Page 19 of Siren Sins
As if he felt the change in the air, the Dragon King’s eyes snapped to me and his nostrils flared. I shivered when his eyes took on reptilian slits, his irises framed by a sickly gold instead of Jet’s metallic green. The Dragon King sniffed, then surveyed the crowd as his tongue lashed out to taste the air. He seemed ravenous and my muscles unclenched as his attention diverted away from me… until I realized what he was staring at.
“I thought you said that dragons didn’t like young women,” I hissed at Jet.
He sighed. “Oh, my brother won’t fuck a virgin girl, but that isn’t his only appetite.”
I swallowed, but a dry, stubborn lump in my throat wouldn’t go away. “And what kind of appetite are we talking about?”
He frowned. “Remember when you said you were glad you weren’t a virgin?”
“Yeah?”
“You were right on the mark.”
“Shit,” I hissed. The Dragon King wasn’t going to sleep with those girls.
He was going to eat them.
“We’ve got to do something!” I hissed under my breath.
Jet shushed me. “There’s nothing you can do. Besides, he’s not going to feed and end the fun early. He’ll want to meet you first.”
The Dragon King sifted through the crowd, stopping to exchange pleasantries with dragons who donned more gold than seemed physically possible to carry. When he finally crossed the room enough to be within earshot of me, Jet gripped my shoulder to keep me in place. “If you want those girls to live, then behave,” he whispered. “My brother will only feed on flesh when he’s angry.”
I wondered if that was really true, or if Jet believed it a simple way to control me. Whether or not that was his goal, I stayed put as the Dragon King approached and took my hand into his scaled grasp. I struggled not to screech with disgust. Even though the Dragon King was handsome, even with his gruesome fangs, I could feel the wrongness of his magic. He wasn’t like Jet, magnetizing and sweet as honey. Jin was ancient, malevolent, and still reeked with the faint scent of blood.
“So, young succubus,” he purred as he lifted my hand to his lips, “we finally meet.” He pressed his lips to my fingers. I shivered as my knuckles grazed his fangs.
“Dragon King,” I acknowledged, having nothing better to say.
He released me and gave me a smile. His lips struggled to stretch over his fangs and his golden eyes glittered with a distinctively inhuman quality. “I hope you find yourself comfortable in my city, although thanks to your own ruler, we shall be free of its confines soon enough.”
He turned to appraise his brother. “She seems docile, my brother. Did you tell her of our decision?”
“Docile?” I hissed through clenched teeth. “I’ll show you—”
Jet nicked me in the ribs with two fingers. He moved so fast that I couldn’t see the blur of his strike, but my breath was instantly taken from me as he responded to the Dragon King. “She’s not been made aware. I was hoping that after you got a chance to know her, you’d change your mind.”
“What… plans?” I gasped as I forced air into my burning lungs. It shouldn’t have surprised me that Jet knew some dragon-arts-judo, but his lithe and speed didn’t seem shared by his brother. I imagined that if I ever picked a fight with Jin, I’d be facing the full force of his brutish wrath.
“Come, dear,” the Dragon King decided. “My brother believes you will intrigue me as you’ve intrigued him.” He grinned at Jet’s frown. “Let’s see, shall we?”
The last thing I expected was for the brutish Dragon King to glide me across the velvet floors for a dance. The music changed with his movements, as if he controlled this little golden bubble in its entirety.
His grace flowed with a slithering, reptilian quality, but his slitted eyes allured me with magical magnetism. “So,” I breathed through the compulsion as he twirled me, sending my golden dress fanning out, “dragons do have the power to enthrall.”
He grinned. “Only the King of Dragons, my dear.” He pulled me close and the sharp tip of his claws pricked at my spine. It seemed a fluid, easy threat that Jin made to remind me he could shred me apart right here.
Jet was alluring in his own right, but his brother Jin was different. His charm wasn’t innate. My draw to him was forced by his magic. All it took was a trickle of red from my Blood Stone to break his power over me. His eyes widened as he realized what I’d done and I smirked.
“My,” he breathed, “I’m no incubus, but that little trinket of yours is capable of impressive things if it can break my charm so easily.” A claw ran up to my necklace and the warmth of his touch lingered on my breasts. “I am patient, young succubus. I look forward to when you come of age.” His gaze lingered on my lips. “But, perhaps, just a taste, for now.”
My whole body went rigid as he leaned in. I didn’t know how to kiss this creature with Sabertooth fangs, and a flood of terrifying images of my face shredded flashed before my eyes, my own look of horror reflected in Jin’s golden gaze.
“Don’t shame yourself, brother,” came Jet’s voice. Jin leaned away, and I found myself grateful to my bodyguard who smiled at the Dragon King. “The dragons wouldn’t respect you if you ravished her in front of everyone. She’s barely two decades old. Think of our family name.”
Jin frowned, but apparently his brother was right. The crowd was staring in open shock. “How old are these dragons?” I whispered.
Jet winked. “You don’t want to know.”
