Unleash the Inferno (Heart of a Dragon Book 3) Read online

  He pulled back. “As King, Ashleen, I will be—in the public eye more than I've ever been used to, and I want to do it right... to do well. I just—I want to be there for you, too, more... most. That is, I hope—”

  “Hush, Cedric.” A smile curved her rich full lips. “You speak too much.” She pulled his head down for another kiss, this one passing gentility, lit with fire.

  Kinna sat in the ClarenVale's Dragon dens with Chennuh, the Dragon's head on her lap and the cool stone wall against her back.

  “Tomorrow, Ayden, you'll be King-Consort,” Kinna teased Ayden playfully where he sat next to her, playing with a strand of her hair. “Do you think you'll get used to people calling you 'Your Grace'?”

  Ayden snorted as he struggled to create a braid from her hair. “I'll hide in Luasa's den. Only the Dragondimn will bother me there.”

  “You didn't notice the ladies in the parade when we arrived back in ClarenVale? They were out in droves. Remember the one that hit you with an entire rose branch?”

  Ayden laughed, ruefully rubbing his temple. “That hurt, too. She hadn't bothered to remove the thorns.”

  Kinna chuckled. “I think she was hoping for any attention from the heroic Ayden DragunScai. But they all fawned over you.”

  Ayden shifted uncomfortably. “I am DragunScai only to you, Kinna. You know I care for no one's attention but yours.”

  “I know.”

  Ayden picked Kinna's hand from her lap, turning it palm up, tracing his fingers across it. A smile played across his lips, and Kinna caught it.

  “What are you thinking of?”

  Ayden shrugged. “How I, the poor, cursed ash boy who grew up unable to touch another living creature except for Dragons, fell in love with the future queen of all the land. Will she have me, this queen?”

  “She'd better have you, for she weds that poor boy tomorrow after the coronation,” Kinna murmured, giggling. “Perhaps that poor boy had better flee while he still has the opportunity.”

  Ayden slipped his arm around her pulling her against him. “Not a chance,” he growled as he bent his lips to hers.

  Pure contentment flooded her body. This, then, was home.

  Lincoln entered the room where Kinna waited for her coronation, while a maid-in-waiting placed flowers in the circlet of fiery braids. Another refastened her robe around her neck.

  “Kinna,” he murmured smiling as he stood before her. “I admit, your appearance has improved vastly since first we met.”

  Kinna snorted, brushing aside an errant curl that insisted on hanging over her ear. “I can't say the same for you, dear Linc,” she said, ruffling the orange hair that spiked atop his head.

  He ducked away, laughing. A moment later, he sobered. “Kinna...” He trailed off, and Kinna knew what was coming—the request she'd overheard Marigold ask of him in Allande.

  “Linc, you are free to go where your heart leads. You've more than earned that right, and I'd be selfish to keep you from it. Just know that you and Marigold will always have a place here in ClarenVale, with me, with Cedric. You are family to us.”

  Lincoln stared at her, and moisture suddenly cloaked his hazel eyes. “Thank you, Kinna,” he murmured, his voice husky. “I—I don't know what to say.”

  Kinna moved past the maid-in-waiting who was straightening the ruffles in her wide gown and pulled Lincoln into a hug, burying her face in his neck, despite the hair-dresser's protests. “Don't say anything,” she murmured, her voice muffled. “Just be happy.”

  Lincoln pulled back, clasping her shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes. “So,” he said, one eyebrow arching, “I can set my own salary?”

  A half-tearful giggle escaped Kinna as she grinned back at him, and he turned for the door. “It's time for your coronation, Kinna. I'll see you in the cathedral. I'll be the one at the front. Look for the orange hair.” He winked and departed, leaving Kinna to carefully clean the charcoal the maids-in-waiting had used on her eyelids to enhance their vivid green color.

  Lincoln had been chosen to officiate the coronation, though Kinna had nearly choked when he'd told her. To her, he was still the teasing, hardly serious friend who had followed her from the Pixie Glades into the heart of the Rue Ridges, and who had remained steadfastly loyal to her since then.

  But when she faced him at the end of the cathedral's long aisle, his face was grave and his hands steady as he raised her crown above her head.

  “Will you, Kinna Andrachen, take this oath to keep the country and its people in justice and fairness for the life that you shall live? Beneath the Stars and upon the blood that was shed to bring you here, do you so promise?”

  Kinna answered as she'd practiced, but tears clogged her voice. She had come such a long way. “I do so vow and promise.”

  Ayden smiled at her from the front row where he stood, his silver eyes also suspiciously bright.

  “And will you, Kinna Andrachen, take this oath to keep the peace between this nation and other nations, and so bring about a wise and lengthy rule? Beneath the Stars and upon the blood that was shed to bring you here, do you so promise?”

  Kinna nodded. “I do so vow and promise.”

  The crown settled upon her head, and with it the responsibility and the weight of a kingdom. She watched as Lincoln crossed the platform to Cedric and asked him the same questions, hearing the sincerity in his voice as he, too, answered as Kinna had.

