– The flames are officially unleashed.
Now buckle up, dragon babies—because Varesa is not okay, and the story’s only just begun.
Dragon’s Breath,
Human Heart Series:
Book 2: Whispers
of Wild Flame
Prologue
The city of Avalon
was drowning in shadow, a shadow that clung to the towering spires of the Ivory
Spire, creeping through the cracks in the stone of the Duskbound Labyrinth. The
wind carried with it the scent of something new—something volatile, something
burning. But it wasn’t the air itself that had changed. It was the pulse of the
city. The heartbeat of Avalon had grown heavy, like the air before a storm.
Varesa Nordstorm
stood at the edge of the labyrinth, her gaze sweeping across the twisted
streets below. The perfume shop she had built, from the ground up, now felt
like a distant memory. The scent of lavender and sandalwood had been replaced
by something sharper, something primal—a hint of smoke that refused to
dissipate, despite the humidity that hung thick in the air.
The Fire Dragon
within her had already begun to stir, flickers of flame licking against her
ribs, and the jagged heat inside her chest pulsing with a rhythm all its own.
It had been two years since the battle that had changed everything. Two years
since Clarissa Edinborough, the last of the Dragon Protectors, had died—her
death reverberating through the very core of the earth, setting the stage for
what was now unfolding.
And still, the call
of the dragons lingered.
The roar of
dragons—three others, alive and waiting—thundered through her bones. They were
out there, somewhere, hidden. She could feel their presence, like embers
waiting to ignite, but she had no idea where to begin the search.
It was both a promise
and a burden.
She ran her fingers
along the edge of the iron railing, feeling the rough texture of it beneath her
fingertips, grounding herself. Her fingers burned. Her entire body burned with
the hunger of something ancient, something lost. The Fire Dragon’s flame called
out to her, and with it, came an urgency that had settled deep within her soul.
“I will find them,”
she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. “I will find the others.”
The sound of boots
scraping against the stone echoed from behind her. She didn’t turn. Her
instincts told her it was him. The one who had been following her since the
very beginning, when everything had gone wrong and when she was still trying to
convince herself that she had everything under control.
Aeliana.
The woman was always
there, in the background, watching. Her eyes, amber as the fiery sun, sharp as
knives, had a hunger to them, a quiet need that matched the fire inside Varesa.
But Aeliana was restless, just as Varesa was.
She felt Aeliana’s
presence before she heard her speak.
“You’re still looking
for answers,” Aeliana said, her voice a quiet rasp.
Varesa turned,
finding Aeliana standing there, the shadows stretching long and dark across her
face. She didn’t need to look at her to know that the fire had taken hold of
her as well. It was in the way Aeliana moved, in the heat that radiated from
her skin, the way her pupils dilated when the fire surged.
“The search never
ends,” Varesa replied, her voice steady, though a sense of unease curled in her
chest like a forgotten ember.
“I know,” Aeliana
said softly, stepping closer. “But this… this is something else. Something
darker. The hunters are out there.”
Varesa clenched her
fists. The Draco Venatores. The hunters who had come for Clarissa. The hunters
who had come for her, for all of them. She could already feel the weight of
their gaze, their relentless pursuit, pressing against her mind like a storm gathering
on the horizon.
“They won’t stop,”
Varesa said, her words thick with a bitterness she could taste on the back of
her tongue. “They never do.”
Aeliana’s lips curled
in a quiet, grim smile. “We’ll burn them down.”
Varesa’s eyes met
hers, the unspoken understanding passing between them like a flare of heat.
They had both been forged by fire. They were the flames now.
But even the
brightest flame cast shadows.
And deep in the heart
of the labyrinth, hidden beneath layers of forgotten memories, the shadows were
stirring.
A heroine rebuilding herself from ash
Enemies-to-lovers chaos with dagger eyes
Found family that hurts and heals
Urban fantasy vibes meets ancient magic
Big feelings, bigger flames
Dragons that don’t just breathe fire—they are fire
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