Bastileborn - Dragon Fire Pt. 01

Lacia laughed a little hysterically as she looked up at Sidian. He had the most anguished look on his handsome face, but she couldn't focus on it as her attention turned to the magnificent wings folded against his back.

"By the gods! You really are a dragon!" she said in pure astonishment. "I've heard so many stories, but I didn't know you could hide yourselves among humans," she said as she climbed to her feet and stepped around him. His wings were just as black and shiny as his hair. The sun gave his scales an iridescent shimmer. "Simply mesmerizing ... how come you don't look like a giant lizard with wings?"

He smiled after that question.

"I can when I want to. That's our war form. Dragons rarely take that shape outside of war," he explained.

"How does that even work? How did your wings appear? Where were they for the past two days?"

"I summon them with magic. Let me show you," he said as he expanded his wings and let them burst into blue fire.

Lacia gasped and jumped away from him as the fire flared up and vanished, leaving Sidian looking like a human. Then he summoned more fire that swirled up and materialized his wings again. His eyes would burn with blue fire every time he used his magic.

"That's incredible!" she laughed. "Can you give yourself horns and fangs? How much can you change yourself? Can you make yourself look like me?"

"No, I can only express inborn features. If I tried to give myself a horn or something, I would probably severely injure myself. Only gods can use pure transfiguration magic. I'm nowhere near that powerful."

"You're still incredible," she said with a huge smile. "Can I see your war form?"

"Not now. We're too close to the Pirate Islands. I don't want the whole world to know what I am. Only the people on this ship know that Ragos and I are dragons. Dragons are greatly outnumbered by all the mortal races, so we try to keep a low profile."

"I understand... what I don't understand is why you're parading around like a pirate. Of all things you could be, why are you a pirate?"

Sidian smiled and shook his head.

"Well, little flame, that is a very good question that I don't feel like answering at the moment. I will explain it in time. Some things don't have simple answers. I'm starving, by the way. I have a feeling you are too. Shall we clean up for lunch?" he asked as he offered her his hand.

Lacia blushed and nodded. She was disappointed that she had vomited her guts out right in front of Sidian.

Little Flame

Lacia sat down in one of the comfy chairs in the captain's room. She leaned her head back to rest while she and Sidian waited for lunch to arrive. Being kidnapped and swept off a ship by a dragon in the middle of the south sea was exhausting. She nodded off before food arrived. Rupert stumbled into the room with lunch and woke her. She sat up in surprise and met Sidian's thoughtful gaze. He was sitting across from her with a book on his lap. He quickly put it away so he could assist Rupert with the tray. Lunch was a magnificent spread of roasted chicken with vegetables and cheese-stuffed hand pies.

"Mm, I've never had a stuffed pie with goat cheese and raspberries before. Rupert is brilliant," Lacia said with her mouth full.

"He can't take all the credit. That's a dragon recipe I gave to him a few years ago. He has almost perfected it," Sidian said as he picked up his wine and sipped it.

Lacia watched as he swirled his red wine in his glass and smiled ruefully.

"You seem sad, Sidian. Do you mind if I call you Sidian? I like it better than Sid," she confessed.

He looked at her and smiled. His large blue eyes brightened, reflecting his mood. It was a little hypnotic at times.

"I would love hearing my normal name again. Especially from you," he said as he held her in his gaze.

The intensity of his stare made her heart rate quicken.

"Um, tell me why you're sad. Is it because you hate your brother?"

"No. I don't hate him. I really want to sometimes. He's the closest family I have right now. He's not even my real brother. His father adopted me after my family was murdered. Ragos always treated me like real family. I know he loves me, but I will never understand why he goes out of his way to torment me now," he sighed as he ran his fingers through his shiny black hair, pushing it off his forehead.

"That's so sad. Why don't you ask him why he acts like an ass all the time?"

Sidian smiled and shook his head at that suggestion.

"That's like asking the sun why it rises in the east every morning. That's just what it does."

Lacia smiled as she picked up her wine and sipped it. She was feeling tremendously better after a nap and a meal.

"Sidian, why does Ragos call you innocent? You're a pirate, for heaven's sake. You kidnap, steal, and threaten to kill people. I would not consider that innocent."

