Twin Dragons: Dragon Lords of Valdier Book 7

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my husband Steve for
believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage
to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank you
to my sister and best friend Linda, who not only encouraged me to
write, but who also read the manuscript. Also to my other friends
who believe in me: Julie, Jackie, Lisa, Sally, Elizabeth (Beth) and
Narelle. The girls that keep me going!

—S. E. Smith

IMPRINT: Science Fiction Romance

Science Fiction Romance

TWIN DRAGONS: DRAGON LORDS OF VALDIER BOOK
7

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 by S. E. Smith

First E-Book Published September 2014

Cover Design by Melody Simmons

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may
not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in
part, without express written permission from the author.

All characters, places, and events in this
book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to
be construed as real. Any resemblances to actual persons living or
dead, actual events, locales, or organizations are strictly
coincidental.

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Synopsis

Melina Franklin was barely sixteen when she
and her grandfather were kidnapped from their small farm in Georgia
by an alien trader and sold to an Antrox mining asteroid in deep
space. Mistaken for a young boy, she lives in fear of being found
out and sold. Her only companionship for the next four years is her
grandfather and the Pactors, the large creatures used for hauling
the mining ore, that she takes care of. She dreams of the day when
she and her grandfather will somehow escape and return home to the
rolling green hills of their farm.

Calo and Cree Aryeh have been secured as the
personal guards for Creon Reykill’s mate, Carmen Walker. The twin
brothers are a rare species of dragon known for their fierceness in
battle. Born to the mystic dragon clan of the Northern Mountains,
they have given their allegiance to the Dragon Lords vowing to
serve and protect the royal family and their new true mates. The
brothers know they will never be able to have a true mate of their
own. Never in the history of their clan have twin dragons been able
to find a mate capable of handling two male dragons. They can only
hope that they die in battle so they are not destined to be caged
when the loneliness eventually drives their dragons insane.

The twin dragons are confused when two humans
are discovered on an abandoned asteroid mine. The old man and his
grandson appear normal enough, but their dragons and their symbiots
are driving them crazy, insisting the boy is their true mate.
Neither knows how to handle the other two parts of themselves or
their need to remain close to the

boy. On top of that, the young human male
refuses to have anything to do with either of them. He hides and
avoids them every time they get near him.

Things become clearer when they discover Mel
is really Melina. Unfortunately, finding out their true mate is
really a woman does little to change her feelings toward them. She
is even more determined to return to her world.

When her wish comes true, the brothers know
they have no choice but to kidnap her and hide her away. Can they
convince her to give them a chance at happiness or will she seek
protection from the royal family they have vowed to serve? If that
is not bad enough, there is another who has his eye on their mate
and will do whatever is necessary to keep her – including killing
the twin dragons who have claimed her first.

Centuries earlier:

“Stay with your mother,” Creja instructed as
he turned to his mate. “Don’t let them out.”

“I won’t,” Lyla replied in a soft, concerned
voice. “You will be careful?”

Creja’s eyes softened and he reached out to
run the back of his fingers along his mate’s soft cheek. His grim
face spoke of the dangerous and difficult task ahead of him. He
stepped back when he heard the sound of the horns again. His eyes
swept to his two young sons. They watched him with eyes filled with
wonder and excitement as their father’s symbiot began to dissolve
and form a protective armor around him.

“What is it, father?” Cree asked curiously.
“Is the village under attack?”

“We can help,” Calo said with a grin. “Cree
and I are very fast.”

“No,” Creja replied sharply as he opened the
door to their small home. “Stay with your mother. I need you both
to protect her.”

Calo nodded in disappointment while Cree
fingered the knife at his waist. Their father had given each of
them a finely honed knife with a special forged blade and
intricately carved bone handle with matching dragons wrapped around
it for their twelfth year of life last month. He and Calo had been
practicing with their father on how to use it. They would both
protect their mother with their lives.

“We will,” Calo said with a quick glance at
his twin. “We won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Creja,” Lyla started to say before she
reached up and brushed a quick kiss across his lips. “Come back to
me.”

“I will,” Creja promised as he stepped out
of the cottage. “Keep the boys inside. I don’t want them to see
this.”

“I will,” Lyla whispered, watching as her
mate shifted into his dragon form with a heavy heart.

“Mother,” Cree called out from behind her in
a low voice. “What is wrong? Why are the horns blowing? Is the
village under attack?”

Lyla turned to look at her oldest son by a
mere minute. “Yes, it is under attack. Your father and the other
males will take care of… the situation. Come, let us go back
inside,” she said.

“Who would attack us?” Calo asked, peering
out the window. “Why would they?”

