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THE DRAGON’S MATE PROPOSAL
The Dragon Overlords (Book 3)

Riley Storm
 COPYRIGHT
2024 ©

The Dragon’s Mate Proposal

Riley Storm
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, without written permission from the author. The sole exception is for
the use of brief quotations in a book review. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed
as real.

All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related.
Edited by Olivia Kalb – https://www.oliviakalbediting.com/
Cover Designs by Jacqueline Sweet Covers
 CONTENTS

The Dragon’s Mate Proposal

Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Other Books by Riley Storm
About the Author
 CHAPTER ONE
Cade

“Gentlemen,” I said, my arms wide as I walked into the richly appointed boardroom. “Thank you for coming.”
The half-dozen men in expensive, tailored suits all stood, smiles spreading across their faces. And why shouldn’t they be
happy? It would be a good day for all of us.
“As if we could turn down such a generous offer,” the eldest of the humans, William Kutchings, said as he stuck out his
hand.
My smile matched his as I took his offered grip and shook it firmly. Deep in the back of my mind, my dragon slept contently,
dreaming happily of all the piles of gold it would soon possess. Or rather, assets in the bank. It wasn’t quite the same. But the
bigger the number, the happier we both were, so it worked.
After we signed this deal to merge our companies, we would expand our business to the West Coast, going truly national,
that number would skyrocket to previously unknown levels. Both the beast and I would sleep well tonight.
As would the men in front of me. They all stood to gain just as much, both in their personal accounts and in the future as our
joint company grew. International expansion wasn’t far behind, and when it happened, we would all be rich beyond our
wildest dreams.
Well, almost wildest dreams.
“I think we’re all going to benefit from the agreement,” I said as one of my assistants came in with sheets of papers for
everyone to sign. The contracts had been gone over dozens of times by lawyers on both sides until everyone was happy with it.
Their side and mine.
I managed to hold back the sneer that threatened to ruin my good mood. Things were going smoothly now, but it had been a
lot of hard work to convince the dragons back in the isles that it was a surefire thing. Due to the size of the merger, I hadn’t
been able to do it alone. I’d needed backers. Parting with that much money was hard, even for them.
“Oh, I most certainly agree,” William said as he sat down. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.”
I chuckled at the chair of the board of my newly acquired company. Or what would be my new company once the papers
were signed. I tried not to grow impatient at the slow going. The humans insisted on chatting and taking their sweet time.
Just give it to me already!
“So, what are our next steps?”
I glanced up at the speaker, Jarred McLean, the CEO.
Former CEO as soon as the signing is done. Not that he knows it. The idiot has been holding the entire company back.
First move I make.
Instead of vocalizing that thought, I smiled. “Nothing at first. Integration will take some time, and it needs to be our primary
focus, so that going forward we can initiate the proper drive to reach our growth goals. Of which I have no doubt we’ll reach
with our combined teams.”
Smiles flared again around the table.
I sat back after that, drinking champagne and watching as the board members signed away their company to me.
Life was good.
The next few hours passed with near agonizing slowness. Eventually, we called it a day, the old board filed out, and I sat
back in the high-backed leather chair in my office, drinking something a lot stiffer than bubbly. Swirling the sphere-shaped ice
cube in the tumbler, I tossed back the rest of the amber liquid, letting it burn its way down my throat.
Reaching out for the bottle, I tilted it to pour myself another dram or two. Or three. There was no reason not to celebrate. I
opened my phone, trying to decide who I should call for some companionship while I celebrated the right way. A slow smile
spread. Why limit myself to picking just one? After closing a deal that big, I—
“Sir!”
The door flew open to my office, and Rita, my assistant, came rushing in. Her normally olive skin was pale as paper.
 “What’s wrong?” I asked, on my feet in an instant, eyes darting past Rita.
If someone was in my office making her life hell, they would regret it. Rita was invaluable to me, and I didn’t take well to
anyone who treated her poorly.
“The news, sir,” she said, grabbing the remote off my desk and turning on the television behind my chair. “You won’t
believe it.”
“Did news of the deal leak?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Rita breathed. “But if it did, nobody will care. Not when they see this.”
The news flicked on, and all the elation drained out of me.
On the screen were photos and videos of scenes on the East Coast. In them, buildings burned. People fled. In one shot,
several tanks began firing.
Moments later, huge blasts of lightning ripped down from the heavens, striking the armored behemoths. One exploded,
flipping the other on its side. The screen went black.
More footage rolled. Balls of fire exploded, shattering glass and driving soldiers back. Those that still lived, at least.
“No,” I moaned, staring in horror.
“It’s terrible, isn’t it, sir?” Rita sobbed. “They’re terrifying.”
“Yes,” I said numbly, watching everything fall apart. The deal. My life among the humans. My fortune.
It was all gone.
Because above all the carnage, flights of dragons swooped and wheeled, diving in highly coordinated attacks as they came
ashore.
WAR, the banner on the television read. With Dragons.
 CHAPTER TWO
Samantha

Eight months later.

The door to my office flew open.
I looked up from my computer screen, the firm rebuke about knocking first dying on my lips as I took in the new intern’s
expression.
“What is it?” The words came out almost like a bark, cutting off whatever apology the petite brunette may have prepared. It
was obvious we didn’t have time for that.
The intern was all but trembling. “She needs to see you. She said it was—”
“Details,” I ordered, snatching up my laptop and stuffing it in a bag before grabbing a notebook as well. In five seconds or
less, I was out the door, blowing past the intern who scrambled to keep up.
When the Secretary of State called, you didn’t walk, you ran. The intern wasn’t picking up on that, but I had no time to waste
thinking about her future. Life working in the White House was too fast-paced for most.
“She didn’t provide any,” the intern said. “But from how she was tossing out orders, I’d say it was urgent.”
That could mean anything. With the dragons currently tearing up the East Coast, there was a new disaster every day. New
York, Boston, Philly, they were all gone. Part of the “Occupied Territories” as they’d come to be known unofficially. The
beasts were currently pressing down on Baltimore, and if it fell, Washington would be next.
I stopped outside Secretary Sandra Levison’s office, knocking firmly as I prepared myself for the worst. If we had to
evacuate, that would mean things were truly lost.
“Come!”
The door was halfway open before she’d even finished speaking.
“You wanted to see me, ma’am?” I said, not bothering to sit. Judging by the packing she was doing, we were going on the
move.
“Are you ready?”
I arched an eyebrow as Secretary Levison breezed past me into the hall, heading deeper into the maze of hallways.
“Ready for what, ma’am? I’m not aware of anything going on.”
Levison shot me a frown. “You haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?” I repeated with a bit of emphasis. “I was in my office when that new intern came in pale as a ghost, ordering
me to your office.”
Sandra made a sound and dug in her bag. Finding whatever she was looking for, she shoved it into my hand. “Fire her. She
was supposed to give you this. Idiot.”
I grabbed the paper, slipping to the side as two officers in military uniforms went jogging past “on the double,” as they
called it. Although I was used to reading and dodging the crowds of people, it was still unusual to see officers moving with
such alacrity inside.
Whatever was going on, it involved the military.
“Where are we going?” I asked, unable to pause long enough to read the paper. There was far more traffic than normal, and
we had to dodge, dip, duck, and dive our way through the crowd in a most undignified manner for the Secretary of State—as
her assistant, I was under no such restraint.
The fact it didn’t faze her was another warning bell.
“President.”
All the warning bells went off, a wild cacophony of alarms in my head. That was not good.
“Are we evacuating?” I hissed, fearing Baltimore was gone. If the military line had been breached, the dragons were less
than an hour away. We would have to move fast.
“The opposite, actually. The dragons have sent a representative.”
 “Here?” I hissed in shock, understanding now why the military was running wild. If a dragon was there, at the White House,
that would send them into a tizzy.
“Yes.”
I took a half-step to gather my composure. It was something I’d learned how to do very quickly while working my way up
the political ladder.
“What do they want?” When I spoke, it was in a calm, measured tone.
“A ceasefire, apparently,” Secretary Levison said, waving aside lesser staffers as we made a beeline for the Oval Office.
“What?”
My composed exterior shattered as I yelped in total shock. It was back in a second as I schooled my face into neutrality
before the reprimanding glare from my boss could reach me.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” I said, beginning to analyze the situation. “But they are—were winning, were they not? Why on
Earth would they want to stop now? All they would have to do is—”
“I know all that,” the secretary snapped, clearly impatient and frustrated at being blindsided like the rest of us.
I fell silent the rest of the trip, filing into the office behind her and standing to one side, where the various aides all gathered
as the President and his department heads assembled.
Several of the Joint Chiefs were there as well, but I resolutely ignored them. Well, one in particular. A tall male with a layer
of black stubble already showing on his face, peppered with gray here and there. He stood tall and proud, but there was a fire
in his eyes as he stared unflinchingly at the newcomer in the room.
I held back a sneer at my ex-husband. The idiot likely thought if he could just leap across the table, he could finally kill one
of the enemy—something his tanks and guns hadn’t been able to achieve.
Turning my gaze on the other person, I evaluated him as the doors closed, sealing the room. He wasn’t quite the tallest in
the room. One of the aides of the Secretary of Homeland Security was a giant. But while the aide had an inch or three on the
dragon’s representative, he had none of his muscle.
The seams of the representative’s sharp-edged black shirt were on the verge of bursting with every breath he took. Biceps
bigger than my legs were corded with steel cable. His quads were easily bigger than my waist, and yet somehow, despite his
stature, the dragon-man wore it well. Naturally, even.
“All right. We’re here,” the president said from where he sat behind his desk. “What is it you have to say?”
The dragon-man—at least, I was fairly certain that was what he was, given I’d never met one yet. Though we’d had reports
from within occupied territories that stated the beasts could shift between forms—inhaled and spoke in a calm voice.
“The Sovereign of All Dragonkind sends a message to your nation,” he said. “She proposes a ceasefire between your forces
and ours. It’s contingent on you providing us eight women of breeding age per year to come to our home and become the mates
of dragons. As long as you do this, the ceasefire will remain in place.”
He stopped speaking.
I glanced at some of the other aides as we all tried our best to remain still and calm. That was it? Those were all their
terms?
“Is there anything else?” the president asked calmly.
“No.” The dragon shifter swept his gaze across the entire office. “You have two hours to decide. I will wait outside for your
answer and carry it back to my people.”
Without waiting to be dismissed, the dragon-man walked to an exit. At a wave from the president, the very unhappy secret
service agent opened the door. I couldn’t begin to imagine how antsy they must be, letting a dragon get that close to the
president.
The instant the soundproof door clicked shut, all hell broke loose in the room as everyone shouted their opinion. I cringed as
the loudest of them all came from my ex-husband. “The General,” as I’d called him sarcastically as our marriage deteriorated,
was very vocal about his feelings on the matter.
“We cannot give up. We don’t surrender! The US has never lost a war, never retreated. They are taking our land. Land the
flag has flown over for centuries! Are we seriously going to just let them do it? I say no. We reject their terms, and we fight!”
I snapped.
“We’re losing, you idiot!” I shouted, stepping forward. “We can’t reject these terms, you ox-brained fool. Millions of our
people have died. Millions more are trapped and probably dying, and millions more will die. But not you since you sit here all
comfortable in your office, sending young men and women to do your dirty work! Taking these terms will save millions of
people, which is something your soldiers can’t do, not with the dragons being basically invulnerable to your weapons!”
 Red-faced, neck veins popping, General Travis L. Greene rocketed up from his seat.
“This is our home,” he hissed, the room silent now.
“And we should preserve of it what we can!” I snapped back. “Our weapons can’t hurt them. Accept it!”
“We don’t know that,” he said, glancing at the president. “They might not be invulnerable to all of them.”
The president stood up, hands slamming down on his desk like gunshots. “We are not going to nuke sovereign soil. Get that
out of your head and drop it now, or I will have you relieved for insubordination, is that understood?”
I clenched my teeth, my lips flattening into a line as I basked in the enjoyment of my ex getting a proper dressing-down from
the supreme authority in front of everyone. I shouldn’t be that petty, but damn, if the asshole didn’t deserve it.
“Fine,” he said, taking a moment to recover, his attention still on me. “If you believe in surrendering so badly, then you
should be the first to volunteer to go fuck a dragon. Apologies, to mate with a dragon,” he added at a glare from the president.
My blood ran cold. I was trapped. There was no way I could say no. Not after I’d called him a coward for not fighting on
the front lines.
“You are of breeding age,” he added with a sneer.
“Enough, General Greene,” the president warned. But his eyes turned to me, followed by every other head in the room.
Waiting for an answer.
Fuck.
“Fine,” I said, staring at my ex, even as my stomach churned itself into knots. “I’ll go.”
He smiled evilly.
I turned my head to address the president. “Now, you only need seven.”
 CHAPTER THREE
Cade

I looked down upon the building with a certain trepidation. Anticipation, perhaps, or a hint of eagerness. But not desperation.
Absolutely not.
There was no denying my desire to have it over and done with. That much I was willing to admit to myself. It had been eight
long months’ worth of avoiding Kalann and his goons.
The war might be over, and peace the word of the day, but not for me. Not until I repaid the debt I’d taken on for my failed
business deal. The one that should have set me up for life but had instead taken everything from me.
Claws tightened as I soared on the winds above the largest collection of skyscrapers on the East Coast. Deep within the
now universally titled “Occupied Territories,” New York had been one of our first targets, falling swiftly as flights of dragons
filled the skies and overwhelmed the meager human soldiers. Now, it was ripe for the picking.
My target was a fairly nondescript building. It was built in a style no longer used by the humans. A stone façade hid what I
was sure was a much stronger internal defense system. It would have to be, given what it held in its belly.
The sun glinted off my yellow dragon eyes, turning them a glittering gold, much like my target below. A toothy grin spread
across my snout. Yes, there was gold here. More gold than I needed, in fact. If the rumors were true, there were over five
thousand tons of it, buried deep within this building.
A mere fraction of which would clear my debts to Kalann and let me work on rebuilding my empire. I would take it and
head to the West Coast. I would start anew and regain the power that had been taken from me by the war.
Diving from the sky, I landed in front of the building, eyeing the entrance. It looked sturdy, metal shutters firmly held in place
behind the glass doors. I was sure that much of it was stronger than it looked as well, built to hold back trucks and the like.
“But I bet it wasn’t built with this in mind,” I said to the empty street with a chuckle, inhaling deep.
A brilliant blast of orange flame erupted from my mouth as I bathed the stone, metal, and glass in dragon fire repeatedly until
the stone ran like water. After letting the worst of the heat dissipate, I went to town with my claws, ripping out the barrier,
tearing it free with casual ease and tossing it aside as I burrowed my way in.
The lobby was large enough for me to stand up in. Which was convenient. Marble tile underfoot broke as I began to dig.
Rebar and concrete shattered under my razor-sharp claws, and I scooped out ton after ton of debris.
There was a drop as I fell into a lower level. But I didn’t stop. I kept digging. Thick metal plating blocked my path to the
next level, but dragon fire and claws rent huge gaps in it as well, and I proceeded to the next level. And the next. Past the
subway and into the bowels of the earth, as I sought out the treasure trove below.
Yes. This will fix everything.
The floor below me collapsed with a suddenness that caught me off guard, and I let loose a shocked cry as I hit the bottom in
a pile of concrete dust and other debris, my eyelids flicking closed to keep the irritant out. The sound of my landing echoed into
the dark, and I smiled. I knew it wasn’t a pleasant look.
“Excellent,” I said, opening my eyes and letting them adjust to the dark, eager to see the piles of gold bars that would greet
my arrival. A sight that—
Air rushed in through the nostrils on the end of my snout as I looked around in alarm.
“No!” I shouted, whirling, looking upon cage after empty cage, where the gold bars should be piled high, ready and waiting
for me. “No, this isn’t possible!”
Howling in rage, I stormed through the vast underground chamber. There had to be some left. Even one cage that had been
missed! I shifted into my human form, vaulting railings, kicking apart doors to explore every chamber.
But everywhere I went, there was nothing but emptiness.
“Was it a lie?” I hissed, returning to the main chamber, not believing what I was seeing. “No, it couldn’t. Not one of this
magnitude. The gold was here. It had to have been. The miserable humans must’ve taken it with them when they fled.”
That made sense. It was just like them to care more about their wealth than the well-being of the millions of citizens they
had left behind in the mega-cities of the East Coast. Cowards. Every single one of those in power.
 However, my hatred for them didn’t solve my current problem because I was still in tremendous debt to Kalann and his
partners. They’d hounded me relentlessly, but my work on the front lines of the war had mostly kept me out of their reach.
Now, though …
Angry at the universe, I let my dragon wings sprout from my back. Crouching, I leaped high into the air, my wings flexing
downward and propelling me up like a bullet through the hole I’d dug. I popped out onto the ground floor, landing casually on
the shattered tile, my boots crunching the logo of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For a moment, I almost blasted it
clear away with fire in a grand gesture of petulant anger.
“Not worth it,” I mumbled, walking out of the building, lost and confused. I had no path forward now. Nothing that would—
The dragon tail hit me in the side like a wrecking ball. I flew across the street, crashing through the glass window of another
skyscraper’s ground level and sliding across the tiled entry until I hit the reception desk hard enough to shatter the wood. Lying
there in the cloud of splinters, I coughed furiously, trying to catch my breath.
I could hear debris crunching underfoot as someone approached.
“Cade, Cade, Cade,” they said.
My fingers tightened as I located them with the sound of their speaking, placing them in my mind, even as my eyes remained
closed.
“We’ve been looking for you, you know. Have you been avoiding us? That’s not very nice, you—”
Crunch.
The chunk of desk I’d grabbed slammed into their shoulder as I erupted out of the pile of wood. It broke over the speaker’s
shoulder, but the impact was still strong enough to throw them to the floor.
I booked it for the entrance, but as soon as I was outside, a second man dropped down on me from above, slamming me into
the ground with incredible force. For the second time in a minute, I was rendered breathless.
“Don’t run,” the new attacker chuckled, driving a fist into my kidney from behind as I lay face first on the concrete
sidewalk. The blow was vicious, sending pain spiking through my brain. “We have so much to talk about.”
Another fist to my side followed that. And another.
I managed to gather enough breath at that point to throw the attacker off my shoulders. He tumbled through the air, but his
dragon wings spread wide, steadying his flight until he landed easily on the balls of his feet.
“Come now, Cade,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “Is that any way to react?”
I snarled. “I’ll show you a reaction. Try me without surprise.”
“Okay.” He stood still, a twisted grin on his bearded face, blue eyes locked on me, while hair he’d dyed a dark gray
fluttered slowly in the midday breeze. “Come on, then. I’m right here.”
I took one step toward him.
The next thing I knew, I was on the pavement, staring up at the sky, stars whirling across my vision, followed by a puddle of
darkness.
Woozily, I reached up with my right hand, my fingers coming away covered in red. Blood. But how?
The first attacker stepped into view, a length of metal in his hands.
“You’ve been avoiding Kalann’s calls, Cade,” he snarled, his long black hair tied back in a single braid. The disgust
dripping from his words was mirrored by the sneer on his square jaw. Green eyes stared down at me with contempt.
“I don’t have a phone,” I said, blinking away the worst of the surprise attack.
“Oh, we have a funny guy, Lincoln. A real fucking comedian.”
“I’ve seen more comedy in the mirror,” Lincoln, the bearded goon, said with a self-deprecating chuckle. “This is just
pathetic, Reed.”
Curling my hand into a fist, I struggled to get up.
Reed kicked me in the side of the head, sending the world spinning once again. I half-rolled over, but he put a foot on my
chest, pushing me down. “You owe Kalann a lot of gold, Cade. A lot of gold.”
“I’m well aware of that,” I hissed. “Why do you think I was here? A fucking tourist trip? I’m working on it.”
“Not hard enough,” Reed spat. “Not hard enough. Kalann is getting tired of waiting for you to repay him. So, he sent us to
deliver a little message.”
“Consider it received,” I said.
“Not yet,” Reed hissed, taking his foot off my chest just long enough to break my nose with his fist.
 “Wab-‘out ‘ow?” I asked. “I gob ip. Oud an keer.”
“Nah, that one was for me,” Reed said. “Because you’re being a loudmouthed piece of shit. Kalann’s message is simple.
You have thirty days. Pay in gold, or you’ll pay in blood. Simple as that. Got it?”
I nodded.
“Good.” Reed hauled me to my feet, patting my shoulders, straightening my shirt, and brushing it clear of dust. “I’m glad. I
really didn’t want to have this misunderstanding. We were only supposed to deliver the message about the thirty days.”
Lincoln cleared his throat dramatically. Reed looked over. “Yes?”
“Well, actually, Reed …” He sounded like a bit part actor reading directly from a teleprompter.
“What is it?”
“There was another part to it,” Lincoln said with false sincerity.
“There was?” Reed’s acting was no better.
“Yes. There was. We ‘re supposed to make sure he understood the message. Thoroughly.”
Reed’s face brightened. “Oh. Right. Silly me. How could I forget?” His eyes focused on me again. “I guess I was wrong. I
did want this misunderstanding.”
Then he kneed me in the gut.
I bent over just in time to take his other knee in the jaw. I stumbled backward into reach of Lincoln, who smashed a piece of
concrete over my head. I fell flat onto the ground. Reed picked me up and decked me across the face as Lincoln held me by the
shoulders.
I spun around. The two of them worked me over for a few more minutes until Reed tossed me through the hole I’d blown in
the side of the Federal Reserve Bank. I skidded over the broken tile, the stone cool to the touch.
Until, suddenly, there was no more stone.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I fell through the hole, bouncing off the jagged walls until I hit the bottom and blacked out.
An unknown amount of time later, something toeing at my shoulder woke me.
“It hasn’t been thirty days, damn you,” I mumbled woozily.
“Hello, Cade,” a different voice said.
A voice I knew. I looked up into the eyes of Vicek, heir to the sovereign who ruled all dragonkind.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
 CHAPTER FOUR
Cade

