The Dragon's Queen (Dragon Lords) Read online

  The Dragon’s Queen (Dragon Lords)

  By

  Michelle M. Pillow

  The Dragon’s Queen (Dragon Lords) © copyright 2014 by Michelle M. Pillow

  First Electronic Printing August 2014, The Raven Books

  Cover art by Natalie Winters, © Copyright 2014

  ISBN-10: 1-62501-082-6

  ISBN-13: 978-1-62501-082-7

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  All books copyrighted to the author and may not be resold or given away without written permission from the author, Michelle M. Pillow.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence. Novel intended for adults only. Must be 18 years or older to read.

  Published by The Raven Books

  www.RavenHappyHour.com ~ www.TheRavenBooks.com

  Raven Books and all affiliate sites and projects are © Copyrighted 2004-2014

  The Dragon’s Queen (Dragon Lords)

  By

  Michelle M. Pillow

  Table of Contents

  The Dragon’s Queen (Dragon Lords)

  About The Dragon’s Queen

  New to Dragon Lords?

  About Dragon Lords Series

  Futuristic Romances by Michelle M. Pillow

  Dedication

  In the Time Before

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  The series continues…

  Dragon Lords Related Books

  About the Author, Michelle M. Pillow

  Michelle M. Pillow, Online

  Complimentary Material

  The Savage King (Lords of the Var) by Michelle M. Pillow

  Frost Maiden (Space Lords) by Michelle M. Pillow

  Love Potions (Warlocks MacGregor) by Michelle M. Pillow

  King of Prey by Mandy M. Roth

  About The Dragon’s Queen

  A Prequel Story

  Michelle M. Pillow

  Mede of the Draig knows three things for a fact: As the only female dragonshifter of her people, she is special. She can kick the backside of any man. And she absolutely doesn’t want to marry.

  Mede has spent a lifetime trying to prove she’s as strong as any male warrior. Unfortunately, being the special, rare creature she is, she’s been claimed as the future bride to nearly three dozen Draig—each one confident that when they come for her hand in marriage, fate will choose them. When the men aren’t bragging about how they’re going to marry her, they’re acting like she’s a delicate rare flower in need of their protection.

  But Mede is far from a shrinking solarflower.

  Prince Llyr of the Draig knows four things for a fact: He is the future king of the dragonshifters. He must act honorably in all ways. He absolutely, positively is meant to marry Lady Mede. And she is dead set against marriage.

  Llyr’s fate rests in the hands of a woman determined not to have any man. With a new threat emerging amongst their catshifting neighbors, a threat whose eyes are focused firmly on Mede, time may be running out. It is up to him to convince her to be his dragon queen.

  New to Dragon Lords?

  Dragon Lords books 1-8 follow a concurrent time line. The fun of this is that the events you read in one book might be examined from a different point of view, sometimes with overlapping or expanded scenes, sometimes with events you might have wondered about in another book. You might even discover secrets as characters interact with each other. I recommend reading them in order to get the full effect. However if you bought the books out of order, no worries, each book is technically a standalone story for the hero and heroine.

  About Dragon Lords Series

  Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4

  The dragonshifting princes have no problem with commitment. In one night, they will meet and choose their life mate in a simplistic ceremony involving the removing of masks and the crushing of crystals. With very few words spoken and the shortest, most bizarre courtship in history, they will bond to their women forever. And once bonded, these men don’t let go...

  Too bad nobody explained this to their brides.

  Dragon Lords Books 5-8

  The noblemen brothers aren’t new to the sacred Qurilixian bridal ceremony. After several failed attempts at finding a bride, it’s hard to get excited about yet another festival. No matter how honorable they try to live, it would seem fate thinks them unworthy of such happiness—that is until now.

  With very few words spoken and the shortest, most bizarre courtship in history, they will bond to their women forever. And once bonded, these men don’t let go...

  Too bad nobody explained this to their brides.

  Dragon Lords Book 9

  Before four princes and four noblemen found their brides, before the death of the Var King Attor and the threat of the Tyoe miners, there was a time of peace on the planet of Qurilixen. It was not a strong peace, but it had lasted for quite some time between the catshifting Var kingdom and their northern neighbors the dragonshifting Draig. It lasted because both sides had very little to do with each other.

  This was the time before the great war came to rift the planet apart—dragon against cat. The only battles were skirmishes along the borderlands over territory and drunken brawls that erupted to prove which shifter side was of superior strength. It is here the dragons found their queen.

  Spin-off Series

  Dragon Lords is the first installment in the multiple bestselling futuristic romance series. As of this publication, there are nine Dragon Lords books. The series continues with the Lords of the Var series, Zhang Dynasty series, Space Lords series, and Galaxy Playmates series. There will be more books and more series to come. They can be read alone, but the author recommends reading books in order of release.

