Dragon Song (Dawn of the Dragon Queen Book 1) Read online

  Dragon Song

  Dawn of the Dragon Queen, Book One

  Tara West

  Copyright © 2015 by Tara West

  Published by Shifting Sands Publishing

  First edition, published October 2015

  Kindle Editions

  All rights reserved.

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Edited by Theo Fenraven

  Formatted by Author's HQ

  Art by Maiarcita

  Cover design by Renée Barratt

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  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

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Copyright

  A message from Tara West

  Dragon Storm

  Books by Tara West

  About Tara West

  A message from Tara West…

  Dear readers, I hope you enjoy my new fantasy series. If so, would you please be kind enough to leave a review where you purchased it and tell all your friends about my books? Indie authors like me depend on readers to spread the word. It’s how we can afford to quit our day jobs and keep writing. ;)

  I have a lot more romance in store for you in 2016, so please subscribe to my newsletter for updates.

  You can find my mailing list at www.tarawest.com .

  If you are interested in joining my street team, please message me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tarawestauthor .

  Thanks!

  Dedication

  To my husband, my real life hero and soulmate. I will love you forever.

  Special thanks to…

  Thank you, Theo, God of Grammar, for making my manuscript shine.

  Curtis, Ginelle, Kelly, Sheri, and Suanne, I thank you immensely for your amazing beta skills!

  Renée Barratt, wow! There are no words to do your artistic vision justice. You knew what this cover needed to make it sparkle. Thank you!

  Chapter One

  England – 1446

  Safina spied the girls at the edge of the forest. They were humming a pleasant tune, one Safina did not recognize, but she loved music and hoped they’d teach it to her. She’d been searching for company since the crack of dawn, knowing some of the village maidens wandered from their homes to pick berries in the early morn. There were just two of them, which increased Safina’s odds of making a good impression; crowds always made her nervous. She and her mother had been living in their new hut for almost two seasons, and Safina still hadn’t made any friends.

  She breathed the dewy summer air. The birds were happily chirping in the pine trees, and the forest creatures scurried to and fro, unbothered by her presence. Auspicious omens, to be sure. On this day, she’d win the trust of mortals and finally find friendship.

  She clutched her basket tightly to her chest, quietly circling the bush where the girls had gathered. Already, their frocks and fingers were stained a dark blue as they picked berries from the vines, dropping them into the basket by their feet.

  Safina cleared her throat. “Good morrow.”

  The girls jumped, nearly knocking over the basket. Safina remembered their names, Batilda and Breena, sisters with ghostly fair skin and hair as pale as swan’s feathers. Safina envied their soft, silky hair, so very unlike her unruly red curls. Even the tight braids Mother wove couldn’t contain the wildness of her hair for long. Curls broke free and tangled like weeds.

  Safina clutched her basket tighter, the wicker crackling as her knuckles whitened. “May I pick berries with you?”

  “We were just leaving,” said Batilda, the tallest of the two. She grabbed her sister’s hand, shooting her a knowing look. Safina’s heart clenched. She’d seen that look before, the flash of unease and suspicion. Winning them over would not be easy. She nodded at their basket, which hardly contained enough berries to make a pie. “But your basket isn’t full.”

  Breena’s grey eyes narrowed. “Papa says we are not to speak to you.”

  “But why?” Safina’s voice cracked with emotion. She knew not why their rejection affected her, for it hadn’t been the first time, and she knew it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

  “Because you’re a disciple of Lucifer,” Batilda said with a sneer, picking up the basket and waving it at Safina as if she was trying to ward off an evil spirit.

  Heat rose in Safina’s chest as hurt was replaced by rage. She jutted a foot forward. “I am not.” The only deities she worshipped were the Earth Mother, creator of sky, land, and sea, and the Almighty Mother, the first dragon queen and now a powerful goddess. Safina’s mother had told her the Earth Mother created the seasons and the Almighty Mother’s spirit watched over all hatchlings.

  Breena let out a shrill laugh. “Everyone knows you and your mother are witches.”

  Safina froze, her spine as rigid as if it were encrusted in ice. Over her sixteen-year lifespan, she’d grown accustomed to the taunts of other mortal children, but they went too far when they insulted her mother. She dropped her basket, clenching her hands into fists. “We are not witches,” she hissed. “My mother is a great healer.”

  Batilda shook her head, smirking. “Papa says it is devil’s magic.”

  Safina tried to repress her rage, even as her bones stretched and her skin crackled. How badly she wanted to burn these mortals to a crisp.

  Breena nudged her sister, giggling as she pointed at Safina’s face. “Look at her turn red.”

  “The flames of hell are lapping at her soul,” Batilda taunted.

  Breena picked up a stone and threw it at Safina. “Leave us be!”