“Well, you found me,” I said with about the same energy as my first sentence. “Somehow.”
“It wasn’t hard,” Vicek said calmly. “I just followed those two.”
“That’s a lot of work for someone like you to do just to find someone like me,” I said, still not getting up from the cold floor.
Heir to the dragon kingdom or not, my body was not in any shape to move. Not yet.
Apparently, I hadn’t been unconscious for all that long after all.
Vicek just stared at me, his expression betraying no emotion.
“Right. Well, what the fuck do you want?” I asked. “I haven’t set foot on the Dragon Isles in decades. I owe the sovereign
nothing.”
“We know,” Vicek said, not reacting to my tone. “But the sovereign has an offer for you.”
I laughed, coughing up a bit of blood. In a minor bit of deference to his position, I made sure not to let it land on his boots.
“That’s wonderful,” I said, taking a deep breath in, wishing dragon healing worked faster. My broken bones were already
healing, and the cuts had all begun to heal over, but it would still be several days before I was fully restored.
“I knew you would think so.”
“That was sarcasm, Vicek,” I said. “I don’t give a fuck what she has to say.”
“You should,” the heir said just a bit coldly.
I sagged onto the floor of the empty gold vault. “Unless you’re here to offer me a shit-ton of money, I don’t want your offer. I
have enough going on as it is. I don’t want to owe anything to her. I’ve done just fine without in my life.”
Vicek looked me over. “I can see that.”
He added nothing else, not responding to my first point. I stared up at him, my eyes narrowing suspiciously.
“Are you here to offer me a lot of money?” I asked.
“In a way,” Vicek said.
I shoved myself to a sitting position, ignoring the protests of my muscles and bones that didn’t want to move that way.
“Forgive me for not standing and bowing,” I said, a little more respectfully—but not too respectfully.
“Given the circumstances,” Vicek said with a wry smile, “I think I can let it pass.”
“So, just what is it you want from me?”
“To help.”
All sorts of alarms went off in my head at that phrase.
“No,” I said bluntly. “You can make your offer, but anything that promises to help me will come with a catch I absolutely am
not interested in. Just so you know. But you were sent to make your offer. The least I can do is hear you out.”
Vicek tilted his head in appreciation.
“It’s actually quite simple, really. And the catch is obvious. There’s no hidden aspect to the deal, if that’s what you’re
worried about.”
“That’s even worse,” I said with a bark of laughter, which I immediately regretted when pain coursed through my body.
“That means it’s so bad, there’s no way it could be hidden.”
“Perhaps.” Vicek shrugged.
“Just spit it out already,” I growled. “I hate this political bullshit you all indulge in.”
“Is it really any different from the way you speak about business?” Vicek challenged. He held up a hand to forestall a
response. “It doesn’t matter.”
“If you say so. Now, what is it?”
“We’re looking for people to help fulfill the terms of the ceasefire,” Vicek said bluntly. “Eight human women will be
coming to the Dragon Isles in a matter of days. The sovereign needs eight dragons to volunteer to be their mates.”
 I laughed again, ignoring the pain that time. “How typically arrogant of her. Stipulating terms she doesn’t actually have
anyone to fulfill. Thinking she knows best for our people and then realizing she has no volunteers. Instead, she has to coerce
people like me to do her dirty work for her.”
“Careful,” Vicek growled warningly, fire blossoming in his eyes. “That is my mother you speak of. Show some respect.”
I wasn’t really in a position to continue being a dick. So, I let it drop.
“All right. So, what’s the deal?”
“Take one of the human women as your mate. See if the bond is true.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I got that much already. But why? Why would I go back to the isles, a place I haven’t been since I
was a youth?”
“Because if you do, the sovereign will pay off your debt to Kalann.”
My eyebrows rose, even though it was what I expected. Still, to hear Vicek say it …
“All of it?” I asked to confirm.
“All of it,” Vicek stated unequivocally.
I sat back in thought. I had no love for humans, but in the decades I’d spent among them, I’d taken a number of human women
to bed. What would be one more? It would be nothing to tell her to simply to pretend, to act the part until my debts were clear.
Then we could leave for the human world and be free. She could go her own way, and I could go mine.
I opened my mouth to accept.
“But,” Vicek said, stopping me cold. “There’s one caveat.”
Clenching my teeth, I nodded. “Of course there is,” I said tightly. “Of course there is. What?”
“You must prove it’s real. To everyone.”
“What do you mean?”
“A scale bond,” he said, naming the ritual performed between two dragon mates, where they bonded one of their scales to
the flesh of the other, forever linking them.
To remove a scale bond was to kill both parties.
“You’re insane,” I said bluntly. “Scale bond with a human? Impossible.”
“Not impossible,” Vicek said with an assurity that surprised me. “Those are the terms. Mate with one of the humans. A True
Bond. She must accept it. Do that, and your debt will be cleared.”
I sagged back onto the floor, thinking it through.
“Not likely to be able to convince a human woman to fall in love with a broke dragon like me,” I muttered. “She’s setting
me up for failure. I have nothing to my name.”
Vicek cocked his head. “That’s not entirely true. You have the property that—”
I cut him off with a snarl. “That old rundown place? I think not. I haven’t set foot there since the last time I was on the
isles.”
“So, are you turning down the offer?” Vicek asked. “Think carefully.”
Sighing, I met his gaze. I was trapped, and we both knew it. What other choice did I have? There was no other way I would
find the gold in the thirty days I had left before Reed and Lincoln came back for me. I had to accept.
Even if I didn’t want to.
“Yes,” I growled. “I do, damn you. I accept.”
 CHAPTER FIVE
Samantha

I was an idiot for going through with this.

The words burned in my mind as the rock wall shivered upward, revealing a giant cavern. Eight human women, none of
whom knew one another until five minutes ago. Now, we slowly walked into the massive underground chamber, trying not to
pee our pants.
It wasn’t easy. High above us, perched on thick ledges carved from stone, numerous dragons stared down with baleful eyes
blazing with fire. A reminder of the death that might await us if we stepped out of line.
While I didn’t think the dragons would bring us all that way just to kill us, there was no way to tell with the capricious
beings. In their territory, we were completely at their mercy. I had to remember that. The normal “laws” I was used to would
be of no protection there. Only the dragon customs mattered.
Whatever they were.
Torchlight glittered, pulling me back to the moment and the giant cavern, which had a ceiling lost to the darkness somewhere
high above. Fear washed over us as we moved to the center of the cavern by unspoken agreement. There, a single torch
embedded into the rock itself waited for us.
“Silence,” a deep voice boomed from somewhere high above.
My head swiveled around, trying to pinpoint which dragon had spoken.
“Why?”
My eyes nearly bulged out of my head at the bold response from one of the other women in our group.
“Because,” that same voice said, “the selection process is about to begin.”
Before anyone could respond, the cavern wall across from us began to shiver. Then it slid smoothly into the ground,
revealing inky darkness beyond. And in that darkness, something moved.
Talon on rock. Breath from giant lungs. Twin yellow eyes, high above us. Dragon eyes. Together, we retreated from the
center circle as the beast moved into the chamber with us. I licked my lips as fear tried to overwhelm me.
Then, suddenly, the dragon was a man. It happened fast. A quick glance away, a long blink, and it was over. The other
women gasped in surprise, and I reminded myself to act equally astonished. Most humans had no idea dragons could do such a
thing. I didn’t want to be singled out, so I went along with it.
“You,” the dragon said, pointing at one of the women.
And so it went, dragon by dragon, they came in and picked a woman, like some sort of dark, perverse episode of The
Bachelor. It was wrong. How could they possibly know who to pick? By looks alone? They had demanded eight women as
mates. Surely, that wasn’t how they chose their partners. Was it?
Then again, every dragon-man who came through the door was incredibly jacked. Either it was natural—the muscle
required to carry around the dragon frame, only packed into human size—or else they spent a lot of time in the gym. So,
perhaps they were that selfish and vain when it came to selecting mates.
In which case, it was no surprise to me that I was being passed over. The only thing I had going for me was my height. With
these giants, perhaps that appealed to them. Then again, as yet another woman walked out with a man who had seconds earlier
been a red dragon, maybe not.
My hair was thin and limp, my body more pudge than curves. I didn’t have much of an ass or boobs. It was a wonder the
dragons had even accepted me in the first place. Now, though, they were passing me over again and again. Nobody wanted me
as their first choice.
The cavern door opened a sixth time, and a different dragon walked in. I watched in curiosity as the torchlight flickered and
danced over his scales, illuminating their golden hue. The head came lower, the horns rising from the top of its skull curling up
and toward the back, giving it a menacing air.
Its head swiveled between me and the two other women who remained. Snorting, smoke curled from its nose, and the smell
of brimstone filled the air as it fixed its gaze on me. I stood a little straighter, staring right back at the beast. I even lifted my
chin in mild defiance as we locked eyes for an extended period of time. Smoke continued to curl upward from its nostrils.
There was no way I would run screaming. If the dragon intended to burn me to a crisp medium-rare before he ate me, I
would face it head-on. With whatever dignity I had left. I would be stronger. Tougher than that.
“You,” the dragon rumbled without shifting into human form.
“Me?” I squeaked in the most terrified, unbrave, undignified whimper possible.
“Yes.” The dragon turned and walked from the room, moving with surprising grace on four legs, its wings tucked on either
side of its long sinuous body.
I glanced at the other women.
Good luck, one of them mouthed at me. I gave her a half-smile, and then followed the dragon from the room. Behind me, the
floor rumbled upward, cutting me off from the only other members of my species. Where the first five women were, I had no
idea. Gone.
No words were exchanged as I followed along in the near perfect darkness, stumbling over the uneven floor, struggling to
keep up with the much, much bigger strides of the dragon. I couldn’t, however, and fell farther and farther behind.
Finally, the beast stopped with a sigh.
“This is too tedious,” it said.
“You could try shifting into your two-legged form, like all the other dragons did,” I suggested. “Or turning on a light, so I
can see where I’m going. Either one would help immensely, you know.”
Fire flared without warning, and I scrambled backward, afraid I was about to be charred for speaking up.
“Let’s go,” the dragon said instead, the ball of flame hovering in front of his snout as he extended a single burnished gold
wing out straight.
I stared blankly. “Huh? Go where?”
“Away from here,” he snapped irritably. “Let’s go already.”
I continued to stare, which just produced another sigh of irritation.
“You know,” I suggested none-too-politely, “if you’d like me to do something, you might try this newfangled thing called
words. Like an adult. I don’t know if dragons are telepathic or something, but we humans aren’t, and I have no idea what you
want me to do. So, try speaking.”
Gold eyelids narrowed to slits, and once more, the scent of brimstone overwhelmed my nose. Swallowing was abruptly
more difficult thanks to the giant lump stuck in my throat.
The snout pulled back to reveal rows of dragon teeth, and I prepared myself to be the worst human-sized chicken wing that
dragon had ever eaten.
“Ha!” The single beat of laughter echoed down the tunnel in both directions.
I didn’t speak. Was that a sarcastic laugh? A precede to gobbling me up like an unbasted half-rack of ribs? I was no slow-
cooked brisket, that was for sure.
“Use my wing,” the dragon said in even-keeled tones. “Climb up it and onto my back. Then I’ll fly us out of here, so we
don’t have to waste time climbing to the end of the tunnel. It’ll go much faster. Trust me on this.”
“I have exactly zero reason to trust you,” I said, “I don’t even know your name or anything about you, so why should
—FLY?”
The first half of his explanation hit me abruptly.
“Yes. You know. With my wings?” He flapped them gently. “See, words.”
I glared, using that to try to process the sudden primal terror locking my limbs up tight.
“Is—Is there a human seat somewhere?” I asked nervously, looking around. “A dragon saddle or whatever you call it?”
“Yes.”
I sagged in relief. Perhaps I could manage that, then. Being tied in would—
“It’s called the base of my neck. Now, climb up my wing and get seated,” he said. “Spread your legs around it.”
Was that a hint of sexual innuendo in his voice? I couldn’t be sure.
“That seems, um, you know, overly, uh, unsecure,” I said, struggling with my words.
Fly? Me? On a dragon?
“You have my word,” the dragon said in a much gentler tone. “I will not let any harm come to you.”
The wave of warmth that flowed over me at his tone was utterly unexpected. Somehow, despite not knowing a thing about
him, I found myself leaning toward trusting the dragon.
Besides, do I have much of a choice?
Nervously, I approached the extended wing, touching the supple yet rigid membranous appendage. Closing my eyes, I
offered up a prayer to anyone listening, and then I climbed on. The wing held my weight without any sign of bowing or flexing,
so I continued to climb.
“Okay,” I said uncertainly, sliding onto my ‘seat’ as I’d been told, legs on either side of his neck.
The dragon shifted under me unexpectedly.
“Hey, what the hell!” I yelped, leaning forward, molding my body to his neck in an attempt to find something to grip.
“Apologies,” the dragon said. “I, uh, it’s been a long time since I’ve carried a rider. I’m unused to it.”
He didn’t sound like that was the problem. His voice was tight. Distracted. What else was going on?
“Okay,” I said, my nerves fraying rapidly. “Well, I guess—AHHHHH!”
My scream was torn away by the wind as we launched ourselves into the air, his giant wings propelling us up the huge
underground corridor.
 CHAPTER SIX
Samantha