  For details please visit www.michellepillow.com

  Futuristic Romances by Michelle M. Pillow

  Michelle on Amazon

  Dragon Lords Series

  Barbarian Prince

  Perfect Prince

  Dark Prince

  Warrior Prince

  His Highness The Duke

  The Stubborn Lord

  The Reluctant Lord

  The Impatient Lord

  The Dragon’s Queen

  The Dragon Lords series continues with Lords of the Var.

  Lords of the Var Series

  The Savage King

  The Playful Prince

  The Bound Prince

  The Rogue Prince

  The Pirate Prince

  About the Lords of the Var series:

  The Var princes were raised by a hard man who put no stock in love—especially love with one woman. Bred to never take a life mate, these men will do everything in their power to live up to the dead King Attor’s expectations and never fall in love.

  Be sure to check out the other books in the Dragon Lords’ futuristic world: Space Lords series, Zhang Dynasty series, and Galaxy Playmates series— with many more books to come!

  To learn more and to stay up to date on the latest book list visit www.MichellePillow.com

  Dedication

  To Bella Monster because she thin
ks she’s a dragon. She also thinks she’s the boss of me. She’s not. I’m the boss of her. Hold on, she’s hungry, I need to go get her a treat.

  To Lord Winston the official man of the house who whines like we’re neglecting him. I see his point. He should be petted at every possible second of the day.

  To the army of cats amassing outside. We surrender.

  To Lady Annabelle for keeping Winston in check.

  To Fiona, beanies.

  To B.

  <3

  In the Time Before

  Prologue to a Prologue

  Before four princes and four noblemen found their brides, before the death of the Var King Attor and the threat of the Tyoe miners, there was a time of peace on the planet of Qurilixen. It was not a strong peace, but it had lasted for quite some time between the catshifting Var kingdom and their northern neighbors the dragonshifting Draig. It lasted because both sides had very little to do with each other.

  This was the time before the great war came to rift the planet apart—dragon against cat—and the only battles were skirmishes along the borderlands over territory, and drunken brawls that erupted to prove which shifter side was of superior strength. It was here the dragons found their queen.

  Prologue

  Draig Northern Mountains, Planet of Qurilixen

  There were three things Medellyn knew for a fact. She was special. She could kick the ass of any boy. And she did not want to marry and have babies.

  She was special.

  Medellyn was one of the only dragonshifting females in all the universe, and definitely in all of the Draig population. Only once in a thousand births, was a female dragonshifter born. She was rare, or so everyone kept telling her. Her childhood was a strange contradiction. Her very proper mother tried to treat her as if she were some sacred crystal that might crack. Her warrior father tried to make her train like a boy while dressing like a girl.

  She could kick the ass of any boy.

  Medellyn hated when males tried to act as if she were weak and needed protection. Her dragon was just as fierce as any of theirs, probably more so. To prove her point, she’d gladly pummel any who had challenged her to the ground…and some who hadn’t.

  She absolutely, positively did not want to marry and have babies.

  Being the special, rare creature she was, in the twenty not-so-sweet girlhood years of her life she’d been claimed as the future bride of nearly three dozen boys—each one confident that when they came of the age to marry, she would make their crystals glow and they hers.

  Glowing crystals wasn’t just a metaphor. On the day she was born, her father journeyed to Crystal Lake like all the new fathers did. He dove beneath the waves, swam down to the deepest part and pulled her stone from the lakebed. Like all Draig children, she wore the stone around her neck, and would continue to wear it until the day it glowed, telling her which of the dragonshifting men she was destined by the gods to marry. From that moment on their souls would join, they’d hear each other’s thoughts, they’d have dragon babies, whatever. Technically she might be destined to marry an offworlder like most Draig men, but no one on her planet seemed to think so.

  Gods’ bones, she hoped she wasn’t destined to end up with any of the idiots on her planet. They had yet to impress her.

  When it was her turn to go to the Breeding Festival, the crystal would glow, signifying her curse for all to see. Well, her blessing as her mother called it. Lady Grace did not appreciate her daughter calling marriage a curse. Grace did not appreciate a lot of things that Medellyn liked, such as swords and bows, ceffyl riding, camping alone in the forest, hunting, sparring, smashing arrogant looks off of dragon men’s faces.

  It was a fight with her mother that had sent her running through the mountain forest. Medellyn hated the woman, hated what her mother wanted her daughter to be. Grace was only a human, brought to their planet as a bartered bride. She’d married Medellyn’s father without question and spent most of her days completely in docile agreement with whatever her husband said. Medellyn couldn’t imagine taking anyone else’s opinions over her own.

  Her father, Axell, was a highly praised warrior in the Draig army and carried the title of Top Breeder of the ceffyls. The man’s whole life focused on four things: his wife, his only child, and mares and steeds. Her father was a very important man, but his work kept him away from home several nights a week as he slept outdoors with the herd. With a three-year gestation period and only about a fifty percent live birth rate, the animals were not a resource that could be easily renewed. His ceffyls supplied the soldiers with mounts and farmers used them for beasts of burden to help with the fields.

