by Juniper Hart
“This place is amazing!” she said as she stepped out from the elevator. “Are we underneath the volcano?”
“Not really. It’s hard to explain.”
He showed her around the mansion, and it felt familiar. Hazy memories from her past life began to form in her mind. She remembered the way to Ember’s bedroom and knew how to find the kitchen, and although the décor was different, the structure was the same.
Finally, after a tour of some of the mansion, he led her down a long, mirrored hallway. The mirrors were painted with scenes depicting enchanted heroes from long ago. Walking down the hallway, she almost felt like she was part of the art with so many mirrors reflecting the golden light. She was surprised to see windows. She’d assumed from the stone that they were underground, but apparently, they’d emerged.
When she looked out of the windows, the view took her breath away. They window was high above a massive, sprawling city, surrounded by a pine forest that stretched for as far as she could see. The city itself looked ethereal, like it belonged in a fantasy movie, with towering buildings that somehow held an artist’s touch.
“What is this place?” she asked.
“It’s Flamma Regno,” he replied with a smile. “A kingdom for all the enchanted creatures. Only five of these kingdoms exist and my brothers and parents rule over the other ones. From this kingdom, I control heat.”
“Hold on. Let me act like I know what you mean.” She gave him a smirk before making a stunned face, cupping her open hands around her mouth in mock surprise. “Oh my! You’re so important!”
He laughed at her. It was a comforting sound, one that she automatically wanted to hear again
“C’mon. I’ll give you a better view.”
He placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her down another hallway.
“So,” she asked, “What about Roland?”
“Roland,” he repeated.
“Yes.”
“Is there any way you could be slightly more vague, please? I could almost understand that, and if you could make it slightly more confusing, that would be great,” he responded with sarcasm laced on his tongue.
She punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Jerk.”
“Ow,” he said.
“That didn’t hurt,” she accused, laughing. If anything, it had hurt her. It was like punching a brick wall. She wasn’t sure, but she suspected that he had flexed when he saw her punching.
She kept walking through the seemingly endless mansion. “So, is Roland a dragon too or just a wolf? Is that even a thing? Can you be a dragon and a wolf?”
“Roland is not a dragon. Roland’s a wolf, but also has the powers of a sorcerer, which makes him very dangerous.”
“Will he keep coming after us?”
“Likely. Like I said, we have been at odds my whole life. But he can’t enter Flamma Regno. When we leave the city, there’s a possibility that he might try to attack, but we can take precautions.”
“Like what?” asked Sarah.
“You have me to protect you. I also have a full security detail and he is one of the EDJ’s most wanted.”
“Why wasn’t your security detail with you when you came to find me?” asked Sarah.
“I don’t need to be protected,” he said confidently. “But they are at your disposal whenever you need them. Besides, I have put my best people on the task of finding him. It shouldn’t be long now. And… there’s one more precaution we can take.”
“Oh ya?”
“If you decide to stay, one day you will be a dragon.”
She sighed, running a hand along her face. “I have no words.”
“Then don’t say anything at all,” he replied jokingly, slapping her butt playfully with his open hand. It startled her, making her jump.
“Easy, tiger!” she exclaimed. “Don’t hurt your hand, big fella.”
“You never run out of jokes.”
“Never.” She grinned.
The more they wandered around, the more she felt at home. Memories kept coming back her. They were small little teasers at first, just mere flashes. But some of them were more concrete.
“Whoa,” she said, stopping and pointing at a bench lining the windows. “I remember this bench! I remember tripping over it and hurting my teeth! Right?”
He winced. “Yeah, that was bad.”
She frowned, staring at it like it was an old pal, an old pal that she’d faceplanted into. “What happened? I can just barely remember it.”
He barely spared it a glance. “You tripped running through the halls. You were late to something, as I remember. You chipped your front tooth.”
She ran her tongue along her teeth. Smooth. It was a strange sensation to see something that had obviously messed her up, and yet feel no damage. There were perks to reincarnation. “Did I at least make it to whatever I was late to?”
“You probably didn’t,” he said. “You were always so rambunctious. Some of the staff called you Khutan bug.’”
“What is that?” She wasn’t entirely sure if she should be offended or not. It sounded like she should be. If it was a bug, it probably wasn’t a compliment. “Is that a good thing?”
“Well, kind of... It means you never run out of energy.”
“Boy, they’re wrong there.”
They came to a balcony on the side of the palace, which was larger than most homes. They stepped out into the open air, which was nice and clean, which was strange because she thought they were inside of a mountain.
The scenery was beautiful and took her breath away. Hot lava flowed through fields of grass like a river. A city was off in the distance. The heat should have scorched the earth and ruined the vegetation, but it didn’t. Sarah figured that nature must work differently in Ember’s hidden world. It felt like nature was giving them a hug and sending wonderful scents just to make sure that everything was perfectly sublime.