  “People of Lismaria and West Ashwynd, hereafter united,” Lincoln called, his voice cresting and breaking against the walls of the massive hall, “I give you King Cedric Andrachen and Queen Kinna Andrachen. Long may they reign.”

  Epilogue

  Luasa's tail circled tightly around the eggs as Chennuh stood nearby, watching them carefully. Kinna wrapped her arms around Ayden's waist, her head resting on his chest. She sighed as she watched them, contented in the present, though the ghosts of the past still haunted her now and again.

  “Do you ever think of the Oracle's prophecy, Ayden? The one spoken to us when we found the Siren in that cave in the Marron Mountains?”

  Ayden absently rubbed Kinna's back. “Hmm, no, I haven't. I can't remember everything it said... although I do remember three deaths prophesied, I think.”

  “Aye,” Kinna murmured, and then quoted:

  Death at the hands of a friend,

  No suspicion of how it will end.

  Death within a family bond,

  Kinship is so very fond.

  Death resulting from the passion

  A love gone cold after a fashion.

  Three loves in three forms pave

  the path so smooth down to the grave.

  So then, Kinna, Aarkan's heir

  One of two, a royal pair,

  Which of these kinds of love

  Will you fulfill from above?

  The end of all things swiftly comes

  When wars arise and Power numbs.

  Aarkan's heir will meet with Fate,

  And Fate will open up Death's gate.

  Ayden tilted her chin up, looking down into her face. “How did you remember all that?”

  “I've said it so often to myself, it's been seared into my mind. But it all came true, do you see? Death at the hands of a friend. Lanier died by Sebastian's hand, two friends turned enemies. Death within a family bond. Linc actually gave the order that caused Helga's death. Death resulting from the passion of love gone cold. That was Lianna, wasn't it? Sebastian killed Lianna after their passion had abated. Those three kinds of love the Oracle described—friendship, family, and intimate love—were turned on their heads to bring about our happiness—my love for the people and the creatures in this kingdom has brought me to the throne, my love for Cedric has allowed me to rule by his side for our entire lives, and my love for you has brought such deep and abiding joy. Pain turned to pleasure, loveliness from ruin. I hope for this for our entire lives, Ayden.”

  He smiled down at her, leaning close and softly kissing her. “As do I, my love.�
�

  Kinna glanced back at the eggs, and at the mirrored Dragons hovering over them. “This is the second hatching,” she murmured. “The other Mirages are already grown and gone.”

  “Aye,” Ayden murmured. “It is the way of things.” His hand moved to her stomach where a child moved inside her. “It will be that way someday with ours as well.”

  Kinna tilted her head to look in his face. “Let's get the babe out of my stomach before we make him move out, Ayden.”

  Ayden's eyebrows arched. “Him?”

  “You still don't believe me?”

  “I've already told you I think she's going to have flame hair like yours.”

  “The midwives say only six more weeks until we'll know.” She glanced back at the eggs. “Perhaps we should have done as my father did, and worked the taibe to have our babes birthed in the fires of Dragons.”

  Ayden smoothed her hair over her shoulder, turning her to face him. “They will be birthed in those fires, Kinna Andrachen. Haven't you realized? You have the heart of a Dragon.”

  THE END

  Index

  of Creatures and Terms

  Dragons:

  Mirage – a Dragon covered with mirrored scales, hard to see, capable of turning completely invisible with the right touch.

  Poison-Quill – a Dragon covered from head to talon with poisonous spikes. The poison is deadly to beast and human; quick treatment is necessary if the poison gets below the skin.

  Nine-Tail – a Dragon that has, as its name suggests, nine tails, each one with the ability to operate independently, each one with a sharp spike on the end.

  Ember – a Dragon whose scales burn with constant fire, sometimes hotter and brighter, other times smoldering and low.

  Seer Fey – an ancient collection of Fey that held the gift of “sight.” As time progressed, they morphed into the category of creatures called Pixies. Seer Fey still maintain a presence in this world, though their numbers are greatly reduced. Wendren is the ArchFey who solidified the covenant between the Stars, Seer Fey, Man, and Dragon with the Amulet in the Bond of Blood and Fire

  Dimn – the trainers of the creatures in their respective Clan (e.g. Dragondimn live in the Dragon Clan)

  Andrachen – the family name of the Lismarian heirs, beginning with Aarkan the Firebringer and descending through Sebastian, Cedric, and Kinna.

  Clans of West Ashwynd:

  Centaurs

  Cerberuses

  Direwolves

  Dragons

  Dryads

  Elves

  Goblins

  Griffons

  Mammoths

  Ogres

  Phoenixes

  Pixies

  Sirens

  Trolls

  Unicorns

  Valkyries

  Measurements:

  Orlach – approximately three inches.

  Span – approximately a foot.

  Length – approximately a yard.

  Fieldspans – approximately a mile.

  Money:

  Sceptremarks

  Denn – a hundred denn to one sceptremark

  Psuche – the soul-connection between a human and a creature that allows them to know each other's thoughts and feelings.

