Dragon Emperor 15: From Human to Dragon to God Read online

  “Good morning!” the bald man greeted us as we made our way into the room. “A fine morning to work on your mission, isn’t it?”

  “It is,” Nike agreed. “Where’s Father?”

  “Oh, he never came back last night after he stormed out,” Calvin said with a shrug. “Something about needing to fill his hunger. He always says he’ll come back after a drink or two, but I’m sure he got caught up with someone.”

  “I thought he said you don’t like having him here,” I commented as I crossed my arms over my chest. “And it seems neither of you wanted anything to do with each other last night.”

  “He doesn’t, and we didn’t,” Niall announced as he strolled into the great room from the staircase. “Good morning, Father.”

  “Niall, I never heard you come in last night,” Calvin grunted.

  “Well, you wouldn’t have,” Niall sneered. “Your room was… rather loud when I came in. Anyway, I’m here to help my son.”

  “Your son,” the lord repeated with a smirk. “Sure, now you want to claim him.”

  “You took him from me the moment the sword chose him,” Nike’s father snarled and took three long strides to loom over Calvin. “Don’t make me out to be the monster here.”

  I cleared my throat to try to defuse the situation, and Calvin turned to look at me with a wary gaze.

  “As you said, Lord Evan, there are a few family issues that need to be worked out, but that is for another time,” he said and casually shooed the women away so he could sit up and drink what I thought smelled like coffee with a hint of cinnamon. “Would you all like something to drink?”

  “I’ll take what you’re having,” I replied as I sat down on the sofa across from him. “And make mine a big one. We have a lot to discuss.”

  “I was afraid of that,” Calvin grumbled as he motioned for Rafferty to go get drinks.

  “About this kid thing,” Niall said carefully before he took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his graying hair. “I really can’t be sure if I have any other ones.”

  “I don’t understand,” Nike grunted. “How can you two be so callous? These are people we’re talking about! Family!”

  “I know, I know.” His father scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. “I was being careless. I haven’t been the same since…”

  “You don’t get to use my mother’s death as an excuse,” Nike hissed, and I saw a rare flash of anger in the noble’s silver eyes. “She would be ashamed of you. Both of you.”

  Nike hadn’t ever talked about his mother, and I was shocked to hear his fierce defense of her now. It was obviously a touchy subject that I wasn’t going anywhere near right now.

  “I know,” Niall said as he dropped his arms and then his head. “I know.”

  “Listen, we can’t change what’s been done,” I interjected. “We just have to go from here. So, Baron, what are we looking at? Thirty women to talk to?”

  “Ah, I may have exaggerated my, um, conquests,” Nike’s father replied with pursed lips. “It’s more likely a much lower number.”

  “I should have known I’d outdo my son in all aspects,” Calvin chuckled until I shot him a silencing glare.

  “Go on,” I encouraged Niall.

  “There are four women who I no longer see since we had our, ah, trysts,” he continued without looking toward his father. “I’m not sure if they still live here in Leyte or have moved on.”

  I started to respond when I heard Rafferty scurry back into the room, and I turned to see he’d brought a tray full of the coffee-scented drinks, though one was nearly triple the size of the others.

  “Perfect, thank you,” I said as I grabbed the large mug from the tray before I turned back to Niall. “Do you remember each of them well enough to find them if they’re still here?”

  I took a long, slow drink from my mug as he answered, and I was pleasantly surprised that it not only smelled like coffee, but it almost tasted like it, too. Hopefully, it would wake me up after my night of restless sleep.

  “Of course,” he murmured. “I may have been foolish to avoid using protections, but I wasn’t foolish enough to have dozens of possibilities roaming the city.”

  Niall shot his father a smug look before he sipped his drink and sighed.

  “My lord, perhaps we could take Baron Niall into the city to find these women and talk to them,” Ravi suggested.

  “I believe they would be more comfortable talking to a woman,” Polina agreed.

  “Especially if a man left them high and dry with a child,” Marina muttered.

  “You’re probably right,” I agreed. “If any of them have had a baby, we need them back here at the castle. Nike can check for the connection, and even if it’s not there, we can make sure they’re doing alright.”

  “Now, I never agreed--” Calvin held up a finger to argue.

  “You can’t agree with something I didn’t ask,” I growled as I set my mug on the table and met his stare. “I will soon be your king, and I decree that you and your son will do right by these women. They may have gone years without the help they were due, but if they have your children, you will be making things right today.”

  “Of course,” Niall agreed without hesitation. “I’ll do whatever I need to.”

  “Thank you,” I replied and looked toward the four women. “If you need something, get word to Laika. We’ll be there in an instant.”

  “We will, my lord.” Trina nodded, and they motioned for Niall to lead the way.

  Then the dryads and Ravi headed out the front door with Nike’s father so they could talk to the various women around Leyte that he had possibly gotten pregnant.

  I watched them leave and turned back to face Lord Calvin. He seemed completely oblivious to the situation we faced, and I considered telling him everything about the Breach to ensure his cooperation. I was tired of his insistence that he was better than anyone else in the room.

