Blue Streak: Magic, New Mexico

By DB Sieders

In this race, love is the ultimate prize.

 

Tatiana Blue is a fast-flying water dragonshifter of impeccable breeding and high social standing with a wizard to match. She's the perfect contender for the race that will win her a spot on the elite Blue Guard. Until, that is, another blue dragon enters the competition, a handsome bad boy from the slums of Valiant City. But these rivals will have to become allies when they land in hostile territory…on another planet.

Ranvie Blue appears to be a carefree rogue, member of a wizard-run dragon gang that dominates the human warrens. But looks can be deceiving. When the race catapults him and his alluring rival out of their dimension and to Earth, the two blue dragons must team up to save themselves and the enchanted town of Magic, New Mexico, from a magical anti-immigrant group that seeks to destroy enchanted creatures from other worlds or dimensions.

Can an uptown lady dragon find common ground and passion with a dragon from the streets, or will their differences lead them and the citizens of Magic down the path of destruction?

Tropes: Rich girl, poor guy; rivals to lovers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meankitty Publishing
• Release date: Jun 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393280354

DB Sieders

Award-winning author D.B. Sieders was born and raised in East Tennessee and spent her childhood hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains and chasing salamanders, fish, and frogs. She loved to tell stories while sitting around the campfire.   She is a working scientist by day, but never lost her love of telling stories. Now, she’s a purveyor of unconventional fantasy romance featuring strong heroines and the heroes who strive to match them. Her heroes and heroines face a healthy dose of angst as they strive for redemption and a happily ever after, which everyone deserves. You can find D.B. Sieders on her Website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. Join Sieders’ Sirens for giveaways, sneak peaks, bonus content, and upcoming releases!

Book preview

BLUE STREAK

by

DB Sieders

BLUE STREAK

By DB Sieders

Dragons of Tarakona #7

Meankitty Publishing

Copyright ©2019 DB Sieders

Cover by Candice Gilmer, Flirtation Designs

Contributor: SE Smith

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This ebook is licensed for the original buyer only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people at sharing sites, loops, discussion boards or through other means. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The Author of this Book has been granted permission by S.E. Smith to use the copyrighted characters and/or worlds created by S.E. Smith in this Book; all copyright protection to the characters and/or worlds of Magic, New Mexico are retained by S.E. Smith.

About the Book:

IN THIS RACE, LOVE is the ultimate prize.

Tatiana Blue is a fast-flying water dragonshifter of impeccable breeding and high social standing with a wizard to match. She’s the perfect contender for the race that will win her a spot on the elite Blue Guard. Until, that is, another blue dragon enters the competition, a handsome bad boy from the slums of Valiant City. But these rivals will have to become allies when they land in hostile territory...on another planet.

Ranvie Blue appears to be a carefree rogue, member of a wizard-run dragon gang that dominates the human warrens. But looks can be deceiving. When the race catapults him and his alluring rival out of their dimension and to Earth, the two blue dragons must team up to save themselves and the enchanted town of Magic, New Mexico, from a magical anti-immigrant group that seeks to destroy enchanted creatures from other worlds or dimensions.

Can an uptown lady dragon find common ground and passion with a dragon from the streets, or will their differences lead them and the citizens of Magic down the path of destruction?

Tropes: Rich girl, poor guy; rivals to lovers.

Alternate loglines: Blue dragons get wet and wild.

Rogue dragonshifter rocks rich girl’s world.

NOTE: This novella is the companion to Jody Wallace’s Blue Guard (coming soon!) and is chock-a-block full of red-hot romance and rascally gnomes.

Dedication:

TO SUE DAUGHERTY DRAUGHN, amazing woman, breast cancer survivor sister, and avid reader!

And to Jody, who’s the BEST writing partner!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Big thanks to S.E. Smith for letting us play in her amazing, quirky, and super fun fictionverse. Shout out to Narelle Todd for wrangling and promoting all of the authors in the Worlds of Magic, New Mexico. It’s truly a pleasure to work with this fantastic team. I want to add my appreciation of the wonderful proofreading by Christel Goedeke. I’m eternally grateful to my editor/collaborator and partner in crime, Jody Wallace. She writes the coolest stuff and I encourage fans of quirky, fun romance through a feminist lens to check out her work.

HUGE thanks to Candice Gilmer of Flirtation Designs for the gorgeous cover art. This might be my favorite out of the entire series!

DEFINITELY look forward to Blue Guard, the companion novella for Blue Streak, coming soon from Jody Wallace. Check out the whole set! We have some fun, sexy stories for you.

I have been overwhelmed by support and love from readers, bloggers, and reviewers, and I thank each and every individual who has taken the time to read my work.

And, as always, thank you to my family and my furballs for love, cuddles, and unwavering support.

MORE INFORMATION:

At the end, don’t miss About the Author, plus info about Gold Rush and Gold Fever, companion novellas that come right before this one!

About Magic, New Mexico

Imagine The Worlds of Magic, New Mexico... A series that brings together outstanding paranormal and science fiction authors to expand a town where witches, aliens, vampires, werewolves, goblins, sorceresses, pirates, time travelers, and paranormal live in harmony - when they aren’t joining forces to defeat the bad guys. A magical town where being abnormal is the norm!

I’m S.E. Smith, the creator of Magic, New Mexico and I invite you to curl up with each book now and discover all the action, the magic, and the love that makes Magic, New Mexico the ultimate go-to series for Paranormal / Science Fiction Romance readers.

For all the stories, go to MagicNewMexico.com/books/. Grab your copy today!

Chapter One

Tatiana Blue was itching to shift into her dragon form and fling herself into the air to win this race .