  Taibe – magic

  Taibos/Taibas – sorcerer/sorceress

  Acknowledgments

  I've written ten acknowledgments for all ten of my books, and the list of people I must thank are quite similar, but their importance does not diminish with each new novel.

  First, to my editor, Emily June Street, I could not do this without you. You are the sextant for this wandering ship. I'd be lost on the high seas without your guidance to bring me into port. I truly appreciate how you are so prompt to answer my (many and varied) questions, the humor you throw into your edits that keeps me laughing while I wrangle with what seems like an overwhelming process, and your attention to detail. You've become much more than an editor; you are a friend, even a sister. Thank you for all you do.

  To my beta-readers, Taryn, Angie, and Christy, I so appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to make room for my fanciful whimsies as they scroll out on the page. Each of you are a treasure.

  To my "writerly friends," who encourage me far more than I ever thought I'd need it--members of the Shenandoah Valley Writers, I love our official and unofficial meetings. Yes, there is talk of writing, and books, and the nefarious throes of the plot hole, but it turns out to be fine, because coffee, lots and lots of it, and TimTams are pleasant by-products of our get-togethers.

  To my readers, who eagerly turn the pages and then tell others about this "exciting trilogy," you're a huge reason I write. Thank you for sharing my worlds with me.

  To my family, you are my safe space, and your encouraging presence is a never-fail comfort to me. Especially to Tim, the man of few words, who faithfully reads all my books and uses some of those words to remind me how much he loves me and loves my work.

  Lastly, and mostly, to my Father, who has blessed me abundantly, more than I could ever ask or imagine. Psalm 16:6: "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

  About the Author

  Tamara Shoemaker authored the Amazon best-selling Shadows in the Nursery Christian mystery series and Soul Survivor, another Christian mystery. Her fantasy books include the Heart of a Dragon trilogy: Kindle the Flame, Embrace the Fire, and Unleash the Inferno, as well her Guardian of the Vale trilogy: Mark of Four, Shadows of Uprising, and Guardian of the Vale. In her spare time, she freelances as an editor for other works of fiction, chases three children hither and yon, and tries hard to ignore the brownie mixes that inevitably show up in her cabinets.

  @TamaraShoemaker

  tshoebooks

  www.tamarashoemaker.org

  Also by Tamara Shoemaker

  Guardian of the Vale Series:

  Mark of Four

  In a post-apocalyptic world where Elemental abilities can save or squander all human life, a teenage girl with unique skills seeks to protect her family, her friends, and the source of elemental power from an escaped criminal and his followers.

  Shadows of Uprising

  Alayne Worth possesses the Vale, an object of mysterious power coveted by other Elementals. Danger shadows her every step when this secret spreads. As she grieves the sudden death of her boyfriend at the hands of the notorious Shadow-Caster, Simeon Malachi, Alayne unravels the mysteries of the Vale and her past.

  Guardian of the Vale

  Clayborne Training Institute, a school for teen Elementals, has fallen beneath a sweeping nationwide coup led by the Elemental Alliance, a party of power-hungry sectarians. Alayne Worth, Quadriweave and possessor of the Vale, flees Clayborne seeking the headquarters of the Last Order, the underground organization planning to wrest control from the Alliance. Danger shadows her steps as the struggle for the Vale and its power stalks ever closer to home.

  Heart of a Dragon Series:

  Kindle the Flame

  Three young people are tangled in a web of political intrigue and corruption: Kinna, a teenage girl, struggles to find her place in a Clan that doesn't want her; Ayden, a lonely man, faces a bitter, loveless life enforced by a dark curse; and Cedric, an innocent youth, seeks answers about his mysterious past. Sebastian, their conniving king, manipulates their destinies with wicked intent. Will the three survive Sebastian's plots when their fiery heritage is revealed?

  Embrace the Fire

  The battle for the thrones of West Ashwynd and Lismaria intensifies as usurping King Sebastian faces off with a foe from his past. Meanwhile, the true heirs to the throne are trapped inside impossible circumstances: an unwanted betrothal and a desperate captivity. Only Ayden, an erstwhile Dragon trainer, can help them, but a old curse reignites and waylays him. As war looms on the horizon and the lives of creatures and commoners grow ever cheaper, rebellion rises in the hearts of the rightful heirs to the blood of the Dragons.


  Unleash the Inferno

  After the Battle at ClarenVale, Kinna and Cedric Andrachen unite those who spurn King Sebastian's tyrannical reign, mustering a rag-tag army of soldiers and creatures to face Sebastian's far larger Lismarian army. Victory is elusive and allies are scarce, but the twins’ tenacious spirits cannot succumb to injustice. Kinna’s fiery heart must learn to lead, while Cedric grapples with his own demons, facing an ancient evil designed to corrupt him. With their stalwart supporters, can Kinna and Cedric finally bring peace to their world?

  Shadows in the Nursery Series:

  Broken Crowns

  Pretty Little Maids

  Ashes, Ashes

  Soul Survivor

  Copyright © 2017 Tamara Shoemaker

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. This is a work of fiction.

  Cover & book designed and produced by Emily June Street at Luminous Creatures Press.

  Image credits:

  “Macho Man” image © Tverdokhlib