The Dragon King's Prisoner: A Paranormal Romance (Separated by Time Book 1) Read online

  “Enough.” Indulf’s fires roared, flickering between his teeth. “I will not listen to this, boy. Understood?”

  “I only meant to express concern—”

  “And you have expressed it.” Indulf laid a hand on Warmund’s shoulder. “Listen. Your sister is gone. Allow yourself to mourn instead of continuing these fruitless hopes.”

  Warmund didn’t respond. Indulf sighed, squeezing his shoulder lightly before leaving the room. He didn’t allow himself to dwell on his son as he headed for the dungeons and had a mask of indifference by the time he got there. The one that the woman had been put into was near the front. He found her huddled in the corner, her arms wrapped around herself and terror in her eyes. It was only now that he realized what strange clothing she wore. Tight, blue trousers made from a thickly-woven material, a baggy tunic with the drawn image of a metal-looking man on it.

  And once more, the sheer beauty of her took his breath away. He had never really considered himself attracted to pale-skinned women before, but with her large eyes and short hair, not to mention that curvaceous frame her tight pants accentuated, she looked… ethereal. Beautiful.

  “What is your name?” he demanded.

  She swallowed hard. “Anna.”

  “Anna.” Even her name was exotic. He had a difficult time forming the vowels around his tongue. “You were confused when you appeared in my court. You mentioned that you were dreaming. Why would you think that?”

  More likely, why did she want to trick them into thinking that was what she believed. He kept his face blank, watching her. She twisted her hands together, shivering every now and then. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

  “Because dragons aren’t real.”

  Indulf stared at her. He opened his mouth to laugh, but the earnestness on her face stopped him. For a moment, he was uncertain how to respond to that. Then he took a step closer, bringing forward his flames. They flickered in his mouth, releasing smoke into the dungeon cell. Anna flinched and pressed herself back against the wall.

  “Dragons aren’t real, girl? Have you lived in a shoebox your whole life, or is that what they train you to say if you’re captured? I know that you are in league with the assassins who killed my wife and daughter. Cooperate and you may one day see the sun again.”

  “Assassins?” Her voice rose in pitch until it was nothing more than a squeak. “I’m not in league with any assassins. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Dragons aren’t real and now you’re here and you’re a dragon and I’m in a dungeon. Oh, God! This is a real-life dungeons and dragons! I only play it with my roommates and they’re only in it for the kinky elf sex and I have to go home. This is too crazy. Have you drugged me? Is this some game by those dude-nerds who are always complaining because I know more about Lord of the Rings than them? It’s not funny!”

  The tears on her face increased, but the fear melted away to pure fury. She leapt to her feet and brandished her fists at his face, causing him to fall back a step. Not because he was afraid of her, but because he was afraid that she’d hurt herself trying to attack him.

  “What are you talking about?” he snarled, trying to force down his confusion. “Is this what you were taught to do? Play such madness to escape suspicion?”

  “My roommates are gonna call the cops, and you’re going to have SWAT on your ass if you don’t let me go home right now! And give me back that sword, it’s not yours!”

  Indulf stared into her furious eyes for a moment longer before merely stepping out of the cell. Volcant locked it after him. Anna continued to shout at him as he walked away. Indulf shook his head as he tried to work through what she had said. Was she playing at madness? Or was she really just insane?

  Chapter Three

  Anna

  The cell was small, but still big enough for her to pace from one side to the other. Anna dragged her hands through her hair, trying to decide exactly what she thought about this whole mess. On the one hand, it couldn’t be real. Dragons, kings, instant teleportation from the comic shop to a castle? It was too preposterous to believe. And yet… it felt real. Real enough for her to start hyperventilating whenever she thought of Indulf’s piercing gaze, the heat behind those eyes…

  Her heart kicked up another notch and she tried to calm herself down. There was no reason to be afraid because there was no way this was real…

  Heat seared her cheeks as she sat down and thought of Indulf again. It wasn’t fear she should be worried about. It was… impossible that she was feeling this way. After all these years, why would somebody affect her this much? She had, of course, been sexually drawn to people in the past. It was never this hard-hitting, though. Maybe it was the adrenaline of the situation?

