Shadow

Kol’s skin itched. He would have given anything to be free of his stone prison and able to stretch his corporeal limbs. To dive into the pool that occupied the center of his chamber and soak in the warmth of the water, wash away five hundred years of regret that he hadn’t done more to keep the woman he loved. Eveline’s face had faded from his memory. All he had left were fragments of her that came to him in dreams—the softness of her skin, the heat of her breath, the earthy scent of her sex.

Perhaps Roka was right. Maybe he should have avoided focusing so intently on one human. Most dragons avoided favoritism among their treasure, choosing instead to distribute their attention evenly among many humans. There were no limits, according to dragon law. Dragons could possess as much treasure as they were capable of attracting to themselves. His distant predecessors had boasted throngs of loyal subjects, but over the generations, dragons had gradually grown more focused, choosing to reserve their attention for a few very loyal humans.

Young dragons were often encouraged to appreciate their family’s treasures, but Kol’s tastes were not quite what his parents or the Council would have liked. The twins were the same. He supposed it wasn’t so much the singularity of his choice that caused the Council to punish him, but that he’d never marked her. But how did you mar such a beautiful, perfect creature as she was?

The idea of humans like Eveline as mere possessions left a bad taste in his mouth. When the doors to the temple opened he would be expected yet again to collect treasure. He was under no delusions what that really meant. Humans were status symbols to dragons. The more he possessed, the more respect he received. It didn’t help that the urge was innate. He had wanted to mark Eveline so many times, yet rejected his own nature in exchange for knowing she was with him of her own volition. Until the Council had found out and destroyed his perfect life. It was as if they saw falling in love with humans as a weakness. Humans were meant as breeding stock and nothing more, particularly for a dragon as young as he had been at the time.

Loving her wasn’t the crime, however. Showing her his nature, yet leaving her unmarked was worse. The magic of the mark made humans intensely loyal and incapable of betrayal. But to Kol, there was far more power in gaining the trust and loyalty of a human without resorting to magic.

So they’d forced him to do nothing but resort to magic for the last five hundred years. Manifesting his human form with his breath on a daily basis still hadn’t changed his opinion on marking humans, but it had made him appreciate the magic he was capable of more than he had before. Not quite solid, without considerable focus and effort his breath could still affect his environment in subtle ways. He could open doors with it, but most often merely wisped between the cracks. He could sense the smooth texture of the walls that held him in, the cool jade tiles of the floor beneath his shadowy tread. He couldn’t dive into the water of his pool, but he could cast ripples across its surface.

And when the surface doors finally opened, he could sense the change in pressure causing every molecule of his breath to vibrate, the sensation transferring instantaneously to his true form, frozen in jade. For the first time in half a millennium, his perpetually erect cock throbbed in anticipation.

He sent his shadow to the surface where he lingered in the darkness, watching the seven humans trickle in, each one marveling at the interior of the temple as they began to explore it.

He watched their leader intently at first. She wasn’t the most beautiful of the women, but she exuded power he had rarely encountered in human women. This century might prove very interesting if other women were like her. She easily subjugated the male who followed close behind her, and he didn’t seem the least bit put down by her dismissiveness. He only had eyes for the prettiest female among them—a petite and round-bottomed blonde. A tasty morsel by any stretch. The man had good taste.

The others followed down the long staircase, oblivious to his presence blended into the shadows. The third woman’s scent reached him before he saw her, tickling at his nostrils like the soft down of aromatic feathers. Sweet and pungent, like the scent of the earth right after a rainstorm. With cautious steps, she came down the staircase, brushing past him so closely he could feel her heat and sense the rising arousal that the magic of the temple incited in all the humans who entered it.

The familiar and unwelcome instinct to possess rose so suddenly it made him dizzy. He moved behind her and leaned closer, reaching one ethereal hand up to trace the line of her neck. Skin still damp from the heat of the jungle met his touch. He let his eyes follow the path of his fingers down to her shoulder blade, then across to the front, chasing the path of a tiny bead of sweat as it traveled along the crest of her collarbone.

He stood behind her looking down at that tiny droplet of moisture, poised in the arc of bone and skin that pointed down between her breasts. His ghostly fingertip still rested at the edge of it, the remainder of his hand splayed to avoid touching her skin, though he would love to feel the warmth of her against his palm.

Overcome by a sudden thirst, he licked his lips. The droplet quivered, then skidded across tanned skin and pores, lower, lower, Kol’s eyes following it all the way. What he wouldn’t give to be that orb of wetness traveling between her breasts, only to be absorbed at the end of the journey. Or perhaps lapped up by some lucky man. One of the other travelers, maybe?

He inhaled, hoping to impress the aroma of her into his memory alongside the scent of the only other woman he’d ever thought he’d want. He couldn’t deny the pull from this one, though.

Some force against Kol’s back caused his shadowy form to dissipate like an insistent breeze diluting a bank of fog. He reformed to the side of the stairway and glared at the large, male figure who followed the young woman. Dark eyes stared straight back at him with unmistakable recognition.

“You can see me?” Kol asked, sending the thought out with intent to the man. The man didn’t reply, but nodded quickly. He shifted his attention to the woman when she turned in response to his proximity.

“What is it, Kris?” she asked.

“Thought I saw a bug, but it’s gone now,” he said with a twitch of his lips. “Must’ve caught a ride from outside.”

“Ugh, I’ll be done with bugs after this trip. You don’t think there are any inside, do you?”

The man named Kris chuckled. “Not sealed up the way this place is. Legend says that dragons repelled most other living things, including insects. Humans tend to be more like moths to a flame for them, though.” He darted his eyes pointedly in the direction of Kol’s shadow.

