Page 1 of Rhadan

CHAPTER 1

Rhadan had always found comfort in the darkness. All dragons had a unique ability. One that would assist the clan and secure their future. His gift was darker than any before him. And the consequences of its use had created a nightmare he could never wake up from. His boots crunched on the gravel in the tunnel as he made his way toward the main cavern in the dragon caves.

He stopped when he noticed the small mouse at his feet. It was too young to stray far from the nest; he passed too close, and his power had touched the diminutive creature. “Return home, little one. There is nothing for you here.” The mouse chattered at him, then returned to the hole it had exited from.

He had first discovered the foundation of his magic when he was young and didn’t understand the repercussions of its use. Everyone. Everything did as he asked. It was a gift unlike any before him. It took time and the death of his family for him to learn the true nature of his power. His curse.

Despite his tiny visitor, the tunnels inside the dragon caves were quiet. He passed two alcoves that held his sleeping brethren. One purple and another silver. While he had the ability to reach out to them telepathically, he chose to remain quiet. He wouldn’t stay awake long. He never did. It had simply become a compulsion over the centuries to wake for a few weeks every couple hundred years, and Legion’s call to all the dragons had started his waking process a couple of years ago. Now he walked into the cave again only a hundred years after migrating here.

He stopped in the massive cavern where the temple was forming. While it had a foothold in the human realm, its stone walls and drawbridge were insubstantial. Smoke swirled and touched the structure, illuminating it for a second before it disappeared. While Alana had started the connection when she placed her circle inside, only the gatekeeper could open a true portal to allow Adara to make the passage between worlds.

The druids’ survival was essential to his species and he would do everything, including die, or unleash his power unfettered on any who opposed his clan. Dying was preferable.

As he stared at the smoky remnants of the temple, it seemed to call to him. The same feeling he’d had when he was in the cabin. The one that made him make the trek to the caves in the first place. “Adara?”

Come closer. Her voice whispered quietly in his mind. But it was weak and difficult to hear.

He walked toward the smoke, standing still as it swirled around him. “I was unaware you could communicate this way.”

I can communicate with the mates of my children in times of need.

His heart squeezed. While every dragon prayed for a mate, it was a double-edged sword for him. It was an honor and a gift to have a woman who would ensure he never turned dark, and he would never shirk his responsibility, but he would never know if she loved him. For him and not his power. “I have a mate?”

She will come into her power soon, and she is being hunted as we speak. You must protect her and ensure she retrieves her circle.

“Tempest is the last circle holder, and she is only twenty-two. Or so I am told. I have not met her.”

You avoid humans. It is understandable. They cannot process your power and become obsessed with you, but creatures of magic have a barrier to you.

“They still fall under my power if I wish it. Honestly, I am surprised you are unaffected.”

I am not human. The power of radiance affects flesh and blood. I am... more.

“Tempest is my mate, then?” He should be excited. He had been given a druid mate and a circle holder. His parents would have been so proud, but the news of a mate hadn’t woken his dragon. The beast still slept. His red only woke when it was time to fly and had little interest in that these days.

She is. If you do not get to her within the hour, she will be lost to us forever. The mage seeks to acquire her. Allorin has known her since she was a child. He will stop at nothing once he realizes she is yours.

He growled. “You should have told me sooner. She is necessary for your return. My brethren and the druids will fall if you do. Why keep this from me if you knew.”

My power is limited. Mara is having few visions due to my weakness. I just learned of the connection between you and my blind daughter.

He shook his head. “The fault is mine. I avoided her. Though she is a druid, I was wary of meeting her until she came into her power.”

You didn’t want her to become obsessed with you for fear she was a mate to one of your brothers.

“Yes. I will head over to the store now. Tempest is working. I have informed Cole I will take his place at the store.”

This day will not go as you expect, Rhadan. The smoke retreated, taking Adara’s consciousness with it.

He stormed from the tunnels, calling on his dragon as he exited. His beast saw the conversation in his mind and, for the first time in centuries, he felt his dragon’s excitement. His body seemed to liquefy before his scales burst forth in a display of light.

The dragon spread its powerful wings before leaping into the air and exhaling a burst of fire. It had been two thousand years since his beast felt the need to scorch the air. There was nobody around to fight, so this was simple joy. Anticipation. As he beat the air with his powerful wings, covering the miles between the Colorado mountains and the store in Aurora, he resigned himself to his new life.

Rhadan would be a faithful and loving mate. His dragon needed Tempest. It wouldn’t care that she would be under his power for her entire life. Enslaved by something she couldn’t understand. Connected for as long as she lived. He would commit to a woman whom he had never met and who would never truly love him. Maybe when she looked at him with adoration in her eyes, it would be different. That his mate’s devotion would somehow heal the hollowness of his past.

The city passed beneath him, unaware a dragon soared above it. The magic that hid him from their eyes didn’t hide his power though, and all eyes would be on him as soon as he entered Mara’s store. He landed in the parking lot, shifting to his human form before his feet reached the pavement. There were a couple of cars, but it was late afternoon and a slower time for the store. While he hadn’t been there, Alana had encouraged him to visit the loft and store after hours, if he preferred. The seeker understood his power, but as she was mated to his brother, Kell, she was only moderately affected by him.

He glanced at the mosaic-style glass inset in the white mortar. It looked like stained glass, but the pattern created a natural shield for those with a dark nature. He had a momentary fear the wards Mara crafted for her store would repel him, but he opened the door and the chime seemed to welcome him instead.

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