Desperately Seeking Starlight Read online

  “We get bored of living. Unlike the fey, we don’t have a society to fall back on. When we are tired, we fade into our chosen element. Back to the earth, into the water, you get the idea.”

  “Do you all hatch from eggs?”

  She snickered and sipped at her cider before answering. “No. That is a distinction given to very few. Most dragon females stop shifting when the baby gets to a certain size. Same as other shifters. Well, those that don’t have an automatic block on shifting during pregnancy. The males seem to just sleep their way through the centuries and pass when their mates do. Mated pairs live longer.”

  He looked fascinated. “So, how long is the average dragon lifespan?”

  “You could have asked Dira this stuff.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. She scares me.”

  Oksana was startled into laughter. She wiped tears from her eyes and settled back down. “She is only a few centuries older than I am, and I would have to agree. She has a focus and a drive for the future that most dragons have never bothered with.”

  “Why is that?”

  “We aren’t precisely shifters. We are more elements than anything else.” She sipped at her cider again. “Even the strongest wind blows itself out.”

  He nodded and smiled gratefully. “Thank you for talking to me about this. I am curious about those who live here and, of course, the woman who crafted this space out of will and power.”

  Oksana smirked. “She had a little help. The constant matching of genetics wasn’t good for the shifters either. This mix has a far better chance of pulling mythicals back to the world. I believe they are well on their way to bringing a little more magic back again.”

  “That is what we are working on as well. It was amazing that we have not gotten together sooner.”

  She shrugged. “There has always been the issue of incompatible magic. Now that the mages are involved, things are moving quite quickly. It is a nice age to be in.”

  The night got later, and she finally smiled. “I am going to go to my room. I need to soak in some starlight before I sleep.”

  She rose to her feet, and Drak matched her. “It was very educational for me. Thank you.”

  She grinned. “One element and one focus. My family has always been fascinated with learning and education. I am glad I am living up to the family mottos.”

  Drak smiled and inclined his head. “Can I ask one more question?”

  “You just did, but I will give you another.”

  “Ah, well, why aren’t you reacting to the fey power around you? The entire building is made of it.”

  She snickered. “On my birthday, I followed my mother’s advice and took one of your kind as a pet. His descendants are still with me.”

  His shock couldn’t have been more pronounced. He sat heavily. “You took a fey as a pet?”

  “Sure. He was in my house anyway. I just kept him with me, and when he needed one, I found him a mate. His family has been with me since my first day.”

  “You have kept an entire family of fey as pets?”

  “No. They became my companions once I found him a mate. She liked me better than him, so we formed a strange partnership.”

  Drak shook his head in amazement. “Can I ask you about this tomorrow?”

  “Certainly.” She gave him a small wave and set the cider cup down on a nearby table. “Good night.”

  Oksana headed out of the study and up the stairs. As she climbed, she could hear voices of guests arriving. She still needed her daily dose of starlight, so she headed to her tower.

  * * * *

  Hyther stepped out of the shadows where he had been listening to the last two hours of conversation. He had been going to ask Drak if he had any research available on the dragon librarian, but the illumination he had experienced simply by listening was astonishing.

  He remembered the day that they had started to bring in the collection. It had been his greatest triumph. It had brought him from the position of a clerk-librarian, into the status of collection master. He had continued his rise to Master Librarian of the Royal Archives, thinking occasionally about the man lost in the dragon’s caves when everything shut down.

  The terror of having one of his men locked behind a crystalline wall had faded over the centuries. His rise to position had been swift enough to distract him, and the missing man’s family considered him dead. To die on such a great mission was a good death for a fourth son.

  Urmbret had been one who smiled easily, laughed a lot and was distracted by anything that caught his interest.

  The group had been leaving with arms laden with books and portraits when walls of crystal had started to seal the paths. They all ran, and as the translucent wall formed at his heels, Hyther had known that one was left behind.

  The thudding of Urmbret’s fists against the crystal still surfaced in Hyther’s dreams. To know that he lived on, had a family and descendants was a peculiar relief.

  Drak sat in silence and nodded as Hyther came in. He sat on the couch that still held Oksana’s warmth, and he leaned back. “So, that was illuminating.”

  “How much did you hear?”

  “Most of it. She kept Urmbret as a pet.” He chuckled. “I bet he was very upset about that.”

  “Was he the type to have his head turned?”

  “He would follow anything in a skirt.”

  Drak chuckled. “Well, his compliance would be right in line with the fact that she didn’t wear clothing for the first ten years of her life.”

  Hyther remembered the outlined curves of her body, with her formfitting clothing giving him a very good idea of her shape. No wonder Urmbret had kept quiet and did as he was told. It would have been a view that could have hypnotized the ocean.

  Her dark tresses had a natural curve that begged his fingers to place them in order. The rich blue midnight of her eyes was simply sexy.

  He groaned and closed his eyes. “Suddenly, I am envying the dead. That is never a good thing.”