The clear sky above held the attention of every wizard, human, and dragonshifter gathered on the parade ground, anticipation and excitement buzzing like a hive of bees. A competition in which only the most daring, strongest—or foolhardy—dragons in the most powerful province in Tarakona would push their endurance to the limits as they surveyed the wide, unexplored regions outside of the known cities and lands.

There would be adventure, danger, the thrill of discovery, the struggle to survive. The victor would become a member of the Blue Guard, an elite unit of dragons charged with aiding their leader, Governor Victoria the Valiant, in her quest to explore the entirety of Tarakona.

Exploration. Pah! Tatiana hid a sneer. Victoria, Valiant Province’s leading wizard and thus its ruler, wanted to know which parts of Tarakona were ripe for her next conquest.

Tatiana would win this race and show all of Tarakona that she was a dragon of worth and value—a good, obedient dragon of excellent breeding and high social standing who could be a trusted member of the Blue Guard. And as a vital member of Victoria’s court, she would have access to the governor’s inner workings and secrets.

And she would use those secrets to subvert the governor’s hold on Tarakona and to liberate dragons held in thrall by wizard masters. Spying was a dangerous game, but freeing her kind was worth the risk.

The time for the race to begin was nigh. In preparation, a series of transportation portals opened in the distance, past the hills that rolled beyond the parade ground, followed by the booms and brilliant lights of fireworks. The parade ground doubled as a dragon training ground, sprawling and far enough away from the city proper to minimize damage. The flares sparkled like small gemstones in the sky, a regal setting for the crown jewels that were the portals themselves.

Each one-way portal led to some unknown part of Tarakona, and the winner would be selected from those dragons who returned first and best, rich with knowledge from remote regions.

Look at that! said the young man beside her, pointing as he stared in wonder at the display. Country dragon, baby dragon, new to his variant. A dragon his age was often in one of the training academies, like she’d first entered, though some dragons were bought straightaway by wizards. The wee lad, wearing a competitor’s badge like her, had probably never seen a portal, yet he was determined to risk life and limb to go exploring in this race.

Exploring the world without a wizard companion was an odd choice for an orange dragon. Oranges contained the magic of illusion, accessible only by a wizard, like the magic of every dragon. Then again, his nearly impenetrable scales would serve as a good defense against threats. Still, he’d be no match for Tatiana’s speed.

A regally dressed older woman dripping with jewelry from her expertly coiffured silver hair to her silken gown and down to dainty boots smiled at the country bumpkin patiently, rolling her eyes and winking at Tatiana as if to say, Youth these days.

Tatiana grinned, nodding. The older woman, Mistress Oleander Ferrous, was an iron dragon. Unlike most iron dragons, she and her wizard worked together at the forge to create beautiful jewelry in addition to the occasional weapon or two. They did not partake of the blood magics that some iron wizards indulged in. Tough, capable, and clever, Oleander could survive a trip through an unknown portal, but she wasn’t as fast as Tatiana...and she couldn’t land on water.

Of all the known dragons varieties in Tarakona, only blue dragons could rest on water. Only blue dragons could safely cross oceans without the aid of ships. While gold dragons were the fastest, blues were renowned for their speed, adaptability, and skill in and on water, and that was just physically. Wizards could conjure water by draining blue dragon magic.

Tiny crystal dragons flittered back from the newly formed portals. Well, technically the wizards who owned the tiny dragons had used magic siphoned from them to create the portals, but the dragons had provided the power.

Dragons who should all be freed.

Mistress Blue, said Leia, a young gold dragon whose master Tatiana’s own mistress had been cultivating, so to speak. "Will you bring me back a souvenir from your travels?

She rolled her eyes. Oh, of course. I’m sure between dodging sea monsters, evading capture by unknown wizards, surveying, and beating my fellow competitors, I’ll have plenty of time to grab a trinket for you.

Leia pouted. At least you get to go.

The words tugged at her heart. Gold dragons were arguably the most unfortunate of their kind. All dragons were held as the property of their wizard masters, except for those aligned with the rebellious Dragon Liberation Front. The DLF, like Tatiana, believed all dragons should be free, but gold energy dragons required regular draining by a wizard. As such, they were the only type of dragon unable to compete in this prestigious event.

Greatly daring, Tatiana reached out and placed a hand on Leia’s shoulder. Dragons were wary of touch, since the touch of a wizard drained their magic. If a wizard drained too much, the dragon suffered from the ague.

And sometimes worse.

Touching and accepting touch was a sign of trust, and a sign of camaraderie among dragons. I’m sorry. I’ll find you something pretty. I promise.

Leia clapped her hands and beamed at Tatiana, gold tracery glowing beneath her skin. Tatiana’s own skin glistened with faint blue latticework, her mark as a blue dragon. Each type of magic was denoted by its own color and allowed dragons to change from dragon to human and back again, the only magic they could access. Wizards harvested all other dragon magic and wielded it or stored it in amulets for later use or sale.

It made dragons valuable commodities—emphasis on commodity.

I must return to my master now, Leia said. Thank you, and good luck!

Oleander snorted once the gold dragon was out of earshot. Her tracery was a medium grey, like veins of metal, though her age and experience meant she could keep it muffled most of the time. Not a moment too soon. She looked as if she was about to explode.

Indeed. Tatiana nodded, though she doubted her expression was as neutral as her tone.

Bollocks. Dragons belittling other dragons. Yes, golds could explode if their excess energy magic wasn’t drained, but Leia was hardly in danger of immolation. Oleander fully embraced her privilege as the property of a wealthy and powerful wizard, ignoring the plight of her less fortunate fellow shifters.

The older