Dragon 4 Added 2 Chapters (Patreon)

I ended up going back and writing 2 new chapters between the original 7 and 8. Sometimes I add a scene after patreon, but 2 whole chapters I felt like sharing.

"Okay, first up, we have Sarisha." Scarlett checked off a note on her clipboard and grinned as she walked over to the first dragon.

Sarisha pulled her dark hair over the back of her ear and did a small curtsy for me. "I'm humbled by your presence, my king." She bowed low enough to show off her caramel colored cleavage. She was one of the few to not put her hand over her shoulder, seeming to choose the curtsy instead, but she shifted the skin on her shoulder to a lovely brass.

"Thank you. Come, take a seat." I gestured over at the spot on the chunky wooden bench seat next to me.

After Brom’s palace, I’d expected finer furniture, but the conclave kept everything simple and timeless. The furniture sat for centuries at a time and needed to withstand several dragons. Fortified furniture was more important.

I took a moment to flash Scarlett a questioning glance, hoping she could help me speed up the process. But she just smirked and looked away, pretending something else had called for her. Traitor. I looked back over at my date, who was waiting expectantly.

"So, where do you come from?" I probed.

"India. Though sometimes people say my eyes make me foreign." She smiled and tapped her cheeks, pointing at her vibrant blue eyes. Against her tan skin, it made her exotic. "You've met my father, though. Moroz." She added.

I had been flooded with names, but I would recognize his name. In the absence of red dragons, white dragons were the leaders of the chromatic, and Moroz was their leader. "Ah." I said noncommittally. So far, I hadn’t gotten much of an impression either way. I got the sense he was tough and quiet, but that was about it.

"Uh oh. Did I just disqualify myself?" A laughing smile hung on her face, but I could tell she was a little nervous.

I realized how much pressure she was probably under. "I don't really know how to take it. Your father didn't talk too much today. He seems like a quiet stern type?"

She put a hand to her chest. "Oh, thank goodness. He can be a real bear sometimes, well, at least back home. I was worried he'd spoil my chances."

I let out a breath. "Not yet. Besides, we are all our own people. As long as you aren't secretly his pawn, then I don't know why his actions would disqualify you."

"Really? I thought the dragon king would be all high and mighty, smiting my chances if my father so much as spoke out against him." She put on a stern face and hit the table.

I smiled, feeling more relaxed as we got deeper into the conversation. "No, you'll find I'm pretty down to earth. I only recently was indoctrinated with the whole underground paranormal world."

That seemed to pique her interest. "Yes, I heard that. Statistically, it is amazing no one noticed you before. There are so many paranormals that should have been able to see that you weren't human."

I shrugged, but didn't want to talk about my theory of my dragon being sealed. "Someone eventually did. Though it was a werewolf looking for a fight."

"Oh, no." she gasped and covered her face. "Is he alright?"

"Dead." I kept my best poker face on.

"Poor wolfy. Stupid to pick a fight with you." She laughed. "But what do you do?"

I had a feeling I’d be answering that question throughout the night. "School mostly. And I am a partner in Morgana Silverwing's mercenary group."

"A dragon king for hire. Do you... take any type of job?" The hungry look on her face told me exactly what type of 'job' she was thinking about.

Chuckling and trying to take it as a compliment, I shook my head. "We do investigation work, mostly. Occasionally I have done protection detail, but I'll be honest, it is a lot easier to track or kill someone than protect them."

"Vicious." She smiled and took a sip of the party’s punch. Apparently, for a dragon, that was a compliment.

I’d tried it earlier; it was potent. I’d had to pace myself to make sure I made it through the night and didn’t find myself face first in the sand in the morning.

"Just practical." I shrugged and took the smallest sip of my own drink. "You've asked a lot about me. What about you?"

"I've dabbled in a few things over the years. Engineering has always been fun, but usually requires specialization. And that means keeping up with all the latest technology. It gets tiring after a while, so I’ve jumped around a bit. But right now I'm doing... uh... finance." She blushed as she said it. "I know it isn't exciting."

"Sounds fine to me. It is a stable job, though I doubt you need it?"

"Keeps me busy, and I get to play with money. I love the precious metal market. That and there is so much order in money and the markets." She grinned.

"Oh, I don't know if I could use my hoard that way."

Sarisha gasped. "Not the hoard gold! Other gold. It's all just investing, and occasionally I take out a chunk to grow my hoard."

