To Claim a Dragon Read online

  To Claim a Dragon

  The Dragon Fae, Book 1

  Lisa Kumar

  Cover art: Art_tist

  Editing: Write Story Editing

  Copyright 2019 Lisa Kumar

  Electronic Edition

  This is a work of fiction, so any resemblance to persons, locales, or events is purely coincidental. The characters, locales, and events are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please go to a retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Other Books by Lisa Kumar

  Mists of Eria:

  Bound to His Fate

  Bound by the Mist

  Bound to the Elvin King

  Bound to His Redemption

  Love in Time:

  An Earl in Time

  Saving Lord Avingdale

  The Faerin:

  Crashing into You (previously published in the Crashing into Love boxset)

  Claiming Riley (coming soon; previously published in the Like a Firework boxset)

  Other Titles:

  The Fae Lord’s Lady

  Fey Marked

  Santa for Christmas

  Charming the Rockstar (coming soon—previously published in the Rock Stars: Our Songs boxset)

  Hearts of Tar (coming soon)

  The New Earth Chronicles:

  The Fae Lord’s Mistress

  The Fae Lord’s Companion

  To Claim a Dragon

  Copyright © 2019 Lisa Kumar

  All rights reserved.

  Discover these titles by Lisa Kumar at Amazon.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Copyright Page

  To Claim a Dragon

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Discover more titles by Lisa Kumar at:

  OTHER BOOKS BY LISA KUMAR | Bound by the Mist | (Mists of Eria Book One)

  Excerpt

  Bound to the Elvin King | (Mists of Eria Book Two) | InD'tale's 2015 RONE (Reward of Novel Excellence) Award Winner for Fantasy/Sci-fi

  Excerpt

  The Fae Lord’s Mistress | The New Earth Chronicles, Book 1

  Excerpt

  To Claim a Dragon

  When Lord Eacion, leader of the dragon fae, visits Anni Brownston’s village, he takes over her life for a day—and one glorious night. But when the next morning dawns, will Eacion’s rash actions and her own fears about her lame leg kill any future between them and consign her to a fate they will both abhor?

  Dedication

  A special thanks to my family, especially my mom, who happens to be the number one supporter of my stories. Also, a shout-out to Jessica. You started out as a fan but have become a dear online friend.

  Chapter 1

  “Isn’t this wonderful?”

  Anni Brownston frowned at her friend and squashed the urge to roll her eyes. Really, all this fuss seemed silly. So what if their liege lord and his entourage were visiting? After they left, life would continue on. “It’s okay, I suppose.”

  Janaa giggled. “I love how the village looks. It’s so festive!”

  Yeah, that was one way to view it, though to be fair, it was quite lovely. She’d never seen so much garland festooning the cobblestone streets. And everyone was bustling around as if they were losing their minds. She twisted sideways to avoid an older woman who was about to crash into her, doing her best to ignore the dull ache in her left leg. After she joined Janaa again—this time limping more than usual, if it was possible—the two strode together until a less busy place at the edge of the village square called to them.

  At least the sun was shining, and the warm spring morning was a welcome respite from what had been a lingering winter’s cold. They paused near a crooked tree, which Anni leaned against gratefully. Dang, when she’d avoided that woman, she must’ve strained something because her knee was twinging more than usual. Patting the rough bark of the tree, she smiled to herself. She had an affinity to this beleaguered piece of wood. She was crooked herself. Well, her leg was. Funny how that feeling of solidarity worked. But, really, her leg wasn’t so different from the tree. They were both twisted and weathered looking. Very few people outside of her immediate family and Janaa accepted her for how she was. Men certainly didn’t, not that she cared. Most were shallow creatures who only thought with their equipment down below.

  Janaa bounced on the balls of her feet, drawing her attention back to the moment. “Aren’t you excited?”

  Anni sighed internally and flicked a pesky lock of brown hair from her eyes. Her friend wasn’t going to let this go. It’d been Janaa’s favorite subject for days, after all. So she might as well answer. “Why would I be? Their arrival will have no long-lasting impact on our lives, least of all mine.”

  Her friend planted her hands on her ample hips. “The dragon fae come every twenty years! This will be our first time seeing them.”

  “And likely our last time, too, unless we’re fortunate enough to live to forty.”

  Her friend’s blond brows lowered into a scowl. “Must you always be a killjoy?”

  Anni’s lips nearly twitched into a smile. She straightened from her slouch against the tree and knocked her shoulder into Janaa’s. “It’s in my nature, you know.”

  “I think you just like being grumpy and acting like you don’t care.”

  “Ahh, is it an act or reality?”

  Janaa crossed her arms. “With you, who knows.”

  She nodded, satisfied. “And that’s the way I like it.”

  Her friend made a sound of exasperation. “Come on, you curmudgeon. Let’s get ready for the dragon fae. At least we’ll have new males to gawk at for a few days.”

  Anni sniffed. “Speak for yourself. I don’t gape at anyone, no matter how pretty.”