  “Now, your turn, Lord Calvin.” I smirked as I picked up my drink and took another warm sip. “How many women have been in your harem?”

  “Ever?” Calvin’s eyes widened. “I’ve probably had at least a hundred lovers come and go. I can’t keep up with that many anymore, so I only have thirty now.”

  “A hundred?” Alyona gasped and covered her mouth.

  “Much like Lord Evan, I have a variety of tastes,” Calvin chuckled. “So, I have had many experiences with many types of females. Demi-Humans, humans, Pykas, and who knows what else have all entered my chambers.”

  “Pykas are sweet creatures, but I believe they are unable to reproduce with other races,” Alyona murmured. “So, those women are out. We may have to talk to who we can and hope for the best, my love.”

  “Gods,” I grumbled. “Okay, get some paper. It’s time to start a list.”

  Calvin grudgingly grabbed the supplies and began to write out the women he could recall from his harem. He remembered most of their first names, but there were a few who had been in and out within only a few days, so some lines on the list were simply descriptions of the women he remembered. It seemed like we were going to be here all day when he finally laid down the quill and groaned.

  “That’s all I can remember right now,” he muttered. “Good luck.”

  “I know you have no idea why this is so important, but it is life or death,” I said in a low voice. “So, if you haven’t put your best effort into this, you could be costing people their lives. Do you really want to end with a ‘good luck?’”

  “Fine, I’m sure I can think of a few more,” Calvin mumbled as he picked up the quill and wrote a few more names.

  “And if you know they’re still in Leyte, mark that down as well,” I ordered him. “We’ll start as close as possible and work our way out.”

  “Yes, my lord,” he agreed and continued writing on the parchment until it was nearly filled from top to bottom. “Here. This one left when a group of desert bandits left, so I suspect she was with them. The other was from a village
near the border, and I heard she returned home.”

  He handed me the paper, and Alyona and I skimmed over the names and descriptions. There had to be at least sixty women on this list, but thankfully, most of them were marked as still in Leyte.

  “Okay, we have a lot of ground to cover,” I mused. “Maybe we should split up.”

  “Probably,” Nike agreed. “We just need to establish if any of them have children. We can do that in groups.”

  “Okay, let’s divide the women into areas of town,” I said as I looked at Calvin. “Do you at least know where each of them lives?”

  “I know where everyone lives,” he retorted. “This is my city, after all.”

  “Of course.” I bit my tongue from continuing with a snappy remark and slid the list back over to him.

  A few minutes later, Calvin had marked the north, south, east, and west ends of town for each of the women who were in Leyte, and I had divided us into four groups. Rebecca and Aaliyah would head south, Naomi and Miraya would go west, Nike and Laika would go north, and Alyona and I would head for the eastern side of town. We each had about fifteen women to find and casually ask about their relationship with Lord Calvin.

  Sounded like a blast.

  We headed out of the castle and went our separate ways to interview former harem members, and while I knew it was necessary, I grimaced at the idea of asking these women such personal questions. They had already been wronged by Nike’s grandfather, and now, we were going to invade their lives again. I thought again about my future hatchling and hybrid child, and I couldn’t imagine a life where I didn’t know or care if they existed.

  “You seem frustrated,” Alyona observed once we were away from the palace. “Is it with Lord Calvin?”

  “Yeah,” I muttered. “I would never ditch you and our child. It’s a disgrace to everything a noble is supposed to stand for.”

  “You’ve been here the least amount of time and still have the highest standard for nobles,” she mused. “It’s remarkable, honestly. Did Earth fathers believe as you do?”

  “The good ones,” I replied with a frown. “There were always deadbeats who left their kids, but it wasn’t anything to be proud of. I’m sure some didn’t care, but I don’t know. I wouldn’t do it, that’s all I know.”

  “I know that,” she said in a soothing voice. “You’re an amazing man, and we’re all lucky to have you and love you.”

  I smiled as I looped my fingers through hers and led her toward the houses where Lord Calvin said some of his former lovers lived. I rapped on the door of the first house and asked for the first name on our list: Marie.

  The woman who answered was a rabbit Demi-Human who looked in her late fifties, and she eyed me with obvious suspicion.

  “Why are you asking about Marie?” she wondered.

  “My name is Lord Evan of Hatra,” I answered with a slight bow. “We’re searching for a descendant of Lord Calvin, and we’re speaking with former members of his harem.”

  The woman gasped, stepped out onto the porch, and shut the door behind her.

  “My husband doesn’t know about that time in my life,” the woman said just above a whisper. “You can’t tell him.”

  “We have no intention of disrupting your life,” Alyona assured her. “We only need to ask if you had a child during that time.”

  “No.” She shook her head vigorously. “Thankfully, I had my first child after my husband and I were married.”

  “Then that’s all we need to know,” I murmured. “Have a good day.”

  Marie dipped her head and rushed back inside without another word.

  “Oh, my,” Alyona sighed. “This might prove more difficult than we imagined.”

  “Yeah, I’m afraid we might get lied to,” I admitted.

  “If you suspect it, I can cast a truth spell,” Alyona offered. “But I don’t want to unless we have to.”

