Rhey managed to hold back the growl that began in his groin and traveled through his entire body when he threw open the cell door and saw the woman Demelza had called Xandrie. Wrapped only in a filthy blanket, she was radiant. Her auburn hair fell around her bare shoulders – dear gods, he wanted his mouth on her skin – and her eyes, flecked with a gold so bright he thought he might never look away, burned into his. Her fight-ready stance reeked of defiance, but she smelled of fresh-tapped maple and crushed cloves.

He mentally checked in to be sure his jaw hadn’t hit the floor, his hands weren’t clenching and unclenching in their eagerness to explore her, and his pants weren’t stretched tight over his erection.

Ours, the beast inside him said. Our treasure.

“You going to stare at me all day or should we just get to the part where you cowards strap me to a stool and plunge me into the pond?”

Her voice was no siren’s song, though he was baffled to know what he’d expected, because each harsh word – delivered with a sneer – only amped up his desire. He knew he was gawping. He also knew he had to stop. He had no right. The Elders had spoken; they were preparing the Claiming right now.

And, in any case, she was a human and there was no way on Eartia a dragon and a human would be permitted to pair. He shook his head, willing the thoughts of what he’d like to do to her – with her, on her, in her – away.

“Demelza sent me.” His voice sounded normal, if a little lower than usual. Good. He hadn’t been sure he’d be able speak at all.

Xandrie cocked her head and she dropped her “fight or flight, feet apart, fists at the ready” posture.

His dragon groaned, deep in his belly, for a second time. She was naked under the blanket; he could see her when she moved under the slight, dirty fabric. He needed her covered up, so he could attempt to think straight.

Xandrie was on it; she moved past him and found some clothes in a cupboard. “Turn around,” she said.

He obeyed, not needing the visual. If he saw her completely naked, he might take her right then - who cared about the armed guards standing by?

In seconds, she was at his side, fully dressed in an unbecoming uniform that totally drowned her, and ready to flee. She popped her head outside her cell. Most of her former jailors lay, unconscious, in the corridor.

“You took out the guards?” she smiled, visibly enjoying seeing her enemies on the floor.

Rhey could have groaned; if she had been a damsel in distress, offended by violence, like humans were supposed to be, he might have been turned off, but of course, she was as bloodthirsty as any dragon female.

“What did they imprison you for, anyway?”

Xandrie shrugged, looking away, before trying for a casual tone, “Consorting with a Demon, and all that.”

In other circumstances, that might have made him laugh. He’d seen demon-sworn minions, and she wasn’t one of them - not by a long shot. There was no mark on her face, none peeking under her clothes, save for a rune on her hand: an Aether rune. No demon could bear one of those. But, as far as he knew, no human should, either.

He wasn’t amused now because the woman looked sad, wounded. He moved closer, his body taking over; reaching her, he pulled her to him and pressed his lips on her forehead, just as he did with Demelza.

It didn’t feel the same though. Instead of comfort and familiarity, hugging her awakened every part of him.

Thankfully, the world around them demanded his attention. Steel-capped boots and the sound of clanking side-arms meant more soldiers were headed their way. He might have fought the next wave, but as there was a chance that the guards might harm the woman at his side, he dismissed the idea. He’d come in through a window in the tower; it made sense to head out the same way.

“Mount me,” he said.

“Excuse me?” said Xandrie.

Rhey launched himself out the window and shifted mid jump, his white-and-gold scales shimmering in the moonlight. He did his best to keep his large frame steady, batting his wings to stay close to the window. He felt her hand on him, then her legs, and then she was astride him, her hot, sweet self snug against his neck. He flexed his shoulders and shook out his wings.

As the soldiers stormed the jail, Rhey took off into the night, taking the intriguing and enticing human with him.

She was going to be trouble, he knew it. He also was strangely, perversely, looking forward to it.

* * *

Xandrie had no recollection of Demelza rescuing her, so climbing on top of this golden dragon was, for all intents and purposes, her first flight. It was terrifying, and beautiful. The air around them was cool, but fragrant, the patchwork fields below a marvel, and the sensation of a muscular beast between her legs, simply indescribable. It wasn’t merely the fact that he was huge, he comported himself with grace and power. She had to hold on to him tightly, as each movement of his wings projected them almost a mile away. Xandrie peeked underneath the beast and held on for dear life.

