The Dragon's Bride Ch. 04

Pleading.

"Fuck," he snarled, the curse tearing from his lips, twisting them into a sneer. He'd been so focused on casting the glamour that he hadn't paid a lick of attention to the Queen or the man who was supposed to protect her. Bah - humans and their insatiable greed. The dragon looked down at the pirate, a young lad with reddish-brown hair and bright green eyes. A boy, almost.

He was a lucky lad, today, and as the boy cast his eyes to his fallen companions, Aurixis was sure that he was well aware of what would have been his fate. "Where?" Aurixis demanded, reaching down and grabbing the front of the man's shirt, hauling him to his feet. "Where have you seen the Agovian before?"

"A - a tavern," he stammered, his neck craned back as he stared up at Aurixis. The dragon could see the imprints of the boy's hands on his own neck, now turning pink as the irritation faded. "By the ports!"

"Name?" Aurixis demanded, lip curling. Of course it would be a tavern. He hated the blasted places. Loud and cramped and full of smells and sounds that were ill-suited for a dragon who preferred solitude.

The young man went pale, then he said, "Its, ah, called the The Pampered Puss?"

Aurixis's face contorted with a snarl. Not a tavern - a brothel. And a seedy sounding one at that, not even an upscale business. Fantastic. Of all of the places the Queen of Abarra should end up while under his care. "Take me," he said, shoving the boy towards the alley entrance. "Now."

***

The Pampered Puss was just as vile as Aurixis had feared, and it positively reeked of ale and vomit as he and the boy, Thomas, finally arrived. Not surprising, considered it was maybe twenty feet away from the sloshing, dark waves of the harbor. This was a sailor's den, no more and no less, made for relieving the desires that grew in a man during the lonely months at sea. Even from the wharf, the Dragon could scent the human lust that writhed like a serpent through the decrepit building. Aurixis was almost certain of one thing, though - the Queen had not been brought here for its dining, nor did he think that she might soon be a girl on stage.

No, if he did not get to Deidre soon, then he had a bad feeling that dawn would find her tossed into the bilge of some pirate ship, headed who knew where.

Why, though? That was what troubled him most, the query tumbling through his mind during his and the boy's trip to the brothel. The riot in the city had been orchestrated by someone who knew of his and the Queen's meeting, likely the same someone who had sabotaged the wheel. When that had failed, they had escalated and spread the rumor of their meeting. It had worked, brilliantly. But who had engineered this plan to spiral so efficiently?

It didn't matter, not now. This was his one chance to reach the Queen and return her to safety - then, and only then, would he turn to the task of figuring out who else had betrayed them. Whether it was one of his men or hers, he would have his answers.

Luckily, both Aurixis and the young pirate were quite certain the Queen was here. As they had approached the building, they had seen a flash of blue and silver disappearing into the back door. They had not seen the Queen herself, but Aurixis felt her. It was unsettling to the dragon, the realization that the feeling he followed was a human woman. Had his glamour earlier tied him to her somehow? But, no - it was not the first time he had felt this draw towards the red-haired Queen.

"I can go in and look around for you," Thomas offered, sounding hopeful. Since Aurixis had freed him and released him from the glamour, the young pirate had done everything in his power to keep Aurixis on his good side. He hadn't even mentioned the imperfections that riddled the Dragon's pale human skin, nor the sharpened canines and glowing yellow eyes that his mask had no longer hidden from prying eyes.

Aurixis had since re-donned that irritating article of clothing, but with much regret as it was pulled down over his face, suffocating him once more. The world felt dampened, and his self-loathing rose like bile in his throat, ever-present.

"Unlikely," Aurixis rasped at the boy, amused at the offer. "I don't need you warning anyone before I decide what needs to be done."

"Oh."

Thomas looked to be about 18 or 19, maybe younger, but unlikely to be much older. He had the boastful swagger of a young man, but his face was still smooth and plump. Even a few years at sea had failed to wipe away his youth. It would be another few years, yet, before he had the countenance of an actual adult. Still, he was useful - it had taken him only a few minutes to lead Aurixis through the emptying streets towards the port.

