A Lair So Fateful (The Last Dragorai Book 4) Read online

  A Lair So Fateful

  Copyright © 2022 by Zoey Ellis. All rights reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The right of Zoey Ellis to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent’s Act, 1988. All rights reserved. Except for use in review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part, by any means, is forbidden without written permission from the author.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by any way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the author’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  First Edition: May 2022

  A LAIR SO FATEFUL

  From a dark, magic-ravaged world comes an enthralling new fantasy romance series. Five brothers, last of an ancient Alpha bloodline, each bound by fire and blood to their majestic dragons.

  He demands her worship. Or he will bring her to her knees.

  Uraya is desperate to live in peace. Having finally escaped the queen of the south, her goal is to vanish - to leave the war in the Twin Realms and start a new life.

  But to get her freedom she must work with the most intolerable dragonlord across the Realms.

  Known for reducing women into simpering worshipers, Sethorn ruins the lives of any woman he desires.

  Uraya refuses to be his plaything…

  And her defiance fuels his intense captivation with her.

  In an effort to maintain her quest for serenity, Uraya is forced to bargain with him, but Sethorn rouses a sinful craving that he dominates.

  Primal attraction erupts into savage, carnal hunger.

  When the queen complicates their mission, Uraya realizes she is on the brink of losing not just the peace she has always dreamed of but every part of herself.

  And if she doesn’t evade Sethorn’s obsessive claim on her, he will drag her to a fate of his choosing.

  A LAIR SO FATEFUL is the fourth book in The Last Dragorai, an epic fantasy romance series. This series can be read as standalones but will be better enjoyed if read in order. Includes romance of a dark nature and a HEA.

  CONTENTS

  Pronunciation Guide

  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

  Epilogue

  Discover Myth of Omega

  About Zoey Ellis

  Also by Zoey Ellis

  PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

  Sethorn - seth-orn

  Uraya - uh-RAY-ya

  Dragorai - drag-GOR-rye

  Ornendor - or-NEN-door

  Dan Askha - dan-AX-ah

  Thrakondarian - thrack-kon-DAR-ree-ann

  Thrakond - thrack-kond

  Vattoro - vat-TOR-roe

  Daylen - day-lin

  Kon’aya - kon-nye-ah

  Mheyu - may-you

  Oshali - osh-SHAH-lee

  I’mya - im-my-ah

  Khyros - KY-ros

  Zendyor - ZEN-dee-yor

  Elora - ee-LORE-rah

  Tyomar - tie-OH-mar

  Nyro - NY-roe

  1

  Author’s note: The timing of this book begins during Book 2 and extends beyond Book 3

  A pronunciation guide for this world can be located from the Contents page.

  A violent terror tore through Uraya as she realized she was plummeting toward the ground.

  Gasping, she tried to breathe against the torrent of wind blasting her face, deafening and blinding her as she flailed. The ground being the wrong way up disoriented her, and alarm shot through her mind. If she couldn’t quickly figure out what incantations to use, she was going to die.

  Suddenly, something solid knocked into her, pressing against her back and wrapping around her torso. Her stomach lurched as she was yanked in the opposite direction, and for a moment, everything was a blur as she tried to get ahold of what was happening.

  And then she was upright and traveling through the air at an unnatural speed, while thick arms around her torso held her against a solidness at her back.

  Uraya gripped onto the arms, panting as adrenaline rush through her body. What, in all seven hells, was happening?

  Around her, enormous streaks of black shot past, along with orange bursts of flame, thundering roars and high-pitched screeches. Yells and screams from below added to the combined discord that agitated her shock and confusion.

  Turning her head, she realized she was being held by a giant of a man who was gliding through the air with nothing to support him. He held her against his chest so securely that it calmed her somewhat, but before she could figure out how he was remaining airborne, he drifted up to a black mass floating in the air. No, not a mass, a flying creature, with wings so big they seemed to block out part of the sky.

  The giant landed on its back and sat astride the dragon, placing her down in front of him. Keeping one arm firmly around her torso, he leaned forward to press his palm onto the creature’s back, and immediately they lurched to one side, angling downward.

  Uraya closed her eyes, nausea rising at the movement, but the sound of screams drew closer, and as smoke filled her nostrils they fluttered open.

  Burned bodies and charred trees spread out on the ground before her, and up ahead the queen’s palace stood, grand and majestic… except the building was now charred on one side. Then finally, Uraya’s disjointed knowledge and memory shifted the images together.

  She had been with Oshali, who had managed to get them airborne, but something had caused her to fall. Now she was on the back of a dragon, and since the only remaining dragons in the Twin Realms belonged to the last dragorai clan, the giant behind her had to be the alpha who was bonded to this dragon.