As moments passed without seeing her fall to her doom, she gulped and leaned sideways to peek again. This time, although her brain still came up with a million ways how she could fall to her certain death, she smiled faintly.

She had never traveled, nor seen any other part of the Kingdom but the Northern Var, where she lived, but they left that place – home to her captors, her jailers, and her family – at top speed. They crossed the Lakelands, a marvel of waterfalls and winding rivers that pooled into freshwater lakes; then they soared over the red painted Plains, dodging thunderheads and stratocumulus, alike - places she’d only seen in books, and projected on a wall. In the rare hours when the villagers were allowed the use of electricity, they gathered in the town hall to watch shows and movies. She’d looked at the other kingdoms with such longing, and now she’d seen them with her own eyes.

From above. Way, way, way above. Her stomach jumped to her throat and she plastered herself against the warm metallic scales. She’d been brave enough for one day. The low rumbling coming from the beast’s chest was comforting - which did make her think she quite possibly wasn’t all there in the head. Who, exactly, found dragons comforting? But she did close her eyes, and caught a nap.

Eventually, Xandrie awoke, feeling them banking to the right and descending. She craned her neck, to look over his head. She’d heard tales, but nothing could have prepared her for the dazzling beauty of the legendary Kingdom of Farden, home to the dragons.

She was hit with wave after wave of wonder as they flew on, but figured she must have fallen asleep and been swept up in a dream as they came in to land in the Golden City of Tenelar. The castle that dominated the horizon was the most unearthly structure she’d ever seen. There were towers and turrets, buttresses and battlements, ramparts and roundhouses. She saw a moat, a portcullis, and a drawbridge; in short, everything she might have expected in a castle, but executed with such finesse, she would have sworn it was a mirage, rather than the crystalline home to the fire-breathers.

The dragon slowed and coasted, then came in for a smooth-as-silk landing.

She dismounted and put her hand out to thank him. He shifted under her touch and instead of scales, she found her sweaty hand on a pair of sexy abs. Two, four, six… yep. He had a damn eight pack. These things did exist, apparently. Thankfully, they were soon interrupted, or she might have spent eternity feeling him up.

Was there drool on her chin?

“You made it.” Demelza raced across the courtyard and threw her arms around the hunk that had just flown Xandrie further than even her wildest imaginings had traveled. “You’re the best. I knew you’d do it.” Then, turning to Xandrie, she asked, “You good? Everything in one piece? I saw flashes, people coming at you with torture tools…”

Xandrie hugged her friend hard, thanking her because it was due to her she was alive. If Demelza hadn’t sent her friend - or servant - to get her, she’d almost certainly have been at the bottom of the pond, by now.

“Did they hurt you?” her friend asked again, knowing that she’d been avoiding the question. She frowned, and glanced to the hunky dragon shifter. She didn’t want him to know what a freak she was - but he stood there, arms crossed, staring at her as if to dare her to tell him to leave.

“They tried. I can’t explain what happened, Elza, I just can’t. The weapons couldn’t touch me - couldn’t get close to me. I really do have fire magic, for some reason…”

She then lifted her palm, showing the rune branded to her skin.

“It all started with this, and I felt it each time that magic came out of me.”

As her friend had made it clear that their relationship wouldn’t be approved of by their kind, she didn’t say it out loud, but Demelza understood; it had all started with her, changing something in Xandrie’s nature when she saved her.

“Right,” Mr. Hunk said, holding his hands up, as if to physically remove himself from the situation. “I did my share. She’s your responsibility now, Elza, keep her out of trouble. And if the Elders come after her, you’re the one doing the fancy talking…”

Xandrie watched his perfect ass and strong legs taking him away from her. She snuck her hand to her nose and sniffed his wild, woodsy scent that reminded her of the things she loved best – the outdoors, nature, and the beasts of the forest.

“Is he working for you? And if so, how do I get me one of those?”

Demelza giggled, shaking her head as she told her, “I wouldn’t say so, no. That’s Rhey.” Xandrie didn’t catch on, and her expression must have made that clear, because her friend explained, “Rhey Vasili of Fardor, King of all he surveys.”