She was freshly bathed and dressed in a cool, summery tunic made from the soft silk the women of the island created themselves. Lola felt like a brand new woman. She sat on the floor with her legs crossed, and listened to the rebel leader explain more about the sickness that had puzzled them all.

Natural medicine wouldn’t work. The Healers alleviated the symptoms by laying hands. It extended lives, but there was no cure. That was the prevailing assumption. Lola knew there had to be something more she could do.

She gazed across the room. Soleis stood apart from the rest. Something was troubling him. They hadn’t spoken since their arrival that morning. Evening sunlight slanted through the open window where he lounged against the wall with his arms crossed. Flev approached him and whispered something that made him briefly smile, and Lola locked eyes with him and smiled, as well.

But, someone tapped on her shoulder. She looked up to see Thol extending a rounded cup of honeyed wine. “Oh, thank you!” she murmured graciously. When she looked at Soleis again, his grin had eased away, and he wouldn’t look at her.

Lola gnawed on her bottom lip and turned her attention back to the front of the room.

One of the elders took the floor as someone softly played a stringed instrument in the background. The old storyteller’s skin was brown and wizened by the sun. His bald head glistened with sweat, but his demeanor was serene as he quietly spoke. She half-listened to the legend, the story Thol had told them of the Sea Demon. However, her interest was piqued when the tenor of the storytelling changed.

“The sickness cannot be cured,” the old man spoke around his pipe. “Not until the cancer is cut from this plane. It came with the Sea Demon, and now it returns with you.”

Soleis’ jaw dropped as he angrily pushed from the wall. “Respectfully, Grandfather, we didn’t bring this disease. We were enlisted to cure it. I don’t know why dragons share similarities with your legends and myths, but if they were already here, then where are they now?”

The elder blew a stream of gauzy smoke. “Where dragons prefer best. In the wealthiest halls, surrounded by the finest things.”

“I’ve traveled the length and breadth of this world, and I’ve encountered no dragons,” Soleis staunchly replied.

“You do not see because someone was not ready for you to see.”

The old man threw a handful of sand into the flames in the firepit, and the blaze leapt higher. Soleis reflexively stiffened. People in the room gasped at the spectacle. Even Lola was slightly unnerved when a cloud shifted over the sun, and the window darkened, and wind swept through the room. She shivered.

The storyteller’s voice gentled. “You want to know the dragon, but the answer you seek will come at a price, Son of Arken. Will you pay for it?”

“What’s the price?” Soleis inquired.

“The price is knowledge. You cannot unknow what you learn.”

The elder’s pupils glowed yellow as the flames illuminated his face. He looked older than his years, as if he had roamed this world since its creation. Soleis inclined his head. “Tell me.” Lola hugged herself, suddenly afraid to know more.

“In the Before, there came,” the storyteller resumed his narrative, “a black shadow cast from the heavens that crashed into the oceans and emerged a man. The barren world was the stage as the dragon sorcerer played war with the Woman of Light, who had cast him out.

“They were two powerful beings, equally matched and yolked by the same weakness: Love. She stripped away his Soul, but still he fought. He shredded her humanity. She took his Heart and Mind, yet the war raged on. In the end, nothing but a ghost of the man remained. He could no longer shapeshift. He could no longer fight.

“The Woman of Light raised her sword to deal the deathblow! And, yet…she did not kill him. She left this world, believing it an empty vessel for her darkest secret. She was wrong. Her tears fell into the ocean and became the people you see now. We are the children of the Woman of Light.”

Soleis leaned toward the storyteller as the storm outside the window gathered steam.

“Her tears blossomed into the first people,” the old man whispered. Lightning flashed, followed by a jarring roar of thunder. He never raised his voice, and Lola had to strain to hear. “The Mad King devours us, her children, to regain substance.

“No longer a ghost, he crowned himself an emperor. He made us slaves to build a kingdom unparalleled. Those who submitted to his whims were gifted with freedom and wealth, forgetting the truth of his vile origin. But, those of us who remember are still hunted, even now.

“The children go missing. The women weep. The gifted die young. Mad King Belzaan cannot rest until he acquires all he needs to have a full life of his own. You see, the enemy of this world is no mortal to be killed or sickness to be cured. He’s a spirit that must be exorcised. Do you know the man I speak of?” The storyteller’s eyes bore into Soleis.

“You said it yourself. Belzaan.”

The old man inclined his head. “It’s what we call him, but you know him by another name.”

“I don’t understand what any of this has to do with dragons. Are you telling me that President Belzaan is a shifter?” Soleis asked. The old man laboriously rose to his feet, laying hands on his shoulders when he reached him. His face burned with intensity as he whispered something that made Soleis stare at him in disbelief. “No!” the prince gasped.

