SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (29 page)

Keep your mouth shut, Cloud.

“
We are in Skyfall, the dragonkin city.
”

Cloud
’
s eyes wander to Lord Fury.

“
Not
yet,
”
Soar insists.
“
Look at me. Your sire is here as is your
brother.
”

“
Oh,
”
Cloud exclaims. A dark haired male waits
with a blonde at the other end of the bridge. His gold wings stand out next to
the dusky green of hers.

“
They are very happy to have found you,
”
Soar
continues.
“
But that is Lord Fury
’
s story to share. Tempest was the name
you were given at birth. Your dragonkin name.
”

“
I don
’
t want to be here, Soar,
”
Cloud whispers, her voice tuned so only
he can hear her.
“
I want to go home now.
”

“
Lady
Tempest,
”
Fury calls.

Soar kisses her eyes and turns her to
face her sire.

“
Lady Tempest, come to me, child.
”

Cloud shoots an angry glance at Soar not
because she
’
s angry at him but because she
wants him to know she
’
s angry. She hasn
’
t been a child for ten years and her
bristling at the slight isn
’
t missed by Fury. He chuckles,
causing the ornaments in his overgrown beard to sway with his enormous axe.

“
Come,
”
he extends a hand.

Cloud
’
s resistance slips away and she feels
what can only be described as an
urge
to comply. She would have if
she didn
’
t feel forced. Her instincts
tell her to fight. Her will is hers and she won
’
t surrender it.

“
Lady
Tempest,
”
Fury growls.
“
Kneel before your sire.
”

“
Back off,
”
Cloud
replies.

“
Cloud,
”
Soar
hisses.

She doesn
’
t like what Fury
’
s doing. The burn in her throat means he
’
s using the magic Cloud thought was
royal. There is nothing royal about it and experiencing her own trick turned
against her confirms what Soar said is true.

Cloud is dragonkin and this male is her
sire.

“
Back off,
”
she
repeats and shoves her magic at him as hard as she can. Fury
’
s smile stiffens as he shuffles one foot
back a few inches. Then he struggles forward a step as if he
’
s fighting a stiff wind.

“
Here,
”
Fury demands again and this time the
pressure in her throat is painful.

Cloud says nothing, unable to speak. Is
this what it was like for Soar when she went to his den? When she told him he
wanted to have her and pushed like Fury does now?

“
When I learned you were raised in Jasper
I hoped you would choose better than this,
”
Fury loosens the axe at
his waist. His teeth lengthen and the gold glow of his eyes deepens so she cannot
see the whites. The tilt of his head tells her Fury can only be disappointed
with Soar.

“
You,
”
she growls but her voice chokes off as
the burn in her throat deepens.

“
And what do you have to say about this?
”
Fury demands, shaking a finger at Soar.
“
I never would have let you mate with a
gryphon!
”

“
Lord
Fury,
”
Cloud finds her voice.

“
It
’
s sire,
”
Fury replies. His voice
sounds rough with the same irritation Cloud feels in her throat.
“
And you will kneel.
”

“
Mind your manners,
”
Cloud says with more volume than before.
Soar is her choice and the big scaly gold dragonkin is just going to have to
deal with it.

“
Cloud,
”
Soar warns a second time.

“
I will not hear that name in my city
again, gryphon,
”
Fury spits.
“
This is no place for gryphon names or
gryphons.
”

Fury
’
s fingers lengthen and the gold of his
scales deepens until it shimmers in the diffused amber light from above. He
draws his axe and Cloud steps before Soar. The words imply threat but his
actions bring it to life. The axe is placed lovingly on the ground and Fury
’
s fiery eyes flare brighter.

“
Do you have something to say to me, Lady
Tempest?
”
Fury demands.

“
Get behind me,
”
Soar tries but his voice
is too loud in her head like her hearing has increased in sensitivity a hundred
fold.

It only takes a second for Fury to shuck
off his red boots then his armour falls away leaving him naked. Thick scales
hide his entire hairless body and he hunches forward, forcing his genitals to
hide back in the protection of his thighs. His toes curl and lengthen as the balls
of his feet widen and the feet themselves almost triple in length. They look
like dog feet with the heel off the ground. No sooner does Cloud digest what
’
s happened to his legs than her breath
comes to a stuttering stop.

