Seven
Tirah
Tirah stood frozen, gut clenched in horror, while the magic from the circle prickled like thousands of little needles all over her. She’d been told they were going to capture one of their feared enemies. Instead, her fellow soldiers had tricked her. They used her to lure an innocent dragon shifter to her death.
The image of Captayen running the poor female through with his sword kept playing out in her mind. How could I have let this happen? This is really what we do? Anyone with a set of eyes knew the slight female wasn’t a threat, dragon or not.
If that wasn’t enough, now Captayen was urging Tirah to cut the female’s head from her body. Tirah couldn’t do it. Why they even needed to was beyond her.
Oh, she knew that the dragon shifters were immortal, and that they normally had to take the head and heart to prevent them from rising again. But this particular witch circle stripped away all the magic that let shifters change form. It prevented them from drawing on the power they needed in order to defend themselves.
Disgusted at what they’d done, Tirah knew there was no way she could do as Captayen demanded. It didn’t matter that he was her superior. Their prey was dead, and it wasn’t like she’d rise from the grave.
A furious roar sounded, then a massive black dragon landed just beyond the circle. Tirah’s heart began to race in alarm. Now that was a dragon they should watch out for.
She inched back as the dragon shifted into a striking, dark-haired male with blue eyes blazing in fury. In fact, he appeared half crazed as he rushed into the circle. Then, ignoring them all, roared again. Tirah sucked in a breath. She raised her hand to her mouth at the soul-wrenching cry as he crouched protectively over the dead female.
If she had any doubt what they had done was wrong, she no longer did. A gaping sadness consumed her, and she blinked back the tears that threatened. Still one escaped.
“What the fuck?” Captayen snarled at the sight of her.
Tirah wiped at the stray tear, and though she never had a choice in the matter, this was the very reason she never wanted to be a soldier.
“Oh no you don’t.” Captayen grabbed her arm, stopping her when she tried to move away. “You will do this.”
“No.” Tirah tried to pull free, but he tightened his hold on her.
Then he pointed to the dragon male and shouted to the other soldiers. “Kill him.”
As the soldiers jumped to do his bidding, another dragon call thundered through the night. Another song resonated like a fierce vibration inside of her. Tirah’s heart stuttered and she fought to take a breath. A feeling of unreality washed through her, and Tirah lifted her gaze to the sky, instinctively knowing where the dragon was. She stared into the night, seeing the shape of a large black dragon, just like the first, but this one set her pulse racing and made it a struggle to breath.
It’s him. It’s the dragon I used to draw as a small child. Deep inside, a vast hunger awakened and she bit back a moan. Intense need unfurled inside of her, which she’d never in her life felt before.
Eyes riveted on the second dragon, Tirah stumbled when Captayen yanked her closer to him.
“Now!” Captayen screamed at his soldiers.
A group of soldiers seemed to reluctantly peel their attention from the dragon above, and slowly converged on the one inside the circle, while the men outside prepared for attack.
Ignoring Captayen’s painful hold, Tirah’s gaze was riveted on the second dragon as he scorched the ground. Fellow soldiers screamed and collapsed as they burned. Then the dragon landed and bellowed. His anguish and fury resonated deep inside and would have dropped Tirah to her knees, if Captayen wasn’t holding onto her.
Her superior’s grin was evil. “Good, another one to kill.”
As the second dragon shifted into a half-form, Tirah’s mouth went dry. Oh my. He was extremely handsome. With wild dreads for hair, dark-blue eyes, a faint beard, and a body that made her mouth water, she wanted to drizzle syrup all over him. Stop it. This is hardly the time or place, and what in all the realms am I thinking?
“Get up!” Dreads shouted at the dragon male in the circle. The dark one ignored him. With a snarl, Dreads faced his attackers, and Tirah sucked in a breath at how fast he moved.
Then suddenly the dragon shifter in the circle erupted in a violent storm of fury.
Tirah let out the breath she’d been holding and took in the fighting. Demons. She was ashamed to be called Ilyium. Did all Ilyium do such horrible things? She didn’t know, but she couldn’t imagine Mihel doing this.
“Tirah, you need to take her head now.” Captayen shook her and pulled her over to the dead female.
