Chapter 1
Sir Keyon
Despite the disappointed cries from the female onlookers, I pulled my clothes on and strode toward the covered cage we’d used to move the liberated slaves. My team had taken turns shifting into our dragons and hauling the cage across the territory. I’d taken the burden on the last leg of the journey as my soldiers were looking a little bedraggled. Yes, I was the knight general, but if I deemed myself above any exertion, I wasn’t fit to be a leader. How else would a leader know what was possible for their troops if they didn’t lend a hand on occasion?
This particular trip made me realize that it was far more exhausting to move something as fragile as living bodies than anything else. You had to exercise more control over your movements, which put your body in a state of near constant tension. You also needed to stay more alert and aware of your surroundings. I made a mental note to bring more squires on our next den raid; the problem was that we never knew how many slaves we’d find. One of these days, we’d be severely underprepared, and that was a discussion I intended to have today.
Keys jingled and jangled in my hands as I searched for the iron mate to the cage’s lock. The weary individuals inside the container were quiet, just staring at my busy hands. I was grateful they weren’t clawing at the door. I wasn’t feeling up to a good trample today.
Make the women go last so we can stand clear of them, Toast said.
I ignored my dragon and unlocked the door. I waited a moment before opening it to give my traditional short speech to the rescued humans and shifters. “Welcome, Reborn! It may be a citizen’s duty to serve the crown, but today, let the crown serve you! We will provide you with temporary housing, food, medical care, and work until you can support yourselves. Orphans will be placed in foster homes until they can be adopted. If they are not adopted by the time they are of age, we will provide them with employment. School is mandatory.
“Females, women, hatchlings, pups, cubs, children—all are to leave first. Form a line and do not go faster than a walk, please! Any strong individuals are welcome to assist in moving out the injured or elderly; otherwise, we’ll retrieve them last. You will be met with servants on the left side who will give everyone water and food! There is plenty, so do not rush. After, please stand in the designated area until you’re called.” I opened the cage door and let the poor liberated souls begin their second chance at life.
The dry grass crunched under my boots, and I frowned at the thought of the shoeless young walking across it. I summoned a servant to my side and said, “Please roll a large tarp out in the waiting area so they’re not standing in this sharp, dead grass. Please and thank you.” The servant scurried off to perform his task, and I sighed, watching the unloading with satisfaction.
Of everything I’d done in the name of our king, I had to say that this was the project that pleased me the most. Going to war with another country was a bitter experience because you knew you were fighting people who simply wanted to live their lives on their farms or just watch their children grow. Raiding a den full of slave traffickers, however, was a delicious experience. I got to slaughter those who truly deserved to bleed. I’d seen disturbing things in battle… but some of the things I’d witnessed in these slave dens had nearly made me lose all faith in our future as dragon-shifters. Every time I thought I’d seen the worst we were capable of as a species, I was proven wrong in the next raid.
I shook myself out of old memories and brought my mind back to the present. Seeing as how everything was going smoothly, I left the rest of the work for the rehabilitation team. I raised a hand, signaled for my soldiers to retire, and strode across the field to make my report.
I groaned quietly to myself at the crowd that blocked my exit from the field. Throngs of women and female dragon-shifters were huddled by the fences, right where I needed to pass. I grumbled under my breath and pulled my gloves from my pockets. Terror radiated from my dragon, and I fought his urge to take control of my movements.
They’re waiting for us, Toast warned nervously. They always know when we’re coming. How do they always know? Who tells them?
They won’t hurt us, I said for the millionth time. I wanted to look at the maidens, but it would only agitate Toast. Well, maybe I didn’t want to look at them. It was just a tease of what I couldn’t have, what I hadn’t been able to have since I’d turned eighteen so many, many years ago.
Don’t go that way. Go to the other fence. They will swarm and attack!
Not going to happen, Toast.
You wouldn’t know until it’s too late!
Toast, when was the last time a woman attacked us? I asked, and he went silent, but I could still feel his fear. It grated on me. As much as I felt for him, his gynophobia was a cage, and I was trapped miserably in it with him.