The old man nodded. “It’s true. He called…and you answered, bringing what he needs to return to his former glory. Because of your presence here, all our fate is sealed.”

Soleis fled the room.

* * *

Lola tapped on the door to the hut he had taken. It was nightfall, and the insects whizzed, buzzed and chirped in the dense grassy field where his temporary abode set apart from the main village. The stars winked overhead. She tapped again when no one answered.

“Soleis, it’s me. Open up,” she murmured.

“Go away, Lola.” She frowned and shoved the door hard. Just as she expected, it popped open, and she entered the lamplit room. “I said go away,” he repeated.

Ignoring him, she brushed the broken door shut and slid a chair in front of it so it wouldn’t swing open when she moved away. Soleis was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn to his chest. His blue eyes were red-rimmed. She didn’t understand his reaction to the story the old man had told, but she knew it had affected him severely.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked as she settled next to him.

He didn’t respond. She laid a hand on his shoulder, and he jerked away. “Please, I want to be left alone. There’s a lot I need to process about who I am…about…” He sniffed and buried his face in his arms. “I’m a pawn in a game that I no longer want to play.”

“What did the storyteller tell you?”

“…Belzaan is Sengenis,” he said after a beat. She gave him a blank stare, and he sighed. “I am Soleis, Son of Arken, Son of Imyr, Son of Sengenis, and I am directly linked to the madman who holds the presidency.”

She clicked her tongue and draped an arm over his shoulders. “Sins of our fathers,” she whispered. “You know, my mother abandoned my family when I was five years old? I always blamed myself. It took years of therapy to figure out she was just a flawed woman with a bunch of fucked up decisions under her belt. It had nothing to do with me.”

“Oh, love, this is so much bigger than being raised by a single dad. I came here thinking I could save this world, but my family is the reason it needs saving. I never even suspected Belzaan of wrongdoing until you came along. What does that make me, Lola? Am I complicit? How can I be the hero of this story? If I leave, people will die. If I stay, I’m afraid things will get worse.”

She gathered his face and forced him to look at her. “Hey! You know who you are,” she whispered with a smile. “You’re the guy with a God-complex who goes around looking for problems to fix. You’ll figure this out. Don’t start second-guessing yourself now.”

“That’s not the way you saw me the other night after what happened to Thol.” Soleis pulled away and rose to pace the one-room hut while she watched him from the floor. “You said you were afraid of me, and maybe that’s for the best. Maybe you should stay far the hell away before contact with me costs you more than you’re willing to give up.”

Lola rolled her eyes. “You can’t tell me what I’m willing to sacrifice.”

“Really? What does that mean? You’d die for me?” he asked gruffly.

“It means I’m still here,” she pointed out. “I could’ve taken this ring off days ago, but I didn’t. So, don’t try to push me away, Soleis, because I’m not going anywhere. We may not get to choose where we come from, but we do have a say in where we end up.”

“Wrong. Our destinies are set before we’re even born. I always thought I knew mine, but apparently not,” he grumbled as his shoulders slumped.

Lola sighed and threw up her hands. Angst wasn’t her favorite emotion to deal with. She didn’t know what to say to draw him out of his mood.

Contrary to what he believed, she did understand. She was the boring daughter of a charismatic executive producer. Her destiny had seemed set, too. But, she had changed it with the decision to help Soleis and Flev. She couldn’t hold herself accountable for what her parents or anyone else did. She had one life, and she was living it. Finally.

Her eyes drifted to the open window. Somewhere beyond the trees, the rebel camp stirred with excitement. She could hear the drums, and the smell of succulent, roasted meat carried on the wind. They were celebrating Thol’s safe return.

She had given Soleis hours to himself before coming to find him so they could attend the party together, but it seemed he wasn’t ready for excitement. Meanwhile, Flev was enjoying the festivities. She didn’t want to leave Soleis alone. She tried one last tact.

“Fine. I’ll go where people actually desire my company,” she muttered, rising to her feet. “Thol invited me to join him at the feast anyway.” Soleis clamped a hand on her wrist before she could take another step, and she looked at him in surprise.

“Are you going to him?”

She arched a brow. “And, if I was? Like I said, he invited me. You told me to go away.”

Soleis gritted his teeth, and an electric blue ring flashed around his irises. She thought she saw a glimmer of blue scales race across his skin before fading. Lola bit her lip, more than a little aroused by the display.

“Are you trying to say you want me to stay?” she asked.

* * *

She inhaled through clenched teeth as her body hit the bed. The silk dress hit the wall—a blur of fabric, flashes of nude skin, his bare arms and back. Suddenly, they were both naked. Panting, she reached for him, but he gripped her wrists and shoved her hands to the sheets.

