The Twin Dragons Series: Dragon's Blood

Luvenia

Water trickles down the cave walls, catching the light and making the gold dust shimmer. I’m heading deeper into the cave, into the darkness.

I round a bend and find myself bathed in a new light.

Green moss comes into view, and my Dragon senses kick in. My nostrils flare, my eyes dilate, and I focus on what lies ahead.

I’m eager to find more green—it’s what I’m used to.

What I find makes me smile.

I’ve stumbled upon a hidden paradise within this cavern.

I slow my pace as the wet cave floor ends, and the ceiling above me opens up, revealing a vast space.

It’s about the same size as Deep Cavern, but teeming with life: trees, bushes, moss, and pools of water scattered throughout.

Water streams down from cracks in the cave, high above where the sunlight filters in. The opening in the ceiling is hundreds of meters above me.

It’s a perfect entrance and exit for Dragons.

I feel an urge to transform and fly out, just to experience the thrill of swooping back into this hidden paradise from the barren landscape outside.

I know that in deserts like this, rocks can hold and hide vast amounts of water.

I guess that’s where the water seeping through the cracks is coming from.

The cavern floor is covered in small ponds of water, moss, and some grass. I tiptoe through, my toes curling in the soft, cool, and moist green layers over the rocks.

As I venture deeper, I notice that the terrain is uneven.

There’s not much flat ground. I have to climb over rocks to reach other platforms of pools or trees.

After climbing over a few boulders, I find a row of fruit trees with a few insects and even birds fluttering around.

I stop when I see a branch shake as a tiny blue bird lands on it. It tilts its head and looks at me.

I can hardly believe my eyes.

Shai, is that you? I ask, grinning from ear to ear.

Yes, it’s me, she replies, and I can’t help but smile.

“I’ve got a friend here,” I whisper, hurrying over to the fruit tree where she’s perched.

I pick a ripe, red plum, and Shai stays put.

“You followed me here? What are you doing in this place?”

I didn’t follow you, Luv. I followed the boy on the tail. Shai sounds nervous as she answers, and she trembles as if expecting a feather to fall out.

But she hasn’t said anything wrong.

She’s safe.

“Oh?” I’m a bit confused. “Are you from here?”

I can’t answer that, Luv. Shai flits from the tree and flies off through the cave I just came from.

She seemed really nervous about my questions.

I frown. Fine.

Now I’m alone again.

I shrug and take another bite of the plum. Juice runs down my wrist, and I lick it off before it drips onto my leather outfit.

I make my way over to more boulders and climb up to the third ledge, where a large pool is filled by a constant stream of water.

I finish my plum, toss the pit into the grass behind me, and rinse my hands in the water.

As soon as I finish my fruit, I feel eyes on me. My mind-reading abilities seem to work better here. Without even meditating yet, I already feel a sense of control over my power.

A sense I’ve never felt before.

It’s refreshing.

Knowing that Thaddeus and Sylvan are somewhere, watching me, I decide to shake things up a bit.

I start to undress. As I do, I can feel the tension in the air rise.

I can sense their surprise and shock.

Perfect.

At the same time, I’m a little hurt that my plan is working. I guess I really am repulsive.

I’ve taken off my leather bra, and now I kick off my leather pants that I’ve pulled down over my ankles.

Completely naked, I look down at my pale skin and take my first step into the warmish pool of water.

I wade around for a bit and find a boulder in the water to sit on, leaning back against the smooth rock.

It’s a nice little alcove, and after settling there for about thirty minutes, I’m still alone.

Finally, I can relax.

My Rogue instincts are satisfied. I have an area to myself. There’s no one else around. I’m in complete isolation.

I’m happy.

This little getaway isn’t so bad after all.

Sylvan

I can’t stand her arrogance, I growl, pacing up and down the highest cave corridors of our home. My Dragon claws scrape the rock beneath me in frustration.

Thaddeus and I both have rooms up here, and we’re debating what to do with the princess while we watch her from above.

She’s just undressed, and it’s sent both our Dragon instincts into overdrive.

I can’t focus on our goal when I see her, Thad replies. ~I don’t know what it is. There’s nothing to like about her.~

Then stop looking at her, I snap, swiping at his tail.

Thad spins around to face me, growling low. You’re just as captivated as I am…don’t lie. He rubs it in, and I just sit back on my haunches, my tail twitching with irritation.

