Home / Fantasy / The Flaming Heart / 56. The Hidden Desert

Share

56. The Hidden Desert

Author: Arya Reindeer
last update Last Updated: 2022-09-10 07:05:55
Leila heard the voice again. It was louder and clearer this time.

Sla-thar..

It came from down below, but it was too dark to see anything from her current distance.

A faint reflection of the moon loomed beside Leila as she sunk downwards, cradled in Thorn’s arms. Unlike the cold and remote moon in the sky, its silver light was blazing hot, like the sun hanging over a parched desert. The path ahead was endless. The farther they went, the less it looked like an underwater world. It was the fishy scent that reminded her that she was deep in a river.

The pain in her belly was subsiding; it mellowed into a slight discomfort instead of a sharp, breathless ache. What was more disconcerting than the pain was the rate of its growth. Leila’s belly was growing larger at an unprecedented rate.

Thorn put his hand on it, feeling its heartbeat. Leila stared at him through the transparent bubbles on their heads, trying to decipher what he was thinking. His thick dark hair swayed in the water. H
Locked Chapter
Continue to read this book on the APP

Related chapters

  • The Flaming Heart   57. The Golden Badge

    Like a dark, looming storm, every werewolf squadron had set off for King’s Harbor under Olcan’s command. They moved faster than the night wind, carrying light-weight but incredibly deadly weapons made of frost stone. It was the night of the Lunar Eclipse, the strongest ever since the dragon race had lost their spirits. The werewolves believed that, if they could conquer the dragon palace, the first beam of searing moonlight would bless them with a century’s-worth of glory, power, and endless fortune. As for their eternal rivals, the dragons would lost their position in the world and fall to the Northern Realm, all thanks to the wolves’ frost stone.“Our fiercest enemy,” Fenris said to Olcan as they left the marshland, “the black dragon, he’s already dead.”“Your meticulous research amazes me, Brother,” Olcan said to Fenris without looking at him, “I underestimated you. I thought you were merely a careless man.”Fenris chuckled, hair prickled on his skin. “I’m glad to be of help. My me

    Last Updated : 2022-09-10
  • The Flaming Heart   58. The Ring

    Thorn forced his eyes open. The sharp water spear had become deformed, dissolving into the ocean water. He saw queen Amaya drop lifelessly onto the ground. King Eros was standing next to her. Eros picked up a handful of bubbling shells, buried his nose in them, and took in a big gulp of fresh air.“Dragon King,” Ula drawled, keeping a safe distance, “I didn’t expect you'd dare come here.”“I had to,” Eros lifted his face up from the shells, feeling better with ample air in his lungs, “I had a feeling you would make a move tonight. The streams’ mirrored surfaces only confirmed it.”Thorn looked back to Amaya, observing the fresh cut on her throat. “How did she die?”Eros glanced briefly at Thorn, dodging away from answering directly the question.“Who killed her?” Thorn pushed again, fixing his gaze on Eros.“Why are you looking at me like that?” Eros snapped, suddenly annoyed, “I did! Alright?” He raised his voice. “I had to. The capital is going to be attacked by werewolves! There wa

    Last Updated : 2022-09-10
  • The Flaming Heart   59. The Lunar Eclipse

    Fenris had been tied to the back of a horse-drawn carriage. His body ached from sitting on the hard, wooden panels but was incapable of doing anything about it. Ulric’s corpse lay right beside him and had already started to emit a rotten smell.Normally, a werewolf’s corpse wouldn’t decay so quickly, just within an hour. But tonight was a special exception. A cold shiver suddenly washed over Fenris. Utter darkness had befallen the dragon land. He felt in his bones that the power of the moon had vanished. As far as he knew, the lunar eclipse wouldn’t be long—one or two hours at the most. He needed to survive it, then find a chance to escape.With quiet neighing, the horses stopped. The carriage pulled over on an empty alleyway. Fenris stayed put and tried to catch every sound passing through his ears. Someone was coming for him.“How was the trip?” Hugo flashed a grin at Fenris and pulled him out of the carriage. He then dragged him all the way into a dark house. Fenris was surprised b