  Before Uraya could piece together why he would have caught her, the giant lifted his hand from the dragon’s back and held it up as they approached the queen’s army, who was swarming out from the palace toward them on the ground below. A burst of flame shot from the dragon’s mouth, and the man called out words in Thrakondarian. The army began to fall in waves, their bodies either charred with fire eating through their flesh at an unnatural rate, or they crumpled into unnatural heaps. The dragon swooped back around, angling to the side, and a piercing screech tore through the air, almost deafening her.

  As they once again approached the castle, the dragon darted and tilted to avoid the many arrows shooting through the air headed directly for them. To Uraya’s amazement, the dragon hadn’t gotten hit, able to maneuver in the air so fast to avoid them.

  The dragorai alpha behind her placed his hand on the dragon’s back again, muttering incantations under his breath. Thrakondarian was the language used to manipulate magic but these incantations, and even some of the words, were unlike anything Uraya had heard before. Yes, they were familiar, but the way the man spoke them was unique—the weight he placed on certain syllables, the rhythm, the rhyming… it was almost poetic. If only she’d had time to appreciate it.

  Everything was overwhelming her; the blunt wind against her face, the fetid reek of burned entrails in he
r throat, the ensemble of blaring sound… Her senses were in overload. The only thing that kept her from spiraling back into panic was the secure hold of the arm across her waist.

  As the dragon swooped around again for another attack, the realization came to her why this was all so strange. She could… feel. Her senses and emotions were so vivid, so visceral—she had felt nothing like this in years.

  The training she’d received had suppressed feelings and emotions. She’d been taught to be emotionally stoic and prioritize logic and loyalty over fear. Soaring through the air on the back of the largest dragon she had ever seen, it was as if all her training had been ripped away, her raw emotions bursting through so strongly she could barely concentrate on anything.

  It didn’t help that she was dragon-back amid a battle between the queen’s army and a dragorai, and he wasn’t alone. In the air around them, identical-looking dragons, each with a rider, also attacked the palace and the army. They all moved so fast, black streaks shooting through the air, she couldn’t tell how many there were.

  The dragon she was on flew toward the palace, circling to the back where more of the army were spilling from the doors out into the palace gardens and grounds. The alpha bellowed, deep and thunderous, and his dragon joined him in an earsplitting screech before diving repeatedly in attack.

  The ferociousness of their calls burrowed into her, heightening the already powerful emotions dashing around her body and infecting her with their wildness. The satisfaction of seeing the army below felled so quickly and brutally thrilled her. And when the dragon rounded the palace again and dove to attack, she let out a cry of excitement. She whooped and yelled out in delight with each roar and burst of flame from the dragon’s mouth.

  Rough fingers dug into her jaw and pulled her head around. She found herself looking up into quizzical, hazel eyes, beautifully framed by dark lashes. Her breath left her for a moment. The giant was handsome. No, not just handsome, stunning. So dazzling it was as though he wasn’t real. He looked like the ancient artists’ depictions of alpha gods; bronze skin, powerful jaw, and a broody wildness that was emphasized by his thick brows. Even his hair was styled in that same old-fashion way—an auburn mane that curled around his ears and extended down the back of his neck. A dark, smoky scent emanated from him, tinged with the harshness of his fervency and something else… something deeper, potent, and innate.

  He spoke, but she couldn’t understand the words this time and the dragon let out another screech, distracting her. Yanking her face away from him, she leaned forward to press her hand on the beast’s back and the dragon roared again, angling upward, spiraling as he carved a pathway through the sky. Uraya laughed, a sudden burst of hilarity bubbling through her. This was incredible—the rush, the excitement, the power and unpredictability. The dragon tilted as he flew in a perfect arc and then dove back toward the palace, roaring, and Uraya roared with him, deliriously drunk with sensation. The man behind her began to cast, incantations rolling off his tongue at a speed that she could no longer identify the individual words. Below, guards were falling, their limbs ripping from their bodies and their heads rolling away from their torsos. Fire burst from the dragon’s mouth, reaching farther than Uraya thought possible and melting everything in sight. As they moved closer, women in red and black uniforms flooded out from the palace gates, their hands and arms angled toward the sky as they began to cast in retaliation.

  Uraya sobered immediately. Those were wardens.

  She glanced down at her own clothing to see the same uniform. Those wardens were her fellow warriors. Apprehension knocked all hilarity out of her as she watched the wardens casting furiously. Looking farther into the distance, she saw they had surrounded the palace, all casting in a united effort to protect the queen. Exactly as she would be doing if she were on the ground.