  “Or handsome.”

  Anni nodded resolutely. “Correct.”

  “Still, I have plenty of gawking to do for both of us, so let’s get going. Anyway, you do want to look presentable.”

  Anni glanced down at her faded blue dress that had seen weekly wear for the last few years. “What’s wrong with this?”

  “I think you mean, ‘what’s not wrong with it?’” Janaa asked, a brow arched.

  “It’s not that bad.”

  “If you’re planning to clean the house, it’s acceptable. To see handsome fae dragon lords...it’s horrendous. Either Mother or I will have something for you.”

  Sensing this was a battle she couldn’t easily win, Anni waved a languid hand. “Fine. Work your magic on me. Turn me from pig sop into something decent so I don’t shame the whole town.”

  Janaa snorted. “You’re laying it on a bit thick, but challenge accepted. Here’s to the perks of being the daughter of a seamstress and a tailor.”

  Should she be a bit worried? Probably so, but if it made Janaa happy, she’d give her some leeway. Some.

  ANNI PULLED AT THE low-cut neckline of her borrowed blue gown, trying and failing miserably at yanking it up
higher. Her chest was dangerously exposed with a hint of cleavage showing. Where was the nearest tree to hide behind when she needed one? Thank her stars, most everyone was already gathered in the town center. She sent a considering glance back at Janaa’s modest home from where they stood on the sidewalk. Though it would pain her leg, she could bolt for the door and hold onto the knob or frame for dear life if Janaa tried to pull her away. Or if she could get inside, she could lock herself in one of the—

  “Will you stop glowering as if you want to kill something?”

  She shot a dark look at Janaa, who was looking much too smug. “Or someone. Why did I ever let you convince me that this gown was a good idea?”

  Janaa caught her hand and pulled her away from the comforting shadows of her house. “You didn’t. You’ve been complaining about the gown ever since I brought it out.”

  “It should’ve remained in the closet. It looked much better in there.”

  “Oh, hush. You’re beautiful in it and are lucky we’re the same size from the waist up.”

  Anni dragged her feet, all but stopping. Her friend halted, too. Though she knew Janaa only meant to offer support, those words only entrenched the fear deeper. “I don’t want beautiful. I want plain, ordinary.”

  Anything else just garnered her more stares, and she received enough of those as it was. With the newcomers in the form of the dragon fae, now she’d only get more. She shuddered. Even if her face was acceptable enough, her limp was not. Being a freak show wasn’t her idea of a grand time.

  “You’ll do fine.”

  Anni scowled. “Not helping. I don’t want to do anything, let alone fine. I’m not looking for a beau or a man friend.”

  “Why not?” Janaa sighed, frustration coating the sound. “Even if you don’t marry, surely you’d like male company before you die?”

  Anni gritted her teeth at this sore point of contention between them. “You might like men and even being intimate with them, but you know why I scorn them.”

  “Your leg? A gentleman would look past that.”

  “Yeah, for the chance to bed the Limping Ice Princess, but after? They’d be gone faster than Cook Berry’s fresh donuts.”

  Janaa planted her hands on her hips. “You give men too little credit.”

  “And you give them too much. You, of all people, should know their nature.”

  “A few bad seeds don’t sour them all.”

  Anni crossed her arms and glared at her friend. Janna returned the favor. A few bad seeds? It seemed all the men her friend ran into were exactly that. Janaa wasn’t a whore by any means, but she’d fancied herself in love enough times that she’d lost all pretense of innocence long ago. Everyone knew of it, too. The boy that’d taken her virginity had made sure of that.

  Though it was unfair, it’d given her a reputation as easy, so more than one man had sweet-talked his way between her thighs. When he invariably left or cheated, Anni was the one who had to console her friend and help her carry on. Part of her wondered why Janaa kept putting herself through that pain. The sex couldn’t be that good. In fact, Janaa often said it wasn’t. So what was the allure?

  Shrugging it off as a mystery she’d probably never discover the answer to, she calmed her nerves. Snapping off Janaa’s head wasn’t going to help. Her friend’s face was already softening into a contrite expression that she knew well. Anyways, her parents expected her to be in attendance. As the mayor’s daughter, Anni did have to keep up appearances, or so her mother said. Too bad Anni didn’t always know what that encompassed or why it even mattered. Everywhere she went, whispers about the poor, lame daughter of the mayor followed in her wake. One would think that her growing up amongst them all would kill off some of the talk.

  But that was neither here nor there. She had a tiff to resolve. Touching Janaa’s arm, she smiled. “I don’t want to argue on this day.” Or any day. “Let’s go.”

  “Me, either. Go?” Janaa shook her head as if confused. “As in go to the town square?”

  The excitement seeping into Janaa’s voice lightened her heart. She’d go just to make her friend happy. Surely, no harm could come of that.

  She allowed a slightly forced grin to come to her lips. “Of course go to the town square.”

