Emerald Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 6) Read online

  Emerald Dragon

  Terry Bolryder

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Sample of Mountain Bear

  Terry Bolryder Reading List

  Author’s Note

  WARNING!

  This book is the finale to an awesome series, but it is NOT a standalone. This book was written by fan request and wraps up the series with a fairly unconventional hero that readers have loved since he first appeared. But it’s not going to make as much sense to you if you haven’t read the other books.

  Please start here with Onyx Dragon to get the most fun out of this bestselling series.

  Click here: Onyx Dragon - Awakened Dragon book 1

  Prologue

  “Stop struggling, runt.”

  The large man holding Aegis grunted as he and another burly stranger yanked the boy down a dark, musty staircase.

  Aegis ignored him, trying to shake the men’s hold on his arms, but it was pointless. It had been that way from the start.

  They were stronger, larger shifters. Not dragons like he was, but in his younger, weaker state, it didn’t matter.

  He still couldn’t believe it. Yes, his family was horrible. They were obsessed with power, and his father had always hated him. But he’d never expected this. To be sold to these men like a piece of jewelry without a second thought.

  It was all a kind of joke, made more so by the fact that he couldn’t even do the things his family had promised his new captors he could do. That’s why he was being sold in the first place, so no one could see his disgrace.

  He was jerked down the last steps and pushed to his knees on a cold stone floor in a dimly lit dungeon. Someone tied his hands together, and then his captors stepped back, staring at him.

  “A bit pretty, don’t you think?” One of the men in front, a burly bear shifter, stepped forward and crouched in front of Aegis, tilting up his chin. “Smile for me, precious.”

  Aegis snapped out his teeth, trying to chomp down on the man’s hand. This guy wouldn’t be the first to try to treat Aegis like a girl due to his blond hair, slim build, and pretty face. Aegis didn’t yet have access to his dragon powers (which was a disgrace at thirteen years old), but he still had some ways to fight.

  The bear shifter yanked back his hand, glaring, and Aegis flashed his fangs at him just for a second before the burly man slapped him senseless with one hard blow.

  Aegis’s face flew to the side, and he heard footsteps echoing toward him. He wasn’t alone in this large cell.

  A girl, seemingly appearing out of the shadows, ran over and wrapped her arms around him, covering him.

  The scent of rain on wildflowers surrounded him, and he breathed it in as the dizziness of the blow subsided. It wasn’t the first time he’d been hit by an adult. It wouldn’t be the last. Right now, he was small and weak. People liked to take advantage of the weak. Hurt them.

  Not this person, though. Her soft black hair fell around them, shielding them, and her arms, thin though they were, protected him. He couldn’t see her face, as she was covering his head, but he could hear her as she yelled at his attackers.

  “Don’t you have any sense? He’s a child!”

  “He showed disrespect!”

  He heard her mutter, “As if you earned any.”

  “What was that?” the bear shifter asked, taking a step forward.

  “Nothing,” she said. “But don’t hurt him. He’s young. He just arrived.” Her hands went to the bonds at his wrists and began to work on them. “This isn’t necessary.”

  “It is,” Aegis said in a guttural voice. “I’ll fight them.”

  She laughed softly, the tinkling of a bell in hopeless darkness. Her hands rubbed over the bonds. “You’re brave, but please don’t. There’s no point. They’ll hurt you.” She spoke the words low, for his ears alone, and for some reason, he listened.

  She was soothing, the first person to ever aid him, care about him, protect him.

  As the bonds fell from his wrists, he resisted the urge to run, to take off and fight until they subdued him or even killed him.

  “Just because the boss is your father doesn’t mean you’ll get special treatment,” Brenton said.

  She sighed. “Tell him, then. Tell him you were damaging new merchandise.”

  Brenton’s face grew hard, and he pointed at Aegis. “You, come get in a separate cell.”

  Aegis stared at the mysterious girl as he was led to a cell not far from her. He missed her touch. The scent of rain was faint now. His heart was pounding, but not from being captured.

  Even as the cell closed, locking him in, he kept watching her, leaning on the bars, clutching his hands around cold metal.

  She was short but probably his age or a little older. An elven face, large, misty eyes that glowed like moons in the darkness. Hair so black it was like poured ink.

  She sat back on the floor of the cell on some sort of blanket and pulled out a book.

  He looked around his own cell, seeing a small bookshelf now that his eyes were adjusting to the dim light and a tattered mattress with a small cushion that could probably be used as a pillow or just somewhere to sit.

  He pulled a cushion over along with a book and sat down facing her.

  As long as he could see her, he felt safe, even in this dungeon. She had saved him. Why? Why would anyone stick their neck out for him? Yet he couldn’t forget the feel of her arms around him, shielding him, and the scent of her skin.

  She grinned at him over her book. “My name’s Opal,” she said. “What’s yours?”

  “Aegis,” he replied in a flat voice, surprised at how she could get information from him. Surprised at how fast he could trust her.

  He wrapped his arms around his knees and rocked, reality setting in that he was stuck here. That his family was never coming back. That as horrible as they’d been to him, he was totally lost now.