"Excuse me." A woman of Amazonian stature and dark raven hair interrupted us. "I think your time is up."

Sarisha opened her mouth to argue, but closed it quickly.

Whoever this newcomer was, she intimidated Sarisha.

"Thank you for your time, my king." Sarisha bowed politely. "I will speak to you further at another time."

It seemed they were going to play nice, even if the new girl was being aggressive.

"It was my pleasure, Sarisha." I pointedly remembered her name, although I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep it up all night. "You should snag me for a conversation later; I'd like some investment tips if you have them."

Her smile was beautiful as she nodded quickly and hurried to escape from the tall dragon.

"And, who might you be?" I turned my attention to a woman whose stature intimidated the other dragons around. She had a face that looked like it was carved from marble and a metal circlet around her head to keep her hair out of the way.

Honestly, she looked like she walked out of a hero comic about an Amazonian princess.

"Polydora, pleased to meet you." She bowed and showed bronze scales before taking the seat and putting her arm over my shoulder. She sat closer to me than most as she turned to meet my eyes head on. "Scarlett has opened the floor for us to get some individual time with you, though she is leaving it up to us to make the time."

"So you scared the others away?" Even now, I could see some of the other dragons watching carefully from further away.

Polydora followed my line of sight, and the girls who had been watching quickly found something else to do.

"It isn't my fault they are intimidated by me. I do have something of a reputation."

I raised an eyebrow. "Now is the time to wow me with it."

She only shrugged. "I once had a habit of dueling others for the sake of combat. Any offense was taken to the dueling beach. It was a good way to test myself against more dragons, and I didn’t even fight to the death. I don’t know why they make such a big deal about it."

"How many did you lose?" I asked, out of curiosity.

"Once. To Brom. He decided that enough was enough and made me submit and stop dueling during the last conclave." She leaned back, full of confidence.

I smiled. She was a true warrior. I could see why the others would be intimidated if she’d fought her way through the dragons, only for the former dragon king to make her submit to stop the fights.

"Impressive. I hope you aren't angling for another duel here?"

She shook her head. "Unless you would like to engage me in combat on the bed, I have no desire to fight you. It is actually the opposite. I would let you stab me with your sword all night long."

I covered a cough with a sip of my drink. "Bold."

But my comment didn’t slow her. Polydora just leaned forward, putting her face inches from mine. "Determined too. The king of the metallics has come again. You are an honor to our species, and I would be honored to serve you, however you would see fit." She pursed her lips, a wry quirk lingering at the edges.

Given the way she was looking at me, she had a very specific way in mind to serve me.

She was almost a little too forward for me.

"Thank you, Polydora, but I take things a little slower." I gained my wits again.

"Shame, would you like to duel for it?" Her eyes gleamed with what I thought was humor.

I decided to take it as a joke and chuckle. "I'd rather not be embroiled in combat for the whole conclave if I can manage it. My mates would not be pleased with me."

Polydora's eyes flickered across the party to my mates, and mine followed.

I was glad to see that others were being friendly with them. Jadelyn had a small group surrounding her, as usual. But it made sense. She was a minor celebrity and helped run the family business. She was a good person to know.

"That is Frey. Bronze." Polydora pointed one of the dragons around Jadelyn out to me. "I have fought him before. He’s a powerful warrior. But he politics like he fights, with too much force and not enough finesse."

Somehow her words painted his actions in the conversation with Jadelyn a little differently, and I watched him closely. "Do I need to be concerned?"

She shrugged. "Almost half the dragons here have a reason to fight you. Either for your seed or for some feigned grievance so they can fight the dragon king and put him down when he is but a whelp."

I frowned. "What point would that serve?"

"You will rise in power quickly. This is their chance by rising atop your head by having once defeated you. You are but one of nine male dragons, of the fifty females sixteen of us are more than eager to enter a mating. Another half dozen would take you into their own harems."

I scoffed. It was hypocritical of me, but I wasn't going to join some woman's harem.

"That isn't to your liking, I can see. Then there are a handful that have no attachment but would happily be a brood mare for the dragon king's children."

"You seem to know them all well." I shot back.

She gave me a measured look. "There are nine male dragons and just less than fifty females. There are not that many to meet in the three conclaves I’ve attended. Although for my first I was quite young."

That meant Polydora was likely over a thousand years old.

"Can I ask why you aren't mated yet?"

Her eyes bore into me. "No male has beaten me in combat and earned that right."

