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Dragon Loved Dragons of Mount Rixa (Book Two) A Five Peaks Novel Riley Storm Dragon Loved Copyright© 2021 Riley Storm All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, without written permission from the author. The sole exception is for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related. Edited by Trevor Mendham – thecaringeditor.com Cover Designs by Kasmit Covers Table of Contents Dragon Loved Table of Contents Note from the Author 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 Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Chapter Forty Other Books by Riley Storm About the Author Note from the Author Hi there! Thank you so much for picking up Dragon Loved. While this book and series are self-contained and can be read alone, if you want to get the full experience of the Five Peaks world, you would be best off starting with the Dragons of Mount Aterna series and book one, A Mate to Treasure which you can find linked in the bundle below. Either way, I hope you enjoy! -Riley Storm Dragons of Mount Aterna The Complete Box Set - Link Includes: A Mate to Treasure A Mate to Believe In A Mate to Protect A Mate to Embrace Prologue Qymm Eyeing the device in her hand, she slowly moved forward. “Do you really think a box like that will harm me?” “It’s not to harm you,” she said dryly, ignoring the spine-chilling deepness of the voice echoing out from the darkness ahead of her. “It’s to ensure you don’t harm me.” “I fail to see how that could stop me.” Qymm gritted her teeth, but she kept going. So far, the Geiger counter wasn’t showing anything unusual, just the occasional bleep due to natural background radiation. Whatever the creature ahead had done to the shifters guarding the Gate to the Otherworld when he’d emerged, he wasn’t doing it now. She should be safe. Should being the key word. “It’s not to stop you,” she said. “It will warn me if you try to poison me with radiation so that I can retreat to a safe distance.” “Technology,” the creature hissed from behind the metal bars. “I hate it.” Qymm tried not to let her agreement show. The last thing she wanted was to agree on anything with this warped, twisted mockery of a creature. It was evil—pure, unadulterated evil—and she wanted it gone from the world. Gone the right way though. The trial is in a week, and once it’s over, we’ll kill him. Everything will be done the right way. She stopped a dozen or so feet shy of the three-foot-thick steel bars that blocked the underground passage, forming one side of the creature’s prison. Mirroring bars could be seen a dozen or so feet on the other side. The prison was impenetrable. Half a dozen earth dragons had called forth the metals from the very bones of the mountain itself, and then the flames of a dozen fire dragons had forged the folded, hardened steel. The walls, ceiling and floor were all smooth metal as well, four feet thick all around. The bars extended three feet into the earth above and below. If it could break out of that, then nothing the dragons could do would stop it. “Ask your question,” the creature said after it tired of her watching him. “Why come back?” she asked. “What purpose does that serve?” Ominous laughter filled the abandoned mineshaft where the dragons had imprisoned the Warped Fae, their most terrifying enemy. Not seen on Earth in over seventy years, it had returned. And nobody knew why. “My purpose is my own,” it purred, dragging one long fingernail across the steel floor, leaving a scratch on the surface. “Your trial is in a week,” Qymm said. “You won’t be around for long after that. I don’t see what you hoped to accomplish.” “Of course you don’t,” the creature, once a Fae Lord of immense power, said with another slow laugh. “You’re far too short-sighted to understand.” Qymm fought back her anger at the casual insult. It didn’t sound like he’d been trying to be rude either. It was more like…stating a fact. “Well, I can see that this is going to be a waste of time,” she said, turning to go. “Enjoy your trial and being buried alive.” There was a rustle, and the creature was abruptly at the bars. Qymm stiffened but managed not to jump as a long greenish limb extended out, barely missing the side of her face as she finished turning. “By the way,” the creature said with casual arrogance, “thanks for the guards. Clan Rixa’s strike team. Feels just like old times.” Qymm spun back, but the Warped Fae had already retreated to the far side of its cage, turning its back on her. It was clear it had no intention of answering any questions. Now what the hell was that all about, she wondered before heading back up the mineshaft toward the surface. She didn’t know, but she was going to find out. