The Book Dragon's Lair

PrologueRyu the Ravenous gritted his teeth. Months before he, along with most of the territory’s unmated males, had been called to the border. He didn’t mind the mobilization. A conflict had been brewing for decades—a short time in a dragon’s life—but in the last few months it had escalated. He didn’t care. He should. It was his home, and the Tribe of the Emerald Hills was a threat, but he couldn’t find it in him to give a damn. More times than he could remember, he’d petitioned to be allowed into the human realm, but he was denied every time. His genes were too good, his treasures were too great, and too many females had shown an interest. If he could, he’d have run away, but he’d be recognized wherever he went. He wasn’t royalty. Those of true royal blood never left the Sapphire Mountains, but he was as close as anyone could come and still walk among the rest of the dragonkin. Ryu stretched and looked out the window of the watchtower. The war was a welcome respite from having to dodge his mother’s attempts to get him mated to a respectable female. Most males would dream about being in his position, but he wasn’t most males. Dragons lived long and rarely reproduced. When there were hatchlings, more than two-thirds were male. It was a problem, but the surplus of the males was allowed to move to the other side of the veil. They had power there and could, if they wanted to, take human mates. There would be no offspring, and most of the ties with life on this side were cut off. Not a day went by without Ryu fantasizing about being cut off. To be able to live his life the way he wanted to. The dragons in the human realm were free, and it was only in situations like these that the males were called back. Since there was no offspring, a male could mate anyone he wanted—male or female, royalty or of low birth, black skin or blue. Though humans didn’t have blue skin, he didn’t think, at least. He would give his right hand to be able to sneak off to the other side. He’d gladly sacrifice a foot if it would allow him to escape, and he would single-handedly cut off his tail if it would make them forget about him. Sighing, he looked out through the window of the watchtower again. “What are you moaning about?” Draken the Dreadful truly was dreadful. He didn’t instill fear or turn Ryu’s stomach when he looked at him—the opposite, if all he had to consider was looks. He was a handsome male, but dreadfully boring. Dreadfully stupid. Dreadfully annoying. Dreadfully…Ryu couldn’t find enough words to describe how dreadful he was. He had everything Ryu wanted, and yet he was complaining most days of the week. He lived in the human world. Had a male mate. A male mate. All Ryu wanted was a male mate. He didn’t care if he had to be human, as long as he wasn’t forced to have hatchlings. He loved hatchlings, but to get one, he had to have a female mate, and he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. His family would never allow him to leave for the human realm, though. His genes were too good, too great a treasure cave, and he was too handsome. Dragons valued beauty, both in their treasures and in their mates. Gemstones and onyx skin—his mother’s voice echoed in his mind. His skin wasn’t as dark as onyx, his blood was too diluted, but he was darker than most. He gleamed black in dragon form, which was a sign of his excellent bloodline. “Hey, i***t! I’m talking to you.” Ryu swallowed a sigh and turned to face Draken. “What?” “This moping, what’s it about? Did you lose your favorite gemstone?” “I don’t have a favorite.” He did. He had a sky-blue topaz that filled his chest with a sense of freedom whenever he held it. Draken snorted. “Royals always do. You’re fixated on the outer beauty instead of what’s hidden inside.” Ryu wasn’t royal—close, but not truly royal. His mother had hopes of a good mating that would bring him closer to the Sapphire Mountains. Once he got back from the war…The rounded walls of the watchtower were closing in. He had to get out of here, had to get past the veil somehow. He could hide in the human realm. “Is that so? What is your favorite treasure?” Ryu didn’t know if Draken had any treasures. He was of low birth, his family line didn’t have a large treasure of gemstones or gold, and he’d spent several years in the human realm. Some dragons, like Ryu’s family, specialized in gemstones, others filled their treasure caves with precious metals, and some traded in art, but it was considered risky. “I have a copy of the 1535 Coverdale Bible.” Draken puffed his chest and reached into his pocket. Holding up a key, he grinned at Ryu. “I have more treasures, but I believe it’s my most valuable one.” Ryu frowned. A Bible. He wasn’t well versed in human culture, but…wasn’t a Bible a book? Fairy tales about some newer deity? “Your most treasured treasure is a book?” Draken shot him a glare. “Not everyone can bathe in gemstones.” “True.” Ryu had enough gemstones to bathe in should he want to, but he didn’t think it would be pleasurable. “So you’re a book dragon on the other side of the veil?” Draken narrowed his eyes. “Yes.” The growly tone amused Ryu, but he tried not to let it show. Books weren’t treasures. They didn’t sparkle or shine. “And the key is to