PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF

  KATIE MacALISTER

  Memoirs of a Dragon Hunter

  “Bursting with the author’s trademark zany humor and spicy romance . . . this quick tale will delight paranormal romance fans.”—Publishers Weekly

  Sparks Fly

  “Balanced by a well-organized plot and MacAlister’s trademark humor.”—Publishers Weekly

  It’s All Greek to Me

  “A fun and sexy read.”—The Season for Romance

  “A wonderful lighthearted romantic romp as a kick-butt American Amazon and a hunky Greek find love. Filled with humor, fans will laugh with the zaniness of Harry meets Yacky.”—Midwest Book Review

  Much Ado About Vampires

  “A humorous take on the dark and demonic.”—USA Today

  “Once again this author has done a wonderful job. I was sucked into the world of Dark Ones right from the start and was taken on a fantastic ride. This book is full of witty dialogue and great romance, making it one that should not be missed.”—Fresh Fiction

  The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons

  “Had me laughing out loud. . . . This book is full of humor and romance, keeping the reader entertained all the way through . . . a wondrous story full of magic. . . . I cannot wait to see what happens next in the lives of the dragons.”—Fresh Fiction

  DRAGONBLIGHT

  A Dragon Interim Novel

  Katie MacAlister

  Copyright © 2020, 2021 by Katie MacAlister

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  http://katiemacalister.com

  To Jess A with many warm fuzzies, and lots of appreciation for all your support!

  CONTENTS

  What Exactly Is This?

  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

  Epilogue

  Note to Readers

  About Katie

  Other Books by Katie

  WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS?

  Since I know there are probably more than a few of you who are even now squinting at this book and muttering to yourself, “Where does this fit in with the other dragon books?” I thought a quick explanation and clarification would be timely.

  Here’s the explanation part: In January 2020 (remember the time before the pandemic?), I had the brilliant idea of publishing a story that covered the time period between the end of Sparks Fly (aka the third Light Dragons book) and the beginning of Dragon Fall.

  Why would I do that? Mostly because I’d switched publishers at that point, and since the new dragon publisher wanted the three Dragon Fall books (Dragon Fall, Dragon Storm, and Dragon Soul) to be different from the other sept books, I decided to break the weyr apart, and let those three books tell how it was re-formed.

  In my head, it worked wonderfully. I dribbled out just enough information in Dragon Fall that readers would instantly be caught up, and be ready to move forward with seeing how the dragonkin fixed everything. Reality ... well, reality was a lot different from what went on in my head.

  It so often is.

  In truth, readers were confused, with lots and lots and lots of people writing to ask me for the name of the book that covered how the dragons were cursed, etc. It quickly became apparent that what made perfect sense in my mind did not make perfect sense to a whole lot of readers.

  Which brings me back to January 2020. I figured I’d finally write a novella that covered all the happenings that went down in my head while I was writing the Dragon Fall books. I released one episode each month to newsletter subscribers only, and allowed myself to play with the story, writing each chapter from a different point of view. That let me bring back Aisling and Drake, May and Gabriel, and even Jim as a narrator (amongst others).

  Once the serialized version was finished, I sat down to edit the book, and realized there were still a lot of things I had yet to explain, and I more than doubled the length of the original serialized version that newsletter readers saw. Hopefully, I covered all the remaining questions.

  If you are current on the dragon books through Dragon Soul (or Dragon Unbound, which follows it), then Dragonblight will explain just how things came about before those last few books. If you are new to the books, then slot this one just after Sparks Fly, and before Dragon Fall.

  Since I don’t want anyone more confused than they might be by the appearance of an “in-between” book, here’s a list of the reading order of all the dragon books, with the main protagonists and important secondary characters.

  Aisling Grey Novels

  · YOU SLAY ME

  · FIRE ME UP

  · LIGHT MY FIRE

  · HOLY SMOKES

  · “Perils of Effrijim” novella (originally in DEATH’S EXCELLENT VACATION anthology)

  Main Characters:

  Aisling Grey, Guardian

  Drake Vireo, wyvern of the green dragons

  Effrijim (aka Jim), demon in Newfoundland dog form

  Silver Dragon Novels

  · PLAYING WITH FIRE

  · UP IN SMOKE

  · ME AND MY SHADOW

  Main Characters:

  May Northcott, doppelganger

  Gabriel Tauhou, wyvern of the silver dragons

  Cyrene Northcott, May’s twin, a naiad

  Magoth, demon lord to whom Cyrene bound May upon her creation

  Kawaa, Gabriel’s shaman mother

  Sally, ex–demon lord and, with her work partner Terrin

  Light Dragon Novels

  · LOVE IN THE TIME OF DRAGONS

  · THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF DRAGONS

  · SPARKS FLY

  Main Characters:

  Ysolde de Bouchier

  Baltic, former wyvern of the black dragons, and current wyvern of the light dragons

