Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
There is one thing not even a dragon can overcome: Love.
-Humaning for Beginners: A Dragon’s Tale of Human Management
Taron sliced his claws through Nyla’s tail. She froze, predator instincts colliding with raw, sudden panic.
Her gaze found the stinger in his hand, as if seeing it for the first time. The venom on that barbed tip shimmered black and bright.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he taunted.
With a ferocity born of rage and a last, mad, defiant cunning, she lunged. Taron met her halfway. Like my father, she drained of energy fast, and it wasn’t long before my firebrand had her pinned, the stinger in her mouth.
I heard the crunch before her scream as her teeth closed on the barbed tip. It must have torn into the roof of her mouth.
So. He had indeed made her eat her tail.
Panting, I limped over, picking up a sword along the way. Swing. I removed her head. Then her heart.
Her limbs convulsed before she went motionless.
And with that, the war ended.
My body trembled with exhaustion, victory the only thing keeping me upright. I dropped the weapon, now panting harder, adrenaline still surging. Taron was breathing hard too, but the fire of rage had finally dimmed in his features.
Using my newfound ash-flame, I burned the manticore to ash, certain neither she nor my father would rise again. But even if they did, so what? We would defeat them every time.
“We did it,” I rasped. “We won.”
“I’m buying you every teacup,” Taron said, voice rough but sure. “And returning the one I stole.”
With a breathless laugh, I threw myself into his waiting arms. “We can share the whole collection.”
He caught me easily, kissing me as if we had all the time in the world but also none at all. I pulled back after a few seconds…minutes…only because my people gathered around us, the enemy armies fleeing.
“Come,” he said, an explicit command. “We get married today.”
My heart soared as I strolled with him to the palace, leaving a trail of soot in my wake.
Dragon-berserkers watched us. Especially Taron, who paused to collect a few severed heads, proudly announcing each kill.
He carried his prizes as though they were trophies, cementing his rise to a warrior of myth, guaranteed. Whispers would abound by morning.
The soldiers noticed the heads, of course. Everyone noticed the heads.
My lips twitched. “Maybe we leave your new treasures here on the battlefield?”
“Mine,” he growled so fiercely and so fast I blinked in surprise. Then he winced. “Sorry. Looks as though I’ve started my first hoard.”
I giggled as I’d never giggled before. “Drop them, and I’ll marry us right now.” As queen, I had only to make the proclamation to seal our bond forever. “By the time we reach my—our—bedroom, we’ll be husband and wife. We’ll shower together and—”
Thud. The heads hit the ground.
Taron scooped me into his arms, kissed me soundly, then hoisted me higher to perch me on his shoulder like I was the true prize of the day. I grinned so wide it hurt. “I have kept my end of our deal. Now you keep yours.”
Marry us? With pleasure. “I hereby declare,” I called to the skies, to the warriors around us and even to the wind, “Taron Locke is now my husband. Behold your new king consort! He is the Tempter of the Primordial Phoenix, the Realms Most Ferocious Dragon, Elite Procurer of Ancient Weapons and Rare Toxins, and—” I paused for dramatic effect, then whispered for his ears only, “Professor Hotpants. If he agrees, of course.”
“I belong to your queen, and she belongs to me,” Taron called out, lifting his voice over the thunderous cheer. “I’ll end anyone who tries to take her from me. She is my firebrand. My wife, Mrs. Olyssa Locke-Drachenveil.” For my ears, he added, “Keeper of my heart. Treasure of treasures.”
The crowd erupted again, wild and free. The war was over, and my family curse was broken. And I—Mrs. Olyssa Locke-Drachenveil, my new favorite title—finally, irrevocably belonged to Taron, and he to me.
“Let the honeymoon begin,” I cried, my happiness bubbling over. “The official ceremony with the other berserker royals can wait until after I’ve had you all to myself for a few days. Or weeks. Ja, definitely weeks.”
“Make it a month,” he murmured. “I have… fantasies.”
Shivers danced down my spine. “Ja, please and thank you.”
With a grin full of promise, he adjusted his grip on me, flared his smokewings, and launched into the sky. We landed on the balcony of our royal suite, where we promptly shut the doors and ignored every single knock. For days.
I texted Adelaide only once, and only to tell her to add a second throne to the dais. Right next to mine.
The honeymoon eventually ended when we were forced to leave the suite for the Ceremony of Blood and Heart.
I rocked a long, flowing gown spun of black opals and starlight with veins of pink throughout. Taron wore head-to-toe battle-leathers and looked like a dream with a wedding band.
After a private and very naughty tea party for just the two of us, we flew to the circle of ancient traveling stones and entered a world known for being neutral territory for all berserkers.
We remained inside the traveling stones, now in a forest filled with oaks and beeches that towered high like guards, their leaves filtering the sunlight.
The scent of wildflowers welcomed us as we arrived in the clearing.
We were the last of the royals to arrive.
Nine kings stood in their doorways, one per stone, keeping a respectful distance. Griffin. Bear. Turul. Wolf. Manticore. Lynx. Adder. Gargoyle. Kraken.
This was tradition. A ritual of allegiance. A declaration: This is my person. A strike against them is a strike against me.
