by Ivy Clyde
I cried out, both from shock and the intense pleasure wracking through me. Cain’s essence gushing inside me felt as scorching as the flames around me. Was I the only one who could see and feel it?
Cain slumped over me, his breathing rough and ragged.
He wouldn’t feel the heat from the flames. As a dragonborn, he was immune to it all, but me…I needed my magic to protect myself against it. The flames burned out, leaving the chamber as dim as before. Turning my gaze, I looked towards my arms, still wrapped around him. They were fair-skinned and flawless.
My chest heaved and Cain kissed me fervently but my mind was stuck to the vision I’d just seen. There were flames, but only my magical vision allowed me to see them. They ignited so suddenly, I couldn’t even conjure my magic to protect myself against it. Then why was I not burnt like the time in my childhood?
Cain shifted away from me. He was speaking and that was the only thing that drew me away from my thoughts. “Daria! Daria!” I felt gentle slaps on my face. “Open your eyes.”
I blinked my eyes open to see Cain’s anxious face hovering me.
“Are you all right? Why wouldn’t you open your eyes?”
“I don’t understand it myself.”
“I feel something inside me too,” he said in a hesitating tone. “I am always warm but right now, it feels like I am burning from the inside out. It’s getting painful.” He fell back beside me, his fingers clawing at his naked chest. In my mind’s eye, I saw what was happening. The flames that burned around us, were now ignited inside him.
Cain roared, making me jump.
“What’s happening to me?” he asked, his eyes suddenly fearful.
“You are burning from the inside,” I said, sitting up in bed. Cain climbed down, his knees hitting the stone floor as he tried to rein in the gasps of pain.
Suddenly, he went quiet.
Next moment, he screamed, throwing his head back, his fingers clawing all over his chest. Flames erupted around him, covering his naked body in their leaping glory.
As I watched with horrifying fascination, Cain’s body disappeared inside the inferno. A loud roar sounded, echoing off the walls of the chamber. The mound of fire continued to grow in size, reaching higher and higher towards the ceiling.
I didn’t even bother to cover my body as I slowly approached him, too scared and shocked to know what was happening. Did I do this to him?
“Cain!” I shouted but my voice was drowned amidst the inhuman roars filling the chamber.
Shielding my eyes from the raging inferno, I shouted his name again.
This time, only my own voice echoed all around me. Realizing the painful roars had subsided, I lowered the elbow blocking my face. My jaw dropped at the sight before me.
A gray dragon stood before me. Its scales glimmered in the dimness like a collection of swords wrapping the creature’s body. For a long while, I couldn’t speak. Was I hallucinating?
The creature’s fiery eyes stared down at me and I felt my body freeze. The dragon’s head brushed the tall ceiling of the chamber, larger than the lifelike marble statue outside the temple.
Was it a trick of the temple? Some magic in the water that was making me hallucinate bizarre sights?
As I continued staring into the glowing red eyes of the dragon, I felt a deep familiarity within me. Like I knew him?
Him? How could I be sure it was a male?
The dragon lowered its head and I scarpered back at once.
My back hit the wall and I was soon pinned between it and the dragon’s maw. The large eyes stared at me unblinkingly. There was no wrath in them. They were…kind. And gentle. Just like Cain’s.
Realization dawned on me. “Cain?”
The dragon gently thumped its head into my body. Wow…Cain was a dragon.
27
I was at the edge of consciousness, willing my mind to succumb to the numbing blackness than feel the hundreds of lashes and cuts on my body. My legs gave way a long time ago and now I hung from my arms. At least they’d gone numb by now, saving me from feeling the bite of rope tied around my wrists.
Blood still dripped from my nose, seeping down my chin to fall onto my chest. My tunic was already darkened with drying blood. Every inch of my face throbbed. Fire burned beneath my skin. Even breathing was painful.
“Looks like you’re going to sleep.” Mekhi’s voice is deceptionally soft, the cruelty barely concealed underneath. I hung from the ropes, a dull ache in my arms as I stared at him from painfully swollen lids.
He only waited a moment before throwing a bucket of ice-cold water at me. I snarled out as shivers ripped through my body. It steadily leached away the warmth of my body, making me even weaker.
“Cain is yet to enter the city,” he whispered conspiratorially. “Wouldn’t you like him for company? I’ll have him strung right next to you. Aren’t I the best host or what?”
I couldn’t speak. Even the smallest movement of my facial muscles sent agony washing over me, adding a new layer to the pain I was already suffering from. I closed my eyes, blocking the sight of Mekhi’s cruel face, willing my mind to go black so I could escape.
A very logical part of me told me not to hold onto hope. I’d been tortured by Mekhi before.
He would not let me fade that quickly. He would let me rest and feel every burn and ache in my body. Just before exhaustion overtook, he would begin the beatings and lashings once again.
The small hole set high in the wall told me the sun was sinking fast. As far as I knew, Cain wouldn’t be entering Partaig. He would skirt around the city to enter the dragon temple with Daria to hand over the scrolls he’d found in the inner sanctums. I desperately prayed Cain would hear the news of my capture and the massacre in the streets before entering the palace.
Daria must already be on her way to Baledonia. If both mine and Cain’s fates are doomed, I hoped Adal would shelter and protect Daria.
Sobs wracked through my frame at my own helplessness. We’d asked Daria to assassinate the emperor and we hadn’t even been able to reach Drakhaven yet. A part of me was certain she wouldn’t stop until she succeeded in her mission or died trying.
A crack shattered the silence of the tower, and next moment my back burned with the lash of Mekhi’s whip. Closing my eyes, I grit my teeth against the pain.
Please be safe, Daria…
And with that thought, the blessed blackness finally swallowed me.
Ready for the next part in Daria’s journey?
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading until the end. I hope you enjoyed the story and would consider leaving a short review on Amazon. Even a simple “I liked it” will make my day.
Assassin’s Past is now available on Amazon. Get it here!
If you’d like to stay updated, please join my newsletter or ‘like’ my Facebook page. You can join my Facebook group too but it may be empty as I am starting out fresh as an author. However, it’s the best place for teasers, character tidbits and discussions with your fellow readers. I would love for you to join me there!
About Ivy
Ivy is an Electrical engineer by profession. She started writing fanfiction in her spare time and after a whole year of writing; she decided to start writing an original series with her own characters.
Although, work and tight deadlines often have her drinking coffee, she is a tea-lover at heart. She loves to read, but keeps taking trips to Hogwarts now and then. (Who could miss JKR’s lovely invitation?) Her favorite current TV shows are Game of Thrones and Pretty Little Liars.
00%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
