Page 30 of Bound by Fire and Scales (The Dragons of Earis #1)

From across the courtyard, I watched Zephyr and Morlav in a quiet conversation as the Iceclaw clan prepared to get back to the Ice Mountains. My gaze shifted, catching the unmistakable gleam of platinum hair in the crowd.

Enrik.

Zephyr had told me he was leaving with the Iceclaws, but I hadn’t let myself process it until now. My fingers went to the necklace around my neck—his necklace. The gold stone warm against my skin, the very one that had shielded us from dark magic’s grip. Did he know what it had done for us? Did he believe in its power now? I closed my hand around it and drew in a breath. Now could be my last chance to give it back to him.

Enrik raised an eyebrow at me when I approached, his stormy grey eyes glinting with curiosity. “What? Are you tired of Zephyr already and want to go with me? Well, now it’s too late, tailchaser.” His voice dripped with mockery, and I felt a flicker of anger rise within me.

I rolled my eyes, a small smile tugging at my lips. I’d actually miss his ridiculous nickname for me. “Why are you leaving?”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you?” he said, pausing as his face shifted into a mocking grin. “Sorry, tailchaser. I fail to see how this is any of your business.”

I pressed the necklace against his chest, pushing hard enough to make him stumble back a step. “I’m giving this back!” He scoffed, a smirk curling at the edge of his mouth, calm and unbothered as always. The ease with which he held himself only made me more frustrated at him. How could he always stay so detached?

“I’ll always owe you for this. If it weren’t for this stone, that mage would have won. So thank you, Enrik. You saved our lives.”

He examined the stone in his hands, an eyebrow raised in skepticism as if he were silently questioning its power. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep it? I thought it suited you.”

I shook my head. “It’s yours. It belongs to your family.” He shrugged and slipped the necklace back into his pocket, the motion as casual as if he were tossing away a loose coin. A pang of unease twisted in my stomach, and I bit down on my lower lip, trying to keep my emotions from spilling out.

“Are you leaving the clan, Enrik?” I pressed, meeting his gaze with determination. I wanted to break through that cocky facade and get to the truth. The tears threatened to spill from my eyes, and I quickly brushed them away with my sleeve. I would not cry for Enrik, of all people.

“Calm down!” He glanced around, and for a fleeting moment, his mocking demeanor faltered, revealing an unexpected vulnerability. “I didn’t know you cared this much, tailchaser.”

“I don’t! ”

He scoffed, clearly doubting me. “I’m not leaving the clan, alright?”

“Then why are you leaving?” I pressed, my heart pounding as I searched his face for answers.

“There’s something I need to do.” It was clear he was picking and choosing what to share with me. There was an internal battle raging behind his grey eyes. “I’m the last thunder dragon. This is my responsibility.”

I didn’t fully understand what he meant, but I could feel the burden he carried. I wasn’t a dragon; I hadn’t fought in the war like he had. Beneath the layers of snark and sarcasm lay a man grappling with loss and responsibility and who knows what else. At that moment, I realized Enrik was so much more than the playful tormentor I had known; he was a man shaped by his past.

“But, to tell you the truth,” he said, his gaze fixed on the horizon, avoiding my eyes as if the weight of his confession was too much to bear. “It will be good to stay away from you for a while.” My heart plummeted at his words, surprise flooding my senses.

“You’re not like the other omegas we’re used to around here. That’s why I must have confused things,” he continued, his voice tinged with regret. “We both don’t fit in with the others; we’re both rebelling against the rules and we don’t give a fuck about what others think of us. In theory, we should make the perfect match.” He laughed, but it was a bitter sound that cut through the air between us.

“Enrik—” I started to speak, fumbling for the right words, unsure how to even begin explaining that, for me, there could never be anyone but Zephyr. But he cut me off.

“But for you, it was always going to be Zephyr, wasn’t it?” His words hung heavy in the air, and I felt the sharp sting of truth in his voice. “He’s your fated mate. Who would have thought these were real?”

“I’m sorry, Enrik, but I—”

Once again, he didn’t let me finish. He didn’t need to. The truth was already settled between us. I was in love with Zephyr. I was his mate. He was the only one for me. I could never reciprocate Enrik’s feelings, no matter how much I admired his spirit or how deeply I understood the pain of feeling like an outsider.

“I’ll get over it,” he said, the familiar mocking tone returning to his voice, but I could see a flicker of something deeper in his eyes. “I mean, you’re only a human, after all. Nothing to cry about.” I laughed, the sound a mix of relief and pain, and playfully punched him on the arm. For a moment, he feigned injury, acting as if I’d dealt a serious blow. In that brief exchange, I felt a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, we could begin to forge a real friendship.

“Come back soon and be careful,” I said, my voice tinged with concern. “Mages are dangerous…”

“You think I don’t know that already?” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Thanks though. I’ll keep in mind your concern for me.” I smiled at him, surprised by the sudden realization that I would miss him.

Morlav’s booming voice cut through the bustle of the courtyard, commanding everyone’s attention. “Iceclaws, gather up! We’re preparing to move out!” The chatter died down, every head turning toward him, a ripple of energy passing through the ranks.

“I guess it’s time to go,” Enrik said, his voice surprisingly gentle as I glanced back at him. “See ya around, tailchaser.”