"I was afraid you would ask that," he sighed as he turned up his wine and drained it. Lacia watched as he set his glass down and scratched his chin. "Ragos likes to make fun of me because I've never had sex before. By dragon standards, I'm far past the age when most dragons mate for the first time. When Ragos came of age, he went out that very night and started screwing around, and he didn't stop until he was exiled for racial treason. While I was working my ass off to become a royal guard, he was whoring. He did train me to sword fight when he wasn't drunk. He's not all bad. He just never understood the concept of waiting for your perfect mate," he explained with a blush spreading across his cheeks.

Lacia was blushing as well as she stared at him.

"How old are you?" she asked curiously.

"Um... one hundred and fifteen," he said apprehensively. Lacia's mouth dropped open after that.

"By the gods! How long do you live?"

"If we're not killed in battle or murdered, we can live for over seven hundred years. After that, our magic fades, our bodies dry up, and we turn to stone."

"That's amazing! How old is Ragos?"

"He's a hundred and seventy."

"Unbelievable... you both look my age. Humans know so little about dragons," she said as she looked across the room in thought.

"What's wrong?" Sidian asked as her expression grew concerned.

"You said you want to marry me. Isn't that racial treason? By human law, I'm supposed to marry a human."

"It is racial treason. Does that make you sad?" he asked as he searched her troubled eyes.

"It does. I really enjoy you, Sidian. I was quickly warming up to the idea of marrying you when I thought you were a human. I honestly still want to marry you in spite of you being a dragon, but we'll be scorned for it, won't we?"

Lacia watched as Sidian's expression grew very sad. He took a deep breath and slid out of his chair, kneeling at her feet. He gently picked up her hand and kissed it. Tears were in his eyes when he finally looked up at her again. She gulped and felt tears filling her eyes as she stared at him. She was afraid to know what caused such a strong stir of emotion.

"Lacia, I need to tell you something very serious. I wanted to wait a few days to allow you to rest and be more comfortable on the ship, but Ragos had to fuck that up like he does everything else," he whispered angrily.

"What are you talking about?" she asked with a gulp.

Sidian's heart was breaking as he watched a tear trail down her pale cheek.

"I don't know how to tell you this. I was hoping your parents would have told you by now, but it doesn't surprise me Luradon hushed it up. His intentions may have been good, but never telling you was dangerous. I want you to know you're safe here, and my intentions are to protect you," he declared as he searched her eyes.

"You're scaring me, Sidian. Why do I need protecting?"

"Lacia... King Luradon is not your real father," he whispered as he watched her eyes fill with shock.

"That's ridiculous! Of course, he is!"

"No, he's not. Your real father is King Faddon, the dragon king. He raped your mother during the holy week of the Blood Accord. I was there that night. Luradon found out and made an attempt on Faddon's life, but I stopped him. That's why I was exiled. I saved your family that night. Faddon would have surely killed all of you to keep his own racial treason a secret. He killed my father, and he wanted to kill me, but by the grace of the gods I have survived, and I intend to keep you safe as well."

Lacia was trembling and shaking her head.

"No! I can't believe this! How can I know you're not lying?" she demanded.

"Your little flames prove you're half dragon," Sidian sighed as he picked up her right hand and turned her palm up.

Lacia watched as he touched his index finger to her palm and began swirling it over her skin, creating strange energy that tingled up into her arm. She gasped when a little yellow flame ignited in her palm and continued to steadily burn. He quickly pulled his finger away and looked at the astonishment on her beautiful face.

"What does this prove? You're making this fire!" she accused.

"Lacia, I can't make yellow fire. Only white dragons can. Your father is a white dragon," he said as he picked up the silver tray the tea had been sitting on and held it up to her face.

She gasped in horror at what she saw. Little yellow flames were burning in her eyes like the larger blue flames that burned in Sidian's eyes when he used his magic. She quickly closed her eyes and put her hands over her face.

"It's a trick! You're lying!" she blubbered.

"Why would I lie about this? Why would a dragon pick a random human to marry? Why would I leave the Living Mountain on purpose? Your existence has dictated my life from the second you were conceived. At first, I hated you for it, but now I'm falling in love with you! My heart almost stopped when I saw those beautiful little flames in your eyes when you attacked me on your family's ship. All I could think was you were the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, and I should stop you before you killed me. I knew at that point Cypress was right, and my banishment was worth it. I would fall in love with the most unlikely person. My enemy's daughter! You would bring me joy greater than my suffering," he said with tears streaming down his face.