Trembling, she gazed around at all the violence and wished she were anywhere else.
“I said, take her head. You know what your punishment will be if you disobey me, do you not?” Captayen asked close to her ear. His fetid breath made her gag, and she remembered the torture and imprisonment her fellow students had gone through when they dared disobey a direct order.
At least they’d been given a second chance to redeem themselves. All her life, Casin had told her that as a female, and the daughter of a slave, she wouldn’t get that same chance. It didn’t matter that her father was the commander. She’d go straight to the slave quarters to pleasure any man who wanted her.
“I will be first in line to sample you.” Captayen leered. His pale eyes brimmed with lust, and renewed revulsion swamped Tirah. “Now!” He held his blood-covered sword out to her.
“No. I can’t.” Tirah tried to resist, but he muttered a spell and suddenly Tirah found herself reaching for his gory weapon against her will.
No, this can’t be happening. “Please, don’t make me do this,” she whispered, her panic building.
As her fingers made contact with the hilt, she wanted to vomit, until another much more powerful magic pervaded the air. It felt sweet and protective and enveloped her, cutting off Captayen’s weaker magic.
Startled, Tirah gazed around and froze when she met a pair of dark-blue eyes. They were filled with so much emotion, it was staggering. Dreads. The connection between them lasted only a moment, yet in that time, a jolt of fire—recognition—shot through her. Tirah gasped and felt like she was suffocating. Then it lifted, and the magic was gone as if it had never been, leaving a bare, gaping hole weeping inside of her.
What in all the worlds is happening to me? Confused, she tried to keep her focus on Dreads, until Captayen snarled and blocked her field of vision. He shoved the sword firmly into her hand.
“You dare to disobey me?” His handsome face was red and ugly with anger.
Breathing heavily, Tirah shook her head. “This is wrong, how could you do this?”
“These are our enemy. This is what we do. We kill them.” Captayen sneered.
Tirah licked her lips and stared down at the slight female. She’d been so very pretty, and in her eyes, Tirah had felt the depths of a pure, loving heart. No. No matter what Captayen said, Tirah couldn’t justify what they’d done to the female. To someone who hadn’t harmed any of them and never would have.
“Is Casin right?” Captayen asked, studying her intently.
“What?” Tirah wasn’t sure what he was talking about now.
“Casin claims you aren’t useful for much, but you helped us today. If you do as I command, I can make what happens later pleasant for you as well,” he said lewdly.
With his sword in one aching hand, Tirah clenched the bloody fingers of the other into a fist. The horrid reminder of what she’d already done was something she’d have to live with. “How could you do this? You tricked me and used me to lure an innocent here,” she spat, feeling sick all over again.
“I am your superior, you will show more respect,” he snapped.
“You don’t deserve my respect.” Tirah glared at him. Since she was six, she’d practiced with knives and swords, but now an unbearable weight, a burning fury, settled upon her.
Captayen’s cold eyes dipped down to her breasts. “You will do as I say, and we will take her head back to base with us. Then, you and I will have some fun of our own. Or, I can take her head, have you forcibly dragged back home, then bound to your bed for my pleasure. The choice is yours. It really makes no difference to me.” He studied her. “Though your brother will enjoy you more if you fight.”
Despite the sting, Tirah’s hand clenched around the sword and she drew in a deep breath. He’d said it. What choice did she have? Besides, the female was already dead. Tirah could only imagine what they would do to her if she refused.
Heart beating rapidly, Tirah sidestepped out of the way of the fighting, watching as Captayen reached down and yanked the female up by her hair.
Reluctantly, feeling as if she were in a dream, Tirah moved forward. She caught sight of Dreads outside of the circle as he glanced her way. His dark eyes widened in horror, before he turned to block his next attacker. Tirah took a deep breath, steeled her resolve, and swung the sword.
Hot blood soaked her uniform and face as she fought not to gag.
She trembled violently as the head rolled on the ground and stopped beside her. Then she bent over and threw up.
Everything around her was muffled as she wiped her mouth with a shaking, blood-covered hand, then slowly began to back away. She blinked and tried to look away, yet the vacant, pale eyes staring back at her wouldn’t release their accusing hold.