by Emma Hamm
She, who could have torn out his throat with her teeth. Who could tear open his belly with her claws. Who could burn him alive with her breath.
She had chosen instead to kiss him with every part of her soul. To love him with her whole heart. To believe in him when no one else had.
Nadir wrapped himself in her like a warm blanket and in turn, shielded her from the world, from decisions, from guilt. He would be the man she wanted him to be. He would take care of her, build her back into the queen he knew she could be, worship her as the goddess she was.
Gods. He would love her as no man had loved a woman before.
33
Epilogue
Camilla
“Where did they go?”
Camilla sighed. “I don’t know, Raheem. We’ve been searching for them for what feels like forever. We cannot find them.”
“They’re two dragons. We can’t simply… lose them.”
“We can if they aren’t changed right now. Two people can easily slip away. It will take some time.”
He slapped his hands down on the table. They’d stationed themselves in the old Beastkin castle. Woodcrest was one of the few places that hadn’t been destroyed by the fire, although the Beastkin had all seemingly scattered to the wind.
A few had remained. Those who stood around the table were the original women from Wildewyn, lacking a few of their most key people.
No one knew what to do now that both Sigrid and Nadir had disappeared. Wildewyn was all searching for the two dragons, some people whispering that the ancient gods of old had finally returned to their homeland. Others, afraid for what that would mean if gods now walked the earth.
According to Raheem, Bymere fared even worse. Without a single person from the advisor council left alive, and a sultan who had disappeared entirely, they were being led by the Alqatara. A group who left little to the imagination and were far more military than what the country was used to.
Raheem ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the roots. “Tahira can only do so much in Bymere before people start to revolt.”
“She has the medicine woman with her, does she not?”
“You mean Eivor? That woman is terrifying people left and right. There’s already a religious faction certain she was sent to destroy them.”
“Good. Then she’s creating enough of a distraction to keep people busy. They’ll worry about her and not where their sultan has run off to. That gives us time.”
“Don’t you understand—”
The doors to their meeting room slammed open. A small Beastkin woman, blonde like a dandelion and nearly as small, burst into the room. Breathing hard, she pressed a hand against her chest. “Matriarch, we found something.”
“Tracks?”
“No, ma’am.” The woman shook her head. “This looks like it was once an ancient home.”
Camilla froze. This was a place where their ancestors had lived? Why hadn’t they known that long ago?
Raheem glanced over at her suddenly paling face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The ancients are a group of people who lived before us. The oldest of the Beastkin and the originals. They know more than what the Beastkin now know. They’re like…”
The other Beastkin woman answered for her. “Gods, sir.”
Camilla didn’t want to wait. She couldn’t handle more gods in this world when her dearest friend had already claimed to be one.
Striding after the girl, they raced through the halls of the keep and down into the cellars. They hadn’t really investigated this place much when they came here. What use did Beastkin have for root cellars?
Now, one of the walls had been knocked down to reveal dulled paint on the other side. The yellow Beastkin pointed through them. “Thought you might want to see that.”
Taking a torch from the wall, Camilla brandished it up at the paintings only to gasp in fear.
“What is it?” Raheem asked, out of breath from running after them.
“The end,” Camilla replied.
She held the torch up, illuminating the prophecy hidden behind the wall.
Two dragons flew up into the sky. One was white as snow, the other red as blood. The male dragon, for it had to be male, blew fire into the sky with a maddened look in his eye. The female stared back at them, sadness in her gaze.
“What is this meant to mean?” Raheem asked, stepping up to the painting and pointing at a single moment in it. A moment where both dragons stood on piles of bodies with flames surrounding them.
“It’s an old Beastkin legend, my mother used to tell it to me.” Camilla swallowed hard. “In the old days, there was a sickness. Beastkin wouldn’t be able to change back. They descended into madness and had to be killed before they would destroy everything they loved.”
“So this is predicting… what? That Sigrid and Nadir will come down with this sickness?”
“The sickness was eradicated years ago. It’s just a story told to children to make them behave. The last dragon queen destroyed the sickness,” she shook her head and met his gaze. “This is predicting they will bring it back.”
Afterword
I hope you enjoyed their story as much as I did! Nadir and Sigrid are quite possibly my most favorite characters I’ve ever written.
However, this story is not completed just yet! Look out for another book up for preorder soon.
After all, Gods don’t just disappear.
About the Author
Emma Hamm grew up in a small town surrounded by trees and animals. She writes strong, confident, powerful women who aren't afraid to grow and make mistakes. Her books will always be a little bit feminist, and are geared towards empowering both men and women to be comfortable in their own skin.