Chapter 4

            Dark colors blurred for a moment then they were there before me. The three strangers. I hadn’t thought it was possible for them to look even more menacing, and yet they did. Backs straight, no longer slouched carelessly, and bulging muscles poised to either attack or defend, they were a sight to behold. But their leader; the one front and center, a few steps ahead of the two flanking him? He was glorious. His dark hair grazed his wide shoulders. Golden amber eyes glared at me; his full lips pulled into a tight slash across his handsome face.. Black clothing head to toe, made a valiant attempt at concealing his powerfully built physique. Broad shouldered, wide chested, he was truly a feast for the eyes and Vetur definitely took notice. Hands as big as dinner plates remained loose, palms open and facing me, at his sides. Loose and empty.He’d chosen to face me without a weapon, but his entire aura radiated danger. How he managed to simultaneously seem relaxed and alert was beyond me, but Vetur recognized the true peril in the room. It wasn’t The Queen. It wasn’t the warriors at my back. It wasn’t even the formidable duo flanking him. It was him alone. My power urged me to confront him. Fight him. Make him conquer us. One corner of his mouth ticked up into a smirk and the movement drew my eyes. When I realized he’d been watching me analyze him my eyes narrowed in irritation. How dare he catch me checking him out!

            “Little fox,” his baritone flowed across the space to me like a warm palm caressing my cheek and I barely suppressed a full-bodied quiver. “I’d like the opportunity to take that challenge.” He finished with a dip of his head and a slight bow, never taking his eyes off me. Those eyes. That body. His voice. Every aspect of him tugged at me and I fought to resist it. Fought to remember the challenge I’d issued to The Queen to kill me. Did he think he could take me?

            My eyebrow rose in question as I realized the ice within a three feet radius of him and his men had begun to melt. Drawing back up to his full height, he took a few steps toward me. Also, had he just called me a fox?

“Accepted.”

            “Not accepted! You will keep your distance from my heir, Valen! Cyan, you will stop this foolishness and do as you’ve been told,” The Queen shouted just as Kormen spoke up.

            “Cy you cannot do this!”

            Calm that I hadn’t even noticed settle over me receded in an instant, giving way to a seething rage at their interruption. I needed to speak with this beautiful stranger.  Needed every single interaction he gave and they wanted to prevent that. Celeste continued to spew threats, not even realizing the monster she’d unleashed. Pulling one of my knives back into myself, I flicked a free hand in Kormen’s direction, burying him in an avalanche of snow. I’d deal with his betrayal later. Eyes narrowed to slits, I focused on the woman who birthed me. The bane of my existence. “You went too far this time, mother. If you want me to stop this then you’ll have to kill me.”

            Her eye twitched. The only indication that my words had a negative effect on her, but I ignored it. My second knife materialized in my palm again and with little thought, I sent them both sailing through the air with her as my intended target. Valen, who seemingly read my mind, moved barely a moment later. Jumping, he plucked both knives from the air. His hands sizzled as the ice melted in them. Son of a…

            “Let the record show that I vehemently object to that suggestion,” he stated, his voice still calm and collected.

            Vetur snapped within me and erupted outward into a thick covering of ice on every surface within the room. The stained-glass windows, unable to withstand the quick freeze, shattered. They’d been in this castle, my family, for generations. Forever destroyed. I was too furious to care. “Your objection means nothing,” I roared at the attractive, yet so far infuriating, stranger.

            “My god, Damon. It’s really her. She’s the Vetur,” Celeste’s awe-filled voice proclaimed into the silence that followed my outburst.

            A gust of wind swirled around me and swept locks of my hair across my face. My hair, normally the purest black, had turned snow white. That was new. I was nearly shocked out of my anger, but Celeste’s words continued. Always her words.

            “I knew she would be magnificent! I knew I would create the perfect being. My perseverance has finally paid off.”

            A screech, hollow and filled with sorrow, echoed through the room. This was my mother. The one who was supposed to love me. Protect me. Guide me when I was lost and learning the ways of a woman in the world. She did none of this and yet she saw her efforts as perseverance. Rapid fire, I materialized daggers of ice and propelled them toward her. She let out a terrified scream when she realized Valen wouldn’t be able to stop them all.

            “Look at your magnificent creation, mother, and enjoy it while you can because you will never see it again,” I shouted.

            Guards jumped into action blocking my knives, sometimes with their bodies. My father pulled Celeste aside and twisted his body just in time to catch a knife in his shoulder blade. Had he moved any slower it would have sunk dead center in her forehead. Gritting my teeth, I advanced only to draw up short when Valen and his men blocked me.

            “We should talk, little fox,” he stated, still calm as hell as though I wasn’t literally losing my shit.

            The fucking nerve! His calm fed my anger and I turned my attack to them. They blocked and dodged my throws, but some of them slipped through their guard, pierced through their dark clothes, saturating the fabric with their blood. Their grunts of pain when I met my mark, fed Vetur. She thrived on the adrenaline and exertion of the strong men steadily advancing on me. And they had to be truly strong to survive my attack. Flinging my hands forward, I buried the two nameless warriors’ feet in thick blocks of ice. One of them cursed in frustration, while the other complained about the temperament of arctic foxes and their clever minds. What??