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. Chapter One Tars Sweat ran freely down his temples as he fought to hold back the onslaught of flames. Tars matched his will against that of one of his attackers, doing his best to overwhelm them. It wasn’t easy. His enemies were strong, trained, and doing their very best to destroy him first. But he could do this. He had to do this. I can’t fail. The fire was everywhere, it seemed. It came at him in a billowing stream before it hit his defensive wall and scattered. Orange-red flame vs. yellow-orange, they collided with incredible power, heating the room, and turning it into an inferno. Sweat dripped from the rock walls, and it was growing harder to breathe. Not from any smoke—there was nothing in the bowels of the earth where they fought that would burn—but from the simple lack of oxygen as the flames consumed it faster than it could flow down the tunnel. Can’t let them win. Tars grunted, and with a surge of his mind, mirrored by his body, he took a step forward. There was nobody to save him. Nobody that would come to rescue him. It was either defeat or be defeated. And defeat was unacceptable. There was no room for mistakes, no room for error. Not this time. Jaw clenched tightly, Tars poured more energy into his wall of fire, forcing his opponent back a step. And another. It was slow but steady progress. He didn’t let himself feel elated as victory grew closer with every step. Focusing on something other than the task at hand would distract him. Leave him vulnerable. He had to eliminate his enemy first. Each breath was a struggle and brought a stab of pain. A slice across his ribcage pulled open again with each lungful of precious remaining oxygen, a reminder that his foes had gotten in the first blow. That was then, though. This was now. Tars acknowledged the pain, but he brought it in and used it to help focus his energy instead of letting it distract him. He wasn’t always going to emerge unscathed from a conflict. Sometimes accepting a wound like that would let him win the battle in the end. And Tars was going to win. He could feel it now, but he didn’t let up. If anything, he pushed harder, backing his unseen enemy further and further down the tunnel, deeper into the earth below the mountain. He wasn’t going to stop. Wasn’t going to give up. Shoving aside his thoughts of who stood on the other side, Tars advanced again, leaning into the advance, imposing his will on the other. Nobody was getting in his way. Not today. Lips peeling back in a snarl, he turned the temperature up, his flames taking on a hint of white as they beat back his foe. It wouldn’t be long now before the other broke, and Tars was ready to charge in and end it. The fight would be over. Almost there. Just keep pushing. Putting his head down, he took another step, ignoring the screaming in his lungs as they cried out for more oxygen. He didn’t need it. Not yet. His opponent would falter first. Tars knew it. All at once, the fire in front of him spread out further to the sides. Tars looked up in surprise, not having realized the tunnel had emerged into a cavern. He heard a scrape of boot on rock from his right and, just like that, the fight was over. An ice-covered fist flashed in his peripheral vision, and stars exploded across Tars’ eyes. He was knocked to the ground. The blow stole his concentration, and the fire lashing out at his enemy vanished. Tars closed his eyes as a wave of fire rushed at him, but it went out ten feet short. Oxygen rushed into the suddenly empty area, and Tars breathed easier as he recovered his senses. There was no point in continuing. He’d lost, and it was clear for anyone to see. That wave of fire should have run over him and burnt him to a crisp before he could recover. That’s assuming the icy blade of his second foe didn’t finish the job he’d started earlier with the gash on his ribs and open up Tars from navel to neck. “Damnit,” he muttered as his senses returned. “Suckered me straight in.” “You got too focused on the fight in front of you and forgot there was more than one.” “Not quite,” Tars said. “I didn’t forget. I was aware. I did get too focused though, to the point I missed the cavern. My head was down as I pushed against you.” “Either way,” the voice said, resolving itself into a tall, dark-haired, and shirtless figure covered in sweat, his lungs heaving. “You know what this means.” Tars glared up at the other dragon shifter. “Yeah. I do. Same thing it meant last year. Failure. Rejection.” “It’s nothing personal, Tars,” Oriyn said, extending a hand toward him. “I know,” Tars said, taking the hand and letting himself be hauled to his feet with a grunt. “That doesn’t make it any easier to accept that I’ve failed the past four times I’ve tried out.” “Never said it did,” Oriyn said. “If it makes you feel any better, you had me pushed right to my