  Safina gasped and ducked in time, but she was not fast enough to dodge the next attack.

  “Get thee back, demon!” Batilda shrieked as she pelted Safina.

  Safina stumbled, overcome by a wave of dizziness. She fell against a tree trunk as a trickle of warmth cascaded down her brow. Tears welled in her eyes when she felt the gash on her skull. It stung, though not as badly as the barbs of their insults.

  “Witchy girl!” They pointed, laughing like cackling crows.

  When Batilda picked up a larger stone, her eyes gleaming with malice, Safina knew she was out of options.

  She made the change so fast, she had no time to think of her dress, which ripped to shreds, floating to the ground like discarded rags. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, she whipped the branches with her tail, knocking entire pines to the ground.

  The girls cowered beneath her, falling to their knees, clutching each other’s backs.

  “Please don’t eat us,” Breena cried.

  Safina roared, kicking up the dirt under her talons and knocking down more trees as she swayed to and fro. She wanted to burn them until there was nothing left but their charred ashes, but no matter how cruel humankind had been to dragons, Safina was no murderer.

  She sucked in a puff of air, stoking her deadly dragon fire from deep within her bosom. With a roar, she released the flame,
scorching the treetops until the forest was awash with the acrid smoke of burning timber.

  With a shrill cry, Batilda pulled her sister away. They raced through the forest, screaming, “Papa!”

  Safina crushed their basket with the tip of one talon, sticky berry juice splattering the forest floor. After their shrill screaming faded in the distance, Safina sat back on her hindquarters and contemplated what she’d done. A lump formed in her throat, and her heart sank to the pit of her belly. She’d exposed herself to mortals. Her mother would not be pleased.

  * * *

  Scotland-1428

  Why have you done this to me, knight? What crime have I committed? I have never sought to harm mankind. Never!

  Duncan came up for breath, wiping water from his eyes. He moved to the river’s edge, gliding with the flow as if he, too, was a thread of water. Pulling himself onto a dry slab of rock, he gazed intently into the clear depths beneath him.

  ’Twas no pattern in the way the river moved—no assurance that one current would resemble the next, yet the water kept flowing.

  ’Twould have been so easy if he could have said the same about his life. But over the past five summers, life had become stale, stagnant, unbearable.

  He had no reprieve from the image of the dying beast while she lay there crying—the anguish in her features, in her voice, before she’d breathed her last breath.

  Her pain had been all too real.

  Too mortal.

  ’Twas not a dragon Duncan had slain but something more.

  Because of his nightmares, the life he now led was a shell of the one he’d left behind. Duncan MacQuoid, dragonslayer, was no more.

  In his place was a tortured man who could not erase the memories no matter how hard he tried.

  He did try, though each night he was awakened by the same dream. In the dream he had slain the dragon, but a woman had taken her place, a beautiful woman with flame red hair and a spear protruding from her chest.

  “Why have you done this?” she’d cried in the same voice the dragon had used that fateful morning.

  For the monster had spoken after he plunged his spear into her chest.

  Let the world think him mad. He had heard her speak, though her fanged jowls did not move. Her voice had been in his head, as she pierced his soul with the pained gaze of her jade-green eyes.

  That dragon had been no dumb beast.

  And as long as Duncan had breath in his body, he would never forgive himself for killing her.

  * * *

  England – 1446

  Run, Safina! They will kill us both!

  Mother's high-pitched cry reverberated through Safina's brain. But keeping pace with the dragon queen's human legs was tiring. Mother tightened her grip on Safina's hand, relentlessly pulling her through brush and thickets. Branches ripped open Safina's flesh, leaving gaping wounds on her face and arms.

  If Mother would let Safina transform, her thick scales would shield her from the onslaught. Nay, they would burn the trees down and clear an easy escape path, or they could break into dragon form and escape into the heavens.

  The forest was damp, sodden with a heavy summer rain. Water clung to Safina’s skin, soaking her gown, which stuck to her legs as she fought to keep stride with her mother.

  The men's voices and pounding of hooves grew ever louder.

  Angrier.

  Closer.

  Why couldn't they fly?

  Despite the moonless night, black as pitch, Safina's immortal eyes could see the dense forest was thinning. They were nearing the shoreline.

  When we reach the clearing, you must break free with all your might and fly to the heavens!

  Although Mother spoke to her in thought, Safina did not need to look into her eyes to read her fear. Panic jumped from the dragon queen's skin and electrified the air.

  But Mother! Safina swallowed a lump of bile. Never had she been so frightened.

  Do it!

  Fear pumped wildly through her chest, threatening to crush her lungs as she struggled for breath. Would Mother stay and fight the mob, or would she flee with her? Where would she go without her mother? She could not survive on her own.

  The trees gave way. The violent sound of waves crashing to the shore thrummed beneath them.