On the way, Aurixis and the boy had passed two separate garrisons from the palace, and he had noted that the riot had all but been cleared out of the narrow, winding streets of Abarra. While the Emperor knew that he could have flagged the men down and used them to help rescue the Queen, a part of him believed that he should not.

Something was off in Abarra, and he was not sure who he trusted of the Queen's men. Nor his own. One of her own guardsmen had turned on her, indicating that there was a corruption that ran deep in the city's veins. No, this was a rescue that would be best completed by himself, and perhaps the puppy dog with reddish brown hair who seemed intent on following him around. The boy could be useful enough, soon.

There was no elegant way for Aurixis to sneak into The Pampered Puss, not as he was. He was much too large of a man to hope to pass unnoticed into its seedy clientelle, standing nearly a head taller than most Abarran men, and his muscular form had a tendency to draw the eye of men and women alike. The original King had not been so abnormally large - that was Aurixis's imperfections beginning to break down his shape.

Some dragons were good at shapeshifting. Some could create their own unique form, and they did not need to steal the shape of others. Aurixis was not one such dragon. His magic skills were poor, and his illusion skills worst of all. It was why he was so drained after glamouring only four men, while some dragons could glamour an entire city.

No, he excelled in battle and bloodlust, in conquering nations and kings. Not becoming one.

"I will go in," Aurixis decided, sighing. While he would have liked to simply go in and tear the building apart, he knew that in the chaos she would merely be ferreted away, to somewhere that the pirate knew nothing about.

He was going to have to go in as a client. The thought nauseated him, but he saw no way around it. He could not sneak himself into the back rooms, and he could not alter his shape to slip in unseen.

"You?" Thomas asked, and the dragon heard the skepticism in the man's words. He glared at the boy, and was rewarded with an embarrassed flush.

"Yes, you stay here. If you see the man in silver and blue, the Agovian, follow him. Or the Queen."

He waited for the young pirate's affirmation, then sighed again. Squaring his shoulders, he approached The Pampered Puss. The things he already did for his Queen.

Inside, the atmosphere was cozy, but the sharp, pungent scent of sex was too strong for Aurixis to ignore, and he felt his blood heat with long-deprived need. He avoided such places like the plague - not that he disliked sex or women, far from it, but it became exceedingly difficult to push down his baser draconic needs when he was presented with such primal, carnal representations of the human form.

He craved beautiful things, both living and not.

A buxom blonde approached as soon as he entered, the pink dress she wore low-cut in the front, to give tantalizing glimpses of rosy pink nipples. She grabbed onto his arm, pressing her breasts against him, giggling, "Well, hi there, stranger. We haven't seen you around before."

Aurixis grunted, annoyed as he immediately felt the rush of blood towards his second, less intelligent head. He looked down at the blonde, the mask hiding him from her prying, curious gaze, and he said, "I'm new in town."

She giggled again, pressing her luscious tits against his arm, whispering conspiratorially, "Are you one of those dragonmen? It's okay if you are - a few of you have managed to find your way into the city to come see us. I don't mind, though. I've been wanting to see if you are as rough and tough as everyone claims."

Dragonmen? Did she mean his soldiers? He glanced around, and scowled as he realized she was right - he saw at least two men dressed in the black and gold silks of his military, and a third at the bar who had at least had the sense to take off the top half of his uniform. He would have words with his commanders later about keeping a closer eye on their men. There was no reason for his men to be abandoning camp to fuck the city's port whores.

Still, it was a convenient enough excuse, and Aurixis seized it eagerly. "I am," he admitted, then looked around, as if he worried one of his fellow soldiers might recognize him. "Can we retire somewhere more, ah, private?"

The blonde made a soft, excited sound, and she said, "My, eager tonight, are we? Of course, luv, follow me." Her hands snaked down his arm, grabbing his gloved hand and pulling him towards the back rooms. "You're far too dressed up for what I have in mind for you," she teased, and he felt a shudder race through him. The tone she used elicited a deep, baser response in him.

"I would have your help in disrobing," he said, softly, aching to sate the need that burned in him. The gentle swell of her soft breasts pressed against his arm was an insistent reminder of what she intended on doing with him, and he wanted nothing more than to follow through with her offer, to spread her plush thighs and bury himself inside her hot, clenching core. The dragon in him positively demanded it, raging beneath his imperfect human form. But he was here on a mission, not pleasure, and he doubted she would be as eager once she stripped his armor off and saw the real monster underneath.

