Page 9 of Prince of Blaze and Embers (Emberveil Empire #1)

T he winds bit hard at my face. Brimstone filled my nostrils and stained my hair, which whipped violently at my shoulders. The first glimpse of moonlight beamed directly ahead as the town of Bramblebash turned into a speck on the horizon behind.

I’d never felt so… free.

Everywhere was at my fingertips, and the lands of Allovan made my breath catch in my throat.

It was so vast. So wonderfully, beautifully, breathtakingly vast. Snow-capped mountains, rich rivers that snaked through plains and forests, all beneath my feet, and beneath the dragon that carried me through the sky.

Everything about it made me feel the most alive I’d ever felt.

The prince behind me sat stoically, like a deep-rooted tree.

And as the tight grip of his arm went from holding me around the top of my waist, just under my breasts, dropping to the bottom of my stomach, I felt a rush of excitement throughout my entire body.

The way he pulled me into him made me feel enchantingly vulnerable.

I licked my lips subconsciously, not wanting him to see.

I belonged to him now, and as much as I hated it, I had to admit to myself that being owned by a strong prince was a tall step up from the miserable prick back down there in the forge.

No more mopping in summer heat, scrubbing dishes for endless hours, being on my knees polishing hard-to-reach armor sets, and no more greasy-fingered men running their fingers through my hair.

God, I hated that more than I hated those squeaky rodents that came out at night and skittered across my pillowcase. Ugh, disgusting vile men they were!

I wanted to ask where we were going, where he was taking me, but I didn’t want the moment to end.

I didn’t want to think about landing somewhere, or being taken to the infamous castle of Raven’s Bane, erected upon the monumental mountain—Calcaedus, the grandest peak of all Allovan, standing one hundred times taller than any other mountain peak on the continent.

I’d only seen it in my dreams, but I imagined it to be the most inspiring, and at the same time—intimidating sight in all the world.

The Blaze Prince cocked the reins to the side suddenly, causing Krakos’ right wing to drop, and we tore through the sky at breakneck speeds.

The moonlight glowed pale heavenly light as the sun faded under the far western edge of Allovan.

Krakos pulled his wings in tight as we dove through the thick, dark clouds.

The moist smell of the clouds filled my nostrils, and I felt my stomach in my throat as we dropped, falling at the most thrilling speed I could have ever imagined.

As we dove, my eyes glossed over from the biting winds, and my fingertips dug into the prince. The smell of the crisp air filled my nostrils, mixed with the intoxicating aroma of dragonfire. We burst through pillowy clouds like they belonged to us.

I couldn’t help it—the thrilling scream flew from my mouth as I hollered in excitement.

My scream barely hit my ears, as the rushing winds drowned out everything.

My hands gripped the saddle’s horn as tightly as they could, pulling myself into the dragon, as the prince pulled me in tightly to him.

His chin inched over my shoulder, and his helmeted face was right next to mine.

His brilliant eyes made my neck heat and my toes tingle.

But there was something else that drew every morsel of my attention, something firm pressed into my back, something thick and hard above my belt.

Could it be? He couldn’t be… No, I’m certain of it… He’s getting hard, pulling me into it.

Oh my god… he’s as hard as iron back there.

His eyes didn’t show it, and by the way he whipped the dragon’s reins, it didn’t slow his drive to send Krakos careening through the pillowy, gray clouds.

My legs straddled the saddle, my fingernails scratched at the horn, and I bit the side of my lip. His long black hair tickled the side of my neck, as I felt his raw power. The prince was a born warrior; fearless. Odiun knows how powerful he was, and I was in his arms.

By the god, I never even saw his face, but I wanted him.

I wanted him to take my chin in his fingers, turn my head, remove that devilishly crafted mask, and put his lips onto mine.

Fuck, I didn’t even know what he looked like, but that rock-hard cock digging into my back was driving me fucking insane.

It had been a year since I last was with a man, and I described that best to Bella as a man convulsing on top of me until he lay in a panting, sweaty mess.

But this man, the prince, this legendary soldier, this powerhouse—I’d never felt so vulnerable, so susceptible, so enthralled. And damn, that cock felt huge…

Descending swiftly through the clouds in the magical moonlight, I felt as if we were drifting toward the top of a mountain just below us.

It was the highest peak around, with the rest of the mountain range cresting down on two sides.

The dragon’s wings spread wide to slow our descent.

And all the while, even when Krakos’ feet touched the rocky ground, that cock still dug into my back.

Even when the prince released his grip on me, sliding his arm out from around my stomach, I was in no hurry to get down from the saddle, and that oh-so-amazing feeling.

“You can get down now,” he grumbled. But I could hear something else in his voice, something animalistic, something barbaric.

There was a wild animal inside him, most definitely caused down in his pants, and if he would’ve asked, I would’ve done almost anything he asked me to.

Krakos nuzzled against the prince as we both got off.

The great black dragon groaned as the prince petted its massive head.

Their bond is amazing… if that dragon trusts him… maybe there’s something good about him…

What the hell is wrong with you, Ash? You don’t even know him. He may be as evil as Gigas, Lord of the Underworld. I had just one time where the sex wasn’t paid for, and I was treated like a woman, not a piece of meat…

“Ash!” Bella ran to me, and shaking off the strong urges filling my body and hips, I leaped down from the huge black dragon.

Krakos’ neck arched and he glared at the two of us as we embraced.