  No one cared. It shot through him like lightning, making him hate his own powerlessness with all his being. Someday he wouldn’t be small like this. Someday he’d have power.

  He saw Opal move in the darkness, raising her hand to her mouth. She blew gently, and a small rainbow bubble formed, lifting off and floating toward him.

  He stared at it, transfixed, until it floated over to his cell, through the bars, and in front of his face.

  It broke in front of him, and light burst out of it. The cell was no longer dark and dingy and full of reminders that he’d been thrown away.

  It was warm, sunny, a forest he’d loved as a child. He reached out and felt the sunlight on his hand. He knew it was an illusion, but it was a powerful one and what he needed right now.

  He looked through the beautiful picture around him and saw Opal smiling slightly as she turned back to her book.

  He curled up in the sunlight and felt grass against his cheek. It was like nothing had happened. None of his awful childhood. He knew it couldn’t last forever. It was just an effect of her dragon powers.

  But in this horrible moment, it was nice to have even a fleeting bubble of peace.

  He looked at her, still perplexed at finding goodness in the world, and then rolled over and
fell asleep.

  Chapter 1

  Aegis pulled his cloak tighter around him as he climbed in the window and back into the small room at the high east tower where he spent most of his time.

  Even since he’d awakened from cryo, this cold, desolate place had been his home. Not that it mattered, as his world had been cold and desolate ever since Opal left so many years ago.

  He rested on the stone windowsill and leaned his head back. He’d gone to visit the other dragons, the ones on the “good” side. Mainly to speak with Dominic, the amethyst dragon, who had the ability to see the dead. Aegis had finally gotten up the courage to ask him what he’d long feared but never been able to comprehend.

  Whether Opal was dead.

  But Dom hadn’t seen her, and the fact that she was still out there was something both terrible and wonderful to know. Terrible because he still couldn’t find her. No one could find Opal without her wanting them to.

  And for years, she hadn’t wanted him to.

  He’d replayed their last argument in his mind over and over. And then the fight with Zach, the onyx dragon, during which she’d disappeared, leaving only a note.

  I can’t do it anymore.

  Years of friendship, and it ended like that. A solitary piece of paper.

  He’d long blamed Zach for starting the argument that led to the fight, but deep down he knew he held part of the blame for pushing her away.

  Even if it were easier to let his hatred burn for Zach and any dragon that allied with him.

  Which was basically every dragon other than Aegis, to his chagrin.

  He had awakened early and joined the side he felt had the most power and had tried vigorously to recruit other dragons without success.

  And then subsequent run-ins with the other dragons had made him realize the murkiness of everything he was involved in. Lately, he was feeling a little bit lost. As if he’d taken a wrong turn somewhere down the line and couldn’t even remember where it was.

  Oh well. He’d been lost for a long time. Why did it matter if he felt that way now?

  Maybe because now he knew Opal was out there. That meant there was hope, something Aegis hadn’t allowed himself to have for a long time. It was the kind of hope that hurt, that forced you open in ways you’d rather stay closed. And Aegis didn’t know what to do about it.

  He heard footsteps coming up the steps to his tower and narrowed his eyes. Everyone here knew he was supposed to have privacy when he was up here. Who would dare to defy that?

  The answer came to him just before the obnoxious voice called out.

  “Aegis?”

  “Go away, blood bag,” Aegis snarled.

  Then the door opened, and the topaz dragon walked in, looking blond and annoying and cocky as usual.

  “The oracle thinks I’m worth more than my blood, apparently. She likes having me around.”

  Aegis eyed the bandages at the man’s elbows. “But she takes your blood, too.”

  Topaz folded his arms proudly. “You should give yours, for the cause.”

  Aegis kicked back on his bed, crossing his legs at the ankle. “The only cause I believe in is myself and my well-being. Now what did you come for, blood bag?”

  Topaz had been wanting to join their side but had pissed Aegis off by trying to forcefully take another dragon’s mate. Aegis had intended to dump him in the dungeon, but for whatever reason, the dark oracle had taken a liking to him.

  With his big, brown eyes and short, blond hair that was perpetually ruffled, Aegis presumed Topaz had a certain kind of boyish charm that Irial, the dark oracle, liked to surround herself with. Yes-men who nodded and looked handsome and provided muscle when she needed it. Because despite her mental and psychic powers, she was vulnerable physically.

  A fact Aegis always kept in mind. He never lost track of advantages.

  “She likes me more than you, you know,” Topaz said, strutting as if that were something to be proud of.

  “Good for you, blood bag,” Aegis said dully. He turned on his side, brain still churning. Opal was alive.

  Topaz perked up. “Couldn’t help overhearing that. Who’s Opal?”

  “None of your damn business,” Aegis hissed, cursing himself for not remembering to block his mind. “Get out of my room.”

  Topaz raised a blond eyebrow. “Oh? Sure. But I just thought you may want to know I might know something about that name.”

