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

did I.” He held out his arm for her to take. “Unfortunately, you won’t be able to meet her.”

“She’s difficult to meet?”

“She’s dead.”

The words froze Sigrid’s blood in her veins. The dragon inside of her groaned at the knowledge that yet another of theirs was dead. For a moment, she had been hopeful that there was a chance for the dragons. There was another who could teach her all the things she’d hoped to learn.

Now, it really was just the two of them.

She blew out a breath. “I’m so sorry for your loss, husband. I hope she led a good life.”

“It was a life.” His eyes turned toward the walls of the city behind them. “In truth, I really didn’t have that much time with her. I don’t know anything about the woman who birthed me.”

She knew the emotion behind those words. The sense of loss that now he would never understand himself. She’d felt the same in the moment she realized the ancients were a dying breed, and they didn’t have the hidden meaning to her life locked away in their hidden halls.

Sigrid reached for his hand and linked their fingers. “The history of our lives doesn’t shape who we become. That’s a choice you and I both have to make.”

“History cannot be forgotten.”

“But it can be remade.” She looked up at him and hoped he would understand her words. “I need you to believe that, Nadir. There’s far too much riding on our decisions in this moment. We cannot give up.”

A rustling sound behind them made Sigrid glance over her shoulder. She’d almost forgotten the strange creature she’d brought with her.

Eivor revealed herself, large eyes wider than she’d ever seen them. The medicine woman crouched in the sand and carefully picked her way toward them. She looked like a crab scuttling to the nearest place where she would be safe.

“Matriarch?” she asked quietly. “What is this place?”

“Bymere.”

“No, the ground resonates with old war. There’s blood hidden deep in the sand, like a river beneath us.”

Sigrid looked at Nadir whose brow had furrowed.

“Who’s this?” he asked.

“Her name is Eivor. She is…” Sigrid floundered. How did she describe this creature? She couldn’t say this was what they would all likely become. She didn’t know if that was the truth. But it certainly seemed this was an option for the Beastkin people if they didn’t follow the path she was certain was the only one for them.

“Different,” he replied.

“That’s the way to say it, yes.”

He detached himself from her hold and made his way to Eivor who was still low to the ground. Her eyes watched him, the fur on her face stirred by the wind and the scales flattened against her skull in fear.

Nadir bent next to her, then held out his hand. “My name is Nadir. It’s good to meet you, Eivor.”

“I don’t know if you should say that.”

“Why not?”

“I’m a soul stealer. Medicine woman of old, but also one that should never be touched by another person without fear they won’t be… the same.”

A chuckle bubbled out of his chest. “I lost my soul a long time ago, friend.”

“To whom?” Eivor’s brows furrowed. She sat up straighter, as if his declaration had wiped away all her fear. “I might be able to get it back. Soul stealers can bargain sometimes. If I was the keeper of your soul, I’d make sure it was safe.”

Nadir pointed over his shoulder at Sigrid, and she felt her heart flutter.

He looked back at her with heat in his yellow eyes. There was a declaration there, something she couldn’t quite imagine but was certain he wanted her to hear. Was he saying that she was the keeper of his soul? That she was somehow more important to him than anything else?

He confirmed her thoughts with a few soft words. “She stole it the moment I first saw her.”

Eivor’s eyes flicked between them. “Sigrid? But she’s not a medicine woman.”

The creature didn’t understand it, but that was fine. She didn’t want Eivor to understand what this man was saying to her.

Her face heated, cheeks no longer hidden by a mask that would have at least saved her the embarrassment. He saw every bit of her emotions flickering over her face. Nadir’s eyes heated even more, and she was certain it was a dragon staring back at her.

He straightened, stalking toward her with a determination that made her stomach flip. Sigrid clenched her fists.

Don’t touch him, she told herself. He isn’t yours to touch, not anymore. They didn’t even know each other anymore.

Apparently, Nadir was not thinking the same thing. He notched his hand at her waist and pulled her closer to him. Again, he tucked her against his body and placed his cheek at her hair. “Come home with me,” he whispered.

“Where do you want me to go?”

“The palace.”

Gods, she couldn’t go back there. The people were already afraid of her. She’d nearly destroyed their city.

Memories played behind her eyelids as she hid her face against his neck once again. The way the towers and parapets had crumbled the moment her wings had touched them. The glass domes atop the city had melted beneath her breath. But it was the screams of the people that still haunted her dreams. Their fear would never leave her side.

She wasn’t a monster. She’d never thought herself to be one, knowing she wanted to protect people far more than she wanted to hurt them.

And yet, the Red Palace had still fallen. All because of her.

Nadir tightened his arms around her. “You cannot be afraid of the past. Isn’t that what you just said?”

“I’m not.” It was a lie. She was more afraid of what they’d think of her now than anything else in her life.

Before, she wouldn’t have cared at all. They were the enemy. A group of people who she could discard in her thoughts as people who were careless and wanted to see her own people die. Now, she’s lived there. She’d seen the good in