Page 143 of Oath of Revenge

The scent of Scarlet and the feel of her gentle touch made his nausea dissipate, and he breathed deeply. Here was another woman he never wanted to leave or disappoint. She’d saved them all today, with her plan with the chandeliers.

The dragon snorted, green smoke billowing. Wulfric looked up at the stars above, constant and clear. It’d been a long time since he’d seen stars like this. The trees in the forest hid so much.

Scarlet ignored Knox and grabbed Wulfric’s hand where it lay strapped to the litter. “And you, wolfie. You better be fully healed by the time I get there tomorrow.”

He tightened his grip on her hand, reluctant to let go. The soft pressure of her touch against his bruised and battered skin brought a sense of calm to his racing thoughts. Time spent in bed just holding her, basking in the warmth of their love, was all he craved in this moment. Holding her hand was a simple yet powerful display of affection that he desperately needed.

With her by his side, he knew he could overcome any challenge that came his way, but he still didn’t know if she loved him too, if she wanted to live with him as a Growler Luna... or if she wanted to continue living as a Hunter. He was loath to let her go, because every time they separated, it seemed like something bad happened.

“I’ll do my best to heal, but my entire world is going to be on two horses in the woods. I’m not going to sleep a wink from worry.”

She scoffed. “I was born in those woods. We’ll be fine. It won’t be the first time I’ve ridden through the woods with royalty, but at least we won’t have Growlers nipping our heels this time.”

He arched a brow, and she grinned. “A story for another time. I still have the talkie, and Knox has one at Hartsgrove. I’ll call if I get in any major trouble, alright? I’ll see you tomorrow, wolfie.”

He wanted to tell her how much he loved her. It was on the tip of his tongue. He opened his mouth, but she kissed him instead. It was soft, sweet, and over way too soon. She pulled back, shadows hiding her expression but not her smirking lips.

She stepped toward the ballroom door, and the dragon launched into the air. Wulfric’s stomach swirled and dipped with every beat of the wings.

Fuck, he had to focus on not throwing up and making a fool of himself on Scarlet’s brother.

Chapter 48

Scarlet and Bella’s ride to Hartsgrove was mostly uneventful. Bella had gotten to know the Hunter better over the past two days. In this form, she hadn’t needed sleep, so she’d stared into the fire while Scarlet had slept. She’d finally left the castle, but what waited for her at the dragon’s lair? She’d been so incredibly alone these past few months.

Her pocket jiggled, and she took out Gus and Jaq. She’d cleaned them as best she could in a stream, bending them back to mostly normal with the help of magic. They hopped around the firepit, chattering in that strange language.

Bella listened with half an ear, but then the fire flared with magic. The utensils hopped back to her, hiding behind her skirts as images flickered in the smoke.

She gasped, her hands covering her mouth. The stories from school told of messages from the gods in smoke, but she’d never met anyone who had experienced it. She gave a silent prayer of thanks to the gods for revealing this to her, then leaned forward to watch.

A giant brown dragon battled several smaller ones, circling a castle surrounded by trees. A woman ran out the front doors, her hands raised as a spear shot down the large dragon. The ground shook, but the image in the flames spun to the side of the building.

Another dragon, this one white and silver, snapped at a smaller one. The rider on its back jerked on the reins, and the smaller dragon screamed. The rider was thrown through a ground-floor window, crashing into the glass. The dragon roared and magic swirled as he shifted into a half-human version.

Bella’s stomach twisted. He looked similar to her body now, the one the wizard had stolen. On two legs, he tucked his wings around his shoulders like a cape and stalked after the little man, stepping with his clawed feet over the broken glass. His head remained draconic and reminded her of Eirwyn’s mate, Knox. Dragon scales covered him from the tip of his horns, of which there were several, to his toes.

He disappeared into the building, and the smoke image followed them.

It was a sitting room, standard of any noble household. A few chairs around a fireplace, a few couches, a writing desk tucked along a wall. Nothing drew her eye more than the dragon. His black gaze swung around the room.

A burst of light from the opposite side of the room hit the wall beside the dragon. He flinched out of the way and swung to face the man. She couldn’t hear anything, but magic flew back and forth. The dragon jerked from a hit, then threw another ball of white. It splintered the chair, and the man behind it jumped toward the dragon.

The smoke swirled, and Bella leaned forward, gripping her skirts tightly. When it cleared, the dragon was bleeding with each step down a narrow stone staircase. He slammed into a door, and it swung open into darkness.

The dragon held up a glowing hand, the magic flickering. He shook his hand, then it glowed brighter.

Bella’s spine straightened. Gastone had done that, when he’d pushed himself so far and depleted his internal magic reserves. Then he’d died. She held her hand to her mouth as the white dragon stumbled into a dark cave. Stalactites and stalagmites filled it, and he fell into one, crushing it to pieces.

The dragon straightened and kept walking, shifting into his full dragon form with a flare of magic. He reached the center of the room and fell on a pile of junk. His eyes slowly closed and smoke curled from his nostrils. His wings tucked around him, and his mouth moved. Magic swirled around him, the colors wrapping around him like a blanket.

The image faded once more, leaving her staring into the fire like nothing had happened. Normally, she would inspect the fire to see if she could identify the magic that had caused it, see if she could reverse engineer the spell or replicate it.

But her mind remained on the silver and white dragon. When he’d closed his eyes, her stomach had twisted. Her body had revolted, and she’d felt sick. It’d reminded her so much of how she’d felt when Gastone had died.

Who was he? And why had she needed to see this? Was it the work of the wizard? She bit her lip and smoothed her skirts nervously, obsessing over the details until the sky started to lighten.

Scarlet woke, and they broke camp shortly after. Her father’s mate wasn’t a morning person, but Bella was fine with that. Her mind replayed scenes from the dragon’s fight until Scarlet drew them to a halt.

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