Sapphire Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 2)

C
opyright
© 2016 by Terry Bolryder

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

P
lease note
, this is the second book in the series, and while it can be read as a standalone romance, you really will enjoy it more if you read the first one here!

Onyx Dragon

If you are a fan of my other dragon series, great! But this series is totally different.
There is no menage in this series
,
just one dragon per lady!
Still, I think you’ll enjoy these larger than life dragons with their super powerful abilities, hilarious personalities, and hot as fire skills in the bedroom!

Thanks for reading,

Terry

L
ucien beat
his sapphire wings hard as he surveyed the devastation beneath him, as if by rising in the air, he could somehow go far enough away to not see what he was witnessing.

When he’d made his daily journey to fly over his favorite village, he could never have expected this.

Burned fields, the smell of singed crops, singed houses, singed lives in the air. His dragon let out a cry as his wings carried him higher over his beloved town.

Not that he’d ever been a part of it. Not that he’d ever been one of them as a human.

But it had been his hope for humanity. There were people he knew there, people he had healed, sneaking in while in human form. People who had showed him kindness. People whose crops he had watered while hiding behind clouds in the bright-blue sky.

And now there was nothing. Desolation. Pain. Sorrow.

He landed with a thud and surveyed the blackened landscapes. Moldering skeletons of burned-down shacks, charred shapes on the burned ground.

Tears bit his eyes as he took human form to make his way around the village, checking for survivors.

But he already knew.

There were none.

Part of his ability as a dragon was hearing people in pain, hearing thoughts more acutely so he knew where to heal them. Where they needed him. At this point, he was probably the only dragon who cared about humans.

But he’d met a few that changed everything for him.

And now, he realized, looking over the devastated landscape, they were gone.

Everything he’d done was for nothing. Everything he’d worked for.

He could still scent the strangers that had done this. The worst part was they were from a village not far from there. One where factions often had problems with the villagers here. But still, bloodshed? Fire?

The other dragons had tried to tell him it was pointless to intervene, but they hadn’t heard what he did. They didn’t know what he knew.

Humans could be good at times. The problem was, he realized bitterly, the bad humans would ruin it for everyone, so any interference was pointless.

Inside him, he felt his heart harden. What had once been a fluid energy ready to heal and soothe now felt icy and cold. He let out a long breath and saw ice needles form in the air before him.

He grinned and listened to the wind, gauging its direction. Then he let his wings grow, felt himself transition back into the giant blue dragon he was.

Sparkling, glistening wings, touched by ice. A long, graceful body and pointed head with bright-yellow eyes. Nothing like his eyes in human form.

He floated upward, beating the air around him, not caring who saw as he went higher, higher, trying to make out those who had done this. Were they back at the village?

The ground was still warm. It was at least a day’s journey back to where they’d come from.

There was nothing he could do for Anna or anyone else he’d cared about.

But there was something he could do to make himself feel better. He soared through the clouds until he made out the band of robbers walking the road back to their village. Slightly singed, still carrying torches and weapons. And then he heard the most hideous thing of all. Laughter. They were celebrating.

They’d ended the lives of the few humans Luc cared about, wasting years of study, years of interference, and they were
laughing
.

He dove toward them, freezing the ice in his chest, ready to release killing breath.

M
odern Day

“What should we do?” Erin asked Zach as they both watched Lucien in his typical daily activity. “He’s been like this for days.”

Zach folded his arms and stared at the human version of the dragon he’d most admired back in his day.

Some had said Sapphire, or Lucien, was stupid because he’d been interested in helping humans while others had been more interested in pillaging and storing treasure.

But Zach had always thought it denoted a bit of inner strength—to go his own way—if nothing else. Even if Zach had once thought humans weren’t worth saving.

Now, though, with his arm around his mate, happily adjusting to his place in the world, he knew better. And that made him respect the other dragon even more.

The problem was at some point, Lucien had changed.

Where he had once been compassionate, sharing long nights arguing with Zach over the issues with humans, everything had turned upside down sometime before they had gone into their deep sleep.

The Sapphire Zach saw before him was nothing like the man he’d known.

Cold. Closed off. Still handsome, as all dragons were. Still tall and strong, with probably some of his considerable powers, even with the thick collar around his neck, ensuring he didn’t take full dragon form.

But aside from his outer appearance—his blond hair, his astonishing eyes that contained every shade of blue, his large build—nothing else was the same.

“Luc, you have to get out,” Zach said, kicking the back of Luc’s chair to get the other man’s attention. Luc had taken to sitting in a large, wingback chair, facing the window. “The oracle sent you out here for me to help you, and I’m not going to just let you mope.”

“It’s not your choice, is it?” Luc said in a low voice.

“You need to get out and meet humans. It’s not good for you to be alone.”

