Dragon Actually

Eventually, he left her alone. But he never gave up wanting her. And that hadn’t changed. That would never change.

“I’ll take her.”

His mother gripped his arm. “Bercelak—”

“It’s all right, Mother. I know what I’m doing.” He looked at his father. “I’ll take her.”

Ailean grinned. One of those big, toothy grins that annoyed Bercelak to no end. “Somehow I thought that’s what you’d say. She’ll be waiting for you at your den.”

Bercelak and Shalin passed glances. He’d thought for sure he’d have to go get her himself. This was Princess Rhiannon after all. And she never let anyone forget it.

Bercelak tilted his head to the side. “She will?”

Rhiannon took to the air as soon as she walked out of Devenallt Mountain. She flew and flew, determined to make it back to her own den before nightfall. She had much planning to do since she knew her mother would probably plan a counterattack of some kind immediately. But her den was a stronghold. With the help of wizards loyal to her, she’d put up so many Magickal and physical defenses around her cave home, there was no way her mother would ever be able to break through.

She flew past forests and towns. Castles and farms. Few saw her. The ones who did screamed in terror and ran away. Gods, she must be angry. She didn’t even go down and snatch a quick meal from one of the villages or simply revel in their screams.

She headed to open sea, moving quickly since the wind was with her. She neared a large mountain when she felt it. A small tickle in her stomach. She knew it was her mother and immediately chanted a spell to raise stronger barriers around her body. But before she could get them in place, the power of the gods passed through her like a flash of lightning . . . and then she was falling.

Desperate, she tried flapping her wings, but nothing. Then she looked down at herself . . . and she screamed in horror.

Human. Her mother had shifted her to human. And she was unable to shift back!

Seconds before she hit the ground, she had one last thought. . . .

Oh, shit.

Bercelak stared at the naked female crumpled in front of his den. White hair, matted with blood and dirt, covered her except for the small odd brand on her bare shoulder.

Leaning in, he sniffed her. No . . . she wasn’t born a human. She was in fact a dragon in human form.

Well . . . there goes dinner.

He pushed her with his snout, forcing her onto her back. When he saw her face, his heart stuttered in his chest for a second time this day.

Rhiannon. Princess Rhiannon. His Rhiannon.

He looked her over. She was bloody and broken. He looked up at the sky and realized that’s where she’d dropped from. No wonder the queen said Rhiannon would be waiting for him at his den. This was where she’d dumped her daughter.

This can’t be good.

But it didn’t matter. He finally had her. He had his Rhiannon. And he planned to keep her . . . forever.

Screaming. Why is there all that screaming?

Rhiannon moved and the screaming became decidedly worse, but she also realized the screaming was in her head.

She put her claws to her forehead, hoping to push back the pain . . . except something didn’t feel right. Her head felt different. So did her claws.

By sheer will, she opened her eyes and stared at her talons. Except they weren’t her mighty white talons she proudly kept sharpened. They were—she frowned in confusion—they were nails. Human ones. So was the claw those tiny useless nails were attached to. Not her mighty claw, but the claw of a human. A . . . a hand.

She looked down at herself and realized she hadn’t been dreaming. Human. Her mother had turned her human. She’d shifted to human many times, but only to fool the humans around her . . . well, and to see if her human form was remotely attractive. Otherwise, she lived her life as a dragon and never understood those who didn’t. Why anyone would want to be human was beyond her understanding... And damn it all, she was brilliant!

Knowing she needed to calm down, Rhiannon took a deep breath and slowly released it. Once she’d cleared her mind and the screaming in her head lessened, she said the chant that would shift her back. Bright colors of Magick sparked off her human body . . . then nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“She took your powers.”

Rhiannon turned her head and looked over at the black dragon watching her.

“Bercelak,” she sneered. Of course, where else would her mother make sure she dropped but at the feet of the one dragon Rhiannon never wanted to see?

I hate that bitch.

“Rhiannon.”

Growling, she forced her human body to sit up. “You will . . . Low Born . . . call me by my title. I’m Princess Rhiannon to you.”

He stared at her for a moment with his typical frown—did he have any other expression?—then he snorted. “Princess you may be. But at the moment you are one without powers or claws.” He stood up and took several steps toward her. “You are human. No wings. No way to escape me. It was a good thing I recognized you or I might have had a lovely meal of you with some parsley. And potatoes.”

Two more steps brought him closer, and Rhiannon ignored the pain in her head and backed up.

“All that soft skin and those breakable bones,” he fairly crooned. “We can’t let you out in this cruel world so defenseless, princess. You’ll need me to care for you. To protect you. Just as I had to do today. If it hadn’t been for the skills my mother gave me and what I learned on the field of battle, I may not have been able to heal you.”