Dragon 4 Chapter 27

Yev bumped her sister's hip in greeting as she sat down at one of the benches spread out around the castle. The grills outside were busy, as everybody started working on making breakfast.

Jadelyn was currently manning three grills with the help of Polydora.

It took a lot to feed a conclave of dragons.

Tyrande winced at her sister. "My hips are still sore, you brute."

Yev laughed. The two sisters were cute as we sat down eating breakfast. We were wrapping up the conclave; everybody would depart soon, assuming I could properly figure out how to bring down the enchantment. But the books had made it seem simple enough.

The last two days had been a strange seesaw of sex followed by boring meetings, and then more sex. I’d been moving between rooms, trying to make sure that each of my women felt cared for and loved.

I was getting the sense that they’d worked out some sort of schedule, because one or a few of them always seemed to be more available than the others. I went with it, happy to have all of them in my life.

"So, are you both coming back with us?" I asked the sisters.

Jadelyn had arranged our jet back, but this time it would be a little more cramped. We’d be joined by my new honor guard, who were sitting nearby on an adjoining bench to where my mates were.

Amira grabbed a paper plate from Polydora and brought it over to Yev. "Nest Matriarch, you should keep up your strength."

Yev grinned from ear to ear as the black dragon bowed appropriately.

"You are eating this up." Tyrande huffed. "Don't I get a bow?"

Amira hesitated and looked over at me.

"I think you should stop bowing entirely, but that's just me." I shrugged.

Amira didn't seem that old, but she hadn't put herself on the same timescale as Brom's three daughters. Her vibrant green eyes shone against her pale skin with intelligence. She was rather quiet despite her rather aggressive black bob hair style.

"Bowing is part of our culture." Larisa interjected.

"Well, it isn't a part of mine or my family." I retorted.

The dragons mulled over my comment, and I went back to my food, slowly watching the others at the conclave move from breakfast to packing up all the furniture and storing it in the bowels of the tower.

Anything else remaining was being picked up and tossed back on the barge.

"Hey Jade, how are we getting the barge back to your people?"

"Someone will have to tow it out. Some people from my company will pick it up once I give them the call." She gave with a wave of her hand.

"But how do they get there?"

Jadelyn gave me a look like I was an idiot. "We are sirens. They'll swim out. There should be a team on standby; they know the conclave ends today."

I paused, a little amazed at the water skills the sirens must have. That was a long trek. But it made sense. I remembered Scarlett telling me that Jadelyn was actually powerful in the water and had a glimpse during our wedding.

"My King." Thuun hurried up to me.

"Please don't tell me something else has happened." I turned to find an excited Thuun. "Okay, what is it?"

"We've cleaned up the murals and painted the new one." He said excitedly.

"I want to see it." Yev was already getting up off the bench and taking her plate with her.

Thuun frowned at the plate, and Yev shoved the food in her mouth. "Be'er?" She said around the food as she chewed.

"Much. Come. Oh, and chew and swallow before you choke." Thuun rolled his eyes.

Yev grinned victoriously and followed them as I got up.

The rest of the honor guard were moving to follow me, as they seemed to always do.

I didn't bother to stop them and followed Thuun into the tower and down the steps. It was oddly reminiscent of the trip I'd taken just a week before to learn more about dragon history, but this time, I knew so much more than what was even pictured. I’d written dragon history.

I’d be shocked if I wasn’t in the latest mural, which was satisfying but also a little intense. They would immortalize me for all the dragons to come.

"The webs are gone." Chloe commented, looking up at the ceiling. "Still feel like spiders are about to drop down on me, though."

"Me too." Her words brought me out of my thoughts, and I couldn't help but imagine driders hiding up in the shadows. "I am definitely going to burn the island before I leave. Kill everything with fire."

Thuun regarded me. "You're going to set the island on fire?"

"I want nothing hidden in the jungle. Just burning it all seems easiest." But I left it open for him to make any suggestions.

"No, that makes sense. The tower will remain intact?" He asked.

"Don't think I could destroy it, even if I wanted to, which I don’t." I quickly added the last part as I saw fear in his eyes.