“Humans suck,” Luc muttered, not even looking at them.

“Hey,” Erin protested.

Luc gave a shrug. “Sorry.”

Zach and Erin shared a concerned glance, unsure what to do, as they heard a quiet mew and Bo walked between their legs and over to their house guest.

Erin was about to stop him, but Zach put out a hand for her to let him be, and they both watched as the little black kitten walked awkwardly over to sit in front of Luc and look up at him with curious yellow eyes.

Bo was an irresistible ball of fluff as far as Zach was concerned. No one could say no to him.

But as Bo put up a paw, and Luc made no response, Zach wondered what was really wrong with his friend if he could ignore such a cute kitten.

But Bo’s power finally won out as Luc slowly patted his leg, signaling for the cat to hop up, which he did, purring.

Zach smiled as he felt the energy in the room soften slightly. He could see Luc’s hand moving gently over the kitten’s back, making it arch. Then over his face and ears. Bo rolled onto his side, marking Luc with his cheeks, and then curled up into a comfy ball.

Zach heard a sigh from Luc’s direction. Then he had an idea. He walked forward, leaning on the windowsill and facing Luc, who paid him no attention. “Why don’t we go to the shelter? Get you one of your own?”

Luc lifted Bo by the scruff. “One like this?”

“Yes,” Zach said. “Put him down.”

Luc did, gently, and Bo snuggled in again.

“He likes you,” Erin said.

Luc shrugged, but as unaffected as he tried to be, Zach could tell the idea intrigued him. If he wasn’t going out into the world and he insisted on staying alone, then perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get him a furry companion. Maybe melt his icy heart a bit.

“I heard that,” Luc muttered.

Zach just laughed. “I thought you weren’t interested in reading minds.”

Luc shrugged. “Human minds are easy to ignore. Dragon thoughts are like shouting.”

“Maybe you’re getting back some of your empathy and healing.”

Luc didn’t answer.

Even the feeling around Luc wasn’t the same as before. Being around his friend had always been somewhat calming, healing, unless he flew into an icy rage. But that was always temporary.

Until now, where he seemed permanently chilled, at least inside.

“Stop thinking about me,” Luc said. “I don’t need your pity. I just need to be put back to sleep. If she’d just give back my powers, I’d go back on ice myself.”

Zach shook his head. “If you’d just give the world a chance, you might not want to.”

Luc went silent again, and Bo’s purr was the loudest noise in the quiet room. “So you say I can find one of these? If I go to this so-called shelter?”

“Yes,” Zach said. “Erin and I will go with you. If you’re going to mope around, you might as well have something to warm you.” He narrowed his eyes. “And Bo is mine.”

Luc gently set the kitten down so it could toddle over to Zach and rub against his legs, weaving in and out of them.

Zach grinned and lifted Bo into his arms, pressing his cheek to his soft fur. “Well, let’s go get you one. None will be as cool as mine, but—”

“Zach.” Erin interrupted as Luc stood and stretched, looking apathetic about life as usual. “Not the time.”

“Right,” Zach said. “To the shelter.”

* * *

L
ucien still felt dead inside
, as he had since he’d woken, as they walked to the shelter.

At first, there had been some small measure of excitement as he’d gotten used to technology. But that had quickly worn off when he realized, compared to dragon magic, nothing was that astounding.

He was still figuring out the whole internet thing but hadn’t found much use in it.

Not that there was any point, since he was just waiting for the oracle to give up on him and put him back to sleep.

He’d tried to help humans before. Fought for it with other dragons. Been a bastion of compassion and aid.

And look where that had gotten him.

Frozen inside and out.

The shelter was a small building with a sign out front with a cat and a dog on it. Animals that weren’t too different than when he’d been alive.

He’d never particularly liked animals, mainly because he hadn’t been around a lot of them, but if Bo were any indication, they had a lot on people in the character department.

He felt a touch of nerves as he followed Erin and Zach up to the double doors that led into the building. There was a small but clean waiting room with a front desk behind a counter that separated a room of office workers from the main space where people could wait.

He sat on one of the hard benches as Zach and Erin spoke with the person at the front desk.

He had no interest in talking to any human and would wait until they were ready to present him with options for pets. At least something to hold might make his time here a little more bearable.

But just as he was sitting there, minding his own business, he felt a wave of pain shoot through him.

He bolted straight up, looking around the room. No one in visible distress.

But it had been a long time since he’d felt hurt strong enough to reach past the walls he’d erected around his heart.

He’d realized long ago that he could only take so much of it, and it didn’t do much good in the end anyway.

But for some reason, this person’s pain was reaching out to him.

Shuttering his expression, he stuck his hands in his pockets and walked up to the front desk to join Erin and Zach.