  Chapter 2

  Anni grimaced at her first good look at the town square and the area surrounding it. Too many people by far. Most of the townsfolk had already arrived and were amassed in large, barely organized crowds. The expectation permeating the air only soured her mood further.

  Janaa shook their interwoven arms as if to get her attention. “It’s so beautiful.”

  “It’s fine.”

  The splendor of the village square would’ve taken Anni’s breath away if she weren’t so preoccupied with just getting through this whole wretched event with a shred of dignity intact. Flower garlands adorned lampposts, and all the sidewalks and streets had been carefully swept. Banners stretched from one side to another.

  All that was missing was the feast that one would usually expect during any grand visit. That would come later in the evening. Though the dragon fae would partake in the festivities, they always refused any invitation to stay more than one night. In the meantime, her father was to give them a cursory showing of the village. She could imagine how exciting that would be to the fae, with their supposedly ethereal cities.

  She and Janaa weaved through a crush of people and worked their way toward the front. Her father and the council really had spared no expense to deck out the square and the surrounding area. What they hoped to accomplish, she didn’t know. Though the dragons of Aglensia might “rule” over them, they were mostly content to leave them alone. In that same vein, Lord Eacion, their liege lord, was benevolently distant. After hundreds of years, he seemed inclined to remain that way. So why try to impress him and his people? Even more, why did he bother with these visits? Whatever reason that had established these official calls had been lost to time. Now it was just tradition—an expensive one for her people that tended to empty the larder to an alarming degree. So, really, what did the village get out of it?

  Sure, they got to have a huge festival, but as soon as the dragons left, everything would go back to how it had been. Boring and normal. She liked boring and normal. Too bad those coveted qualities had to be interrupted.

  Anni sighed, reminding herself that most of the townspeople didn’t have much else to look forward to. Their simple, often hard lives were spent in the same daily toils. Though her family was fairly well-to-do, many others weren’t. Even if they did whisper about her, she shouldn’t begrudge them their pleasures. They received far less of them than they should.

  For their sake, she’d put on a happy face and then slip away when she could. Such a plan had always worked quite well in the past, so what could go wrong with it now?

  She and Janaa found the perfect spot—off to the side but still toward the front. It would even be enough to pacify her parents. Now, the waiting began.

  EACIAN SNIFFED THE air current. A most enticing smell drifted upon it. He flew a bit farther ahead of his entourage, and the aroma made his snout twitch in anticipation.

  His son drew near. “Father, what is it?”

  He didn’t glance at the other adult dragon fae. “Not now, Tancion.”

  The scent kept pulling him forward. His heart sped with hope. Was it possible after all these years? There was only one way to be sure. He’d search for the owner of the scent and find out. By the great dragon, to think that all these centuries, he might find her!

  His talons flexed. No, he couldn’t allow himself to go too far down that mental path. He’d been disappointed before, so much so that he’d given up hope of ever finding the one who would be his true mate.

  Still, if these visits of frustration and tedium finally ended, he’d be eternally grateful. They were wearisome events that tired his soul and mind. He’d waited so long that he sometimes thought he couldn’t stand to see another year pass. But pass they did.
He’d always carried on for his people—and his son and extended family. Duty was a motivator of its own kind, though, admittedly, it was a cold bed partner.

  A voice reached his ears. “My lord Eacian, please hold up.”

  Eacian made a grumbling noise at his bothersome advisor. “Not now, Anvin.”

  He didn’t care if he was being abrupt. Apologies could be made later, if need be. All he could focus on right now was that scent and what it might mean—for him and his human mate. Most humans were all too ready to bind themselves to a fae, so surely she would be of the same mindset.

  The sooner, the better. He couldn’t wait long to claim her.

  Chapter 3

  Loud murmurs broke out, ripping Anni’s attention away from Janaa. Ester, the inn’s cook, was pointing toward the sky with one shaking, chubby finger. Anni glanced up, not sure what could be exciting so much interest.

  She squinted. Were...were those glittering shapes in the distance? A few seconds passed before the realization of what they were socked her in the stomach.

  The dragon fae. It...it was them.

  Shock held her immobile for a few seconds as she stared at the sky. She hadn’t considered they’d make a flying entrance. Awe and a bit of fear mixed in her gut.

  The large, gem-colored bodies glistened in the afternoon sun. All contained a combination of vibrant hues. Shades of blue, green, and gold graced the lead dragon who was flying slightly ahead of the others. For some reason, that one held her gaze more than the others.

  The creatures circled around overhead like she’d seen birds do. But these were no birds. When she’d thought of dragon fae, she hadn’t pictured this. In truth, she really hadn’t pictured anything beyond the vague.

  She gripped onto her crossed arms tightly as the sleek creatures glided lower. The iridescent scales of their long, surprisingly elegant wings resembled the brightest of jewels. Nervous anticipation explored through her veins like a shot of alcohol that her parents always frowned upon. The feeling that something was about to change her life drilled into her head with a ferocity that almost sent her to her knees.