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

Camilla stripped every inch of clothing from her body then forced her to lie down. A small bottle of salve appeared in her hand, but Sigrid didn’t know where Camilla had found it. Maybe she healed more people in this room often. Or maybe, she’d known this was going to happen.

While her friend worked, Sigrid stared up at the ceiling. Worn, wooden beams crisscrossed above her. Someone had poured years of work into this place, so much that it had managed to stay standing after the test of time.

And now, the Beastkin were going to be the ones to pull it to the ground piece by piece.

“What dark thoughts are going through your head?” Camilla asked. She wound a strip of cloth around Sigrid’s arm. “I know that look all too well.”

“I can’t control them,” she whispered. “I was supposed to bring them somewhere they could live. Where they could prosper and become a people that other kingdoms would admire. All I’ve done is given them free rein to be even more animalistic than before.”

“That’s not true. They have a warm bed, clothing, food aplenty. That’s a lot better than the lives they had before.”

“It’s better than the Bymerians had,” Sigrid corrected. “The Wildewyn Beastkin are used to living in castles. They’re used to speaking with nobles and wearing gowns made of silk. How am I supposed to replicate that kind of life for them?”

“Has anyone asked for that?” Camilla gently cupped Sigrid’s cheek and forced her head to turn. “Even the Wildewyn Beastkin are happy here. I’d know if they weren’t.”

“This isn’t what we were supposed to live like. We were supposed to create a kingdom, and all we’re creating is ruins.”

She thought for a second that Camilla might argue. A spark of anger, one she’d never seen before, made Camilla’s jaw tick before her friend finally blew out a breath.

“I can’t argue with that,” Camilla replied, turning her attention back to the jagged wound across Sigrid’s chest. “This isn’t the place I thought it would be either. But the Beastkin don’t want a queen. They don’t want someone with a crown telling them what to do, because that’s not how it works in the wild. They don’t need a royal, they need a leader.”

“And yet, they look to Jabbar for that.” Sigrid winced when Camilla prodded the edge of her wound. Dirt and mud encrusted it, likely going to cause some kind of fever if Sigrid didn’t shift again soon.

She didn’t want to give the dragon another reason to take control over her body. It had already done enough in the past few hours.

Camilla smoothed a hand down Sigrid’s arm and laced their fingers together. She tugged until Sigrid looked back at her. “The only time they listened to you was after the battle. When they saw what you would do for them. That you would sacrifice everything to keep them safe.”

“Then they want a martyr, not a leader.”

They both froze, stared at each other, and an idea formed in Sigrid’s mind at the same time as it did Camilla’s.

“No, Sigrid,” she said. “You’re not doing what you’re thinking.”

“If I want to give them a chance, this kingdom a chance, then they have to be respected among the others. We can’t be animals. We have to look toward the future and not the now.”

“Dash the thought from your mind, sister. It’s not the right way.”

But it was, and in that moment, Sigrid began to plan how she would gain control over the Beastkin once and for all.

4

Nadir

He sat on his blood-red horse in front of the castle, waiting for the first sign of movement on the sand. A courier had ridden ahead of the Earthen King. He wanted them to know when he was arriving, to ensure that no one was startled, the courier said.

Nadir had a feeling it was more to make sure that they were ready to receive him. There was a certain level of decorum kings expected. Nadir didn’t really care what people thought when he rode into the cities. But he did like to make a scene when he arrived, so he understood the king’s decisions in a sense.

His horse shied to the side, hide rippling with agitation. The warhorse was more suited to battle than it was to waiting, but Abdul had insisted they at least meet the king with their own forces.

A cloud appeared on the horizon, but not one that was filled with rain. Nadir pointed toward it with his scimitar. “And finally, there they are.”

Abdul snorted. “It’ll take them a while still to get here.”

“So we’re to sit on our horses, with half the army, and stand still while they arrive?”

“Patience, my boy.”

He didn’t have any. Nadir had lost patience the moment Beastkin had attacked his kingdom and he’d watched the woman he loved breathe fire over his home.

Nadir let out a soft snort, then swung his leg over his horse. Sliding down the hide of the beast, he soothed its twitches with quiet sounds. He pressed a hand against its neck and stroked the strong muscle that shifted beneath his palm. His horse didn’t want to wait for the Earthen folk any more than he did.

“Nadir,” Abdul said, his voice pitched low but clearly scolding. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re meant to stand with the army.”

“Why?”

“To show that you are here for us. That you are going to fight with them if they need you to.”

Nadir shook his head, patted the horse’s hide once more, then looked up at his advisor who sat straight and proud astride his own horse. “But we don’t need an army for this anymore. We need nothing more than me.”

The change rippled over him as easily as it was to change clothing. Nadir didn’t know when it had grown this easy for him to change. There was no pain. No guilt. Nothing more than the overwhelming sense of freedom that rolled in his gut until he didn’t know