Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series
Her Elemental Dragons: Kiss the Sky: Chapter 1

Fire burst into life inside my open palm, and with it came the fear. I forced myself to keep the flame going and to stare at the ball of light and heat in my hand, even as cold terror washed over me and sent shivers down my spine. For much of my life fire had been my torment and my terror, a reminder of my past and a deadly threat to my future, but not anymore. Now I was going to learn to control it—and my fear with it.

“Are you trying to kill us all?” a cold voice asked behind me.

I turned toward Reven, squinting against the bright sun behind him. “I need to practice if I ever want to get better with fire.”

“Not on this boat.” My black-haired assassin gestured around us. “This entire thing is made of wood. One stray spark and we’ll all go up in flames.”

He did have a point. I closed my hand over the ball of fire, immediately dousing it. “It’s a good thing we have you then, isn’t it?”

He scowled, but it didn’t make him any less handsome. If anything, quite the opposite. “Nice to know my role in this group is to keep you and Jasin from burning the world down.”

He shot a glare at Jasin, who stood on the other side of the boat talking with Auric while making flying gestures with his hands. Auric’s golden hair caught the sunlight while he crossed his arms and furrowed his brow at whatever Jasin was saying. My fourth mate, Slade, sat nearby, ignoring the two of them as he sharpened his axe. He had the rich, dark skin common in the Earth Realm, along with a short beard and a large, impressive body that was all muscle.

“Your role in this group can be whatever you wish,” I said. “Assuming you actually want to be one of us, that is.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Reven snapped, before spinning on his heel and stalking off, his black cloak trailing behind him. I sighed as I watched his brooding form disappear below deck. He was here, yes. But would he stay this time?

I leaned on the wooden railing and gazed across the waves. An unnatural wind—created by Auric—tousled my hair and filled the sail, guiding our boat northeast toward the Air Realm. In every direction all I saw was water and sky, a never-ending field of varying shades of blue that reminded me of my childhood spent in the Water Realm. After years living in the other kingdoms I only now realized how much I’d missed being surrounded by the ocean. I wondered if Reven felt the same, since he’d also grown up in the Water Realm, but I doubted he would admit it to me if he did.

I rarely thought about my childhood since it only brought pain, but now I closed my eyes and breathed in the salty air and let my mind travel back. Back to growing up on the shoreline under the shade of palm trees. Back to the smell of fresh fish off the boat. Back to my mother, with her hazel eyes and sandy hair, and my father, with his scratchy beard and sun-kissed skin. The Fire God had told me they weren’t my birth parents, but to me they always would be my real family. Besides, I looked nearly identical to my mother, except I had red hair instead of blond. How could she not be my real mother? And if they weren’t my birth parents, then who was?

Perhaps the Air God could tell me once we made it to his temple. This was only our first full day on this boat—we’d spend last night either trying to figure out how to sail, or passed out from exhaustion after our encounter at the Fire Temple—but we had many more days ahead of us before we would reach the Air Realm and the temple there. And after that our journey would continue across the other Realms, growing more impossible with each day.

For hundreds of years our world had been ruled by the five Dragons, the divine representatives of the Gods of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. But in recent years the Gods had grown weary of the Dragons’ oppressive control and recently chose new Dragons to take their place: me and my four mates. Only problem? The current Dragons had no interest in stepping down.

For most of my life I’d rarely spared a moment to think on the Gods, absent as they were, and when I thought of the Dragons it was with fear and anger. All of that changed on my twentieth birthday when I was struck by lightning and began having visions of the four men who would become my mates. A month later they each arrived in my village and I was forced to face the truth: that I was the next Black Dragon, who represented the Spirit Goddess and could control all five elements. The other men—Jasin, Slade, Auric, and Reven—each represented one of the other elements. And to unlock our powers and our Dragon forms, I had to bond with all of them.

Yesterday I’d bonded with Jasin, my confident, flirtatious soldier, who’d been chosen by the Fire God to be the next Crimson Dragon. Jasin had once served the current Dragons in the Onyx Army, but he’d had a change of heart after he was forced to do things he didn’t agree with, including wiping out entire villages thought to be harboring members of the Resistance. At first I’d been hesitant to give my heart or my body to Jasin since he was a complete stranger to me, although not to other ladies it seemed. But after ten days of traveling to the Fire Temple together he’d won me over and I’d eagerly taken him as my mate.

The memory of it sent a rush of warmth through me now. His hands on my skin. His mouth between my thighs. The fire that had swept over us as the bond had completed. And when it was done, I’d been able to summon fire and Jasin could turn into a dragon.