It didn’t take long for me to get over my fear of flying dragonback. True to his word, “my” dragon-man—I still needed to get
his name!—had provided a very steady and even flight. I probably wouldn’t have noticed much turbulence anyway. The view
was too beautiful.
Warm sunlight beamed down on the Dragon Isles, as I’d learned they were called, warming the golden scales enough to
keep me comfortable as we soared high above the lush green land. In the distance, the signs of civilization approached, but
most of what we flew over was untouched wilderness by the looks of it.
Here and there, a trail or path of sorts wound its way around, but vast fields of green were mixed with forests and rivers
and lakes. A mountain jutted up near the center, with a large building perched on one side of it, visible even from a distance. A
castle of some sorts. It was hard to tell for certain.
Wind blew through my hair, pulling it back to flutter freely behind me. My arms stretched wide, capturing the air, feeling it
rush across my skin. I was flying. Flying. Not in a plane or helicopter, which I’d done numerous times, but truly flying. It was
an experience I would never forget.
“Where are we going?” I called as we approached what could only be a dragon town—or perhaps city. Stone buildings
spread out before us, streets and alleys zigzagging, while several main thoroughfares provided a sort of structure to the chaos.
Flags waved in the stiff breeze, all manner of color and pattern visible, though they meant nothing at all to me.
“Food for us. Clothing for you,” he said, a hint of humor in his voice as he turned his long dragon neck around to look me
over.
I glanced down at my business suit. I didn’t have much in the way of options, nor had I known what to expect. But now that I
was in the isles, I couldn’t argue it was a poor choice.
“Okay,” I said, my stomach rumbling at the mention of food. “That sounds good. Thank you.”
He landed in a square of brilliant white stones that was marked off by a perimeter of red that seemed designed to ensure
people knew its purpose. I climbed awkwardly down his wing, unused to such activity. I looked around at the hustle and bustle
of the dragons, most of them moving around in human form.
Above us, other dragons circled and landed or took off. It was a vibrant scene and so unlike anything I’d been prepared for.
“What are you staring at?” a familiar voice asked from behind me, but that time, at human height.
“All of this,” I said, unable to tear my eyes away from the sights and sounds surrounding me. “I don’t know what I was
expecting, but it wasn’t this.”
He grunted cryptically but didn’t reply. He did, however, usher me off the landing pad so other dragons could use it. I took
that time to look him up and down, my first glimpse at his human form.
Oh, my.
Brilliant eyes more copper than brown stared back at me, while golden-blond hair that matched his scales fell in free waves
down to his shoulders. My head barely came to his shoulders, leaving me to look up at him. Which wasn’t the worst.
“What are you looking at?” he asked as I watched how his speaking moved the very Nordic-like jawline he possessed.
Strong but not overly wide, it was well defined, up to and including his cheekbones. Like most blonds, he didn’t possess an
overabundance of facial hair, but that was fine. The stubble around his mouth and chin suited him perfectly.
“I’m trying to figure you out,” I replied.
And maybe trying to check you out some more. If I’m honest. Wow.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked a bit gruffly.
“Well,” I said, ticking off my fingers as I spoke. “You’ve been quite rude to me from the start. Barely talking, not telling me
anything, expecting me to know things I have no reason to have known, etcetera. But then the first thing you do is take me
clothes shopping?”
“Okay?” he said. “I’m confused.”
“Me, too. Which man are you?”
 He shook his head. “I’m a dragon.”
I poked him hard in the chest—although my finger barely dented his rock-like skin—without thinking. “You know what I
mean!”
“All right,” he said slowly, crossing his arms over that huge barrel-like chest. “Please, do tell. Explain to me what type of
man I am. What has your thirty seconds of judgment shown you, hmm? Because if it’s anything like your initial judgment of my
people, then this ought to be good.”
My eyes shot open at his caustic sarcasm. “What the hell does that mean?”
“When we first arrived here and landed,” he said. “Have you forgotten already? So typical. Very well, I shall elaborate.
You said, and I quote, ‘I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this.’ Do you remember now?”
I glared at him as he pitched his voice high in obviously mimicry of me.
“Wipe that look off your face,” he said with more than a little growl. “You know as well as I do you expected us to be
savages, living in the wild. Too primitive to be capable of anything you might call civilization. Don’t bother to try to deny it
either.”
Although I wanted to do just that, protest his accusation, the truth was he had me dead to rights. That was what I’d expected
of him and his people, and he’d called me out on it right away.
“Okay,” I said calmly. “You’re right. I did think you and your people were more beast than man.”
He snorted. “I lived among you for years. With your elite. Trust me, if there’s a bad batch out there, it’s among your people.
Not mine.”
I bit my tongue, not wanting to continue the argument. But I certainly noted his lack of self-awareness at what it meant by
him having lived among those same elite he disparaged. If they were that bad, why had he spent years with them?
“Okay,” I said, deciding to try to undo some of the damage. “Let’s start this again, perhaps?”
He cocked his head slightly in question.
“Hi, my name is Samantha,” I said, sticking out a hand.
A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. “Cade,” he replied, taking my hand and shaking it.
I inhaled sharply at the firm touch of his skin on mine, shocked by the sudden heat surging up my arm and through my body
from a simple handshake.
Cade. An interesting name.
“Come,” the dragon-man said, pulling his hand back but not before I saw a strange look cross his face.
Had he felt it, too?
“Where to?” I asked, eager to change the subject.
“Food,” he said. “I’m hungry. Then we’ll get you a bag of clothes.”
I stared as a tall, lithe woman walked by, her soft, supple garment swishing in the wind. It was quite the getup, with layers
falling down both her front and back. They were linked together with two bands, one across her breasts, the other around her
waist. I noted they were actually sewn into the garment on one side while simply looped around her body on the other. The
vibrant pink fabric clung to her skin like it was wet yet flowed lightly in the air.
“What is that?” I asked.
Cade grunted. “A glani. It’s traditional female dragon wear.”
“Do I wear one of those?” I asked, thoroughly uncomfortable at the notion. She was showing a lot of skin. But that woman
could pull it off. Me?
“Not yet,” Cade said firmly. “Maybe someday. We’ll see.”
“Gotcha,” I said, following him into the streets. “Food. Clothing. Then what, back to your place, I guess?”
“Yeah,” he said with a hint of unease, looking away so I couldn’t see the reaction on his face. “Something like that.”
 CHAPTER SEVEN
Samantha

I hiked the bag with my clothes in it back up over my shoulder, gripping the strap a little tighter as we walked through the
streets of the dragon town.
“Is it just me?” I asked, noting no reaction from Cade as we turned down a side street, “or is this section of town not as nice
as the rest?”
Cade shrugged, but he didn’t deny it. How could he? The flags there fluttered limply, less wind making it through the
narrower pathways between buildings. The stone architecture wasn’t dirty, precisely, but it certainly didn’t have that pristine
nature like the stones in the market where we’d landed.
Here and there, little chunks of stone were missing. Windows were covered with plainer cloth, and the doors lacked the
ornate, intricate carvings that had been a hallmark of every store and house in the center of town. Garbage didn’t pile up in the
corners because dragons seemed utterly against the concept of littering, but if they weren’t, that was certainly the section of
town to witness it.
“I’m certain of it,” I muttered mostly to myself. Even the garb of the dragons we passed—which were fewer in number as
well and less polite, though not outright rude—was more worn.
“It’s the old town,” Cade said as if that explained everything. “The original. These are the oldest buildings.”
It showed.
“Right,” I said. “But come on, you can’t tell me it doesn’t look worn down. Less welcoming.”
He shrugged once more.
“Does it get worse?” I asked, avoiding asking just why he was taking me there. My choices on what to do and where to go
consisted exclusively of “Follow Cade” at that point.
“No,” he said, stopping suddenly at a door that had once been red but now was more faded into a rust-like mixture of
colors. “As a society, we work to ensure nobody stays on the streets if they have nowhere else to go. That doesn’t mean
everything is high class either, but we don’t let our people live in poverty, unlike you.”
“I see,” I said as he pulled the door open, revealing an unlit entryway. The pale beige stone was anything but inviting,
reminding me far too much of places I shouldn’t be visiting, according to human society. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I touched a
nerve there.”
“Huh?”
“About poor people,” I said. “I didn’t know you dragons were so high and mighty about it comparatively. Such perfect
citizens of a perfect nation.”
Cade turned an angry eye in my direction as he brushed past to open a door leading to a stairwell.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I said. “At least ‘we humans’ don’t pretend like we don’t run the spectrum from good to bad.
We acknowledge it. You ignore it, standing around, patting yourselves on the back for not letting people live on the street.
Which is infinitely easier, given your smaller population size, of course, but we won’t acknowledge that.”
“We—”
“No, I’m not done,” I said, shaking my head, venting frustrations while also seeking a confirmation of something the
government had never been able to nail down. “I’m also sure you treat foreigners exceptionally well. I mean, it isn’t like you
to just, oh, I don’t know, up and ‘disappear’ intruders, right? People who accidentally stray into your territory.”
“What are you talking about?” Cade asked stiffly as we went up to the third story of the building.
“Ohhh, I don’t know,” I drawled. “It’s like you guys are super protective of your territory. An area that may have roughly
three equal sides. In the middle of the Atlantic. Not too far, in fact, from a human island. Why, if there was a mystery about this
area, I bet you people would name it after the shape and the island. Don’t you think? Seems natural that way.”
Cade spun, blocking my path, his shoulders wide and intensely intimidating. Eyes that were naturally copper glowed with a
radiant fire in the dark, giving him a decidedly non-human look. I backed up a step, abruptly aware of how alone and isolated I
was.
 “What do you know?” he snarled with unexpected intensity.
“Nothing,” I said with a shrug. “We didn’t know a thing. Until you just confirmed it now, of course. We only suspected.”
“We?” Cade asked, cocking his head sideways as the fires faded. “Who are you? Why would you know this?”
I stared. “Didn’t they provide a writeup about me? I swear it was handed over on all of us.”
“I didn’t read it,” he said. “Usually it’s bullshit, made to ensure you look better than you are.”
“I see.” I couldn’t argue with him. Any resume was designed to talk up the owner. He was probably right. “Well, for your
information, I used to work for the government of my people in a somewhat high position, I suppose. So, I know all about you
and your people.”
To my surprise, Cade through his head back and laughed. “Right. Because it was my people who kidnapped someone of
another race. My people who conducted experiments on them like they were a fucking lab rat, poking and prodding at him,
even though he could speak to them. Absolutely deplorable. Your people should be ashamed of yourselves. Especially you, in
the government, who knew it was happening. You knew the truth, Samantha, and you did nothing. You stayed silent. So, get off
your damn high horse, and stop acting like you know everything because you’re so damn superior. Because you aren’t.”
“You first,” I shot back hotly as he opened a door and stormed inside.
I followed him in, looking around, wondering just how much of my dismay was showing. The door closed behind me with a
certain finality I hoped wasn’t an omen.
“So, this will be my life, will it?” I asked, taking stock of the tiny kitchen, single sitting room, entryway, and two doors, one
of which I supposed was a bedroom, the other a bathroom.
It was … not luxurious. Still, nothing was actively falling apart. The lights all worked.
“Nobody forced you to be here,” Cade growled.
I opened my mouth to refute that point, but a pounding on the door behind me stopped that.
Before I could even turn, Cade was abruptly there, sliding between me and the door, one arm outstretched to prevent me
from going to it. I inhaled sharply in surprise at the speed of his movement.
A moment later, my brain picked up on the fact he’d put himself between me and whoever was there. It was an instant
change in his demeanor. From arguing to protector without a beat in between. I looked up at the back of his head, my brain
trying to process what that all meant and how I felt about that.
“Stay here,” Cade growled in a voice that matched his protective body language.
Then he strode toward the door like an alpha predator stalking its prey.
 CHAPTER EIGHT
Cade

The door thundered under repeated knocking as I stalked forward, thinking furiously. The sounds did nothing to help my brain
focus. There was too much going on.
My dragon was going ballistic, screaming at me with unforeseen wild abandon.
PROTECT. PROTECT.
It was all I could do to think over its bellowing insistence that I had to keep Samantha safe from whatever was on the other
side of the door. Meanwhile, my logical brain knew who was at the door. There was no danger to either of us. Not physically
at least.
But the beast was not listening. It roared and twitched, ready to destroy anything that even remotely threatened Samantha. A
human. An arrogant human, at that, who was judging my people with every breath.
Why that should bother me, I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like I’d spent much time in the Dragon Isles either. For a lot of the same
reasons she put forth. Yet when she insulted us, I felt the need to defend my people, which just made a further mess.
To add to the confusion, I was still burning on the inside from having her astride my neck, her legs spread on either side of
me. Touching me. Riding me. Images of many other things had played through my mind during the flight, and my blood was
already heated.
It was too much. I needed to shut out the distractions and think.
“Damn it, Cade. I know you’re in there!” a female voice called through the door as the owner pounded on the wood some
more. “Open up!”
“And who might that be?” Samantha purred amusedly from behind me.
I spun to see her eyes sparkling with azure humor.
“Jealousy already,” I murmured quietly enough so the person on the other side of the door couldn’t hear. “How intriguing. I
didn’t know you felt that strongly about me.”
Samantha’s face flushed a dark red, which both my dragon and I found vastly more interesting than dealing with the voice at
the door. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ignore it.
“Not jealousy,” Samantha snapped finally.
But she didn’t elaborate.
“Cade, open the door now, or I’ll do it myself! You can’t avoid me.”
“And she has a key,” Samantha said. “A jilted lover you didn’t think to mention?”
“Not at all,” I said, teeth bared.
“No?”
I shook my head. “None of my lovers ever leave jilted. Not after I’ve pleasured their bodies with mine.”
Samantha kept her face neutral, but she couldn’t control the dilation of her pupils.
“I thought so,” I said as the door rattled in its frame yet again.
That time I went to it and pulled it open.
“Keep it down,” I hissed at the tiny redhead on the other side.
Her green eyes popped open with emerald flame. “Shut the fuck up, Cade. This is my goddamn place. I run it. So, I can be
as loud or as quiet as I want, and those who don’t pay me their fee to stay don’t get to say shit about it.”
I gritted my teeth as she extended a hand.
“You’ll get your money,” I said, wondering if I could back that claim up.
“That’s what you said yesterday, Cade. And the day before.”
“Listen, Jelania,” I tried to say, but she cut me off with a snarl.
“Don’t say it,” she snapped. “Just pay me the money you owe me.”
 I shook my head slowly. “I can’t. I don’t have it.”
There were a few coins left in my pocket, but I had to pay for food for Samantha and me somehow. Besides, they wouldn’t
even cover half of what I already owed Jelania. Let alone any more nights.
“Pay up or get out,” she said without an ounce of sympathy.
I gritted my teeth, looking up and away, trying to gather my patience, even as my dignity fled.
“Please,” I said as quietly as I could, hating myself for having to resort to begging. If I couldn’t even afford a roof over her
head, there was no way Samantha would ever fall in love with me.
Not that I saw it ending in anything other than an explosion of yelling anyway.
“No,” Jelania said without mercy. “You’re already three days behind, Cade. I’m not running a charity here. Either pay it or
get out.”
“Fine,” I snarled, losing my cool. “We’re leaving, then. Happy?”
Jelania nodded and smiled. “Yes.”
I wasn’t sure what response I expected, but it wasn’t that. It should have been. Jelania wasn’t the type to have feelings. She
ran a business.
So, I slammed the door in her face. It was childish, but in the heat of my shame and self-imposed anger, I didn’t care.
“Asshole,” I heard through the door before footsteps carried her away.
Licking my lips, I turned away from the door.
To find Samantha staring at me, arms crossed over her petite chest.
“Cade,” she asked flatly. “Are you broke?”
Growling angrily, I stomped past her into the bedroom and began shoving my few belongings into a bag. There wasn’t much,
unfortunately, so it only bought me a few moments. Not to mention, I’d trapped myself. Samantha now stood in the doorway,
blocking my way out.
“So, we’re being kicked out, great,” she said as I hoisted the bag on my shoulder, much like her own. “I thought you ‘perfect’
dragons didn’t let anyone sleep on the streets?”
The sarcasm dripping from her mouth could have filled a bathtub in seconds.
“We don’t,” I said more stiffly than I wanted. “As long as they don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Curiosity flared behind her stare. “So, then, where are we going? You have somewhere else? Why didn’t we go there first?”
“We’re not going anywhere,” I said, shaking my head, trying to end the inquiry then and there. “We can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I haven’t been there in—look, it doesn’t matter. We’re not going,” I said, pushing past her.
At least, I tried to, but she put a hand up, pressing it on my chest. I came to an immediate halt at her touch, fighting down the
beast in my head that could focus on nothing but her fingers.
More. We wanted more. Both of her hands, running across my chest. Pulling my shirt over my head as I took the collar of her
shirt and ripped it apart, exposing her body to my greedy eyes. My hands. My mouth and tongue. I wanted to kiss lower, finding
the waistband of her pants, slowly dragging it down, exposing—
“Cade.”
I blinked rapidly, pulling myself together, trying to get my breathing under control as my cock swelled under my pants,
threatening to reveal my building desire to take this human woman and shove my shaft deep between her legs until her moans
rang in my ears nonstop.
“Yes?” I managed to say with a huff, fighting down my dragon.
There was something different in her tone. On her face. Was she thinking the same? I pondered dropping my back and
pushing her back against the wall. Advancing on her, making my intentions clear as crystal, so she knew I wanted nothing more
than to f—
“How did you afford the food and clothes for me if you have nothing to pay her?” Samantha asked with a curious narrowing
of her almond-shaped eyes. “Did you lie to her?”
“No,” I said.
“Did you … did you spend the last of your money on me?” The shock in her voice couldn’t be hidden.
“Not quite,” I said. “I have a few coins left. Enough for us to eat for a day or two.”
She swallowed, her tiny pink tongue flicking out to wet her lips. They glistened with a hint of saliva, and I fought down
another urge.
“But otherwise, you’re broke because you spent the last of your money on me.”
I shrugged. “You needed outfitting.”
“Right. But now you have nothing.”
“Yes,” I said immediately. “There. Is that what you wanted to hear? That I’m broke? I’m sorry you thought otherwise.”
She sighed. “I don’t need you to be rich, Cade. I didn’t expect that. But I’ll admit, I wasn’t prepared to live on the streets
when I came here. That thought never crossed my mind.”
I stood taller. Something in me didn’t want to disappoint her. She deserved better than that. I needed to give her better.
Which only left me with one option.
“You won’t be living on the streets,” I said softly.
She brightened. “We aren’t? Who is going to take us in?”
“Nobody,” I said. “They only do that if a dragon has nowhere else to go.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “And I have somewhere else for us to go.”
I just didn’t want to.
 CHAPTER NINE
Samantha