A soft-spoken, curvy woman with long, dark hair and soft-gray eyes that almost appeared purple when they caught the light gave him a gentle smile.

“Is this the adopter?” she asked Erin and Zach.

They nodded, wary. They needn’t have been. Luc knew how to be polite. He wasn’t a monster.

“I’m looking for a pet,” he said. But he wasn’t really thinking about that. Instead, he was wondering if this woman could be the one sending him pain. He no longer felt it at the moment, as she handed them paperwork and continued smiling and talking. But he braced himself, knowing it could happen again.

He looked at the other two women in the shelter—One on the phone, arguing with someone about a bill, another busy on the computer.

He felt another wave of pain as the woman speaking to them stood and came out to join them through a side door. A pleasant smile lit her face as she waved for them to follow.

“Let’s go meet the animals,” she said, turning to walk away with just the slightest limp.

He was ready this time and closed himself off to the pain so he wouldn’t feel it anymore. Now that he knew where it was coming from, he didn’t need to endure it.

He knew someone needed healing, but he also knew he couldn’t do it.

What did baffle him was the easy way she spoke, how well she hid what she felt, how pleasant she remained as she walked them slowly down rows of cages of animals, explaining how each was special and who would make the proper owner.

She stopped and glanced over at him, waiting for his input, and he took the time to truly look her over.

She was short and rounded, with the type of figure that men and dragons in his day adored. Everything about her was soft, from her arms to her rounded shoulders to her curved stomach and hips. She was wearing a soft gray sweater that set off her eyes and made her look eminently huggable. Along with comfy black pants that probably made it easier to cope with whatever injury she was dealing with.

Watching her wince as she reached into a cage to show them another option, he wanted his powers back. Now.

Whatever her pain was, he wanted to end it.

It was odd that this woman had made him feel that again.

He stepped past Erin and Zach, who were cooing over a possible kitten, and walked to the cages on the far side.

One particular cat sat in a cage with no one around him. He was hairless, with just a light coat of down on his white and pink body and huge, curious blue eyes and giant ears for his petite, graceful face and long body.

But even at a cursory glance, Luc knew something was wrong. The cat wasn’t acting like the others.

“Tell me about this one,” he said bluntly, stopping in front of the crate.

The girl who’d been helping them made her way over. “You could say please,” she said.

He turned to her in shock, only to see she was teasing. “Oh.”

“My name’s Hallie. I met your friends, but since it’s your pet we’re picking out, I’ll need to know more about you as well.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I like this one.” He lied. It wasn’t so much that he liked him as he felt something was off. He
pitied
him.

“Oh,” she said, her face unable to cover a tinge of sadness as she reached out to touch the cage, letting the cat sniff her hand gingerly. “He’s not adoptable.”

“Why not?” Luc asked, peering in closer.

She let out a breath and opened the cage, letting the slender creature crawl into her arms. Immediately, it rolled onto its back and purred. “Sphinxes are different, aren’t they?”

“Ugly,” Zach said, and Erin smacked his arm.

“I think they’re kind of interesting,” Erin said.

Luc thought Hallie was kind of interesting. The way she made animals relax in bliss, like the purring cat in front of him.

For a second, he wanted to be the one relaxing in bliss in her arms. The thought nearly made him jump back it was so foreign.

He’d never had a thought like that about a human in all his life. Maybe an occasional shifter back in his day, but never a human.

He blinked at her and tried to tune in to what she was saying as she lifted one of the cat’s legs, showing a grotesque bulge. She had a pert nose and full lips that pursed as she looked at it.

“He has cancer,” she explained. “Unfortunately, an aggressive kind that doesn’t respond well to treatment. In his case, we found out it had already spread and can’t be removed through surgery.” She sighed. “It’s a rare reaction to immunizations. Unlucky little guy.” She put him back in.

“So what will happen to him?” Zach asked, frowning.

“He’s not in a lot of discomfort, so we’ll keep trying to make his life good until he’s in pain, and then we’ll help him go.”

“You mean kill him?” Luc asked, shocked.

“Yes,” she said flatly.

Luc was confused. He couldn’t imagine this angelic woman killing anybody.

She turned back to the cat with soft eyes. “We give them the best life we can, and then we let them go gently. It’s the last gift we give.”

Luc felt another wave of attraction toward Hallie. It wasn’t just her cute face or pretty body. It was the spirit emanating from her. Caring and brave. Courageous even.

Ugh, he was getting involved with humans again. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

He turned to make a run for it, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the purr of the cat abruptly stopping as he stepped away.

Maybe it was the thought of not seeing that beautiful, gray-eyed lady again. But he couldn’t just walk away.

And then he noticed a sign posted on the wall.
Volunteers needed.

Hmm.

“So can he not be fostered?” Erin asked sadly. “Just to give him some place comfortable?”