  Brom, Ysolde’s son with her ex-husband, Gareth

  Pavel, Baltic’s best friend and right-hand man

  Holland, Pavel’s romantic partner

  Thala, daughter of a famed archimage, who stole a valuable sword owned by Baltic

  Katie Explains to Readers What Happened After-the-Fact Novel

  DRAGONBLIGHT

  Dragon Fall Novels

  DRAGON FALL

  Main characters:

  Aoife Ndala Dakar, sister of Bee and Rowan

  Kostya (Konstantin) Fekete, brother to Drake, and wyvern of the black dragons

  DRAGON STORM

  Main characters:

  Bee Dakar, sister of Rowan and Aoife

  Constantine of Norka, godfather of Kostya, and former wyvern of the silver dragons

  Gary (aka Gareth), a disembodied head whom Constantine and Bee adopt

  DRAGON SOUL

  Main characters:

  Sophea Long, widow of Jian Tin (wyvern of the red dragons)

  Rowan Dakar, brother of Aoife and Bee, and later wyvern of the red dragons

  Mrs. Papadopoulos, mysterious old lady

  DRAGON UNBOUND

  Main characters:

  Charity, siren

  The First Dragon, demigod who created all dragons who ever were, and who ever will be

  Dragon Hunter Novels

  MEMOIRS OF A DRAGON HUNTER

  Main characters:

  Veronica James, math teacher

  Ian Iskandar, dragon hunter

  Sasha, Ian’s apprentice

  DAY OF THE DRAGON

  Main characters:

  Thaisa Moore, medieval scholar

  Archer Andras, master of the storm dragons, and twin of Hunter Vehar

  Hunter Vehar, master of the shadow dragons

  Bree, Sasha’s sister

  My dear Friia,

  I take pen in hand—or, in this case, keyboard under fingers—to respond to your electronic letter that my steward informed me you sent to me last week. I am sure there must be a reason you chose to converse in this medium rather than simply visiting me, as you have been wont to do over the centuries, but regardless, your missive was most interesting. I am pleased to know that you are enjoying your time with the dolphins in the Caribbean, although I had thought Asgard was bound to one of the Norse lands. When did you move it?

  You ask about my kin. I wish I might give as good an account as you have of your people, but there has been a disturbance gathering in the life force of all dragonkin. After much thought as to how best to aid my children, I have begun to set it into motion.

  My regards
to Óðinn.

  Your devoted brother,

  First Dragon

  ONE

  IN WHICH AISLING SEDUCES A DRAGON

  “There are imps, imps everywhere. Hundreds of them. No, thousands. One can’t step foot without almost squashing one into the pavement. Is that not right, Javier?”

  Javier, his cheeks bulging with items from the plate of appetizers that he was sharing with the woman on my right, nodded and gave a few frantic chews before gulping down his mouthful of spring roll and sashimi. “Most definitely. Far too many imp squashings. It is not good for the shoes, you know?”

  “And what must the tourists think?” continued my neighbor, scrunching up her nose in a way that looked both adorable and whimsical.

  I wondered if I could pull off such a thing, and glanced down the long length of the bar. There was no one upon whom I could practice my nose-scrunching. I sighed, and took another pull on the frosted lemonade. “The tourists?” I asked the woman, trying to distract myself.

  “The mundane ones, you know?” She gave a very Gallic tch in the back of her throat, her accent some variation on French that was unfamiliar to me. She had almost a singsong lilt that had me eyeing her with curiosity. “The pipples who are not in the Otherworld.”

  “Ah, yes, those pipples.” I nodded, and pushed my now-empty glass away.

  “It cannot be good for the tourist pipples to see imp guts everywhere. Questions must be asked at the sight of squashed imps. Questions that are most hard to answer. What are you going to do?”

  “Me?” I stopped myself in the middle of checking my phone for any messages. I’d made a mental promise earlier that I wouldn’t fuss, and I’d be damned if I gave in after only three hours. “I didn’t know I was supposed to clean up imp remains.”

  “But you are a Guardian,” the woman replied, swiveling on the barstool to give me a pointed look. “It is your job to protect everyone from imps, yes? That includes the mundane tourists.”

  “There are two Guardians who manage the Paris portals, imps included,” I told her, signaling to the bartender for another iced lemonade. “It would be rude of me to push my way in and take over their job, not to mention highly impractical. I won’t be in Paris long enough to do more than swab up a few smeared remains. Yes, please, another one. It’s very hot out for June, and I got a bit overheated shopping in the market.”

  “Bah,” the woman said, snapping off the end of a deep-fried pickle. “It is your job to protect us. The others who you say guard the portals, they do nothing.”

  “It is problematic,” her friend Javier agreed, chewing quickly to get rid of his mouthful of toasted ravioli. I gave the ravioli a long look, wondering if a little snack wasn’t in order after my morning spent combing the antique shops and open-air stalls for the perfect birthday present. “But, Carmina, it is not this lady’s problem, our imp situation. We must speak to Jovana.”

