Chapter Seventeen
Emily had been in a dragon’s lair a time or two, but never a cave in the mountains. Never one such as this. Inside the mouth of the cave, smooth stone with water rippling down and flowing down a French drain hid what lie deeper inside. Naomi released her.
Emily watched as Naomi bowed her head, brought in her wings to cocoon her while the rest of her body transformed back into its human shape. Lastly, her wings shrunk, pulling in behind her shoulders until they disappeared.
Naked as the day she was born, Naomi grabbed Emily’s arm. “This way.”
Deeper inside the cave, the entrance widened and opened to a large room. The walls and floor were smooth with blended ores. Silver, Gold, Bronze, like marble. A green and amber-scaled dragon lay curled up in the far corner, and Emily knew that was Garth. His breathing steady, his eyes closed. She noticed the deep gash along his curved neck and the missing scales on his shoulder.
On the other side, Naomi had made a nest of feathers, scales, and furs. To a human, it appeared like a king-sized bed. Emily watched as the dragoness pulled a long skirt and peasant blouse on from a stack of clothes by the nest.
Emily sucked in her breath and winced. A loud crack, the sound of grumbling, came from her stomach. She looked down as a large piece of the egg fell from beneath her shirt. Falling to her knees, Emily covered her hands over the hole at the bottom side of the egg.
Naomi returned to her side, pushing away her hand. She shoved up the shirt. “It’s coming.”
Emily glanced over to the dragon, Garth’s eyes remained closed. Naomi ran her hands all over the egg. She pressed herself close to Emily and Emily tried to lean away.
“Don’t, it needs to catch its mother’s scent to bond.”
With the next intense bump from the baby inside, Emily tried to push Naomi’s hands away. A dark and dangerous gleam glinted in the dragoness’s eyes. Inside, Emily seethed. She jerked to the side and the other woman grabbed her and pulled her down, flat on her back. She sat on Emily’s legs, their hands trying to keep the other from grabbing the broken shell.
Emily cried out as the shell pulled away, stinging and pulling at her flesh as another chuck of the shell fell away. She tried wiggling the other woman off her. When Naomi hesitated, about to let go, Emily grabbed her arm to keep her from touching the shell. Naomi yanked hard, stronger then Emily. Then reached back and punched Emily.
A thousand needles burst across her face. Emily blinked, but her face slammed to the side against the heated floor. Naomi grinned as Emily’s limbs went limp and she couldn’t fight the dizziness swirling around inside her head.
She felt the little one inside giving one final head butting ram against her before it poked its golden snout through. Emily watched in a daze as Naomi grabbed a chunk of shell and broke it away. She pulled the little dragon from within. Slick with albumin, Naomi pulled the baby dragon close to her bosom. No bigger than a human infant, she wrapped its small translucent wings around it.
Emily held out her arms but Naomi got to her feet, turning her back on Emily. “She’s mine.”
From within Naomi’s arms, the little dragon cried. Naomi walked over, close to Garth, rocking the fiu, but its cries grew louder.
Emily pushed herself back up on her feet. Her face throbbed where Naomi punched her. She staggered toward the fiu. “It’s a girl? Please, you must give her to me. She needs me.”
Emily could feel her breast aching, throbbing painfully with the fiu’s cries.
Naomi turned, facing her with the fiu screeching in her arms. “Your services are no longer needed. Keeper. We dragons are quite capable of caring for what is ours.”
“I can feed her.”
“As can I.” Naomi reached into her blouse pulling forward a limp breast, pressing the dragon to it, but the babe’s cries heightened as it turned its head away again and again.
“She doesn’t belong to you.”
“Nor you!” Naomi’s nostrils flared. “You’re a human. Even if a bit of dragon blood flows in your veins, you are not worthy of Melsunia’s fiu.”
Emily’s hands shook. Albumin dripped from inside the egg down her legs. With every high pieced cry of the dragon baby, an urgency she never felt before strummed through her like an electric shock. She stalked over as Naomi placed the babe against Garth’s resting body, in the seam of his elbow.
“Give. Me. Back. My. Baby!”
Crying, screaming, the babe’s scales turned from gold to amber-tipped.
Naomi extended her claws from her hand. “She’s mine! I’m the one who has watched over her all these years. I’m the one who has been preparing for her arrival. Me. She’s mine. I have waited for too long for a mere human to take this away from me.”
A cold chill swept through Emily. She glanced over at the baby, and Garth’s eye opened. She blinked, his eye closed. Naomi had gone mad. It glazed her eyes with desperation. Emily dashed for the baby, but Naomi swiped her claws, catching Emily across the arm.
Emily twisted away, but Naomi stabbed her with her other clawed hand. Remnants of the shell broke away from her. Grateful it was still attached, or Naomi’s sharp claws would have punctured her more than a scratch.
“What about Blake? This is his fiu? You and Garth can have your own.” Emily gripped her arm, panting for breaths between the pain. She’d made it half way to the screaming babe. Garth’s eyes open, fixed on Naomi. Sounds of her blood pounding, the fiu screaming, echoed in her ears.
“Blake bestowed the care of the fiu to Garth and I a long time ago. Too busy being the rock star to tend to her himself. It’s a shame the poor dear got so confused that it had to tear and claw its way out.” Naomi moved closer to Emily. “Through you.”
Emily lifted her chin. Garth blinked. Behind Naomi, her dragon mate shifted his head.
For a moment, Emily felt sad for the other woman. How long had she tried to conceive a child of her own? What drove someone to such lengths to steal another’s baby? “At least let me feed her, calm her down. What will Garth think when he wakes?”
Naomi didn’t look back. Her eyes narrowed on Emily. “It does not matter. In the time he wakes, I will have consoled Blake after losing another mate, and since our bond has never been strong, he shall release me and I will take my place as the mother of the last sun dragon of our kind.”
“Over my dead body,” Emily lunged for the baby.
As Naomi sprang for her, Garth whipped his tail out, slamming Naomi against the wall. Four large spikes elongated from the tip, piercing through Naomi. Her eyes widened. Tears trickled down her face, and then she went limp.
A vibrating roar echoed in the cave as a large golden dragon emerged into the lair.