His devilish, serpentine, dark slits of pupils in his fiery eyes glared at us curiously, and I glared right back.

“You all right?” I asked, releasing our embrace.

She nodded. “Better than all right.” She let out a tremendous breath from deep in her lungs. “That was incredible. I’ll never forget that as long as I live.” She sighed deeply and brushed back the hair that was sweat-stuck to her brow.

Suddenly, I realized the two soldiers had us surrounded. They stood on both sides of Bella and me—towering over—I should say.

“Wh-what are we doing here?” I tried hard to keep from fidgeting with my hands, so I shoved them into my pockets .

The rider in copper seemed to be waiting for the prince to be the one to respond.

“We’ll make camp here tonight,” the prince pressed both hands to the sides of his sharp, angled helmet that made him look like a dark wolf god—or demon, rather. As he lifted the helmet up, I had to force my teeth to clench, to avoid my jaw hitting the ground.

As he lifted his helmet off, and his long dark hair folded down to his shoulders like silk drapes, I couldn’t tear my gaze off him.

Oh my god. He’s fucking gorgeous…

My knees buckled as I remembered his grip around my waist as I almost orgasmed flying on the back of that magnificent dragon.

His face was chiseled like a stone statue.

Cleanly shaven, a firm jaw that could chip marble, and lips that pulled at the strings of mine, the prince was as handsome as any man from any story I’d ever heard.

As his blue eyes pierced through me, sending unbelievably powerful waves rushing through me, every desire sparked aflame in me, and I wanted him to touch me again.

I craved—hell, begged—for him to touch any part of me again.

Instead, he stood there with a glare frosted with blizzard snow.

“We’ll camp here until I decide what to do with you tomorrow.” He propped his helmet under his arm, as the rider in copper went to the prince’s side.

Bella whispered, “I don’t think I’d rather be stuck with any two other men in the world right now…”

I just nodded, my lips finally separated, hot breath squeezing out.

“I hope that feeling ends up being right,” I whispered back. “Because we are stuck with them, at least for now…”

The rider in copper went off, striding out onto the mountaintop .

We were in a flat expanse near the very top of the mountain, just above the tree line, which the rider in copper walked down toward.

The prince took down a large bag from his dragon, unbuckling it.

I had to fight hard to not completely stare at him as he did so.

He took the pack, walked over, and handed it to me, which I took, and it was far heavier-looking than I thought.

It nearly pulled me down forward, and the prince’s perfect lips curved to a smirk, only just slightly, but enough for me to see some playfulness in there.

God help me, he’s perfect.

“There are blankets in there. Cover yourselves up. We’ll have a fire going shortly.”

My feet hit the ground, and my mind whirled in so many directions. The butterflies that fluttered in my stomach darted away. The majesty and thrill of freedom from being upon the dragon’s back high in the clouds flushed from me. New thoughts flooded my brain like the dam being burst wide open.

First, the prince had to think about what to do with us? He didn’t know? There we were on the top of a giant mountain, with no plan? I was sure he was taking us to Raven’s Bane Castle, and to the Blaze Queen. If we weren’t going there, then where?

Second, and with every passing second, the sensation and curiosity inside me compounded to an anxious thrill, and overwhelming sense of dread.

The magic that poured out of me, and was somewhere deep inside, was what caused all this mess.

It slumbered so deeply I couldn’t feel a thing.

I never had any hint that anything was different about me until I saw that dragon coming down from the sky ready to kill everything within the reach of its awful flames.

What was it? Where did it come from? And why in the Infernal Depths was it in me?

There was never anything special about me. Hell, that’s all I’d pretty much heard since I was born. Even the way people looked at me spoke volumes about how they viewed me. The snarls, the eye rolls, lips curling down. It all spelled that I was lower than low.

I was meant to scrub, not shine.

“What’s wrong?” Bella pinched my elbow skin. Her voice was brave, showing no fear of those around the forge listening in anymore. Actually, there wasn’t anyone for miles, and I craved that feeling—the feeling of freedom.

I sighed, but she spoke again before I had the chance to.

“At least we’re together. We can get through this, as long as we have each other. I know that glowing thing on your neck changed everything. But we can figure it out. We can learn what it was and maybe even how to use it again! There’s always hope!”

That’s Bella… always looking for the sweet center to the sourest fruit.

“Yeah,” was all I managed to say.

“But for now…” she took me in a huge hug, and spun me to stand before her. “Just burn that image into your brain.”

Before us were the two dragons, still standing on their tree trunk legs, muscle rippling through them behind their thick scales.

Smoke smoldered out of their black nostrils, steaming up and into the crisp mountain winds.

The moonlight glistened off their massive bodies and wings like the same light that lit the ocean waves they saw through their barred windows in Bramblebash.

Beyond, the world was cast under a dark veil of night.

The clouds cast long shadows that crawled along the world below.

And then there were the stars. Bella came to my side and we both marveled at the infinite, pinpricked sky with millions of lights beaming in the heavens.

A deep inhale took the night air into my lungs, the thin air making the hairs on my head stiffen. That breathtaking view of the dragons and the world below would stay in my memory forever .

No matter what happened, at least I didn’t die with fresh whip marks on my back, buried in a shallow grave or cast out to sea with chains strapped to my ankles, decomposing slowly with my flesh being nibbled away until there was nothing left.

At least I had that moment, and no one could ever take that away from me.