by K.N. Lee
“Shhh, someone is coming,” Brea whispered.
Rowen tensed and peered through the bars of the gate. A rolling cart pulled by a horse with a weary-looking old man approached the gate.
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know,” Rowen said. “I think he’s making a delivery.”
“Come,” Brea said. “Let’s just go back. If you’re worried about Prince Rickard, don’t. The prince will grow weary of pursuing you before you know it. Beautiful girls come to the castle by the boatload. His eye will wander.”
“It’s not just that,” Rowen murmured. “I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
Rowen wrung her hands. “That something terrible is going to happen to me if I stay here.”
Together, they left the gate and headed back to the castle. Brea took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Then, we try another night. We make a plan. I’ll transform and you can ride on my back.”
“But, I’m just thinking of how lost I am. I have nowhere to go.”
“Listen to me, Rowen. My parents aren’t as bad as most Dragons. If you are a friend of mine, they would take you in with open arms. Not all Dragons are prejudiced toward half-blood humans.”
“Most are,” Rowen quipped.
Brea wouldn’t know. She was a full-blooded Dragon from high society. She couldn’t have known what Rowen had seen and experienced throughout her life. In Harrow, half-bloods were more common, and she’d witnessed the cruelty to her people. Her title saved her from most of the negativity, but it was always there in the eyes of Dragons.
“Go to my home in Kabrick. I’ll send you with a letter. My father and mother can find you a new station.”
“I don’t want that, Brea. I don’t want to be a burden. I want to be free.”
“You want to go to the human kingdoms, don’t you?” Brea asked.
With long white hair and a hint of red scales on certain areas of her olive-colored skin, Brea was considered plain by Dragon standards. Women of beauty had a brighter shimmer to their skin, and a glow to their hair.
Like Rowen’s mother.
Rowen could never be as beautiful as her mother either. Short, thin, with dull gray eyes that never shown any light, and pale skin absent of any shimmering scales, Rowen was simply different.
Maybe that’s why Prince Rickard chose to pursue her.
Brea smiled at her. “I don’t blame you, Rowen. But, Draconia is your home.”
“It’s not as if I haven’t thought of finding the human kingdoms. They are my people. It would be nice to be wanted and accepted for a change.”
“You are half Dragon as much as half human.”
Rowen stopped on the lush landscaped evergreen grass and looked to the pale moon above. “But, your race hasn’t descended from humans in thousands of years. You hate them for betraying you. For hunting you down and trying to exterminate you.”
Shrugging, Brea looked into Rowen’s eyes. “I don’t hate anyone. That’s ancient history. Nothing to do with you and me.”
“I know,” Rowen said with a sigh, her eyes resting on the massive castle before them. She’d only been there a few weeks, but was already twisted in a web of lies and deceit, and a plan that would elevate her family.
But, only if she succeeded.
“Maybe one day I will go find the humans.”
“You can’t. You can’t fly or fight, or do anything that would keep you safe.”
Silent, Rowen chewed her bottom lip.
I can do more than you know. Sometimes she wished she could tell Brea her secret. Even though she was the best friend she ever had, she still could not trust her with the truth of her power.
“It’s too dangerous to leave the safety of the kingdom. There are beasts and monsters out there. On land and in the sea.”
“There are beasts and monsters inside as well.”
They paused on the cobblestone path as a large black dragon flew overhead from the city and toward the palace. It lowered itself to the ground just before the main entrance, and shifted back into a tall young man dressed in fine clothes.
Rowen took a step back, hoping that he wouldn’t look back and see them. Her face paled as he seemed to sense her presence and did exactly what she hoped he wouldn’t.
Prince Lawson Thorne turned and looked right at them. In the torchlight, Rowen could only make out the hints of gold in his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as their eyes met.
Rowen took Brea’s hand into her own wishing they’d been invisible when the prince arrived. “He saw us.” The thought of being caught and turned in by the prince struck fear into her heart. An excuse for being out after dark is what they needed, but her mind drew a blank.
To their surprise, he simply turned away, and walked up the stairs that led into his palace.
“Well,” Brea said. “Aren’t we lucky?”
Rowen swallowed with a nod, curious as to why the heir to the Withraen throne didn’t seem to care that they were out after curfew. “Indeed, it’s all I’ve ever been.”
Available on Amazon
Also by K.N. Lee
The Chronicles of Koa Series:
Netherworld
Dark Prophet
Lyrinian Blade
The Eura Chronicles:
Rise of the Flame
Night of the Storm
Dawn of the Forgotten (Coming Soon)
The Darkest Day (Coming Soon)
THE GRAND ELITE CASTER TRILOGY:
Silenced
Summoned (Coming Soon)
Awakened (Coming Soon)
THE FALLEN GODS TRILOGY:
Goddess of War
God of Peace (Coming Soon)
Love & Law (Coming Soon)
STANDALONE NOVELLAS:
The Scarlett Legacy
Liquid Lust
Spell Slinger
Great Reads by K.N. Lee
Netherworld (Urban Paranormal Fantasy) Demons, ghouls, vampires, and Syths? The Netherworld Division are an organization of angels and humans who are there to keep the escaped creatures from The Netherworld in check in this action-packed paranormal thriller.
Introducing Koa Ryeo-won, a half-blood vampire with an enchanted sword, a membership to the most elite vampire castle in Europe, and the gift of flight. If only she could manage to reclaim the lost memories of her years in The Netherworld, she might finally be able to move forward.
The Scarlett Legacy (Young Adult Fantasy) Wizards. Shifters. Sexy mobsters with magic.
Evie Scarlett is a young wizard who yearns from an escape from her family's bitter rivalry with another crime family. But this time she may be the only one who can save them.
Goddess of War (Young Adult Fantasy) Unsuspecting humans. Fallen gods in disguise. A battle for the entire universe.
After escaping the Vault, a prison for gods, twin siblings Preeti and Vineet make a desperate journey to the human world where they must impersonate the race they are meant to rule and protect.
Silenced (New Adult – Paranormal Romance) Silence kept her alive. Magic will set her free.
Willa Avery created the serum that changed the world as humans, witches, and vampires knew it.
Liquid Lust (New Adult Romance) Sohana needed a fresh start.
Arthur--a British billionaire has an enticing offer.
Neither expected their arrangement to spark something more.
Spell Slinger (Fantasy Romance/Steampunk)
Lady by day.
Evil fighting vigilante by night.
Yara Ortuso always knew she'd follow in her father's footsteps as a Spell Slinger--until her mother sold her off as a concubine to a lord, after a forbidden romance
Discover more books and learn more about K.N. Lee on knlee.com.
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