“Move away from the window, Calo,” Lyla
instructed. “Come, help me clean the kitchen.”

“That’s women’s work,” Calo groaned. “We
should be helping father and the others protect the village.”

Lyla turned and scowled down at her youngest
son. Placing her hands on her hips, she stared at him until he
shifted from one foot to the other. Her lips were tightly pressed
together in disapproval.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” Calo muttered, bowing
his head. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Cleaning and cooking are skills that are
just as important as knowing how to fight,” Lyla admonished in a
soft, but stern voice. “You will be living your daily life more
than you will be fighting if the Goddess blesses you. Your father
would be disappointed to hear you say such a thing.”

“I said I was sorry,” Calo protested,
glancing at Cree for support.

“We’ll clean up,” Cree volunteered. “Come
on, Calo.”

Calo opened his mouth to complain, but
nodded when he caught the calculating look in his brother’s eyes.
He glanced at his mother and gave her an easy, lopsided grin. It
was the one that always made her smile.

“If you are sure,” Lyla replied, looking at
the two boys with a slightly suspicious stare. “I have some mending
to do. You two are rough on your clothes.”

“We’ll clean it up in no time,” Calo
promised.

“Very well, if you are sure,” Lyla replied.
“Thank you.”

Cree and Calo watched as their mother walked
out of the room and up the polished wooden steps that curved upward
to the second floor. Cree grabbed Calo’s arm and pulled him into
the kitchen. Once he was sure they were alone, he turned to his
twin.

“We’ve got to hurry,” he muttered.

“Why? And why did you say we would clean?
You know I hate cleaning,” Calo grumbled, kicking one of the
chairs. “What do you think is going on? Why would anyone attack our
village?”

“I told her we would clean the kitchen to
save your butt from getting chewed out by Father,” Cree pointed out
as he grabbed the empty plates off the table.

“I didn’t mean it the way it came out,” Calo
muttered defensively.

They worked in silence for the next hour,
cleaning the kitchen until it sparkled. Their eyes kept moving to
the window where large, black billows of smoke rose above the trees
and mist. The village was several kilometers away from their
cottage, yet the plates rattled from the explosions that shook the
ground. While the horns that had sounded the alarm earlier were now
silent, the roars of dragons fighting could be heard through the
closed windows.

Calo had started to sing one of the warriors
fighting songs to help cover his nervousness. He broke off when a
loud explosion shook the ground. This one was more powerful than
any of the others. His eyes widened for a moment before he rushed
to the window.

“What was that?” He asked, looking over his
shoulder at Cree.

“I don’t know,” Cree responded, pushing Calo
to the side so he could look out as well.

Both of them turned when they heard a low
sound behind them. Their mother stood in the doorway, her face taut
and pale. Her hand trembled as she pushed a stray strand of black
hair back. One of Calo’s shirts hung limply from her other
hand.

“You must both stay here,” she
whispered.

“Mother, what is it?” Calo asked
hesitantly.

“Your father.... I must go to your father,”
Lyla responded in a dazed voice.

“Father,” Cree started to say, but their
mother had already turned back toward the front door. “Mother…”

“Protect each other,” their mother
whispered, before she opened the door and transformed into a soft
lavender scaled dragon.

“Cree,” Calo growled in frustration. “Do you
think something happened to Father?”

Cree looked at his twin with dark, gold eyes
filled with worry. Calo’s eyes reflected the same emotion. Both of
their symbiots, not yet full grown, came to stand next to them.

With a silent nod, they both turned and
hurried out the door. Within seconds, identical topaz and black
dragons covered in gold armor lifted off the ground. The dragons
moved as one as they flashed through the thick mist-covered forest
along the base of the Great Northern Mountains heading toward the
sounds of battle.

*.*.*

Creja twisted as the thick, jagged claws of
the dragon he was locked in battle with tried to rip his stomach
open. He already had a long, deep cut along his left thigh that was
soaking the ground with blood. His symbiot was working to stop the
flow.

He grunted as the huge dragon swung his tail
around and wrapped it around his ankle. A curse exploded from him
as he felt his body lifting off the ground. His body slammed into a
large tree, stunning him. Shaking his head, he snarled as eight
other dragons fought to contain the deranged green and white
dragon. Shifting, he roared out for more men to come to their
aid.

“Bring the chains,” Creja ordered. “Make
sure their symbiots are contained.”

The green and white dragon blew a molten
stream of fire toward three men trying to get around him. The net
they had finally thrown over him was holding, but it wouldn’t stop
the outraged dragon for long. Creja’s eyes glanced over to the
other green and white dragon that lay lifeless in the ruins of the
smoldering cottage. A gaping wound across its neck and three long,
broken shafts from spears protruded from its chest.