    Last Updated : 2022-09-10
  • The Flaming Heart   60. The Mother Dragon

    Olcan stood over the rampart, looking down on the ancient draconic city resting under the darkness. The palace was fully under his control. He was the first-ever werewolf king to accomplish standing at the dragon realm capital's highest point. But there was still a hole in his heart that couldn't possibly be healed.“My king,” one of his sentries approached and reported, “The dragon warriors, the so-called "Dark Wings," surrounding the palace were all captured.”“What about the brute prince and his foolish knights?” Olcan withdrew himself from the city view and moved back into the torch light.“All were put in the dungeons.”“Any casualties?”“No. The Frost Stones were very effective. As soon as the stones touched their skin, they were incapable of moving.”“You’ve done well,” Olcan gritted his teeth, “They underestimated us in every possible way, thinking I could easily fall for this imbecile's trickery.” He walked over to Serlon, who was bruised and swollen, lying in a pool of his o

    Last Updated : 2022-09-16
  • The Flaming Heart   61. The Fire Gem

    Thorn stepped up. He placed himself between Olcan and the water sphere Leila and his baby were in.He stared at the wolf king with a deadly glare, and said with the coldest tone possible, as if every syllable was made of a sharp blade, “It was you all along.”Olcan responded with a wicked grin, pulling the string of the crossbow in his hands, aiming at the sphere, “I suggest you back off, dragon prince, if you don’t want to die with Mother Dragon. I should have killed her along with her annoying husband that day. But after I finally killed that old wretch, I was already too exhausted, giving her a chance to escape.”“But Eros’ ring... how did you get the ring?” Ula asked impatiently with a bewildered expression.“I think I know what happened that night,” Thorn answered, his gaze unwaveringly glued to Olcan as he inched towards Eros with small steps, “Olcan killed my mother and the Luna Queen. Then, he stole Eros’s ring while he was drunk and asleep in Amaya’s chamber. What always both

    Last Updated : 2022-09-18
  • The Flaming Heart   62.The Moonlight

    The MoonlightLeila was free-falling. Her hair was flying upwards. She was surrounded by darkness. She tried to reach, to grab onto anything around her, but there was nothing she could do to slow the fall. Fear flashed across her mind, but it was too brief to take notice. The faint gleaming of the scepter in her hands anchored her—it was a part of her. The constant noise of water sloshing was gone. She felt a tickling sensation in her throat as the air became drier and hotter. Then she heard the same whisper again,Sla..thar... Sla.. thar..As the sound grew louder and clearer, for the first time ever, Leila felt the power the word carried with it. It seemed like some sort of energy was resonating within her, shattering her muscles and bones, affecting her mind and thoughts as if an unknown power was waiting for her, and it was buried deep down below.She couldn’t possibly know how far she had been falling. When she landed, the ground was strewn with smoldering ashes and cushioned her

    Last Updated : 2022-09-21
  • The Flaming Heart   Epilogue

    Bolts of lightning snaked out from the scepter and scorched the entire dragon skeleton. The energy of the almighty power had given a life to the dormant, ancient bones. It was the undying existence of Father Dragon. The ashes were his flesh, burnt and crystallized.Thorn felt his dragon spirit quiver and heart grow empowered. He looked down at Leila. Her skin was glistened with a creamy glow, like a pearl, as she held the scepter like a goddess. He sensed that she was different; a more powerful being was connected to her soul.Then, the dragon eggs were lit up one by one. Soon, they illuminated the entire room.Olcan withdrew to the back of the room and tried to get away, but he was spotted by Thorn.The dragon scooped him up with his claws, then smashed him onto the ground, flashing his teeth and ready to bite off Olcan's head.Ben suddenly appeared behind them. He walked forward, restraining the urge to shift into a wolf. He moved past Leila to reach Thorn. His skin tickled from the