"Didn't Brom beat you?" I asked.

Polydora's lips curled up into a smile, like I’d been baited into that question. "Brom is my father."

My eyes grew wide as my mind swirled, trying to figure out how to dig myself out of the hole I’d just made.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest... wait, is that okay in dragon culture?" I rambled, feeling a little silly for almost suggesting she mate with her father.

"Don’t worry. I knew you did not know, and it was a fair connection. And to answer your question, no, dragons strive for at least three generations of separation. It keeps everyone healthy, but we have a very limited gene pool to draw from. Another reason that you are so... desired." She answered.

"Oh. I have no connection, so I'm fair game to anyone."

"Precisely. My father, unfortunately, is well ingrained in the family tree of dragons, given his age. My own options are quite limited. Frey is actually an option, but he cannot beat me and he is an ass who would suck the single teet of my father if it got him a favor."

The single t-- oh, he'd suck cock. "He really sucks up to your father?"

"As a bronze, he looked up to my father, even though one day he would succeed him as king." Polydora watched me out of the corner of her eye.

I knew the warning when I heard it. "You think he's going to challenge me?"

"Perhaps. Of those present, he is both young enough to be that stupid and ambitious enough. Though, I would like to see you fight again, my king. I beat Karen when I was a whelp." Polydora smirked.

"So what do you do?" I tried to steer the conversation to other topics as I pulled my eyes away from Fray and how he talked with Jadelyn.

"I box officially, but underground fighting circuits are better. Especially ones that might have paranormals." She smiled.

I laughed. Polydora was a fighter through and through.

I tried to change our conversation to a topic she’d enjoy. "I fought a handful of swamp trolls recently. Tough little buggers."

Her eyes shined. "They are famed for their strength and for their regenerative abilities. Though I doubt you fought them under any regulations. They aren't known for being very smart."

"Well, I thought I was just a gold dragon at the time, so no breaths and no magic. Just claws and fists. I even fought them in my human form a few times."

She nodded excitedly. "Yes, handicapping yourself to make the fight more interesting. I knew you would be a powerful king."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that my main handicap was my inability to use everything. Her expression was full of admiration, and I couldn't pop that bubble just yet.

Larisa stomped up and crossed her arms. "Poly, don't hog him all night."

"I only just started, dear sister." Polydora swirled her drink and shifted herself in an exaggerated way as she got comfortable next to me.

Larisa rolled her eyes as I processed the word sister. They were half sisters, given both were Brom’s daughters.

"Don't 'sister' me unless you are going to give up your spot on the bench." Larisa was probably the shortest dragon present, so I was surprised she was the one to stand up to Polydora.

It would have been even funnier if I hadn’t actually been a little concerned for Larisa.

But their relationship seemed to win out, and Polydora nodded, standing and casting a glance towards Frey. "Do hurry though. I'm not sure you have much time."

"You could go stop it." Larisa offered, following Polydora’s gaze and seeming to have the same conclusion.

"Then there wouldn't be a fight. I want to watch our king fight again." Polydora licked her lips and winked at me. "Besides, Frey won't learn his lesson unless Zach here puts him in his place."

With that, they traded places and Larisa plopped down next to me in a light white sun dress that went well with her stark white hair. She was petite, though I had seen her shift; she was as big as some of the older dragons.

I wondered how old she was.

"Do I need to worry about Frey?" I asked her.

She sighed. "Yes. He's going to push you to duel him. I'll bet you twenty gold coins that before the end of the night he harasses one of your mates." Larisa seemed confident in her assessment.

I growled. "That would be a poor choice." Given that he was hovering around Jadelyn, he had already found his mark. I wish he’d tried with Morgana; he’d lose an arm before I ever needed to challenge him.

And I knew Scarlett was busy dealing with a dozen female dragons that wanted her attention.

"Should I just get it over with?" Larisa had given me advice on dragon politics and I was leaning into her knowledge.

"Nope, then he'll just claim you bullied him. Let him push it a little more, then even if he whines after you kick his ass, no one will listen.”

I went to reply, but she jumped in first. "But I didn't come over here to talk about the local bullies. How are you? How was the first day of the conclave?"

I paused. The others all had stuck to idle conversation topics. But I had known Larisa longer. "Juggling all the names is about the best I can do right now. Mostly, I'm trying to facilitate and let the older dragons hash out actual details. I mean, kings rely on advisers, not doing everything themselves, right?"