  Like Axell, Medellyn was a proud dragon. Had she been born male, she would have been a warrior, too. Instead, she was special. How could her human mother begin to understand the wildness than ran in her dragon blood? If she had, Grace would never have asked Medellyn to tame her spirit.

  Breathing hard, she came to an abrupt halt and screamed into the trees. Her body shook with rage and she tore at the pretty gown she wore. She hated her body, hated being special, hated being expected to act like a lady when she felt like a dragon. Her taloned finger snagged on the crystal around her neck and she cut the leather strap of the necklace. The crystal flew several feet away.

  “I am not some man’s chattel,” she yelled, knowing she’d run far enough away that her mother could not hear her retorts. Since she was shifted her voice was hoarse and powerful, and she reveled in the fierceness of it. “I am not some breeding ceffyl to have children. It is not my place to give you fifty grandkids. I can’t help you only had one child. If you would have made me a boy, I wouldn’t be a disappointment to you!”

  Tears stung her eyes as Medellyn walked aimlessly, searching the forest floor for the fallen necklace. Finding it, she grabbed the inert crystal into her fist. It was a reminder of all she was expected to be. She took a deep breath, looking at her fist and then to the stones littering the forest floor. A small smile formed on her mouth. Medellyn dropped the crystal on the hard ground and glared at it. Rage boiled inside her, the kind of rage surely only a dragonshifter could feel.

  “This is what I think of your fate,” she growled as she fell to her knees.

  Medellyn grabbed a heavy rock and smashed it down onto her necklace. The crystal cracked. The noise gave her some satisfaction so she hit it again. Grunting with each strike of the stone, she didn’t stop until her future had been ground to dust.

  “That is what I think of your destiny.”

  Chapter One

  Var Royal Palace, Eighteen Years Later…

  Prince Attor of the Var smiled at Lord Myrddin from across the inner courtyard of the palace where they had come to dine away from the king’s hall. Though they were not related, the man was like an older brother to him and sometimes even like a father. Myrddin was well liked in the Var court—especially by the visiting female dignitaries. Though he was shorter than most catshifters, his dark hair and eyes seemed to draw the women in. There was an air of power in him that was well deserved. He came from a long line of nobility, one of the old houses.

  Like most of the Var palace, the inner courtyard had intricate symmetrical patterns on the walls made of decorative tiles of red, orange, blue, gold and green, with beautifully arched entryways with no doors. There could be no doubt the palace was lavish, but the maze of halls was purposefully confusing to outsiders. The idea had been to disorientate those who should not be wandering the palace alone. Instead, it made for many nights when servants had to be sent out to find some drunken dignitary who’d stumbled around and had become lost.

  Attor had proposed installing a central mainframe computer connected to every room. It would not only help the drunks find their way back to their rooms without assistance, but it would monitor their whereabouts. He’d done his research, found a system that could answer vocal queues, track bio-functions, open doors, deliver food and locate anyone programmed into the system by a simple command. But did
his father hear him out? No. The king had laughed and waved him out of the dining hall.

  Attor looked at the piece of fruit in his hand. He had been told the courtyard had been one of his mother’s favorite places and, as a child, it was one of the only ways he could feel her presence. King Auguste loved his son from a distance, and Attor had never known the love of his mother. She’d died giving birth to him—an only son—and King Auguste had never fully recovered from the loss of his life mate. Over the years, the king took other women to his bed, but nothing came from the empty pairings. And, with each passing affair, his father seemed to lose a bit of himself until he was a drunken, hollow shell of a king. Attor resented the weakness his father allowed to show.

  Had he bothered to shift into his mountain lion form, he would have been able to hear Myrddin’s words over the rush of the water fountain behind him. The fountain was in the center of the room, surrounded by fruit trees and yellow ferns. It was the fruit he had come to dine on, since he was avoiding his father’s inebriated conversation.

  Myrddin winked at him and smoothed the front of his long nobleman’s jacket. Attor gave a small laugh. He didn’t need to hear the conversation to know what the man was doing. Myrddin didn’t believe in taking only one woman. He wanted several and had made it his roguish mission to have sex with as many women as he could seduce. And the women did come easily, for who were they to say no to money and power. Though not nearly as jaded as his friend, Attor would not turn a willing woman from his bed.

  “I thought you were chasing the visiting Azoomian woman,” Attor said as Myrddin approached.

  Myrddin grinned, reaching to test the firmness of a fat yellow fruit hanging above him. “Mm, she was not as big of a challenge as she would have me believe.” He gave the fruit a notable squeeze. “I squeezed her juices from her last night and had to tell her this morning that I would not be making her my lady.”