His hips rolled fluidly in the cradle of her parted thighs as his hot tongue dove into her mouth, plugging her lusty moans. He bit her chin. He wove his fingers through her hair. He tilted her face, kissing the racing pulse at the side of her neck. She gasped.

She tried to follow the dizzying pace of his foreplay. His teeth grazed her shoulder and raked to the hills of her breasts. Then, his lips soothed the bite marks. His mouth closed over a nipple, and her spine flexed. His name exploded from her throat. He lightly choked her while he sucked from one voluptuous breast to the other.

It was mind-blowing. He groaned as he pushed a hand between her legs and silken wetness covered his fingertips. She couldn’t help herself; she bucked against his palm. He eased a digit inside of her, and she thought she would incinerate.

Lower. He kissed lower. Over her ribcage. Over her stomach. Dropping teasing open-mouth kisses over the sharp ridge of her hips. Her body writhed and squirmed in pursuit of his exquisite tongue. Between his kisses and his touch, her orgasm pooled in her core, ready to be released. She was right at the edge—

Yet, he removed his probing digit and stopped everything.

Lola stared in dazed confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Reminding you why you stayed,” he whispered.

Suddenly, his velvet tongue swept over her most sensitive anatomy. A shock of pleasure stabbed through her, and she cried out. He flicked his tongue in torturous laps that drove her insane with ecstasy. She looked down to see him staring with glowing blue eyes, a wicked smile curving his lips.

“It damn sure isn’t because of the rebel,” he added.

Lola sobbed in agreement and clutched his head, canting her pelvis forward. His tongue boldly caressed her engorged pearl, and his greedy moans vibrated through her. Her voice broke in a soprano squeal. He kept going. Her pelvis jerked away as the pleasure intensified, but he cupped her bottom and brought her back to his mouth. He licked and swirled and sucked, and she shuddered and shuddered.

“Oh, God! Soleis!”

“Say it again,” he breathed.

“Oh, God!”

She squeezed her thighs around his face with gasping moans. The sensation kept building. She couldn’t control it. The climax that struck stole her breath. She quaked hard—harder, as he rose to his knees with a growl and flipped her on her side. He jammed into her spasming sheath.

“Huh!” she shrieked.

Her orgasm lengthened and deepened. His nails raked her outer thigh to grip her tighter. Penetrating at an angle, he ravaged her. Her womanhood curved to him as if made to envelope his magic. Lola twisted her upper body to watch him, although she was jostled by the force of his thrusts.

A fierce scowl of concentration clouded his face. It told her he was moments from rapture. Her lips parted in a sob. It felt like he was branding her soul. It was bliss beyond her wildest dreams.

“Lola, I need you,” he grunted. He tried to say more but only managed hoarse, incoherent sighs. “I need—Ah! I need you to believe in me.”

“I do,” she screamed.

“Huhn! UHN!”

Tensing, Soleis quickly shoved her to her back, and Lola eagerly wrapped her arms and legs around him. He buried himself to the hilt. His glutes tightened. He didn’t have to announce what was happening. She felt it. Powerful ripples of satisfaction coursed through his erection. He desperately kissed her to muffle the guttural noises that tore from him, but his rough shouts couldn’t be silenced.

Soleis crushed her slender frame to him. Her body became liquid honey in his embrace as his pleasure overtook her. Suddenly, she was drenching him in the release of another staggering orgasm as they clung together.

They clung together what felt like hours. The descent from heaven was a slow, gradual process. The rustic, one-room hut came back into view.

The sheets had slipped from the mattress and puddled on the floor. A flickering lamp cast shadows on the support beams overhead. Billowy curtains danced like ghosts in the breeze, and the smell of rain and night flowers mingled with the sensual hint of sated completion that lingered in the aftermath.

It was so quiet that she could hear the revelers across the island. It sounded like they were having the time of their lives. She was, too. Lola rubbed her hands over her lover’s hot, quivering back and shifted her lower half forward to savor the last of his virility.

“Gods, Lola,” Soleis exhaled, chuckling. He fell away and lay staring at the ceiling. She giggled softly, and he grinned and peered at her.

“I believe in you,” she whispered with a drowsy smile.

“Why?” he asked soberly.

She shrugged and smoothed his blond hair behind his ear as her gaze danced over his chiseled lips and moody eyes. She leaned forward to brush a kiss over the center of his forehead. “Because,” she murmured. “Everyone I’ve known has let me down, but not you. You’ll do everything in your power to save this world…so you can get me back to mine.”

Soleis licked his lips. “What if I never want—?”