  Drak chuckled. “It isn’t, but are you sure you are going to be able to work with a woman who is not fond of you?”

  Hyther opened his eyes and tilted his head to stare at his friend. “I think the mating will take the edge off, but just in case it doesn’t, I am going to do what the lady wishes. I am going to find every copy of every book we took and deliver it to her. It may be the work of centuries, but I am going to do it.”

  Drak smirked. “From what I was told, the seers are already working on it. It was a condition of her coming here.”

  He exhaled slowly. “Well, that is a relief. I am fairly sure that the king gave a few of the better samples away during the fifteenth century.”

  “Do not mention that to her, no matter how tempted you are. It would definitely be a deal breaker.” Drak chuckled. “You have quite the glow on you now.”

  Hyther sighed. “I had to pull it in while I was eavesdropping. Wrapping shadow around me isn’t comfortable, but it was better than listening to her rake me over the coals again.”

  Drak didn’t hide his amusement. “You are going to have your work cut out for you.”

  “I hope so. Since the seers told me about her, I have done nothing but look for records and details about her. There are surprisingly few for the amount of time she has flown around. Her appearances seem to be attributed to falling stars. She chases them just like my clan does.” He ran his thumb along his cheek.

  Drak seemed to be full of questions that evening. “How does it feel to have all that power inside, leaking out through your skin?”

  Hyther gave him a bland look. “You know that moment before you cum when you feel like your body is going to blast apart?”

  “Not for a while.”

  Hyther snorted. “Well, if you can think back, it feels like that all the time. You get used to it.”

  “What happens when you are with a lover?”

  He sighed, “You hold back so that you don’t
incinerate them with the light of a burning stone.”

  Drak shook his head. “That is rough. Why did you jump at the chance for Oksana’s hand?”

  “It is simple, she is fireproof and she craves the light from the streaking meteors. She is perfect for me. I just have to earn the right to be with her.”

  Drak exhaled and settled back in his chair. “That is going to take some doing. I will help where I can.”

  “Good. I will start with the three tomes that you have possession of in your library.” Hyther winked and got to his feet.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yup. I am guessing that your family took possession while the king was trying to gain support for his decision to go public. It still took two centuries, but the prime families eventually followed his lead or the trail of bribery.”

  “Well, my library is at your disposal. Take what you need.”

  Hyther chuckled. “I was going to anyway. Have a nice evening.”

  He left his host staring pensively into the fire and went to the library to retrieve the three books. It was a start to replacing the seventy-three books that they had managed to take away with them. Only seventy more to go.

  * * * *

  Oksana stood on her small balcony and let the wind play with the silk of her robe. She turned her face upward and caught the light of the distant stars.

  Normally, the light would be too weak to do much at this altitude, but here, the Crossroads gave her what she needed.

  Giving Hyther the ultimatum had felt nearly as satisfying as when she had given the speech to the seers. The expressions on their faces had been a memory she was going to treasure.

  A light glowed from her left, and it burned with the icy white of a star. Oksana sprouted her wings, tearing through her robe as she launched into the air. With her wings beating slowly, she moved to find the source of the light.

  Hyther was standing on his balcony wearing nothing but a cold glow and a towel around his hips. It covered the essentials but left the rest of his glowing, sculpted form naked to her gaze.

  “Good evening, Hyther. Please pardon the intrusion.” Her skin was glorying in the light, and her body was humming happily with warmth.

  “No visit from a vision such as yourself could be considered an intrusion. I apologize for my lack of clothing, but I was just preparing for bed.”

  She looked into his features as she beat her wings to keep herself suspended at a relatively decent height. Being eye to eye with the towel wasn’t good for her equilibrium.

  He looked as if he thought of something. “Oh, by the way, I have something for you.”

  She cocked her head and waited, “Oh, dear. I didn’t get you anything.”

  He smiled and left the balcony.

  Her body chilled the moment that the light was gone. Sighing, she waited until he returned with three slim volumes in his hands.

  “I will bring you proof of my good faith with these three volumes of poetry. It is a start.”

  Her blood raced as he extended the books to her. She ran her fingers along his as she transferred the books to her grip. The moment she had them, she clutched them to her chest, leaned back and did a barrel roll.

  He laughed. “I take it that you accept.”

  She steadied and faced him with the books held tightly against her. “I do.”

  Laughing madly, she flew off and twisted in barrel rolls and other configurations before she returned to her room in the tower.

  He might think it was a good start, but it was an actual finish. Over the centuries, she had gotten the artwork and books back via the black market and her companions working on her behalf. When folks didn’t know that she was the one behind the bidding, the prices didn’t get quite as high.

  She settled into bed with the books next to her. They were written in languages that were long dead, but they still made for an excellent read if you were someone who had the time to learn.

  Time was something that was never in short supply.

  Chapter Five

  “So, I suppose I should go home now.” She spoke to her books, like she always did with their brethren back home.

