Supreme's Kiss (Kiss Series Book 3) Read online

"Of course you haven't," Kur said, reading his mind. "It's only been done once before, and those that received it were sworn to secrecy, as yours must be. Over time it will be forgotten."

  Information that Kur had infused in Autumn's mind before that hadn't made sense, suddenly did. "You bestowed this Kiss on the Dragoons that first arrived on Mondu."

  "Yes." Kur nodded at her. "The journey from Earth was long and arduous. Many did not survive it. Entire lines died out. Because of that, there was infighting for who would fill the gaps. More died. They all would have if I hadn't stepped in."

  "You gave one of them your Kiss."

  "Yes, a Silver Supreme named Taji. He was strong, wise, and respected. He chose well, and soon the Dragoons began to flourish on Mondu."

  "He was able to choose who would be Primes, Supremes, and Minors?" Kirall asked.

  "Not all, only the positions that needed to be filled. It will be the same for you."

  "So you’re saying I can't replace a Minor Elder that I don't agree with or like," Autumn said thinking of Lando, the Elder for the White Minors. She would never forgive him for what he'd done to Dacke to learn she was a Supreme.

  "No, you can't," Kur told her, his gaze trapping hers. "You will only be able to create Supremes. Once that is done, the balance of power will begin to return to Mondu along with the magic of the Dragoon."

  "What magic has faded?" Autumn asked.

  "There was once a time that if the Varana attacked, all Dragoons would bind together and drive them out, no matter who was attacked. But as resentment and jealousy grew between the colors and levels, that stopped happening. Dragoons died because of it and with each one the magic that allows Dragoons to shift weakened a little more."

  "And you think the resurrection of the Supremes will stop that from happening?" Kirall asked.

  "Not by itself," Kur replied. "Bonds must be recreated in ways they weren't in the past. They must be nourished and cared for. Only then will Mondu fully recover."

  Autumn thought about what Kur had said, about what was ahead of them, and about what she wanted to do. She looked to Kirall and knew, without him saying a word, that he would support her whatever her decision. Because Kirall was hers.

  "What do we need to do?" she asked.

  Kur rose, the low table between them disappearing as he moved toward them. "Normally the one receiving the Kiss will kneel before the one giving it as a sign of respect and acceptance." When Autumn started to kneel, Kur stopped her. "You will not be doing that, my little Supreme." Kur dropped down to one knee, which still had him towering several inches above Autumn. "You are the most powerful being on Mondu. You kneel for no one."

  "You're more powerful than I am," she told him quietly.

  "But I cannot remain," Kur told her sadly. "Once I bestow my Kiss on you, I must leave."

  "For how long?" she asked.

  "Until it is time for us to meet again," he said vaguely. Kur looked from her to Kirall. "You must realize that this is an intimate and binding act for the participants." Kirall's angry growl filled the room. "But it's nothing like the intimacy you share with your mate, Kirall." Kur looked back to Autumn. "It will create a bond between you and the ones you choose, not unlike that between a parent and offspring. It is why you must choose carefully who you bestow your Supreme Kiss on."

  He let that sink in for a moment then asked, "Will you accept my Kiss, Autumn?"

  Autumn looked to Kirall then back to the god. "Yes."

  With that, Kur extended his arm, wrist side up. 'Then accept my Kiss and bestow it on those you deem worthy."

  Autumn frowned at Kur, not sure what she was supposed to do when the most amazing scent filled her nose. It was full of life and power and something indescribable. It called to her dragon, and before Autumn knew what was happening, Kur's blood filled her mouth as her dragon's teeth sank into his wrist.

  The power that filled Autumn was a thousand times stronger than when she shifted into her dragon form, and yet it didn't hurt. It filled her with a sense of wonder, power, and most of all, love. Before she knew it, Kur was pulling his wrist away, and she watched the wounds she'd caused close, leaving no mark.

  "That was…" Autumn didn't know how to express it.

  "Are you alright?" Kirall demanded. He'd never seen anything like that before.

  "I'm fine." She covered his hand with hers reassuring him.

  "You were glowing," he told her.