I tried leaving by one gate, but it was immediately swarmed by maidens looking to get my attention. It would have been extremely flattering if I was able to do anything about it, but alas, my dragon had been cock-blocking me for twelve years. To say I was sexually frustrated was the understatement of the millennium. I gave the maidens a curt smile and bowed slightly. “Ladies,” I acknowledged and moved to squeeze past them. They sighed and moaned dramatically at my inattention.
I strode down the covered walkway to the palace, wondering if I’d hit a new record for needing to masturbate since returning home. How many minutes had it been?
“If it isn’t the world’s most eligible bachelor!” a mocking voice called out from an intercepting pathway. I sent a very tolerant half-smile to my friend, Leofwine, before aggressively smacking the shit out of the back of his head.
“You’re lucky you’re so good-looking that I can’t bring myself to break your face, Leof,” I grumbled. “One of us has to get laid, and you’re our biggest hope.”
He grinned and rubbed the back of his head like I’d severely hurt him. His white teeth and long fangs flashed brilliantly against his obsidian skin. The bastard was pretty, and he was well aware. He’d probably gotten laid last night. Bastard.
“How’d the raid go?” Leofwine asked as he escorted me to our meeting.
“Rather well, but some of the big players had left before we’d gotten there. It ended up being a den full of grunts and slaves, so it crumbled like burnt paper. We got everyone out alive, thank the Sun God,” I replied and kicked the dirt off my boots before stepping into the castle.
“Feels good to see us freeing those people, but it’s disturbing that these rings continue to pop up,” he murmured thoughtfully. “We’re going to have to expand our team of spies if th—”
“Oh, my darling, Keyon!” a woman’s voice called from the upper flight of stairs, and I groaned internally. Leofwine didn’t bother hiding his dislike for the woman and glowered at the approaching figure. The twenty-five-year-old dragon-shifter flew down the steps and raced to hug me.
Toast yanked me behind Leofwine like a puppet so Princess Gisila couldn’t murder us. At least that was what Toast was certain she’d do. Personally, I didn’t mind Toast’s actions this time. The king’s daughters were all rotten, and I wanted nothing to do with them. Why Gisila thought she’d get a hug this time was beyond me.
Leofwine held his hands up to prevent her from getting past him, and she pouted like a child; she even stomped her feet. What a sexy look.
“Can I help you, Princess?” I asked, slowly coming out from behind my friend. I pretended I’d found a spider on my friend’s back to not only cover for Toast’s yank but also to keep the princess at bay. “You really must stop going into the cellars, Leof, if you’re going to be bringing back all these cellar spiders,” I said to my friend, grimacing as I dusted off his shoulders.
“S-spiders?” the princess shrieked, backing up a dozen steps while picking up her skirts and frantically searching her black curls.
My friend shrugged his massive shoulders. “I guess I’ll send the servants next time,” he replied, not skipping a beat. “They don’t usually go for me. They prefer little things like children and young ladies.” Leofwine never missed an opportunity to create a lie sandwich, and I nodded along in agreement.
“Princess?” I asked again, raising a brow. “Did you need something?” She was pale, and her face was so pinched it looked like she’d been nibbling on limes all day. She shook her head but held her hand out for me to kiss. Oh gods, I hated this song and dance.
Even if I wanted to kiss her hand, Toast wouldn’t allow it. My dragon and I had worked out an agreement where I could place a gloved hand under a female’s without contact and bow over it.
I sensed that she was about to jerk her hand up to my lips, but I pulled away just in time to give her a nod and walked off with my comrade. Toast was shuddering inside me, as if he’d dodged an arrow that had been aimed at his heart.
Leofwine and I entered the king’s study to make our report and verify our next course of action. Osgar, the king’s personal guard, was standing at his side, and he nodded slightly to me in deference. I nodded back, making Leofwine scoff in irritation. He was always complaining that Osgar never acknowledged him. Aiken, resource management, was sitting on the leather couch on the right, covered in what was probably the entire contents of his desk just minutes ago.