  The books hummed as she read the ancient languages, one knee bent up as she leaned back against the headboard.

  Poems of love, of loss, motherhood and the mourning of a daughter filled the pages. Each had been designed for her family. They were an endless string of mothers and daughters reaching through the ages. This poetry was for them.

  Oksana sat back and thought of all the poets and writers who had come to her home, sat in on her salons and shared the fruits of their minds. Over the centuries, the wording changed but the topics remained the same. Love and loss, longing and heartbreak. Joy cropped up from time to time, but it didn’t last. Pain faded, but it was always there.

  She sighed and ran her hand over the smooth binding. Thousands of human lifetimes had passed since they were written and only fanatical care had kept them in a readable condition.

  Her mother had told her about how to care for the collection during her long gestation. The soothing voice had come to her through her shell and told her about the wonders of the world that were just waiting for her to grow up.

  The first hundred years with her companion had helped her immensely. He had instructed her on the rules of etiquette and shown her what to wear once he had seen all there was to see.

  Urmbret had been charming and helpful once he understood what had happened. He had guided her through the ins and outs of human interaction as well as the rules of fey culture. She was not going to get anything from the fey that they didn’t want to surrender, so he helped her come up with a plan to ease the books away from the library, one by one.

  She groaned and got to her feet. The afternoon had already made its appearance, and she was hungry. Funny how she didn’t realize how much Ygritte did for her until she was somewhere where breakfast in bed wasn’t common.

  The clothing from the day before was refreshed with a short blast of light, and in a few moments, she was dressed and heading down to the dining room.

  Drak gave her a smile of greeting. “Good afternoon, Oksana. Can I get you some coffee?”

  “Please. I forget how it is to be out in the world. My life is usually more regimented.”

  Drak led her to a small table, and a carafe of coffee and accessories floated over.

  Hyther came down the stairs, his pale hair tangled and his glow flickering. He looked exhausted.

  A second cup floated in, and Drak showed Hyther to a seat at Oksana’s table.

  She gave him a once-over. “You look like hell.”

  He blinked slowly. “Ah, yes. I was up contacting folks all night, looking for the rest of the original collection. It would have helped if you gave me a list, but I think I have lines on a few of the books.”

  She smiled slightly. “Every little bit helps.”

  He curved his hands around the coffee cup as it filled. He drank it gratefully the moment the carafe floated away.

  “I had no idea that the collection had been torn apart like that.” He pushed his cup away and folded his arms on the table, leaning his forehead against them. His body was slumped completely. The defeat was apparent.

  She sighed and reached out to stroke his head, just as she would have with Ygritte. She sipped at her coffee with the other hand.

  “Come with me and get something to eat; we will tackle this after you are rested. You can hardly dazzle the ladies with your body looking like a dying lightbulb.”

  He looked up at her warily. “Food?”

  She linked her arm around one of his and hauled him up on his feet. The crackle of energy between them was a little stronger than that of the fey she had lived with, but it was the warmth that caught her off guard.

  “Come on, bright boy. Let’s get you fed.”

  He grunted as she pulled him upright.

  With an arm around his waist, she hauled him out
of the Axion and down the street.

  “This lacks a certain dignity, madam.”

  She snorted. “Dignity is overrated. You know. Once you reach our age, the worst thing they can do is laugh at you.”

  “I beg your pardon. I am two hundred years older than you are.”

  Oksana chuckled. “Not if you include my incubation time. You only beat me into the world by a few decades.”

  “I had not thought of that.”

  “Few do.” She smiled as they made it to the café. She dropped him into a booth, and he grunted, straightening slowly.

  He sat up and smiled at the server as she paused at their table. “Double my regular.”

  The woman grinned and turned to Oksana. “For you, miss?”

  She wrinkled her nose and said. “Eggs and toast? I think?”

  She bit her lip.

  The server left.

  Hyther gave her a wry look. “Don’t you know what you want to eat?”

  “Not usually. Ygritte takes care of me. She brings the food and I eat it. I never actually pick my own meal.”

  “Ygritte?”

  “Yes. She is Urmbret’s descendant.” Oksana wrinkled her nose. “She and her kids live with me and her husband lives in the fey court.”

  “Why are they separate?”

  “Because he doesn’t belong to me. He wouldn’t swear allegiance to me over the fey king, and so I don’t keep him on hand. He comes over now and then, spends time with his family and then returns to the fey court.”

  Hyther was stunned. “Why would he leave them?”

  “It was part of the deal. I would be his patron and he would have a family that was larger than most in the fey bloodlines.”

  He blinked. “I suppose that would be a deal I would be willing to make as well.”

  The waitress came in with coffee. “I thought you looked like you could use this.”

  Oksana smiled and took the cup gratefully. “Thank you.”

  Hyther took his cup and leaned forward. “You only want a part-time mate?”

  “I don’t need a mate. Having one would be a lot of adaptation, and I have enough trouble keeping up with basic technology.” She sighed.