Shadow on the Water Read online

  Copyright © 2018 by Katya Moore

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  To my husband, for his endless support and love.

  You are my heart’s home.

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Newsletter and More

  About the Author

  Also by Katya Moore

  Chapter One

  Sia

  "Are you for real?"

  I ran a cautious finger along the length of it. It was long, longer than I’d ever seen. I thought things like this only existed in movies and rich girls’ prom nights. The jet black paint job was warm in the summer sun. A stretch limo. For reals.

  Today, it was mine.

  Aric snorted. "Garish, I know. But my parents insisted that you arrive in a vehicle befitting your stature, yer majesty." He bowed ostentatiously. "Chase’s shitmobile is right out, Galen drives a fucking ambulance, Cass drives a clown car, and my convertible only seats two."

  "I do not drive a shitmobile," Chase snarled. "That SUV has saved your ass on more than one occasion, dickhead."

  "SUVs are for soccer moms, not dragon queens." Aric, as always, looked unrepentant. "The Elders expect something a little classier. So we’re taking the limo."

  "I’m driving." Chase glowered at the waiting chauffeur. The chauffeur looked nonplussed.

  I reached over and put a hand on Chase’s arm. "Ride in the back with us."

  "Grr."

  I reached my other hand up and caressed his cheek, turning his head to face me. His steel-blue eyes met mine."Ride in the back with me," I purred in my best sultry tones.

  His growl softened into something throaty and delicious. His arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me in for a deep, fierce kiss. "Only because you asked," he relented at last.

  "About fucking time. Let’s go. We’re going to be late." Aric blew a strand of platinum blond hair out of his eye. "We’re in enough shit with the Elders. We don’t need more."

  Cass ran his hand through his tousled red hair. "I like my clown car, thank you."

  I grinned up at him and pulled him down for a light kiss on the lips. "I like your clown car, too. Fond memories."

  He blushed a little at that, nearly drowning his freckles. His fingers ran gently over my long black hair. "Agreed." He kissed my forehead, then slid past me into the car, taking my hand so I’d follow him.

  My mate. It was still so new, so thrilling. I curled up against him in the crook of the long, J-shaped bench inside the limo. He beamed and nuzzled into my hair. We were each other's firsts, and the newness of making love together still had me in a spin.

  There was a fully stocked bar across from the long end of the bench, lit from beneath with a cool blue glow. For a moment, I was tempted to see what whiskey the Beauvais family favored. A knot formed in my stomach. Probably not the best idea to get liquored up before meeting the rulers of all dragonkind.

  Galen slid in next. With a grin, he leaned onto my shoulder and nuzzled my neck. "I told Chase he should check the engine. Now, I have his space. Crafty, huh?"

  I laughed. Two weeks ago, being wedged between two men would have been the last thing I ever wanted. Now, with Cass running his fingers through my hair and Galen nibbling at my jaw, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. "Mmm. You are wicked and naughty and should be spanked," I sighed contentedly, running my fingers through his lush brown hair.

  "Ooh!" Galen chuckled. "I could tell him the tires need to be rotated too." There was a mischievous sparkle in his deep brown eyes.

  "Galen, you suck." Chase joined us and glowered at Galen.

  "All’s fair in love and war." Galen winked at him. "Didn’t a fire dragon say that?"

  "Not this one," Chase grumbled as he settled into his seat. I reached across Galen and squeezed Chase’s bicep with an apologetic smile. He caught my hand, kissed it, and released it.

  Aric sprawled at the end of the bench, taking up most of the rest of the space. "I’m picking the music," he said as he reached for a control panel on the bar.

  "The hell you are," Chase and I said at the same time.

  "It’s my limo."

  Chase stared him down. "You are the only one who listens to that electronic shit. Sia’s the one meeting the Elders for the first time. She should be able to relax."

  "I don’t think that’s going to happen," I sighed, nestling myself deeper into Cass’s arms. "This is kind of huge."

  Galen took my hands in his as the limo began to roll. "Just be yourself. Remember, this is your birthright. You are one of them. Don’t let them psych you out."

  I shook my head. "I am not one of them. Not yet. I’m barely a dragon. I’ve only known I am a dragon for two weeks now, for crying out loud. Now everyone’s expecting me to become some sort of queen." I blew a strand of hair out of my eyes and cursed myself for letting them talk me into leaving it down. "I’m a bartender. I’m not royalty."

  Chase rested his hand on Galen’s. "No one’s expecting anything of you just yet, Sia."

  "That’s right. We have incredibly low expectations for you." Aric smirked.

  Chase kicked him in the leg and continued. "They don’t expect you to rule right away. You’ll have guidance. You’ll have advisors, tutors, every advantage they can give you. It’s in their best interests to make sure you’re prepared."

