52

“Dragonkin of my lair, thank you for gathering with me tonight at such short notice,” I said as I stood in the front of the ballroom watching my people.
My family stood to one side and Hannah was seething. Jennifer had been crying the entire day and they were all angry. Jasper wanted to be there but I asked him to stay away because I was afraid that he’d kill the Elders out of pure rage. I still needed them to grant me execution rights for Joseph and Carson McIntyre.
“The Elders have requested your presence so that my punishment can be executed tonight and they want you all to bear witness to my humiliation. What they don’t realize is that this isn’t humiliating for me, I take these lashings proudly because I stand with my decision to turn Jennifer Halstead and make her a proper member of our lair,” I said and wild applause erupted.
“Charming,” Elder James said as they stepped forward and my lair looked at them with disgust. Elder Gareth held the syringe of dragon venom that would delay my healing with a few days so that I would suffer with the wounds.
“Where is your Drakaina?” Elder Gareth asked me after he had injected me.
“She left,” I said to him.
I took my jacket and shirt off and handed it to Hannah where tears formed in her eyes as she looked at me. The Elders chained me around one of the pillars and commenced with their lashes. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth because I wouldn’t scream. I hadn’t given Carson that satisfaction and I wouldn’t give it to them either.
My lair and family stood watching as my back was torn open once again and the whip made contact with my skin. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop and the only sound was the whip as it kissed my skin. Baz spoke quietly to me in my mind to take it off the reality of the pain.
I was unchained and Rev stepped forward so I could place my arm around his shoulders. Blood was dripping down my back and Preston carried a chair to where I stood and Hannah placed a wet towel around my shoulders and the blood quickly seeped through it as I sat down and winced slightly.
“We have one other request to make since we’re all here now,” I said trying to keep my voice normal.
“And what is that Sire Lucas?” Elder Gareth asked me.
“We have evidence of illegal activities performed by the McIntyre lair that we’ll present shortly. I want an execution warrant ordered for Joseph and Carson McIntyre and their lair disbanded and integrated into whichever lair will accept them except mine,” I said.
“Present your evidence,” Elder Peter said as the three Elders each took a seat and looked at me.
Hannah spent the next four hours showing them the video statements, the paper trails, bank accounts with traces to buyers, names and addresses. Carson and Joseph’s signatures, video footage that they had inside the warehouse and the written statement of every woman we had saved.
The Elders sat there emotionless and I couldn’t figure out what was going through their minds and Baz was still weak from the dragon venom. Hannah then testified to her own account of being abducted in lower Aurora by McIntyre lair members and taken to the Chicago warehouse, how she was forced to strip as the men stood and watched her, the photos that were taken and how she was placed on auction.
She produced the multitude of emails that Timothy had in his possession posing as a buyer that showed the ten women’s pictures including Hannah’s. She showed them photos of what some of the women looked like when we found them, the bruises and cuts and still they sat unmoving.
“It seems that heroically you were saved Miss Grey,” Elder James said.
“My family saved me and twenty other young women,” Hannah said.
“And your family also killed over fifty men in that warehouse,” Elder Peter said.
“Self-defense,” I said.
“I see, we will need some time to deliberate on this matter. In the meantime what is the location of your Drakaina?” Elder Gareth asked me.
“Why?” I asked him.
“We will need to execute a warrant for her arrest since she has left your territory and abandoned her lair as the Drakaina,” Elder James said.
“And what will you do with her?” I asked them.
“She will be detained for a period of two weeks without food or water and suffer ten lashes everyday of her detainment and then she’ll be returned to you,” Elder Peter said.
“I rejected her and forced her to leave,” I said as Hannah looked at me in shock.
“You rejected her?” Elder Gareth asked me.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
“Do you really love your bonded half so much that you’ll lie and take her punishment?” Elder Peter asked me.
“Yes,” I said.
“Detain Sire Lucas Grey,” Elder James said as the Elder warriors stepped forward and clasped handcuffs around my wrists.
“This is ludicrous!” Rev yelled as he stepped forward.
“It’s okay Rev, this is my punishment, take charge of the lair in my absence. I’ll be released in fourteen days,” I said to him.
The warriors led me through the ballroom and down the fire escape on the outside of the club to the alleyway and into the second SUV. The Elders climbed into the first SUV and the cars drove off. I closed my eyes and winced every time the car took a turn or braked.
