Fallen Ashes: Fated & Forbidden

by T. F. Walsh

  “Wow, I see. You’re a queen hater.” Crashing on the couch, he stretched out his legs, setting the bandages next to him. “Believe what you want. Obviously, someone’s word isn’t enough.”

  “The queen—” Her response flat-lined as if she’d said too much.

  A soft cushion of her lips called to him. He’d spent too much time in prison, and now the first looney to cross his path had his body reacting like a dog in heat.

  “Why are you outside the kingdom, anyway? Where’s your uniform?” Her gaze searched his for a reaction.

  “I’m not going to hurt you or take you back. I’m on… a short vacation, you could call it.”

  Her eyes narrowed, piercing him with her glare.

  “We’re stuck together, so you’d better accept that until we find a way to break apart.”

  “Well, you just came from the ark. Let’s go there and confront Noah.” A surge of hostility engulfed her tone.

  He shook his head. “Yesterday, when I got moved into the holding cell in the woods, Noah and his crew were already relocating to the next spot. They won’t be there.” They might have left some clues behind, but tracking them with this drae on his heels wasn’t happening.

  Her lips pinched to the side. “Fine. Then I might know someone who can help us with the bond.”

  “Best news I’ve heard in a long time.” While his first intention was to jump to his feet and make a beeline to this person, they were better off waiting awhile to make sure the dumb-ass troll was gone. Though, if Fire Girl had some weapons, that would be ideal. “We’ll wait a few hours before he heads off.” Rubbing his eyes, Saber shifted his attention to the coffee machine on the kitchen counter. “I’d love a hit of caffeine.”

  He expected the not-in-this-lifetime response. Instead, Fallen spun on her heels and stormed into the kitchen. Maybe she was coming around. A gurgling sound filled the silence. While curiosity burned a hole in his chest about who Fallen was, why she hated the queen, and how the heck she crafted fire, he kept his mouth shut. He doubted she’d be forthcoming with details when she seemed ready to spear him in the chest. He’d let her calm down first.

  Maybe Saber had missed something. The only known beings who’d mastered fire were dazmeu, an ancient and extinct race of dragon shifters from whom the draes descended… with help from the humans, of course. The dazmeu had once lived alongside mankind. Yet, not everyone was happy when half-breeds, now known as drae, outnumbered the purebloods. These days, draes possessed a smidgen of their ancestors’ abilities, while the humans seemed to have forgotten that dragons once roamed on their world too.

  In this century, the draes who lived in the realm of Vaie could only guide the movement of a flame with heavy prayers. No one produced the fiery stuff like the ancient folk. Some draes could whisper to the wind, but they lived in the enemy Kingdom of Aripi. Centuries ago, the Blood War had split one realm in half and draes divided into two sides depending on their affiliation: fire or air.

  Fallen set a mug with mocha-colored coffee into his hands, the aroma caressing his senses. “I’m not a fan of human things, except for coffee. It’s my elixir.” He sipped a mouthful and savored the nutty hit coating his tongue.

  Fallen stood there, gripping her hips as if she contemplated taking the coffee back out of his hands. The sunlight glowed at her side just in the right angle, the light illuminating the gentle dip of her neck, flowing onto her collarbone. She carried a beauty most drae women lacked, with flawless skin and a tiny dimple in her chin when she frowned. She’d be highly sought after in the kingdom. Pretty girls were snapped up by the lords from a young age to ensure they remained pure… sequestered and saved until they came of age. Fallen didn’t fit the bill as a submissive, and the image of her breaking the bones of any aristocrat would be a sight to see.

  “How ‘bout you bring your pop fizz and come join me?”

  She studied Saber as if he’d sprouted a tail. “Can you take off your shirt so I can patch you up?”

  “I’ll heal on my own. Thanks.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “That’s why you’re bleeding on my furniture?”

  He set the cup on the floor near his feet and checked out his shoulder. Blood stained his sleeve and the leather behind him. He wiped his fingers across the stain, then removed his shirt, wiping his hand clean on the fabric. “Let’s make this quick.”

