Chapter 4: Yhendorn

Yhendorn

Goddess it’s so good to see her, to have her touching me, to have her caring for me again.

I love everything about my mate. I love her fire, her passion, her love and concern for others. I’ve spent years learning everything I can about dragons and about her specifically so that when the time comes, I’ll be the best mate and rider she could ever have.

“What none of you seem to understand is that dragons feel differently than we do. They feel more deeply. They love more deeply, and they hate more deeply than we ever could. The rift between elves and dragons is a problem not because of how we as elves feel about it, but because of how they feel about us as a species. They will not forget, they will not forgive. And when you have a fiery, passionate dragon such as Kenna, they will make sure that you regret making them hate you,” I say, not looking away from my mate as I address the royals in the room.

I stroke my fingers over her face, etching every curve and line into my memory. I know she won’t invite me back to the Academy, not until I’ve claimed her. So, I’m taking full advantage of this moment to drink her in.

“They are not animals to be claimed, tamed, and trained. They are thinking, feeling beings. Some, like myself, would say they are the best of all the supernaturals,” I say, hearing murmured agreement from Princess Keya and Prince Vaeril.

“They are the best of us, and those of you who want them solely for power, are destroying them,” I say, finally looking away from her to see the royals who don’t have a dragon dragging themselves off the floor from where they threw themselves away from Kenna's fiery blaze.

“No matter how much my mate loves me, if I say that I’m going to claim her,” I say, smiling when she growls and flames flicker between her lips. “She does not like it.”

I run my thumb across her lips, and the fire immediately recedes. She kisses my thumb, healing the burn that her fire caused.

“But I am her mate. Me claiming Kenna will not take her away from someone that she loves more than any of us could ever understand. I will bond her to me because she is mine, gifted to me by the Earth Goddess herself.”

“Easy for you to say, Yhendorn. Your mate IS a dragon. What about the rest of us?” Faeler growls.

I turn and look at him. “I would say the Earth Goddess didn’t believe you were worthy of a dragon, Faeler. Based on how you went against our laws and claimed yours, I’d have to agree,” I say.

I hate seeing Kenzo standing beside Faeler. It’s like there’s an invisible chain around his neck, one that Faeler is holding and periodically yanks on, just so Kenzo knows who his master is. It makes me sick.

Kenzo protects his rider because he has to. It’s a part of their dragon psyche, something that is specific to them as dragons. Once claimed, they are bound completely to their riders. However, Elio, Anala, and even Kenna protect their riders because they are their mates, because losing them is intolerable. Because losing them would break something inside them, something worse than what broke inside of Zephyr.

“And yet, I have a dragon now,” Faeler says arrogantly.

“Yes, you do. But unlike Keya and Vaeril, you needed an entire troupe to claim your dragon. They claimed their dragons one on one, as will I, then time comes,” I say, fighting my grin when Kenna growls again. “If you cannot claim your dragon in the way our laws have prescribed, I’d say that you aren’t worthy of them. But that’s why we’re here, isn’t it. We need to come to some sort of agreement about how dragons will be claimed.”

“I don’t see that there’s anything more to discuss here,” Ilvisar snarls, glaring at Kenna. He obviously didn't know that his son and half his troupe had been incinerated.

“Careful, Ilvisar,” I say, my voice becoming icy. “You already have two fire dragons, one earth dragon, and a royal elf who are angry with you. I would suggest that you not add more fuel to that fire. I doubt you’d survive it. Aratan didn’t,” I say.

“This meeting is over!” he growls, and I watch as he tries, unsuccessfully, to leave the room gracefully.

“Let’s go,” I say, unwilling to leave Kenna alone with all these dragon-hungry royals. I know she’s perfectly capable of defending herself and Elio and Anala would help her if anyone attacked her, but she’s my mate and I will protect her.

I put my hand on her lower back, looking at the others in the room, making sure they aren’t going to try anything as we walk out. I follow her to where Elio and Anala are standing, waiting.

This has become the norm when we all meet like this. The dragons stand united, no matter who has claimed them. I stand behind Kenna as they wait for Kenzo to exit the conclave.

