Salvation's Kiss: Dragon Alliance, #6

By Delwyn Jenkins

Sarah Armitage fought long and hard to build a life for herself on an alien world. She's fought even harder to put the trauma of her captivity and abuse behind her, but she isn't sure she'll ever be fully whole. Sarah knows Tori and Shay want her as their mate. Deep in her heart she wants that too, but she's frightened the shame in her is too permanent to conquer.

Shay loves Tori and Sarah, and he wants to build a life with them. But when Sarah packs her bags and moves out of their home, her denial of what they are to each other cuts Shay deep. He's been repudiated before and in the fall out, he lost one of the most important people in his life. Now he's losing Sarah too.

Tori is blindsided by Sarah's defection. While he respects her right to make her own decisions, he suspects she's running from demons that have nothing to do with him or Shay. He wants to help her, but he can't do that if the cost is Shay's heart. Or his own.

Will the traumas of the past force Sarah, Shay and Tori to relinquish the life they want to build together? Or will they be courageous enough to find salvation in each other? One kiss at a time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Delwyn Jenkins
• Release date: Jul 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393256816

Delwyn Jenkins

Delwyn Jenkins can’t remember a time when she didn’t have a book in her hand. The stories she read fired her imagination, and gave her a legitimate excuse to disappear for hours at a time into the endless realm of her imagination. She lives on the beautiful south east coast of Australia, not too far from the Great Ocean Road. When she’s not spending time with family and friends, she happily clacks away on her computer, stirring up trouble and ruling her imaginary world like a benevolent Queen. Well…perhaps not always benevolent – because where’s the fun in that?

Book preview

Chapter One

Sarah Armitage was usually very good at job interviews, but today she was sweating bullets. Because on this alien planet, her well-educated competence couldn’t be substantiated. Her academic qualifications and her experience teaching in some of the best private schools in England meant very little.

Here, in Sapphire township—and on the rest of the content of Ivasta—ladies of quality didn’t seek employment. Women of standing allowed their men to protect them and only the lower classes worked for a living.

Smoothing her hands over her day gown, she ensured her long skirt and bustle were tidy after her carriage ride into town. Then she tried to breathe through the constriction of her corset. The appropriate attire for women on the Ivastan continent was all early Edwardian glory. Beautiful to look at, but a pain to wear.

And the hundreds of pins holding her red hair in place were making her scalp pinch.

But Sarah had years of boarding school and deportment lessons behind her. So appearing smooth, calm and elegant was her default setting. The more nervous she was, the more those lessons came to the fore.

Back straight and head up, she walked onto the school grounds in a smooth unhurried glide that would have made her tutors proud.

This late in the afternoon, all the students were gone for the day. Due to a long-ago, planet-wide virus, only male children were born on Gemarra, and the grounds were quiet without the busy hustle of active boys.

Sarah continued on toward the main building. Made of smooth, gray marble, the three-story structure stretched wide, skirted by play areas and lush stretches of lawn fringed by flowering gardens. As she approached, the door opened and the headmaster stepped into the afternoon sunshine.

Lady Sarah, good day to you. The title was an honorary one, given to all the Earth women who had been rescued from captivity and brought to Sapphire township.

Good afternoon, Headmaster Peats. Thank you for seeing me.

Yorgen Peats was a spectacled, portly gentleman with impeccable tailoring and a receding hairline. He was highly respected in the community and it was clear he cared a great deal about his students and the reputation of his school. Which was why he was not overjoyed to see his newest interviewee.

This way, my lady. The headmaster led Sarah into the vestibule and then to the ornate door that opened into his office. Come in. Please sit down.

The room was formal but welcoming. The heavy, dark-wood furniture had a well-cared-for luster, and the wing chairs and settee were upholstered in soft, green leather. But it was the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that really caught Sarah’s eye.

Instant room envy.

She waited until Headmaster Peats was around the business side of his desk before she took her seat. There was a knack to sitting successfully in a bustle, and Sarah had practiced the sit-slide maneuver until it was automatic. Once she was settled, she folded her hands neatly in her lap and prepared to do battle.

Your letter of application was quite unexpected, the headmaster said. You have been living in Sapphire for almost a year, so you can’t be unaware that ladies of your social status do not seek employment.

I realize that. Sarah was used to the disapproval of powerful men. Her father had given her a lifetime’s worth of practice. But you can see by my resume, I am thoroughly qualified. And my letter to you addresses potential issues that may arise if I am employed here.

