Share

020: Birth and Rebirth

last update Last Updated: 2025-04-16 09:58:22
[Carnelia]

I felt the cold of the void behind me as I lay in bed, dreaming of my husband.

And yet, as I opened my eyes, I felt a warm touch on my cheek and the deep, earthy scent of him so strong that I was sure I must still be dreaming.

Turning towards the warmth and the delicious scent of crushed leaves and pine, I blinked my eyes up to see an impossibility.

Primus, my husband and mate, is standing next to me.

"Am I still asleep," I croak as he places his palm more firmly on my cheek.

"If you are sleeping, so am I. Do you mind if this is a dream? He asks, the curve of his smile outlined with the warm flickering gaslight in my room. It is so much like our home in Ridgewood, the way the light bounces off the walls, that I wish we could be there right now, curled up together. Or even the castle in Emerald Cove, where we made love on every surface.

"Please tell me you're real," he kneels inside the nest I've created in the corner. It is cushioned like a bed but far larger, ready to accom
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • Redemption of The Dragon Prince   031: Shattered

    [Primus] When the men dropped me off at the foot of my brother’s old fortress, they called the guards down with a high-pitched whistle so painful I wished I could cover my ears. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even move my hands. Whatever Atremi had drugged me with on the boat gave me the misfortune of being mostly conscious but unable to move. I can feel it, but I cannot scream. I’ve seen the drug used on prisoners as a child when my father was convinced that forcing me to see horrific things would make me into the strong heir he needed. He’d use it as a way to torture a victim without having to deal with the inconvenience of expressed emotion or discomfort. All his methods did was make me realize how much I didn’t want to be anything like him. Eventually, he stopped taking me, and Segundus became his companion. It was a bonding experience for them. The gate squeaks open as two guards descend on large feathered wings. Their bright helms, usually shining silver and gold, look tarnishe

  • Redemption of The Dragon Prince   030: Promises Broken

    [Carnelia]As my father, the suddenly warm and substantive dragon, pulls me into his arms, I can feel the blood rushing in his veins and the strong beat of his heart against my face. His scent, which before smelled like the cold of the void, now has a spicier scent, both warm and rich. Even his skin, which had been a dullish dark gray, has a warmer brown undertone. He is transformed. Where there was once a creature made of darkness and thought, there is a living, breathing dragon of flesh and bone. “How is this possible?” I wonder aloud, pulling myself out of his reach. “I don’t know,” he replies honestly. “I thought I was lost to the darkness forever.” As he begins to pace, his footsteps are more solid than they have ever been; his expression darkens as a cloak of mist forms from his wings, giving him a more regal appearance. In his hand, a staff tipped with ebony appears, as a crown of bones crests his head. This must be his formal regalia, the dress of the Shadowwalker Magus, cr

  • Redemption of The Dragon Prince   029: Promises Kept

    [Carnelia] It has been two days since Primus was taken through the shadows and removed to wherever it was that my father dug him up. Two days of me yearning for him. Our little egg, the last of our brood, winks at me from the corner of my nest as I stretch my wings and take my bipedal form again. I slept in my third form, that of the giant beast, to keep her warm and safe. I wanted to know if anyone were to sneak up on us in the darkness, I’d be able to defend her. The Grand Magus has been gone for these two days, traveling to the solar high court for some unknown reason. She didn’t offer, and I didn’t ask. I am just grateful that she didn’t demand my presence to see her off, and hope she stays away for several more days, if only to give me peace. She knew that I was almost broody and was hoping I would take to my nest while she was away. She doesn’t know yet that it has already happened a bit ahead of schedule–and it is my intention that she stays ignorant of this change in situa

  • Redemption of The Dragon Prince   028: Unexpected Reunion

    [KORA][NOW] That night, they had been waiting for us. I’m not sure how they knew, but I know why they took us. We’re too valuable to kill, but too dangerous to leave alone. Collared and shackled, we were transported to the shores of the Crystal Lake, to the center of the Kingdom’s eastern borders, several leagues north of what had once been the Luxandrian capital city. That city is gone, long gone, burned not just once but twice. We were going to Skyfall. Skyfall had been the seat of my uncle Segundus’ realm before he took the Luxandrian throne for himself. And now that he’s gone, it is where his wife, the False Queen Eleanora, rules the kingdom as regent for his unborn children. Except everyone knows they can’t be his children, he’s been dead for too long. I’m not even sure they’re Primus’ children, even though she forced me to extract his seed and use it to fill her womb. The last attempt we made didn’t match up with the expected date of their hatching, based on the size of h

  • Redemption of The Dragon Prince   027: Mirrored Hearts

    [KORA] [TWO WEEKS LATER] [TWO and A HALF MONTHS FROM NOW] I feel like I'm fighting against the entire world. Two weeks of arguing, of battling against my own people, begging them as their queen to come to their senses and give me access to the troops and aid I need to bring my mate home. It should have been an easy ask, something they'd be eager to grant, but after two weeks, they are still deadlocked, unable to come to a decision. And my allies, the other nations who swore to fight by my side? None of them have the forces needed to face the Terrans directly, not with their dreadful queen carrying the heirs to the Luxandrian throne in her womb. With those eggs comes the support of the High Council, a shadow government of our elders responsible for maintaining balance across the continents. With them at her side, she has access to all of my father's technology developed over the decades, as well as the forces from any Terran nation she chooses. Even though the odds are against

  • Redemption of The Dragon Prince   026: The Waiting Queen

    [Kora][THREE MONTHS AGO] The tailor outdid herself this time. “This is perfect,” I praise as I admire the design of my new wedding robes. My family robes were lost when I walked the oceans in my father’s creation, sent to the bottom of the sea with what remained of my castle. “How long will it take to make?” “Your handmaidens are already on standby, waiting for your choice, My Queen,” the master tailor blushes, looking down at her scaled feet. “If it pleases you, with the hand embroidery and bead work, this piece should take approximately two months to finish.” Moving from my cushion, I clutch my belly tightly. “Too long,” I groan as I crawl to the fitted suit I’ve been wearing more and more these days. The membranes in my womb are not yet healed, and it is only the miracle of this contraption that is keeping them inside of me long enough to grow. “Tell them I’ll reward them all with topside villas if they can speed it along. I’d prefer to be married before I go broody.” “Yes,

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status