Damien felt the anger inside him course through his veins, his own wings shuddering with the force of his fury. He took a step forward and felt William’s strong hold on his arm.

  “Your people need you,” William hissed.

  “My people are down there, burned and hunted like cattle.”

  “But the ones who have survived are not,” William said. “And they need a leader.”

  Damien shuddered. The image of his father being stabbed to death on his sickbed flashed before his eyes. He hadn’t been able to save him, just as he wasn’t able to save his people.

  “I have failed, William,” Damien said. “I cannot lead.”

  William growled and turned Damien around, holding him by the shoulders and staring into his eyes angrily. Damien could see flames in the other man’s eyes.

  “There are two hundred dragons out there,” William spat. “Women and children, and soldiers who need guidance. You are their leader now, and they need you to be the man you were raised to be.”

  “Look at that!” Damien shouted, pointing to the flames behind him, the screaming still ringing in his ears. “How can they trust me after that?”

  “Because they know no other way!” William hollered. “Because you are the last remaining survivor of the royal family, and that means something to them!”

  Damien pulled out of William’s grip, turned to the burning houses below and spread his wings.

  William didn’t pull him back this time. “Go, then,” he said. “The minute your feet land, you will be as powerless as we all were when the attacks started. Then you will die, and the rest of our race will perish without you.”

  Damien clenched his teeth, looking back angrily at his childhood friend.

  “We must leave,” William said. “Hide, find a new way to co-exist in the shadows. Man will not stop hunting us.”

  Damien felt his shoulders slouch, and he let out a long sigh. He looked back at the flames, his eyes watering, the mix of rage and frustration taking a toll on his emotions. William was right. There was no winning here. All he could do was ensure the future existence of those who had survived. It was the best he could do for now.

  “Where do we go?” Damien asked.

  “Across the waters,” William replied. “Stay low, fly strong.”

  “We cannot stay together,” Damien said. “Once across the channel, we need to divide our numbers. We’re a much easier target with our numbers.”

  William smiled and nodded. It was clear that he was happy
his friend was finally taking on the role of leader. Damien scanned the horizons, and his eyes caught sight of the scouts searching for them. They were closer than he would have liked.

  The witches were with them.

  “Come,” Damien said, already walking past William and back to the others. “We must leave now, or we’ll never leave at all.”

  William grunted in approval and followed Damien into the dense woods, disappearing into the shadows that engulfed them.

  Chapter 1

  Kelly Ambers fidgeted as she looked at her watch for what felt like the hundredth time in the past half hour.

  The secretary looked up from what she was doing and stared at her for a few moments before returning to her incessant tapping at the keyboard. Kelly could almost feel the dismay in the other woman’s look, the quiet sigh and shake of the head that came with every interview she had gone to so far.

  She had been late for her interview, and they were making her wait.

  Kelly looked at her watch again before she began to tap her hands against her knees and gaze at the motivational posters hanging on the walls around her. She had always hated these things, frozen images of people standing at the top of mountain peaks triumphantly as the words ‘perseverance’ or ‘ambition’ screamed out in large block letters.

  You want perseverance, trying working at a diner for minimum wage and convincing your landlord that you’d actually make rent.

  Kelly shook her head and looked at her watch. Half an hour had gone by, and she was due back at the diner in an hour if she wanted to make full pay for her shift.

  She’d only moved to New York a year ago, and the small-town Ohio innocence, coupled with big city dreams, were slowly fading. No one had told her it would be this hard. Living life day-to-day, trying to make ends meet when she was actually over-qualified to be waiting tables. No one had warned her that New York was a lot different when you actually lived there, that the touristic charm it held quickly faded once you got to know the reality of its harshness.

  That’s not entirely true. Jack warned you.

  Yeah, but Jack had only wanted to keep her around because she was ‘marriage material’. Jack wanted a home and kids and a backyard with a yelping dog at his feet while he drank iced tea on the porch. Jack wanted safe, and Kelly was anything but safe. New York had called to her, and now safe didn’t seem all that bad.

  “Mr. Crown will see you in five minutes.”

  Kelly looked to the secretary and smiled, but all she got in return was a raised eyebrow and a scoff. Thicker skin. That’s what I need. Stop treating people like they are my friends.

  She looked at her watch, mentally trying to force the second had to move faster.

  The large double door opened and a tall man with brown hair combed back to perfection walked out. She watched him walk to the secretary’s desk, his movement slick and poised, as if he had practiced walking for hours until he had perfected it. His presence demanded respect and attention, and Kelly couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

  He dropped a file on the secretary’s desk, then turned to look at Kelly. He studied her for a few seconds before he finally said, “You’re late.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kelly stammered, standing up quickly and trying not to drop her CV ad purse as she raced forward. She held out her hand. “My name is Kelly Ambers.”

  The man briefly looked at her extended hand and ignored it. “I know who you are, Miss Ambers,” he said. “You were supposed to be here half an hour ago. Needless to say, you’ve started this interview on the wrong foot.”