  "I was?"

  "Yes, and your hair was floating around your face." He slid his fingers through the red strands and was surprised to find strands of silver now mingling in with them. His gaze shot to Kur.

  "It will fade once the Supremes have been restored to Mondu," Kur said as he stood.

  "What will?" Autumn asked.

  "There are silver strands in your hair," Kirall told her.

  "There are?" Rising, she rushed over to a mirror that had suddenly appeared on the wall. Just as Kirall had said, she now had silver highlights in her hair.

  "Trust your instincts when it comes to who you choose, Autumn." For a moment Kur's image appeared next to hers in the mirror and then he was gone.

  Chapter Two

  Autumn stood on the steps that led down to Kruba's courtyard and watched as, one by one, Kirall's family landed and shifted into their Other form.

  "Autumn." Niccele moved up the steps to hug her.

  "Hello, Niccele," Autumn said, returning her mother-in-law's hug. "Welcome."

  "Thank you, Autumn. I’m sorry we keep arriving like this." Pulling back she let her gaze travel over Autumn, noting the changes in her appearance.

  "It's not your fault," Autumn reassured her. "I know there's a great deal that needs to be discussed and decided on before the Council of Elders reconvenes." Autumn's gaze went behind Niccele to Nixie, who was just walking up the steps. "More than you know."

  Niccele frowned at that, but before she could comment, Nixie reached them.

  "Autumn, your Lair is amazing!" Nixie's gaze traveled over the carvings that adorned the outer walls of Kruba.

  Autumn found herself smiling. Nixie was Niccele's oldest daughter and the sibling closest in age to Kirall. While Autumn didn't know Nixie well, she'd been the only one that had attempted to make Autumn feel welcome when she and Kirall had first arrived at Vrasal, Nixie's parents' Lair. Although Nixie admitted it was more because she disliked Maaike. Still, Nixie had brought Autumn a gown to wear as she'd arrived at her parents’ Lair wearing only the thin nightgown given to her by Talfrin, the Healer on the Inferno.

  "If you think this is impressive, you should see the inside," Autumn told her.

  "Hellooo… Mother, Nixie," Kirall said when the two completely ignored him standing behind his mate.

  "Oh, Kirall," Niccele stepped passed Autumn and hugged her oldest, accepting the kiss he placed on her cheek. "How are you?"

  "I'm fine, Mother," he told her then looking behind her saw his father and the rest of the family approach. "Dad."

  "Hello, Son," Kiran embraced his oldest then reached into a pocket. "Here's your relay jewel."

  "Thank you." Kirall slipped the chain holding the Black Breath he used for his relay jewel over his head.

  "And here is one that Commander Cai encoded so he will be able to contact you until his code can be transferred to your relay jewel."

  Nodding Kirall slipped that over his head to. "Should we go inside? I'm sure Nixie isn't the only one who wants to see inside Kruba."

  For the next few hours, Autumn and Kirall gave his family a tour of their Lair, including where everyone would be sleeping since they would all be staying for the next few days. They eventually ended up in the front room where Kur had given Autumn his Kiss.

  Kruba had provided food and drinks and rearranged the furniture, so there was comfortable seating for all.

  "How were you able to prepare all this without the help of Others?" Nixie asked.

  "I didn't," Autumn told her. "Kruba provided it."

  "You're
saying your Lair did all this?" Zeb asked, waving around a hand in disbelief.

  "Kruba isn't like any other Lair," Kirall told his brother.

  "I noticed your boundaries have expanded passed the next several peaks," Kiran commented as he moved to take a seat next to Niccele, handing her a glass of wine.

  "Yes," Kirall said noncommittally handing his own mate a glass before sitting beside her.

  "Why is that a problem?" Nixie asked, taking a chair across from Autumn and Kirall. The rest of the family settled into the remaining ones.

  "It's a problem because Tove's Lair is on the summit of that mountain."

  "Was there," Autumn corrected him.

  "I never gave it a thought that we flew by it after passing through your boundary," Niccele said quietly, her eyebrows drawing together.

