The Last Dragon King (Kings of Avalier #1)(18)

“My king, you cannot. What the Nightfall army lacks in magic, they make up for in innovation. They will shoot you out of the sky with their metal projectiles. You know this.”

Chills rose up on my arms. I’d heard of the Nightfall queen’s inventions but had never seen one. Metal projectiles like arrows? Or something more sinister? A simple arrow couldn’t shoot the dragon king out of the sky, so I knew it had to be more.

King Valdren growled, low and haunting, and Regina stepped closer to him. “You know what you have to do.”

The flickering torch barely lit up his face and I saw determination in his gaze. “I will not leave you and the Drayken to fight my battles.”

Regina burst into laughter and the king stiffened. “That is precisely our job,” she told him, and then she pointed a finger at his chest. “My lord,” Regina growled, losing her temper with him, “you tasked me with protecting you and the women on this trip, and in turn I made you swear to my plan. Are you a man of your word or not?”

I loved seeing this side of her. She was so strong and fearless. I could only watch in envy.

A grunt of frustration left the king’s lips, then his eyes glowed yellow and sought me, piercing into my very soul.

Then he started to disrobe.

What the…?

First his metal shoulder spaulders came off and he handed them to Regina, then his breastplate. I stood in shock and fascination as he took off his black dragon leather top, exposing his abdomen.

I finally found my voice. “What… what are you doing?”

Regina took his offered clothes and looked back at me. “He’s flying you and Kendal back to Jade City, where they will raise the alarm of the invasion.”

Fly? She said fly. He was going to…

When I realized what was happening, my stomach tightened. The dragon king was going to shift into his animal form and fly!

Excitement and terror rushed through me in equal measure.

I followed her gaze just as the king dropped his trousers and Kendal went completely limp beside me, fainting. Rushing forward, I caught her in my arms before she hit the ground.

“My lord, you’re going to give these poor young village girls a heart attack,” Regina warned as he stood in nothing but his undergarment.

His perfectly tanned body was chiseled perfection. Skin draped over muscle without an ounce of fat. He had scars along his arms, both long slices that looked like they were from swords, and small puckers from arrows. My heart did feel like it was seizing in my chest, but I couldn’t look away. I’d never seen a fully naked man before.

At Regina’s words, he gave us his back and then the undergarment dropped.

Bless the Maker.

Seeing Drae Valdren’s bare butt cheeks sent a wave of heat through my body as my whole chest warmed.

Regina turned to face me and bowed her head lightly. “Please excuse the impropriety. It’s an emergency.”

I nodded, feeling like my heart was going to jump out of my chest and fall to the floor. I didn’t mind it. There was a thrill in seeing the king of Embergate naked, a thrill that I liked.

I was about to ask exactly how we would be flying out of here when the king let out a low groan and I steeled myself. My gaze flicked to his naked form as he fell to the fetal position on the ground.

I watched in wonder as the tan of his skin transformed into shiny black dragon scales. A gasp ripped from my throat as nubs started to protrude from his back, growing like vines on a tree.

“Faster, my king, I fear the Nightfall army is close,” Regina told him, pulling out her sword.

Faster? As if he could control such a thing?

I of course knew about his ability to transform into a dragon, the only one of us with dragon magic who could, but seeing it was another wonder altogether.

The black vine-like protrusions on his back grew into leathery wings as dizziness washed over me and I feared I too might faint as Kendal did. His body bulked and he got onto all fours, his hands turning to claws.

“I brought your saddle in case of such an incident.” Regina rushed into the stall which held our carriage and retrieved a giant black leather saddle with a basket on top. I was so overwhelmed with witnessing the magical transformation of man to dragon that I’d totally forgotten Kendal in my arms. She roused then, took one look at the dragon now standing in the stable with yellow glowing eyes and smoking nostrils, and went limp again.

Regina looked at Kendal, disappointed. “Weak nerves.”

I wanted to stick up for Kendal but she was right. She was squeamish and fainted at the slightest sight of blood.

I marveled at the king’s dragon form. Those who lived in Jade City must see him fly past all the time, but way out in Cinder Village we’d only heard of such a display of power. His dragon stood over ten feet tall, a hulking mass of muscle and scales. His tail flicked to the side and my gaze rested on the razor-sharp spikes at the tip.

I watched as Regina, and now two other Royal Guards, strapped a saddle onto the king’s back and then urged us forward.

It was a basket saddle with stirrups, and once lowered in I was able to let Kendal rest peacefully inside of the basket at my feet while I sat.

“In case he has to spin in the air,” Regina explained, strapping my waist in.

What the Hades did she just say? Fly upside down?

She belted Kendal in, who was still unconscious, and then patted the dragon king’s shoulder. “Fly fast. Send reinforcements.”