  I sat up. "I don’t want advisors or tutors. I want you guys." Fear clutched at my chest. My mouth went bone dry. "They’re not going to take you away from me, are they?" My heart hammered in my chest as Chase looked away from me for a telling moment. "No. I won’t let them." I winced a little at how petulant that sounded, but it was the truth. The Elders had already taken too much from me. They were the ones responsible for my lonely childhood, shuttling me around from foster home to foster home from the age of four until I was thrown out on the streets at eighteen. If it hadn’t been for Kitty and the McKinnett’s Pub crew, I might not have survived to confront them at last.

  "We’ll see what the Elders have to say." Galen squeezed my hands gently. "They probably won’t want to shake things up too much, all things considered. You’ve had a rough introduction to our world."

  Understatement of the decade. In the past two weeks, I’d been targeted by the Chosen of Apep, learned about the coup that killed my parents, found out I could have been adopted if it wasn’t for the Elders’ interference, pissed off the Irish mob, gravely endangered everyone I loved, and killed a few dozen Chosen when I turned into a giant freaking dragon. All told, it was a stressful time in my life. And these four men… well, three of them at least… were the only bright spots in that dark time. There was no way I was letting anyone rip us apart.

  Chapter Two

  "So, you’re the Shadow Dragon."

  A tall, lean woman with long snow-white hair scrutinized me. I r
eturned the favor. She wore a sharp gray pantsuit, but would have looked more comfortable in a military uniform. Everything about her, her posture, her carriage, her piercing gaze, made me want to salute. Her tanned, weathered skin was covered in fine lines. A long scar ran across her throat and vanished behind her tightly-buttoned collar.

  I swallowed hard. "Yes ma’am." I tried not to look at myself. Aric had made me go shopping. I felt uneasy in my new dress. It was knee-length, black, formal, and utterly and completely not me. It felt like a costume. In a way, it was. I was dressing up and pretending to be the new queen of the dragons.

  The foyer to the mansion we’d come to had a slight echo to it. If Aric’s home was large, this was positively cavernous. It made me feel even smaller than I already did in front of these four powerful women.

  "Welcome." The woman to the general’s right spoke up with a warm smile. "We’ve been waiting to meet you for so long. I do hope the journey wasn’t too arduous?" I recognized Senator Meriwether from the evening news. Short-bobbed blonde hair, blue eyes, pale smooth skin, a little matronly, and a lot more welcoming than the general. She wore a tailored black suit with a light blue blouse.

  "It was fine, thank you." I didn’t know what to do with my hands. I folded them behind me, so they couldn’t see me squeezing the life out of them.

  "We should introduce ourselves," tutted the third woman. Her glasses perched on the end of her nose. She reminded me a bit of my high school history teacher in her rust-colored suit. She had a very academic vibe to her. Her curly silver hair was cropped short, her skin the color of ancient leather tomes, her deep brown eyes full of more curiosity than disdain, and her smile made my spine relax a smidge. "I’m Dr. Chalondra Long, the Ethereal Elder." She cast a pointed glance at the first two.

  The general straightened her blazer. "General Gerta Schulte. Elder of the Fire Dragons." She looked annoyed that she had to tell me.

  "Senator Aubrey Meriwether, Elder Water Dragon. Pleased to meet you, dear." The senator beamed a practiced smile at me.

  The final woman spoke up. "Dr. Harriet Chang. Elder Earth Dragon." She nodded tersely. "Welcome." She was the shortest of the four women by almost a head, closer to my five foot two than any of the dragons I’d met thus far, and sturdily built. Her long black hair was tied back in a tight bun. Her narrow eyes were a golden brown, her face impassive. I felt like a student she’d found lacking. The tension returned to my spine.

  "I… I’m S… Arysia Bellmont. Pleased to meet you." I winced inwardly at my stammering.

  "Eldest Shadow Dragon. Or so you would have us believe." The general’s eyes burned holes in my soul. "We need to speak to your… entourage."

  My heart hammered in my chest. I thought back to what Chase had told me about their relationships with their Elders. None of them were exactly favored sons of their lineages.

  Chase rested a hand on my shoulder as he stepped past me. "We’ll be fine," he whispered to me as he passed.

  The general looked at him as though he’d groped me. "Hands to yourself, Hearne," she barked.

  I looked at her, surprised. "It’s fine. He’s fine."

  She studied my face, then narrowed her eyes. "Omega Squad, follow me. Now."

  The boys started to follow her. I fell into step behind them. A hand rested on my shoulder. I turned and found myself facing Elder Long.

  "Wait here, dear. We won’t be long." Her skin crinkled at her eyes as she gave me a kindly smile.

  "They’re coming back, right?" It slipped out. The dragon in my chest was writhing in tight circles. Terror clutched at my heart.

  Elder Long looked at me with a mix of curiosity and pity. "They’ll be here, child. Don’t fret."

  She turned and walked away, leaving me in the foyer, alone.

  The silence was unbearable. I sat on the edge of a carved wooden chair, listening for any hint of what was going on. A grandfather clock ticked in the corner.

  So this is what it’s like to go mad.

