Kian: House of Flames
Dragon Guardians 1
Scarlett Grove
Contents
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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
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
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Chapter 1
The lid slid off the stasis pod and Prince Kian of the House of Flames blinked awake. He sat up abruptly and looked around. Stasis pods were gliding open on either side of him. Kian quickly threw his legs over the edge of his pod and climbed out.
At the end of the row was the fifth pod in their group. The cover slid away to reveal the tiny figure. The infant wiggled in a bed of soft furs, her fisted hands waving at him. She opened her mouth and let out a high-pitched wail.
Kian smiled down at Princess Ember, the next in line to the throne of the House of Flames. His crew gathered around him, staring down at the babe.
“Cato, find out where we are,” Kian said, picking up Ember. “And discover if the seeding project was successful. Dax, I want you on a recon outside. Aiden, see to our provisions and get Ember a bottle.”
“Right away, sir,” they said.
Kian carried Ember through the ship to the bridge, where he found Cato sitting at the dashboard of his computer.
“Have you found anything?” Kian asked.
“We have slumbered for over a million years,” Cato said in a hushed tone.
“That was longer than we’d expected,” Kian said.
Aiden emerged onto the bridge holding a bottle of dragonkin formula and handed it to Kian. Kian took the bottle and began to feed Ember as he held her in his lap.
“Here you are, cousin,” Aiden said.
“A million years?” Kian asked Cato. “Are you sure?”
“This tiny blue planet has revolved around its bright yellow sun a million times since the seeding project.”
“But did it work?” Kian asked.
“The vegetation since our arrival has evolved,” Cato said, in his usual clipped tone.
“What else are you picking up?” Kian asked.
“There are signs of civilization,” Cato said. “It appears to have taken over most of the planet.”
“Have we overslept?” Kian asked as Ember sucked ravenously on her bottle.
It still felt somewhat strange that he had a child, since he had never found his fated mate. Even though he loved Ember dearly, there was still a hollow emptiness inside him, longing to be filled.
“That depends on how you define overslept,” Cato continued.
“Contact Dax in the field. Ask him what he sees.”
Cato pressed some buttons on the computer dashboard and Dax’s point of view came up on the screen.
“What do you see, Dax?” Kian asked him.
“There are intelligent creatures everywhere,” Dax said.
“We cannot allow these creatures to see our true form,” Kian said. “Our strength is limited, and our defenses are weak. We must try to blend in.”
“They do appear similar in composition to our bipedal form,” Cato said, watching the screen as Dax panned over the view of a darkened city street. Rain glistened on the pavement.
“No one saw me. I flew over the water with my stealth shields up,” Dax said.
“Keep it that way when in dragon form,” Kian said.
“Yes, sir,” Dax said.
“What are your orders, Prince Kian?” Cato asked.
“I need to know everything I can about these creatures,” Kian said, as the baby in his arms began to fuss.
He lifted her up and placed her against his shoulder, patting her back gently, how her mother had taught him. As one of the last of the race, Ember was a blessing to them all. He couldn't believe it had been so many years since they had landed on this planet.
The cataclysm that had forced them to leave their home world was still a sharp memory inside his mind. But he couldn't dwell on it now. He had work to do. He had to protect Ember and complete their mission in this world.
“Activating ship AI,” Cato stated. “Bethi, please scan the planet and compile the data you find.”
“Scanning,” the female voice said throughout the bridge.
Ember burped against Kian’s shoulder. He brought her back into his lap to face him. She smiled up at him, her bright blue eyes shining and her little fists waving in the air.
“That's Daddy's little girl,” he said.
When the Dragoness Prime had given birth to the last clutch of young to ever be birthed on their home planet, he was thrilled that his child had been born a daughter. The Dragonians had been lucky that the Dragoness Prime had been born and was able to mate with males of each house, giving hope to the future of all dragons. But the cataclysm had sent them searching for a new home.
When the dragons who had escaped found this habitable planet, they’d seeded it with the souls of their ancestors, hoping that someday, somehow, this place would become their new home. A million years had passed. It was a long time, even for dragons.
“Welcome to Earth,” the AI Bethi stated. “Population seven billion. The primary intelligent life forms are called humans. There are many divided countries among the humans. They have many cultures. There is an equal distribution of males and females. The year is 2018. You are off the coast of the United States of America. The closest city is Seattle. Here are some examples of the prevailing culture.”
