The Hidden Dragon Queen

Ariyah and the Witches

Ariyah Ember didn't remember her family at all. She's only heard stories about them and the great sacrifices they made to keep her protected. The older she got the more the witches would let her check in on them through a looking glass. Sometimes they seemed well and happy when other times they were just sad.

She knew everything that happened that caused her to be here with Reign and Emerald. They told her and showed her everything about the virus, her mother's death, and how they had to have a very small ceremony and bury her when that wasn't the way dragons did things at all.

She knew that the warrior sent to get help from the humans was causing alot of trouble with the remaining dragons. He kept breaking the rules her father and brother put in place to protect their kind, but now her father was ill between losing his mate and the virus taking hold he wouldn't hold out much longer. Her brothers were doing everything they could to keep it all together, but it was all falling apart.

More dragons have died. The only females left were already mated and no young ones were being born. They're survival was now at a critical level.

This is what she was created for. Her surrogate mothers that she grew to love dearly raised her well. She was taught everything about all shifter species and humans. She was also taught multiple languages. Then the witches taught her as much as they could about their craft. She learned spell making and incantations.

Emerald taught her how to fight and use every weapon known to shifters and some human ones as well. She could go right now and live among any species and they would have no clue she was a dragon. Not that she really knew her dragon side. The witches suppressed it so she'd be harder to find. So with that she had never shifted and seen what she actually looked like in all her dragon glory, but that might be the point so that she could get to the bottom of the virus and save her people.

She was in the spell room looking through the glass at her family sitting around their father's bed. She really didn't know them just knew of them. Just like they didn't know her just knew she existed out in the world somewhere. It was heart breaking.

She seen her brothers all look up as another dragon walked in the room. She remembered him as Zayden the trouble maker. He had a small terrified female with him. Which seemed to cause her eldest brother to jump from his chair screaming. She couldn't hear what they were saying only watch what was going on.

She didn't understand why he was so mad by the woman. The dragons needed women to reproduce and there weren't any unmated females left.

She also knew that dragons couldn't reproduce unless they were mated. One other exception was human females, but that was banded centuries ago due to the mortality rate of the mothers and the dragons born had certain defects that made them weaker and not pure bloods like the rest.

The King of that time had allowed human procreation because they wanted more and more numbers to battle against the other supernatural creatures that had tried taking them out before, but the human females weren't strong enough to carry a dragon baby and give birth.They usually always died during childbirth.

Then there was the defects. Some didn't have the ability to shift while others who could didn't have the lung capacity or the extra heart to keep them strong. They also didn't live as long. Most dragons wanted pure blood babies no matter what so all the leaders of the different clans came together and decided to stop all human procreation for they're protection and to keep half bloods from ever being born again.

From what she learned from the witches was that any half blood still alive left the clans to live a normal human existence with the help of memory erasing potions to keep the dragons secrets.

As she sat there watching everyone argue presumably about the girl Reign came walking in and watched over her shoulder, "You're tormenting yourself watching that child. Everything that's happened was destined to happen. What your family is going through now was meant to be." She stated calmly.

Ariyah sighed, "The dragons are now fighting each other and the numbers are worse than a decade ago. When will it be my turn to go out and help since all you've ever taught me was how I'm the cure to everything?"

She just shook her head, "You will know in your heart when it's time and since I feel that it is getting closer you can listen in on why everyone is so mad at Zayden."

Ariyah watched as she waved her hand over the looking glass and a burst of sound came out mostly yelling and growling. She stepped closer to try to depict what exactly was going on.

"Why the he'll did you bring this female here Zayden? and a half blood at that well actually alot less than half since she's more human than anything."

Ariyah must have caught it when everything started calming down.

"I had to. I can't explain it I don't understand it, but my dragon is saying she's our mate." The poor guy was just shaking his head and looked to be almost in tears.

"That can't be. There's no way that a very partial dragon is a mate to any of us pure bloods and how did you get her here? She looks absolutely terrified." Micah asked.

Zayden just stood there for a long moment and pulled the small trembling girl forth. "She's only scared because she just learned that she's part dragon and now around dragons in full form and you're not helping either. I did not kidnap her or anything like that. I met her at school. She also can possibly help us with the virus and obtaining the equipment we need to get a vaccine. I've worked tirelessly on this for over twenty years and we're now getting somewhere. You four have been dealing with so much. Losing your mother and sister in the same day then now your father is sick plus our kingdom is crumbling. Let me take some of the burden off you. I know she doesn't make sense, but what if it's possible that the half bloods are our salvation after all?"

All four of her brothers looked around at one another then Micah stepped towards the other man, "I supposed you're right brother. We've been distracted. I'm tired of losing people. How can we find more like her? and let me apologize young lady for my barbaric behavior. I'm Micah Ember King Consort. What's your name?"

The girl finally stepped forward not shivering anymore at all, "My name is Braelynn. You're apology is accepted. I know how it feels to lose your family to something you can't understand or cure. Even though I'm a half blood as you put it the virus that hit your species also hit them as well, but because they assume they're human the doctors couldn't figure it out either. They just chalked it all up to natural causes, but I knew better. They're were stories passed down in my family about the mighty dragons and how they look on human lovers and created a more human dragon, but because in your eyes we we defective in some way we weren't accepted and cast out. I didn't believe in the stories until I met Zayden at school and felt the first stirrings of my dragon."

Everyone gasped in the room. Apparently what she was saying was unheard of.

Braelynn continued, "My major in school is chemistry and many more things that will be useful. I know I can help. Zayden told me about the laws you have about humans, but I'm not fully human so I don't count and think about the possibilities in males here finding they're mates in a half blood and starting to rebuild what was lost."

She watched as her brothers looked around at each other again and Micah said, "I think the clan as a whole needs to vote on this before we make a definite decision, but I have full confidence in you and your decisions as well. There is something we need to share with you that may also change everything."