*Kieran*As promised, Nola, Zephyr, and Thorne met me in the study and we all stood apprehensively over a map of the Burning Isles. The tension was heightened and we were quieter than usual thinking about the drastic situation in our homeland. My uncle had finally lost all of his marbles and was killing any dragons or humans even looking at him the wrong way. When even a hint of a threat to his power crossed his mind, my uncle had always been quick to action and slow to think things through. Growing up under his rule as a young dragon, my uncle tried to control me in every aspect of my life. He used me to carry out cruelty on our citizens in the Burning Isles and I hated him for it. It gave dragons a bad rep, and humans often cowered around us. They would avoid us like we were some sort of plague.It was my intention that someday I would change the way dragons were viewed and hopefully change the way dragons thought of humans. Just because they weren't as powerful as dragons
*Ember*I watched the blue fire dance in my hands as I swayed my fingers back and forth. I was proud of what I had accomplished this week while practicing my fire magic. With Nola's guidance, I had read through Seraphina's books and found spells that were for beginners. I had started making headway and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.I felt like I had almost some form of writer's block, but in this case it had been fire magic block. With that gone, now I was free to try magic spells without being bogged down. I had finally made progress with my training. If anyone tried to attack me now, I had gained control over my powers, and I was a force to be reckoned with.I grinned over at Nola as we stood outside near the gardens. She smiled back at me."I can tell you are proud of yourself, Ember," she laughed as I bounced the blue fire flame from one hand to the next. "And I'm proud of you too.""Thanks Nola, I can't help but feel a little more confident now,"
*Ember*Today was the day. The day Kieran had to return to the Burning Isles, his homeland. I stared at myself in the mirror thinking about how terrified I was. Not having Kieran around would be an adjustment that I wasn't too sure about. Living at the castle was harmonious with having Kieran here by my side through the entire time I had been here.But I realized we'd been spoiled…this had always been coming. Now he was leaving, it felt like the castle was that much bigger. What was I going to do without him near? The days went by quickly when I spent time with Kieran. I knew that I'd still have Nola, Zephyr, and Thorne here and that was comforting but none of them were him. They couldn't fill the hole that he would be leaving in his absence.To top it all off, Kieran had told me yesterday that he had feelings for me. Finding out that he loved me was shocking, because I had never fully grasped how I had felt about him. Actually I denied myself that pleasure because I had thoug
*Kieran*After having said goodbye to my friends and the love of my life I didn't want them to see the emotions running across my face. A tear had escaped from one of my eyes and I stepped through the portal, feeling ready as I ever would be to finally return home. I felt the portal rush over me as I stepped through. It felt like I was walking through water for a split second, and I wondered if I'd ever get used to using portals. It closed behind me as I took my first step back in the Burning Isles.It was evening, the clouds littered the skies with hues of gray, pink, and purple. The sun was setting over the horizon with an orange glow. It would have been a beautiful sunset if it weren't for the smoke rising from the rubble of a desolated town below the hill I was standing on. I looked around in horrid dismay observing the destruction. Not only was the small village below wrecked beyond compare, smoke rose from the ruins as if recently having been set on fire. I couldn't see
*Ember*I settled myself at my little study nook in the library and stared at the spines of the books Seraphina lent me. Later in the afternoon, Zephyr and Thorne agreed to continue training with me. As promised they hadn't gone easy on me, except for the fact that they knew I was pregnant and didn't want to accidentally harm the baby. Thorne took me to the side after training explaining to me that someone who truly wanted to do me or Kieran and my child harm would stop at nothing to hurt us.Deep down I knew he was right, and I blinked back tears thinking about how just a few hours ago I had said goodbye to Kieran. It had been hard watching him leave, and he had shocked me by kissing me passionately in front of Thorne and Zephyr. Even during training, there was a bit of banter back and forth from them asking me questions about when things had gotten so serious with Kieran. I myself had been at a loss for words and stumbled, explaining that I had just found out about Kieran's tr
*Kieran*While my uncle thought I was contemplating whether or not to take him up on his offer to become his executioner again, I was trudging through the forest looking for familiar signs that I was on the right track. The fire mage who had helped me put my dragon to sleep all those years ago lived in the mountains above the forest and I was making a steady pace toward her home. It had been a while since we had seen each other, and I hoped she had escaped my uncle's clutches when he had gone on his killing spree. Earlier I had heard Ember say good night to me through our fire mark that connected. How I wished I could be by her side and ask her how her day had been. What had they done after I wished them goodbye? If I knew Ember, she hadn't just moped around waiting at the cave entrance hoping I'd walk back through the portal. She most likely had found something to keep her preoccupied while I was away.I smiled as I stumbled across some rocks that had become overgrown wit
*Ember*"Guys, something is wrong. Kieran doesn't seem right to me. He isn't answering me… and from what I can feel, it just doesn’t seem right. I need to get to him now," I said standing up from Nola’s side who was being bandaged by Zephyr. "Go, go," Zephyr said. "We can take it from here.""Oh shit, how is she going to get there? She'll be in danger since she wasn't born in the Burning Isles," Thorne said looking over at me with a worried expression."I know a spell. I need paper and a pen," Nola said and Thorne ran into Kieran's study which was nearby. As we heard him fumbling around on Kieran's desk, Nola made eye contact with me gesturing for me to kneel back down beside her. I knelt down watching Zephyr apply first aid."Ember, when you say this spell it's going to take you directly to Kieran since you both are bonded by your fire mark. You need to be ready for anything, he could be with his uncle in the dungeons getting tortured. He could be at the gallows… anywher
*Kieran*I stared at Ember as she frowned at me with a confused look. She stood, and I observed her body fill with tension. She didn't seem too happy with me. In fact she seemed exceptionally enraged, with her nostrils flared and her eyes flashing fire."What do you mean exactly? Of course I knew it was dangerous!" she snapped at me. "But I made it here in one piece.""Okay, okay, sorry what I meant was … yes it is dangerous and it wasn't safe to come here," I fumbled. I was feeling frazzled. And her being here helped but also didn't help if that made sense. She was a beautiful, distracting woman who had helped me in my time of need."I helped your dragon, you know," Ember said with a stubborn tone. "I knew you needed help."I felt my dragon shift, his scales felt like they were rubbing against my skin. He was reacting to the sound of her voice. 'She's right you know,' he said gruffly. 'And I like her. Let's keep her.''I'm trying, but I think I'm failing right now… I ma