Lacia was staring at him in complete disbelief.

"Lacia, I'm so unbelievably sorry for everything. I assumed you would be happy with me since I could never be happy if you were sad," he whispered as he picked up her hands and kissed them.

She watched him with her heart pounding. She believed what he was telling her even though it shattered her existence.

"You... you want to love me? I'm an abomination! A half-breed! You said I ruined your life! How could you possibly love me after that?" she wept.

"I thought that at first, but then I met you. I don't simply want to love you. I'm already in love with you. Cypress told me this would happen."

"Cypress... are you saying you spoke to a god?"

"I'm the century transcendent. I spoke to all the gods. Meeting them pales in comparison to what I felt when I met you."

"The transcendent! Now I think you're spouting nonsense. I already think you're amazing, Sidian. You don't have to make up crazy shit to impress me. If you truly love me like you say you do, then kiss me. Kiss me like you love me. I'm more than ready for it," she said as she slid out of her chair and knelt on the floor with him.

She touched his beautiful face as he nervously searched her pale gray eyes. His eye color shifted to a darker blue with his grief, like the deepest parts of the sea after a storm.

"I... don't know how to kiss. Do you?" he whispered.

"No, but I think you just feel your way through it. That's what I was doing earlier. It felt wonderful," she whispered as she drew closer to him and gently pressed their lips together.

A familiar fire rushed to Lacia's mouth when their lips touched. It made her insides burn with want. She gently pulled his upper lip between hers and tasted it before she did the same to his lower lip. Sidian moaned softly as he copied what Lacia was doing. He thought her mouth tasted delicious, and the heat that was rising inside his body made his heart race. They kissed more and more passionately, exploring each others' mouths hungrily. They had to pull away to breathe a few seconds later. They stared at each other in complete amazement at what they felt.

"That's entrancing," Sidian breathed as he pulled Lacia's forehead against his. He loved having her face so close.

"I've never felt anything like this. I'm hot all over," she whispered and started kissing him again.

He quickly matted his fingers into her beautiful blond curls and pulled her into his lap while he kissed her hungrily. Lacia groaned in delight as she felt his hand gliding down her back, pulling her closer as he worked his tongue into her mouth. She gasped when his hand went up her blouse and groped her breasts.

"That feels so good," she groaned as he kissed down her neck, tasting her soft skin.

Lacia ran her fingers into his silky hair and pulled his mouth back to hers. She kissed him deeply as his hands continued to explore inside her blouse.

"Sidian, I want you inside me," she whispered against his lips as she reached down and stroked the prominent bulge in his pants.

He groaned and shuddered with tingles as he looked into her eyes. All she could see was sunlit sapphires.

"I uh... no, Lacia, we need to stop," he breathed as he grabbed her hand so she would stop rubbing him. He was trembling all over.

"What's wrong? Are you all right?" she asked in concern.

"No... I'm burning," he panted as he gently pushed her out of his lap and scooted away from her.

"Why? Are you sick?"

"No, my fire is overreaching. I can barely control it or myself," he panted as he closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe slower.

"You're fire? What do you mean? Sidian, talk to me," she demanded.

"Lacia, you're provoking a DRAGON! My race takes things incredibly slow for a reason!" he growled through his teeth. "I need to speak to Ragos. I'm so unbelievably sorry, Lacia. I love you. I'll be back later today," he said before he rushed from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Lacia stared after him with her heart pounding and her own body burning. She had never been more aroused and terrified by what she felt in her entire life. The unsatisfied fire almost hurt inside her.

"What just happened?" she breathed as she leaned against the cushy chair with her hand over her pounding heart. Sidian's smell was still on her skin, making her tingle and burn more. "By the gods, what's wrong with me?" she grumbled as she laid down on the soft rug, wishing her heart would cease its manic pounding. It was stoking the angry fire.

Barnabas was chatting with the first mate when Sidian ran up to the helm and announced he would be gone for a few hours. The captain's eyes looked almost wild.

"A few hours? Is something wrong?" Barnabas asked.