Each time, they use their dragon speak. Even though their riders understand them, the other elves do not. I’m thankful for the amount of time I spent at the Academy. I don’t understand everything, but I understand a lot of what the dragons say.

When Faeler and Kenzo walk out, I grit my teeth. Kenzo is always forced to walk behind Faeler, like he’s a trained dog following at his master’s feet. His head is always down, as if he’s ashamed. I hate it. As a dragon, he should be standing tall and proud.

“We love you, Kenzo,” Anala says.

“You are still one of us,” Elio says.

“Naida sends her love,” Kenna says.

“Do not speak to them,” Faeler snarls.

Kenzo nods but he glances over, acknowledging their words in the only way he can.

We all stand by, waiting as Kenzo shifts and lifts off the ground.

“How are we ever going to come to any sort of agreement, Yhendorn?” Keya asks.

“I don’t know,” I say, watching them fly off.

“Burn their troupes to the ground?” Kenna asks with mock sweetness.

I grin, shifting my attention to my feisty, fiery mate. I know there is some truth to her words, but I know she won't do it. Not yet anyway.

“I’m there,” Anala says. She’s also a fire dragon.

“Are you burning troupes to the ground or are we trying for a baby, my fierce dragon?” Vaeril asks, wrapping his arms around her.

“I can do both,” she grumbles, but I see her body respond to her mate claiming her as his dragon.

Because all the fire dragons have Tana’s DNA, there’s a lot of similarities between them. Anala was a lab dragon and matured completely at five years old when she shifted to her human form for the first time. But she’s still young in comparison to Tana, so her actions are more like Kenna’s than her mother’s.

“Not when you can no longer shift, my love,” he says to her.

“I’m glad we don’t have that problem,” Elio says, pulling Keya into his arms. Elio, like Kenna, is a fire dragon and Lycan hybrid. It makes him nearly as possessive of his mate as Avani is with my sister.

“So you ARE pregnant?” Kenna asks.

“I am,” Keya says, smiling up at her mate.

“Congratulations!” Kenna and I both say.

“Now I wish you were the dragon,” Anala pouts.

“No, you don’t,” Vaeril smiles, kissing her nose.

“No, I don’t,” she agrees, leaning into him.

I sigh. I can’t wait for the day when my fire dragon leans into me like that too, wanting me to touch her again.

Kenna must hear my sigh because she turns and looks at me. I’ve hated this moment ever since I left the Academy. I’m thankful that there are only a couple more weeks before I can claim her. I hate being away from her.

“I should get going. It’s a long run back to our troupe,” I say.

She looks at me for a long moment, obviously warring with herself. I give her the space she needs to figure out her dilemma. I know what it is. She wants to be with me even more than I want to be with her, but she’s terrified of being claimed, even though she knows I won’t. Not until her birthday.

“Do you want a ride?” she finally asks. The tightness that has been around my heart and in my chest since the last time I saw her eases.

“I would love that.”

Kenzo POV

My heart hurts. I always want to hear it, but it always makes my heart hurt to know that Naida is still worried about me, still thinks about me, still loves me.

“Which one is Naida?” my king asks, as if we haven’t had this conversation multiple times since he claimed me.

“The one who was with me when you claimed me,” I say.

I’m not sure if he doesn’t realize that I can hear his thoughts or if he really thinks I’m stupid. It’s probably both. I know he thinks I’m stupid.

“Oh, right. She’s a water dragon, right?” he asks.

“A hybrid, yes.”

“She’s the one who is your mate?” he asks. He already knows this answer and I can feel the wheels turning in his head.

“Yes.”

“You should invite her to come visit you. I could give you time to be together,” he says, but I can hear and feel his true intent. He wants an opportunity for his brother to claim a dragon.

I refuse to put Naida at risk. I gave my life to keep her safe. I have no intention of doing anything that would ever put her at risk. So I lie, or at least, I exaggerate the truth so I’m not technically lying to my rider.

“They would never let her come.” I know Naida would somehow get Kaylani to agree to come visit me if she thought she could see me, even if was just for a few moments.

“Hmmm, to bad,” he says.

No, it’s a good thing. Naida is safe and I intend to keep her that way.