“Welcome back!” King Uhtric exclaimed, smiling happily at me. “From the commotion outside, I take it we were successful with our last raid?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I replied, smiling back at the old, shaking dragon. “We’ve returned with two hundred and fifty-seven Reborn. They’re being processed and cared for right now. It seemed that the slavers knew we were coming because we only found grunts there.”
“And since this isn’t the first time Keyon’s reported it, I’m concerned we may have a security breach,” Leofwine added, his playful demeanor disappearing under the call of duty. The king nodded at him with a frown.
“See to that, Leof,” he said gruffly. “We can’t let them get away. They’ll grow like a cancer somewhere else.”
“Also, Aiken, would it be possible to get more squires for our next raid? My team was spread too thin upon our return. I’d rather have too many than not enough, especially if the slavers decide to ambush us on the road.”
The dragon nodded and wrote furiously into his notebook. He wasn’t a male of many words, but he got things done. Our king had a gift for assigning the right people to the right duty. I’d always admired that about him.
“We got a visitor from a neighboring kingdom with a special request,” King Uhtric said, handing me a piece of paper. “They’re looking for a slave that may be in our region. She was taken as a little girl, and they’re hoping that our efforts to clear up these trafficking rings will expose her location. They said she’d be… rather hard to miss.”
I looked down at the piece of paper with a description. She’d be twenty-five by now… I had no idea how much she would have changed. Some dragons didn’t even end up with the same hair color they had as hatchlings. I sighed at the task set before me. This would be difficult.
“Is she a shifter? A human?” I asked, and the king’s face hardened.
“I tried asking that, but they wouldn’t tell me. I suspect she’s a shifter, but… there’s no way to know until you see her what species she is. Just do your best, Sir Keyon. You’ll find her.”
I groaned inwardly. Would I?
Elpis
“Shh, shh, it’s ok, hatchling,” I crooned into the dirty heather curls of a thirteen-year-old dragon-shifter as I rocked her in my arms. She was new to the mansion and would be groomed soon for slavery. “I snuck you a treat! Would you like a piece of taffy?” I asked, tilting my head down to look at her inconsolable, snotty face. She nodded and took the piece of candy from my palm. It was warm from being in my hand for an hour, but it should still be good. “That’s a good little hatchling,” I said and continued to rock her.
“Wh-when did you get h-here?” she asked in between hiccups.
“I don’t know. I’ve been here as long as I can remember,” I confessed and realized it was the wrong answer. The little dragon’s face scrunched up into utter emotional agony, and she burst into tears.
“Oh nay! Sweet one! Nay, nay, don’t cry! Shh!” I soothed a little frantically. If the slaves were too loud for too long, a guard would come in and take them away to be punished. It didn’t matter how old they were. “Nay, see, I’m sure we’ll get rescued real soon! I know the signs! I’ve been around a long time, and I heard the signs of rescue!” My flimsy dress had no proper pockets, so I pulled the lie out of the only place I could hide things: my bottom.
I breathed a stilted sigh of relief when she stopped crying. The door to the room swung open, and a guard looked in to see who’d been causing the commotion. I froze with my arms wrapped around the hatchling and felt a shudder trickle down my spine. A bead of sweat soon followed the shudder, made much colder by the chill of our stone room. When I heard the guard approach us from behind, I regretted sitting with my back against the front of the cage, so I stayed still, not wanting to draw attention. I kept the hatchling in my lap and prayed that she’d stay quiet so that he’d leave us alone. They weren’t allowed in any cage I was in if I wasn’t wearing my chastity belt, but I didn’t need them using a slave’s disobedience to get access to me.
I heard the guard stop, and I pulled the child against my chest, hoping it would deter him from reaching in and groping me. A gloved hand trapped a length of my hair, and I knew it was time to let the hatchling go. I gave her a smile and pointed for her to go to the other female who was caged with us. Zosime was a good dragon-shifter; she’d comfort the hatchling. She already had the little underfed thing in her lap and was covering her eyes.
