by Ariana Nash
“I cannot…” Whatever the dragon had been about to say, he let it trail off and reached for the ornate brooch fixing the cloak around his neck, teasing his fingers over the serpent design.
Eroan wondered idly if he could kill him with that brooch pin. Of course, to do that, he’d need to be free.
The dragon saw him watching and dropped his hand. “You do not have long, elf.” His jeweled eyes glowed. Myths told of how the dragonkin were made of glass and forged inside great fire-spewing mountains in a frozen land. Not this one. This one had something else inside. Some other wildfire fueling him.
The dragon turned, sweeping his cloak around him, and headed out the door.
“What is your name?” The question growled over Eroan’s tongue and scratched over cracked lips. He almost didn’t recognize the rumbling voice as his own.
The dragon hesitated, then partially turned his head to peer over his shoulder. The fire was gone from his eyes, and something else lurked there now, some softer weakness that belied everything Eroan had seen. His cheek fluttered, an inner war raging.
The answer would have a cost, Eroan realized. He shouldn’t have asked. He let his head drop, tired of holding it up, of holding himself up. Tiredness ate at his body and bones. The shivers started up again, rattling the chains and weakening his defiance. This dragonkin was right. He did not have long.
“My name is Lysander.”
The door slammed, the lock clunked, and Eroan was plunged into darkness.
The Dragon Queen’s reign is one of darkness and death. Humans have vanished under the rubble of their world and if the queen has her way, elves will be next.
Eroan, one of the last elven assassins, lives for one purpose: kill the queen. He would have succeeded if not for her last line of defense: Prince Lysander. Now, captured and forced into the queen’s harem, Eroan sees another opportunity. Why kill just the queen when he can kill them all? It would be simple, if not for the troubled and alluring prince. A warrior, a killer, and something else… something Eroan finds himself inexplicably drawn to.
Trapped in a life he despises, Lysander knows his time is running out. If the queen doesn’t kill him for his failures, her enemies will. There’s nothing left to live for, until an elf assassin almost kills him. A stubborn, prideful, fool of an elf who doesn’t know when to quit. An elf who sparks a violent, forbidden desire in Lysander. If Lysander can’t save himself, maybe he can save the elf and maybe, just maybe… one stubborn elf will be enough to bring down the queen before she kills them all.
Duty demands they fight for their people. Love has other plans.
Also by Ariana Nash
Writing dark fantasy LGBT
Sealed with a Kiss, 0.5 Silk & Steel
(free to Ariana Nash newsletter subscribers. Sign up at www.ArianaNashBooks.com)
Silk & Steel, Silk & Steel #1
Iron & Fire, Silk & Steel #2
Blood & Ice, Silk & Steel, #3
The Black Prince (Akiem’s story)
And coming next year: dark battle angels in, Primal Sin. Visit Ariana Nash’s reading group on Facebook for all the news as it happens.
About the Author
Born to wolves, Ariana Nash only ventures from the Cornish moors when the moon is fat and the night alive with myths and legends. She captures those myths in glass jars and returning home, weaves them into stories filled with forbidden desires, fantasy realms, and wicked delights.
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