She’s just a half-blood and a cold ice queen. Why are we letting her distract us from our true desire? We should be in the forest with the other fledglings, showing them who’s in charge.

I’m angry, and to make matters worse, my muscles ache with unreleased power.

Thad feels the same internal struggle. Everyone has always told us we were born to rule.

We’re still not fully grown into our Dragon forms, but we’re already bigger and stronger than all the other fledglings we’ve met.

Our genetics make us eager to dominate, eager to rule.

The problem is, we have nothing to rule.

Our Horde is a ghost town. The only souls left are a handful of slaves, a couple of elderly Dragons who never venture out, and my brother and me.

The Requiem Horde offers a temporary escape. It's a playground, teeming with opportunities for us.

Our ultimate goal is straightforward: we want our own Horde.

We haven’t told Althor about our plans yet, Thaddeus nudges me, picking up on my thoughts.

He couldn’t care less about what we do. He’s too busy with his spells and communing with the dead to bother about us.

I rise and brush past Thad, poking my head out of the cave to catch a glimpse of Luvenia bathing below.

I can’t help but look again.

Thaddeus joins me.

We’re both silently brimming with pent-up energy. Two unfulfilled desires. To rule. Luvenia.

I still my twitching tail.

Oh.

Suddenly, it all makes sense.

What’s the big revelation? Thad teases, but his gaze remains fixed on Luvenia’s reclining form in the water.

Your brain finally caught up with mine?

Do share, I retort, a hint of sarcasm seeping into our mental exchange. ~I doubt you’ve thought of what I have.~

Thad shoots me a smug look, pausing before he responds.

If we control Luvenia, if we can make her dance to our tune, we’ll have the other fledglings eating out of our hands.

She’ll be our ticket back into the Requiem Horde whenever we need it. We can kill two birds with one stone. Get Luvenia out of our system—and control the fledglings.

We’ll be well on our way to establishing our own Horde, Thaddeus asserts, leaving me wondering why he kept this to himself.

Annoyingly, you’ve echoed my thoughts exactly. Why did you hold back? I question.

You’re not the only one who can’t stand her arrogance. She’s been pampered all her life. She’s a typical princess.

I’ve been mulling over how to transform her from a princess to…something else.

Thaddeus’s suggestion elicits a low growl of approval from me.

Once we’ve tamed her, she’ll be out of our system. It won’t be difficult. Females are easy to manipulate. I back his plan.

Thaddeus thumps his tail against mine, equally pleased with our shared thoughts.

Once the princess falls in line, her friends will follow suit. She thinks they despise her, but they actually hold her in high regard.

They speak highly of her when she’s not around. This will be interesting—

It certainly will be. She thinks you’re a brute, I remind Thaddeus, a chuckle escaping me.

Typical of a simple-minded female to not look beyond the surface. Luvenia doesn’t know the first thing about men, yet she acts like she rules the universe.

She’s not a princess in my eyes; she’s just an amusing, naïve little girl, Thaddeus states coldly.

Careful, I caution him, and he shoots me an impatient look. ~You don’t want to scare her off with your blatant aggression.~

Shut up, Sylvan. If your sweet talk doesn’t break her, my blunt words will, Thad retorts lazily.

Shall we disturb her nap, Thaddeus? I suggest.

I’m already at peace with our decision.

Everything feels right.

To rule. Luvenia.

Just the thought of these two things soothes my soul, and nothing brings me more joy than the image of Luvenia eager to please us.

At first, I found her mildly intriguing.

Now, after sorting through my thoughts, I know what I want.

I need to satisfy my Dragon needs. I want her pleasing me.

And it doesn’t have to be sexual. I just want her to submit and acknowledge our superiority. We are the alphas.

Once her arrogance is crushed in our presence, we can refocus on creating our own Horde.

That’s the real issue. Our only problem with the princess is her failure to recognize our natural dominance, something everyone else does.

Fortunately for us, breaking her won’t be difficult.

We were born to rule everyone and everything. It’s our destiny; it’s what I’ve seen over and over in the reflective waters of this cavern.

I can see my future with my brother: Dragon Lords ruling the forest.

Luvenia herself isn’t that important... but proving our leadership is.

Because right now? She seems to be our only obstacle.

Once we’ve shown her who’s boss?

She will submit. We’ll lose interest.

And then we’ll move on to our next goal, with no one standing in our way.