This isn
’
t any influence of Fury
’
s which has caused it.

Fury is half again his size. Wings that
could shatter Cloud and Soar flat in a single stroke are pulled in tight for
attack. The joints at the ends of the big flight bones are topped in four inch
serrated claws. Matching claws adorn each of the long thin bones running from
that joint to the lower edge of his wings.

Smoke pours from his nose and he smiles,
revealing canines as thick as Cloud
’
s
forearms.

“
Oh,
oh,
”
Cloud pants and pushes herself
into Soar. Her vision sharpens on Fury and she
’
s only aware of Soar
’
s presence as a cooling body behind her.
Other than Fury, Cloud
’
s precious mate is the only
other being she perceives in the enormous cavern.

“
He ishhn wortty of Lor Furee chyl,
”
Fury menaces. As his tongue forces the
mangled words between his teeth saliva drips at his big scaled feet. Foul smoke
rises from the thick drops. The rumble of his voice sets Cloud
’
s bones aching and Fury advances on the
pair.

“
I don
’
t care what you think,
”
Cloud spits in reply. Her tongue is hot
and heavy in her mouth, unwieldy, and at first she thinks it
’
s fear that takes her words but it isn
’
t. It
’
s bigger and her jaw has
lengthened to match. Fury
’
s own snout makes his face and
head unrecognizable. His nostrils are big enough for her to stick her fists in.

“
Kill him,
”
Fury
’
s words set her off. She
’
s already tried influencing him into
backing down and Fury hasn
’
t listened.

There is pain everywhere for only a
moment as heat and power surge through her limbs.

Soar shouts behind Cloud as she drops
into a crouch. The noise she makes is very much like the growl she gave in Soar
’
s camper. It comes from deep inside.

As she strides toward Fury she starts at
the sight of a second pair of gold scaled dragonkin claws reaching ahead. Cloud
tries to grab them but instead the dragonkin hands reach instead as her own.
There
’
s a fleeting concern for her
clothes, too small now that she
’
s as large as her sire, but
there is little time to care. Fury moves faster than she thought possible for
such a bulky body and his flaming gold eyes are set on Soar.

Oh, crap.

Oh, shit.

If Fury
’
s transformation didn
’
t have Soar ready to take Cloud and flee,
Cloud
’
s certainly has. Her borrowed
tunic and trousers are in shreds at their feet. The gold adornment that once
only covered her breasts has spread and joined with her natural scales that now
cover her body. Her tail is as wide at is base as her backside which itself is
impressive in size.

“
Soar, get back,
”
Con shouts and Cloud turns her massive
gold head enough to look behind her. Before Soar can tell Con to fuck off,
Cloud
’
s tail swings to the side,
knocking Soar through the air.

It
’
s
going to take a lot more than a slug from Cloud
’
s ass to dissuade him, even with her four
times his size and armed with all sorts of sharp edges. Before Con gets a
chance to interfere, Soar is on his feet and leaps to her back, straddling her
wide hips and trying desperately to get his arms around her. She
’
s too big, however, and he has to cling
below her wings. The tips of her scales grasp his leathers giving him some
friction but they also dig in at his knees where there is a gap between his
boots and trousers.

Cloud bucks, momentarily distracted from
Fury who continues to antagonize her with his growls and posture. Fury gets on
his hind legs and stands straight enough to expose himself. His smooth penis is
recessed in a protective fold but the fact he
’
d show it is primal and insulting and has
Soar ready to go after Fury himself.

I
’
ll kill you and keep my gear intact,
is what the rude display
says. The arrogance is astonishing even from what Soar knows about the dragon
lord.

Con and Flay crash into Soar as a single
rough ball of gold and green leather, adding Soar
’
s feathers to the mix as they tumble to
the ground. The moment he
’
s off Cloud she strikes at
Fury. First, he feels the vibration of her charge then a flash of light
accompanies a burst of flame but he can
’
t
tell which one of the gold dragonkin did it. As Fury and Cloud merge into their
own tangle, Soar can
’
t tell them apart.

“
Get off,
”
Soar
grunts and strikes at Con. His first instinct is to go after Con and to not
disrespect his female but Flay
’
s right to his gut silences
his protests even through his armour.

“
Got him?
”
Con
asks.