She actually looked impressed. "Not bad. I was kind of worried you'd stomp in here and start sweeping changes. After Amara was pulled into the council almost immediately, everyone was talking about how you'd modernize the whole dragon race in the matter of this week."

I snorted. "This would be worse than teaching eighty-year-olds how to use computers."

Only after I spoke did I realize the petite woman next to me was likely far older than eighty years.

Sure enough, she raised a critical eyebrow at my comment. "Want to rethink that one?"

"Yeah..." I winced. "My bad. I keep forgetting sometimes. Your stature doesn't exactly help."

"My what?" She went from amused to glaring at me. "I am not short."

"You kind of are. Though I understand you don't want me to say as much." I backpedaled.

Larisa snorted frost out of her nose. "I'm going to get you back for that one. Do you know how frustrating it is being this short? Especially among dragons?"

"No clue, but you seem to have handled it well." I blurted, trying to save the situation. "But there are disadvantages to being tall. You'd be amazed at all the dirty surfaces I see at eye level all the time."

"Really?" She seemed interested.

"No one ever cleans the top of grocery racks or the tops of vending machines." I joked.

"Huh." Larisa commented. "Bottom shelves suck?"

"A little, but thankfully I'm not getting old enough that my back hurts to bend over."

She chuckled. "None of us are getting old. One perk of being a dragon. Some of them get pretty old minded though, and the ones born waaaay back when are still stuck thinking the wheel is new."

I let out one of the deeper laughs I’d had in a while. I knew they weren’t quite that old. Brom was over three thousand years old and, as far as I knew, was the oldest dragon alive.

"You all seem to do pretty well with technology, though." I offered. Neither she nor Chloe had shown trouble with phones or computers while living with Jadelyn.

"Phones are great. But the older dragons call them 'delicate'." She laughed at some joke I didn't quite understand.

"Why are they delicate?" I asked.

"My father and mother went through quite a few of them early on. They weren't very gentle with them and crushed over a dozen phones when they were just coming out." Larisa laughed at some memory.

I smiled. This was the first time I'd seen her show much emotion.

I went to continue the conversation, but she just ran a hand down my arm, smiling up at me. "Okay, I can get to know you better when we head back to Philly. I just wanted to chase away Poly before she hogged you all night so you could meet some of the others, too." Larisa stood up from the bench.

"I’m surprised she didn't duel me." I replied.

Larisa pointedly looked at me. "She can't. Our father made a deal that she can't duel anyone else unless she beats him first, which then sort of invalidates it all, anyway. She might pick a fight with our father if there's time this week."

I raised my eyebrows. That was a fight I'd pay to see.

"Looks like Trina is heading this way. Best of luck. You should make friends with a healer before you duel Frey." Larisa commented.

Added Chapter 2

Larisa vacated her seat for the new dragon. I was feeling a little like a carnival ride. Everybody was lined up and taking turns.

"You must be Trina." I greeted the dragon, that looked like she’d spent quite a bit of time out in the sun. Her tan lines peeked around the edge of her dress, giving it away that it wasn't her natural skin tone.

"I'm honored that my king knows my name." Trina did a small bow, showing copper scales on her hand.

I smelled just a hint of the death breath on her, but she had done a great job hiding it underneath her perfume. "So, what do you do for a living?"

She chuckled. "I'm a doctor."

"I'll bet patients love to have you at their bedside." I teased. She was a beauty, with a messy braid of her dark brown hair that went over one of her shoulders and rested against her chest. And as I followed the braid, my eyes lingered where her cleavage was exposed by her low cut top.

"Actually, my bedside manner nearly got me in trouble a few times." She stuck out her tongue. "Humans get hurt a lot. But they make good practice."

I raised an eyebrow in concern. "Practice?"

"I'm copper, so I have death magic, but I use it to stave off death rather than inflict it. When paranormals in my area get hurt, they show up at my hospital and I swoop in to cover them. But I get a lot of humans in between the paranormal. They are quire fragile, so they make for good practice. I have a stellar rate of recovery for my patients." She smiled.

Part of me wanted to question her idea of 'practicing' on humans. But if she had a good recovery rate, then she was helping them. Even if she saw it as practice, she was doing right by them.

The clash between my human perspective and the dragon perspective made my head hurt.

Pushing the conversation along, I tried to change the subject. "So what's the best part of the job for you, then?"