  "Well, I say they got what they deserved," Nixie commented without a trace of sympathy in her voice.

  "Many will not see it that way," Kiran said quietly, his gaze moving from Autumn to Kirall.

  "Would you allow a threat to your family within your boundary?" Autumn challenged Kiran.

  "No," Kiran admitted, "but it has yet to be proven that Tove is a threat."

  "If he had nothing to hide, he would have told us how he got my brother's crystal," Autumn told him, her eyes narrowing.

  "Tove has always liked to be… problematic," Kiran said carefully.

  "Problematic?" Autumn all but hissed. "He tried to kill not only my mate and me but everyone in that Assembly!"

  "I agree he’s hiding something," Kiran growled, "but there's little chance of getting it out of him now."

  "There must be a way." Niccele's hand reached out to sooth her mate as she spoke.

  "We need to know where he got that crystal and what he's stored in it," Kiran told his mate. "You know we can't access that information without his assistance."

  "What do you mean?" Autumn asked, looking from Kiran and Niccele to Kirall.

  "Relay jewels," Kirall began, pulling his out of his shirt, "are personal."

  "You told me that," Autumn reminded him. "You said it’s a way for you to communicate over long distances with those that aren't related by blood."

  "Yes, but it's a personal and private communication, Autumn, meaning I'm the only one that can access my relay jewel. The only one that can hear who’s on the other end, and communicate with them. It's coded to my biosignature."

  Autumn frowned, looking at the dark jewel in her mate's hand. "How? Just by holding it?"

  "It needs to be programmed first," Kiran told her.

  "So how's that done?" Autumn asked.

  "Once a Dragoon has selected a jewel, he encloses it in his hand," Kirall demonstrated by doing so with his Black Breath, "then rests it on an encryption device."

  A transparent cube appeared on the table in front of them. It surprised everyone but Kirall and Autumn who were used to Kruba providing what they needed.

  Autumn watched as Kirall leaned forward. The bottom of his jewel extended below his fist, and as it touched the cube, the cube absorbed it until Kirall's skin made contact. The cube then began to glow, its light encompassing Kirall's hand for a moment before it faded and Kirall leaned back.

  "That's it?" Autumn asked, surprised it was that simple.

  "That's it," Kirall told her. "As my jewel has already been encoded, nothing was changed in it. It still contains all the codes of those I might want to contact and any conversations I chose to save or may have missed."

  "How do you get someone else's code in your jewel?" Autumn asked.

  "You hold your jewels in your hand then touch them together. The codes then transfer between them."

  "So you have to actually meet someone to have their code, and you're the only one that can ever access the codes and messages?"

  "If it's something that others need to hear, it can be placed on the encryption device, and all will hear what's being said or a message can be replayed."

  "So then all we have to do is place Jack's crystal on the encryption device, and we'll know who Tove's talking to and can listen to any messages he stored."

  Kirall reached out and took her hand in his. "It doesn't work that way."

  "What do you mean?" Autumn asked.

  "Tove has to voluntarily place his relay jewel on the encryption device without anyone touching him. He's not going to do that."

  "You're saying that if I'm touching you and your relay jewel… rings, vibrates, whatever it does, you can't answer it?" That seemed strange to Autumn, but then a great deal in her life had been unusual lately.

  "Yes," Kirall agreed. "Once answered, we can resume contact. Or if I place it on the encryption device, you and anyone in the room can hear the conversation."

  "Even if you let go?"

  "Yes.”

  "So someone can't physically force Tove to give us access to Jack's crystal." Autumn sat back in her chair, a frustrated look on her face.

  "No," Kiran said, giving her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Autumn."

  "Once someone uses a jewel or crystal as a relay jewel, can someone else use it?" she asked.

  Kiran frowned, not understanding the worry in her voice. "Of course. Many relay jewels are handed down through the family because of their value. One only needs to encode it with their biosignature. It erases all previous data, and it becomes theirs."

  Kirall understood why Autumn was asking. His mate wanted to use her brother's crystal as her relay jewel, to keep him close.