Yes, your letter was quite thorough and well thought out. He looked down at the papers on his desk and Sarah recognized her own penmanship. Yorgen rested his hand over the pages and looked up to meet her eyes. I don’t recognize the names of the universities you attended or the schools where you taught. But I do recognize the skills and experience you have. In any other circumstances, you’d be a welcomed addition to our faculty.

Other circumstances, Sarah echoed. You mean if I were a man.

Yes. But that’s not my only reason for hesitating. The headmaster looked genuinely sympathetic. The Earth women at Addestet House seem to have settled in well, and they appear to be assimilating into our society.

Sarah nodded and feigned attention while Headmaster Peats repeated a sanitized version of her own history. The women in question had been kidnapped from Earth at the same time as Sarah. Like her, they’d been plucked from their lives and awoken on a spaceship, bound for no-one knew where.

Terrified and confused, the women had been inoculated, chipped with a translator, and cuffed with a control bracelet that had enough volts to keep them all in line. A lucky few had been rescued on a stolen shuttle, manned by a handful of enforcers disguised as enemy soldiers. Those women had been liberated and taken to a large mansion—Addestet House—where they’d been clothed, fed, and given time to adapt to their new reality.

That was the story most people in Sapphire knew, but it wasn’t Sarah’s story.

She hadn’t been one of the lucky few that had been rescued on that shuttle. Like the majority of abductees, she’d been taken to the northern continent and the high-tech city of Allsgate. Some of the women had been purchased at bride auctions, some had been bestowed as gratuities or incentives to those with power, and others had been sent to bower houses and lives of prostitution.

Sarah had ended up on the thirty-fourth floor of a luxury apartment that she wasn’t permitted to leave. She’d had wardrobes full of lingerie and nightgowns, drawers full of jewels and cosmetics. But no outerwear, no weapons and no freedom. She’d been bought and paid for, and that had been her new reality. Or so her captor had tried to make her believe.

But he’d been wrong, and Sarah had been free for almost a year now. She’d worked hard with the healers and councilors to put the horrors of Allsgate behind her. And as helpful as they were, her real healing had been done through the love and support of those closest to her. Her female friends were five women with a single shared experience that bonded them closer than sisters. They shared everything with each other—the good, the bad, and everything in between.

But her sisters-of-the-heart were only a part of Sarah’s recovery. The other part, more significant than she would even admit to herself, was the friendship and protection of her enforcers.

Although friendship was too mild a word for whatever it was the three of them shared.

When Sarah had been rescued from Allsgate, Shay and Tori had taken care of her. They’d taken turns holding her on the dragon flight back to Sapphire, then they’d made a space for her in their home. In the months that followed, they’d offered her a haven of safety and understanding the likes of which she’d never known.

Sharing living quarters with two enforcers and their dragon partners had been a revelation on just about every level. But it had given her time to heal, to rebuild and recover. She’d stitched herself back together, one day at a time, until she was as good as she could be.

She was listening to the headmaster with half an ear, but when she heard her enforcers mentioned, Sarah gave Yorgen her full attention.

Your living arrangements are an issue, he said. You are a woman, unprotected by a mating contract, living in close quarters with two enforcers. You must know what a concern that would be to the school board, and to the parents whose children attend this institution.

Sarah kept a check on the fury that sentiment aroused. Her feminist outrage would do her no good right now. Keeping her voice smooth and well-modulated, she answered him as though he’d finished voicing his concern, rather than just starting on her list of deficits.

While I’ve been living at the den, Shaytrahn Ghananstall and Torisayle Hedderyn have behaved in a manner beyond reproach. The enforcers are men of duty and honor, and I’m privileged to call many of them my friends. Shaytrahn and Torisayle are exemplars of everything gentlemanly, and they’ve treated me with courtesy and respect at all times. She pinned the headmaster with a no-nonsense gaze. I will not have a word spoken against them.

Taking a breath, she softened her tone. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t foreseen this particular argument. I understand that perception is as important as fact when one is an educator. For that reason, I’m moving to Addestet House just as soon as the arrangements can be made.

The headmaster would never know it, but Sarah’s prospective employment was a timely excuse. She wanted the job, no question, but she also needed to leave the den. There was a whole host of reasons she wanted to step out on her own for a while. Not the least of which was her tangled feelings for Tori and Shay.

The headmaster leaned forward, elbows on his desk. I appreciate your willingness to move into town, my lady. But that doesn’t address the problem of female employment.

As Yorgen gave her a kindly-meant lecture, Sarah nodded along. She’d come here knowing she’d have a fight on her hands. She didn’t need anyone to explain the inequality of the sexes to her.

