Read Online Dragon King: A Dark Kings Novella (1001 Dark Nights) by Donna Grant - Free Book Online
Authors: Donna Grant
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awake.”
“Awake?” she repeated.
Arian briefly looked at his hands. “I’ve been sleeping in my mountain for six centuries.”
“Your...” she began, her voice trailing off. Grace looked around the cavern before her gaze returned to him. “This is your mountain?”
“Aye. Each Dragon King has his own.”
“I...wow.”
He bit back a smile at her surprised reaction. “Many of us take to our mountains for long periods. Some get tired of hiding who we truly are, some have pasts they need to escape from for a while, and others must disappear from the world for a generation or so before reappearing.”
“Which one are you?”
“A bit of all of them.”
“Six hundred years is a long time though.”
Arian lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I had no intention of waking any time soon. The war with Ulrik and the Dark, however, changed that. Con had all the Kings who slept woken.”
“Why were you going to remain asleep?”
“There was no reason for me to be awake. I know mortals have advanced considerably, but that doesna make our lives easier. In fact, it makes keeping our secret hidden even harder. Sleeping through the centuries makes things easier to deal with, like missing my dragons.”
“I understand now.”
He waited as she took it all in, digesting it bit by bit.
“Back to Con and Ulrik,” Grace said. “Did no one think Ulrik wouldn’t one day want revenge?”
Arian clasped his hands together as he rested his arms on his knees. “He was never supposed to unbind his magic.”
“Um, what?” she asked with wide eyes.
“We bound his magic. Dragon magic is the strongest magic on the realm. No’ even the Fae can beat dragon magic.”
She nodded slowly, her face frozen in shock. “Yeah, ok. But you just said his magic was never meant to be unbound, which means that he somehow managed to do just that.”
“Aye, lass, he did.”
“And he says it so calmly,” Grace mumbled to herself with a little shake of her head.
Arian found her completely fascinating. He was enthralled with every facet of emotion that crossed her face—and there were dozens. She hid nothing, whether on purpose or not, her emotions were there for all to see.
Grace dropped her head in her hands and blew out a loud breath. “You just said dragon magic was the strongest. What could possibly have beaten that?”
“An anomaly in the form of a Druid.”
At this, her head snapped up. “Did you just say a Druid?”
“Aye.”
She scratched her eyebrow and looked at the ground. “If there are dragons and Fae, why not Druids?”
Arian was hiding another smile.
When she returned her eyes to him, she shot him a flat look. “You can stop laughing, because yes, I’m wigging out to the Nth degree here.”
“You doona appear to be...wigging out,” he said, trying the word.
She moved her hands in a vertical circle in front of her chest. “It’s all inside.”
Arian’s smile grew. If she only knew the truth about how he was falling for her. His smile faded as he thought of her leaving, because she would—eventually. He wasn’t ready for that yet.
Without a doubt he had been alone in his mountain for a considerable time, and his body yearned to be near Grace again. He longed to touch her skin and feel her lips moving beneath his.
His emotions were so volatile that lightning streaked across the sky, followed immediately by a clap of thunder before the skies opened up once more.
Grace let out a shriek and jumped to her feet, getting as far from the entrance as she could. She faced the rain, backing up as she did.
Arian got to his feet and moved in her path. He used his body to block her from running into a boulder. As soon as he laid his arms on her shoulders, he felt her shaking.
“It’s just a storm, lass,” he whispered near her ear.
“It’s never just a storm.”
There was something in her words that caught his attention. Not too much the words themselves, but the depth of emotion in them.
Arian
“Awake?” she repeated.
Arian briefly looked at his hands. “I’ve been sleeping in my mountain for six centuries.”
“Your...” she began, her voice trailing off. Grace looked around the cavern before her gaze returned to him. “This is your mountain?”
“Aye. Each Dragon King has his own.”
“I...wow.”
He bit back a smile at her surprised reaction. “Many of us take to our mountains for long periods. Some get tired of hiding who we truly are, some have pasts they need to escape from for a while, and others must disappear from the world for a generation or so before reappearing.”
“Which one are you?”
“A bit of all of them.”
“Six hundred years is a long time though.”
Arian lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I had no intention of waking any time soon. The war with Ulrik and the Dark, however, changed that. Con had all the Kings who slept woken.”
“Why were you going to remain asleep?”
“There was no reason for me to be awake. I know mortals have advanced considerably, but that doesna make our lives easier. In fact, it makes keeping our secret hidden even harder. Sleeping through the centuries makes things easier to deal with, like missing my dragons.”
“I understand now.”
He waited as she took it all in, digesting it bit by bit.
“Back to Con and Ulrik,” Grace said. “Did no one think Ulrik wouldn’t one day want revenge?”
Arian clasped his hands together as he rested his arms on his knees. “He was never supposed to unbind his magic.”
“Um, what?” she asked with wide eyes.
“We bound his magic. Dragon magic is the strongest magic on the realm. No’ even the Fae can beat dragon magic.”
She nodded slowly, her face frozen in shock. “Yeah, ok. But you just said his magic was never meant to be unbound, which means that he somehow managed to do just that.”
“Aye, lass, he did.”
“And he says it so calmly,” Grace mumbled to herself with a little shake of her head.
Arian found her completely fascinating. He was enthralled with every facet of emotion that crossed her face—and there were dozens. She hid nothing, whether on purpose or not, her emotions were there for all to see.
Grace dropped her head in her hands and blew out a loud breath. “You just said dragon magic was the strongest. What could possibly have beaten that?”
“An anomaly in the form of a Druid.”
At this, her head snapped up. “Did you just say a Druid?”
“Aye.”
She scratched her eyebrow and looked at the ground. “If there are dragons and Fae, why not Druids?”
Arian was hiding another smile.
When she returned her eyes to him, she shot him a flat look. “You can stop laughing, because yes, I’m wigging out to the Nth degree here.”
“You doona appear to be...wigging out,” he said, trying the word.
She moved her hands in a vertical circle in front of her chest. “It’s all inside.”
Arian’s smile grew. If she only knew the truth about how he was falling for her. His smile faded as he thought of her leaving, because she would—eventually. He wasn’t ready for that yet.
Without a doubt he had been alone in his mountain for a considerable time, and his body yearned to be near Grace again. He longed to touch her skin and feel her lips moving beneath his.
His emotions were so volatile that lightning streaked across the sky, followed immediately by a clap of thunder before the skies opened up once more.
Grace let out a shriek and jumped to her feet, getting as far from the entrance as she could. She faced the rain, backing up as she did.
Arian got to his feet and moved in her path. He used his body to block her from running into a boulder. As soon as he laid his arms on her shoulders, he felt her shaking.
“It’s just a storm, lass,” he whispered near her ear.
“It’s never just a storm.”
There was something in her words that caught his attention. Not too much the words themselves, but the depth of emotion in them.
Arian
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