Chapter 57

Galina flew over Sasha and rolled, before shifting. Kalani landed next to her sister on Mikhail’s back. She took her hand, weaving their fingers together as another strike of lightning lit the sky up. She closed her eyes, relaxing.
“The dragons are fighting a war, Aja.” Her eyes opened to stare at Sasha. “And ours will win.”
Sasha smiled sleepily. “I hope so. Do you know how far it is to the Lotus clan?”
“No, but I’ll ask.” Sasha stroked her hand over Mikhail’s shoulder, while she waited for an answer. “Gory says it’s about three hours and advises us to sleep. So, how about it, Aja? Wanna nap with me?”
She snuggled closer to Kalani and closed her eyes.
“I don’t understand why I’m so tired. I think I’m getting sick,” she confided quietly.
“Are you pregnant again?”
“I don’t think so. This feels different.”
Kalani tugged her sister into her lap. She rubbed her back.
“When Galina was getting ready to shift, I got really tired. Maybe Irina is about to shift.”
“Maybe. I know she is ready.” She closed her eyes. “So, Dad marked Mom. Do you think he can survive another mate’s death?”
“You think Mom is going to die?”
“Oh, I know she is. I just want her to stay alive long enough to see us kill Tiffany. I know Aiden said you could decide-”
“But she has to die. Galina and I just haven’t decided how yet.”
“Good. So, how are things going with…”
She fell asleep to the soothing touch of her sister's hand on her back and the warm hum that came from Mikhail.

She was sliding down something and when sparks erupted on her skin, she knew it was Aiden. His wing wrapped around her, gently cradling her while he shifted down. She landed in his arms and smiled up at him. She reached up to touch his cheek.
“Hey, you.”
His grey eyes sparkling down at her. “Hey, you,” he whispered back, staring down into her eyes. “We’re here. I know last time, you took over, but I really need you to let me lead. Dragons are different. We do not want an all out fight on another king's land, even with Lukas with us.”
“I got it. Put me down. I can walk.”
He bounced her slightly. “Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
“But I like holding you,” he said as he lowered her slowly to the ground.
Sasha glanced around, amused that her and Aiden were still the only ones in their human forms. The guards at the gate nodded to them and immediately opened the gate. Aiden lifted their joined hands and kissed hers.
“I linked ahead to let King Luis know we were coming,” he answered her, before she could ask.
She nodded. He led her up to a castle almost as large as theirs, but a lot more sinister. As they approached it, two men stepped out of the door. The bald, larger one, jogged down the stairs over to Aiden.
“King Aiden! How the hell are you?”
Aiden grinned and held his hand out to shake the other king’s hand. “I am well, King Luis. I am sorry to show up without much of a warning.”
“Considering what the wolf took from you, I am not surprised.”
Aiden pulled his hand back and tensed. “What do you mean what the wolf took from us?”
Luis snapped his fingers and another man stepped out onto the porch, dragging a man’s limp body behind him on the ground. He tossed him down the stairs and the unconscious man landed in a crumpled heap at Aiden and Sasha’s feet. Aiden bent down to yank the cloth bag off of his head. Sasha growled when Thomas’s face came into view.
“Well, well, well. What a gift you have given us. Thank you.”
He let a hand shift and quickly decapitated Thomas. Sasha gave a small purr of approval.
King Luis chuckled. “Oh, don’t thank us yet. There is more.”
“Is there now?”
“Yes, I wish I could say that I had the girl for you, but I don’t.”
His eyes glazed over as he fell silent. Everybody waited breathlessly.
“Please, give our queen a few minutes to arrive. She was injured, fighting the wolf.”
They nodded. Sasha leaned against Aiden’s chest, waiting impatiently.
“DADDY!,” a girl screamed, sobbing, drawing everybody’s attention.
She ran into the yard, dragging her leg behind her. Her glistening silver blonde hair was pulled back in messy pigtails. Her left eye was blue and her right was a hazy white. She stumbled and fell to the ground. She struggled to stand back up. King Luis swiftly walked over to her and helped her back to her feet.
“Daddy, they hit me and called me weak,” she sniffled.
“Who did, pumpkin?”
“The kids at school,” she sniffled.
He picked her up in his arms, hugging her tight. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. They are just jealous, because you are the most beautiful girl there.”
She shook her head. “No, Daddy. I am ugly.”
A loud growl shook the ground. Aiden glanced over his shoulder briefly. The girl turned her head, before flushing.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t realize that you were in a meeting.”
Aiden smiled softly at her. “It’s okay. I am very sorry to hear you had a bad day, little one.”
She returned his smile shyly, before her eyes moved past them.
“Daddy, who is that?”
