Claimed by the Fire Dragon Prince
Aria Winter Jade Waltz
Copyright @ 2020 by Aria Winter & Jade Waltz
Claimed by the Fire Dragon Prince. All rights reserved under International and Pan American Copyright Conventions.
By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen.
No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the written permission of Aria Winter and Jade Waltz except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Published in the United States by Purple Fall Publishing. Purple Fall Publishing and the Purple Fall Publishing Logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Purple Fall Publishing LLC.- purplefallpublishing.com
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Names: Winter, Aria, author. | Waltz, Jade, author.
Title: Claimed by the Fire Dragon Prince / Aria Winter & Jade Waltz.
Series: Elemental Dragon Warriors
Description: Purple Fall Publishing, 2020.
Identifiers: ISBN:
978-1-64253-237-1 (pbk.)
978-1-64253-404-7 (ebook)
978-1-64253-264-7 (audio)
Subjects: LCSH Space exploration--Fiction. | Human-alien encounters--Fiction. | Dragons--Fiction. | Shapeshifting--Fiction. | Science fiction. | Romance fiction. | BISAC FICTION / Science Fiction / Alien Contact | FICTION / Romance / Science Fiction | FICTION / Romance / Paranormal / Shifters
Classification: LCC PS3623 .I6675 C53 2020 | DDC 813.6--dc23
Cover Design by Kim Cunningham of Atlantis Book Design
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Dedication
To my husband: Thank you for all your love and support. You are not just my husband, you are my best friend and my rock. I love you more than anything.
-AW
To My Husband,
Thank you for being my support and rock during this writing journey.
I love you!
-Jade
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Lilliana
Alarms blare throughout the ship, muting the distant screams that echo down the hallways. Dark smoke fills the corridors, stinging my eyes and burning my lungs with each inhalation. I lift my arm and fist the fabric of my sleeve to cover my mouth and nose. I’m not sure if it actually filters the air I breathe, but it makes me feel a little better about running in the opposite direction of the escape pods.
We’ve practiced orderly evacuation of an unsalvageable ship dozens of times in anticipation of this exact scenario. Despite all our training, it’s absolute chaos as people rush past me, frantic to reach the escape pods. A deafening boom splits the air as the pirates fire another blast at the hull, rocking the ship violently. I don’t know what species our attackers are, but they are hideous to behold. Ugly, humanoid lizard aliens with yellow, vertically slit pupils that stared menacingly at the viewscreen as they demanded our surrender only moments ago.
I make my way toward the bridge. The doors are ajar, a low buzzing hum emanating from the control panel as they struggle to close. I push through the narrow opening then gasp as my eyes scan the room. The scent of smoke and iron fills the air so thick, I can taste it on my tongue. A wave of nausea rolls through me and I swallow against the bile rising in my throat.
Half the crew is slumped over their stations, dead—including our Captain.
Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them back. I only just spoke to her this morning about converting one of the cargo bays to a dedicated vegetable garden. She clapped a hand on my shoulder, praising the plan that would have increased our food production capabilities by at least fifteen percent.
My gaze sweeps to the navigation console and relief washes through me. Skye isn’t there at her station.
Hope soars. My best friend must be alive and evacuating to the escape pods.
Another explosion sounds along the hull, vibrating the entire ship. I lose my balance and pitch forward. Gripping the chair in front of me, I barely manage to remain upright. I have to get out of here. I’m a botanist, not an engineer, so I don’t know how much more damage our vessel can take before she breaks apart. But if I had to guess, I would say catastrophic failure is imminent, as is the death of all remaining crew.
I rush toward the door and back into the hallway. I’m not ready to die today. My pulse pounds in my ears as I race down the corridor. My feet cannot carry me fast enough from the sound of blaster fire and the shouts that ring out behind me.
The pirates must have boarded. Judging by the damage they’ve already caused, their technology is superior and we’re heavily outgunned. So, the fact that they bothered to board means they don’t just want our cargo and our ship; they want us. Otherwise, why not just destroy the ship? Fire enough holes to vent us all into space so they can claim their loot?
The sight of a familiar figure up ahead lends me a burst of speed. It’s my best friend, Skye, sitting in the middle of the corridor and leaning over someone. Her normally long golden hair is streaked red with blood.
“Skye!”
She lifts her tear-filled gaze to mine, and I inhale sharply when I notice her younger brother covered in blood, his head in her lap. He lies with an unnatural stillness that stops my heart. I notice the slight blue-gray tinge of his lips and realize his blue eyes are open but unseeing. She stares down at him in dismay.
“Skye, we have to