    Last Updated : 2022-09-22
  • The Flaming Heart   Prologue

    It was a dark and dusty room. There was no fire in the hearth, as they would never allow it. Leila was laying on her tiny bed against the wall. She tried to place her bed as far away from the door and broken windows as possible. The wind chilled her to the bone at night. She was exhausted after another day of hard work. After only having a small piece of bread for dinner, she was still hungry. Yet she couldn’t sleep; the cold kept her awake. She heard a voice, then a footstep. Someone was turning the doorknob. She hid herself under her sheet. She didn’t have the courage to sit up or confront them. She believed all horrible experiences would pass eventually, if she chose to bear it all, and wait for time to heal her wounds. This had always been her way of life. She shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. It was her uncle, her aunt’s husband. He entered her room, quietly tiptoeing. Leila felt a sense of relief wash over her. Her uncle had always been good to her. When her aunt wasn’t

    Last Updated : 2022-04-25

Latest chapter

  • The Flaming Heart   Epilogue

    Bolts of lightning snaked out from the scepter and scorched the entire dragon skeleton. The energy of the almighty power had given a life to the dormant, ancient bones. It was the undying existence of Father Dragon. The ashes were his flesh, burnt and crystallized.Thorn felt his dragon spirit quiver and heart grow empowered. He looked down at Leila. Her skin was glistened with a creamy glow, like a pearl, as she held the scepter like a goddess. He sensed that she was different; a more powerful being was connected to her soul.Then, the dragon eggs were lit up one by one. Soon, they illuminated the entire room.Olcan withdrew to the back of the room and tried to get away, but he was spotted by Thorn.The dragon scooped him up with his claws, then smashed him onto the ground, flashing his teeth and ready to bite off Olcan's head.Ben suddenly appeared behind them. He walked forward, restraining the urge to shift into a wolf. He moved past Leila to reach Thorn. His skin tickled from the

  • The Flaming Heart   62.The Moonlight

    The MoonlightLeila was free-falling. Her hair was flying upwards. She was surrounded by darkness. She tried to reach, to grab onto anything around her, but there was nothing she could do to slow the fall. Fear flashed across her mind, but it was too brief to take notice. The faint gleaming of the scepter in her hands anchored her—it was a part of her. The constant noise of water sloshing was gone. She felt a tickling sensation in her throat as the air became drier and hotter. Then she heard the same whisper again,Sla..thar... Sla.. thar..As the sound grew louder and clearer, for the first time ever, Leila felt the power the word carried with it. It seemed like some sort of energy was resonating within her, shattering her muscles and bones, affecting her mind and thoughts as if an unknown power was waiting for her, and it was buried deep down below.She couldn’t possibly know how far she had been falling. When she landed, the ground was strewn with smoldering ashes and cushioned her

  • The Flaming Heart   61. The Fire Gem

    Thorn stepped up. He placed himself between Olcan and the water sphere Leila and his baby were in.He stared at the wolf king with a deadly glare, and said with the coldest tone possible, as if every syllable was made of a sharp blade, “It was you all along.”Olcan responded with a wicked grin, pulling the string of the crossbow in his hands, aiming at the sphere, “I suggest you back off, dragon prince, if you don’t want to die with Mother Dragon. I should have killed her along with her annoying husband that day. But after I finally killed that old wretch, I was already too exhausted, giving her a chance to escape.”“But Eros’ ring... how did you get the ring?” Ula asked impatiently with a bewildered expression.“I think I know what happened that night,” Thorn answered, his gaze unwaveringly glued to Olcan as he inched towards Eros with small steps, “Olcan killed my mother and the Luna Queen. Then, he stole Eros’s ring while he was drunk and asleep in Amaya’s chamber. What always both

  • The Flaming Heart   60. The Mother Dragon

    Olcan stood over the rampart, looking down on the ancient draconic city resting under the darkness. The palace was fully under his control. He was the first-ever werewolf king to accomplish standing at the dragon realm capital's highest point. But there was still a hole in his heart that couldn't possibly be healed.“My king,” one of his sentries approached and reported, “The dragon warriors, the so-called "Dark Wings," surrounding the palace were all captured.”“What about the brute prince and his foolish knights?” Olcan withdrew himself from the city view and moved back into the torch light.“All were put in the dungeons.”“Any casualties?”“No. The Frost Stones were very effective. As soon as the stones touched their skin, they were incapable of moving.”“You’ve done well,” Olcan gritted his teeth, “They underestimated us in every possible way, thinking I could easily fall for this imbecile's trickery.” He walked over to Serlon, who was bruised and swollen, lying in a pool of his o

