Chapter Fourteen
Ember
I turned away quickly as her mouth opened in astonishment.
Fuck. I’d thought I was holding myself under better control than that, but her reaction told me otherwise. My dragon betrayed me to her, revealing itself in a way that would be difficult to explain.
She’d find out sooner or later. I knew that. She wasn’t stupid, and we were in the dragon realm. All it would take was one random flyby, and the secret would be out. So, why did I care so much?
You don’t want her to be scared of you.
Dela was already showing to be far more resilient than I could have ever expected. However, everyone had a breaking point, and I didn’t want to find out what hers was. I would not allow any harm to come to her.
It was one thing to say those words, but who knew how she’d react to the truth. I’d shelter her from it as long as I could, but it was quickly becoming difficult to keep her ignorant of what I was and where she was.
Footsteps echoed loudly, drawing my attention away from future problems. Right then, I had a pair of very imminent issues that needed resolving, and I doubted I could find a way to do peacefully.
Which was why the power of my heritage surged through my body, bringing my blood to a boil as I waited for the two dragons whose presence put Dela in jeopardy.
The fire grew stronger still, clouding my vision with a hint of red. Battle lust.
“Well, well, well,” one of the other dragons said as they slowly sauntered into the cavern. “A trespasser? From the Fire Castle no less?”
The buttons on my uniform gave me away as being a loyalist, even if they hadn’t yet recognized my face. I kept my head bowed to make sure it took them as long as possible to realize the true nature of the one they’d trapped—or so they thought.
“What’s one like you doing on Albright’s land?” the other growled, moving to my left as they split apart, giving themselves room to engage me without hitting one another.
I remained still, listening to the fire as it rushed through my veins. The dull roar that sounded low in my eardrums and the constant thrum of barely contained power. My eyelids were closed, preventing them from seeing that I was already in tune with my power.
“What? Can’t you speak?” the first said with a cackle. He took another step closer.
I listened, but not to them. Instead, I focused on the tunnel behind me. I couldn’t hear any more sounds coming from Dela. Not her breathing or her footsteps. She was far enough away now that she should be safe from these two.
And from what I was about to do to them.
My head came up, eyes snapping open to reveal the blazing fires behind each pupil.
“Back. Off,” I growled just loud enough for them to understand me.
“He’s a feisty one,” the second dragon chuckled, stroking his fiery red beard. “Ain’t he, Cin?”
“Quiet, Flare,” the first dragon said, his voice suddenly taut. “Take a closer look at him.”
Flare leaned in a hair as if that would matter, and then his eyes flew open, his hand coming away from his beard. “By the God-King,” he cursed, flames appearing in both his hands. “That’s fucking Ember!”
“As I said. Back off.” I let fire fill my palms as well, two perfectly swirling orbs, the pattern of flames ever-changing.
“You’re in our territory,” Cin spat. “We don’t answer to you.”
I shook my head. Things had gone downhill so swiftly. It had been mere months since my father and mother followed the hundred-year cycle and disappeared into Mount Drakonus with the God-King, and already, the Fire Realm was falling apart.
“You’re fracturing the princedom by acting like this,” I said, trying one last time to do things the diplomatic way, without violence.
“You’re fracturing the princedom,” Cin said. “You should have been okay with your mate. You had your chance with Ari or even Cali. Now, it’s time for you to stop being weak and step aside. Albright is strong and ready to rule. Stop resisting.”
I snorted, twin trails of smoke leaking from my nostrils. There was no point in telling them how I’d searched for a mate, but all the available dragon women did nothing for me. They didn’t make me burn on the inside, didn’t make me go crazy thinking about them.
“The line of succession is very clear,” I said, already preparing for what would happen next. We were stalling now. Violence was inevitable. “My father was prince. My brother was his heir. That makes me the next in line, now that he’s gone. I am the rightful ruler, and you know it.”
Flare shook his head. “Things are going to become much clearer once we get rid of you, that’s for sure. Then Albright will be able to step onto the throne and reunite the realm at last.”
I had a moment of fear for what they would do to Ashe if I were gone, but if I died, my youngest brother would have to fend for himself anyway, so it didn’t matter. Before I could think about it more, I noticed Cin lifting his head.