  “Bah,” she repeated, and gave a sniff that spoke volumes. “She has no interest in anything but some mage sword. You are new to Paris, Guardian?”

  “Not really, no, I just haven’t been here much since my children were born,” I said, smiling and tucking my phone away lest I make stabby taps on the face of a certain annoying dragon. “That was about two and a half years ago.”

  “Much has changed in that time,” the woman, evidently named Carmina, said with a dark look at her companion.

  He nodded again. “Things are happening. There are currents beneath, you understand?”

  “Deep currents,” Carmina said with another snap at her fried pickle. “But come, we are being most annoying, are we not? We have done nothing but talk about us, and not discussed in what way we can help you enjoy Paris.”

  I blinked a couple of times—bad habit, that—while I wondered when I’d asked for help. I’d entered into friendly conversation with the couple when I sat down at the bar, but I didn’t realize they thought I was seeking advice by doing so. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t really need help. Not in that way. I’m a bit ...” I made a vague gesture, then giggled. “Sorry, it’s just that I’ve got an itch that hasn’t been scratched in a long time.”

  “An itch?” Javier glanced down at my sundress with accompanying bare arms. “You have a rash of some sort?”

  “Javier, do not embarrass me with your so very manness in front of this Guardian.” Carmina cast him a look filled with gentle chiding before leaning in close to his ear, and adding in a clearly audible whisper, “It is sex that is the itch. She is seeking the engagement most sexual.”

  “Ah,” he said, his gaze flitting over me again, this time in an impersonal assessment. I sat up a little straighter, wishing I’d done something with my hair, which, as ever, was living its own life without regards as to how I desired it to behave. “That is so, yes, I see. Itch that hasn’t been scratched. You permit?”

  He had pulled out a small navy blue notebook and a tiny mechanical pencil, holding it poised over the paper.

  “Javier collects interesting phrases in the English,” Carmina explained.

  “Does he? By all means, then, collect away.”

  “Now.” Carmina folded her hands and gave me her full attention. “You will tell us what you are looking for in a partner sexual, and we will help you find this scratcher of the itch. Is it a male or female you seek, or do you have a preference? Corporeal or not? Are beings of the nature most dark enticing to your itch, or do you prefer less intense relationships?”

  I opened my mouth to tell her that I wasn’t looking for anyone since I had a perfectly good itch-scratcher of my own, but at that moment, the crowd on the other side of the room rippled, and the rise and fall of conversation that filled the Goety and Theurgy club—better known to denizens of the Paris Otherworld as simply G&T—hushed for a few seconds.

  I leaned out to look around where Carmina and Javier were craning to see who’d come in. Three men sauntered down a corridor created when the club denizens had parted, the leader a tall, dark-haired man with the brightest green eyes I’d ever seen. Two redheads followed him, all three walking with the self-assurance that said they knew exactly who they were and their place in the world. The crowd closed behind them as they approached the far end of the bar.

  I smiled and, picking up my icy lemonade, pulled my purse strap over my head. “Oh yes! I’ll have that, please.”

  “What will you have ...” Carmina’s eyes widened at the same time Javier, sipping on an ale, choked and sputtered bits of ale-drenched toasted ravioli everywhere. “No! Oh, no, Guardian! You must not! That is a dragon. He is the ... what is the word, Javier?”

  “Wyvern,” I said in a voice that sounded remarkably like a purr. “Yummy, isn’t he?”

  She grabbed my arm as I slid off the stool, about to make my way over to what was obviously the fun side of G&T, her words giving me an odd sense of déjà vu. “You don’t want to mess with him even if you think he could scratch the itch of your genitals. He is what my son calls bad times.”

  “Bad news, my love,” Javier corrected her.

  “Yes, that, too.” Her fingers dug into my arm when I tried to move away, amused that once again I found myself in G&T, admiring the handsome green wyvern. “He is the most bad news. To cross him is to consume danger.”

  “I’m not afraid of him,” I said, almost admitting the truth; then a mischievous urge possessed me, and although I’d often lectured my twins and Jim about giving in to the very same thing, I decided that two weeks spent parted from the dragon of my dreams meant I could indulge myself. Just a little. Just enough to remind him of what he had missed while I was back home visiting family.

  “You should be,” Carmina answered, but reluctantly released my arm when I took the long way around the bar that sat in the center of G&T. It didn’t surprise me that packed though the club was, the people parted for me, too ... although they didn’t provide as much space for me as they did Drake, Pal, and István.

  I smiled at a few familiar faces coming in the door, waved at a blue dragon I recognized, and headed straight for where Drake stood at the bar, his back to me.

  “Well, if it isn’t Puff the Magic Dragon,” I said in a voice that, while not loud, was pitched to carry.

  Drake stiffened at the words, then slowly turned to face me, a glass of Dragon’s Blood dangling from his long, sensitive fingers.