Page 25 of Claimed By the Sinful Dragon
The summit was a short flight beyond Wraith borders, out of consideration for the other sub-species that weren’t quite so resilient to nuclear fallout as mine. More was the pity. Whole world outside my walls had gone to shit since dragonkind decided to shatter the humans’ delusions about being top of the food chain. Not one of those dumb fucks stopped to think further than the length of their own dicks before enslaving the whole damn lot of them. And at what cost? There hadn’t been a halfwaydecent book published in a century. The ones that had survived the bombs had mostly fallen prey to humans burning them for warmth. And that pissed me off more than whatever these idiots at the summit were about to do. What happened in Alexandria had been bad enough.
Irritated, I beat my wings harder, swooping through the slowly lightening sky. Dawn wouldn’t be far off, and with any luck, the summit would have dissolved into murder and ruin by midday, and I’d be home in time for dinner.
…Or I’d grab one of those deer on the flight back, anyway.
When I reached the Dreary Bastards HQ, I wasted no time shifting back and getting inside. I wasn’t the first to arrive, and a few dragons cut me respectful nods as I passed. I mostly ignored them. I wasn’t here to make friends, and the sooner this whole waste of time was over and done with, the better.
I snatched what smelled like a roasted leg of lamb from a platter I passed, thanking the dead gods who were probably the figment of some sad fuck’s imagination, and the pitiful creature holding the platter almost dropped the whole thing on the floor.
“S—sorry, my lord,” she stammered, trying to curtsey whilst still holding the platter. Fuck’s sake, where did they find these damn humans? And what the hell was wrong with just leaving the platter on a table anyway? I snarled in irritation, and a creature that reeked of Red Reapers hurried forward, scowling at the pitiful female, and then smiling ingratiatingly at me.
“My apologies if my servant offends you, Rook. Charlotte has much to learn, but learn she shall.” His eyes fell on the cowering creature. “Or she shall break.”
I glared at the pair of them, then stalked off with my leg of lamb in hand, taking a bite as I strode into the main hall, filledwith a ridiculously oversized table that was still smaller than the egos of half the dragons who were sitting round it.
But fuck it, the flight had been worth it for the lamb. Hadn’t realized there were parts of the world left that had creatures other than mutant deer and those pigs my old friend kept conjuring from somewhere. Maybe Gaheris was right—Ididneed to get out more.
Dreythos is here.
I turned slowly, letting my eyes rove the crowd with practiced uninterest as I took another bite from the leg of lamb—and then almost choked on it. A human. All but clinging to Dreythos’s leg. I’d never known my old acquaintance to bother with their kind. Not as slaves.
You could call him friend.
I could, if I gave a fuck about such things, I agreed, forcing my eyes to keep moving as I examined the mental snapshot. The way Drey’s body angled subtly…there was something protective in it. Like he was guarding the human. Bold, to be so open about it. At least the creature wasn’t cowering in fear, as the rest of the unfortunates taken by their faction did. Unsurprising, given how fragile the species were. More surprising that this one seemed…intact. And had been permitted to bring her young with her.
Dreythos and his generals guard them both.
Whatever game my old acquaintance was playing, it was better not to draw attention to it, so I didn’t look their way again, but reached out with my senses, tasting the air. The human didn’t smell injured. My initial impression, then, was correct. Interesting.
She bears their scent,my beast observed.
Unsurprising. They all fuck their humans in the Stormriders.
And every other faction,my dragon griped.We also ought rut.
If you think I’m jumping a broken slave, you can go rut yourself.
The child bears their scent.
Fuck off, you moronic lizard.
But regardless, I reached out with my senses again, blinking sharply when I realized the truth of my beast’s observations. The child was theirs. Half dragon. Interesting, indeed. I guess that answered the question about whether humans could bear dragon young. I’d heard their faction was among the most heavily impacted by birth declines. This was a…novel…approach.
They do not treat her like a slave. They treat her like a mate.
You’re seeing things.
I tore another bite from the leg of lamb, vaguely noting the way a collared human flinched back as I passed him.
Everyone here sees it. They’ve nested.
Fuck. He wasn’t wrong. Drey and his generals were staking a claim with their eyes every time someone so much as glanced in the human’s direction. No surprise if one of them had fathered a child on her. Two decades since there’d been a birth in their territory, it was no secret. Things, it seemed, were changing.
Good. Maybe they’d stop short of wiping out whatever human civilization remained in time for them to fill a new library or two.
I kept moving, scanning for a seat next to someone I wouldn’t have to spend the next too-fucking-many hours wanting to stab in the eye.
Onyx.
