Page 48 of The Dragon 2

The Goddess above.

The man’s beauty struck her like a slap across the soul. No man in Hareef looked like that. Not the King in all his polished silk. Not the prince with his crystal-cut cheekbones and rehearsed smirks.

This stranger—this impossibility in the dark—looked as if the Goddess herself had carved him with desire in mind.

His jaw was square and cruel, shadowed with the hint of a beard, lips full and curved with wicked secrets. His brows were bold, black, and arched just enough to make him appear half-amused and half-predator.

And those gold eyes made her stomach twist with awe and terror.

He looked like he’d never knelt before anything in his life.

And now he was staringonlyat her—a Lowly that had never been seen by anyone but her parents.

When he finally spoke, his voice was dark and deep, a rolling thunder not from the sky but from the ground itself. "What is your name?"

She blinked and then swallowed. "Y-you are not a Lowly—"

He tilted his head. "A what?"

"A Lowly. The only people that should be on this road."

"There are onlycertainpeople who can be on this road?"

"Y-yes."

He took a half step closer. "Says who?"

"King Bren." She stepped back.

"Ahhh. The king of this burning kingdom. Is he even alive still? His castle is in flames." He pointed off to the right.

She quickly glanced that way.

Far off, a raging inferno hugged the castle. Hundreds of soldiers still battled to put out the flames.

The man lowered his hand. “If I were you, I would not concern myself with a king who could not even protect his own home.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it.

He asked again, softly but firmly, "what is your name?"

She shivered and said the only thing Lowlys were supposed to say when asked. "I am. . .nothing."

He shook his head, slow and sure. "No. You are beautiful. You are enchanting. You are power."

She gasped and stepped back. “Who are you?”

“I am someone who wants to know your name.” Those gold eyes flashed. "How didyouget here?"

"Get where? To this road?"

He frowned. "No. How did you get to this, as you call it. . .this kingdom."

She narrowed her eyes. "I was born here."

"You were not."

She tensed. "I-I was."