“Who’s the moth and who’s the flame?” Kol heard in a pointed tone in his mind.

“You really believe this stuff, don’t you?” she asked.

“I believe it because it’s the truth,” Kris said matter-of-factly.

“I know, I know. Your destiny was to guide us here. Erika’s bought into it, too. Me … I’ll believe it when I see it, I guess.”

The man’s identity became clear to Kol with those words, and the effect Kris had on his incorporeal form made more sense. This group was without a doubt the chosen few who would awaken them. It really was finally happening. Today would be his last day trapped here.

“You’re the Catalyst, aren’t you?” Kol asked. He moved back to walk beside Kris, now more conscious of the barrier of magic that cocooned the man, preventing Kol from moving closer. He kept his eyes on the woman’s nape as they walked, watching yet another bead of sweat trace her skin and wishing he could follow its path, dart his long forked tongue out to taste it.

“Yes. But you’re the Shadow. Didn’t expect to be greeted at the door like this. It’s an honor.” The man’s thoughts reverberated in Kol’s mind. He had the blood too, otherwise he’d never have been able to communicate that way.

“I’m more than ready to get the ritual started. One more day and we’ll all be free, thanks to the seven of you.”

“I’ll have them itching to get going after supper tonight. Trust me, friend, I’m as ready as you are.” Kris reached between his thighs, adjusting himself in emphasis.

“I don’t envy you the waiting, but I understand. It’s been five centuries since I last touched a woman. Please tell me what that one’s name is. I have to mark her.”

Kris laughed. “I’ve heard of you. The accounts of your little rebellion are a cautionary tale at the monastery where I was raised. Refused to properly mark your lover after showing her what you were. I believed in your argument, when I learned of it. Now you talk like your principles have changed. Did the punishment sink in?”

“No, but it’s the only way to complete the ritual. If they’re going to force it on me, I must be sure she’s willing when I have to do it.”

“That may be tricky. She’s a bit of a rebel, too. Her name is Hallie, but she isn’t who she pretends to be. Good luck to you.”

* * *

Kol kept to the shadows for the rest of the evening, but never let his eyes wander too far from Hallie. Watching the magic’s gradual effect on her kept him enthralled. She savored the dinner Kris cooked them like it was a sensuous treat, eyes closed with every bite, tongue darting out to lick her full lips and make sure she didn’t miss a single shred of flavor. Kol could smell the dragon magic that infused the meal from the fresh temple water Kris had used to cook it.

Kris did his job well after the meal was over, encouraging their leader and her human lover to begin the ritual and nudging the others in the right direction when the time came. The man was subtle, but effective. The first couple went willingly, followed shortly by the pretty blonde with the plump bottom. The others stayed in their camp and tried to sleep for a few hours, but the heightened excitement left them tossing and turning, except for Hallie, who seemed to sleep soundly.

Then the young Greek man with the deep sadness left, along with the most skeptical member of the group—a man they called Corey, who seemed to grow angrier the more aroused he became.

That left Hallie, curled up in her bedroll in a shadowy alcove away from the glowing fire pit. Kol only watched at first, his mind drifting to memories of the last time he’d been with Eveline. His old lover had awakened one morning and found him watching her, much like he watched Hallie now.

“You have the look of a very patient cat waiting for the chase,” Eveline had said. “You could have had me in your jaws a hundred times while I slept, helpless.”

“I prefer knowing you’re choosing not to run when I decide to take you.” He slipped down beside her warm curves, cupped one breast, and pressed lips and tongue to the juncture at her neck and shoulder.

She nestled back against him and tilted her head to grant better access to her skin. “I would never run from you. Not even in my dreams. I was dreaming of you just like this, you know.”

“Hmm, like this?” he asked, moving one hand lower and teasing the downy thicket between her thighs. Dewy wetness clung to her fringe. He slid his fingertips a little deeper into the heat of her, enjoying the soft sigh she emitted when he found her swollen bud already slick.

“Yes. Just once I’d like to wake up to you already inside me. To believe we’d never been parted, even during sleep.”

Pleasing Eveline had always been paramount, but he’d never gotten the opportunity to fulfill her request. The Council had learned of his misbehavior and had sent him immediately to the temple. He hadn’t even been allowed to see Eveline one last time.

This could be his chance for redemption. To do things differently. But the ritual was already underway, and the one he believed he was meant for was here. Sleeping.

Hallie rolled onto her side and kicked her covers off, displaying long, tanned legs that led up to the curve of wide hips hugged by dark fabric. She seemed to have an affinity for black. Most of the garments he’d watched her strip off earlier had been varying shades of black. She hadn’t been modest around her teammates, either. The only one with a shred of modesty had been the pretty blonde, and the only overtly sexual interaction among the group had been between the leader and her lover.

It must be a very different world for men and women to be so uninhibited with each other. The other men had looked at Hallie appreciatively, but with a surprising level of respect. Dragons looked at each other the same way, but in his experience, human men rarely treated human women like equals.

Now Hallie lay nearly naked aside from her small, black undergarments. The sleeveless top she wore had ridden up to expose her belly. Her thighs shifted against each other, sending a hint of her arousal to him.

Sweet Mother, he needed to touch her again. He needed her to wake up and come to him soon. To open his chamber and awaken his body so he could mark her and complete his phase of the ritual.

No, he thought. ~So she can learn the truth and make the choice. I refuse to do it unless she is willing. Damn the others.~ But he knew he owed it to his brethren to try. His disagreement had been with the Council, not the other dragons trapped in the temple with him. So he would try. And the first step was to plan his silent seduction while she slept.