  Finally, I’d had enough. I stood up and started to stalk off to find where they were. The click of my high heels on the floor was deafening. I slipped them off and carried them like an overdressed prowler.

  I reached out with my empathy, like Cass and I had worked on. It didn’t take me long to zero in on a cacophony of emotions off to my right. I pulled up and planted an ear to the door.

  "…fraternization of the worst kind! You say she shifted to a full dragon? That’s impossible. Or should be. Unless one of you took advantage of her!"

  "I can explain…"

  "…supposed to find her, then notify us. Not interfere with her. You definitely weren’t supposed to seduce her!"

  "I didn’t…"

  "Hey!" A hand clapped onto my shoulder. I turned sharply and found myself nose-to-chest with a tall, broad man with short slicked-back black hair, whose muscles had muscles. Thin scars criss-crossed his wrists and the backs of his hands. Dragon. I could feel the pull inside me, the this is a friend sensation I was coming to recognize as the innate sense that someone is of my people. He sure as hell didn’t look friendly. His dark suit and tie made him look like Secret Service. Maybe he is. Senator and all. "What do you think you’re doing?"

  I glared up at him. "What does it look like I’m doing? I’m spying on the Eldest Dragons, trying to find out what they’re doing to my friends." Why lie?

  He looked taken aback by my honesty. His dark brown eyes narrowed, making them look almost black. "How did you get in here, anyway?" he asked.

  I rolled my eyes. "I’m the Shadow Queen."

  He snorted. "And I’m the king of all the pixies." He grabbed me roughly by the arm and began to haul me away from the door.

  The door opened. General Schute stood there, murder in her eyes.

  "Unhand her, Haydon." The dragon dropped my arm like a hot rock. "Miss Bellmont, you need to return to the foyer. My guard will accompany you." The door slammed shut before I could retort.

  "You heard the general. Come on." Haydon offered an arm. I ignored it and began to stalk back to the foyer. He followed me at a respectful distance.

  "I apologize," he said.

  "For what?" I snarled.

  "Grabbing you. I thought you were an intruder." He caught up to me easily. "I didn’t realize you were our guest of honor."

  "Thought I’d be taller?" I snorted. "I don’t care about that. I care about what happens to my friends."

  "I wouldn’t like to be them right now, I admit." His glibness set my teeth on edge. "They’ll live, though."

  "What will they do to them?" I was not going to cry in front of this jerk.

  He shrugged. "Probably send them back into the field. Way back into the field."

  Not… going… to… cry…

  "What if I’d rather have them stay with me?" I managed to get out.

  He snorted. "Why on earth would you want that? Omega Squad is Omega Squad for good reasons. You’d be safer with a pack of trained monkeys."

  "Those are my friends you’re talking about," I hissed.

  He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry. Let’s just say they’re not the best regarded of our field teams. The Elders would probably prefer you in the hands of more experienced and capable dragons."

  "They are plenty experienced and very capable."

  Haydon smirked. "From what I overheard, that might be part of the problem."

  I whirled on him and started to retort when the door opened. My boys exited the room looking like they’d been through a war. From what I’d overheard, I didn’t doubt that they had.

  "Miss Bellmont," the general’s voice rang out. "Report to the proving grounds. We need to see what you’ve got."

  Haydon offered his arm again. I shoved it away. He smirked again. "Follow me. I’ll show you the way."

  Chapter Three

  The grounds of the mansion were encircled by the deep, lush woods of northern Massachusetts. I could understand why they’d chosen this spot now. Haydon led me to a wide fiel
d behind the mansion. The trees towered over it, offering protection from prying eyes. The Elders stood in the center.

  I could see my boys by the treeline, standing with three more guards. I wanted to go to them, to hug them and tell them that they’d done nothing wrong. That I wanted them. That I needed them.

  "Front and center, Miss Bellmont." There was something about the general’s voice that jolted me to obey. I cast one last longing look at the boys, then walked toward the Elders. Haydon joined the guards by the tree line.

  "There have been a lot of claims made about you, Miss Bellmont," Dr. Chang said. "According to the report made by Omega Squad, you have shifted into a full dragon." She peered at me skeptically. "No one has done that in seventeen years. You’ll forgive if we’re hesitant to believe that."

  "I… I don’t know if I can do it on demand." My gaze dropped to my feet. "I’ve only done it once, and it was because everyone’s lives were in danger."

  "That’s a shame," Senator Meriwether said in a calm voice. "Your friends are really counting on you to be able to transform, at least a little bit. Without proof that you’re the Shadow Dragon, they’re in a bit of a pickle."

  "What?" I looked up at her, horrified.

  She nodded. "Indeed. If they’ve been less than honest with us, we’ll be forced to send them back to their people in disgrace." She smiled at me. I felt a chill run down my spine. "And then there’s the matter of you. We don’t like outsiders knowing too much about dragons. And we’ve been told that there’s a bar in Boston that knows entirely too much about dragons." She shook her head, tutting under her breath. "We definitely can’t have that."