Page 23 of Fated by Fire (Dragonblood Dynasty #1)

Chapter 23

E lena

I drop my duffel bag onto the worn wooden floor of the cabin, the thud echoing in the quiet space. The place is rustic—a one-room cabin with a small kitchenette, a stone fireplace, and a bed tucked into the corner.

The place is rustic and cozy, if not a little rough around the edges. I run a hand over the faded quilt on the bed, absently tracing the intricate patterns. This is my safe house now, at least according to Caleb. Hidden away from the Syndicate, from dragons, from a world I didn’t know existed until a few days ago.

“Home sweet home,” I say beneath my breath as I wander around the room, pushing the drapes aside and peering out the windows. There’s not much to see outside apart from rock faces and towering pines beyond where I’ve parked my Jeep alongside the cabin. A far cry from the bright lights I’m accustomed to, but maybe that’s a good thing.

I sink onto the edge of the bed, pulling out my laptop. The glow of the screen illuminates the dim room as I connect to the spotty Wi-Fi Caleb somehow set up out here. Might as well put my investigator skills to work. If I’m going to be holed up in this cottage, I need answers.

First up: The Syndicate. I type the name into the search bar, hitting enter with a tap that’s a little too forceful. Results fill the screen—music groups, business jargon, a video game clan. Nothing remotely related to a secret society of dragons hell-bent on… whatever it is they’re hell-bent on. I try pairing it with “dragons,” “mythology,” “Craven Industries,” but all I get are fantasy novels and conspiracy theory forums.

“Hello, Mara’s world,” I murmur. Frustrated, I shift gears. “Blackthorn Consulting.” There’s still no website, but a Facebook page loads—an unpopulated profile with a corporate logo and a generic mission statement about “innovative solutions for modern businesses.” No staff listings, no contact information beyond an email address. It’s a dead end, a front. I should’ve expected as much.

With a sigh, I lean back and rub my eyes. My world has turned upside down, and the internet—my usual ally—isn’t cooperating.

Fine. Let’s embrace the crazy.

I start researching dragons. Legends, myths, historical accounts. There’s an overwhelming amount of information, but it’s all wrapped up in folklore and fantasy. Dragons guarding treasure, terrifying villages, being slain by valiant knights. None of it matches the sleek, powerful creature that rescued me from Blackthorn’s clutches. The creature that is, impossibly, Caleb.

I glance at the door, half expecting him to walk in, all brooding intensity and guarded eyes. But he’s gone, off to… I don’t even know. Fight rogue dragons? Negotiate with clan elders? The fact that this is my life now is almost laughable.

I close the laptop, setting it aside. Exhaustion seeps into my bones, a heavy weight that settles over me. I didn’t realize how tired I was until this moment. Kicking off my boots, I crawl under the quilt, its fabric soft against my skin. The cabin is quiet, the only sounds the faint rustling of leaves outside and the distant call of night birds.

Sleep pulls at me, and I don’t resist.

I’m standing in a meadow bathed in golden light. Wildflowers stretch as far as the eye can see, their vibrant colors swaying gently in the breeze. Ahead, I see her—my mother. She turns to me, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, gray eyes just like mine lighting up with a warm smile.

“Mom?” I call out, my voice echoing unnaturally.

“Elena,” she says softly, beckoning me forward. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

I move toward her, but the distance between us doesn’t close. No matter how fast I run, she’s always just out of reach.

Suddenly, the sky darkens. The sun fades, swallowed by swirling clouds. The meadow withers, flowers turning to ash under my feet. Fear grips my heart.

A new figure emerges beside my mother—a woman who could be her twin, though she’s dressed in flowing robes that belong to another era. Lyria. I know her name without being told.

“They’re coming,” Lyria whispers, her eyes filled with sorrow. “You must be strong.”

Before I can ask what she means, shadows descend upon them—dark, serpentine shapes with gleaming scales and razor-sharp teeth. Dragons. But these aren’t like Caleb. They’re menacing, eyes burning with malice.

“Run!” my mother screams.

I try to reach them, but the ground crumbles beneath me. I fall into darkness, their screams echoing around me. The Heartstone appears then, hovering before me—a crystal pulsating with a fierce red light. It beats like a heart, each pulse sending out waves of energy that make my skin prickle.

The dragons turn their attention to the Heartstone, eyes hungry. Lyria and my mother stand defiantly before it, their hands raised as if casting a protective barrier.

“You must protect it,” they say in unison, their voices blending together.

The dragons attack, and just as claws and teeth tear into them, I wake up.

