All Chapters of The Dragon's Fragile Bride: His to Possess : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

~ Nerrissa ~The air inside my attic room smelled like damp stone and old dust. I sat on the edge of my narrow wooden cot, breathing in short, shallow puffs so my chest wouldn't start that horrible burning again.My hands trembled as I wrapped a long strip of clean white linen around my ribs, pulling it tight. It hurt—a sharp, dull ache that made my teeth grind together—but binding my chest kept my lungs from expanding too quickly. It was the only way to keep the dark blood from spilling back up my throat.I pulled my dress bodice back up and fastened the wooden buttons with stiff, freezing fingers. Across the small room, a piece of cracked mirror rested against a pile of broken roof tiles. I glanced at my reflection.A pale, thin girl looked back at me. My silver-white hair hung down to my waist in tangled waves, looking like frost caught on dry grass. My blue-gray eyes looked too large for my small, sharp face, dark circles bruised beneath them from nights spent shivering in the dar

~ Theron Drakhar ~ "Fly faster, Selene," I said, leaning over the wooden rail of the lead sky-ship. "Your drakes fly like fat geese." General Selene Veyra pulled the leather reins of her black mount, bringing the beast two paces closer to my deck. Wind whipped the dark crest of her helmet back, but her back stayed rigid. "The wind is blowing straight against our snouts, Sire," Selene called out over the rush of air. "The younger drakes are straining their wings." "Tell them to flap harder," I said. "If a drake drops from the line, leave it behind. We do not slow down for tired wings." "Yes, My King," she shouted back. She turned in her saddle, raised two fingers, and barked a harsh command down the line. Behind us, fifty heavy sky-ships and three hundred black drakes tightened their wedge, cutting through the thick gray clouds like iron wedges. I stepped away from the railing and stretched my own wings. The black scales along the joints clicked like iron plates. I did not like si

~ Nerrissa ~The world outside the shattered roof was silent, but it was a heavy, suffocating kind of silence. It pressed down on my shoulders like a sack of wet grain.Dust and bits of crushed stone settled over the ruined Great Hall. No one moved. No one dared to bleed too loudly. Lord Vane was cowering beneath the head table, his fine velvet sleeves pulled over his ears. My stepmother lay flat against the floor near the hearth, her hands buried in the cold ashes, while Elspeth squeezed her eyes shut and wept without making a sound.I stayed on my knees beside the broken stone pillar. The icy air coming through the ruined ceiling bit into my wet dress, but beneath my collarbone, my skin felt like it was touched by a hot poker. The dragon mark burned so intensely that my whole chest throbbed with every slow pulse of my heart.Thud.The sound came from the courtyard outside. It was heavy, like an iron anvil being dropped from a high tower. The ground beneath my knees shuddered.Thud.

~ Nerrissa ~The dark iron ring squeezed around my jaw until the metal of Theron’s gauntlet scraped raw skin against my chin. I couldn't move my head. I couldn't even blink without the harsh gold light of his eyes filling my entire vision.He didn't smell like a man. He smelled of scorched stone, thunder, and old blood."It feels like a huge insult! Flying miles all the way here for this mere human?" Theron’s voice vibrated through his iron glove, shaking the tiny bones inside my ears. "She looks too weak to survive a single night in Drakoria. The prophecy must have been a damn lie!"I kept my mouth shut. The copper taste of my own blood rested heavy on the back of my tongue, hot and thick. If I opened my mouth to speak, it would spill out over his fingers, and I refused to let him see me bleed more than I already had. I forced my knees to stay rigid against the freezing mud, even as the cold bit deep into my skin. I did not pull away. I only looked back into those burning gold eyes,

~ Nerrissa ~The sky outside the carriage window was not blue. It was dark red and full of heavy gray clouds that looked like dirty wool.I pressed my face against the cold glass. Down below, the world was huge and terrifying. Mountains looked like sharp black teeth sticking out of the ground. Rivers looked like thin silver threads cutting through dark forests. I had spent my entire life inside the small, muddy walls of Ashvale. I had never seen anything like this.It made my head spin. I pulled my face back from the glass and closed my eyes, trying to catch my breath.My chest hurt so bad. Every single breath felt like inhaling tiny pieces of glass. Deep inside my lungs, a burning feeling was spreading fast. I reached into my sleeve and pulled out a small white handkerchief. I pressed it tightly over my mouth and coughed.*Cough.*It was a small, quiet sound, but the pain made my eyes water. When I pulled the cloth away, there was a fresh spot of bright red blood right in the middle