Next I was meant to bond with Auric, my thoughtful, clever prince, who would represent the Air God as the Golden Dragon. He’d left behind his life as a royal and a scholar to be at my side, and I’d already come to value his kindness and intelligence. We were traveling toward the Air Realm now, where his parents ruled, though I wasn’t sure what we would encounter there. Auric had sneaked away to be with me, and I had a feeling his family wouldn’t be pleased with him. After Jasin’s family betrayed us to the Onyx Army, it didn’t seem wise to tell anyone else who or what we were. Either way, I was looking forward to bonding with Auric at the Air Temple, especially when I remembered his kisses, which had left me wanting even more.

Slade would be my next mate after Auric, though he didn’t seem happy about that fact. He’d once been a humble blacksmith—although one who had connections with the Resistance, it seemed—before the Earth God had selected him to become the Jade Dragon. Slade hadn’t wanted to leave his old life behind, and I got the feeling there was a woman in his past that was part of that, but I’d never once questioned his loyalty. I just wasn’t sure if we’d ever have the kind of relationship I had with Jasin and Auric. Sometimes Slade looked at me in a way that made me think he desired me as much as I did him, but then he would turn away and the moment would be lost. I could only hope he would open up to me by the time we reached the Earth Temple.

Reven, on the other hand, had made it clear from the start he didn’t want to be the next Azure Dragon, and didn’t care one bit that the Water God had chosen him. Despite the undeniable chemistry between us, he’d resisted me and pushed me away at every turn. In the Fire Realm he’d eventually left us all behind, saying he wanted no part of our journey anymore and that caring for people made one weak. He’d returned a day later and saved my life, but I wasn’t sure I could ever trust him again after he’d left us when we needed him most. But I’d have to replace a way, because eventually we’d have to bond in the Water Temple too.

No matter what challenges we faced, I needed to take all four men as my mates to gain all of their elemental powers and become the next Black Dragon. Only then could we stop the current Dragons—and take their place as the protectors of the world.

“All right, I’m going to try it,” Jasin said, his voice carrying over on the wind and interrupting my thoughts.

“Are you sure this is wise?” Auric asked, his brow furrowing.

Slade shook his head. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

Jasin waved their concerns away. “I’ve got it handled.”

“What are you doing?” I asked, as he tugged off his shirt and tossed it aside, revealing a chest rippling with muscles that were impossible not to stare at.

“Just watch and see.” With those words Jasin walked confidently across the deck and gave me a wink, his auburn hair shining under the sun. He grabbed onto the ship’s rigging and hauled himself up it with his strong arms, making my heart jump into my throat. With a mixture of fear and curiosity I watched his powerful body climb the ropes, going higher and higher, until he reached the top of the mast.

He spread his arms wide to the sun—and then he jumped.

I let out a cry as he fell toward the water, but then his body began to shift and grow. Blood red scales slithered across his skin, forming large wings and a long, snaking tail. Talons sprouted from his hands and fangs appeared from his mouth, and soon there was nothing left of my infuriatingly brave soldier except a formidable dragon in his place.

He flapped his great wings to keep from hitting the water, casting a gust of wind at the ship that sent us reeling. I gripped the railing tight as I watched him fly for the first time, while the other guys moved beside me, their eyes wide. Even Reven, though he crossed his arms like he wasn’t impressed.

Jasin flew higher and unleashed a loud roar as he faced us, no doubt showing off because he knew he had an audience. Then he let out a strange sound that I thought might be a laugh before doing a flip in the air, clearly reveling in his new form. Under the sun his crimson scales gleamed, and my fear gave way to amazement. One day we would all be able to change forms like that and fly across the sky—including me. And once we mastered our powers and our new Dragon forms, maybe we’d be able to save the world. Assuming we could learn to work together first.

“He’s going to be more insufferable than ever now,” Reven said.

“No doubt,” Slade agreed.

“I can fix that.” With a wave of his hand, Auric sent a strong gust of wind flying toward Jasin, right as he did another flip. I arched an eyebrow at Auric, but he just shrugged.

Jasin awkwardly flapped his leathery wings to steady himself, but he couldn’t regain his balance and began spiraling out of control. His scales rippled and shifted as if he was becoming human again while he plummeted from the sky. I gasped as his large reptilian body hit the water with a loud smack, sending waves across the deck and drenching the four of us. He sank below the water and I nearly reached for Reven to beg him to save Jasin, but then an auburn head surfaced in front of us.

Jasin tossed his wet hair back and grinned. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

Yeah, we had a lot of work ahead of us.