"I'm working on new general healing enchantments. You see..." She shifted her hand into a long talon and carved it right into the bench seat. "... dragon healing is more about stopping death and letting the body naturally heal. Sucks, but we are coming at healing from the other side. So general enchantments like this can help speed up someone's natural healing and it doesn't matter what element my magic is."

Watching her focus while she worked, her face scrunched up just slightly as she bit her bottom lip. I smiled, enjoying the more casual moment with her. "Are all the hospital beds where you work carved up like this?" I asked.

"Oh, my gosh. Sorry, I didn't mean to carve up your bench." She realized what she was doing. "You probably think this is some sort of ensnarement enchantment. I promise it isn't." She shifted her entire hand and raked through the enchantment she had started, ruining it.

"Wait, you're fine." I grabbed her wrist.

She was spiraling, gushing about how sorry she was and that she wasn't trying to do anything to me.

Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to tell what she was doing, but it was probably best I didn't broadcast my lack of magical knowledge.

"So, you aren't sending me away?" She asked, looking up at me through her eyelashes.

"No, but I am getting thirsty." I held my cup up and noticed it was empty.

An elf I didn't recognize stepped over, seeing me about getting up. "Don't worry, we will fill that for you." She plucked the cup out of my hand and disappeared with it.

"Well... that's service." I commented.

Trina shrugged. "That was one of Thuun's ladies. They are good people."

I nodded along with her and sought a change in topic. "So, Trina, is that short for anything? It feels like a very modern name."

She blushed. "Meditrina. My parents were born in Rome."

"Like, modern day Rome?" I hazarded.

Trina chuckled. "Like ancient Rome. They saw Caesar rise and fall."

"Oh." I struggled to follow that one up. "Bet they have some strange habits." I cringed internally after I said it. Not my best retort.

But she went right along with it. I guess my charm overwhelmed my poor conversation skills.

The elf came back with a full drink, one that smelled just the same as the last. Though a sip told me it might even be stronger.

"Romans were pretty bloodthirsty. Bloodsports were common; my father even went and did a few gladiatorial tours through the empire." She said it as if it were no big deal.

"Shit, which dragon do I need to be careful of?" I joked.

"Thuun. My mom is copper." She squinted through the party, but didn't spot her.

"Wait, Thuun was a gladiator? He seemed like a gentle scholar.” I replied.

Trina rolled her eyes. "Don't let him fool you. He traded his sword for a pen after the church's inquisitions, but he's still a force with a gladius."

I wondered how old she was. "Were you around to see that change?"

Trina narrowed her eyes at me. "Fishing for my age?"

"Maybe?" I grinned.

"No, I wasn't. So at least I'm younger than four hundred years. But you don't get to fish anymore."

I held my hands up in surrender. "Got me. It really feels like the conclave is more of a family reunion."

"There's just over fifty of us. Though the number that died in the seventeenth century was huge, there just won’t be much diversity. Anyone born after that, chances are, both of their parents are here." Trina waved nonchalantly.

But I winced. Neither of my parents were here.

"Shit. I forgot." She covered her mouth. "That isn't what I meant."

Before we could go down that less than ideal conversation topic, Trina was saved.

Unfortunately, she was saved by a noise that made my blood boil.

"Get off." Jadelyn pushed at Frey, who was hovering over her.

"Sorry, I need to deal with this." I apologized to Trina as I stood, hearing her curse Frey under her breath.

As I stood and strode over to my bride, the party went quiet. Everybody parted for me as I walked with authority and anger.

Scarlett had already mobilized. She was about to take down Frey, but I caught her eye, motioning for her to stop. She didn’t have much of a chance of taking him on, but I knew that wouldn’t stop my mate.

"Scar, I got this." I stepped up beside the altercation, turning my attention to Frey.

"If you wanted to duel me, all you had to do was ask." I projected my voice, making sure it carried through the room.

"Pressing yourself on someone else's mate is a cheap way to come after somebody. Are you truly such a coward? You cannot challenge me head on?"

The conclave had become deathly quiet. My words seemed to echo off the tower.

"You've got this all wrong." Frey held up his hands. "She was flirting with me."

I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes as I raised an eyebrow and stared at him, making it perfectly clear I knew that was bullshit.

After giving enough of a pause to make him uncomfortable, I spoke again. "So, you’re a coward and a terrible liar. Noted. But you should keep in mind that she's a siren and already my mate. Unless you want to get your brain scrambled, I'd watch how you treat her."

