Smolder (Crown of Fae #3) - Sharon Ashwood Page 0,97
comforting presence at her side—but he was somewhere behind her. The bird was on a path to intercept her, feathers shedding light as if it were sculpted from flame. This time, though, Fliss saw the fine webwork of shadows encrusting it like ash. That was the poison of the Shades, the mark of magical corruption controlling the eagle’s will.
The gray dragon streaked in, landing a mighty slash of its spiked tail before diving away. The eagle dropped, rolling in the sky to deliver the guard a stab of its beak. Fliss roared in anger, unleashing her own flame. To her dismay, it came out as a mere child’s flicker. She might be in adult danger, but she wasn’t a war dragon yet.
The bird’s head jerked her way, eyes intent, but Telkoram had caught up. Her brother snapped long fangs on its wingtip, pulling it up short. The eagle kicked out with its huge talons, and the fight was on.
Fliss bolted. The knowledge that she was striking out alone welled up like a cold tide, threatening to choke her from the inside. The failing light made it harder to see where she was going—and it made her own pale form visible against an increasingly dark backdrop. The odds were mounting against her.
The eagle screamed, but this time there was no answering roar from the dragons. A second passed, and then another as she waited for their defiant call. When she could stand it no longer, she risked a backward glance. The bird was briefly silhouetted against the rising moon—and coming her way.
None of her dragons were in sight. What had happened?
Fliss had to think fast. She’d made it across the river but she still had a long way to go. There was no way she would make it to the school before the firebird caught her. The only option was to hide.
Fliss dipped toward the treetops, using her small size and agility to dodge between them. It was cover, but not enough. A triumphant cry sounded straight above her. She played the final card she could, and dropped to the ground. Branches whipped her hide, tearing at her wings as she struggled to fold them tight. The noise of her descent was a deafening cacophony of cracking wood that startled the ordinary birds from their sleep and sent them fluttering into the air. Finally, Fliss thudded to the loam-scented earth.
The forest floor was dark, rustling trees blocking out the last of the fading light. Fliss was limp with fatigue, finding just enough strength to shift out of dragon form. Pain swept up her limbs in rippling waves, the sudden feeling of lightness making her dizzy as her body mass melted away in seconds. Her skin itched and burned, then a sudden prickle in her sinuses made her sneeze. At last, she flexed her fingers and toes, adjusting her sense of where she began and ended.
Wings flapped like a whistling tornado, bending the branches above. Fliss rolled to her hands and knees, trembling with hunger and an acute need for sleep. And warmth—she realized with dismay she had no clothes.
None of that mattered if she didn’t find safety. Quickly, she crawled into the shelter of the undergrowth, small enough now to hide from sight. She bowed her head, letting her long, dark hair hide her pale face.
The wingbeats went on and on as the eagle tore at the treetops in frustration, letting out a shrill chirp. Fliss huddled in the bed of ferns until she was sure not a single inch of skin showed. After what felt like a month, the eagle abandoned the hunt, leaving only a single red-tipped feather in its wake. The sudden silence rumbled with retreated thunder. Thankfully, the promised rain never came.
Still, Fliss waited a long time before she stirred—and then she straightened gingerly. The pain in her back remained, reminding her that she’d flown far more than usual. Slowly, she crept from her hiding spot, the soles of her feet tender where they touched the stones and pine needles littering the ground. She half-expected the eagle to return the instant she rose, but it was looking for a dragon, not a girl. Stealth would be her weapon until she could find Telkoram and the school.
Fliss wavered a moment, suddenly unsteady. Now that she wasn’t about to die, there was room for more worries. What had happened to her escort? Her brother? Visions of Telkoram’s grin—the impish one he saved for Fliss—hovered in her imagination. In that picture, his dark eyes met hers, measuring her courage. Was she dragon enough to look after herself?
Tears threatened, pinching the back of her throat, before she swallowed hard and began looking for a path out of the trees. She hadn’t gone a hundred yards before she froze. A large, shaggy wolf stood in her path, studying her as if she were a leg of lamb.
It licked its chops.
Click to read Flicker.
Also by Sharon Ashwood
Crown of Fae Series
Flicker
Shimmer
Shatter
Smolder
Quake
Dark Forgotten Series
Ravenous
Scorched
Unchained
Frostbound
Gifted
Fragile Magic (short story)
Camelot Reborn series
Enchanted Warrior
Enchanted Guardian
Royal Enchantment
Enchanter Redeemed
Horsemen series
Possessed by a Warrior
Possessed by an Immortal
Possessed by a Wolf
Possessed by the Fallen
Dragon Lords novellas
Lord Dragon’s Conquest
Valkyrie’s Conquest
Audiobook
Enchanted Warrior
Corsair’s Cove miniseries
Kiss in the Dark
Secret Seed
Long Road Home
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Sharon Ashwood is a novelist, desk jockey and enthusiast for the weird and spooky. She has an English literature degree but plays with numbers for her living. Interests include insulating the walls with her to-be-read books and building a graveyard diorama over much of her desk. As a vegetarian, she freely admits the whole vampire/werewolf fantasy would never work out, so she writes paranormal romances instead.
Sharon is a winner of the RITA® Award for Paranormal Romance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and is owned by a pair of naughty black cats.
Praise for Sharon Ashwood
Sharon Ashwood is all that is good and right in the paranormal romance genre.
Bitten by Books
Fast paced and captivating… chemistry is immediate and undeniable, and the love scenes are scorching hot.
Publishers Weekly
Multiply the Wow Factor, the Dark Forgotten saga must continue!
Single Titles
This is a splendid way to spend your precious leisure time!
Romantic Times Book Reviews Top Pick!
Copyright © 2021 by Naomi Lester
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to http://www.rowanartistry.com/contact/.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Cover art by The Illustrated Author.
Edited by Cynthia Shepp
Map and Illustration by Zenta Brice
Smolder/ Sharon Ashwood—1st ed.