  Gritting her teeth, she held herself still and tense as they drove closer. The alpha’s incantations were powerful and a handful of the wardens fell to the same fate as the guards—before a barrier erected over the palace and its grounds.

  The dragon angled up sharply, just managing to avoid the barrier, and soared over the palace, which was now protected from their attack.

  Uraya exhaled, disappointment filling her as she realized the truth of her circumstances. She had escaped the queen, but she was not safe. As a warden of the queen, she was an enemy to the famous dragorai, and Oshali, who had made her a guarantee she would be safe, was nowhere to be seen.

  Uraya was in danger.

  Swallowing, she kept herself still as the dragon flew over the palace a few more times before heading away across the province. The other dragons and their dragorai riders joined them, and now that they were no longer in battle, she could see there were only two others.

  Uraya kept her eyes on the ground below, watching the city dash by. They were so high up, she could only recognize the land by the ruins of the city, and the dangerous smoky black clouds of magical ash, called ember, that was dotted in numerous places around the provinces. As much as she had the urge to get away from both the dragon and the alpha, her death was guaranteed if she jumped from this height.

  “ko’ is gi as?” The bass of the alpha’s voice rumbled into her back. He was asking her who she was, but there was no way she was going to answer that question. A nervous flicker bloomed in her stomach.

  “Or maybe you would understand me better if I spoke the common tongue of this land. Who are you?”

  Uraya still didn’t respond. The flicker in her stomach became a jagged bundle of nerves and she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

  “You are wearing the uniform of the wardens,” he added. “Why?”

  She kept her eyes on the land below them. Nothing but the sound of the dragon’s wings beating filled the air for a few long moments.

  “Why were you and Oshali falling through the air?”

  He tightened his arm around her and the security and comfort she had felt from the way he held her suddenly felt confining. But she said nothing, trying to control the nerves threatening to overwhelm her. She could see why the queen trained her wardens to suppress their emotions—it was highly distracting and impossible to think clearly when fear and nervousness were present.

  “Were you trying to kidnap Oshali for the queen? Is that it?”

  When she remained silent, a growl vibrated from his chest. He grabbed her jaw again and twisted her head around, forcing her face up until her eyes met his. “I demand you answer my questions.”

  Demand? A flare of anger dispersed her nervousness, and it must have showed in her face because the alpha’s expression changed. His hitched brows lowered, his eyes narrowed, and the corner of his mouth angled up into a smirk.

  “I can see you are going to need some lessons on how to behave in the presence of a dragorai.” Leaning forward, a gleam of excited savagery entered his gaze. “I think I shall enjoy teaching you how to worship me.”

  Her rising anger churned in her chest but self-preservation kept her mouth shut. Besides, without the acrid stench of heated innards contaminating the air, his unique scent beckoned, and it was somewhat… alluring. Uraya pulled her face from his grip and turned back around, emotions and thoughts jumbled, heightening her state of confusion.

  Breathing deeply, she forced herself to inhale and exhale slowly and pushed every powerful emotion into the pit of her stomach. She needed to focus on what to do to get out of her situation. Uncontrollable emotions would not help her escape this man.

  She’d heard things about the dragorai over the years, they were a strong part of history after all. But it was difficult to tell what was true and what was myth. She knew they lived for centuries and were rumored to be the Seven Goddesses’ favored creations, therefore holding power and abilities that no one else in the Twin Realms had. And that seemed to be true—this man’s incantations were much more sophisticated than any she’d heard from the queen. His ability to attack so viciously and at such speed was astonishing, but their brut
ality was also well-known, and most people in the Realm avoided them when they could. If this one was as dangerous as she suspected, his threat wasn’t one to ignore. Uraya swallowed slowly, her eyes trained on the ground she could barely see. She was so far up that one small push from him, and she would never survive.

  The realization that she may not be free after all was a shard of bitterness in her throat, but she pushed that away too. She couldn’t give up. She never thought she’d be able to escape the queen for at least another ten years, and yet as of today, she was out of her clutches. It wouldn’t be impossible to escape the dragorai too. Comforted by that thought, she relaxed into his firm hold, and strangely, the surrounding restriction helped to steady her mind.

  Soon they were flying lower over the outer provinces made up of dead fields and ruins, while ahead of them acres of desolate land stretched into the distance. Uraya tried to figure out how far they were from the palace, but she recognized nothing of the land below. Rarely in her life had she ever been so far away from the palace or the inner provinces. What if they were leaving the south altogether?

  “I need to go back.”

  The dragorai did not respond.