We reached the bottom of the steps, and a small crew of dragons stood back from the wall with paint splattered on their clothes.

One turned and saw me before tugging at their neighbor's sleeve. "My King."

I nodded slightly at the crew. "Thank you all for keeping our history."

They blushed, but nodded, happy to receive my praise. "We filled the hole that the spider queen made and redrew that one, but we added something new."

The area was lit by a large brazier that stood in the center. The image flickered in the firelight.

It was a similar design of the spider queen being fought by both fae queens and the two dragons. But instead of her death, it depicted her in shackles.

"We now know they didn’t kill her, but sealed." Thuun explained.

"That makes sense. What about this new one?" I turned my attention to what had previously been an open space on the wall.

Instead, it now had a great dragon with swirling gold and red scales being born from Tiamat and Bahamut. The great dragon clawed its way from the world that had been modernized. Minor details of the world showed the changes that technology had wrought.

In one of its claws was Ikta. In the other squirmed seven small dragons, one of each of the surviving colors.

It was more art than a literal depiction. If I stared at it longer, I was sure I’d pick up on even more that they’d woven into the design.

"I seem a little savage here, no?" That was putting it mildly. I looked like a terror.

"Really?" Thuun put his hands to his chin. "You look powerful, mighty and maybe a little terrifying, but this is what we feel when we experience your aura."

"Ladies, is this how I feel?" I turned to the honor guard.

"You feel like a great golden mountain." Polydora spoke first. "A pressure emits from you, like seeing mountains for the first time."

"Terrifying, but in a good, kingly way." Sarisha added, clearly trying to soften it all a little.

Great. I focused back on the dragons who had been painting.

"This is wonderful work. Thank you all." I bowed to them, shifting the scales on my hand.

"Oh please, no. My king, please stand up." A painter hurried forward to stop me. "We couldn't accept such things."

I shrugged. While I was a dragon, I was still me. I wasn’t going to lord over all of them unless it became required to keep order. "Your role of preserving our history will outlive me as king. Please, let me honor your work."

Thuun nodded to the side. "And thus the new king concluded his first conclave by honoring the scholar and history keepers." He sounded happy.

"You are right. Let’s close the curtains on this conclave. Thuun, gather everyone, we will leave soon." It had been probably the worst dragon conclave in history. Never had the dragons been attacked on their own land during a conclave. But I was feeling better about being able to take on my responsibilities as king. I’d learned quite a bit, and I now claimed several allies and friends willing to help me.

Thuun nodded and moved to his painters to help them gather their supplies for storage.

"You six, please go spread the news that I will be gathering everyone on the beach to return to Dubai shortly. I will also be burning the jungle. Anything they leave behind will be gone."

In the last few days, much of the vegetation had already died. Webs apparently weren’t great for plants that need sunlight.

I turned to stare at the mural again for a last time, cementing it into my mind. My apparent legacy. "Alright, we are heading out. Yev, we get to pull a barge out to sea."

"We are pulling the barge?" She asked, surprised.

"Of course we are. And then we are going to ride it back to Dubai because it's Jadelyn's property. I want to make sure everything goes okay."

Yev blinked. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't care about a barge."

I scoffed. "Think of its weight in gold."

She paused. "Okay, now it seems more precious." Yev hooked my arm and held it as we walked back upstairs. "I'm really happy that you mated with me."

"Me too." I nuzzled the side of her head. "You are going to love Philly. But we’ll have to figure out where you want to stay. There are a few places to choose from."

"What are my options?" Yev drew circles along my arm.

"Well, there's Jadelyn's place. Her father gave me a room that I barely use. Then there's a place in Morgana's spatial pocket she calls the Atrium. And finally, I have my college apartment that I share with my roommate." I rattled off my rooms. "Oh, and they are all connected along with Jade and Scar's sorority house and Kelly's bunker."

Yev's eyebrows shot up. "Kelly has a bunker?"

"Pack house for the wolf pack. But it's a bunker under a fake warehouse." I explained. It was actually pretty cozy, and they were still expanding it as their pack kept growing.