“So what now?” Sarah asked, watching Ember come to a stop at the edge of the balcony and looking out at the sun high overhead.
“This.”
He closed his eyes and looked out towards the city. He started humming, closing his fists and flexing. Arcane glowing symbols formed on his bare skin like he had a flashlight on the inside of his body. Sarah stepped back, not entirely sure what to expect.
Ember opened his eyes. They were glowing the same hue as the symbols on his skin. The vein on his temple throbbed and he let out a grunt of exertion as his raised his arms. He stared at the flowing lava.
“Come to me,” he snarled.
Sarah panicked. Whatever he was doing, it was obviously going to be impressive, and she had no idea what to expect. She looked up at the sun, swallowing nervously.
“Should I be scared?” she asked.
“You’re safe,” he grunted, shaking with effort.
She looked at the lava and instantly regretted it. For a second, she completely forgot to look away from the glaring, painful light that only got brighter as Ember continued to control it.
She noticed something spiraling wildly within the lava flow. At first it was just something small, then it was huge. The fireballs twirled around ferociously and floated up to the height of their balcony. The fireballs continued to put on a show, and Sarah couldn’t take her eyes away.
“It’s beautiful!”
She felt like she could dive for cover or at the very least panic slightly. “How are you doing that?”
It was intoxicatingly magical to watch the fire split up and dance before her eyes. She couldn’t stop staring despite it hurting ever so slightly.
Ember gasped and pulled out of his trance, letting the markings and his eyes fade to their normal colors. The monumental fireballs got sucked right back into the lava.
“How did you do that?” she cried. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
“No,” he said, snorting smoke. “The sun heats the earth from the outside, but I can heat it from its core. I can also control volcanoes and even something as sma
ll as a house fire.”
She stared at him, then back to the lava. “I don’t even know what to think!”
Sarah had previously thought the most amazing thing was people that could do was magic tricks. She couldn’t figure them out. And here she was, faced with a man that could literally control fire and the heat of the earth.
She felt like she might easily pass out, or throw up, or both. Hopefully not both. Hopefully not either, really. Somehow, all the weight of the last twenty-four hours had caught up with her all at once.
“What a day!” she muttered as the feeling began to pass.
“I imagine it’s been a bit of a change,” he said with a smile.
“So, what else can you do?” she asked. “And please, don’t show me! Just…tell me.”
“Technically, I’m the Keeper of the Flame. Anything that has to do with the heat of the earth is mine.”
“Quite an inheritance,” she said.
“It’s a big responsibility.” For just a second, she heard exhaustion in his voice. “Sarah, I need to ask you something. I don’t want to lose you again, but I would never ask you to do anything against your will.”
“Are you asking me to marry you?” asked Sarah.
“No. We’re already married. I’m asking you to stay here with me.”
She knew she was making a big decision; probably the biggest one of her life. The choice of where to attend college was nothing compared to this one. He was asking her to commit to an eternity together.
She might miss the outside world. But would she really? What had the world given her? She had friends, sure, but she could visit them.
She looked at the fairytale-like land before her that stretched on and on, hiding countless mysteries. In this world, she also had a handsome man completely devoted to her. And as the memories continued to appear, she knew she loved him.
In the real world, she had college debt, she had to deal with irritating traffic, and she would likely have to keep running from Roland and his men until Ember’s security caught him.
Here… she breathed in the fresh spring air. Here, I am free.
Staying with Ember felt like the right decision. She was protected. They could stay in the blissful land as long as they wanted, in their mansion high on a hill, completely ignoring the outside world for as long as they wanted.
Besides, if what he said was true about Sarah becoming a dragon, she’d have an eternity to leave Flamma Regno and explore the world.
“What about my mom?” she asked. “She’s still out there. Roland might come after her.”
“We’ll bring her here,” he replied. “She’ll be safe. Roland wouldn’t go after her, anyway. He only wanted to make sure we didn’t end up together.” He paused. “But do you think she’d want to move here?
“I have no doubt. I’m her only child and since my dad died, she’s been so lonely.”
She almost asked what do about her coffee shop? Then she figured she really didn’t care about that anymore. She was with the Keeper of the Flame, some dragon that could control the heat of the earth! If she wanted to start a shop, she could do it there, in paradise.
“So how about it?” Ember pressed. “Will you stay here?”
She didn’t hesitate when she took Ember’s hands and nodded. “I will.”
9
After making the decision to stay, Sarah’s life was an absolute whirlwind. Ember showed her all around his kingdom, but even after being there a full month, Sarah still had not been able to explore it fully because of its size.
Ember’s people were delighted to meet her. They’d apparently all heard stories of the feisty bride of the dragon from their ancestors. Some of the dragons even remembered her personally from so long ago. Sarah’s mother was adapting well, too, after getting past the fact that her daughter married a dragon.
Flamma Regno was even more magical than she had expected. People were kind and life was good. Sure, there were still guards and she always had to stay on her toes, but she didn’t mind. It kept life interesting, and besides, Roland was stuck outside. That had taken her a while to get used to.