I was led to the cells and shoved roughly inside one as darkness surrounded me. I laid down on my stomach on the hard cot and closed my eyes. I would need to sleep as much as I could to pass the time in between my lashes every day.
The next morning at five am I was pulled from the cells and chained to a wall as the ten lashes rained down on me. I hadn’t even started healing from the previous evening’s lashes and fresh blood made its way down my back.
True to their word I received no water or food and I was kept in constant darkness so I had no idea how long I’d been there or even how much time had passed. For all I knew they could be giving me lashes every twelve hours or so but by my count of the lashes I’d been there for three days already.
Everything hurt and Baz had withdrawn completely. My throat was dry and I was struggling to stay alert. My body hurt and I knew blood loss was a real concern now. I felt my body tingle as Baz separated from me and he curled his big body around mine.
“I’m sorry halfling,” Baz said in my head as his one wing covered me and provided much needed heat.
“For what?” I asked him.
“For your suffering,” he said.
“Rather me than her,” I said and he snorted.
“Nobody will touch you again halfling. You got hurt because of my own selfish anger towards you and now you have taken punishment that is not yours,” he said to me.
“It is Baz, I did force her to leave. I made her feel that she had no other choice,” I said to him.
“You really do love her don’t you halfling?” he asked me.
“I didn’t realize how much before. When Elder Peter spoke those words I knew I could never let anything happen to her or those babies,” I said to him.
“Did you read the paternity test results?” he asked me.
“No, I deleted it,” I said to him.
“Why not?” he asked me.
“I don’t care anymore Baz, mine or not it doesn’t matter, she’s mine which means they’re mine,” I said to him.
“We might be exiled after this,” Baz said to me.
“After what?” I asked him.
“I’m getting you out of here halfling,” he said and I gave him a weak smile.
“In exile we’ll have no more Elders to deal with,” I said to him as he stood up and curled his tail around the cell door and started pulling on it. I could hear the metal bend and then I heard the metal crack. Baz threw the cell door to the side and he picked me up carefully.
“What are you doing dragon?” one warrior yelled as Baz squeezed through the cell door bending the metal bars of the walls.
“You’re not touching my host,” Baz said in his deep voice, “I command you to stand down.” His eyes were burning yellow and he sounded fierce as his aura spilled forth and took command of the warrior’s dragons. Their dragons submitted and the warriors stood to one side and let Baz pass.
“Stop Bazzoit,” Elder Gareth commanded him as Baz stepped into the ceremonial room.
“You do not command me Elder,” Baz said as he looked menacingly at him.
“If you do not obey our orders our dragons will force you to submit and we’ll banish you to the dragon realm for all time,” Elder James said to him.
“You may do as you please but not one more hand will be laid on my host,” Baz said as smoke rose from his nostrils.
I heard a commotion and then the voices of Jasper, Brandon, Rev and Preston as they burst into the ceremonial room demanding my release. They stopped short when they saw Baz holding me. The Elders dragon’s separated from them and Baz took a threatening step forward.
“Rev, take your Sire from me and let me deal with these imbeciles,” Baz said.
Rev stepped forward and Baz slid me over his shoulder. I was still semi-conscious at this point but I was too weak to even speak. I could feel Baz’s intentions and he lunged forward at the first violet dragon so quickly that he didn’t have a chance to react and Baz tore his throat open.
“No!” Elder Gareth yelled as his dragon slumped to the floor and died. His power was drained from him as the dragon shimmered and then disappeared back to the dragon realm to await reincarnation.
Baz had turned his attention to the other two dragons as they attacked him simultaneously. They roared and their wings flapped as claws scraped against scales and Baz hit them with his tail and he attacked viciously.
I felt his hatred and anger as he killed the second dragon and made quick work of the third one. Baz was immensely strong and powerful and the three Elders stood there realizing that their dragons were dead and that they held no more power.
“You are now mere humans and no longer fit to serve as Elders of this region, leave my presence or die with your dragons,” Baz said as he turned to face them. He roared loudly as they ran from the room.
“Take my halfling home and tend to his wounds, you are devoted friends and your loyalty will be remembered and I will stand at your side with your next battle,” Baz said before he merged with me again.
“Come on you heard Baz, let’s get Lucas home,” Jasper said urgently.
“Well this was insane,” Brandon said as he held the door open and let Rev walk out carrying me.
“I think those Elders just peed themselves,” Preston said as they all laughed.
“Thanks guys,” I murmured as I lost consciousness.