  “Deal,” I agreed.

  We continued down the list and knocked on dozens of doors. Most of the women lived where Calvin said they did, and most were also wary of discussing their time with the lord of the city.

  “Why would I tell you about my children?” a human woman named Elizabeth demanded.

  “We have to find a descendant,” I explained for what felt like the hundredth time. “I understand it’s odd, but it’s necessary. Please, if one of your children is Lord Calvin’s, we need to know.”

  “My oldest daughter,” Elizabeth sighed and ran a hand down her face. “I believe she’s his.”

  “You aren’t certain?” Alyona wondered.

  “No,” the woman huffed. “I had a few trysts with Lord Calvin and with a few other men at the time. I wasn’t certain, so I didn’t say anything.”

  “How old is she?” I asked.

  “Twelve,” Elizabeth answered, and a tear glistened in her eye. “Must we tell her?”

  “We must at least find out if she carries the bloodline,” Alyona answered in a kind voice. “It is of dire importance. Would you please take her to the castle?”

  A few seconds passed as the single tear rolled down Elizabeth’s cheek, and she took a deep breath and blew it out.

  “When she gets home from school,” the woman finally agreed. “I will take her.”

  “Thank you,” Alyona said and grasped Elizabeth’s hands. “We will help you with this. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Elizabeth murmured.

  The two exchanged a few more words before Elizabeth returned to her house and shut the door softly, and I clenched my fists as we moved on to the next name on our list. We found two more women with children who could have been Calvin’s, and we sent them to the castle as well.

  When we walked up to the last house on the list, I glanced over to see Ravi, the dryads, and Niall approach from the other side of the road.

  “What’s going on?” I wondered.

  “What are you doing here?” Niall asked in obvious confusion.

  “We’re going to talk to…” I looked at my list again. “Sarahi.”

  “Oh, gods,” Niall groaned. “He was with her, too?”

  “Wait, are you here working on your lovers?” My eyes widened in surprise. “You and your dad both slept with this woman?”

  “I guess so,” he muttered as he stepped forward and knocked on the door. “This should go well.”

  A tall blonde woman opened the door, took one look at Niall, and slapped him across the face. She was some kind of bird Demi-Human with golden feathers at the tips of her long hair and a bird-like nose that she looked ready to use on Niall’s eyeballs.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she shrieked.

  I chuckled as she pulled the door open further and crossed her arms over her chest, but my gaze was quickly drawn to her large belly.

  “Sarahi, come on,” Niall begged. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I haven’t heard from you in months!” Sarahi exclaimed. “I have a little anger that’s been saved up.”

  “Does it have anything to do with that?” Niall pointed at her round stomach.

  “You don’t get to have any say in my child,” she shot back. “So, if you came here for that, you and your friends can leave.”

  “Actually, we came to ask about your child,” I cut in before Niall could respond. “It seems we have a more awkward question than I expected.”

  “What?” Sarahi turned her fiery stare onto me. “And who are you?”

  “Lord Evan of Hatra,” I replied. “And I’ve been looking for a descendant of Lord Calvin’s, while Baron Niall has been looking for his own. Somehow, we’ve arrived at the same location. Can you explain that?”

  The color drained from Sarahi’s face, and her brown eyes darted back and forth between Niall and me before she let out a sob.

  “I’m so sorry,” she moaned and threw herself against Niall. “After you left, I didn’t know what to do. I went to the palace to find you, and…”

  “And what?” he asked in a stony voice as he st
ood stiff as a board.

  “And your father…” Sarahi took a deep breath. “He consoled me, told me what a terrible drunk you were, how you never stayed with a woman for long. One thing led to another and--”

  “And you had sex with my dad?” Niall whined as he stared at her.

  “It was only a few times!” she wailed.

  “A few times!” he shouted. “How many is ‘a few?’”

  “No more than ten! I swear! I never wanted you to know, and it felt like a satisfying revenge until a few weeks later.”

  Sarahi looked down at her large belly and rubbed it with a gentle hand.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Niall asked in a soft voice. “I would have helped with you, the baby, everything.”

  “Would you?” The fire returned to Sarahi’s voice as she wiped her eyes and stood tall again. “You’re never in the same place for more than a few days. The whole city knows it. Besides, I didn’t know if the baby was yours or Lord Calvin’s, and I decided I’d rather not deal with that.”

  “Well, you’re going to have to deal with it now,” I said as I tried not to eye roll. “You need to come back to the castle with us.”

  “For what?” she demanded.

  “That baby could be very important,” Ravi answered with a smile. “And even if it isn’t important to our mission, it’s important that you and your child are cared for.”

  Sarahi stared at Ravi for a few seconds as though she had to decide if she believed her.

  “And then what?” she asked.

  “If the baby is a descendant?” I clarified, and Sarahi nodded. “Well, we can get into all that later. It’s a lot to talk about, and I don’t want to waste your time if it won’t work. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she finally agreed.

  A few minutes later, she was ready to walk back to the castle with us. Niall was completely silent, and I wondered if he really meant what he said if the child was his. I hoped he did, but it was hard to tell what was really going on with Nike’s family.