He needed into the back rooms, needed to find the Agovian and the red-headed Queen he had stolen away. Aurixis reached into his pockets, jangling a small purse, the clinking of coins loud and clear.

The girl grinned impishly at him at the nonverbal offer, then said, "Of course, luv, that's part of the pleasure. I'll do anything you want me to."

Her hand slipped down, caressing him, and he loathed the armor that separated her soft skin from his aching need. A growl rumbled in his chest, releasing as a groan, and she chuckled knowingly. Before he knew it, she was pulling him down a long hallway with many doors - as he passed some, he heard the sounds of sex, some more subtle than others. Grunts, moans, gasps, the slap of skin against skin, and light, breathy laughter. His cock swelled with need, the heating of his blood reminding him how long it had been since he had coupled with a willing woman. A niggling, animalistic lust permeated him.

Soon she had led him into a small room, dark and cramped with a bed in the middle of the floor. The smell of sex was strong in here, and he wondered how long it had been since the last occupant had left. Hours? Minutes?

The door shut, and the blonde turned to him, pressing her body against his armored frame. His pauldrons fell away, unclasped by her roaming hands, her experience in disrobing others evident in the skill and speed she used to free him of the heavy, dark armor that he had been wearing for hours. He groaned as her hand slipped beneath his linens, finding the rigid need beneath - she giggled, stroking him. He was grateful for the darkness that hid his abnormalities, his breaths soft, shaking rattles as his body responded to the intimate pleasure.

"My," she teased, "you're a big one, aren't you?" Her palm wrapped around his girth, squeezing approvingly.

Aurixis bit down on the growl, the blood surging through him urging him to grab her and throw her to the bed, to claim her as he had not done in too long.

Her fingers strayed to his mask, halting his shaking breaths with a sharp inhale of surprise at her cocky boldness. "Now, you don't need this anymore, do you?" she breathed, and he groaned as her fingers brushed against his skin, tugging the dark material up. How long had it been since a woman had touched him? Months? Years? In the early years as a human he had slept with every woman who had offered herself, but as the nightmares grew more intense and his anger and frustration had grown, he had stopped dallying with anyone, even his whores.

"Don't," he warned, a grunt as she began to peel back the dark cloth.

She paused, her eyes flitting up to his, meeting his golden gaze.

It was enough.

The glamour settled over her easily - it seemed as if she was a complacent sort, eager and willing to listen to orders as they came. She didn't fight at all, not like Deidre had. It eased his raging fire a bit, to realize the difference between the woman of the docks and the Queen he had come here to find. This one seemed so soft in comparison.

"Where is the Queen?" he asked, quietly, his words a murmur in the closeness of the small room. The blonde's eyes were locked on his, and carefully he pulled his mask up, looking at her without the mesh distracting his gaze.

"Who?" she asked dreamily, puzzled.

He frowned, annoyed at himself. Of course, it was stupid to think they were just announcing they had the Queen held captive here. He thought of her, of the long, red hair and the pale, creamy skin that was like alabaster - unblemished by the sun or hard work. A royal woman, as different from the working woman in front of him as he was.

"A red-haired woman, pale and gentile," he amended, his rasping voice harsh in the silence. "Brought here by a small man, short and thin with black hair and eyes. Agovian."

She frowned, an odd look on her complacent features, "Oh, Akim?" That wasn't the right name, but it would make sense for a kidnapper or assassin to use an alias. She continued, "He is here already. He has been with Matilda in the evenings, leaving her covered in bruises and bites when he is done. Not tonight. He bought a room for the night, but no woman. I saw no redhead with him, either."

Aurixis's golden eyes narrowed thoughtfully. That was almost certainly the man he was looking for - and the room, too. He had probably snuck Deidre in without the working women realizing. The dragon looked at the blonde, his eyes lingering on her, remembering the sharp surge of lust he'd felt as she'd pressed herself against his body, offering herself to him. It would be so easy to take her now, her body and mind entranced in his illusion. She wouldn't even remember it, or the scales upon his body as he relieved the aching need that made him so reckless.

"Take me to him."