  As one they jumped over the precipice of the rocky cliff, hand in hand.

  Then wing tip to wing tip; within a blink, they’d transformed. Mother and daughter dragons, their glistening crimson scales blackened to coal under the starless night sky.

  Ominous clouds threatened overhead. Murderous horsemen threatened below.

  Pushing with all her might, Safina strained her wings to put more air beneath her. She and her mother rose high above the onslaught of arrows, then higher still. The pair soared across the sky, the pounding of Safina’s heart muted by the powerful thrumming of their flapping wings.

  For the first time in many moons, Safina was free.

  She roared her delight.

  How long since Mother had let her fly so high? Why had she been tethered so long? Why should they pretend to be mortals when they could soar to the heavens?

  A brilliant flash of lightning lit the sky, followed by a thunderous clap.

  Safina staggered, tumbled. The force and weight of the thunderbolt threw her off balance.

  Her mother panicked, but Safina had no time to register her own fear. She spiraled several times, trying to catch the air with her wings.

  She slammed into something, a crack ricocheting through her skull. She shook her dizzy head, realizing she was riding astride her mother.

  You are too heavy. Break to human form.

  Safina obeyed. Again she was a mortal girl. They soared higher, above the din of the storm, up to where Safina could see the stars and the full moon in all their brilliance.

  Moonlight lit her mother's scales in myriad hues of fire.

  Safina was envious. She wanted to be a dragon, not ride astride one. She struggled to stand so she could jump from her mother and fly, but pain shot up her arm like a rush of venom when she leaned her weight on one side. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried out.

  Her mother roared.

  Safina’s heart twisted and ached. She knew Mother shared her pain, too. ’Twas part of their connection.

  Tears streamed down Safina’s face. Not tears of pain in the mortal sense, but tears of regret.

  She had so longed to fly.

  Resigning herself to sitting in the space between Mother's powerful wings, she cradled her arm in silence, waiting for the tears to subside.

  The cool night wind sent a shiver down her spine as the icy current from Mother's flapping wings numbed her human flesh.

  Safina did not balk.

  Lifting her chin, she breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with a cold rush of air. How she relished the feel of freedom.

  If only her life could be like this always.

  Where will we go, Mother?

  Even through her thoughts, Safina heard Mother's heavy sigh. She knew the dragon queen was angry. She had broken her mother's trust and had almost cost them their lives.

  Across the ocean, Mother answered flatly.

  Far away from mortals? Safina hoped never again to see another human.

  We will never escape the mortal world. For now, we can only hope to escape these men.

  Safina swallowed hard as she recalled the murderous looks in the villagers' eyes. Some had carried torches and clubs. Others were armed with arrows and swords. Why were mortals cruel and indifferent to dragons? Their race had never sought to harm humankind. Perhaps Mother would find a new village without hateful humans and a murderous mob.

  Perhaps we will find humans who like dragons.

  Nay, child!

  The dragon queen's tone turned shrill, urgent. Humans and dragons can never be friends. Her tone softened, saddened. Mortals can never like what they fear.

  Chapter Two

  Safina woke with a start. The air was warmer here. The we
ight of it stuck to her skin like moss to a rock. The dawn broke, illuminating the sky with warm hues of orange and crimson, reflecting across the endless ocean.

  Mother's wings still flapped, although slower.

  Safina knew the dragon queen was tiring.

  How far had they traveled? Where was Mother taking them?

  The rhythm of Mother's wings came to a slow stop as they made a gentle descent.

  Turning on her belly, Safina winced as her smooth human skin chafed against spiny scales. She wrapped her good arm around her mother's neck, knowing they would soon dive for landing.

  But Mother took her time, gliding in slow, smooth circles until they landed on the water's surface.

  The Dragon Queen dipped her head beneath the gentle waves and grunted, a long, deep sound that rippled the water around them.

  Safina arched a brow. She'd never heard such a noise before.

  Mother came up for air and shook her scales.

  Safina giggled in delight. The water was mild and refreshing.

  Turning her long neck, Mother plucked Safina off her back with her mighty jowls and dropped her in the water.

  She sank like a stone.

  Safina screamed, swallowing a salty gulp of water.

  Instinctively, she broke to dragon form, struggling against the burning pain in her left wing as she flapped to the surface.

  A wall of water rushed over her head, stinging her eyes and filling her mouth with more bitterness.

  Safina roared in protest.

  Dragons were meant to fly, not swim. Why had Mother tossed her in the sea?

  The dragon queen chuckled, merriment dancing in her amber eyes.

  Safina could not repress a grin. How long since she'd heard her mother laugh? Since they'd frolicked together? With each passing day, the dragon queen grew more somber. Safina’s heart warmed to see her mother happy once more.