He wanted me to start the duel, but I would not give him the pleasure of getting a rise out of me.

"You’re okay Jade?" I asked, reaching my arm out as she pulled herself out from under Frey’s arm and letting her curl into my side.

“Let’s go.” I turned with her in tow.

"What did you call me?" Frey growled behind me.

But I didn’t turn. He wasn't any of my concern. I treated him like the yappy dog he was.

He wanted to egg me on, so I would do the opposite and ignore him.

"Can I duel him?" Jadelyn asked. "I want to duel him."

"No, because he might really kill you to piss me off. Let's not play games with an idiot looking to die."

Jadelyn puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "But in theory, could I duel him?"

"Yes, on my behalf, but I'd need to agree." I gave her a look, letting her know that would not happen.

She looked over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing at what I assumed was Frey. "Bet I could drown a dragon."

"You’re a force to be reckoned with, Jade, but let's not try. Besides, he'll end up dueling me. Why are you getting so upset here? Normally, you just shrug off other guys." Jadelyn got hit on a lot. It was predictable enough that you could set your watch to it when we went to a bar.

"This is your first conclave as king; he's undermining you. He used me to prove a point, and I was his tool. I am nobody’s tool. He must be taken down.” A little fire lit in her eyes.

I raised an eyebrow. "Where the hell did my lovely siren go and who is this bloodthirsty woman?"

"It's business." She explained.

I smiled. In business, she was a fierce shark. So if she was treating this like business, she might actually drown Frey.

"Don't worry, he'll strike here before long." I continued to walk away as Frey's shouts faded behind me.

But when they erupted into draconic roars, I knew I couldn't ignore them any longer.

Turning, I found Frey shifting into a bronze dragon amid the party, growling at me.

"Is this your idea of waiting for me to issue a challenge? What poor form, shifting out of rage." I cocked my head to look at Brom. "This is enough to be a formal challenge?"

"Looks like one to me." Brom shrugged, both of us ignoring the very large bronze dragon staring down at me. "But let's move this to the beach."

Frey snorted and beat his wings to take to the air, knocking over everyone's party.

"What a fucking cocky idiot." I growled. "He could have at least respected everyone here." I turned to see several elves righting themselves and people pulling at their clothes that were soaked when their drink decided to fly free of their hands.

Rather than race after him and buffet them a second time with dragon wings, I walked out of the area on foot until I was clear of the party. Then I shifted.

My gold scales blossomed from my skin as golden wings yawned out of my back and caught the wind.

I floated up into the air, following the bronze dragon over to the beach. I wondered if I could settle it quickly before we had such a massive crowd. I didn’t want to spend any more time than needed on Frey.

But a dozen dragons were taking flight behind me.

I spotted some of my recent admirers in the flight that formed and trailed after me. But in general, it seemed many of the dragons were ready for the show.

By the time I got to the beach, Frey was pacing in the sand, growling with rage.

Given that he was the one provoking me, I wasn’t sure why he had his panties in a twist.

I landed on the other side of the beach from him, with the water at my back.

My voice boomed over the sand and the jungle beyond to the skies, where dragons were still making their way over. "Let's make this quick."

Frey snapped at me. "Should you lose, you will relinquish your title of king to me."

I scoffed. Nobody present would respect him as the king of dragons, even if he beat me. And he wouldn’t. "You don't have the rights to that title. If I gave it to you, nothing would even change."

"I was supposed to be the next king. Everything you have should have been mine." Frey snapped at me. "I demand your title."

"Sure." I shrugged my large shoulders. "My title as king. I'll do the little bow for you even."

Frey's eyes lit up in delight at my words.

"If I win. You will die."

Frey blinked at me. "I am a male dragon, one of the last of our kind. You cannot kill me."

I stared him down, keeping my calm in a way that clearly unnerved him.

But inside, I was still raging at the attack on my mate.

“You touched my mate. I cannot allow that to go unanswered. You have been wanting to challenge my position all night. Was this not what you wanted? To see if my strength was worth bowing down to me? I’ll answer your question, but I will not permit you to undermine me for years to come.”

Thuun was the first of the conclave that landed. "We have heard the terms of your duel. But, my king, may I advise he is truly too valuable to kill?"

I snorted. "Nobody is above justice. And I plan to reestablish all the dragon flights."

"So be it. May the green record the hubris of one Frey of the blue flight."