Yev nodded along. "Where's your hoard?"

"Morgana's spatial pocket. The place is small. Although the bath is like four times the size of the rest of the place. It’s pretty nicely decorated, and I have a secondary spatial pocket under the mattress where I stash my hoard."

Yev squealed. "I want to see it. When you add all of Tiamat's gold, it is going to be so beautiful. It will feel amazing."

"I knew I liked to stash away gold, but I didn't realize it helped restore me."

Yev nodded. "Precious metals are a great conduit for mana in the world, and jewels are a great way to store it. It only makes sense for creatures that produce mana and grow with it to like it."

"Mmmhmm" I agreed. "Lay on it and use it like a massive mana battery. In doing so, it exercises our magic and helps us grow. Where do you keep your hoard?"

Yev blushed. "The Highaen still use the gold standard for the currency in Sentarshaden. It helps make things simple and keep it connected to the markets, given we can't openly participate in them. So there is a large stockpile, kind of like Fort Knox, that I get to lie on from time to time."

"You don't have your own hoard?"

"I do. It just isn't as impressive." She whined, worried that I'd judge her. "Can I play in your hoard?"

"Sure, you’re mine. If you want, I could just perch you on the side of my hoard like a trophy. Actually, I think you'd go great next to a big rack of jewelry I'm going to set up once I get Tiamat's hoard put in place."

Yev gasped and slapped my shoulder. "You wouldn't! I'm much more than just a trophy."

"Mine." I growled, pushing her against the wall and nibbling at her neck.

She ground against me. "Yours. But if you leave me as a trophy in your hoard for too long, I'm going to come find you. But I’m not against playing in your hoard. If you let me play there often enough, maybe I'll eventually mix my hoard into yours."

The beast became frazzled by that concept. It did not like the idea of mixing a hoard, unless all of it became mine.

Only what was mine belonged in the hoard, and if it entered, then it must become mine. But it seemed odd to me that my dragon would have different perspectives than her own dragon.

And that’s when it hit me. Her mixing her hoard was giving it to me, in an ultimate level of submission.

I growled hungrily, my jaw cracking as I bit Yev's collar yet again. I marked her once more. "Mine."

She cooed and stroked my face, running her fingers along my neck, knowing exactly what she had just done.

I was about to fill her right then and there, but footsteps brought me out of the moment.

"Don't mind me." Thuun chuckled, hurrying past me. "Glad to see the green flight will grow quickly."

Having broken the mood, I realized what we were doing and felt my face heat. "Damn. You really push my buttons." I growled.

"Sorry. Not sorry." Yev nipped at me. "But we should get going, otherwise they will all be waiting at the beach for a while."

"You'll pay for this later." I warned.

"I'd better. The dragon king should punish unruly mates." Yev giggled and grabbed my arm, pulling me up to the main floor of the tower.

Dragons and their harems were hurrying to stash away the last of their belongings. And any remaining items were being thrown into the jungle to burn.

I noticed the train of goods making their way to the barge. I actually grew a little jealous at the few big screen TVs I noticed. Somebody had been relaxed enough and had enough free time to watch tv during the conclave.

"Let's head down to the beach." I gave Yev a tug when she stopped moving.

As we moved, we picked up the honor guard, Scarlett, Jadelyn, Morgana and Tyrande, who was still walking a little funny.

I was surrounded by beautiful women. Seeing Frank's face when we got back was going to be great.

When we reached the beach, the dragons and their harems counted off, like students at the end of a school field trip.

As the last of the goods were loaded onto the barge, they all turned to face me, waiting for the sendoff.

"We end the Dragon Conclave. I wish you all the best until next we meet." I didn't need prompting from Brom. The words were my own. "It was a wonderful time and the dragons have only grown stronger with the unity of this week. Don’t be a stranger if there is trouble in your territory. I work not for just one flight or one half of our race. I will defend each and every dragon to the last. Shift, mount up, and follow me. I will be scouring the island after we leave. We leave nobody or nothing you don’t want to lose."