“Hey!” I shouted into the wind, finally giving voice to the alarm that had been slowly building inside me.
“Yes?” Cade didn’t turn his head, keeping his long neck stretched out in a straight line as the two massive dragon wings beat
with a steady precision, propelling us toward our destination.
Or so he said.
“That’s water up ahead!”
A ripple ran through the dragon body underneath me, and a second later, an explosive snort could be heard as Cade turned
his head back to give me an unreadable look with one dragon eye.
“You don’t say.”
My eyes were already narrowed against the wind rushing along his scaled neck and over me, but I did my best to turn it into
a glare anyway.
“Yes. It’s called the ocean,” I drawled back in my best mocking tone. “And in case you haven’t noticed, that over there is
what appears to be a storm. Which is getting closer.”
I pointed off to the left flank—port? Did dragons use nautical terms, too? What did planes call it? I wasn’t sure—where
dark black storm clouds had been building for some time and were now rushing in our direction.
“So I’d noticed.” Cade didn’t seem particularly concerned by any of these details.
“Perhaps you can explain to me, then. Why you’re going for an ocean cruise instead of taking us to where we’re supposed to
stay.”
“I am taking us to our destination,” he said. “Or did you forget you’re in the Dragon Isles?”
I clamped my jaw shut. I had forgotten, though I didn’t know the name was literal.
“How far is it?” I asked. “I assume you’re confident we’ll outrun the storm?”
“Yes.” The dragon turned his head back forward, focusing on flying.
I stuck my tongue out at his back and crossed my arms. What a frustrating man. He jumped back and forth between rude and
irritating to a protector who spent his last coin on me. There was a lot to unpack with Cade. Just who was he really?
“If I ask you, will you tell me where we’re going at least now that we’re on our way and I can’t exactly leave?”
Cade was silent. I knew he’d heard me because his hearing was beyond excellent, even with the wind rushing past and
pulling my voice with it. So, either he wasn’t going to respond at all, keeping me in mystery, or—
“A family estate,” he said without looking back at me.
A family estate? So, we were going to stay with relatives, then. Why would he be so reluctant to talk about that? I wanted to
ask more, but his gruff reply made it clear doing so would not produce any helpful results.
So, I was left to stew in my own curiosity as we flew on over the water, outracing the storm as it passed behind us, and then
over the coast as we reached one of the other isles. I wondered how many there were in total.
Cade began to descend. Redirecting my attention below, I waited, eager to get a glimpse of this family estate. I could only
imagine it. A country house, I assumed, given the sparsely populated nature of that particular isle as far as I could see. Perhaps
with lawns of green rippling over gentle hills, with fountains and children running around, chased by nannies. Did dragons
have nannies? And what about his family. Who was I going to meet? His parents? Aunts and uncles? Grandparents, perhaps? A
distant but kind relative?
I had so many questions.
They all died as the house itself came into view.
Now I see why he didn’t want to talk about it.
The house might have been a beautiful country manor once upon a time. But now it was boarded shut, with vines and other
overgrowth working to swallow it up. Land that had very obviously been cleared once was now being rapidly encroached on
by all sorts of wild bushes, shrubs, trees and more. Fallen trunks of trees were left to lie where they were. Dirt was
everywhere, piled high in corners and nooks, staining everything a dark brown.
Whatever it might have been once, now it was simply an abandoned building that time had passed by.
In the distance, thunder rumbled as the storm we’d been outrunning closed in fast, swallowing up the Dragon Isles in its
embrace.
Cade touched down gently on what remained of a circular area out in front of the main doors. Given dragons had no need for
driveways, I had to assume it was a landing pad—or had been.
“I don’t get it,” I said, climbing down the outstretched wing, which he held rocksteady for me as I fumbled my way through
the still unfamiliar motions.
“Get what?”
“This place looks like it was beautiful,” I said. “Why doesn’t your family come here anymore? Where are they? Why did
they let it go like this? Just look at that landscape.”
I swung an arm, encompassing the view from the front doors of the house. Now that we were on the ground, I could see the
land gently sloped away from the house, allowing anyone to stand there and see for miles as the grasses slowly disappeared
into forest. In the distance, the blue of the ocean was visible, capping off the stunning panorama.
“Because they don’t, okay?” Cade growled sharply enough my mouth clacked shut, cutting off further questions.
I looked at him, catching just a momentary glance of an emotion that was very much not anger before he got it under control.
Not that it mattered. The pain had been evident in his voice as well. Whatever it was, I’d touched a vulnerable spot.
“So, what do we do now?” I asked as he shifted back to his human form, trying to change the subject.
“I guess we go inside,” he said as the first raindrops splattered on us.
“Lead the way,” I said, glad the rain was at least warm and not a cold, driving storm. It was almost refreshing in its heat.
Very atypical for an Atlantic Ocean squall.
Cade bulled his way through the vegetation leading to the front doors. A chain hung over the entryway, blocking further
passage. I was fairly certain Cade didn’t have the key. But then, it didn’t matter. He grasped the chain in both hands and flexed.
His biceps strained, and he grunted as the steel resisted.
But then, with me gaping in astonishment, the link in the middle slowly parted until it gave way, and the chain fell apart in
two pieces. I knew they were strong, but that casual demonstration was something else.
Especially seeing how it affected him. The bunching of his muscles, the way they’d drawn the skin taut across them, was …
impressive.
Shaking my head to clear the intrusive thoughts that weren’t welcome right then, I followed Cade into the house. Or tried to.
He stopped short, his hand on the door handle. I wasn’t ready for that, so I walked right into his back, bouncing off him with
my nose.
“Ow.”
But Cade didn’t respond. He was frozen in the spot, staring at his hand as it grasped the handle. Unable to turn it.
“Hey,” I said, gripping his shoulder and pulling him slightly at the waist. “Do you want me to go first?”
Whatever memories he had tied up in the place, they were all coming back to him.
“No,” he said, shaking off his immobility and pushing the door open. It creaked wildly but swung inward, nonetheless. “No,
I’ll go first.”
“Okay, but please do. The rain is getting stronger.”
As if it heard me, the skies flashed with lightning, and a wall of water rushed at the house. Cade pushed inside, and I
followed hurriedly, closing the door behind me just before the downpour reached the house. The stained-glass windows set
into the thick doors echoed with the hammer of huge droplets, and the sound echoed through the rest of the house as the roof
was pounded with a deluge.
“Look at this,” I said, my head tilting back as I looked up, up, up at the grand foyer entryway. It reached all the way to the
top of the third story, where it ended in a giant dome. The underside of the dome was painted, but there wasn’t enough light
inside. Between the storm, the shuttered windows, and the overgrowth, it was hard to see.
“Yes,” Cade said from beside me, his voice thick with unreadable emotion.
A sliver of pity for the giant dragon-man brought low by memories made its way past my defenses.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing his hand without thinking and dragging him farther into the house, trying to snap him out of his
daze. “Let’s explore.”
Cade stumbled along behind me. Silent. Thoughtful.
 CHAPTER TEN
Cade

I nearly tripped and fell flat on my face as Samantha tugged on my hand, pulling me deeper into the house. The warmth of her
skin on mine was completely and utterly unexpected and nearly spelled ruin.
She only cupped my hand, instead of locking fingers, but the surge of heat shot up my arm and into my chest like a spike,
driven by the sledgehammer of a god. My dragon, already on edge after the flight, snatched the opportunity.
It slithered into the fore of my mind, sinking its talons in deep, commanding me to turn my attention from the frayed and
peeling house to the woman in front of us. Her lush backside and full curves were on display, the rain having dampened her
clothing enough to ensure it clung to her pale skin.
A rumble started in the back of my throat. She was right there, the beast pointed out. Within my grasp. Literally and
figuratively. My nose was filled with her scent, driving deep into me. I wanted more, though. Not just to smell, but to taste. I
could only envision dragging my tongue up the insides of her thick thighs, until I reached the apex, the perfect peek.
It would be as natural as the fit of her hand in mine. Made that way. My tongue. Her dripping, warm opening, all but inviting
me in to explore, basking in the tiny gasps and twitches of her hands as I teased her, bringing her to the edge and then making
her explode in my mouth.
My dragon wanted her.
No, it needed her.
The strength of its push, of the urge to simply take her, right then and there, was near undeniable. Blood surged through my
body, escaping the broken damn of my inner willpower. Muscles swelled, and my cock became engorged, swiftly growing
harder.
It would be easy to make her mine. I’d heard her when I pulled the chain. Smelled the interest on her mind. All I had to do
was reach out and grasp her body. Touch it, stroke it, show her the pleasures I could give her, and she would melt into me. It
would be almost trivial. Then I could have her. Watch her sink to her knees, licking her lips as she undid my belt, eager for my
cock to pop free, so she could take it into her mouth and—
We exited the hallway, entering the main kitchen at the back of the house, and I stumbled to a halt.
Fresh memories poured forth, overwhelming my dragon and me. Images of a time when the house wasn’t abandoned. When
it was full of life and laughter. Of love.
My cousins and I, shrieking and laughing as we rushed from one side to the other, playing games of tag and other nonsense,
while the adults gathered in the kitchen to chat and cook. The aroma of fresh food filled my nostrils as I drank it deep,
completely lost in the past.
Dirt disappeared, the windows opened wide to reveal the back lawn and the huge playset my uncle had built for us all. Light
poured in from the covered skylights, and music danced in the background.
Sadie, the eldest cousin, five years older than the oldest of us, ran herd, ensuring we didn’t break too much. Not that a mass
of six kids from six to nine could ever be relied on not to break things. It was a common thing. Everything valuable was put
away before we gathered.
An adult called out, summoning the hungry hordes to the giant table that was always set up for family gatherings. In my
mind’s eye, the kids all raced to their assigned spots, knowing which one was which without needing to be told. We always sat
in the same spot.
The parents came with food, doling it out as they walked around the table, giving the growing kids heaps of piping hot pasta
or poultry. Potatoes and fresh (homemade) bread were distributed as well. Aunts and uncles cut the food for whoever was
closest, paying no mind to if the child was their own or not.
Everyone pitched in; that was the rule.
“Cade?”
The voice shattered the illusion, crumbling the vibrant life I remembered and showing me nothing but darkness and dirt.
“Are you okay?” Samantha asked, staring at me. “You were … elsewhere.”
 “I’m fine,” I said, dropping her hand as I took a breath, working to compose myself.
It didn’t work. We both knew I was lying. It should’ve been a nothing to say it, a platitude she expected of me, regardless of
the truth.
Instead, my stomach churned, and my dragon snarled in disdain, unhappy with me for hiding the truth from her. I snapped
back mentally, but the beast only worked itself into a huff.
I looked Samantha in the eyes. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” I said, trying not to let those memories return. “I
have …”
“Memories,” she finished when I couldn’t.
“Yes.” My voice was all but a whisper.
I stepped away from Samantha, moving to the huge double doors at the back of the house. Vines had crept up over them,
blocking what had been one of my favorite views. Eager to try to restore something I remembered, I opened the door. The rain
and wind gusted inside, bringing with it dead leaves and other bits of foliage, but I didn’t notice.
I yanked the vines down and tossed them aside, swiftly clearing the doorframe of any blockage.
“You’re letting in the water!” Samantha called.
Job done, I stepped back inside, closing both doors, staring out their glass. In the distance, I could just make out the path that
led to one of my favorite places on the property. Like everything else, it was mostly overgrown. But I could see it.
“I don’t think a bit more water is going to do much harm,” I said, trying to laugh as I joked about the condition of the house.
“Do you?”
There was no reply.
“Or not.”
Still no reply.
“Samantha?” I called, turning, wondering if she’d ducked deeper into the house without me.
But she was still there. Only her attention was focused on something on the table. Something that was turning her skin
ghostly white.
“Look,” she whispered, pointing.
Striding over to her, I came to a rigid halt as my eyes spied what she’d seen.
It was a letter on the table.
And it was addressed to me.
 CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cade

“Read it,” she urged excitedly.

I didn’t reach for it. My feelings did not mirror her own. Who had left it? It was clearly aged, but just how long had it been
sitting there? Nobody had been there in over a decade.
And why me?
I clenched a fist, forcing my hand to stay still. Curiosity waged war with fear.
“Come on, open it,” Samantha urged, picking it up and thrusting the letter at me.
I almost backed away but managed to steel myself in time to avoid showing any sort of weakness when what I truly wanted
to do was burn the letter and leave the house. It was a mistake to return. I should have stayed away. I didn’t belong.
“Cade,” Samantha said, waggling the letter. “Whoever left this here for you did it for a reason. They knew you would come
back at some point. They wanted you to read it, to know what’s said in here. Don’t be rude.”
I looked up at her sharply. Did she understand the implication she was making? That I would be disrespecting the memory of
whatever dead hand penned the letter? No, it was impossible. Perhaps she guessed someone had died, but there was no way
she could know the full truth.
“If you don’t open it, I will,” she said with a shrug. “It’s your choice, though.”
Reaching out, I took the letter. Whatever was in there, it was best I read it first. Samantha didn’t need to hear about any of
the family dirty laundry if that’s what it contained.
My finger twitched, tearing the envelope open. There was no going back now. Slowly, I slid the paper from its enclosure. It
was a single sheet, folded three times to make it fit. The paper was yellowed, and the ink was starting to fade, but it was still
legible enough.
Cade.
Welcome back. Or perhaps I should say, welcome home. Because this is yours now. The entire property will belong to
you once I’m gone. All of it. Including the family fortune. Though I doubt you’ll need it. I’ve heard you’re doing quite well
among the humans. Still, that “legacy” belongs to you now. Make good use of it.
X
I frowned. Who had written the letter? Why did they refuse to sign it?
More importantly, what family fortune? I reread that line again, trying to keep myself calm. We hadn’t been a rich family.
Any real “money” we’d possessed was in the land and the house itself. There was no fortune. We’d planted and harvested our
own food because finding the money to feed everyone was more than we could all afford. True, we’d never gone hungry, but
rich? Not my family.
So, what had changed?
“What does it say?” Samantha asked, crowding closer to my side, reading over my arm.
I fought a twitch as her golden blonde hair tickled my exposed skin. She was so close. I could just reach out and—
“A family fortune?” she gasped, rearing back to look at me. “Cade. That’s great! You’re not broke anymore. You’re rich!”
“Yeah.”
Her face scrunched up in confusion. “All right. You don’t exactly sound enthusiastic about that. Do you not like money or
something?”
“I do,” I said quickly. Perhaps too quickly. “That’s not the problem.”
“Then what is?”
I snorted, tossing the letter on the counter. “We don’t have a family fortune.”
“Then why does the letter say you do?”
“I don’t know,” I was forced to admit unhappily. “We didn’t when I left.”
“How long ago was that?” she asked, pointedly looking around the house. The very abandoned, overgrown, and long-
untouched house. “Something must have changed.”
She couldn’t be righter. Something had changed. The question was, what?
And would it be enough to pay off my debts? Perhaps then I could get out of this silly agreement with the sovereign. Maybe
even leave and head to the West Coast and never come back.
My dragon protested, trying to argue against that idea, but I shoved its concerns to the side. I wasn’t listening to it. Not now.
“So, how do we find it?”
“No idea,” I said. “I guess we’re going to have to search the house and grounds. There’s bound to be a clue somewhere.”
I just hoped it didn’t take too long. I was already growing tired of living among dragons. I wanted out. The sooner I could
pay off my debts with this fortune and leave, the better.
 CHAPTER TWELVE
Samantha