Lola’s eyes widened. His question was cut short by the unmistakable sound of screams. It wasn’t the noise of party revelers. It was the sound of death. The lovers bolted upright in bed and reached for their clothes. She heard bodies crashing through the woods, a stampede of feet pounding toward them.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“The president’s men must have found us,” Soleis replied grimly as he shoved a leg into his trousers.

Lola tugged her dress in place and ran to the door. When she threw it open, she saw a flood of villagers fleeing a pursuing army. She had expected, at worst, a few guards. But, Belzaan was showing he meant business. A light rain fell around soldiers attacking anyone within reach. Gunshots echoed through the clearing. Something about it didn’t feel right.

“How did they ambush us? The rebels have sentries,” she said in a rush.

“I don’t know, but stay here and hide until I return for you.”

Lola darted a quick glance at Soleis checking his weapons behind her. She swung frightened eyes back to the battle, staring in horror as one of Thol’s men cleaved a soldier’s head in two with a sharp ax. She cringed from the sight. But, the soldier’s injuries miraculously repaired themselves before she could turn away. Gasping, she slammed the door.

“This is no ordinary army, Soleis. Don’t go out there!”

“I have to,” he murmured.

“No, listen to me! They’re not—!”

“Lola! I have to go.”

His lips swept over hers in a swift kiss before he left the hut and ran to aid the rebels. Through the open door, the chaos of fighting sounded too close and too loud. The roofs of nearby houses were in flames. Children ran, screaming. Two men grappled on the ground right in front of her, and the grass was slick with blood.

Lola couldn’t process so much carnage.

She screamed her lover’s name, but Soleis didn’t stop, not even when Thol and Flev sprinted past. Flev turned to go after him; however, Thol clapped a hand on his shoulder and pointed in Lola’s direction. “Get her to safety!” the rebel leader shouted. Flev nodded. The dragon warrior shapeshifted and plucked her from the steps with his massive talons.

“No! No, take me back to him!” she pleaded.

“I can’t! There’s no other way off the island. Those soldiers came through the tunnels and the ocean, so the natives can’t even swim away. We have to go, Lola. The Heart of the Dragon will keep him safe, and he’ll find us when this is all over.”

“Flev, those soldiers aren’t natural. Look at what they’re doing!”

“I’m telling you, they can’t hurt him. He has the stone as a shield.”

Squinting through the haze of rain, she saw Thol race to join the fray. The rebels were losing ground. The soldiers fought dauntlessly, never falling. Soleis remained in man-shape, and she knew it was because there were too many innocent people who could be hurt by his fire and steam. But, she desperately wished he would level the playing field.

He moved in a blur of kill swipes, his sword before him like a burning blue jewel. Thol was agile and quick, performing acrobatics as he swung from a tree branch and landed on a soldier’s neck. He took off the soldier’s head with a vicious swipe of his knife. Seeing the rebel leader fight inspired others to join them. For a second, it looked like they might turn the tide, but it wasn’t enough. Nothing could defeat the undying soldiers.

“Flev, look!” Lola cried in dismay.

With an exasperated sigh, the massive dragon cut through the cloudy night, tilting his wings to turn back to the battle. He gasped when he saw the president’s men stop pursuing the rebels and give their full attention to the fierce fighting around Soleis. The horde rushed at him—so many at once that the rebels were forced to fall back.

“Soleis, watch out!” Lola screamed. They were too high above the battle.

And, the horde wasn’t the only thing Soleis had to contend with. Suddenly, the land beneath his feet rippled like water. She hitched in a breath in shock as he tried to jump to dry ground. It was like quicksand. Flev roared flames in response to his friend sinking. Thol screamed in panic, but he couldn’t fight through the melee in time to pull Soleis free.

The dragon warrior rapidly descended with Lola. She sobbed unconsolably, watching Soleis get sucked into the ground. It was a horror movie, a nightmare. When all of him had disappeared, the battle frenzy that had rushed the encampment like a tidal wave instantly receded. The eerie soldiers winked out one by one as if they had never been there. She didn’t know if that was better or worse.

“Put me down, now!”

“Where did he go?” Flev asked. Thol shook his head helplessly. Rebels fighters near him looked equally perplexed.

As soon as Lola’s feet touched the ground, she raced to where Soleis had been fighting. The rock slab was solid again. She couldn’t make sense of what she had seen. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would never believe it. One second, he had been there, and the next... Lola sank to her knees with an anguished wail, and Thol bowed beside her.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t save him,” he whispered.

Flev clutched her shoulders. The look on the dragon warrior’s face matched her own.

“Soleis! SOLEIS!” she wailed until she couldn’t breathe.

He was gone.