When archaeologist Keltie Clarke comes across a stunningly strange cave painting during a dig in the Rocky Mountains, she realizes that itâs a find that could make her career. But she doesnât know what to make of the man who surprises her as she considers her find....
Larkan is surprised, too. Heâs a shapeshifter, trained to protect his dragon kin from the outside world. But Keltie is...different. Sheâs a warrior, just like him. And even though itâs his role to mate with the dragon queen, Larkanâs desire for Keltie provokes a battle between his love and his sovereign lady. What none of them knows is that Keltie is the only one who can see a new future for the dragon tribe.
Dear Reader,
I love a good dragon.
I love them because they are so extravagant. Thereâs no tying it up in the backyardâthough it might come in handy with the barbecue. Dragons are bold and fiery and creatures of infinite variety. They are the very stuff of high fantasy. What better material for a hero than that? And so it was that Larkan came to lifeâa shifter from an ancient culture so isolated that time has passed him by.
And who better to unleash him than an archaeologist? Keltie is a junior professor struggling for recognition. When she digs up more than she bargains for, she has to find her inner warriorâand fast. Itâs up to her to free the dragons from brutal laws that have bound them in darkness for centuries. At stake is a love that spans worlds and a discovery that will shake the foundations of human belief. Like I said, dragons do nothing in a small way, especially not romance.
Enjoy,
Sharon Ashwood
Dedication
For Clara, who was a dragon in her dreams.
Prologue
A long time ago, when the world was freshly born, the dragons made a rift in the air. This shimmering wheel in the sky was a doorway between worlds, and so it was that they came to our skies from the Summerland. They loved it here, for there were curious beasts and tall mountain peaks and all the new horizons they could wish for. Best of all, there were men and womenâproud, curious and filled with passionâwhom many of the dragons came to love as their own kin.
Time passed, humans prospered and the Age of the Dragons drew to a close. One day, the vast majority of Old Ones and their children returned home to the Summerland, their adventures done. But a few remained, including their king, and he had plans. He had grown weary of ruling a people who flew where and when they liked. He was even more bitter because his subjects were loyal to their mates first and to him only second. He decided it was time that they learned to serve at his beck and call.
And so it was that the king of the dragons abandoned the sky and convinced his people to dwell beneath the hard rock of mountains. In time, he thought, dragons would forget that they had once tasted the wind.
The king was correct. Because they had always lived with free and open hearts, the loyal dragons never once suspected treachery.
Chapter One
The cave gaped as if some giant had thumbed a hole into the mountainside. Keltie Clarke shone her flashlight around the dark maw, looking for signs of animal habitation. Merkton Universityâs archaeological team had already been over the area and had found nothing, but she probed the darkness anyway. The team wouldnât have checked caves this far from the dig site, and the southern Rockies had no shortage of bears and mountain cats.
The air cooled as she stepped from sun into shadow, creating an instant chill along her arms. It smelled stale and dusty in those black, black depths. Every one of these ancient sites had its own presenceâcall it an aura, a spirit or a personality. She could feel this one like the press of fingertips against her skin.
These were the moments she lived for, the moments when she might, just might, discover a fragment of the forgotten past. Professor Switzer and his adoring minions were over the hill and far away, wrapping up the excavation for the year. Keltie, junior professor and third in command, wrangled the newbie students, a job Switzer considered well beneath him. Keltie didnât mindâshe liked teachingâbut she wasnât needed for a few hours. This time was hers alone.
She moved steadily forward, her dark braid swinging across her shoulders. The light played against the cave walls, pooling and slithering like a live beast. She followed the curve of the wall only to find the opening widen into a second cavern. After a momentâs hesitation, she went through. This space was larger than the first, but the floor was strewn with large boulders.
Although she smelled none of the telltale odor of animal habitation, that sense of a watching presence grew thick enough to touch. Her heart speeding a little, Keltie moved the flashlightâs beam along the wall. A faint pattern on the rock made her freeze and then blink, not quite sure that her eyes were telling the truth.