So far, only two other royals had wed. King Callen of the Wolves loomed tall beside his very pregnant firebrand, a brunette schoolteacher who, rumor had it, had once been soul-switched with a homicidal socialite.
Viktor, the still-feral King of Turuls, waited next to his firebrand, a beautiful animal groomer. I’d heard whispers that her mother was the very goddess who’d imprisoned the primordials for centuries in an attempt to rule over us all.
The groomer waved to the schoolteacher and said brightly, “If you need help with delivery, I’ve birthed more puppies and kittens than I can count!”
The schoolteacher laughed. Her husband beamed and rubbed her belly as if he’d never held anything more precious.
Taron pressed a hand to his sternum and scowled. “The dragon isn’t happy to be here.”
“I know.” I leaned into him, offering comfort. “Royal berserkers don’t love proximity to other royals. It makes the beasts inside… twitchy.”
Even my phoenix flared at the ultra-high level of tension. Except for the peace wafting from the two couples, the air hung thick around us with warning heat. Ancient instincts on edge.
“That’s why we only meet inside our stones,” I added. “And why we keep it short.”
King Malachi canted his head. His sharp suit gleamed like polished coal, and he leaned against the stone frame like the movie star he was.
“Let me get this straight,” he said. “Your American firebrand took over your dragon, you died, rose from the ashes as a phoenix, and instead of murdering each other, you cuddle now?”
“Exactly.” I nodded solemnly, sensing precisely where he was heading with this. “And no, I don’t owe you an unnamed boon for wedding an American. You let him through the traveling stones, so I consider us even.”
He sighed. “That’s debatable but acceptable.”
My gaze swept the circle and landed on Sebastian, King of Krakens and seduction itself. Ethereal. Mysterious. Dangerous. The man who may or may not be Bronwyn’s firebrand.
Of all the royals, he was arguably the most beautiful. But a moral compass? He had none. He was known to discard women like they were tissues. However, the true danger of him was his inherent cruelty. I thought he might enjoy the torment he inflicted on others.
Worry for dear Bronwyn grew. Even still, I understood her attraction.
Rays of light hit him, revealing hints of a pearlescent sheen, reminding me of the inside of a seashell.
Threaded through his black hair were silver streaks that resembled moonlight reflecting off water.
His irises possessed starburst patterns that shimmered with the luminous sheen of ocean glass, constantly shifting color.
From stormy blue to green-gold, to ink-black.
Anyone who held his gaze for prolonged periods of time experienced sea sickness.
He noticed my perusal and smiled in a way that could topple a kingdom. “Is there something you wish to ask me, Olyssa?” The words slid from his tongue as if part of a song. Or a spell. “Or just something you wish you could have?”
Poor Bronwyn. For her sake, I didn’t rise to the bait.
Taron bowed up, gearing for a fight.
But Sebastian laughed, delighted, and even that was a sardonic ballad.
“Don’t worry, mortal. Well, former mortal.
I prefer my bedmates less...” With a single look, he mentally stripped my garments.
“Mouthy.” He arched a brow at me. “I hear your sister will join me soon. I’ll be sure to give her a proper welcome. ”
Ja, poor Bronwyn.
Rather than threaten the royal, I linked my fingers with Taron’s, ensuring he didn’t fly over and rip Sebastian to shreds.
I’d seen the kraken king fight. When enraged, his shadow split again and again, each incarnation growing tentacles that stretched and coiled and attached to his victims, draining their power.
But his voice became his most dangerous weapon.
Velvet soaked in venom, that’s what it was.
Low, slow and mesmerizing. A melody laced with a compulsion to listen and obey.
Once one royal started fighting, all would join, despite taking gelu root.
The urge to destroy was always strong among the leaders.
While Taron could take Sebastian, obviously, I preferred this day be about love and not death.
But make no mistake, if he harmed my sister, I would end him.
I turned back to the others, then aimed for a cheery tone. “As you can see, a fight has already transpired. Sebastian infuriated us, but we didn’t kill him. Ceremony over. Bye.”
Without waiting for a response, I winked at Taron. “Race you to the palace.” I darted through the traveling stones and came out on the other side in the sky. I flared my wings.
“Hurt her and die screaming,” I heard Taron call to the kings before taking flight.
We soared side by side, carving silver trails through clouds. My heart soared with us. The bond, once seen as a curse, had become my greatest gift.
As we landed on the balcony outside my bedroom, moonlight cast molten shadows across the stone. Taron swooped me up in that way of his and carried me straight through the open doors, into our suite. He lowered me to the bed, his reverence making my chest squeeze, then pressed his forehead to mine.
“I loved you before I ever knew you, but hid it under hatred,” he whispered, his voice rough with wonder. “I’ll love you long after every realm burns to ash.”
I cupped his cheek, letting my thumb graze the scar near his mouth. “You are my firebrand, my fiercest joy, my forever.” Then I kissed him and let the rest of the world fade into silence.
Tonight belonged to only us. And for the first time in my long existence, the fire within me was not a weapon. It was a home.
The Kraken Bride–Coming Soon
Book 4 in the Kings of Fury series