Page 46 of Born of Blood and Thorns

"Fuck," I groaned, convinced that arm was damned to the seven levels of hell.

I scrambled to my feet, sprinting in blind panic as the enraged beast wheeled back around. Its fiery breath scorched the ground, the inferno licking at my heels. At the last second, I dove behind a crumbling wall, cowering as flames engulfed the structure above me.

When I finally risked peering out, the night sky was empty. The dragon had vanished as quickly as it had turned on me. With staggering steps, I limped back inside, despair threatening to swallow me whole.

As I collapsed into bed, the significance of the reddened moon mocked me. The curse was building toward its brutal end. And this time, I feared none of us would survive the coming storm.

CHAPTER 22

Bella

There was something in the air. Not the stillness of earlier or the changes that seemed to be burning into the stagnation of this cursed land and people… No, this was different. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake the feeling.

"You are not keeping your stance properly," Lore grunted at me as I faced him, sword in hand.

"My stance is good enough to knock you on your ass," I muttered low, but I knew he heard me anyway as a smirk stretched across his face.

"You need to take this seriously."

"Okay, I'm going to seriously knock you on your ass." I advanced on him, swinging my sword high—too high. I realized too late I made a liar out of myself and knocked myself on my own ass.

I huffed, blowing my loose strands of hair out of my face, and lay in the dirt for a few moments longer than necessary. Today, I'd decided to broach the subject of the changes with Lore. Things had been odd between us.

There was definite tension, and a few times, we'd come so close to kissing, but each time, he pulled back as if he was doing everything to put me at arm's length. It was driving me crazy.

His hands were on me again, and my mind was going in every direction but what I was supposed to do. I admitted that my heart seemed to speed up, and my stomach fluttered when he was near. Perhaps it wasn't just mind-blowing passion between us. I enjoyed his hands on me, even in these simple moments. I felt my hand touching his lightly as my breath hitched.

Lore stared at me, lifting an eyebrow as if warning me to focus. But as much as he tried to hide it, I saw how much I affected him, too. His eyes dilated and flashed crimson and back as heat warmed the liquid sky blue in his gaze. His lips parted as if he was remembering the feel of his lips.

He stepped back and, with a groan, ran his hands through his dark auburn hair. "You will be the death of me, woman."

I wasn't going to deny I wanted him. That when I wasn't around him, I thought about him. That at night, when I could hear his dragon in the sky, I wished it was him and his dragon touching me and moving inside of me.

Only I'd not seen his dragon flashing in his eyes since that one day and just now. Now, it seemed like the changes were taking his dragon and him further away from me.

I had stayed away from him, but it had been hard. The longer I stayed away and deciphered the emotions that were plaguing me, I realized that my feelings for him were more than just lust.

The sun beat down on us as we circled each other, swords raised. Lore's eyes were steeled, his jaw set in determination as he prepared for my next attack. I knew I should focus, but my thoughts drifted to the strange tension brewing between us.

His hot and cold attitude was maddening. One moment, we were locked in passionate embraces, and the next, he pushed me away. Since he realized that his dragon was drawn to me, he had withdrawn, fighting the inexplicable pull between us. I longed to break through the walls he had erected, to confront him about the unspoken emotions simmering beneath the surface. The proud jut of his chin warned me he would rebuff any vulnerability.

With a cry of frustration, I charged, swinging my sword with wild abandon. Lore deflected it easily, quirking one arrogant brow.

"You'll have to do better than that," he taunted.

His flippant tone ignited my temper. I struck repeatedly, venting my conflicted feelings with each furious blow. Lore matched me strike for strike, his eyes alight with exhilaration. Our deadly dance stretched as sweat slicked our skin under the relentless sun. Still, neither could gain an advantage over the other. As we slammed together, breastplate to breastplate, the air between us crackled with sparks.

Lore's eyes smoldered, his lips parted as he panted raggedly. This close, his earthy scent enveloped me, conjuring memories of our passionate encounter weeks before. Unbidden, my gaze dropped to his mouth, and a devastating yearning unfurled within me.

With a growl, Lore wrenched me against him, his sword clattering to the stones. One hand grasped my neck, and the other snaked around my waist.

"Why must you tempt me so?" he rasped, his eyes tormented.

My heart thundered. "I could ask the same of you," I whispered. "One moment you pull me close, the next you shut me out."

Lore's jaw clenched, conflict raging in his stormy eyes. With a curse, he crushed his mouth to mine. The kiss seared through me like wild and consuming dragon fire. I melted into him, returning his fevered passion measure for measure.

When we finally broke apart, gasping, the yearning inside me had transformed into a bittersweet ache. No matter how Lore tried to resist, we were inexorably bound, two halves of one fractured soul.

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