Chapter 4
The Dragon King
The shadows of the trees draped over my shoulders, and I waited, still and cold as stone. The light breeze carried the scent of men and horses and the clattering of hooves and wheels.
Trespassers in my domain.
I stalked closer to the edge of the road as the first riders rounded the bend. A pair of mounted warriors with crossbows and spears. Immortals.
Yet these watched the tree line warily, like prey. Pathetic. How far our kind had fallen.
Light glinted off silver roses emblazoned on their black armor. The insignia of the Bloodvale. They were Prince Cassius’s men.
I bared my fangs. Why were they here?
My fingers curled around the hilt of my blade as my lips split into a wicked grin.
There was only one reason for Cassius to send immortals across the mountains.
They were assassins. He’d sent them before, decades ago, and I’d killed every one of them, slowly enough to enjoy it.
I’d do the same to these. Upwind and squinting against the sun, they’d be dead before they sensed me.
I unsheathed my sword and dagger but paused as a merchant’s wagon came into view, drawn by mules. An old man held the reins, guiding the beasts around the ruts and holes in the road. A second cart followed behind.
Humans had never accompanied the prince’s dogs before.
Not assassins, then, but what? What was so valuable that it needed the protection of immortals? A ransom in gold and gems? Enchanted weapons?
The sweet scent of honey and jasmine carried on the wind, and the answer struck me in the sternum—it wasn’t what they were guarding, but whom.
She rounded the corner on a buckskin mare, and my blood heated, my muscles coiling in a way that had nothing to do with the violence I’d planned.
She was a canvas of chestnut curls, soft curves, and lean muscles.
Something the gods had crafted and forgotten to ruin.
She had a wild energy about her, a confidence and vitality, like the world hadn’t yet tarnished her with its horrors—a rarity in this hellish existence.
I prowled toward the edge of the tree line, drawn to her like a starved man before a feast.
An ember of desire rose from the emptiness of my soul unbidden. It had been half a century since anything had reached past the ruin of my heart.
What was different about her?
The captain of the immortals glanced back at her, shifting his horse to position himself between her and the trees. It was a subtle movement, but it left no doubt that they were her bodyguards.
The lust for violence vanished. Who was she? Why was she trespassing through my kingdom?
Nothing about her made sense. The woman wore heavy trousers, a dirty tunic, and a leather vest that had seen better days.
They were the clothes of a peasant, yet she was anything but.
Could she be a noblewoman in disguise, to be married off to another kingdom?
Unlikely. There were no human nobles remaining in the Bloodvale. My father had made sure of that.
Yet if she wasn’t a noble, who would be valuable enough to earn the protection of three immortals?
A spy? Could Cassius have sent her to infiltrate my kingdom? She had a look of sharp intelligence and cunning.
Dark suspicions coiled within me. I’d fallen prey to a beauty once, and I’d paid the price. Never again.
As if sensing my gaze, she looked to the woods, her bright eyes finding the shadows that concealed me.
Something behind my ribs caught. Those eyes. They were unlike any I’d ever seen—sapphires and amethysts sparkling in the sun.
Her head turned while she rode past, as if she sensed I was here. Impossible. Yet I sank back beneath the weight of her gaze, pulling farther into the shadows of the trees.
The old man shouted something from the lead wagon, and she tore her gaze from the woods, riding up to his side. There was a tug in my chest as she looked away, and I took a step forward before I caught myself.
I should take her now. Pull the truth from her lips.
Yet I remained rooted, memorizing the sweep of her cheekbones, the swell of her lips as the caravan vanished around the bend.
No. I would bide my time. Let the beauty come to me.
It was nothing to outpace the plodding caravan. I stopped at a fork in the old road. The eastern branch continued along the forest edge, skirting the boundary of my kingdom. The west veered toward Harrowick, plunging into the cursed woods. My domain.
My gaze shifted to the towering oaks on either side of the road, and a cruel grin spread across my lips. “I’ll be seeing you soon, bright eyes.”