Video clips played across the screen. Images of men and women of many colors, shapes and sizes flicked passed. The human males did not seem nearly as fit and strong as dragons, but the shapely human females were comely and soft with their delicate curvaceous forms.
Kian’s dragon rumbled at the sight of the female humans. They were so tiny and delicate. It woke up the primal mat
ing instinct inside him.
“I have identified the presence of the vampires,” the AI continued. “They have taken up residence on the planet and have integrated seamlessly with the human population.”
“The vampires are here?” Kian asked, slamming his fist on the arm of his captain’s chair.
“Yes, Prince of Flames. The mortal enemy of the dragons has taken residence on the planet Earth,” said Bethi.
“How can that be?” Kian demanded.
“The human history logs are limited. But I am picking up the distinct signature of vampires on the surface of the planet in my scans,” replied Bethi.
“Did the seeding work?” Kian asked again. “Are there Dragon Souls on the Earth?”
“Still scanning,” Bethi said.
“How can this be, Cato?”
“I don't know, sir. But we will find out.”
Dax’s face appeared on the screen with his smile bright and his eyes gleaming. Kian knew he was excited about something.
“What is it, Dax?” Kian asked.
“Have you gotten a look at these females?” Dax asked. He made a whistling sound and shook his head.
“We have observed the human females,” Cato said.
“My dragon won't stop growling. He's convinced we can mate with them.”
“Sex and mating are two separate things,” Cato said.
“But if there are Dragon Souls among them,” Aiden said, walking into the room and taking a seat beside Kian, “then mating may be possible.”
“That is a distinct possibility,” Cato said.
“Bethi, have you discovered if there are Dragon Souls among the humans?” Kian asked again.
“Still scanning, Prince Kian. It is difficult to determine. The seeding happened in the primordial past. The signature has diffused.”
Kian was frustrated. The cataclysm had driven them from their home planet and they could never return. He and his crew and others like them were the last hope for the dragons in the universe. He had to do everything in his power to reestablish the strength of the House of Flames. It was his duty and his responsibility.
“How should we blend in with these humans?” he asked Bethi.
“You should purchase a home,” Bethi said, displaying a variety of buildings on the screen. “And you should employee a nanny to take care of Princess Ember.”
“A nanny?” he asked, bouncing Ember in his arms.
“It is a human word that refers to a hired servant who cares for a child.”
“Then that is what we will do. We will buy a home and hire a nanny.”
“I hope that we have enough gold,” said Aiden.
Kian, Cato and Aiden walked down the hall of the ship, through the sleeping quarters, the mess hall, past the engine room, and down deep into the bowels of the ship.
Kian pressed his hand to a scanner and a door slid open. The lights in the dark room burst on. He and his crew stared at the hoard of treasure. The massive room was full of gold, jewels, and the treasures of the House of Flames.
“I wonder if this will buy us a house on this planet?” Kian pondered, looking down at Ember.
She smiled up at him and cooed, making an infantile sound that resembled agreement.
“I hope you're right, Ember. I hope you're right.”
Chapter 2
Everly Collins stood outside the courthouse, a folder of documents clutched against her chest. She couldn't believe that this was where her life had taken her. She'd thought she had everything she’d ever wanted a few months ago, a husband and a baby on the way, and then it all fell apart.
A tear slid down her cheek. She wasn't sad that her marriage was over. Not really. She had come to realize that her ex had never truly loved her. She’d simply seen what she had wanted to see when they’d gotten married. Her friend Stacy put her hand on her shoulder.
“Come on, Everly,” Stacy said. “Let's go.”
Everly followed Stacy to her rusty old station wagon and climbed inside. Everly had had to sell her car and all her belongings to pay for a lawyer to represent her in the divorce. Little good that had done. Everly had been left with nothing. Not only had she lost her marriage and her child, she’d lost everything else too.
Stacy drove the station wagon through town and stopped in front of her apartment building. Everly had been staying in Stacy's spare room. They went upstairs, and Everly collapsed on the couch, still clutching the divorce documents.
“I don't know what I'm going to do, Stacy,” she whispered.
Stacy brought her a cup of coffee and they sat together on the couch, staring at the blank screen of the television.