“Where do we start then?” I asked when he didn’t immediately reply or start moving, once again lost in his mind.
I wanted to pry, to ask just what was going on in there. The homecoming, such as it was, had clearly brought memories and
emotions bubbling up to the surface in the big dragon-man. He was trying his best to not let it show, but it was obvious.
“Good question,” Cade rumbled at last, shaking himself free. He set the letter down on the table and began moving at last,
even if it was just pacing the kitchen.
“Could they just have been referring to the house, do you think?” I asked, looking around.
“No. The letter said the property was mine. The property and the fortune. They’re two separate things,” he said, thinking
through the logic.
I shrugged, walking over to the next room, where a dining table covered in leaves, dust, and dirt sat unused. “I don’t think
it’s in here, whatever it is.”
“Nor do I,” Cade said abruptly. “Let’s search the other parts of the house.”
Forced to scurry to keep up with his long legs, I followed as we left the kitchen and open area spanning much of the back of
the house. We explored into the depths of the hallways and other rooms. A large sitting area with rotting bookshelves caught
our interest, but again, there were no signs of anything in it that might indicate a fortune.
“This place is a maze,” I said as we entered yet another corridor.
The dirt and grime made it easy to tell where we’d been, though Cade claimed to know the layout just fine.
“I think it was intentional,” Cade said. “There have been several additions built onto the house as time passed, enlarging as
the family grew. Some of the coherence was lost.”
“I see.”
If the family was so big, I longed to ask, then where the hell was everyone? Why had it been abandoned for so long? The
only answer I could come up with was unpleasant, which was why I didn’t ask. But the more he talked about it, the more I grew
certain nothing good had happened.
“I’ll take this one,” I said, pausing at a pair of doors on either side of the hallway.
Cade frowned.
“What?”
“I don’t recall these rooms,” he said. “Or what’s in them.”
“Let’s find out.” I twisted the handle and pushed, but the door didn’t budge. “It’s blocked.”
“Here,” Cade said, edging me out of the way. “Let me.”
He leaned a shoulder into the door and shoved. Things creaked and groaned, sliding across the floor inside.
“Whoa!” I shouted as something tumbled to the floor and shook the ground.
“It was just a piece of furniture,” Cade said, the door now wide enough for me to slide through.
I did just that, ducking under his arm, carefully looking around, while Cade peered in behind me through the opening.
“Is it just me,” I said, looking at the room. “Or does all of this look less like wear and tear from abandonment and more like
—”
“Destroyed,” Cade finished. “Yes.”
“What happened in here?” I asked. “And why?”
“No idea.”
I picked my way carefully across the pile of furniture that had toppled to the ground, noting the holes in the walls, the torn-
up floor, and what looked like scorch marks along one wall. Something bad had definitely occurred.
“Hey, there’s another door back here!”
“It probably just leads to the next room down the hallway.”
 “No, it leads back the way we came,” I said, frowning. “But there was no door there.”
“A closet?” Cade suggested from the door. I could tell he wanted to inspect but didn’t want to risk knocking any more
furniture around while I was inside.
“Maybe. Let’s see.”
There was an empty bookcase half-blocking the door. Putting my shoulder into it, I shoved, cringing at the sound of wood
scraping against the hardwood floor. Even though it would all have to be gutted and replaced, it still sounded terrible.
“All right,” I said, reaching for the handle.
Wood snapped.
I jumped to the side with a yelp as the bookcase I’d just moved broke and toppled forward. Although I was completely out
of its path, the sudden movement still got the better of me, sending my heartrate skyrocketing.
“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath as the cloud of dust began to disperse. “Let’s try that again.”
Twisting the handle, I started to pull. It didn’t immediately come. It felt stuck along the top. Bracing myself, I pulled harder.
“Sam, wait!” Cade bellowed as the door came free with a mighty scrape of wood on wood.
But it was too late. The doorframe snapped at the top, and the wall crumpled inward as the support was removed. I jumped
back, but the ceiling itself was coming down. I shrieked as a cascade of wood and plaster showered me.
Then a deeper groan as beams in the ceiling gave way.
“Cade!” I screamed.
A roar filled the room.
Then suddenly, Cade was there at my side, his arms around me, his wings sprouting from his back, wrapping tightly around
us protectively, a dome between me and the danger.
“I’ve got you,” he said, then grunted in pain as something heavy hit him, driving us both to one knee.
I screamed.
“Shhh,” Cade said, obviously pained as his wings shook and rattled. “It’s okay. It’s all right. You’re safe now.”
I pressed harder into him, waiting for the entire roof to collapse on top of us, smashing us flat. But it never did. Cade was
down on one knee while I huddled under his chest and his body shook as it was pummeled. But true to his word, none of it ever
reached me. I was safe. He was protecting me.
Eventually, the noise stopped.
Slowly, carefully, we stood with Cade’s wings still hovering protectively around us.
“I think it’s done,” I said softly, staring up into his eyes.
He stared back at me, those coppery-brown eyes filled with unreadable emotion.
“Perhaps,” he suggested after a moment, “we should leave this room alone.”
“You know,” I said, a nervous laugh escaping me. “That might not be such a bad idea.”
With Cade hovering over me, we left the room. I carefully did not draw attention to the shattered door and furniture he’d
flung from his path in his rush to get to me. His focus hadn’t been on the contents of the room. Only me.
It was an interesting feeling being the source of such intensity from a dragon. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I knew what I felt. It
was impossible to ignore the tingling in my extremities and the slow warm burn that never quite went away when he was close.
But should I feel it? I didn’t know.
We kept searching the house.
“I don’t think we’re going to find a pot of gold anywhere,” I said an hour later, brushing dust off my hands. “We’ve been
through most of the house, and the only valuable thing we’ve found is some old books and that jewelry.”
Cade nodded, pulling out the two emerald rings and matching necklace we’d found in a box in one of the sleeping chambers.
“This will do for now, though. It’s no fortune, but it’ll get us started.”
“Started?”
“Food. Supplies to sleep and live and begin cleaning this place up,” he said. “We’ll go into town to see the local trader
tomorrow.”
“It’s going to cost more than what that’s worth to fix this place up,” I said, looking around the front foyer as we returned to
where we’d started. “Assuming it can be saved.”
“I will save it,” Cade vowed with unflinching conviction. “Or I will rebuild it exactly the way it is if I can’t.”
“Let’s hope we find that fortune, then.”
 He grunted. “Yes. Let’s.”
I frowned at his back as he headed outside. There was something in his voice. It was like dealing with two different people.
The one who wanted to save the house and the one who wanted nothing but money.
And I had no idea which one was which.
 CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cade

“I think you might have been exaggerating a bit,” Samantha said as I touched down on the grassy field outside the cluster of
buildings, my claws digging deep into the soft earth as I ensured a soft landing.
“About what?” I asked, extending my wing for her to crawl-slide down from my back. I watched her body wriggle and
move, still unused to the balance of walking on the membrane.
It did fun things to her hips, and my dragons interest flared, mirroring my own. I couldn’t help but wonder what she would
look like if I—
“You said we were going to town,” Samantha explained, her feet touching solid ground, allowing me to shift. “I’m not quite
sure this qualifies as ‘town.’”
I followed her hand as she waved it around to encompass the mix of wood and stone buildings.
“It’s a town. People live here. There are businesses.” I shrugged. “What would you call it?”
She looked at me, raising both eyebrows and squinting out of one eye.
“Why are you squinting at me?” I asked, crossing my arms.
Samantha shook her head. “I’m not. I’m raising one eyebrow. Giving you that look of ‘really?’”
“You mean like this?” I asked, lifting one eyebrow.
“Yeah.”
I snickered.
“What’s so funny about that? It was an acceptable response to your comment.”
I fought back some more laughter. “Are you aware your face doesn’t actually mirror your intentions?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You weren’t lifting one eyebrow,” I told her. “You were lifting both and squinting from one eye.”
“No, I wasn’t. I was lifting one eyebrow.”
“Come with me,” I said, taking her by the arm, leading her into town. We stopped at the first place that had windows. “Now
make the face.”
“Fine,” she said, exasperated, leaning into the window.
Her face scrunched up, both eyebrows rising, while she squinted through her right eye.
“Oh my god!” she yelped, backing away as she saw her reflection. “No. No way.”
“What?”
“Cade!” she moaned, hands over her face. “I’ve been giving people that look for years. I never knew! Nobody ever told me!
Oh my god, this is so embarrassing.”
I laughed hard, which earned me a glare.
“No,” I said, waving a finger. “Samantha, this is a time to laugh. To shrug it off, and realize that you looked so silly for
years, and everyone just accepted it.”
She pouted as I continued to chuckle, but I could see her lips twitching as she fought back her own laughter.
“Do you know,” she said, shaking her head. “I gave this look to the President once?”
I threw my head back and roared. “I’m sure he had a lot of questions.”
“Me too,” she said. “Blah, that’s so embarrassing though. Why did nobody tell me?”
“I have no idea. Too polite, perhaps?” I shrugged, moving away from the window and heading toward the largest building in
town, the general trader.
“Maybe,” she agreed as we passed a shop full of trinkets, her attention shifting.
“Go on,” I said, pausing.
“What?”
 “Look around. Maybe pick out something for the house,” I said, speaking without thinking about it. If I had, I might have
stopped myself. “I’ll be in there, selling this, getting us some food and cleaning supplies, and a few other things.”
“Like what?” she wanted to know.
“A name, for starters,” I said with a shrug. “Nothing serious. Go on, come find me if you get bored. Otherwise, I’ll get you
when we’re ready. There are a couple more stores across the street there. The end one always has neat wood carvings you
might like.”
She was watching my face as I spoke, her features softening. “Okay,” she said. “Thanks. See you in a bit?”
“Of course.”
I watched her head inside, then marched across to negotiate the sale of the jewelry, and get that name, as I’d said. Pulling
open the door, I held it with a hand as a second dragon followed me in.
“Thanks,” he grunted.
“No problem.”
I started to turn away, but the alarm bells going off in my head were telling me something was off about the other dragon, so
I let him pass me instead. As he walked in, I realized it was his dress that was the problem. It was too fancy for town. He was
someone to keep an eye on.
After he wandered through the store and out of sight, I went up to the counter and, after some back and forth, negotiated a
deal that neither of us liked. Which probably meant it was fair.
I was halfway back to the door when the outsider came around the corner of an aisle, blocking my path.
“Who are you?” I growled as he came to a stop before I spoke.
“A watcher.” The cool blue eyes didn’t flinch.
“You work for the Sovereign,” I said, making a bit of an assumption. The crispiness of the clothing was too much for one of
Kalann’s goons.
The other dragon dipped his head, the single braid of jet-black hair falling forward with the motion. I relaxed, tamping the
beast inside me as well, relieved that I wasn’t going to have to throw down in front of Samantha. I didn’t want to risk her
getting hurt.
“What do you want?” I said, speaking again before the agent could get his words out.
“Watching you,” he said. “Making sure everything is on the up-and-up with your agreement.”
I let my nostrils flare at the insinuation.
“This mating must be legitimate, Cade,” the other man said, not the least bit intimidated. Which was only to be expected.
The Sovereign didn’t employ wimps.
“I’m well aware of that,” I said, irritation rising. “I was there when the terms were laid out, and I agreed to them as well.
What I don’t appreciate is the implication that I would forget. I’m not stupid.”
The look I received in return didn’t seem so sure.
“So the Sovereign thinks I’m going to pull a fast one on her, does she?” I hissed, insulted.
Though perhaps not as much as I should have been, considering I had considered trying to do just that. But now I didn’t have
to. That was all before the discovery of my family ‘fortune.’ Once I unearthed that, then the deal with the Sovereign was off. I
wouldn’t owe anything to anyone. I would be free.
“The Sovereign is well aware that you have spent the past decades in the company of humans,” the agent said. “She knows
that you would do anything for money, just as they would. Up to and including faking it, or forcing yourself on her.”
Fire flared in me as I advanced on the agent, until smoke poured from my nostrils, a portent of things to come.
“I meant the bond,” the agent said hastily, raising his voice and backing up this time, until he was basically pressed against
the door to outside. “Your scale. Not physically.”
I stopped. They were afraid I would try to trap Samantha, by coming up with an excuse to slap a scale on her, and force the
bond between us. I snarled. Mostly because I had thought of doing just that as well, though I’d mostly discarded the idea after
meeting her. The thought of hurting Samantha was not a pleasant one.
My dragon bellowed in agreement.
“This must be done properly, Cade,” the Sovereign’s agent continued, not lowering his voice. “You can’t cut corners. There
is a process. Follow it. And don’t forget the deal.”
“Whatever,” I growled. “Get out of my sight.”
The agent just smiled, still not intimidated. “I’ll be in touch,” he said, pushing out the door and disappearing from sight.
I glared at where he had stood, imagining something heavy falling from the sky right onto the arrogant prick.
The door opened again.
“Who was that?” Samantha asked, standing in the opening, looking back outside.
 CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Samantha

“Don’t forget the deal.”

Deal? What deal? I hesitated outside the store, listening to the two dragons, but nothing more was said, other than that he
would be in touch. Then I had to scramble back as another dragon man came out of the trader’s store, nearly bowling me over.
He didn’t apologize.
I stepped around him, holding the door open, glancing at Cade inside.
“Who was that?” I asked, looking down the street at the fancily dressed shifter.
“Nobody,” Cade growled with a shake of his head, obviously in a mood now. “Just someone sticking their head where they
shouldn’t.”
“Don’t make me do it,” I warned, hoping the smile on my face would show I wasn’t being serious.
“Do what?”
“If you won’t elaborate, I’m going to have to do it.”
Cade blinked several times. “I’m lost.”
So I gave him my ‘one-eyebrow raised’ look.
The irritation washed off his face as he laughed. “All right, all right, you win,” he said, lifting his hands in mock surrender.
“So tell me, who was that?”
I didn’t mention that I’d heard the last of their conversation. Something about a process, and the deal. What deal had he
made?
“Someone from the sovereign,” he said. “I guess they’re just checking up on all the mated women or whatever.”
“Or whatever?”
He shrugged. “Probably making sure we don’t use you for toothpicks.”
I glared at him. “That’s not funny, you know, given that our people have been at war for most of the past year, and a lot of us
did die at your hands. I know you didn’t mean it that way, but—”
“No, you’re right,” he said without argument. “That was out of line, and I’m sorry.”
The abrupt apology was unexpected. Although it was the first time it had really been necessary, it was still oddly out of
character for him. He was very much an ‘I’m right’ sort of man. Dragon. Whatever. I wondered if he was being sincere then,
with his apology, or just saying it to shut me up?
But the look on his face mirrored the words, and even his eyes seemed troubled, more dark than I had ever seen them. No,
he meant this apology. Which of course, brokered the question of why? What had left him on edge?
He wasn’t telling everything. Something about that meeting had left him rattled as well, and it had to do with me. But what?
I longed to speak up, to demand that he explain everything to me. That he trust me. I wasn’t going to let myself be brushed
aside.
But how did I demand that of someone I’d met the day before? I couldn’t. Not yet.
“Cade.”
We both looked up at a call from the back of the store.
“That’ll be Serphin. Our order must be ready,” Cade said, gesturing for me to follow. I did, taking in the well-stocked
shelves of the trader. In rural human territory, it would have been called a general store. Because he did carry a little bit of
everything. Basic foods to lumber and building supplies, farming implements and more. Whatever you might need was
crammed somewhere.
“Did you get everything?” I asked as we approached the counter that ran the length of the back of the store.
Behind it, a tall dragon-man stood with crossed arms. He was older, though not elderly. Perhaps sixty, but a well-built sixty.
His hair was more silver than gray, tied back in a ponytail.
 “I did,” Cade replied, glancing at the other man, who I assumed was Serphin the trader. “Though it wasn’t easy. You drive a
hard bargain.”
The trader snorted. “Only regulars get deals. Sometimes. Newcomers to the area have to prove themselves first. Don’t act
surprised.”
I glanced at Cade, about to open my mouth to say he wasn’t a newcomer but had just been absent.
But Cade’s hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed. His eyes widened slightly, and I fell silent.
“Your stuff is out back,” Serphin said. “Thanks for your business.”
Cade smiled, not taking his hand off me. Instead, he drew me closer. “Thanks for the quick prep.”
I let myself be guided out back of the store, where a large sack with huge loops was sitting on a raised platform.
“Two questions,” I said, eyeing the odd contraption. “One, what’s with the bag?”
“So, I can carry it in my paws when I shift.”
All of a sudden, the huge, thick loops made total sense.
“Right,” I said, feeling silly for not figuring it out sooner.
“And the second thing?” Cade prompted as if he already knew.
“Why didn’t you tell Serphin you aren’t a newcomer? That your family has been here for years, and you’ve just been
away?”
I watched his face as I spoke, noting the lack of sparkle in his coppery eyes, the tightness of his cheeks. His lips
compressed, robbing them of much of their attractive fullness.
“Because,” Cade said. “I’m not ready for people to know I’m back. That anyone is living there again.”
“Why not?”
That time, he actually looked away, unable to continue locking gazes with me. Was he afraid of something I would see?
“Because I’m not,” he said softly. “I’m just … not ready for the attention that would come with it. The questions. The looks.
No. Not yet.”
The Maybe not ever wasn’t spoken, but it was there, nonetheless. Nor was he telling me the entire truth. Again.
“One day, Cade,” I said, reaching up to take his chin, forcing him to look at me and ignoring the tingle in my fingers where
they touched him. “One day, you’re going to have to tell me the truth. You’re going to have to stop hiding and pretending I can’t
see there’s more going on you aren’t telling me. You know that, right? You’re not so arrogant to assume I’m dumb and blind and
can’t see there’s something else going on, right?”
“I know,” he said stiffly.
“I’m not asking you to do so today,” I said, relenting. “We’ve known each other for twenty-four hours. Trust takes time, I’m
aware of that. I just need you to be aware that if we’re to make this work, somehow, crazy as it might be, you’re going to have
to let me in.”
“I know,” he repeated, shifting uncomfortably from side to side.
“Okay. Fine. Let’s go, then,” I said, gesturing at the large bag of supplies. It reminded me of one of those waste-disposal
bags contractors sometimes used. “Back to the house.”
“Not quite,” Cade said, already moving into the open to shift, eager to be done with the conversation.
“No?”
The giant golden dragon shook its head. “No. We need to make a tiny pit stop first. For that one other thing I traded for.”
 CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Samantha