  Fallen was gaping, and the way she gawked at him in her frozen state left him grinning. Training as a Guardian to defeat rebels from the opposing realm came with a few perks. Strength, fast reflexes, and rock-hard abs always weakened women’s knees. Back in the realm, he had no shortage of drae females.

  Fallen closed the distance and swiped the bandages from alongside him.

  “Turn around.”

  “Good thing you’re not a medic. Your bedside manner needs work.” Half twisting around, he tucked his dried hand under his thigh just in case she looked too close.

  “Has anyone told you how much you jabber?” She perched on the edge of the couch cushion, alongside him, the veins in her neck twitching.

  “Jabber. Is that the technical word for it?”

  Unleashing a long exhale, Fallen rolled her eyes. “Stop talking.” She unscrewed the lid off the antiseptic and squeezed a creamy paste onto her fingers. Real healers used leaves and energy to mend injuries, not puree from plastic. Humans were notorious for producing waste… one reason why their world now drained Tapestry’s energy to survive.

  She smeared the cold cream over his shoulder and across a collarbone. A sharp sting penetrated the cuts as if she’d poured boiling water over them. He’d endured worse pain. The more she rubbed, the warmer her touch grew, easing the soreness. He glimpsed her lower lip caught between her teeth as she worked on his arm.

  Sunlight glinted against her blonde hair and several strands sparkled with a fiery glow. Was it a human hairstyle because no one back home had those? Her differences were slight, but noticeable if anyone paid close attention.

  When he had worked as a Guardian, Saber always questioned the draes he brought back to the kingdom about why they escaped in the first place. The answers were pretty standard: Following a friend or love. Hated rules. Wanted to travel the world. Not one had ever said it was to live as a human.

  If he was reappointed to his Guardian position tomorrow, would he drag Fallen back to the realm? Probably.

  Her song-like voice cut his thoughts as she nudged him to turn away from her. “What are those marks on your back?”

  “Knife wounds. Injuries from fights. Training. Meant to toughen me up, and you bet it did. Without them, many won’t take a Guardian seriously.”

  His first five years had involved no fighting. Just getting beaten. Being a target board. Becoming resilient to pain. Half of the new recruits died, and damn, he’d been close. Scabs formed over unhealed wounds, his face unidentifiable underneath the bruises, bones shattered. But he had a secret weapon over other Guardians. The Tapestry soil always healed him fast.

  “Barbaric.” Fallen’s nose scrunched in a way that had his fingertips tingling to reach over and smooth it out.

  “And yet everyone in the realm feels safer knowing Guardians exist.” He hadn’t meant to sound bitter. After years in the army protecting everyone from the enemy realm, his life had gone to shit, and the memory burned his insides.

  That night was forever etched in his memory, haunting his waking hours. Thanks to the Creators, he got caught in the act before he could execute the murder while under a spell. Four months ago, he’d woken up during the night, hunched over a sleeping queen with a knife to her throat. Saber had zero recollection of how he’d gotten there. Not in a million years would he harm her. Didn’t stop his friends from trying to kill him. Yet, his mind kept sailing to the queen’s cousin. Vexare had been in the room when Saber found himself about to murder Her Majesty. And at first, the royal drae didn’t say a word, just stared, and Saber could swear his eyes dared him to finish the job, which was absurd. Obvi
ously, he imagined the whole thing because he’d been disorientated, confused.

  Afterward, he’d discovered what lay inside him, and the memory sent a shiver through his veins. His stepdad had told Saber he was different, but never the full truth. If he could rescue his stepfather, he might know a way to remove the curse.

  “Okay, you’re done.” Fallen met his gaze, and something behind her eyes softened. Was it pity? Doubt it.

  His upper arm was wrapped tight, and he appreciated her care.

  She twisted away, but his good hand reached out, seizing hers, her skin a furnace. Fallen’s eyes were a kaleidoscope of colors. The quiet moment enveloped them in peacefulness.

  “Thank you.”

  She shrugged as if relying on her voice was out of the question. Her attention dipped. Then she released a loud gasp.

  His muscles flexed, and he shot to his feet, towering over her. “What is it?”