“This is King Aiden and Queen Sasha. That is Princess Ana-”
“Princess Ana? I love her.”
“Hey, pretty girl. How have you been, Lilianna?,” Ana asked, shifting back.
Sasha watched her dash slowly over to Ana. Her brother shifted back as the girl launched herself at Ana. He caught her around the waist and pulled her against his body. As soon as his hands landed on her, a gust of strong energy radiated out of them. Sasha looked around and was shocked to see that only Kalani, Gregory, Aiden and her were still standing. Everyone else had been forced to their knees with their heads bowed. The girl pulled back to stare up at him. Her eyes widened and she wiggled for him to put her down. He slowly lowered her back to the ground. She immediately knelt before him.
“I am so sorry, Your Majesty.”
He sank to his knees in front of her and tilted her chin up. “Tell me, Lilianna. Who hit you?”
She glanced at her father, who nodded, encouraging her to answer his questions.
“Joshua, Kacey and Immi.”
He tucked a stray hair behind her hair. “Do you know why they do and say such mean things to you?”
“Because I am a puny human, sir,” she said, looking away ashamed.
“You have no dragon?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“I’m sure your mate loves you even though you don’t have a dragon,” he murmured to her.
She lowered her head. “I can only hope that my mate is human.”
“Why?,” he asked, starting to get upset.
“Because then I have a chance to belong. I would just bring a dragon down if mated to one.”
A newly shifted Kalani stepped forward and put her hand on Lukas’s shoulders.
“Would you like a dragon, little one?,” she asked the girl.
“No, Miss. The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” she said bitterly.
Sasha moved behind the girl, before placing her hand on her shoulder.
“Lilianna, are you in pain?”
“I hurt all the time. Daddy tries to make me take medicine, but it never helps.”
Lukas looked up at King Luis. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Her mother went crazy when she came here as a breeder. She tried to kill her when she was born deformed. She also killed her father, so I took the girl. My queen and I adopted her.”
Irina came forward, pushing energy into the girl. Lukas gave her a look of gratitude and turned his attention back to the girl. He put three fingers on her cheek.
“Your father will make sure they know that if anybody ever lays a hand on you again, they will answer to me.” He met her father’s eyes. “Is that understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” He nervously shifted his weight. “She is only 11, Sire.”
Lukas’s eyes flashed green. “Don’t you think I know she is too young?,” he hissed.
“I’m almost grown up,” Lilianna denied.
Lukas chuckled. “And when you are all grown up, what do you think about me coming back for a visit?”
“To see me?,” she inquired, blushing.
He nodded. “Yes, to see you.”
She smiled up at him. “I think that would be okay.”
He stroked her cheek, closing his eyes. His chest moved rapidly and Sasha knew exactly how he felt, because she felt the same way every time she touched Aiden. His eyes opened and he pulled back to stand up. He took her hand and pulled her back up, too.
“You should go to your room. I’m sure you have homework,” he ground out. She nodded and began to walk away. “Wait! Come back. I want to give you something that will protect you more.”
She came back and he leaned towards her. His lips touched hers and he breathed out, fire slid from his mouth into hers. Her eyes drifted close and she nuzzled into his chest. His arm went around her waist as he laid his cheek briefly on the top of her head. He breathed in her scent, before letting her go and nudging her towards the house. When the door shut behind her, Lukas tilted his head back and let out an angry roar. A spurt of fire shot into the sky. Kalani sighed.
“It’s going to be okay, Brother. At least you know where your mate is. You can keep an eye on her.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “How am I supposed to make it another 6 or 7 years?”
“I don’t know, but I know you can do this.”
Sasha’s head snapped up as every last hair on her body stood up. She looked to the left, where a female dragon was slowly approaching them. She turned her head and lifted a large box off of her back, setting it in front of Aiden and Sasha. Before she had time to shift back, Sasha was tearing into the box. She dug hay out until the box was half empty. Her hands went to grab another fistful of hay and they hit a smooth, cool surface. Aiden moved her out of the way to lift the object out of the box. Sasha’s legs collapsed when she saw their wiggling egg in her mate's arms. He crouched in front of her as he put their egg in her lap. Her arms wrapped around it and tears streamed down her face.
“We knew that the egg didn’t belong to the wolf. We didn’t know whose egg it was until we managed to get it away from her. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was a Dragão Clan royal egg.”
Aiden grasped the other king’s arm. “Thank you, King Luis. If you ever need anything, the Dragão Clan will be there.”
He looked past Aiden to look at Lukas. “All I wanted was for my youngest daughter to have a mate that loved her. If it wasn’t for you, he would have never come here. So, consider us even.”