Mixed Blood

Prologue

Lightning cracked across the sky, briefly illuminating the silent hall, and a boom of thunder shook the entire island. It was odd to have such a violent storm so early in the summer. A good omen to some. Signs of great evil to others. But to the dragonkin, it was a day of grief and despair. The words of the dragon Soleil still rung in an echo between the ears of those who heard him.

The egg is empty. There is nothing to hatch.

It was always hard for a dragonkin mother to hear that she had spent the better part of two years growing, laying, and incubating a dud egg. It was unfortunately common, especially for young female kin after their first heat. That was why the elders suggested waiting for the second or third heats before attempting for a child, despite the dwindling numbers of yearly hatchlings

But that was advice that some mated pairs did not have the luxury of taking. When females took humans as mates, they often only had one chance to have a child with them. There was no guarantee that their chosen human would be around in thirty years for their next chance.

Ainsley had been a particular case from the beginning. Early to hatch, early to lose her magic, early to shift again, and went into her heat far too young. Her whole life had been plagued with one health problem after another. She had been too weak to remain unbound, like her father, mother, and all her siblings. So, she pledged her allegiance to Soleil even before her awakening.

It had broken her heart when Soleil told her she was likely barren. That she was simply too frail to give life to another. And everyone told her that trying for a child in her first heat would be a risk. Yet, she had not listened. She was devoted to her human mate, a powerful man to the mortals of the island, she was determined to give him an heir.

His advisors had cautioned him on taking a wife from the dragon clans, particularly one known to be so weak. While the dragonkin could not provide any political benefit to his position, a strong wife would have warned off his enemies. His mind should have been focused on finding a suitable woman to bear him a strong heir and several backups to continue his bloodline.

Kalidas had not listened either, for he had fallen head over heels for the youngest daughter of the Western Sky. He had seven younger brothers to continue his family name, and the ones that were old enough were already courting suitable human women all over the island. He did not need a child. He needed her. More than the air he breathed, he needed her.

Aside from the storm beyond the walls, the halls of the palace were silent. Several days ago, it had been filled with kin and human alike, all eager to welcome the new life into the world. Now, only seven adults and two children remained. Of the adults, two were dragonkin, tall and almost ethereal next to their small human mates. The final two were human advisors to Kalidas, and neither wanted to say what they were all thinking. That this whole situation was predicted and could have been prevented.

Young love. Romantic as it may be in songs and poetry, only ever ended in disaster.

The two children in the corner were restless, even with a dragonkin nurse attempting to keep them entertained and distracted. Even the serpent, who was too young to have taken his human form yet, could sense the tension in the air. He coiled and uncoiled around the nurse and the other child's ankles. He chirped anxiously up at them while avoiding being touched.

The girl, looking to be the equivalent of a seven-year-old human, was getting tired. Physically and emotionally, though she didn't quite have the words or insight to recognize it. When the nurse was looking away, she stood up and ran over to her father and tugged on his robe. "Papa?"

Warm brown eyes turned downwards. A strained smile stretched across his face, and suddenly he scooped her up and tossed her in the air. The tension broke with her squeal of delight, and the serpent ran over to his father to paw for the same attention. "How's my little girl?" her father's laugh boomed through the otherwise silent hall, sounding, perhaps a little too forced. "I know you're getting bored, sweetie, but you're being so good for daddy and mommy right now!"