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

nearly glowed with the hunger within them. That had died down now that he had her, she’d realized. He wasn’t quite so angry all the time. Not quite so ready to destroy things that he didn’t understand.

Instead, Najib watched her. He made certain she was comfortable, that she had everything she needed. In truth, he was the perfect mate.

But what cat wasn’t?

She breathed out a sigh and turned in his arms. “A lot of things.”

“Why don’t you share?” He adjusted his grip, sliding his hands down her torso and into the dip of her waist. “I can take some of the burden.”

She shook her head, then pressed her face against his shoulder. The problem was that she couldn’t share anything with him. He didn’t need to know that Sigrid was alive, and as much as she trusted him, it wasn’t her secret to give away.

Sometimes, she wondered whether Sigrid had planned this all along. Had her sister somehow caught wind that she had finally, after all these years, found someone she could love? Had she wanted to tear her away from Najib’s arms and force her to become something like Sigrid?

All her life, she’d loved her sister. That didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of Sigrid’s flaws, and there were many. Her sister was cold. She avoided being around other people. She isolated herself, because she thought that was what she was supposed to do.

And Camilla understood being a dragon was different than being an owl. There were certain responsibilities with being matriarch. Personally, she’d never wanted them.

Camilla was the type to enjoy her freedom. She liked to leave whenever she wanted, drift through the winds and ripples in the air. Find her way to a tree and watch the world pass by. There was a quiet sort of peace in those moments.

Moments she didn’t get now that she was Matriarch of the Beastkin.

“Hey,” Najib murmured, pulling her back a little and staring down at her with a worried expression. “You can trust me.”

“I know I can.”

Just not with this. Not with something that wasn’t hers to give away. Camilla pulled back and stepped toward the window, looking out at the forest for the torchlight that would mean Jabbar and his men were home. “Where are they?” she asked.

“I don’t know. They didn't tell me where they were going this time. Apparently, they wanted to try and find new hunting grounds.”

“There's more than enough food.”

“And there are more people coming here every day. You cannot blame them for wanting to be prepared. Winter is coming faster. We can all feel it in the air. Bymerians aren’t prepared to handle the cold like you Earthen folk.”

Camilla made a face, eyes still trained on the forest. “That isn’t the reason why he left, and you know it. Don’t try to blow smoke in front of my eyes as he does with everyone else.”

Again, Najib pulled her back against his chest. “Camilla, if I knew anything—”

She waited when his words trailed off for the lie he would spin. Najib was a loyal man, and he’d been with Jabbar from the beginning. She’d never forget the rush of pride in her throat when she’d first heard the story of Jabbar saving Najib’s life. It was the first, and only, time she would like Jabbar.

Finally, when he didn’t say anything again, Camilla leaned her head back against his shoulder. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I understand.”

He remained silent for a long while, watching the forest with her. She wondered what was going through his head. Would he tell her the truth? Would he lie more for the man whom he owed his life?

In the end, Najib proved himself more loyal to her than he was to his master. “He wouldn’t tell me where they were going, because they wanted to spy on some of the local human villages.”

“They are not ours to spy upon.”

“He thinks they might rise up and attack us.”

“Raheem already scouted that route. He said they weren’t interested in finding out anything of their new neighbors.” She trusted Raheem more than she trusted most people here. He was a good, reliable man. Unlike man of the Bymerian Beastkin whose eyes were still clouded by judgement and hatred.

“That doesn’t mean they won’t change their mind.” Najib bent at the knee, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Camilla? They want to make sure we’re safe, no matter what happens.”

“They’re going to make the humans fight with us if they’re skulking in the shadows.”

“They’ve done this before. We know how to be careful. How else could we survive in Bymere for as long as we did?”

She wanted to say it was because the Bymerians weren’t as used to hunting and tracking as the Earthen folk. That the Bymerians lived in a desert world where most animals were dangerous no matter what, but the Earthen folk knew that monsters tracked them from the shadows every day of their lives. That they knew what the Beastkin looked like, what they were capable of, and knew how to capture them.

But the Bymerians had proven they didn't want to listen to her or her sisters. They thought they knew how to take care of everyone and didn’t want to ask for help. That meant, no matter how badly she wanted to correct them, that she wouldn’t do it. Couldn’t.

They needed to learn these things on their own.

She blew out a breath and shook her head. “I don’t want to argue tonight, Najib.”

“Then we don’t have to argue.” He tugged her closer, his lips finding hers in a kiss that tasted like dark chocolate and coffee. “Come to bed with me, habib albi.”

Gods, the words were almost her end. He’d called her that for weeks now, and she’d only recently gotten him to admit in the common tongue what they meant.

Love of my heart.

She didn’t know how to tell him the same thing back. The Earthen folk were far more practical people. The Beastkin women were trained early on that