I took a step back, my gaze landing on Zephyr just a few paces away. His attention was entirely fixed on Anphyr, who was deep in conversation with Vlastov, Morlav’s son. There was a strange intensity in his expression, a mix of protectiveness and something darker, as if he were weighing every word exchanged between them.

I approached him, my brow furrowing in confusion as I watched Vlastov gently take Anphyr’s left hand in his, his fingers brushing over her skin before sliding a ring onto her finger. The meaning of the gesture hit me all at once, my heart skipping a beat.

“What the hell is going on?” I blurted out, my voice rising in disbelief as my eyes flicked from Vlastov to Anphyr, and then back again. “Is this some sort of—” My words faltered as I turned to Zephyr, expecting him to share my shock. But he sighed, his expression unreadable, as if he had already seen this coming.

Oh.

The memory of Anphyr’s sad face telling me that her life wasn’t her own came back to me.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene unfolding before me, my mind reeling in disbelief. Anphyr, standing there with the ring now on her finger, accepted it without hesitation, and the dragons around us broke into applause. Anphyr was bound by a blood contract before she was even born. Anphyr who had no say in who her husband would be.

“Him?” The words slipped out before I could stop them, my voice thick with disbelief and barely-contained judgment.

Zephyr’s gaze softened, but he pressed his lips into a tight line. “There’s nothing I can do about it,” he murmured, his tone low, as if he was trying to keep the heavy tension from spilling out between us.

I shook my head, frustration and confusion swirling inside me like a storm. “They barely spoke to each other!” The words spilled from me, a desperate need for understanding driving me to voice the chaos in my head. “And what about Kislav?”

Zephyr’s brow furrowed, his confusion clear. “What about Kislav?” His voice held no understanding, no realization.

Oh.

He didn’t know.

Had I imagined it all? The stolen looks? The way their foreheads had touched so tenderly, the undeniable proximity between them? I began scanning the crowd, my heart beating a little too fast as I searched for Kislav. I realized he wasn’t standing close to Zephyr, that he wasn’t right there beside him as he always was.

And then I found him, standing far from the crowd, away from the celebration, like he was trying to disappear into the shadows. His arms were crossed, but there was nothing casual about it, his stance was tense. No. The moment my eyes met his, I knew it wasn’t just in my head. The expression on his face was unmistakable: a deep, raw pain that cut through everything else. It was the look of someone who had just lost something irreplaceable. Like a dragon watching its hoard of gold being stolen by an orc. There was no mistaking the emptiness in his eyes, the quiet devastation in the way his shoulders slumped. He wasn’t just hurting; he was broken.

He had fallen for someone who couldn’t be his.

His eyes met mine, and I smiled sadly at him, a silent gesture that acknowledged his pain, before turning back to Zephyr. There was a reason Kislav wasn’t standing closer to us right now, a quiet understanding that he needed his space. His distance was his way of protecting something fragile within him, something he wasn’t ready to share.

We stood there, watching as the Iceclaws began to shift into their dragon forms, filling the sky with their shades of blue and white on their scales sparkling like ice and snow under the sun. Enrik was the last to shift, and once again, I was taken aback by the striking difference in his form.

His dragon was magnificent, its golden horns glistening with lightning energy that danced across the air, lighting up the sky for a brief moment before fading into a calm, powerful presence.

We watched as they disappeared into the sky. The silence that settled around me felt strange, almost empty. After the intense emotions of the past few days, that quietness felt weird.

I stole a glance at Zephyr, feeling for him through our bond, knowing that he probably felt the same. Without thinking, I slid my arm through his, drawing closer to him. His gaze flickered down at me while I gave him a playful smile, trying to lighten the mood as I leaned in just a little.

“So,” I said with a teasing tone, “when are you going to give me my money?”

Zephyr’s eyes narrowed slightly, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips as he looked down at me. “Is that all you’re after?” he asked, his voice low, yet there was a teasing warmth behind it.

I shrugged, letting my smile widen. “Probably never, right? With the whole rebuilding the village thing on your plate… Gu ess I can forget about my payment, huh?”

Before I could even finish my sentence, Zephyr pulled me to him, his lips finding mine in a kiss that was quick but full of warmth and fire. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine, his breath warm against my skin.

“Where’s the heir you agreed to give me, Sabrina?” His words were teasing, but there was an undeniable challenge in them, a playful warning.

“Well, you know, I’ve been a little busy with the whole ‘fighting the evil mage and saving the village’ thing,” I said with a playful grin, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling myself closer. I brushed my lips against his, letting the soft kiss linger as I whispered, “But I suppose we could head back to our room and really get to work on that.”

Zephyr’s eyes darkened, the teasing smirk slipping from his lips as he leaned into the kiss, his hands tightening around my waist. He held me for a beat, as if savoring the moment before pulling back just enough to look me in the eye.

“You always know how to distract me.” he murmured, his voice a low rasp.

I chuckled softly, my fingers tracing the line of his jaw. “Maybe that’s the point of having a fated mate.” Without another word, he swept me off my feet, effortlessly lifting me into his arms, and I couldn’t help but laugh loudly in surprise.

“Let’s get working on that heir then, my mate,” he said with a devilish grin, his lips brushing against my ear as he carried me back to the fortress. The world around us became a blur and we paid no mind to the giggles coming from the people who saw us. All that mattered in this moment was the two of us.

End of Book 1

The Dragons of Earis series continues with Kislav and Anphyr in Book 2: Bound by Frost and Fate!