him from them. But he is the only one.”
Suli shook her head, her feathery
antennae brushing Kara’s tangled hair. “Telnar will not help. His bitterness
has warped him. He despises the other slaves, and himself most of all.”
That sounded discouraging. But even
a small chance was better than no chance at all. “I’d like to talk to him
anyway. Could you help me meet him?”
“We could ask him to come see you,”
said Suli doubtfully. “But he will probably refuse.”
Kara ground her teeth with
frustration. “Please try. Tell him that if he sets my mate free, Rhodar could
free him as well.”
“You really think your mate could
help us escape?” Aralan asked.
“He freed me,” said Kara. “He
melted iron manacles off my ankles without burning me. And he can transform
into a dragon! But before any of that happened, I hit the slave trader over the
head and ran. I think my mate can free you... if you’re willing to help free
yourself.”
The slave girls glanced at each
other. Then, moving as one, they stood.
“We will do our best,” said Suli.
She bestowed a delicate kiss on Kara’s lips.
Then the slave girls hurried from
the bathing room.
As the door closed behind them with
a flash of magical light, Kara realized that she had forgotten to ask what
manner of being Telnar was. Then she shrugged to herself. Telnar might be able
to set Rhodar free, and that was all that mattered.
She slipped into the sunken tub.
The hot water, delicately scented with jasmine, was delicious against her skin,
washing away the sweat and the smell of sex. She would have liked to luxuriate
in it, but she didn’t know how long it would be before Telnar came. If he came.
Reluctantly, she climbed out and
dried herself on thick towels which reminded her of Aralan’s fur. Padding naked
to the bedroom, she opened a closet door. It was filled with gauzy,
near-transparent dresses.
Hearing footsteps, she snatched the
nearest one and yanked it over her head. The frock of white gauze clung to the
pink nubs of her nipples, and barely hung low enough to cover her cunt and ass.
But she had no time to change. The
door opened, and a male figure walked in.
For an instant he was a silhouette
against the bright flash of magical light— the black figure of a tall winged
man with taloned hands and a long dragon’s tail.
Kara leaped forward with a cry of
joy. “Rhodar!”
Then the magical glow faded, and
she saw the man for who he truly was. He was a dragon-shifter, but not her
love.
This man’s skin was green with blue
undertones, like the sky before a tornado. His narrowed eyes were gray, his
thick hair was black with blue glints, and his handsome face was creased with
lines of disappointment and pain.
He stalked toward her, his taloned
hands clenching and unclenching.
Kara drew back in fear. “T—
Telnar?”
The dragon-shifter stopped a few
feet away. “I should not have come.” His voice was thick with bitterness.
“No, please stay!” Kara stepped
forward.
Her skirt floated up with her
movement, revealing her bare sex. She saw Telnar’s gaze drift downward, and she
recognized the lust that burned in his eyes. Then he jerked his eyes back up to
her face.
“I don’t know how much Aralan and
Suli told you,” she began.
He let out a menacing hiss. “You
wish me to free the monster whom you claim is your mate. Such a pathetic lie.”
“Lie?” Kara was confused. “Why
would I lie about that? Rhodar and I are mates.”
Telnar hissed again, contemptuously
this time. “If he is in the dungeon, he is a beast. A monster... like me. No
woman would touch such a hideous creature, such a freak of nature, of her own
free will.”
Kara’s temper flared. “My Rhodar is
not a monster! He’s a dragon-shifter, like you!”
“A dragon-shifter?” repeated
Telnar. “Like me?”
“Yes, just like you: a handsome man
with wings and tail and talons. His skin is black, but otherwise he looks just
like you. He’s not a monster