your treasure cave?” “You can’t sell books out of a cave. Humans are fascinated by dragons, and bow to our every will, but it would be to take it a step too far to live in a cave.” “You part with your treasures?” An invisible hand squeezed Ryu’s heart. He’d had to part with his favorite topaz, and it had hurt. It hurt more when he spun fantasies about escaping and never returning to it. “Money is the only important thing on the other side of the veil. Everyone specializes in the same kind of treasure. The true value is invisible, but you trade for paper notes with a symbolic value.” He shrugged. “It’s hard to explain, but I trade books for notes.” “So…you’re a money dragon, not a book dragon?” Ryu had seen money once. The dull coins and green bills weren’t nearly as pretty as gemstones. Draken sneered. Sneered. Would there be a punishment if he killed him? Under normal circumstances, there wouldn’t. If you killed someone, you took over their treasure, but they’d signed a contract to guard the tower together. There would most likely be repercussions if Ryu killed him while working. If they punished Ryu, it would still be worth it. Being confined to a cave for a century would be a pleasant break. Then he could postpone his mating, too. The more he considered it, the better he liked the idea. “But your most precious treasure is your mate, right?” Ryu kept his face blank, but he wanted to know more about Draken’s mate. A human. Male. No bloodlines to think of. No females. Draken snorted, which made Ryu frown. If he had a mate, one he wanted to mate, not someone his mother chose for him, he’d cherish him as if he was the most exquisite artifact ever created. And Draken had chosen his mate. It was commonly known dragons went to the other side and took whomever they wanted as mates. The humans couldn’t object since dragons were more powerful—even low caste dragons like Draken. It was an understanding. They’d give them mates in exchange for them not burning their cities to the ground. “Is he selling books while you’re here?” “Egil? He’s most likely cowering behind the counter in the bookstore. Doesn’t live up to his name.” There were many parts of the statement Ryu didn’t understand. Egil. “His name?” “He’s named after an old tale from the northern parts of the human realm. The name means terror.” He huffed. “He does not instill terror.” Oh…not a worthy mate of a dragon? Ryu would not ask. He didn’t mind insulting Draken, but if he’d picked poorly when it came to his mate, it was an embarrassment beyond words. “But he…gathers wealth while you’re here?” Again, Draken held up the key. “I’ve locked away everything of greater worth. If he can sell the mass-produced books, he’s increasing my wealth. If not, I’ll deal with it when I get back.” There was an evil glint in his eyes that had a knot forming in Ryu’s gut. Cruelty was part of life, but not toward your mate, never toward your mate. “Your wealth?” Mates were a team. It was important you picked well since you’d share your treasures with them for centuries to come. “Is that smoke?” Draken shot to his feet from where he’d been slumping against the wall and hurried toward the window of the watchtower. He hadn’t more than uttered the words before Ryu spotted six green dragons in the clear blue sky. “Take cover!” Fire surrounded them, filled the air, and Ryu screamed as the flames licked his body. The right side of his face and torso blazed, his clothes and his skin stuck together, and the pain was too severe to comprehend. Had he been in dragon form, they wouldn’t have done much harm, but now his skin melted. He looked over at Draken right as something shattered the wall of the watchtower. Stones rained over Draken, and he slumped on the floor. The tower swayed and Ryu closed his eyes while waiting to fall to his death. Seconds went by, and he grew aware of pained sounds—they came from him. Squeezing his lips shut, he looked around. The emerald dragons flew toward the next watchtower. The key Draken had been holding gleamed in the sunlight, and Ryu dragged himself toward it. “Draken?” There was a growing puddle of blood forming around him. “Draken?” He pulled himself over the rubble and up to Draken. Feeling for a pulse on his throat, Ryu cursed. There was nothing. Dragons were hard to kill, but Ryu could see the gray matter through the shattered bones of his skull. Patting down his uniform, he found the weird, flat, leather pouch where Draken had his papers to get back to the other side of the veil. He pocketed it, made sure he had the key, then he removed the round onyx with the family crest from around his neck and hung it around Draken’s. His vision was blackening around the edges and his skin still felt as if it was on fire. He had a plan, and he had to act before he passed out. With his last effort, he shifted enough to be able to create fire and allowed his flames to dance over Draken, melting his face. If he survived this and got to a hospital, he hoped his burn wounds and that he had Draken’s belongings would be enough to distract everyone. The world spun around him, and the images blurred together. The scent of charred flesh had him gagging, and he begged the deity of old to prevent those who found them from investigating too closely.