Gemarra had a long and complicated history, and it had evolved into a world of two halves. In the northern hemisphere, on a continent on the opposite side of the world, technology flourished. The main city, Allsgate, was a space port with a thriving urban environment straight out of a science fiction movie. The authority in that city was a mining company called Brightstar. It held the reins of commerce, infrastructure, and transport—both off world and on.

Centuries ago, a group of citizens no longer willing to live under Brightstar’s yoke had come to Ivasta, a southern continent that was wild and beautiful. It was also subject to frequent ion storms, which shorted out anything electrical, making technology useless.

Both societies were complex and sophisticated. They were also binary opposites. Allsgate had advance medical technology, Ivasta had apothecaries and healers. In Allsgate, transport was airships and hovercraft. On Ivasta it was horses and—amazing to Sarah even now—dragons.

The two continents did not co-exist in peace. Brightstar raided the Ivastan settlements on a regular basis, pitching skiffs and lasers against the might of the battle dragons and the enforcers who rode them.

Brightstar also tried to wipe out the settlements by stealth. Centuries ago, they’d released a virus which was designed to make anyone living on Ivasta infertile. But the virus mutated and spread. As a result, pregnancies on Gemarra were rare and any child born was male.

So women had to be imported off world, and the lucrative short- or long-term contracts were taken up with more frequency that Sarah would have expected. All parental rights on Gemarra fell to the fathers and, baring spousal abuse, a woman had no legal authority over her child.

Like any planet-wide event, the virus had long-term social and financial effects. In general terms, women were considered a precious commodity, and those who entered into mating contracts were treated with a great deal of respect. That flowed on to any lady of standing, which meant they were treated like hot-house flowers.

But every society had its dark underbelly. There was a flourishing black-market trade between both continents, and almost any item could be had, if one knew who to ask. And one had enough money.

Which is why Sarah and the other Earth woman were kidnapped from their homes. And how found themselves fighting to make a life for themselves on an alien word.

I understand you’re in a difficult position, Headmaster. If she weren’t so determined to get this job, she might have felt sorry for Yorgen. He seemed like a decent, kind man. But she couldn’t afford to be sentimental. In the society I was born into, women have the moral and legal right to their own agency. We work, we own property, and we contribute to our world in meaningful ways.

You’re not on your world anymore, Lady Sarah.

I’m aware. She smiled as though being cut off from her old life hadn’t left her completely devastated. I have no desire to undermine the traditions and social mores of Ivastan culture. Which was the truth. She had no interest in changing the world, she just wanted to make her corner of it more reasonable.

If I were employed here, I suspect there would be questions and concerns from parents and other interested parties. However, I am a highly-qualified educator on my world, and I’m willing to share my knowledge and experience. I believe I can be an asset to this school and your students. As a woman, I can bring unique skills and perspectives to the curriculum. My gender also provides a valuable resource for your students. They will have the opportunity to interact with a woman not related to them, in ways both structured and informal—all within the safe confines of the school.

She knew that last one was a long bow, so she kept talking before Yorgen could call her out. In turn, my presence here will also help me learn about Ivastan society and will help me better assimilate into my new world.

Sarah took a breath, then she took a chance. When Brightstar abducted me from my home, they stole everything from me. My family, my friends, my life. And my freedom. She’d lost other things as well, parts of herself so deep and private she was still trying to claw them back.

I want to build a new life in Sapphire, she continued. A life that has value and meaning. The one thing I love, the one thing I’m truly good at, is teaching children.

The truth was, in order to feel whole, she needed to matter in a wider sense. She needed to be a valuable contributor to her community, to give as well as take. To her way of thinking, resuming her vocation was the perfect way to start.

For a long moment Headmaster Peats held her gaze, and she had no idea what was going on behind his bland expression.

I admire your courage, Lady Sarah. And your desire to do something worthwhile with your life. He gave her a wry smile. Teaching is my passion too, and I could think of nothing worse than being denied access to the school room.

A spark of hope ignited inside Sarah. You understand.

Yes. But that understanding does not untie my hands. I’m so sorry, my lady.

Squashing her bitter disappointment, Sarah decided to retreat for now. She gave the headmaster a gracious smile, thanked him for his time, then left the school grounds.

As she walked back to Addestet House to make preparations for her new living arrangements, she began brainstorming strategies. It might take her a few days, or even a week, but Yorgen Peats hadn’t seen the last of her.

Chapter Two

Tori loved being an enforcer. Even on days like today, when battle drills ran overtime and his abused muscles burned with every movement. Being in the air, on the back of his dragon, was worth any bruise or broken bone. Of which he’d had many in the years since Zenika came to claim him.