  • The Flaming Heart   59. The Lunar Eclipse

    Fenris had been tied to the back of a horse-drawn carriage. His body ached from sitting on the hard, wooden panels but was incapable of doing anything about it. Ulric’s corpse lay right beside him and had already started to emit a rotten smell.Normally, a werewolf’s corpse wouldn’t decay so quickly, just within an hour. But tonight was a special exception. A cold shiver suddenly washed over Fenris. Utter darkness had befallen the dragon land. He felt in his bones that the power of the moon had vanished. As far as he knew, the lunar eclipse wouldn’t be long—one or two hours at the most. He needed to survive it, then find a chance to escape.With quiet neighing, the horses stopped. The carriage pulled over on an empty alleyway. Fenris stayed put and tried to catch every sound passing through his ears. Someone was coming for him.“How was the trip?” Hugo flashed a grin at Fenris and pulled him out of the carriage. He then dragged him all the way into a dark house. Fenris was surprised b

  • The Flaming Heart   58. The Ring

    Thorn forced his eyes open. The sharp water spear had become deformed, dissolving into the ocean water. He saw queen Amaya drop lifelessly onto the ground. King Eros was standing next to her. Eros picked up a handful of bubbling shells, buried his nose in them, and took in a big gulp of fresh air.“Dragon King,” Ula drawled, keeping a safe distance, “I didn’t expect you'd dare come here.”“I had to,” Eros lifted his face up from the shells, feeling better with ample air in his lungs, “I had a feeling you would make a move tonight. The streams’ mirrored surfaces only confirmed it.”Thorn looked back to Amaya, observing the fresh cut on her throat. “How did she die?”Eros glanced briefly at Thorn, dodging away from answering directly the question.“Who killed her?” Thorn pushed again, fixing his gaze on Eros.“Why are you looking at me like that?” Eros snapped, suddenly annoyed, “I did! Alright?” He raised his voice. “I had to. The capital is going to be attacked by werewolves! There wa

  • The Flaming Heart   57. The Golden Badge

    Like a dark, looming storm, every werewolf squadron had set off for King’s Harbor under Olcan’s command. They moved faster than the night wind, carrying light-weight but incredibly deadly weapons made of frost stone. It was the night of the Lunar Eclipse, the strongest ever since the dragon race had lost their spirits. The werewolves believed that, if they could conquer the dragon palace, the first beam of searing moonlight would bless them with a century’s-worth of glory, power, and endless fortune. As for their eternal rivals, the dragons would lost their position in the world and fall to the Northern Realm, all thanks to the wolves’ frost stone.“Our fiercest enemy,” Fenris said to Olcan as they left the marshland, “the black dragon, he’s already dead.”“Your meticulous research amazes me, Brother,” Olcan said to Fenris without looking at him, “I underestimated you. I thought you were merely a careless man.”Fenris chuckled, hair prickled on his skin. “I’m glad to be of help. My me

  • The Flaming Heart   56. The Hidden Desert

    Leila heard the voice again. It was louder and clearer this time. Sla-thar.. It came from down below, but it was too dark to see anything from her current distance. A faint reflection of the moon loomed beside Leila as she sunk downwards, cradled in Thorn’s arms. Unlike the cold and remote moon in the sky, its silver light was blazing hot, like the sun hanging over a parched desert. The path ahead was endless. The farther they went, the less it looked like an underwater world. It was the fishy scent that reminded her that she was deep in a river. The pain in her belly was subsiding; it mellowed into a slight discomfort instead of a sharp, breathless ache. What was more disconcerting than the pain was the rate of its growth. Leila’s belly was growing larger at an unprecedented rate. Thorn put his hand on it, feeling its heartbeat. Leila stared at him through the transparent bubbles on their heads, trying to decipher what he was thinking. His thick dark hair swayed in the water. H

  • The Flaming Heart   55. The Girl in the Room

    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,

DMCA.com Protection Status