Page 39 of Born of Blood and Thorns

I’d blamed the entire vampire kingdom, and I had given them their war. I had become their nightmare.

I walked over to the balcony doors and out to look across the land, which was so different from what it used to be. When Lara had still been alive, there had been laughter and love here. My parents and I had lost a part of our souls when she’d left this world. Our love for her had made us lash out, and we’d still suffered the consequences.

When the war had come, I had done unspeakable things. I’d lost my way in my anger, desire for retribution, and vengeance. I’d led our troops to war, and we’d killed without abandon. My men had followed orders without question. The generals had seen any one of the moon clans as a threat, young, old, innocent. It hadn't mattered. We had eradicated any and all in our path. I had been a monster and a monster I would remain.

When Lara had died, a hole had been torn into my heart, leaving a gaping abyss that I thought would never heal. It would only continue to shrivel and die in the hurt that remained where she had once been. Losing my little sister had broken me, leaving an endless void in my heart. "Lara," I whispered into the dark corners of the dusty room.

Yet, what we had done and had become was the opposite of what Lara had believed. Lara had wanted to bring peace to the clans, tear down the lines, and make us all one people. I’d believed her secret love for the vampire queen had made her see the world this way.

With a sigh, I closed the balcony doors and jumped to the ground below, waiting for dusk to turn on this cursed land. With one last sad look up to her room, I said goodbye. "You were right. You were always right, little sister."

For centuries, I'd been severed from my dragon, our bond shattered by the moon goddess's bitter curse. Once, we had been two parts of one whole. Now, a jagged chasm divided us. I had been condemned to walk this earth alone, my soul torn asunder.

In my darkest moments, I called out with my mind, striving to bridge the gap between us. Only silence responded, hollow and endless. The dragon's absence haunted me, an aching void I could not fill.

At times, I feared my humanity was slowly slipping away, the man I once had been fading into shadow. Rage came quicker, and coldness seeped into my heart. The dragon had tempered these impulses, balancing the extremes of my nature. Without our connection, I was adrift.

Now, this girl—this Bella—had changed everything. For the first time in centuries, I felt the dragon stir, drawn by her presence. The possibility of reforging our bond teased me, offering salvation.

Perhaps the curse could be broken through her, and I could be made whole once more. Or she might be the key to my utter ruin, my final fall into darkness. I knew not which path awaited.

I had to find her. This half-vampire temptress called to both man and dragon. She might be my only chance to salvage what remained of my humanity before it was consumed forever. I clung to this fragile hope, pushing back against the shadows. I had to believe she would lead me back into the light for both our sakes.

Even if it turned out she was the key to breaking this curse, then I would have to sacrifice more than I was willing to give. In the end, my humanity would be lost in the same way.

Yet every time I thought back to her, what it felt like to be with her, to feel her, and to touch her, it was both a comfort and a deep-seated fear that gripped my insides. I felt things I'd never felt before when I was around her. Perhaps even emotions that I never could feel until now.

But I could never tell her that.

In her presence, it felt as if I stood too close to the sun, like my dragon's fire brushed over my skin like a warm kiss, touching but never burning. A bittersweet feeling in the back of my mouth made me yearn for more than I deserved. I was in so much trouble.

As my thoughts wandered to every moment in her presence, the way I felt pulled toward her as if stuck in her gravitational pull, I knew one day I'd fly too close and burn from her intensity. My dragon had claimed her and knew.

I knew what that meant.

She had finally come.

CHAPTER 19

Bella

Ifound Lore in the armory, sharpening a blade with smooth, practiced strokes. As I entered, the metal rasp on stone grated in my ears, bracing for the coming battle. He glanced up, pale eyes frosty.

"We need to talk." I crossed my arms, feet planted. I was angry that he gave me a morning of pleasure and then left me cold, furious, and used.

Lore's lip curled derisively. "I have nothing to say to you."

I wanted to slam my fist in his pretty face. He was a tittering seesaw of hot and cold. One moment, he was friendly; the next, he was angry and cruel. It was making me dizzy.

"Well, I have plenty to say to you," I shot back. "Like why you refuse to tell me about this curse."

He slammed the sword down. "It's not your concern," he repeated like one of those stupid birds from a traveling performer, repeating the same damn nonsense.

My blood boiled in my veins. "The hell it isn't!" I advanced on him. "I didn't ask to get dragged here by your dragon. I'm stuck in this gods’ forsaken castle because of you and your curse. I deserve answers." I stilled and realized my mistake.

Lore's gaze turned molten with anger. "You think I want my dragon to do whatever he wants at night without my knowledge? Do you think I want to be cut off from him all this time?" He growled as he stalked forward, his hands clenching into tight fists.

"What do you mean you're cut off from your dragon?" I demanded, planting my feet as I tilted my head to glare at him. I refused to back down or let him scare me.

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