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

Sigrid was a perpetually terrifying creature with eyes like steel and a second form that could raze kingdoms to the ground. Of course, her friend didn’t see her that way. Camilla only saw her as the little girl who used to play with her through the corridors of the castle, finding all the secrets hidden within the walls.

And Sigrid loved her endlessly for it.

The soothing touch of her friend lulled her into a false sense of security. The forests here were lush, untouched by man and barely touched by beast. When they’d first arrived, the leaves had been so green they looked like emeralds hanging off of each branch.

She enjoyed seeing the seasons change. From the bright colors of spring, the warm tones of summer, and now to the burning, fire-like qualities of autumn. But she wasn’t looking forward to winter, when all her people would be cold and would have to hunt for meat that would inevitably become harder to find.

Camilla stroked a hand down her hair which was now half up and braided in random strands. “There. I suppose you look a little more like yourself.”

Together, they stood. Sigrid immediately placed a hand on her hip, only to find that her mask was no longer there.

The item had become a symbol of slavery. A symbol of all the things the Beastkin had suffered and all the mistreatment at the hands of both Earthen folk and Bymerian.

She still missed it.

Camilla’s keen eyes stared at Sigrid’s hand on her hip. “You still look for it?”

“Every day.”

“Why?” Camilla had always had a hard time understanding it. “Those things were on our faces, hiding who we were, for centuries. Not just us, but all the Beastkin who had come to the Earthen folk’s halls for safety.”

“I don’t know how to explain it.” Sigrid shook her head and started back toward the keep. “The mask was more than just something to hide my face. It gave me a sense of… safety, although I’m sure that’s the wrong word. I wasn’t a woman when I wore that mask.”

“You aren’t a woman now. You’re a Beastkin, and a dragon at that. You are so much more than any other woman.”

If she heard that one more time, she was going to scream.

Sigrid forced her face into a mask, changing her features to remain still and cold. Even to her best friend. “Then we should get back to the feast as soon as possible. They’ll want me to be among them.”

Their trip back to the keep was silent. Camilla clearly knew she had said something wrong. Sigrid felt her gaze on her face throughout the short trip, but she didn’t say a word.

Camilla didn’t understand why she wouldn’t just accept the fame and enjoy it. There were many people here who were so happy she existed. Finally, it wasn’t just the small number of Beastkin living in the capital who knew they had a much more powerful ally than each other. They had something that was more powerful than all Beastkin combined.

She had never felt so isolated in her life. Sigrid didn’t want this kind of fame, and she certainly didn’t want to use the dragon to fight. She’d done that once already, and the guilt burned in her chest far hotter than any dragon fire.

Nightmares plagued her every night. She still heard the screams of Bymerians as she rained fire down upon their castle. The Red Castle, the place where she’d learned so much about the people she’d always thought were monsters.

The Bymerians were supposed to be terrible people. All of them. They were supposed to be monsters who didn’t care for their children, who threw Beastkin into pits of flames, who hated anyone different that crossed into their kingdom.

Instead, they had been… not open-minded, but at least interested in what she had to say. The people on the streets had at first been the monsters. But she had seen a different side of them that confused her. A side which was soft and kind, thoughtful and accepting.

And then Nadir had turned into a dragon, fought with her midair, and she didn’t know what to think about it.

She had been certain they were going to slaughter him at his weakest moment. That they would have destroyed him where he lay just for being the kind of creature that she was. But then Raheem had told her he was still alive and she had to see him.

He was hiding Beastkin. And delivering them to her side just to save them.

Sigrid’s mind was in such a constant state of shock she didn’t know which way was up most of the time. She couldn’t even tell her dearest friend, because she knew what Camilla would say.

Stop talking to the Sultan of Bymere and remember who your people are.

Her lungs seized and suddenly, she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. Sigrid burst through the edge of the forest, her feet striking the cobblestone path. She scanned the scene in front of her with a mixture of disdain and pure disappointment.

Living with animals sometimes had its benefits. They were never hungry, because most of the Beastkin could live entirely on meat. Those who couldn’t, could smell out food that was safe to eat. They hadn’t even needed to start a farm this year, because there was plenty to go around.

But then sometimes, living with animals meant that they lived in filth. All her eyes could see was the destruction of the keep around her. They’d started the feast without her, or at least, the drinking part of the feast.

In a daze, Sigrid walked past a tent that had been shredded by claws. The bedroll inside hadn’t fared much better, and she knew the inhabitant would be getting to stay inside the keep tonight. Shards of pottery littered the ground, likely the last of the precious few she had brought back from Greenmire Castle the last time she’d spoken with the Earthen King.

Sigrid stooped down and ran her finger through what looked