I wished I had a camera to capture Frey's face as Thuun spoke, as if he was already dead.

There was a snap of a phone up above as Morgana got the picture.

Bless my mates. I'd have to look at that picture later when I was licking my wounds.

I knew the duel wouldn’t be a landslide. Frey was big, bigger than me. His bronze body rippled with muscle hidden just under the surface of scales.

"May the duel begin." Thuun announced.

Frey shot forward, his head had been drawn back just prior to the fight, and it snapped like a serpent.

This time, I wasn't surprised with the sudden attack. My claw came up and boxed the side of his head, making him veer off course and opening the side of his neck to me.

Just as I lurched forward with my jaws open wide, I threw my aura at him.

Frey growled something in draconic, and my teeth latched onto a magical shell around him.

I bit down hard, shattering it like a candy coating, but he had moved out of the way in time. He pivoted slightly after moving, breathing a torrent of thunder on me.

My scales washed bronze, and I smiled. If he made stupid moves like that, the fight would be an easy one.

"Envokus." I roared, flinging a fireball off my wing and around his lightning.

It hit his flank, exploding and jarring him to the side as my fire burnt his scales.

I closed in while he was recovering from the blast and boxed the side of his face again.

The force of my hit jerked him to one side. I smiled. I may be smaller, but I was still the dragon king. My hits were no playful taps.

Bringing up my other claw, I knocked him back and forth between my claws. I wanted to keep him disoriented, to prevent him from casting new spells.

I knew that at the moment, I wouldn’t be able to win against dragons using their magic.

After batting his head around a few times, Frey snapped off a blast of lightning that once again did nothing as it washed over my face.

But as I took my next swing where his head should have been, I hit nothing.

I realized his lightning blast had apparently blocked my vision, giving him the opportunity to slip to the side.

The whipping movement of air was the only notice I had before his tail hit me in the side, lifting me off the sand and tossing me several feet to the side.

"Lightning is quite bright, even if it doesn't hurt you." Frey chuckled as he preened, holding his head aloft and staring down at me.

Blinking out the spots in my vision, I saw it like a frame by frame film as he jumped into the air, body slamming into me.

Thousands of pounds came crashing down on my chest as I bore the full weight of the big bronze. "Die, my king." He hissed.

I slammed my aura into him again, and I could feel his force lesson as I nearly forced him to bow. It wasn't enough, though.

His claw came down, slashing through my scales and tearing a line down my chest.

As I bled, a fire lit inside of me. It was time to use the training Morgana had given me to good use. He’d put his body close to mine, and that was about to be his biggest mistake.

My tail wrapped around his waist, and I rolled with him.

We sprayed sand into the air, and I felt the cold lap of water on my sides as we moved. I rolled the two of us into the shallows of the beach.

Water sprayed over Frey's side as lightning boiled in his mouth.

My claw came from the side, tearing a chunk out of him. It also caused his lightning to be sprayed to the side and out over the ocean.

I smiled, getting an idea.

I pushed his big head into the sand until water lapped over his face.

Dragons didn't have gills. They could hold their breath, but not breathe underwater, at least not that I knew of.

As if to make it apparent, Frey thrashed as I held his head below the water.

My claws sank into his sides, tearing chunks of him free as he struggled.

"There is no use, Frey. You have lost. Your own draconic power fails you before me." I growled, pushing my aura against him once more.

The big bronze continued to struggle even as his blood mixed with the white foamy crests of waves crashing on the beach.

The tide became red and frothy as Frey slowed down under me.

Leaning down over him, I bit his crown of horns that extended back over his head. With a crunch of my teeth, I removed them.

I pushed off him and stepped onto the beach. "Someone come check if he is dead."

Amara jumped off the cliff and hurried over, checking Frey. "He's dead." She backed away, separating herself from him.

"Leave." I demanded of everyone on the cliff. "I would like privacy to mourn the death of a dragon. While he left me no choice, I grieve I had to take his life."

Polydora stood at the top of the cliff, eyeing me hungrily and licking her lips. She wasn’t alone. Many of the female dragons up there were watching me reverently.

This might have seemed brutal, but it was the way of dragons. You weren’t coddled with rules that only had warnings or fines. No, to antagonize another dragon meant death.

Turning, I stared at the bronze dragon as waves lapped at him, making his body twist. "I didn't want to have to kill more of my kind. But with you, I will grow stronger still."