  Her head jerked up at the sound of footsteps coming toward her. She sprang to her feet, heart in her throat, as several men came into view. She recognized them all as guards. The one standing at the forefront, she thought his name was Volcant, unlocked the cell while glaring at her. Anna gulped audibly and backed away from him as he opened the cell wide.

  “The king has ordered you to join him for a meal.”

  “A meal?” Was he going to eat her?

  Volcant narrowed his eyes at her. Smoke curled from his nostrils and a low growl reverberated from his throat. “Yes. And if you harm my king in any way, I will not hesitate to destroy you, understood?”

  Anna felt the blood drain from her face. She backed a step away from him and wrapped her arms around her waist, though she glared at him all the same. All these threats of violence! She could understand that they had to take precautions, but shouldn’t they understand by now that she wasn’t a threat?

  “Look, I understand that you have a job to do, but I’m not an assassin! I’m just a comic book nerd.”

  Volcant’s angry expression didn’t change. “And what branch of magic do nerds adhere to? I have never heard of comic or nerd before. You humans are a fluid bunch, always shifting and changing. I don’t trust what I don’t understand, and you? You drop in and deliberately confuse us with your magic and your nerd and—”

  “That isn’t what a nerd is. Nerds are people who are far too invested in fantasy and science fiction and imaginary worlds.”

  Volcant snorted at that, a puff of smoke releasing as he did so, and grabbed her arm. She flinched as his hand latched around her upper arm, but his grip wasn’t painful as he pulled her from the cell. He took her to another room, where a tub of hot water and a clean dress waited. Anna fingered the fabric, surprised that it wasn’t softer, then sighed. Well, if she was being offered clothes she probably should wear them. She had just showered that morning, though, so she didn’t bother washing. Instead, she pulled the dress over the clothes she already wore—no use in taking chances—and belted it.

  She was then taken to yet another room. This one was larger than the first, with furs strewn about on the floor. A fire crackled in the hearth. A low table sat in the middle of the room, with various cushions around it. Indulf lounged among the cushions next to a delicious-looking spread. Anna couldn’t take her eyes off of him, though.

  Indulf gestured at the other side of the table. “Please. Relax. Volcant, you are dismissed.”

  Volcant released her, gave her a warning look, and stepped back to the corridor. Anna stood there, twisting her hands hesitantly before she inched her way to the table and knelt beside it. The air seemed to be charged with electric currents, and she wasn’t sure if that was because of her or him. When she met his gaze, it took her breath away and made heat flash under her skin. Like she was on fire. Was it because he was a dragon?

  “Here.” He poured her a glass of wine and offered it to her.

  Anna took it hesitantly and held it to her nose. Her first instinct was to just drink it and hope it calmed her nerves, but how many stories were out there warning her not to trust strange men? She turned the glass around in her hands. He could have put anything into this wine. He poured himself a glass and sipped at it, but she
still didn’t drink. It could have been in the glass, or maybe it was something that would only affect humans…

  Her stomach growled and she set the wine down. Indulf sliced a chunk of juicy meat and put it on her plate.

  “You want something in your stomach before you drink. I understand. It’s very wise.”

  She gulped as she reached for a bun. Indulf reached for it at the same time, and their fingers brushed. Anna jumped as though it had given her a shock. The dragon gave her a puzzled look as he gestured for her to take the bun.

  Instead, she drained her glass of wine. Being drugged was the least of her concerns right now…

  “You can relax,” Indulf told her. “You will not be harmed, I gave you my oath.”

  “Oh, it’s not being harmed I’m worried about,” she blurted. That was some good wine. “But you see, you’ve got the wrong idea about me. I’m not an assassin. I can’t even stand to get the mousetraps that kill the mice. I work at a comic book shop. We sell comic books. They’re just books… with pictures of people doing stuff and all that. Where I come from, magic isn’t real.”