Right now they were winging their way back from the lakes after a post-working day swim. For creatures who thrived in the air, the battle dragons had an unhealthy obsession with water.

Instinctively moving with the surge of Zenika’s wing beats, Tori tipped his head back and enjoyed the warmth of the late afternoon sun. His wind-dried hair fanned out behind him, and he wondered if he could convince Sarah to brush it for him when they got home.

The Earth women often commented on the enforcers’ hair and eye coloring. All children and young adults on Gemarra looked the same, normal for want of a better term. But when a male was claimed by a dragon, when that link fell into place, a whole series of changes began to occur in his body.

The most notable and immediate change was the ability to speak mind to mind to his dragon and, by extension, his den-mate. The sharpening of an enforcer’s senses took months, and included the ability to see in the dark just as well as he saw in daylight. His body grew taller, the bones became denser, and he developed the kind of muscle that made him an intimidating warrior. In fact, most of the changes from young adult to fully-matured enforcer were about becoming an efficient and capable fighting machine.

The one exception was the change in hair and eye color. It had taken a couple of years, but Tori’s hair had changed from average brown to a fall of spring-green that ended halfway down his back. His eyes changed from ordinary blue to a dark, silvery gray. His cheekbones sharpened and angled, and the bridge of his nose altered so it no longer had the usual dip between his eyes.

And Shay was no less colorful. His once-blond hair was now summer-sky blue and his eyes were a purple so dark they were almost indigo.

Tori didn’t care about the color change, but it made no sense to him at all. The battle dragons—referred to as blacks—had scales from a monochromatic palette. Ranging from pale gray to the deepest black, their light-absorbing scales made them almost invisible in the sky. Which made perfect sense, considering they lived to fight.

But riders with hair color from every spectrum on the rainbow? Made no sense at all. Although, when they were heading into battle, there was nothing of the enforcer to be seen under the heavy protection of full body armor.

Tori glanced to his right and gave Shay a happy grin. Tori didn’t need to see Shay to know he and Denaleth were flying close. They could feel each other through their enforcer link, a connection that was a by-product of their link with Zenika and Denaleth.

The dragons were a mated pair and, as their partners, Tori and Shay made up their scale and skin family of four. But what they needed, what Tori longed for, was to expand that unit to five. All he needed was for Sarah to realize how much they cared for her, and to acknowledge how much she cared for them.

And that time was coming soon. Tori could feel it.

Angling into a tight turn, the dragons headed for the den. The huge cliff loomed ahead, the red rock striated with bolts of blue, green, yellow and pink. Large holes appeared at regular intervals, covering the upper three-quarters of the cliff face. High and to the left was the opening that lead to their home, a space that combined Tori and Shay’s personal den with the lair belonging to Zenika and Denaleth.

The landing drew closer, the opening large enough to accommodate the massive size of the battle dragons. Well, it would accommodate the landing of a black under normal circumstances, but Zenika and Denaleth liked the challenge of finding out how closely they could land together without doing actual damage. To themselves at least.

Tori had lost count of the times he’d been clipped, bumped, or knocked clean out of his saddle. Especially at times like these, when having come straight from the lake, the enforcers hadn’t bothered strapping themselves in.

Privately, he enjoyed the challenge of dodging bruises, but he’d never confess that to Zenika. She’d take him at his word and he’d end up in the infirmary more days than not.

I have a new strategy, Zenika said to him, mind to mind.

Oh? Judging by the excitement in his dragon’s voice, Tori might be in for a trip to the infirmary anyway.

At the last minute, I’ll put on a burst of speed to get in front of Denaleth. As I side-slip, you can scoot down my wing and onto the landing, getting out of his way before he crushes you.

Awesome. The expression he’d learned from Sarah was a good one when it came to dealing with the blacks. Zenika and Denaleth always thought they were right, so any kind of sarcasm rolled off them like water. But sometimes, sarcasm was an enforcer’s only recourse.

Prepping himself for the latest round of scaled insanity, Tori gripped the single leather strap that was the only piece of harness Zenika wore. True to her word, when they were almost at the landing, she pumped her wings in short, sharp strokes. Shooting past Denaleth, she hit the landing hard, twisting her body and skidding over the pale gray plas-paneling. Releasing his hold, Tori tucked his feet up and rolled on his side as he arrowed down Zenika’s wing. Hitting the ground with a grunt, he tucked and twisted, morphing his decent into an almost-controlled summersault.