Breath of Fate (Dragon Erotica): Rising Dragons #7 Read Online Free Page A

persecution of dragons who broke that law.
    “Roka helped you. Can you explain to me the difference?”
    “Roka…” Rafe stopped, his mouth half open as though he were searching for the words. “He helped out of necessity, and he is already mated.” Under his breath, he murmured, “It’s not as if we’d be able to breed.”
    “So it’s only because they’re males that you’ve got your panties in a bunch?”
    “You’re a beautiful, powerful dragon. I’ve submitted to as your mate already, against the laws as they stand now. If those laws change, you’ll have the right to take others, I imagine. Other dragons and humans. Male and female, if you choose. That, and it’s not exactly easy to get over centuries of backward thinking. The idea of you breeding with another dragon feels…not right.”
    “Unless it’s you.”
    Rafe’s jaw clenched and his hand tightened around hers. “I used to feel differently,” he said quietly. “Two dragons lying together was against our laws, except for the sacred union of the Catalysts and the dragon mates chosen for them by the Council. I believed in our laws and held to them so tightly that I considered such unions among other dragons an abomination. It wasn’t until the night I met you that I knew what a fool I’d been. I could sense in your magic how pure your blood is. Yet all I wanted was to awaken your nature and make you mine. But once I did that—I discovered you were even more powerful than I’d dreamed. I couldn’t go back without letting you claim me. This feels right, now that it’s done.”
    “It’s not quite done yet, though, is it? We still have a law to change.”
    “That we do,” Rafe said, bringing her hand to his lips.

Chapter 4
    T he escort of Unbound dispersed around the Pavilion and Kris finally caught sight of the retinue of Court dragons and their mates. The group was led by a few unfamiliar faces. He recognized Geva and Erika instantly—but the trio that accompanied them were new to him. The striking female Red in the center exuded power beyond even Geva’s vibrant energy.
    “There she is,” Darius whispered beside him.
    “You know this dragon?” Kris asked, jerking his head to look at his father.
    Darius cut a sideways glance at Kris and gave him a smug smile. “She’s our salvation. I couldn’t tell you about her before today, or we’d have lost her assistance.”
    “Who is she?” Kris asked, turning back to watch as the group approached, still far enough to be out of earshot.
    “Bren and Warik’s daughter. The newest Unbound. So new, the Council doesn’t even know about her. Or they didn’t until now, but it’s too late for them to do anything.”
    Darius sounded pleased with himself. Kris glanced at him again and caught the smug smile and twinkle in his eye. Kris braced himself for a reaction from the Council who had faded out of visibility until the others came into the Pavilion. Nothing happened aside from an agitated crackle of energy around him. They were aware, but holding their tongues.
    “The lineages say Bren was mated to a human named Bertram…” Kris began, but Darius cut him off.
    “Warik the Red was the son of our queen, Freyja, two generations past. Warik mated with Bren, our queen, almost three decades ago, just before Bren died. You and I are both aware that the only dragons allowed to breed pure are Catalysts, from whom every generation of Queen has been born. This beautiful young Red represents multiple generations of the purest breeding in our history.”
    “Her parents shared a bloodline and still mated?”
    “Yes! That’s my point. The bloodlines don’t matter within a single generation. At least that’s my theory. It’s the magic in a dragon’s essence that the child is conceived from, and two dragon parents produce a much stronger magic in the child. Genetics are such a small part of it. Why else would they have let me mate with your mother? They simply needed my dragon essence, and