She rolled over in their bed to look at Ember to ask, “Why couldn’t he just get in the elevator and find his way over into Flamma Regno?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Ember told her when she asked him. “He is nowhere near here. Last I heard he’s in India somewhere. He typically sends his warriors to do his dirty work. He cannot enter the portal we passed through to get here. After you died, spells were used to block him. Even if he ever found the portal doors, he would disintegrate into nothingness as soon as he tried to enter. Besides, my men have been tracking him, it shouldn’t be too long now before they catch up to him.”
“I see…”
“Now, no more talk of Roland. We have much more important matters at hand.”
“Oh really?” she asked with a smile.
Ember’s hand drifted up her leg and tickled her inner thigh as he lightly brushed her outer lips with his fingers through her panties.
An intense feeling of passion shot through her. She twirled over on top of him, straddling him. She intertwined their limbs and effectively pinned him, giving him a teasing smile. It was her turn to be powerful.
He was of course much stronger than her, and could overpower her in a moment if he wanted to, but sometimes he even let her win when they playfully wrestled.
Not this time. She ended up under him.
Ember was a man like no other, probably because he wasn’t exactly a man. His upper body was ripped beyond belief, and Sarah could almost imagine that he was a god with his taut muscles, thick glossy hair, and piercing eyes. His eyes traveled over her body from head to toe, and she quivered at his ravenous look. He was a majestic creature.
Mesmerized, she watched as he slid off her panties, and then his own boxers. He was more than ready for her and the thought of him filling her with his large, throbbing manhood excited her.
His body melded against hers, and she felt herself being pressed down into the mattress.
He pressed the tip of his cock to her entrance, making Sarah moan out loud.
“You’re wet for me already,” he whispered in her ear as her desire for him grew.
Instead of thrusting into her, he surprisingly slid down and kissed, then nibbled, her inner thigh. Her sex tickled with anticipation.
Ember kissed higher on her inner thigh, and then settled his tongue on top of her clit, licking and sucking at her sensitive bud. His tongue swirled around as he gently applied pressure to intensify her pleasure. He inserted a finger into her slit and stimulated her g-spot.
Sarah grabbed the sheets with both hands and bit down on her lower lip as she squirmed beneath his touch. The waves of pleasure grew stronger and stronger until she shattered around him with her core tightening in satiating spasms.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Ember thrust his member into her essence and ravaged her, over and over. Her back arched as she wrapped her long legs around his hips to encourage him to go deeper within her. Ember began to move quicker, grinding inside her with such vigor that she screamed aloud. Sarah’s hand reached around to his back as her fingernails dug into his flesh as he growled with pleasure.
Her entire body shook as she climaxed with him, pleasure coursing through her.
They both relaxed as he rolled off her, and spooned her from behind.
“I love you,” he said, nestling his face in her hair.
“I love you, too, Ember.”
Although she’d loved him for a thousand years, it was the first time she’d told him since he rescued her from Roland.
His jaw was clenched as he slowly relaxed, but he kissed her cheek in response. “Thank you, Sarah. That means the world to me.”
“I want to know what happens next. How does this whole soulmate thing play out?”
“What do you mean?” he asked. “You mean becoming a dragon?”
“Yes,” she responded.
&nbs
p; “We just wait and see I guess. It won’t happen until you’re pregnant. But in the meantime, we can keep practicing,” he said as he leaned over and bit her lip playfully before kissing her passionately.
“I like that idea,” said Sarah as she welcomed his touch. They’d been ‘practicing’ every day, usually more than once, so she figured it was just a matter of time. “I have to admit, I am a bit nervous about the transformation. What’s it like to be immortal?”
He seemed to really toss it around in his head. “Immortality can be boring and monotonous. You never get old. You never pass away. But it’s different with a soulmate. It’s special. It’s vital. It’s beautiful.”
His answer made her feel at peace.
So much had happened in such a short amount of time. In addition to face that fact that she would be alive forever, Sarah also tried to wrap her head around the fact that so many mythical creatures weren’t myths at all. The few things that Ember had been able to show her so far blew her mind. Some were wonderful, like water sprites. Others were strange and freaky, like mermaids, which weren’t the kind beautiful creatures they were made out to be in cartoons.
The lava surrounding their fortress, was beautiful, and Sarah still didn’t understand how they remained safe from the heat and toxic gasses, but Ember assured her it wasn’t the same type of lava that buried cities. The proof to his claim was that she was still alive. The locals crafted a variety of special trinkets from the lava. Beautiful jewelry. Cool weapons. She wasn’t sure which one she was more excited about.
Ember sat up and walked over to the balcony in their bedroom. She smiled faintly at him, feeling peace wash over her. He turned to her with the glowing light from the lava behind him.
“Come here,” he said, opening his arms for an embrace. He looked excited about something, but Sarah didn’t know what.