  In a swift move, she grasped his injured arm and twisted his wrist upward. “You son of a bitch.” Her grip tightened.

  5

  Fallen’s gaze locked onto the circular dragon on the inside of Saber’s wrist, her gut twisting at the realization. “You had the Creators’ dream!”

  Last night’s vision had contained a dozen or so beings, and she was too occupied listening to the two Creators, not paying close attention to who surrounded her. In hindsight, maybe she should have been more attentive because Saber had been there, too.

  When she glanced up at Saber, his brow creased as he studied her.

  Was he her life mate? No freakin’ way. His wrist gleamed in the sunlight pouring in from the window, and she twisted it, scanning the mark for any clues. The dragon wasn’t glowing, showing color, or anything. She did the same with hers and rubbed her skin with a thumb, but it didn’t change a thing. The Creators had proclaimed the need to form a bond with the soul partner, indicated by the mark. Technically, the dragon mark wasn’t meant to react near her mate, but considering the clue could refer to any drae living in Tapestry, perhaps if it were Saber, she’d notice a reaction to the tattoo, especially in such close proximity. Surely, the Creators would let her receive some kind of reaction when she was near her soul mate. Otherwise, what if she went ahead and believed it was Saber, but later learned he had his own mate to find? Disaster in the making. Nope, she had to be beyond certain he was the one.

  Yet the coincidence they both had the mark kept playing in the back of her mind. Were they meant to only help each other?

  Saber pulled his arm away, his nose scrunching. He stared at the pattern as if searching for the answer to life.

  “The Creators chose us. This is massive,” she said.

  His gaze lifted, and the lines across his brow deepened.

  She stuck out her arm, showing her own dragon mark. “We have four weeks to find our life mates before everyone in Tapestry and Earth dies.”

  He said nothing at first, yet his gaze jerked from his tattoo to hers. “Don’t think so.” The distaste in his voice might as well have slapped her in the face.

  Squaring her shoulders, she dropped her arm. “Bullshit. The Creators were there, telling us we were chosen. Maybe that’s why we’re linked.” She swallowed the bitter anger, still leaking through her words.

  Saber seized Fallen’s wrist, his touch was warm despite his tight hold. “I think this mark is Noah’s branding because he considers us his property. Plus, he casts all kinds of incantations on his prisoners so they don’t escape. I’d only just been transferred to the new cell last night. Then you turned up and bang we were bound. It’s got to be a spell to make it harder for either of us to escape. Sounds more plausible to me than your Creators’ dream.”

  “Last night, you were in the same freakin’ dream as me! This just happened. And now you guess that it’s a spell from Noah.” She yanked her hand free, not caring her voice climbed. Her fingertips pulsed with the desperation to beat submission into Saber. Why did he deny what was right in front of him?

  “Maybe I got pulled into your crazy dream because of the magical bond.” His eyes narrowed, and he gave a slight nod as if he was confirming something to himself in his thoughts.

  “You haven’t seen crazy yet.” Her voice dipped into venom.

  “I’m looking at her now.” He cocked an eyebrow as his gaze slid along Fallen’s body.

  Rage punched her in the gut, and she poked a finger into his bare chest. “You’re an idiot and should take the Creators’ mark seriously. Everyone’s life depends on us.”

  “Are you always this dramatic?”

  Yep, she’d rip the smirk off his face and shove it where the sun didn’t shine.

  He grabbed his shirt and slid it over his head, down his stomach before slumping back on the couch. “Why are you worried? If the Creators hated us, they would have done it already, not given us a chance. I believe in them like all draes, but I don’t believe the dream was a prophecy. Maybe the binding spell affected us somehow because there’s no way they’d pick me.” His focus dropped momentarily as if he’d said the wrong thing.

  Her mouth opened. Nothing came out. Fallen’s mind pulled her in opposite directions about the Creators’ decision. They’d chosen random beings who hadn’t yet found their life mate, and no one ought to question their actions, yet secretly she was curious if there was more reason to the selection. After her mother had been killed, Fallen had made it her mission to ensure Noah suffered. Had the Creators sensed the blackness in her heart and this was their way of making her choose the path of redemption?