  "Good." As Autumn rose, she heard the slightest of sounds. So faint, she knew she wouldn't have heard it if she were still human. It seemed to be coming from where Kiran and Niccele were sitting. "What is that?"

  Kiran gave her a shocked look. "You heard the vibration of my relay jewel?"

  "You can't?" She looked around the room. "None of you?"

  "No," they told her.

  "It's set to just barely vibrate my chain, letting me know I have an incoming transmission," Kiran told her.

  While Kiran answered his transmission, the rest of the family rose and began to wander around the room. Autumn moved out onto the balcony. Leaning against the railing, she let her gaze travel over Kruba's territory. Closing her eyes, Autumn could feel it was still expanding, taking back the area that Tove once claimed. Silently she instructed Kruba to cease growing once Tove's land was completely absorbed. She needed to know who was living farther on before forcing them out.

  Even though her eyes were closed, she sensed Nixie walking out to silently stand beside her. After several moments she opened her eyes and looked at her sister-in-law.

  "Is it really true that Earth females are allowed to live on their own once they reach maturity?" Nixie asked.

  Autumn frowned at that. With everything Nixie could have asked her, this wasn't what she'd been expecting. "If they choose to, yes."

  "How amazing that must be," Nixie said wistfully. "To be given a choice."

  Autumn hadn't thought of it as 'amazing.' With her family dead, she'd been thrown out into the world without a safety net, but she could see how Nixie might see it differently.

  "You'd like to live outside your parents' Lair?" Autumn asked carefully.

  "Of course. So would Ravannah and Aisling, but it's not allowed."

  "Kirall told me how female dragoons aren't allowed to live outside their parents’ Lair unless they're mated."

  "They don't think we can protect ourselves," Nixie scoffed.

  "Can you?" Autumn asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Not as well as you can with your claws." Nixie made an absent gesture to Autumn's fingers that at the moment were claw-free. "But yes, with an empowered Lair and in my dragon form, I'm more than capable of protecting myself. My sisters are too."

  "You can empower your own Lair?"

  "Obviously not one like Kruba," Nixie gestured around her, then admitted, "Or even one as large as my parents’ but a smaller one with only a few Others? Yes."

  "Then if you can empower your own
Lair, you can protect yourself."

  "You'll never get our males to see it that way or my parents."

  "Well, I guess we'll just have to change their attitudes then," Autumn told her, smiling. "Won't we?"

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Later that night, Autumn stood on a balcony again. Only this time, it was the private one in the Keeper's Suite, and Kirall's arms were wrapped around her waist holding her close. Together they watched the show the distant storm was giving them.

  "It was a good evening," Kirall said as he leaned down to kiss the curve of his mate's neck.

  "It was," she agreed, reaching back to cup his ass. Throughout the evening, Autumn had gotten to know Kirall's family better and found them all charming, funny, and loyal. While there had been a great deal of teasing amongst the siblings, it had all been done with love and respect. The way she and her little brother would have if Jack had survived. After a delicious meal, they'd all retired to their rooms. "I learned a great deal."

  "I know they can be a little overwhelming," he murmured still kissing her neck.

  "They were fine," she reassured him tipping her head to the side, so he had better access.

  "You are the fine one." His hands moved over her denim-covered hips to the juncture of her thighs. "And while I love how sexy you look in these 'jeans' of yours, they don't allow me to touch you the way I want."

  "I'd say you're doing just fine." She moved her hips, so his fingers rubbed against her clit.

  "I want to touch your skin," he growled.

  "Then do it," she challenged, her gaze meeting his as she let him feel the bite of her extending claws.

  Kirall's growl became gravelly as red and black scales began to form along his elongating face. "You want to play, little Aud-um?"

  "Yes," she gasped as Kirall's claws shredded her clothing while only erotically grazing the skin beneath. She knew Kirall still worried that his Beast would harm her, especially when she was in her Other form. She knew he wouldn't, and she wanted Kirall to know she could love him in this form as easily as she did his other two forms. Unconcerned about her nakedness, she stretched up and ran her tongue along the scales on the underside of Kirall's jaw the way she knew his Dragon liked.