I glanced to my left for the millionth time. Finally, I could hold it in no longer.
“Hey,” I said, leaning forward, tapping a hand against the bright gold scales on Cade’s neck.
The dragon head curled around on the elongated neck, both yellow eyes watching me closely, their catlike pupils narrowed
to nearly invisible slits in the sunlight.
“You said you didn’t want to tell anyone where we were going,” I said, pointedly shifting my gaze to the left again. “What
gives?”
Cade’s dragon head curled around the opposite side. The entire time his body stayed perfectly straight, flying unerringly
toward his home.
“Caliphon is a necessary exception.”
“Why?” I asked, trying to figure it out as my eyes ran along the faded cobalt scales of the huge monster of a dragon flying
along next to us, his wings creaking with every beat, loud enough I could hear across the distance. “He seems …”
“He’s old,” Cade confirmed. “But that doesn’t matter.”
I kept my mouth shut, thinking back to our arrival at Caliphon’s house—though hut was more accurate. The old blue dragon
kept mostly to himself, though he was apparently well known to the local community. They appreciated him, however, and
were reluctant to give up his location to outsiders.
Yet another reason Cade should have said who he was, but he refused. When we’d landed at the hut, the snorting, startled
old dragon had nearly charged us down until Cade’s shouting got through to him.
After that, they’d talked, though it was mostly Cade guiding Caliphon through a conversation. Most unusual.
“Are you going to tell me why it doesn’t matter, and what we need him for?” I asked.
“I would rather show you,” Cade said mysteriously, baring his dragon teeth in a smile that would have been terrifying if I
wasn’t getting used to it. “I know that’s not very helpful, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
The eagerness in his voice was the only thing that stopped me from pushing for more details. I fell silent as he turned back to
guide us in for a smooth landing. As always, he touched down without a bump.
Caliphon, meanwhile, landed heavily, his claws digging deep into the gravel landing pad as he tried to stick the landing and
failed. Bouncing heavily, the ancient blue dragon spewed stones everywhere. Cade casually lifted his wing to shield me from
the barrage, keeping it in place until the other dragon was firmly on the ground.
I slid off his wing, sticking close to Cade’s side. I had to remember Caliphon was a danger to me, even inadvertently. One
accidental swish of his tail or flick of his wings, and I would be nothing but paste.
“Come, Old One,” Cade said almost reverently, taking Caliphon’s arm and guiding him toward the house. “This way.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Caliphon muttered, letting himself be guided. “We have a mission to do.”
“Yes, the mission,” Cade agreed, shooting me a look that warned me to be quiet.
I didn’t say anything, though I did hurry ahead to open the front door for them. Cade nodded in thanks, his eyes lingering on
mine for a moment before we entered the dark house. There were windows everywhere, of course, but most of them were
either covered in dirt or overgrown, severely limiting the light that made it through.
Cade guided us to the center of the house, where he opened a door we hadn’t gone through the day before. Stairs led down
on the other side.
“I’m not that old,” Caliphon snarled as Cade tried to lead him down. “I can still walk.”
I bit my lip at the momentary lucidity. Caliphon seemed to wind his way in and out of sharpness, and when he was there, I
could only imagine the force he’d been when he was younger.
By the time we reached the bottom of the stairs, with Cade holding a hand above his head with a ball of flame to show me
the way, the elder dragon had already subsided into another fit of muttering to himself.
“Okay, we’re in the creepy basement,” I said, looking around at the boxes and bins piled high, everything covered in a layer
of thick dust and cobwebs. “Now, what?”
“Now,” Caliphon said, coming alive, his eyes glowing with blue light, “I show you a thing or two, young lady!”
The hair on my skin stood on edge as the air filled with a sudden freshness.
Cade whirled, laying his hands on Caliphon’s arm. “Not yet, Old One,” he said. “Not here. Soon. Very soon.”
“Of course, of course,” Caliphon said, subsiding, the odd pressure fading.
Shuffling forward, following a path left through the stored items, Cade led us to a large, circular metal wall. It was fifteen
or twenty feet in diameter, and when he grabbed a welded handle and pulled, I realized it was quite thick as well. The metal
creaked and groaned, and finally came loose. The rumble as it opened reverberated through the floor and up my legs.
“What on earth is this for?” I asked, staring in at the contraption of machinery inside that was still and dark. I stepped
forward, eager to inspect it.
A hand on my arm stopped me. “You’re going to want to stay out here,” Caliphon said, his voice deepening. “Trust me on
this one. Just stand back and watch the show.”
He stepped forward into the center of the ring. As he walked, his shoulders stiffened, his spine straightening. Years were
shed from his frame, and when he turned to face us in the center, his eyes once again glowed blue.
“Watch,” Cade said softly, cutting me off before I could speak.
The hairs on my neck stood up, and a second later, a lightning bolt shot from Caliphon’s hand. It hit a protrusion of the
machinery and was bounced back, where it was caught by another protrusion. The process repeated several times. Then
Caliphon raised both hands, and more lightning shot forth, bouncing wildly around the chamber in the center of the basement.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, the blinding coronal arc of electricity making everything glow blue.
Caliphon stood unperturbed in the center of it, lightning radiating from his body and around the center of the chamber,
bathing him in blue light. The ancient dragon grinned from ear to ear as he worked his hands in a circle, turning, more and more
electricity erupting from his body to become harnessed by the machinery.
Slowly, almost too slow to be perceived, the machinery began to move. Gears shifted and cracked into motion. Debris
rained down, speared through again and again by the lightning.
I stood and watched the lightshow in awe, Cade at my side, his attention also fixed on the performance. The machinery
started to move faster as Caliphon stood amid the fury of the lightning storm, constantly adding fresh bolts to the mix until every
point and protrusion flickered and bounced with a light.
“He’s charging it,” I whispered in amazement a second before the lights in the basement turned on. At least one of them
shattered, but more became lit than not.
“Yes,” Cade said, his face awash in a blue glow. “Yes, he is. He’s bringing it back to life.”
We watched the old dragon work. Caliphon was in his element, and it showed. Larger and larger bolts of lightning streamed
from his chest, and with each one that crashed into the machinery, it moved faster.
“Beautiful,” I murmured.
“Yes.”
Something about Cade’s voice caused me to look away from the light show only to find the dragon was staring down at me. I
flushed, looking away.
His hand caught mine. Stopping me. I flinched but didn’t pull back as his fingers threaded their way through mine. On
purpose.
“Thank you for this surprise,” I said softly, unsure Cade could hear over the roar of the machinery. “It was worth the
mystery.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you thought so.”
A different light was visible in his eyes now, a red-orange glow that fought back the blue until it was bright enough to cast
its shadows across his entire face. The hunger deep within …
My mouth dropped open, suddenly dry and parched. I licked my lips, my breathing a little shallower.
One of us swayed closer to the other. Was it me? Was it Cade? I didn’t know, but the distance between us shrank. I rose on
my tiptoes as he dipped toward me, one hand coming up to hold the small of my back. There was no running now. No backing
out. He was going to—
“There you go!” Caliphon grunted as he stepped out from the machinery, clapping his hands together, eyes still ablaze with
energy. “All charged up for you. A real pleasure working on a place as large as this. Most folks don’t let me near theirs
anymore.”
I pulled away from Cade as he was forced to turn and acknowledge the elder dragon.
“Well, I needed the best,” he said. “So, I got the best.”
The smile on Caliphon’s face could have blinded me.
“Now,” Caliphon asked, the energy fading, his shoulders slumping. “Where am I, and how do I get home?”
His moment was over as assuredly as mine was.
But unlike the ancient dragon, I wasn’t going to forget. How could I when my body still vibrated with nervous energy?
 CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Samantha

“Well, that was eventful,” I laughed as we touched back down after escorting Caliphon back home.
“Indeed,” Cade muttered, shaking his head, a motion that translated from dragon to human as he shifted. “The old rascal.”
I snickered, remembering the look on Cade’s face as we’d parted with the old electro-dragon, as they were termed, only for
Caliphon to grab my hand and start walking away, chattering to me as if I were his mate.
Cade had managed to extricate me, but not before Caliphon had tossed me a wink, showing he was faking the entire thing
just to get under Cade’s scales.
“Well, now, he’s gone,” I said. “And we have electricity.”
“We do.”
“Does that mean we have water?” I asked hopefully. “I would all but kill for a shower at this point.”
“We’ll have to go take a look at the water pump,” Cade said, leading me around the back of the house. “Once that’s fixed up,
you’ll basically be staying at the Ritz.”
I eyed the shabby exterior of the house as we rounded the back. “If you say so.”
He chuckled.
“Where are we going?” I asked as he headed straight for a line of bushes.
“The river,” he said. “It’s back this way. There’s a path, too. It just doesn’t look like it.”
“If you say so,” I repeated in the same tone.
“Trust me. It’s here. Just overgrown like everything else. My cousins and I used to race along here back in the day to get to
the river and the swimming hole.”
I perked up at the warmth in his voice as he talked about the past. He had the fondest memories of the place. I enjoyed
hearing him recant them, mostly because he was a different person when he reminisced. Happier. Until his mind caught up with
him, as it was doing now, and reminded him none of it was around any longer.
“I’ll come out here, clear all the growth,” he said, ducking under some branches, holding others out of the way to allow me
to pass. “Some work with the axe and shears, and this will clear right back up. You’ll see.”
“Of course,” I agreed.
“It’s worth it. The swimming hole, as we called it, is just beautiful. Perfect on a sunny day like today, in fact.”
“I’m sure it was,” I said.
“Is,” Cade corrected firmly.
“You can’t possibly know that. Things have changed. It could just be—”
I stopped talking as we cleared a rise and the swimming hole, as he put it, became visible.
“Is,” Cade said emphatically, smirking as we walked down the slight incline and out of the shade of the trees.
There was no point in denying him this victory as my shoes sunk slightly into the sandy shores. The river itself ran past at a
respectable pace, the sunlight glinting off its surface as it dashed against a rock, split around it, and continued to flow
downstream.
In front of us, a wading pool filled with river water waited, serene and calm, mostly separated by the faster moving water
by a sandbank, which allowed only a few handfuls of water to spill over the edge.
The word that came to mind was idyllic. There was just something so perfect about the setting.
“I could stay out here for hours,” I said, listening to the peace of the forest surrounding us.
Walking up to the edge of the water, I reached down to swish my hand through it, expecting it to be frigid.
“What the hell?” I asked, looking up sharply as warm, inviting water welcomed my intrusion. “How is this not freezing, or
at least cool?”
“Hot spring,” Cade said with a knowing smile. He must have expected that reaction. “The river, though …”
 I wandered over to the edge, dipping the same hand in. As I’d expected, the water was cold.
“That’s more like what I expected,” I said, standing up to look at Cade.
Only he wasn’t there.
I glanced around. “Cade?” I called, not immediately seeing anything.
“Over here,” came the muffled reply.
Hurrying around the swimming hole, I followed his voice a couple of dozen feet downstream. The sounds of activity were
loud, and when I stepped around a bush, it became clear what he was doing.
A pile of fresh debris had been cleared from a low-rising metal box perhaps six feet by ten feet.
“The water pump?”
“Yeah.” He started going to work on it. I watched as he wrapped his hands around a large bolt that held the lid on. Muscles
in his forearm, shoulder, chest, and core all tightened as he flexed. Metal shrieked terribly, and then the bolt gave way, turning
easily. Cade repeated the process twice more.
“I guess tools aren’t really necessary when you have dragon strength,” I said with a little laugh, still finding myself
surprised at the power these people possessed.
“For the big stuff,” Cade said, pulling the top off the cover and looking inside, pulling fistfuls of leaves and twigs out and
tossing them aside. “But I’m going to need some screwdrivers to take this mess apart. I’ll probably have to rebuild the entire
thing.”
He started poking and prodding around in the inside, continually tossing bits and pieces of stuff out as he went. At one point,
an entire animal nest came sailing over the edge.
“What’s the verdict?”
“Well, the drive belt is completely chewed through, and there are several fittings that have come loose, and I wouldn’t be
surprised if it needs several new capacitors. A new gauge … some pipe tape to resecure everything, of course, and possibly a
…”
I smiled and nodded. I knew what tape was. And gauges. But the rest was all mumbo jumbo to me. Cade seemed to know
what he was doing, though.
“So, can you get it up and going?” I asked.
“I should be able to, yeah,” he said, standing up, smacking his hands together to try to clean them off, though he only
partially succeeded. Some of the dirt was sticking. “Just not sure when.”
“Great,” I said with a half-smile.
“You do know you can go swimming if you want to get a bit cleaner, right?” he pointed out, leading us back to the heated
water’s edge.
“Yeah,” I said, eyeing the inviting water. “That’s true. I feel like I could use some as much as you look like it.”
“Hey, listen here, stinky, I’ll have you know I am freshly showered!” he said playfully.
My jaw dropped open. “Did you just call me stinky?”
Cade shrugged innocently. “I don’t think so? Maybe. It might have slipped out. I’m not so sure because I—hey!”
I shoved him hard toward the hot spring, and he stumbled backward, completely unprepared for my attack. He started to
recover, and I lifted a hand to point a finger at him to admonish him for calling me stinky.
But then his foot slipped unexpectedly on a wet rock, and he went backward, copper eyes widening in shock. He reached
for the closest thing to secure himself.
Which happened to be my pointed finger.
“Cade!” I had time to shriek before we both fell back into the pond, tumbling over one another until we were soaked from
head to toe in the warm water.
Getting to my feet, water dripping down my face, I put my hands on my hips. “Look what you’ve done!” I cried.
“Oh, I am looking,” Cade growled in a very different tone of voice.
I stiffened as the playfulness disappeared, replaced by something deeper. Something more primal. He stepped toward me,
and I froze, unable to move, watching his eyes as they landed on my chest.
My nipples, hardened by the sudden exposure to water and then the cool breeze wafting across the surface, had to be poking
through the thin shirt.
“Are you enjoying the view?” I asked, trying to sound bored and uninterested as I called him out for ogling my boobs.
 “Yes,” Cade said, stepping closer, no longer bothering to hide his reaction.
The water had plastered the clothing against his body as well, showing off his pecs, six-pack, and even—
My cheeks burned as I realized he was growing hard as he looked at me. At me.
I was making him hard. He wasn’t staring in shock. But because he wanted to because he liked what he saw.
Me.
“Samantha,” he rumbled, my name tumbling from his lips as he approached, entering my personal space, my bubble. Him
and his hard cock, rippling abdomen, and ohmygodishegoingtokissme—
He did.
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great wonder and astonishment of thousands, who from divers parts
came to see him.” Thus much of his cunning.
Yet notwithstanding, this most devillish and cunningly contrived
counterfeiting and dissimulation was discovered and fully detected
by the sagacity of that pious and learned person, Dr Thomas Morton
then Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield: To whose memory I cannot
but owe and make manifest all due respect, because he was well
known unto me, and by the imposition of whose hands I was
ordained Presbyter when he was Bishop of Durham, and also knew
his then Secretary, Mr Richard Baddeley, who was the Notary, and
writ the examination of this crafty Boy. The manner how such a
doubtful and intricate piece of Imposture was found out and
discovered, you may read at large in the Treatise called a Discourse
concerning Popish Exorcising. And his publick Confession we shall
give in the Authors own words: “He was finally brought again to the
Summer Assizes held at Stafford, the 26. of July, Anno 1621. where
before Sir Peter Warburton and Sir Humfrey Winch Knights, his
Majesties Justices of Assize, and the face of the County and Country
there assembled, the Boy craved pardon first of Almighty God, then
desired the Woman there also present to forgive him; and lastly,
requested the whole Country whom he had so notoriously and
wickedly scandalized, to admit of that his so hearty Confession for
their satisfaction.
“And thus it pleased God (he saith) to open the eyes of this Boy
(that I may so say) luto with the Clay of the Romish Priests lewd
Impostures, and sputo with the spittle of his own infamy, to see his
errors and to glorifie the God of truth. And though many such
Impostures as this have in several ages been hudled up in darkness
and recorded for true stories, by those that were Partisans to them
and Confederates with them, yet doubtless were but of the same
stamp with this, and might all as well have been discovered, if the
like care, skill and industry had been used.
5. No less Vid. The Hist. 5.
villanous, bloody arraignment and
and Diabolical, tryal of Witches at
Lancaster, 1612.
was the design of
Thompson alias Southworth, Priest or Jesuit, against Jennet Bierley,
Jane Southworth, and Ellen Bierly of Samesbury in the County of
Lancaster, in the year 1612. the sum of which is this. “The said
Jennet Bierley, Ellen Bierley, and Jane Southworth, were Indicted at
the Assizes holden at Lancaster upon Wednesday the nineteenth of
August, in the year abovesaid, for that they and every of them had
practised, exercised, and used divers devillish and wicked Arts, called
Witchcrafts, Inchantments, Charms and Sorceries, in and upon one
Grace Sowerbutts. And the chief witness to prove this was Grace
Sowerbutts her self, who said that they did draw her by the hair of
the head, and take her sense and memory from her, did throw her
upon the Hen-roost and Hay-mow; did appear to her sometimes in
their own likeness, sometimes like a black Dog with two feet, that
they carried her where they met black things like men that danced
with them, and did abuse their bodies; and that they brought her to
one Thomas Walsham’s House in the night, and there they killed his
Child by putting a nail into the Navil, and after took it forth of the
Grave, and did boil it, and eat some of it, and made Oyl of the bones,
and such like horrid lies.” But there appearing sufficient grounds of
suspicion that it was practised knavery, the said Grace Sowerbutts
was by the wisdom, and care of Sir Edward Bromley Knight, one of
his Majesties Justices of Assize at Lancaster, appointed to be
examined by William Leigh and Edward Chisnal Esquires, two of his
Majesties Justices of peace in the same County, and so thereupon
made this free confession. Being demanded “whether the accusation
she laid upon her Grandmother, Jennet Bierley, Ellen Bierley and
Jane Southworth, of Witchcraft, viz. of the killing of the child of
Thomas Walshman, with a nail in the Navil, the boyling, eating and
oyling, thereby to transform themselves into divers shapes, was true?
She doth utterly deny the same, or that ever she saw any such
practises done by them. She further saith, that one Mr. Thompson,
which she taketh to be Mr. Christopher Southworth, to whom she
was sent to say her prayers, did perswade, counsel and advise her, to
deal as formerly hath been said against her said Grandmother, Aunt
and Southworths Wife.
“And further she confesseth, and saith, that she never did know, or
saw any Devils, nor any other visions, as formerly hath been alledged
and informed.
“Also she confesseth, and saith, that she was not thrown, or cast
upon the Hen-roust, and Hay-mow in the Barn, but that she went up
upon the Mow by the wall side. Being further demanded whether she
ever was at the Church, she saith, she was not, but promised
hereafter to go to Church, and that very willingly; of which the
author of the relation gives this judgment.
“How well (he saith) this project, to take away the lives of three
innocent poor creatures by practice and villany, to induce a young
Scholar to commit perjury, to accuse her own Grandmother, Aunt,
&c. agrees either with the title of a Jesuit, or the duty of a religious
Priest who should rather profess sincerity and innocency, than
practise treachery! But this was lawful, for they are Hereticks
accursed, to leave the company of Priests, to frequent Churches, hear
the word of God preached, and profess religion sincerely.”
6. But we shall shut up the relating of Hist. 6.
these prodigious and hellish stories, of these
kind of couzening and cheating delusions and impostures, with one
instance more that is no less notorious than these that we have
rehearsed. About the year 1634 (for having lost our notes of the
same, we cannot be so exact as we should) there was a great
pretended meeting of many supposed Witches at a new house or
barn, in Pendle Forest in Lancashire, then not inhabited, where (as
the accusation pretended) some of them by pulling by a rope of Straw
or Hay, did bring Milk, Butter, Cheese, and the like, and were carried
away upon Dogs, Cats or Squirrels. The informer was one Edmund
Robinson (yet living at the writing hereof, and commonly known by
the name of Ned of Roughs) whose Father was by trade a Waller, and
but a poor Man, and they finding that they were believed and had
incouragement by the adjoyning Magistrates, and the persons being
committed to prison or bound over to the next Assizes, the boy, his
Father and some others besides did make a practice to go from
Church to Church that the Boy might reveal and discover Witches,
pretending that there was a great number at the pretended meeting,
whose faces he could know; and by that means they got a good living,
that in a short space the Father bought a Cow or two, when he had
none before. And it came to pass that this said Boy was brought into
the Church of Kildwick a large parish Church, where I (being then
Curate there) was preaching in the afternoon, and was set upon a
stall (he being but about ten or eleven years old) to look about him,
which moved some little disturbance in the Congregation for a while.
And after prayers I inquiring what the matter was, the people told
me that it was the Boy that discovered Witches, upon which I went to
the house where he was to stay all night, where I found him, and two
very unlikely persons that did conduct him, and manage the
business; I desired to have some discourse with the Boy in private,
but that they utterly refused; then in the presence of a great many
people, I took the Boy near me, and said: Good Boy tell me truly, and
in earnest, did thou see and hear such strange things of the meeting
of Witches; as is reported by many that thou dost relate, or did not
some person teach thee to say such things of thy self? But the two
men not giving the Boy leave to answer, did pluck him from me, and
said he had been examined by two able Justices of the Peace, and
they did never ask him such a question, to whom I replied, the
persons accused had therefore the more wrong. But the Assizes
following at Lancaster there were seventeen found guilty by the Jury,
yet by the prudent discretion of the Judge, who was not satisfied with
the evidence, they were reprieved, and his Majesty and his Council
being informed by the Judge of the matter, the Bishop of Chester was
appointed to examine them, and to certifie what he thought of them,
which he did; and thereupon four of them; to wit Margaret Johnson,
Francis Dicconson, Mary Spenser, and Hargrieves Wife, were sent
for up to London, and were viewed and examined by his Majesties
Physicians and Chirurgeons, and after by his Majesty and the
Council, and no cause of guilt appearing but great presumptions of
the boys being suborned to accuse them falsely. Therefore it was
resolved to separate the Boy from his Father, they having both
followed the women up to London, they were both taken and put into
several prisons asunder. Whereupon shortly after the Boy confessed
that he was taught and suborned to devise, and feign those things
against them, and had persevered in that wickedness by the counsel
of his Father, and some others, whom envy, revenge and hope of gain
had prompted on to that devillish design and villany; and he also
confessed, that upon that day when he said that they met at the
aforesaid house or barn, he was that very day a mile off, getting
Plums in his Neighbours Orchard. And that this is a most certain
truth, there are many persons yet living, of sufficient reputation and
integrity, that can avouch and testifie the same; and besides, what I
write is the most of it true, upon my own knowledge, and the whole I
have had from his own mouth more than once.
 Thus having brought these unquestionable Histories to manifest
the horrid cheats and impostures that are practised for base, wicked
and devillish ends, we must conclude in opposing that objection
proposed in the beginning of this Chapter, which is this: That though
some be discovered to be counterfeitings and impostures, yet all are
not so, to which we further answer.
1. That all those things that are now Reas. 1.
adayes supposed to be done by Demoniacks
or those that pretend possessions, as also all those strange feats
pretended to be brought to pass by Witches or Witchcraft, are all
either performed by meer natural causes (for it is granted upon all
sides that Devils in corporeal matter can perform nothing but by
applying fit actives to agreeable passives.) And miracles being long
since ceased, it must needs follow, that Devils do nothing but only
draw the minds of Men and Women unto sin and wickedness, and
thereby they become deceivers, cheats and notorious impostours: so
that we may rationally conclude that all other strange feats and
delusions, must of necessity be no better, or of any other kind, than
these we have recited, except they can shew that they are brought to
pass by natural means. Must not all persons that are of sound
understanding judge and believe that all those strange tricks related
by Mr. Glanvil of his Drummer at Mr. Mompessons house, whom he
calls the Demon of Tedworth, were abominable cheats and
impostures (as I am informed from persons of good quality they were
discovered to be) for I am sure Mr. Glanvil can shew no agents in
nature, that the Demon applying them to fit patients, could produce
any such effects by, and therefore we must conclude all such to be
impostures.
2. It is no sound way of reasoning, from Reas. 2.
the principles of knowing, either thereby to
prove the existence of things, or the modes of such existence, because
the principle of being is the cause of the principle of knowing, and
not on the contrary, and therefore our not discovering of all
Impostures that are or have been acted, doth not at all conclude the
rest that pass undiscovered, are diabolical or wrought by a
supernatural power; for it ought first to be demonstrated that there
are now in these days some things wrought by the power of Devils,
that are supernatural, in elementary and corporeal matter, which
never was nor can be, as from the testimonies of all the learned we
have shewed before. And therefore a man might as well argue that
there are no more thieves in a Nation, but those that are known, and
brought to condign punishment, when there may be, and doubtless
are many more; so likewise there are many hundreds of impostures,
that pass and are never discovered, but that will not at all rationally
conclude that those must be diabolical that are not made known.
 CHAP. XV.

