But all I know is I need to leave, or he will kill me.
Or I will have to kill him.
And I can’t do that.I won’t.
My other dragons hover behind me, their wings beating rhythmically, creating soft gusts of their elements in the air. However, Koen, the largest dragon I have yet to see, unleashes a surge of searing flames from his enormous mouth, the roar of the fire echoing through the cavern. I duck, holding my hands over my head as I try to move around him, doing anything I can to avoid being seen by him.
The first time I wish his eyes would look away from me.
But I feel he senses me, or the flame is controlling him. His thick claws dig into the gravel, a rippling vibration echoing in the depths of his throat and then, a scarlet-red flame heats within his mouth. The intense, fiery breath scorches the cave's ceiling above us, leaving dark, charred streaks against the stones, while a cloud of ash drifts down, dancing eerily in the dim light from the storm raging outside.
The Gods are mad. I can feel their anger.
His thick, onyx tail whips toward me, slamming me against the crystals once more. This time, his tail swings back around, his spike slicing my cheek where my birthmarks are. Warmblood gushes down my cheek and without thinking, I press firmly against the wound.
“Koen!” I plea out to him, my heart ripping into shreds as I see him like this. “Please come back to me!”
My tears mix with the blood that drips down my cheek, and sobs escape my lips as I pull my knees upward against my chest. “Please don’t leave me again.”
A violent ripple of air, intertwined with a ferocious growl, erupts from his throat, reverberating through the cavern. The rocks within the cave shudder and cascade down, crashing onto the ground, with a few striking against me. The walls of the cave seem to vibrate and rattle with each roar, cracks in the ground beginning to snap in the air. It's clear that it won't withstand him being here much longer.
“You need to leave him here, child.”I hear the woman, whispering with the wind from the outside. “Your sister wants you dead. The flame is controlling him, this is not Koen. He will never be able to unshift with you being here.”
“I don’t understand.” My bottom lip quivers, watching the manI loveunable to hear me. Unable to see it is me.
“Run, child,” she calls out to me. “Run so you both can live.”
Chapter 33
“Only the true huntress can connect with the dragons. But the nature of the hunt runs like a rampant fire throughout them. The dragons will feed off of the emotion of the huntress.” - Book of Azure
I RUN.
So damn fast.
Even if everything inside of me is screaming to stay, to fight for him,I run.
And it breaks me, completely ripping my heart,our heart… apart.
But I sprint. Despite the pain that is radiating through my chest and ribs. Despite the blood that won’t stop oozing from my cheekbone. I place one foot in front of another and never look back.
I remember loving him. From the moment I saw him sharpening his daggers, next to the white oak tree at the towering castle in the Ice Nation, I loved him. Even if we were young. Even if it has been centuries since that moment I first laid my eyes on his sun-kissed skin. Even if our Realms have been doing everything in their power to keep us separated… I have loved him.
Even with the Gods ripping us apart,I have loved him.
But fear hits me like a tidal wave, clenching my heart until it finally freezes as the most gut-wrenching thought hits me… what if I don’t love the man he has become? What if the Gods have protected me, and I have been nothing but selfish with ignoring their warning signs?
I begin to fear the darkling magic that completely courses through his veins will never give me the Koen I once lovedback.
My vision blurs as I focus on the towering, golden castle ahead, following the narrow path down the hill to make my way back to the Pyre. I would have never known the Pyre existed as it is hidden around the mountainside cliffs behind the battle arena.
A sudden wince escapes my trembling lips as sharp rain slaps at my face. Each foot beats against the rocks while the tall, wispy, green grass sways violently with the wind.
Roars of thunder vibrate the lands while bright lightning flashes vivid, yellow cracks across the sky, as if the Gods are parting the sky for them to destroy us for what we have done. Us Royals, the descendants of the Gods, betrayed the very words from their books. We caused this. The curses, the violence of the land, the war… is all because of us.Because of me.
Now I understand why I burn, it's the curse they gave me for living. The curse to never have the man I love touch me ever again.
The roaring sounds of Koen in the cave still rattle in the air, but the further I run, the less the sounds break my heart. His massive form is far too large to squeeze through the narrow arched entrance, so he will be trapped in there until he shifts back into his body. But that won’t stop him from trying. I just pray the cave isn’t destroyed.
