Taken Read online

  My mouth waters just looking at it. I need to get a grip. This isn't right. I want to go home. I want my old life back. The momentary pleasure of letting one of these princes inside me would seal my fate forever. "I want to go home," I tell him. "You are keeping me here against my will. I will not mate with you or Conyac, ever. You've taken me from my home and put me in the middle of some barbaric claiming ritual. You can count on me never letting you or Conyac make hilock with me."

  "Princess," he starts.

  "Stop calling me that. I want to go home. Now. Tell Gizmel to open a portal to Earth. I'm done with this. It isn't any of my business." I'm getting angrier as I begin to sober up. How dare he put his mouth on my privates, even if it was a mind-blowing orgasm. We aren't even the same species.

  "You cannot go home, Dani. A portal to Earth can only be opened every twenty-eight years, when the stars come into alignment. That is why it took so long to find you." I look at him like he just ate my dog, which he didn't of course. Clancy is sleeping the floor beside my feet. Then it sinks in. I'm twenty-eight years old. It's a coincidence, I tell myself. It has to be.

  "I am going to speak with Gizmel. It makes no sense that you should be human. You are a dragon born. You should be a head taller than ordinary women. Your eyes are dull like a commoner. Your ears are round, and you have no strong teeth. I imagine you cannot even shift. Can you?"

  "Shift?"

  "Into a dragon," he says as if I'm a slow child.

  "Um. No. Definitely not," I say, laughing.

  "That is not right. How can you use your queen's power if you cannot shift? I will get to the bottom of this. Be sure of it," he says before storming out the door.

  What? No good night? I groan and flop back on the bed. Clancy jumps up beside me and licks my face. Sweet old Clancy, at least we have each other. I hug my dog as he settles down beside me, and I fall asleep in my fancy party dress.

  Chapter Eight

  Trav bursts through the door as the gray light of dawn filters through the window. "What!" I say with a gasp, sitting up in bed. Clancy barks like a car alarm, and I know I look like hell frozen over. Trav grabs my arm and yanks me out of bed, leading me fast down the hallway.

  "Where are you taking me?" I groan, trying to pull out of his grip.

  "Hurry," he says, tugging me down the hall. We charge up the stairs until we arrive at Gizmel’s alchemy lab. Windows cover the circular walls, allowing in an ample amount of warming morning sunlight.

  "Good, you brought her."

  "Could I get some coffee?" I ask, trying to pat down my tangled hair. I still have sex head from the oral from last night.

  "What is coffee?" Trav asks.

  I groan. Figures. This place doesn't have coffee; it becomes even more like the seventh level of hell in that instant. "It's a warm Earth drink made of dried beans that invigorates you in the morning. Got anything like that?"

  "Morning tea," Gizmel offers. Trav grunts and takes off down the stairs. Gizmel opens a dusty old tome and runs his finger down the lines of text. A few moments later, Trav arrives with Uria and she hands me a steaming cup.

  "Thanks," I say, taking the cup. I sniff the steam, taking in the bittersweet aroma. Taking a tentative sip, I find the flavor resembles a cross between coffee and chai tea. Not bad. I nod at Uria, and she does that annoying curtsy thing again before hurrying down the stairs. "Now, what is all the fuss about?" I ask as the beverage begins to thaw out my brain.

  "I've been doing some digging in the archives, and I'm surprised I didn't find this before. I beg your pardon, your majesty," Gizmel says to me. I raise an eyebrow at the title, but say nothing. "We've found information about your placement on Earth. Your parents, the late Lord and Lady Skyland, had you enchanted. It has altered your appearance and prevented you from learning your true identity all this time. Ingenious really."

  "My parents are Fred and Valery Storm from Idaho," I say.

  "I'm afraid those were adoptive human parents. Lord and Lady Skyland were murdered shortly after they hid you on Earth to keep you safe. Orgs have been planning their return for some time, and an age with only one dragon born female is a perfect opportunity for them to overtake the land. You have many enemies, my lady."

  My head is reeling as I try to take it in. Two days ago, I was just a failed photojournalist, and today I'm some kind of dragon queen. I can't make sense of it. I shake my head at him, trying to shake away all the nonsense.

  "So, how is this enchantment lifted?" I ask. It's the only thing I can think to say. There has to be some way to prove I'm not who they think I am. If they can't lift the enchantment then that would mean I'm not the princess.

  Even if I'm not her, I can't go home for twenty-eight more years. A tear slips down my cheek, and I gasp, trying to hold back the wails of despair and terror that are threatening burst from my lungs.

  "I'm working on that," Gizmel says. "The exact formulation is not recorded in the archives. But I have an idea of where I might be able to find it. Skyland Castle has been largely vacant since just after your birth, my lady, but there might be information in the libraries there.

  "Then we leave for Skyland Castle today," Trav says.

  Thank you for reading Taken: Dragon Princes of Endor (Book One). Book to will be available soon.

  Find more books by Scarlett Grove at Amazon.com

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