  The thought awakened memories refusing to remain at bay, echoes of a day forever etched into her heart. Her gaze swept across the room to a small bundle of wilted flowers on the bookshelf. She’d plucked them from the woods on her last visit to her mom’s grave. The lines of her vision blurred, and the past opened up before her eyes.

  “Run.” Her mother shoved her away with a push. “Run, my baby.”

  Fallen’s heart banged so loud, the woods surrounding her trembled. Her feet wouldn’t move.

  A troll flung her mom backward. Before she could recover, he dragged her by the hair across the field. A man enveloped in blue coils waited in the gathering darkness.

  “Mommy.” The word ripped from Fallen’s throat.

  “Get the girl too,” the man spat.

  Fallen didn’t remember turning around, but she raced. Low hanging branches slashed her face and arms.

  Screams sliced the air.

  Over her shoulder, her mom sprawled on the ground, legs twisted the wrong way. White light threaded from her chest and swirled into the man’s mouth. Noah’s mouth.

  Her mom’s head swung in Fallen’s direction. Not of its own volition. Blue eyes remained open but vacant.

  The thoughts rattled Fallen to the core. She blinked fast to drive the tears back and refocused on Saber.

  He studied her as his brow arched.

  “The Creators have their reasons.” She guessed they picked those with hatred in their soul. So, what was Saber’s story?

  He burst into a laugh, sharp and strained as if he had something stuck in his throat. It came crashing to a halt. “Now I know the vision was all in your mind, and I got included because of our link.”

  She traced the indent on her flesh with a fingertip. Why was Saber so adamant it wasn’t true? Or, was he right about Noah’s magic inducing the dream? Then why had her stomach churned as it always did when shit went south? Her dream had been filled with the names of the Creators, shifters, fae, and beings from other worlds. Tales of the Creators she’d heard growing up told how they never showed themselves to anyone unless the Creators wanted to deliver a message.

  “Anyway,” Saber’s voice flushed Fallen thoughts. “The marks aren’t glowing. The dream promised they would identify our fated mate.”

  “We’re not each other’s soul mates.” She stormed across the room, unsure where she was going, but she couldn’t stand next to Saber a moment longer.

  Pausing at th
e kitchen, she jerked around. “If you’re wrong about the vision and don’t find your life mate by the Blood Moon, then you’ll be responsible for the demise of every living creature on Earth and Tapestry. The Creators said if just one of the chosen failed to find love, then we have all failed. They will go through with their plans to make us all humans. With magic gone, our worlds will die.”

  He scratched the stubble across his jawline, the grating sound raised the hairs on her arms. “Trust me. I’m right. The mark is from Noah and the dream is your hallucination.” He lounged in the seat, wearing a grin.

  How could he be so composed when her insides were an erupting volcano?

  “Now how about we focus on getting ourselves unattached before you slay me with your glare?” he asked.

  Why had she brought him to her apartment? A Queen’s Guardian now had intel on her being a stray and where she lived. The only reason he probably hadn’t forced her back to the queen was because of the troll. Or was it the bond? Yet, he said he’d been incarcerated at Noah’s prison for months. Then why hadn’t more Guardians been in the forest searching for him? They always hunted together.

  “If you keep looking at me with your sexy stare, I might think you’re interested in me.”

  Even if he’d just called her sexy, which did things to her insides that were so wrong, the world could freeze over before she’d ever admit that out loud.

  “Can’t believe you just said that.”

  “I’m shameless.” His smile was all for show.

  Releasing a long exhale, she shook her head and strolled to the window. “Not the word I’d use.” Outside, the traffic was gridlocked, and people filled the sidewalks. No sign of anyone shoving through the crowds searching for the pair. To humans, if the troll passed through the veil, he’d resemble one of them from the glamor enchantment all Tapestry beings were born with. The feaster goblin she’d chased yesterday was a deformed man with a hooked back. White hair, whiskers, and he reached her chest in height. Disgusting little beasts who preyed on animals and children for food. She might have sometimes used live bait, like wild hamsters or rats, in her cages to lure the beasties away from other prey they hunted. Still, she always released the animals afterward. Never harmed one yet.