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The first big moment of the Dragon King’s life lay at the loss of his parents.

“It was rage lust.” He said, as if watching the memories alongside her.

His father had been as rugged and handsome as his son, though in the memories before the loss of control he seemed sulky, pouting as his wife played with their son. Had he been envious of the attention Alessandro was receiving?

His eyes were slate gray, darker than the shining silver Alessandro had taken to staring at her with, but the same as the ones the child’s, which peered shyly between his parents.

His mother had his full-bodied curls, clumps and clumps of it cascading around her shoulders, though they differed in color as she was a vibrant red head.

A vibrant red that matched the blood seeping around her body when Alessandro saw her fall after his father had snapped.

The handsome man had lost any hint of gray in his eyes. They had been black orbs that swept past his son, too weak and young to be a target for the rage that took him over as he fled from the home.

“He moved on and killed the neighbors. We lived in a village then, full of all kinds of mystics and humans. He took out half of the town before a group of shifters dedicated to taking care of the issue got a hold of him. At that point, I had been seven years old and, as the son of the man who had caused so much damage, the village turned its back on me. The shifters hadn’t been aware of my existence before they left. With nowhere left to go, I began walking.”

Rowan clenched her hands. How could they have failed him so hard as a child?

Her indignation fizzled out as a blanket fell around her shoulders.

In between reality and the visions, Alessandro had at some point phased them from the hoard into a neat, but lackluster bedroom with a bed covered in soft white sheets and an even softer comforter. Outside of the window, she could see the low skyline of Black Cove. Was it his bedroom?

He had also summoned and changed into a pair of sweats, much to her disappointment, and he sat cross-legged across from her.

She shifted the blanket over his shoulders before settling into his lap.

There had been tension in his body that melted as he wrapped his arms around her midsection, pulling her closer, his lips gently resting where her shoulder met her neck.

“Where did you go?” She asked, her fingers tracing the cords of muscle along his arms.

“Into the forest.” His breath was warm, sending goosebumps down her back. “I was terrified. My mother spent years warning me about the monsters in the forest. I expected to be gobbled up by something much bigger than me in mere days, but in the end, I feared the villagers more. Anytime I went into town, they would chase me out with curses and beatings. Leaving was my only option. So one day I did, and it was months before I ran into another living soul. In that time, I had learned how to survive, learned through trial and error what I could eat. Time in the forest sharpened my hunting skills, and I was stronger than I’d ever imagined myself being. I liked the physical challenges I put myself through, jumping off cliffs and barely letting my wings out at the last second.” She could feel his muscles twitching underneath her and she gave an appreciative mewl. He chuckled. “I also became friends with some of the wildlife. My best friend was a moose I met my second day in. We spent months walking the forest together until one day, when we were walking into one of the few clearings of that forest, a giant red and blue dragon swooped up and swallowed him whole.”

Rowan gasped as the vision overtook her senses. The moose had been grand, a massive beast that put into perspective how big the dragon was, though as far as Rowan could tell, he wasn’t as large as Alessandro had become in modern times.

Alessandro chuckled. “My reaction as well, right before I lost my cool. I attacked the dragon in my fury. He hadn’t expected me to defend my territory. I was a small child who lacked propernutrition and proper dragon upbringing, but I gave him a run for his money. I interested him even more by using more than one element. He was so shocked when I cast a water and earth spell. It gave me the chance to sink my teeth into his hide.”

Rowan grinned. “So you’ve always been a badass.”

His laughter rumbled against her back. “You got the biggest and baddest dragon in the world, little elf.” A fireplace she hadn’t noticed until then roared to life at the foot of the bed. Flames of every color danced within the grate and she rolled her eyes. What a showoff.

“So after you pissed him off, what happened?”

“I didn’t piss him off, I impressed him. He calmed me down enough to stop throwing spells at him and brought me to a small upstart of a village exclusive to dragons. I didn’t want to go. I liked my life in the forest, but he dragged me kicking and screaming until my adoptive mother, Anya, showed up. When she found out he had taken me against my will and beat me up, she was livid.”

The woman in the vision was a spitting image of Terra, save for the blonde streaks in her hair. Her green eyes shone with the fire of a woman not to be trifled with.

“Her energy reminded me of my mother’s. I instantly clung to her. She comforted me and asked if I just wanted to eat with them, then I could head back to the forest afterwards if I wished. When the dragon told her about my dual magic wielding, she commended me for my skill, but her offer still stood. I could leave if I wanted. So, I ate dinner and left. I came back every once in a while, especially when game in the forest became scarce, but pretty soon I was staying so regularly she had a bedroommade just for me in her small hut. It wasn’t long until she met Phineas.”

Rowan saw a beer bellied dragon with a wide smile full of good-hearted joy. He had no hair, but his sharp brown eyes noted him as a possible earth-dragon.

While she could sense there was comfort Alessandro felt with Anya, there was a mischievousness that he’d explored with Phineas who accepted the roaming street dragon as eagerly as Anya had.

“At that point, the village seemed to accept me as a part of their family and the dragon I’d attacked? He was their leader, King Titus. I avoided him the best I could when I would visit, but he always found me. He took it as a personal quest to train me. As a multi-elemental user, I was a potential replacement for him.”

“When did he end up quitting?”

“He didn’t.”

A flash of a severed head startled Rowan.