I bolt upright, a cold sweat clinging to my skin, heart hammering against my ribs. The room is dark, shadows stretching across the walls. It takes a moment to remember where I am—the cottage, the safety Caleb promised.

I’m shaking when I swing my feet from the bed and stumble across the room to the kitchenette for a glass of water. I’ve barely swallowed a mouthful when the front door swings open.

I shriek, dropping the glass. It bounces on the wooden floorboards, water splashing everywhere.

“Fuck. You’re okay!” Caleb is standing near the door, his expression unreadable in the dim light.

“Dammit, Caleb! You scared the shit out of me.”

He looks at me, frowning. “You’re sure you’re okay? I thought—” He stops, looking unconvinced. His hand moves to his chest. I realize that my own palm is pressed over my left breast, where my heart is beating a frantic rhythm.

“I’m fine. Seriously,” I reassure him. “Just…”

“A bad dream?” he says softly.

I nod, stepping over the splashed water and heading back to the bed. My legs are shaking. “Yes. Nothing to panic about.”

He moves closer, the floorboards creaking under his weight. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I hesitate, then shake my head. “Just… memories. And some weird stuff.” I look up at him. “Did you find out anything?”

“A few things.” He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a black velvet pouch. “But first, I have something to show you.”

“What’s that?” I ask, though I already know.

He sits on the edge of the bed. “I thought it might help you understand your heritage.”

“My heritage?” I snort. “You mean the whole witch-bloodline thing?”

Instead of answering, he opens the pouch and carefully slides out the glowing red crystal I saw in the vault. It catches the faint light, glimmering with that same otherworldly pulse.

My breath hikes. “Is that…?”

“The Heartstone,” he confirms.

He holds it out to me, the crystal resting in his palm. Its light casts shifting patterns across his skin, illuminating the serious set of his features.

I reach out, hesitant, my fingers trembling as they near the crystal’s surface. “Are you sure about this?”

“Trust me.”

The moment my skin touches the stone, everything changes. It’s not just light—it’s like being struck by lightning while drowning in fire. Every nerve ending ignites, and I hear myself scream, but the sound is lost in the roar that fills my head.

And then I feel him.

Caleb’s presence floods my consciousness—not just his physical form beside me, but something deeper, more instinctive. His heartbeat thunders through my body as if it’s my own, his breath matching mine in perfect time. The sensation is overwhelming, intimate in a way that makes my skin flush and my pulse race.

But before I can process this strange connection, other images flash through my mind: My mother, standing in a dark room, her hand pressed against something that pulses with familiar red light. Her voice, though I can’t make out the words, urgent and afraid. Her sitting at our old kitchen table, writing frantically in her journal. Blood on stone…

The vision shifts, and now she’s looking directly at me, her eyes full of warning. Her lips move, forming words I somehow understand: “Don’t tell them everything. Not yet.”

I snatch my hand away. “What the hell was that?” I demand, scrambling back. “What did you do?”

“I… I didn’t expect that,” he admits, looking as shaken as I feel. “The stone has never reacted this way before.”

“So what, I’m your guinea pig?” I wrap my arms around myself, trying to stop shaking. “Just another experiment in your dragon drama?”

“No, Elena, it’s not like that.” He reaches for me, then thinks better of it. “I wouldn’t put you in danger.”

“Really? Because from where I’m standing, that’s exactly what you did.” But even as I say it, I can feel that new awareness of him humming under my skin, making it hard to focus.

“I thought it would help,” he says quietly. “I didn’t know it would… connect us like that.”

“Connect us?” I rake my fingers through my hair. “What does that even mean?”

He opens his mouth to respond, then closes it again. For the first time since I’ve known him, Caleb Craven looks uncertain.

“Get some rest,” he says finally as he gets up. “I’ll check the perimeter before I leave.” He moves toward me, surprising me when he stoops to brush his lips over my forehead. “I wish I could stay,” he says. “But I have to get this back to the vault.”

“It’s fine.” I wave a hand. “I’m good here.”

“You sure?” His brow furrows.

“Hundred percent. Go do whatever dragony stuff you have to do.”

He looks at me for a moment before giving a curt nod. “I won’t be long,” he says, then heads out the door.

I wait until his footsteps fade before diving for my bag, pulling out my mother’s journal with trembling hands. Whatever I just experienced—both with the Heartstone and with Caleb—I need answers. And something tells me they’re hidden in these pages.

But as I settle onto the bed, journal in hand, I can’t shake the lingering sensation of Caleb’s presence, like an echo in my blood. The Heartstone might have shown me visions of my mother, but it did something else too—something that has my heart racing every time I think of him.

What the hell did that crystal do to me?