Of divers Creatures that have a real existence in Nature, and yet

by reason of their wonderous properties, or seldom being seen,
have been taken for Spirits, and Devils.

Before we come to speak of Apparitions in Hist. 1.

general, we shall premise some few things
by way of caution, because there is not one subject (that we know of)
in the World that is liable to so many mistakes, by reason of the
prepossessed fancies of men, in adhering to those fictions of Spirits,
Fairies, Hobgoblins, and many such like, which are continually
heightned by ignorant education, and vain melancholy fears. We
shall not mention those many apparitions that are frequently
practised by forgery and confederacy, for base ends and interests, as
have been commonly used in the time of Popery, and attempted in
our dayes, though with little success. As also by other persons for
base lucre or worse intents, of which we have known some notorious
ones that have been discovered. Neither shall we speak of those
feigned ones that have been practised to hide thievery and roguery,
as we once knew that certain persons who stole mens sheep in the
night, did carry them away upon a thing made like a Bier covered
with a white sheet, by which means those that saw them took it to be
an apparition, and so durst not come near them, and so the most
part of the people of 3 or 4 Villages were terrified, and the report was
far spred that it was a walking spirit, and yet at last discovered to be
a cunning piece of knavery to hide their theft withal. Neither shall we
say any thing of those ludicrous apparitions that are often practised
to terrifie, abuse, and affright others. But we shall here give the
relation of some strange creatures, that seldom being seen or found,
have induced more ignorant persons to take them for Demons, and
these we shall enumerate in this order.
1. It hath been, Centur. 1. Hist. 9. p. Hist. 2.
and still is a strong 18.
opinion amongst the vulgars and Witchmongers also, that Witches
transforming themselves into diverse shapes, did in the night time
enter into peoples houses, and then and there suck the breasts or
navils of infants in their Beds or Cradles, that thereby they were
weakned or consumed away; which inveterate opinion was the more
firmly believed, because children that at night were very well, in the
morning were found to be very ill, and to have been sucked in the
places aforesaid. To clear which point take this Observation from the
learned pen of Thomas Bartholinus that was Physician to Frederick
King of Denmark, in English thus. “Three infants (he saith) of the
Pastor Fionens at Lyckisholm, which is a noble Mannor belonging to
the very illustrious Lord Christian Thomæus Sehsted, the Kings
Chancellor, Eques Auratus, and a most renowned Senator of
Denmark, my Mecænas, that were sleeping in their accustomed
Chamber, were not long after troubled with an unwonted bewailing
and inquietude, that they felt themselves to be sucked or milked of
something. The nipples of their breasts being diligently handled by
the Parents did confirm the Childrens suspicion, because they did
hang out like a Womans that did give suck. And to prevent this
fascination, the nipples of the breasts were anointed with
preservatives against poyson and other bitter things. Hereupon their
Navils were so worn with vehement suction, that not only they were
prominent or did hang out, but also did as it were shew the greatness
of the mouth that had sucked by the impression remaining. But the
Infants being carried forth of the Chamber, did from thenceforth rest
free from any suction, especially being carried in peoples arms. And
this Caprimulgus or Goat-milker, is by Bellonius said to be in Crete
of the bigness of a Cuckow, being very hurtful to the Goats, insomuch
that it sucketh milk from their dugs on the nights.” By which we may
plainly understand, how Creatures that are but seldom seen, or
whose properties are unknown, may easily effect those things that
ignorant heads may impute unto Witchcraft.
2. It is no less Isai. 34. 14. De quadr. l. 1. p.
believed by many, Isai. 13. 21. 862.
that those kind of Deut. 32. 17. Levit. 17. 7.
Creatures which 2 Chron. 11. 15. Psal. 106. 37.
are called Satyres
are but a kind of Demons; for learned Gesner reckoning them to be a
kind of Apes, doth tell us this: “Even as (he saith) the Apes
Cynocephali, or with Dogs-heads, have given the occasion of the
Fable, that some have thought such to be men: So Satyrs being also a
rare kind of Apes, and of greater admiration, some have believed
them to be Devils: also of some men deluded by the Poets and
Painters, as also Statuaries, who have feigned that they had Goats
feet and horns, the more to augment the admiration and
superstition, they have been thought Devils: when in Ape-Satyres
there is no such thing to be seen.” And this opinion hath been the
more strengthened because the most of the Translators have in the
Old Testament rendered the word ‫( ָׂש ִע יר‬which properly signifieth an
happy man or beast) a Goat, a Satyre, (as Gen. 27. ver. 11. Esau my
Brother is a hairy man; where the very same word is used) Demon,
or Devil. But it is plain that it did and doth signifie no more but only
Satyrs, as will appear by these reasons. 1. First, as our English
Translators have truly rendred it in that of Isaiah, And the Satyre
shall cry unto his fellow: for it is certainly related, both by ancient
and modern Navigators, that in those desolate Islands where there
are store of them, they will upon the nights make great shouting and
crying, and calling one unto another. And in another place of the
same Prophet it is said by the same Translators, and Satyres shall
dance there; dancing being one of the properties of that hairy
Creature, as a thing it is much delighted with, and so are but Satyres
that are natural Creatures and not Devils. 2. And though the same
Translators have rendred the plural of the same word, by the name
Devils, yet it there properly signifieth also Satyres; for though in
another place it be said; they sacrificed to devils, not to God, and so
again by the Psalmist, for they sacrificed their sons and daughters
unto devils; where in both places the word is ‫ ֵש ִד ים‬vastatoribus, to
the destroyers or to Devils; because in those Idols the Devils were
worshipped, and thereby destroyed the souls of men: 3. Yet it is
manifest that their Idols were formed in the shape of Satyres, in a
most terrible manner; for the late and most credible travellers that
have been in those parts of Asia, where those Idolatries are still
upholden, do unanimously relate that they make their Images or
Idols that they worship, as terrible and frightful as they can devise, as
may be seen in the relations of the Travels of Vincent le Blanc,
Mandelslo, and Ferdinand Mendez Pinto, and Mr Herbert our
Countryman gives us the Idol of the Bannyans in the ugly shape of a
monstrous Satyre. 4. So that though this worshipping and sacrificing,
in respect of its abominableness, filthiness and Idolatrousness, was
yielded to Devils, which spiritually and invisibly ruled in these
Children of disobedience, and was the Author of all those delusions
and impostures; yet it doth no where appear, that it was Demons in
the corporeal shape of Satyres (as many have erroneously supposed)
no more than the golden Calves that Jeroboam made, were real
Devils: but these Idols were made in the figure or shape of Satyrs or
hairy Creatures, as saith the Text: And he ordained him Priests for
the high places, and for the hairy Idols or Satyres, and for the Calves
that he had made. It is the same Hebrew word here that our English
Translators render Devils, that in the two former places of Isaiah
they translate Satyres; and as the Calves are not rendred Devils, why
should the Images that were like Satyres be translated so? Surely the
Devil was as much in the Calves, and as much worshipped in those
dumb Idols as he was in the dumb and dead Idols or Images of the
Satyres, and so no more reason to call the one Devils than the other.
But that which totally overthrows the conceit that they should be real
Devils in corporeal shapes and figures, is this, that both the Calves
and the Images of these Satyres were made by Jeroboam: now it is
manifest that he could not make a real Devil, but only Images of
Calves and Satyres, wherein and whereby the Devils might be
worshipped in those Idolatrous ways.
So that it is most Observ. Medic. lib. Hist. 3.
apparent, that 3. c. 56. p. 283.
these Satyres being seldom seen and of strange qualities, have made
many to believe that they were Demons; nay it seems their Images
and Pictures have been taken for Devils, and yet are but meer natural
Creatures, and by learned men accounted a kind of Apes, which we
shall now prove by an undeniable instance or two; and first this from
the pen of that learned Physician Nicholaus Tulpius, who saith thus:
“In our remembrance (he saith) there was an Indian Satyre brought
from Angola; and presented as a gift to Frederick Henry Prince of
Aurange. This Satyre was four-footed and from the humane shape
which it seems to bear, it is called of the Indians Orang antang,
homo silvestris, a wild man, and of the Africans Quoias morron,
expressing in longitude a Child of three years old, and in crassitude,
one of six years. It was of body neither fat nor lean, but square, most
able and very swift. And of its joints so firm, and the Muscles so
large, that it durst undertake and could do any thing; on the
foreparts altogether smooth, and rough behind, and covered with
black hairs. Its face did resemble a man, but the nose broad and
crooked downwards, rugged and a toothless female. But the ears
were not different from humane shape. As neither the breast,
adorned on both sides with a swelling dug (for it was of the feminine
Sex) the belly had a very deep navil; and the joints, both those above
and those below, had such an exact similitude with man, that one egg
doth not seem more like another. Neither was there awanting a
requisite commissure to the arm, nor the order of fingers to the
hands, nor an humane shape to the thumb, or a prop of the legs to
the thighs, or of the heel to the foot. Which fit and decent form of the
members, was the cause that for most part it did go upright: neither
did it lift up any kind of weight less heavily than remove it easily.
When it was about to drink it would hold the handle of the Kan
with the one hand, and put the other under the bottom of the Cup,
then would it wipe off the moysture left upon its lips, not less neatly
than thou shouldest see the most delicate Courtier. Which same
dexterity it did observe when it went to bed. For lying her head upon
the Pillow, and fitly covering her body with the Cloaths, it did hide it
self no otherwise, than if the most delicate person had laid there.
Moreover the King of Samback (he saith) Hist. 4.
did one time tell our Kinsman Samuel
Blomart, that these kind of Satyres, especially the Males in the Iland
of Borneo, have so great boldness of mind and such a strong
compaction of Muscles, that they have often forceably set upon
armed men; and not only upon the weak sex of Women and Girls;
with the flagrant desire of which they are so inflamed, that catching
them often they abuse them. For they are highly prone to lust (which
is common to these, with the lustful Satyres of the ancients) yea
sometimes so keen and salacious, that therefore the Indian Women
do eschew the Woods and Groves as worse than a Dog or a Snake; in
which these impudent animals do lie hid. And that this lascivious
animal is found in the Eastern Mountains of India; as also in Africa,
between Sierra, Liona, and the Promontory of the Mountain, where
(perhaps) were those places where Plinius lib. 5. cap. 5. affirmeth
that upon the nights there was seen to shine frequent Fires of the
Ægipanes, and to abound with the lasciviousness of the Satyres, who
do love craggy Dens and Caves, and shun the society of mankind,
being a salacious, hairy, four-footed Creature, with human shape and
a crooked nose. But that the foot of this Creature neither hath hoofs
nor the body every where hairs, but only the head, shoulders and
back. The rest of the parts are smooth, and the Ears are not sharp.”
So that from hence it is undeniably true, Enq. into vulg. err.
that there are such Creatures existent in l. 5. p. 271.
nature, and have been either taken for Devils or the Apparitions of
Demons in this shape of Satyres, as Doctor Brown hath well
observed in these words: “A conceit there is (he saith) that the Devil
commonly appeareth with a cloven foot or hoof, wherein although it
seem excessively ridiculous, there may be somewhat of truth; and the
ground thereof at first might be his frequent appearing in the shape
of a Goat, which answers that description. This was the opinion of
ancient Christians concerning the Apparitions of Pans, Fauns and
Satyres, and in this form we read of one that appeared unto Antony
in the Wilderness. The same is also confirmed from expositions of
holy Scripture; for whereas it is said; Thou shalt not offer unto
Devils, the original word is Sehhirim, that is rough and hairy Goats,
because in that shape the Devil most often appeared, as is expounded
by the Rabbins, as Tremellius hath also explained.”
But saving the reputation of learned Saint Hierome and Dr Brown,
it is but a supposition unproved that ever the Devil appeared in the
shape of a Goat, the rise of the opinion was only because the Devil
was worshipped in an Idol made in the shape of a Goat.
3. In a few ages Mund. Subter. l. 8 Enquir. into vulg.
past when Popish Sect. 4. c. 4. p. 101. errors. l. 4. c. 11. p.
ignorance did Idea Idear. operatr. 207.
abound, there was c. 6.
no discourse more Demonstr. Thes. p. Hist. 5.
common (which 679.
yet is continued amongst the vulgar people) than of the apparition of
certain Creatures which they called Fayries, that were of very little
stature, and being seen would soon vanish and disappear. And these
were generally believed to be some kind of Spirits or Demons, and
Paracelsus held them to be a kind of middle Creatures, and called
them non-Adamicks, as not being of the race of Adam; but there are
Authors of great credit and veracity, that affirm, there have been
Nations of such people called Pygmies. And though Doctor Brown
hath learnedly and elegantly handled the question, “Whether there
have been or are any such dwarfish race of mankind, as but of three
spans, not considering them singly but nationally, or not, and hath
brought the most probable arguments that well can be, to prove that
there are not nor have been any such race of people called Pygmies,
yet doth he moderately conclude in these words. There being thus
(he saith) no sufficient confirmation of their verity, some doubt may
arise concerning their possibility; wherein, since it is not defined in
what dimensions the soul may exercise her faculties, we shall not
conclude impossibility, or that there might not be a race of Pygmies,
as there is sometimes of Giants, and so may take in the opinion of
Austine, and his Commentator Ludovicus Vives. And though
Kircherus with his wonted impudence do conclude in these words:”
Fabulosa itaq; sunt omnia, quæ de hujusmodi Pygmæis veteres
Geographi à simplici populo sola relatione descripta tradiderunt:
Yet (I say) notwithstanding these negative arguments, I give the
relation of others (that are of as great or greater credit) in the
affirmative. And thus much is affirmed by that most sagacious and
learned person Marcus Marci, a late Physician of no mean judgment,
who saith thus: Quicquid tamen sit de his, Pygmæos & olim fuisse, &
nunc esse affirmamus. And besides the testimony of Aristotle,