            My hair whipped around my face as I battled solo with Valen. He really was impressive, but I didn’t want to admire him. I didn’t want to admit that he held his own against me. I wanted to bring him down. Letting out a shriek, I formed a throwing dagger and a Japanese shoto sword. An unusual combination, but it was that unexpectedness that had brought my challengers to their knees on several occasions. I charged at Valen, his eyes widening as I slashed and stabbed at him with my shoto while jabbing at him with my dagger. I only aimed for spots that I knew would kill him within minutes of a strike—his neck, his heart, his lungs, major arteries. His body twisted and his forearm guard rang with the sound of ice striking metal with each blow he blocked. He was too strong. Too swift. I wouldn’t succeed at bringing him down that way. Aiming for his feet, I blew a gust of cold air from my mouth. He finally faltered and I sliced, my shoto inches away from his carotid. He tossed himself back and brought up his hand, catching the blade in his grip. And. I. stilled.

            His hand was no longer covered in the smooth tan skin as before. It was covered in iridescent scales that ran the gamut of the of greens and yellows, greenish brown and burnished gold. His fingers curved into wicked claws, nearly 3 inches long. My eyes cut to his only for me to slip further into a tailspin. His pupils were no longer round, but elongated, vertically slit, the amber surrounding it burning bright, fairly glowing.

            “Dragon,” I whispered in disbelief. Dragons were extinct. Wiped out centuries ago. Weren’t they?

            Taking full advantage of my distracted state, he snatched the shoto from my grasp and tossed it aside. I could have easily manifested another, but I only stared. His claws receded back into blunt fingertips and the scales melted away. Reaching forward, he snaked one arm around my waist. The other wrapped around the back of my neck and he yanked me to him. My body collided with his, taut muscles giving no quarter to the full softness of me. His touch elicited a searing warmth that I had never known and after a lifetime of nothing, but the freezing cold, my body melted into his. Dazed, I realized what was happening. He had touched me. And survived.

            “Your dragon, little fox,” he rumbled as he stared down at me.

            “My name is Cyan.” Epic response. We wouldn’t even go into how ridiculously breathy my voice was.

            “As you wish, my princess,” he murmured, that infuriating smirk ticking his lips upward seconds before they crashed down on mine.

            Damn, traitorous body! I had no clue it could dissolve into absolute goop at the touch of another. I had no idea I could ever feel so much heat. So much ecstasy. Every inch of my body that was plastered to his buzzed with an indescribable electricity. Distantly, I heard The Queen screaming ‘no’ and the sound of a struggle, but I couldn’t focus on that. I could only focus on the giant holding me in his arms, solid and secure, as he devoured my mouth. I pushed my body further into his, needing to be closer. Needing to be as much of him as I was of myself. One of his legs slipped between mine, the fabric of my dress bunching between my thighs as he pushed. When his thigh came into contact with my core a ragged moan escaped me. Dear God! What sorcery was this? Gripping his shoulders, I raised one leg, and began to pull myself up, literally climbing his tall frame. Never breaking our kiss, one huge hand gripped the back my knee, before sliding along the curves of my thigh to palm my ass and lift me. My legs wrapped around his hips, lining my heated core up with the massive bulge straining against his pants. Tossing my head back I drew in a gasp. Taking advantage he drew his lips along the column of my neck, nipping at my racing pulse. Nothing had ever felt this good. Both of his hands went to my hips and I tightened my legs around him.

            “Eyes on me, little fox. I want you to know who controls your pleasure,” he growled.

            Obeying his command, my eyes shot to his. Still glowing and vertically slit, they demanded my submission. Expected it. And for once, I gave it freely. Willingly. With a growl deep in his throat, he thrust his hips, his erection hit me just right and I tumbled into oblivion on a silent shout. My body convulsed. My eyes rolled back into my head and Vetur went wild. Fire responded in kind, suffusing us in a divine mixture of hot and cold. With a grunt his fingers tightened almost painfully on my hips and I let out a whine. Not from pain though. This was pure pleasure. I wanted to exist in this state for the rest of my life. He ground his hips against mine. Against my neck, his breathing was labored and choppy—from the fighting or the orgasm, I didn’t know. Overwhelmed and utterly exhausted, my head fell to his shoulder, my arms and legs went limp around him. He held me up. Carving a trail of sweet kisses up my neck, he stopped when he reached the shell of my ear. His lips were soft and tickled as he spoke, voice even deeper and more compelling than before.

            “Perfection, little fox. Absolutely impeccable. From this moment forth, I pledge to you my heart, my soul, all that I am. I promise to cherish you, respect you, place you above all else. I am yours and no others'.”

            His words settled something inside of me. Something I knew had been missing all my life, but couldn’t figure out how to secure it. They bound us. Somehow I found the strength to lift my head and find his eyes. Those reptilian beauties that had nearly instantly become familiar and treasured to me. Cupping his cheek in my hands, his stubble tickling my palms, I gave him my pledge.

            “From this moment forth, I pledge to you my heart, my soul, all that I am. I promise to cherish you, respect you, place you above all else. I am yours and no other’s.”

            “We are one, little fox. Rest now, I’ll keep you safe from any who think to harm you.”

            My eyes closed and Vetur blinked out with his reassurance. My last thoughts before I succumbed to darkness—how could I have heard him so clearly when he hadn’t spoken out loud.