I tugged my head to get away from the guard, but he fisted and yanked it, smacking my skull back against the cage. I hissed in pain and watched his other hand lower through the bars to flick one strap of my dress off my shoulder. I gritted my teeth and looked at the far wall. I would complain about this new guard the next time I was brought aboveground. He’d regret this. They knew better than to touch me. Everyone caged in this room was a Slave of the First Water. A guard using one of us to get off was a colossal no-no.
The male’s heavy breathing puffed against the side of my face, and I nearly gagged. He groaned when he moved to uncover the rest of my breast but was interrupted by a pair of footsteps who happened to be passing by the door.
“He’s sampling the prime merch!” I yelled, and the guard immediately let go of me. He rushed out, and I heard yelling outside, even after they’d closed the door. I smiled sadly, readjusted my dress, and hugged my knees. Zosime looked over at me again but didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything to say. I decided to engage with the hatchling again.
“What’s your name, sweet one?” I asked and went to sit next to them. The little dragon sniffed, and I reached up with the skirt of my dress to wipe away her tears and snot. She leaned away with wide eyes.
“No, that’s a pretty dress…” she protested. I laughed and held her still to clean her face.
“And you’re a pretty little dragon,” I said, making sure to get rid of all the grime. “Nay, dresses are as common as can be, but you’re precious! One of a kind. Isn’t that right, Zosime?”
The dragon chuckled tiredly. “One of a kind, indeed. So, you must have a one-of-a-kind name.”
“Dagmaer,” she whispered, pouting at my soiled skirt.
“My, what a strong name! When they rescue us, you’re bound to become one of the king’s knights! I just know it!” I grinned and looked playfully around her skinny arms for a muscle to pinch. The little dragon giggled and leaned against Zosime to get away from my tickling fingers.
“Oof!” Zosime got an elbow to her belly, and Dagmaer fell apart apologizing to her. I laughed quietly, and Zosime stuck her lean dragon tongue out at me. I whispered an apology and waved my hands in an attempt to placate her.
Dagmaer settled and looked up at me from where her head rested on Zosime’s bosom. “So what are the signs?” she asked, picking nervously at her fingers.
“Hmm? The signs? Oh! The signs of rescue. Right…” I thought quickly. “Well, the very first sign of rescue is the news! If we hear of others being freed, we know that our rescuers are on their way!” I smiled, confident in my choice.
“You know, the slaves at the two southern dens have been liberated,” a woman named Dagrun whispered from the corner of the room. She was caged with an older teenager that she’d been mentoring. They were both pleasure slaves, like me.
“What?” I asked in an excited hiss. “Franco’s dens? Did they catch him?”
“I hadn’t heard anything about that. Just that the slaves were taken, and all his men were killed.”
“Oh, how I wish I had sparkling wine, Zosime,” I said, turning to her with a wicked grin. “This would be a good one to celebrate.”
“So, what’s the second sign?” little Dagmaer asked, and I turned away, tapping the ground in agitation. I wanted to keep her spirits up and her hope alive for as long as possible.
“Ah… the second sign is snooping strangers,” I said with a nod. “They will send a spy in!”
“A spy!” Her eyes lit up in excitement. She was eating up my lies as if they were more pieces of taffy. If I could give her one more night of optimism, I would. I already felt like my life was over; I was old for a pleasure slave, and who knew how long they’d keep me around before selling my virginity. I’d be useless after that. Males and men were monsters. You couldn’t pay me to think otherwise.
The door opened, and I was surprised to see my handler enter the room. Her eyes landed on me, and she gestured for me to come as she unlocked the cage.
“We have a guest tonight, Elpis. You will be expected to serve them,” Tofa said while attaching the lead to my collar. I never understood why she had to attach the damn thing; I never tried to run from her.
