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

Shaking his head, he shifted his neck to look back at the army of men who had all taken steps backwards. Those on horses tried to quiet their mounts which reared up in shock. But his own warhorse stood silent with legs locked.

A good, fearless horse. He hadn’t expected that.

He nodded at his advisor, then stretched his wings wide. He took a few beats and lifted into the air. Opening his jaw, he let out a roar that echoed over the desert. Fire bubbled in his chest, and he didn’t hesitate to let it free. Let the Earthen folk see for themselves the dragon their people had fought. Let them understand the fear which had caused their brethren to ultimately flee.

He looped around the Wildewyn army. Taking his time to peruse the amount of people the Earthen King had brought. There weren’t as many soldiers as he expected. Actually, it was a relatively small number of people who had crossed the border.

Did the king think he wasn’t in any danger from the Bymerians? He most certainly was. Nadir’s army could destroy this small army with little more than a thought.

Fire built in his chest at the slightest hint of anger in his body. He could destroy this army with nothing more than a breath.

A few of the soldiers looked up and pointed at him. The sound of their distressed shouts reached his ears and made him want to roar once more. They needed to understand that no one would attack this land again when dealing with Nadir personally. And that a full-grown male dragon was something to fear.

Still, they had come here in peace. A soft voice whispered in his mind that Sigrid would expect something better from him. That she would expect him to be a gracious host who would try to understand what these foreigners wanted.

Even now, these were the words that made the fire die in his chest. These were the thoughts that stilled the animal which wanted to crawl out of his chest and rend flesh from bone. The dragon wanted to feast on the approaching armies simply because they were within his territories. The man understood that politics had to be observed.

A sultan was there for his people. A dragon was only there for war.

Circling one last time, making a point that he was a dangerous man who should not be toyed with, Nadir landed in front of the army. He opened his jaws and hissed at them, the sound blasting sand into their faces.

By the time the sand settled, he was a man once more, kneeling in the sand with his fist pressed against it.

A wind tugged at the baggy, silk pants. The yellow fabric covered his entire body, and perhaps hid him from view until he stood up, his dark hair brushing in front of his face.

The feral grin which spread across his face likely did nothing to soothe the soldier’s nerves. A group of ten men raced forward, spears in their hands as they set themselves in front of a large, brown horse.

Nadir recognized the king. He was a man who easily stood out from the crowd with his broad shoulders, perfectly groomed beard, and eyes that could have sliced through ice. Blue as the sky, they found his gaze even through the line of shouting soldiers.

“Enough!” Hallmar bellowed, raising a hand curled in a fist. “Stand down.”

“Highness, we will fight the dragon for you,” one of the soldiers yelled in return.

At that, Hallmar swung off his horse and strode toward the man. He grabbed onto the edge of the soldier’s metal armor, right near his throat, and hauled the man toward him. “What did I say, soldier?”

“Stand down, Highness.”

Nadir could almost hear the man’s gulp from where he stood.

“Correct,” Hallmar said. He gave the man one more shake before tossing him aside. “Next time, follow orders immediately.”

The disobedience forgotten, the king strode toward Nadir with his hand outstretched. “It’s good to see you again, Sultan. I see you have some surprises to tell me.”

Nadir furrowed his brows, but stepped forward to greet the king in the same manner. He allowed the other man to grasp his forearm and shake it before tilting his head to the side and asking, “That’s it?”

“What’s it?”

“You have nothing more to say than I have surprises to tell you? As if we’re old friends?”

“Are we not?” Hallmar tugged him a step closer and dropped his voice. “I gave you my most precious possession in this world. I think we’re friends at this point, Nadir. Although, if you didn’t treat her as well as I think you did… well. Perhaps then we’re not.”

“We did start a war.”

Hallmar lifted a pale brow. “That you did. But wars are started between lovers every day. The first battle is always a little bloody, but that doesn’t mean the war is over. Now does it?”

The words had so many hidden meanings in them that Nadir’s head started to spin. What did the king mean? A battle, a war, every lover doing the same?

This wasn’t the same as any other relationship on the planet. His and Nadir’s life were so dangerously intertwined in the worst way possible. They couldn’t be together without more fighting starting, no matter what kingdom they were in. But they were both intrigued by the other, and tied together by a similar life which could not be untied even with a knife.

Nadir cleared his throat and stepped back. “I think we have a lot to talk about, Earthen King.”

“I see that. You did arrive all by yourself to greet me. I must profess, I assumed I would be greeted with an army before I met with you.”

“Well,” Nadir glanced pointedly at the sky, “there is the small matter of the dragon.”

“I suppose you don’t need an army anymore, now do you?”

“An army can still take down a dragon. It’s easy enough to shoot something like that out of the sky.”

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