  There was a slight accent to him that she couldn’t quite place, and for a second it was all she could think about. She quickly shook her head and tried her best to charm him with her smile.

  “I’m really sorry,” she said. “The girl who was supposed to cover for me didn’t show up on time, then I had to race home and change and –”

  The man held up his hand to stop her and winced. “You’re making it worse, Miss Ambers,” he said, frustration lacing his words. “I suggest you try to win me over by following me into my office and not making a complete fool of yourself.”

  Kelly involuntarily flinched, clenching her jaw to stop the retort that threatened to ruin her chances completely. She was already treading on thin ice, and it was apparent Mr. Crown wasn’t the patient type. She could already see herself sitting at the small table in her kitchen, scouring the papers for other vacancies.

  “Rebecca, are there any others?” Crown asked without turning to his secretary.

  “Miss Ambers is the last one.”

  Crown grunted. “Very well,” he said, turning on his heels and walking to his office in long strides. “I hope you are not as disappointing as the others, Miss Ambers.”

  Kelly froze in her place, unsure of what to do. She looked at the secretary who only stared back, then gestured with her head to the office. Kelly quickly followed Crown in and closed the doors behind her.

  The office took her breath away.

  ***

  It almost resembled a glass house, windows large and bright with the beaming sun behind, curtains twenty feet tall hanging large and majestic, a velvet red with golden ribbons, the floor a shimmering marble, so smooth that she was afraid to slip and fall were she not careful. But what really caught her attention were the two figures standing next to his desk. Two statues, gargoyle looking, were fixed at the end of each side. They were made of stone, and had a strange look that not even her darkest nightmares could mimic.

  “What are they?” she whispered, not noticing she was indeed thinking out loud.

  “What did you say?” asked Mr. Crown, his head tilted towards her as he positioned himself on the chair.

  “Oh, nothing. I was just admiring your office. It’s quite the sight, I’ll have to say. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “No, I doubt you have. Much of it is hard to come about these days.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right. It’s quite captivating nonethe…”

  “Why are you here Miss Ambers?” he interrupted, his voice stern with the nerve of impatience.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I applied for this job about a week ago and was summoned for an interview. I do very much look forward to working here, sir. I’ve even compiled a portfolio of all my written work and can prove to you that I am the perfect person for this position, really…”

  “Where did you hear about this vacancy, Miss Ambers?” he, again, interrupted, but this time in a stronger, more intolerant voice.

  She began to shiver, her muscles tightening, her eyes a wide and gleaming white, almost teary. Why was he so eager to know? She thought.

  “Well…it’s complicated…It was through a friend but…”

  “And how did your friend hear about it?” he asked, calming his voice as he looked at her hands rubbing tightly against one another. “Don’t worry, this information is only for our keeping, it will not affect the quality of your interview. We don’t publicize our job offers, you see. So the sources of our applicants are of high value, just so we know that everything is running smoothly according to plan.”

  “According to plan?” she exclaimed, pausing for a moment before she voiced her inquiries.

  “Now! Let’s proceed to your interview, shall we? You’ve kept me waiting long enough,” he said.

  He got up from his chair, walked to the end of the room and poured himself a glass of scotch. He came back holding his mug in one hand, and what seemed like a black journal in another. He sat on the chair across from hers, crossing one leg on top of the other, took a sip from his coffee and began.

  “Now, I want you to put aside everything you’ve been told about the job requirements, and just answer these questions as you would answer them in your everyday conversations,” he said, his eyes staring directly into hers, almost with warning more than instruction. “Don’t put too much thought into them. Just take them as they come, is that understood?”

  She nodded, straig
htening her posture and licking her lips in anxious anticipation.

  “Describe yourself in one word,” he said.

  “Well…umm…hardworking and – “

  “Don’t lie, Miss Ambers, and do not labor to impress! Am I clear?” he shouted, his voice filled with frustration, with rage, frightening to the listener.

  Kelly shuddered, almost jumping off her chair. Her face a weary white, and her cheeks bright red from what felt like a moment of wretched humiliation, of unnecessary scolding. What am I doing here? She thought. Scraping her knuckles with nails and contemplating abandoning ship, she looked up from her feet and into Mr. Crown’s eyes. And then she saw it, a small flare at the heart of his pupil – a bright and warm flicker that turned his ebony eyes into a hazel amber. She was fixed on them, motionless, paralyzed, unable to lift a finger.

  Mr. Crown sighed, getting up from his chair and standing by the window. He looked out into the vast city below and at the endless sky above. Where are you? He thought. He lifted his journal, opened it to a previously noted mark, and scrolled down to the letter K. Finding the name “Kelly Ambers”, he took out a pen from his pocket, and was ready to cross it out until he heard Kelly mutter a faint and almost inaudible murmur. Did she say what he thought she said?

  He turned around and asked, “What did you say?”

  “Ignis,” she said. “Ignis is the word that describes me.”