Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
Nope. Turns out, I still can’t talk about that incident.
Instead, I take another deep breath, clearing my throat. “The Undead feel a limited spectrum of emotions, but one of their greatest amusements is seeing the living unwittingly eat their own. I could never be sure where meat came from. That’s why I still can’t stomach it.”
Everett looks as sick as I feel. “Oh. Oh, holy gods, that’s…”
Silas pulls me onto his lap. He holds me for long moments until he quietly speaks, changing the topic—thank the universe.
“The Entity has sensed changes to your shadow heart because of us, but does he know you are sharing dreams with him?”
I shrug. If Amadeus does know, it doesn’t seem like he’s been utilizing this strengthened link.
But if he does figure it out—if he gets a sense of my gambit through my dreams…
I glance out the window, letting my worry shift to something more present. After all, my missing match feels like a gaping hole left in this room.
“I’m going to check on Baelfire again.”
I can see that Silas and Everett want to protest since they think he may be a danger to me right now. We spent half the day watching the golden beast prowl through the woods, flying, hunting, and generally not behaving like Baelfire. The beast tried to take a bite out of his brother, Declan, when he shifted and tried to speak with him.
Meanwhile, Crypt nods in agreement. I wonder if his support stems from guilt because none of us know if Bael’s current condition is from his curse worsening or passing through Limbo while conscious.
Or maybe Crypt is just more fond of Baelfire than he will ever admit.
Not changing out of my pajamas, I slip into my boots and leave the mother-in-law’s suite, followed closely by the others. Since it’s past one in the morning, it’s dark and quiet in the Decimus family home.
But when we step out onto their massive back deck overlooking the woods, Everett swears in surprised alarm.
Baelfire’s dragon is staring at me through the snow and trees. The beast’s piercing, possessive golden gaze follows my every movement. Its tail slowly curls left and right behind it as it remains perched on the mountainside, its crown of magnificent horns gleaming in the moonlight along with all those golden scales.
“Baelfire?” I check, hopeful.
The beast tips its head to a comedic angle, long neck craning. Smoke rises from its nostrils as it unfolds and refolds those beautifully expansive wings.
“It’s just his dragon right now,” Brigid Decimus says, joining us on the back porch.
She’s still dressed in day clothes, her brown hair tucked into a loose bun. Baelfire’s mother stands at the edge of the deck to watch her son, her hands clasped behind her back in a militant posture. She glances at me with her one golden eye, smiling softly.
“You know, this dragon isn’t nearly as bad as Baelfire likes to think. Poor thing is just cursed.”
I nod, watching my dragon as it stalks through more trees to watch us better. Something about the smooth, sleek movements paired with the massive body and serpentine tail is mesmerizing. Those slitted dragon eyes never budge from me.
“His dragon saved my life once,” Brigid adds.
“I heard there was a coup against you.” I frown, recalling what Silas and Everett mentioned before. “Five years ago. That would have made Baelfire just sixteen.”
She nods, checking a watch with a little screen on it before assuming the same straight-backed stance.
“Yes. It was on his sixteenth birthday, actually. I got permission to let him come for a brief visit to where I was stationed near the Divide so we could celebrate together. I knew some of my new troops were troublemakers, and I already had people I trusted looking into things. What I didn’t know was that those troublemakers planned on killing me that day. They found me alone, tranquilized me, and began carving out my scales while I was unconscious. Baelfire’s dragon sensed the danger in time and killed them off.”
The dragon has now stalked so close that when it lifts its long neck to peer at us, my other matches take an almost synchronized step back.
Brigid and I stay where we are. I stare into the beast’s animalistic amber gaze.
It’s such a terrifying beast. I love that.
“You’re saying we can trust it,” I surmise quietly.
Brigid shrugs a shoulder. “Maybe not entirely, with how cursed he is. Not until you five are bound by the gods and your curses broken,” she adds.
She has no idea my quintet’s curses are already mysteriously being broken—most likely because the gods are messing with us. We’ve kept that to ourselves.
“I only wish Baelfire was less at war with his inner beast. Even cursed, it looks out for him and those he cares about, whether he’ll admit it or not. He’s a fierce dragon, and I couldn’t be prouder. I’ll be even more proud when he’s finally in harmony with the damn thing,” Brigid adds, laughing.
Baelfire’s dragon chuffs, sending hot, dry air at us as it narrows its gaze on me.
I arch a brow. “Are you going to give me my mate back anytime soon?”
It makes a whining, growling sound that definitely means no.
“Brat,” I mumble.
Brigid laughs and turns to smile at me and my quintet. “I would like to show you all something tomorrow. If you’re up for it.”
Silas frowns. “Please tell me it isn’t another gods-awful fourteen-mile hike through the mountains. I recall you tricking us into that when I was eight.”
“Oh yes, the hike from hell,” Crypt nods. “It was quite fun to watch from Limbo.”
“I had blisters for days,” Everett grimaces.
Brigid snorts. “It was character-building for you spoiled little legacies, but this is better than a hike. I think it will be beneficial.”
She gives me a meaningful look, which tells me it has something to do with me freeing the humans. I nod, unsure how she could help with a complex plan she knows nothing about.
Brigid says good night and leaves me to admire my dragon. The rest of my quintet talks quietly, occasionally arguing, as usual. Meanwhile, the dragon rests its great chin on the edge of the deck, turning it so it can watch me better out of one eye.
“I like looking at you, too,” I grin, stroking the warm scales on its snout. “Such a handsome dragon.”
It rumbles happily low in its throat.
“Is it growling at you?” Everett asks, glaring at the beast.
“That’s called purring.”
Except now, my dragon has turned its attention on the others and bares long teeth, hissing in warning.
“You guys should go inside. My dragon is territorial and fussy right now.” I pet it again, loving the warmth of these sleek, gleaming scales. “Aren’t you? Yes, you are.”
Silas gives me an exasperated look. “It is not a puppy, ima sangfluir.”
I look over my shoulder at him. “You’re right. It’s a twenty-five-ton, fire-breathing monster with razor blades for teeth that might fry all three of you. I want to get Baelfire back, and your presence isn’t helping.”
I can tell they aren’t happy about it, but Silas and Everett return to the house while Crypt slips into Limbo. I can still feel him nearby as I continue to pet and soothe the beast. Its undivided, intense attention is entirely on me again.
I lean forward to press a light kiss to the top of its snout. “Listen. I like every part of Baelfire. Since you are one of those parts, that means I’ll always like you. I mean, you are a mythically terrifying paragon of deadly beauty. What’s not to like about that?”
The dragon rumbles louder, nuzzling me now.
“But Baelfire is mine. You aren’t going to take him away from me,” I warn seriously, still stroking his scales. “Ever. Got it?”
The massive beast huffs.
“Don’t test me. I want him back.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.