“You're going to stand up, dust yourself off, and move on with your life. You deserve way better than Tim ever gave you.”
“I can't believe he left me for his skinny secretary.”
“A man like that isn't worth your tears,” Stacy said, handing her a tissue.
“I still don't understand how he could do that?”
“Because he's a selfish narcissist. You didn't give him his perfect, ideal little life. So, he dropped you like a hot potato.”
“I still feel like I did something wrong.”
“Don't ever say that again. You didn't do anything wrong.”
Everly sipped her coffee, the divorce papers still sitting in the folder on her lap.
“Maybe if I hadn't lost the baby,” she whispered.
“I know that losing your pregnancy hurt, Everly. But if Tim had loved you, there's no way he would have left you after that.”
“It all just happened so fast. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“You can stay here as long as you need.”
“I've never been a person who likes to accept charity,” Everly said.
“I can afford to let you keep the room for now,” Stacy said, drawing her eyebrows together.
Everly knew that her friend Stacy was not exactly rich. Letting her borrow the room, rent free, when she could have been renting it out to a roommate, just made Everly feel even worse.
Six months ago, she’d had a miscarriage and lost her child. And three months later, her husband Tim announced that he was leaving her for his secretary: a statuesque, skinny blonde who worked in his office. Everly had been staying home, taking care of him since they'd been married, at his insistence. So, when he decided to leave her, she didn't even have a job. Once he announced the divorce, he told her she had to leave the house. Since everything was in his name, she had no choice but to comply.
He had all the money and all the power. She had no way to fight for anything with her measly savings. The divorce had wiped her out. Now she had nothing except her friend, whose charity could only last for so long.
“I'm going to find a job. And then I will pay you back for everything you've done for me.”
“I just want to make sure you're all right,” Stacy said, patting her knee. “We girls need to stick together and stand up to jerks like Tim.”
“Have I told you how grateful I am for you, Stacy?”
“I know, I know. I also know you would do the same for me.”
She would too. She intended to pay Stacy back for everything, just as soon as she figured out how. Everly had grown up with a single mom who’d been diagnosed with cancer the summer after Everly’s first year of college. She’d dropped out of school to take care of her mom and then started working as a waitress at a diner. That's where she and Stacy had met.
Stacy worked there in the evenings and went to grad school during the day. Everly had asked the diner if they had any hours and could hire her back, but they couldn't take her on. She’d asked all around town, but nobody seemed to be hiring. Especially with such a large gap in her resume.
“I thought I was living my fairytale. How could I have been so deluded?” she asked, holding the warm coffee cup between her palms.
“Tim talked a good game. You can't blame yourself.”
“I feel like I should have known better. Like I shou
ld have seen the red flags.”
“Next time, you’ll be more equipped. You won't let somebody pull the wool over your eyes like that again.”
“I hope you're right,” Everly said, setting the coffee down. She hugged Stacy and thanked her again.
Everly went to her room, needing to be alone and ready to look for a job. Stacy's guestroom was sparsely decorated. All Everly had to her name was a suitcase full of old clothes, her ancient laptop, and her flip cellphone. She sat in front of the computer and turned it on, determined to find a job.
If she had to take the bus all over town, then she would. She had to do what she had to do. If growing up with a single mother had taught her anything, it was how to work hard. After her father had left them as a young girl, all Everly had ever wanted was a family of her own. She wanted to live the fairytale in the romantic movies she watched and the books that she read. But her life with Tim had not worked out that way. She gritted her teeth and crinkled her eyebrows, just thinking about how stupid she had been for trusting him.
“I'll never trust another man again,” she said to herself as she opened the want ads in the local paper.
She scanned the job listings. Nothing seemed like she was qualified for it.
“I don't know what I'm going to do,” she said to herself woefully.
And then, as if a beacon in the night, she ran across a listing for a nanny position.
“Looking for a live-in nanny for an infant. Must have childcare experience. Be ready to start as soon as possible.”
Everly had worked in the nursery at the college and had been studying early childhood development in school. She babysat all through high school to save money to go to college. If her mother hadn’t gotten sick, she would have had a degree in child care by now. She bit her lip, thinking it wasn't enough experience. But she had to try. What else could she do? She opened her resume file and updated it, trying to make her experience seem a little bit more impressive.