***
The moon gleamed on obsidian
scales, highlighting the Takishidar rheksha as she glided
above heavy forests. Morrigana beat her wings twice, gaining
altitude, sighing mentally. This conclave needs to finish already,
she thought, frustrated by politics. No wonder Mother abdicated.
The dragon chuckled, tossing her head, the cold wind whistling around
her horns.
It's so boring. All these
treaties, and trade routes, and all the bullshit. I hate it. We
should just fight it out, and take what we want. She lifted her
lips, letting venomous saliva dribble between her sharp teeth.
Chemicals reacted with the air, igniting the dragon's drool, trailing
fire in strings along her chest. Why should I be nice just because
the drakes are nice?
And I was foolish enough to
keep them going. She beat her wings fiercely, racing for the sky.
Most of these assholes don't understand strength or violence.
Hell, they don't get it when I or Rhaeyhaes mock them. Morrigana
thought about the flustered unicorn representative who was nervous
being around her, even when Morri wore an elven form, and snorted. I
should just leave now.
The thought tempted the dragon
leader. She could send a thought to her consort, and they could both
leave. Dragons don't belong here. Let those peace-loving drakes
play nice. Rhae and I have much better things to do with our time.
She closed her eyes, letting
her wings sag, losing altitude. But Mother said this was a test. I
have to prove that I'm capable of leading. Morrigana hissed. Like
I haven't been proving myself every day since she abdicated. I've
done more than enough. The dragon continued to let herself fall,
letting gravity pull at her anger as well as her body.
She'd nearly reached terminal
velocity when she opened her wings. The wind filled her wings,
stretching patagia to its limit, straining every joint, wringing a
grunt from her. Morrigana watched trees rushing toward her, and
pulled up, racing back to the sky.
A shadow waited for her,
another dragon hovering above her. Morrigana thought it was her
consort at first, then swiftly reconsidered. The dragon was her size,
half the size of a regular Takishidar, but longer, more slender.
Growling, she soared past him.
~Why do you disturb me?~ Starting to circle the stranger,
Morrigana recognized the matte black figure. ~Why have you been
following me?~
He began circling in
opposition, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight. ~Why shouldn't I
follow a beautiful dragoness?~
Her growl deepened, lips
lifting from sharp teeth. Morrigana had seen him around the conclave,
always watching her, never participating in the meetings. He was
mysterious, his aura powerful and cold, and she found herself
attracted to him.
Conclaves full of peaceful and
gentle creatures weren't good dragon mating grounds, however.
~Give your reasons or leave
me be.~ No amount of attraction would cause her to forget her
pride, or her place in dragon society. If this stranger wanted her,
he would have to prove himself. To punctuate her mental words, she
blew air threw her teeth, splattering flammable saliva around her
muzzle. The little flames flared bright, then cascaded to the ground.
Two pumps of his wings brought
him level with the rheksha. He was slender and narrow through
his muzzle, with a long crest of horns. His scales were thick, but
they laid flat along his body, leaving no rough edges. He was clearly
dragon, fierce and brutal, but he was elegant like a drake. His
mental presence slid smoothly along her own, and Morrigana's heart
raced.
~It is simple. You are
beautiful, and I want you. I will have you.~ He flexed his
foretalons, pulling his head up in a dominant pose.
Her blood boiled, her nerves
responding to his self-confidence. She'd yet to encounter a dragon
who made her react in such a manner, not even her consort.
But she couldn't give in with
only one spoken exchange.
Shrieking her challenge,
Morrigana surged toward him, mouth open, talons crooked. She didn't
think, just acted, seeking to draw blood.
He moved as quickly,
backwinging, avoiding her razor teeth. He snarled, fangs gleaming in
the moonlight, and snapped at her face. Their auras expanded, each
trying to impress the other with how dangerous they were. Morri
trembled at the touch of his power, immediately recognizing his
superior strength. A purr entered her growl as she continued the
fight.
Their teeth clattered against
each other, their talons grappling, spittle flying and igniting. He
flapped his wings to keep altitude, and she kicked at his belly with
strong hind legs. He let her go, and she turned to race away, forcing
him to chase her.
With a triumphant roar, he
began the pursuit. She felt him, felt his lust and rage and danger,
and she responded. Nerves danced, her insides clenched, and her body
attenuated itself to him. Morrigana waited for him to claim her, her
imagination running wild.
He started to catch up with
her, his aura entangling her's. He nipped at her flank, and she
rolled into a dive. He followed, growling, and she growled back. The
forest blurred past them, the moon gilding their scales, the pair of
them alone in the night skies. Volcanic mountains rose on the
horizon, the rheksha guiding her potential lover there.