There were a few chuckles among the dragons, and scales blossomed from many bodies all around me.

I stepped away, shifting and growing to my full size as gold and red swirled around me. Yev and my honor guard shifted, their scales a brilliant rainbow of the remaining dragon species.

Rather than mount me, my mates climbed aboard Yev's back as I strode out along the beach, getting a little momentum before launching myself high into the air, winding upwards.

Brom joined me, and I felt his magic wrap around the dragons, concealing us from any human eyes.

One by one, all the dragons lifted off into the air. I knew so many of them now after the conclave.

The dragons waited for me, and I led them towards the barrier, pushing my aura before us.

I could see the magical shell peel back as my aura touched it, and I flew through the opening as it widened. Dozens of dragons roared through the opening behind me in a rainbow of colors as they flew high up in the air.

As soon as we exited, the dragons split off, many flying their own directions, wrapping themselves in their own magic.

Brom came up alongside me in flight. "If you need me, I am only a call away, my king." He dipped his head and soared past me.

I circled just outside the barrier, and dozens of dragons chose to fly with me for a moment and say their last goodbyes, often including a pledge should I need them in the future.

The massive army of dragons was formidable, but I hoped I wouldn’t need them in the future. Should Ikta return or break her oath, I would be ready for a hell of a fight.

Over time, the number of dragons still in the air dwindled, only my mates and the honor guard flying around.

"I’m going to wash the island clean and start its regrowth. Can you dredge up the anchor for the barge?"

"If I can't, I'm sure one of us can figure it out." Yev stuck out her tongue, a goofy expression on a dragon.

I banked my wings and dove back through the barrier as it parted for me once again. Yev and the honor guard followed, but broke off immediately to deal with the barge, pushing it off the sand.

The island's greenery was marred by the white wispy webs.

I let that sight anger me as I drew in a deep breath. Starting on the other end of the island, I let out a roar that loosened a wave of fire from my mouth, coating the jungle below.

The first pass blossomed into fiery light as I felt the heat touch my scales.

The exercise was cathartic, in a way. The bloodthirsty part of me even hoped Ikta had left a few forces to destroy.

I soared up higher before turning and swooping down once again, coating another swath of the jungle in fire.

Six passes later, I’d sent the entire island ablaze.

The tower was safe. The fires of the jungle tried to catch it and ignite, but all it found was stone. We’d scoured the tower, so I was fairly certain nothing remained. Anything that did would have trouble finding food and water.

Ikta had only managed to create portals once she was here in person. Otherwise, there had been no need to hide in a dragon’s skin to invade the conclave.

I felt confident that I had scoured the island.

Turning back, I found no dragons, but a barge slowly drifting off the shores.

They had all shifted back to their human forms and were waiting on the barge.

I smiled; I had a feeling the barge would have trouble floating if they were in their dragon forms.

I slowed down as I dipped down, flying low over the boat. I could see that the anchor line had been pulled up and was hooked to a crane that held it out.

Understanding what they wanted, I grabbed the anchor line on my first pass, jerking myself and the boat as it snapped taunt.

For a moment, I was concerned about the chain snapping, but the extraordinarily thick anchor chain held.

It took me a moment to figure out how to pull it while keeping my wings flapping and my body in the air, but I figured it out. I let out a roar as the barge jerked into motion.

"You go, husband!" Jadelyn shouted from the barge, and I felt a smile touch my lips as I hauled it out of the barrier and then further into the sea.

Once we’d passed through the barrier, I dropped the anchor line and turned to see the barge drifting.

My job done, I started flying down, realizing there had been a major flaw in my plan. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to land on the barge without tipping or sinking it.

AN - So I was working on Supervillains 2 today and had a scene where I thought I should give Venus a big description. I then went through all of book 1 and for the life of me could not find where I gave her a solid description besides her costume (trying to be consistent in wording). I have notes. But did I really never give Venus a solid description?! Gasp. Anyway, her story/backstory is fleshing out nicely in book 2. Working through chapter 12 of Supervillains today, so I'm a solid 1/3 through.