Dawn of Cobalt Shadows (Burning Empire Book 2) by Emma Hamm (free novels to read TXT) 📗

was a reasonable woman and knew how dangerous it was for them to be together. The last time they’d even tried to be together, two kingdoms had started a war.

What other manner of darkness would spread from them?

And that was when the dragon had pushed to the forefront of his mind. Nadir had felt the human part of his mind being shoved aside in the wake of something far stronger.

It wasn’t like she thought. The dragon and him were the same person. They were far more than just man and beast. Whatever his birth mother had done to him, it had worked.

He was a man and a dragon. The instincts within him could easily override anything that was logical or reasonable by the man inside him. He was running on nothing more than instincts. His gut told him Sigrid was necessary in his life for his own happiness.

Damn the word. Damn everything that would separate them.

And that meant he had to stop this war. That meant they would fly above the kingdoms, and he would rage at the sky if it meant he got to keep her by his side. He’d destroy kingdoms for her, if that’s what it took.

Her legs squeezed his neck, tightening as he shifted to the side. They would have traveled faster if she were a dragon as well. He could fly higher, burst through the clouds where it was more difficult to breathe.

She refused to travel as anything but a human. Over and again, she claimed it was important to remember who they really were.

How different she was from the first time she came to his kingdom. Back then, she would have said he was finally accepting himself. That they’d finally come to a point in their lives where they recognized the animals were more important than the human.

Someday, she would tell him what she’d seen far off in those mountains. She would explain what the ancestors had done to her, why she suddenly thought it so important to retain the human part of her soul.

Nadir spread his wings wide and felt the last bit of his humanity slip out of his grip. He was filled with fury.

For the people who had hurt Sigrid. At his advisors who had lied to him, taken his brother away from him.

Gods, his brother.

Memories burst into life. Frayed lungs gurgling in a bed while wild eyes stared at him, refusing to let go. A hand which had been so strong once, reaching out for him. A voice, once thundering, weakly begging for mercy.

Nadir hated them. He hated them all and it had to stop. It didn’t matter how it stopped, but he was going to ruin them all.

He wouldn’t let anyone live. Their blood would coat his tongue like that of his advisors if they stood between him and happiness any longer.

31

Sigrid

It was so quiet up here. She hadn’t expected that. Nadir’s body flexed underneath her, scales scraping the insides of her thighs. His wings spread out wide as they glided on the wind. Silent and graceful, they blew over the Edge of the World toward her homeland without a single person realizing they were moving.

For a few moments, she was overtaken by the amount of greenery that was so beautiful it made her eyes hurt. This was her homeland. The place where she’d been born lived deep in her soul like a breathing thing. She could feel Wildewyn beneath them.

Ancient trees stretched up from the ground. Their roots spread deep below them, carrying stories into the earth so that they would never be forgotten by the souls who had created them. Birds flew out of the branches, the dull and muted colors ready to hide them from anyone who might have tried to hurt them.

This was a place made for dreamers. For those who wanted to hide in the shadows or watch the land stretch into great mountains in the distance. She’d never thought to leave this place, or that she’d find someone who filled her soul like the land itself.

And yet, she had.

Sigrid reached down and pressed her palm flat against Nadir’s back. The muscles twitched beneath her touch, and she felt the warmth of his affection flooding through her mind.

Their connection was more than a little overwhelming. She couldn’t think when it was still his emotions filling her thoughts. He touched her now with more than just words or a passing glance. He’d poured his own mind into hers, and she didn’t know how to handle that.

How could any woman? Sigrid had thought he was indifferent to her, or merely interested in her, because she was a fanciful thing like him. A creature that shouldn't exist. Another golden trophy to hang on his wall.

Now, she understood it was so much more than that. He wanted to protect her. He wanted her in his life forever, so he could watch over her. And certainly there was a large portion of possessiveness. The idea of someone else having claim to her made his stomach burn and his dragon roll deep within him. The beast would kill anyone who touched her.

Heat bloomed in her chest, an answering fire at the thought of someone else touching him. She’d do the same, and the feeling wasn’t human at all. She didn’t know how to reconcile the beastly desires in her mind. The dragon inside her knew how to handle this man and the other side of him. The draconic side who wanted to tear people limb from limb.

She’d fought that beast inside her for years now. The creature that wanted to end the world as she knew it and force Sigrid to see the mountains of Wildewyn through dulled eyes.

Leaning forward, she stroked her hand down his side and said through their minds, “What do you think?”

“Of what?”

“My home.” She let a bit of her own emotions slip through their connection. He must be able to feel the wonder and awe that always filled her when she saw her