Solinus, Pomponius Mela, and Ælian, he relateth these. “But those
(he saith) that have in our age viewed the World, the same do testifie
also, that there are yet Pygmies in the Island of Aruchet, one of the
Moluccas, and in the Isle Cophi, and such Pigasetta affirmeth that he
saw.” And though Doctor Brown seem to sleight it, yet (according to
the Proverb) one eye-witness is more to be credited than ten that
have it but by the ear. Odericus in his History of India doth report
also, “that there are such people of about three spans high,” which
also is confirmed by the later Odericus. And to these affirmative
proofs we shall add that of the learned Philosopher and Physician
Baptista Van Helmont, in English thus. “A Wine Merchant (he saith)
of our Country, a very honest man, sailing sometimes to the Canaries
or Fortunate Islands, being asked of me his serious opinion and
judgment upon certain Creatures, which there the Children as oft as
they would did bring home, and did name them Tudesquillos, or
Germanulos, that is little men; (the Germans call them Eard-
Manlins) for they were dead Carkases dried almost three foot long,
which any one of the Boys did easily carry in one hand, and were of
an human shape: But the whole dead Carkase was transparent like
Parchment, and the bones were flexible as grisles. Also the bowels
and intestines were to be seen, holden against the sun, which, when
after I knew to be a certain truth, from the Spaniards born there, I
considered, that in these days the off-spring of the Pygmies were
there destroyed.”
From whence all understanding and unpartial judgments may
clearly perceive, that these kind of Creatures have been really
existent in the World and are and may be so still in Islands and
Mountains that are uninhabited, and that they are no real Demons,
or non-Adamick Creatures, that can appear and become invisible
when they please, as Paracelsus thinketh. But that either they were
truly of human race endowed with the use of reason and speech
(which is most probable) or at least that they were some little kind of
Apes or Satyres, that having their secret recesses and holes in the
Mountains, could by their agility and nimbleness soon be in or out
like Conies, Weazels, Squirrels, and the like.
4. It hath been Histor. 11. 169. Centur. 2.
no less a mistake Hist. 6.
about those Fishes that are called Tritones,
Syrenes, Meirmaids, or Marine, and Sea-Men, and Women, which
have been by many supposed and taken to be Spirits, or Demons,
and commonly Nymphs, when indeed and truth they are reall
creatures, as these examples do make manifest. The first of which we
shall recite from the faithful pen of that learned Anatomist Thomas
Bartholinus, who was Physician to Frederick the third King of
Denmark, in these Englished words: “Various things (he saith) of
Meirmaids are extant delivered in the monuments of the Ancients,
that are partly false, partly true. It is not far from a Fable that they
held, that they did imitate the voices of Men and Women. But that
there are beasts found in the Sea, with humane faces (he saith) I shall
not deny. But I will not (he saith) sum up the accounts of the
ancients. For they are full of the stories of Meirmaids. Amongst the
later Authors, these have here and there handled this argument,
Scaliger (in lib. 2. Histor. Anim. t. 108.) Rondoletius, Licetus (de
Spont. vin. ort.), Marcus Marci (de Ideis) P. Boistuan (Histor. Gall.
prod. T. 1. c. 18.) At Enchuysen in Holland (he saith) the shape of a
certain Meirmaid is to be seen painted, that formerly had been cast
upon the shore, by the force of the waters. It is (he saith) in the
mouth of our common people, that a Meirmaid was taken in
Denmark, that did speak, foretel things to come, and spin. A Father
of the Society of Jesus returning forth of India to Rome, had seen a
Sea-Man there adorned with an Episcopal Mitre, who did seem to
have in the next corner, hardly born his captivity; but being let loose,
and turned into the Sea, did seem to render thanks for his liberty, by
bowing of his body before he went under water, which (he saith) the
Jesuit was wont to tell to Corvinus the elder, as his Son (he saith)
told me at Rome.” But this being but a story told to Bartholinus at
the second hand, and but primarily from the mouth of a Jesuit (who
doubtless had some design in it) I leave it to the judgment of the
Wise and Prudent. But he proceeds thus. “It is (he saith) most certain
that fishes are to be found in the Ocean, that represent Terrestrial
Animals in shape: As the Sea-Fox, the Wolf, the Sea-Calf, the Dog,
the Horse, &c. Therefore why should we deny humane shape to Sea-
monsters? Certainly also in the earth there are Apes, which wanting
reason, do express the external shape and gestures of Man. All Sea-
monsters of this sort we referr (he saith) to the kind of Phocæ or Sea-
Calves. There was (he saith) in the age we live in a Sea-Man taken by
the Merchants of the West-India Company, and dissected at Leiden
by Peter Pavius, John de Laet being present my friend (he saith) and
while he lived, a great and most knowing person of the things of
America and of Nature. The head and the breast even as far as the
navil was of an humane shape, but from the navil even unto the
extremities, it was deformed flesh, without the sign of a tail. But that
I may not (he saith) seem to impose upon the Reader, the hands and
ribs are to be found in my Study or Closet, which I owe to the
kindness of the praised Latius. We have (he saith) annexed the
Picture of both, as well of the Meirmaid erect, as of the image of it
swimming, that we might satisfie the dubitation of all men. The hand
doth consist of five fingers, as ours do, with as many articulations as
ours, but that only is singular, that all the bones of the fingers are
broader and compressed, and a membrane doth joyn them together
in course, as in volatiles, as Geese, Ducks, &c. which do help to
stretch forth the foot in the water. The extremity of the two middle
fingers are broader, the extremities of the other two sharp. The
radius and cubit are very short, for the commodiousness of
swimming, scarce the length of four fingers breadth. Neither is the
draught of the shoulder more ample. The ribs are long and thick,
almost exceeding common humane ribs a third part.
“Of the ribs (he saith) are beads turned or thrown, a present
remedy for the pain of the Hemorrhoides, which the praised Latius
hath observed by experience. Also (he saith) that Bracelets being
made of the bones of this kind of Phocas carried to Rome, applied to
the wrist do appease the Hemicrany, and swimming of the head,
which comes again, if they be laid away, as (he saith) the most
illustrious Nobleman Cassianus à Puteo, (most worthy of Roman
Purple) hath told me. The same Noble Puteus (he saith) hath shewed
me the picture of a Meirmaid in his Closet, which not many years
before, was driven to the shore of Malta. A certain Spaniard (he
saith) told me, that Meirmaids were seen in India having the Genital
members of Women, like those of humane kind, so that the Fishers
do bind themselves with an Oath to the Magistrate, that they have no
copulation with them. Bernardinus Ginnarus (lib. 1. c. 9. de Indico
itinere, edit. Neap. 1641.) doth relate that Meirmaids are seen, in the
vast River Cuama, near the head of Good-hope, which in the middle
superior part are like to the form of men, that is, with round head,
but immediately joyned to the breast, without a neck, with ears
altogether like ours, and so their eyes, lips and teeth. And that their
dugs being pressed do send forth most white milk.”
Therefore he concludeth: “There is (he saith) so great difference of
the form of Meirmaids, with the Ancients and Moderns, that it is no
wonder, that some do account them figments. We have (he saith) the
hands to be seen with eyes, and we shew the Meirmaids to be such,
as in truth they are seen to be. Neither do the hands and ribs deceive,
whose Pictures we have given framed according to the truth of
nature.”
5. But besides Genial. dier. l. 3. c. Hist. 7.
these there are 8. p. 134.
other Fishes or Sea-monsters, that in all parts resembled Men and
Women, as these examples make manifest. Alexander ab Alexandro,
a person of great learning and experience, relateth: “That in Epirus a
Triton or Sea-Man was found, who forth of the Sea did ravish
Women being alone upon the shore: But being taken by cunning, he
did resemble a Man with all his members, but did refuse meat being
offered, so that he died with hunger and wasting, as being in a
strange element.
6. Also Lib. de verit. fid. Hist. 8.
Ludovicus Vives Christ. l. 2.
doth tell us this story: “in our age (he saith) with the Hollanders, a
Sea-Man was seen of many, who also was kept there above two years,
he was mute, and then begun to speak: But being twice smitten with
the Plague, he is let loose to the Sea rejoicing and leaping.”
7. In the year of Vid. Ideam Idear. Hist. 9.
our Lord 1403. operat. c. 6.
there was taken a Sea-woman in a lake of Holland, thrown thither
forth of the Sea, and was carried into the City of Haerlem; she
suffered her self to have garments put upon her, and admitted the
use of bread, milk and such like things: Also she learned to spin, and
to do many other things after the manner of Women, also she did
devoutly bend her knees to the image of Christ crucified, being
docible to all things, which she was commanded by her Master, but
living there many years, she alwayes remained mute.
8. To these we Stows Annal. p. 157. Hist. 10.
shall conclusively Britan. p. 412.
add one story of sufficient credit from our
own English Annals, which is this: “In the year 1187. being the 33th
year of the Reign of Henry the second, near unto Oreford in Suffolk,
certain Fishers of the Sea took in their nets a fish having the shape of
a man in all points, which fish was kept by Bartholomew de Glanvile,
Custos of the Castle of Oreford, in the same Castle, by the space of
six months and more for a wonder; he spake not a word. All manner
of meats he did gladly eat, but most greedily raw fish after he had
crushed out all the moisture. Oftentimes he was brought to the
Church where he shewed no tokens of adoration. At length when he
was not well looked to, he stole away to the Sea, and never after
appeared.” The learned Antiquary Mr. Camden tells this same story
from Radulphus Coggeshall, an ancient writer, and that “Capillos
habebat, barbam prolixam & pineatam, circa pectus nimium
pilosus erat, & hispidus: and concludeth: Quicquid nascatur in parte
naturæ ulla, & in mari esse, & non omnino commentitium est.”
By all which examples we may be Lib. de Spectr.
rationally satisfied, that though these prim. part. c. 11. p.
creatures have a real existence in nature, yet 61.
because of their strange natures, shapes and properties, or by reason
of their being rarely seen, they have been and often are not only by
the common people but even by the learned taken to be Devils,
Spirits or the effects of Inchantment and Witchcraft. And therefore
men that would judge aright must take heed that they be not
deceived and imposed upon by relations of this nature, and also of all
such things as may be acted by Imposture and confederacy, and
those other Physical things that are brought to pass by natural
causes, divers sorts of which are recited by Ludovicus Lavaterus very
largely, to which I recommend those that desire further satisfaction
in those particulars.
 CHAP. XVI.

Of Apparitions in general, and of some unquestionable stories

that seem to prove some such things. Of those apparitions
pretended to be made in Beryls and Crystals, and of the Astral
or Sydereal Spirit.

In this Treatise we have before sufficiently proved that the denying of

the existence of such a Witch as doth make a visible contract with the
Devil, or upon whose body he sucketh, or that hath carnal copulation
with a Demon, and that is transubstantiated into a Cat or a Dog, or
that flyeth in the air; doth not inferr the denial of Spirits either good
or bad, nor utterly overthrow the truth of apparitions, or of such
things as seem to manifest some supernatural operations. And
therefore here we shall fully handle the question of Apparitions, and
things that seem to be of that nature, and that in this order.
1. We shall not meddle with Apparitions in the large extent of the
word, for so it may comprehend the appearing of new Stars, Comets,
Meteors and other Portents, and Prodigies, which (though unusual
and wonderous) have yet their production from natural causes. But
only here we shall treat of such apparitions as are taken to be
performed by supernatural creatures, or in such a way and by such
creatures as we commonly account to be different from (if not above)
the power of ordinary and visible nature, as of Angels good or bad,
the Souls of men departed, or their Astral Spirits, or of some other
creatures that are, or may be of a middle nature.
2. As for the Luke 2. 26. to 39. Judg. 13.
apparitions of Math. 2. 12, 13, 19. Math. 1. 20.
good Angels sent
by God in times past, both in sleep and otherwise, the Scriptures do
give us most full and ample assurance, as these few instances may
undeniably demonstrate. 1. That an Angel of the Lord (that is a good
Angel) did appear visibly unto Manoah and his wife, and did vocally
and audibly talk and discourse with them both, and did after in both
their sights openly and visibly ascend in the flame that did arise
from the altar. Now a more plain and indubitable apparition visibly
seen and audibly heard than this cannot be found nor read of, having
the unquestionable authority of sacred writ to avouch it. 2. Another
parallel unto it, and of equal authority, verity and perspicuity, is the
sending of the Angel Gabriel unto the Virgin Mary, her seeing of
him, hearing of his salutation, having discourse with him, and seeing
his departure, both which are undoubted testimonies of the true, and
real appearance of good Angels even to sight and hearing. 3. That
sometimes the good Angels have been sent to the servants of God,
and have appeared and spoken unto them in dreams; as that the
Angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream, and bade him
to take unto him Mary his wife, which was a blessed, and clear
apparition, though in a dream in his sleep. And likewise by the
appearing of an Angel unto him in a dream, he was warned to take
the child, and his mother, and to flee into Ægypt, and also again was
commanded by an Angel, after the death of Herod, that appeared in
a dream, and bade him to take the young child and his mother, and
to go into the land of Israel.
3. Of the visible apparition of evil Angels Luk. 8 .26. to 37.
we scarce have any evidence at all in the
Scriptures, except we should take supposals for proofs, or disputable
places to be certain demonstrations, or wrest and hale the word of
God to make it serve our preconceived opinions. For I do not find
any one place in all the Scriptures, where plainly and positively any
apparition of evil spirits is recorded, or that by any rational and
necessary consequence such a visible appearance can be deduced or
proved: For we have clearly proved that the tempting of Evah by the
Serpent doth not necessarily inferr, that it was by a visible
apparition, but by a mental delusion; and that that of Saul and the
Woman of Endor, or the Mistriss of the bottle, was neither Samuel in
Soul and Body, nor his Soul alone, neither the Devil in his shape we
suppose we have evinced past answer; and that the tempting of our
blessed Saviour by Satan was internal or at least the greatest part of
it; so that there doth remain but little of certain proof of the