Page 5 of Stolen By Dragons

“I assure you, this is very real. You are no longer in your world. You’re standing in one of the courtyards of the Dragon Keep, once home to the dragons of old. You have been brought here because you carry within you a spark of Dracarian blood. Diluted and weak as it may be," I couldn't help adding, "it makes you valuable in the coming conflict despite being ‘Tainted Ones’."

“Dragon Keep…” She frowned at first, glancing around the area before the rest of what I said seemed to register, and her eyes narrowed. “Excuse me? 'Diluted and weak'? Listen here, Mr. High-and-Mighty, I don't know who you think you are, but?—"

"Your name," I cut her off, my voice sharp. I had no patience for her indignation, justified as it might be. "What is it?"

She blinked, momentarily thrown off by my abrupt demand. "I... Aria. My name is Aria."

Aria. The name suited her, I thought, even as I berated myself for noticing such a trivial detail. "Well, Aria," I said, infusing her name with as much condescension as I could muster, "if you're quite finished, I suggest we move this conversation inside. The courtyard is not the place for such discussions."

Not to mention I knew I could pawn these lesser beings off to Elowen. We were to handle them together, something my mother had believed would be beneficial given our… relationship.

As I turned to lead them into the fortress, I caught Aria muttering under her breath, "I'll show you diluted and weak."

Despite myself, I felt the corner of my mouth twitch in what might have been the beginning of a smile. I quickly schooled my features back into their usual impassive mask. It wouldn't do to show any sign of amusement or approval. These tainted ones needed to understand their place here, and that place was certainly not as my equals.

And yet, as we walked towards the grand doors of the fortress, I found my gaze being drawn back to Aria. There was something about her... a fire, a determination that set her apart from the others. It was almost... intriguing. Not to mention how she’d muttered to herself during our flight and even tried tocommunicate with me despite trembling like she was going to fall into a million pieces.

I shook my head, banishing the thought. She was just another tainted one, here to serve a purpose in our war. Nothing more. I had a duty to fulfill, expectations to meet. I couldn't afford to be distracted by one mouthy human, no matter how intriguing she might be.

But as I pushed open the doors to reveal the grand entrance hall beyond, I couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get a lot more complicated.

3

ARIA

My jaw dropped as we stepped into the Dragon Keep. The entrance hall was... well, calling it massive would be like calling the ocean "a bit damp." Soaring ceilings disappeared into shadows far above, supported by columns that looked like they'd been grown rather than built, twisting and branching like petrified trees. The walls shimmered with an iridescent glow, as if they'd been carved from the inside of a giant opal.

"Close your mouth, dear. You'll catch flies," a smooth voice said beside me.

I snapped my mouth shut, heat rising to my cheeks as I turned to face the speaker. It was a woman, tall and ethereal, with hair the color of lavender and eyes that seemed to shift between silver and blue. She wasn't Eirian – thank God for small mercies – but she had the same air of otherworldly beauty and superiority.

"I am Elowen," she said, her voice carrying easily over the murmurs of awe from my fellow... what had Eirian called us? Tainted ones? Great. Love that for us. "I'll be taking over yourorientation from here. Eirian is needed to oversee the next wave of arrivals."

“Thank you, Elowen,” Eirian said with a nod before glancing over our group with barely masked disdain. “Good luck with them.”

I withheld comment at his distaste for us. Why did such a good-looking man have to be such an asshole? Maybe it was some weird dragon complex.

I inwardly smirked at the bizarre thought before focusing on what was going on.

I glanced around at my companions, curiosity piquing as I wondered where they'd all been plucked from. A busy street like me? Their homes? Work?

At least my interaction with the uppity Eirian had helped quell my nerves to some extent. I’d been grateful for the others around me, knowing they were just as stunned as I was. Answers were what we’d all want, but Eirian had been so unhelpfully vague.

I could only hope Elowen would be more informative.

Elowen paced in front of us, her movements graceful and deliberate. "You've been brought here because you carry within you the blood of the old Dracarian lines."

Great, so she was just spewing the same lines as Eirian. Delightful.

"You see," Elowen continued, "all of your kinds - vampires, werewolves, shifters, fae," she paused, her gaze landing directly on me, "and even some humans - they all originated from us. From the first beings, the dragons."

My brain short-circuited. Vampires? Werewolves? Fae? And the way Elowen had looked at me when she said 'humans'... Was I the only one here? I must have misheard. Or maybe this was all some elaborate hallucination. Yeah, that had to be it.

I glanced around at the group around me, at how they shifted uneasily and looked just as shocked and uneasy as I felt.

"Over time, as some Dracarians remained on Earth, they evolved, developing new traits and abilities, and completely losing others, if not all,” Elowen explained as her gaze glossed over me once more. Ouch. "But the core of who you are, the source of your power, that comes from us."

I raised my hand, feeling ridiculous but needing answers. "Um, excuse me? Did you say vampires and werewolves? Like, for real? And am I... am I the only human here?" I’d hated public speaking as a child, to the point it nearly brought on panic attacks. But since studying psychology and getting my job, not to mention the years of therapy after my mother had passed, I’d gotten better at being more bold.