Fire Heart (The Dragon of Umbra, #1)

by Emma Hamm

Lore didn’t like it. The extravagant show of wealth was clearly driven by a man who cared little for the rest of his kingdom.

She eyed the young women who stood at the front of the crowd. Those were the ladies that she had to worry about the most. The blatant display of death hadn’t phased them in the slightest. They all stood with bloody hems, some of them even had blood on their hands, but their hungry eyes were turned toward the castle. They cared little for the loss of life. They hardly even cared that someone had died in front of them. All that mattered was that their future was within their grasp.

For the very first time in his life, someone looked at him. Just him. This woman didn’t want to know what the dragon wanted. She didn’t want to use his brute strength. Even though she’d been sent to the castle with murderous intent, she never asked for his help other than his silence. The honor that took… the courage… One moment, he felt this overwhelming sensation of happiness. And the next, he had swooped down and pressed his lips to hers.

The King eyed a few of the women standing closest to him, then smiled at them so brightly that the women fanned themselves. “As you know, we’re going on a hunt today. I have many plans for my future bride, and one of them is that we will live a life of adventure.” One of the girl’s next to her leaned over to her friend. “That sounds a lot better than getting married to the local butcher.” “Adventure?” the other hissed. “We have no idea what he considers adventure, Lily. What if that means we’ll be riding into his next war? Best to keep our heads down with this one.”

The change rolled over him, blasting dust out of the courtyard and into small dervishes that terrified the horses. He watched Lorelei the whole time. She was the only woman in the entire group that never once covered her eyes or averted her gaze. She watched him intently with an emotion that bordered on hate. He hadn’t expected that. Abraxas had seen many reactions to his change in form. Fear. Horror. Sadness. But no one had ever hated him so much as this woman. What had he done? He’d only been himself, and the thought that she couldn’t accept that made him angry. Angrier than he’d ever been in his life. She was an elf, and he’d accepted that without looking at her like she was a monster. Yet here she was, giving him a much different glare that made him feel as though he were wrong for being what he was.

“No dragon will tell me what to do.” Her eyes flashed with that same emotion. That hatred that burned too deep for him to understand. And it killed him. He hated it that she had decided he was a horrible creature because his other form had scales and wings. Nausea rose swiftly. Did she think there were creatures more worthy of freedom than others? Was she just as cruel a monster as Zander?

Was she the hero? She didn’t want to be. Heroes never ended up happy in any story. But the people who did end up happy were the ones who weren’t involved at all. They were the side characters in the background. The farmer whose field was originally destroyed, but then made better. The mermaid who drowned the sailors but was left alone when no one could find her underwater grotto. That’s who Lore wanted to be. The forgotten character who remained in the background for all eternity.

“What is that hope, Abraxas? Even I feel it when I look at them.” Zander touched a finger to the sapphire egg, then stroked the emerald one. “They make me feel strong every time they are visible. And I don’t think that’s because they are the reason why I control you.” “That hope comes from the realization that you hold in your hands the power to destroy or begin a species of creatures that once ruled this realm.”

She didn’t like this man. He went out of his way to be a git.

Abraxas slithered down his mountain of coins and used his wing to block her passage. Same as before, she crouched down like a bullfrog and froze. “I can see you,” he said. His deep voice rumbled through the cavern. “Beauty, the dress isn’t hiding you at all.” She sighed and came out of her frog-like pose. “I really thought it would work. I blend in with the coins!” “You do indeed. And you shine like one, too.” He rested his head on the pile of gold beside her and blinked. “You aren’t afraid of me?” Beauty smoothed her hands down the brightly colored skirts and shook her head. “Not really. I’ve met many people in my time here, and I can’t imagine that you’re as terrifying as everyone says. The King sent us here to gather up something from your hoard, and I thought... Well, if anyone knows what the King might like, then it’s you.” Did he? Not really. Zander was just as confusing to Abraxas as he was to everyone else. But he wanted to help this little girl who refused to show fear, even in the presence of the dragon. “Hmm,” he hummed out the sound long and low. “The King is not a very complicated man. He likes wealth and shows of his own power.” “But he must like something other than that. Everyone has something they enjoy that’s outside of the norm. The King is exactly who I expected him to be, but if you’ve known him since he was a child, what did he like back then?” She blinked up at him with those gigantic eyes and he realized of all the brides, this was the one all the g...

She had been nothing but horrible to him. Though she had lied and cheated to get him on her side, she supposed. Even though he’d killed her mother, she was rather fond of him as well. It was the quiet moments like this that made her realize how kind he was. He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to hurt anyone.

Lore fell onto her knees beside his giant head and put her hand on his scaled cheek. “Abraxas? Please tell me you’re still alive. Open your eyes, darling. I know how to fix this.”