“Yes, T— Ow! Yes, Tofa!” I said while she yanked on my collar. I frowned, wishing I could growl or hiss, but neither of those came naturally to me. I just had an urge to kick her in the bottom, but that was about it. What a wretched woman. Perhaps her own pleasure slave wasn’t able to keep up with her.
Tofa dragged me to the prep room where a half dozen maids scrambled to prepare me. I was shoved into a bath and scoured until I was certain all my skin was gone. They shaved every inch of me, except for my head, of course. I hated when they shaved my privates; the smoothness made me feel like a child. Something about that just felt extra nauseating when I was forced to please someone. It wasn’t like the client could see anything under the chastity belt anyway. There could be a topiary under there, and they’d never know!
I was dried, styled, and made-up until you couldn’t recognize me anymore. They squeezed me into our two-piece dancer’s dress and marched me out to meet the mansion’s mysterious guest.
Perhaps it’ll be a spy, I mused to myself.
Surprisingly, I was brought to the kitchen where I was handed a carafe of wine. I knitted my brows when they showed me how to properly pour into a glass without spilling. I wasn’t above this type of serving. I was just very confused as to why I was being asked to do it. I’d never done this before and found myself terrified that I’d spill the contents onto someone’s lap.
I was shoved toward the dining room, and someone tried to urge me off with an overeager slap to my bottom. Unfortunately, their hand met with the hard gold edge of my chastity belt, and I smirked, walking away from a hissing, cursing male who was likely nursing his stinging palm.
I entered the dining hall and scanned for new faces as subtly as I could. We weren’t really allowed to look at people, but I got away with more than most slaves. I began to fill the guests’ glasses as instructed, making my way slowly around the large table.
“Ah, there is our lovely Elpis. Our most beautiful dancer, yes?” the lord said, looking down to his lady wife for affirmation. I snorted in my head. Dancer? We just learned to do what the males enjoyed watching. Zosime and I could grind against each other, and they’d still call it dancing. Filthy males.
“We’re thinking of sending her to the academy. Would you like to witness a performance?” the lady of the mansion said with a bit of a tease in her voice.
“That’s not necessary, Your Ladyship. I’m sure she’s a fine dancer,” a voice said; it was so beautiful that I nearly dropped the carafe when his notes reached my unworthy ears. It pealed like a warm, low bell. It was a strong and confident voice. It was commanding and drew my attention. Could I risk a peek at the owner of such an alluring voice?
I knit my brows at my own foolishness. Who cared if they had a lovely voice? No, if they were friends with the lord, they were not good people.
Don’t be fooled, Elpis! I scolded myself.
I filled the lady’s chalice and moved around the table. “Be a good girl, Elpis, and show our guest some of your dancing,” the lady said with a grin, gesturing to where the male sat.
I gulped and moved to where I was directed. In a smooth sweep, I straddled the large male without touching him, which wasn’t hard to do because he clamped his legs together and leaned away from me. I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face as I swayed over him, caressing the air above his lap with my hips. His thighs looked rock hard and so did something else. I was used to that kind of reaction, but I had to congratulate him on being the biggest I’d ever seen. I was sure his women and females were happy.
I almost faltered in my movements when I noticed his delicious smell, and I desperately wanted to take a closer sniff. I couldn’t place his scent, and I wondered what kind of cologne it was. I wanted to take one of my old dresses and rub that smell all over it so I could lie on it at nighttime.
What a strange new fascination I have, I thought. But he just smells so good.
The rest of the room seemed to fade away as I focused on dancing for the male before me. I wanted to look at him, but there were too many eyes on me.
I noticed his breathing become slightly ragged, and his body tensed. His large, calloused hands gripped the armrests until his knuckles blanched. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, so I decided to wrap up my performance and twirled off him.
I barely grazed his hand with mine when he bolted out of his seat, sending the chair rolling away from us. I froze and waited for my next order because I had no idea what was going on, and I was a bit frightened.
“That’s enough,” the male ground out through his teeth. “Thank you, Your Lordship.”