  Indulf poured her some more wine and put the bun on her plate. “Please. Eat.”

  Grateful for something to fill her mouth, Anna tore into the bun. It was soft and moist, tasting sweet. She hummed as she chewed it, then gulped some more wine.

  “So. Where are you from?”

  “Toronto, originally. I live in, uh, Ottawa now.” Heat started to rise in her cheeks as he cut a small strip of meat for himself. Watching his jaws move as he chewed sent more heat flaring through her body. Suddenly, her collar felt awfully tight. She should have taken off her clothes before putting on the dress. This was way too much. “Where am I now?”

  “You are in the kingdom of Byrelmore. I must admit, you are a conundrum. A human without any real trace of magic about her, yet there was a massive surge of magic in my throne room when you appeared. How did you get here?”

  She popped a slice of meat into her mouth. “No idea. I was just at the shop, admiring the new sword that came in, and suddenly poof! I was standing in your throne room and you were there. And you’re a dragon…. in my world, dragons aren’t real. Oh, I guess they appear in a lot of different cultures and stuff, but they’re not real… I’m not convinced all of this,” she gestured around the room, “isn’t some sort of dream. It’s kinda awesome, though. Maybe I should put a kinky dragon sex scene in my D&D campaign.”

  Indulf sighed as he brought his wine to his lips. Anna licked her own, watching as his throat bobbed.

  “That is yet another thing I’m not sure how to take,” he murmured as he set the glass down. He cut himself another bite of meat and narrowed his eyes at her. “What is this obsession you have with ‘kinky’ sex? I’m no fool, I know that women have the same desires that men do, but why broadcast it like that? Why make it such an important part of this… identity that you’ve created for yourself?”

  For a moment, Anna wasn’t certain what he was saying. She stared at him, her mind churning over his words, until she realized what he meant. He still thought that she was an assassin or something and was trying to distract him with the kinky sex stuff.

  Her face flushed as she made to drink more, but the fog in her brain told her she had already had enough. “Look, it’s not like that at all. I’m not actually into the kinky stuff. Actually,” she sighed heavily, “I don’t even know what the kinky stuff is. My roommate, Misty, she always complains that the stuff I have for the D&D campaigns is too tame, but she won’t tell me how to spice it up. Says it’s weird. Maybe that’s just it… I’m just weird.”

  It was awfully hot. She eyed Indulf as his gaze bore into hers. Hot, and in more than one way. She toyed with the neckline of the dress and polished off her bun. “It’s too hot in here.”

  She unbelted the dress, and Indulf’s brows shot upwards. He stiffened, then a smile spread across his face. “Ah. I see. So that is what it is. You can’t distract me with your nonsense, so you think that trying to seduce me will stop me from finding out your secrets?”

  Part of her knew she should be upset over that accusation, but all she could think about was how damn cute he looked, with that fiery gaze and that brilliant white smile. She yanked the dress over her head, giving a cry of triumph, and all but climbed over the table, knocking food aside, to plop down beside him.

  “I was worried,” she purred at him, “but not anymore.”

  “Worried about what?”

  “Well, I’m a girl in a strange place and all I’ve seen are men. But you’re smoking hot. Like, so hot. Best dream ever…”

  She started to lean forward when the door burst open. A man she hadn’t seen before rushed in. His skin was dark like Indulf’s, paler than Volcant’s but still velvety. “Father, I—Oh. I didn’t know you had company.”

  Anna’s mouth dropped open. Father? She looked between the newcomer and Indulf. The king looked like he was barely in his thirties, and the newcomer, he was probably late teens or early twenties. She knew she was a bad judge of age, but if this was his son—

  “It’s no bother, Warmund. The girl was just being clumsy with her seduction attempts and I was growing tired of it.”

  Her face turned bright red and she sat back, her jaw tightening.

