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Diamonds fell from the heavens. Every hundred years, Paladia experienced a season of gem star falls. They rained down in iridescent shards that appeared like jeweled atoms of radiance, which shattered upon touching the surface. No one knew where they came from, but many imagined them to be the tears of Dranon, the spectral, giant guardian dragon who lived in the molten core of Rhesia. Regardless of the stunning Starfall, the city tonight was a furnace, the air so thick with scorching heat that I felt it might catch fire at any moment. The only thing hotter was the friction between us. We lay on a mattress that sagged and groaned, the motel room reeking of tallow soap, old smoke, and the sweat of a dozen previous guests. Serian’s muscled, sinewed arm was a heavy, familiar anchor across my midsection. My silk slip twisted high around my waist, sticking to skin slick with sweat. At a distance, we were two of a kind: dark-haired, lean, and lithe. Except my lover was a survivor, hardened by Down Below’s unforgiving streets. At the same time, I was a Prime Paladian Dracolith royal lady, my noble form shaped by my rigorous etiquette training and aerialist practice. Up close, our dermis revealed even more of our rival stories. Pale gold sigils traced my ribs, the elegant, lethal syntax of the Mauhlen-De Veil dynasty carved into my flesh. His markings were different: jagged glyphs and alley vows inked over scars; street law written in pain and survival. I wore silk meant for a lover’s tryst; he had on a gray tee and shorts washed to the point of implosive surrender. Serian shifted, his mouth brushing my shoulder. When I turned, our lips met in a slow, unguarded melding flavored with the sweet nectar of forbidden passion. ‘I missed you this week,’ I whispered. ‘Sa’a,’ he rasped, countering my claim, pulling me closer. ‘I yearned for you more, salaika.’ I loved it when he called me his angel. Without warning, the world tore open. The sound was a piercing, localized rupture. 'The f%$#? A vortex?' I cried out. We ripped our bodies from each other as power surged up my spine, white-hot and ancient. Before I had the chance to transmute or even draw breath, a cold, fine edge caressed my throat. The scimitar did not waver; it teetered above my carotid for a silent kill. Yet it did not slide in and deliver its baksheesh poison. This was not slaughter then; it was an assault. I moved on instinct, twisting away from the razor-thin dagger, driving my elbow back. It caught ribs and a stealthed chest as the blatt scraped against my forming scales, sparks and cinders exploding out. I kept in motion, my body completing the transmutation, limbs lengthening and wings quivering and unfolding as my amethyst-and-sapphire dracolich form reclaimed the room. A second presence shimmered near the ceiling, an assassin draped in light-bending tech. A halfling attack. Serian didn’t hesitate. Shadow and molten gold erupted from his skin as his own draco form uncoiled in a flash of radiance, his muscled frame lethal and tight. He swung a pinion and slammed the first attacker in the jaws; I caught the dry, sickening crack of bone. I launched at my assassin, my claws shredding armor and finding the flesh beneath. I tossed him aside, and another followed. Serian took on two of the attackers as the motel room disintegrated. The bed snapped, glass exploded, and the floorboards groaned under the impossible heft of two savage dragons battling four slayers. Serian fought with the jagged fury of the streets, but I sliced with the audacity of ancient wyrm forcefulness. Boots thundered in the hallway. Doors buckled. Weapons hummed to life. Hell on Devansi! A small army? Why? ‘Go!’ I roared to Serian, my vox a physical shockwave of thunder. ‘I can hold them off!’ I meant it too, for I was a Staterae Xenowyrm. An archaic species thought to be the origin of all Xenowyrms. Our warrior potency was legendary, and we could cast spells and stir up hexes of interwoven necromancy. My lover was a wyvern dragonnel, possessed of both dark vision and extreme battle skills. Still, I was more potent than he was in a fight. Serian hesitated, his teeth still locked in the throat of his kill. His gilded eyes burned with a desperate tangle of trust and refusal. ‘Go!’ I commanded again, my roar thunderous with the might of the dracolich star gem within me, my eyes blazing with spectral amethyst light. With a glowering glare, ticked off that he was not to be my protector this night, he launched. Glass showered the alleyway in black-and-gold streams of draco fire as the night cut into it. He plummeted, caught an updraft, and vanished into the bioluminescent labyrinth of towers. Still warring with one assailant, I turned to the door just as it buckled inward, bracing myself for the tide. ✨✨✨✨✨ ‘Dragon Diadem’ is a high-octane, soul-shattering paranormal romance, a prequel novella to the Dragon King Guardians interconnected standalone series. Featuring a lethally seductive street king, a princess under pressure, and a fated bond that defies ancient caste laws, this story is perfect for readers who crave: - Forbidden, fated romance between a Royal and a Rogue. - Starbound fated mates who will burn the skies for each other. - Deep-seated secrets and a hidden royal lineage that changes the stakes. The tension is a powder keg, desire is a sin, and the only escape from the abyss is a guaranteed, hard-won Happily Ever After. Binge it NOW, ENTIRELY FREE on Bookfunnel.