"Embarrassing dragon problems, you don't need to worry about it," he grumbled, shaking his head. "Check on Lacia for me when you have a chance, Barnabas. She probably needs someone to talk to right now. I need to cool down for a while," he said before he stepped up onto the railing and dived into the sea.

Barnabas ran to the railing to watch Sidian summon his wings underneath the waves. He used them to dart through the water towards the Pirate Islands.

Ragos was relaxing in his favorite cave on the side of a towering sea cliff when Sidian flew in and scared him witless. He immediately dumped a glass of whiskey on his chest.

"What the fuck, Sidian?" he yelled as he jumped up and backed against the rock wall. He was scared his brother had returned to fight him after the stunt he pulled that morning.

"I'm not here to hurt you, idiot," Sidian grumbled as he dispersed his wings.

Ragos watched his little brother as he walked over to his whiskey stash in the back of the shallow cave. He grabbed a glass tumbler from the rocky shelf and filled it to the brim. He quickly drained the cup before he poured himself another glass.

"Please don't drink all my whiskey. What's wrong? I've never seen you like this before," Ragos said as he stepped over and refilled his own glass.

"I need some advice," Sidian sighed as he walked over to the rocks jutting out of the cave mouth and sat down.

The view from the cave was magnificent. It was five hundred feet up among many towering sea cliffs of the skinny Pirate Islands. The sea below was an endless shimmer of white and blue under a speckling of wind-riding sea birds, but Sidian wasn't seeing any of it. He could only see Lacia's beautiful face in his thoughts. Her smell was still on his skin in spite of his dip in the briny water, and her taste remained on his lips, making his heart race and his body burn. The sensation was maddening.

"What's going on?" Ragos asked as he walked over and sat down beside him, letting his feet dangle over the five-hundred-foot drop.

"Thanks to your stupid stunt, I had to tell Lacia about herself. I cannot believe Tolimire and Luradon didn't have the guts to do it," he grumbled.

"I'm really sorry about that. I never think through my actions."

"I know!" he snapped. "Anyway, she was incredibly distraught and refused to believe that I love her. She insisted that I kiss her to prove it," he mumbled with his face burning.

"So... did you?"

"I did, and I almost lost control," he sighed as he closed his eyes in shame.

"Holy shit! I'm so proud of you!" Ragos laughed and slapped him on the back so hard he almost spilled his drink.

Sidian looked at him in disbelief for a moment.

"Did you hear what I just said?" he asked angrily.

"Yeah, you kissed her, and you didn't hurt her! I'm very proud of that."

"I shouldn't have kissed her at all! We've only been together for two days, and she knows nothing about dragons. She has no clue how dangerous we are compared to other races, and I am so unbelievably drawn to her. I just want to touch her all the time. This isn't going to end well."

"What are you so worried about? She's half dragon, isn't she? She's probably feeling the same way."

"I'm sure she does, but her body is very human, and her magic is weak. She doesn't have dragon fortitude. I don't think she would enjoy what I want to do to her," he grumbled in humiliation.

"Dude, having sex with humans is mindbogglingly good. That human chick that got me exiled was the best fuck of my life," Ragos said with a huge grin.

"Seriously? How did you even get her into the mountain?"

"For the last time, I did not sneak her in! I found her in the garden, and she started flirting with me. By the gods, she was beautiful. She had the most amazing caramel-colored hair with bright gold highlights. Her eyes were more enchanting than any emerald I have ever seen. We fucked for hours before we were caught," he said a little dreamily.

"I don't believe it... what did her skin look like?" Sidian asked with his brow furrowed.

"It reminded me of..."

"The color of spring honey?" he interrupted.

"Yeah... how did you know that?"

Sidian stared at Ragos in astonishment for a long moment.

"Ragos, you didn't fuck a human. You fucked a demigod."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You just described Cypress. I met him in the ascended realm and many times among the mortals. He can take the form of a male or female. He keeps asking me for kisses, and I refuse him, of course. That also explains how a human got into the Living Mountain all on her own."

Ragos sat with his mouth open for a long moment.

"Holy fucking shit... I got fucked by a god!" he laughed as he slapped his forehead. "No wonder it felt like heaven."

"Why would Cypress fuck you and get you banished like that?" Sidian mumbled in confusion.