  Shit. Aegis tried to stop the shock from showing on his face as he stared at the other dragon. He wanted to smack the shit-eating grin right off Topaz’s face, but he didn’t want him to know he’d affected him.

  Aegis gave him a disinterested look and folded his arms. “You knew her?”

  “Know her,” Topaz said with a grin. “As I said, I guess the oracle trusts me more than you.”

  Cold fury flew through Aegis’s veins like venom from some kind of poisonous bite, and he lunged forward off the bed, grabbing Topaz around the neck and slamming him back into the wall, not caring about the sound of stone cracking.

  Topaz’s eyes bulged as he clawed at Aegis’s hands. “Stop… it…” he choked out. “I’ll tell you everything.”

  Aegis released him, breathing heavily.

  “Geez,” Topaz said. “You’re on our side anyway. I don’t see why you shouldn’t be told.”

  Because if the oracle is holding my mate, then everyone here just made a terrible enemy, Aegis thought with a cold grin, unable to contain the fury lashing through him.

  Topaz just looked at him fearfully, unable to read Aegis’s mind. One of his gifts, along with the power to get into other minds and control them, was to close his own when he wanted.

  Aegis ran a finger down Topaz’s neck, stopping at his collarbone, staring at his veins, his pulse, thinking how easy it would be to spill his blood.

  He hated the dragon. Hated him for his lack of morals. For his easy transition to a side Aegis was coming to hate. Sure, Aegis was on this side, but he had come on at a different time.

  Most of all, he hated him for knowing more about Opal.

  Despite countless years of searching, waiting. When he finally found Opal, he hadn’t wanted it to come from this worthless sack of dung.

  Aegis flicked out a long, metallic green claw and grazed it over Topaz’s carotid artery, just playing with him.

  His eyes met Topaz’s.

  “Start at the beginning,” he said. “And don’t leave anything out.”

  Topaz’s eyes glazed over, and he began to speak to Aegis, doing exactly as commanded.

  In general, Aegis hated taking control of another dragon.

  But when it came to Opal, there was nothing he wouldn’t do.

  “You need to let me out of here,” Opal said, jerking at the chains on her wrists, thrashing on the mattress she was chained to. She could move just enough to be infuriated.

  Irial just stared at her, folding her arms. “I need another illusion,” she said. “You wouldn’t be awake without me.”

  “I wouldn’t be frozen without you,” Opal said, spitting at the other woman, who simply stepped back, adjusting her fine robes. “I’m done giving you illusions.”

  The oracle’s face tightened. Her dark hair and dark eyes seemed to grow even darker as she approached the bed where Opal lay, helpless.

  Her powers were suppressed by the chain around her neck, and she’d long ago given up hope of rescue.

  In fact, she’d given up hope hundreds of years ago, when she’d run away from Aegis and right into trouble.

  Not that Aegis wasn’t trouble in his own way. Emotion stung her eyes at the sound of his name, even in her mind, and she shook it away. That was just childhood sentimentalism. It did her no good here.

  Aegis had probably given up on her long ago and gone on with his bad boy ways, becoming even worse than he’d been when she left him.

  She bit her lip and looked to the side, not wanting the oracle to see her emotion.

  She was lucky this dark oracle wasn’
t as strong as the light one, or she’d be able to easily pick up on her emotion. Or maybe this oracle was just self centered, because as she strode forward, pulling a knife from her robe, letting it gleam ominously in the light as a threat, her only concern was getting what she wanted.

  “You will give me my illusion,” the oracle said. “Or you will simply be a blood bag.”

  Opal winced. She wouldn’t give the oracle her blood again. Not for anything. She’d fight to the death first. They’d taken her blood for a short time until they’d found another dragon. Topaz. She’d met him and was supremely disinterested, which was fine because the oracle seemed more intent on keeping him for herself than mating him to Opal. Which made at least one person in Opal’s life who didn’t seem to care who she mated with.

  Otherwise, as a very rare female dragon, it had always sort of dictated her existence.

  She felt the blade press against her neck, and she tightened, lifting her chin stubbornly.

  “What the hell is going on here?” A voice interrupted as a shadow blocked the entrance to the cave where her prison was located. The voice was low, hoarse, tortured… and familiar.

  Her eyes snapped over to the figure as he came out of the darkness.

  Could that really be Aegis?

  He was tall, taller than she remembered. Broader through the shoulders, too, as if he’d gone from boy to man somehow in the years she’d disappeared. He’d been only a teen then, by dragon standards.

  His face was aged too, and he looked tired in a way that only losing your best friend for hundreds of years could do. She caught her breath at how ill he looked. Had she done that to him?

  The oracle pulled back as Aegis took another step forward. Opal felt a chill run up her spine. She knew that look on his face, and it didn’t bode well for anyone.

  His green eyes were flashing, his perfect brows furrowed. A face that had been almost too pretty as a youth was now fiercely, strikingly beautiful. And cruel, based on the lines around his mouth.

  His lips were still dark, a natural pinkish-red, and his skin a light tan. His blond hair was long and unkempt but still the bright gold she remembered.