Dragon Down Under

The beast was clawing under his skin, screaming to escape. Burning pain racked through every cell of Kaden’s body as he writhed on the cold stone floor, the enchanted manacle biting deeply into his skin. He wanted to shift, needed to shift, his dragon wanted out, wanted his freedom. It had been eight days, three days past the tolerance of any dragon to be able to stay in his human form. Even if he could shift, the little cell he’d been placed in would crush his dragon body, killing him. It was agonizing. But then again, that was the whole point, to keep him like this, to cause him pain, to make him suffer for a crime he did not commit. No one was listing to his pleas; no one would hear his side of the story. He got the feeling they didn’t wish to either. The evidence negated his words. Kaden was acutely aware of the jealousy that raged through many of the male dragons of the king’s court. Everyone knows no good deed goes unpunished.

He held on to his scream. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of screaming, even when the whip had torn his flesh, as every dragon of the court watched on, in the central chamber, including the eyes of his accuser. He had raised his gaze to glare with hatred at the woman who had ripped everything from him, the one who had reduced him to this. Kaden snorted in disgust when she turned her head as the punishment continued. Each time he had tried to deny the crime, he’d been whipped into silence. Clenching his jaw, enduring until he had collapsed, his dragon side wanted to take over to heal his flesh, but the manacle of the gods had been placed on his ankle and he had been shoved into this tiny cell. Now he waited for his death.

He couldn’t raise his head as he heard the footsteps approached his cell. The door swung open.

“ Always knew it would be a woman to bring you down, Kaden.” The cold voice of Merloc, once his subordinate, now his tormentor, and new captain of the guard rang out as he stepped into the cell.

“ You know me better than to believe I would do something like that to her.” His voice sounded shaky and pained to his ears. “I was set up! Can’t you see it?”

“ It’s out of my hands, my friend. The king has decided: it’s not death, but I think you’re going to prefer it, may the gods have mercy.”

Kaden managed to raise his head to meet Merloc’s gaze. Pain racked his body as he forced himself to stand. He would face anything they threw at him with pride and honour.

“ Take him to the court chamber for the verdict.”

Merloc stepped back to let two dragon guards take hold of him by his upper arms, while Merloc undid the manacle. Every step felt as if they were driving long hot spikes up through the soles of his feet. He kept his head held high as he was led up from the cold dungeon, through the lower chambers of the dragon palace up into the warmth of the upper spires of the king’s court. The elders flanked the king on the large flat dais that accommodated both human and dragon form. The queen was conveniently absent. The king’s face was grim as Kaden was pushed to his knees.

“ Kaden De-Kerr you have been found guilty of treason against the queen, king and the royal court.” The king’s top adviser Petra spoke.

Kaden clenched his jaw so tight, he was close to breaking his teeth.

“ As only one was willing to speak in your defence, and long loyal service to the royal court, the usual death penalty has been lifted. It is instead the judgment of this court that you hereby be exiled from the Dragon Realm.”

He struggled to suppress the pain pounding through him, making it difficult to concentrate on what was being said. There were two possible places of exile, the Lower Realm and the Human Realm. He was hoping for the Lower Realm, at least there he could shift when he wanted, demons were not averse to having a dragon in their midst. The second was almost unthinkable, the Human Realm.

It was not unheard of for dragon males to make short trips through the Realm portals to indulge in the pleasures of a human female. But to live there willingly was unthinkable. No dragon who had had been cast from the Outer Realm had ever come back. It was simply assumed they had not survived. Every dragon knew the humans lived in ignorance and fear. Dragons were hunted and slaughtered because of it.

“ You shall be stripped of your magic and tossed to the fates of the Human Realm. Is there anything you wish to say?”

Kaden drew in a shuddering breath, fighting not to let his anguish show. “When the truth is revealed, nothing you do or say will ever right this wrong,” he proclaimed proudly. He would say nothing more. The arguments in the court were done. They had not listened to him then, they would not now. He had lost.

“ Be done with him.”

Kaden knew it was the king’s final word. His arms were seized by the guards and they dragged him away. He knew exactly where he was being taken: the realm portal.