He was fast, dexterous, and not
surprised by her evasions. He moved with her through the dive, his
slimmer form allowing him to cut swifter through the air. She
screamed defiantly, beating her wings frantically, desire goading
her.
She faltered as he snapped, his
teeth digging into leathery wing and sensitive fingerbone. She
started to plummet, and he came with her, tearing patagia, kicking at
her flanks. Morrigana rolled, turning on him, biting at his tail and
wingtips, anything she could get near her mouth.
Her wings remained stiff as he
kept both of them aloft, his claws finally digging through touch
scales. Morrigana folded her wings, tucking her body against his. She
clawed and bit, ravaging his neck and underbelly, but not going for
the kill. She already knew she was going to let him mount her.
Didn't mean she wouldn't hurt
him first.
His talons dug into her chest,
and he shoved her away. Giving her stomach a furious kick, he pulled
up, halting his flight, letting her go. The female dragon crashed to
the ground, rolling out of control, slamming to a halt against a
boulder. She winced, her right wing going numb, and struggled to her
feet. He hovered above her, tail lashing the ground.
She was vulnerable, grounded,
dripping blood from numerous wounds. Venom ran down her chin,
igniting in a pool on the ground. Sides heaving, she kept her wings
out, neck stretched to full length, attempting a defiant pose,
knowing he saw through it.
He landed lightly, keeping his
wings and head up, growling deep in his chest. Morrigana hissed in
response, keeping her head up, struggling not to submit to him. His
growl increased as he stalked forward, legs stiff. Her hiss grew
louder, strings of fire flung with the force of it.
She cried out as he struck, his
head darting toward her chest, teeth sinking into her shoulder,
curving around her collarbone. Morri pulled away, he twisted, and
bone snapped. She roared her pain with a gout of flame, narrowly
missing her antagonist. Her right wing slumped, the collarbone
shattered, muscles trembling as she struggled to keep it off the
ground.
~Nothing says love like a
broken collarbone,~ he said as he jumped behind her. Morrigana
thrashed, causing further damage to her wing. He stepped on her tail,
foretalons tearing her flanks, biting her neck and face as she
turned. The rheksha turned her head sharply, gouging his face
with her crown of horns. He hissed, fire strings falling along her
back, and savagely bit her right shoulder. Her draconic scream rose
sharply as he wrenched the joint, forcing broken shards of bone into
straining muscles.
Pain turned to pleasure, and
Morrigana finally relented. Her screams became purrs, and she tipped
her head back, exposing her throat to him. He growled, taking her
throat in his mouth, releasing her tail, slowly mounting her. His
presence surrounded her, consuming her, entering her.
How can he feel so familiar?
she wondered as their bodies slowly joined. How can this feel
right, so perfect? Why is he the only one to make me truly submit?
Their voices started to rise, snarling and crooning, blood coursing
their scaly bodies.
Their sex was brutal, moreso
than normal dragon sex. Morrigana's breath was taken away, her
foretalons digging into the ground as he dug into her. His teeth dug
into her neck, his tongue working at the blood as it welled. Her
croon rattled from her chest, and he responded in kind.
Images started to dance through
her mind, causing her to whimper as he continued to use her body. First, she saw herself through his eyes; imperious, beautiful, a
weapon without a wielder.
~I will wield you again,~
he whispered into her head, flooding her with more images. She saw a
young woman, tall, pale, with inky black hair. She saw the same
woman, but with silver skin and wings. The woman fought with black
swords, she loved an albino elf. She killed, she feasted, she hunted.
She was worshiped, derided, attached.
The dragons started to climax,
and she understood that every image was true, and they were all her.
She roared at the moon, reaching orgasm as she reawakened memories.
Morrigana Shalafae found
herself shaking in the arms of her father, panting and disoriented.
She was back in her natural form, the one the elders had made her
forget about, her tail flicking lazily. Lord Shalafae kissed the back
of her shoulder, holding her in his lap, arms tight around her
middle.
"Why now?" she asked,
recalling everything she'd done in the last century. A century with
no memories of her father or aunt, no memories of being a hybrid, no
memories of the countless lives she'd ended in Shalafae's name. An
entire century in which she'd been allowed to do what she wanted,
including allow her memories to be hidden away by the elders of her
maternal race.
His lips were soft against her
ear. "Because I missed you, and I was tired of being alone."
Morrigana giggled, turning to kiss her father.
