Thorn led two stallions to the front door of the inn, then mounted the tallest one.“They’ve been taken care of.” Serlon approached from across the street. “The spies from the North won’t wake up until nightfall.”“Good.” Thorn fixed his dark eyes on the road in front of him. “It’s critical that our visit to the brothel remains hidden from their master.”“They must still believe that you’ll die from the Frozen Sunset soon.” Serlon shook his head. “They severely underestimated my knowledge and ability to distinguish between a poison and an antidote.”“And they’ve overestimated their own intelligence,” Thorn added, “Thanks to your outstanding work in creating a perfect duplication of the antidote that Olcan gave me, I’m fully recovered. Have you ever thought about working in the royal palace?”“You mean as a royal healer?” Serlon shrugged, “Never considered it. I like to keep things simple.”“A free soul,” Thorn remarked, “You could be headmaster of the royal healers.”Serlon was comple
Holding a flagon of wine in his hand, the dragon king, Eros, absentmindedly sauntered into Thorn’s palace. He rarely visited, and didn’t dare come without an invitation. From the bottom of his heart, he knew that he owed Thorn a lot, and his birth mother, Tora, the love of his life. Eros never forgave himself for what he did to her.The castle was abnormally quiet, precisely what Eros had yearned for in recently years; yet his queen and children made sure the main castle was just the opposite. Peace and quiet had always been always a luxury for the royal family. There was always something to attend to—court affairs, laws to be discussed and passed, noble guests, the countless servants and staff, and more. But as time went on, he had forgotten most of it. He would only remember the most important moments in his life.He could almost sense that growing old had begun to affect his mind, and clearly not in a good way. Indeed, he had lived a very long time, long enough for his past to blur
Leila was frail in Thorn’s arms. A burning sensation ravaged her body, as if her blood was boiling, melting her bones into the water.Thorn’s mind was racing as he flew across the sky above the forest. The rich scent of maple, vanilla, and pine pervaded the spectacular fall palette down below. Nothing could compare to the refreshing sweetness of maple syrup produced during autumn in the Craggy Mountains.Thorn intended to take Leila to the local market later to apologize to her. His own insecurities had dominated his behavior over the past few days on the road. But they would never get that far.A female dragon in heat meant new life, even though it hadn’t happened to a dragon descendant for a very long time. The entire structure of her body would be rearranged. With the help of a mate to connect the female dragon to a mark bestowed by the dragon divinity, the offspring would be naturally blessed. Only when a seed is planted in the female’s belly by her mate could the symptoms of the
Rina arrived at the the log cabin where Oliver used to live. It was a place hidden within a marsh, sitting at the edge of King’s Harbor. The area was rarely visited by anyone, and too difficult to navigate.She had taken a small carriage instead of flying directly there. The skies were heavily monitored by the Royal Garrison; she didn’t want any extra attention from Eros or Dagen.“Pull over,” she ordered the chauffeur and flipped a gold coin into his hand. “You never took this trip.”The chauffeur often escorted lords and ladies to several places they didn’t want people to know about. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow. He simply took the coin, then went back the way they came.Rina walked around a small hill, encircling the marsh, then cut straight on a path that led to Oliver’s cabin.When the house was in sight, she heard a strange noise echoing from afar. The area was usually restrictively quiet, but now it was rumbling chaotically, like there were many people around.She stood on t
Leila couldn’t sleep. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was desperately resisting rest. She had asked Tuya to accompany her on a walk along the creek behind the inn. She cradled her lower stomach, wondering if a baby could be carried successfully. But she didn’t dare get her expectations up—she didn’t dare expect anything anymore.A special part of her had been lost, as if a giant hole had dug itself in her heart. But since she had came back from the cave, she felt like it was impossible for her to ever part with Thorn. She was sure that she had fallen in love with him.The stone shone gently on her neck. Leila tucked it inside the neckline of her dress and stopped beside a pond.“Can you see the golden dust in the creek?” Leila asked Tuya, pointing to the water.Tuya walked closer to the riverbank, staring into its dark, rippling surface under the dim moonlight. “No.” She shook her head. “There’s dust in the water?Leila nodded coldly, as if she was facing the devil himself. “It’
A raven was sent to the west, hiding itself against the blanket of the night sky. Eros had decided to vacate the city as soon as possible.He had called upon the royal court for an urgent meeting. He heard everything Remus said to Oliver. When he fled to the edge of the city, Rina was just getting out of her carriage. He followed her discreetly, saw her enter in a wood house, then hid himself behind the window until he overheard Remus’ actual plan.The dragon king was no stranger to Remus’s ambition, and quite familiar with the fact that Amaya intended to let Remus take the throne instead of Thorn. She believed that he had the right personality for it; he could lie for the right cause and use his intelligence to manipulate others. Eros agreed that such abilities were essential for a king, but certainly weren’t at the core of the job. In fact, Remus could never be as good a king as Thorn. Those same strengths could also be fatal shortcomings, for either him, or the kingdom.Even so, wh
“The dragon queen is dead,” one of Ula’s siren boys reported as he bowed.“Finally, some good news,” Ula said unconcernedly without stopping what she was doing, “she deserved it, being killed by her own beloved husband. I say Eros should’ve done it earlier. I was fed up with that dreadful woman. I’d have done it myself if I could get out of the water.” She removed a large pile of random objects and put them aside, then continued to dig deep into her storage. “Help me take these away, boy.”Ula had been rummaging through the gigantic storage room in her underwater palace since she became aware of the terrible news—Leila had experienced an unexpected heat, and that arrogant prince had put his dragon spawn inside of her.This was totally beyond any of her expectations. She thought female dragons didn’t go through heats anymore. It could be a promising sign that the Mother Dragon was awakening; it had been a while since she left to rest. Now she had a good reason to come back.Thorn and L
Fenris was in a rather good mood. He just got a message from the spies he had sent to the Craggy Mountains; they reported that they had seen Thorn die with their own eyes, lying in bed and as his knight mourned. However, unbeknownst to him, it was a fake message—Hugo had forced the spies to write it with swords pointed to their necks before he finished them off for good.James and Serlon had escorted the crossbred girls back to their homes and had made sure any remaining Green Robes had surrendered or were executed. Unfortunately, Luca had died. The pain of losing one eye to Leila and further torture from Thorn was even too much for him to withstand.This city is soon to be mine, Fenris thought. He had dreamt of this moment for a long time. He strode across the damp ground, and the scent of the night seemingly became sweeter. The moon’s light was fading. It’s almost time to for their final strike. In high spirits, he entered the tent where his big brother was waiting.To his surprise,