Fuck. He was testing the air.
“He’s not alone!” Cin barked. “There’s a human in here, too.”
Flare’s fire burgeoned even brighter. “A human? In here? Now, why would you be doing that, I wonder?”
“I don’t know,” Cin said. “But whatever it is, he’s up to no good. Albright needs to know about this. Go. I’ll handle him.”
Flare looked from me to Cin and back. “You sure?”
“Yep. I’m going to do more than Albright ever did to him,” Cin growled, rolling his shoulders. “A little scar won’t satisfy me. That’s for sure.”
The scar he referred to was anything but little, but that didn’t matter at the moment. They’d discovered Dela, and if Albright found out, I’d be in a much worse place. It simply could not be allowed to happen.
Which meant I had one option left. It had come to it.
Roaring my frustration, I leaped at Cin as I launched a wave of fire at Flare, trying to catch them both off guard. There was a yelp from my left as I collided with Cin, and we went down, rolling around to try to gain the upper position.
I knocked him aside, glancing over just in time to see Flare disappear back up the tunnel.
Fear for Dela flowed through me, and I moved on instinct, driving an elbow into Cin’s stomach.
He doubled over, staggering backward. I went to kick him in the stomach, adding more pain, but he flung fire wildly in my direction.
“No,” I said, reaching out with both hands and catching the fire.
It came under my control, swirling idly in front of me as Cin stared in disbelief. “H-how?”
“Because,” I said, deep scarlet scales forming along my arms and under my uniform. “There’s a lot more to being in line for the throne than just who you’re born to. You learn more.”
Cin shook his head, backing away, his eyes darting around wildly.
“You made me do this,” I said, clenching my fist. The fire disappeared without a trace. “You couldn’t have just left me alone. You had to threaten me. And her.”
“Her?” Cin frowned. Then his eyes bugged out. “You mean the human? What the fuck do you care for one of them? They shouldn’t even be here. We may support different people, but you’ve been one of the staunchest anti-humans there is. Who the fuck is this woman?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, shrugging off his questions and the points his words raised. I had been super against humans, disdainful of them all.
Had been? Or was? Maybe Dela was an exception. I didn’t know, but I wasn’t about to let this piece of shit or his partner hurt her or get a word out that put her in more jeopardy, that was for sure.
Cin thrust both hands toward me, and bright orange-yellow flames shot out in my direction like a snake head, rearing back to strike.
Before he could launch his attack, I sucked in a giant breath and breathed a stream of incoherent light at him.
It was a fire so bright that he raised his hands to block it, shunting it into the wall next to him.
As it touched the rock, it melted much of it to slag.
His own attack went out as he focused on defense.
I came closer and reached down to pick him up.
Without hesitation, I slammed his back into the melting rock, pressing him into it.
Cin screamed. Fire was one thing. It would burn and cause wounds, but our skin and scales shunted much of it aside, reducing the damage.
Superheated earth, however, burned all the same.
My nose wrinkled at the stench of burning scales and flesh.
It wasn’t something one ever got used to, like a mixture of plastic and rubber burning, tied together with a side of “alive” similar to overcooking something on a barbecue.
“You mother fu—”
My next blow broke his jaw.
“I hate you for this,” I said, yanking his bottom jaw open and thrusting my hand into his mouth. “I didn’t want to hurt you. If you had just left me alone.”
Then I poured fire down his throat until his struggles stopped.
“Fuck!” I howled. I punched him in the face once more before turning away from the slumping corpse, the last bits of smoke drifting up from his mouth as he hung from the rock like a mutilated picture.
I did not enjoy hurting fire dragons. Even if they gave me no choice.
“Ohmygod.”
I whirled to see Dela standing at the tunnel opening, her hands on her face. The light from the holes in the cavern ceiling let her easily see the corpse.
“Don’t look at it!” I barked sharply, moving over to her, intending to comfort her.
But she looked at me with horror and backed away, not letting me near.
Damn you, Albright, I cursed. Another thing you’ve ruined. You will pay for this, I swear.
“W-what have you done?” Dela gasped, her hands trembling.