  Warmund gave her a curious glance, then shrugged. “The mages have gone over the signature left behind in the throne room. I believe that this human came from the future. The future, Father. We might be able to find Wildref after all.”

  There was a bright light of hope in his eyes, but Indulf tensed. He got to his feet. “Volcant! Take the human back to her cell.”

  Anna grabbed another bun, not nearly sated, but didn’t struggle as the guard came in, grabbed her arm, and pulled her away. The future? How could she be from the future… Dragons didn’t exist in the past! Did they?

  Chapter Four

  Indulf

  After sending Anna away, Indulf ordered for the generals to be gathered in his war room and sent Warmund away. He finished his meal, his mind churning over the possibilities his son had brought up. If Anna was from the future, then had she even come here on purpose? It would explain the strangeness of her. The clothes, the hair, her way of speaking. What did ‘kinky’ mean anyway?

  Humans were fluid. They changed rapidly. Their culture was different from one century to the next, and their technologies and magic developed at a pace that was, at times, frightening to behold. If there were any species that might one day unlock the secrets of time travel, it was humans.

  After he had finished his meal, Indulf washed his face and went to meet the generals. They were there already, some of them looking more awake than others. By the smell of a couple of them, he had interrupted their intimacies with their mates or lovers.

  Indulf sat down at the head of the table. “Warmund, share your findings.”

  Warmund stood, bowed, and began to speak. It was all magical babble, stuff that Indulf had little interest in. He steepled his fingers as he listened, though. When Warmund announced that Anna came from the future, there were several disbelieving looks around the table.

  “We all know that time travel isn’t possible,” one of them protested. “Prince Warmund, are you certain that this is the most logical interpretation of the magical signatures, or are you just desperate to get your sister back?”

  Warmund had been extremely attached to his little sister. Ever since she was born, she could do no wrong in his eyes. He would often skip his training to walk her around the grounds. Half the time, the nannies were doing nothing because Wildref was tended to by her older brother. Indulf felt a familiar tightening in his chest. Warmund had to move on, but how?

  “We will continue to look into this possibility,” Indulf interrupted the bickering before it could escalate. “Regardless, this magic poses a threat to us and I want—"

  “Don’t turn this into something that has to be destroyed.” Warmund’s voice was tense. “Father, this is our chance
to find out once and for all what happened to Wildref.”

  “Wildref is dead.”

  “No!” Warmund slammed his fist into the table. “She isn’t!”

  Indulf gazed at his son with pity.

  Warmund straightened. His hands clenched tighter, his glare no less fierce. “Wildref is not dead. If she is, then you need to get yourself a new mate and produce a new heir. The kingdom is crumbling around you, Father. If I can’t be your heir and you refuse to look for your daughter, then—”

  “Enough.” Indulf’s fires flickered as he rose to his feet. “I am your king, Warmund. I will not allow any dissent over this. The mages will find how these magics are created. If it is portals between this world and a world in the future, then we must find a way to seal them. Permanently.”

  “Father—”

  “I am your king.”

  Warmund trembled for a moment before his shoulders dropped. He bowed briefly, then turned and walked out of the room. The generals glanced at each other, not meeting Indulf’s gaze. His fires flared hotter, but he refused to let them escape. One fist clenched beneath the table before he called on the general of mages.

  “What do you want to report?”

  The general stood and bowed. “Your Grace. My mages have found nothing of note.”

  The meeting continued in that ilk, each general with nothing to report. By the time it was done, Indulf was tense enough to be made of steel. He dismissed the generals and headed toward his chambers. On top of everything else, he had learned nothing new about Anna, except she couldn’t hold her alcohol. That red flush in her pale face was quite becoming, though…

  He was almost there when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to find Warmund with a half-dozen of his friends marching up the corridor. Indulf rose a brow at the angry looks on their faces. He ought to have known that Warmund wouldn’t drop it so easily. Why did his son have to be so stubborn? This wasn’t a situation where his mind would be changed by a few voices calling out in Warmund’s support.